Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Malta dropped this year the good old Malta Eurovision song contest and decideed to use the very first X Factor Malta instead for choosing their entrant - and apparently shop around for the song then later - but that didn't stop many previous Eurovision wannabes applying and trying their luck again, and Franklin for example made it to the live show. There will be three live shows before the final. Sadly Eurovision mom Anna Faniello didn't make it after all... So far I have no favorites so let's see how this develops. X Factor Malta candidates (coach) Girls (Howard Keith Debono):  Kelsey Bellante , Nicole Frendo , Michela Pace   Out week 3: Kelsey Bellante (8th) 3rd: Nicole 1st: Michela Boys (Ira Losco):  Norbert Bondin , Luke Chappell , Owen Leuellen   Out week 3: Norbert Bondin (6th) Out wek 3: Luke Chappeell (5th) 2nd: Own Leuellen Groups (Alexandra Alden):  4th Line , Kayati , Xtreme   Out week 1: Kayati (12th) Out week...

The very first German Eurovision song contest winner Nicole has finally given in to her roots: he has recorded an album full of Eurovision winners! The album comes out later this week - almost exactly 35 years after her win - and includes 13 winners plus a few other versions of those songs. Included is of course her very own Ein bisschen Frieden , but also from recent years Euphoria and Only teardrops , oldies like Waterloo, Apres toi and Save your kisses for me  not forgetting the Johnny Logan classics and some not so obvious ones like Insieme: 1992 . All in German on top of that. The Olsen brothers and Hape Kerkeling also appear on the album.  Maybe she got inspired in the London Eurovision Greatest Hits concert last year where she had to be literally dragged off the stage when she just kept enjoying the applause that went on and on? The album comes also with a special Fan Box editions with a lot of goodies. 

EBU has been revealing names on daily basis since the Jubilee concert in London was announced a few days ago. The 60th anniversary event or Eurovision's Greatest hits will be staged in London on March 31, 2015. It will be hosted by Graham Norton and Petra Mede and below is the list of artists confirmed to appear so far. More names to come so stay tuned.... I will update this post as they happen.  Conchita Wurst - Austria - Winner 2014 Emmelie De Forest - Denmark - Winner 2013 Loreen - Sweden - Winner 2012 Dima Bilan - Russia - Winner 2008 (2006) Lordi - Finland - Winner 2006 Rosa - Spain - 7th in 2002 Natasha St-Pier - France - 4th in 2001 Olsen Brothers - Denmark - Winner 2000 Dana International - Israel - Winner 1998 (2011) Johnny Logan - Ireland - Winner 1980/1987 (1992) *Bobbysocks - Norway - Winner 1985 The Herreys - Sweden - Winner 1984 Nicole - Germany - Winner 1982 Bortherhood of Man - United Kingdom - Winner 1976 Anne-Marie David - Luxembourg...

The Euro Fan Cafe had organized a tribute to Ralph Siegel last Saturday. Rick Jacobs interviewed him about his songs and long career, the over 20 songs he has had in the Eurovision, and a few dozen more in various national finals. On Cafe's Facebook fans were able to vote beforehand the best or the most popular Siegel songs over the years and they were then discussed in detail. A lot of memories for Ralph, and a lovely walk down the memory lane. Valentina Monetta, his latest muse was present of course as was the whole Sammarinese delegation in Copenhagen 2014. Part of it, including Valentina's backing singers, Head of delegation Alessandro Capicchioni, lyricist Mauro Balestri and art director Fabrizio Raggi also surprised Ralph with Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu) that they sung together. The real surprise of the evening however was Nicole, who won Eurovision 1982 for Ralph and Germany with Ein bisschen Frieden . A very entertaining and warm spirited evening for everyone pr...

Is German schlager your thing, with a little Eurovision thrown in? Want a different schlager party experience? Why not dropping your clothes and joining the Schlagernacktparty ? Oh ja! You won't be alone, as about 200 naked party people have joined for some naked schlager already for ten years and 49 times. The 50th party coincides with the 10th anniversary on August 15, 2013. All this happens at SchwuZ, Mehringdamm 61 in Berlin and people come also abroad for the fun. More info here . There's also a voting for the favorite songs and list of songs and singers includes gems like these (some of them might need somewhat acquired taste): Dschingis Khan - Moskau , Lena Valaitis -  Da kommt José , Nicole - Allein in Griechenland , Roland Kaiser - Amore mio , Udo Jürgens: Ich weiss was ich will , Imca Marina: Eviva Espana , Ingrid Peters - Afrika  Nothing like ring dancing to Moscow in the nude, I suppose!

