Eurovision 2013: By The Numbers

Apr 21

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ESC2013_butterfly_backgroundOk, so we’ve got just about one month before the Eurovision 2013 Finals come to a head in lovely Malmö, Sweden.  We’ve got the songs, we’ve got the artists, we’ve got the running order, and we’ve got our theme…

…so, now what?  It’s just a bit over two weeks before rehearsals officially start, and the customary press conferences and interviews soon afterwards.  Instead of just sitting and twiddling our thumbs, let’s take a quick peek at Eurovision 2013’s entries, by the numbers!

(Need to catch up on the songs this year?  Check out Eurovision.tv’s official YouTube playlists for Semifinal One, Semifinal Two, and the Automatic Finalists.)

Who’ll be performing?

  • Solo Male (10): Azerbaijan, Belgium, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Sweden.
  • Solo Female (16): Austria, Belarus, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Israel, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, San Marino, Slovenia, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
  • Duets (4): Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Macedonia
  • Groups (9) : Armenia, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Montenegro, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland

How were the songs  chosen?

  • Internal Selections (12): Croatia, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Russia, San Marino, Slovenia, United Kingdom
  • National Final Winners (23): Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine
  • Internal Artist Selection, Public Song Choice (4): Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain

Songs changed from original winner/announcement?:

  • Belarus (“Rhythm of Love” to “Solayoh”)
  • Bulgaria (“Kismet” to “Samo shampioni”)
  • Macedonia (“Imperija” to “Pred de se razdeni”)
  • Moldova (song stayed the same, but switched from English to Romanian)

What language will the songs be performed in?

  • English (22): Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom (No songs selected in a non-English language were swapped to English, a first since the language restriction was lifted after the 1998 Contest.)
  • No English (17 countries, 16 languages): Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Spain

How many are returning to Eurovision?

How many had previously performed in a National Final?

  • Belarus: Alyona Lanskaya (2012, disqualified after allegations of cheating)
  • Estonia: Birgit Õigemeel (3rd in 2008, 7th in 2012)
  • Latvia: PeR (finalists in 2009, 10th in 2010, 5th in 2012, also last in the 2013 Final)
  • Macedonia: Lozano (4th in 2009, 4th in 2010)
  • Slovenia: Hannah Mancini (finalist in 2011)
  • Spain: Raquel del Rosario (participated in the 2011 Sanremo Festival)
  • Ukraine: Zlata Ognevich (5th in 2010, second in 2011)

How many had taken part in vocal talent shows (not including National Finals)?

  • Azerbaijan: Farid Mammadov (“The Big Stage” participant)
  • Belgium: Roberto Bellarosa (“The Voice” winner)
  • Estonia: Birgit Õigemeel (“Eesto otsib superstaari” winner)
  • Finland: Krista Sigfrids (“The Voice of Finland”, semifinals)
  • France: Amandine Bourgeois (“Nouvelle Star”, winner)
  • Georgia: Nodi Takishvili (“Geostar” winner), Sofi Gelovani (“Morning Star” winner)
  • Iceland: Eythor Ingi (“Bandið hans Bubba” winner)
  • Israel: Moran Mazor (“Eyal Golan is calling you”, winner)
  • Italy: Marco Mengoni (“X-Factor”, winner)
  • Moldova: Aliona Moon (“Star Factory” participant)
  • Norway: Margaret Berger (“Idol”, runner-up)
  • Russia: Dina Garipova (“The Voice” winner)
  • Serbia: Mirna, Nevena, Sara (“Prvi Glas Srbije” top 3)
  • Sweden: Robin Stjernberg (“Idol” runner-up)

If we like what we hear, and want to know more, who has released albums?

  • Armenia: Dorians (1)
  • Austria: Natalia Kelly (1, to be released soon)
  • Belarus: Alyona Lanskaya (1)
  • Belgium: Roberto Bellarosa (1)
  • Cyprus: Despina Olympiou (6)
  • Estonia: Birgit Õigemeel (3)
  • Finland: Krista Sigfrids (1)
  • France: Amandine Bourgeois (2)
  • Georgia: Nodi Tatishvili (1)
  • Germany: Cascada (5)
  • Greece: Koza Mostra (1), Agathonas Iakovidis (numerous)
  • Italy: Marco Mengoni (2 studio, 1 live)
  • Latvia: PeR (1)
  • Macedonia: Esma (numerous), Lozano (2)
  • Montenegro: Who See (2)
  • Netherlands: Anouk (8 studio, 3 live, 1 compilation)
  • Norway: Margaret Berger (3)
  • San Marino: Valentina Monetta (1)
  • Spain: El Sueño de Morfeo (5)
  • Sweden: Robin Stjernberg (1)
  • United Kingdom: Bonnie Tyler (16 studio, numerous compilations, 2 live)

What’s the age-range for artists this year?

