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.

WISHLIST 2016: FLEUR EAST FOR THE UK!

Of course there are numerous acts who I think would make brilliant representatives for us next year but the name who I want to see the most for the UK is Fleur East.

Last year, she came 2nd on The X Factor and subsequently earned herself a massive fanbase. Fleur signed to Syco Music earlier this year and will release her first single, Sax, later this month. It will feature on her debut album which will be released next month. As previously reported, the BBC will hold an open national selection aimed at undiscovered talent so it's unlikely we'll see Fleur in Eurovision but one can dream. Her version of Uptown Funk became a number one on iTunes. See why below..

She sings, raps, dances and with the risk of sounding like Louis Walsh - she has the whole package! Wouldn't it be awesome if she took the plunge, entered our national selection and won?

NuVidz: Loreen, Sam Smith, Annalisa, Maraaya!

Pretty much everyone adored Loreen's new song - I'm In It With You - when it was released a couple of months ago however the same can't be said for her video-clip. Yes, it's weird. A multicultural group of girls just go around destroying things.. To be fair, I've always admired Loreen but her latest video is just a big no no. Shame as the song is excellent. Judge for yourself here. Sam Smith's Writing's On The Wall has also had a pretty bad reaction but this blogger thinks it is gorgeous. Imagine something like this representing the UK in Eurovision? It's a dream. Unless you've been living under a rock these past few weeks, you would've heard the song is the official theme tune to Spectre. The new James Bond film which will be released at the end of the month.Meanwhile Annalisa's Splende has an official video-clip and y'all can enjoy it here. Finally, Marjetka from Maraaya has lost her headphones for their new single. Living Again. Actually I kinda love it. 

UK: Public to decide British entry for Stockholm!

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?

UK: Katie Price wants another shot at Eurovision!

Never underestimate the Pricey!! Katie Price wants to fly the flag for the UK next year. Regarding her possible participation, the glamour model said:

Never say never. I might rectify it. Just for the laugh - we're never going to win it.

This surely isn't the right attitude, is it? I'm sure we won't see her in Stockholm next year - but after the UK's poor showing in Vienna, nothing would surprise me. The winner of Celebrity Big Brother has previously said Eurovision is her only regret. Let's remind ourselves of her unique performance during the 2005 selection. She's not just anybody ;-)

EUROVISION 2015 FINAL TONIGHT!

Andres Putting (EBU)

It's tonight! It's that time of year we've all been waiting for. The grand final of Eurovision 2015 will take place tonight live from Vienna, Austria. 27 participants are in the running to take the trophy. It's going to be a marathon of a show. 3 hours 45 minutes apparently although we're promised an epic show as it's the 60th contest.. The bookies are backing Sweden and Russia the most. I would rather see a Russian win but Sweden winning tonight wouldn't disappoint me. I hope Spain and Albania, my two favourties, manage to achieve top ten. The draw can be found below:

1. SLOVENIA

2. FRANCE

3. ISRAEL

4. ESTONIA

5. UNITED KINGDOM

6. ARMENIA

7. LITHUANIA

8. SERBIA

9. NORWAY

10. SWEDEN

11. CYPRUS

12.AUSTRALIA

13. BELGIUM

14. AUSTRIA

15. GREECE 

16. MONTENEGRO

17. GERMANY

18. POLAND

19. LATVIA

20. ROMANIA

21. SPAIN

22. HUNGARY

23. GEORGIA

24. AZERBAIJAN

25. RUSSIA

26. ALBANIA

27. ITALY

France's Lisa Angell has the dreaded #2 slot. Paris 2016 was never likely but now it's almost impossible. Will she be overlooked? Slovenia opening the show will be great. The UK performs 5th. Sigh. Electro Velvet apparently gave a very impressive performance last night during the jury final though so let's hope we won't be last. ESDM performed 5th in 2013 for Spain and look what happened... Even a result like 20th would be great. Is this really the best us Brits can hope for? I think Estonia's chances of winning are gone. They're performing 4th but let's hope they'll make the top five. I'd be more than happy to be proved wrong though.. Australia, who may or may not be back next year, perform 12th and in between Cyprus and Belgium. This should help Guy. Maybe. Although Belgium is now seen a dark horse.. However Georgia is my dark horse . Nina has an fantastic draw, an amazing stage presence, a great song.. and the president of Georgia has said the country are ready to host Eurovision! Tbilisi 2016? She's already won the battle of the Warriors. ;-)

