Soleá, 9, hopes for 'lots of votes' in tonight's Junior Eurovision

TUNE in this evening to Spain's channel one, TVE (La 1), to catch Soleá battling to win for her country in the Eurovision Junior Song Contest.

Unlike in the mainstream show, Spain has always done well at the children's version, although last year's third place for Melani García, now 13, from L'Eliana (Valencia province) was the nation's first entry since 2006.

Ahead of the 2007 event, the then bosses of Spain's answer to the BBC, national radio and television broadcasting firm RTVE, pulled out on the grounds that the show 'encouraged child exploitation'.

This upset fans of all ages, who had been proud of their kids for putting the country on the map – Sergio in 2003 and Antonio José in 2005 came second, María Isabel with her legendary Antes Muerta Que Sencilla won it in 2004 and Dani came fourth in 2006 – but last year, under new management, RTVE opted to return to the competition in response to popular demand.

Soleá Fernández Moreno, at nine-and-a-half, is the same age María Isabel was when she netted the most points with her catchy flamenco-esque number that immediately soared to the top spot in the national music charts. 

Sevilla-born Soleá has fast-paced rhythm and traditional music in her DNA, as she is the latest generation of the Farruco family, one of Spain's most famous and best-loved flamenco clans.

She is the youngest of the 12 taking part, and will be the first of Spain's Eurovision Juniors not to travel to the host venue – this year, Warsaw, Poland, following Viki Gabor's victory in 2019 – due to the pandemic.

Instead, like all the others, Soleá has already performed.

Candidates filmed their own show and entered it online to be broadcast this evening (Sunday, November 29) at 17.00 local time in Poland, the same time for mainland Spain, and 16.00 in the Canary Islands. 

For their videos, participants were only allowed up to six cameras, and all of them were told to include a metre-diameter lit-up ball in their show, the logo for this year's contest.

Soleá's song, Palante – which roughly translates as 'let's go', 'get going' or 'go forth', but in the regional accent of Andalucía – has been described as having a 'positive message', containing the 'essence of Spain' as the rest of the world sees it, being a genre that is 'popular worldwide', and is performed by 'a charismatic and very artistic artist' with a 'powerful mise en scène'.

Also unlike the Eurovision 'Senior', the junior contest allows TV viewers to vote for entries from their own country – which means people watching from Spain can vote for Spain.

Audience votes make up 50%, and the remainder comes from the judges.

Voting is already open and is online, but closes when the show starts, so anyone who plans to cast theirs is advised to watch the entries first – or just plain vote for Soleá because she's representing Spain and we want Spain to win.

One of the commentators for the contest on Spanish TV, Tony Aguilar – who has a programme on Spain's equivalent to Radio One, the 'top-of-the-pops' station Los 40 Principales – has taken to Twitter to encourage votes for Soleá, and reminded all those who plan to do so that they should also choose two other countries' entries as well as Spain's, in line with the competition rules.

“Please – vote lots and lots!” urges Soleá, a born performer who, apparently, wouldn't know stage fright if it did the sevillanas in front of her in a polka-dot dress.

“You're going to have a great time – let's go! ¡Palante!”

Those who want to do so before the show need only run an online search for 'vote Eurovision Junior' and they will find the link they need.

Soleá will be shown at number 10 out of the 12 – a late position which may or may not be to her advantage – although the uplifting number may just be enough, even if her smiley, bubbling, live-wire character doesn't earn her the 'cute factor' among voters.

Even if she doesn't win, Soleá is not too bothered.

“I'll still feel as though I'm the winner for my country, even if we don't win the contest,” she reflects.

“It's all been so much at once that, for a little girl of nine years old, is going to last a lifetime.

“When I grow up I'll remember that when I was little I represented my country in the Eurovision Junior.

“I've learnt that what's important is not what happens, but whom you're with – and I'm with my family, who are supporting me.”

The above photograph, by RTVE, shows a screen-shot from her video in one of her moves with Sevilla's iconic 'Golden Tower', or Torre de Oro, in the background.