This is truly shocking... Suzy was robbed yesterday. Her handbag was robbed, which contained ID documents and money. It's also believed a member of the Portuguese delegation had their suitcase stolen, which had promotion material in it. Suzy has said that her spirits have not been dampened and that she's going to enjoy the rest of her Eurovision adventure! :-)
Emma Marrone is one of my favourite Italian artists. I think she's awesome and I really love her voice. Therefore, I was delighted when it was confirmed that she was going to represent Italy in Copenhagen. Emma is massive in Italy and has had a number of domestic hits. La Mia Città was confirmed as Emma's ESC entry in January. It isn't something I expected... I thought Emma would sing a ballad although I was proved wrong! It's nice to see some rock/pop, because there are a number of ballads this year. Emma's voice will stand out in the final. I really want to see Emma achieve a respectable position - top ten would be great. I wouldn't complain if Italy held the 60th anniversary show. Buona fortuna, Emma!
The grand finale of Melodi Grand Prix 2014 was held on 15th March. It featured a number of great songs... My two favourites were Silent Storm by Carl Espen and High Hopes by Linnea Dale. I would have been delighted with either of them winning. It was Carl who eventually won - and the lovely Linnea came a very respectful 2nd. Carl Espen (aged 31) used to be a carpenter and has done a lot of volunteer work for cancer research. His performance in the Norwegian selection was very good, and hopefully he's improved even more for Copenhagen!
In 2013, Anouk was the first Dutch act to qualify for the grand final since 2004 - which was brilliant and very beneficial, as other big names from The Netherlands are now willing to do Eurovision. Consequentially, The Common Linnets were announced as the Dutch representatives back in November 2013. The duo consists of Ilse DeLange, and Waylon. Ilse DeLange is a household name in The Netherlands. She's one of my favourite Dutch artists, and has been on the music scene since 1998. I'm delighted she's finally going to Eurovision. Waylon is country/pop singer - who has tried to represent his country before, in 2005 although he wasn't successful. The band wasn't just created for Eurovision, but because they were working on a new album in America. Calm After The Storm was released on 13th March. I love the Dutch entry. It's one of my favourites and I really hope to see The Netherlands qualify. This is quality music and it deserves to be in the final. 
Aram Mp3 was announced as the Armenian representative on 31st December - and the song he'll perform in Copenhagen, Not Alone, was released in March. Armenia will open the first semi-final. Although this doesn't matter whatsoever, Armenia are the main favourites to be victorious in Copenhagen. The song has clocked almost 2.3 million views on YouTube and Armenia are #1 with the bookmakers. I really like the song. The lyrics are great and he does have a good voice. But why is this song the favourite? Don't get me wrong, I like it very much, although I feel there are other songs that are better and stronger... I'm sure Armenia will be top five and it could indeed win. Looking forward to seeing this on stage. 
Firelight won the Maltese national final on 8th February with Coming Home. It was a strong selection. Favourites of mine included Jessika, Davinia and De Bee. I didn't really appreciated De Bee's song until after the selection.. she came 2nd and would have been an awesome Maltese representative. It was such an unusual yet charming song. But the winning song is also great. Firelight are a very talented band which consists of Michelle Mifsud, Richard Edward Micallef, Tony Polidano, Daniel Micallef and Leslie Decesare.
Molly has released the official music video of "Children of the Universe". Y'all can watch that here! It's awesome. The video-clip was even featured on Daybreak a few days ago - which is a British TV program. #TeamMolly!
Poland returned, after a two year break, and decided to select their representative internally. Donatan and Cleo were confirmed as the Polish representative on 20th February with the song My Słowianie - We Are Slavic. The song is a massive hit in Poland - and even peaked at #2 in the Polish Airplay Charts. The original version of this song has clocked over 40 million views. The video-clip itself has caused controversy. The BBC even published an article, as the music video mocks Slavic stereotypes.
Photographs of the stage were today released! It looks great. The cube section has received mixed reactions and I'm not too sure what I think about them at the moment. More photos here!
