OGAE Second Chance Contest 2014: Helena Paparizou wins!

The OGAE Second Chance Contest is a competition organised by OGAE to select the best song which failed to make Eurovision. This is held every year and this years winner was Helena Paparizou. As you all remember, she tried to represent Sweden with Survivor. She received a whopping 259 points. Brequette came a very respectable 2nd place and the lovely Catarina Pereira from Portugal managed to achieve 3rd. The full results:

01. Sweden: Helena Paparizou - Survivor (259 points)

02. Spain: Brequette - Más (Run) (253 points)

03. Portugal: Catarina Pereira - Mea Culpa (197 points)

04. Israel: Mei Finegold - Be Proud (149 points)

05. Denmark: Michael Rune feat. Natascha Bessez - Wanna Be Loved (136 points)

06. Norway: Linnea Dale - High Hopes (122 points)

07. Finland: Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn Reunalla (79 points)

08. France: Joanna Lagrave - Ma Liberté (63 points)

09. Greece: Krystallia - Petalouda Stin Athina (62 points)

10. Albania: Klodian Kacani - Me Ty (58 points)

11. Germany: MarieMarie - Cotton Candy Hurricane (57 points)

12. Belarus: Daria - Starlight (45 points)

13. Ireland: Eoghan Quigg - The Movie Song (41 points)

14. Romania: Anca Florescu - Hearts Collide (38 points)

15. Hungary: Bogi - We All (32 points)

16. Iceland: Ásdís María - Amor (31 points)

17. Lithuania: Mia - Take A Look At Me Now (23 points)

18. Slovenia: Muff - Let Me Be Myself (20 points)

19. Belgium: 2 Fabiola feat. Loredana - She's After My Piano (16 points)

20. Malta: De Bee - Pin The Middle (1 point)

Poor Malta. Many of these songs did feature on my Wishlist series :-)

Missed Opportunities 2014: Spain!

Mira quién va a Eurovisión was one of my favourite selections of the 2014 national final season.. I actually liked all the songs - my favourite was the winning song, but who else would have been a worthy Spanish representative?

La Dama - Estrella Fugaz
La Dama was certainly the underdog of the competition and unfortunately she came last - but this blogger has always had a soft spot for Estrella Fugaz. I knew she wasn't going to win, though... it's a decent dance track although I feel this would have only achieved about 20th in Copenhagen. Still, I like it! Muy agradable

Brequette - Más
Brequette's live performance was underwhelming and and this would probably have flopped in Eurovision - but Más was such an amazing song! I loved Brequette's voice. She was the juries favourite to represent Spain however the Spanish public preferred Ruth and therefore she was declared the winner instead. The whole Eurovision fan community was either #TeamRuth or #TeamBrequette on Twitter that night! Great memories! The song was composed by Thomas G:son and Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson. G:son also composed Euphoria, Quédate conmigo and Waterfall. 

NuVidz: Coldplay, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Brequette, Getter Jaani & Koit Toome!

 A Sky Full Of Stars is Coldplay's latest anthem. They have achieved almost five million hits on YouTube in seven days. #Impressive! The lovely Sophie Ellis-Bextor has recently released Love Is A Camera. The video-clip is very Gothic and it also features the singer as a eerie temptress. Sophie is dressed in a black lace-trimmed gown. It's the third single from Sophie's most recent album, Wanderlust. Brequette didn't quite get to represent Spain in Eurovision but she has been working on her debut album. Puzzle Together is the first single from this upcoming album. A funky tune. I like it. Getter Jaani, the 2011 Estonian representative, and Koit Toome have teamed up to create Rannamaja. This blogger loves this song. I can't understand a word yet it's one of my favourite songs at the moment! Getter Janna has recently hinted in an interview that she might consider returning to Eurovision again..

Spain: Televoting results announced!

There has been lots of controversy and outrage this week as Brequette didn't win.. many believe the voting was rigged. Always drama! But anyway, the Spanish broadcaster has revealed a full breakdown of the public vote. Ruth Lorenzo won the televote with 30,97% - hardly a runaway victory, is it? But I'm still really happy that Ruth won! Brequette was 2nd with Jorge following her very closely. Here are the results:

1. Ruth Lorenzo – Dancing In The Rain 30,97% 
2. Brequette – Más 27,40%
3. Jorge González - Aunque se acabe el mundo 25,34%
4. Raúl – Seguir sin ti 9,36% 
5. La Dama – Estrella fugaz 6,93% 

Spain: Ruth Lorenzo wins!

