# Benidorm Fest 2025

Benidorm Fest 2025 was the fourth edition of the annual Benidorm Fest, a television song contest held in Benidorm, organised and broadcast by Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). The show was held between 28 January and 1 February 2025. Melody won the edition with her song "Esa diva", and will represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.

## Format

The competition will consist of two semi-finals and a final. In total, 16 candidate songs will compete divided between the two semifinals, that is, eight will participate in each one. In each semifinal, the four songs with the most votes among a professional jury (50%), and the public voting (50%), will qualify to the final. During the final, the eight qualified songs will be performed again and the winner will determined following the same voting system as in the semi-finals. In response to criticism for the low televoting figures in 2024, attributed to the relatively high costs of telephone calls and SMS messages, RTVE managers stated the goal to make the public voting free by means of a mobile app from 2025; this was confirmed upon the opening of the submission window on 20 May 2024.
Following the 2024 edition of the competition, representatives of Benidorm's municipal council (including mayor Toni Pérez), the Department of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, and RTVE travelled to the 74th Sanremo Music Festival, currently serving as the Italian national selection for Eurovision; municipal councillor Jesús Carrobles revealed that the aim was to start a collaboration between the two events. An agreement for a collaboration with the Chilean Viña del Mar International Song Festival was also signed.

### Presenters

At the January 2025 press conference, Paula Vázquez, Ruth Lorenzo and Inés Hernand were announced as the hosts of the competition. In addition, each show was preceded by an introductory segment on RTVE Play, titled Benidorm Calling and hosted by Jordi Cruz, Masi Rodríguez and Iban Garcia, and the finale was followed by a commentary show, titled La noche del Benidorm and hosted by Lalachus and Aitor Albizua.

### Jury members

The jury will consist of four Spanish members and four international members. The Spanish members are radio Roberto Santamaría (director of Radio Nacional de España), Javier Llano (head of music programming at the Cadena 100 radio channel), Jaime Acero (content director at TelevisaUnivision), and Claudia Orellana (director and founder of the Son Buenos music talent management company); the international members are Oksana Skybinska (head of the Ukrainian delegation to the contest), Maja Tokic (executive producer of Dora), Twan van de Nieuwenhuijzen (head of the Dutch delegation to the contest), and Mariangela Borneo (director of international projects and festivals at RAI).

### Guest performers

Edurne and Ginebras [es] performed during the first semi-final. Ruth Lorenzo, Chenoa, and Isabel Aaiún performed during the second semi-final. Nebulossa, Rigoberta Bandini, and Amaral performed during the final.

## Competing entries

RTVE published the rules and regulations for Benidorm Fest 2025 on 20 May 2024, opening a submission window lasting until 10 October 2024. In order for an entry to qualify to compete, performers and at least one songwriter must be Spanish citizens over the age of 16 (at least 50% of Spanish citizens in the case of groups), and songs must contain at least 60% of the lyrics in one of the official languages of Spain. On 11 October 2024, RTVE revealed that nearly 1000 entries had been received, about 200 more than the previous edition.
The 16 participants, selected by a professional panel made up of musical advisors Beatriz Luengo, Rayden, Pablo Cebrián [es] and Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson, were originally set to be introduced on 7 November 2024 at the Prado del Rey studios in Madrid; however, on 4 November RTVE revealed that the announcement was being postponed. The artists and songs were announced on 12 November 2024. An additional 6 reserves have been selected, and will be revealed at a later date.
Benidorm Fest 2025 selected artists and songs :
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Arranger(s) |
| Carla Frigo | "Bésame" | Carla FrigolaAmanda CastilloBenjamín García | Eyla Bengro |
| Celine Van Heel | "La casa" | Alfred GarcíaCeline Van Heel | Alfred GarcíaPol ÁlvarezTom Johnson |
| Chica Sobresalto [es] | "Mala feminista" | Maialen Gurbindo | Chica Sobresalto |
| Daniela Blasco | "Uh nana" | Félix JoanÓscar CamposCarlos José MontadoDaniela Blasco | Félix JoanÓscar Campos |
| David Afonso | "Amor barato" | Alejandro MartínezLuis Ramiro | Lex C |
| DeTeresa | "La pena" | Inés Ramos DeTeresaVera Noor | DeTeresa |
| Henry Semler | "No lo ves" | Henry Semler | Henry Lardner SemlerPepe Bernabé |
| J Kbello | "VIP" | J KbelloRicardo FuriatiDangelo OrtegaMaría ParradoJosé Otero | Luis del Toro |
| K!ngdom | "Me gustas tú" | Andrea RadaIván RamírezJorge Gomis | Pau Paredes |
| Kuve [es] | "Loca xti" | Maryan FrutosJuan Sueiro | Maryan FrutosJuan Sueiro |
| Lachispa | "Hartita de llorar" | Claudia Gómez GalindoAlejandro "Jimbo" Páez LouEduardo Figueroa EspadasJuan Diego Lazo GonzalesSilvia Expósito Mansilla | Chanela Clicka "Jimbo Páez""Eduardo Figueroa" |
| Lucas Bun | "Te escribo en el cielo" | Lucas BunLuis García Ollés | Pau Aymí |
| Mawot | "Raggio di sole" | Roberto Comins Cubertorer | Julián Gálvez Vozmediano |
| Mel Ömana | "I'm a Queen" | Mel ÖmanaAlejandro MartínezLex C | Lex C |
| Melody | "Esa diva" | Alberto LoriteMelodía Ruiz Gutiérrez | Joy DebPeter BoströmThomas G:Son |
| Sonia & Selena | "Reinas" | Mark DasousaArturo Martínez Marzo | Mark Dasousa |

