Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

We have 27 different countries that have won Eurovision at least once and still quite a few that haven't. Actually 17 (more about them later).  Seven additional countries have made it to runner up, Croatia joining the club this year. Let's have a look who they are. Two countries have been close twice: the tiny island nations Iceland and Malta. Another island Cyprus joined the club in 2018. Yet another "island" Australia in 2016. Poland did so with their first entry and then we have the odd one out: Bulgaria. Who will be the next one to better their placement to first? POLAND 1994 - Edyta Górniak - To nie ja! ICELAND 1999 - Selma - All out of luck MALTA 2002 - Ira Losco - 7th wonder MALTA 2005 - Chiara - Angel ICELAND 2009 - Yohanna - Is it true? AUSTRALIA 2016 - Dami Im - Sound of silence BULGARIA 2017 - Kristian Kostov - Beautiful mess CYPRUS 2018 - Eleni Foureira - Fuego CROATIA 2024 - Baby Lasagna - Rim tim tagi dim And there's and extra to add: Serbia-Monteneg...

Chiara is sort of a fan favorite and many wish her for Eurovision song contest. Let's have a look what she's been up to.  Chiara Galiazzo (30) is another X Factor winner. Her debut single Due respiri (#1) was co-written by Eros Ramazzotti. The debut album Un posto nel mondo (#2) included also Il futuro che sará (#16), Mille passi with Fiorella Mannoia (#28) and Vieni con me (#28).   Her second album Un giorno di sole (#4) included Un giorno di sole (#73) and Il remedio, la vita e la cura that failed to chart. The album was re-released after her Sanremo participation with Straordinario (#7) with bonus track single Siamo adesso (-).  This is her third Sanremo after L'Esperienza dell'amore and Il futuro che sarà in 2013. The latter went to final and placed 8th. In 2015 she was back with Straordinario that placed 5th. This year she's back with Nessun posto è casa mia (No place is my home). Her third album with the same title is ready for release. ...

The 2016 has been a very kind year to this blog. Half a million hits makes me feel extremely happy and humble, especially when I have had a more relaxed approach and not taking all this so serious anymore, just doing my own thing without thinking about competing with any other blog. On the contrary. I thank you each and everyone who turn up over and over again and keep following me. Let's hope 2017 will be kind to all of us, fullfill some dreams along the way and give us many memorable and happy moments..... and some great new songs and artists in Kyiv 2017. But let's get back to this blog. No doubt Marco Mengoni is the king. Most every post about him has done very well and the one on September 25 is the most read of the year. Other good names to post what comes to hits have been Amir, Måns Zelmerlöw, Douwe Bob, Sergey Lazarev, Il Volo and Alice & France Battiato . The choice not to follow Saara Aalto 's adventures in X Factor was deliberate. My Malta series ins...

The 67th Sanremo festival has 22 Big artists. Let's have a look at some interesting facts. The oldest is Albano (73) and the youngest Alice Paba (19) There are seven debutants: Alice Paba, Michele Bravi, Raige, Giulia Luzi, Ludovica Commello,  Sergio Sylvestre and Elodie Most debutants are from various reality talent shows: Alice Paba - the Voice of Italy winner 2016, Michele Bravi - X Factor 2013 winner,  Sergio Sylvestre - Amici 2016 winner, Elodie - Amici 2016 runner up and Giulia Luzi made herself a name in Your face sounds familiar Talking about Amici 2016 - the whole top-3 is in Sanremo as besides Sergio and Elodie also third placed Lele is among the Newcomers There are four previous Newcomers amongst the Big this year:  Michele Zarrillo (1987), Marco Masini (1990),  Fabrizio Moro (2007), Francesco Gabbani (2016) Three previous winners are in: Albano (1984), Ron (1996) and M arco Masini (2004) There are se...

