On October 22, 2001, the first edition of Triumph operation becoming the television showcase for an entire generation of young people who showed their way of fighting for a dream: that of becoming a singer.

23 years later, The talent contestants continue to serve as a perfect example of their contemporaries. Not everyone, of course, only those who are willing to work hard to achieve a goal in life. Both the first and current participants agree on this, but there are many other characteristics in which they do not.

If we were to review What was happening at the Academy David Bisbal, Pink, Chenoa and Bustamante We would be surprised by many attitudes, knowledge and decisions that no longer occur now.. Because times have changed, because we have evolved (and devolved in other aspects) and who better to demonstrate it than those exemplary prototypes that have been the ‘triumphs’?

Below we compare what was happening between young people in the early 2000s and those in the 20s:

English (and the songs that were sung)

If there is a notable difference between the first triumphs and the current ones, it is the level of English with which they are able to sing their songs. Bisbal’s pronunciation problems at the Academy remained in our collective memory when he had to sing that When a month loves a woman.

But he wasn’t the only one, Rosa or Bustamante had a terrible time when they were given lyrics in the aforementioned language and most of the contestants trembled when they heard that they had to take English tests. A difficulty with English that could be extrapolated to the majority of the youth of those years.

However, this lack has changed a lot over time. In education, they put their efforts into English and parents also opted for that subject as indispensable. The result? That Today’s young people speak it almost better than Spanish.

So, so much Martin, Lucas, Ruslana, Naiara, Juanjo and Paul Thin – like the rest of the contestants OT 2023– They were delighted with every Anglo-Saxon topic that came to them.

Something that has allowed the variety of musical themes to be much greater than in the first editions. Or, at the very least, that language barrier no longer exists.

The evolution of choreography and styling

Another of the pending issues that the first triumphs showed were the basic choreographies they did at each gala. If we had to take into account that they were faced with very young singers who were beginning to control their voices, the dancing was an added complication that they preferred to leave in the background.

Some of the first choreographies, somewhat more elaborate, were done by Edurne in 2005:

But they have little or nothing to do now with the dances that today’s ‘triumphants’ do. That with the same age as their predecessors, and the same complexity when it comes to singing and dancing, they face much greater challenges.

Let’s see the choreography that Nia scored at the fifth gala of OT 2020 to the cry of run the world:

An evolution that is also reflected perfectly in all of their wardrobes. This is what Verónica Febrero – the head of styling at OT 2023– who told us how the genre of the songs and the style of each contestant marks their looks at each gala. But, above all, the choreography that they have marked.

LGTBI universe and feminism

If we put on the “glasses” of today and look at the past, when we enter the Academy of 2001 or 2002 we would be struck by the fact that there was little (or nothing) talked about the LGTBI universe and that all the couples that came out of it were heteronormative.

Not only that, but in the conversations they had or the concerns they expressed, they touched on very few protest topics.

While the love interests of the current triumphs are much more diverse. Just as they also question and have the critical capacity to discuss song lyrics.

They were famous debates by Miki Nuñez and María Escarmiento with the teachers of OT 2018 on the subject of Mecano that they got ‘Stay in Madrid’ and that it contained the word “mariconez”:

Not only that, but their conversations also include the LGTBI universe, just as they are concerned about equality and both boys and girls have deep-rooted feminism.

They were greatly applauded conversations between Amaia and Alfred (OT 2017) in which they spoke of the “patriarchal” nature of female hair removal, of freedom of choice in motherhood and other daily issues that affect women in a world of male privilege.

Treatment of judges and teachers

But OT is not only a reflection of our young people, it is also a reflection of society in general. And proof of this are the judges and teachers. Just as our parents say that in their school years they received punishments that would be unthinkable now, In the Academy there were also humiliating situations towards the contestants that would currently be totally censored.

A few days ago, for example, Nina’s anger at Vega went viral again (OT 2) that exceeded degrading limits:

But that remains child’s play if we remember the multiple humiliations that all the contestants who encountered him had to go through Risto Mejide on the jury.

A figure who gave an audience, for that very reason: for shaming and denigrating the insecure young people who stood before him with their future in their hands. But currently, that same audience would sanction even the program’s board if it allowed it:

Chenoa as presenter

The final culmination of this evolution experienced by the contestants of Triumph operation Chenoa stars. She was one of the most famous participants of the first edition, she continued singing, serving as a jury in other talents and ended up presenting the same program that launched her to stardom.

Therefore, the format has also grown, betting on a master of ceremonies who was not a typical presenter, but who understood and empathized with each and every one of the figures that are in front of the camera.