Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

As Eurovision is nearing its 70th edition in 2026 we still have 25 countries, more or less active or existing that have never won the contest. Some have been close already like Croatia this year placing second, as well as other runner ups Cyprus, Bulgaria, Australia, Iceland, Malta, Poland and no longer existing Serbia & Montenegro. Moldova, Romania and Bosnia & Herzegovina have reached the third place getting a taste of the podium success, too.  Then we have poor Andorra that never reached the final being close to do so in Helsinki 2007's massacre mega big semi-final of 28 entries placing 12th. Some countries are yet to reach the Top-1o in the final: San Marino, Montenegro and no longer participating Slovakia and Morocco. This said let's hope they all come back one day! While at this let's enjoy those non winning countries best placed entries to show them some support, ok? 2024 CROATIA (2.) Baby Lasagna - Rim Tim Tagi Dim 2019 NORTH MACEDONIA (7.)   Tamara Todevs...

There have been countless Muslim artists in Eurovision over the years but it hasn't and it shouldn't matter but this year it gets more attention as the contest takes place in Tel Aviv, Israel, and three artists have been spotlighted as Muslims and represent the new multicultural Europe. France's Bilal Hassani is of Moroccan origin, while Italian Alessandro Mahmoud is half Egyptian which caused a rasistic and political outburst when he won Sanremo festival despite him being born and raised in outskirts of Milan and identifying himself as 100% Italian. Maybe it's also due to the line in Arabic in his song taken out of context? Apparntly the only Arabic h knows. And then we have of course Turkish Serhat, back in business for San Marino. He's a real new European living and working between Germany, France, UK and Turkey. Mahmood's line والدي والدي حبيبي تا’علينا ( Waladi waladi habibi ta’aleena ) isn't though the first time we hear Arabic in Eurovisio...

Should Morocco return to Eurovision one day soon Saad Lamjarred would be a perfect artist to come back with if he didn't have several rape allegations and investigations in his CV (but even the King of Morocco helped him to get rid of them). His music is pure Moroccan pop but easy enough for Western ears with lyrics in Arabic and French, with some occasional English thrown in. Modern sounds but original and true to their own musical heritage. Saad was born in Rabat to an artistic family his father being classical singer and mother actress and comedian, and Saad himself doesn't seem to be too serious himself, something that would certainly help him in the Eurovision bubble to charm everyone. He has also acted in a soap opera, placed 2nd in a talent show, collected MTV Music award nomination and other awards and nominations. Listen to Let go , Ghaltana , LM3ALLEM  (nearly 675 million views the most viewed Arab video that gives him also the Guinness world record for 500 milli...

Now it seems clear that there will be four extra delegations in Vienna: Morcco, Tunisia, Kosovo and Kazakhstan will all send their delegations to Vienna. Why, one may worder? To study and to learn and have a look at it, how it really is. Are we getting ready for a return and/or debut in 2016 perhaps by covering the event? Then it's forth remembering Palestine was very much present in Helsinki 2007 (I've even got t-shirts and other promotional material to prove it...)

Samira Sa ï d (or Bensaid) has a career going on for over 40 years already. After being a child star she also got the honors to be the first (and so far last) Moroccan entrant in the Eurovision song contest 1980 when she was 18. Her song Bitaqat hub was way too exotic back then but this blogger remember loving it to bits. Coming second to last didn't harm her career in the Arab music world where she has been on top ever since and selling over 50 million records, more than any other female artist in the Arab world. Nearly 50 albums have been released and over 500 songs recorded but one thing remains: her voice. Another thing remains, too: her beauty and doll like features without one wrinkle.... Some ladies just get prettier with age, don't they? Anyways, her latest single and album Mazal earned her a few World music awards to ad to her previous 40 or so trophies and awards over the years in the Arab world. Here is the remix of Mazal . It seems she has signed a deal to ...

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....