## Contest overview
### Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 28 January 2025. Eight artists competed and four qualified for the final.
Semi-final 1 – 28 January 2025 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Public vote | Public vote | Public vote | Public vote | Total | Place |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Televote | App | Total | Points | Total | Place |
| 1 | Kuve | "Loca xti" | 65 | 586 | 8,653 | 9,239 | 56 | 121 | 3 |
| 2 | David Afonso | "Amor barato" | 33 | 300 | 3,030 | 3,330 | 32 | 65 | 8 |
| 3 | Chica Sobresalto | "Mala feminista" | 50 | 203 | 8,060 | 8,263 | 50 | 100 | 5 |
| 4 | K!ngdom | "Me gustas tú" | 29 | 1,056 | 6,263 | 7,319 | 44 | 73 | 7 |
| 5 | Lucas Bun | "Te escribo en el cielo" | 64 | 477 | 5,635 | 6,112 | 40 | 104 | 4 |
| 6 | Sonia & Selena | "Reinas" | 31 | 249 | 9,169 | 9,418 | 60 | 91 | 6 |
| 7 | Lachispa | "Hartita de llorar" | 83 | 340 | 19,062 | 19,402 | 70 | 153 | 2 |
| 8 | Daniela Blasco | "Uh nana" | 77 | 641 | 24,798 | 25,439 | 80 | 157 | 1 |

### Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 30 January 2025. Eight artists competed and four qualified for the final.
Semi-final 2 – 30 January 2025 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Public vote | Public vote | Public vote | Public vote | Total | Place |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Televote | App | Total | Points | Total | Place |
| 1 | Mel Ömana | "I'm a Queen" | 90 | 1,009 | 16,494 | 17,503 | 70 | 160 | 1 |
| 2 | Henry Semler | "No lo ves" | 50 | 171 | 2,139 | 2,310 | 32 | 82 | 7 |
| 3 | DeTeresa | "La pena" | 22 | 468 | 12,596 | 13,064 | 60 | 82 | 6 |
| 4 | J Kbello | "VIP" | 65 | 663 | 12,338 | 13,001 | 56 | 121 | 3 |
| 5 | Carla Frigo | "Bésame" | 37 | 2,799 | 2,882 | 5,681 | 50 | 87 | 5 |
| 6 | Mawot | "Raggio di sole" | 54 | 329 | 4,891 | 5,220 | 44 | 98 | 4 |
| 7 | Celine Van Heel | "La casa" | 36 | 239 | 3,100 | 3,339 | 40 | 76 | 8 |
| 8 | Melody | "Esa diva" | 78 | 1,378 | 34,371 | 35,749 | 80 | 158 | 2 |

### Final

Taking place on 1 February 2025, Melody won the final with her song "Esa diva", making her the representative for Spain in Eurovision 2025.
Final – 1 February 2024 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Public vote | Public vote | Public vote | Public vote | Total | Place |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Televote | App | Total | Points | Total | Place |
| 1 | Daniela Blasco | "Uh nana" | 71 | 2,309 | 38,350 | 40,659 | 70 | 141 | 2 |
| 2 | Kuve | "Loca xti" | 52 | 735 | 8,775 | 9,510 | 44 | 96 | 6 |
| 3 | Mawot | "Raggio di sole" | 18 | 512 | 6,104 | 6,616 | 40 | 58 | 8 |
| 4 | Lachispa | "Hartita de llorar" | 48 | 912 | 22,614 | 23,526 | 50 | 98 | 5 |
| 5 | Mel Ömana | "I'm a Queen" | 61 | 2,486 | 27,935 | 30,421 | 56 | 117 | 4 |
| 6 | J Kbello | "VIP" | 74 | 3,103 | 28,213 | 31,316 | 60 | 134 | 3 |
| 7 | Lucas Bun | "Te escribo en el cielo" | 38 | 1,247 | 4,831 | 6,078 | 32 | 70 | 7 |
| 8 | Melody | "Esa diva" | 70 | 6,118 | 86,272 | 92,390 | 80 | 150 | 1 |

## Ratings

Viewing figures by show :
| Show | Air date | Viewers (millions) | Share (%) |
| Semi-final 1 | 28 January 2025 | 1.215 | 13.1% |
| Semi-final 2 | 30 January 2025 | 1.030 | 11.7% |
| Final | 1 February 2025 | 1.938 | 17.1% |