No more internal selections! The Daily Express reports that the British entry for Stockholm is going to be chosen by the public. According to their report, our entry will be selected by a new talent show similar to The X Factor. Up until November, up and coming (aka unknown) artists will be invited to participate. Hugh Goldmsith, a record label executive who helped take Atomic Kitten, Billie Piper and Blue, will be in charge of the project. Guy Freeman has said:
This year really will be the biggest song search for Eurovision the BBC has ever undertaken. With input from key industry figures and fan associations, plus with the public having the final say we are looking forward to seeing a true People's Eurovision entry representing the UK at next year's competition in Sweden.
This is defiantly a steer in the right direction. The UK has chosen internally since 2011.. It's time to put the decision back in the public's hands. We surely can't do much worse, can we?
Turkey withdrew in 2013 as they was dissatisfied with the rules of the contest - apparently - and are yet to return.. However we could see them back next year! TRT are reportedly discussing the possible return of Turkey. I guess we won't know for sure until the EBU announces the official list of participants however a return is pretty likely according to local press. Interestingly, Turkey's debut was in Stockholm back in 1975.
This morning, SRF launched their online platform where anyone can submit their Eurovision bids. At the end of October, a special jury and the public will decide which ten will make the Expert Check round. This is due to take place in December. The deadline to submit your songs is 26th October. This selection method is proving a little controversial as even though anyone can enter, it's always Swiss singers who advance - with a few exceptions... Ylva & Linda have already submitted a song. And there's also a song entitled People Are People (Refugees Welcome). I wonder how that one will do? :-) Listen to the songs here. Oh, and remember the guys who sung about IKEA? They're back!
The Czech Republic's return last year wasn't enough to persuade the Slovaks as RTVS confirmed that they won't be sending a representative to Stockholm. No surprises..
#Eurodrama. It's been revealed Marta Sánchez recorded Amanecer however soon after decided to reject it. According to those who have heard Marta's version, it was much stronger, different (whatever this means?) and had different lyrics. It was rumoured Loreen even said nej tack to the song back in 2013... Didn't anyone want it? Edurne's version didn't impress as she only came a rather underwhelming 21st place in Vienna earlier this year even though I feel she deserved to do better. Marta has said she wouldn't say no to representing Spain.. will we see her in Stockholm?
This weekend, Catalonia will vote in a regional election to vote for their new president. El Pais, one of Spain's leading tabloids, reports there's a chance we could see Catalonia participate in Eurovision if they ever do get independence. Two pro-independence parties are aiming to make this happen if they get elected. Televisió de Catalunya (TV3) is the biggest broadcaster in the region and to enter Eurovision, they would have to join the ITU and then apply for EBU membership. Could it happen? In 2004, the Andorran broadcaster and Catalonia jointly produced Andorra's entry and viewers in Catalonia had a 50% say in the results. Andorra always performed in Catalan and Catalonia's participation could entice them back. Maybe. I wonder how this one will pan out...
Il Volo's new album is out today and the leading track is L'amore si muove. Thoughts? Meanwhile Malú also released Quiero today and will release her 10th studio album in November. It would be wonderful to see her represent Spain next year. During my time in Tenerife, I kept hearing Me Fui and now I love that song. Yesterday, the incredibly talented Sia presented Alive and the song has almost 1.5 million hits already. If Australia do continue to participate, SBS promised a big name.... and finally, Edurne's new single has an offcial video-clip. Basta.
Armenia's representative is going to be revealed at 17:15 CET on 13th October and it's a girl! Who is she? Lilit Hovhannisyan and Iveta Mukuchyan are tipped but wasn't Iveta heavily rumoured last year? All shall be revealed in a couple of weeks!
...maybe! They can still withdraw up until 10th October but it's more than likely we will see them compete. Yay!! As always, Albania will use Festivali i Këngës to select their representative and the competition is expected to take place in December. Meanwhile Alessandro Capicchioni, San Marino's HoD, has said his country plans to participate however they need to review all options before official confirmation can be made. He also said he wants Andorra and Monaco back. We all do, Alessandro :-)
The deadline for countries to apply for participation was 15th September although it's still possible to withdraw up until 10th October without a financial penalty. Ukraine, Bulgaria and Bosnia & Herzegovina have all expressed an interest to return however Bosnia said this last year so I'm trying not to get too excited... but of course it would be awesome to have 'em back. I am thrilled to see Bulgaria and Ukraine return too. Israel will defiantly participate after some doubts and have been allocated to perform in the 2nd semi final, as the 1st semi clashes with Israel's memorial day.