Germany, UK and Poland are the favourties to come last. Or at least that's what I'm hearing. It's 2008 all over again! I personally think it'll be Poland who come last.. I already feel sorry for whoever ends up in 27th place. Other predictions are saying Hungary will be last although I think that's unlikely. Edurne performs 21st.. this is a brilliant draw! I'm really hyped to see her performance. The bookies and polls are saying Spain are unlikely to reach top ten. Wouldn't it be lovely to prove them all wrong? Azerbaijan and Russia, both big favourites, perform next to each towards the end of the show. I think we're going to Sochi or St Petersberg next year. Albania performs rather late too inbetween two major favourites.. is Elhaida going to flop? Jeez, I hope not! She's getting my vote for sure anyway. Italy's Il Volo will close. Would I be shocked to see them win from this position? Not really but I don't think they'll win. I think top five is very possible though. Actually, I do think they could win. I don't know. Here's my predictions and wishlist for tonight...

PREDICTED TOP FIVE

1st - Russia

2nd - Italy

3rd - Sweden 

4th - Australia 

5th - Azerbaijan 

MY TOP FIVE

1st - Albania 

2nd - Spain 

3rd - Estonia

4th - Russia

5th - Australia 

Valentina Monetta will read out San Marino's votes. Will the queen of San Marino return to the contest next year? Elsewhere we have Suzy for Portugal, Basim for Denmark, Tanja for Estonia, Krista for Finland, Tinkara for Slovenia, Andrea for Montenegro, Cleo for Poland, Teo for Belarus.. Many familiar faces indeed. And of course the UK has the lovely Nigella!! Enjoy the show tonight my friends and I'd just like to say - thank you for following this little blog throughout the year. :-)

Good luck to everyone!!!!

EUROVISION 2015 IS HERE!

Yihuu - omg Eurovision is here!! The first semi final of Eurovision 2015 will be held live from Vienna tonight! This blogger is beyond excited - but then, who isn't? An important note - I won't be able to blog during the week as I'm going on a mini break but I'll still watch the shows, naturally, however I won't be able to post anything until the weekend. Most likely on Saturday but let's see. Anyway, below you can find the countries who will participate in tonight's semi and with my predictions and hopes... (* = I predict they will qualify, BOLD = I want them to qualify). 

1.  Moldova 
2.  Armenia *
3.  Belgium
4.  The Netherlands *
5.  Finland *
6.  Greece *
7.  Estonia *
8.  FYR Macedonia
9.  Serbia 
10.  Hungary *
11.  Belarus 
12.  Russia *
13.  Denmark *
14.  Albania *
15.  Romania *
16.  Georgia 

...and here is the line-up for semi final two. I doubt I'll get these right but hey, it's a lot of fun :-)

1.  Lithuania *
2.  Ireland
3.  San Marino
4.  Montenegro *
5.  Malta
6.  Norway *
7.  Portugal
8.  Czech Republic 
9.  Israel *
10.  Latvia 
11.  Azerbaijan *
12.  Iceland *
13.  Sweden *
14.  Switzerland
15.  Cyprus *
16.  Slovenia *
17.  Poland *

I really hope everyone enjoys the shows! And good luck to all the participants!! But especially Elhaida, Polina, Trijntje, Elnur, Stig and Elina, Guy, Nina and Edurne ;-) 

...aaaaaand Nigella Lawson will announce the UK's points! Amazing choice!! I love her. She's fantastic and I don't think the BBC could've picked someone better.  If you're not familiar with Nigella, watch this! She's fab! 

REVIEWING THE CLASS OF 2015: UNITED KINGDOM!

It's the last in the series... did we save the best to last? ;-) Electro Velvet were internally chosen to represent the UK back in March and I think it's fair to say they received a mixed reaction. But their song is uptempo, fun and different. Isn't it? Will the UK do surprisingly well?

Ana: “Different” and “Risky” are the correct words to describe this entry. I can see it in the top 10 but I can also see it in the bottom. Maybe, I miss a well defined and catchy chorus and a more amazing final. The only one sure thing about UK’s entry is that the result is totally unpredictable. 5/10

Ilkar: Like Israel this song has improved a lot after further listening after the initial ”oh, no!” reaction. Yet I think his vocals are very flat and she's a bit annoying but who knows how they will perform live. Maybe this is just an act. The video works, and the playing with their roles but how it will come across live? Time will tell. All in all this song could have been in Valentina Monetta's album (they have even borrowed her ball lamp!), only that she would have sung it better. This can go either way, among the last or surprisingly doing better than any UK entry for years. But then, it will be heard only once.... 7.5/10

Jack: Meh. I appreciate the effort her (going for something fresh, something that will stand out) but the song just isn't doing it for me. I can't hide by disappointment with the British entry. Although I was lucky enough to see them perform it live and they were pretty good. Bianca is defiantly better than Alex imo. Also when they perform, the chemistry isn't there. Some people seem to think they can win.. I personally think that's delusional. I'll be happy if the UK doesn't finish 27th. 3/10

Jess: At first I was a little shocked because I wasn't expecting to see a song like this represent the UK, however around 20 seconds in I really started to like the song. And I have been in love with it ever since! 7/10

John: Strictly in the mould of 1920's swing, the song makes an attempt to modernise the sounds from that era and bring them into the 21st. century.Sadly it doesn't work and the whole exercise amounts to an effort that singularly lacks originality and quickly becomes tiresome. 4/10 

OUR VERDICT - 26.5/50

OVERALL SCORE - 5.3/10

Photograph from Electric Velvet's Facebook page. 

