Belarus: Semi Final cancelled, finalists confirmed!

10 finalists will take place in the grand final on 7th December and because of that, Belarus will be the first country to decide their entry for 2013 (that's if they don't change it, like in 2012)/ But they have cancelled the semi final - I think this is because the quality is rather (or very) low. 

Here are the 10 acts, where one will represent Belarus in Malmo:

01. Max Lorens
02. Alyona Lanskaya (NF 2012)
03. Alexey Gross
04. Daria
05. Nuteki band
06. Stanislav Satsura
07. Uzari (NF 2012)
08. Yan Zhenchak
09. Vitaly Voronko
10. Beaver Band

Most of the songs are not revealed yet however Alyone Lanskaya (who participated last year, and won) returns with the song Rhythm of Love - and I really like it! Enjoy...

Albania: Line-up for Festivali I Kenges announced!

Who will be the 10 representative for Albania in ESC? We will find out on the 22nd December! And how will be competing, you are asking yourself? Well, here you go!

1.Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko
2.Ardian Bujupi
3.Ani Çuedari

4.Anjeza Shahini (ESC 2004)
5.Arjan Dredhasi
6.Arjela Krasniqi
7.Bojken Lako
8.Bon Bon Band
9. Dr. Flori & Fabi
10.Elis Nova
11.Entela Zhula
12.Flaka Krelani
13.Grupi 'Na'
14.Hersi Matmuja
15.Kejsi Tola (ESC 2009)
16.Kelly
17.Kozma Dushi
18.Lynx
19.Marsela Çibukaj
20.Merland Kademi
21.Rezarta Smaja
22.Rosela Gjylbegu
23.Selami Kolonja
24.Valon Shehu
25.Vesa Luma

26.Xheni & Enxhi

Albania are yet to win the contest, could 2013 be their year? I think having a better song than Suss will be a task
in itself! Enjoy Suus...

Claudia Faniello will try and represent Malta!

Malta have been crazy not to send this awesome woman to ESC, but will they in 2013?

Claudia has tried to represent her country several times however has never made the final cut but she is not going to give up - she has submitted an entry for next year! Today Malta called for songs and it's been announced by escflashmalta.com. Enjoy some of her most recent attempts...

2010 - Samsara (8th place)

2011 - Movie in my Mind (9th place)

2012 - Pure (2nd place)

I really hope she has a good song next year!

Lithuania: Final will be held 20th December!

LRT has announced that the national final for Eurovision 2013 is expected for 20th December.

60 applicants have been sent into the Lithuanian broadcaster and will battle for the Lithuanian ticket in Sweden next may! Each show is held on a Saturday night however the final is expected to be held on Thursday! Here is a list of the shows remaining...

3 November- Preselection show 1
10 November- Preselection show 2
17 November- Preselection show 3
24 November- Preselection show 4
1 December-  Preselection show 5
8 December- Semi-final 1
15 December- Semi-final 2
20 December- Final

Lithuania are yet to win the contest! Will they in 2013? Here is their 2012 entry, once again...

Hungary: Several shows for "A Dal"!

MTV, the Hungarian broadcaster, has announced that for next years A Dal there will be several shows. They have also revealed more information.

The deadline for all songs is the 20th December and after that, a jury will listen to each one of them and decide which songs will make the national final - however regarding how many entries will make it is still currently undecided. There will be semi finals and qualification rounds to see who is worthy of making the final of A Dal.

The first show is expected in January some time with the grand final expected for February. Who will follow Compact Disco?

Breaking News: Cyprus confirms for Malmo!

Rumours were saying how the country was going to withdraw because of financial problems however CyBE have confirmed they intend to participate! Yay!

This now brings the amount of confirmed participant's to 39 as the following countries yet to confirm;

• Montenegro
• Poland
• Portugal
• Greece
• San Marino

It looks very possible that we could indeed reach a new record for Malmo as only Greece and Portugal look in danger here - they are having financial difficulties. It is yet not confirmed what method will select their entry however Giorgos Papadopoulos looks likely to represent his country, my sources tell me ;) (but nothing is official yet)

Here is one of his songs....

Freinds Arena is OPEN!

Many thought this was going to be the venue that would host the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest however Malmo was selected surprisingly - but anyway that arena is open!

