Author Archives: Samantha Ross
Israel has chosen: Moran Mazor’s “Rak Bishvilo”
After a few years of poorer-than-ideal results, Israeli broadcaster IBA decided to revamp their selection process. The resulting, reformed Kdam was larger than anything we’ve seen from the country, with 30 songs duking it out in a trio of semifinals and a Second Chance round. Ten songs proceeded to the Final, where their fates were decided by a blend of jury votes and a public televote.
Tying for the win in the jury’s vote, and coming in joint second with the public, was Moran Mazor with “רק בשבילו” or “Rak Bishvilo (Only For Him)”. Read the rest of this entry
Sweden to Robin Stjernberg: It’s “You”
We’ve officially got another Melodifestivalen in the books of history, and what a historic win it was! After all of the votes were talled, fan-favorite Yohio was edged out by international jury pick (and runner-up in the public vote) Robin Stjernberg with “You“. Robin, who passed through the Andra Chansen round last week, is now the first and only Swedish Eurovision performer to pass through the repechage round on the way to victory. Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Romania’s Selecția Națională
While it seems that most Eurovision-watching eyes will be focused on the Friends Arena in Stockholm/Solna tonight, the Romanian National Selection is also going on! Following a pair of Semifinals, a dozen songs have qualified for the last hurdle before Sweden. A 50/50 balance of televote and jury will decide tonight’s victor in Bucharest. Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Melodifestivalen Final 2013
Well, here we are again…another Melodifestivalen Final. Over the years, Sweden’s National Final has become a phenomenon unto itself, with ratings at home even besting those of its international counterpart in May. Eurofanatics from all over flock to Stockholm to catch a glimpse of their favorite schlager icons (and with good reason, too…Carola is scheduled to perform this evening as an interval act).
Bulgaria: It’s “Kismet” for Elitsa and Stoyan
As announced back in February, Bulgaria’s representatives for Eurovision 2013 would be their 2007 alums, Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov. Three songs were in the running to best the high water mark set by their ethno-electronica entry “Voda“, which gave the nation its highest placement on a Eurovision scoreboard.
Serbia: Moje 3’s “Love is Everywhere”
Last week brought us the final of Beosong 2013, the most extensive National Final that Serbia’s had since the last Beovizija in 2009. From the fifteen songs in the Semifinal, only five made it through to the last night, where a pure SMS vote would determine who would go to Malmö. In the end, however, it was girl-group Moje 3 with their dance-pop entry “Ljubav je svuda (Love is Everywhere)” who claimed the win:
It’s Official: Bonnie Tyler for the United Kingdom
Well, after months of waiting and watching the rumors fly, with seemingly every living name on the British music scene suggested as an option, the BBC has finally come out and given the fans what they’ve wanted: a name. And what a name it is! Following veteran crooner Engelbert Humperdinck in 2012, the BBC has again reached into the vault for a classic name and given us Bonnie Tyler. Read the rest of this entry
Hungary: Say Hello to “ByeAlex”!
It was a dramatic finish to Hungary’s “A Dal” process, as the juries winnowed the eight finalists down to four and the public televote taking the lead to pick the eventual winner. In a bit of a surprising announcement, the ticket went to singer-songwriter ByeAlex (real name: Alex Márta) and his quiet, subtle entry “Kedvesem (My Darling)”, which came in a distant 4th place by the jury’s estimation. Read the rest of this entry
“Lonely Planet” for Armenia
As announced back in January, Armenia would be returning to the Eurovision stage with Gor Sujyan, lead singer of the popular Yerevan band Dorians. Today brought us their National Final, where Gor and his band brought four songs to the table. Read the rest of this entry
Estonia has chosen: it’s Birgit!
Another year, and another Eesti Laul is in the books. It’s been a competitive Final, with a touch of discord between the judges and the televote (and even within the televote itself, with a number of entries taking top marks from the individual jurors). Although there were a number of strong candidates for the ticket to Malmö, only one song could take the win. Read the rest of this entry
The ESC Insider 