HELL YEAH! After an amazing show, the lovely Ruth Lorenzo stormed to victory in Spain! The best choice, without a doubt... Brequette won the jury vote and Ruth Lorenzo won the televote so there was a tie. But the rules stated that in the event of a tie, the televote would decide the outcome... so therefore Ruth will fly the Spanish flag in Eurovision.

Dancing In The Rain is a beautiful song and I am so happy for Ruth. She defiantly deserves it... her voice is ridiculously good. Brequette was okay but you could tell the nerves got her. Shame. La Dama came last which was totally undeserved!! Here is tonight's results:

1. RUTH LORENZO 66
2. BREQUETTE 66
3. JORGE GONZÁLEZ 48
4. RAÚL 42
5. DAMA 36

Could Ruth go all the way in Copenhagen? Maybe... it's a contender.

Spain: National final tonight!

Ahead of tonight's national final, I thought I'd decide to review the finalists. Who will win? Will it by one of the favorites? Or could we be in for a surprise?

Brequette – Más (Run)
Brequette seems to be the biggest favourite! "Mas (Run)" is a strong ballad and it is very powerful indeed. I would not be surprised to see this win at all. I also love the crossover between English and Spanish. This will probably win but I think Ruth is Brequette's biggest competition. I still have a feeling this will come up on top though. Plus I'm sure she'll be great vocally.. and that big note is fantastic. Her song was composed by Thomas G:son. 10/12

La Dama – Estrella Fugaz
La Dama could actually be a dark horse in this competition. But maybe her song isn't strong enough for the Eurovision stage but I really like it anyway. Although her draw isn't great.. I can't help thinking this would benefit from a revamp in English. A very nice song indeed. 7/12

Ruth Lorenzo – Dancing In The Rain
My favourite! Tonight's selection is without a doubt a two horse race between Ruth and Brequette. Ruth's voice is fantastic and I have always wanted to see her in Eurovision. I guess the outcome will be decided by whoever performs the best. She does have a lot of fans and the jury will probably appreciate it... I didn't like it much at first but the revamped version is much better. I la la love it! Although many people will be very unhappy if Brequette doesn't win... 12/12

Jorge González – Aunque Se Acabe El Mundo
A nice summer tune. This won't win but it's very nice to listen nevertheless. Jorge said in an interview somewhere that the song is about having fun even in these tough economic times.. I'm interested to see this on stage- hopefully it won't be ruined by a tacky performance. 6/12

Raúl – Seguir sin ti
#BORING! This is very old fashioned and incredibly boring.. I can't see this winning tonight and I hope he doesn't win. The weakest song in this selection for me. I don't hate it but I don't really like it either. 3/12

Good luck, Spain! :-)

Copenhagen 2014: What's happening tonight?!

Tonight is going to be rather hectic because Spain, Latvia and Hungary will hold their nationals finals - and therefore three more acts for Eurovision 2014 will be selected tonight. Tijana Dapčević will also reveal her song for FYR Macedonia, too. And there's even more from Sweden, Lithuania and Italy. Check out what's happening below...

SPAIN

The Spanish representative will be decided by a mix of jury and televote. I'm going to be concentrating on Spain tonight as there are two songs in the running that I adore...Ruth and Brequette! They are both my favourites. I'd be delighted to see either of them win and I also like La Dama's offering but I doubt it'll be strong enough for Eurovision. The jury consists of David Bustamante, Merche and Mónica Naranjo. "Mira quién va a Eurovisión" will take place in Barcelona at 22:00 CET. These are the acts:

1. Brequette – Más (Run)
2. La Dama – Estrella Fugaz
3. Ruth Lorenzo – Dancing In The Rain
4. Jorge González – Aunque Se Acabe El Mundo
5. Raúl – Seguir sin ti

LATVIA 

I'm really excited about this. 12 songs are in the running to represent Latvia in Copenhagen... and the line-up is very strong. I really want Samanta Tina to win. <3 she's winning many online polls and came 2nd last year. Could it be hear time? Dons is also great - and  I also like Olga and Līgo, Aarzemnieki and Katrine Lukins. The show will kick of at 20:25 CET. Fingers crossed for Samanta :-) here are tonight's hopefuls:

1. Ralfs Eilands and Valters Puce – Revelation
2. Markus Riva – Lights On
3. Katrina Bindere — Moment and Tomorrow
4. Dons — Pedeja vestule
5. Samanta Tina — Stay
6. Niko – Here I Am Again
7. MyRadiantU – Going All the Way
8. Olga and Ligo – Saule riet
9. Aminata Savadogo – I Can Breathe
10. Aarzemnieki – Cake To Bake
11. EiroSmits – If I Could (Get Away)
12. Katrine Lukins – You Are The Reason

