Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

The 75th festival della canzone italiana di Sanremo kicks of its five night long adventure tonight. Carlo Conti returns as the main host and the artistic director after five years of Amadeus. Conti did the job already back in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and is set to return also for 2026. This year he will have a string of co-hosts during the five nights and tonight they are Antonella Clerici and Gerry Scotti - both popular household names and Rai's veteran tv-hosts and presenters and media personalities for decades already.  The voting for the first night is by the media jury or the jury of Press room, TV and web. A total of 1.487 of them. The Top-5 will be announced by the end of the night in random order. How the betting odds were after the media heard the songs you can check here . The songs are in Italian of course or not quite as we will have some Napoletan and Roman dialects thrown in as well.  The guest acts are Jovanotti, Raf (Eurovision 1987) and Mira Awad & Noa (Eurovis...

Noa has released this year two cover albums. First Israeli Songbook , a collection of most loved Hebrew songs performed with Gil Dor and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. She pays tribute to the songs that have inspired her and Israeli people the past 50 years, and critics claim this album is one of the finest she has ever recorded and this blogger agrees. But she has also turned back to Italy - remember fantastic La vita é bella? - with a collection of Napoletan songs, Noapoles - Noa sings Napoli performed with Gil Dor and The Solis String Quartet. Already back in 2005 she released with Gil an album Napoli-Tel Aviv performing the songs in Hebrew but this time she goes with the original versions and the result is fantastic. And she has had success in Italy the past 20 years already. Highly recommended if you like that kind of music. She's currently touring Israel with the Israeli Songbook concerts. Listen here , here , and here .

Noa, who represanted Israel with Mira Awad in Moscow with There must be another way has given birth to her third child last Friday. Counting back one can only come to one conclusion: Moscow was very productive time for her! Congratulations! Life must be beautiful for her right now. She comments on her Facebook: "i am in mother mode. dedicating myself to milk and love. separatng myself from reality. its been years since i've had this quiet. sometimes its confusing. mostly it´s like floating in a warm bath in a candle-lit room. for the moment, the world outside can wait. Yum , Enea and Ayehli are all the news i need."

Here it is finally. The Noa & Mira Awad album, titled There must be another way just like their Eurovision 2009 entry. It also includes the other songs they had in the Israeli national selection: Will you dance with me, Faith in the light and Second chance . The other duets are a song called A word , and We can work it out , their first collaboration already years ago. Besides these six songs both have three solo numbers. In all a very charming and sweet album, with great sounds and wonderful vocals in English, Hebrew and Arabic. From Mira's solo songs I would point out Cloud and from Noa's Namina . Noa also cover's Madonna's Frozen and makes it a very interesting work. If you liked There must be a way , you will like the album for sure! Worth mentioning is that the version here has the English lyrics by Noa on the beginning of the song instead of Hebrew like in Moscow.

Nothing much apparently. While I was soaking myself in the sun Oslo has been confirmed as the host city for 2010. Alexander Rybak is making the biggest impact on European charts since Lordi, even more. Fairytale has made the Top-10 in at least 11 countries and sits firmly at number 4 in the pan European Top-100 this week as well as number 67 in Australia, at number 48 in World singles top-100 and number 38 in the World airplay charts. Also Yohanna is charting here and there as are Waldo's People and Aysel & Arash. Israel's Noa apparently turned down a lead role in Broadway musical for family reasons but her album with Mira Awad is getting a release in most European countries. I bought it in Spain and will review it shortly. Azerbaijan was the second country after Finland to make public their plans for Eurovision 2010, shortly followed by Sweden. As there will be changes in Finland, Sweden sticks to the old formula yet another year. Azeris instead are looking for a singer(s...

Israel is getting near perfection. The song is just getting better and Noa and Mira sing like angels and their voices really blend together. They also seemed quite happy with the rehearsals and Noa at least didn't stumbble with her dress and high heals anymore. Lots of symbolism in the act and this might look fantastic on telly! http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A9AhVeyNA8&feature=channel_page

Israel opened this morning's rehearsals and was very powerful. I always liked the song but now it works jsut great on stage, despite some wardrobe problems reported with long dresses and high heals. Noa and Mira sing to each other in a blue setting and play some drums in the end. Great vocally, great song. I hope this will be sail to the final and not fall a victim of some political games. Eurovision is after all about music - and this is Music from two great artists. Love it. "When I cry I cry for both of us. My pain has no name." Enough said. http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=HklNyq7IIrc

Israel has chosen the song Noa and Mira Awad will perform in Moscow 2009: Einaiych (There Must Be Another Way). It was chosen through a 4 jury voting: Kiriyat Shmona or north of Israel and Be'er Sheva or south of Israel, each weighing 15%, IBA's jury 30% and the televote 40%. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0S-i_lu5R4 The song mixes Hebrew, Arabic and English (note the subtitles) Einaiych (There Must Be Another Way) - 112 points Bo'i Lirkod Iti (Will You Dance With Me) - 84 points Na'amin Bachalom (Faith in The Light) - 72 points Kol Shniya (Second Chance) - 32 points

Israel is getting ready for the final on Monday March 2 and has put the songs online. Noa and Mira Awad will perform four songs, all sung in Hebrew, Arabic and English. My favourite is Faith in the light. Bo'i lirkod iti ( Will you dance with me ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4SAFsiTJPg Eineich ( There must be another way ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUEvHNp5ioI Na'amin bachalom ( Faith in the light ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQm_W5d4opI Kol-Shniyah ( Second chance ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrVHTRWwICk

IBA has announced the four songs that Noa and Mira Awad will sing in Kdam 2009. The final will be held on Monday March 2. Also it was announced that Noa and Mira will take their jewish-arab collaboration further than just singing together: the selected song will be performed in Moscow in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's the first time Israel will have a song in Arabic? Anyways, the songs are: Bo'i Li'rkod Iti (Come dance with me) Eiynaich (Your eyes) Yesh Yamim (There are days) Kol Shniya (Every second)

It looks like this time it's for real: Noa and Mira Awad are the chosen ones in Israel ending all the rumours. The story goes Noa was asked and she accepted with one condition: she can take Mira with her. The two women are long time friends and as a jew and an arab it's a great choise at this tricky political situation. Noa or Achinoam Nini is the most succesful and best known Israeli singer internationally since Ofra Haza passed away and a trip to Eurovision is pretty much the only thing missing from her CV. One of her most loved songs is La vita é bella from Roberto Benigni's Oscar winning movie with the same name. Mira is a succesful singer and actress who's no stranger to Eurovision; she took part in the Israeli selection 2005 with Zman that I recall being one of my favourites... See them perform together here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9csbv-0A04 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAc5o6Kce-4 , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDLStUsr77w Oh what a day! Patricia K...