Monthly Archives: February 2012
Results: Second Semifinal in Hungary
The second of Hungary’s two Semifinals took place this weekend, and ten songs left themselves up to the mercy of a professional jury and the Hungarian public’s vote in order to clinch one of four coveted spots in next week’s “A Dal” Final.
Continuing on in the competition are: Read the rest of this entry
Results: Third Semifinal in Norway
Yesterday marked the third and last Semifinal in Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix, live from the Idrettssenter in Florø. Eight songs were competing for three spots in next week’s National Final (although one Wildcard winner will be announced on Thursday).
Winning a ticket to the Oslo Spektrum Arena for next week are: Read the rest of this entry
Sweden: First Semifinal Results
As expected, it was an exciting first Semifinal in Växjö, Sweden, where Melodifestivalen veterans and newcomers kicked off the Grande Dame of National Finals in style. Country, schlager, comedy, and metal faced off against each other, with two songs proceeding “Direkt till Globen” (straight to the Finals at the Globen Arena on March 10), and two moving on to the Second Chance, or Andra Chansen, round on March 3.
Moving on directly to the Final are:
Malta has Decided: It’s Kurt Calleja!
After a marathon of a National Final, where sixteen hopeful performers took the stage for the chance to become Malta’s twenty-fifth Eurovision representative, we finally have a winner. In a closely-fought final, twenty-two year old Kurt Calleja bested his competitors and took home the trophy with “This is the Night”, which he co-wrote with Johan Jämtberg, and Mikael Gunnerås. He came in second with the jury’s vote, but took the lead through the public televote, and snatched victory away from seemingly perpetual runner-up Claudia Faniello. Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Second Semifinal in Hungary
Saturday marks the second Semifinal of “A Dal”, the Hungarian National Selection. Much like last week, ten songs will go in front of the nation, with only four songs proceeding to February 11’s final. Three of those songs will be handpicked by the professional jury, while the fourth will be picked by a public televote.
The ten candidate songs are:
Preview: Melodifestivalen Semifinal One
To the delight of schlager fans worldwide, Sweden’s Melodifestivalen kicks off on Saturday with its first Semifinal, to be held at the VIDA Arena in Växjö. Normally the home of the Växjö Lakers ice hockey team, the arena will host the first live show of one of the most highly-anticipated National Final events of the Preselection Season. Two songs will qualify directly to the Finals at the Globen Arena on March 10, and two will pass through to the Andra chansen (Second Chance) round on March 3. Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Semifinal Three in Norway
The last of three Semifinals for Melodi Grand Prix will be held on Saturday in Florø. The eyes of the nation will be on this small town in western Norway, where eight songs will compete for one of only three spots in the final (although one wildcard pick is still to play for). Let’s take a quick look at this week’s candidates, shall we? Read the rest of this entry
Germany: Two more contestants out of “Unser Star für Baku”
Another week, another elimination in Germany’s search for their next Eurovision star. This time around, the eight remaining contestants performed, hoping for one of only six spots in Monday’s show. There was a minor modification in the voting, however; while the rankings and percentages were still instantly displayed on screen as they were tallied, there was a series of “final countdowns”, determining the placement of contestants one by one. That is, when the first timer ran out, that locked in the winner of the televote, rather than who was immediately going home. A second countdown was held, determining the night’s runner-up, et cetera. It appears that this was done in order to cut down on the chaos of previous weeks, and it seems to be working thus far.
Eliminated this week were:
More Details Revealed for Ireland
It appears that Irish Broadcaster RTÉ has unveiled more details for this month’s National Selection (“Eurosong 2012”), to be held on the February 24th episode of the Late Late Show. Barring any early song leaks (like what happened last year with “Lipstick”), the songs themselves will be revealed on February 9. Each act will be under the tutelage of a “mentor”, who will hopefully help guide them to their best possible performance…
Oh, let’s face it, we’re going to see Jedward again, aren’t we? Well, for the sake of some semblance of fairness and unbiased coverage, let’s take a look at who we’ll see trying their hands at Eurosong! Read the rest of this entry
The ESC Insider 