Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

I already posted the Official singles chart #1's here , and it's time to check out the Radio play charts that often featured very different songs. And as the singles chart was all Finnish but the Wham's Christmas #1 the situation is not different here: Only one song, in the last week, too, made it to #1 and that was Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars! Only 12 songs made it to #1 as most of the year they kept going up and down and switching places at top. UMK Sara Siipola scored #1 here, as did UMK veterans BESS and Benjamin together, and BESS with Elastinen as well. Also another UMK veteran Robin Packalen scored his biggest hits in years. And if Mirella dominated the Singles chart being on top for 25 weeks here she did with two songs for six weeks. BESS was the Queen here with her 16 weeks on top! Elastinen feat BESS - Pimee (weeks 1-4, 7, 9) Jenni Vartiainen - Lanka (weeks 5, 10-12) Bee - Viimeisiä sanoja (weeks 6, 8) Mirella - Timanttei (weeks 13, 19, 21-22) Sara Siipola - Paska...

Cyprus released its banger for Eurovision 2021 and the fandom went gaga. No wonder, El Diablo borrows a lot from Lady Gaga's Bad romance and Alejandro. Maybe not in the notes but that song starts playing indirectly in my mind the moment I heard El Diablo. What do I know?

Some details have been announced about the 70th festival della canzone italiana aka Sanremo 2020 ( more news here ). The  Big artists won't be announced during the Sanremo Giovani selection on December 17 but only on January 6, 2020. Amadeus has also stated he would like to have Monica Bellucci as his co-hostess, and dreams of bringing either Madonna or Lady Gaga to the festival as guest, but Tiziano Ferro is more likely..... Meanwhile the rumours of possible artists are already started, as while the Italian Eurovision fans are afraid Amadeus will bring the festival back in time with likes of Albano and other oldies after baglioni's surprising fresh approach here are some names rumored and/or  who I would like to see in the festival..... Click for their latest or best videos. Alexia Tommaso Paradiso Alberto Urso Dolcenera Malika Ayane Elodie Lorenzo Fragola The Kolors Pierdavide Carone Loredana Berté Modà Irama Lisa Federica Carta Mar...

  Before Madonna and Lady Gaga there was Cyndi being the Italo-American pop star with a look you couldn't ignore and songs that were hits. She's got some real classics under belt and she was the first female artist to score four top-5 hits in the US from a debut album. I was a total fan. Today she's a LBGT activist, Tony and Emmy award winning writer for Kinky Boots musical, actress and respected songwriter besides singing blues and country. I kinda lost her after 80's, I think I must redust her and check out also her latest works.... Check out also:

If we think back Italian entries since their return they have made best with yet rather unknown jazz singer Raphael Gualazzi with a song that was pretty much as far from a typical Eurovision entry dreamed by typical Euroboys as can be and placed 2nd to their horror. Then we have televote winners and overal 3rd placed Il Volo, an operatic trio somewhat looked down in Italy by most.  Now we have a fusion of them in our hands, a Sicilian tenor that can do jazzy swing and pop rock with ease and mix them all together if needed. Despite winning X Factor last year his career hasn't quite exploded yet. Italy has sent their biggest stars with the highest expectations and failed (according themselves only). Why not trying someone known but not yet big, with something typically Italian according Europeans (like Il Volo) and not trying too hard to be modern, international and hip? It doesn't seem to work for you.... Listen to Italia , Who wants to live forever , Million reasons , Like...

Did you know Motown had alternative genre labels for Latin, Rock, Jazz and so on, including shortlived Gaiee Records, that released in 1975 Valentino's I was born this way , an openly gay anthem -  way before Village People and others? This was the very first gay related release by a major record label anywhere. Actually it took the writer four years to find someone not only to publish and promote it, but also to record it. It was an instant hit. Valentino's version was a #1 in UK Disco charts, while Bean's #15 in the US Club charts. It was remixed by Shep Pettibone in 1986 as Better Days mix and other remixes came by Next Plateau record in 1995, Pet Shop Boys in 2005, Jimmy Somerville,   DJ Gomi .... And I certain Lady Gaga got heavily " inspired " by it ..... never though admitting it really.  Magnus Carlsson released the song as well in 2008. Charles Valentino Harris, a dancer actor singer poet songwriter pretty much disappeared from the spotligh...

