Sweden: La Camilla is kicked out of Army of Lovers!

"Look at me"! 

Army of Lovers went down like a led balloon last week in Melodifestivalen and it seems now La Camilla has been kicked out of the group and this hasn't gone down to well either!

Apparently the group has decided to invite back original member La Dominika! Is this all because the failed in Melodifestivalen? Probably...  It's seriously big news in Sweden and is hitting all headlines! Some people are even saying this happened because she wrote a really bad contest for the contest - on purpose! Well I didn't like the song but I did think it would've made the grand final It's about time we had some Swedish drama... LOL!

Army of Lovers failed to make the final of Melodifestivalen, they came 6th, out of eight - and I wasn't upset or surprised, another come-back failed! Ah well!

Here was their offering...

This is rather amusing...

Army Of Lovers declare Sainthood for Santa Camilla – and welcome La Dominika to center stage!

Our Dearest Beloved Sister Camilla, Our Hundreds of Thousands of Fabulous Loyal Fans, and The Chosen Few of the Rest of You Out There in This Cold Cold World who dare to care
Please accept our sincerest and most heartfelt gratitude for the hilarious months of joy and happiness we have shared with You, Our Beloved Sister, during studio recordings, rehearsals, therapy sessions, interviews, and performances in connection to The Original Army Of Lovers’ participation at Melodifestivalen 2013. 

You are dearest to our hearts, You are forever Our Beloved Sister, You are the undisputed People’s Queen of Army Of Lovers. For all this, we are to You forever grateful.
Your performance at Melodifestivalen in Malmö – from Your fabulous entrance to Your royally ignorant attitude towards even hitting the lipsynching right – make Yours quite possibly the ultimate Army Of Lovers performance ever. Who cares about rehearsing properly in advance, or hitting the right notes, when the world really revolves around the Art of Entries and Exits? And since You practise this Art with the ultimate superiority, how could Your performance possibly be improved upon in any way whatsoever? It was flawless. You are flawless.

Our Beloved Sister, what was Your Melodifestivalen performance if not the quintessential celebration of the Talented Untalented, the Victory of Charisma over Substance, the Glamorous Amateur set against the Boring Professional, the Good Bad Taste against the Bad Good Taste, the Ethic of Anybody with an Attitude is born to be a Star? You personify all these qualities better than anybody else on this planet. You are the proudest Ambassador of the Heritage of Milli Vanilli, and for this we herald You as Our Eternal Queen of Punk!

However, the show must go on! There are wars to battle and win. Army Of Lovers have a huge task ahead of them, fighting hatred and intolerance everywhere until everybody on the planet can have sex with everybody else all of the time. In this year of The Reformation of Army Of Lovers – in all its various incarnations – it is time to take the next step. Just as generously as Dominika stepped aside to let You, La Camilla, and the boys reunite as The Original Army Of Lovers for Melodifestivalen, we now thank You for stepping aside to let Dominika take center stage in the next reincarnation of Army Of Lovers in this Golden Year of 2013.

We therefore today proudly declare Dominika to be La Dominika, and in return we award You the Ascension from La Camilla to Santa Camilla, The Enlightened Global Consciousness of Femme Fatale Hysteria, Our Living Saint! We will always kneel before Your Altar on every stage we enter. You will always be with us in our hearts. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, for Everything!

The Committee for The Continuation of The Reformation of Army Of Lovers
Alexander Bard
Jean-Pierre Barda
Dominika Peczynski
Michaela Dornonville de la Cour
Camilla Thulin

LOL!!!

France: Patricia Kaas releases a new video-clip!

Patricia Kaas, the 2009 French representative, has released a new music video! She's looking much older but is still on top form...

She is currently touring the world with an amazing show, called Kaas Chante Piaf! Kaas is for sure one of the most popular singers from France on a international level - look how many of Patricia's CD's have been brought over the years - in the millions. She will tour in North Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East - a popular lady indeed! Kaas is doing this to celebrate the life and music of Edith Piaf, who passed many years ago!

