By Neil Durham

WHEN?: 1st heat Tuesday 30 January; 2nd Thursday 1 February & final Saturday 3 February 2024

WHERE?: Palau Municipal d’Esports l’Illa de Benidorm Watch on TVE

Spain missed a trick at its otherwise fantastic Eurovision selection process in 2023 by not choosing runner up Quiero Arder by Agoney which won our Best Song monsta.

• Read on for reasons including Nebulossa, Lérica, Dellacruz & Almácor

The 3rd annual Benidorm Fest is 1 of our favourite Eurovision selection shows and this year we’re hoping Sofia Coll can give her disco stomper the absolute top notch performance it deserves.

Benidorm Fest is in its 3rd year and our 2022 and 2023 favourites were 1st and 2nd, so our hopes are high for 2024.

Doce puntos (12): Sofia Coll Here To Stay (Juan Manuel Pinzas Sueiro, Mauro Canut Guillén, Ignacio Canut Guillén, Sofia Coll i Benito) 3rd in semi 1

A song of the month for us in December, we said: ‘We’re listening to Here To Stay in Barcelona, Sofia’s home town, and the spoken word switch to English really stands out and is the point where we begin to realise just how strong this song is.’

Diez puntos (10): Angy Sé quién soy (I know who I am) (Ángela María Fernández González, Dino Medanhodzic, Henrik Lundberg, Thomas G:son) 2nd in semi 1

Angy Fernández is a singer, actress and presenter. She gained recognition as one of the finalists of the first edition of the talent show X Factor. After 10 years away from music, she made a comeback with the song Dualidad (Duality). Angy writes with Tattoo co-author G:son and Dotter‘s partner Medanhodzic for a rocky song that wouldn’t sound out of place sung by Sweden’s Smash Into Pieces.

Ocho puntos (8): Nebulossa Zorra (Bitch) (Maria Bass, Mark Dasousa) 1st in semi 1

Nebulossa are a synthpop duo formed by María Bas (vocals and production) and Mark Dasousa (synthesizers, production). Poliédrica de mí (Polyhedral of me) is the title of the debut album that the duo released in 2021, after previewing songs such as Glam. There’s an insistent 80s buzz to the music with Maria reclaiming a word often used to criticise. The catchy song recently topped Spotify’s Viral 50 Spain list.

Siete puntos (7): Jorge González Caliente (Hot) (Adrián Ghiardo, David Parejo Martín, Jorge González González, Manuel Brea Calvo)

Jorge’s passion for and relationship with music began at a very young age, with him participating in TV shows such as Operación Triunfo 2006, La Voz (The Voice) and Tu cara me suena (Your face is familiar to me), the latter of which he won. During the last year, he has released his album Íntimo (Intimate) and the single Agüita, with Soraya Arnelas who competed for Spain in Eurovision in 2009. Caliente may feel a little obvious but it’s the sort of song 1 assumes would be appreciated most on 1st listen.

Seis puntos (6): Lérica Astronauta (Astronaut)(Antonio Mateo Chamorro, David Cuello, Eduardo Ruiz Sánchez, José Alfonso Cano Carrilero, Juan Carlos Arauzo Olivares) Eliminated

Lérica is a multi-platinum Spanish duo that has created hits such as Flamenkito, De Tranquilote and Hijos contigo (Children with you). Formed by Juan Carlos Arauzo and Tony Mateo, both from Cádiz and friends since their childhood, they have collaborated with many artists. They became the most streamed duo in Spain, obtaining 14 platinum records and 9 gold records, and a tour that has already taken in 300 concerts throughout Spain. Astronauta is anthemic, singalong EDM that reminds us of fellow Melodifestivalen duo Samir & Viktor.

Cinco puntos (5): Dellacruz Beso en la mañana (Kiss in the morning) (Carlos Almazán Fuentes, Jorge de la Cruz Correa)

Jorge de la Cruz Correa, known artistically as Dellacruz, is a singer and composer from the Canary Islands. He has composed songs for both national and international artists. He has a solid reputation as an artist who stands out for his urban pop music with fresh, striking sounds. He has worked on some high-profile collaborations, some of which have already been released and others that are to come very soon. The lyric is easy to understand although the musical style might be a little too modern for voters.

Cuatro puntos (4): Almácor Brillos Platino (Platinum glitter) (Alejandro Capdevilla Pérez, Arturo Almarcha Corella)

Almácor began to be interested in music when he was a child with influences including ‘American underground rap, reggaetón or pop… very eclectic’. Now 26 he also composes music for other artists and Brillos Platino is reflective of his musical tastes and adds to the credibility with which Benidorm Fest is now regarded with.

Tres puntos (3): Miss Caffeina Bla Bla Bla (Alberto Jiménez Rodríguez, Antonio Poza Fernández, Sergio Sastre Sanz) 4th in semi 1

Alberto Jiménez (vocals), Sergio Sastre (keyboards, guitar and synthesizer) and Antonio Poza (guitar and electric bass) are the members of this alternative electronic pop band that began its journey in 2005. Renowned for their energetic live shows, in April 2023, they released their latest EP Shanghai Baby. The music is pleasant but the title is a little too run-of-the-mill for us.

Dos puntos (2): Marlena Amor de veran (Summer love) (Ana Legazpi González, Carolina Moyano García, Joan Valls Paniza, Rubén Pérez Pérez)

Ana (voice) and Carolina (guitar) were both known thanks to the TV shows X Factor Italia and Factor X España. They formed MARLENA and had their 1st success with Me Sabe Mal (It tastes bad). They have performed at more than 30 concerts and festivals throughout the country. Well-known songs include Gitana (Gypsy), Bailamorena (Dance Brunette) and Niñata (Little girl) and their latest hit racking up the streams is Último Baile (Last Dance). We enjoyed the slip into English and this is pleasant pop but outclassed by this field we think.

Of course everything will be decided when we see the live performances but we think this is a terrific selection that Spain should be proud of and should surpass its 2023 success.

• Picture via Facebook courtesy Sofia Coll. Watch Benidorm Fest at RTVE
• Have you heard any of these songs or seen any of these shows? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this review? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook