Operación Triunfo ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

'' is a Spanish reality television music competition to find new singing talent. The ninth series, also known as ''Operación Triunfo 2017'', aired on La 1 from 23 October 2017 to 5 February 2018, presented by Roberto Leal. It was the first season broadcast by

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

, which aired the first three seasons, in thirteen years. Seasons 4–8 of ''Operación Triunfo'' aired on

Telecinco Telecinco is a Spanish free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset España. The channel was previously known as Tele 5, because it had first begun its experimental transmissions on 10 March 1989, and a year later, it was officially launc ...

, which discontinued the series in 2011 due to declining ratings. RTVE approved to revive the series with a budget of 10.2 million euros. In addition to the ''Galas'' or weekly live shows on La 1, daily recap shows aired on

Clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

, and the side show ''El Chat'' aired on La 1 after each weekly ''Gala'', hosted by Noemí Galera. The activities of the contestants at "The Academy" or ''La Academia'' were streamed live via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and the subscription platform Sky España.

Amaia Romero Amaia Romero Arbizu (born 3 January 1999), better known as Amaia, is a Spanish singer-songwriter and pianist. After participating in many talent shows, she gained national recognition after winning series nine of musical television contest ''O ...

was announced the winner on 5 February 2018. Aitana Ocaña came second. Miriam Rodríguez ranked third,

Alfred García Alfred García Castillo (born 14 March 1997) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. He gained national recognition when he took part in series nine of the reality television talent competition '' Operación Triunfo'', where he finished in fourth place ...

fourth and fifth place went to

Ana Guerra Ana Alicia Guerra Morales (born 18 February 1994), better known as Ana Guerra, is a Spanish singer. She rose to prominence when she took part in series nine of the reality television talent competition ''Operación Triunfo'', where she finishe ...

. On 4 December 2017, during sixth week's live show or "Gala 6", it was announced that the series would serve as the platform to select the Spanish entrant at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broa ...

. On 20 December 2017, TVE announced that the five contestants that would succeed in advancing to the series' final would also be the five candidates to represent Spain at Eurovision. The live show that selected the Spanish entrant and song for Eurovision took place on 29 January 2018.

and

were selected with the song "

Tu canción "Tu canción" () is a song performed by Spanish singers Amaia Romero and Alfred García, and written by Raúl Gómez and Sylvia Santoro. The performing duo is identified and credited as Amaia y Alfred. The song was released as a digital downloa ...

". The ninth series turned into a media success in Spain, which was compared to the success of the

original series Original programming (also called originals or original programs, and subcategorized as "original series", "original movies", "original documentaries" and "original specials") is a term used for in-house television, film or web series productions ...

of ''Operación Triunfo'' sixteen years before. Some of the contestants from this series such as

Aitana Aitana (, ) is a mountain massif that is part of Prebaetic System in the eastern end of the Iberian Peninsula. Administratively, the mountainous area is located in the Marina Baixa, Alcoià and Comtat comarcas in the northern part of Alicante p ...

, Miriam Rodríguez,

, Cepeda,

Agoney Agoney Hernández Morales (Adeje, Province of Tenerife, Tenerife, Spain, 18 October 1995), also known as Agoney, is a Spanish singer, composer and performer who rose to fame from his participation on the ''Operación Triunfo (series 9), Operaci� ...

, Mimi Doblas,

Roi Méndez Roi Méndez Martínez (born 30 September 1993) is a Spanish singer and guitarist. Biography Roi Méndez was born in Santiago de Compostela on 30 September 1993. He got a bachelor's degree in audio technology. He was a member of the Orquesta Ol ...

Raoul Vázquez Raoul Vázquez García (Montgat, Barcelona, 19 March 1997) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and musician. He began to gain renown at the end of 2016 when he competed in the fourth edition in Spain of the talent show ''The Voice''. However, his l ...

Mireya Bravo Alejandrina Mireya Luis Hernández, often referred to as Mireya (born August 25, 1967 in Camagüey) is a retired Cuban volleyball player. Life At the age of 10 she started playing volleyball. At 16, Mireya joined the Cuban national team for th ...

went on to launch solo projects.

Headmaster, judges and presenter

On 18 July 2017, Noemí Galera, who had appeared as a member of the jury panel on previous seasons, was announced as the new "headmaster" of the Academy. On 28 August 2017, it was revealed that the jury panel would consist of three regular judges and a fourth guest judge. The three regular judges were singer, songwriter and producer

Mónica Naranjo Mónica Naranjo Carrasco (born 23 May 1974) is a Spanish singer widely popular in Spain and Latin America and recognised as one of the most powerful voices of the Spanish and Latin American music scenes. She has performed with singers such as Luc ...

