Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 24th

I've still got Christmas shopping to do today so just one 24th place video for you! And it's a good one :-)

Spain: Soraya - La Noche Es Para Mi - 24th place in Moscow with 23 points




Ok just one more then. I liked this one but no one else did.


Norway: Knut Anders Sørum - High - 24th place in Istanbul 2004 with 3 points (from Sweden)





and one last one I thought would do well that came 24th.


Denmark: Malene - Tell Me Who You Are - 24th in Tallinn 2002 with 7 points

Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 25th

Merry Christmas!

If you're reading my blog then shame on you! You should be eating and drinking more! Then again so should I! Quickly before I go the lovely Josh Dubovie would like to share his 25th place entry 'That Sounds Good To Me' with you.





In 2009 it was Finland's turn to come 25th in the final.


Finland: Waldo's People - Lose Control - 25th at Moscow 2009 with 22 points.





Christmas needs something a little more impressive don't you think? How about the 25th country to perform in this year's Eurovision final? Denmark was my favourite entry this year so it's a fitting Christmas present from me to you. Merry Christmas!


Denmark: Chanée & N'evergreen - In A Moment Like This - 4th place in Oslo with 149 points




Oh and a final happy Christmas from the official Eurovision team

Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 23rd

On the eve of Christmas Eve I'd like to share with you some songs that came 23rd in Eurovision. Now you'd think they'd be the real stinkers but this Dutch entry from 1994 is actually one of my favourite Eurovision entries ever. Having talked to a few friends I seem to be alone.


Netherlands: Willeke Alberti - Waar is de Zon - 23rd at Dublin 1994 with 2 points!





Only the Croatians liked this song and even they only gave it 1 point. Perhaps a little too laid back for Eurovision but it's not a dreadful song. Sounds like an Eternal album track to me.


Spain: Lydia - No quiero escuchar - 23rd at Jerusalem 1999





Ok so some songs deserve 23rd place. Each entry needs something unique to make it stand out but I don't think knitwear is a winner.


Lithuania: Aivaras - Happy you - 23rd in Tallinn 2002 with 12 points





Now how this came 23rd I don't know! And I'm not being sarcastic this time! Watch in beautiful HD.


Belgium: Xandee - 1 Life - 23rd at Istanbul 2004 with 7 points





Lithuania: Sasha Son - Love - 23rd in Moscow 2009 with 23 points





Chiara and now Niamh have shown returning to Eurovision isn't always a good idea. Lena and Yohanna beware!


Ireland: Niamh Kavanagh - It's For You - 23rd in Oslo with 25 points

Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 22nd

I realised I've been neglecting the 90s in my advent calendar posts. Here's a lovely nil pointer from 1991 - 22nd place in Rome.


Austria: Thomas Forstner - Venedig im Regen






I think the dancing saved Finland from last place in 1994. Worth 11 points in itself!






Poor Haldor Lægreid could only manage 3 points in 2001 but he wasn't 'on his own' as Norway tied 22nd place with Iceland (see what I did there ;-) It's one of my favourite Eurovision songs actually).






Nobody wanted to touch Javine's fire and so it languished in 22nd place in 2005.







Chiara returned in 2009 hoping to go one better than her previous 2nd place. Unfortunately she just added a 2 and came 22nd.

Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 21st

It's the 21st! Nearly Christmas! God I'm excited! Anyway it's time for some songs that came 21st in Eurovision. There are some classics trust me!


First up is Corinna May singing for Germany in 2001:






and a rather frantic Spain in 2005:





Gosh that was exhausting! Here's some 21st place lift music while I look for some more 21st place entries.



Oh now here's a great song from 2008! Can't possibly imagine why it came 21st ;-)





In 2009 it was Sweden's turn to come 21st which was a shame for Malena as she did so well in the semi final (she came 4th)!.




Only a few more days to go now. We're getting to the really good stuff now, 22nd-25th place!

Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 20th

Finland: Laura - Addicted To You


20th place in Tallin 2002.






Spain: D'Nash - I Love You Mi Vida

20th place in Helsinki 2007.





Norway:Didrik Solli-Tangen


20th place in Oslo 2010.

Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 17th

Albania came 17th in Moscow 2009.

Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 16th

16th place in Helsinki 2007.

Love Eurovision Advent Calendar: 15th

Here's a song that came 15th:



And here are some songs that performed 15th in the running order:



















Merry Christmas!

Eurovision 2010 Fantasy Final

My fantasy Eurovision final based on songs from the national finals that didn't make it through. Some countries (i.e. Sweden) have more than one entry.