It officially was opened yesterday with some preferences including Loreen and Danny Saucedo. Friends arena will hold a whopping 65,000 and to be honest, I'm pleased that this arena won't be hosting ESC as it would look to much and other countries will think "we can't hold that" therefore they won't want to win and send awful entries - haha. Well, that's what I think! :)

Here is Loreen perofrimg her new single...

Chiara Dubey and Ally are qualifiers in Switzerland!

Last night saw the Italian broadcaster RSI, hold a regional heat to determine which songs would make the national final in December, and the qualifiers are...

• Chiara Dubey - Bella Sera <3
• Ally - Catch Me

Ally was pretty good and Chiara was amazing however because it was streamed on RSI radio no footage has been released yet - but that should be released soon. Enjoy the best song of the night...

Sweden: Gina and Danny confirmed the hosts of Melodifestivalen 2013!

At 10:00 CET it was announced that Danny and Gina will host the Swedish national final, Melodifestivalen, next year! Interesting...

Danny Saucedo has participated in Melodifestivalen the previous two years where he came runner-up on both occasions therefore I everyone thought he would try and represent Sweden again - so that's a relive! Gina Dirawi hosted the contest last year and also commentated ESC itself from Baku! Does that leave Sarah Dawn Finer as a contender to host Eurovision next May? Maybe!

Melodifestivalen final will take place 9th March! :D Let's enjoy Danny's attempt from last year...

Italy: Participation for Malmo confirmed!

YAY! RAI have announced through their facebook page that participation for the 2013 is now confirmed!

How they will select their entry is yet unknown however its very likely that they will use Sanremo once again! Which is a good thing, as Samremo has some beautiful entries! A press conference will be held later this week where more information is expected to be revealed! Italy will remain in the so called "Big 5".

I am pleasantly surprised that Italy have confirmed this early! :D

But before 2013, lets enjoy their 2012 entry - sung by the awesome Nina Zilli!

Ireland - National Final to be held 22nd February!

They won the contest 7 times but will they make it an 8th in 2013? If an awesome song wins their national final 22nd February then maybe :)

5 mentors will mentor each act, RTE have not selected these yet but they should be named soon! Jedward have represented the Emerald Isle the previous 2 years but have confirmed that they won't return *yay*! 

Who will represent Ireland? Rumors suggest Leanne Moore and Mary Bryne...

Pastora Soler wins OGAE Second Chance 2012!

Pastora Soler has been crowned the winner of OGAE second chance 2012! Yes, her self made beauty won the online contest with an amazing 201 points - only one more point than Danny's Amazing...

Tu Vida es Tu Vida was one of my favourites from the 2012 selection processes and I'm pleased she has won the contest! 2nd was Sweden, 3rd Norway, 4th Denmark and 5th Austria! Listen to the winner...

Bien hecho Pastora - te lo mereces! Besos!

Switzerland - RSI songs released!

Tomorrow will see RSI hold a regional heat where 7 acts will fight for 2 spots in for the national final -
which is going to be held 15th December. Here the songs here! The following will participate...

N2L – Smoke out

Vanda Palma – La farfalla va

Theo – My wonderful life

Sohaila – But who

Marilise – Nobody

Chiara Dubey – Bella sera

Ally – Catch me

The event will be held at 21:00 CET tomorrow night and just remember Sinplus (who unfortunately won last year) came from the RSI heat! My personal favourite is Chiara Dubey - who came 3rd last year! Here her song here...

Best of luck to everyone!

Junior Eurovision 2012 - My Reviews!

Each country has selected their entry now for the upcoming Junior Eurovision so I have decided to do some reviews on each entry! Enjoy...

1. Belarus!
The show will be opened by one of the worst songs, which is a shame - and its also a shame that Egor has to sing such a horrible song as he has a really good voice. The interesting element here is that he sings the song partly in Italian! I would rate this song at 4/10...

2. Sweden!
One of the most beautiful songs in the competition, if not the most beautiful! Such a charming number with an awesome singer who can really hold a tune. Sweden was very brave sending this over their normal main-stream pop tracks. Lova deserves to do well 1st December but I don't think she will. I give her a 8/10....

