Checking in on Spain's Operación Triunfo

Hey, I'm glad to see some news from Spain here! I am actually spanish...

Chipper is without any doubt the best singer of this edition of OT, he can make sense even of the most silly song converting it into his own. On the last show he sung in spanish a song by Alejandro Sanz who's known from his great amount of lyrics... he had trouble learning it by heart but Chipper did it once again, he sung beautifully and with great expression in a language he doesn't almost speak.

Even though I think the program is now in the phase of undermine him, but they do this always. Chipper is just too good for the show.

I didn't know Manu was openly gay... maybe I missed something.

Ivan says he has a girlfriend but he is a real stage queen... and can be very nasty when he starts critizicing the other contestants. He can as well be very funny. Has a good voice but he can't get really to the point of compromise into a song as Chipper does so it remains a bit impersonal and superficial. He is nominated this week.

The show had as well a lesbian contestant, she calls Tania G. and left the show two weels ago.

Greetings!

Yes we are envious of the Spaniards. The country is beautiful, the men are gorgeous and it's a damn good place to be gay compared to much of the U.S.

But I mean come on, the only thing that's ridiculous is that there aren't more gay people on American Idol. I mean you think about the kind of people that are into doing this kind of thing and you generally turn up a larger proportion of gays than in the general population. But it speaks volumes that in Spain the gays are visible.

Chipper and his husband kissing was just beautiful. But I couldn't imagine this sort of thing happening on Idol without causing epic controvery over here.

The only different this season with season before is openness. Last season there were three gay contestants but only one came out (after he was evicted) the other two never came out till now (but never claimed to be straight either).

This season are two openly gay contestants, Chipper and Iván (well three because Tania G is a lesbian). Manu is not openly gay (at least on the show) he is ver young (17) and from a small village.

But even more than in the gay contestants, the situation about gays in spains shows better in the Pablo-Ivan relationships. Pablo is straight (he has a beautiful girlfriend), and Iván is always flirting an joking with him, but Pablo never gets upset with that.

Manu and Chipper are the great favourites to win, an in my opinion they are the best singers by far

ok! it may sound good from outside. but this years, this program is the worst ever. Only chipper and manu sing good.

the rest... nothing to do

for people outside spain. i tell you that this year it is famous because of the jury. People tune in only to see how one man from the jury says nasty things to the participants. he always criticise them, as if they were shit, so that people can laugh for a while ( And it is true)

Chipper was this last weeks favourite. and the jury told him he did wriong and asked him if he thinks he would be favourite if he was on american idol instead of the spanish version!

i dont know, but the quality is so poor this year here, that he sounds, by far, a lot better than the rest. Manu also sings good, but lacks of the rest of the things.

I've finally found Jesus!

Guillermo's Media Guillotine: Entertainment, journalism, politics, and popular culture.

http://springintoaction.typepad.com

Being able to watch Chipper  on Operacion Triunfo has been one of the highlights of my year in Spain. And  I LOVE this country, so that says mucho! This week he will dance and sing to "I Believe in Miracles" (.. so where´s HE from, that sexy thing?) The 70´s never looked this good...!

I had always hated Operación Triunfo... and then there was Chipper Cooke. He is not a proper contestant, he is more like a teacher. Best contestant ever and light years away from the second best, whoever that is.

About the gay thing: don't forget that this year's academy director, Ángel Llacer, is openly gay too (Ángel is a common man's name in Spain, by the way, as Angelo is in Italian, for instance). Rumour says that he might have had an affair with Iván, but nobody can confirm that.

Greetings from Barcelona!

I don't care whether Chipper is gay or not. He can sing, more or less, which given the circumstances is something in his favour as the most of them would look a bit sad even at the local karaoke bar.

 No star quality. Normal gay guy who kisses his husband after a couple of months without seeing him. Shock. Horror.

Basically they are all crap. I quite like Virginia, if she could sing in tune when on stage it would certainly help but I think those eyes are going to put even gorgeous Mr Vazquez into the background.

Stanley Miller Cooke III - aka Chipper - eventually came third in Spain's Operación Triunfo, and after a hug and a kiss with husband Carlos, drove off in his free Fiat Bravo. Nonetheless, he's won a lot of hearts, not least in the town of Alzira in the Valencia region, which decided to "adopt" him, and held a huge street party to cheer him on during the final.



It's been heartwarming to see the Spanish public get so solidly behind this openly gay man, who's only just made his home here, and in TV terms, even for here, a further step forward in the representation of gay people and relationships.

According to Chipper, Spain "is my country now". But none of his American family came to cheer him on. Here in Spain we've heard little about his past in the US, other than that he is originally from Virginia, and that he appeared in a production of Rent. He met his husband while working in Japan, but apart from that little has been said.

Search the internet, and you will find clues to his past life (it appears there's nothing he need be ashamed of), and possible reasons why there wasn't a planeload of friends and relatives flying over here to support him. But he's got a big new family here now, and somehow I suspect he'll be appearing at a lot of gay events in Spain over the coming years.  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing him perform live.

Tim

www.gaytravellersnetwork.com