Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  Norway had its national final for Eurovision song contest 2026. Jonas Lovvw on Melodi grand prix with Ya ya ya.  The final songs were selected among some 1.500 submissions shortlisted to 16; eight made the final directly, the other eight had to go through a radio competition in duels until one was left, that being Skrellex. Read more here . Among the competitors previous Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak and Eurovision veteran Marcus & Martinus little sister Emma, both being the favorites to win as well. Final (jury + tele) Skrellex - Into the wild (15 + 30) 45  7th Hedda Mae - Snap back (11 + 4) 15  8th Storm - Lullaby (14 + 36) 50  6th Mileo - Frankestein (54 + 35) 89  4th Silke - Forevermore (0 + 4) 4  9th Alexander Rybak - Rise  (66 + 126) 192  2nd Emma - Northern lights (28 + 99) 127  3rd Leonardo Amor - Prayer (60 + 13) 73  5th Jonas Lovv - Ya ya ya (96 + 196) 265  1st to be updated 

 Yet another dose #Finpop 2025 with four lesser known more or less indie female artists that re worth a listen. Enjoy! ellaella - Pilalla yaya - Huokauksii Ira - Meistä kertova satu emma - Elvytä mut

  Here are the Eurovision veterans: MAHMOOD - TUTA GOLD His third time among Big after winning in 2019 (Soldi) and Brividi (with Blanco) in 2022 placing 2nd and 6th at Eurovision. Before that he did Newcomers twice: 2016 he placed 4th behind liked of Francesco Gabbani and Ermal Meta, and in 2018 he won the ticket to 2019 festival. Before the start he's 8th in the odds. EMMA - APNEA Emma came 2nd in Sanremo 2011 with Modà and Arriverà, and won the year after with Non è l'inferno. In 2022 she was 6th with Ogni volta è cosi. In 2014 she was chosen internally by Rai for Eurovision scoring Italy's worst placing ever with La mia citttà, 21st. Emma is 9th in odds. IL VOLO - CAPOLAVORO Il Volo returns for their third Sanremo after winning with Grande amore in 2015 and placing 3rd in Eurovision (after winning the televote). in 2019 they came 3rd with Musica che resta. Il Volo is 11th in odds. DIODATO - TI MUOVI Unfortunate Duiodato won Sanremo 2020 with Fai rumore, and thanks to pan...

The Finnish Grammy, or Emma Awards were handed out tonight in Helsinki's Ice Hall and the biggest winner was our last year's Eurovision success Blind Channel that won all six awards it was nominated for. Dark side,  their entry was awarded as The Song of the year, and it was also the most streamed Finnish song. Eurovision winners Måneskin got also a trophy: The Most streamed song of the year doe I wanna be your slave ! So both the local and international most streamed song was from Eurovision 2021 act! This is all Blind Channel won: Rock band of the Year The Export of the year The Group of the year The Song of the year (Dark side) The Most streamed Finnish song (Dark side) People's Choice 

Italy took its well deserved third victory - finally! - at the Eurovision song contest 2021. Over the years several other Italian entries would have been worthy winners. In this series I will go through all of them from the worst ranking to the win ners Italy has had a real triumphant comeback to the contest since 2011 and they have only two two figure placements since, this one being the other. 21 out of 37. Oh my. It is also the only year they searched outside Sanremo for the entry. Big mistake! Sanremo 2014 was won by Arisa who is wel known to dream of Eurovision, and Controvento . Instead we got Emma Marrone (37) and somewhat medicore song in her catalogue, La mia cittá .  It was like a flashback to the 70's when the entries were not from Sanremo and finished mid table or lower... Emma however was the Sanremo 2012 winner with Non è l'inferno and even 2011 runner up with Arriverà (with Modà). In 2010 she won the talent show Amici and has been a top selling artist ever sin...

