Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Heli Kajo performed a very succesful miniconcert in Willi Wäinö in Helsinki - actually not far from the corner of Annakatu Street the song tells about. It was her first major performance and as she is currently without a record deal also a show case for the music business professionals. Asko Kallonen, ex-boss of BMG Finland who these days runs his own record company Helsinki Music Company was spotted there looking very satisfied so it is a safe bet to suppose Heli has been signed by now! And she is a very hot favourite to win the Finnish national final in January. Here is the very first public performance of her funny and charming Annankadun kulmassa .

Miodio that remains the only act to represant San Marino in Eurovision now that it is clear the city state is not going to make a come back in Oslo 2010 after all, is trying to get to Sanremo 2010. They have applied for the Nuova Generazione category with a song called Perdo contatto . Let's hope they will made it to the stage of Teatro Ariston! They have been slowly making their way from Eurovision with Complice to It's ok to Evoluzione genetica .

Another Caribian visit Blogilkar and becomes the number 166: Saint Kitts and Nevis! Welcome!

RAI will announce the artists who will take part in Sanremo 2010 in a few days, December 18. Meanwhile names are flying all over the press who they will be. At the moment Marco Mengoni is the only certain name, as a fresh winner of X Factor. The other names include Matia Bazar, Anna Oxa, Luca Barbarossa and Enrico Ruggeri of Eurovision fame, along with Mietta, Ivana Spagna, Irene Grandi, Alessandra Amoroso, Valerio Scanu, Sonohra, Finley, Arisa, Omar Pedrini, Christiano De André, Giuliano Palma, Malika Ayane, Simone Cristicchi, Noemi, Gerardina Trovato, Morgan and Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia. Only 14 will make the cut so let's see...

Today's news are good and bad. Good is Latvia has confirmed its participation in Oslo 2010 after all. Bad is San Marino is out following Hungary, Andorra and Czech Republic, while Lithuania is more out than in at the moment.... For sure no participation records are broken in Oslo!

Jacobo Ratini (27) from Rome with song Su questa panchina and Romeus alias Carmine Tundo from Lecce with Come l'autunno have won the SanremoLab selection and therefor will be taking part to Sanremo 2010 in Nuova generazione category. They have been selected out of 418 persons forming 312 singers, duos or groups. In 2009 Arisa was selected this way and went on to win the newcomers category plus creating one of the biggest hits from Sanremo 2009, Sinceritá . Here is Jacopo's first single Studiare, lavoro, pensione e poi muoio . 

Miro, who has been chosen to represant Bulgaria in Oslo 2010 has meanwhile presented his latest single and video Ubivame s lybov , that is already a hit over there. I wonder if he will go to Eurovision with a ballad like that or a dance track like this , or this .

Yet another Caribian island makes its way to Blogilkar. This time it's Haiti and it's the 165th one! Welcome!

Cypriot TV has just announced the song titles for their ten finalists and their writers. Amongst the writers is Constantinos Christoforou who has already sung for Cyprus three times: 1996 , 2002 and 2005 . Also Mike Connaris who wrote the fantastic Stronger every minute in 2004 is back. The songs are:   Nothing is real, Island of love, Play, Like a woman, Angel, I'm gonna be, You gotta go, Goodbye, Rhapsody and Life looks better in spring .

So it's finally clear, Andorra is not taking part in Oslo 2010 for financial reasons. Such a shame as the Andorran songs haven't been as bad the result list might suggest: they debuted in 2004 with Marta Roure's Jugarem a estimar-nos and scored only 18th place in the semifinal. The year after Marian van de Wal's La mirada interior came 23rd in the semifinal, just like Jenny's Sense tu in 2006. In Helsinki 2007 the boyband Anonymous and their Salvem el món was considered a sure qualifier but no, 12th place in semifinal wasn't enough for a final and what an injustuce that was! In 2008 Gisela took Casanova 16th in semifinal and won the Barbara Dex award for the worst outfit. Last year Susanne Georgi's La teva desició (Get a life ) also deserved a final place but no, 15th place only in the semifinal. Well, hopefully Andorra will return in 2011 and finally get to the final!

Alexander Rybak performed a new version of Fairytale in the Nobel Peace Prize award concert last night.

Keep voting! Over 400 people from all over Europe, Australia, South Africa, Brazil etc have already cast their votes. Over half of the Eurovision songs have received votes. You have time til December 28. The results will be published and broadcasted  from December 31, 2009 10.00 CET to January 1, 2010 on 3minutes.me and here, in Blogilkar.

The second Norwegian semifinal sees the return as Rolf Lovland as composer for Maria Arredondo - will he beat Johnny Logan and score his third ESC victory? - and debut of a-ha's Morten Harket's daughter Tomine. Also Alexander Stenerud is back: Venke Knutson - Jealous couse I love you Heine Totland - The best of me is you Skanksters - Life is here today Tomine Harket - Be good to me Maria Arredondo - The touch Alexander Stenerud - Give it to me Hanne Haugsand - Don't stop

Euroviisut 2010 hopeful Bääbs You don't know tomorrow video is finally here!

Malta started its semifinals last night with the first six songs. Televoters have all week to vote for them. Nothing extraordinary and fabulous came out yet but I did like Richard Edward's piano driven Change . The other songs were Raquela's Here I am , Ally's Curiosity , Foxy Federation's Fired up , Klinsmann's Her name was Anne and J.Anvil's very Joksimovic inspired Mirage . Philip Vella penned two of these songs, and Gerard James Borg three... .

