Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Croatia: Jacques Houdek released instrumental version of "My Friend"

Jaques Houdek (© Marko Kosutic)
Croatian broadcaster HRT confirmed on 17th February 2017 that 35 years old singer Jacques Houdek will represent his country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv with the song "My Friend".

Jacques Houdek released today the instrumental version of his Eurovision entry on youtube, listen here:

Doesn't it sound promising?! Well, for sure there are only some more days till we hear the song with vocals as well.
“Impressive, proud, hymnic, triumphant, lively!”. These were the five words Croatia’s Eurovision representative and majority author of the song "My Friend" used to describe the feelings he believes the instrumental version will engender in its listeners." Jacques commented the instrumental version on Facebook.
Support Jacques Houdek and his music. His Eurovision entry "My Friend" isn't released yet. In the meantime listen to his latest album "Tko Je, Srce U Te Dirn'o?" and download it on iTunes or listen it on Spotify:

For other possibilities check the stores in your country.

Jacques Houdek will represent Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. He will participate with "My Friend" in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017. Will he make it to the Eurovision final?

Find out more about Jaques Houdek and follow him:

Eurovision 2017: 3 hosts to "Celebrate Diversity" in Kyiv!

(© EBU / UA:PBC)
Ukrainian broadcaster UA: PBC announced yesterday the hosts for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko have been chosen to host the contest in Kyiv in May. It's the first time in Eurovision history that three male hosts have been chosen.
"We are thrilled at the prospect of having three hosts for this year’s contest. This will be the first time that Eurovision has had three male hosts in its sixty-two year history, and Oleksandr, Volodymyr, and Timur have a proven track record of combining humour, improvisation, and professionalism in their routines. I’m confident that they will provide much entertainment for viewers in May". said Jon Ola Sand (Executive Supervisor) to eurovision.tv 
Stuart Barlow (show producer ESC 2017) added: "We did not set out looking for three young men but after being so impressed by them in the castings, we started to develop the idea of having these amazing young guys working together. They have a great chemistry, and its great because it has not been done before at Eurovision".

Who are the hosts?


Oleksandr Skichko
  • well known host of tv shows (Wake Up, Star Way, Sing Like A Star)
  • in the age of 15 he was semi-finalist of Ukraine's Got Talent

Volodymyr Ostapchuk
  • professional voice artist (Hans in Disney's animation movie Frozen)
  • well known tv presenter (morning show, shopping goddess and style icon..)

Timur Miroshnychenko
  • hosted numerous national selections
  • host of Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and 2013
  • host of the semi-final allocation draw earlier this year
  • in the last 12 years he was working on 30 Eurovision projects

 

"Eurovision Song Contest 2017" - Live Shows

  • 09.05.2017 - Semi-Final 1
  • 11.05.2017 - Semi-Final 2
  • 13.05.2017 - Grand Final

For the latest official news about the Eurovision Song Contest follow here:

Slovenia: Omar Naber returns to Eurovision with "On My Way"

Omar Naber (© Petra Hlebš)
The Slovenian national final of "EMA 2017" took place last weekend with a line-up of eight hopefuls performing their potential Eurovision entries. In the end it was Omar Naber who won the competition with the song "On My Way".

"EMA 2017" - Top 3

  • Omar Naber - "On My Way" (1)
  • BQL - "Heart Of Gold" (2)
  • Raiven - "Zažarim" (3)
Besides Sunstroke Project from Moldova Omar Naber is also returning to the Eurovision Song Contest. He already represented Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Stop". It's not only Omar's second participation in Eurovision, he will also return to Kyiv, where the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 took place. Do you remember his entry "Stop"?

Support Omar Naber and his music. Download his latest single "Basket Case" on iTunes or listen to it on Spotify:

For other possibilities check the stores in your country.

Omar Naber will represent Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. He will participate with "On My Way" in the first semi-final on 9th May 2017 in Kyiv. Will he make it to the Eurovision final?

Find out more about Omar Naber and follow him:


Serbia: RTS confirmed Tijana Bogićević

Serbian broadcaster RTS announced yesterday the artist for representing the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. It's Tijana Bogićević who has been chosen internally to perform in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017 in Kyiv!

It's planned to release Tijana's Eurovision entry very soon. For the moment it's only known that her song will be written and composed by Borislav Milanov, Bo Persson, Johan Alkenas and Lisa Ann-Mari Linder. All of them are known for Conchita's winning song "Rise Like A Phoenix" (ESC 2014 for Austria) and they also have been part of the authors for Poli Genova's "If Love Was A Crime" for Bulgaria (#4) last year. Seems we can expect something great..

