Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

RAI has announced today along with the rules of the 2015 Sanremo festival that its winner will be the first choice to represent Italy in the Eurovision song contest 2015 in Vienna. And that seems to go only for the artists, not necessarily for the song. If the winner is not interested, the organizing committee will pick up another artist from the festival. In 2012 Emma Marrone won the festival but apparently said a polite "No thank you" to Eurovision and Nina Zilli was selected instead and chose another song. In 2013 Marco Mengoni won and brought his winning entry to Malmö so this method has been in the use unofficially it seems already. Maybe.  Sanremo 2015 will be a five day affair starting February 10 with the grand final on Valentine's Day February when the Italian entrant will be then known. In the rules we can see the submission perios starts September 30, 2014 and the host and artistic director Carlo Conti has the last word on each and every one of them. Th...

Serbia returns to Eurovision and brings in big guns. Eurovision song contest winning composer Vladimir Graic is put in charge to compose three songs and one of them will be the Serbian entry in Vienna 2015. The artists will be revealed later. Serbia used this system already in the past when Goran Bregovic composed all songs in 2010 for diffrent acts. Vladimir Graic is of course the composer of Molitva , Serbia's winning song in Helsinki 2007, and he also wrote Verjamem , that represented Slovenia in 2012 but had a different fate (17th in the semifinal). He has composed also othe national final songs, like Beauty Queen's Zavet in 2008.  Recently he has been working with Milica Pavlovic , Nemanja Andjelovic , Zeljko Sasic , Milena Novakovic , Maja Nikolic , Tanja Savic and Ivana Pavkovic . Will some of them be among the possible entrants? Time will tell.... 

The new Lordi documentary got its premiere this Friday in Rovaniemi but the band boycotted the it as it seems Mr Lordi and the others are very unhappy with it, and based on what he writes in an open letter in Facebook he has all the reasons to be so! He says the band provided hundreds of hours of material to the director that they wanted to be included: the tours, backstage, making the costumes, writing the songs, photo sessions, building the stages, the happy times with success, fans, gigs abroad... all that is absent and the documentary concentrates only on the bad times and negative things about their story. Mr Lordi states he understands the director's decision for film's drama line but underlines it shows only one side of the coin. He also wishes there would be material they provided from the pre-success period, denies he was bullied at school and that his mother makes any decisions - in fact he tells her mother has nothing to do with the band and her presence was direc...

I know there's something going on . Anni-Frid Lyngstad aka Frida aka Princess Reuss of Plauen has revealed recently she's working on an autobiography she hopes to release eventually some time in the future. It's time to turn the stone . She sure has stories to tell!  Born as a Norwegian-German warchild she ended up in Swiss alps living in a castle as a real princess. In between we have three marriages, children and step children, losing her daughter, becoming a widow, solo career as a singer, being a member of ABBA, hits and misses. She was the one who enjoyed performing and fame the most out of ABBA members and shone  being favorable for a reunion but today says she's done with music and concentrates on charity affairs and her hobbies, including writing. I can only wish the words will come to her and she gets this project finished soon. Between En ledig dag and Även en blomma there are so many untold stories to tell for sure. 

Turkish Ayşe Özyılmazel who is Neco's daughter has covered his father's Eurovision 1982 entry Hani for Turkey, and Neco himself is seen in the video. I remember liking the song back then - yes, I'm that old – and Ayşe makes it all very sweet and cute, and the arragement is pretty much the same. But it is not the first time Eurovision kids cover their parents songs. Danish Rasmus Seebach covered his father's 1993 Eurovision entry Under stjernerne på himlen (and did a great job with it!) and in Finland Milana Misic has recorded various songs by her mother Laila Kinnunen, including her 1961 Eurovision entry Valoa ikkunassa . Surely there are more similar cases (hints are welcome in the comment box!). I have a burning desire to have Taikapeili girls Hanna-Riikka Siitonen (Fredi's daughter) and Nina Tapio (backing singer's daughter) cover the Finnish entry Pump pump from 1976. How cool would that be?! Both girls have also multiple Eurovision backing singer exper...

