Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Every now and then Eurovision song contest winners come back to the contest and looking back quite often it hasn't been such a good idea. A total of 14 previous winners have managed to return (and even more have tried but failed to win the national final. Latest of them is Swedish Loreen last year). In this series I have a brief look at them and how did it go..... French theater, television and movie actor, comedian, imitator, author, singer and fashion designer for Dior, Jean-Claude Pascal (1927-1992) won the Eurovision song contest 1961 for Luxembourg with Nous les amoureux . The Croix de guerre awarded war hero was a popular star at the time, and later was awarded also Commendeur des Arts et des Lettres medal. He took an easy win beating UK to the second place with 31 points vs 24.  He released 17 albums between 1960-84, several tv-movie and tv-series, nearly 40 movies between 1949-73.  He was voted the most elegent man of France several times. In 1981 he w...

It has been a very sad year for Eurovision Finland this 2016. After Lasse Mårtensson (ESC 1964) and Riki Sorsa (ESC 1981) also Päivi Paunu (ESC 1972) passed away a couple of days ago. Of cancer like so many others. Considering before this year all but two Finnish stars were alive ( Laila Kinnunen ESC 1961 and Kirka ESC 1984) now we have lost already five.  Päivi Paunu made a name in folk circuit in Helsinki suburbs in the early 1960's, and soon she was in recording studio and her first single and album were released in 1966. Two years later she scored a megahit with Oi, niitä aikoja and she was co-starring two big summer tours in the late 1960's. Slowly her musical styled became more schlager-pop. Her singing career faded away when she started studying but she continued singing in the girlgroup Mirumaru in the early 1980's and doing some occasional small private concerts. She's also related to the famous Von Hertzen Brothers - she was their uncle's wife...

Late Laila Kinnunen would have been 77 today. Congratulations! Laila was Finland's very first Eurovision entrant and her legend and talent lives on. Her life sadly went on the wrong track and she stopped singing in the early1980's and became alcoholic and hermit. She died in 2000. But Valoa ikkunassa lives on. It placed 10th out of 16. 

Out of 32 Italian Eurovision performers only six have been female soloists before Nina Zilli who now becomes the seventh. That's against 17 male soloists, two groups and six duets! Some consolation comes from the fact that two of these six ladies have done it twice. It all started with the first Eurovision in 1956 where Italy, like the other six countries, sent two songs by two female artists who were also the top-2 of Sanremo festival. Franca Raimondi (1932-1988) won Sanremo with Aprite le finestre while Tonina Torrielli came second with Amami se vuoi . Both ladies soon left the show business and Torrielli officially stopped singing in 1965, but has made occasional appearances in nostalgic shows since 2008! Five years later it was time for Betty Curtis (1936-2006), that year's Sanremo winner with Al di là . She remained some what active in the music business until late 1970's and was also seen in nostalgic variety shows on TV in the 2000's.  Three yea...

Exactly 50 years ago Finland started officially it's path in the Eurovision song contest and what a long and windy, a very rocky one it was but of course we didn't know it then! January 22, 1961 the eight finalist songs - picked by a jury out of 280 proposals -were first aired on radio for the first time. They repeated that four days in a row and people voted one song from each artist to the final. Three weeks later Kai Lind, Christina Hellmann, Laila Kinnunen and Ritva Mustonen were on stage in Helsinki's Työväentalo and live on TV. The evening end with a litle fiasco when the jury couldn't pick up the winner that would be told in radio and TV-news only the next day. That would be Laila Kinnunen with Valoa ikkunassa (Light in a window). She would go on to pick points from Denmark and the future Big5 countries France, United Kingdom and Italy finishing 10th out of 16. It was a start of a beautiful hate and love relationship.

