Operación Triunfo (series 9)


Operación Triunfo is a Spanish reality television music competition to find new singing talent. The ninth series, also known as Operación Triunfo 2017, aired on La 1 from 23 October 2017 to 5 February 2018, presented by Roberto Leal. It was the first season broadcast by RTVE, which aired the first three seasons, in thirteen years. Seasons 4–8 of Operación Triunfo aired on Telecinco, which discontinued the series in 2011 due to declining ratings. RTVE approved to revive the series with a budget of 10.2 million euros.
In addition to the Galas or weekly live shows on La 1, daily recap shows aired on Clan, and the side show El Chat aired on La 1 after each weekly Gala, hosted by Noemí Galera. The activities of the contestants at "The Academy" or La Academia were streamed live via YouTube and the subscription platform Sky España.
Amaia Romero was announced the winner on 5 February 2018. Aitana Ocaña came second.
On 4 December 2017, during sixth week's live show or "Gala 6", it was announced that the series would serve as the platform to select the Spanish entrant at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. On 20 December 2017, TVE announced that the five contestants that would succeed in advancing to the series' final would also be the five candidates to represent Spain at Eurovision. The live show that selected the Spanish entrant and song for Eurovision took place on 29 January 2018. Alfred García and Amaia Romero were selected with the song "Tu canción".
The ninth series turned into a media success in Spain, which was compared to the success of the original series of Operación Triunfo sixteen years before. Some of the contestants from this series such as Amaia Romero, Alfred García, Aitana, Miriam Rodríguez, Ana Guerra, Cepeda, Agoney, Mimi Doblas, Roi Méndez, Raoul Vázquez or Mireya Bravo went on to launch solo projects.

Headmaster, judges and presenter

On 18 July 2017, Noemí Galera, who had appeared as a member of the jury panel on previous seasons, was announced as the new "headmaster" of the Academy. On 28 August 2017, it was revealed that the jury panel would consist of three regular judges and a fourth guest judge. The three regular judges were singer, songwriter and producer Mónica Naranjo, marketing director Joe Pérez-Orive and music executive and producer Manuel Martos, who were accompanied every week by a guest panelist from the music industry. On 30 August 2017, it was announced that Roberto Leal would debut as host of Operación Triunfo.

Auditions

Open casting auditions began on 14 June 2017 in Barcelona and concluded on 18 July 2017 in Madrid. The minimum age to audition was 18.
LocationDateVenue
Barcelona14 June 2017Palau Sant Jordi
Las Palmas21 June 2017Auditorio Alfredo Kraus
Palma26 June 2017Auditorium de Palma de Mallorca
Valencia28 June 2017City of Arts and Sciences
Santiago de Compostela3 July 2017Palacio de Congresos e Exposicións de Galicia
Bilbao5 July 2017Bilbao Exhibition Centre
Granada10 July 2017Palacio de Congresos de Granada
Seville13 July 2017Fibes
Madrid18 July 2017ETS de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas

After the open auditions, 81 candidates were called for a closed-door audition on 20 and 21 September 2017. 18 candidates advanced to the introduction live show or Gala 0, where the 16 official contestants who entered the Academy were selected.

Contestants

The 18 contestants that would appear on the introduction live show or Gala 0 were announced on 20 October 2017.
ContestantAgeResidenceEpisode of eliminationPlace finished
Amaia18Pamplona, NavarreGala FinalWinner
Aitana18Sant Climent de Llobregat, CataloniaGala FinalRunner-up
Miriam21Pontedeume, GaliciaGala Final3rd
Alfred20El Prat de Llobregat, CataloniaGala Final4th
Ana Guerra23San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary IslandsGala Final5th
Agoney21Adeje, Canary IslandsGala 126th
Roi24Santiago de Compostela, GaliciaGala 117th
Nerea18Gavà, CataloniaGala 108th
Cepeda28Ourense, GaliciaGala 99th
Raoul20Montgat, CataloniaGala 810th
Mireya20Alhaurín de la Torre, AndalusiaGala 711th
Ricky31Palma, MallorcaGala 612th
Marina19Montequinto, AndalusiaGala 513th
Thalía18Malpartida de Plasencia, ExtremaduraGala 414th
Juan Antonio23Bilbao, Basque CountryGala 315th
Mimi25Huétor-Tájar, AndalusiaGala 216th
João21Madrid, MadridGala 0Not selected
Mario21Madrid, MadridGala 0Not selected

''Galas''

The Galas or live shows began on 23 October 2017. In the introduction live show or Gala 0, 18 candidates were presented to enter the "Academy." Each contestant performed a cover version of a popular song of their choice, and two of the candidates were eliminated. For the regular galas, the contestants are assigned a popular song to perform in a duet or solo. The audience votes for their favourite performer, and the contestant with the most votes is exempt for nominations. The jury panel comments on the performances and nominates four contestants for eviction. The Academy's staff meeting saves one of the nominees, and the safe contestants save another of the nominees. The two remaining nominees prepare the performance of a song of their choice each for next week's live show, where one of the contestants will be saved by the audience via televote, sms and app voting. Each gala features a guest judge and guest performers.