3. Azerbaijan!
This year see's the first Azeri entry in Junior ESC and they have started with a very cool number. I like the song 
however I do feel that there is something important missing. But they are breaking the rules - they sing in 100% English 
and the rules for JESC is that they sing in the national lingo and they don't.... I give it 6/10.

4. Belgium!
I'm afraid that Belgium will be sending one of the worst songs to the contest this year. Such a boring song - 
OMG! Belgium's usually choose well for JESC but this is an exception. I think he isn't a bad singer but does need some
improvement. Oh well - next year Belgium... 4/10.

5. Russia!
One of  my favourite songs in the completion this year! Such a great singer - and she represented Moldova last year with 
an even better song! This girl has something special and I would really love to see her go to the real Eurovision some
day. I believe this is the hot favourite to win and that's no surprise! 9/10...

6. Israel!

They make their debut to the contest this year and they do that with an awesome song! Kids.il is the group who will
represent their country in Amsterdam this year. I think its a contender to win if they pull this off live and I really think
that they will put their mark on the competition this year. 9/10 is my ranking...

7. Albania!
Another country who will debut to the JESC is Albania! And they do that on a very bad song and singer. Such
a horrible song and she should not be singing, not yet anyway. Such a cheap song and I think it will do very badly and
jeez it deserves to! I will only give this 2/10...

8. Armenia!
A very strange entry from the Armenians this year! It's not great however there is some charm - I like music but their voices
are awful! Armenia have had some very good entries in Junior Eurovision however I am afraid that this is not one of them.
They can do much better and I think this could even come in last... 3/10

9. Ukraine!
My personal favourite! Such a fantastic voice for a little girl and the song has power - she has passion! The title
is Nebo - yep, the same title as Croatia in ESC :D. Because they have a good draw I really think this will do well, possibly
even make the top 3! Well done Ukraine... 10/10

10. Georgia!
The Georgians always seem to go for these kind of entries in JESC - and it's no surprise as they do so well with them. Georgia
has even won the contest twice  in 2008 and 2011! Will they win again this year? Who knows - this is a song which many will like
but I don't like it - I find it so annoying! HAHA 6/10

11. Moldova!
Another horrible song! Boring melody, average vocals - it just has nothing to offer. Moldova has been great in JESC however
2012 won't be a highlight for the country. And after that crazy song from Georgia - this will get lost, and thank god! I
rate it at 3/10.

12. The Netherlands!
The host country here! I find this very annoying and old fashioned but I know this will do very well. They have a great draw, their 
hosting the contest and I can see that it will appeal to many people! Still, it could be worse, Albania/Belgium won't closing the show. 
I would say 7/10...

That's what I think, how about you?

Latvian final 16th February!

Latvian broadcaster LTV has confirmed that their national final will be held come 16th February! February is the busiest month ESC wise, and Latvia will be part of that!

Submissions need to be by 30th November so there is still some time for artists to send their work in however this has been extended. Maybe because of low interest - anyone remember Georgia this year? They only got 13 entries sent through maybe Latvia is having similar problems! We will know the participants who will compete on 11th December and 2 semi finals will be held 8th and 9th of February.

Latvians have not been represented in the final since 2008! Enjoy Latvia's 2012 entry...

First Lithuanian show... TOMORROW!

Tomorrow will shall see the first live show of the 2013 edition with an introduction show from the Lithuanians!

The show was recorded today and each artist will sing a song of their chose, not their possible Eurovision entry - but it will give us an idea of who they are and their voices... It will air at 20:00 CET

There will be several Lithuanian shows including more introduction's, semi finals and a grand final which will take place around the Christmas period!  Who will we hear tomorrow?

• El Fuego
• Chill Out, Have No Doubt
• Baiba
• Berta Timinskaitė
• Algirdas Bagdonavičius – Al Bagdo
• Eve Zasimauskaitė
• Monica Linkytė
• Nursultan Peciura
• Julia Jegorova
• Sophie
• Still
• Gabriel Vagelis
• Eden
• Neringa Šiaudikytė
• Vincent Linkevicius
• Vitals S

Let the games commence (as they say!) :D This is what Lithuania sent last year...

Belarus to decide 7th December!

Hey! It's been confirmed today that Belarus is planning on choosing their entry for 2013 on 7th December!