1. Finland - Amadeus - Anastacia
2. Slovakia - HORSKÁ CHATA - Myslíš, že vieš kto som
3. Latvia - Audrius Zavadskis - Right Now
4. Romania - Dalma - I'm Running
5. UK - A1 - Don't Wanna Lose You Now [ok so I stole this from Norway but 2 of them are British!]
6. Norway - Venke Knutson - Jealous `Cause I Love You
7. Poland - Anna Cyzon - Love Me
8. Sweden - Darin - You're Out Of My Life
9. Ireland - Lee Bradshaw - Rivers of silence
10. Iceland - Iris Hólm - The One
11. Israel - Harel Skaat - Le'an
12. Azerbaijan - Safura - Under My Skin
13. Denmark - Bryan Rice - Breathing
14. Belarus - 3+2" - Far Away
15. Sweden 2 - Eric Saade - Manboy
16. Spain - Coral Segovia - En Una Vida
17. Estonia - Iiris - Astronaut
18. Georgia - Sofia Nizharadze - For Eternity
19. Sweden 3 - Timoteij - Kom
20. Germany - Jennifer Braun - I Care For You
21. Malta - Claudia Faniello - Samsara
22. Moldova - Millenium - Before you go
23. Russia - Buranovskiye Babushki - Dlinnaya-dlinnaya beresta i kak sdelat' iz nee aishon
24. Slovenia - Nina Pušlar - Dež
25. Sweden 4 - Salem Al Fakir - Keep On Walking
26. Sweden 5 - Peter Jöback - Hollow

Eurovision 2010 Final running order revealed

Safura will open the show for Azerbaijan and Chanée and N'Evergreen will close for Denmark. Portugal have been drawn in the same position as the UK last year and with a similar sounding song will they be able to pull of a similarly impressive result? 2nd favourites Germany have been drawn in a very strong position - 22nd - but will the new voting rules (lines are open from the start of the show) affect the result?


1. Azerbaijan - Safura - Drip Drop
2. Spain - Daniel Diges - Algo pequeñito
3. Norway - Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart Is Yours
4. Moldova - SunStroke Project and Olia Tira - Run Away
5. Cyprus - Jon Lilygreen and The Islanders - Life Looks Better in Spring
6. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Vukašin Brajić - Vukašin Brajić
7. Belgium - Tom Dice - Me And My Guitar
8. Serbia - Milan Stanković - Ovo je Balkan (Oво je Балкан)
9. Belarus - 3+2 feat Robert Wells - Butterflies
10. Ireland - Niamh Kavanagh - It's For You
11. Greece - Giorgos Alkaios and Friends - OPA (ΟΠΑ)
12. United Kingdom - Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good To Me
13. Georgia - Sopho Nizharadze - Shine
14. Turkey - maNga - We Could Be The Same
15. Albania - Juliana Pasha - It's All About You
16. Iceland - Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi
17. Ukraine - Alyosha - Sweet People
18. France - Jessy Matador - Allez Ola Olé
19. Romania - Paula Seling and Ovi - Playing with Fire
20. Russia - Peter Nalitch and Friends - Lost and Forgotten
21. Armenia - Eva Rivas - Apricot Stone
22. Germany - Lena - Satellite
23. Portugal - Filipa Azevedo - Há Dias Assim
24. Israel - Harel Skaat - Milim
25. Denmark - Chanée and N'evergreen - In A Moment Like This


Playlist of all the finalists in performance order (all semi final performances except Big 4 for which I've substituted rehearsal footage).

Eurovision 2010 shock! Sweden go home!

Sweden failed to qualify for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest final. In a gripping set of results favourites Azerbaijan, Israel and Armenia went through. Ukraine was an early upset for my predictions but it didn't come at the expense of Niamh Kavanagh as I expected, Ireland sail through to the final! Cyprus were a completely unexpected qualifier for me and meant a big upset was on the way. With 9 out of 10 qualifiers revealed Denmark and Sweden were still to be drawn. In the end Denmark went through to the final and Sweden go home.

Sweden's exit caps a turbulent few years for Sweden in Eurovision. Charlotte Perrelli's 'Hero' came 12th in the 2008 2nd semi final and only qualified with the help of the jury wildcard. Although Malena Ernman came 4th in her semi final last year Sweden ultimately finished 21st in the final. Anna Bergendahl was a popular winner of Sweden's Melodifestivalen with her song even topping the Swedish charts before the final. Sweden's failure to qualify will be a big blow for a country that prides itself on it's Eurovision enthusiasm.