Milana Misic (40) got the invitation to Euroviisut 2011 - maybe to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Finnish debut when her late mother Laila Kinnunen sung for us in 1961? But this blogger is quite happy to welcome her in, anniversary or not! Milana released her debut album already in 1991 and two more followed in 1993 and 2001 but it was only in the late 2000's when she finally gave in started performing and recording some of her mother's songs that she made it big. Her repertoire has remained since then 1950's and 1960's covers and styled songs that suit her very well. Her latest album title song Jos itken, jos nauran is none other than cover of the Italian entry in 1965, Se piangi, se ridi. She has told previosuly her entry will be a typical Eurovision ballad performed in Finnish and eventually in English should she go all the way. Milana will take part in the second semifinal on January 21, 2011 and her song will be made public on November 29, 2010.

Laila Kinnunen died ten years ago today. A true legend with a tragic life. Her career started in 1955 when she participated in a singing contest in secret to her parents and won. The year after she got a contract to tour with Lasse Pihlajamaa's ochestra, she was only 16. The year after her first single Lazzarella was released and became a huge hit followed by other hits like Illalla, illalla (1958), Marina (1959) and Romantica (1960). In 1961 she became the first Finnish entrant in Eurovision with Valoa ikkunassa . Hits followed with Pojat (1962), Lauantai (1962) and Rinnakkain (1963) - all performed with her sister Ritva. She also starred in several movies, did a lot of television until mid-1970's when she was already stuggling with alcohol and personal life.  Also her love life was very dramatic and closely followed by the Finnish press. Her first engagement was in 1959 with a medical student but soon she met and fell in love with an Italian  musician Armando Fugazza....

Milana Misic (39), one of the artists YLE has directly invited to the Euroviisut 2011 semifinals is "excited, but it's so much fun!" 2011 marks 50th anniversary of Finland's debut in Eurovision song contest when her mother Laila Kinnunen sung Valoa ikkunassa in 1961 and took Finland to 10th place. "I take no pressure of being compared to my legendary mother. The contest has changed so much in 50 years. This warms my heart, I know my mother is watching me from heaven. ". Her song is in Finnish but should she win it will be performed in English in Germany 2011. "I have always thought it's not easy to do well in Finnish. Our language may should a bit harsh to foreign ears. I can't tell much about the song yet but it's a real Eurovision song, with a lot of feeling! "

Teddy Scholten, the 1959 Eurovision song contest winner with Een beetje for the Netherlands has died at the age of 83.  She's the fifth Eurovision winner to pass away after Grethe Ingman (1963), Jean Claude Pascal (1961), Frida Boccara (1969) and André Claveau (1958).

Milana Misic is the daughter of late Laila Kinnunen, the first ever Finnish entrant in Eurovision with Valoa ikkunassa in 1961 and Croatian musician Milan Misic. She tried to break through as a singer in early 2000's without much luck, being compared to her legendary mother and so on. This year she has won over the critic and public - ironically - by recording an album of her mother's hits and even digitally dueting with her in one track. Her previous album Laulumme was well received, including old classics, amongst them Al di lá and Dansevise . Listen to that album here . The idea to record her mother's songs was born and based on feedback she got in her concerts and lead to a musical play of her mother's life and eventually the album. Will she try to follow her mother to the Eurovision stage 49 years later? Meanwhile a compilation of her mother's original is charting in Top-10 in Finland right now. You can read ALL you need to know about that here .

Cannes hosted Eurovision again when the 7th one was held there March 18, 1961. It was also the first time the contest was on Saturday night. Also a new record of participating countries was made: 16. Finland was amongst the newcomers and started the long, long march towards success.... it would take 45 years to win. The rest was very similar to the contest held 2 years before, including the presenter Jacqueline Joubert and scoreboard. Spain entered and Conchita Bautista even danced a bit. A first. The first Greek singer was in, represanting though Austria. Luxembourg took its first win and Jean-Claude Pascal returned in 1981... He died in 1992 at the age of 65. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEAmncSJs9k and here his 1981 entry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qahpOktl0Y But this isn't the only Eurovision held on March 18th....