Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

After the highest scoring televote Top-10 (see previous post) here comes the ten highest scoring jury favorites.  Here Salvador Sobral from Portugal still reigns but this year's winner Nemo came close with his endless string of 12 points by juries. One can question does the juries favor Sweden but indeed here we have four Swedes in the Top-10. Does it feel like right? No, if you ask me. Australia's runner up is featured here as is Norway's Alexander Rybak and Kristian Kostov but indeed the Top-10 differs from the televote one as there are only four songs in common: Amar pelos dos, Fairytale, Euphoria and Beautiful mess.  Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dos  382 (Portugal 2017 /winner) Nemo - The Code  365 (Switzerland 2024/winner) Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes  353 (Sweden 2015 /winner) Loreen - Tattoo  340 (Sweden 2023/winner) Dami Im - Sound of silence  320 (Australia 2016 /2nd) Alexandr Rybak - Fairytale  312 (Norway 2009/winner) Loreen - Euphoria...

After all those zeros in previous posts let's have a look at the highest scores over the years in Eurovision song contest televoting .For obvious reasons they are all from the past years.  Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra is a runaway winner in this chart followed by Norway's Alexander Rybak with a tiny difference to Portugal's Salvador Sobral. With the same amount of points but fewer countries to colect them is the first non-winning entry, Finland's Käärijä followed by another non winner, Russia's Sergey Lazarev, followed by yet another non-winning entry Italy's Il Volo. Loreen's first win follows and then this year's Croatia before Bulgaria's runner up, Russia's runner up, this year's Israel before yet another Ukrainian winner by Jamala. Kalush Orchestra - Stefania  439 (Ukraine 2022/winner) Alexander Rybak - Fairytale 378 (Norway 2009/winner) Käärijä - Cha cha cha  376 (Finland 2023/2nd) Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dos  376 (Portugal 2017/w...

The Eurovision 2024 wannabe host city Tampere that hosted already UMK2024 final isn't done with Eurovision yet. The arena will host a viewing party for Eurovision song contest 2024 on May 11, 2024.  But before the Eurovision final on mega screens there's a concert party with Eurovision winners Alexander Rybak and Emmelie De Forest  with Eurovision fan favorites Verka Serduchka and KEiiNO. And that's not all: local Eurovision stars Saara Aalto, Ami Aspelund, CatCat, Hanna Pakarinen, Marion Rung, Laura Voutilainen, Sara Siipola, Aksel Kankaanranta, Geir Rönning, Sandhja and Benjamin will join the fun by performing their respective entries.  This is first time something like this is organized in Finland in this magnitude. The ticket selling starts on February 26 and costs are from 39,60 to VIP tickets of 169,90. But where is Käärijä? And Lordi? Hopefully in Malmö! Can I already announce the Finnish jury votes come from there announced by Benjamin?

Loreen of Sweden is the 15th previous Eurovision song contest winner who has decided and/or managed give it another try. Only Ireland's Johnny Logan has managed to win twice, as we all know. One can't really do a ranking however as the contest had changed so much from the 1950's with maybe a dozen songs to the approx 40 we have these days. In coming days I will feature the winners who decided to come back  after  winning the contest as there also many winners who have won with their second or third try. Alexander Rybak (36) came back in 2018 and so insignificant his comeback was that I had already completely forgotten about it! This said, he scored one of the biggest and most memorable wins in modern times with his Fairytale in 2009. Just like he had done in the Norwegian final. After winning he kept busy performing, releasing songs, collaborating with other (Eurovision) artists in various countries, even wrote a few songs to various national finals. He was working in Norwa...