The qualifiers in performance order were:

Armenia
Israel
Denmark
Azerbaijan
Ukraine
Romania
Ireland
Cyprus
Georgia
Turkey

Playlist of all the 2nd semi final performances:

Eurovision 2010 - Semi Final 2 prediction

After my 7/10 for semi final 1 I'm tense and nervous about semi final 2. There are so many countries I'd hate not to see qualify and there could well be a few upsets. Chief among them if my worry that Ireland may not qualify. If it doesn't it will be in spite of a great song and singer in Niamh Kavanagh. My fear is the eastern European countries won't go for it and Ukraine or Lithuania may sneak ahead of them in the voting. Here is my very uncertain prediction for tonight's show:

1. Israel
2. Azerbaijan
3. Sweden
4. Turkey
5. Armenia
6. Croatia
7. Denmark
8. Georgia
9. Romania
10. Ireland

The following not to qualify:

11. Ukraine
12. Lithuania
13. Bulgaria
14. Cyprus
15. Switzerland
16. Slovenia
17. Netherlands

Eurovision 2010 - Semi Final 1 Results

Well I only managed to predict 7 out of the 10 qualifiers this year. Moldova and Bosnia were surprise qualifiers for me and I was surprised Slovakia didn't qualify. These are the 10 qualifiers and their start position in the final:

Moldova (4)
Bosnia & Herzegovina (6)
Belgium (7)
Serbia (8)
Belarus (9)
Greece (11)
Albania (15)
Iceland (16)
Russia (20)
Portugal (23)

Youtube playlist of all the performances:



Watch the whole thing again on Sweden's SVT Play site http://svtplay.se/v/2015523/melodifestivalen/semifinal_1

or on the BBC's iPlayer service (UK only) http://bbc.co.uk/i/skygc/

2010 Eurovision - Semi Final 1 prediction

After watching all the rehearsal videos on Youtube and bearing in mind previous Eurovision semi final results this is what I think will happen tomorrow night:

The qualifiers:

1. Greece
2. Slovakia
3. Belarus
4. FYROM
5. Finland
6. Iceland
7. Serbia
8. Albania
9. Russia
10. Belgium

The following will not qualify:

11. Poland
12. Bosnia
13. Malta
14. Portugal
15. Latvia
16. Estonia
17. Moldova

There are always surprises so I won't be amazed if my prediction turns out to be completely wrong.

The Google Eurovision predictor is back again. Last year it was topped by Alexander Rybak (the runaway winner of Eurovision 2009) closely followed by Hadise. This year's runaway winner (if we're to believe the Google prediction) will be Germany, followed by Georgia! Hmm, maybe it's not so accurate after all but you never know!

UK Eurovision Preview Party

London again played host to a fantastic Eurovision preview party, albeit on a smaller scale this year. Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders, Paula Seling & Ovi, Josh Dubovie and Niamh Kavanagh all sang a couple of songs each for us, including their respective Eurovision entries. Best vocals of the night was a close call between Niamh singing her 1993 winner 'In Your Eyes' and Paula Seling doing an acapella version of Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful'.

Niamh Kavanagh - It's For You




Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good To Me




Paula Seling & Ovi - Playing With Fire

The ones to watch in Eurovision 2010

On first glance it seeemed this year's Eurovision Song Contest might be one of the worst for years but hiding between some absolutely dreadful entries are a couple of songs destined to be Eurovision classics. Here are my tips for 2010.

Romania

I dismissed this as absolute rubbish when I first heard it but the more I listen to it the more I love it. Paula Seling is gorgeous and exudes confidence and stage presence and the song while being catchy isn't tacky. It rises above the sea of ballads and I'm increasingly believing this could be Romania's first ever Eurovision win!




Denmark

Another male/female duo where the woman far out-performs the man. He looks a little awkward at times but she is an image of confidence and their vocals are practically flawless. I've always thought of Eurovision more as an anthem contest than a song contest and this song is anthemic. I'm sure it will make a big impact on the night.




Norway

The bookies' favourite, I'm increasingly thinking Norway won't make it twice in a row. I expect this song to place highly though, probably top 4.



Armenia

Armenia have finished in the top 10 every year since they debuted at the contest in 2006. Expect Apricot Stone to have equal success. Possible top 5, definitely top 10.



Ireland

After a string of bad results Ireland have gone back to their tried and tested format, a ballad! In any other year it would have been a great tactic but unfortunately as we know it's ballad central this year. Niamh still has the voice and the song is very strong but I worry it will face stiff competition and may have to make do with a top 10 placing.



Bulgaria

If it was an enthusiam contest Miro would win hands down! Now I don't think this has any chance of winning but it should be great fun to watch on the night. It's amazing and dreadful all at once.




Belgium

Hmm, what to think, what to think. On the surface this song seemed boring but it's strangely affecting with just Tom and his guitar on stage. The simple production and Tom's heart-felt voice make this to me one of the stronger songs this year. On Belgium's recent record I fear Tom's greatest challenge may be just qualifying for the final. A valiant effort all the same.




Netherlands

Ok so maybe I'm being slightly deluded in thinking this stands any chance whatsoever or winning but I really hope it qualifies. I absolutely detested it when I first heard it but it's really grown on me and it's one of the songs I'm most looking forward to seeing on the night.

