The ninth series of , also known as Operación Triunfo 2017, aired on La 1 from 23 October 2017 to 5 February 2018, presented by Roberto Leal. It was the first season broadcast by (RTVE), which aired the first three seasons, in thirteen years. Seasons 4–8 of Operación Triunfo aired on Telecinco, which discontinued the series in 2011 due to declining ratings. RTVE approved to revive the series with a budget of 10.2 million euros.
In addition to the Galas or weekly live shows on La 1, daily recap shows aired on Clan, and the side show El Chat aired on La 1 after each weekly Gala, hosted by Noemí Galera. The activities of the contestants at "The Academy" or La Academia were streamed live via YouTube and the subscription platform Sky España.
Amaia Romero was announced the winner on 5 February 2018. Aitana Ocaña came second. Miriam Rodríguez ranked third, Alfred García fourth and fifth place went to Ana Guerra.
On 4 December 2017, during sixth week's live show or "Gala 6", it was announced that the series would serve as the platform to select the Spanish entrant at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. On 20 December 2017, TVE announced that the five contestants that would succeed in advancing to the series' final would also be the five candidates to represent Spain at Eurovision. The live show that selected the Spanish entrant and song for Eurovision took place on 29 January 2018. Alfred García and Amaia Romero were selected with the song "Tu canción".
The ninth series turned into a media success in Spain, which was compared to the success of the original series of Operación Triunfo sixteen years before. Some of the contestants from this series such as Amaia Romero, Alfred García, Aitana, Miriam Rodríguez, Ana Guerra, Cepeda, Agoney, Mimi Doblas, Roi Méndez, Raoul Vázquez or Mireya Bravo went on to launch solo projects.
Headmaster, judges and presenter On 18 July 2017, Noemí Galera, who had appeared as a member of the jury panel on previous seasons, was announced as the new "headmaster" of the Academy. On 28 August 2017, it was revealed that the jury panel would consist of three regular judges and a fourth guest judge. The three regular judges were singer, songwriter and producer Mónica Naranjo, marketing director Joe Pérez-Orive and music executive and producer Manuel Martos, who were accompanied every week by a guest panelist from the music industry. On 30 August 2017, it was announced that Roberto Leal would debut as host of Operación Triunfo.
Auditions Open casting auditions began on 14 June 2017 in Barcelona and concluded on 18 July 2017 in Madrid. The minimum age to audition was 18.
+Summary of open auditions Location Date Venue Barcelona 14 June 2017 Palau Sant Jordi Las Palmas 21 June 2017 Auditorio Alfredo Kraus Palma 26 June 2017 Auditorium de Palma de Mallorca Valencia 28 June 2017 City of Arts and Sciences Santiago de Compostela 3 July 2017 Palacio de Congresos e Exposicións de Galicia Bilbao 5 July 2017 Bilbao Exhibition Centre Granada 10 July 2017 Palacio de Congresos de Granada Seville 13 July 2017 Fibes Madrid 18 July 2017 ETS de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas
After the open auditions, 81 candidates were called for a closed-door audition on 20 and 21 September 2017. 18 candidates advanced to the introduction live show or Gala 0, where the 16 official contestants who entered the Academy were selected.
Contestants The 18 contestants that would appear on the introduction live show or Gala 0 were announced on 20 October 2017.
Contestant Age Residence Episode of eviction Place finished Amaia 18Amaia celebrated her 19th birthday shortly after Gala 9. PamplonaFinal GalaWinner Aitana 18 Sant Climent de LlobregatRunner-up Miriam 21 Pontedeume 3rd Alfred 20 El Prat de Llobregat 4th Ana Guerra 23 San Cristóbal de La Laguna 5th Agoney 21 Adeje Gala 12 6th Roi 24 Santiago de Compostela Gala 11 7th Nerea 18 Gavà Gala 10 8th Cepeda 28 Ourense Gala 9 9th Raoul20 Montgat Gala 8 10th Mireya Alhaurín de la Torre Gala 7 11th Ricky 31 Palma Gala 6 12th Marina 19 Montequinto (Dos Hermanas) Gala 5 13th Thalía 18 Malpartida de Plasencia Gala 4 14th Juan Antonio 23 Bilbao Gala 3 15th Mimi 25 Huétor-Tájar Gala 2 16th João21MadridGala 0Not selected Mario
Galas The Galas or live shows began on 23 October 2017. In the introduction live show or Gala 0, 18 candidates were presented to enter the "Academy." Each contestant performed a cover version of a popular song of their choice, and two of the candidates were eliminated. For the regular galas, the contestants are assigned a popular song to perform in a duet or solo. The audience votes for their favourite performer, and the contestant with the most votes is exempt for nominations. The jury panel comments on the performances and nominates four contestants for eviction. The Academy's staff meeting saves one of the nominees, and the safe contestants save another of the nominees. The two remaining nominees prepare the performance of a song of their choice each for next week's live show, where one of the contestants will be saved by the audience via televote, sms and app voting. Each gala features a guest judge and guest performers.