Let's continue the series and kill some time having a look at the last decade and see who were the Top-10 best scoring countries in the Eurovision song contest in the past ten years. The ways to calculate are many and here I have used the simple average placement method (and it's not all so serious). Next up is Norway at n.o 7. Norway has been sending a steady string of successes after a rocky start of the decade that started with a NQ and then a last place in the final.. Those who didn't qualify were fan favorites no matter what, and this blogger thinks Agnete's NQ was very much undeserved. Five top-10 finishes ending with a televoters winner in 2019  is a great result no matter how you look at it.  2011 Stella Mwangi - Haba haba - NQ (17th in semi-final) ** 2012 Tooji - Stay - 26th *** 2013 Margaret Berger - I feed you my love - 4th **** 2014 Carl Espen - Silent storm - 8th ***** 2015 Mørland & Debrah Scarlett - A monster like me - 8th ***...

Most of Europe, and world, in in various stages of quarantene or lockdown (except Sweden...) and Eurovision artists and winners are finding ways to spend their time at home like the rest of us. Social medias are more vivid than ever and home made concerts and performances are in offer almost every day if you just keep up with them, including EBU's Eurovision Home Concerts series that you all are surely following every Friday, and last night's PrePartyES at home .  Let's have a look at some winner's activities during this #COVID-19 aka #Coronavirus pandemia, including reigning champion Duncan Laurence (above) who celebrated his birthday. Alone. Taking an extra long shower..... Dima Bilan has been entertaining himself with the dress challenge. Check his Instagram for more and in motion pictures as well, aka videos.....  Salvador Sobral will be having tomorrow already a third (and last) episode of his live Instagram concerts at 22.30 CET singing Spanish so...

Norway is having its Melodi Grand Prix 2020 final this Saturday after five regional semi-finals and five pre-qualified finalists. For the first time (anywhere?) there will be only online voting happening. Raylee is the big fan favorite but Ulrikke has a song and a vocal performance that could win it all in Rotterdam if chosen. There is a risk Norway goes for the nonsense aka Rein Alexander. I would be a bit surprised if anyone else is going to win this, despite Magnus having a song co-written by Alexander Rybak and there's even Tone Damli taking part and such.  Raylee – Wild  *** Didrik & Emil – Out of Air  ** Magnus Bokn – Over The Sea  *** Akuvi – Som du er  ** Kristin Husøy – Pray For Me  *** Rein Alexander – One Last Time  * Tone Damli – Hurts Sometimes  ** Sondrey – Take My Time  * Ulrikke Brandstorp – Attention  ***** Liza Vassilieva – I Am Gay  * Raylee offers a little tun...

  After hitting number one in every possible chart in Italy, breaking also a few all time records what comes to streaming (most streamed Italian song ever with 81 milion) and such, selling multiple platinum at home, platinum in Switzerland and gold in Spain, hitting number on in Israel and Greece and making the official singles charts in over 20 countries the success has no end: the live video from Eurovision song contest has become the most watched Italian entry ever on official Eurovision channel (over 12 milion), and the video itself has reached and passed 100 million mark becoming the fifth (and soon 4th) most watched Eurovision entry ever.  While the winner Duncan Laurence is appearing here and there while prepairing his fall/winter tour around Europe, Mahmood is touring Italy and making appearances in Sweden (also a first!) and Spain where he apparently right now recording a new single. Soon he will be also in Switzerland. Check below his tour dates that have regu...

NORWAY - ALEXANDER RYBAK - THAT'S HOW YOU WRITE A SONG Enjoy the small things with time they will get big Vocals **** Staging **** Song *** Overall **** Qualifier ROMANIA - THE HUMANS - GOODBYE Why don’t you see the beauty that surrounds you everywhere Vocals *** Staging * Song ** Overall ** Non qualifier SERBIA - SANJA ILIC & BALKANIKA - NOVA DECA Happiness is achievable, grab it. Vocals **** Staging ** Song **** Overall *** Sadly non qualifier SAN MARINO - JESSIKA feat. JENIFER BRENING - WHO WE ARE They can make us silent But in our hearts we’ll never be Vocals *** Staging *** Song ** Overall *** Non qualifier DENMARK - RASMUSSEN - HIGHER GROUND Freeze the arrow in the air Vocals **** Staging **** Song *** Overall *** Likely qualifier

