UK: Conchita chats to Lorraine!

Ms Wurst was a special guest on ITV's Lorraine this morning to promote her new album. You Are Unstoppable. It will be released on Friday in the UK. During Conchita's mini interview, Lorraine called her an inspiration and Conchita revealed she never gets tired of singing Rise Like A Phoenix. Watch the interview here.

Russia: Politician says Polina betrayed her country!

Oh My Gawd. What can one say? One of Russia's most vulgar and controversial politicians, Vitaly Milonov, has said that Polina betrayed her motherland. Why? Simply because Polina posted a video on Instagram during the contest kissing Conchita in the greenroom. Conchita congratulated the Russian singer and Polina said Conchita is very intelligent and a fantastic performer. This photo is very symbolic.

She achieved a more than respectable 2nd place in Vienna and even managed to bag Russia's highest number of points ever. Yet Vitaly Milonov has said Polina is a disgrace to her country. Here's a rough translation of his comments towards Polina.... Prepare to be shocked and saddened.

Who gave her the right to represent Russia? She represents only the private media structure, where Christian values are not on the first place. … The results are always falsified, the winner of Eurovision has no relation to talent. … When Russia proclaimed its Christian values and went against the propoganda of sodomy, a bearded pervert in women’s clothes went on to win Eurovision …. 

Why did Gagarina, a married woman, kiss another man? What is so precious in hugging a mentally sick pervert? It was on purpose, because this is a condition of the contest to push a country as deep as possible, excuse me, into Euro-sh*t, using crude ways to affect the teenagers.  I criticised Gagarina’s kiss with this pervert, which she was doing with the name of Russia, but she immediately started arguing with us….

Gagarina became part of the propoganda and she is a traitor of the Motherland – she betrayed Russia for some carpets, medals or something else … so she could become a propogander of Western sodomic values. …

Very sad indeed. But we have to remember this isn't Russia's opinion of Polina. Russia as a whole is not a homophobic country. That's why I don't support people booing Russia in Eurovision. Why punish Polina (and The Tolmachevy Twins last year) because of some small minded politicians? Holding LGBT flags during her performance was much more effective in my opinion.

"We are the world's people, different yet we're the same...' 

Russia: Was Conchita Wurst censored from screen?

The Russians were so close to winning the contest last night which would've caused controversy. And now it appears the Russian broadcast censored Conchita from screen. This is according to Finnish media. More here. Let's see if this turns out to be true and if so, will the EBU do anything about it? I supported Russia's entry last night - this does disappoint me although it doesn't surprise me. Polina didn't censor Conchita and that's why I supported HER. Let's remember this. More to follow in due course I'm sure.... Sigh..

SWEDEN WINS EUROVISION 2015!

Måns Zelmerlöw won the 60th Eurovision Song Contest last night with a very impressive 365 points. Russia and Italy came 2nd and 3rd respectively. Throughout the majority of the voting, Russia's Polina was leading. This blogger would've loved to have seen Polina win. Yeah, it would've caused problems but I just adored her and the song... Her performance was one that touched me. She did a beautiful job. I wouldn't say I disliked the Italian song but I didn't want them to win. However Il Volo did win the televote it seems but the juries only placed them 6th. Hmm.. No doubt this will raise the question - do we need juries?

The Makemakes and Ann Sophie both got the dreaded nil points. Underserved in both cases but especially for Germany.. That song deserved so much better! Don't even get me started on Edurne's placing! Jaja!! Her performance was flawless both visually and vocally but it could've been worse. Electro Velvet only managed 24th. The irony is that I'm rather chuffed with this. We did better than France, Germany and Austria.. even though we didn't really deserve to. What else can one say about last night's results? I'm delighted for Belgium and Latvia. Both countries who rarely do well in the contest but did last night as they sent daring and interesting entries. I think Serbia were a bit overrated. France and Romania a bit underrated. Georgia managed 11th place, which is more than respectable, however Nina has said that she's disappointed. Azerbaijan came 12th. Shocked. Maybe the dancers were too much? Maybe. And Elhaida was 17th. Could've been worse.. I'm proud of her. The Aussies did very well though, didn't they? Now let's wait to see if the EBU invites them back.. I wouldn't complain if they did. The full results can be found here:

As expected, Russia and Sweden won their semi finals. Latvia came 2nd in their semi final. Awesome stuff! Love Injected was brilliant!  Azerbaijan was 10th in the semi final and Malta was 11th. Poor Amber. Switzerland came last - how? Not the greatest song but Melanie deserved more than 4 points.. San Marino was 2nd to last. Czech Republic came 13th. And they would've qualified if it was 100% televote. Oh well. Maybe next year? In the first semi final, Albania just scrapped though and Moldova - yes, Moldova - came 11th. Eeeeek! I would've been so mad if Elhaida lost out to Moldova. Finland came last, but would've made the final with 100% televoting. Macedonia was last with the televote but did manage 15th overall. Sigh. How did Estonia come 10th with the juries in the semi? San Marino's jury even ranked them last. The juries from Montenegro and Macedonia "have been excluded after consultation of PwC, the contest's independent voting observer, and upon the decision of the Executive Supervisor and the Chairman of the Reference Group." Aka something dodgy is going on there....

Overall, it was a fantastic contest once again. Many awesome songs. There were some technical problems during the voting though.. Also correct me if I'm wrong, but is Russia's entry the only one to exceed 300 points and not win? Conchita's performances were excellent and my favourite moment of the contest was this... words cannot describe how beautiful it is! And people boo her?

See y'all in Sweden next year if my bank balance allows. What's another year....

Photos from Eurovision.tv

EUROVISION'S GREATEST HITS: MY THOUGHTS...

(WARNING: IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS - STOP READING!!!!!)

The Hammersmith Apollo played host to Eurovision's Greatest Hits last night and like many hardcore Eurovision fans, I was there!! It was defiantly a night to remember - I had the opportunity to met so many amazing friends and also saw Valentina Monetta. I was standing in the centre of the arena (near the autocue), and fortunately I didn't have anyone too tall in front of me so I had a great view. Yihuu!

The show itself started with Guy Freeman thanking everyone for attending the show - and then he announced Electro Velvet would perform! They won't appear on the live broadcast though unfortunately however it'll be shown on the Red Button or iPlayer or something... Even though I'm not a lover of their song, they did perform it very well indeed. I was impressed - and Bianca especially sounded great live. They could surprise and even Graham Norton said in a year of ballads, there's a good chance the UK will do well. Graham Norton and Petra Mede were both fantastic hosts. One of the many highlights was Petra saying 'I can't wait to see JOHNNY FUCKING LOGAN!'.

Photographs and videos were prohibited during the performances, however I noticed some people failed to abide to these rules. The photos I took was before the show and during the interval. Emmelie de Forest officially opened the show. I've been a massive fan of Emmelie since she won DMGP 2013, so I was super excited to finally see her live - her stage set included smoke, four dancers and several percussionist. She didn't disappoint. Ann Marie David and The Herreys were both next to perform. They were outstanding, especially Ann Marie! Israel's Dana International was 4th to perform. The party really started then! Her vocals were off key at times but who cares? You don't need to sing in tune when your name is Dana International!! The Olsen Brothers's performance was actually one of my favourites. Everyone around me was singing along, dancing, swaying.. magic! I still can't believe that I have finally experience a live Eurovision event. :-)

Brotherhood of Man were incredible. Save All Your Kisses For Me is such an well known and iconic song. I know I keep repeating myself but last night was so fantastic! I'm still buzzing. Rosa from sunny Spain performed her Eurovision entry and a few Spanish classics too. The crowed loved her. Everyone loves her! Riverdance performed before the interval. I'm sorry but their performance did nothing for me.. It was nice to see though. If I had to pick just one performance as my #1 favourite it would be Lordi's! THEY WERE INSANE! Eurovision 2006 was actually the first contest I watched so it brought back so many fond memories. Natasha St Pier looked beautiful in her dark purple dress and gave a wonderful rendition of her song. The backdrop was also gorgeous!