, marketing director Joe Pérez-Orive and music executive and producer Manuel Martos, who were accompanied every week by a guest panelist from the music industry. On 30 August 2017, it was announced that Roberto Leal would debut as host of ''Operación Triunfo''.

Auditions

Open casting auditions began on 14 June 2017 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and concluded on 18 July 2017 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. The minimum age to audition was 18. After the open auditions, 81 candidates were called for a closed-door audition on 20 and 21 September 2017. 18 candidates advanced to the introduction live show or ''Gala 0'', where the 16 official contestants who entered the Academy were selected.

Contestants

The 18 contestants that would appear on the introduction live show or ''Gala 0'' were announced on 20 October 2017.

''Galas''

The ''Galas'' or live shows began on 23 October 2017. In the introduction live show or ''Gala 0'', 18 candidates were presented to enter the "Academy." Each contestant performed a cover version of a popular song of their choice, and two of the candidates were eliminated. For the regular ''galas'', the contestants are assigned a popular song to perform in a duet or solo. The audience votes for their favourite performer, and the contestant with the most votes is exempt for nominations. The jury panel comments on the performances and nominates four contestants for eviction. The Academy's staff meeting saves one of the nominees, and the safe contestants save another of the nominees. The two remaining nominees prepare the performance of a song of their choice each for next week's live show, where one of the contestants will be saved by the audience via televote, sms and app voting. Each ''gala'' features a guest judge and guest performers.

Results summary

;Colour key

Gala 0 (23 October 2017)

*Musical guests: **

("Solo se vive una vez") **

Rosa López Rosa María López Cortés (Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, which was the most followed in the country since there are official audience statistics and in which she obtained the seventh position with the song "Europe's living a celeb ...

("Ahora sé quién soy")

Gala 1 (30 October 2017)

*Musical guest:

Becky G Rebbeca Marie Gomez (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. She first gained recognition in 2011 when she began posting videos of herself covering popular songs online. One of her videos caught t ...

Mayores "Mayores" () is a song by American singer Becky G and Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny. Written by Mario Caceres, Servando Primera, Saul Castillo, Bad Bunny, and Patrick Ingunza, it was released by Kemosabe, RCA and Sony Music Latin as the lead si ...

") *Guest judge:

David Bustamante David Bustamante Hoyos (born 25 March 1982) is a Spanish pop singer and songwriter. He gained his initial fame in 2001 as a third-place winner on '' Operación Triunfo'', the interactive musical reality television show that went on to achiev ...

Gala 2 (6 November 2017)

*Group performance: "Te quiero" *Musical guest:

Morat Morat may refer to: * Morat, Switzerland, or Murten, a town in Switzerland * Battle of Morat (1476), between the Swiss Federation and Charles I, Duke of Burgundy * Morat (band), a Colombian folk band * Morat, a type of mead that uses mulberries. S ...

("Yo contigo, tú conmigo") (with Cepeda) *Guest judge: Wally López

Gala 3 (13 November 2017)

*Group performance: "

I'm Still Standing "I'm Still Standing" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, from John's 1983 album ''Too Low for Zero''. It was the second single released from the album in the UK, and the first single released in the Un ...

" *Musical guests: **

Blas Cantó Blas Cantó Moreno (born 26 October 1991) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the Spanish band Auryn. In 2017, he embarked on a solo career. His debut studio album ''Complicado'' was released in September 20 ...

("In Your Bed") **

India Martínez Jenifer Yésica Martínez Fernández (Córdoba, Spain, October 13, 1985), known professionally as India Martínez, is a Spanish flamenco and pop singer. Her artistic name was made out by the first manager she had at the age of 17, when she signe ...

("Aguasanta") *Guest judge: Julia Gómez Cora

Gala 4 (20 November 2017)

*Group performance: "

Eres tú Eres (English: "You Are") may refer to: * "Eres" (Alejandro Fernández song), 2008 * "Eres" (Café Tacuba song), 2003 * "Eres", a song by Anahí from her album ''Inesperado'', 2016 * "Eres", a song by José María Napoleón, 1975, later covered ...

" *Musical guests: **

Ruth Lorenzo Ruth Lorenzo Pascual (; born 10 November 1982), better known as Ruth Lorenzo, is a Spanish singer and composer, perhaps best known in the UK for coming fifth in the fifth series of the British TV talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. She represe ...