Tijana is already known from the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, as she was one of the backing singers of Nina Radojičić, who represented Serbia in the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Čaroban". Do you remember her?

Tijana Bogićević will participate in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 on 11th May 2017. Will she make it to the final?

Find out more about Tijana Bogićević and follow her:


Romania: 10 finalists for "Selecţia Naţională 2017"

Finalists (© TVR)
The Romanian national selection of "Selecţia Naţională 2017" kicked on Sunday with a line-up of 15 potential Eurovision entries. In the end it was jury decision only who will make it to the final next Sunday. Some of them has been Ovi and Paula Seling, who represented twice Romania in Eurovision.

"Selecţia Naţională" - Finalists

We already have some returning contestants from other countries. Will Mihai also return this year?! Let's find out next Sunday!

Jury: 

"Selecţia Naţională 2017"

  • 26.02.2017: Semi-Final
  • 05.03.2017: National Final
Ovidiu Anton won the pre-selection 2016 and was chosen to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm with "Moment Of Silence".

A few days before the most important Eurovision weeks of the year begun he was disqualified from the EBU, because of financial problems from Romania.. That wasn't fair to him!

The winner of "Selecţia Naţională 2017" will be honored to represent Romania in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017 in Kyiv. Who should represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Ukraine?

Read more about Eurovision Romania here:

Monday, February 27, 2017

Denmark: Anja Nissen won "DMGP 2017" with "Where I Am"

The Danish national final of "Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2017" took place last Saturday in Hersing, hosted by Johannes Nymark (former Lighthouse X) and Annette Heick. The show included 10 potential Eurovision entries. In the end it was Anja Nissen who won the competition with "Where I Am".

After the first voting round the list was shortened to the TOP 3 contestants by a combination of jury (50%) and public (50%) voting.

TOP 3
  • Anja Nissen - "Where I Am"
  • Ida Una - "One"
  • Johanna Beijbom - "A.S.A.P."
After a second voting round the clear winner was Anja Nissen with 64% of the votes. She will represent Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv with "Where I Am".

Anja Nissen already was part of the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016 and finished 2nd, behind Lighthouse X, with the song "Never Alone". Anja is also well known for winning 2014 the third edition of The Voice Australia. Watch here her amazing version of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing".

Anja Nissen will representing Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. She will participate in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017.

Support Anja Nissen and her music. Download her Eurovision entry "Where I Am" on iTunes or listen to her last years entry "Never Alone" on Spotify:

For other possibilities check the stores in your country.

Find out more about Anja Nissen and follow her:


Eurovision in Concert 2017: 7 acts already confirmed!

The biggest Eurovision promotion event Eurovision in Concert takes place on 8th April 2017 in Amsterdam. Once again the show will be hosted by Cornald Maas with Selma Björnsdottir from Iceland. Selma represented Iceland 1999 with "All Out Of Luck" and returned to Eurovision in 2005 with "If I Had Your Love".

You haven't bought a ticket? Well.. now it's too late. As in previous years the event was SOLD OUT very quickly after the official sale hast started..

In the last weeks more and more national finals have been and also many internal decisions have been done by the broadcaster. The team of Eurovision in Concert announced already some of the ESC 2017 acts for this year event. In total there are seven acts confirmed so far to perform on 8th April in Melkweg in the heart of Amsterdam and here they are..

Confirmed acts:
(in order of last confirmation)
Besides the confirmations by the organizers, there is one band announcing their participation in a video message....

"Eurovision in Concert 2017" - Hosts
  • Selma (ESC 1999, ESC 2005)
  • Cornald Maas

Join the event on Facebook:

Find out more about Eurovision in Concert here:


Moldova: Sunstroke Project return to Eurovision with "Hey Mamma"

The Moldovan national final of "O Melodie Pentru Europa 2017" took place on 25th February 2017. There was a line-up of 14 potential Eurovision entries. From the semi-final on 24th February 2017 ten of them made it to the national final one day later.

In the end it was not really a surprise that former Eurovision contestants Sunstroke Project won once again the competition and returning to the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with their song "Hey Mamma".

Sunstroke Project already represented Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo together with Olia Tira and the song "Run Away". The last years the Moldova failed to qualify to the Eurovision final. Will they bring Moldova back to the Eurovision final?

Support Sunstroke Project and their music. Download their Eurovision entry "Hey Mamma" on iTunes or listen to it on Spotify:

For other possibilities check the stores in your country.

Sunstroke Project are honored to represent Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. They will participate in the first semi-final on 9th May 2017 in Ukraine.

