Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

GEORGIA - ETHNO-JAZZ BAND IRIAO - FOR YOU you own only what you share Vocals **** Staging ** Song ** Overall *** Borderline qualifier POLAND - GROMEE feat. LUKAS MEIJER - LIGHT ME UP Light Me Up My baby Light Me Up And tell me where to go Vocals ** Staging ** Song *** Overall *** Borderline qualifier MALTA - CHRISTABELLE - TABOO It’s time to break the taboo Before we all become animals, animals Vocals **** Staging **** Song *** Overall **** Borderline qualifier HUNGARY - AWS - VISZLÁR NYÁR Summer gone, now you’re all too late That you’ll be mine was just a lie You never came. Vocals **** Staging *** Song *** Overall *** Qualifier

Day 4 and today we will see the rest of the semi-finalists rehearse, aka the second half of the second semi-final and then we have a clearer picture of all acts. There have been some surprises already in both semis, as well as some letdowns (apparently Australia's Jeessica left the  press center in tears last nigth after she came aware of the unison negative reception) so the competition is fierce in the first one, and those who thought the second one is the easy one - think again! Georgia - Ethno-Jazz band Iriao - For you Mystery revealed: only three band members are on stage singing, with added keyboardist and guitarist, Suits with white shirts, read and light blue turns red lighting. Apparently nice close ups but not so much camera contact so they are pretty much waisted. No show whatsoever, except some arm choreography towards the end it seems, let the music speak to itself.  Some say they looked bored and forced to perform together... oops! On the other hand o...

  Romania - The Humans - Goodbye Cristina Caramarcu (30) fronts the band that includes also Alexandru Cismaru, Alexandru Matei, Alin Neagoe, Adi Tetrade and Corina Matei. They have been together only for a year but already here they are! The song is sort of radio friendly pop-rock and I was a bit surprised it won the Romanian national selection. The performance was rather shaky and I never cared for the song either. And it still gives me nothing. It leaves me totally indifferent and that's propably worst that can happen in Eurovision, isn't it? 2/10 Serbia - Sanja Ilić & Balkanika - Nova deca Sanja Ilić (67), a composer, keyboardist and architect created Balkanika in 1998 but he started his career already at the age of 12 when his first composition was released, sung by Dragan Laković. His first Eurovision link comes when he was 16. In 1976 his song placed 3rd in the Yogoslavian national final. Now, 42 years later he is finally here with Balkanika...

  Last but not least here comes Georgia's Iriao and their For you (Sheni gulitvis) . And it certainly is something else. Judge yourself by watching and listening the video below .-)

Georgia delivered us the last surprise of 2017 by announcing the ethno-jazz band Iriao has been internally selected to represant the country in the Lisbon 2018 Eurovision song contest. So, expect some outstanding mix between jazz and Georgian ethno folk music! The band's name comes from the famous Georgian yodling style krimanchuli , where "iriao uruao" is a common phrase. The band's goal is not however to try to modernize the UNESCO recognized Georgian polyfony music, but to saturate and adorn it with jazz elemenets. David Malazonia is the mastermind behind the band and he has been succesfully composing over 30 years for theater and films in both Georgia and Germany, and started Iriao in 2013.  Besides Malazonia (Composer, Keys, Arranger and Leader) the band includes Nugzar Kavtaradze (Georgian Folk Instruments), Levan Abshilava (Drums, Percussion), Shalva Gelekva (Bass), George Abashidze (Vocal & Misc.), Mikheil Javakhishvili (Vocal & Misc.) a...