Portugal, Russia and San Marino all remain silent but are expected to be in Stockholm. Maybe. Interestingly, Montenegro announced a few days ago their participation is uncertain. We still don't know what's happening with Croatia but for some reason, I'm not so optimistic.. even though it's been hinted The Voice winner, Nina Kraljic, could fly the Croatian flag.
Liechtenstein defiantly won't compete due to not having the funds to apply for EBU membership. A shame but I'm not surprised. And then we have Australia. Are the Aussies going to become a permanent fixture.. It would be nice for them to stick around but EUROvision? If they stay, there's going to be uproar. Maybe the EBU will invite someone else? China wants to enter and what about Kazakhstan? Will 2016 be the year they debut? Or someone else? Kosovo? Who knows what's going to happen. There's still so many unanswered questions and lot's of uncertainty. It would be awesome to have a record breaking amount of participants next year.
Ruth Lorenzo is currently participating in Tu cara me suena. The new series kicked off last Friday where Ruth won the show impersonating Lady Gaga. Check out her performance below:
Meanwhile one of Chikilicuatre's backing dancers, Silvia Abril, is competing and last week she was Raffaella Carrá.
Not Dotan, but it's Douwe Bob who will represent The Netherlands. Following lots of speculation last week - Douwe Bob was officially confirmed last night as the Dutch singer. But who is he? Douwe won The Best Singer-Songwriter - a popular Dutch talent show - and specializes in folk and country music. There's lots of potential. Douwe says he's going to Stockholm to win and it's been reported he will most likely compose the song himself. Or maybe Anouk will be involved? His duet with her is pretty damn amazing.
I'm baaack! This morning it was announced the Big Five and Sweden (next years host country) will perform in the semi finals as part of the interval act. Jon Ola Sand said:
It will look so much better to show the Big Five and the host country on the Eurovision Song Contest stage, performing their act as it will be in the Grand Final.
I welcome this decision. These countries will get the same amount of exposure. The only Big Five country to exceed 21st place in 2015 was Italy.... that's if you don't include Australia. More on that later..
The Dutch representative is going to be revealed next month - according to Richard Crommert of the Newspaper De Telegraaf. O’G3NE and Dotan are the most talked about at the moment.. O'G3NE won The Voice and have put their name forward to AVROTORS. This blogger would prefer Dotan though! Soon we will know. Who would you like to see represent the Dutchies in Stockholm?
Young talent Maverick recently came 3rd on The Voice of Spain and has said in an interview with Desprevenidos that he'd love to represent Spain in Stockholm. He also said he would learn a lot and that it's a unique experience. I think Señor López would be a brilliant choice and Spain hasn't sent a guy since 2010... There's potential, don't ya think? :-)
Would you like to see him sing for Spain in Sweden? Or would Marta Sánchez be a better option?
Måns Zelmerlöw is going to host the 61st Eurovision Song Contest, according to Aftonbladet. Apparently the deal is almost complete but there are some formalities yet to be agreed or something. It's believed Måns will be the main presenter and not a greenroom presenter or a guest. Will he host the show alone? More is expected to be revealed very soon..
Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät have announced their plans to split up next year. Pertti Kurikka, the bass player, will turn 60 next year - he's said he wishes to stop music when he turns 60 and focus his efforts elsewhere such as founding a handicrafts club. The rest of the group have therefore decided to call it a day. Also Sami Helle wants to pursue a career in politics too and will run for the Helsinki City Council in 2017. This blogger is still shocked they bombed so bad in Vienna. Their performance was a memorable one, that's for sure...