("Good Girls Don't Lie") **

Maldita Nerea Maldita Nerea (English: Darn Nerea) is a Spanish pop/rock band. History The group originated in Murcia. They started with small concerts in the city and then Salamanca, where Jorge moved to continue his studies of speech therapy. These con ...

("Cuando todas las historias se acaban") (with

) *Guest judge: Alejandro Parreño

Gala 5 (27 November 2017)

*Group performance: "La revolución sexual" *Musical guests: **

Romeo Santos Anthony "Romeo" Santos (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor who is best known as the frontman and lead vocalist of the bachata group Aventura. In 2002, the song " Obsesión" reached number one in It ...

Imitadora "Imitadora" is a song by American singer Romeo Santos. The song was written by Philip (Taj) L. Jackson and Romeo Santos, and conducted by Carlos Dalmasí, with production handled by Vinylz, Romeo Santos, Allen Ritter and Frank Dukes. It was releas ...

") **

Beatriz Luengo Beatriz Luengo González (born 23 December 1982) is a Spanish singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and entrepreneur based in Miami. She gained international recognition by portraying Lola Fernández in the Antena 3 series ''One Step Forward'' ( ...

("Más que suerte") (with Agoney) *Guest judge: Tony Aguilar

Gala 6 (4 December 2017)

*Group performance: "

Ain't No Mountain High Enough "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and ...

" *Musical guests: **Taburete ("Sirenas") **

Pastora Soler María del Pilar Sánchez Luque (born 28 September 1978 in Coria del Río, Seville), better known by her stage name Pastora Soler, is a Spanish singer. She is also a songwriter and her compositions usually mix copla or flamenco with pop or elect ...

("La tormenta") *Guest judge:

Gala 7 (11 December 2017)

*Group performance: "

¿A quién le importa? "¿A quién le importa?" (English: literally, "To whom does it matter?"; idiomatically, "Who cares?") is a single released from the Spanish pop rock band Alaska y Dinarama's 1986 ''No es pecado'' album. Fangoria – composed of two of the song' ...

" *Musical guests: **

Lorena Gómez Lorena Gómez Pérez (born 12 April 1986 in Lleida) is a Spanish pop singer known artistically as Lorena. She was the winner of TV's Spanish language's talent-search program fifth series of ''Operación Triunfo''. In 2007, her debut album, ...

("Vulnerable a ti") ** Vanesa Martín ("Hábito de ti") *Guest judge: Sole Giménez

Gala 8 (18 December 2017)

*Group performance: "

Shake It Off "Shake It Off" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, ''1989''. Swift wrote the lyrics and composed the melody with producers Max Martin and Shellback. An uptempo dance-pop song featuring a saxop ...

" *Musical guests: ** Sergio Dalma ("Este amor no se toca") **

La Oreja de Van Gogh La Oreja de Van Gogh (; English: "Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh's Ear") is a Spanish Pop music, pop band from San Sebastián, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. The band's lyrics and compositions are written primarily by Xabi San Martín, and addition ...

("Estoy contigo") *Guest judge: Javier Llano

Gala 9 (2 January 2018)

*Group performance: "Hoy puede ser un gran día" *Musical guest: Carlos Baute ("Vamo' a la calle") *Guest judge: Wally López

Gala 10 (8 January 2018)

From this week, voting for the favourite of the audience was put on hold for the final stretch of the series, and no contestant was exempt for nominations. *Group performance: " Resistiré" *Musical guest: Pablo López ("El patio") *Guest judge: Carlos Jean

Gala 11 (15 January 2018)

This episode determined the first four contestants that qualified for the final. Each of the four members of the jury panel gave marks to the contestants (from 5 to 10). The three contestants with the highest score were saved. The Academy's staff saved a fourth contestant. The two remaining contestants were up for elimination. *Group performance: " País Tropical" *Musical guest:

Abraham Mateo Abraham Mateo Chamorro (born 25 August 1998), is a Spanish singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He is known for his soulful and dance-oriented music. Mateo was only seven when he began winning prizes on television shows and at the ag ...

Loco Enamorado "Loco Enamorado" (English: "Crazy Lover") is a song recorded by Spanish singer Abraham Mateo and Puerto Rican singers Farruko and Christian Daniel. It was originally released on June 23, 2017, through Sony Music, as the lead single from Mateo's fif ...

