Monthly Archives: February 2012
Croatia: Nina Badrić releases “Nebo”
As announced back in January, Croatia’s traditional National Final, Dora was cancelled in favor of an Internal Selection. Veteran performer Nina Badrić was selected by broadcaster HRT, but it was unclear which song she would take to Baku. That question was answered this weekend on a special aired by the network, where an edited version of the title track of Nina’s most recent album, “Nebo (Heaven)”, was unveiled. Read the rest of this entry
Italy has decided: it’s Nina Zilli!
Before Melodifestivalen, before Festivali i Këngës, even before Eurovision itself, there was San Remo. Founded in 1951, international stars such as Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini, Nek, and Eros Ramazzotti have all been discovered through this festival, which was supposedly the inspiration for the Eurovision that we all know and love today. All throughout this week, fourteen established artists and eight newcomers performed, all in the hopes of grabbing the honor of a victory at the Teatro Ariston on the Italian Riviera. Read the rest of this entry
Latvia has decided: it’s Anmary!
Saturday marked the final of Latvia’s “Eirodiezma”, their national final to determine who would carry the maroon and white to Baku. After ten songs were performed, a split jury/televote determined that Anmary’s “Beautiful Song” would have the honor:
Ukraine has decided: it’s Gaitana!
This morning, Ukranian broadcaster NTU held their National Final, where twenty-one songs fought it out for the right to represent the country in Baku this May. After a jury- and televote, it was Gaitana who stood above the rest, with her upbeat disco number “Be My Guest”:
Germany has decided: It’s Roman Lob!
In an exciting, yet unsurprising conclusion, Germany has found their Star for Baku in 21-year-old Roman Lob, beating runner-up Ornella de Santis in a close final vote. The finals of “Unser Star für Baku” weren’t just about the “who”, however; it was just as much about the “what”! Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Finals in Germany’s “Unser Star für Baku”
After a month’s worth of heats, semifinals, and performances by twenty hopeful singers, Germany is finally down to a final two in its search for their next Eurovision star. In a close semifinal on Monday, Shelley Huber and Yana Gercke were voted out, leaving Roman Lob and Ornella de Santis still in the running.
Belarus has decided: it’s Alyona Lanskaya!
Well, another day passes, and we’ve got another name to add to our ever-growing roster of artists for Eurovision 2012. As a special Valentine’s Day gift to ESC Fans, Belarus held the finals of Eurofest today, giving us the name of our 20th act for Baku. And after a decision that split the opinions of the professionals and the public, jury pick Alyona Lanskaya has won the right to represent her homeland. Read the rest of this entry
Azerbaijan has decided: it’s Sabina Babayeva!
After a marathon of a National Final that capped off a selection process that’s been in the works since way back in November, we finally know who will have the honor of defending her country’s title on home soil. Five singers performed in the last round of Azerbaijan’s Milli Seçim Turu 2012, but only one singer could reign supreme:
Results: Second Semifinal in Lithuania
This weekend marked the second Semifinal in Lithuania’s search for their Eurovision representative, and three more songs saw their dreams of singing for their homeland in Baku continue. Let’s take a peek at the trio of qualifiers from this week’s pool of nine candidates:
Results: Second Semifinal in Sweden
The Scandinavium in Göteborg hosted this weekend’s second semifinal for Sweden’s Melodifestivalen, where two songs qualified directly to the Finals at the Globen Arena on March 10, and two were given a ticket to the Second Chance round on March 3. As usual, broadcaster SVT put the songs that will move on in the competition on lockdown until Andra Chansen or the Final. Read the rest of this entry
The ESC Insider 