Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Wars for nothng by Boggie will represent Hungary in Vienna, after winning the superfinal where televoters had their say. First round it was the usual jury voting and the results were: Ádám Szabò - 28 Boggie - 24 Spoon - 20 Zoltan Muhajid - 20 Kati Wolf - 16 ìV - 4 Passed - 0 Balint Gajer - 0 Boggie is a project by singer Boglárka Csemer and keyboardist Áron Sebestyén, so should we consider this another duo? The televoting results haven't been yet released. If they will be, I'll add them here...

Ucrainian Eduard Romanuyta has won the Moldovan national final with I want your love . He already took part in the Ucrainian national finals 2012 and 2013. He came second in the jury votes behind Valeria Pasa but ruled the televote. Below are the results (jury+televote). They once again didn't agree much, except for Eduard for some reason. Stela managed only 7th thanks to juries, while televoters runner up got a null points from the jury! 1. Eduard Romanyuta (10+12) 22 2. Valeria Pasa (12+4) 16 3. Sunstroke Project (6+8) 14 4. Miss M (8+3) 11 5. Serj Kuzenkoff (5+6) 11 6. DoReDos (0+10) 10 7. Stela Botan (1+7) 8 8. Diana Brescan (7+0) 7 9. Dana Marchitan (4+2) 6 10. Doinita Gherman (0+5) 5 11. Marcel Rosca (3+1) 4 12. Irina Kitoroaga (2+0) 2 13. Glam girls (0+0) 14. Julia Sandu (0+0) 0 15. Lidia Isac (0+0) 0 16. Mihaela Andrei (0+0) 0 Not everyone is happy about the results as accusations of corruption and vote rigging started the moment the ...

Maraaya has won the Slovenia final with Here for you . This is by far the most interesting song selected last night. Love her voice! Maraaya are actually vocalist Marjetka Vovk and producer Aleš Vovk aka Raay. They are a married couple and besides a few hit songs have also two sons. Another duo for Vienna! (Seventh so far.....)

22.53 Ok, here we go..... NO COMMENT 22.45 Stop televote! And then we have Softengine! :-) Nice acoustic Something better before moving on to Sirens . The band has matured nicely and they are good indeed. Great performance even if so dark you couldn't really see a thing...... Another recap as the lines are stillopen for the rest of the votes. The 90% of them..... 22.30 Time for results. The juries. Eurovison style voting. First Martat. Solju gets 12. Rainbow people next. PKN gets 12. Kids. Satin Circus 12 and zero for PKN. Kids are the truth and the future! Finnish Swedes next, with Krista's bf. Satin gets 12. Music writers next. Opera Skaala gets 12 and the snob Satin. Media people now. Satin 12 points and they snobbed PKN. Fans next. Satin 12 :-) And last jury is taxidrivers. 12 for Satin! 22.26 Time for Emma Salokoski. With an interesting dance act with lyrics of the song painted on their bodies...... 22.25 It's official: there will be #umk16! 22.21 ...

You have spoken, my dear readers. Satin Circus is your favorite to represent Finland in Vienna in May. They have recently released an acoustic verison of Crossroads . The poll is now closed and here are the results: (1.) 1. Satin Circus  47% 2. Siru  36% (2.) 3. Solju  34% (3.) 4. Opera Skaala  28% (4.) 5. Shava  15% (5.) 6. Angelo De Nile  9% (6.) 7. Jouni Aslak  9% 8. Ida Bois 8% 9. Eeverest  7% (7.) 10. Norlan El Misionario  6% 11. Pihka ja Myrsky  4% (8.) 12. Järjestyshäiriö  4% 13. Aikuinen 4% (9.) 14. Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät  4% 15. Hans on the Bass  3% 16. Heidi Pakarinen  2% 17. Vilikasper Kanth  1% 18. Otto Ovar  1%

The time is running out and this weekend will give us (at least) six new entries, when Irealnd, Moldova, Finland, Hungary and Slovenia have their national finals. Sweden has its fourth and last semifinal and Spain releases its song. Are you excited yet? As usual I will update this with results and the rest in due time.  Friday, February 27, 2015 Ireland - Eurosong - FINAL 22.35 CET. Watch it here . Read more here   RESULTS Austria - Wer singt für Österreich - Show 2 20.15 CET. Watch it here . Read more here Saturday, February 28, 2015 Moldova - O melodie pentru Europa 19.00 CET - Watch it here . Read more her e   RESULTS Finland - UMK15 - FINAL 20.00 CET - Watch it  here . Read more  here  and  here    RESULTS Hungary - A Dal 2015 - FINAL 20.25 CET - Watch it here . Read more here   RESULTS Slovenia - EMA15 - FINAL 20.00 CET - Watch it here. Read more here   RES...

