Stockholm 2016: Round up of July's news!

Eurovision news this month has been very very slow and therefore I haven't been able to update the blog much recently but I'm still here, don't worry :-) Here's a little recap into what's been happening this month:

• Switzerland's national final will be held on 13th February. Same procedure as normal. Anyone can apply.
• Turkey and Ukraine have both expressed interest in returning however official confirmation is still to be made.
• If Sanna Nielson was asked to host the contest, she would say ja. But the 2014 Swedish participant has said she would need to brush up on her French if asked! 
• Polina Gagarina performed 'A Million Voices' at the Fifa World Cup Allocation Draw in St Petersburg. I still think she would've made a fantastic winner....
• Monaco won't return. Sigh. 
• Nina Kraljić is rumoured to be Croatia's representative IF they return but who knows what's going to happen. 

....and that's pretty much it!

Sweden: Sanna Nielsen and Robin Paulsson to host Melodifestivalen 2015!

It has been revealed the lovely Sanna Nielsen and Robin Paulsson will host Melodifestivalen 2015. Sanna Nielsen flew the Swedish flag in Copenhagen and achieved 3rd - she's a popular face in Sweden. Meanwhile,  Robin Paulsson is a presenter and a well-known comedian. Sanna said:

I feel safe with Robin on stage and think we will complement each other. It should feel safe, fun and warm.

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 ONE review!

The first semi final was held last night and it was truly amazing. The stage looked great on TV and all the performances were very strong. I also loved the hosts! Ten countries qualified from last night's semi and I was mostly pleased with the results. Montenegro and San Marino made the grand final for the first time ever... YAY! I'm delighted for Valentina! She has finally achieved her dream! It's marvellous - maybe this will entice other microstates to come back? It's also great to see Montenegro in the final. The Netherlands were amazing - and they are now among the favourites to win on Saturday! Amsterdam 2015? Sweden seems to be the front runner now though.. Armenia was good but not good enough to win me thinks. The Russian twins were booed when it was announced they had made the final - it was always going to happen I guess... Ukraine looked great on TV and I think a top five position is very likely for them.

Here are the lucky qualifiers:

• Armenia
• Sweden
• Iceland
• Russia
• Azerbaijan
• Ukraine
• San Marino
• The Netherlands
• Montenegro
• Hungary

Latvia, Albania, Estonia, Portugal, Belgium and Moldova were eliminated. I thought that Portugal and Moldova would have made the final easily... Portugal really was amazing! Why didn't the lovely Suzy make it? Gutted - I would have loved her in the final. Latvia's song is sweet although the performance wasn't up to much. Axel's performance was very disappointing and Estonia underwhelmed me too, I'm afraid... It was a great show and I cannot wait for tomorrow now! 

NuVidz: Tolmachevy Sisters, Sanna Nielsen, Donatan & Cleo, Adel Tawil!

The Tolmachevy Sisters have released the official video-clip of Shine. The video-clip has a black and white theme throughout... Me likes! There has also been a slight revamp. Sanna Nielsen is one of the favourites to win ESC 2014' and today we finally got to see the official music video of Undo. I'm slightly disappointed with this video, I feel no emotion. But the song is great - and that's the most important thing! Donatan and Cleo have also released a new music video, too! However this video-clip isn't their Eurovision entry - just a new single. Watch that here. Adel Tawil is a well-known singer in Germany. I've only discovered his music recently although I'm already a fan. His latest single is Weinen. Enjoy! 

Introducing 2014: Sweden!

Sanna Nielsen won Melodifestivalen with Undo. The grand final was held on 8th March and the quality was very high. I loved the majority of songs - favourites are mine included Ace Wilder, Ellen Benediktson and Helena Paparizou! As always, an international jury of music experts influenced the results. Ace Wilder won the jury vote... however the Swedish public favoured Sanna and therefore Sanna is heading to Copenhagen. Ace and Sanna are both great artists - so I would have been delighted with either of them winning. And I'm really happy that Sanna gets the chance to represent Sweden in Eurovision. She's already participated in Melodifestivalen seven times so it was lovely to see her finally win.

Sweden are hot favourites to win the contest itself next month - and I wouldn't mind if Sweden did win. It's an amazing song. Maybe Ace would have had more international appeal, though? I don't know. Anyway, Sanna will defiantly qualify and a top five position is very likely. Lycka till!

Sweden: Lyrical changes made to "Undo"!

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?

Sweden: Sanna Nielsen wins Melodifestivalen 2014!

Melodifestivalen was amazing and the results are amazing - Sanna won!!! Sanna has tried on numerous occasions before and now she's finally going to represent her country in Eurovision. She beat Ace Wilder by only two points. WOW! I'm very impressed. Ace won the international jury vote.. Anton placed last, oh well ;-) The results...

1. Sanna Nielsen - Undo  212
2. Ace Wilder - Busy doing nothin' 210
3. Alcazar - Blame it on the disco  110
4. Helena Paparizou - Survivor  84
5. Linus Svenning - Bröder  83
6. YOHIO - To the end  82
7. Ellen - Songbrid  61
8. Oscar Zia - Yes we can  53
9. Panetoz - Efter solsken  33
10. 1Anton Ewald - Natural  18

Sweden: Melodifestivalen final tonight!

Melodifestivalen 2014 will come to an end tonight. Ten acts are in the running to fly the Swedish flag in Copenhagen - but who'll win? I'd love to see Sanna win, and she is the main favourite, but a part of me would love to see Ace Wilder represent Sweden. Her songs pretty brilliant!

