Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

It's hard to believe but it's 50 years since Marion Rung started her singing career with the release of Brigitte Bardot . Right after she won the Finnish selection for Eurovision 1962 with Tipitii and countless national and international festivals and contests followed: Eurovision 1962 (7th), Sopot festival 1962 in Poland (7th), Golden Orpheus in Bulgaria 1968 (winner), The Golden Stag 1968 in Romania (Special award by the jury), Eurovision 1973 (6th and Finland's best placing until Lordi's win in 2006), Sopot festival 1974 in Poland (winner), Yamaha festival 1968 in Japan (Award for the best performer), Istanbul festival 1976 (2nd), Musical Mallorca festival 1977 in Spain (Award for the performer), Syksyn Sävel 1977  (winner), Sopot festival 1980 in Poland (winner). No Finnish artist can match that list, and very few foreign either!  But back to present. She will start her 50th anniversary show - her biggest so far and she has done many over the decades - on Octo...

Arja Koriseva releases a new album Minä taistelen (I fight) tomorrow. It's her 15th album. This year she is also celebrating her 20th anniversary in business being the Tango Queen 1989, and the most popular of them. She has been doing musicals and TV besides stage shows and recording albums ever since. She has taken part in Euroviisut four times (1991, 1992 , 1993 and 2004 ) and represanted Finland abroad twice: in Golden Kite 1990 in Kuala Lumpur and Golden Stag in Romania in 1992 with her Euroviisut song Huomiseen . Both times she has reached the runner up position.

The winner of the Cerbul de Aur or Golden Stag 2009 in Romania, Italian Antonino Spadaccino (26) declares in a recent interview he wants to do Eurovision, but as Italy is not participating hopes that some other country would be interested. "I want to do Eurovision but need to find a country that would adopt me. I got to Cerbul only thanks to my manager who sent in a demo. In Italy I don't do any festivals or contest anymore. I have tried to enter Sanremo twice but they have just laughed at me, even making fun of me sending me away by saying "Salutaci gli Amici tuoi! (translates to Greetings to your Friends" Antonino won the talent reality contest Amici four years ago. "Maybe Malta or Switzerland would be interested in me" he goes on.   "I was sure I would go home empty handed from Romania thinking the local artist would win again but when I heard "And the winner is Antonino" I didn't realize anything anymore. I cried like a baby - ...

Laura Voutilainen says in her website she actually came 5th in the Romanian Cerbul de Aur or Golden Stag festival. First she made it to to the final (9 out of 26) and then in the final came 5th. Congratulations! You can see her performances of Blown around and The Balcan Girls here .

Antonino takes the main award in the Golden Stag or Cerbul de Aur. He is the winner of 2005 edition of Amici, an Idol like talent show in Italy. The Marker from Romania came second and Ovi from Norway third. Ovi we remember of course from the Norvegian Eurovision national final this year. Glen Vella from Malta won the jury's award. The other Eurovision artists like Laura from Finland and Roberto Meloni from Latvia return home empty handed. Watch the videos . here. And here is Laura performing The Balcan girls , the Romanian entry this year. 

As it often happens the minor festivals are strongly influenced by the one and only Eurovision song contest. The troubled Golden Stag or Cerbul de Aur seems to be back for another year. Started back in 1968 it lived only 4 years (with winners coming from Belgium, Romania, the Netherlands and Sweden) before being relaunched in 1992 (with winners from Indonesia, Lithuania, USA, Russia and Romania) before hitting another break until 2001 when Romania won it again as it did in 2002. China, Malta and Italy won the next editions. In 2008 the festival was relaunched again with a Romanian win and so this 2009 is the 16th edition. And the list of singers is mainly very familiar reading from national selections or Eurovision itself: Sergey for Armenia, Raffaele for Belgium, Orlin "Kaffe" Pavlov for Bulgaria, Marios Tofi for Cyprus, Rolf Jr for Estonia, Laura Voutilainen for Finland, Antonino and Massimo Bertacci for Italy, Roberto Meloni for Latvia, Claudia Faniello and Glen ...

01. Laura is no longer addicted to her husband of 11 years and the couple announced a marital divorce. Their musical and business relationship still goes on and her soon to be ex-husband will still be her manager and take care of her business. They have two sons. 02. She is finishing recording her new album, her 10th, to be out this fall completing the trilogy with her previous two albums Palaa and Kosketa mua. 03. She is repairing to represent Finland in Golden Stag festival in Romania in September. She will sing Tuhlaaja and Romania's ESC 2009 entry The Balkan girls in a new arrangement. Now that will be interesting to hear!! http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia3HsRuT5Q4 , http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4nq826UkSs , http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTTpQxyBjh0