Denmark: Emmelie de Forest releases 'Hopscotch'

Emmelie de Forest's new single isn't what I expected. I like her. I always have but I'm not loving her new song. Maybe the song will grow on me - but it's both unoriginal and boring. It's a million miles away from her first album. I expected better. Am I being harsh? Listen below:

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 :-)

Germany: Emmelie de Forest collaborates with Fahrenhaidt for Eurovision?

Fahrenhaidt are one of the eight acts who will participate in Unser Song für Österreich next month, hoping to win the right to represent Germany. As we know, each act will compete with two songs. Fahrenhaidt's first song has already been published. It's Frozen Silence, and it fronted by Amanda Pedersen. However their second song is yet to be revealed. The interesting thing is that Emmelie de Forest, winner of Eurovision 2013, has collaborated with them on the song Wildfire. A two minute snippet of the song has been released and damn it sounds fantastic! Will Wildfire be the second song Fahrenhaidt compete with in the upcoming German national final? Will Emmelie return to Eurovision for Germany? We will find out soon enough. In the meantime, you can read their interview with escXtra here where they confirmed a Danish singer will join them on stage..

Update - It appears Amanda Pedersen will indeed perform both songs with the 2nd song yet to be released. 

NuVidz: Emmelie de Forest, Carl Espen, Natascha Bessez, Dotan!

Emmelie de Forest's new single Drunk Tonight has received somewhat of a mixed reaction. The song itself is pretty good but it's the video-clip that's got people talking. The Danish star gets naked near a swimming pool and she cries a lot. An iPhone also gets chucked into the pool.. What do you guys make of this? Holding On is Carl Espen's latest song. Great voice and the lyrics are fantastic. Like his Eurovision entry, it was composed by Josefin Winther. This blogger adores Natascha Bessez and she has recently released the video-clip for La Da Di Da. She participated in DMGP - along with Danish saxophonist Michael Rune. Her voice is awesome! Y'all can support her by liking her Facebook page. Finally, Dotan's Home has been extremely successful in the Dutch charts. He's also rumoured to be the Dutch representative for Eurovision 2015....

Denmark: Emmelie De Forest's 'Rainmaker' is certificated gold!

Congratulations, Emmelie! Rainmaker has received over 1.3 million streams, and has therefore been certificated Gold. Nice! The song was the official anthem of Eurovision 2014, and was eve included on the official album. Emmelie's performance in Eurovision was fantastic... and wasn't it lovely to see all the participants dancing together on stage? Let's relieve that fantastic performance! 

Denmark: National final tonight!

Who will follow in Emmelie de Forest's footsteps? We'll find out tonight. Dansk Melodi Grand Prix will take place in Arena Fyn in Odense and ten participants are hoping to be victorious. Take a listen to the songs on DR's official website. I have a feeling GlamboyP will win, but I hope I'm wrong. I do love Michael Rune feat. Natascha Bessez's song - that saxophone is awesome plus they have a great draw! Like I've previously said, the outcome will depend on the live performances. I'm really looking forward to it. The show will start at 20:00 and you can watch it here.

1. Sonny – Feeling the you
2. Anna David – It hurts
3. Basim - Cliche love song
4. Rebekka Thornbech - Your lies
5. GlamboyP - Right by your dide
6. Bryan Rice - I choose u
7. Nadia Malm – Before you forget me
8. Michael Rune feat. Natascha Bessez - Wanna be loved
9. Emilie Moldow - Vi finder hjem
10. Danni Elmo – She’s the one