SWEDEN WINS EUROVISION 2015!

Måns Zelmerlöw won the 60th Eurovision Song Contest last night with a very impressive 365 points. Russia and Italy came 2nd and 3rd respectively. Throughout the majority of the voting, Russia's Polina was leading. This blogger would've loved to have seen Polina win. Yeah, it would've caused problems but I just adored her and the song... Her performance was one that touched me. She did a beautiful job. I wouldn't say I disliked the Italian song but I didn't want them to win. However Il Volo did win the televote it seems but the juries only placed them 6th. Hmm.. No doubt this will raise the question - do we need juries?

The Makemakes and Ann Sophie both got the dreaded nil points. Underserved in both cases but especially for Germany.. That song deserved so much better! Don't even get me started on Edurne's placing! Jaja!! Her performance was flawless both visually and vocally but it could've been worse. Electro Velvet only managed 24th. The irony is that I'm rather chuffed with this. We did better than France, Germany and Austria.. even though we didn't really deserve to. What else can one say about last night's results? I'm delighted for Belgium and Latvia. Both countries who rarely do well in the contest but did last night as they sent daring and interesting entries. I think Serbia were a bit overrated. France and Romania a bit underrated. Georgia managed 11th place, which is more than respectable, however Nina has said that she's disappointed. Azerbaijan came 12th. Shocked. Maybe the dancers were too much? Maybe. And Elhaida was 17th. Could've been worse.. I'm proud of her. The Aussies did very well though, didn't they? Now let's wait to see if the EBU invites them back.. I wouldn't complain if they did. The full results can be found here:

As expected, Russia and Sweden won their semi finals. Latvia came 2nd in their semi final. Awesome stuff! Love Injected was brilliant!  Azerbaijan was 10th in the semi final and Malta was 11th. Poor Amber. Switzerland came last - how? Not the greatest song but Melanie deserved more than 4 points.. San Marino was 2nd to last. Czech Republic came 13th. And they would've qualified if it was 100% televote. Oh well. Maybe next year? In the first semi final, Albania just scrapped though and Moldova - yes, Moldova - came 11th. Eeeeek! I would've been so mad if Elhaida lost out to Moldova. Finland came last, but would've made the final with 100% televoting. Macedonia was last with the televote but did manage 15th overall. Sigh. How did Estonia come 10th with the juries in the semi? San Marino's jury even ranked them last. The juries from Montenegro and Macedonia "have been excluded after consultation of PwC, the contest's independent voting observer, and upon the decision of the Executive Supervisor and the Chairman of the Reference Group." Aka something dodgy is going on there....

Overall, it was a fantastic contest once again. Many awesome songs. There were some technical problems during the voting though.. Also correct me if I'm wrong, but is Russia's entry the only one to exceed 300 points and not win? Conchita's performances were excellent and my favourite moment of the contest was this... words cannot describe how beautiful it is! And people boo her?

See y'all in Sweden next year if my bank balance allows. What's another year....

Photos from Eurovision.tv

NuVidz: Lena, Sophia Patsalides, FIKI, Ruth Lorenzo!

Ir has been a while since I did a NuVidz post, hasn't it? Well here's some new songs for y'all to enjoy! Lena's latest single is Traffic Lights. Fresh and catchy. A great comeback! The love You Know is a superb ballad sung by Sophia Patsalides. She might not have won Junior Eurovision but me thinks a star was born the night she performed in JESC and that we'll see much more from her in the future. I'd love to see represent Cyprus in Eurovision soon. Wouldn't it be awesome?! Bulgarian star FIKI has released Bum.. The song is terrific the music video is very appealing on the eye! Another aritst I'd love to see on the Eurovision stage one day. And finally, we all remember Ruth Lorenzo screaming dancing in the rain last year. She has released the official video clip for Flamingos. One of my favourite songs from her album and Ruth is, as always, stunning!

REVIEWING THE CLASS OF 2015: GERMANY!

We all remember watching the German national final. The winner, Andreas Kümmert, said danke aber nein danke to Eurovision and therefore the runner up is going to Eurovision. Ann Sophie also won the newbies category prior to the national final, as did Elaiza last year. Here's what we think about the German entry...