She has been nominated for several awards and has released her first perfume on the French and European market! Here's her new music video, which was only made available two days ago - you're looking amazing as ever Madame Kass... <3

FYR Macedonia: Listen to "Imperija"!

The Macedonian entry concludes today's threesome! Georgia sends a pleasant ballad, Croatia a nice traditional piece and now a beautiful yet modern Macedonian song!

It's among my favourites this year, with Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Germany and Spain! I think this is something really special... I love it! The Macedonians have put traditional music with pop music and it works a treat! A special show was held this evening by the Macedonian broadcaster, but it couldn't be seen outside of Macedonia - apparently Kaliopi sung her Crno I Belo and I'm sure she was amazing - I love that woman so much! I like the folk elements in Imperija and Esma really is a treat...

Will it make the final? I think it will and I think the duo will achieve a respectable position! Enjoy...

Good Night Europe! And thanks everyone, I have had over 12,000 views this month alone! YAY! <3 

UK: Jade Ewen VS Rita Ora!

Rita Ora stated a few days ago that Eurovision would've ruined her career, if she made Moscow! She auditioned back in 2009, when the BBC held open auditions, but decided to withdraw (thankfully) from the selection even though she was picked for the live shows.

You can see the audition here. Rita Ora, who comes from Kosovo originally, started the feud as she said...

"Imagine! If I'd stayed, it would probably have been all over for me. At best, I'd be a contestant on that diving show…?' Splash!? Yeah, Splash! I love that show."

How rude, Ora has turned into one heck of a diva! Jade Ewen, who came 5th for the UK, hit-back on Twitter where she defender herself and her achievements...

"Easy to mock when you are enjoying success. Eurovision and splash? Proud of both Some manage to sleep their way to success some have morals"

MEOW! Rita Ora is yet to comment further on the matter.

Rita Ora is likely to be a judge on the UK's X Factor this year apparently too! Here she is performing last year on the TV show...

Such fun!

Sweden: "YOHIO will win Melodifestivalen" - say the bookies!

Is he Japaneses? 

The latest odds are saying that YOHIO will have a run away victory on 9th March, according to Svenska spel. He has the smallest odds at only 1.55 (on 27/02/13)!

Ralf follows with 4.00 and then Ulrik with 4.25 - I still think Tell The World I'm Here will win, I'm sure the Swedes will go for it! The ratings have also been really good this year too - Melodifestivalen is the most popular show on Swedish TV (or one of them anyway!). The show is watched by an average of 3.5 million Swedes every week, and even peaked at 3.7 for the second semi final. Overall 37% of Swedes have watched the contest this year at some point so far...

The Swedish itunes are mainly participants from Melodifestivalen (again, like last year)! Sean Banan's Copacabanana is currently topping the Swedish charts - but will he seriously win? I think he'll be top 3, so maybe! It's really between Ulrik, YOHIO and Sean Banan but I wouldn't rule out Louise Hoffsten either! These odds are always changing in Sweden so we don't really know who's leading - unlike last year when it were Loreen VS Danny from the start!

Enjoy YOHIO's offering..

I love this...

Croatia: "Mižerja" made public...

A few hours ago we got to hear the Croatian entry for the first time! The group have decided to call themselves Klapa s Mora (Klapa on the sea)!

I really like this one! It's traditional Croatian music - something we have never really heard in the contest. This was released through a press conference this morning, at 10:00 CET, and has gone down quite well among ESC fans surprisingly. Yes, some could say it's boring but it's different and I like it! The song will also be performed tonight at a Humanitarian Concert, which starts at 8:15 CET. Like the Georgian entry - you can download it here for free. Nina Badric can be proud of her successor...

The song was recorded in Italy and was only finished last weekend! And here it is...

Remember we have Macedonian presentation tonight! 