Robert is out and about in Baku and Crystal Hall and here's who he met today: Fans being journalists/journalists being fans. Eurovision is really an event for that. Here is Roy Van der Merwe from South Africa. He is the president of the OGAE Rest of the world. This is his 20th year in a row that he is present at the Eurovision. The OGAE Rest of the world was established in 2006 and Roy has been the president ever since. His first Eurovision was in 1983 in Munich. He was a special guest for Ralph Siegel because Roy was such a fan of Nicole who was winning for Germany the year before. He felt the most special in Tallinn, Estonia. He was treated as a VIP there and who doesn't like that?! Beautiful song of Anmary from Latvia is his favourite song for this year and what an accident, Anmary just comes our way and I get a chance to take a picture of Roy and Anmary. Roy told me also that a cover of the Finnish song of 2009, Lose control from the Wal...

Eurovision 1982 is one of the Finnish Eurovision turning points. Kojo scored a flat zero in Harrogate while the other peace song Ein bisschen Frieden sailed to victory. The result got Europe asking if Finns are serious and are we doing it on purpose but we were not. When Kojo's Nuku pommiin was selected we thought we had a chance. The song was different in a in-your-face style. When Kojo returned home with null points the selecting jury was blamed and featured in newspapers with face photos like dangerous criminals, Kojo was treated as a national traitor, bottles were thrown at him in gigs and still today, after 30 years, he is known as Nolla-Kojo aka Zero-Kojo.  " Now I'm laughing only about it " he recalls in Iltalehti's recent interview. "It's ridiculous how this one mediocre song has caused so much hassle. After 30 years people still talk about it! " In 1982 Kojo had also another song in the final called Video-Venus that came 3rd. " ...

We all know by now that Lena's Satellite is in the charts all over the place from Australia to Austria, but did you know it is only the 7th Eurovision winner that hits #1 in Finland? And for the first time two Eurovision winners in a row make it? (Well, I personally think one can't compare today's digital charts to those good old days when you had to go and buy the physical single but that's another story....). Germany is also the only country that has managed to make two of its winners #1's in Finland and it took her only 5 days while it took 3 weeks for Rybak last year...  Anyways, between 1971-1984 all the winners were charting in Finland, and with one exception all of them also made the top-10. The biggest of them all is though France's last winner L'oiseau et l'enfant by Marie Myriam as the song also charted in two different Finnish cover versions, by Katri Helena and Merja Rantamäki .  Here are all the Eurovision winner number ones in Finland: ...

Non so che? Non so che darei , one of the maybe forgotten Italian entries by Alan Sorrenti, anno 1980. The Olsen Brothers are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their win with Fly on the wings of love with a new album made of Eurovision covers titled Wings of Eurovision including of course their own updated to 2010. The other songs are Congratulations , Waterloo , Ein bisschen Frieden , Främling , Save all your kisses for me , Hallelujah , Boom bang a bang , Volare , La det swinge , Love shine a light and Rock'n roll kids . Some choices sound very suited for the gentleman, the others... well, we just have to wait til late May to hear how they manage with them!

Harrogate in North Yorkshire hosted the 27th Eurovision on April 24, 1982. The opening of the contest was used to tell people where Harrogate is as no one ever heard of the town before (or after for that matter). Only 18 countries took part when France, Italy and Greece decided to stay home. Two songs of peace are remembered from this contest; Finland's  Nuku pommiin and the winner, Germany's Ein bisschen Frieden . Finland scored a flat zero while Germany took the most convincing win ever at that point. It got 1,61 times the votes the runner up  Israel got. Ralph Siegel finally won after  Dschingis Khan (4th in 1979),  Theater (2nd in 1980) and  Johnny Blue (2nd in 1981) and Nicole started a very succesful career as the ultimate German schlager queen that continues even today. The song charted all over Europe selling over 3 million copies in various languages Nicole recorded (German, English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Russian...) and is the l...