Ana: It’s a nice and modern song but what I like the most of this entry is Ann Sophie’s attitude which reminds me of Lena (Germany 2010 and 2011). She loves the camera and the camera loves her. Germany goes straight to the final and I think that they can do well even though this isn't a winner song. 8/10

Ilkar: The way she got to Eurovision is weird, and it's weird how much she reminds me of Lena. Maybe she's Lena's auntie, what do I know? The song is pleasant and catchy, and she does perform it with gusto. But the final spark is maybe missing.... 6/10

Jack: Black Smoke is one of my favourites this year. Even though Ann Sophie said she doesn't like being compared to Lena, you can't deny the simulates between the two. I hope the Germans do well in Vienna - but I have no idea where she will place.... There's potential. 7.5/10

Jess: Ann Sophie has such a brilliant voice, and Black Smoke is such a great song! 7/10

John: The affectation in Ann's voice is quite irritating - but the same could be said of about 35 of the other singers in this year's ESC line-up. In all other respects, the song is rather infectious (you might just find yourself humming it unintentionally!). The memorable tune and the rather energetic performance - might well stand in favour of the German entry.  7/10

OUR VERDICT - 35.5/50
OVERALL SCORE - 7.1/10

NuVidz: Conchita Wurst, Alexa Feser, Dinah Nah, Loreen!

The national final season is almost over, so I thought it's time to take a look at some recent releases! Here are some of my favourite songs at the moment...

The unofficial queen of Eurovision, Conchita Wurst, has released a new song. You Are Unstoppable. It seems Conchita will perform this song during Eurovision in May. I love it! Will this also be included on the official Eurovision album? Like Rainmaker was last year... Maybe. Germany's national final is one we're going to remember for very long time; mainly due of Andreas, the winner, giving his title to runner-up Ann Sophie. But let's not forget the amazing Glück by Alexa Feser. It's a gorgeous song. Meanwhile, Dinah Nah may have come last in Melodifestivalen last night but Make Me deserved to do so much better. Great song... and finally, Loreen's new single! This blogger adores Paper Light (Higher) - watch her perform it at Melodifestivalen here. An interesting choice of outfit to say the least ;-)

ANN SOPHIE TO REPRESENT GERMANY!

Andreas Kümmert won the German national final but he isn't going to Eurovision! This is crazy. He said Eurovision isn't for him and gives his victory to Ann Sophie.. the audience are booing. I don't mind though - as I much preferred Ann's song. But why did be bother participating in the first place if he knew he wouldn't go to Eurovision? Publicity? Fahrenhaidt were among the first to be eliminated, surprising. I blame the staging... overall, it was a great show though. And I wish Ann Sophie the best of luck :-)

Conchita Wurst was a special guest and performed You're Unstoppable.

Germany: Ann Sophie completes national final line-up!

On Thursday night, the Clubkonzert took place in Germany and Ann Sophie won the right to participate in the German national final. The Clubkonzert round isn't to be dismissed as Elaiza, last year's winner and eventual representatives of Germany, came from the Clubkonzert round. Could Anne Sophie follow in Elaiza's steps? Watch her in action here. She's great!!

Germany: Song titles revealed!

The German broadcaster has today announced the song titles for the seven established acts in Unser Song für Österreich. We now know for sure that Danish singer Amanda Pedersen will front both of Fahrenhaidt's songs and not Emmelie de Forest, as previously rumoured.

Faun
– Hörst Du Die Trommeln
– Abschied
Alexa Feser
– Glück
– Das Gold von Morgen
Mrs. Greenbird
– Shine, Shine, Shine
– Take My Hand
Andreas Kümmert
– Home Is In My Hands
– Heart of Stone
Laing
– Zeig Deine Muskeln
– Wechselt die Beleuchtung
Noize Generation
– Song For You
– Crazy Now
Fahrenhaidt
– Frozen Silence
– Mother Earth

The remaining act will be selected on 19th February. These are the artists who will be hoping to make the German national final on 5th March:

• Aden
• Alisson Bonnefoy
• Ann Sophie
• Ason
• Klangpoet
• Lars Pinkwart
• Lou
• Moonjos
• Sendi Hoxha
• Sophie

Germany: Emmelie de Forest collaborates with Fahrenhaidt for Eurovision?

Fahrenhaidt are one of the eight acts who will participate in Unser Song für Österreich next month, hoping to win the right to represent Germany. As we know, each act will compete with two songs. Fahrenhaidt's first song has already been published. It's Frozen Silence, and it fronted by Amanda Pedersen. However their second song is yet to be revealed. The interesting thing is that Emmelie de Forest, winner of Eurovision 2013, has collaborated with them on the song Wildfire. A two minute snippet of the song has been released and damn it sounds fantastic! Will Wildfire be the second song Fahrenhaidt compete with in the upcoming German national final? Will Emmelie return to Eurovision for Germany? We will find out soon enough. In the meantime, you can read their interview with escXtra here where they confirmed a Danish singer will join them on stage..

