Blog Archives
Cyprus: Despina Olympiou’s “An Me Thimase” Released
The third entry to be revealed on February 14th was from Cyprus, as Despina Olympiou and her team at broadcaster CyBC released “An Me Thimase (Αν Με Θυμάσαι)“, or “If You Remember Me”, written by Andreas Giorgallis and Zenon Zindilis. How appropriate that this love ballad was released on Valentine’s Day? Read the rest of this entry
Slovenia: Hannah Mancini’s “Straight Into Love” released
Contributing to the maelstrom of Eurovision news released on Valentine’s Day, Slovenia released their highly-anticipated song for Sweden, the dubstep-influenced house number “Straight Into Love“, performed by American-born Hannah Mancini. Even though Slovenia has been competing at Eurovision since 1993, this is the country’s very first purely internal selection. Let’s see what they came up with: Read the rest of this entry
A “Glorious” Choice in Germany
Valentine’s Night brought us a plethora of Eurovision news, none more exciting than Germany’s National Selection show, “Unser Star für Malmö”. A dozen songs ranging in genre from swinging-60’s to brash brass band to Gregorian chant to electropop took the stage in Hanover, leaving themselves to the mercy of a professional jury, a public televote, and feedback from radio stations from all over Germany. Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Österreich rockt den Song Contest
Choosing their singer for Malmö only a day after their neighbors in Germany, Austria will bear down and choose a successor for the popo-wokiing Trackshittaz. “Österreich rockt den Song Contest” will air on ORF and Eurovision.tv this Friday, February 15th. Read the rest of this entry
News from Bulgaria: Elitsa and Stoyan Return!
Few nations have had luck as rough as Bulgaria has in Eurovision. Since their debut in 2005, they have only qualified for the Finals once, when Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov stormed to a 5th-place finish with “Water” (Or “Voda”, if you want to be all Bulgarian about it). The ethnic-infused techno number, with its heavy drumming and hypnotic vocals, has been the nation’s highest result so far. Since then, broadcaster BNT has sent popera, house, pop-rock, and chalga, all trying to duplicate what Elitsa and Stoyan accomplished in 2007, and all failing to hit that high-water mark. Read the rest of this entry
Norway has decided: it’s Margaret Berger!
Norwegian broadcaster NRK once again played host to Melodi Grand Prix, the nation’s selection process for Eurovision since their debut in 1960. After three Semifinals, a total of ten songs went up to the plate on Saturday, with four eventually proceeding to a “Golden Final”. After a second round of performances, a blend of public televoting and a jury vote led to the overwhelming selection of Margaret Berger’s dark electronic number “I Feed You My Love”. Read the rest of this entry
Finland has Decided: it’s Krista Siegfrids!
For the second year running, Finland has selected its entrant for Eurovision via the Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. This year, eight finalists took the stage, all hoping for the ticket to Sweden. After a closely-fought final, where three entrants were deadlocked after the jury weighed in, it took the Finnish public to decide a winner. Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Finland’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu Final
Saturday’s Nordic extravaganza continues with the Final of Finland’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, or “New Music Competition”. YLE has shown a number of introductory programs, semifinals, and a “second chance” round, which narrowed twelve songs down to eight. Seems a bit inefficient in terms of winnowing down the list of finalists, but it really helped to familiarize the public with the songs that could potentially represent Finland in Malmö this spring. Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix Final
No country has hit Eurovision’s heights and valleys quite in the way that Norway has. They’ve won three times, including the most resounding victory in ESC history (with 2009’s “Fairytale”), but they’ve also come in last place a staggering eleven times, including last year’s “Stay”. After a trio of 7-song Semifinals gave us three songs apiece, and the jury over at NRK picked a wildcard qualifier, we’ll see ten acts taking the stage in Oslo’s Spektrum Arena this Saturday.
The acts range in style from rockabilly to folk to party rock to a metal/opera mashup, with a pair of Norwegian Idol runners-up in the mix. Let’s take a look at the contenders, shall we?
More Internal Picks: Hannah and Despina for Slovenia and Cyprus
As all eyes were seemingly on the National Finals in Malta and Iceland or one of the Semifinals in Norway, Hungary, and Sweden, two other nations unveiled their representatives for Malmö. In Cyprus, veteran performer Despina Olympiou was selected by broadcaster CyBC, while in Slovenia, American-born Hannah Mancini will pick up the mantle of her adopted country. Read the rest of this entry
The ESC Insider 