Spain, Suddenly, in Motion Again

MAY 15 2022 · 12:05

Chanel · "SloMo" · Spain · 2022 Placement: 3rd · Language: Spanish (with English phrases) · Composers: Leroy Sanchez, Keith Harris, Ibere Fortes, Maggie Szabo, Arjen Thonen · Venue: PalaOlimpico · Host: Turin, Italy · Type: upset · Broadcast: HD On 14 May 2022, in Turin's PalaOlimpico, Spain walked out of a decade-long Eurovision slump in three minutes of red lace and eight-count choreography. Chanel Terrero, a Cuban-Spanish performer better known in the Spanish musical-theatre circuit than in its pop scene, opened 'SloMo' with a single phrase — 'the bad bi- come dressed like a Chanel' — and a camera tracking at hip height. The rest of the performance was tighter than any Eurovision choreography since the 2000s: four dancers, a series of Latin-pop transitions, a key-change sprint that made the stage feel smaller on camera. Her win at Spanish public broadcaster RTVE's new Benidorm Fest national final had been contested — a fan-favorite indie artist, Rigoberta Bandini, had come close, and Spanish music Twitter argued about the result for weeks. Turin settled the argument. 'SloMo' placed third overall, Spain's highest Eurovision finish since 1995, and combined a strong jury score with a televote Spain had not seen since its 1970s golden age. When Chanel finished and turned to the camera, RTVE's Spanish commentary booth was audibly crying. Spain, which had spent the 2010s sending well-meaning ballads to mid-table finishes, had remembered how to send a show. Context Benidorm Fest was new — RTVE had rebuilt its Eurovision selection process in 2021 after years of internal appointments, explicitly modeling it on Sweden's Melodifestivalen. 'SloMo' was its first graduating entry, and the show's credibility depended on how the song performed. The 2022 Eurovision itself was shaped by the war in Ukraine: Kalush Orchestra's 'Stefania' was a televote certainty, Russia had been banned from the contest after the February invasion, and most other competitors were effectively racing for second. In that context, Chanel's third-place finish with a pure entertainment song — no politics, no ballad — stood out as a structural shift: Spain's first sign that it could compete again at the top of the scoreboard. Legacy 'SloMo' became one of Spain's most-streamed pop tracks of 2022 and opened a pipeline of younger, more production-heavy Spanish entries in the following years. Benidorm Fest became established as a genuine national institution and remains Spain's selection mechanism. Chanel herself toured extensively on the strength of the song and has continued in both music and theatre. Spain's Eurovision delegation openly credits 'SloMo' with rebuilding RTVE's internal belief that the contest could be taken seriously as a showcase, rather than a scheduling obligation. Mythology People sometimes misremember Chanel as Spanish-born; she was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to Spain as a child. The song is often described as having 'won the televote' — it did not; 'SloMo' finished third on both jury and televote, which is itself unusual and a large part of why its placement was so solid.