Portugal is really in at the moment. Not only they won Eurovision, but previous winner Jamala filmed her latest video there and now Madonna has bought a six million euro 18th century Unesco protected Quinta do Relogio Palace to move in in September to support her adopted son's football dreams in Bemfica juniors and become a soccer mom. She stayed in Lisbon two weeks recently house hunting and seems to love it.  Hello RTP, she's already in town, have her for interval act next year, ok? I guess she'd love to do something Lady Gaga failed.... Couldn't she just go and host the Welcome Party here, too?

Milla Jovovich apparently was in negotiations to host the Eurovision song contest 2017 - just like Lady Gaga to perform as interval act - but the deal wasn't made in the end. Money. It's always about the money, isn't it? Milla, a worldfamous model and actress was born in Kyiv in 1975, then Soviet Union as daughter of a Russian actress and a Serbian father. She however spent her childhood in Moscow and the family immigrated to London for political reasons in 1980, and moved on to Los Angeles soon after. Milla has declared she feels more Russian than Ukrainian, having only born there but spending her early years in Moscow, so in this light it seems a bit unlikely Ukrainians would have chosen her at this time and place of the world so I label this "only rumors".... Wasn't she rumored also in 2008 as a host for the Belgrade Eurovision?

Now this is just a rumor that got out now nd most likely untrue, but it's a fun one. Last year Stockholm got Justin Timberlake to perform for free apparently in exchange of the television audience of 200 miliion at the Eurovision song contest final. The purists didn't like it, and indeed what does he have to do with Eurovision, especially as he didn't even know what it was prior taking the stage really? Like as if Sweden didn't have world stars of their own to show..... But that aside, this year it could maybe have been Lady Gaga. To claim that is Jamala's manager Igor Tarnapolsky who gossips he heard it from Eurovision 2017 producer Stuart Barlow himself...  Anyways, it fall down to Lady Gaga's "free" performance as she demanded a rider of 100.000-200.000 dollars to make her spectacular performance. One can only wonder what she would have given us with that money....  certainly she would have fitted Eurovision a bit better than Mr Timberlake ...

The Italians of America, Anthony Benedetto and Stefani Germanotta or better known as Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga has found new little friendS from native Italia, who are making it big in America. Already now their album has made it to Top-200 in reguar charts, but in the Classic albums it makes something weirdly wonderful: all three editions enter the Top-20: International version #1 Spanish version #6 Italian version #14 Just wait and see when they start touring America how things develop.....

While Conchita Wurst tells he's getting dead threats and hate mail, is condamned by some Russian and even Finnish politician (sigh) she's also getting congratulations and praise from world stars like Cher, Lady Gaga, Robbie Williams, Jean Paul Gaultier and Boy George among others, and she received flowers from Elton John with congratulations. Meanwhile Rise like a Phoenix is charting iTunes in over 50 countries from Kyrgyzstan to Mauritius, from Australia to Colombia, New Zealand, South Africa and Mexico. And from Canada to USA, Taiwan and Indonesia. Love conquers hate in the end. "Congratulations, we love you. Elton & David" "With unstoppable love, Jean Paul Gaultier"

In our exclusive interviews in Malmö 2013 Eurovision we asked the artists who would they like to represent their country next year in Denmark 2014. Israel's Moran Mazor named her runner up this year, Ron Weinreich . For some reason this Eurovision adventure went under his name even if his band Siren was on stage in full as well. Indeed, Ron and Siren could be an interesting choice. This blogger liked a lot of their effort this year, Love is one . Excellent vocals and song that made completely forget the fact he's in wheelchair, after being injured in the second Lebanese war. The song was especially written for Kdam and Eurovision, adding a lot of middle eastern influences to their usual rock sound and indeed it worked. The expert jury put them to the first place, but the televote turned the tables to Moran in the end. They have released this year an EP Democrazy that includes even a cover of Rihanna 's Only girl in the world .... But there's also The real lif...