Results summary

;Colour key

Gala 0 (23 October 2017)

ContestantOrderSongResult
Aitana1"Bang Bang"Saved by the jury
Mario2"Sofia"Eliminated
Miriam3"No te pude retener"Saved by the jury
Agoney4"Purple Rain"Saved by the jury
Alfred5"Georgia on My Mind"Saved by the jury
Mimi6"Don't Cha"Saved by the public vote
Juan Antonio7"Pasos de cero"Saved by the jury
Thalía8"Break Free"Saved by the Academy's staff
Cepeda9"Tú me obligaste"Saved by the jury
Marina10"Girl on Fire"Saved by the jury
Ricky11"Adventure of a Lifetime"Saved by the jury
Mireya12"Hoy"Saved by the jury
Raoul13"Catch & Release"Saved by the jury
João14"Stand by Me"Eliminated
Nerea15"Qué hay más allá"Saved by the jury
Amaia16"Starman"Saved by the Academy's staff
Ana Guerra17"Cómo te atreves"Saved by the jury
Roi18"Don't Worry"Saved by the jury

Gala 1 (30 October 2017)

ContestantOrderSongResult
Miriam1"Runnin' "Saved by the jury
Agoney1"Runnin' "Saved by the jury
Cepeda2"No puedo vivir sin ti"Saved by the jury
Aitana2"No puedo vivir sin ti"Favourite of the audience
Roi3"Tu enemigo"Nominated by the jury; saved by contestants
Ricky3"Tu enemigo"Nominated by the jury; up for elimination
Raoul4"Cake by the Ocean"Saved by the jury
Thalía4"Cake by the Ocean"Saved by the jury
Nerea5"Las cuatro y diez"Saved by the jury
Amaia5"Las cuatro y diez"Saved by the jury
Ana Guerra6"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"Nominated by the jury; saved by the Academy's staff
Mimi6"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"Nominated by the jury; up for elimination
Mireya7"¡Corre!"Saved by the jury
Juan Antonio7"¡Corre!"Saved by the jury
Marina8"Don't Dream It's Over"Saved by the jury
Alfred8"Don't Dream It's Over"Saved by the jury

Gala 2 (6 November 2017)

From this week, voting for the favourite of the audience was put on hold for the final stretch of the series, and no contestant was exempt for nominations.
This episode determined the first four contestants that qualified for the final. Each of the four members of the jury panel gave marks to the contestants. The three contestants with the highest score were saved. The Academy's staff saved a fourth contestant. The two remaining contestants were up for elimination.
In the final, the winner of the series was decided by public vote. Each finalist performed a popular song of their choice, and after that, the first round of voting ended. The two finalists with the fewest votes were eliminated. A second round of voting began to determine the winner of the series, and the three remaining finalists performed the song they had sung on "Gala 0".

Gala de Navidad (25 December 2017)

On 25 December 2017 a Christmas special aired on La 1, where the sixteen official contestants of the series performed together with some of the contestants from the original series of Operación Triunfo.
ContestantOrderSeries 1 partnerSong
Ana Guerra1Gisela
Verónica Romero		"Lady Marmalade"
Mimi1Gisela
Verónica Romero		"Lady Marmalade"
Alfred2Naím Thomas"Adoro"
Aitana3Natalia"Walking on Sunshine"
Nerea4Àlex Casademunt"Vivo por ella"
Raoul5Alejandro Parreño"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
Cepeda6Manu Tenorio"Lucía"
Agoney7Gisela"Somebody Else's Guy"
Juan Antonio8Àlex Casademunt
Javián		"Corazón espinado"
Ricky8Àlex Casademunt
Javián		"Corazón espinado"
Mireya9Nuria Fergó"Noches de bohemia"
Roi10Verónica Romero"I Finally Found Someone"
Marina11Geno Machado
Natalia		"Déjame soñar"
Thalía11Geno Machado
Natalia		"Déjame soñar"
Miriam12Javián"Te quiero, te quiero"
Amaia13Rosa López"Gracias por la música"

Gala Eurovisión (29 January 2018)

The five finalists performed original songs with the goal of representing Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Each finalist was allocated a song to be performed solo, three songs were allocated to duet combinations which included the sixth-placed contestant Agoney, and "Camina" was a candidate song performed by the five finalists. The Spanish entry for Eurovision was decided by public vote. After a first round of voting, the three entries with the most votes from the public advanced to a second round of voting. In the second round, the Spanish entry was selected by public vote.
An extra special live show aired on 13 February 2018, with the audience's favourite performances of the five finalists, three group performances, and previously unaired moments of the contestants.
OrderSongContestant
1"Camina"All
2"Runnin' "Miriam
2"Runnin' "Agoney
3"Issues"Aitana
4"¿A quién le importa?"All
5"Don't Dream It's Over"Alfred
5"Don't Dream It's Over"Marina
6"What About Us"Miriam
7"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"Ana Guerra
7"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"Mimi
8"Shake It Out"Amaia
9"Lo malo"Aitana
9"Lo malo"Ana Guerra
10"Shape of You"Amaia
10"Shape of You"Roi
11"No puedo vivir sin ti"Aitana
11"No puedo vivir sin ti"Cepeda
12"La revolución sexual"All
13"Tu canción"Alfred
13"Tu canción"Amaia
14"City of Stars"Alfred
14"City of Stars"Amaia

Tour

Following the finale, all 16 contestants reunited for a tour across arenas and stadiums in Spain, performing live to sell out audiences. A DVD+CD of the first concert of the tour in Barcelona was released in June 2018.

Ratings