I was absolutely thrilled when I heard Ruth Lorenzo would participate in the Spanish final...I've been a massive fan ever since she came 5th on The X Factor UK in 2008. The Spanish selection featured five very strong songs. The fans were torn between Ruth and Brequette... I was #TeamRuth although I still absolutely adored Más. Ruth's entry is entitled Dancing In The Rain. The performance she gave in that national final was superb. I'm in love with Ruth and her entry... An official video-clip was released on 14th March and features Italian dancer, Giuseppe Di Bella dancing with Ruth. The video-clip also includes underwater scenes. Additional English lyrics were also added so more people would understand the meaning of the song.
The Slovenian participation was in serious doubt this year - the EBU gave them two extended deadlines to get their finances in order, and thankfully they confirmed their participation on 17th January. It was later announced the Slovenian entry would be chosen through EMA. The national final was held on 8th March where Tinkara Kovač won with Spet/Round and Round. The best song defiantly won. But I also had a little soft spot for Muff's Let Me Be Myself. Tinkara Kovač has tried to represent Slovenia three times already - in 1997, 1999 and 2001. The song has been criticised for the flute comparison to "Only Teardrops", but Tinkara has said that she's been playing the flute before Emmelie de Forest was even born!
Switzerland held their national final on 1st February. Six acts battled for the ticket to Copenhagen - and Sebalter won! Sebalter's Hunter Of Stars was defiantly the best song on offer. I loved Au Paradis by Christian Tschanz, but the live performance was underwhelming. Yasmina Hunzinger came 2nd with I Still Believe. She would have been a worthy Swiss representative but I guess the song wasn't strong enough. 
Cristina Scarlat (aged 33) will represent Moldova in Copenhagen with Wild Soul. She won the Moldovan national final - and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought Boris Covali would have won, but it wasn't his year. There was some controversy surrounding Boris Covali's song choice.... anyway, the national final itself was rather weak. My favourite was "Wild Soul" but Forever by Edict was also a great song - and that would have made a great entry for Moldova.
András Kállay-Saunders won the Hungarian selection process with Running. The song has been a firm favourite to win the contest, before it was even chosen to represent Hungary. It isn't hard to see why people like this. The song is absolutely fantastic. András Kállay-Saunders's vocals in the national final were great - and the performance fitted the song perfectly. He's already tried to represent Hungary before in 2013 with My Baby, where he came 2nd respectively.
Dilara Kazimova has released the Azerbaijani version of her Eurovision entry. Simply stunning. Azerbaijani is such a beautiful language and I really would love to hear it in Eurovision someday. Dilara has very busy promoting her entry - she's spent time in Lithuania and Hungary, where she got the opportunity to meet Vilija Matačiūnaitė and András Kállay-Saunders. She also visited Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago where she attended the Eurovision In Concert event and performed "Start A Fire" live. And here's the Azerbaijani version of "Start A Fire"...
A photograph has emerged of the stage. I think it looks stunning. The blue area is where the participants will go after they've performed... yep, I am really loving this! Remember, rehearsals kick off in a couple of weeks. I'm sure this will come across great on camera. 
The Russian entry has been written and composed by an international team and now it's been revealed Rui Andrade will join the Tolmachevy Sisters on stage as a backing vocalists, who's Portuguese. Rui came 3rd in the Portuguese national final although he still gets the chance to shine in Eurvosion. ;-)
Tijana Dapčević was internally selected to fly the Macedonian flag in August 2013. Expectations were high and in late February, we finally got to hear To The Sky. Some information regarding Tijana's stage performance in Copenhagen has been revealed, we know that Tamara Todevska will be a backing vocalists. Tamara represented FYR Macedonia in 2008 and she is Tijana's sister. Meanwhile, Dimitar Andonovski and Nikola Perevski will also join Tamara as backing vocalists - and there will be a dancer on stage, too! The dancer is Dejan Kolarov.
