Operación Triunfo (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Operación Triunfo is a reality-show talent contest which first aired on Spain's TVE network in 2001. A kind of cross between Pop Idol and Big Brother, the show aimed to find the country's next solo singing sensation, putting a selection of hopefuls through their paces by getting them to sing a variety of cover versions of popular songs (mainly in Spanish and English, but also in Italian), with tutoring from various professionals, and a headmaster like a school (first 3 series, Nina, 4 and 5 Kike Santander).

During the first three series hosted by TVE, the show was used to select the singer and song that represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest. The three finalists sang three songs each, and the public voted the song they liked the most.

The show was not an instant ratings-winner, but later ran to at least three series. Finalists were whittled down by a combination of votes from "industry figures" and the general public. The first series participants soon became media stars, but the success dismished with subsequent editions. The show became a worldwide brand known as Star Academy.

Most Representative Participants

In 2006, Telecinco compiled a list of the top 12 most successful contestants ever from Operación Triunfo. It was compiled by the teachers and judges from previous series, and the list is as follows:

1. David Bisbal - 1st series 2nd (due to success in America)
2. Chenoa - 1st series 4th (due to winning Eurobest in 2003)
3. Manuel Carrasco - 2nd series 2nd (due to having 2 multi platinum albums and success in South America)
4. Natalia - 1st series 14th (due to having more albums than everyone else, and being big in the UK)
5. Rosa - 1st series 1st (due to her success in Eurovision, and 3 successful albums)
6. David Bustamante - 1st series 3rd (due to 3 successful albums)
7. Soraya Arnelas - 4th series 2nd (due to winning the World Song Contest with Mi Mundo sin Ti)
8. Elena Gadel - 2nd series 11th (due to the success of Lunae, and for winning best actress at Spain's theatre awards in 2005)
9. Mai Meneses - 2nd series 17th (Spain's artist revelation in 2006 with her group Nena Daconte)
10. Vega - 2nd series 9th (due to having 2003's biggest selling single in Spain (Grita!)
11. Beth - 2nd series 3rd (due to her success in Eurovision)
12. Gisela - 1st series 8th (due to winning the Viña del Mar Song Contest and her contract with Disney Spain)

No contestants from the unpopular 3rd series are mentioned. It is essential to note that most contestants here are from the first series, which shows how popular it was. Another interesting point to make is that only 1 of the 4 winners are listed (Rosa). The other 3, Ainhoa, Vincente Segui and Sergio Rivero haven't had as much success than many other contestants. This is unlike any other music reality TV show, as normally, only the winner has success afterwards.

First series (2002)

Finalists:

1. Rosa López
2. David Bisbal
3. David Bustamante
4. Chenoa
5. Manu Tenorio
6. Verónica Romeo

All three finalists of the first series released debut albums, but while Rosa (accompanied by some fellow contenders as backing singers) scored seventh place in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Europe's Living a Celebration", and had notable success with her albums, it was Bisbal who went on to international success, even winning a Latino Grammy as best newcomer for his album Corazón Latino.

Although coming 14th in this series, one of the most succeessful ever contestants to come from Operación Triunfo has been Natalia. With 11 singles, and 4 albums, no singer from the show has ever managed to match her. Also, she was the first ever artist from Operación to have a single released in the United Kingdom.

Other participants of this first edition (Chenoa, Verónica and Manu Tenorio) have also launched successful solo careers. Also, Gisela, got a contract with Disney Spain and has started a career in musical theater.

Second series (2003)

Finalists:

1. Ainhoa
2. Manuel Carrasco - The most successful (sales-wise) singer of this edition.
3. Beth - She was sent to the Eurovision Song Contest, where she scored 8th place with the song Dime, and has experienced better success than the contest's winner.

The second series of Operación Triunfo became an anomole in the category of popular reality TV music shows. First of all, although being the second series, it ended up becoming more popular than the preceding series. Second of all, the winner had very little success after the show. Last of all, many contestants who didn't do well had massive success across Europe and South America, not just in Spain:

The first person out of the show, Mai Meneses, shocked the music world in 2006 when herself and a childhood friend released an album, He Perdido Los Zapatos, which some critics hailed as "one of the best albums in Spanish of all time". The group, called Nena Daconte, has sold over a million copies in Spain and reached the Spanish Top 10.

Vega, who came 9th, managed to release the best selling single of 2003 in Spain with her own composition, iGrita!, with over one million copies sold.

Lunae, a pop group consisting of Elena Gadel, Tessa and Marey, (who came 11th, 12th and 13th respectively), released the second most successful single of 2003 in Spain, with the song Hipnotizadas, which was written and produced by Xenomania, who produce for Girls Aloud and Sugababes. It also had massive success over Europe, getting into the Top 10 in France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal. It was set for release in the United Kingdom, but nothing ever came of it.

Third series (2004)

This was the last series hosted by TVE, and the one with the lowest ratings. Finalists:

1. Vicente
2. Ramón - He was sent to the Eurovision Song Contest. He scored 10th place with the song Para llenarme de ti.
3. Miguel Cadenas
4. Davinia

Fourth series (2005)

TVE refused a fourth series, choosing to select its Eurovision Song Contest entry using a national final. The show was then offered to Telecinco, who bought it. This fourth edition started airing on June 2005 and it got better audiences than the third one, but it never reached the awesome results that the first one achieved.

Winners:

1. Sergio Rivero
2. Soraya Arnelas
3. Víctor

Finalists:

1. Idaira
2. Fran Dieli
3. Edurne

Others:

• Guillermo Martín
• Sandra

Sergio, Soraya, Victor, Idaira and Edurne have already recorded their first solo albums. Guillermo Martín, Sandra and Fran Dieli released an album together called "Generacion OT" in July.

Fifth Series (2006)

Visit the OT fitth Series main article: Operación Triunfo Fifth Series

Telecinco announced in May 2006 that the fifth series of the program was to be released in October of 2006.

In July, 25 Telecinco release a TV Show called "Operación Triunfo 2006: Otra Vez en Marcha". In the show sang more of ex-OT artists (Rosa, Soraya Arnelas, Sergio Rivero, Natalia Beth,...) and present the new generation of artist to show in the new version.

The fifth series started on Sunday October 8, 2006 with 18 finalists, but two finalists had to leave and they didn't enter the academy. It's currently causing outrage with the world's press, as one of first two people out that night was the first black person, Claritzel ever to be on the show (and adding salt to the wound, she gave a great performance and had to pull out of last year's show).

Winners

1. Lorena
2. Daniel
3. Leo

Finalist

1. Saray
2. Moritz
3. Jose

Others

• Ismael
• Jorge
• Eva
• Vanessa
• Mayte
• Mercedes
• Cristina
• Jose Antonio
• Xavier
• Encarna

International

Operazione Trionfo Italy

The One: Making a Music Star

In the summer of 2006, the US television network ABC started airing its own version of Operación Triunfo, but cancelled it after the second week's result show due to low ratings. The premiere episode was one of the lowest rated premieres in years. It was shown Tuesdays (live concert) and Wednesdays (live results show) at 10PM ET/PT.

See also

• Star Academy

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