And we get another 16-year-old for Vienna 2015 Eurovision when Molly wins in in Ireland with Playing with numbers . For once I was pretty right with my prediction. After the live performances she was my favorite along with Kat, who came second. Erika's Break me up was very poor on stage, as was Nikki's Memories and Alex's She's so fine was simply odd and bad. Well done Ireland!

Moldova has had its two semifinals this week and we are ready for the final. I didn't watch the semifinals nor have seen the live performances later so can't judge how these songs translate on stage. Stela Botan is good, and I do kinda like Dana Marchitan 's song even if it's pretty much ruined by the heavy accent. Doredos might do pretty well tomorrow night. Miss M could go either way but it's one of the better songs in the line up. Donita Gherman will propably do pretty well, too, but is it original? Fresh? New? No. Lidia Isac has some good incredients. A total makeover and remix of the song and it could be pretty ok. A change of singer would be advisable, too. Julia Sandu brings us back to 80's eurodisco and the most clichè rhymes. Romanyuta is apparently auditioning for the Backstreet Boys? Only about 25 years too late though. Marcel Rosca has gotten a Dima Bilan reject to sing. Also Glam Girls sound like old Bilan album track, what's going o...

The fourth and last Melodifestivalen semifinal comes from Örebro. Caroline Wennergren makes a very welcome comeback in MF, and so does Måns Zelmerlöf, one of the pre-designed winners this year. Then we have a 67-year-old debutant, Hasse Andersson. After listening the snippets I'm left quite confused. Is that all there is? If Midnight Boy's entry was the only one that got me a little bit interested, and only because I was a huge Stock-Aitken-Waterman fan in the late 80's, something must be wrong,  me or MF, I don't know which one. Anyways, I'm not even trying to predict this time. I try to make some sense to MF once the finalists are out and maybe there is something to like after all. Maybe.  Midnight Boy - Don't say no   7th Caroline Wennergren - Black swan   5th JTR - Building it up   TO FINAL Hasse Andersson - Guld och gröna skogar   Andra Chansen Dinah Nah - Male me (La la la)   Andra Chansen Annika Herlitz - Ett andetag  6th ...

In Austria the final six will be at it again tonight. Last week ten acts were sent home and only these six continue the race. Apparently they will continue performing covers or their own songs trying to convince the juries of their talent. Only next week they will all perform two potential entries and one of them will be voted by the jury to the final. Only in the final Austrias will have a say as there will be 50-50 televote-juryvote. This blogger thinks these rounds without their entries are rather useless and annoying, after all it's all about the song after all. No matter how good you are if your songs sucks, or the combination doesn't work..... But let's see what they come up with.  The Makemakes Dawa Zoe Folkshilfe Celina Ann Johann Sebastian Bass

Israel chose 16-year-old Nadav Guedj as the winner of The Next Star and therefor the Israeli entrant for the Vienna 2015 Eurovision. Now his song has been chosen, titled Golden boy . It's written by Doron Medali. For the first time Israel will be singing 100% English as the rule that half the song at least should be in Hebrew has been thrown out of the window.... 

Some were saying they may have won Sanremo but their won't sell (ehm, Nek among others). Instead they have topped the single charts for two weeks now. Their EP Sanremo grande amore debuts in the album chart at number one this week. Their Platinum collection climbs 41 positions to number 13. We are love climbs 28 positions to number 50. One below is the live album Takes flight , climbing 10 positions.  Their meet & greet signing tour in record stores has been a huge success with hundreds if not thousends of people waiting for them from Milan to Rome to Bologna. In same cases they have created also a traffic chaos and blocked streets outside the stores. Volomania is reality and it's here! When writing this Grande amore on their Vevo has got nearly 9,9 million views.  In combilations the Sanremo 2015 is number one for te second week.  Here's the Italian best selling albums this week:   1. Il Volo - Sanremo Grande Amore 2. Tiziano Ferro - TZN ...

Hungary's A Dal has been through three heats and two semifinals and we finally have the final and by the end of it the Hungarian Eurovision 2015 entry for neighbouring Vienna. Simple? As usual, I know I repeat myself, the line up is very good. For me A Dal has been for years now one of the strongest national finals around and this year is no exception. Below the acts and their points in the semifinals. Six qualified thanks to jury while Spoon and Bálint qualified thanks to the televoters. Boggie and Adam start from the pole position. I'm not sure about Boggie 's live performances even if the song is sweet and important. she has also always qualified thanks to jurors so will televoters like her, too? I like Ádám 's song and his intense performance. Kati hasn't completely convinced me yet but it's good and will be easier to master when in English . Yet I don't think she would better her placement in Vienna from the last time so she should stay home this t...