I understand why people hate Russia at the moment. Their anti-gay laws, the invasion of Ukraine, possible invasions elsewhere etc. but that isn't Dima Bilan's fault people!!! The moment Russia was mentioned, the majority of the audience started booing. I didn't boo. Graham Norton said this is not a competition for politics but a celebration of all things Eurovision.. or something along those lines. Some people still booed although then the vast majority cheered. It's going to happen in Vienna too, I just know it will. Poor Polina. Anyway, Dima did perform his songs very well indeed although he was clearly affected by the jeers. Who wouldn't be? It will be interesting to see how the BBC edit the booing. I just think it's sad that he was booed.. I don't wish to go into politics but I do feel Dima was unfairly treated. He shouldn't get booed just because of his country. I just felt sorry for Dima.

Bobbysocks from Norway and Nicole from Germany were truly enjoyable too. Loreen was incredible! Her performance was pretty weird actually but in a good way. The audience went insane. I am really looking forward to seeing the live performances on Friday. Lys Assia made a special appearance where Graham carried out a small interview with her. This blogger still wonders if Lys return to Eurovision on day.. Johnny Fucking Logan (Petra's words, not mine!) was the penultimate act to perform singing various Irish classics. I heard someone near me say "omg doesn't he look old now!" LOL! And then the official queen of Eurovision closed the show... CONCHITA! The crowd continued clapping and clapping for about five minutes non stop.. in the end, a stage manager had to get her off her podium as Conchy was lapping up every moment and rightly so. Love her. I did feel a tad emotional after watching her perform. It was very special. The show closed with all the acts, apart from Loreen, singing Hallelujah and Waterloo.. It was the best night of my life! Watching so many great performances, the atmosphere, exploring London, meeting new and old friends however the highlight without a doubt was meeting Valentina Monetta... :-)

TOMORROW: EUROVISION'S GREATEST HITS!

London will play host to the 60th Anniversary Concert for Eurovision tomorrow night. I'll be there - meeting some amazing friends and having an awesome time. It will be the first time I've ever been to a Eurovision related event live so I am really excited. Tomorrow's line-up includes...

• Brotherhood of Man (United Kingdom 1976)
• Anne-Marie David (Luxembourg 1973 and France 1979)
• Nicole (Germany 1982)
• Herreys (Sweden 1984)
• Bobbysocks (Norway 1985)
• Johnny Logan (Ireland 1980 and 1987)
• Riverdance (Interval Act 1994)
• The Olsen Brothers (Denmark 2000)
• Natasha St- Pier (France 2001)
• Rosa López (Spain 2002)
• Lordi (Finland 2006)
• Dima Bilan (Russia 2006 and 2008)
• Dana International (Israel 1998 and 2011)
• Loreen (Sweden 2012)
• Emmelie De Forest (Denmark 2013)
• Conchita Wurst (Austria 2014)

Stay tuned for my thoughts etc. from the show on Wednesday :-)

NuVidz: Conchita Wurst, Alexa Feser, Dinah Nah, Loreen!

The national final season is almost over, so I thought it's time to take a look at some recent releases! Here are some of my favourite songs at the moment...

The unofficial queen of Eurovision, Conchita Wurst, has released a new song. You Are Unstoppable. It seems Conchita will perform this song during Eurovision in May. I love it! Will this also be included on the official Eurovision album? Like Rainmaker was last year... Maybe. Germany's national final is one we're going to remember for very long time; mainly due of Andreas, the winner, giving his title to runner-up Ann Sophie. But let's not forget the amazing Glück by Alexa Feser. It's a gorgeous song. Meanwhile, Dinah Nah may have come last in Melodifestivalen last night but Make Me deserved to do so much better. Great song... and finally, Loreen's new single! This blogger adores Paper Light (Higher) - watch her perform it at Melodifestivalen here. An interesting choice of outfit to say the least ;-)

60th Anniversary Special: BBC to host 'Eurovision’s Greatest Hits’

Well it's official. Ken Bruce announced on his BBC Radio 2 show that the 60th Anniversary Show will indeed be held in London, as previously rumoured. The show will be held in London’s Eventim Apollo Hammersmith on 31st March. It will be broadcast shortly after however an exact date for that is to be confirmed. Graham Norton and Petra Mede will host the show. Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 11:15 CET. Three acts have already been revealed. Conchita Wurst, Herreys and Natasha St-Pier will all make a special appearance. More acts will be announced throughout the week! 

