“I study musical theater in London, I have been living for two years in Sweden and four years in India, where I also attended an American school” or “I lived for three years in Indonesia and now I am studying a double degree in audiovisual communication and journalism” are the cover letters of some of the contestants of Operation Triumph 2025. As expected, the networks have not taken long to uncover your memes and make fun of these introductions, accusing the edition of a certain elitism. The truth is, some satire does fit in an edition in which the average contestant is 19 years old and has barely traveled around the world and learned five languages.
@javierpv_26 Average OT2025 Contestant #operaciontriumph #OT2025 #otgala0 #ot
What is quite ironic is that it is mostly Generation Z that caricatures this model of contestant, because this edition, more than ever, has put the post-millennials in front of the mirror, and not precisely because of the challenge that the participants had to read a wall clock. If we combine Prime Video’s interest in increase subscribers and the eagle eye of Noemí Galera, who has been dedicating herself to casting processes for years, we find a format that considers its greatest asset to attract this generation and turn it into its majority audience.
The members of the generation millennial We are still part of the fans, but we are no longer the focus of interest of the program. Gone are those contestants from the 2000s and that “I was wrong, olé!” of Rosa de España in the middle of a performance. Now the majority of contestants They have already been through several musical competitions and they know what they undergo in the academy. Visits from famous artists, nor a possible tour, are no longer surprising, and they are more aware than ever of the place where they are. The spontaneous, more natural and the more “working class” profiles have disappeared.
As almost all of Spain knows, Bustamante, before pursuing his musical dream,worked in construction with his father in his beloved San Vicente de la Barquera; Not to mention the case of Vero, a hairdressing assistant by training and aerobics instructor by profession. In 2025, a profile like this is almost unthinkablebecause those trajectories are no longer those sought by casting directors and become the discordant note of the edition.
The clearest example this year is what happens with Guille Toledano, head chef who defines himself as an absolute fan of Atlético de Madrid; His presentation during Gala 0 and in the middle of the rest of his companions was the closest that human beings have been to time travel.
Goodbye bricklayer, hello drama student
That “two-thousand” essence, where profiles like Chenoa stood out for their mettle and experience on stage, no longer exists.
The contestants have more training, but not necessarily many kilometers traveled with their orchestra van or nights worked in casino rooms as was the case with Chenoa herself. The everyday in this new edition, total crystallization of the process that has been subordinating the identification of the public (“I could be that one”) to the search for hyperformed virtuosoare contestants who study double degrees, musical theater, are tap dancers or graduates in Spanish dance and have traveled to countless countries.
We are not saying that these characteristics are what guarantee the success or popularity of each contestant. In fact, the latest OT winner is Naiara, an orchestra singer; and in this new edition Guille himself seems to stand out among the favorites every week. Popularity or success aside, what is striking is that the group of contestants has changed, a reflection of a large part of the generation that OT wants to target in 2025.
We are talking about that young audience, mostly university students; a generation responsible for a record number of registrations in 2024, who also studies abroad, knows languages and among his usual leisure is travel more or less recurrently. In this context, how could Tinet Rubira and the entire OT network not design a selection of contestants made tailored for generation Z?
Gone are those first editions of Operación Triunfo where the weekly challenge fell to the colleagues who had to defend a song in English and suffered it as if it were Aramaic. And, yes, back in 2001 the public empathized or felt represented listening to Rosa’s tacky English in “It’s Raining Men”but in the middle of 2025 that has nothing to do with reality and, elitist or not, OT knows it perfectly. They want the representation of a modern and prepared generation, with standard English and twice the qualifications that they then ask for on Linkedin.
Carlos Lozano giving way to a version of Bad Bunny?
This turn and fine-tuning of the contest is not something new.
Yes ok This year it has become more evidentthan ever, it was in 2017 when the true transformation of the program occurred, adapting to the codes of the new generations. That OT 2017 with its 24-hour channel and fuming YouTube chat revolutionized a generation that had not experienced the OT phenomenon before. It was nothing more than the beginning, because OT 2023 arrived from the hand of a streaming platform like Prime Video, sensing the facelift to which they wanted to continue subjecting the format.
On a personal level, I miss Capde, an OT professor who was there until two editions ago, and who already seemed uncomfortable helping the contestants with certain urban rhythmsbut it is true that Operación Triunfo itself has reinvented itself not only from the casting. Pablo Lluch and Vic Mirallas, young, talented and on the same wavelength as the current program, now complete the faculty allowing the students to give free rein to their creativity.
These new teachers do not hesitate to help their participants sing phrases like “I want to eat your butt, I didn’t have breakfast today”: the Amorphous by María Escarmiento In 2018 it was striking, but in this edition covering Bad Bunny is almost the least expected at a Gala 0.
Changing the style, the voting mode, creating an app or updating the jury can renew the format and increase the audience… But in the end the only key is in the contestants. Youth wants to feel view in these contests and that threatening “elitism” comes hand in hand with greater training, and consequently, greater interest in everything that encompasses music. In the first editions we had interpreters; Now they want to be musicians.
There are more and more contestants who are interested in musical production, composition and instrumentalization and in giving that own touch to versions of songs that the public already knows. Participants from recent years such as Natalia Lacunza, Alba Reche or Paul Thin They are precisely those who best represent this change in profile. In this new edition, the number of applicants who seek to give their touch continues to increase, both in composition and production, either with a style that opts for the musical (as is the case with Max) or creating your version of the music giant that is “The place of my recreation” (chosen by Claudia during her nomination at Gala 2).
Only time will tell if any of these contestants have a star power how to collect the listening parties at 16 euros a la Aitana: it will depend on the potential of the boys. What is clear is that Operación Triunfo has gone from being the “American dream” of those who gurgled in the shower to a selection process full of hyper-educated young people. As if to reproach them that the program is not a reflection of young Spanish society.
Image | Prime Video
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Xataka
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Lara Ben-Ameur
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