After the last galas of Operation Triumphit was easy to think that even in the tenth there would be too many moments when we would rather prepare the week’s tapes or watch reruns of criminal mindsbut suddenly, um, the miracle happened and we experienced the most beautiful gala of this edition. Perhaps because the fewer clumps, the greater the clarity; The saying is wise, but the truth is, it was the most entertaining two hours of OT 2025.
Everything worked, an unpredictable and very tight expulsion; the songs, the staging, the costumes – this is almost the most surprising thing, even Tinho was elegant –, the guests. Everything, or almost everything; the jury’s assessments remained profoundly boring, empty, predictable and interchangeable. Does anyone remember who said what about who?
Pablo Alborán was there twice tonight. Having artists submit work is a deal breaker for programs featuring musical performances; He puts them on sale like Black Friday. In Saturnthe group, Guille Toledano, Malaga’s biggest fan, remained silent; We thought it was an audio problem, but no, that worked yesterday too, it was the competitor’s nerves.
To try to stay at the Academy, Guillo Rist turned to Abracadabra by Lady Gaga, and it was a bit of Agoney, a bit of Chanel and a bit of Azerbaijan’s performance in the second Eurovision semi-final; He collapsed, as always, but he didn’t have his best night. The other candidate, Téyou, sang I want de Louane, who some will remember as the last representative of France at Eurovision and others, or himself, for having been the protagonist of The Bélier family. It was an emotional and delicate performance in which Téyou was Téyou because he only knows how to be Téyou and, like Téyou, he will give beautiful, intimate concerts in small concert halls and perform at festivals across the country. The Cantabrian was aiming for a winner with zero gala, but this is not a format that rewards personality and it has plenty of that. OT needed Téyou more than Téyou needed OT, but now they had to part ways. I wrote to Téyou 8 times in one paragraph, yes I know, but this is the last time I will talk about her, so indulge me.
By a very narrow margin, the one who remained at the Academy was Guillo, although his joy was short-lived; The jury nominated him a few minutes later.
Crespo, that man attached to the urban theme, interpreted Things I didn’t tell you by Saiko and he was correct, but without enthusiasm, however, have we ever been enthusiastic about Crespo? Why is Crespo still at the Academy? The jury must have asked themselves this, as this time they deemed it appropriate to nominate him. But before getting angry, he told us that he dedicated the song to his girlfriend María Luisa. Maria Luisa? That there are still young women called María Luisa, I don’t know about you, but it excites me. María Luisa and Crespillo, as they call her at the Academy, could be characters from The hiveFrom The JaramaFrom The last afternoons with Teresa. From Dreams of freedom. In favor of María Luisa and Crespillo. Guille Toledano sang Until I found you by Stephen Sánchez, who looks a lot like Patsy Cline by Crazy I had to check that this is not a very free version.
Yes, the very romantic one is a classic In the end by Etta James, which helped solidify Olivia a little more as the winner OT dreams of. It’s easily one of the program’s most sellable products, and after all, it’s made by Amazon, and Amazon sells things. And the last thing, the Met Gala, buys them. Yes, Jeff Bezos has just purchased the most glamorous, exclusive and ambitious event in the fashion world; They say that everything can be bought except good taste, but who says it can’t be bought by many people who have it? Olivia, celebrating her birthday, was impressive, there’s no denying that. He was favored by an appropriate wardrobe and an exquisite performance that wanted to convert everyone chassis in a tank pleases. It was objectively beautiful, even if it threw me into melancholy when I remembered that it is the song that the Obamas danced to at the inaugural ball of their first term, performed by Beyoncé. Once upon a time there was elegance in the White House.
Claudia’s performance was also meticulous, as she portrayed the beautiful, in a somewhat cold way Birds of a feather by Billie Eilish, even if she did not seduce the jury that nominated her, and in this case she was justified; They could only save two contestants. One of these was Cristina, who with the Oh Nana by Daniela Blasco, one of the songs in competition at the last Benidorm Fest – how many hours of Meoldydrama her victory would have saved us – was in its genre, brilliant and overflowing with energy. She went into the competition to win and doesn’t want distractions.
What he couldn’t imagine, nor could anyone else, is that one of his most serious rivals would be Tinho. Yesterday Galician claimed the languages of the state Salt storms de Sés and I took advantage of the song by the singer-songwriter from A Coruña to remember the persecution that these languages suffered during the dictatorship. After this week in which we have read many polls in which a very high percentage (1% would already be high) of teenagers believe that Franco, trivialized thanks to memes and TikTok, did many good things, it is pleasant to hear young people remember that, if Francoism amounted to anything, it was not entertainment, but repression. Hearing them claim a time they didn’t experience is as absurd as romanticizing the Neolithic. Ah, the good times behind the wheel. Tinho, with his overflowing laughter and boundless energy, is a hymn to naturalness, such a rare commodity in an era where the Instagrammable has prevailed over the authentic. He never hides anything, he never hides himself, neither in performances nor in the Academy, and this has taken him from a nice and exotic filler competitor to a very serious candidate for the final victory; yesterday it was the favourite, the last of the edition. Your favorite and that of more people every day.
Even if we already know that the final result is not influenced only by talent and that many things that happened in this edition were orchestrated by the networks, an unreliable barometer. A few days ago and only for a few hours, this makes it clear how dangerous and lying social networks are, and also that the most abundant material on earth is not oxygen or silicon, but human stupidity.
In the end it was Claudia, Guille Toledano. Guillo Rist and Crespo are the nominees. The teachers saved Claudia, perhaps they were realizing that they were running out of women, and the classmates saved Guille Toledano, leaving Guillo Rist and Crespo as the last nominees of the edition.
In a gala that was ten, allow me the easy play on words, also underlined the guest, Elena Gadel, competitor of the second edition of OT and protagonist of the musical, who performed together with the competitors still present at the Academy Wolf an issue against gender violence. As it happens, this week, also to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Filmin released another Wolf. The film of which Marian Álvarez is the protagonist and co-author. There were no wolves at the Academy, there were 48 assistance dogs which delighted the contestants; “It’s the best visit we’ve ever had,” an elated Crespo said. And it’s not to denigrate everyone who visited the Academy this year, but let’s see who surpasses the tenderness of a firulais. This will also be difficult for them to overcome next week.