Georgia: Listen to "Waterfall" and download it!

Georgia was the first country to reveal their song for Malmo today! It was premiered on the TV show "Our Morning".

I like it! It's nothing special but it's so similar to the Azerbaijani winner from 2011, is that a sign? The ending is wonderful - such power in their voices! I don't like the start, it makes me feel nervous... LOL! I don't know why it just does! I'm sure Georgia will return to the left hand side of the scoreboard this year. You can download the song here. Sopho Gelovani & Nodiko Tatishvili look great onstage together, which is important, and I can see this doing very well...

The music video will be released in a few weeks time. Could we be heading to Georgia in 2014? Don't dismiss it. Listen below...

Spain: "Contigo Hasta El Final" to Malmo!

I'm rather impressed with the Spanish - they've selected the best song in their NF for the second year in a row now! El Sueño de Morfeo will perform Contigo Hasta El Final in Malmo...

I really thought Atrevete was going to win - and I think ESDM did too - but luckily that wasn't the case! Pastora Soler sung with the group, that was really nice, and so did Musicalite and Nek! Contigo Hasta El Final isn't going down as well as I thought it would - fans seem to think they will flop in Malmo and not trouble the left hand-side of the scoreboard.

Here, the results from last night...

1. Contigo hasta el final - 72 points
2. Atrevete - 60 points
3. Dame tu voz - 48 points

Georgia and Croatia will also reveal their songs this morning. so stay tuned! The Spanish entry - I love it... ^^

An amazing moment... <3

Malmo 2013: Three entries to be released tomorrow...

The Georgian duo! 

It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow - three countries will present their entries for Malmo! Spain will also select tonight and about seven countries get their entries this weekend...Vamos!

Georgia!
The Georgian entry will be the first to be revealed tomorrow - Waterfall is going to be aired on "Our Morning"! It's an early start for Sopho and Nodiko as they plan to air the song at around 8:00 CET! The music video is almost finished and will be made public in the next few weeks! You can watch the live presentation here! I'm curious to hear it, mainly because of who composed/wrote it...

Croatia!
Mižerja will be made public at 10:00 CET! The Croatian entry will be heard first through a special press conference, then the representatives will introduce themselves to Croatia and Europe publicly! It's going to be a romantic song, click here for more information on that! It'll be great to hear some traditional music in the contest, rather than ballad after ballad and pop song after pop song! Klapa Esemble, or whatever they'll call themselves, will perform their ESC entry live at a humanitarian concert - which will take place tomorrow evening! Good luck Croatia and do yourself proud!

FYR Macedonia
The much anticipated Macedonian entry will be made live through a special TV show, which is due to start at 20:45 CET! Vlatko Lozanovski and Esma Redzhepova's song is called Империја (Empire)! Yesterday, a snippet was released - I don't know if this is official or just a hoax but you can listen to it anyway here! It's said to be a passionate yet sad song...

It's gonna be a lot of fun tomorrow! But tonight, we have Spain! No puedo esperar... <3

Azerbaijan: National final to be held 14th March!

The Azeri national final has given us some of the greatest voices this year but it's all going to conclude 14th March! Ictimai will hold their national final where only the artist (or artists) are going to be chosen...

It's very possible that the song will be released just days before the HoD meeting in Malmo, when all songs must be sent into the EBU (18th March)! This is what they have done the last few years anyway.

Around 8 or 9 acts will battle for the Azeri ticket - these are...

• Nigar Huseynova 
• Vlada Axundova
• Vugar Muradov and Ravana Aliyeva
• Farah Hajiyeva
• Leyla
• Aliyeva and Leyla Gafari
• Farid Mammadov
• and this weeks winner! 

I'm expected another Swedish song...

The Netherlands: "Birds" was available back in 2011!

Anouk's killer song was released back in 2011, well not released, but she sung a section of it on a live radio station! Listen here (at 8 minutes).