"We want to make the wildest Eurovision Song Contest ever" , says Ola Melzig. One of the things that separates this year's scene from previous years is that production is done deliberately to create depth. The scene is built up in several layers and is also located further out in the arena than before. "Scene edge is approximately at the blue line. It would have never worked if we were not at an early stage have chosen to have standing audiences." Another important difference is the video screens in the background. They are both set very far back and also the techincal quality is far superior to be able to also show details in better quality on screen. The stage will be built in five days. In Moscow that took three weeks to cobble together. The stage will be assembled in the stadium's far end and then rolled into place. It is extremely short time for such a sophisticated stage set building. The Tait Technologies, responsable for construction have been ...

Ok, old news I know. Marco Mengoni emerges as the favourite to represent Italy in the 2013 Eurovision song contest in Malmö. This time the poll was organized by Eurofestival website and scored exactly half of the votes or 50%. He is followed by Stefania Germanotta aka Lady Gaga who was included in the list as a joke but she scored 18% of the votes :-) Third was surprisingly rather unknown Francesca Michielin (11%) before Noemi (8%), Dolcenera (7%), Tiziano Ferro (7%), Malika Ayane (6%), Elisa (6%), Giorgia (5%) and Laura Pausini (4%). Considering Marco Mengoni is in Sanremo 2013 there's a possibility he will be the one. On the other knowing his feelings about competitions (he is participating in Sanremo to make his granny happy!) he is mostly to say no if offered the job. That could open the door to Malika Ayane and she would follow Loreen's footsteps to bring a little bit Morocco back to the contest....

Diandra Flores (18) is the big pre-contest favorite to win UMK 2013 and the only name one can consider big among the artist, or at least a household name in Finland. Her entry is Colliding into you and it's written by Patrik Sarin, Leri Leskinen and Sharon Vaughn, who has co-written Jedward's Waterline and also Release me by Agnes. Diandra or Didi herself shot to fame from Idols 2012 where by most critics she really didn't have any competition to challenge her. Her father comes from Chile that explains her name, and she suffers from synesthesia, meaning she sees the music as colors and shapes! She started with violin at age of six, later won a kid's singing competition and her talent has caught also the eye of American vocal couch David Lee Brewer who took her under his wings a few months ago and she flew to Berlin to work with him. His previous students include Didi's idol Beyoncè. She is also a devoted fan of Lady Gaga. Her debut album ...

Another Russian star is looking beying the ex-Sovjet Union's borders in search for the new markets. Sergey Lazarev's production team is investing heavily in his international career and here comes rather fab video for Electric touch off his latest album. In the Lady Gaga league, I'd say. Will he be luckier than Dima Bilan? Will we see him Eurovision anytime soon?

The #1 in Finland is for the second week running Poju's Ice Hockey world championships song Poika (saunoo) . The #2 is another ice hockey celebration song, Finnish Hockey's Taivas varjele . And more is at #5 going down already,  A-Tyyppi's Ihanaa leijonat ihanaa . And guess what? At #13 there's yet another one, Antero Mertaranta's Nyt huudetaan - ihanaa leijonat ihanaa !  Paradise Oskar's Da da dam drops to #19 and his album Sunday songs to #13. Straight at #1 in albums is a comedy character Munamies keeping Lady Gaga behind him as a new entry at #2.

Lady Gaga enters with Born this way   the singles chart right away at #1 pushing Petri Nygärd down to number one after three weeks at the top. Bruno Mars with Grenade is steady at #3 and Just the way you are enters at #17! In albums he enters at #3 while late Kari Tapio's greatest hits stays at #1. His other compilation is at #14 going down

Lady Gaga's Bad romance is the only one chart topper for five weeks - but Hevisaurus might leave Alejandro behind and join Bad romance this week though - and with this we started the 2010. It stayed at number one the weeks 1-4 and reclaimed the post at week 7, staying a total of 31 weeks in top-20 in 2009/2010. Lady Gaga - Bad romance (weeks 1-4,7, total of 23 weeks in 2010)

The countdown continues with two songs that made it to #1 for four weeks. Lady Gaga's Alejandro had to claim the crown three times as well and Hevisaurus did this year's Christmas success. If it stays at number one in this week it will jump to the next category with 5 weeks on top! At week 50 it dropped down to #17 as the copies were sold out.... Lady Gaga - Alejandro (weeks 25-25, 28, 30, total of 19 weeks) Hevisaurus - Hirmuliskojen pikkujoululevy (weeks 47-49, 51, total of 5 weeks... so far)