Moldova has its second semifinal of O Melodie pentru Europa tonight. Once again seven songs will qualify for the final by televote/juryvote, and then televote alone will send one more to the final from the remaining five entries. Many familiar ladies from the previous years trying again here. Lidia Isac gives some competition to the Epic Sax Guy and Miss M seems to be the favorite.  Vera & Diana Popa – Faith  (3+1=4) Valeria Pasa – I can change all my life  (10+2=12) Carolina Gorun – Sublime  (2+3=5) Stela Botan & The Cadence of Heart – Save me  (5+12=17) Cezara – Am devenit straini  (4+0=4) Doinita Gherman – Inima fierbinte   (8+7=15) Dana Markitan – Love me  (6+5=11) DoReDos – Maricica  (7+10=17) Vitalie Todirascu – Tu singura  (0+0=0) Julia Sandu – Fire  (0+6=6) Lidia Isac – I can’t breathe  (1+8=9) Miss M – Lonely stranger  (12+4=16) UPDATE : Those in red qualified for the Satu...

Moldova will have its first semifinal of O Melodie Pentru Europe tonight. Seven songs will qualify based on televote/juryvote. Additional 8th finalist will be then televoted from the remaining five entries. The big favorite in this semifinal is of course the return of the Epic Sax Guy and Sunstroke Project, this time fronted by singer Michael Ra. Also British Kitty Brucknell is here to try her luck again after failing to make an impression in the Swiss selection earlier this season. The songs in general didn't make any huge impact on this blogger with the first hearing (and in their audition videos below).  Eduard Romanyuta – I want your love  (7+12=19) Marcel Rosca – Feelings will never leave  (5+3=8) Kitty Brucknell – Remix  (1+0=1) Mihaela Andrei – About love  (2+4=6) Raby – Hero  (0+6=6) Glam Girls – Magia  (3+10=13) Diana Brescan – Up and down  (12+5=17) Serj Kuzenkoff – Danu Nazdravanu  (6+8=14) Domenico Protino –...

The news broke last night Elhaida Dani won't be singing her Festivali i Këngës winner Diell after all. Apparently the composer of the song has withdrawn the permission to use it in Eurovision. My wild guess is he wasn't pleased the way it would have been cut to 3 minutes and translated and remixed into English but what do I know? This will be the first time the FiK winner won't be the Albanese entry since they debuted in the Eurovision in 2004. Often the songs have gone through a heavy remix and rearrangement and also change of language though.....  Today it's revealed she will sing I'm alive instead, written by Zzap & Chriss, two Kosovan composers. It will be released in due time. 

Ireland will have its final this Friday. In apparent lack of Irish songwriters and artists it's a bit international mix. Alex was born in Zambia, Erika is Swedish and it seems she even flies Timotej to back her up in the final. Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan has written Kat's song, and Nikki we all remember as runner up in 2011 Irish final behind Jedward and doing the backing vocals in Eurovision 2010 for Niamh. Alex is out first and the song doesn't just go anywhere. The rapping is useless and annoying. Next please! Kat offers a tender ballad with piano and violins in the classic Irish Eurovision mode. Beautiful and old fashioned but didn't this train pass already? Or would this stand a chance among all those fierce angry women with heavy beats in Vienna? Hmmm... maybe. Erika takes us to MF. If she was there she'd be one of my favorites propably. In Ireland I'm only asking myself why? Especially if Timotej will be there, too. Sounds like a winner t...

Giovanni Caccamo won Sanremo nuove proposte 2015 with Ritornerò da te . That's the last success in a career that was nearly over before it started. Caccamo from Modica in Sicily left his hometown at 18 and went to Milan to find his fortune like so many others. He took part in castings and got a job in RAI's children's channel Rai Gulp and continued writing songs but the record companies were not impressed and it didn't go that well in X Factor 2010 either. After six years of mostly delusions and countless closed doors and refusals he was ready to give up and forget about being an artist. He wrote L'indifferenza , that was ment to be his last song.  He went back home to Sicily and in summer 2013 one of his friends said she had seen his idols Franco Battiato on the beach of Donnalugata. The rest is history: Caccamo takes his demo cd, writes a letter and puts everything in an envelope and goes looking for him. After four hours under Sicilian midday sun Battiato ...