Find out more about Sunstroke Project and follow them: 

Austria: Nathan Trent released "Running On Air"

After the official announcement by ORF, Austrian broadcaster, Nathan Trent was working on his Eurovision entry. Finally! Nathan released today his Eurovision entry "Running On Air" and it sounds like this...

Nathan Trent will try to promote his Eurovision entry as much as he can. He is already confirmed to be part of the biggest Eurovision promotional event Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam and for the London Eurovision Party.

Support Nathan Trent and his music. Download his Eurovision entry "Running On Air" on iTunes or listen to it on Spotify:

For other possibilities check the stores in your country.

Nathan Trent will participate in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 201711th May 2017 in Kyiv.

Find out more about Nathan Trent and follow him:

Malta: Claudia Faniello wins "MESC 2017" with "Breathlessly"

It was decision time in Malta on 18th February 2017. The 30th edition of the "Malta Eurovision Song Contest"(MESC) took place in Malta with a line-up of 16 competing hopefuls. Daniel Azzopardi and Charlene Mercieca hosted the show live from Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre in Ta'Quali.

Claudia Faniello won the competition with "Breathlessly" after a 100% televovting with 4.996 points. Second came Janice Manigion with "Kewkba" (4.544 points), followed by Kevin Borg with the song "Follow" (2.502 points).


Claudia Faniello will represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Breathlessly", written by Gerard James Borg and composed by Philip Vella and Sean Vella. She will participate in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017 in Kyiv.

Support Claudia Faniello and her music. Her Eurovision entry isn't official released yet, download her latest single "You Said" on iTunes or listen to it on Spotify:

For other possibilities check the stores in your country.

Find out more about Claudia Faniello and follow her: 

Friday, February 17, 2017

Slovenia: Exclusive! Interview with BQL "Our song follows a popular trend of pop music nowadays, so any listener can find it familiar and catchy"

BQL are one of the competing contestants for the Slovenian national selection of "EMA 2017". They will compete in the second semi-final on 18th February 2017 with the song "Heart Of Gold". Listen to a snippet of the song here..


A few days ago we spoke to BQL about their participation in the Slovenian national selection. Read our interview with them below to find out what they hat to say...

Thursday, February 16, 2017

France: Alma confirmed with "Requiem"

In collaboration between French 2 and French 4 it was chosen once again internally who will represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. On 9th February 2017 it was announced that  Alma (Alexandra Maquet) will represent France in Kyiv with the song "Requiem"!

"Requiem" was written and composed by Nazim Khaled. Nazim also wrote the French entry for Amir in Eurovision 2016. Nazam Khaled wrote most of the songs from Alma's forthcoming album, which is expected to be released on 5th May 2017.
“I’m deeply honoured to have been selected to represent my country, France, at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and I strongly hope to count on the public’s love and support to deliver the best performance possible” Alma said.
Support Alma and her music. Download her Eurovision entry "Requiem" on iTunes or listen to it on Spotify:

For other possibilites check the stores in your country.

As one of the big five countries Alma will compete with "Requiem" in the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 on 13th May 2017 in Kyiv.

Find out more about Alma and follow her:


Slovenia: Listen to snippets of "EMA 2017" - Semi-Final 2


Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO revealed earlier this year 16 acts for the national selection "EMA 2017". 16 contestants are in the battle in two semi-finals to get a ticket to the national final on 24th February 2017. The second semi-final takes place on 18th February 2017 and now you can listen to snippets of the entries..

18.02.2017 - Semi-Final 2 - Candidates
(names in alphabetical order)




"EMA 2017"

  • 17.02.2017 - Semi-Final 1
  • 18.02.2017 - Semi-Final 2
  • 24.02.2017 - National Final

Voting: 

  • 50% Expert jury
  • 50% Public voting
Four out of eight from each semi-final will qualify to the national final on 24th February 2017. Two of them with the highest score from the audience and two more chosen by a expert jury. 

ManuElla won "EMA 2016" and represented Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm. Her song "Blue and Red" failed to qualify to the Eurovision final.

The winner of "EMA 2017" will be honored to represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. Who will participate in the first semi-final on 9th May 2017?

Read more about 'EMA' here:

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Norway: NRK announced 10 candidates for "MGP 2017"

"MGP 2017" - Candidates (© NRK)
NRK, Norwegian broadcaster, announced some days ago ten candidates and their songs for the national selection. The final of "Melodi Grand Prix 2017" (MGP) will be on 11th March 2017 in Oslo (Spektrum). A record of 1035 songs have been submitted for the national selection and these are the lucky ones for the live show...

