Belén Aguilera and Leo Rizzi: When a “no” in ‘Operación Triunfo’ leads to a successful career

If we look at the data recorded during OT 2023from more than 13,000 auditions throughout Spain, around a hundred people manage to reach the final casting, 18 aspire to enter the academy and just 16 full-fledged contestants They manage to be part of each edition.

Some do it for the laughs; many, for the dream of being a singer. A minimal part is able to pass all the phases the first time, but the majority stays along the way while others try their luck again and again, trying to successfully complete that time when they decided to put themselves in front of Noemí Galera and company to take over the long-awaited sticker.

From this last premise, we find, for example, in case of Violet. The one from Motril was at the gates of Gala 0 at OT 2020 and, three years later, she has performed songs like Padam Padam, I Kissed a Girl either Blue Lights in different deliveries of OT 2023. “Now I am much more prepared… That (at that time) she was just 18 years old,” confessed the author of the x come during Hugo Cobo’s visit. From this season that has just ended, we also find Ed, the young man who, after appearing at the OT casting on several occasions, this year became one of the 18 candidates for the talent show presented by Chenoa in Prime Video.

In any case and generally, It’s not so much because of a lack of talent; but luck. A very fine line separates “yes” from “no” —we must keep in mind that it is still a reality television format in which a wide range of different personalities, timbres and registers are sought for a narrow range, 16 people who fit a certain profile—and, in this type of process, it is much more likely to be rejected than accepted.

Rejection as an opportunity to turn the tables

Despite everything, this twelfth edition of Triumph operation has also served to show that The ways to dedicate yourself to music are as varied as they are legitimate. That a “not now” (momentary) is not synonymous with “never.” And what’s more, a no in time may lead to one of your songs being considered for a Song Cast in the long run, as precisely happened to Leo Rizzi and his poppies, song performed by Paul Thin and Alvaro Mayo at Gala 8.

As he explained during his visit, The Uruguayan auditioned for OT 2018 and managed to advance to the final casting. “I was signed (by a record company) at that time and I went ahead with everything; I didn’t care. I got there and they told me: no.” And, if there is a record contract involved, you cannot participate in the contest.

At the same level we could classify Belén Aguilera, whose song Mine sounded on the piano and in Chiara’s voice during Gala 6. For the Catalan, it was “a blast”, like closing a circle and a way to confirm that her way of succeeding in music was not through talent showalthough in 2017 he thought otherwise when he showed up for the auditions.

“When the OT 2017 edition began, my musical career began and, with it, my submission to the contest. And also with her, my rejection. The first thing I got was rejection and at the same time, I started releasing music and undertaking my project alone and, over the years, that rejection has turned into success in this way. For me, that has been the message I take away. To this day, I think about it and say ‘damn, you really saved yourself’, because I wouldn’t have been able to expose myself to that at 20 years old, when I thought it was an opportunity and I had no idea about social pressure or everything. what it entailed. For me, it was taking advantage of an opportunity, but my real opportunity was to be rejected,” he confessed to us during the interview he gave us at Nevalia 2024.

And like Leo Rizzi and Belén Aguilera, there are a thousand more emerging artists who have managed to develop (and will develop) their careers outside the framework of this type of entertainment programs. Likewise, it is worth remembering that Marina Reche was the one who wanted above all to enter OT 2018 and the one who managed to do it was his sister Alba. Five years later, the young woman has made a name for herself in the industry with her EP Clarity.