Category Archives: 2012
(FYR) Macedonia has decided: Kaliopi returns! (Sort of…)
It sometimes feels like the embers of Dusseldorf 2011 haven’t even burned out yet, but it’s already been a busy weekend for Baku 2012’s plans! In the past few days, we’ve heard about plans from Belgium, Serbia, and Slovakia (assuming that My.RO signs the contract they’re rumored to be working on with RSTV…it’s still a bit up in the air over in Bratislava, as per usual). Yesterday, however, we got word that (FYR) Macedonia has made their selection for Azerbaijan: veteran performer Kaliopi.
The 44-year-old Kaliopi has been performing since the age of ten, and has recorded nine studio albums over the past two and a half decades. This isn’t her first foray into the world of Eurovision: in 1996, she was selected to represent Macedonia in what was expected to be the nation’s debut at the ESC. However, due to the then-rapidly increasing popularity of the contest, there were 30 nations clamoring for one of only 23 spots in the Final. A non-televised pre-final occurred, and seven entries were cut before the public even had the chance to see them. Unfortunately for Kaliopi, “Samo Ti (Only You)” was one of the unlucky ones, and Macedonia didn’t fully enter the contest until 1998. Here’s a look at what could have been:
Kaliopi continued to flirt with the idea of Eurovision participation, and in 2009 she nearly made it to the stage in Moscow with her collaboration with Naum Petreski, “Rum Dum Dum“. However, the song eventually took second place in that year’s SkopjeFest, falling behind Next Time’s “Nešto što kje ostane“.
For the first time since 2004, Macedonian broadcaster MKRTV has decided their candidate internally, and they will hold a small National Final early next year, as opposed to the SkopjeFest system we’ve seen over the past few years. The last time the network picked their candidate internally, they chose Toše Proeski, arguably one of the biggest stars to ever come out of Macedonia. The nation has never placed in the Top Ten at Eurovision, and they haven’t made it out of the Semifinals since 2007. Could Kaliopi break the streak?
Željko Joksimović returns for Serbia
Only hours after the announcement came in from Belgium about Iris’s participation in Baku, Serbian broadcaster RTS surprised Eurofans everywhere by suddenly announcing their plans for ESC 2012. To the delight of many, veteran singer and composer Željko Joksimović will be taking the stage at Baku Crystal Hall (assuming it’s built in time, of course). Eurovision followers are most familiar with Željko as the man behind 2004’s stirring ethno-ballad “Lane Moje”, sung for a then-united Serbia and Montenegro. He might have come in second to Ruslana, but “Lane Moje” still remains a beloved modern classic in the eyes of many.
In 2006, Joksimović composed Hari Mata Hari’s “Lejla“, which came in third for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two years later, as the event made its way to Belgrade, Željko not only composed another gorgeous ballad, Jelena Tomasevic’s “Oro” (which came in a respectable 6th place for Serbia), but he also co-hosted the event itself! He has released five studio albums, two “best-of” compilations, and a live album, and he’s sold out concerts all over the region. He penned 2003’s Beovizija winner “Cija Si” for Tose Proeski, and even recorded a duet with 2011’s Bosnian representative Dino Merlin, “Supermen“. Needless to say, the 39-year old Joksimović has proven himself to be one of the Balkans’ most prolific musicians, especially in the world of Eurovision.
For the first time, Serbia will have a completely internal selection, but details on Željko’s song are still being hammered out (in fact, he’s still composing it!). We should hear the song in full early in 2012. It’s still incredibly early to start guessing how Serbia will do this year in the competition, but if Željko ends up winning the whole thing, he will be part of an extremely exclusive cadre of ESC performers who have come in second place, returned to the Contest at a later date, and won (the others being Ireland’s Linda Martin and Russia’s Dima Bilan).
What are your thoughts on the return of Željko Joksimović?
Belgium has decided: Iris to Baku!
Fresh on the heels of Wednesday’s announcement form Slovakia, we have news from Belgium that Flemish broadcaster VRT has also made their internal selection for Azerbaijan. Sixteen-year-old Iris (also known as Airis, real name Laura van den Bruel) will represent her nation this year, with a song to be determined later (VRT will soon hold an open call for songs, but it is unclear whether this means a second internal selection will occur or a small national final). Iris is managed by SonicAngel, the same group that works with Tom Dice, who sang for Belgium in 2010, bringing the country their best result in years (and the Flemish their best result ever). Will Iris have the same success?
Here’s a little taste of what she serves up:
(So, looking over my notes, we’ve only got three names so far, but two of them are sixteen-year-old brunettes (the other being Ivi Adamou from Cyprus). Quite a contrast if Lys Assia ends up representing Switzerland…)
Slovakia has decided: My.RO to Baku!
Unlike last year, when we had to wait until February for Slovakia to announce their representative at Eurovision (after months of hemming and hawing about coming to the party at all), today ESC fans got word that RTVS would not only definitely be participating in next year’s event, but that they’ve decided to send Miroslav “Miro” Šmajda and his band My.RO (also known as “Rosemaid”) to Baku (according to ESCXtra.com, however, a contract has not officially been signed yet, but the Slovak Head of Press is still confident enough to confirm the news).
