It is a drama to be nominated in Operación Triunfo, but it is even more dramatic to receive 0 salvation votes from your colleagues, while your rivals take them all. For Laura Muñoz, Monday was one to forget, and the truth is that neither she nor her singing partner, Carlos, deserved to be designated to leave the Academy. What they did with ‘Sleepless Night’ was more than correct. Carlos may be a Juanjo Bona type profile given his love for folklore, and he will show it sooner or later.
It was fitting to see others in his position. Lucía was voted favorite of the week, but in ‘Training Season’ she was on the fly. Olivia has studied acting classes in London – her English accent is excellent – but, during her performance of ‘Messy’, who she seemed to be playing was Gal Gadot. Tinho and Crespo… we always ask less from guys. And someone nominate their stylists.
Speaking of Juanjo Bona, the Zaragoza native visited the Academy to give a talk and on Monday he performed on set to present ‘Últimamente’, the song that closes his notable debut, ‘Recardelino’ (2025), accompanied by a great choir.
Salma de Diego was the one expelled of the night. His rendition of Pablo López’s ‘My Shoes Know It’ was heartfelt, although out of tune in parts. Artistically, I don’t perceive an interesting proposal either in his voice or in his musical criteria, but I will happily eat my words if he ends up proving the opposite.
Max, who has been saved, is like an out-of-time crooner: misplaced in time, but completely convinced of his role. Cheesy to say the least, but proud. His profile dangerously borders the line between the serious artist and the freak character, and that is precisely where his charm lies. He had the idea of going on stage reciting his own poem and singing a part of ‘Your refuge’ by Pablo Alborán in Catalan. It was “end of year”, yes, but it is the small details that add up and differentiate.
In Gala 3 the evolution of the contestants is more or less evident, but the level of the performances was irregular. Claudia Arenas convinced in ‘Messy’, even vocally she was one of the best of the night, but not her partner Olivia. Guillo Rist and Téyou saved the furniture in ‘Let’s forget’, exciting its author, Guille Milkyway, but he showed more evolution than her because he had to rethink his way of singing. Cristina and María eclipsed Lucía in ‘Training Season’. Judit defended ‘Don’t Leave Me this Way’ by the Communards much better than Guille Toledano.
And then there are Carlos and Laura, who probably gave the best performance of the night vocally and interpretively, but they are the ones now competing to stay at the Academy. Laura was hit with reality: she suffered during the week because ‘Noche en vela’ did not allow her to “show off” and Leire Martínez was correct in her assessment by emphasizing that singing is not always about showing off your voice, but about respecting what the song asks for. However, Laura deserved to put her learning into practice at the Academy, instead of being nominated.
And Carlos, whose folkloric profile gives off vibes of a commercial Rodrigo Cuevas, simply should not be there. His nomination has once again been the result of a deeply subjective observation according to which he has not “transmitted” or “sang from within”, when it seemed exactly the opposite to others. Who will stay? As always, the one who knows how to stand out.
