Eurovision Chat

The Finnish hard-rock nation decided to take a considerable turn in their Eurovision taste: this time round they are sending to Moscow a pop band – the famous Waldo’s People. Tampere saw a huge party last Saturday, when the song Lose Control got almost half of the votes of the audience and won the ticket to ESC 2009.

Waldo’s People got really popular across Europe in the late 90s. You will probably remember them with the hits of the time Feel So Good, It’s About Time and Move Your Body, as the band split 8 years ago, to come back together last year. They have four albums under their belt and enough confidence to challenge Eurovision.

Finland’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest dates back to 1961. For the 48 years of its participation it possessed the trophy only once, in 2006, when Lordi simply smashed the competition with their Hard Rock Hallelujah. These are moments that history remembers well.

After a nervous evening, when RTV Andorra organised the national selection for Moscow Passport To Moscow (Passaport a Moscou), the citizens of the mountain country of banks chose their 2009 Eurovision representative – Susanna Georgi. The pop entry La teva decisió was selected by a blend jury-audience vote, who were all unanimous in their choice. Ms. Georgi overtook her competitors gaining a smashing 56% of the total votes.

A fan group on Facebook is gaining serious speed in support of the charming artist.

Andorra will have to participate in a semi-final first and then possibly make it to the Final on 16 May. This will be the sixth participation of the country in Eurovision. So far, no one from Andorra has managed to qualify for the Grand Final.

In the heyday of the Eurovision season, Romania selected its 2009 Eurovision representative – this time a girl. Elena Gheorghe will sing the song The Balkan Girls – an upbeat pop song.

Romania has long traditions in Eurovision, and is constantly seducing its former entrants. For this reason, among the jurors who selected the song was also the old Eurovision acquaintance Mihai Traistariu.

Although in recent years, Romania has relied on songs performed in Romanian or Italian, this time the solo artist will sing in English. This is a serious turn, which in the combination of the pop style and with the even better dances of Elena, might bring success to the Balkan country.

Romania has participated in the European music event since 1994. For its ten participations, it made it to the third place thanks to Luminita Anghel and Sistem and their song Let Me Try

How can you never give up participating in Eurovision?! There are people, who are always back in the game, willing to do their best and bring the trophy to their country.

There is such a person (we know he’s not the only one), who cannot leave Eurovision and keeps on producing songs for it. This is the beautiful and well… talented Sakis Rouvas, who will represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. The song to be composed specially for the show in Moscow, will be written by the prominent composer Dimitris Kontopoulos, who’s also behind Sakis’s hot summer hit Kai se thelo (I want You).

You will remember that Mr. Rouvas participated in the 2004 Eurovision, when he finished in the top 3, and came back on stage as a host during the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest in Athens. Now, let’s see what’s going to happen in Moscow this spring.

By the way, Greece was the first country to select its entrant this season. Perhaps hoping that the early bird will catch the worm…

Are you ready for a brand new start? At least that’s how the lyrics of the 2009 Dutch entry go. The Dutch boy band De Toppers will try to make it to the top in Moscow with their song Shine. A jolly, typically Eurovision entry, which has nothing to surprise us with, but still, keep an eye on the trio from the Netherlands.

De Toppers consists of Gerard Joling, who’ve already gained some experience with the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988, Gordon, a popular TV presenter and scriptwriter, who took part in the Dutch national selection from Eurovision in Dutch in 1990 and 2003 and Rene Froger. The guys got together in May 2004 and since then have been holding many concerts, including the one i mid-June this year.

The Netherlands joined the show in 1956 with Corry Brokken’s song Voorgoed Voorbij (”Over Forever”), which scored second. The same lady won the contest just two years later with Net Als Toen (”Just Like Then”).

The British made a great choice this year for their traditional participation in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The result took the commitment of the great composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the song It’s My Time – performed by the talented and beautiful British star Jade Ewen.

The 2009 UK Entry for Eurovision Song Contest 2009 is a powerful solo ballad, bathing in the splendid and tender atmosphere created by Jade. The song is already popular throughout the UK, Malta, Greece, and in other Eurovision countries.

The Brits hope for a position in top ten and it will be well-deserved indeed. Indeed, many people think that the song is not strong enough to win the trophy. Others are fast to say that it’s a great voice and the songs well deserves a top position, but won’t get it as it’s not a typical Eurovision song.

The UK has won the contest 4 times (’67, ‘76, ‘81, and ‘97) and joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 with Patricia Bredin’s song “All”, who finished 7th.

Do you remember the celebration of kids’ music in Lemesos last year? And the well-deserved winner Bzikebi from Georgia? JESC 2008 seems to have been successful for organisers and participants alike (at least for most of the participants). Some countries keep on participating, others have decided to give it up, so the number of participants for JESC 2009 is 15.

The 7th Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Singers from 10 to 15 years of age will compete for the chance to be called Winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. As long as you fall in this age group, you have written and can perform your song, go for it and apply in your country’s selection.