Last night the huge tribute event took place in the Arena di Verona with 50 artists to honor and commemorate late Franco Battiato. Originally the plan was to tribute his La Voce del padrone album, released 40 years ago and one of the most sold albums ever in Italy. Twist of fate and everyone was there but the maestro himself. His closest collaborators had created his songs in their original arrangements played live and the singers who worked with him like Alice and Juri Camisasca, and singers who wished to work with him but didn't make it in time like Diodato and Mahmood along with singers who had covered his songs or simply considered him a real idol. The four hour long event was a celebration of life and his art that goes well beyond music rather than a mourning. When his latest song Torneremo ancora (We will be back) was played at the end of the show with a lonely spotlight on stage indicating where he would have been one could only think "He is still here". Indeed, ...

Franco Battiato has crossed the world of pop music enriching it beyond measure, intercepting many listeners as well as many artists from different paths, but always close to his sensitivity. They will once again reaffirm its value on an important stage such as the Verona Arena, on 21 September, starting from his most radiantly pop album, La voce del  padrone   released forty years ago on that very date. Franco Battiato's artistic strength has always been its vastness and trasversality. Not only that of the genres he has crossed, from experimental music to avant-garde pop, from melodrama to electronics, from references to other cultures with a curiosity without preconceptions, but above all that of open, adventurous compositions. Invito al viaggio will unite figures from the world of entertainment with an orchestra formed by the Filarmonica dell'Opera Italiana Bruno Bartoletti, Carlo Guaitoli to conducting and piano, Angelo Privitera to keyboards and programming, Osvaldo Di Di...

It's summer time and Italian airwaves are filled with summer rhythms and beats. Enjoy! Fedez, Achille Lauro, Orietta Berti - Mille Emma, Loredana Berté - Che sogno incredibile Annalisa, Federico Rossi - Movimento lento Samuel, Francesca Michielin - Cinema

The 71st Sanremo festival will take place next week against all odds and even if it will be for the very first time without audience in Teatro Ariston there will be an endless list of guests and co-presenters and all the extra we don't even know yet. Amadeus has promised five nights, five hours each of resurrection of entertainment and music after the year of pandemic.  This blogger will keep an eye as always but maybe I'll be blogging less than usual until the Friday's Newcomers final and the Grand final on Saturday. But over the week we will have a string of Eurovision veterans performing in both competition and as guests. First of all Diodato will open the week on Tuesday evening re-performing his winning entry Fai rumore from last year, Il Volo will be performing in a tribute to late legendary Ennio Morricone with his son Andrea Morricone. Francesco Gabbani will duet with Ornella Vanoni in Un sorriso dentro al pianto , a song he wrote for her. Mahmood is the latest...

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 Italy at n.o 2. Italy made a comeback to Eurovision in 2011 with a bang and a 2nd place finish. And Mahmood secured yet another 2nd place for Italy last year. Add Il Volo's 3rd place and four other Top-10s and you're left with one 16th place and one 21st place. And that 21st being the only one not linked to Sanremo but an internal selection. Five entries were Sanremo winners. one a runner up and one a Newcomers winner. Three of the entries among the most watched Youtubes ever on Eurovision platform, and also breaking Italian streaming records. Each and every artist still present and succesful, as most every one was already back then! Other countries take exa...

  Emma is back! Stronger than ever after the sudden operation  last month that caused quite a speculation of the state of her health and the cancer thread. She announces she wants music, more music, and music for the rest of her life and that she's the happiest girl in the world! Meanwhile she's beautiful in her latest single Io sono bella....

From the series Where are they now? there are news about Waldo's People's Waldo aka Marko Reijonen (52). He says he's been suffering for a long time unexplainable tiredness, like living in a permanent jetlag state also thanks to his way of life as an artist. Now the reason is out: he has to undergo an operation for coronary artery disease. This comes as no surprise as his dad died of heart attack at the age of 52, and his granddad at the age of 44. He says some of his veins are blocked up to 70%! This blogger gives Waldo thumbs up and it'll surely all go well and he'll be like new afterwards! Waldo is not alone with his health problems, as Emma also announced she has to put her career on hold for a moment. .... Waldo's is still doing gigs actively, also thanks to the 90's revival shows and festivals. At the moment he's touring with Ysärin Kuninkaalliset (90's royalty) Tour with another 90's superfavorite Movetron . 