Smajling Swedes is the first act to be confirmed for Melodifestivalen 2016. The three boys participated in Svensktoppen Nästa, a radio show for unconsidered talents last weekend. Michael Fannon won the show but a special jury preferred Smajling Swedes and therefore they are the ones who will be singing in Melodifestivalen next year. I think they're pretty damn good - judge for yourself here.
The X Factor returned to our screens last week here in the UK - and among the hopefuls aiming to please Simon Cowell and co. was a very familiar face. As y'all recall, Clarissa and Josh Standing performed Top of the World in UMK 2014 hoping to represent Finland. The song was a favourite with the fans however failed to make the top three. Since this, they have gone their separate ways and Josh is now trying his luck on The X Factor with The First Kings. They smashed their first auditions and are already seen as early favourites. Enjoy their audition below:
Some details regarding Malta's upcoming national selection have been revealed. The format remains pretty much the same - with artists having to send two songs instead of just one. The first song must be an original (the song they hope to represent Malta with) and the 2nd a cover, which they will also perform during big reveal show in November. I guess that's gonna be a long night. 40 performances + Mediterranean Bank! Artists must be Maltese and the deadline to submit songs is 30th October. I hope we see Jessika return.
Last week, I was in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Sightseeing, eating waffles, exploring.. where I came across an amazing street musician. Klara with Guitar. I watched her for about 30 minutes and simply had to buy her album. Check out her website here. Wouldn't it be incredible if such a talent represented Belgium next year? :-)
Not a surprise. Andorra has decided not to send an entry to Stockholm and therefore 2016 will mark the the 7th year in a row without an Andorran entry. Monaco has also confirmed they won't participate. I guess sometimes hope does die.
Lisa Angell only managed a disappointing 25th place in Vienna with her chanson - and France hasn't even graced the top 20 since 2011. They even came last in 2014. Quel est le problème? What's the problem? Why isn't France setting the scoreboard alight?
France has an incredible music scene. There are so many fantastic French artists which would be more than suitable for Eurovision. No one can deny France isn't trying out different music genres. 2011: opera, 2012: dance pop, 2013: alternative rock, 2014: pop and 2015: a good old fashioned ballad. It's possible that singing in French is also a problem but I don't buy this. Il Volo sung in their native language and won the televote. Without sounding harsh - France just isn't sending good enough songs. Indila, Kendji Girac and Shy'm are arguably the biggest three names in the French music scene at the moment. All would be incredible representatives for France but big names just aren't interested. Indila has already said she won't participate. Apparently, the French broadcaster want to send a household name to Stockholm as this will increase interest in Eurovision. Time will tell who will get the honour but I hope it'll an act who can do France proud. Tal would be my pick. In hindsight, Lisa's song was just to dull and old fashioned even though this blogger always had a soft spot for it. I want to see France send a big name with a great song. Who knows if they will get it right next year....
Following some homophobic tweets by Mattia, Emma's student in Amici against Tiziano Ferro and Marco Mengoni - Emma's finally spoken out at Rome's GayVillage saying:
I hope that sooner or later someone will find a cure for that terrible illness that is affecting us, homophobia. I'm not one to give advice, because as we all make mistakes in life, but my parents taught me that you never judge the lives of others.
Mägo de Oz are an established Celtic rock band and the groups founder - Txus di Fellatio - has said that representing Spain would be a great pleasure. They continued to say that even though rock music doesn't normally do well in the contest (uh, Lordi?), they want to sing for Spain in Stockholm. Mägo de Oz (Wizard of Oz) also said:
We have three or four years telling our label, Warner, to do everything possible to bring us to Eurovision because we believe that Spain in the Festival needs something new and fresh.
I think they would be both an interesting and daring choice. Maybe Marta Sánchez should team up with Mägo de Oz - now wouldn't that be something? :-)
September 1st. The day where the Eurovision season officially kicks off as any song released today onwards could be a potential Eurovision entry. Sweden and Denmark have already opened submissions with many more countries expected to announce their selection plans.. Roll on I say! I miss the national final season. :-)
The Danes will select their entry for Stockholm on 13th February. As always, DMGP will be used to select Denmark's song and next year the festival will take place in the city of Horsens. It's very unlikely to happen although I'd love to see Medina compete.