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| Photo: Mirosmajda.sk |
In order to save the network money, Miro, the runner-up from 2009’s edition of Česko Slovenská Superstar (the Czech and Slovak version of the “Idols” franchise), will be a largely self-funded participant, much like the TWiiNS were last year. There will be no National Final to decide what we’ll hear from My.RO; more details on the song will be released soon. Here’s one of his more recent singles, “Baby”, to hold us over in the meantime:
If “Baby” and his Superstar performances are anything to go by, I’m predicting that My.RO will give us something along the lines of Vukašin Brajić, Vlatko Ilievski, and Next Time…mid-tempo rock with a bit of an early-’90s vibe. Brajić made it into the finals in 2010, but Vlatko and Next Time both fell at the Semifinal level. It’s tough to predict at this point without a song in hand (or information on any other participants aside from Cyprus’s Ivi Adamou), but being a rocker at heart, I’m looking forward to Miro and My.RO.
(On another side note, similarly-named ventures have had irregular results…Bonaparti.lv made it out of the semifinals and eventually to a 16th place in Helsinki, but Gipsy.cz was Eurovision’s last nul-pointer…)
ESC Wish List: France 2012
Since 2008, France has chosen their Eurovision representatives and songs via an internal selection. Over these past few years, broadcaster France 3 has given us genres ranging from ambient electronica to jazz chanson to afro-dance-pop to operatic bolero, with results generally bouncing around the middle of the scoreboard (often despite expectations or critical acclaim). One thing is for sure: over the past few years, variety has been key. You can’t expect France to offer up the same thing twice in a row anymore, which leaves us with the question: what should we expect them to serve up in Baku next year? Well, as a fan with way too much time on her hands during the off-season, allow me to come up with a few suggestions. (Again, as I said when I did this series last year, these are only my opinions, and I do not intend to start any rumors.)
1) Caravan Palace: Following Raphael Gualazzi’s surprisingly high result for Italy on 2011’s scoreboard, I wouldn’t be shocked to see a rise in the usage of jazz or other unexpected genres in future Eurovisions. Continuing on with that trend, might I recommend taking a look at Caravan Palace, an electro-gypsy-swing combo:
They seem to be masters at crafting jazzy earworms that sound both classic and updated at the same time, and any band that can claim both Django Reinhardt and Daft Punk as influences is more than fine with me! It’s hard to find music that you can both dance to and chill out with, but this Parisian group has found a nice balance. Plus, considering Baku’s surprisingly avid fondness for jazz, this might be an interesting option for France 3 to consider…
Suisse/Schweiz/Svizzera-Mania!
Switzerland has already kicked off their 2012 National Selection Process, and will be picking their official Eurovision entrant on December 10th (only a week or so after Junior Eurovision wraps up in Yerevan, so there’s no time for withdrawal). The country, however, being a land of four official languages, isn’t making their selection process a simple one. There are four official pre-Preselections representing German-language radio station DRS3 (who picked three songs via an internal jury), German-language television SF (who will pick six finalists via a 50/50 jury/web vote), French-based station RTS (who will pick 3 songs via an online/jury split vote), and Italian-speaking RSI (who is currently holding a Pre-Pre-Preselection…the public can vote on the two songs that will join five others already selected by an internal jury; only two of those seven will advance to the united Swiss Preselection). Many of these voting windows will be closing over the next few days, so feel free to check them out soon! (Non-Swiss votes are accepted, but the Italian and German polls require registration.)
Nearly 250 songs have been submitted to the four pre-preselections, and it’s quite a lot to slog through! Plus, some of the songs have been submitted to more than one selection in the hopes of making it through to the nationwide-rounds. Adding to the confusion is the fact that Switzerland is one of the few places where non-Swiss singers can submit entries, regardless of citizenship, residency, or family history. This year, singers from South Africa, the United States, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Malta, and other nations have submitted entries, hoping to be 2012’s answer to Céline Dion.
Are you confused yet? Yeah, me too. In the hopes of clarifying the process, let me point out a few standouts, with a special eye on artists coming from abroad:
Ivi Adamou picked for Cyprus
I don’t know about all of you, but I’m still recovering from my post-Eurovision funk. Coming down from the high that Düsseldorf provided is an arduous process, especially considering that ESC news goes so suddenly from a fire-hose to a trickle after the main event. We’ve seen an occasional follow-up single (as I’ve highlighted in a few past entries), some speculation about who’s in and who’s out (still no confirmation on Armenia, as of right now, and it seems that both Morocco and the Czech Republic are still out for the moment), and fanciful rumors about our hosts in Azerbaijan (will a new venue be constructed in eight months, or will people just wise up and put a roof on the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium?), but little concrete news has been confirmed.
Until now, that is!
CyBC, the broadcaster from the island nation of Cyprus, has not only confirmed the country’s participation, but they’ve also given us our first official name for the event in Baku: 17-year-old “X-Factor” alumna Ivi Adamou. (And yes, that’s the same series that brought us 2011 participants Loukas Giorkas, Kati Wolf, and Jedward, so take that as you will.) Since Ivi’s appearances on the show back in 2009 and 2010, she has released 2 EPs, a full-length album and a handful of singles. Here is a link to one of her more popular hits, “Sose Me (Save Me)“, and the video to her first single, “A*G*A*P*I (L*O*V*E)”:
More details are still to come from Cyprus, but it seems that a small National Final will be held around the New Year, with Ivi performing somewhere between three and five songs.
And for those of you who might be surprised that news is already coming in, just remember that the Netherlands confirmed the participation of the 3Js back in mid-July of 2010, and we knew Cyprus’s plans this early, as well. So much for post-ESC Withdrawal! Once more unto the breach, dear friends…
The ESC Insider 