Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Nepal was also chosen for the very first Eurovision song contest Asia. The national final - post boned due to terrible Tibet flood from the origal September 19 to October 7. A total of 11 songs competed and after the already familiar 40% jury, 40% national viewers and 20% international viewers the top was revealed. Pratik Himal Rai won ahead of Allam Aadesh and Bullet Flo with Preeti Kaur. Pratik Himal Rai is a Nepali singer, songwriter and performance and has been around already a decade with experience of television shows including The Voice of Nepal and has impressed the audiences with his blend os different musical genres. Now he's off to his biggest challenge so far: Bangkok 2026.  1. Pratik Himal Rai - Ananta Maya (नन्त माया)  Allam Aadesh - Byakta (व्यक्त)  Bullet Flo and Preeti Kaur - Golden Danfe Amit Baral - Sundar Sansar (सुन्दर संसार)  Amrita Limbu - Madhos Raat (मधोस रात) Beyond - Control Meghna Gewali - Kanchi Nani (कान्छी नानी)  Nirmala Ghale...

Also Thailand have staged their national final Thailand's chosen one. Ten songs took part Sunday night voted by professional jury (40%), televote (40%) and international vote (20%). Only top-3 was announced and Mang & Daou won with Aroma. Gam Wichayanee (my favorite) and D Gerrard completed the Top-3.  Piyatida Lekklang aka Mang (26) is a Thai singer who started in a girlband Bamm five years ago before going solo two years ago. She has released one single, Stay strong, before this duet. Pittaya Saechua aka Daou (28) is a Thai singer and actor. His music career started in boyband LAZ1 after winning a talent show in 2022. The year after he released his debut solo single Would you mind. He has starred in two movies and four tv-series so far.  Wonderframe - Girlslikegirls Retrospect - Suriyuprakhon (Eclipse) (สุริยุปราคน) Monica - Kongkruanko i (คงครวญคอย) JMNK - Nonchalant Jetset'er - Oh Yeah Tigger and Tara Viis - Faded Ink Mang & Daou - Glinratree (Aroma)...

Another Eurovision song contest Asia 2026 national final has taken place and we have a winner: Junhee has won Korea's Next wave with Deep dive and thus will represent Korea in Nagkok in November.  Park Junhee or박준희 (32) is a singer, songwriter actor and no stranger to entertainment business. He debuted as a member of boy band A.C.E. in 2017 and stayed until 2025 when he started his solo career. He has released two solo  Eps and three singles before Deep dive including La la la lune , Supernova  and Umbrella .  The voting in the final was 40% professional jury, 40% Korean viewers votes and 20% international votes. Only the top-3 was announced: 1 Junhee - Deep dive 2. Sojeong Shim - Eheradiya  3. Angel Noise - Nan Naya! KIK - F1 HuiAe - If I knew love Younghoon Ji - Tiny signal 9278 - MakeItLoud (She barks) Plzy - Toc

Carmelle has won the very first Philippines national final for Eurovision song contest Asia 2026 with Sobra-sobra. And yes it was by far the best entry of the night when mostly it was about big vocals, male make up and drag queen host. And all in all very Eurovision, all cliches added and reminding mostly those 80's and 90's festival songs with big vocals just with a bit more modern touch. Better production than Bhutan but I guess that surprised no one but honestly Bhutan was more interesting and authentic musically to say the least. Carmelle Collado (19) comes from a family of singers and shot to the fame last year winning a talent show Tawag ng Thanghalan. But her career started already at the age of 12 at the World championships  of perfroming arts and lates finishing 2nd in the The Voice Kids and last year she even participated in the Big Brother Celebrity..  Philippine Selection Night final 1. Carmelle - Sobra-spbra (Too much) 2. Saga - Broken beyond repair 3. JM Dela Cer...

Oh dear, that was a bit unexpected even if Bulgaria rose to the Top-3 in odds the day of final and had its momemtum rising after the rehearsals. Bangaranga everyone indeed. She was fuegoed. And it won both jury and tele , that didn't happen since 2017! Israel was beaten, maybe that's what matters in a way. Next thought is can they afford to host next year? Weren't they away for financial reasons mostly anyways until this sudden return just when other countries stayed home? Another returnee Romania finished third - who would have thought? Makes one wonder how come these two returnees did so well all of sudden and if they were too broke to participate before how they ended up in 2026? Just saying.  Australia and Finland and most of all Greece as well as Denmark bombed a bit. Is it the time of the odds being right is over? Last year the clear #1 favorite finished 4th, now 6th. But then again Finland 6th place is our 4th best placing ever (compared to number of participants) Th...