Younger than 20:

  • Austria (Natália Kelly – 18)
  • Belgium (Roberto Bellarosa – 18/19)
  • Latvia (Ralfs Eilands – 19)
  • Serbia (Nevena Božović – 18, Sara Jovanović – 19)

Older than 40:

  • Albania (Bledar Sejko – 40/41)
  • Bulgaria (Stoyan Yankoulov – 46)
  • Greece (Agathonas Iakovidis – 58)
  • Macedonia (Esma Redžepova – 69)
  • Switzerland (Katharina Hauri – 46, Michel Sterckx, 47, Emil Ramsauer – 95, and now the oldest participant in Eurovision history)
  • United Kingdom (Bonnie Tyler – 61)

Who wasn’t born in the country they’ll be representing?

  • Austria (Natália Kelly = America)
  • Slovenia (Hannah Mancini = America)
  • Ukraine (Zlata Ognevich = Murmansk, now Russia)
  • Ireland (Ryan Dolan = Strabane, Northern Ireland/UK)
  • Serbia (Nevena = Kosovska Mitrovica, now considered Kosovo, Sara = Italy)
  • Albania (Adrian Lulgjuraj = Ulcinj, Montenegro)

So, there you have it…some facts, figures, and miscellaneous trivia on the thirty-nine acts that will pop onto your television screen this May.  Some are fresh-faced newcomers, others have been on the scene for decades…all will be vying for your attention, and for your votes.  Who has caught your eye?  Is is the Swiss Salvation Army band?  The gentle Estonian songstress carrying her first child?  The Macedonian May/December duet?  The Maltese doctor?  Everyone’s got a backstory, but only one can claim the 2013 Eurovision title.  And in less than a month, we’ll find out who gets to raise the trophy.

Posted on April 21, '13, in 2013, Special Comment. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.

  1. nprovenghi271 | April 21, '13 at 05:17

    Oh my gosh, the OCD side of me LOVES this. Categorization and tabulation make me happy. 🙂 However, I got confused about the languages since I could only count 15, then I remembered that Macedonia’s entry is bilingual. Maybe that should be a note? I don’t know, just me be nitpicky.

    Anyway, I’m hitting that month-long period of euphoria (no pun intended) where everything starts to heat up just as school slows down. Oh I can’t wait! 😀

    Reply
  2. Lanti Spitfire | April 21, '13 at 15:14

    Adrian’s from Montenegro, not Macedonia.

    Reply
  3. Jack Buck | April 22, '13 at 03:11

    You’re back! Where did you go?

    Reply
    • Samantha Ross | April 22, '13 at 03:26

      40-hour a week job’s been cramping my style a bit! 😉 I’ll be covering things from Malmö, though, both from Insider and Insight, where I’ve been continuing to write articles. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jaz | April 22, '13 at 16:02

    Some of these are Eurovision numbers I hadn’t even considered!! Thanks in particular for the ages of the contestants, without which I probably wouldn’t have realised that I’m officially too old to fancy Ralfs Eilands. Fortunately there’s the infinitely hotter and more age-appropriate Marco Mengoni to drool over. If you get to interview him, Sam, I will be extremely jealous.

    Reply
  5. Tiny correction | April 22, '13 at 19:14

    Under “Who wasn’t born in the country they’ll be representing”, you might like to give the state from which the two Americans are (Connecticut and I believe California) just to be consistent with the other four whose cities you gave.

    And yes, you can erase this post when you are done! 🙂

    Reply
    • Samantha Ross | April 22, '13 at 19:25

      Well, in Natalia’s case, I’ve also seen information showing she was born in New Jersey, and with Hannah, I had heard she was originally from Colorado. Because of that, I decided to hold off on putting a metaphorical pushpin down for them.

      Reply
      • Stefanos | April 23, '13 at 08:52

        That is weird. I could have sworn Kelly’s Wikipedia said Connecticut earlier, but Mancini’s still says Los Angeles. I guess you will have to put them on your interview wishlist, then, if you have not already, right? At the same time, you can ask Hannah if she is related to the writer of the Pink Panther theme!

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