A month and a half ago, and against almost all odds, Chanel Terrero and her song
SloMo
were proclaimed winners, thanks to the votes of the jury, of the Benidorm Fest, achieving the subsequent passage to Eurovision.
The song, unknown until now, will represent Spain in the contest on May 14 in Turin (Italy), and will become, predictably, one of the most played melodies in the summer.
However, originally, the theme was intended for a consecrated artist, Jennifer Lopez, as revealed by one of the composers, Arjen Thonen, in the Dutch newspaper
BD
.
"[Record producer] Keith Harris wrote saying that they were looking for a song in Spain in the style of Jennifer Lopez to compete in Eurovision," Thonen told the newspaper, who, given the lack of response for months from López's team, decided to give it a second opportunity to
SloMo
after Harris insisted that Eurovision is the biggest music event in Europe.
Despite the fact that Thonen followed the Benidorm Fest and the votes with some difficulties due to his lack of knowledge of Spanish, he assures that he is glad that the song created together with Leroy Sánchez, Keith Harris, Ibere Fortes and Maggie Szabos finally has "such a nice place" .
The singer Chanel Terrero won the Benidorm Fest on January 30 and became a candidate to represent Spain in Eurovision after defeating the favorites, Rigoberta Bandini and the Galician group Tanxugueiras, thanks to the votes of the professional jury.
It was then that Terrero, born in Havana and 31 years old, had to face a barrage of negative reactions on social networks that forced him to close her Twitter account.
On March 14, Terrero premiered the
SloMo
video clip , a production directed by Paula Casanovas, who has worked with artists such as Bad Gyal.
In it, in addition, the Cuban-Spanish artist is accompanied by the same dancers who went up with her on the stage of the Benidorm Fest.
Chanel's triumph has not ceased to be bittersweet, since she has suffered personal attacks after a victory that even reached the world of politics.
“I have dreamed that they threw a tomato at me”, said the then brand-new winner of the Valencian festival to this newspaper the day after being chosen.
She then explained that attacks like the ones she had suffered "affect a very important issue such as mental health, which should not be played with."
"My intention is not to earn anyone's unconditional support, something very difficult to achieve, but to do a good job," she said at the time.
At the moment, it seems that her bets, which place her in a very good place in Eurovision, prove her right.