I'm so excited. Why? That being one of my favourite songs of all time what an earth had it to do with Eurovision? They just may have destroyed that song for me. I am not going to see or hear that bit ever again, that's for sure.....Borrowing the Finnish commentator the Viennese waltz bit was the best interval act so far... Enough said! The quiz show for example is horrendous waste of time.  Tonight, Bulgaria indeed was boombastic, Armenia worked surprisingly well, too. Romania in the end was a bit meh, Cyprus too. Australia indeed dated and a bit overworked, even by Delta herself vocally and in manners. Sad. Albania was touching, I may have shed almost a tear when the glasses were gone.... Luxemburg had nice visuals but the song is what it is and I think Eva Marija performed a lot better in the national final. Aidan clearly gave it all to Bella but was the national final staging better anyways? And yes, I loved the UK, France wasn't staged as well as I expected but Austria ...

Poland staged the season's last national final Finał krajowych kwalifikacji for the Eurovision song contest 2026. It was won by Alicja. So she finally gets to Eurovision having lost her 2020 chance due to contest's cancellation.  Alicja Szemplinska (24) won The Voice of Poland in 2019 and the year after the national final for Eurovision with Empires . However she was not selected for 2021. She tried again in 2023 with New home but placed only 6th. Outside Eurovision bubble she has released her debut album in 2024 and singles in a steady flow, Pray is her 23rd already.  The whole Polish affair seems bit a strange. The final was recorded already March 1, aired on March 7 and the results announced the next morning on March 8 after a 100% televoting. The finalists were chosen among the 173 submissions, first 20 for the live auditions and then the ten final ones after that. At the time of announcement they had become nine and later eight when Karolina Czarnecka with...

Portugal's 60th Festival da Canção came to an end tonight and the winner is Bandidos do Cante.  Portugal's national selection for Eurovision song contest 2026 has been quite critical to the participation with most artists and/or songwriters declaring they won't go to Vienna should they win. In the end there are apparently only two artists who have declared they will go to Vienna, and one uncertain if they win. Let's see who eventually will go to Eurovision in the end.... Apparently Bandidos do Cante is one of those who have said yes. Read more here .  Bandidos de Cante was formed almost by accident by childhood friends singing Alentejo folk songs at dinner parties and such. The quintet is composed of Miguel Costa, Duarte Farias, Francisco Raposo, Luís Aleixo and Francisco Pestana, all natives of the municipality of Beja, except for Francisco Pestana, who is from Monte Trigo. After tone of those dinner gatherings they were invited to record vocals to D.A.M.A.'s Casa ...

Sweden's Melodifestivalen has been the usual carnival travelling through Sweden with five semi-finals and the grand final that was won by Felicia as expected. She won both international jury vote and the televotes. Out of 3.888 submissions 30 songs made the cut, written by some ten names as usual, and two qualified from each semi-final for the final while the 3rd placed entry was sent to yet another qualification round where from two more songs made it to Stockholm. Among them two Eurovision veterans: Sanna Nielsen and Robin Bengtson. Add A-Teens that were dusted off for the occasion, Medina and Smash Into Pieces trying for another time after being close to the win already previous years. The pre-contest fan favorites this afternoon were Felicia (73%) and Greczula (8%). Read more here .  Final (jury + tele)  A-Teens – Iconic   (31 + 36) 67  7th Meira Omar – Dooset daram   (33 + 8) 41  9th Lilla Al-Fadji – Delulu   (24 + 39) 63  8th Saga Ludvigsson...

Croatia's national final for Eurovision song contest 2026 has also come to and end after two semi-finals where out of 251 submissions 24 selected songs competed for the 16 places in the final line up, among them last year's fan favorite Lelek. If I should pick up some names I would go for Alen Duras, Sergej, Lana Demarin, Stela Bade and Lana Mandaric. Read more here .  Lelek is a Croatian folk pop all female band. They are Inka Večerina Perušić, Judita Štorga, Korina Olivia Rogić, Lara Brtan and Marina Ramljak. They were formed in 2024 and already last year treied to get to Eurovision with fan favorite The sould of my soul placing 4th. A handful of singles released so far they are yet to release an album.  Final results (jury + tele): Ananda - Dora  (13 +7) 20  15th Sergej - Scream   (33 + 9) 42  10th Noelle - Uninterrupted   (27 + 11) 38  13th Alen Đuras - From Ashes to Flame   (41 + 15) 56  6th Irma - Ni traga   (32 + 11) 43...