Ukraine choose 'I Love You' for Vasyl Lazarovich to sing in Oslo

Any more ballads and I might fall asleep! Very disappointed with this song. He sounds like he's howling in the night. Just when we needed a Verka Seduchka or a Shady Lady we got another ballad!

Ireland choose 'Niamh Kavanagh - It's For You' for Oslo

Ireland choose 'Niamh Kavanagh - It's For You' fpr

Melodifestivalen 2010 - Watch semis again on SVT Play

If you missed any of the Melodifestivalen 2010 semi-finals you can watch them again on SVT Play.


Deltävling 1
Deltävling 2
Deltävling 3
Deltävling 4

Melodifestivalen 2010 - Andra Chansen

The second chance round of Sweden's Melodifestivalen takes place this Saturday. The 8 songs will compete in a series of 4 head-to-head duels. In the next round the 4 surviving songs will compete in another 2 duels which will leave the 2 songs that will go forward to the final at the Globe arena on the 13th March.

Duel 1: Pain of Salvation vs Pernilla Vahlgren






Duel 2: Pauline vs Crucified Barbara






Duel 3: Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän vs NEO






Duel 4: Alcazar vs Jessica Andersson





All Melodifestivalen songs and full semi-final shows now availavble on SVT Play http://svtplay.se/t/102943/melodifestivalen (for the songs click on the 'bidragen' tab).

Did Spain shoot themselves in the foot or save themselves from disaster?

Oh Spain, really? Ok, so after this performance an awful thought went through my head, 'I think this might win!' In the event Daniel Diges got 4 out of the 5 top marks from the juries and topped the televote, beating the favourite Coral. To give him credit he did pull off a good performance but the song doesn't stand a chance in Oslo.

I'd been pretty sure of a Coral win. The only question was whether she'd pull off a live performance of such a difficult song. In the end her vocals were a little too shouty, the backing singers were dreadful and the backing track was far too quiet. With a bit of work I think the song would have been a real contender to win in Oslo!



I am however always mindful that I said the same thing about Paolo Meneguzzi and his song 'Era Stupendo' in 2008. The live performance was a disaster and Switzerland failed to qualify for the final, so maybe Spain actually saved themselves from complete disaster by choosing a mildly disastrous song instead.



N.B. As one of the 'big 4' Spain qualifies automatically for the final and doesn't have to compete in the semi finals.

Melodifestivalen Deltävling 3

Timoteij and Darin qualified for the final while Crucified Barbara and Alcazar qualified for Andra Chansen. These ones didn't make it:

Elin Lanto - Doctor Doctor




Erik Linder - Hur kan jag tro på kärlek




Getty Domein - Yeba



Johannes Bah Kuhnke - Tonight



All videos from official Melodifestivalen site (in Swedish)

Malta choose 'Thea Garrett - My Dream' for Oslo 2010

It's really turning out to be a year for ballads! It's a nice song but I really wanted 'Samsara' to win. It was a crazy song!

Dima Bilan - Nah Nah Nah (White nights)

Here's the demo for Dima Bilan's entry for the Russian national final, 'White Nights'. They obviously hadn't worked out the lyrics when they recorded this demo as most of it is sung as 'nah, nah, nah', and it doesn't feature Dima's vocals.

130 filip by moskom

It's hard to tell from this demo what the final version of the song will be like but with Dima Bilan's involvement it's more than likely to become Russia's 2010 Eurovision Song Contest entry and finish in the top five of the final.

Lyrics - White Nights

You can like it – You can hate it – I’m addictive
Every piece of me is gonna get to - your heart
I’m the sunset – I’m the moonlight – I’m your
Heaven
I’m the one who’s gonna – light up – your night
OR
I’m the one to colour – your nights – in white

Got a plan to make you my midnight lover
Got a plan to give you all that you need now
Do you feel you wanna try out all the magic?
I can show you the new city of wonders

{Chorus} Got a mission and I’m gonna win all your lovin’
Spending with you - endless white nights
Got a feeling that you’re ready to fly with me
Light my fire ….My desire…. These white nights

Just tell me we are meant to be forever, baby
I’m givin’…givin…. all of me now
I’m burning in the flames of this love and glory
Reaching higher…Reaching deeper…. Into these white nights

7 minutes – 7 seconds – time is ticking
Catch my heart before you’re gonna run out – of time
In the darkness – I’m the sunshine – I’m the Lovelight
I’m a dream that you can – dream out – tonight

Got a plan to make you my midnight lover
Got a plan to give you all that you need now
Do you feel you wanna try out all the magic?
I can show you the new city of wonders


* full article (in Russian) at http://www.mk.ru/culture/article/2010/02/17/432836-bilan-uvyaz-v-kirkorovschine.html

France to use their Eurovision 2010 entry to promote the World Cup

Esctoday.com reports that Jessy Matador will represent France in Oslo. He will not be singing this song but a similar song with a World Cup theme.