The EBU changed the rules this year, they state if the song was released before 1st September it's not breaking the rules and still able to enter. On one condition, as long as the song didn't go commercial or make any profits, which Anouk's song clearly didn't! Many German songs were released online before the 1st September but was still able to participate under the new rules. Before hand, all songs released before that date would be disqualified straight away - this has been the norm many times for Belarus and Hungary! The EBU are this very unlikely to disqualify Anouk...

Anouk also confirmed she would not be attending "Eurovision in Concert" which will be held in Amsterdam - She commented that her schedule doesn't allow - around 20 countries are expected to attend but not the hosts - it'll be a shame. Anouk will officially release Birds on 11th March! Here is a snippet she sung the other night, which has been uploaded onto YouTube...

Spain: El Sueño de Morfeo's song to be selected tonight!

¡No puedo esperar! Tonight the Spanish final will take place, in Barcelona, where El Sueño de Morfeo will perform three songs and one will be selected for ESC!

The final decision will be decided by both a jury and televote - I hope they select Contigo Hasta El Final! It's a beautiful song, it would be my favourite this season if chosen. My second choice would be Dame tu voz! The jury will have a 50% say in the final outcome and that consist of Rosa López (Spain 2002), Marco Mengoni (Italy 2013) and José María Iñigo! Regular face, Carolina Ferre, will host the selection show tonight and it's going to start at 22:00 CET!

• Contigo Hasta El Final 
• Dame Tu Voz
• Atrévete

I don;t know what the Spanish will go for, I think it's going to depend on the live performances! Pastora Soler will be the guest of honour tonight, ¡Buena Suerte! Enjoy ESDM's offerings... ^^

Germany: Expert's opinion says "Glorious" is not plagiarism!

At last we can put this debate to bed - I'm fed up of everyone saying it's a copy when it's clearly not! NRD, the German broadcaster, called in plagiarism expect Matthias Pogoda to see weather Glorious really is a copy of Loreen's Euphoria!

She concluded that both songs are similar but there is no plagiarism here - thank god! After Cascada won the German national final, a couple of weeks ago, a German newspaper stated that the song was a clear copy of last years Swedish winner! I think it's a good idea NRD decided to get an expert opinion - now all this controversy can hopefully be put to bed! Pogodoa confirmed...

"Glorious’ and ‘Euphoria’ are merely similar in style and there are no copyright concerns"

Enjoy the acoustic version...

Source -NRD

Georgia: GPB to present "Waterfall" this week!

GPB, the official Georgian broadcaster, have confirmed that they will release Waterfall this week - as the video-clip will be aired on Georgian TV!

Sopho and Nodiko will be guests at the Armenian national final on March 2nd, so it's likely we will hear the Georgian track on Thursday or Friday - before the perform it live! The song has been written by Thomas G.son, so it's going to be good! They do look rather promising and I'm looking forward to hearing their entry! The video-clip has been recorded in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi! 

They want you to wote for them in 2030... LOL!

A few weeks ago, a snippet of the song was released....

Montenegro: "Igranka" will be presented 14th March!

A photograph from the music-video...

The Montenegrin duo "Who See" will present Igranka to the world on March 14th! The video-clip is siad to be one of the biggest productions ever made in Montenegro, with a total of 150 people being used...

Igranka has a positive message and has been recorded in Belgrade, Serbia - it's said to be uptempo, happy with dubstep influences. "Who See" will present their song through a televised show, like Rambo Amadeus did last year. Montenegro have never qualified for the grand final, could they this year? I would be nice to seem them in the final and "Who See" did promise they would do there best to achieve that!

The duo will be joined with Nina Žižić on stage in Malmo! I wish them the best of luck and I am rather looking forward to hearing their offering...

The Netherlands: Snippet of "Brids" released!

Birds... <3

Anouk has presented us with a quick snippet of Birds! She performed 50 seconds of Birds at a charity concert in Utrecht ahead it's official presentation on 11th March!