Spain is not taking part in Eurovision song contest 2026 but their usual national selection took place anyways. After two semi-finals - each with 9 songs selected from 870 dsubmissions - earlier this week the final took place and was won by Tony Grox and Lucycalys and T amaré. Read more here  I have always loved Benidorm fest's graphics and finally the stagings were at the same level, thanks to some help from Finland :-)  Asha won expert jury's vote the winning couple being second before Izan llunas who won demoscopic jury before Rosalinda Galan  and Mikel Herzog Jr  the winners placing 4th but they won the televote before Rosalinda Galan and Miranda! and Bailamama. International fan favorite Kenneth was left last.... My favorites were Asha and Mikel Herzog Jr. Final results (experts+demoscopic+tele) : Mayo - Tócame (24 + 4 + 36) 64   11th Kitai - El amor te da miedo (51 + 20 + 32) 103    6th Asha - Turista  (92 + 28 + 24) 144   2...

  Latvia's Supernova 2026, the national final to select Latvia's entry for Eurovision song contest came to conclusion tonight and the winner is Atvara.  Atvara or Liene Atvara (33) is Latvian singer-songwriter. She has studied music, English and  marketing in Denmark. Her first attempt in music was in 2017 in X Factor but without luck. Her first single Pie manis tveries came out in 2024 and was a Top-10 hit in Latvia.  Dzīve mūs mētā was a radio hit. She has released some more singles as solo or featuring, and her debut album came out in 2025.  Out of 124 submitted entries and a jury of Latvian and international professional selected 24 entries for the two semi-finals where from the ten finalists were voted by a professional jury and televoters. Among the acts Eurovision veteran Robert Ox (2022 as a member of Citi Zēni). The semi-final results were not made public beforehand to keep things exciting. Last year's runner up Emilija seemed to be the favorite ...

The Danish national selection for Eurovision song contest 2026 took place tonight and the winner is Søren Torpegaard Lund. It was his second time in DMGP after Lige her in 2023 when he didn't reach the top-3. Søren Torpegaard Lund (27)  is a Danish singer, songwriter and actor. At the age of 17 he cecame the youngest ever student to be accepted to Den Danske Scenekunstskole. He has done several musical roles from West Side Story to Kinky Boots and even won awards for them. Past three years he has released few singles and an Ep. beforementioned Lige her being his debut. Other singles include En dreng som mig , Stor kunst and De ting jeg hvisker . There was an open call for entries and DR also invited record companies to send in their best offering. After selection committee and several national and international focus groups eight songs made it to the final. The number of submitted entries has not been revealed I believe. Amng the acts last year's winner Sissal again along wi...

Estonia has had the final of the 18th Eesti laul tonight, the national final for Eurovision song contest 2026. Vanilla Ninja was selected as the winner so they return to Eurovision after finishing 8th in 2005 for Switzerland with Cool vibes (that was actually cool). This Too epic to be true isn't very epic sadly. Neither the whol selection this year. My initial favorite was NOEP and indeed it may still be the best one for me. Vanilla Ninja these days is Lenna Kuurmaa, Piret Järvis and Kerli Kivilaan. They had their prime time in 2002-2008 when they had several hits in Central Europe ( Tough enough , When the Indians cry and Blue tattoo just to mention some) and reunited in 2020. They tried to win Euro laul also in 2003 with Club Kung-Fu (9th) and 2007 with Birds of peace (4th).  A total of 177 entries were submitted for the contest. A 34 member jury chose the 12 finalists and the songs were presented on October 30 and 31. Among the artists Eurovision veterans Getter Jaani (2011),...

