in october 2001 he auditioned for the first ever edition of "operación triunfo" (spanish version of "star academy") where he was accepted and was one of the 16 contestants. he reached the final, where he was the runner-up behind rosa lópez. the top three contestants qualified for a secondary phase of the contest, where the prize was the chance of representing spain in the eurovision song contest. he came second in the eurovision phase with the song "corazón latino", losing to rosa lópez. she went on to sing "europe's living a celebration" for spain in the eurovision song contest 2002 competition in tallinn, and bisbal accompanied her as a backing vocalist.