We didn't hear the music for it, just her vocal - which was perfect as always! I'm not sure what to think of it... It's sounds good but to make a final judgement we need to hear the full version of it! It's clear now that the  song is going to be a rock ballad - like most of her work - and I can't wait! The official presentation will be held through a press conference in two weeks time...

Anouk released this through her Facebook page the other day...

"I just heard that my producer Tore thinks our song is too good to win the Eurovision songfestival. Is that even possible? Have Faith young Skywalker! The force is strong with this one :-) By The way the song is called Birds and not Birds Falling Down.Have a Magnificent Day!"

She believes it can win the contest, unlike her manager, will it? Time will only tell! Take a listen to the snippet below...

Hungary: Eight finalists selected, Veca Janicsák didn't make it!

Another semi final concluded last night in Hungary! Both of my favourites,Veca Janicsák and Mohamed Fatima, didn't pass...

The Hungarian selection has been long and at times rather depressing but now we know the eight finalists which will take part in the final this week... Apparently, the results last night proved quite controversial over in Hungary! The final will take place March 2nd!

 Veca Janicsák, the big favourite, received 36 points from the jury and she didn't get enough votes to make it into the final either! It's a shame - but I hope Hungary will know choose Radics Gigi! Here is the final line-up...

• Agárdi Szilvi-Pál Dénes – Szíveddel láss
• ByeAlex – Kedvesem
• Radics Gigi – Úgy fáj
• Tamás Vastag – Holnaptól
• Kállay-Saunders – My Baby
• Keresztes Ildikó – Nem akarok többé játszani
• Rácz Gergő – Csak állj mellém
• Cserpes Laura – Élj pont úgy

 I wouldn't mind seeing this win now...

Romania: Finalists known!

The second semi final was held last night in Romania and we know we have 12 finalists (pretty dull ones...).

I didn't see the show last night, but all the good songs are in the first semi! Andrei Leonte's Paralyzed seems to be going down very well but I think it's horrible! I would hate the Romanians to send it... I'm now routing for Electric Fence - they deserved to win last year and they should do this year too! It's going to be an interesting final - that's going to take place 9th March!

The finalist...

• Narcis Iustin Ianău: “Seven”
• Elena Cârstea Muttart: “Spinning”
• Ovidiu Anton: “Run away with me”
• Cristian Prăjescu: “The best thing in life is to love”
• Al Mike feat. Renee Santana: “What is love”
• Andrei Leonte: “Paralyzed”
• Casa Presei – Un refren
• FreeStay – Criminal mind
• Luminița Anghel – Unique
• Cezar – It’s my life
• Electric Fence – Emilia
• Tudor Turcu – Hello

This life's.... UNIQUE!

Russia: "What If" premiered officially!

The Russian entry has just been released ahead of it's official premiere this evening. You can listen to it here...

Dina Garipova's song will for sure receive criticism but I really like it, I didn't know what to expect but I didn't think it would be this good! The ballad is is penned by Gabriel Alares, Joakim Björnberg and Leonid Gutkin. From whats been selected so far - this will do VERY well come May! But... it would've been nice to hear this in Russian rather than just plain English! This is what Dina had to say about What If...

This song makes you think about how much depends on us - tender and at the same time, strong music underlines every word. I am happy that I have the honour to represent our country with this song. I hope it will touch the hearts of those who hear it.

Dina's participation was confirmed last week as she won the Russian version of The Voice. A contender for victory? Maybe! Хороший выбор России...

Update - It's now been released officially but... is this plagiarism???

Albania: New version of "Identitet" to be made public 5th March!

Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko have been working really hard on shooting the video-clip for Identitet and it's going to be released March 5th!

They have also made a new version of the song, it's been recorded in Sweden, and has been cut down to three minutes! They also said it's likely to stay in Albanian, which is great news, as I don't think it would work in English. A journalist for RTSH,  Sava Lena, said...

