Nov, 2008

Nov 26th, 2008

Slovakia back in the Eurovision game

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After 10 years of Eurovision break, the Slovak TV finally announced that the country will take part in the 2009 Eurovision Grand Prix. Representatives of the national television said that Slovenia boasts many talented composers, writers and singers, and is absolute ready to compete at Eurovision with great chances of success.

March 8 next year will see the Slovak national final, but until then, the best will have to be selected among many candidates. As for candidates, absolutely everyone is free to join in – this will be an open competition for all national talents. During the final, a professional jury panel will pick up the Slovak winner for the 54th Eurovision Song Contest.

Nov 26th, 2008

Spanish 2009 Eurovision entrant to be selected online

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“If you feel capable of imitating Massiel, Karina or Rodolfo Chikilicuatre, and want once and for all to bring Eurovision to Spain, this is your chance.” This is how the Spanish broadcaster TVE has decided to select its 2009 ESC representative – via an online announcement on Myspace.

This year they are not only looking for the most capable, talented, attractive, and charismatic representative of Spain at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, but also for one of the five jurors who will help select them. 50 songs qualifying for the semi-final will be selected in a mixed jury and audience vote.

This is not the first time TVE has turned to online applications to pick its Eurovision entrant, remember? Last year they had the same process, which they reckon proved successful and sent Rodolfo to Serbia. The deadline is December 19, so if you feel like joining the extravaganza, be quick!

Nov 24th, 2008

Junior ESC 2009

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After the great show on Saturday, get down to Planet Earth and start thinking about the next JESC.

As you might already know, but lets remind you again, next year the Junior ESC 2009 will take place in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, or Kiev. The month when the contest will be held is November, 2009, and the exact date will be announced pretty soon. The exact place will become clear next year, perhaps some time after the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.

Lets go Ukraine! but before this, we are going to Moscow, right ;)

Nov 24th, 2008

Complete results from the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008

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Here are the complete results from the 2008 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on Saturday, 22 November in Lemesos, Cyprus. A unique multimedia event, bringing together kids from across Europe.

Congratulations, Georgia!

  1. Georgia — Bzikebi, Bzz… 154 points
  2. Ukraine — Victoria Petryk, Matrosy 135 p.
  3. Lithuania — Egle Jurgaityte, Laiminga diena 103 p.
  4. Malta — Daniel Testa, Junior swing 100 p.
  5. FYR Macedonia — Bobi Andonov, Prati mi SMS 93 p.
  6. Belarus — Alina & Karina, Sertse Belarusi 86 p.
  7. Russia — Mihail Puntov, Spit angel 73 p.
  8. Armenia — Monika Manucharova, Im ergi hnchyune 59 p.
  9. Romania — Madalina & Andrada, Salvati planeta 58 p.
  10. Cyprus — Elena Mannouri & Charis Savva, Gioupi gia! 46 p.
  11. Belgium — Oliver, Shut up 45 p.
  12. Serbia — Maja Mazic, Uvek kad u nebo pogledam 37 p.
  13. Netherlands — Marissa, Een dag 27 p.
  14. Greece — Niki Yiannouchu, Kapoia nychta 19 p.
  15. Bulgaria — Krestiana Kresteva, Edna mechta 15 p.
Nov 22nd, 2008

Bzzz… Georgia wins 2008 junior eurovision song contest

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The Georgian bee trio Bzikebi (The Wasps) won the sixth Junior Eurovision Song Contest minutes ago. With 154 points they bzzzed the competition away. The bees were magnificent on stage, in yellow and black, they performed a lovely typically childish yet very complex song. And the lyrics consists of a single word only – “bzzz”, performed with immaculate mixture of tones and melodies.

Congratulations, Georgia!

Nov 22nd, 2008

The Kids’ Eurovision just started

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The show in Cyprus began minutes ago. As the hosts said, tonight, for one night only the island of Aphrodite is the centre of Europe! Viewers from 15 countries from across Europe, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Azerbaijan and even Australia will enjoy the show. Talented young people from 15 European countries will be on stage performing for YOU!

Nov 22nd, 2008

15 minutes to the beginning of the junior song contest

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A quarter of an hour before the show in Lemesos you can cut the air with a knife – the hall is almost full, the performers are already backstage, with their make-up and stage constumes on, eager to start.

Who are you going to vote for? And who do you think will the winner be? I love the Georgian track, and Oliver from Belgium has a lovely song too! Ukraine has a great lively, pically children’s song, combined with a nice kids’ show… Well, I keep my fingers crossed for all the kids to be happy with what they will have done tonight!

Nov 22nd, 2008

Less than 3 hours to the sixth JESC

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Less than 3 hours to the sixth Junior Eurovision Song Contest held in Lemesos, Cyprus, the participating kids are ready for the time of ther lives. And it is really the time of their lives, if not for any other thing but for them being close to Dima Bilan. Yes, the winner of the 2008 Eurovision in Belgrade, is in Lemesos, and will perform for you tonight!

Last night saw the Dress Rehearsal, when the national juries voted for their favourite songs. Half of the outcome of the contest will be determined by their vote. The Dress Reharsal went generally without problems, apart from a mistake during the Cypriot song, when the guy at the steady cam tumbled over and created a small confusion.