") *Guest judge: Julia Gómez Cora

Gala 12 (22 January 2018)

*Group performance: "Cuéntame" *Musical guests: **

Rozalén María de los Ángeles Rozalén Ortuño (born 12 June 1986 in Albacete, Spain) known professionally as Rozalén is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Life She grew up in Letur. She studied psychology at the University of Murcia with a master in ...

("La puerta violeta") **

Sebastián Yatra Sebastián Obando Giraldo (born 15 October 1994), known professionally as Sebastián Yatra, is a Colombian singer, songwriter and actor. He began as a Latin pop artist and has recorded many ballads, but has released several successful reggaeton ...

("Sutra") *Guest judge: Javier Llano

Gala Final (5 February 2018)

In the final, the winner of the series was decided by public vote. Each finalist performed a popular song of their choice, and after that, the first round of voting ended. The two finalists with the fewest votes were eliminated. A second round of voting began to determine the winner of the series, and the three remaining finalists performed the song they had sung on "Gala 0". *Group performances: **"Mi gran noche" (with

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

) **"Camina" (all sixteen contestants) *Musical guests: **

("Mi gran noche") ** Pablo Alborán ("

Prometo ''Prometo'' () is the fourth studio album by Spanish singer-songwriter Pablo Alborán. The album was announced on 9 October 2017 and was released on 17 November 2017 through Warner Music Spain. In an interview with '' Billboard'', Alborán ex ...

") **

David Bisbal David Bisbal Ferre (born 5 June 1979) is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor. He gained his initial fame as a runner-up on the interactive reality television show ''Operación Triunfo''. He has since released five studio albums, all of whi ...

("Mi princesa") *Guest judge:

Specials

Gala de Navidad (25 December 2017)

On 25 December 2017 a Christmas special aired on La 1, where the sixteen official contestants of the series performed together with some of the contestants from the

of ''Operación Triunfo''. *Group performances: **"Mi música es tu voz" **"Camina"

Gala Eurovisión (29 January 2018)

The five finalists performed original songs (written by music publishers and internally chosen by the Spanish broadcaster) with the goal of representing

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

at the

. Each finalist was allocated a song to be performed solo, three songs were allocated to duet combinations which included the sixth-placed contestant Agoney, and "Camina" was a candidate song performed by the five finalists. The Spanish entry for Eurovision was decided by public vote. After a first round of voting, the three entries with the most votes from the public advanced to a second round of voting. In the second round, the Spanish entry was selected by public vote. *Group performance: **"

La, la, la "La, la, la" is a song recorded by Spanish singer Massiel, written by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa. It is best known as the Spanish winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 in London. It was the first time that Spain won the C ...

" ( Cepeda, Juan Antonio, Mimi, Mireya and Thalía) **"

Vivo cantando "Vivo cantando" (; "I Live Singing") is a song recorded by Spanish singer Salomé. The song was written by María José de Cerato and Aniano Alcalde, and it was produced by Augusto Algueró. It is best known as the at the Eurovision Song Cont ...

" (Marina, Nerea, Ricky, Raoul and Roi) *Musical guests: **

Luísa Sobral Luísa Vilar Braamcamp Sobral (; born 18 September 1987) is a Portuguese singer and songwriter. She came to prominence in 2003 after finishing third in the first season of '' Ídolos'', the Portuguese version of '' Idols'' television series. Aft ...

("Cupido") **

Conchita Wurst Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst (or simply Conchita). Neuwirth came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as with t ...

Rise like a Phoenix "Rise Like a Phoenix" is a pop song performed by Austrian singer Conchita Wurst, and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Selected to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark, its official release on 18 March 2014 w ...

") **

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He has been referred to as the " Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-sell ...

("Machika" and " Mi gente") *Guest judges (along with Manuel Martos): **Víctor Escudero **

Julia Varela Julia Varela Ruano (born 30 June 1981) is a Spanish television and radio presenter, newsreader, reporter and director. Biography After graduating in journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid, Varela began her professional career at R ...

Gala Especial: OT, la fiesta (13 February 2018)

An extra special live show aired on 13 February 2018, with the audience's favourite performances of the five finalists, three group performances, and previously unaired moments of the contestants.

Tour

Following the finale, all 16 contestants reunited for a tour across arenas and stadiums in Spain, performing live to sell out audiences. A DVD+CD of the first concert of the tour in Barcelona was released in June 2018.

Notes

Ratings

References

External links

''Operación Triunfo'' at RTVE.es
{{DEFAULTSORT:Operacion Triunfo 2017 Spanish television seasons 2018 Spanish television seasons La 1 (Spanish TV channel) original programming