News from Malta tonight as well. The 134 songs have been shortlisted to 48 (what happened to the news they won't reveal this list at all?) where from the 20 semifinalists will be selected. Many familiar names and previous winners but one is missing, Ira Losco. Her return has been rumoured and speculated for months and she's not in. Yet. Maybe she will be granted a wildcard. Maybe some other wildcards will be granted as well. Anyways previous winners Miriam Christine (1996), Ludwig Galea (2004), Olivia Lewis (2007), Glen Vella (2011) and Gianluca Bezzina (2013) with his sisters and brothers following the example of the Micallefs are in with several previous Malta Song for Europe participants. And hallelujah, there is even a group of nuns! We will see how many of these are included in the end.... Malta's selection will take place already this November 21-22, 2014. 12, Baker Street  – Karen DeBattista Beautiful to Me  – L-Aħwa (aka Bezzina Family) Break All Borders ...

Tijana's sister Tamara is among the 20 Skopje festival participants. She must have gotten the spark in Copenhagen 2014 where she was providing backing vocals and enjoying the atmosphere besides being very nice to everyone. She's no stranger to Eurovision anyways as she did represent Macedonia already back in 2008 with Adrian Gaxha and   Vrčak. Also Vlatko Ilievski who already did 2011 is trying to get another go at it.  MRT received about 200 songs and these 20 will battle it out already on November 12, 2014 and the winner will get the ticket to Vienna 2015 Eurovision song contest after 505/50 jury/televote. Risto Samardziev & Vlatko Ilievski  –  North–South Lena Zatkoska  –  Hello Aleksandra Janeva  –  In your world Nade Talevska  –  I know Sanja Gjoshevska  –  I want to fly Viktorija Loba  –  I’m missing someone like you Goran Naumovski & Sanja Kerkez  –  A moment without you Lidija ...

As incredible it may sound, Carla Bissi aka Alice turns 60 today. She has been this blogger's favorite female singer since 1981 and the soundtrack of my years. She may have not been the most productive  recording artist over the years but the good news is she's coming out with a new album soon! Can't wait!  She's been in the business since 1971 when she won the Castrocaro music festival for new voices that lead her to Sanremo and winning the La Gondola d'Argento in Venice the year after. All this under her real name Carla Bissi. In 1975 change of name to Alice Visconti and new production team and a song to remember, Io voglio vivere . The real success comes however after meeting Franco Battiato - and this magical collaboration continues on and off until these days - and scoring her first megahit in 1980 with   Il vento caldo dell'estate , dropping Visconti and being simply Alice. The next year she wins Sanremo with Per Elisa, conquers parts of Europea...

Something special cooking up in Paris. If you put together Conchita Wurst, the legendary strip club in Paris Crazy Horse , designer Jean Paul Gaultier , Christian Louboutin 's shoes, Pierre & Gilles designs for the official poster and Bianca Li for the show concept. This will happen this November 9-15 when Ms Wurst is singing there every night with the cabaret's dancers.  Conchita tells she accepted the second she was asked: "For me, it's beautiful: Crazy Horse is known worldwide for its female and artistic shows, Paris is the city of love and glamour: here I have everything I need! " She will of course perform her Eurovision 2014 winning song Rise like a Phoenix and maybe some Tina Turner cover but also try out a new song on that stage.  With this opportunity happening and her providing voice for the German version of Penguins of Madagascar her debut album's release has been postboned once again and won't be out before Christmas. At this poi...

