Category Archives: 2012
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
Iceland has decided: it’s Jónsi and Gréta Salóme!
The highly-anticipated Final of Iceland’s National Selection, Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins (try saying that five times fast!), wrapped up this Saturday, with seven songs vying for the victory and the chance to represent the nation in Baku this May. Despite a number of strong performances, only one song could win… Read the rest of this entry
Norway has Decided: it’s Tooji!
A night in Norway that seemed to be coasting towards a predictable finish suddenly veered away from the expected outcome as the 2012 Melodi Grand Prix came to its close on Saturday night. Ever since the songs were released, a nearly-deafening buzz was coming from popular folk-rockers Plumbo and their song “Ola Nordmann”, and most fans were bracing themselves for a tinwhistle solo in Baku. When the time had come for the ten songs in the Final to be winnowed down to a four-song Golden Final, the three first-placed songs from the Semi had all qualified (“Ola Nordmann“, “Somewhere Beautiful“, and “Things Change“), along with one second-place finisher… Read the rest of this entry
Hungary has decided: it’s Compact Disco!
Tonight was an exceptionally busy one in Eurovision circles; between two semifinals and a trio of National Finals, fans had their work cut out for them! The first of the Finals to determine its winner was Hungary, which returned to a National Selection format for the first time since 2008. After the eight competing songs were narrowed down to four via a televote, the professional jury took the reins and picked a winner from that lucky quartet.
The Weekend Preview: Super Saturday and Beyond…
It’s gearing up to be a very busy weekend in the world of Eurovision. On Saturday, the second semifinal of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen will kick off, live from Göteborg (and more details on the competing songs can be found here. We’ll also see the second Lithuanian semifinal (but due to conflicting reports on the lineup of the event, I hesitate to post the competing songs). Most eyes, however, will likely be on one of the three National Finals that are to be held. We will get our official songs from Hungary, Norway, and Iceland before the day is out. Let’s take a look at the respective lineups one more time, shall we? Read the rest of this entry
The ESC Insider 