# Benidorm Fest 2023

Benidorm Fest 2023 was the second 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 31 January and 4 February 2023, and was hosted by Mónica Naranjo, Inés Hernand and Rodrigo Vázquez. The winner of the competition was "Eaea" performed by Blanca Paloma, who represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, finishing 17th in the grand final.

## Format

The competition consisted of two semi-finals and one final. In total, 18 candidate songs competed divided between the two semifinals, that is, nine participated in each one. In each semifinal, the four songs with the most votes among the professional juries (50%), the demographic panel (25%) and the televote (25%), went directly to the final. During the final, the eight qualified songs were performed again to determine which would represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, following the same voting system as in the semi-finals.

### Presenters

On 19 July 2022, RTVE announced singer Mónica Naranjo as the main host of Benidorm Fest 2023. Naranjo was accompanied by Internet personality and comedian Inés Hernand, who returned to serve as co-host, and journalist and television presenter Rodrigo Vázquez.

### Expert jury members

On 19 July 2022, RTVE announced that the expert jury panel would be headed by composer, musician and record producer Nacho Cano. It was also announced that Swedish singer and television producer Christer Björkman would be among the international members of the expert jury. On 25 January 2023, RTVE announced the full eight-member jury line-up, with five international members and three national members. It was also announced that Cano would not be part of the jury as initially announced, citing professional scheduling reasons.
| Member | Occupation(s) |
| Christer Björkman | Swedish singer and television producer; Swedish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992; Contest Producer of Melodifestivalen (2002–2021); Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2019 |
| Tali Eshkoli | Israeli television producer, Coordinator of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 |
| Nicola Caligiore | Head of the Italian delegation at Eurovision (2011–2019) |
| Katrina Leskanich | American singer and musician, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 as part of Katrina and the Waves |
| William Lee Adams | Journalist, founder and editor of Wiwibloggs |
| Nina | Singer and actress, Spanish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 |
| Irene Valiente | Journalist, program director at Radio 3 |
| José Juan Santana | Composer, President of OGAE Spain |

### Guest performers

Information about the guest performers was revealed during the Benidorm Fest week.
The first semi-final was opened by presenter Mónica Naranjo performing "Diva". The intervals acts included Leo Rizzi performing "Arcade", and Edurne, who represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, performing "Boomerang", "Te quedaste solo" and "Amores dormidos".
The second semi-final was opened by Miguel Poveda performing "Eres tú", while the interval featured Álvaro Soler performing "Candela", and Gloria Trevi performing "Gloria" and "Todos Me Miran".
The final was opened by Manuel Carrasco performing "Eres". The interval acts included presenter Mónica Naranjo performing her song "Sobreviviré", and Ana Mena performing "Un clásico" and "Las 12". In addition, previous winner Chanel made an appearance to hand the trophy to her successor.

## Competing entries

RTVE published the rules and regulations for Benidorm Fest 2023 on 19 July 2022. The submission period opened on 1 September 2022, with the window closing on 10 October 2022. In addition to the open submission, RTVE reserved the right to invite renowned singers and authors from the current music scene directly. Upon closing the submission period, RTVE announced that 876 entries had been received, 482 by the online form and 394 by record labels.
The names of the chosen contestants were officially announced by RTVE on 25 October 2022, in a special broadcast on La 1 hosted by Inés Hernand, followed by a presentation event on 29 October, hosted by Julia Varela and Rodrigo Vázquez also on La 1. Among the competing artists is Blanca Paloma, who participated in 2022. The competing songs were released on RTVE Play and RTVE's website on 18 December 2022.
Selected entries and their scores in the selection procedure :
| Artist | Song | Composer(s) | Points | Place |
| Agoney | "Quiero arder" | Agoney Hernández Morales, Andrés Huélamo López, Marta Martínez López | 65 | 16 |
| Alfred García | "Desde que tú estás" | Alfred García Castillo, Raúl Gómez | 99 | 6 |
| Alice Wonder [es] | "Yo quisiera" | Alicia Climent Barriuso | 125 | 2 |
| Aritz [es] | "Flamenco" | Carlos Marco, Frida Amundsen, Kaci Brown, Sam Gray, Tonino Speciale | 146 | 1 |
| Blanca Paloma | "Eaea" | Álvaro Tato, Blanca Paloma Ramos, José Pablo Polo | 101 | 4 |
| E'Femme | "Uff!" | Antonio Escobar Núñez, Bárbara Reyzábal, Carlota Sotelo Martínez, Melania Medel González, Sandra Martin Valencia, Sara Frías López | 91 | 7 |
| Famous | "La Lola" | Adrián Ghiardo, Andrés Sebastián Ramírez, Jorge de la Cruz Correa | 81 | 10 |
| Fusa Nocta [an] | "Mi familia" | Carlos Padilla, Ignacio Moreno González, Luis Nares Signes, Miriam Nares Signes, Rosebely Molina, Teresa de la Gándara, Vera Martí Nares | 79 | 12 |
| José Otero | "Inviernos en Marte" | Gabriel Oré Lapides, José Andrés Otero Pérez, Karen Méndez [es], Kenya Saiz Gallo, Manuel Chalud | 110 | 3 |
| Karmento | "Quiero y duelo" | Carmen Toledo | 55 | 18 |
| Megara | "Arcadia" | Israel Dante Ramos, Roberto La Lueta Ruíz, Sara Jiménez Moral | 87 | 9 |
| Meler | "No nos moverán" | Francisco Javier Pagalday González, Jonathan Geraint Burt, José Héctor Portilla Rodríguez, Natalia Neva Martín, Oliver García Cerón | 89 | 8 |
| Rakky Ripper [es] | "Tracción" | Aleix Martin Font, Joan Valls Paniza, Raquel García Cabrerizo, Rubén Pérez Pérez | 76 | 14 |
| Sharonne | "Aire" | Alejandro Barroso Soto, Cristóbal Garrido Pinto, Iván Torrent Llavero | 66 | 15 |
| Siderland [ca] | "Que esclati tot" | Albert Sort Creus, Andreu Mañós Ramis, Oriol Plana Pedret, Roger Argemí Tutusaus | 64 | 17 |
| Sofía Martín | "Tuki" | Claudio Maselli, Fanny Sofía Carabias Martín, Freddy Rochow | 79 | 11 |
| Twin Melody | "Sayonara" | Aitana Echeverría, Fernando Boix, Jonathan Geraint Burt, Natalia Neva Martín, Paula Echeverría | 99 | 5 |
| Vicco | "Nochentera" | Joan Valls Paniza, Rubén Pérez Pérez, Victoria Riba | 78 | 13 |