Melodifestivalen Deltävling 2 - the losers

All the songs that from Deltävling 2 that didn't make it to Globen or Andra Chansen are now available to watch on SVTPlay.

Andra Generationen & Dogge Doggelito - Hippare hoppare



Anna-Maria Espinosa - Innan alla ljusen brunnit ut



MiSt & Highlights - Come and get me now



Hanna Lindblad - Manipulated



Next Saturday's Deltävling 3 takes place in Gothenburg. The 8 songs that will be performed are:

1. Alcazar - Headlines
2. Johannes Bah Kuhnke - Tonight
3. Elin Lanto - Doctor Doctor
4. Erik Linder - Hur kan jag tro på kärlek
5. Getty Domein - Yeba
6. Timoteij - Kom
7. Darin - You're Out Of My Life
8. Crucified Barbara - Heaven Or Hell

Eric Saade och Andreas Johnson till Globen

Any self-respecting Eurovision fan should learn at least the basics of the Swedish language. No other country has developed a national final format with such potential to provide year-on-year winners as Melodifestivalen. That said, Sweden hasn't won the Eurovision Song Contest since 1999! I find it very ironic that Agnes sang 'Love, Love, Love' at Melodifestivalen 2009 and yet went on to have world-wide success with 'Release Me'. Sweden would have had their best chance yet with that song, so don't go laughing at Sweden saying they take it too seriously - even their artists don't send their best songs to MF.

Right, anwyay, in case you can't work out the title of this post Eric Saade and Andreas Johnson went straight through to the MF final at the Globe Arena in Stockholm. Pauline and Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän went through to the second chance round 'Andra Chansen', which will decide another song to send to the final a week before the final itelf.

To be fair to the finalists SVT viciously pursue anyone who uploads a video of the songs sent to Globen or Andra Chansen, so if you missed them this time you'll have to wait for the respective shows to hear them again. Any London residents can see Melodifestivalen live at the Harcourt Arms (advance purchase tickets only) and SVT offer a live webcast for the world. Love Eurovision will be at the Harcourt Arms next Saturday for the next Melodifestivalen show featuring Alcazar!

Here's some more Swedish you probably can't understand




...and here's Alcazar talking in Swedish!

Bad choice Poland! Poland choose 'Marcin Mroziński - Legenda' for Oslo

The esctoday.com readers and the Polish televoters may have agreed (33.61%) but I think Anna Cyzon (15.13%) was Poland's best chance in years and although she was a complete Lady Gaga rip-off it would have moved Eurovision up a whole level.

Good choice Armenia! Armenia chooses 'Eva Rivas - Apricot Stone' for Oslo

What is going on with the UK selection?

Since Pete Waterman was selected as the writer/producer (delete as applicable) of the 2010 UK Eurovision Song Contest entry on 29th January nothing has been heard from the BBC. The BBC Eurovision site still has last year's content (Plaistow Punch anyone?).

Rumours have been circulating about some involvement by John and Edward from X Factor but apart from that nothing much else is known.

The format is similar to last year but it seems it will be a one night show on the 12th March (thanks to Alexander Rybak for inadvertently giving the date away - he'll be performing). Jayne Collins Casting is again in charge of the auditions. She seems to have a bit of a Twitter addiction!

Auditions have already taken place. One of the auditionees was a group called Dollie Mix who have been promoting themselves hard though their Twitter @DollyMixLive I think they would be a better bet than Jedward! However it seems from their recent tweets that no one has heard back from the BBC/Jayne Collins Casting yet. In a tweet on 11th Feb to one of the members of Dollie Mix Jayne said, 'still in discussion so hold on a little longer!'

Here's a video of Dollie Mix rehearsing in the studio:

Armenia 2010 - national final on Sunday 14th Feb

Ooh this is catchy isn't it! Has to have one of the most bizarre song titles this year. There are 10 songs in the national final on Sunday:

1. Another Story - Ays dzmer (This winter)
   
2. Eva Rivas - Apricot stone
   
3. Nick Egibyan - Countdown
   
4. Emmy & Mihran - Hey (Let me hear you say)
   
5. David Ashotyan - Infected dreams
   
6. Maria Kizirian - Little Red Riding Hood
   
7. Razmik Amyan - My love
   
8. Sonya - Never
   
9. Ani Arzumanyan - The Mermaid song
   
10. Meline Beglaryan - We must believe

Youtube playlist here or watch below.

Melodifestivalen Deltävling 1 - the losers

Ok SVT, I forgive you. All the songs that from Deltävling 1 that didn't make it to Globen or Andra Chansen are now available to watch on SVTPlay and now it's also possible to embed SVT's videos in blogs!