Update - It appears Amanda Pedersen will indeed perform both songs with the 2nd song yet to be released. 

NuVidz: Sergey Lazarev, Mrs. Greenbird, Indila, Tim Schou!

Sergey Lazarev has recently released 7 цифр. It's an awesome pop song. Sergey is tipped to represent Russia in Vienna with Breaking Away. This blogger think he would be a fantastic choice if selected but only time will tell if the rumours turn out to be true. Shine, Shine, Shine is one of the songs Mrs. Greenbird are aiming to represent Germany with. What do you think about their song? I think it's cute. Indila's Love Story is one of my favourite songs from her album Mini World. The official-video for Love Story was released a couple of months ago.. unfortunately, she isn't interested in Eurovision. Finally, Goodbye is Tim Schou's latest song and you can buy it on iTunes if you wish.

Germany: Seven acts revealed!

Alexa Feser, Andreas Kümmert, Fahrenhaidt, Faun, Laing, Mrs Green Bird and Noize Generation will participate in Unser Song Für Österreich on 5th March. The remaining act will come from the Clubkonzert round. NDR, Brainpool Production Company, Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Popwellen and Young Radios ARD internally selected these acts for the upcoming German national final. Here are the participants:

• Alexa Feser
• Andreas Kümmert
• Fahrenhaidt
• Faun
• Laing
• Mrs. Green Bird
• Noize Generation

The only name I regonise is Andreas Kümmert. He won The Voice of Germany - watch him in action below:

Germany: 1,213 acts aiming for Clubkonzert!

Over 1,200 acts have submitted songs onto an online platform in Germany. You can listen to the songs here! Ten acts will make the Clubkonzert round on 19th February - this is to find a star among unknown artists. Ukrainian Viktoria Petryk is in the running with Freedom. She is amazing. Petryk took part in Junior Eurovision 2008 and the Ukrainian final in 2014 where she finished 2nd on both occasions. If an artist has uploaded a cover song and they make the next round, naturally they must produce their own song for Clubkonzert. The winner of this will have the opportunity to participate in the German national final on 5th March. The other remaining seven acts will be revealed on Wednesday and Germany promises us some big names!

Germany: Finalists to be revealed on 14th January!

Eight acts in total will participate in Unser Song für Österreich and seven acts will be announced on 14th January. These are the established and well-known acts, the German broadcaster has been working with a number record labels. The remaining act will come from the club concert round. This will be held on 19th February in Hamburg. Elaiza came from absolutely nowhere last year so the 'unknowns' aren't to be dismissed. Many people would love to see Helene Fischer on the list next week but does she want to do Eurovision? NRD already said there are some big names set to compete in the German selection so you never know..

NuVidz: Zlata Ognevich, Anastacia, Helene Fischer, Shakira ft Carlinhos Brown!

Good morning, y'all! The beautiful Zlata Ognevich released Моя Мелодія - which is Ukrainian for "My Melody". I want to see her represent Ukraine again. She's a fantastic singer and her latest song is lovely. Meanwhile, Anastacia returns to the music scene with Stupid Little Things. Doesn't she a phenomenal voice? Helene Fischer is one of Germany's most successful artists. She revealed the German votes this year and is tipped to represent Germany next year by fans. It would be awesome!  She's released a great dance/pop track. It's entitled Atemlos durch die Nacht.  The 2014 FIFA World Cup starts in a couple of weeks and the unofficial anthem is Dare (La La La). Colombian born Shakira has teamed up with Carlinhos Brown to create this fantastic song. It's received almost 16 million hits in two days.. #wow!

NuVidz: Tolmachevy Sisters, Sanna Nielsen, Donatan & Cleo, Adel Tawil!

The Tolmachevy Sisters have released the official video-clip of Shine. The video-clip has a black and white theme throughout... Me likes! There has also been a slight revamp. Sanna Nielsen is one of the favourites to win ESC 2014' and today we finally got to see the official music video of Undo. I'm slightly disappointed with this video, I feel no emotion. But the song is great - and that's the most important thing! Donatan and Cleo have also released a new music video, too! However this video-clip isn't their Eurovision entry - just a new single. Watch that here. Adel Tawil is a well-known singer in Germany. I've only discovered his music recently although I'm already a fan. His latest single is Weinen. Enjoy! 

NuVidz: Elaiza, Amandine Bourgeois, Noemi, Cascada!

Fight Against Myself was Elaiza's second song in the German selection and I really like. The song has bags of personality. However, I prefer "Is It Right". Here's a stunning acoustic version. Aww I love Amandine Bourgeois! Her latest track is Ma Gueule. Very French - I could just imagine sitting in a cafe in Paris and hearing this song.. it's lovely! Oui! <3 Noemi is currently a coach on The Voice of Italy and last month, she took part in Sanremo with Bagnati dal sole. This song has been stuck in my head these last few days.. and if RAI didn't select Emma internally, maybe this would have been the Italian entry? Finally, we have a new single from Cascada! Blink could defiantly be a summer hit..

Introducing 2014: Germany!

Germany selected their representative through "Unser Song für Dänemark" this year. Several big names took part in the selection although the results shocked us all! Elaiza won with Is It Right. Elaiza were an unknown group before the selection and so they decided to take part in the newcomers category, which was a campaign to find upcoming musicians. Elaiza proved that a big name doesn't guarantee victory. I loved several songs in this national final - Unheilig were my favourites with Wir sind alle wie eins. I also loved Als wärs das erste Mal. Hope they try again next year...

Madeline Juno was also another favourite before the selection, although she didn't progress to the 2nd round and thus didn't get the chance to perform Error. Another missed opportunity! The German national final was probably my favourite this season... The superfinal was between Unheilig and Elaiza, and Elazia won with 55% of the vote. The German entry is great in my opinion, although I doubt it will make the top ten in Copenhagen. Maybe it'll do well though. It's a sweet song. "Is It Right" has already peaked at #4 in the German charts. Glück.

Germany: Elaiza are the winners!

Elaiza has won the right to represent Germany! Brilliant! The song they'll take to Copenhagen is entitled "Is It Right". Such a sweet song. They came from the wildcard round and were practically unknown in Germany before the contest. Unheilig were runners-up. Their second song was fantastic, and was without a doubt the best song of the night. The audience were definitely behind Elaiza more though as she always received a massive applause.

I would have preferred Unheilig but I'm just happy the Germans didn't opt for Santiano. Ewww. Emma performed her Eurovision entry and I wasn't too impressed. The performance looked kinda messy and her voice was all over the place. She needs to work hard before Copenhagen otherwise the Italians could receive a very disappointing result come May. Meanwhile, Santiano and MarieMarie also made the top four. I think Germany have chosen a really catchy and fresh song. It's a shame Unheilig didn't win but hey ho. Enjoy.

Germany: "Unser Song für Dänemark" tonight!

Germany's act will be chosen tonight. Eight participants, and sixteen songs, are in the running although Unheilig seems to be the big favourite. I hope they win - "Als wär's das erste Mal" is one of my favourite songs at the moment. Their other song is yet to be released.

I'm sure Germany will produce an excellent show tonight. Each act will perform two songs tonight and this is how it works. In the first round, each artist will perform one song and televoting will select the top four artists and then they'll proceed to the second round. The second round consists of each act performing their second song and then the two most popular acts will proceed to the final round. The two remaining acts will perform both of their songs and the German public and a jury will decide the winner. Emma will perform "La Mia Citta" - can't wait for that! I think the winner will either be Unheilig or maybe Madeline Juno? "Error" has received a lot of support from German radio stations... The Baseballs are also pretty popular - maybe they'll be the winners? But I want Unheilig. Here's an acoustic version of Als Wär's Das Erste Mal. It's pretty amazing! These are the acts:

• Das Gezeichnete Ich
• Madeline Juno
• MarieMarie
• Oceana
• Santiano
• The Baseballs
• Unheilig
• Elaiza

NuVidz: Unheilig, Anouk, Renee Santana feat. Mike Diamondz, Krista Siegfrids!

Unheilig are hoping to win the German national final with Als wär´s das erste Mal - a fantastic song and the video-clip is really lovely too. Their second song will be revealed in a few days.. every act will compete with two songs for some reason. I hope to see Unheilig in Copenhagen! Anouk's latest track is entitled You & I. She's really an amazing artist. Everything she sings is great.. I was kinda gutted that Renee Santana feat. Mike Diamondz didn't win the Romanian selection last night although it was no surprise as everyone knew Paula and Ovi were going to win from the start. Y'all can enjoy the lyrics video of Letting Go anyway! I would like to see her try again. Finally, Krista Siegfrids has released Cinderella!

Germany: Unheilig release teaser of their Eurovision attempt!

The German national final will take place on 13th March, with 8 acts competing, and the biggest name in this selection is probably Unheilig. They have released a teaser of one of their songs - which is entitled Als wär´s das erste Mal. These guys are very popular and are already big contenders for victory.

Each act will perform two songs, and these songs will hopefully be released soon. Ocena has also released a snippet of one of her songs. You can listen to that here.