Semi finals are expected to be held in November however the dates are currently unknown. Anyone who would like to represent Belarus has until 22nd October to submit their entry. A jury will select the best songs and they will go through to the pre-qualifying round. Switzerland will therefore be 2nd country to select their entry for Malmo and Belarus will be the first - that's if they don't change the song like last year!

Belarus has not had the best entries but lets hope that will change next year - I wish them the best of luck...

Looking forward to it? Here is a song from last years Belarus national final at should have won - and did, for a bit...

240 songs in the running for Iceland!

Icelandic broadcaster, RUV, has received a whopping 240 songs for Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins! This is a record for the small country...

Last year the broadcaster only received around 150 tracks therefore ESC is proving to be very popular in Iceland! That's great, but what are these songs like? Well who knows - we won't get to hear them to January I'm told. A jury will select which songs will compete in the preselection!

The grand final of Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins is expected to be held on 9th February - also on that day we will also know the entries from Norway and Finland, and maybe more as its early stages in the ESC season! Good luck Iceland! Enjoy there entry from this year...

Kaliopi releases a new single - “Vučica"

Macedonia was represented be the incredibly unique Kaliopi this year where she came 13th place - meaning the second highest Macedonian placing.

After a break, she is planning on releasing an album and her new single Vučica (She Wolf) - which she has released now! The song was produced by Romeo Gril (her ex-husband) and he also helped Kaliopi produce her Eurovision entry, Crno I Belo.

Check out her new music video here... <3

Azerbaijan is calling for participants!

After months of uncertainty Azerbaijan finally confirmed their participation a few weeks ago now they are calling for singers! Want to represent Azerbaijan? You have until 25th October :D

Ictimai TV is calling for young singers who will have incredible vocal skills! The same method shall be used where the winning artist (or artists) will get the song wrote for them - properly from the Swedes! The selection is expected February/March with several heats...

They done an amazing job of hosting the contest this year where Sabina achieved 4th...

Breaking News: Anouk will represent The Netherlands!

The first artist to be announced for the 2013 edition is only ANOUK! Wow, such amazing news! Anouk has confirmed this news herself as-well as TROS! After several years of NL failing to make the grand final will they finally make it next year, and achieve a respectable result? Looks like it! But lets no go crazy - remember when we heard Anggun was going to represent France and we all thought she would win, look what happened their but her song was crap!

The "killer song" is expected to be released in late February and all I can say is that I'm really looking forward to it! Great choice from the Netherlands. Here is what Anouk said...

"To my fans… I will represent the Netherlands next year at the Eurosong festival… I’m looking forward to that… let’s hope for the best!”

Here is one of my favourite song from her, and I have many...

I adore this song - Best of luck Anouk!

Only 1 host for Malmo!

Today news is coming thick and fast including the fact that their will only be 1 host in Malmo! This comes a shock...

Now the question is who will it be? That should be announced in December 2012! Apparently their wont be any LED's either I heard - the Swedes are copying the Norwegians haha! Looks like it will be a much smaller show but maybe a better one!

Lys Assia, Chiara Dubey and Magdalena Tul for Switzerland? REVIEWS!

Wow! 3 songs have been released today, all of which could represent Switzerland...

Lys Assia and New Jack - All in your head:

Lys is trying her luck this year with 3 rappers (as we know!) but today her song was released. And it made me... speechless! She really wants to get to Eurovision again and good luck to her. Its a horrible song and the fact that she is with these rappers makes me laugh! I wish her all the best and I predict that she very well may fly the Swiss flag in Malmo. Watch it here.

Chiara Dubey - Bella Sera:

Like Lys, she has returned for a second year in a row! Her song is in Italian and amazing, so touching. It proves you don't always need a power ballad to feel amazing. She is such a lovely person as she has even been talking to me over Facebook. I would really like it if she could make it to Sweden in May but I'm not sure that she will. Still I have hope, watch it here.

Magdalena Tul - Give it up:

This comes as a major surprise! She represent Poland in 2011 but came last in the semi - still, she is not going to give up! She returns with an English song and it has some kind of rock vibe. This was only released about 1 hour ago so I haven't really had time to make a proper judgement. I do like it however I feel it may get lost! Good luck anyway Magda, go and rock it! Watch it here.

3 wonderful ladies here! Good luck to them all! :)