Author Archives: Samantha Ross
Azerbaijan: Sabina Babayeva unveils “When the Music Dies”
After a long National Final process, stretching from November through February, Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai announced that 32-year old Sabina (or, if you want to be all Azeri about it, Səbinə) Babayeva would be given the honor of representing the Land of Fire on home soil this May. It was only just today, however, that we finally got to hear her song for Eurovision 2012, “When the Music Dies”:
San Marino: Valentina Monetta releases “Facebook (Uh, Oh, Oh)”
The microstate of San Marino was one of the last countries to announce their performer for Baku, and they seem to have found it in local singer Valentina Monetta! In a press conference today, the Sanmarinese delegation released the Ralph Siegel-penned ode to social networking, “Facebook (Uh, Oh, Oh)”. Read the rest of this entry
Montenegro: Rambo Amadeus releases “Euro Neuro”
When it was announced that Montenegro would be returning to the Eurovision stage for the first time since 2009, tongues started wagging about who would be representing the country in their fourth attempt at ESC glory. When the act was confirmed as veteran performer Rambo Amadeus, many Eurovision traditionalists didn’t know what to think of the man who has been described as the former Yugoslav republic’s answer to Frank Zappa. Well, Rambo’s song “Euro Neuro” was finally released today, and I think people still are unsure of how to respond to it! Read the rest of this entry
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Maya Sar unveils “Korake ti znam”
Even though Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that singer-songwriter Maya Sar would be representing them in Baku back in December, it is only just today that we finally got to hear her song, “Korake ti znam”. In an hour-long special featuring appearances by former Eurovision performers Laka, Deen, and even 1964 alum Sabahudin Kurt, Maya performed her song live and released the entry’s accompanying promotional video. Read the rest of this entry
New Videos unveiled for France, Ireland, Israel, Turkey, Ukraine…
As the National Final season winds to a close, often times the biggest news to come from the delegations between their selection and Eurovision itself is the release of their Promotional Video. They might be a simple edit of live performance footage, or they might pull out all the stops and put together something that would make people wish that MTV hadn’t replaced music videos with “Jersey Shore”. (Or maybe that’s just me…)
Over the past few days, a number of countries have presented their preview clips, and you can expect many more to follow in the coming weeks. Let’s take a quick look around Europe, shall we? Read the rest of this entry
A switch in Italy: “L’amore è femmina” to Baku
Yeah, remember last week when I said that it had been confirmed that Italy’s Nina Zilli would be performing her San Remo entry “Per Sempre” in Baku?
Scratch that. Sorry!
Seemingly out of the blue, Italian broadcaster RAI and the EBU confirmed that the lovely Nina seems to have pulled a Belarus on us, and switched her song from the smoky, bluesy “Per Sempre” to the uptempo, hip-swinging retro title track of her newest album. Read the rest of this entry
Greece has decided: it’s Eleftheria Eleftheriou!
The last of the competitive preselections* for Eurovision 2012 took place today in the center atrium of the Athens River West Mall, where four songs competed for the right to represent Greece in Baku. Whoever won the ticket would have to carry the heavy burden of continuing not only Greece’s streak of qualifying for every Final since the Semis were established, but also placing in the Top Ten every year since 2004. Read the rest of this entry
Moldova has decided: it’s Pasha Parfeny!
Just because this past weekend was one of the last before the EBU’s Head of Delegation Meeting in Baku on March 19 doesn’t mean the action is slowing down! Quite the opposite; alongside the action in Sweden, Serbia, Portugal and Romania, the Moldovans also made their choice this weekend. During a marathon of a National Final, twenty-one songs left themselves up to the mercy of a jury and televote. Read the rest of this entry
Portugal has decided: it’s Filipa Sousa!
The Portuguese National Final, or “Festival Da Canção”, was held this past weekend in Lisbon, and a dozen songs battled it out for the right to carry the flag to Baku and maybe (just maybe) bring the Eurovision trophy to Portugal for the first time in history. This was a big year for Portuguese music, as UNESCO recently included the fado on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (it should be noted that Azerbaijan’s native mugham is also on the list). Would 2012’s Eurovision song follow UNESCO’s lead, or would we hear a different genre in Baku? Read the rest of this entry
Romania has decided: it’s Mandinga!
Also selecting their song this past weekend, alongside Sweden, Portugal, and Serbia, the Romanians held their Selecţia Naţională in Bucharest. Fifteen songs fought it out for the right to represent Romania in Baku, and hopefully keep their streak of qualifying to the Finals every year intact. Read the rest of this entry
The ESC Insider 