Vilija Matačiūnaitė won the Lithuanian selection with Attention. A very contemporary entry from Lithuania. Vilija Matačiūnaitė isn't just a songwriter, she's also an actress. The Lithuanian national final started in December 2013 and finally came to an end on 1st March. The final show was even postponed a couple of weeks because of the high ratings. I didn't really follow the Lithuanian national final, however I did manage to watch parts of the final. The final featured the three remaining acts performing the same song - and then the Lithuanians decided which interpretation they preferred.
Söngvakeppnin was held once again to decide the Icelandic entry. This selection was probably one of the weakest this year.. I only liked a couple of entries. My favoutite was Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir with Amor and I also rather enjoyed Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir's entry which was entitled Lífið kviknar á ný. She made the super-final although Pollapönk won with Enga fordóma - which was soon translated to No Prejudice. I don't dislike it, I just think Europe will see this as a joke entry. Maybe it'll be the surprise qualifier? But I hope not... I understand the importance of the message they are conveying but I just think the song itself is terrible. A good message but an awful song. Sorry Iceland, but you are my least favourite this year...
In 2012, Valentina Monetta flew the Sammarinese flag with The Social Network Song although failed to qualify. Then she decided to give it another go with Crisalide (Vola) - and she didn't make it, although she was close. Therefore, Valentina decided to give it another shot this year! She'll perform Maybe in Copenhagen. The song is actually my favourite entry from Valentina - and I really would love to see San Marino in the grand final. Maybe that would encourage other microstates (like Monaco, Luxembourg and Andorra) to return in the near future. She's recently released a new album, entitled Sensibilità.
It's been confirmed that Scott Mills and Laura Whitmore will co-host the BBC's coverage of the semi finals in Copenhagen. She's best known for hosting I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! on ITV2. Here's what the Irish presenter had to say:"I am going to be in Copenhagen doing some bits for BBC Three for Eurovision so that will be pretty cool. It's a tough life!"
Portugal withdrew last year due to financial difficulties however they are back - which is awesome!! The Portuguese entry was chosen through Festival da Canção, and Suzy emerged as the winner with Quero Ser Tua. It was a controversial choice. Following the results, Catarina Pereira and Rui Andrade (who came 2nd and 3rd respectively) raised their concerns about the outcome of the contest. These concerns involved suspicions that Emanuel, the composer of the winning song, influenced the televote in favour of his entry. Anyway, the final itself consisted of five songs. The main favourite was Mea Culpa by Catarina Pereira. I would love to see her fly the Portuguese coulours in Eurovision one year - maybe she'll be selected internally?
Sanna Nielsen won the right to represent Sweden last month - and the song is one of the favourites to win the whole event in Copenhagen, although questions have been raised regarding the lyrics. The grammatically incorrect "Undo my sad" lyric has undergone a slight revamp. Fredrik Kempe penned the song and decided to make a slight changes to the lyrics. The lovely Sanna will now sing "Undo my sad love" as the last line in each chorus. You can listen to the new version here. Will these changes improve Sanna's changes of winning?
Unfortunately, Serbia are not participating this year due to financial problems although it has been confirmed that RTS will broadcaster all three live shows! I really hope they will return next year! The head of press at RTS, Duška Vučinić said:Due to financial reasons, we were not able to send a representative in Copenhagen this year, but I strongly believe that Serbia will return next year. Our hope is to continue our tradition of participating in Eurovision, and to return our national selection, Beosong.
Back in September 2013, it was announced that Russia would hold a national final on 31st December. Although those plans were soon scrapped as the application deadline was extended to 28th February - and therefore the national final was then planned to take place in March. However, it was then decided that Russia would select their representative internally. Due to the political situation surrounding Russia and Ukraine etc. many fans were very eager to hear the Russian entry. The Tolmachevy Sisters were announced as the Russian entrants on 15th March. The song they'll perform in Copenhagen was released a few days later and it entitled Shine. Isn't that an original title? The song was composed by an international team consisting of Philip Kirkorov, Dimitri Kontopoulos, John Ballard, Ralph Charlie and Gerard James Borg.