HUNGARY 

Another country selecting their entrant tonight is Hungary. Eight finalists have qualified through heats and semi finals.. and I believe Kállay-Saunders András should win. And he probably will! The jury seem to love him. But Bogi seems very popular too.. maybe she will win? "A Dal" has been fantastic this year - a really strong selection. One of these will fly the Hungarian flag in Copenhagen:

• Király Viktor - Running Out Of Time
• Bogi - We All 
• New Level Empire - The Last One 
• Depresszió - Csak a zene 
• Kallay-Saunders András - Running 
• Fool Moon - It Can’t Be Over 
• Pál Dénes - Brave New World 
• Honeybeast - A Legnagyobb Hős

FYR MACEDONIA

Tijana Dapčević will reveal her song for Copenhagen tonight. No details regarding the song have been announced and this blogger cannot wait to hear it. I've got a feeling Tijana's song will be amazing. "Pobeda" has been announced as the songs title which translates to "Victory" although this isn't official. 

ANYTHING ELSE?

Yep! The 64th edition of Sanremo will come to an end tonight. This blogger wants either Giusy Ferreri or Arisa to win. Melodifestivalen will also take place where Anton Ewald, Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing will be competing for a place in the final! Lithuania will hold their semi-final too where one act will be eliminated ahead of next weeks final.. Azerbaijan and Belgium will also continue their selections tomorrow evening!

KEEP IT HERE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES TONIGHT!

Spain: Rehearsals underway!

Spain is one of the countries that are selecting their representative for Copenhagen tomorrow night - and rehearsals have been taking place today. Ruth Lorenzo has been promoting her song, as she performed it live on a TV show this morning. You can watch that here! Who would you like to see win? I'm torn between the lovely Ruth and Brequette! :-)

Spain: Remastered versions online!

WOW! The Spanish broadcaster has released the final versions of the songs that'll compete in Saturday nights final. I want Ruth to win now! When Ruth's song came out a couple of weeks ago, I was a little underwhelmed, however she's remastered it and it's brilliant! I love it. It would be fantastic to see her represent Spain.. Raúl has also revamped his song but it's still rather dull. The other three remain the same.

The Spanish final will take place on Saturday! I've heard La Dama will be alone one stage - and so will Brequette. Ruth is going to be joined by five girls although it's unclear if they are dancers or backing vocalists - they'll probably be baking vocalists. You can buy "Dancing in the rain" tomorrow on iTunes... although you can already pre-order it here.

UPDATE - The running order has also been revealed:

1. Brequette – Más (Run)
2. La Dama – Estrella Fugaz
3. Ruth Lorenzo – Dancing In The Rain
4. Jorge González – Aunque Se Acabe El Mundo
5. Raúl – Seguir sin ti

Spain: National final set for 22nd February!

The Spanish national final will take place on 22nd February - and it'll be held in Barcelona. I think all the songs are pretty good to be honest but I'm totally backing Brequette. She's amazing. I'll do a special review of these songs at the weekend.

Latvia and Hungary will hold their national finals that night at FYR Macedonia will premier their entry too. Isn't it exciting? These are the acts:

• Brequette – Run (Más)
• Jorge Gonzáles – Aunque se acabe el mundo
• La Dama – Estrella fugaz
• Raúl – Seguir sin ti
• Ruth Lorenzo – Dancing In The Rain

The winner will be decided by a public televote and professional jury - and the names of the jury will be announced pretty soon.

Spain: Listen to the songs here!

TVE have released the five competing entries - that are in the running to represent Spain in Copenhagen! I'm really impressed. Spain have really upped their game this year. Listen to them here.

I actually like all of the songs but I think the best is Brequette. Her song is brilliant!! I have been listening to it all day... just wow! Ruth's "Dancing In The Rain" is great too, although I'm not sure if the English/Spanish mix works that well. I would rather her sing it completely in Spanish or English. But for some reason it works on Brequette's song. The Spanish national final will probably be held sometime in February although there is no official date, yet. ¡Viva España!

Spain: Five acts to compete in preselection!

TVE, the Spanish broadcaster, has decided to move away from an internal selection and select their representative through a national final.

Raúl, Ruth Lorenzo , Jorge González, La Dama and Brequette will participate. Ruth's song will apparently be an uptempo number and Raúl has tried to represent Spain before with this catchy number! Maybe we will hear some traditional Spanish music this year? I certainly hope so anyway! More information will be revealed pretty soon.

UPDATE - The song titles have been announced:

1. Raul- Seguir sin ti
2. Ruth Lorenzo- Dancing in the rain
3. La Dama- Estrella Fugaz
4. Brequette- Mas- Run
5. Jorge Gonzalez- Auque se acabe el mundo