The recording of the Albanian entry at Eurovision 2013 took place in the last days. Only the final finishing touches need to be done by  the recording company. On 5 March 2013 the video clip of Identitet will be premiered on TV and on the internet media. At the same time people will get to listen to the new version of the Albanian entry which is a bit different from Festivali i Këngës. This will be the first time that Albania will be represented by a hard rock song at Eurovision

Enjoy the original...

Romania: Natalia Barbu didn't qualify!

Romania kicked of their selection tonight - it was a great show and I'm mostly pleased with the results but... Natalia Barbu didn't make it! WTF?!

I loved that song! I know she looked nervous tonight (and sounded it) but she did a great job - that song was perfect for ESC! But Electric Fence advance so all is not lost, they are my favourites now! Luminița Anghel gave a faultless vocal performance and I wouldn't be surprised if she won now - but they need to make the performance stand out, it was pretty bland!

Tomorrow is the second semi final, where 16 acts will battle for four places in the final! For now, check out tonight's qualifiers...

• Casa Presei – Un refren
• FreeStay – Criminal mind
• Luminița Anghel – Unique
• Cezar – It’s my life
• Electric Fence – Emilia!
• Tudor Turcu – Hello

Oh, why do they need FOUR presenters? It makes no senses  The grand final is due for 9th March. I loved her, shame she didn't make it... *SIGHS*

Goodnight!

Estonia: Five more acts qualify!

Five more acts have made the grand final over in Estonia - the standard was OK but last week was much better, for me anyway! Birgit Õigemeel was my favourite from tonight...

Apparently the voting was very tight, and I didn't watch it but judging from the preview clips - there's nothing special! Grete Paia or Winney Puhh should win still, luckily they both made it last week! I will catch up with this semi tomorrow...

It would be amazing if Winney Puhh won and represented Estonia, I'm not sure if Estonia would go for them but it would defiantly stand out in May! Tonight's qualifiers...

• Liisi Kõikson ja Söörömöö – Üle Vee
• Birgit Õigemeel – Ut Uus Saaks Alguse
• Rasmus Rändvee ja Facelift Deer – Dance
• Rolf Roosalu – With U
• Põhja-Tallinn – Meel On Aega Veel

The final is 2nd March, same day as Hungary's and Armenia's national finals! I love it... ^^

Sweden: Ulrik Munther and Ralf Gyllenhammar qualify!

Ulrik Munther and Ralf Gyllenhammar have both qualified to the grand final! I'm haven't really seen much of Melodifestivalen this year but I was impressed with Ulrik!

I think Ulrik Munther is going to represent Sweden... in Sweden! His song is by far the best - it's very nice indeed! I also liked Ralf Gyllenhammar - what a great performance for an average song! Behrang Miri and Robin Stjernberg both advanced to Andra Chansen, nothing special there!

I'm rather disappointed with Melodifestivalen this year - ah well! Oh, Army of Lovers came 6th and I'm not shocked, they sucked! Here are the results...

Finalen: Ulrik Munther
Finalen: Ralf Gyllenhammar
Andra chansen: Behrang Miri
Andra chansen: Robin Stjernberg
5th: Terese Fredenwall
6th: Army of Lovers
7th: Sylvia Vrethammar
8th: Lucia Piñera

Ulrik's song from last year (SVT are bound to take down his effort from tonight!)!

Croatia:" Mižerja" has been recorded in Bologna!

The Croatian entry has been recorded and the finishing touches were made in Bologna, Italy! "Super Klapa" worked with Luca Bignardi, top Italian producer, to make the song more powerful and have more impact...

Croatia decided to go traditional after several years of failing to make the final - which I think was a great choice! Nikša Bratoš, the producer of Mižerja (Sadness), commented why they wanted help from the Italian producer and why it was so important to make the song stand out yet stay traditional! He also stated...