Paula Seling & Ovi won the Romanian national final on 1st March. The courageous duo are returning in hope to bring the Eurovision trophy to Romania, after they placed a very respectable 3rd place in 2010... Miracle is one of my favourite entries this year. The duo recently performed a traditional version of the song - and it was amazing! Meanwhile, they also performed an acoustic version. #WOW.
Back in January, Mei Finegold was internally selected to fly the Israeli flag in Copenhagen - and what an amazing choice! The song she'll represent Israel with is Same Heart. Defiantly one of my favourites this year. I love the switch between English and Hebrew. However, she hasn't performed this live yet so we have no way of knowing what the stage presentation will be like. The song itself was chosen through a mini-national final, which consisted of three songs. The other songs were Be Proud and Nish'eret iti. But I think the best song was selected!
After endless speculation and rumours it was finally announced that Molly would represent the United Kingdom in Copenhagen with Children Of The Universe. Molly Smitten-Downes is a 27 year-old who was discovered through the BBC Introducing platform - which was set up to discover new talented and unsigned artists. The British entry was revealed on 3rd March, during a special program on the BBC Red Button.
The first ever Eurovision winner, Lys Assia, has revealed her twenty favourite entries from the 2014 contest. She took to Twitter and Facebook to share this. She said that Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Austria and San Marino gave her a special and touching feeling.
Conchita Wurst was chosen to represent Austria in Copenhagen with Rise Like A Phoenix. Conchita Wurst is the drag persona played by Tom Neuwirth. He is not a transsexual. This decision caused controversy, naturally. A Facebook page was set up against her participation - which currently has over 38,000 likes. Petitions were launched in Belarus and Russia, calling for the national broadcasters to edit Conchita's performance out. Oh dear. Some people are still living in the dark ages, aren't they? 
Dziesma, the Latvian national final, featured a number of awesome entries! Latvia selected their representative on 22nd February - where Aarzemnieki won with Cake To Bake. I like it. But Samanta Tina was my ultimate favourite... she's fantastic!! Stay would have been my favourite entry in Copenhagen, if Latvia selected it.. Dons came 2nd with Pēdējā vēstule. A very strong ballad in Latvian - and a domestic hit. I also really liked Revelation and Saule riet.
Axel Hirsoux won over both the Belgian public and an international jury with Mother. The Belgian national final was held on 16th March and Alex received 57.31% of the public vote, in a field of six participants. This is a very strong entry from Belgium. Probably one of their strongest entries ever. I wouldn't say I love it - however I do really like it. His voice is fantastic, the song is a little cheesy though especially the lyrics. Alex has previously entered "The Voice Belgique" - although he was eliminated in the second round.
The official 2014 Eurovision album will be released on Monday 14th April! Eeeeek! The official Eurovision shop is going through maintenance although you can always pre-order the CD on Amazon or Play.com. UK delivery is free. Naturally, the CD will feature all of this years participating songs and it'll also contain the official anthem of the contest - which is "Rainmaker" by Emmelie de Forest.
I wanna have a moustache! France are represented by Twin Twin, after they won the French selection process. The French selection featured three songs. Destan's song was pretty weak - just another clean cut boyband. I did originally love Joanna's entry however after a few listens, it was rather boring and wasn't that strong. Joanna would have probably been bottom five in Copenhagen.. So after two rather pleasant but mainstream (and boring) songs, Moustache defiantly caught everyone's attention. Whether it be for the right or wrong reasons ;-)
Over the moon to announce I’ve just signed an album deal with @warmermusicuk ! Can’t wait to make and share some more music with you all #dreamscancometrue #powertothepeople #childrenoftheuniverse #warnerfam #domgclassof2014
Basim (Anis Basim Moujahid) won Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on 8th March with Cliche Love Song. Denmark is this years' host nation and I predict they will make the top ten with no problems. Basim will perform at #23 in the running-order. I'm not a massive fan of the song. It's pleasant and very sweet although I do feel Denmark had more to offer...