Here we go again. Day 3 and we get to see the first half of the second semi-final act display their cards aka staging. Among them Eurovision 2009 winner Alexander Rybak who has rocketed up in the betting odds the past 24 hrs or so but also underdogs San Marino, questionable Russia and favorite Australia. Norway - Alexander Rybak - That's how you write a song When something is good and works, why change it? Rybak brings the same MGP performance here with on-screen graphics with air instruments, four dancers and a lot of energy and humour. The backing group has apparently changed though, the rest remains. He oozes charisma (if you like him) and is the plain old (if you don't) but for certain this is a solid, well choreographed fun performance and will go very far, no matter what the euroboys in the bubble say. A lot better than I wanna that won with a fun and energetic performance and not much of a song.... "Playful", "Cheerful", "Energe...

Norway - Alexander Rybak - That's how you write a song Eurovision 2009 winner Alexander Rybak (31) returns with a self written That's how you write a song . that will also be the 1500th Eurovsion song when he opens the 2nd semifinal with it. He won the Norwegian selection as a minor surprise but very convincingly. The fans really didn't believe in his chances but when masses vote... what do fans know? This blogger liked the song from the start and it was one of my three favorites and his live performance took away any doubts. The song itself isn't anything special really, true, but he makes it work and it's very enjoyable and entertaining three minutes. Not a winner in Lisbon but I wouldn't be surprised if he does very well in the final, to the left side of the scoreboard for sure. 8/10 Albania - Eugent Bushpepa - Mall Albania was the first to choose and now it feels already soooo long time ago when we first heard Mall . To compensate Eug...

This one we will only know in about six weeks. The winner of 2009 contest Alexander Rybak is trying a double in Lisbon 2018 Eurovision song contest. Fairytale holds the record of most votes under the old voting system - 387 vs Iceland's 218 and 16 times 12 points, 10 times 10 and 10 times 8! (He was equally overpoweering in the Norwegian national final btw) Rybak came to Eurovision through various talent shows, culture prizes for his violin playing and theater. After Eurovision he was busy performing all over Europe incuding the Nobel Prize ceremony, starring and writing music for films in Norway and Russia, dancing in the Swedish Stricty come Dancing , and keeping his career going also in nis native Belarus and in the Russian market, besides dubbing cartoon in Norwegian. All these years he's also been a regular guest in Eurovision related events and happenings. In 2013 he wrote I'm with you  (4th) for Annsofi Pettersen for the Norwegian national final, in 2015 f...

  Alexander Rybak, Eurovision song contest 2009 winner will return to the contest after winning the Norwegian national final with his That's how you write a song. He beat Rebecca in the super final. Her song was written by Eurovision 2015 entrant Kjetil Mørland while the other Eurovision veterans in competition Alexander Walmann and Stella Mwangi finished 3rd and 4th. Old timers ruled. Gold final: 1. Alexander Rybak - That's how you write a song   306.393 2. Rebecca - Who we are   123.504 First round: 1. Alexander Rybak - That's how you write a song  133.164 2. Rebecca - Who we are  46.260 3. Stella & Alexandra - You got me   29.784 4. Alexander Walmann - Talk to the hand  7.927

  Norway has it's Melodi Grand prix final tonight and the songs are picked out of over 1200 submissions. Among them three previous Eurovision stars, Stella Mwangi, last year's Alexander Walmann this time solo and with his own name instead of credited only as JOWST,  and Alexander Rybak who won the while contest for Norway back in 2009. International jury and Norwegian televotrs will decide on the winner 50-50.  I have three favorites: Talk to the hand follows last year's Grab the moment nicely, and sounds like a song that wasn't written Eurovision in mind which is like a bit of a fresh air these days. Vidar Villa's urging for MILF is just a good feeling bomb I just love to hear it and then Rybak - not the best song in the world but cool idea, well written and constructed with a tongue on cheek and it works. Nicoline, Charla K and Tom Hugo all have decent songs but just missing something extra to make them really stand out. And then we have Tengo otra . Love...