43 is the number of the countries participating in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Moscow. It seems like the show is just as popular as it was last year, so much so that Slovakia has decided to come back to the Eurovision family. Here is the final list of the participating countries, after the deadline for withdraw has passed:

1. Albania
2. Andorra
3. Armenia
4. Azerbaijan
5. Belarus
6. Belgium
7. Bosnia & Herzegovina
8. Bulgaria
9. Croatia
10. Cyprus
11. Czech Republic
12. Denmark
13. Estonia
14. Finland
15. France
16. FYR Macedonia
17. Georgia
18. Germany
19. Greece
20. Hungary
21. Iceland
22. Ireland
23. Israel
24. Latvia
25. Lithuania
26. Malta
27. Moldova
28. Montenegro
29. The Netherlands
30. Norway
31. Poland
32. Portugal
33. Romania
34. Russia
35. Serbia
36. Slovakia
37. Slovenia
38. Spain
39. Sweden
40. Switzerland
41. Turkey
42. Ukraine
43. United Kingdom

The rules stay the same and the Semi-Finals will contain 19 performances each. 20 altogether (10 from each Semi-Final) qualify for the Grand Final (16 May), where the Big 4 are already waiting. France, Germany, Spain and the UK plus the host Russia have a secure place at the Final. It’s good news that none of the Big 4 have decided not to invest money in Eurovision this year, as this would have robbed the contest of its flavour.

Who participates in which Semi-Final will be decided in Moscow on 30 January. Heated debate is expected from you after this draw. This draw will also decide the Semi-Final of the Big-Four and the host country – three in one Semi-Final and three in the other. The running order will be determined as usual after a draw at the regular HoD Meeting in mid-March. There will be three wildcards, who can luckily decide their starting position.

Meanwhile, yesterday the EBU launched their new dedicated website: Eurovision Song Contest – Moscow 2009. The general sponsor is again Raiffeisen Bank. The website for years in a row offers streaming of the ESCTV, mobile services, and downloads.

So, are you getting started for Moscow? I’ll soon try to offer the top list of how to survive financially in the Russian capital – one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Hera (but no Zeus) will fight hard to represent Denmark in Moscow in May this year. Ms. Hera Björk will sing the song “Someday” – a strong solo. “It is a great song with a catchy melody, fun to sing…,” says Hera herself in an interview for DR Denmark” There’s been so much information and campaigning about the Iclandic diva, that the rest of the competition seem to fade away, though not quite.

The young singer was born in Iceland, but has moved to the Danish capital four years ago. In fact the lot behind the song also come from all over Scandinavia and are well known for their fervent Eurovision activity: the composers Christina Schilling and Jonas Gladnikoff from Sweden, and the Swedish authors Henrik Szabo and Daniel Nilsson.

As you might remember from previous posts on Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, Ms. Björk will be competing with nine other artists in a new-style Danish domestic show – a single national final will select Denmark’s favourite.

The ten artists competing in Copenhagen on 31 January are: Christina Undhjem, Claus Christensen, Jeppe Laursen, Jimmy Jørgensen, SUKKERCHOK, Brinck, Hera Björk, Johnny Deluxe, Marie Carmen Koppel and Trine Jepsen.

Here is a short list with some notes for you to keep an eye on the Danish Melodi Grand Prix:

Brinck Believe Again — His earlier hit I don’t Wanna Love Her is a truly mild ballad with inspiring lyrics and genuine sound. Pop star Ronan Keating himself stands behind the project Believe Again.

Claus Christensen — Big Bang Baby — Yet another pop singer with substantial experience in Eurovision who can cry at the top of his voice “vote for me”.

Christina Undhjem — Underneath My Skin — Born in Norway, Christina has a taste for lyrical mystical music and she can do it well.

Hera Björk — Someday
SUGAR shocks — Det’ det
Trine Jepsen — I Never Fall In Love Again
Wildcard: Jeppe Laursen — Lucky Boy — and indeed he is…
Wildcard: Jimmy Jørgensen — Alice In The Wonderland — if music can be nostalgic, that’s his music
Wildcard: Johnny Deluxe — Crazy
Wildcard: Marie Carmen Koppel — Crying Out Your Name

Have you ever thought that Eurovision artists can be or become popular in the US? It is possible only if the music is universal, which electronic music, and the music of DJ Balthazar specifically, is.

So, here he is, the charming and talented DJ Balthazar, a.k.a. in his country DJ Baltazvyar (DJ Balta-beast), going on a long tour across the USA. At the very start of the new year Balthazar is getting ready for his next tour – in mid-January he embarks on a journey to the various US cities, which will be his first tour in North America. His hectic schedule features 6 gigs in some of the hottest night clubs in Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Mmm, are you thinking of getting the plane to Hollywood?

In 2008, DJ Balthazar has eventually become one of the most popular Bulgarian DJs, thus one of the missionaries of Eurovision across the Atlantic. He managed to export the Bulgarian electronic music industry to countries such as Egypt, the UK, Portugal, Malta, Slovakia, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, and Macedonia.