## Semi-finals

The two semi-finals were held on 31 January and 2 February 2023. The running order of the semi-finals, which was decided by the organizers, was revealed on the day of each of the shows.

### Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 31 January 2023. Agoney, Alice Wonder, Fusa Nocta, and Megara qualified for the final. A total of 10,285 televotes were received during the semi-final, including 7,507 via SMS and 2,778 via phone call.
Semi-final 1 – 31 January 2023 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Demoscopic jury | Televote | Total | Place |
| 1 | Sharonne | "Aire" | 45 | 20 | 22 | 87 | 6 |
| 2 | Aritz | "Flamenco" | 50 | 22 | 35 | 107 | 5 |
| 3 | Sofía Martín | "Tuki" | 22 | 13 | 13 | 48 | 9 |
| 4 | Agoney | "Quiero arder" | 86 | 35 | 40 | 161 | 1 |
| 5 | Megara | "Arcadia" | 51 | 30 | 30 | 111 | 4 |
| 6 | Alice Wonder | "Yo quisiera" | 79 | 15 | 25 | 119 | 2 |
| 7 | Meler | "No nos moverán" | 29 | 40 | 15 | 84 | 7 |
| 8 | Fusa Nocta | "Mi familia" | 65 | 25 | 28 | 118 | 3 |
| 9 | Twin Melody | "Sayonara" | 29 | 28 | 20 | 77 | 8 |

### Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 2 February 2023. Blanca Paloma, José Otero, Karmento, and Vicco qualified for the final. A total of 11,224 televotes were received during the semi-final, including 7,808 via SMS and 3,416 via phone call.
Semi-final 2 – 2 February 2023 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Demoscopic jury | Televote | Total | Place |
| 1 | Famous | "La Lola" | 46 | 28 | 13 | 87 | 7 |
| 2 | José Otero | "Inviernos en Marte" | 63 | 22 | 20 | 105 | 4 |
| 3 | Karmento | "Quiero y duelo" | 47 | 30 | 35 | 112 | 3 |
| 4 | Rakky Ripper | "Tracción" | 24 | 13 | 15 | 52 | 9 |
| 5 | Blanca Paloma | "Eaea" | 92 | 35 | 40 | 167 | 1 |
| 6 | E’Femme | "Uff!" | 17 | 25 | 22 | 64 | 8 |
| 7 | Siderland | "Que esclati tot" | 48 | 15 | 25 | 88 | 6 |
| 8 | Alfred García | "Desde que tú estás" | 52 | 20 | 30 | 102 | 5 |
| 9 | Vicco | "Nochentera" | 67 | 40 | 28 | 135 | 2 |

## Final

The final took place on 4 February 2023. The running order of the final was decided by a draw held on 3 February 2023. A total of 34,997 televotes were received during the final, including 24,553 via SMS and 10,444 via phone call.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Demoscopic jury | Televote | Televote | Total | Place |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Demoscopic jury | Votes | Points | Total | Place |
| 1 | Karmento | "Quiero y duelo" | 35 | 20 | 2,371 | 25 | 80 | 6 |
| 2 | Megara | "Arcadia" | 50 | 28 | 2,908 | 28 | 106 | 4 |
| 3 | Alice Wonder | "Yo quisiera" | 53 | 16 | 1,543 | 20 | 89 | 5 |
| 4 | Fusa Nocta | "Mi familia" | 24 | 25 | 1,755 | 22 | 71 | 8 |
| 5 | Agoney | "Quiero arder" | 80 | 30 | 9,515 | 35 | 145 | 2 |
| 6 | Blanca Paloma | "Eaea" | 94 | 35 | 9,898 | 40 | 169 | 1 |
| 7 | José Otero | "Inviernos en Marte" | 37 | 22 | 977 | 16 | 75 | 7 |
| 8 | Vicco | "Nochentera" | 59 | 40 | 6,030 | 30 | 129 | 3 |

## Ratings

Viewing figures by show :
| Show | Air date | Viewers (millions) | Share (%) |
| Semi-final 1 | 31 January 2023 | 1.044 | 10% |
| Semi-final 2 | 2 February 2023 | 1.020 | 9.4% |
| Final | 4 February 2023 | 1.887 | 14.7% |

## Reception
### TV awards

Benidorm Fest 2023 was presented with a special prize at the annual Premios Ondas on 18 October 2023.