This is how the versions of 'Cover Night' are created, the musical contest that avoids karaoke without abandoning the greatest hits

If we review the career of any musical artist, it is difficult not to find in it some version of someone else's song.

This is the case with the large group of singers who are part of

, the program that feeds TVE's commitment to live music.

This week, the contest produced by Shine Iberia leaves Thursdays and jumps to Saturday nights (starting at 10:05 p.m. on La 1), to avoid its confrontation with the powerful Telecinco Survivors and thus improve its audience

data

It is a Friday in mid-March and Ruth Lorenzo stands in the center of the Leganés set where the contest is recorded.

The initial premise of the program is to summon musical talents so that they make a selection of songs that have been a great success in previous times their own.

As rounds go by, the challengers change songs, but keep their own style for their covers.

The paradox is that, unlike other musical talent shows, they try to show their artistic identity with songs by others, but without limiting themselves to

.

The La 1 program features a live band of eight members.Cecilia Bayonas

It is the first time that Lorenzo has become a presenter, although hers is a constant presence on television, as a contestant and jury of other formats.

recordings when she ignores the

text

, which she is supposed to read on a screen.

Her best weapons are her naturalness and the genuine way she engages with the aspirants and her peers.

And it is that strength of hers that makes them say that she is a dragon.

She always has the councilors alert because she goes out on set when she's not playing to cheer up the participants.

The great version of her of her career was Prince's

that brought her fame over a decade ago as a contestant on the British

.

“I prefer to reinterpret the script like when I performed that song for the first time in my life.

The team of presenters do more to relax the atmosphere, that the prize is serious —100,000 euros—, but that they take it as if it were a great

, she says in the makeup room as she prepares to record.

Abraham Mateo is another of the hosts of

,

although his job "is not to present, but to accompany the applicants," he himself qualifies.

The

that he made with songs from others in the second installment of the program has been one of the most viral moments on social networks in recent days.

Next to him is Ana Guerra (his version of her from

was one of the most popular moments of the edition of

in which she participated).

For her, the space "is a format made by musicians to make music on television," she says during the same recording session.

the casting

team

of the program has dived, among other places, in social networks.

That is where many of the participants come from, who have achieved thousands of followers by sharing their versions of well-known songs on their profiles.

Those selected come from a selection of more than 4,000 people.

“Those versions seen on the networks are minimalist and have to be turned into a great television show, with a live band of eight musicians,” says Ana Rivas, entertainment director.

The contestants present versions that they have already made or give a selection of favorite songs to work on with the program team.

It is made up of the brothers Villaescusa and José Villar.

It is work between the musicians of the program and the applicants "it is very personal", explains Macarena Rey, executive director of the production company,

Miguel Bosé, one of the members of the jury, has achieved great success in his career thanks to the versions of other people's and his own milestones.

With

(1998) he reviewed the popular Latin songbook with songs like

, by Venezuelan singer-songwriter Guillermo Dávila.

Years later, his

(2007), in which he reinvented his own hits, was successful both in record sales and live, with a world tour and a record sequel,

(2012).

The singer admits that addressing his own songs again was more complex, because he also had to do it as a duet, finding common ground with other artists.

“When you compose your songs, it's like a dress that you make to measure.

They are uniquely made for you.

If others version them, they have to adapt the dress to their measurements.

But trying to make your own songs again trying to make them equally important within the difference is very tricky ”, he explains.

For this reason, he applies his experience live and in the recording world to seek excellence in this space in what makes an artist special.

The process that the four jurors are carrying out to find Cover Night finalists

It is similar to filtering fine sand.

The boys have to go through many sieves ”, he comments.

Bosé talks about how the jury of the contest is configured: “Knowing that they come to receive our advice to build a musical career, we cannot lie to them nor do we want them to go through the phase lightly.

Mónica Naranjo is blunt in terms of what she shines the most, the technical part of singing;

Juan Magán sees things from the point of view of the producer and thinking about what careers are possible, Chanel looks for the contestants to shine on stage, something that she masters a lot, and for them to be versatile, ”she defines.

Knowing that they come to receive our advice to build a musical career, we cannot lie to them nor do we want them to go through the phase lightly.

Miguel Bose

Naranjo starred in a mythical moment on recent RTVE, the

duet version of

He also believes that you have to maintain a commitment to the contestants "because that way you also have the public, who is going to spend the money to buy a ticket."

As a jury he seeks "a balance between magic and technique".

“This contest will bring out a lot of repertoire that had been forgotten for the new generations.

From the seventies to the present.

For the singer, the perfect example of version is

by Tino Casal, produced by Julián Ruiz in the eighties based on the original by Barry Ryan 20 years earlier.

That vocal interpretation “Gives you life in the grayest days.

It would be very difficult to take it to another terrain... ”, he comments.

Chanel also feels that she has been doing covers all her life, in the many musicals in which she has participated, interpreting songs well-known by the public from her sensibility, she explains.

“

is like a live gig.

You have to give everything the first time.

But, more than my experience at the Benidorm Fest and Eurovision, it reminds me of all the auditions I've done for musicals and series.

All my professional life I have been on trial, so I apply empathy and respect as a jury, ”she admits.

Juan Magan, the fourth and last member of this squad, looks for creativity in applicants, for them to do something different, he defends.

“Although the technical aspect is important, it is not about coming to impress us with his voice.

The industry is no longer concerned with how well you sing, but with how much you transmit.

It hurts me to say no.

They have told me no so many times and it has hurt so much that it is difficult to do it ”, he admits.

A moment during the recording of 'Cover Night'.Cecilia Bayonas

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