Mirela: “Despite what happened last year, I would still love to participate in Eurovision!”

World Pride 2017 is in full swing in Madrid! On 29 June, Spanish singer Mirela performed two of her songs, including Contigo, the song which was controversially beaten by Manel Navarro’s Do It For Your Lover in the Spanish national final this year. After performing, Mirela talked about her hopes for the future, and for participating in Eurovision!
Mirela has attempted to represent Spain in Eurovision several times before. However, last year, her participation in the Spanish national final caused a huge controversy in Spain. Read more about Mirela’s history in Eurovision at the bottom of this article!
In an interview after her performance a few days ago in Madrid’s World Pride festival, she said:

“I thought that it was necessary to let some time pass after my last attempts, so that everything could calm down, so that I could prepare much more and contribute something different. I thought that this was the time.”

When the presenter of the show asked if she might return again to the Spanish selection process for Eurovision, Mirela said that she would not get involved in a preselection show again:

“To participate in Eurovision is my dream and I would love to fulfill it, but I don’t think I’ll take part in another preselection show. I’ve thought about it a lot, and I’ve just had enough of that.”

This means that the only avenue remaining for Mirela to take to her Eurovision dream is to wait for the Spanish broadcaster, RTVE, to offer her the chance to represent Spain directly!

Mirela’s Eurovision history

2004

Mirela’s first encounter with Eurovision was in 2004, when she participated in Eurojunior, the Spanish selected for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004. She narrowly missed out to María Isabel, who went on to win the contest!

2007-2009

From 2007 to 2009, Mirela participated in every Spanish selection. In 2007, despite being the favourite to win with La reina de la noche (The Queen of the Night), she was the runner-up. In 2008, she submitted her song Stronger but did not reach the national final. Then, in 2009, she came forth with the song Nada es comparable a ti (Nothing Compares to You).

2017

2017 was Mirela’s most controversial year in Eurovision. In the final, she tied for first place with Manel Navarro; Mirela won the televote with twice as many votes as Manel, but Manel had won the jury votes, with Mirela only in joint third after being placed last by two of the three jury members.
The rules stated that in the event of a tie, the three-member jury would select the winner. This rule which since been widely criticised. Despite almost unanimous booing and accusations of rigging being yelled, the jury selected Manel as the Spanish representative. Manel responded to the audience by giving them an insulting gesture.
In the following weeks, a massive controversy ensued after it became clear that a jury member had promoted Manel’s song on his radio program. The Spanish parliament even became involved in the situation, and eventually RTVE’s audit committee summoned the head of entertainment for the Spanish broadcaster to clarify allegations of mishandling. Read more on our thoughts on the controversy here!
What do you think of this? Would you like to see Mirela represent Spain in Eurovision one day? Or do you think she should let go of her Eurovision dreams? Tell us in the comments below!