"Melodi Grand Prix 2017" - Candidates

                  Read the official announcement from NRK here:

                  The show will be hosted by Line Elvsåshagen and Kåre Magnus Bergh.

                  (© NRK)

                  "Melodi Grand Prix 2017" - Show

                  • 11.03.2017 - National Final

                  Agnete won MGP 2016 and represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm. Her song "Icebreaker" failed to qualify to the Eurovision final.

                  The winner of "Melodi Grand Prix 2017" will be honoured to represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. Who should participate in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017 in Ukraine?

                  Find out more about 'Melodi Grand Prix' here:

                  Slovenia: Listen to snippets of "EMA 2017" - Semi-Final 1


                  Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO revealed earlier this year 16 acts for the national selection "EMA 2017". 16 contestants are in the battle in two semi-finals to get a ticket to the national final on 24th February 2017. The first semi-final takes place on 17th February 2017 and now you can listen to snippets of the entries..

                  17.02.2017 - Semi-Final 1 - Candidates
                  (names in alphabetical order)




                  "EMA 2017"

                  • 17.02.2017 - Semi-Final 1
                  • 18.02.2017 - Semi-Final 2
                  • 24.02.2017 - National Final

                  Voting: 

                  • 50% Expert jury
                  • 50% Public voting
                  Four out of eight from each semi-final will qualify to the national final on 24th February 2017. Two of them with the highest score from the audience and two more chosen by a expert jury. 


                  ManuElla won "EMA 2016" and represented Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm. Her song "Blue and Red" failed to qualify to the Eurovision final.

                  The winner of "EMA 2017" will be honored to represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. Who will participate in the first semi-final on 9th May 2017?

                  Read more about 'EMA' here:

                  Sweden: Exclusive! Interview Robin Bengtsson "I have a great song and I will put my all in to win the whole thing"

                  Robin Bengtsson is one of the candidates for the "Melodifestivalen 2017" with his song "I Can't Go On". He will participate on Saturday, 18th February 2017 in Växjö, in the third semi-final of the Swedish national selection of "Melodifestivalen 2016". Watch here the video of his "Melfest 2016" entry "Constellation Prize".

                  We spoked with Robin Bengtsson some days ago about his participation in the Swedish national selection "Melodifestivalen 2017". Read our interview with him below to find out what he had to say...

                  Spain: Manel Navarro won "Objetivo Eurovisión 2017" with "Do It For Your Lover"

                  The Spanish national final of "Objetivio Eurovision 2017" took place last Saturday. There was a line-up of six competing contestants with their potential Eurovision entry. In the end it was the 20 years young singer Manel Navarro who won the competition with "Do It For Your Lover". Manel Navarro will represent Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv.

                  "Objetivo Eurovisión 2017"

                  1. Manel Navarro -"Do It for Your Lover" (1st, 58 points)
                  2. LeKlein - "Ouch!!" (3rd, 52 points)
                  3. Paula Rojo - "Lo que nunca fue" (6th, 39 points)
                  4. Mario Jefferson - "Spin My Head" (5th, 40 points)
                  5. Maika - "Momento crítico" (4th, 41 points)
                  6. Mirela - "Contigo" (2nd, 58 points)
                  The winner was chosen with a mix of jury and public votes. 

                  Support Manel Navarro and his music. Download his Eurovision entry "Do It For Your Love" on iTunes or listen to it on Spotify:



                  For other possibilities check the stores in your country:

                  Manel Navarro will represent Spain in the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 on 13th May 2017 in Kyiv with his song "Do It For Your Lover".

                  Find out more about Manel Navarro and follow him:


                  Tuesday, February 14, 2017

                  Hungary: Acoustic versions of "A Dal 2017" finalists

                  Two semi-finals of "A Dal 2017" took place last Friday on Saturday with a line-up of 9 contestants in each show. In the end four out of them each show made it to the Hungarian final. Three of them have been chosen in a combination of public and jury voting. A last final fourth ticket was decided only by public voting. There are now eight hopefuls for the national final of"A Dal 2017" which takes place on 18th February 2017.

                  "A Dal 2017" - Finalists

                  All contestants recorded special acoustic versions of their entries. Till we know the running order for Sturday watch their acoustic versions of the songs..









                  "A Dal 2017" - Shows

                  • 14.01.2017 - Heat 1
                  • 28.01.2017 - Heat 2
                  • 04.02.2017 - Heat 3
                  • 10.02.2017 - Semi-Final 1
                  • 11.02.2017 - Semi-Final 2
                  • 18.02.2017 - National Final

                  Freddie won "A Dal 2016" and represented Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm. His song "Pioneer" ended on 19th place in the Eurovision final.