Seija Simola turns 70 today and gave a very rare interview to Helsingin Sanomat. It's no secret her career pretty much finished after she ended second to last in the Eurovision song contest 1978 in Paris with Anna rakkaudelle tilaisuus . It's also no secret she has not forgotten nor forgiven that. In fact her faith was well in mind of many others who stayed away from the national finals in the 1980's and still today at times it is used as an example that Eurovision can do no good to your career. We fans of course know it's not true, but with the general public is another story. Anyways, Simola released her first single Kun hämärtää in 1966 and string of hits followed that showcased her strong vocals ( Kun aika on , Sulle silmäni annan , Rakkaus kasvoista kasvoihin , Kuutamo ). Her debut album came in 1970 and she enjoyed hits and success all decade. Her hits include ABBAs Waterloo and Fernando (she wrote the Finnish lyrics herself to both), Et itkeä saa, Argenti...

Here it comes, the debut album by Softengine. The release date is October17, 2014 and the title very humble We created the world . Before that the third single The Sirens will be released on October 3, 2014 that follows their UMK winner and Eurovision song contest 11th placed Something better , and the follow up Yellow House .  The lead singer Topi Latukka tells The Sirens is a very atmospheric track that grows throughout the song until the end. It is perhaps a little unusual single choice, but they wanted to publish it, because it illustrates probably best what their music is, and what the album will be like. It can give a new, perhaps surprising view of their music if one knows only their first two singles."  The album includes 11 songs, all new. You can order yours from here . 

Namely their concert at Wembley Arena on November 10, 1979 when they were the hottest pop band on earth. With this release apparently the unreleased material of the band is finished. This will be a double-Cd and 3-LP format release including 25 songs. A limited edition 2-CD digibook wil be also released. Release date September 26-29 worldwide. It's quite amazing how many hits they already had as the set list looks like a greatest hits tour. They even have dropped Mamma mia , an evergreen these days. As well as Ring, ring , Hasta manana, Honey honey, I do I do I do I do, Angel eyes ..... I have a feeling I may have been a little disappointed in the set list if I was there :-) 1. Gammal fäbodpsalm 2. Voulez-Vous  3. If it wasn't for the nights 4. As good as new 5. Knowing me, knowing you 6. Rock me 7. Chiquitita 8. Money, money, money 9. I have a dream 10. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! 11. SOS 12. Fernando 13. The name of the game 14. Eagle 15. Thank you for the music ...

Alice will be a special guest in Cervignano Film Festival this week and she will be awarded Saturday a special award for her career, Premio speciale alla carriera Michel Gondry . This festival is for short films, documentaries and videos and the entries come all over the world. Alice will pick up her award with all the other winners of this festival and maybe also perform. A nice birthday gift for her as she turns 60 on Friday! But the more important news is she is releasing her new album still in 2014 it seems! Over the spring and summer we have heard rumors and some news about collaborations (including her apparent exclusion from Sanremo festival with songs written by Franco Battiato) but knowing her times of releasing music ( Samsara was released only two years ago, and that 14 years after Exit , her previous studio album with new material) one has learned to be patient so this news is almost unreal. This will be her 13th album with original songs since 1975. Meanwhile she...

Marco Mengoni is on the go-go already almost two years without a moment's pause. After selling triple platinum with #Prontoacorrere and conquering Spain he has been working on a new album. And that's not all. Today a new Marco Mengoni Application has been launched for Mac and Androids users with prebooking for his announced 2015 Tour!  Mengoni has always been very active in the social medias and the past eight days the hashtags #dovenasconoleidee , #nuovifuturi and #8suoniper3colori have taken over giving fans hints of things to come, to be joined now by #MengoniLive2015 .  The tour next year will surely be hugely interactive, this is just the beginning. The dates are: May 7 Milan, May10 Turin, May 12 Florence, May 14 Rome, May 16 Naples, May 19 Bari, May 21 Bologna and May 23 Conegliano.... err, isn't that just the Eurovision 2015 weeks? Not much is know about the new album and it's exact release but it's once again produced by Michele Canova and re...

Lordi is back with a new album Scare Force One , alreay their seventh studio album. The album will be out for Halloween and the release party will be on November 1, 2014 in The Circus, Helsinki.  The first single is Nailed by the hammer of Frankenstein , that will be released on September 19, 2014. Enjoy the fright!

