The new Spanish starlet - Soraya Arnelas

One of Spanish reality TV cum talent show Operación Triunfo’s most popular contestants ever, Soraya Arnelas’ name has become, in spite of her best efforts to avoid it, the very definition of ‘media personality’. After the spectacular boom that was the first season, ratings began to fall. It wasn’t until the highest-rated privately owned channel in the country bought the broadcasting rights and decided to ‘revamp’ the show by adding a few elements of dramatism, that things did improve: Obviously, high ratings and morbid, exploitative trash tend to be synonym, and the show became the exasperating, repugnant succession of infantile mind games and pre-baccalaureate level backstabbing that is Big Brother, only this time with songs (ugh!).

These conditions were ideal for a catty, egocentric bitch like Soraya to blossom. A flying stewardess (the very definition of worldly sophistication! ;-P), who had already applied for and been rejected from every other imaginable reality TV show, Soraya became the object of equally intense adoration and hatred from audiences from the very first time she opened her pretty little mouth to praise herself, talk about herself, refer to herself and praise herself… Oh, I had already said that one! :-D Never mind, I’m sure that Miss Arnelas would love to have a chance to sing her own praises twice within the same sentence, LOL. She also showed a particular liking for insulting anyone whom she considered undeserving of her all indispensable approval, and complained about everything. A natural born Alexis Carrington in starlet disguise, in short, she is one of the undisputed divas of the program… even if she didn’t win, which is unfair: she was by far the best singer among the top three contestants, and one of the few people in that season who had any real talent. In fact, Soraya has been blessed with a rich, expressive mezzo voice and a good vocal range.

Soraya’s peculiar antics have, not strangely at all, provided her with enormous publicity and made her the object of intense debate in the media. And it’s only fair: the girl has worked very hard to make her reputation as a total cunt meet everyone's worst expectations. From sending an open letter to her fan club, in which she had the nerve to order the administrators to devote more time and effort to promoting her and her album - in spite of the fact that they were in the middle of their final exams at university and don't get paid a penny for keeping the arrogant cow's site up to date - to barking at her fans because they don't buy enough copies of her records and launching furious verbal attacks against anyone who doesn’t worship the ground she steps on, Soraya has reached new glorious lows with every passing day. Oh, but the Spanish LOVE her ‘extravagant demeanour’ ;-D , and follow her every move with bated breath, which has translated into huge sales.



Just to give you an example, this past summer Soraya was singing at a concert gala on TV, and mispronounced two words – instead of pronouncing ‘por ella’ (for her), she said poyeya… And good God! People went crazy about it and they were even mentioning it in the news! As unbelievable as this is (personally, I couldn’t give credit to my eyes), it only goes to show how popular Soraya is despite (or maybe thanks to) having the manners of a grunting pig and an impossibly bitchy personality.

Although it may seem to some, given the tone of what I have written, that I hate Soraya, nothing could be further from the truth. I actually like all of her singles and adore her superbly bizarre second album, the hilariously named Ochenta's/Eightie’s :-P from 2006 - which is possibly the campest, cheesiest and tackiest collection of trance and house covers of hits from the eighties ever! Needless to say, I love it because it’s incredibly fun! Enjoy! But first, go to buy her records here or here.

Mi Mundo Sin Ti/My World Without You

Soraya’s first single, this song met notable success, hitting number 5 in the Spanish charts and eventually reaching gold status, which is something very rare for a single. It is an inescapable pop song that could be most adequately described as a wave: the verses are slow and simple, there’s a rousing crescendo and the chorus rises like a majestic watery tower, only to fall and repeat the cycle again. Even though it doesn’t really showcase Soraya’s range (most of her singles don’t) it allows the listener to appreciate the beauty in her voice. Video.

Corazón de Fuego/Heart Of Fire

The title track of her début album, from 2004, this song is just perfect. It combines diverse types of Latin American and Spanish folk music, fusing them together with a thumping dance beat that easily molds itself to suit the changes in rhythm and cadence of the song’s different parts. It’s by far my favourite song by Soraya, and even though it wasn't that great a hit, it deserves all of my love. Hopefully it will also have yours! :-) Video.

Because The Night

Who else would have thought about making an aggressive, mindless club anthem of drab pseudo-poetaster Patti Smith’s only tolerable moment? Here you have the answer! It is rumoured that this will be the third single for Soraya’s record Ochenta’s (I laugh every time I read that name – tacky! :-D), which has already been promoted with two covers of goddess Laura Branigan’s Self-Control and Go West’s 1985 hit Call Me. This is simply irresistible, and if you don’t feel compelled to dance to this, you have to go running to the doctor, because you’re close to being declared clinically dead.

Send Me An Angel

This is a cover of the 1983 début single from the Australian New Wave band 'Real Life'. I have never heard the original, but I have to say that I adore this version. So much so that it’s my favourite song in her new album! From the very first synthesizer scales (how retro! :-P), to the very last pre-programmed drums, passing through Soraya’s unbelievably affected vocals, this is as close to Heaven as any dance song will ever get. It’s indispensable!