I had a pleasure to visit Qormi wine festival and spend a fabulous night. The food was great, the music was great, the wine was great.... and the people were amazing. In between enjoying the music by a duo Gianni & Papps first, and then by Spiteri Lucas Band with singers Kaya, Neville Refalo, Ivan and Eurovision veterans Ludwig Galea and Chiara taking leads (on again.... off again so to speak) and supporting each other through rock and pop classics to today's hits.  Highly entertaining evening in every sense of the word. I was lucky enough to have a chat with Chiara and greet also Ludwig, who I saw last in Istanbul 2004. Chiara turned out to be the most lovable and wonderful person - check out the video of Grande amore below to see her blowing kisses just for you!    She also sung her very own Angel , but also Euphoria and Waterloo , Dancing queen .... Sadly by dear old Lumia decided not to cooperate at that point anymore :-( But after the jump yo...

Or so they promise. June 14th on Valletta's Waterfront a special concert will be held and if their promises are true all their Eurovision stars will be walking on water from Joe Grech to very heavily pregnant - maybe she will break the water instead walking on it, wouldn't that be a 7th wonder? - Ira Losco and all of them in between: Helen and Joseph, Renato, Paul Giordimaina, Georgina, Mary Spiteri, William Mangion, Chris and Moira, Mike Spiteri, Miriam Christine, Debbie Scerri, Chiara, Times Three, Claudette Pace, Fabrizio Faniello, Lynn Chircop, Julie Zahra, Ludwig Galea, Olivia Lewis, Morena, Thea Garrett, Glen Vella, Kurt Calleja, Gianluca Bezzina, Firelight and Amber. And PSB's orchestr will be there directed by Paul Abela. Special guests will be there still and this blogger's wild guess is they are the Junior Eurovision winners and some other participants from Malta, some Eurovision royalty and who knows names like Claudia Faniello who has participated about a...

The rumour mill for possible Sanremo 2016 Big artists is in full swing and Carlo Conti told the press today there will be 20 instead of 18 Big artists, and 8 newcomers. The newcomers or Nuove proposte will be selected and announced tomorrow night in a live show on Raiuno at 21.20 CET. Twelve artists will fight for the six places, and the two names from AreaSanremo selection will be also announced so by the end of the evening we have already all the eight newcomer arists and also their songs out. As always the songs by the Big won't be heard until they are being performed for the first time onstage in Teatro Ariston in Sanremo. Let's see the most talked about names. Conti already made a wish to see both of his co-hostesss last year Emma and Arisa back, and it seems at least Arisa is game. It also rumored she's dropped the song she was already proposed and accepted and is now looking for something poppier, and perhaps more Eurovision friendly? We know she's dyi...

Sanremo's 65th festival comes to and end tonight, or rather early hours of Sunday. We already have two winners as Nek won the Covers night, and Giovanni Caccamo the newcomers aka Nuove Proposte last night. he also picked both special awards given by the critics named after Mia Martini, and the press, named after Lucio Dalla. Four artists with their songs didn't make it to the final: both Eurovision veterans Lara Fabian and Raf, comic duo Biggio e Mandelli and quite surprisingly Anna Tatangelo, whose song was Eurovision worthy me thinks.  The previous nights votes (see below a graphic how the 16 finalists were chosen) will be zeroed so the race starts again. There is once aain the voting threesome: 40% televote, 30% expert jury and 30% demoscopic jury. After the first round there will be another round, once again the votes will be zeroed before that with the top-3. Several guest stars tonight: Gianna Nannini (she was supposed to be with Massimo Ranieri (ESC 1971, 1973) ...

00.41 We are back again after advertising and it's time for the partial results. The names were given out one by one and those in blue are in top-6, those in red are in bottom-4 and in risk of elimination before the final. And that's all for tonight. Join me again tomorrow! 00.33 Stop al televoto! And some jokes and autoirony by the trio, some funny. Some not so. 00.27 We visit press center next. Half of tonight's votes come from there, the other hald from the televoters. There are over 1300 accreditated journalists present. Emma gets visibly touched by this memembering the great, the last free being Giorgio Faletti, Mango and Pino Daniele, three great loss for Italian music the recent times.... 00.22 We are back after short tv-news. Back to 65th edition of Sanremo and Carlo remembers some of the persons who have made Sanremo what it is. Arisa and Emma finally get a chance to sing , too. 00.13 Surprise! It's Michael Bublé! It's not...Humour. Appar...