Anders Ekborg - The Saviour



Frispråkarn - Singel



Jenny Silver - A Place To Stay



Linda Pritchard - You're Making Me Hot-Hot-Hot

Spain 2010 - los 10 candidatos definitivos

Unfortunately this song came 2nd in the online voting, garnering nearly as much support as the wonderful Coral Segovia. Overall a total of 5,722,596 online votes were cast and these are the top 10 who will compete to represent Spain in Oslo:

Coral Segovia - "En una vida" - 292.522 votos
John Cobra - "Carol" - 269.919 votos
Lorena - "Amor Mágico" - 188.778 votos
Samuel y Patricia - "Recuérdame" - 188.470 votos
Daniel Diges - "Algo pequeñito" - 187.391 votos
Fran Dieli - "Cuando se trata de ti" - 187.213 votos
Venus - "Perfecta" - 183.753 votos
Anabel Conde - "Sin Miedos" - 182.528 votos
José Galisteo - "Beautiful Life" - 180.145 votos
Ainhoa Cantalapiedra - "Volveré" - 176.912 votos

http://www.rtve.es/television/eurovision/

Here is a Youtube playlist of all 10 finalists. Alternatively click here to view on the Youtube website.

If you missed Melodifestivalen, tough!

It seems the first Melodifestivalen show won't be repeated :-( SVT have ruined all our fun and pulled down any videos that made it to Youtube and the show isn't available to watch again on SVTPlay. At least they left us this little morsel of delight, the opening number 'Hero' by Charlotte Perrelli, Nanne Grönwall and Sonja Aldén :-)

Eurovision 2010: The 7 entries so far

After a glut of national finals this week there are now 7 confirmed entries for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest:

1. Norway: Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart Is Yours
2. Denmark: Chanée & N'evergreen - In A Moment Like This
3. Iceland: Hera Björk - Je ne sais quoi
4. Albania: Juliana Pasha - Nuk Mundem Pa Ty
5. Netherlands: Sieneke - Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)
6. Cyprus: Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders - Life Looks Better In Springtime
7. Switzerland: Michael von der Heide - Il pleut de l'or

In my opinion only the first four songs have any chance of qualifying and Iceland only with the help of their Scandinavian neighbours. Norway and Denmark are real contenders to win at the moment. Below is a playlist of all 7 songs.

Netherlands 2010 - Sieneke - Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)

Really?! Seriously?! This?! The Netherlands really don't want to qualify this year, let alone win!

Sweden 2010 - Linda Pritchard out of Melodifestivalen

Ola and Salem Al Fakir qualified direct to the final. Pain of Salvation and Jessica Andersson scraped through to the Andra Chansen round. Unfortunately Linda Pritchard is going nowhere but home, which is a shame as I quite liked this one.

As per usual SVT are being quite strict about the videos they allow on the Youtube etc. so you probably won't see or hear Ola and Salem again until the final!

Iceland choose Hera Björk 'Je ne sais quoi' for Oslo

Hera Björk will finally get her moment in the Eurovision spotlight as Iceland's representative at the 2010 Eurovision Song contest in Oslo. The runner up was Jógvan Hansen with 'One more day'.

Youtube playlist of all 6 final performances here. Big thanks to Youtube user ESC2010Norway for uploading them so fast.

Denmark choose Chanée & Tomas N'evergreen for Oslo

Bryan Rice gave a great performance in the final duel with his song 'Breathing' but ultimately the Danish public decided Chanée & Tomas N'evergreen should go to Oslo with their song 'In A Moment Like This'.

Youtube playlist of all the final performances here [opens in new window]

Norway choose Didrik Solli-Tangen for Eurovision 2010

After a great show Didrik Solli-Tangen was chosen as Norway's representative for this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

In contrast to last year the jury votes differed widely with Keep of Kalessin pulling ahead at one stage. However, once the televotes starting coming in it became clear Didrik had won by a landslide. The final results were:

1st: Didrik Solli-Tangen 488 675
2nd: A1 278 882
3rd: Keep Of Kalessin 241 164
4th: Bjørn Johan Muri 169 174

*Maria Haukaas Storeng, Venke Knutson, Maria Arredondo and Alexander Stenerud were eliminated after the first round of the final.

You can watch the full show again on the NRK website here.

On second thoughts Albania could be amazing

Rearranged and sung in English this song is a lot more impressive. This is not the final version yet so there's still room for improvement (and also a chance they could make it worse!).

Violina feat. Rolf Junior - Maagiline Päev (Estonia 2010)

I think I was also a bit hard on Estonia. This isn't bad. WHERE did they film this though? Looks like a cinema entrance or something.