The Italian producer was the best solution as he understands our Mediterranean spirit! I'm very satisfied with the final sound of the song. We've got that big sound the sound of the powerful orchestra and the most important – powerful vocals.

We will hear the song Wednesday 27th February - same day as FYR Macedonia! Oh, remember there are about four semi finals taking place tonight! Stay Tuned! ^^

Ireland: Ryan Dolan wins the Irish selection!

Ryan Dolan won last night with Only Love Survives! He will thus represent the Emerald Isle in Malmo - the show was good last night but so predictable...

I enjoyed it and I'm rather satisfied with the result but I hope they chance the staging for Malmo - his vocal was very good, surprisingly! Aimée came a respectable second, I wouldn't of minded seeing her win - she was great! Inchequin came joint last - I didn't think they would win but last? Son Kez was so great!

The Late Late Show was late late and didn't end until midnight (British time) and the jury made several mistakes when talking about past participants - they're clearly not ESC fans like they say they are LOL!! Here are the results from last night...

1. Ryan Dolan – 112 points
2. Aimee Fitzpatrick – 104 points
3. Kasey – 76 points
4. Inchequin – 54 points
5. Zoë Alexis – 54 points

Will Ireland qualify in May? I think so but I can't see it making top 10 or anything... 

Spain: Listen to the full versions here!

Me encanta! TVE, the Spanish broadcaster, has finally released the songs ready for next week's national final! El Sueño de Morfeo (ESDM - as they're now calling themselves) have made three masterpieces...

You can listen here! The threesome have worked hard on these songs ready for ESC! I'm hoping Contigo Hasta El Final will win, it's beautiful! Then again, I wouldn't be disappointed with the other two tracks at all, I'm sure the Spanish will choose wisely - ESDM, destino Eurovision will be held 26th February!

Raquel has commented in an interview that she's looking forward to having the song chosen so she can prepare her ESC performance and how everything will look, mainly her wardrobe! The 3 competing songs are...

• Atrévete
• Contigo Hasta El Final
• Dame Tu Voz

The best... <3

The Netherlands: "Birds" to be released March 11th!

It's now official! We will hear the much anticipated Dutch entry on March 11th...

Anouk was the first artist to announce her participation for Malmo, back in October after months of persuading the broadcasters, thankfully! Anouk did inform that her song was a "killer song" but her producer isn't as optimistic... ^^

According to him, Tore Johanson, the song has no chance of winning the contest but Anouk released this through her Facebook page earlier today!

I just heard that my producer Tore thinks our song is too good to win the Eurovision songfestival. Is that even possible? Have Faith young Skywalker! The force is strong with this one :DBy The way the song is called Birds and not Birds Falling Down.Have a Magnificent Day!

Have a magnificent day yourself, Anouk! <3

Armenia: Over 70 songs received for Gor Sujyan's selection!

It's just only a week away until the Armenian song will be chosen through a televised national final, and AMPTV has received over 70 songs for that! In January, Gor Sujyan was confirmed as the Armenian representative - much to my delight!

Both foreign and domestic songwriters have sent their work into the broadcaster! Gor has so much potential and I'm sure Armenia will return with an amazing beautiful song, I hope so anyway! The winning song will be decided audience and jury. The final is due for 2nd March - which is going to be a rather busy night with Estonia and Hungary choosing their entry too! Gor wanted his band to perform with him in Malmo but AMPTV said no, thankfully - I'm pleased he'll be alone!

Good luck Armenia! This is what they participated with last time...

Russia: "What If" to be released this Sunday!

Dina Garipova won The Voice Russia and thus the Russian broadcaster selected her to represent the country in Malmp - this was only announced earlier this week! Her song, What If, which was written by some Swedes will be released Sunday 24th February!

We will hear it at 18:00 CET  (21:00 local time) on Воскресное Время - which is a Russian TV program! I'm looking forward to hearing it, she is a great singer! Yesterday, I saw this on SoundCloud - the clip is advertised as the Russian entry but it's actually a Chiara's song from 2009 - What If We? Very weird! Anyway, we will hear it on Sunday and we know she can sing live so there's no worries there!