Finally some concret names in the rumor mills. Israel shortly confirmed its presence in the Eurovision song contest 2015 in Vienna - even though there seem to be some minor issues to be sorted out before they can make it happen, like the very existance of IBA come May 2015 - and that the selection would be done internally by radio station Radio 88FM. It didn't take them long to come out with a name, by no means a new one when it comes to Eurovision gossiping: Marina Maximilian Blumin (27). This jazzy singer of Russian origin came second to Boaz Mauda in a talent show and since then caused some eyebrows by not doing the military service, a fact that played against her in the past and propably will do so this time again. Her songs include Maurin , Tango  and Silence . The second choice is Ester Rada , an Ethiopian born singer currently working on her debut album. he's also doing ethno-jazz mixing Israeli music with her Ethiopian heritage. Her songs include Life happens , Co...

Emma Marrone won Sanremo 2012 with Non è inferno and now the Cypriot megastar and Eurovision 1998 entrant Michalis Hatzigiannis has made his cover of it as Poios eimai ego (and strangely wrong written Non el'inferno following it. One could ask why, but why bother? He sounds great as always! Emma sounds all rough and raw while Michalis has a softer approach giving the song a slightly different mood - maybe it's all in the lyrics? Not speaking Greek I have no clue. I like both of them. They are different yet the same. 1-1 for me. But that's not all. It seems La Marrone's songs seem to be hot stuff in Greece as also her Amami has been covered in Greek by Nadio Mpoule as Klepse me . And once again Emma's version is much harder, with raw and harsh vocals while the Greek one seems kinda watered down, doesn't it? This goes for Emma!

Yesterday, September 15, 2014 was the premilinary deadline set by EBU to express interest in participating in next year's jubilee editions of the Eurovision song contest. With the final rush that got us Bulgaria and Serbia returning and   Spain, Armenia, Israel  and Serbia on the list we now have 35 countries. It must be said especially Serbia stressed this is a premilinary "Yes" and could withdraw after all before the final deadline. Some sources say Slovenia has applied as well or asked for more time (once again!) even if the broadcasters have time until October 10, 2014 to think over and cancel without any penalties. Strangely Albania has announced its annual  Festivali i Këngës   without any mention of Eurovision though. Maybe and hopefully they have applies as well, just not making a fuss about it in public. After all it's only EBU that makes official the participations in due time.  Same goes for San Marino, Ukraine and Moldova where total s...

Ada Reina has won the Italian selection for OGAE Video contest 2014 . This year's selection was filled with emerging young, new talents on purpose so most of them were unknown to this blogger. One jumped as a megafavorite though since the first viewing, Ada Reina and and I'm very pleased she won with Lei balla (She dances). Ada (25) has apparently Latin American roots and she came to spotlight only two years ago but have since then achieved already quite a lot. Songs like Vieni , Bevi and Sono io have led to Lei balla , and she's due to release her debut album shortly after several collaborations and EPs, and various important performances like the legendary MuccAssassina and GayVillage 's Opening party in Rome.  She seems to be very promising, and different, act. And judging the genre and looks she would fit into Eurovision like a glove in a year or two after she gains a bit more experience and a few more cross over hits under her belt - if she chooses to e...

Sanremo might or might not be the selection method for the Eurovision 2015 for Italy. In the past days RAI has confirmed its presence in Vienna to a huge relief of those Italian (and not only) fans who were in doubt and still can't believe Italy is back in game for real. Among the fans the speculation and opinions run wild if Sanremo will be linked with Eurovision, and also should it be at all? One possibility is that the artist will be selected internally beforehand and will still take part in Sanremo, and whatever the result, will go to Vienna anyways. Or then it simply has nothing to do with Sanremo 2015. This blogger would love to see Arisa , this year's winner to have her chance now as she seemed more than eager to do Eurovision this year and seems to be well aware of what it is all about. Another name I want to push forward (again) is Giorgia . She should have gone already back in 1995 when she won Sanremo and was apparently not so happy about Italy's non-partici...