Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Some ladies are just ageless, like Turkish diva Ajda Pekkan. At 64 she sounds and looks better than she did back in 1980 when she sung P et'r oil in Eurovision - one of Turkey's finest moments in the contest. And there's even a fab remix of the song here . For her latest success she gets a little help from Tarkan, who is rumoured year after year to do Eurovision and who knows maybe 2012 will be the year? Yakar Geçerim is their joint effort that Tarkan wrote.

Armenian singer Hayk Kasparov who has at least twice tried to represant his cvountry in the Eurovision; Give an answer in 2009 and Du gites in 2010, has released an album Shame. The album includes songs like Hot night , Et ari , title track Shame , Ser im , Log out . On internet there's already Come back , labelled as Eurovision 2012 but that remains to be seen... but this blogger hopes he will get to Eurovision one day!

Carola has opened up to a Norwegian paper revealing a big secret from her childhood. Right after she was born her mother suffered from a post-pregnancy depression and was not able to take care of her. So she spent the first two months of her life with the children care authorities and was close to end up for adoption. In the end it all turned out fine and she grew up with her real familythat later supported her way to the stardom. Her father Jan even acted as her manager. Sadly, she lost both her parents within four months in 2004; her father for heart attack and then her mother Anita for cancer.  Three times Eurovision star is currently performing with her show Elvis, Barbra och jag in Stockholm's Tyrol until November 19, 2011 with two concerts in Norway in between.

The final will be on October 22, 2011 in Helsinki but the voting has started already here where you can also listen to all entries. There are no polls on papers yet but we can draw some conlcusions from the Facebook links on this official page. Or rather how many times the link has been recommended to FB-friends.  When writing this Juha Tapio is in clear lead (554) followed by Jari Sillanpää (276) and Martti Saarinen (189). Then we have Janne Raappana (123), Stina Girs (92), Kristiina Brask (88), Mikki Kauste (71), Kaija Koo (48), Puhuva Kone (37), Tommi Läntinen (21), Suvi Isotalo (19) and Emma Salokoski (12). I'm quite surprised for Kaija Koo's low hits....

Title says Yohanna as she won under the flag of OGAE Rest of the world as Iceland didn't have its national OGAE until recently. Well done and congratulations to Iceland anyways and Yohanna. The song is one of my favourites of the season so I can only be happy about it. It's no surprise Sweden took home another top placing as runner up and it's no surprise either Italy came third breaking the old Nordic top! 1. Nòtt - Yohanna (Rest of the world/Iceland) 224 2. Something in your eyes - Jenny Silver (Sweden) 201 3. Arriverà - Modà con Emma (Italy) 153 4. 25 hours a day - Le Freak (Denmark) 136 5. Or - Chen Aharoni (Israel) 119 6. I don't wanna dance - Nikki Ponte (Greece) 106 7. Vardlokk - Helene Boksle (Norway) 99 8. Abrazame - Lucia Perez (Spain) 80 9. Push forward - Lena (Germany) 73 10. Ladadidej - April (Slovenia) 49 11. Em nome do amor - Rui Andrade (Portugal) 36 12. Falling - Nikki Kavanagh (Ireland) 23 13. Blessed with love - Saara Aalto (Finland) ...

The first week's songs have been voted and the qualifiers for the next step are I mina drömmar and All day, all night . The next eight songs are online here to be voted. This blogger is still waiting for something good to listen to...

The Finnish Metro paper featured today the world's longest fanletter being put together in Finland. Helsinki's youth center Happi is behind the initiative and the letter is over 300 meters long including letters from the fans from Finland and abroad. They wish to present the letter to the twins sometime next year hoping Jedward would come and visit Finland, too. In their recent visit to Tallinn, Estonia they caused a real chaos causing the Virukeskus shopping center to close for a moment as it wasn't safe anymore... Go Jedward!

Also the Italian speaking Swiss radio-TV RSI has made public its entries. The jury has already chosen five songs to the final to be held on November 8, 2011 and the online voting will add two more songs to the line up. From this kind of semifinal two top songs will go to the Swiss final in December. And to make things confusing there are once again same artists listed as in other language TVs selections but the ones the Italian speaking jury have chosen are Gianluca Solci, Rossella, Silla and two of my favourites from elsewhere, Sinplus and Vittoria Hyde. You can listen to their songs and all the others here . Amongst them is Barbara Berta (ESC 1997) and Flavio Cristilli (Euroviisut 2007). Worth mentioning are also Hirion and Rino Dilugano  The voting goes on until October 24, 2011.

The rumour is Jedward is ready to give Eurovision another try, and that the Irish TV would skip the national final to save some needed PR money and just send the boys off. Now wouldn't that be a blast? Is Baku ready for some Bad behaviour ?  Will Europe go Wow oh wow this time? What else one need in their life but Eurovision and Big Brother? I don't know...

The results are in and I don't want to spoilt the fun of discovering who won by telling it here. I just say that the two countries I most follow did just as I expected, and I'm not at all surprised by the top songs. Or the bottom songs either! Watch the voting yourself here .