                  The winner of "A Dal 2017" will be honored to represent Hungary at the  Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Ukraine. Who will perform in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017 in Kyiv?

                  Read more about "A Dal 2016" here:

                  Italy: Francesco Gabbani wins "Festival di Sanremo 2017" with "Occidentali's Karma"

                  Between 7th and 11th February the Festival di Sanremo took place in Italy. After five evenings the winner was called Francesco Gabbani. He will represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv with the song "Occidentali's Karma". This was the final running order..

                  "Festival di Sanremo 2017"

                  1. Elodie - "Tutta colpa mia" (8th)
                  2. Michele Zarrillo - "Mani nelle mani" (11th)
                  3. Sergio Sylvestre - "Con te" (6th)
                  4. Fiorella Mannoia - "Che sia Benedetta" (2nd)
                  5. Fabrizio Moro - "Portami via" (7th)
                  6. Alessio Bernabei - "Nel mezzo di un applauso" (15th)
                  7. Marco Masini - "Spostato di un secondo" (13th)
                  8. Paola Turci - "Fatti bella per te" (5th)
                  9. Bianca Atzei - "Ora esisti solo tu" (9th)
                  10. Francesco Gabbani - "Occidentali's Karma" (winner)
                  11. Chiara - "Nessun posto è casa mia" (14th)
                  12. Clementino - "Ragazzi fuori" (16th)
                  13. Ermal Meta - "Vietato morire" (3rd)
                  14. Lodovica Comello - "Il cielo non mi basta" (12th)
                  15. Samuel - "Vedrai" (10th)
                  16. Michele Bravi - "Il diario degli errori" (4th)
                  Francesco Gabbani will participate in the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv on 13th March 2017 with "Occidentali's Karma".

                  Support Francesco Gabbani and his music. Download his Eurovision entry "Occidentali's Karma" on iTunes or listen to it on Spotify

                  For other possibilities check the stores in your country

                  Find out more about Francesco Gabbani and follow him here:


                  Estonia: Result semi-final 1 of "Eesti Laul 2017"

                  The first Semi-Final from the Estonian national selection "Eesti Laul 2017" took place on Saturday and brought us five qualifiers for the Estonian national final on 4th March 2017. One of them is Elina Born who represented Estonia in Eurovision 2015 in Vienna and Ivo Linna, who represented his country in ESC 1996. The voting was a combination of jury (50%) and televotes (50%).

                  "Eesti Laul 2017" - Result Semi-Final 1
                  (qualifiers in bold)

                  1. Lenna Kuurmaa - "Slingshot"
                  2. Elina Born - "In or Out"
                  3. Carl-Philip - "Everything But You"
                  4. Ivo Linna - "Suur loterii"
                  5. Ariadne - "Feel Me Now"
                  6. Uku Suviste - "Supernatural"
                  7. Laura Prits - "Hey Kiddo"
                  8. Whogaux & Karl-Kristjan feat. Maian - "Have You Now"
                  9. Janno Reim & Kosmos - "Valan pisaraid"
                  10. Leemet Onno - "Hurricane"
                  Here you can watch the performances from the qualifiers:






                  "Eesti Laul 2017"
                  • 11.02.2017 - Semi Final 1
                  • 18.02.2017 - Semi Final 2
                  • 04.03.2017 - National Final 
                  Jüri Pootsmann won Eesti Laul 2016 with the song "Play" and represented Estonia at the  Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, but he failed to qualify to the Eurovision final.

                  The winner of Eesti Laul 2017 will be honored to represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Who will participate in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017 in Ukraine?

                  Israel: It's Imri Ziv to Kyiv!

                  Imri Ziv won yesterday the casting show Hakochav Haba (Rising Star 2017). He will represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv.

                  You heaven't heared about Imri Ziv before? Well, could be - but for sure you know this guy! He was already part of Eurovision in the last two years. He did the backing vocals in Vienna for Nadav Guedj ("Golden Boy") and last year for Hovi Star ("Made Of Stars"). 

                  This year it was time for him to step out of the shadow. It was time for Imri to show the audience in Israel what he can - and he did it! He performed in the casting show songs from Beyonce ("Halo") and Kelly Clarkson ("Because Of You"). Watch it here..
                  It's not known yet which song the 26 years old singer Imri Ziv will perform in Kyiv. The song will be chosen internally and the announcement is expected in March 2017. Stay tuned..

                  Imri Ziv will be honored to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv. He will perform in the second semi-final on 11th May 2017 in Ukraine. 

                  Find out more about Imri Ziv and follow him: