Wikipedia

Eaea

For other uses, see EAEA.

"Eaea" is a song by Spanish singer Blanca Paloma, written and composed by herself, José Pablo Polo, and Álvaro Tato. It was released on 20 December 2022.[1] After winning the Benidorm Fest 2023, it represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, finishing in the 17th place.[2][3]

"Eaea"
Single by Blanca Paloma
LanguageSpanish
Released20 December 2022
GenreNew flamenco
Length2:59
LabelUniversal
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)José Pablo Polo
Blanca Paloma singles chronology
"Niña de fuego"
(2022) 		"Eaea"
(2022) 		"Plumas de nácar"
(2023)
Music video
"Eaea" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2023 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Languages
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Blanca Paloma Ramos
  • José Pablo Polo
  • Álvaro Tato
Finals performance
Final result
17th
Final points
100
Entry chronology
◄ "SloMo" (2022)
"Zorra" (2024) ►
Official performance video
"Eaea" (Grand Final) on YouTube

Background

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Composition

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"Eaea" was written and composed by Blanca Paloma, José Pablo Polo, and Álvaro Tato. It is described as a song to "honour" the singer's roots, as a "celebration of female ancestors' power and strength" and as "representing a chant" to Blanca Paloma's late grandmother Carmen, who had inspired much of her music and introduced her to flamenco.[4][5] The single's artwork features a photograph of Blanca Paloma's grandmother, and her five backing vocalists and dancers at the Eurovision performance also act as a "representation to the power and strength of her female ancestors".[4]

The song along with its dancing performance is described as "nurturing" of traditional Spanish sounds and "drawing on" traditional flamenco styles;[6] as "all flamenco handclaps, syncopated beats and Arabic vocals lines, underscored with a pulsating synth line; and as fusion with international elements, as a reflection to Blanca Paloma's "trademark style of mixing the traditional with the avant-garde and modern pop.""[4][7]

Benidorm Fest 2023

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Main article: Benidorm Fest 2023

Benidorm Fest 2023 was second edition of the Benidorm Fest, the song festival organised by Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) to select its song and performer for the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition consisted of two semi-finals and one final. In total, eighteen candidate songs competed divided between the two semifinals, with nine competing in each one.[8] 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 performed again, with the same voting system as in the semi-finals. "Eaea" competed in the second semi-final, proceeding to win it with 167 points.[9]

"Eaea" would earn a combined total of 169 points in the final, winning by a margin of 24 points, becoming the Spanish entrant for Eurovision.[10]

Eurovision

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Main article: Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023
 
Blanca Paloma performing "Eaea" at Eurovision.

On 13 May 2023, the Eurovision Song Contest grand final was hosted at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool hosted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on behalf of the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC). As a member of the "Big Five", Spain had automatically qualified to compete in the final.[11] Blanca Paloma performed "Eaea" eighth on the evening.[12] At the end of the voting, the song placed seventeenth with 100 points based on a televote-jury combination, gaining 5 points for the twenty-sixth and last place with the televote and 95 points for the ninth place with the jury.[13][14] This was an underperformance according to expectations and bookmaker predictions, and the result was labeled a "failure" by different media and part of the public opinion in Spain.[15][16][17]

Reception

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While it progressed to the final stage of the national Benidorm Fest 2023, "Eaea" was considered a favorite to win across numerous Eurovision fan polls, including ones on Wiwibloggs[18] and ESCUnited.[19] "Eaea" was competing for the triumph of the Festival with the other great favorite by the public, the song "Quiero Arder" by the Canarian singer Agoney.[20]

The song was viewed as one of the "most musically intriguing entries" at the 2023 Eurovision, in an article of British broadcaster BBC by music critique Mark Savage, who added ahead of the contest that "a lot will ride on how Paloma's melismatic vocal performance can be recreated live" and predicted a top-three position for the song.[4]

Charts

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Chart performance for "Eaea"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Lithuania (AGATA)[21] 67

References

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  1. ^ Fuster, Luis (24 November 2022). "Spain: Benidorm Fest 2023 songs drop on December 19". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  2. ^ van Lith, Nick (4 February 2023). "Blanca Paloma wins Benidorm Fest 2023 with "Eaea"". ESCXTRA. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Spain: Blanca Paloma takes the 'Benidorm Fest' trophy with 'Eaea'". Eurovision Song Contest. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Savage, Mark (6 April 2023). "Eurovision 2023: Every song ranked, from Albania to the UK". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  5. ^ Fuster, Luis (3 February 2023). "Shelter for your grief: The story behind Blanca Paloma's flamenco lullaby "Eaea"". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Spain's avant-garde pop queen: Ya ea ea! It's Blanca Paloma!". eurovision.tv. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Participants - Blanca Paloma". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  8. ^ Fuster, Luis (19 July 2022). "Benidorm Fest 2023: Grand final date set for February 4". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  9. ^ Baugh, Samuel George (2 February 2023). "Benidorm Fest 2023: Blanca Paloma wins Semi-Final 2". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  10. ^ Baugh, Samuel George (4 February 2023). "Spain: Blanca Paloma wins Benidorm Fest 2023". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  11. ^ "EBU, UA:PBC and BBC agree to host 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in the United Kingdom". Eurovision.tv (Press release). EBU. 25 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2023 - grand final". Eurovision Song Contest. 13 May 2023. UA:PBC / BBC / EBU.
  13. ^ "Results of the Grand Final of Liverpool 2023 for Spain". Eurovision Song Contest. EBU. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Eurovision 2023 Results: Voting & Points". eurovisionworld.com. Eurovision World. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Blanca Paloma y el fracaso cantado de España que nadie vio venir". Diario de Sevilla. 14 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Las claves del desastre de Blanca Paloma en Eurovisión: del televoto a la incomprensión". El Mundo. 14 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Cinco expertos analizan Eurovisión: ¿qué falló en la actuación de Blanca Paloma? ¿Es Suecia una justa ganadora?". El País. 14 May 2023.
  18. ^ Adams, Oliver (4 February 2023). "Benidorm Fest 2023: Blanca Paloma is our readers' favourite to sing for Spain at Eurovision 2023". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  19. ^ Tarbuck, Sean (4 February 2023). "Here's who #YOU want to win Benidorm Fest 2023!". ESCUnited. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Agoney, favorito junto a Blanca Paloma en la final de infarto del Benidorm Fest". Europa Press (in Spanish). 4 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  21. ^ "2023 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
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