Azerbaijan - Land of Fire 2010 SF1

The following 3 acts qualified last night:

Milk & Kisses - I'm On Fire
Safura Alizadeh - Soz ver
Maryam Shabanova - I've had enough

Expectations are high for Azerbaijan following their high placing last year in Moscow

Something from Slovakia

I like this!

Germany 2010 - Unser Star für Oslo - 1st show

Here's a re-cap of all the 10 performers in last night's first show. The five that qualified for the next round were Lena Meyer-Landrut, Kerstin Freking, Meri Voskanian, Cyril Krueger and Katrin Walter.

Playlist of all 10 on Youtube here

See a profile of the 'Kandidaten' on the official site here. The site is in German but I might try and translate some of it for you at some point.

A1 to open Norway MGP on Saturday - final running order revealed

A1 will open the show on Saturday with favourite Didrik Solli-Tangen performing in a very comfortable position of second to last. This is the running order for Saturday's final:

1. A1 - Don't wanna lose you again
2. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Make My Day
3. Venke Knutson - Jealous 'cause I love you
4. Bjørn Johan Muri - Yes man
5. Maria Arredondo - The touch
6. Alexander Stenerud - Give it to me
7. Didrik Solli-Tangen - My heart is yours
8. Keep of Kalessin - The dragontower

Youtube playlist here

What music style or artist should Sweden send to Eurovision 2010?

Video by http://www.youtube.com/user/mieroth

Melodifestivalen at The Harcourt Arms, London

This Swedish pub is the only pub in London you can watch the Melodifestivalen shows on the big screen. It's always a great atmosphere and the £6 entry fee is very reasonable as it includes a free drink! If you're in London head on down there to see how a national final should be done.

• Eurovision Heat 1 Sat 6th Feb
• Eurovision Heat 2 Sat 13th Feb
• Eurovision Heat 3 Sat 20th Feb
• Eurovision Heat 4 Sat 27th Feb
• Eurovision Second Chance Sat 6th March
• Eurovision Final Sweden Sat 13th March
  

Ticket price for standing in the Mainbar is £6 / Heat with one drink included.
There will be 20 tickets for seating in the Topbar (ONLY AVAILABLE ONLINE) for £10 each which will include two drinks and reserved seating.

BBQ will be available from 6.00-9.00 pm

www.theharcourt.com
To go direct to ticket booking click here

2010 Romania - Selecţia Naţională

Sorry to disappoint you, Mihai isn't back this year but there are 16 acts hoping to equal or better Mihai Traistariu's 4th place position for Romania back in 2006.

Thirteen of them have made it to Youtube so far:

1. Luminiţa Anghel, Tony Tomas & Adrian Piper - Save Their Lives
2. Alexa Niculae - Baby
3. Paula Seling & Ovi - Playing With Fire
4. Paula Seling & Kamara Ghedi - It's Not Too Late
5. Zero - Lay Me Down
6. Tina Geru - Love Is War
7. Alexandra Ungureanu - Crazy
8. Anda Adam & Connect-R - Surrender
9. Cătălin Josan - Around Around
10. Răzvan Krivach - Jackpot
11. Trupa Pasager - Running Out Of Time
12. Lora & Sony Flame - Come Along
13. Dalma - I'm Running

Youtube playlist of the songs here

The other 3 songs are:

Hotel FM - Come As One
Laurentiu Niculescu - Searching for Perfect Emotion
Lucia Dumitrescu - See You in Heaven Michael

The Romanian national final takes place 6th March 2010.

Estonia - eesti laul 2010

Oh dear, after all the great Nordic national final songs these come as a bit of a shock to the ears. Thank god there are only 10 to get through, Lithuania has 36 songs!

The 10 eesti laul finalists are:

1. Iiris Vesik - Astronaut
2. Disko 4000 - Ei usu
3. Violina feat Rolf Junior - Maagiline päev
4. Robin Juhkental (Malcolm Lincoln) - Siren
5. Mimicry - New
6. Marten Kuningas & Mahavok - Oota mind veel
7. Lenna Kuurmaa - Rapunzel
8. Groundhog Day - Teiste seest kõigile
9. Tiiu Kiik - The one and only - Love

*10. 3 Pead - Poolel teel [no video yet available]

Youtube playlist here

eesti laul 2010 will take place at the Nokia Concert Hall, Tallinn on 12th March.

2010 Iceland - Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins Final

Saturday 6th February is turning out to be a Nordic 'Super Saturday' as Norway, Denmark and Iceland hold their national finals and the first Melodifestivalen show takes place in Sweden.