Anyway, watch the show tonight and vote for your favourite song! As the organisers say, voting, you will be supporting UNICEF and all the kids in Africa, who have nothing to eat and no fresh water to drink. And above all, enjoy the show.

Nov 21st, 2008

JESC dress rehearsal just started

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The Junior Eurovision Song Contest saw its Dress Rehearsal minutes ago.

Robbie William, Shakira, David Beckham, and Whoopi Goldberg greeted the participants, wishing Cyprus a great show and encouringing the audiences to vote more in order to support UNICEF’s cause to help children in need.

Tonight the national juries are voting too back home, and their vote will contribute 50% to the final result of the competition.

Kids from 15 countries meet in Lemessos, Cyprus to selebrate mucis, friendship, fun, and sun through their music. I’ll be reporting soon how the rehearsal proceeds.

Nov 19th, 2008

Fun In The Sun! Limassol welcomes JESC participants

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Thermometres show 22 – 24° C these days, of course if you are in Limassol (Lemesos) at the sixth Junior Eurovision Song Contest. It’s sun and fun in the sun!

The rehearsals kicked off successfully. Most of the participants have already had their first sound and light checks – most of them are happy with the results. The kids already met the hosts – Sophia Paraskeva and Alex Michael. They got to know each other at the special welcoming party, marked by a special spirit of friendship and joy.

I’ll try to keep you updated as much as possible about what’s going on in the heart of children’s music world.

Nov 18th, 2008

Sweden announces first 8 runners for 2009 Swedish Melodifestivalen

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One of the strongholds of Eurovision, Sweden, has already hit the pace of the contest. Eight artists out of 32 to compete for the ticket to Moscow have already been announced by the Swedish broadcaster SVT. This year the competition is dominated by many popular names, such as BWO, who participate for the fourth time. The complete list is as follows: Jennifer Brown, Alcazar, Emilia, Lasse Lindh, Caroline af Ugglas, BWO, Måns Zelmerlöw and Sarah Dawn Finer.

  • Alcazar — Stay The Night
  • BWO — You’re Not Alone
  • Caroline af Ugglas — Snällä, Snälla
  • Emilia — You’re My World
  • Jennifer Brown — Never Been Here Before
  • Lasse Lindh and Band — Jag Slåss I Dina Kvarter
  • Måns Zelmerlöw — Hope and Glory
  • Sarah Dawn Finer — Moving on

In an interview for the official website of SVT, Martin Rolinski from BWO say: “We saw Dima Bilan winning and thought hell, we can make it so much better. And we will certainly do much better with this song.” Caroline af Ugglas participated in last-year’s Melodifestivalen with her song “Think for yourself.” In 2009, she embarks on a long journey with “Please, please.” Alcazar has already been part of the big Swedish Eurovision show twice. Lasse Lindh made his debut in Melodifestivalen in 2007 with a sad ballad “Du behöver aldrig mer vara rädd” (“You needn’t be afraid ever again”). Unlike last year, Lasse will try his luck with an up-beat punk track this time.

You must have noticed that the Swedish people know how to make Eurovision. They always send songs that stand every chance to win the Eurovision trophy. But before that, six weeks will see a grand Melodifestivalen show – six weeks of competitions, second chances, tears and entertainment.

Nov 13th, 2008

Eurovision 2009 in Moscow with fresh details

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As I’ve already informed you, the dates for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest to take place in Many 2009 in the Russian capital Moscow are as follows:

Semi-Final 1: 12 May 2009
Semi-Final 2: 14 May 2009
Grand Final: 16 May 2009

As EBU tells us, they decided to introduce the mix of televoting and jury voting for the 2009 Final. The organisers will keep the voting system for the Semi-Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest. The final decisions will be announced after 28 November. So, keep you fingers crossed that they arrive at a decision that is favourable for the show and not only for the telephone operators and the pan-European operator.

Apart from this, we are about to have many new services introduced to the ESC, such as a mobile distribution platform, iPhone trial, possibly Android and many more. But with news on this, you’ll have to wait till next year.

But hey, before this, have you already booked your hotel in Moscow? :) Be quick and at lest ask you boss for a two-week leave in May. See you there!

Nov 10th, 2008

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with new format

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The Danish national broadcater DR has decided to change the rules for its national Eurovision selection. For ESC 2009, Denmark’s artists will no longer go through semi-finals. There will be a single show with ten songs to compete for the ticket to Moscow. The Grand Final will be held on 31 January next year, and the programme will be broadcast live on DR, who promise a huge show.

The 2007 Danish Eurovision entrant DQ will run in the contest again. He is just one of the almost 700 songs submitted for participation. A total of 684 songs were submitted for this-year’s Dansk Melodi, which is twice as much as last-year’s number of submissions.

Nov 3rd, 2008

Turkey sends Turkish beauty Hadise to Moscow

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Hadise is the Turkish 2009 Eurovision representative. There are only a couple of days before the official presser on 6 November, when the singer will be presented as the Turkish entrant. The Turkish delightful beauty will propose three songs to the Turkish national broadcaster TRT, who are to select one of them. Details about the rules will be advised soon.

Hadise is a generally acknowledged pop star in Turkey, very sexy and provocative in her style. She was nominated in the “Best Turkish Act 2008″ category during the MTV Turkey awards. Although her music is far from surprising, she’s fun to watch and the Eurovision fans will for sure find a fascinating artist in her face.