Photo and source - BBC 

Austria: Conchita's 2015 national final diary!

Last years Austrian winner, Conchita Wurst, will appear in several upcoming national finals. Tomorrow night she will be a special guest in the Swiss national final. It's also been confirmed that she will attend Melodifestivalen on 8th March. And if that wasn't enough, Conchita will also open Unser Song für Österreich on 5th March. Meanwhile the
hashtag #ConchitaSanremo2015 clearly worked as she will perform Heroes at Sanremo during the 2nd night of the prestigious Italian event. Back in November, Conchita also appeared at Malta's national final too. Here is a little recap of the national finals she will/has attended :-)

• Malta - 22nd November 
• Switzerland - 31st January
• Italy (Sanremo) - 11th February
• Germany - 5th March
• Sweden - 7th March

Austria: Conchita Wurst to perform in Sanremo?

Italian fans are desperate for Eurovision winner, Conchita Wurst, to make a special appearance in Sanremo 2015. If you would like to see The Bearded Lady in Sanremo next month, use the hashtag #ConchitaSanremo2015 on Twitter! It has become a trending topic in Italy today. The prestigious Sanremo festival will be kick off on 10th February and conclude on 14th February, where the Italian participant will be revealed! You can check out the full line-up here. 

Austria: Conchita Wurst performs on "The Graham Norton Show"!

Conchita Wurst performed her Eurovision winner, Rise Like A Phoenix on "The Graham Norton Show" yesterday. The show was actually recorded before Christmas although was only broadcast last night as a New Years Eve special where Graham Norton invited Conchita to perform. Her performance was very good and y'all can enjoy it below:

Vienna 2015: Here are our hosts!

Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler, Arabella Kiesbauer and Conchita Wurst will host Eurovision 2015. Conchita will be in the greenroom. Mirjam Weichselbraun is a popular TV Presenter and actress. She has also presented several awards shows including the MTV European Music Awards. Alice Tumler speaks multiple languages including French and has presenting many shows in Austria. Arabella Kiesbauer's career started back in the 1980's and has hosted many shows in Germany and native Austria. Apart from presenting, she's also an Ambassador for Integration at the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Integration. This is the first time that four females will host the show... and I am sure they'll do a grand job!

Austria: Conchita's “Rise Like A Phoenix” goes Platinum!

Austria's 2014 Eurovision winning song, Rise Like A Phoenix, has today gone platinum in Austria. Conchita Wurst's song has sold over 30,000 copies in Austria alone. Conchita was congratulated by Dr. Alexander Wrabetz, the General Director of ORF, and said this shows the importance of human tolerance and diversity. Congratulations, Conchita!!

Source and photograph - Tiroler Tageszeitung

NuVidz: Conchita Wurst, Pixie Lott, Ally, Swanky Tunes feat. Raign!

Conchita's follow up single to Rise Like A Phoenix is Heroes. I really love it. She's also performed the song liv on Austrian TV - you can watch that here. Conchita will another performance at the Maltese national final next weekend. The beautiful Pixie Lott has covered Caravan Of Love, which was originally made famous by Isley-Jasper-Isley. Pixie is currently taking part on the British version of Strictly Come Dancing, and she's a hot favourite to take the trophy next month. This blogger would simply love to see her represent the United Kingdom in Vienna.... Another Day is the song Ally's aiming to represent Switzerland with. Nice song!! She did compete in the Swiss national final in 2013 with Catch Me. Maybe she will be a bit more successful this year? And finally, I've got to share this awesome tune! Swanky Tunes, an electronic trio from Russia, teamed up with Raign and they released Fix Me a couple of months ago. This blogger is now a massive fan of Raign after her appearance on the British version of The X Factor. 