Results summary Colour key –The contestant was the weekly public's favourite and was exempt for nominations. –The contestant was up for the nomination but was saved by the teachers. –The contestant was up for the nomination but was saved by the contestants. –The contestant was nominated to leave the academy. –The contestant was up for the eviction but was immediately saved by the public votes. Gala 0 Gala 1 Gala 2 Gala 3 Gala 4 Gala 5 Gala 6 Gala 7 Gala 8 Gala 9 Gala 10 Gala 11 Gala 12 FinalAmaiaSaved SavedFavouriteFavourite Saved SavedFavourite Saved Saved Saved Saved SavedMark: 10 Finalist WinnerAitana SavedFavouriteSaved Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved SavedFavouriteSavedSavedMark: 8.5 Finalist Runner-upMiriam Saved Saved Saved SavedSavedSavedSaved Saved SavedSaved SavedSavedMark: 9 Finalist 3rd PlaceAlfred Saved Saved Saved SavedFavouriteFavourite SavedSavedSavedSavedSavedSavedMark: 8.75 Finalist 4th PlaceAna Saved SavedSaved Saved Saved Saved SavedSavedFavourite SavedNominatedNominatedMark: 7.25 Finalist5th PlaceAgoney Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved SavedNominated SavedNominatedMark: 8.25 EliminatedRoi SavedSavedNominated Saved Saved SavedSavedFavouriteNominated SavedNominatedEliminatedNerea Saved Saved SavedSaved Saved Saved Saved Saved SavedNominatedEliminatedCepeda Saved Saved SavedNominated SavedNominatedNominatedNominatedNominatedEliminatedRaoul Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved SavedNominatedEliminatedMireya Saved Saved Saved SavedNominated SavedNominatedEliminatedRicky SavedNominated Saved SavedSavedNominatedEliminatedMarina Saved Saved SavedSavedNominatedEliminatedThalíaSaved Saved SavedNominatedEliminatedJuan Antonio Saved SavedNominatedEliminatedMimiSavedNominatedEliminated JoãoEliminated MarioEliminated Up forelimination AmaiaJoaoMarioMimiThalíaAnaMimiRickyRoiAitanaAnaJuan AntonioRoiCepedaMarinaNereaThalíaMarinaMireyaMiriamRickyAgoneyCepedaMiriamRickyCepedaMireyaMiriamRoiAlfredAnaCepedaRaoulAgoneyAlfredCepedaRoiAgoneyAlfredMiriamNereaAitanaAlfredAnaRoiAitanaAgoneyAnaNoneAmaia46%to win(out of 3) Saved bythe teachers ThalíaAmaiaAnaAitanaNereaMiriamAgoneyRoiAlfredAgoneyMiriamAlfredAitanaNone Saved bythe contestantsNoneRoi7 of 13 votesto save Ana7 of 12 votesto save Marina6 of 11 votesto save Ricky7 of 10 votesto save Miriam5 of 9 votesto save Miriam4 of 8 votesto saveAna3* of 7 votesto saveAlfred4 of 6 votesto saveAlfred4 of 5 votesto saveAitana2 of 4 votesto saveNoneNoneAitana42%to win(out of 3) Saved bypublic vote Mimi45%to save None Ricky53%to save Roi91%to save Cepeda69%to save Mireya63%to save Cepeda53%to save Cepeda53%to save Cepeda54%to save Roi73%to save Agoney53%to save Ana51%to save Ana50.3%to save Miriam12%to win(out of 3) Evicted Joao39%to save NoneMimi47%to save Juan Antonio9%to save Thalía31%to save Marina37%to save Ricky47%to save Mireya47%to save Raoul46%to save Cepeda27%to save Nerea47%to save Roi49%to save Agoney49.7%to save Alfred8%to win(out of 5) Mario16%to save Ana7%to win(out of 5)
Gala 0 Musical guests: Mónica Naranjo ("Solo se vive una vez") Rosa López ("Ahora sé quién soy")