MTV3 channel in Finland gives legendary Syksyn Sävel another try after ten years of last edition. Twelve artists have been invited, amongst them several names fans would love to see in Eurovision as well, and the songs have been published already some getting air play and chart positions. The contest is linked with charity and who collects most votes = money for people with cancer will win. Most artists have also just released or will release shortly their new album. Syksyn Sävel is shamelessly commercial (and it's good!) You can listen all the songs here . Kaija Koo - Kaunis, rietas ja onnellinen Juha Tapio - Sitkeä sydän Jari Sillanpää - En se olla saa Stina Girs - Anna mun mennä Martti Saarinen - Laula minulle Janne Raappana - Turhaa ja tärkeää Suvi Isotalo - Kaikki sanat Kristiina Brask - F32 Tommi Läntinen - Kaksi sanaa Puhuva Kone - Hyvä kiertää Emma Salokoski - Kuiva maa Mikki Kauste - Tie

Finland is not taking part in the Junior Eurovision song contest but the original, MGP Nordic. The artists are 8-15 years old and write their own songs. Some of them have started their career here including Elin Blom who went ton to Euroviisut and Swedish idols. There was a televoting and a jury and the winner is... Oh well, watch yourself   here . And Paradise Oskar both did the jury job and performed on interval.And for once I totally agree with the results!

The tickets for the Eurovision song contest 2012 won't go on sale in late 2011 but only in early 2012. Meanwhile the hotels in Baku have been blocked for the period when the contest takes place and the hotel reservations start only at the same time as tickets. Some airlines are also considering the possibility for additional flights to Baku in May. As for the safery and visas the prime minister of Azerbaijan, Artu Razizedeh states: "The Azerbaijani government conceives the organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest as a great responsibility and is ready to take all necessary measures for that, every citizen of Azerbaijan is proud that our country won the contest in 2011 and is honoured to host the next contest in Baku" while providing safety and security guarantees, full commitment to a visa policy simplification for the thousands of foreign guests that will travel to Azerbaijan for the contest. There has been a lot of concern about safety, gay rights and freedom o...

EBU has apparently decided to try to digitally archive all the Eurovisions since 1956. It's a huge task including a lot of rights clearing (and aren't the 1956 and 1964 editions missing?). First hand this is ment to be made available for the broadcasters but later on maybe in some form also to public at home, meaning us fans! Great news if they manage to do so one can leave the VHS and audiotapes to dust in the shelves... The work should be finished well before the contest's 60th edition in 2015.

Kaija Koo has released a new 2-cd including all her hits from 1980 to 2011. There are two new songs and the title track Kaunis, rietas, onnellinen (Beautiful, salacious, happy) is the new single and most likely her Syksyn Sävel 2011 entry as well. She's done it again! Oh, and the album went to #6 at its release.

Raphael Gualazzi will release a Special edition of his highly succesful Reality and fantasy album on October 18, 2011. We have had already the original version and the French edition but this third one is filled with goodies. It has of course the whole original album with five new added tracks: Zuccherino dolce, Carola, New Orleans , Don't stop and A three second breath (original version). On iTunes you will also have a Gilles Peterson remix of Madness of love as well as Alex G. mix of Reality and fantasy . The DVD features a live documentary of his concert in Auditorium Parco della musica di Roma earlier this year. Gualazzi has done over 40 concerts this summer in Italy, all sold out and the total audience of some 35.000. His touring Europe next and will be back to Italy in December: on 11th in Rome and 12th in Milan.

Chisu has released the video for her smash hit Sabotage. And it's scary watching for someone who suffers the heights. Yikes... Here . But it's beautifully shot and Helsinki looks fab, too.

Another Eurovision duet, this time all Swiss mixing talent show experience with a lot of experience in musicals. They offer Real love with a bit more modern sounds and are clearly inspired by last year's winners Oh, oh, ohs in the bridge.

Marie-Elaine and Ètienne both became famous in Canadian Star Academy in early 2000's. Both have a great voice and this is a classic Eurovision duo ballad. Actually a prime example of one. Nicely mixed in English and French as one could expect. Ètienne has also done career in France with some success so he isn't totally unknow in the French speaking Europe. Domande-moi (You can ask me) is their joint effort.

Another great voice from Switzerland, Guillermo Sorya. Also known as LightSOULdier. His Baby baby baby is fun and catchy and might feature nicely in the Swiss final.

Also in Switzerland on line voting has opened. The French speaking RTS has chosen 27 songs that you vote until October 20, 2011. Ten will be selected to be featured on Option Musique radio stations playlists where they will be played until October 30, 2011. After that there will be new on line voting along with jury voting and top-3 will reach the Swiss final in mid December. Listen and vote here . My votes go to Sinplus, Katherine St-Laurent, Loic Schumacher and Romanz.

Melodifestivalen 2012 kicked off this Monday when the first eight songs were revealed and the voting started. This will repeat the next four weeks until we have heard and voted all 32 songs that made it this far. Listen to the songs here . All 32 entries are listen here .

Somebody from Seychelles has discovered Blogilkar making it 201st country to pay a visit. Welcome!

October 16, 2011 marks the 4th anniversary of Tose Proeski's tragic death in a car accident. For the occasion the Serbian TV is airing a special in his honour. Tose Proeski was popular all over Balcans so there will be artists from all over to honor him: Eurovision stars Hari Mata Hari from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Toni Cetinski from Croatia, Marija Serifovic, Jelena Tomacevic and Nina from Serbia, with Aki Rahomovski, Aleksandra Radovic, Anja Rupel, Sergej Cetkovic, Antonija Sola, Bora Dugic, Sasa Kovacevic, Boris Rezak and Mari Mari will perform Tose's songs with the Great Symphony Orchetra of RTS. The two hour show will also have documentary parts of Tose's life and career.

New York born Katherine did Canadian Idol and is now trying her luck in the Swiss Eurovision selection. Her Wrong to let you go is one of the better ballads in there. And she has a great voice. And Switzerland has a history of Canadian female voices to do well in the Eurovision....