Spain's selection process kicked off at the end of 2008 where an open invitation through website Myspace asked for song submissions. Following that, thirty songs were selected to compete over three semi finals. Two semi finals have already been completed and in a marathon show this evening, the third and last semi final took place. Three songs qualified to the final directly and a fourth progressed to the second chance round.
The songs in the last semi final were :- (Qualifiers in Bold)
El Secreto De Álex - Por Esta Vez
Beatriz - ¿Dónde Te Metes?
Remembrances- Espejismo
Biquini - Una Chica Normal
Julia Bermejo - Ya No Estás
Solydo - Tú
Mirela - Nada Es Comparable A Ti
Isi - Ahora No
Santa Fe - Samba House
Dulce - Bésame
After the last semi final, it was announced that the songs which finished in fourth place in the three semi finals would also take a place in the final. This meant that Salva Ortega with the song Lujuria, Gran Baobab with Despedida De Soltero and Julia Bermejo with Ya No Estás all progressed through, making it a 12 song final. The running order for the final was as follows :-
La La Love You - Dame Un Beso
Noelia Cano - Cruza Los Dedos
Jorge Gonzalez - Si Yo Vengo A Enamorarte
Virginia - True Love
Salva Ortega - Lujuria
Gran Baobab - Despedida De Soltero
Santa Fe - Samba House
Melody Y Los Vivancos - Amante De La Luna
Isi - Ahora No
Soraya - La Noche Es Para Mí
Mirela - Nada Es Comparable A Ti
Julia Bermejo - Ya No Estás
After an interval act, the results were announced and Soraya and Melody actually tied for first place, the juries preferred Melody and televoters preferred Soraya. The rules in Spain this year stipulate that in the event of a tie, the song which reveived more televotes would win, and that meant Soraya was declared as the winner. Spain are automatically qualified to the Final of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 16th.
Spain's biggest successes in Europe's favourite TV show date back to the late 1960's. Massiel won the 1968 contest with her song La La La. Spain then retained their title a year later in 1969 with Salome singing Vivo Cantando, sharing victory with The Netherlands, United Kingdom and France in the only tied contest to date. In more recent years, Spain won the second edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Lillehammer in 2004 when María Isabel was triumphant with her song Antes Muerta Que Sencilla.
