Checking in on Spain's Operación Triunfo

A few weeks ago Brian wrote about Chipper Cooke, the out gay American singer competing on the Spanish television talent competition known as Operación Triunfo.

Chipper caused quite a stir last month when, after a performance, his Spanish husband came out onstage, gave him roses and kissed him. It was a beautifully romantic moment, and the studio audience wildly (and in some cases tearfully) cheered the two men on.

Apparently viewers at home were also cheering them on because based upon call in votes, Chipper has consistently been one of the most popular contestants on the show.

The original field of twenty Operación Triunfo contestants has been whittled down to nine. Chipper is still kicking, and also competing are Iván Santos & Manu Castellano.

Iván Santos (left) & Manu Castellano (right).

Adding to the gay interest quotient on Operación Triunfo, the host - their functional counterpart to Ryan Seacrest - is the very handsome and openly gay Jesús Vázquez. Vázquez started out as a male model, but now is one of Spain's most popular TV personalities.

Vázquez today (left) & and from his modeling days

All of this makes me wish I lived in Spain. Or at the least it makes me wish we got a subtitled version of Operación Triunfo over here in the states.

There's a scattering of YouTube clips out there that might be of interest, so I'm providing some links below. A highlight for me is Chipper's "A Song For You."

Chipper sings "A Song for You"

Chipper & Ivan sing "Crazy"

Manu sings "Unfaithful"

We'd love to try and provide more coverage for this season's Operacion Triunfo right here on AfterElton.com, but sadly no one on staff speaks Spanish. If you have any additional info on this show, Chipper, or the other contestants we'd love to hear from you-- so please share in the comments.

And very special thanks to Oscar for providing us with an update!