One of her great covers...

Ireland: Who will get the ticket to Malmo?

Tonight Ireland selects their representative for Malmo! Five songs, pretty good ones, are competing tonight and I'm looking forward to it...

Now the Irish entry will be chosen on The Late Late Show, like every year, and Lordi is due to perform! Well, we havn't heard anything from them since 2006 so it'll be nice to see them again! The final outcome will be decided by a jury and televote!

I'm hoping Ryan Dolan will win, if not him then Aimée Fitzpatrick or Zoe would be nice too! They are all good, and miles better than Jedward anyway so I'll be pleased with whatever wins! It would be interesting if Inchequin represent Ireland, with Turkey missing this year it'll be nice to hear some Turkish and they are winning most online polls - a sign?

Here are the participants...

• Kasey – “Kiss Me” 
• Inchequin – “Son Kez/The Last Time”
• Aimée Fitzpatrick – “Crashing Down”
• Zoe Alexis – “Fire” 
• Ryan Dolan – “Only Love Survives”  

Take a listen underneath...

Good luck Ireland...

FYR Macedonia: Esma and Vlatko are planning a big promotional tour!

Esma Redzepova and Vlatko Lozanoski, the Macedonian representatives, will be guests at the Bulgarian and Armenian national finals - which are all due to be held next weekend. They will also visit The Netherlands and Albania - for promotional purposes!

Their song, Империја (Empire), will be revealed next Wednesday through a special show - it's described as a beautiful and dramatic song yet catchy. It's been composed Simeon Atanasov, Dejan Momirovski and Madison Necovska. I think this is going to be unique, it'll be like a mix of two generations coming together for music, they are both respected artists in Macedonia! It will be hard to follow Kaliopi though...

Esma Redzepova is known as the gypsy queen of music... <3 

The Netherlands: Anouk to sing "Birds Falling Down" in Malmo!

The Dutch song is going to be called Birds Falling Down. According to Tore Johanson, Anouks producer, the song is not winning material but it's original! The song wasn't written especially for the contest, it's going to be included on her new album - to be released in May. This news came rather unexpectedly.

 Anouk's producer went on to say...

It is nice and big, but chanceless for victory. It’s complicated music with many chords. Not the kind of song that wins the contest. It’s written to be good, not to win the contest. It was Anouk who came up with the idea to use it for the song contest.

Maybe this is a clever move - maybe the song is winning material but they don't want to big it up, like France 3 did with Anggun last year! We will hear Birds Falling Down in March - I can't wait!

*Update (22/02) - Anouk has confirmed herself that the song is called Birds! She also commented... 

I just heard that my producer Tore thinks our song is too good to win the Eurovision songfestival. Is that even possible?  Have Faith young Skywalker! The force is strong with this one :-)  By The way the song is called Birds and not Birds Falling Down. Have a Magnificent Day!  

 It is likely to be released 11th March (not official)...   

Spain: Marco Mengoni joins the Spanish jury!

Marco Mengoni, the Italian representative, has announced through his Twitter page that he will be part of the Spanish jury - which will have a 50% say when Spain selects their entry, next week.

El Sueño de Morfeo will perform three songs on 26th February and the best one, hopefully, will go to Malmo! The outcome will be decided by the Spanish televote and a professional jury. I am hoping Contigo Hasta El Final will win - it's just beautiful! I also like the other two songs, and I think the Spanish will choose Atrévete. The Italian entry will be revealed in March - it's likely to come from Marco's new album and it's unlikely to be his Sanremo song. Viva ESDM!

One of these will be selected next Tuesday:

• “Atrévete”
• “Contigo hasta el final”
• “Dame tu voz”

Update - This has been confirmed officially by the Spanish broadcaster. He will be joined with Rosa and José María Iñigo!