Here it is, Anna Eriksson's first single and title track from the worthcoming album Garden of love .

Another Caribian island makes a visit to Blogilkar making the total of 164: Grenada! Welcome!

Little news keep coming on daily basis as we are getting closer to the end of the year. First of all Azerbaijan and Spain have finally got their punishment: astonishing 2.700 euros fine for irregulations with the last edition in Moscow (Spain failing to broadcast live the second semifinal and using the jury instead, and Azerbaijan making trouble to Armenian entry and afterwords questioning people who dared to vote for it). 2.700 euros??!! Is that a joke? Meanwhile Armenia has put its participation in doubt. Trouble also in Belarus where ONT is running the similselection for Eurovision - even if they have later added that the selection is not necessarily for Eurovision but for any worthcoming international festival, whatever that means - but BTRC is the only Belarussian EBU member broadcaster... Let's see what comes out of this mess! Romania is changing its selection a bit and will have only one off final on March 6. No semifinals and such. The good old fashioned way! Slova...

SVT has revealed the artists in the third and fourth semifinal of Melodifestivalen and yes, Pernilla Wahlgren is back! So is Alcazar, Elin Lanto, Py Bäckman and Sibel. Here are the names: Elin Lanto - Doctor Doctor  Alcazar - Headlines Crucified Barbara - Heaven Or Hell  Erik Linder - Hur Kan Jag Tro På Kärlek Timoteij - Kom (Run) Johannes Bah Kuhnke - Tonight  Getty - Yeba  Darin - You're Out Of My Life  Peter Jöback - Hollow  NEO - Human Frontier  Noll Disciplin - Idiot  Pernilla Wahlgren - Jag Vill Om Du Vågar Py Bäckman - Magisk Stjärna Sibel - Stop  Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life  Lovestoned - Thursdays Now we only miss the name of the last wildcard. Let it be Lena Philipsson....

Enrico Ruggeri has taken a new step in his career. He is hosting a TV-series in Italia1 channel about mysteries. The first episode dealed with the end of the world, aliens (with an interview of a woman who claims she was kidnapped by the them) and Egyptian mummies. In the second he dealed amogst others afterlife.... More absurd paranormal and supernatural things and mysteries of all sorts in forthcoming six episodes... I rather listen to his winning Sanremo entry, also titled Mistero .

This blog has reached another important number as today we have reached 250.000 hits. And this in 18 months (the blog exists way longer but that's when I set the counter), having now average 12.500 monthly hits and visitors from 163 countries so far. The growth has been steady: I hit 50.000 in October 2008, 100.000 in March 2009, 150.000 in May and 200.000 in last September. Once again my sincerest thanks to all my readers who keep coming back, and to my new partners at 3minutes.me. (The photo btw portrays the new winter in Helsinki: foggy and bone achingly chilly instead of snowy and bright!)

Anna Eriksson is releasing a self penned and self produced album Garden of love in English in February 2010! After nine albums (incl. compilations and Christmas album) in Finnish that have sold over 400.000 copied in Finland, earned her amongst others 2 Emma Awards, 9 gold discs, 5 platinum discs and 2 double platinum discs she goes now English. "I have been asked to do an album in English as long as I have been recording. This project has taken years but now the time feels right" she says. She returns after a long break with a new single this Monday. She got married in August 2008, released live DVD from her tour and compilation to sum up her first 11 years. The return to the spotlight is preluded by the invitation to the president's Independance Day Ball on December 6, THE event of the year in Finland of Who's who and who matters. Her song Kun katsoit minuun was chosen by the listeners of the Finnish local radios as the song of the year in 2001, and Kaikista kas...

Three day auditions and here we have the 36 Maltese semifinalists. Two previous winner, Miriam Christine and Mike Spitari are at it again, with several names that have tried to win (many times) previously like Claudia Faniello, Klinsmann, Lawrence Gray, Ruth Portelli, J.Anvil, Aldo Busuttil, Wayne Micallef, Baklava, Eleanor Cassar and Glen Vella, most everyone that is! • Words are Not Enough - Tiziana Calleja • Fired Up - Foxy Federation • Beautiful Contradiction - Miriam Christine • Her Name Was Anne - Klinsmann • Samsara - Claudia Faniello • Fake - Jessica Muscat • Twenty Thousand Leagues - Mike Spiteri • If I knew - Cynthia Attard • Stories - Lawrence Gray • Three Little Words - Ruth Portelli • Here I Am - Raquela • Mirage - J.Anvil •Pizzicato - Aldo Busuttil • The Best Years - Godwin Lucas / Eve Daly • Once in a lifetime - Nadine Axisa / Clifford Galea • Who cares? - Josef Tabone • Broken - Silver Clash • I surrender - Francesca Borg • Save a life - Wayne Mical...

After Awakening , Under the same sky, Feel the rhythm, True fantasy and such here comes Share the moment . The theme chosen by NRK for Oslo 2010 and it's a good one: Eurovision is one of the rare moments of the year that I for example am sure what my friends, family and people I know are doing no matter where they are: watching the Eurovision final! It's one of the things that makes me like Eurovision the most, knowing all those millions and millions of people in all corners of Europe and beyond watching the same thing this very moment. When I was living in Italy before webcasts and such I missed that moment a few times. If you are a fan, I don't recommend that extreme experience!