These are the 6 finalists in Iceland:

1. Íris Hólm - The one
2. Matthias Matthiasson - Out of sight
3. Jógvan Hansen - One more day
4. Hvanndalsbræður - Gleði og glens
5. Hera Björk - Je ne sais quoi
6. Sjonni Brink - Waterslide

Many fans will welcome the return of Hera Björk who competed in Danish MGP last year with 'Someday' and ultimately appeared in the Eurovision final anyway as a backing singer for Iceland's entry 'Is It True'.

As ever a Youtube playlist of the six finalists can be found here.

Didrik Solli-Tangen favourite to win MGP Norway on Saturday

This song is really growing on me. I think it would do very well with the juries. It's currently favourite with the bookies to win MGP on Saturday. Here are the full odds from Ladbrokes.com:

Didrik Solli-Tangen 11/20

A1 5/1

Keep of Kalessin 8/1

Bjorn Johan Muri 12/1

Maria Arredondo 21/1

Maria Haukaas Storeng 18/1

Venke Knutson 20/1

Alexander Stenerud 33/1

melodi grand prix 2010 - Denmark

These are the 10 finalists who will compete in the Danish melodi grand prix final on Saturday 6th February (popular day for national finals). 'All About A Girl' is from the same writing team as last year's Danish entry and again includes Ronan Keating.

Joakim Transberg - All About A Girl
Chanee & N'evergreen - In A Moment Like This
Bryan Rice - Breathing
Sukkerchock - Kæmper For Kærlighed
Silas & Kat - Come Come Run Away
Kaya Brüel - Only Tonight
MariaMatilde Band - Panik!
Simone - How Will I Know
Thomas Barsøe - Just Like Rain
Jens Marni - Gloria

Re-cap video uploaded by PolskaEurovision

DR melodi grand prix 2010 official website (in Danish)

Melodifestivalen is nearly here!

Sweden hasn't done very well at Eurovision in recent years, which is ironic because they have one of the best national final formats. Regardless of how they fare in Oslo, Melodifestivalen is guaranteed to be a spectacle in its own right.

Melodifestivalen 2010 begins this Saturday 6th February with Deltävling 1 at the Fjällräven Center, Örnsköldsvik. These are the artists and the songs they will be performing:

Ola Svensson - Unstoppable

Jenny Silver - A Place To Stay

Linda Pritchard - You're Making Me Hot-Hot-Hot

Pain of Salvation - Road Salt

Anders Ekborg - The Saviour

Jessica Andersson - I Did It For Love

Frispråkarn - Singel

Salem Al Fakir - Keep On Walking

Clips of the songs will be made available later in the week on the SVT website but for now you can see a Youtube playlist of the artists performing previous hits here (opens in new window).

Official Melodifestivalen site (in Swedish) http://svt.se/melodifestivalen

Germany - Unser Star für Oslo 2010

After a series of disappointing results Germany is opting for a new national final format this year. 'Unser star für Oslo' involves a series of public auditions, the more comical of which can be seen on the Pro Sieben website here (opens in new window).

The live shows will take place 2nd and 9th February with ten acts competing in each. Five performers from each heat will move forward to the next stage of the selection - the elimination rounds. After the semi final, two acts will remain to compete in the grand final on 12th March, where they will perform the song chosen as Germany's Eurovision entry.

The format is similar to the UK's 'Your Country Needs You' which led to Jade Ewen attaining the UK's best result for years, finishing 5th in Moscow last year.

Norway MGP 2010 - Venke Knutson qualifies for the final next Saturday

I'm so glad this song qualified for the MGP final through the 2nd chance round. The final line-up is again really strong this year, with the re-appearance of Maria Haukaas Storeng and British boyband A1.

The full line-up for next Saturday's final is:

1. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Make My Day
2. Keep of Kalessin - The dragontower
3. Alexander Stenerud - Give it to me
4. Maria Arredondo - The touch
5. A1 - Don't wanna lose you again
6. Didrik Solli-Tangen - My heart is yours
7. Bjørn Johan Muri - Yes man
8. Venke Knutson - Jealous 'cause I love you

For your convenience I've put together a Youtube playlist of all the finalists' semi-final perfomances http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=130EF59E1D411CFF
(opens in new window)

Finland 2010 - Kuunkuiskaajat - Työlki Ellää

Oh dear Finland! There were some nice songs in your national final and you chose this? Good luck qualifying.

Switzerland 2010 - Michael Von Der Heide - Il Pleut De L'Or

Well this is vaguely pleasant. I will remember to take my toilet break during Switzerland's performance this year as I won't be missing anything!

Albania 2010 - Juliana Pasha - Nuk Mundam Pa Ty

This is Albania's entry for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. I note a slight Lady Gaga influence here but overall the song sounds very dated.

Coral Segovia - En una vida (Eurovision 2010 Spain) España

This is definitely the best song so far this year. Will she be able to pull off those vocals live and win the Spanish national final though? It remains to be seen.