+ Gala 0 – 23 October 2017 Contestant Song Result 1 Aitana "Bang Bang" Saved by the jury 2 Mario "Sofia" Proposed by the juryEvicted by the public 3 Miriam "No te pude retener" Saved by the jury 4 Agoney "Purple Rain" Saved by the jury 5 Alfred "Georgia on My Mind" Saved by the jury 6 Mimi "Don't Cha" Proposed by the jurySaved by the public 7 Juan Antonio "Pasos de cero" Saved by the jury 8 Thalía "Break Free" Proposed by the jurySaved by the teachers 9 Cepeda "Tú me obligaste" Saved by the jury 10 Marina "Girl on Fire" Saved by the jury 11 Ricky "Adventure of a Lifetime" Saved by the jury 12 Mireya "Hoy" Saved by the jury 13 Raoul "Catch & Release" Saved by the jury 14 João "Stand by Me" Proposed by the juryEvicted by the public 15 Nerea "Qué hay más allá" Saved by the jury 16 Amaia "Starman" Proposed by the jurySaved by the teachers 17 Ana Guerra "Cómo te atreves" Saved by the jury 18 Roi "Don't Worry" Saved by the jury
Gala 1 Musical guest: Becky G ("Mayores") Guest judge: David Bustamante + Gala 1 – 30 October 2017 Contestant Song Result 1 Miriam"Runnin' (Lose It All)" Saved by the jury Agoney Saved by the jury 2 Cepeda"No puedo vivir sin ti" Saved by the jury Aitana Public's favourite 3 Roi"Tu enemigo" Proposed by the jurySaved by the contestants Ricky Proposed by the juryNominated 4 Raoul"Cake by the Ocean" Saved by the jury Thalía Saved by the jury 5 Nerea"Las cuatro y diez" Saved by the jury Amaia Saved by the jury 6 Ana Guerra"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" Proposed by the jurySaved by the teachers Mimi Proposed by the juryNominated 7 Mireya"¡Corre!" Saved by the jury Juan Antonio Saved by the jury 8 Marina"Don't Dream It's Over" Saved by the jury Alfred Saved by the jury
Gala 2 Group performance: "Te quiero" Musical guest: Morat ("Yo contigo, tú conmigo") (with Cepeda) Guest judge: Wally López
+ Gala 2 – 6 November 2017 Contestant Song ResultUp for eviction 1 Mimi "A-Yo" Evicted by the public 2 Ricky "One Song Glory" Saved by the publicSaved by the juryRegular performances 3 Ana Guerra"Todas las flores" Proposed by the jurySaved by the contestants Amaia Public's favourite 4 Miriam"Malibu" Saved by the jury Roi Proposed by the juryNominated 5 Mireya"Sentir" Saved by the jury Marina Saved by the jury 6 Aitana"Can't Stop the Feeling!" Proposed by the jurySaved by the teachers Agoney Saved by the jury 7 Nerea"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" Saved by the jury Thalía Saved by the jury 8 Cepeda"Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" Saved by the jury Juan Antonio Proposed by the juryNominated 9 Alfred"Everytime You Go Away" Saved by the jury Raoul Saved by the jury
Gala 3 Group performance: "I'm Still Standing" Musical guests: Blas Cantó ("In Your Bed") India Martínez ("Aguasanta") Guest judge: Julia Gómez Cora
+ Gala 3 – 13 November 2017 Contestant Song ResultUp for eviction 1 Juan Antonio "A Puro Dolor" Evicted by the public 2 Roi "When We Were Young" Saved by the publicSaved by the juryRegular performances 3 Mireya"La quiero a morir" Saved by the jury Raoul Saved by the jury 4 Aitana "Issues" Saved by the jury 5 Agoney"Mientes" Saved by the jury Ricky Saved by the jury 6 Nerea"Cuídate" Proposed by the jurySaved by the teachers Ana Guerra Saved by the jury 7 Thalía"Euphoria" Proposed by the juryNominated Miriam Saved by the jury 8 Marina"Complicidad" Proposed by the jurySaved by the contestants Cepeda Proposed by the juryNominated 9 Amaia"City of Stars" Public's favourite Alfred Saved by the jury
Gala 4 Group performance: "Eres tú" Musical guests: Ruth Lorenzo ("Good Girls Don't Lie") Maldita Nerea ("Cuando todas las historias se acaban") (with Ana Guerra) Guest judge: Alejandro Parreño