  Italian music world and not only, is turning to support Emma (35) on social media after her unexpected announcement on her instagram earlier this week. "Things happen. This really isn't the best moment but then, never would have been the right moment for this. It's time to deal with it and take care of it for good. I'll be back stronger than ever" as she cancelled her participation in a concert in Malta and apologing her fans who had booked flights and accomodations on the island to come and support her, along with her other plans.  Most propably it's cancer, people are whispering. She was operated already 2009 for a tumor in uterus, and for the second time in 2014 and apparently it's back for the third time. Update 24.9.: According TG1 it should be neoplasm, and apparently benign and curable.  The moment is the most unfortunate as her latest single Io sono bella (I am beautiful) has been well received by the critics and becoming one of her bi...

After two years of internal choices in search of "a jackpot" in vain Yle and UMK are returning to an open call. The song submission window is from November 1 to 8, 2019 and Yle is hoping to get a variety of entries from various genres and various artist categories from newcomers to veterans, stars of the moment and has-been in search for a comeback because "each and everyone can have a boost to their career with the participation, not only the winner". They also expect the entries being chosen already the next week.  Their hopes seem to be high despite the fact some are still suspicious and not so trusting this will all go smoothly after their sudden change of plans three years ago when they just threw all the submissions to the rubbish bin and decided to go for Saara Aalto instead.  The fact that they haven't published clear rules and information yet but only "we expect and wish to choose 4-10 entries for the one off final depending on the quality o...

Not only Melodifestivalen and Sweden but also Italy's Sanremo rumor mill is already in full swing. Several papers have hinted the same names so maybe there's some truth to it, then again who knows? As we know, even the artists will find out if they have been accepted only when we common mortals do, too. Usually in live television when the list is read out. We also have one certain no goer as Emma has declared she won't be there but on tour and as she has been a participant, the winner and the presenter she will only return as an invited superguest.... (Good luck with that!) Arisa is widely rumored and her dream to do Eurovision is no secret. She also won Sanremo the only year Rai decided to fish outside the pool and went for Emma..... Time for a revenge?  Other welcome names would be  Nek ,  Giusy Ferreri ,  Paola Turci  and  Loredana Bertè  (late Mia Martini's sister) who at 67 can still deliver hit songs, like  Non ti dico di no . ...

  Valentina Monetta has announced in her self ironic way "No, no don't worry it's not me, it's my dear friend... Irol!" He joins Finnish Emma (Fan's choice) and Italian Giovanni Montalbano (Internet's choice) in the final ten. The seven other entries will be chosen by SMRTV and 1in360 among all the submitted wannabes.

San Marino's 1in360 selection for the Eurovision song contest 2018 representative has delivered the first of ten finalist, the first wildcard voted in two rounds by various OGAE groups all over Europe, and the fans proved as unimaginative and predictable as I feared when the top-10 is full of familiar names from various national finals etc. Finnish Emma , known from UMK 2017 where she placed third after a disastrous live performance despite being the hot favorite to win, beat in the end Maltese multiple national finalist Franklin Calleja . Israeli national finalist Judah Gavra placed third ahead of Danish national finalist and X Factor UK participant Sada Vidoo . 1. Emma Sandström (47) Finland 2. Franklin  Calleja (46) Malta 3. Judah Gavra (32) Israel 4. S ada Vidoo (32) Denmark 5. Tiago Braga (31) Portugal 6. Yana Glushak (30) Russia 7. Domenico Garincella (28) Italy 8. Justinas Stanislovaitis (26) Lithuania 9. Rick Jurthe (25) Germany 10. Cole...

Douwe Bob in shower.... Vaclav likes Frozen - who doesn't? Andras goes Tweety Amir picked yet another award.  This time NRJ's Francophone song of the year  Freddie promotes Pepe Iveta promotes her own watches, jumpers and stuff Dima got a phone. No, it's not the new iPhone Poli had a sweet moment Ira and.... OMG this photo is so wrong in so many ways....  Hovi did Rome Imri did Copenhagen Jamala and hubby did Tbilisi Emma did Brooklyn Måns and fiancee did Asia Tijana took a classic bathroom mirror selfie ... as did MIHAI. His 376.549.075th Claudia and Kurt having cozy kitchen time Svala... well,,,, wtf?! Gianluca got married! Congratulations! How was your week?