Could this be the year Spain wins Eurovision for only the third time since the contest began? Spain’s fate rests with Chanel, a 31-year-old Cuban entertainer now resident in Spain and her reggaeton hit ‘Slomo’.

The annual song contest takes place this year in Turin, Italy on Saturday, May 14, following Måneskin’s victory with ‘Zitti e Buoni’ in 2021.

A total of 26 countries will fight it out to win Eurovision this year, with France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Italy and the UK automatically making it through to the live final.

Who is Chanel?

Chanel Terrero is originally from Cuba but relocated to Barcelona with her family when she was a young child. 

The 31-year-old says she always had a passion for the music industry and enrolled in acting, dancing and singing classes when she was just six years old.

At the age of 16, she moved to Madrid to find new opportunities and start her career as a performer.

She has performed in the best theatres on Madrid’s Gran Via taking part in sell-out musicals including The Lion King, Flashdance, The Bodyguard and Mamma Mia.

Another career highlight was performing as a dancer with Shakira in the EMA’S awards in 2016.

Earlier this year she won the competition broadcast on RTVE to represent Spain in Eurovision with her reggaeton song ‘SloMo’.

But the choice caused a great deal of controversy among Spaniards and was even discussed in Spain’s parliament with questions over whether the voting was rigged.

It emerged that two of the judging panel on the show that decided that Chanel was the winner had close links to the artist. One of them had previously worked with her and the other was the co-author of the song ‘SloMo’.

However, the director of communications at RTVE denied the fact that Chanel’s victory was a “tongo” (a Spanish term for when someone wins as a result of corruption).

Why it matters 

Eurovision is always a matter of concern for Spaniards because the last time a singer won was in 1969 with the famous Vivo Cantando of Salome.

Eurovision contest in 1969, Vivo Cantando performed by Salome

Spain has a pretty dreadful Eurovision record, with only two wins and that includes 1968 when Massiel beat Cliff Richard with the repetitive song ‘La La La’. 

Years later when secret state documents were declassified it emerged that dictator Francisco Franco had rigged the competition and bought votes to secure Spain’s win.

Spain has also fallen victim to more stage malfunctions at Eurovision than any other country. Out of the three instances where groups were allowed to restart their performance after something went wrong, two were Spanish. 

Last year, Spain’s entry Blas Canto didn’t come last but ranked at 23rd position.  

But could this all be about to change? 

Chanel is among the top five favourites to win Eurovision in 2022 according to the bookies. 

Eurovision World has collected odds from different betting sites  after rehearsals on May 10 and ranks Spain in fifth place behind Ukraine, UK, Italy and Sweden with a 29/1 odds on winning.

Screenshot 2022 05 12 160153 1
Beeting Eurovision Song Contest 2022. Image from Eurovision World

Eurovision will be broadcast in Spain on La 1 of RTVE live from Turin on Saturday May 14

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