  Ukraine's national final for Eurovision song contest 2026, Vidbir, has had its final and was won by Ukraine is the only country that has managed to qualify every time they have participated plus they have won three times and been runner up twice in the past 20 participation. War or no war Ukraine is one of the Eurovision power houses no doubt. In 2026 the selection followed already familiar path: Out of submitted 451 entries  15 were announced and invited for an audition where from nine made it directly to the final. The rest were put on an online vote and the winner Khayat was added to the final. Other familiar names made the cut as like last year's runner up Molodi, and two Eurovision veterans: Jerry Heil (3rd in ESC 2024 with Alyona Alyona) and Monokate (5th with Go_A in ESC 2021). Ad Olena Usenko, a member of The Elliens (6th in JESC 2021). Read more here   My favorite in the end was Laud with Jerry Heil even if her song doesn't quite fit into Eurovision stage I sup...

Luxemburg had its national final for Eurovision song contest on January 24, 2026 and was won by Eva Marija.with Mother nature. Eva Marija Kavaš Puc (20) was born and raised in Luxemburg by Slovenian parents. She has studied singing (from jazz to pop, rock and classical), violin, bass and piano in Conservatoire de Luxemburg. Her music writing studies continue in London. She took a clear win by winning both jury and televotes. Mother nature is her fifth single after When 2 lovers meet , Toxic trait , Time to go and Sweet child in the past five years.  Out of 83 submission came through different ways to enter and 15 were invited for an audition and an international jury chose the 8 for the final. In final the top-3 entered the superfinal. The other placements haven't been revealed yet. (Full results published January 30 and added below) Luxemburg song contest (jury + televote) 1. Eva Marija - Mother nature (94 + 128)  222 2. Steve Castile - Sweet tooth (80 + 65)  136...

  Moldova had its national final Finala Națională for Eurovision song contest 2026 on January 17 and it was won by Satoshi and his Viva, Moldova! Satoshi (aka Vlad Sabajuc, 27) is a Moldovan singer, songwriter, rapper and composer. He's been involved in music as Satoshi since 2019 and has already released four albums and 40 singles since 2022! However so far only two have apparently charted: Noaptea pe la 3 (#16 in Moldova) and Diferente (#81 in Romania).  Satoshi won in the final both international and national jury and also the televote by huge margin: he got 13.084 votes versus CatalinaSolomac's 861! Originally 37 songs were submitted, 34 attended the auditions round in December and 16 acts reached the final. Both the national and international jury included several Eurovision artists who also performed during the show.  Finala Națională 2026 (nat jury + int jury + televote) 1. Satoshi - Viva, Moldova! (12 + 12 + 12) 36 2. Pavel Orlov - Can't say goodbye (10 + 8 + 8)...

It was third time lucky for Aidan (aka Aidan Cassar, 26) winning the ticket to Eurovision after placing 4th in 2018 with Dai laga and second in 2022 with Ritmu .  In 2023 was set to participate with Regina but was disqualified. He won the jury vote by far and placed second in the public vote after Matt Blxck those two being runaway favorites by public. Seasoned performer he has taken part also in Junior Eurovision selection in 2015 , X Factor Malta, Muzika Muzika festival in 2021 . He has released one album so far, an EP and over 20 singles since 2015. He has 13 #1 singles in Malta.  The semi-final was hold on January 15 and the final on January 17, 2026. The jury had ten members: five from Malta and one from Cyprus, UK, Germany, Turkey and Greece.  Malta Eurovision song contest 2026 (jury + televote) 1. Aidan - Bella   113 + 170 = 283 2. Matt Blxck -  Ejja lejja ħdejja 'l hawn (The Flute)   68 + 200 = 268 3. Mychael Bartolo Chircop - My sweet ...

The Eurovision song contest 2025 was the most variable in languages since the free language rule and several songs were featured in French for example and three of them being among the biggest favorites: France, Netherlands and Switzerland. We might add also Luxemburg that was gaining momentum in the last minute and yet they all bombed in the televotes. What happened?  Besides the language they were also staged very dark, that's common but then again the winner was all black and white. After jury votes Switzerland was second with 214 points, France third with 180 points and Netherlands 5th with 133 points. Then the televotes rolled in: Netherlands got only 42 (15th), France 50 (14th) and Switzerland flat zero! I mean, how? France dropped to 7th, Switzerland 10th and Netherlands 12th. Luxemburg finished 22nd overall.  As a consolation these gons swept away all the Marcel Bezençon awards: France won Press and Artistic ones, and Switzerland the Composer award.