This year's Eurovision is a very international affair in many ways. Not only are 42 countries taking part with many songs written by authors from another country and the various groups on stage featuring for example dancers from countries other than they represent. Also among the featured artists we have some nice mixes; Joan Franka from the Netherlands is half Turkish, Gaitana from Ukraine is half-Congolese. Finnish Pernilla is of the Swedish speaking minority in Finland and Bulgaria's Sofi Marinova of the Romani minority. Can Bonomo is Sephardian Jew, a minority in Turkey. And we can add Albanian Rona Nishliu to that lot as well being from Kosovo. The Russian grannies represent the Udmurts, a small Finno-Ugric tribe while the Romanian Mandinga makes its own tribe by featuring artists from Cuba, Chile, Romania and who knows where else, too. Then we have singers born in Guatemala and Indonesia representing their new home countries Denmark and France, ...

Loreen, the fresh Melodifestivalen 2012 winner admits she has never experienced that kind of euphoria she sings about in real life and being an eternal single. But apparently most Swedes (excluding Danny perhaps) are in love with her as the poll says 78% think the right song won, and she also scored a nice amount of televotes last night making her win a triumph in unison with the international juries and the Swedish people. Actually she made a new Melodifestivalen record with 670.551 votes! She has also talked about her hard childhood. She's the oldest of seven kids her father left with her Maroccan mother when she was just six. He went to Spain and a few years ago when Loreen had finally decided to meet him and was ready to book tickets for summer, her father died in spring so she never had a chance to meet him again. She may have some unfinished issues with that but professionally she's now doing great. Last year's entry My heart is refusing me , that got only to Sec...

It's summer. The heat makes everybody weak in head and say all sort of things. Like all sort of Eurovision rumours and here's one: Morocco will return in 2012! Said by Bruno Berberes, the French Eurovision boss. He should know, shouldn't he? If they do return Finland may lose the Eurovision record by being the only country that has lost to Morocco! But I don't think we are so keen on keeping that record, are we? And Samira Bensaid might not be the only Moroccon Eurovision star.  Samira may have come second to last in 1980 when Morocco participated for the first and so far lasdt time but since then she has dropped "ben" from her name and become a real superstar in the Arabic world, especially in Egypt. Bitaqat knub was followed by Ah bahebak , Al bal , Lailah habibi that won the Best video award in the Arab world in 2001. Youm wara youm two years later earned her World Music Award and BBC's Award for world music adding to her some 40 awards over the year...

One timers Morocco and San Marino are also missing from Oslo 2010. Morocco appeared once with the wonderful Bitakat hob in 1980. Samira Bensaid is today a megastar in the Arab world but then managed to get only 7 points, all of them from Italy, and came second to last - only Finland got less points! SNRT never looked back and hasn't expressed any will to ever return. The rival broadcaster 2M TV is applying for EBU membership and if granted might be well interested in Eurovision as being the voice of free speech and  a taboo breaking media in Morocco. San Marino surprisingly took part in the 2008 Eurovision. Many saw this as RAI's plot to taste the waters and see how it would go - after all RAI is SMRTV's biggest stock holder. Miodio's Complice however scored the last place in the semifinal and San Marino hasn't been seen since, claiming financial problems. One can only wonder how much RAI is involved in its absense? San Marino would easily attract some big Italian...

Listen bits of her new album here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P0V34mc9aQ

As we all know Morocco took part in the Eurovision only once, back in 1980 when Israel skipped the contest after two victories in a row. But did you notice they came second to last the last one being Finland as usual? Therefor Finland has the questionable honor of being the only country ever to have lost to Morocco (too) in Eurovision? 7-6 in points... Anyways, Samira Ben Said who sung Bitaqat hob has made a long and very succesful career despite the result (well, so has Vesa-Matti Loiri for that matter...) and is one of the biggest names in the whole Arabic world. She has just released her 33rd album Ayam hayati after four years of silence. In 2003 she won the World Music Award as well as the BBC Award for the best album in the middle east region and some 40 other awards in the Arabic world over the years. She has also broken taboos by talking about AIDS. She has organized concert in the suburbs of Paris after the riots, toured Gaza and other places where stars don't usually go....