Say Yay!

"Say Yay!"
Single by Barei
from the album Throw the Dice
Released	25 January 2016
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2015
Genre	Dance-pop R&B
Length	2:56
Label	Gran Sol Universal Music Spain
Writer(s)	Bárbara Reyzábal Rubén Villanueva Víctor Púa Vivó
Barei singles chronology
"Get Up and Go" (2015) "Say Yay!" (2016)
Alternative cover Universal Music Spain release artwork "Say Yay!" Eurovision Song Contest 2016 entry Country Spain Artist(s) Barei Language English Composer(s) Bárbara Reyzábal, Rubén Villanueva, Víctor Púa Vivó Lyricist(s) Bárbara Reyzábal, Rubén Villanueva, Víctor Púa Vivó Finals performance Final result 22nd Final points 77 Appearance chronology ◄ "Amanecer" (2015)

"Say Yay!" is a song performed by Spanish singer Barei and written by herself, Rubén Villanueva and Víctor Púa Vivó. The song represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden.^[1] It is the first ever Spanish Eurovision entry that features no Spanish lyrics. The song was released as a digital download on 25 January 2016 through Gran Sol, reaching number-one on Spanish iTunes. A new version of the song was released on 11 March 2016 via Universal Music Spain. It was included in the re-issue of Barei's 2015 album Throw the Dice.^[2]

Eurovision Song Contest

In December 2015, Barei was announced as one of the six participants of Objetivo Eurovisión.^[3] The show was held on 1 February 2016, where Barei went on to receive top scores from Spanish televoters and the in-studio jury, winning the competition. She then represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, in Stockholm, Sweden.^[1]

Live performances

Barei performed the song live for the first time on Objetivo Eurovisión on 1 February 2016, where she won the competition.^[1][4] After winning the show, she also performed the song on the morning show La mañana on La 1 on 3 February.^[5] On 13 February, Barei performed the song at the Ukrainian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 as a special guest during the second semi-final.^[6] On 5 March, Barei performed an acoustic version of "Say Yay!" at the El Intruso club in Madrid as a part of the city's Ellas Son-Arte festival.^[7] On 29 March, Barei performed an acoustic version of the song on the talk show Likes on #0.^[8] On 2 April, she performed "Say Yay!" at the Eurovision Pre-Party in Riga, Latvia, held at the Spikeri Concert Hall, and on 3 April, at the Eurovision Pre-Party in Moscow, Russia, held at the Izvestia Hall.^[9] Barei also performed the song during the 2016 Eurovision in Concert, the largest gathering of Eurovision artists outside of Eurovision itself, held in the Melkweg, a popular music venue in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 9 April.^[10] On 17 April, Barei performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom.^[11] On 28 April, she performed the song at a party in her honour at the Swedish Embassy in Madrid.^[12] On 29 April, she performed during a Spanish Eurovision party, which took place at the Palacio de la Prensa in Madrid.^[13]

Barei performed the song live during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden on 14 May 2016. Laura García was the choreographer for this performance, while Florian Boje was the stage director. On stage, Barei was joined by five backing vocalists: Rebeca Rods, Milena Brody, Alana Sinkëy, Awinnie MyBaby and Brequette.^[14][15]

Music video

The official video of the song, directed by Gus Carballo, was filmed in February 2016 in different locations in Madrid, mainly in a tunnel at Las Tablas neighbourhood, and also features scenes filmed in Barcelona, Berlin, Havana, London, Miami and Stockholm. The video premiered on 10 March 2016 on RTVE's website.^[16][17]

Controversies

Member of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language José María Merino said that it was "unpresentable, senseless and stupid" for Spain to present a song at Eurovision without any Spanish lyrics.^[18]

Track listing

Digital download (Gran Sol)[19]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Say Yay!"	2:56

Digital download (Universal Music Spain)[20]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Say Yay!"	2:56

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
France (SNEP)[21]	184
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22]	3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23]	63

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[24]	Gold	20,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Worldwide	25 January 2016[19]	Digital download	Gran Sol
	11 March 2016[20]		Universal Music Spain

References

1. "Barei to represent Spain in Stockholm!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
2. Hdez. Salmones, Clara (22 April 2016). "Barei presenta los temas de su disco: el que más le duele, el que dedicaría a un hater...". Los 40 Principales (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 May 2016.
3. Escudero, Victor M. (29 December 2015). "Meet the candidates to represent Spain in Stockholm". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
4. Pérez, Diego (1 February 2016). "Spain: Barei wins Objetivo Eurovisión with "Say Yay!"". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
5. Álvaro (3 February 2016). "Barei presenta 'Say Yay!' en directo en 'La Mañana de TVE'". popelera.net (in Spanish). Popelera. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
6. José García Hernández (11 February 2016). "Barei, rumbo a Ucrania: "Ahora tengo la oportunidad de llevar mi música a Europa"". eurovision-spain.com (in Spanish). Eurovision Spain. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
7. García Hernández, José (7 March 2016). "Barei canta por vez primera Say Yay! en acústico". eurovision-spain.com (in Spanish). Eurovision Spain. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
8. "¡Escucha cómo suena en acústico Say yay de Barei!". eurovision-spain.com (in Spanish). 30 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
9. "Barei se promocionará en Rusia". eurofanweb.com (in Spanish). 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
10. Mahía, Manu (11 March 2016). "Barei asistirá al Eurovision in Concert de Ámsterdam". eurovision-spain.com. Eurovision Spain. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
11. García Hernández, José (23 March 2016). "Barei suma Israel a su gira de promoción internacional previa a Estocolmo". Eurovision Spain. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
12. "Barei actuará en la Embajada de Suecia... ¡y tú puedes ir de público!". RTVE.es Spain. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
13. García Hernández, José (28 April 2016). "Barei ofrece dos acústicos antes de viajar a Estocolmo". Eurovision Spain. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
14. Jiandani, Sanjay (8 March 2016). "Spain: 5 Backing vocalists to back Barei in Stockholm; videoclip premiere on 10 March". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
15. López, Tony (25 March 2016). "Barei reemplaza a su coreógrafo a mes y medio de Eurovisión 2016". formulatv.com. FórmulaTV.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
16. "Acudimos al rodaje del videoclip de "Say yay!" con Barei... y decenas de fans". rtve.es (in Spanish). 26 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
17. "¡Ya tenemos videoclip para Eurovisión 2016! No te pierdas "Say yay!" de Barei". rtve.es (in Spanish). 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
18. La RAE califica como "impresentable, inconsciente y sorpredentemente estúpido" competir en inglés en Eurovisión. Eurovision-Spain.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2016
19. "Say Yay! - Single". iTunes. 25 January 2016. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
20. "Say Yay! - Single de Barei en iTunes". iTunes. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
21. "Lescharts.com – Barei – Say Yay!" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
22. "Spanishcharts.com – Barei – Say Yay!" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – Barei – Say Yay!". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
24. "Barei – Say Yay!". elportaldemusica.es. Retrieved 22 June 2016.