There are only a few weeks left before Eurovision 2023, the most important music competition in Europe, begins. With Blanca Paloma and her EaEa, Spain is at the top of the stakes to win the festival this year. However, she might not have been the only Spaniard to set foot on the imposing stage. During the galas it is expected that three of the four finalists of the last edition will appear, but they have not counted on Chanel.
Last Monday, the official BBC Eurovision account announced the artists who will perform during the semifinals and the final of Eurovision 2023. To the surprise of Spanish Eurofans, the third classified from the previous edition did not appear on the list. Something that generated a lot of speculation about whether it had been the singer herself who had rejected the invitation. NIUS Diario has been in charge of denying it, assuring that the real reason is that she has not been invited.
After Ukraine’s victory in the 2022 edition, the United Kingdom took over the reins of the organization of the festival due to the impossibility of holding it in a country at war. The BBC is thus in charge, having total freedom in choosing the artists that will take part in the interval acts, the performances that will entertain the intervals.
Among these, is the almost complete TOP 4 of 2023: Kalush Orchestra (winners), Sam Ryder (second) and Cornelia Jakobs (fourth). However, they seem to have forgotten about the third classified, Chanel.
According to the aforementioned media, the reason that the BBC handles internally for which the Catalan would not have been invited is a “creative” issue. Although the British chain has not wanted to make an official statement, NIUS says that “it is nothing personal” against the SloMo singer and that everything seems to be due to the “sensual diva” style, which would not fit with the traditional vision of this edition.
For its part, RTVE wanted to distance itself from the controversy and take a conciliatory tone. “We have nothing to say, except that RTVE has excellent relations with the BBC and with Chanel,” one of its spokespersons told the aforementioned newspaper.
At the time of the announcement, social networks erupted in criticism of the artist herself and her team. The reason is that it was not the first time that the SloMo singer has refused to participate in any important event. The one that generated the most commotion was, without a doubt, her non-performance in the second edition of the event that made her famous, the Benidorm Fest.
However, Chanel wanted to speak out through TikTok comments to defend her team. “If it were up to me, she would be distributing mango juice,” said the singer. With this, she left the ball on the roof of the festival organization.
Among the other invited artists in this edition, there is the international singer Rita Ora, a signing that demonstrates the power of Eurovision to cross more and more borders. Go_A (Ukraine 2020 and 2021), Jamala (winner in 2016 for Ukraine), Mahmood (Italy (2019 and 2022), Netta (winner in 2018 for Israel) and Duncan Lorence (winner in 2019 for the Netherlands), are some of the singers that complete the list.
Although she is not currently listed as an official guest, it would not be the first time that an unannounced surprise artist appears performing in the Eurovision intervals. With this, the singer’s fans have not lost hope of being able to see Chanel interpret the song that made history in Spain.