I hope YOHIO doesn't win... his song is very weak this year and he doesn't have a strong voice. Alcazar also have a lot of fans, but is their song good enough for the Eurovision stage? Ellen's chances of winning are probably ruined - with her terrible draw, and I don't think we'll see Anton winning either. At-least I hope not. I get he has a lot of fans but his song this year is really weak... nothing natural about it at all. Could there be a surprise winner, like last year? Don't rule Panetoz out... oh, and of-course I'd love to see Helena win but I don't think she will. Even though the international jury will rank her high I can't really see her getting lots of support from the Swedish public. The show will kick off at 20.00 CET and y'all can follow it here. Lycka till Sverige!

1. Anton Ewald – “Natural”
2. Ellen Benediktson – “Songbird”
3. Alcazar – “Blame It On The Disco”
4. Oscar Zia – “Yes We Can”
5. Linus Svenning – “Bröder”
6. Helena Paparizou – Survivor”
7. YOHIO – “To the End”
8. Sanna Nielsen – “Undo”
9. Panetoz – “Efter solsken”
10. Ace Wilder – “Busy Doin’ Nothin’

Personally, I hope either Ace, Sanna or Helena will win!

Sweden: Melodifestivalen running order revealed!

Linus Svenning and Helena Paparizou qualified from last night's second chance round - and following this, SVT revealed the running order for next weeks grand final! Anton Ewald will open the show and Ace Wilder will close it. Could she be a dark horse?

Helena has a pretty decent draw - which I'm pleased about! Wouldn't it be amazing is she won? Although I believe the winner will either be Anton Ewald, YOHIO or Sanna... and I wouldn't rule out Alcazar either. Here's the draw:

1. Anton Ewald – “Natural”
2. Ellen Benediktson – “Songbird”
3. Alcazar – “Blame It On The Disco”
4. Oscar Zia – “Yes We Can”
5. Linus Svenning – “Bröder”
6. Helena Paparizou – Survivor”
7. YOHIO – “To the End”
8. Sanna Nielsen – “Undo”
9. Panetoz – “Efter solsken”
10. Ace Wilder – “Busy Doin’ Nothin’

Sweden: Sanna Nielsen and Panetoz proceed to the final!

Melodifestivalen continued tonight in Linköping with the 2nd semi-final and the fan favourite, Sanna Nielsen, managed to qualifry directly to the grand final! She'll be joined by Panetoz - and of-course Yohio and Ellen Benediktson.

Martin Stenmarck (ESC 2005) and JEM were sent to the second chance round. Personally, I had a feeling Pink Pistols would make the final as they seemed to be gathering a lot of attention from international fans although they only managed to come 7th. Melodifestivalen is proving to be fantastic yet again.

Sweden: Melodifestivalen rehearsals underway!

I am super excited for Saturday night! Melodifestivalen is back!!! And it already promises to be a fantastic event. The first semi-final will take place and two of the big favourites will fight for a place in the grand final - YOHIO and Helena Paparizou!

SVT has released photographs from the rehearsals, which have started today. Helena is looking fantastic and I'm confident her song will be awesome! Her entry "Survivor" is about heartbreak after a disastrous relationship and it promises to be an extravagant performance. There are pyrotechnics, wind machines... Saturday night will be extremely hectic. There are two national finals, Finland and Switzerland, and there are also four semi finals/heats too from Iceland, Latvia, Hungary and of course Sverige!!

Photograph from SVT. 

Sweden: Melodifestivalen 2014 running order revealed!

The running order for Melodifestivalen 2014 has been revealed. The producers have decided that YOHIO will kick off the first semi final, and the lovely Helena Paparizou will close it.

Anton Ewald will close the final semi final... and Alcazar will kick it off. I reckon it'll be between those four participants - but we haven't heard the songs yet so I guess anything could happen. Here is the running order, my friends:

Semi final 1: Malmö

1. “To the End” – Yohio
2. “Aleo” – Mahan Moin
3. “Bröder” – Linus Svenning
4. “Casanova” – Elisa Lindström
5. “Bedroom” – Alvaro Estrella
6. “Songbird” – Ellen Benediktson
7. “Bygdens son” – Sylvester Schlegel
8. “Survivor” – Helena Paparizou

Semi final 2: Linköping

1. “Love Trigger” – JEM
2. “Hallelujah” – The Refreshments
3. “Glow” – Manda
4. “Efter solsken” – Panetoz
5. “I Am Somebody” – Pink Pistols
6. “Undo” – Sanna Nielsen
7. “Set Yourself Free” – Little Great Things
8. “När änglarna går hem” – Martin Stenmarck

Semi final 3: Göteborg

1. “Echo” – Outtrigger
2. “Red” – EKO
3. “Yes We Can” – Oscar Zia
4. “Burning Alive” – Shirley Clamp
5. “All We Are” – State of Drama
6. “En enkel sång” – CajsaStina Åkerström
7. “Busy Doin’ Nothin’ ” – Ace Wilder
8. “Around the World” – Dr. Alban & Jessica 

Semi final 4: Örnsköldsvik

1. "Blame It On The Disco” – Alcazar
2. “Fight Me If You Dare” – I.D.A
3. “Hollow” – Janet Leon
4. “Raise Your Hands” – Ammotrack
5. "Hela natten” – Josef Johansson
6. "Ta mig” – Linda Bengtzing
7. “En himmelsk sång” – Ellinore Holmer
8. “Natural” – Anton Ewald