Malta: Conchita Wurst to open national final!

Conchita Wurst will open the Maltese national final! One of the producers, Gordon Bonello, revealed this on a Maltese chat show last night. It's not known what song she'll sing yet however.. All eyes will be on Malta this month because Junior Eurovision is taking place next weekend and then MESC the following week on 21st and 22nd November!

Austria: Conchita Wurst on The Graham Norton Show!

Conchita Wurst, the most famous bearded lady in the world, appeared on The Graham Norton Show a couple of days ago. She said:

“I love myself and the bearded lady is fun and expresses everything I feel. Being a teenager in a small Austrian village was not fabulous.”  

Sir Elton John and David sent her flowers in recognition of winning the contest last week. She also got a tweet from Cher! Isn't that fabulous? Conchita has expressed that she will not represent Austria next year, however she would love to host the event... Kirsten Dunst, Dawn French and Bear Grylls joined her on the show.



Gogglebox also featured Eurovision. It's a brilliant program! For those of you who aren't familiar with the show it invites families, couples and friends from across the United Kingdom to watch TV from the past week. It aires every Friday on Channel 4, at 9pm. Molly's performance was not shown, however they did indeed show the Polish and Austrian entry. It proved rather popular with some of the men, for obvious reasons. Then it was Conchita's time to shine... she did shock a few people at first, although everyone applauded her by the end of her performance. You can watch the show here.

AUSTRIA WINS EUROVISION 2014!

CONGRATULATIONS AUSTRIA! Conchita Wurst won the 59th Eurovision Song Contest last night, and rightfully so. It's a song contest and she defiantly had one of the strongest songs. Of-course some people are unhappy about her win, but I'm delighted! I was pleasantly surprised to see countries like Russia, Georgia and Israel award points to Conchita. It's been confirmed officially that Austria will indeed hold next year's contest.

"The Bearded Lady" said this in the winners press conference:

"I felt like tonight Europe showed that we are a community of respect and tolerance," 

I'm proud of Eurovision. She touched the hearts of millions across Europe - and that's why people voted for her! Everyone should believe in who they are.. what a fantastic message! Conchita also said that people can achieve anything they want if they be themselves. I saw loads and loads of Tweets saying "Rise Like A Phoenix" could be the next Bond theme. It's Austria's first win since 1966. Here are the full results:

The Netherlands and Sweden came 2nd and 3rd, respectably! I really thought the Dutch were going to win after their stunning performance - it was so beautiful. Ruth came 10th and I'm pleased about that. Her voice was just amazing! But isn't it disappointing for Molly? 17th isn't terrible but I thought she would have done so much better.. I guess the draw killed her, but I'm proud of our representation. Russia came 7th, which didn't impress fans in the hall. The Tolmachevy Sisters got booed when they were awarded 12 points from some countries.. I felt sorry for those girls. Armenia, the big favourite before the contest, came a very respectable 4th. I think a few countries were underrated.. Emma should have done so much better than 21st and Firelight should have achieved top ten. TWIN TWIN (Oh yeah!) came last. This is the first time France have come last. Slovenia also achieved a low position but I was just happy to see them in the final. Same with Valentina, she only achieved 24th but it's a massive achievement in itself for San Marino to qualify for the grand final! Azerbaijan didn't make the top ten for the first time ever... It was a nice song but not strong enough I guess.

The semi-final results have also been revealed and The Netherlands and Austria won their semis. No surprises. Georgia and Moldova came last in the respective semis and Portugal was only one point away from qualifier!!! How annoying... And Israel came 14th (out of 15). I'm shocked and surprised. Mei should have been top five in the final. I wonder why the result of Europe didn't like it? Still, Israel will remain one of my favourites of ESC 2014! Thank you Copenhagen, for an amazing show. It's been another great year. Probably my favourite ever.. I'm mostly satisfied with the results. So, that's it for another year... The road to Austria has begun!

Copenhagen 2014: Grand final tonight!

The grand final of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest will be held tonight! 26 acts are all in the running to be crowned the winner, and it's going to be a spectacular show. The running order was decided yesterday by DR and the EBU. Ukraine will open the show, and the United Kingdom will close it! Does this mean Molly can win? I really hope so! Azerbaijan will perform #03 in the finale - maybe this be the first year they don't make the top ten? And who will be last? I have a horrible feeling it could be Germany.. I hope I'm wrong. There are so many unanswered questions - and that's why this is the strongest and most exciting final in years! Remember, we see Montenegro and San Marino in the final for the first time ever! I predict the winner will be between Sweden, Hungary, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Russia, Greece and maybe Austria? It's so hard to call. These are tonight's participants:

1. Ukraine
2. Belarus
3. Azerbaijan
4. Iceland
5. Norway
6. Romania
7. Armenia
8. Montenegro
9. Poland
10. Greece
11. Austria
12. Germany
13. Sweden
14. France
15. Russia
16. Italy
17. Slovenia
18. Finland
19. Spain
20. Switzerland
21. Hungary
22. Malta
23. Denmark
24. The Netherlands
25. San Marino
26. United Kingdom

Good luck to everyone! Especially Ruth Lorenzo, Emma, Molly and Valentina Monetta! <3

Copenhagen 2014: Semi final TWO review!

Last night's semi final was really tough to call! I was mostly satisfied with the results,though. Israel should have qualified instead of Belarus - but apart from that, I'm pleased with last night's results ! I'm delighted Poland made it, and it's also great Austria's bearded lady got through! It was no surprise Norway and Malta qualified, both were great on stage and I think Malta are ones to watch tomorrow evening. The rapper guy from Greece messed up his words, but that didn't matter as it was a very strong and solid performance. Switzerland also made it, for the first time since 2011 - and so did Tinkara from Slovenia! Which is marvelous. Here are last night's qualifiers:

• Malta
• Norway
• Poland
• Austria
• Finland
• Belarus
• Switzerland
• Greece
• Slovenia
• Romania

The biggest shock was Israel not qualifying. Mei was flawless and I really hope Israel won't withdraw.. Ireland wasn't great on stage. Kasey she looked beautiful - but the performance itself wasn't strong enough. Lithuania and Georgia were both a bit too weird, and I won't miss them in the final. FYR Macedonia was good but the stupid dancer ruined it. I'm looking forward to tomorrow - it's a very open contest this year.

Copenhagen 2014: Semi final TWO tonight!

Another awesome show awaits us tonight. The 2nd semi-final will take place, with 15 countries battling for those 10 precious spaces in the final. I cannot wait. I'm so excited! Tuesday's show was fantastic. Isn't it a brilliant year? The final for the running order will be decided after tonight's semi.. Jessica Mauboy will perform two songs as the interval act!

1. Malta - Firelight with Coming Home
2. Israel - Mei Finegold with Same Heart
3. Norway - Carl Espen with Silent Storm
4. Georgia - The Shin and Mariko with Three Minutes to Earth
5. Poland - Donatan & Cleo with My Slowianie - We Are Slavic
6. Austria - Conchita Wurst with Rise Like a Phoenix
7. Lithuania - Vilija Mataaianaita with Attention
8. Finland - Softengine with Something Better
9. Ireland - Can-Linn (featuring Kasey Smith) Heartbeat
10. Belarus - Teo with Cheesecake
11. F.Y.R. Macedonia - Tijana with To the Sky
12. Switzerland - Sebalter with Hunter of Stars
13. Greece - Freaky Fortune feat. RiskyKidd with Rise Up
14. Slovenia - Tinkara Kovac with Round and round
15. Romania - Paula Seling & OVI with Miracle

Who do I *think* will qualify? Romania, Greece, Norway, Georgia, Malta, Ireland, Lithuania, Austria, Belarus and Israel.

Who do I *want* to see qualify? Israel, F.Y.R Macedonia, Norway, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, Ireland, Austria, Malta and Greece!