UK: Electro Velvet perform live on 'The Graham Norton Show'

Can't we send Miranda instead? 

The UK representatives, Electro Velvert, performance their Eurovision entry on The Graham Norton Show last night. They were terrible. I'm sorry but they were. However during Eurovision's Greatest Hits, they were awesome! Maybe that's because I was there and the atmosphere was electric. Pun intended ;-) The overall reaction online hasn't been great either although they do promise something special for Vienna.

UK: 1.9 million Brits tune in for 'Eurovision's Greatest Hits'!

The viewing figures are out. An average of 1.89 million Brits watched Eurovision's Greatest Hits last night with an overall share of 9.5%. Not bad but a little disappointing. Channel 4's Gogglebox peaked at 3.07 million views and 3.03 million Brits tuned in for Bear Grylls: Mission Survive on ITV...

Other countries including Sweden will broadcast the show tonight. 

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 :-)

Editorial: Has the UK hit an all time low?

Many fans were left shocked last night when our entry was revealed, mainly for the wrong reasons.

As we all know now, the United Kingdom will be represented by the unknown duo Electro Velvet with a funky retro number. The song has not been received well in the UK - as the British press said 'We know we won't win so we haven't really bothered'. Sigh. I appreciate the BBC's efforts though. It's different - something that Eurovision is lacking so far this year - and they could stand out in Vienna. Maybe. It's also very catchy indeed however there's one problem... the song is just a big pile of nothing. In my opinion of course. It might stand out in Eurovision when performed live but I don't think it'll good enough to reach the top ten or anything. I hope I'm wrong though.

Before yesterday, Electro Velvet were completely unknown here in the United Kingdom. Bianca Nicholas did appear on The Voice UK last year though but was eliminated in the first round so no one really remembers her... Watch her perform below:

Bianca has cystic fibrosis and I've read some comments online saying that they hope she dies before the contest. That is disgusting and so awful!!!! I wasn't going to share that but I thought I would as it shows how horrid and nasty some people can be.  It makes me question humanity. We were in a situation similar last week when Finland selected PKN. If you don't like the song, then fine -  but writing these comments is just terrible.. :-(

Moving on. Alex Larke is a lead singer in a Rolling Stones tribute band. So even more unknown. I believe, and you may not agree with me here, but if it's going to be an internal selection - we should at least send an artist who has had some form of success, within the industry. Someone who people are familiar with. If they won the right to represent the UK through an national final process where the public could vote and have a say, then fair enough. Should the UK select their song through a national final next year? I'd like to see that happen but I am not holding my breath. I don't mean to sound cruel here - but many people also felt the same when Molly was chosen so I'm not only aiming this at Electro Velvet but at the BBC's current approach to Eurovision as a whole.

The Big Five (or the Big Six this year) will all send respectable entries to Vienna. Il Volo are massive in Italy at the moment and their entry has been certificated gold already. Grande Amore has had almost 13 million hits on YouTube and they won Sanremo - one of Italy's biggest and well respected contests. It seems they'll be the ones to beat in Vienna. Meanwhile, Spain are also sending a household name. They may have shopped abroad for the song but Edurne is well known. The French and German singers are a bit more unknown, granted, but at least Ann Sophie won the ticket to Eurovision through an open national final. Even though she wasn't the winner but you know what I mean... If you're going to pick someone internally, opt for someone who the people know. Take a leaf out of The Netherlands's book. They may have gone 100% internal this year but at least people are familiar with their act.

Another problem I have is that they have never performed together live! This surely doesn't bode well, does it? Oh I don't know. It's a rather poor effort. The guys at Wiwibloggs sum it up perfectly.....

For example, Kitty Brucknell isn't a massive name here but people do know her and she loves Eurovision so much. Kitty entered the Swiss selection, went to Moldova too.. she is so dedicated to the contest and would give anything to perform on the Eurovision stage. Couldn't the BBC have given her a shot? Here's what she tweeted yesterday.


My biggest fear is coming 27th place in Vienna. It's not just about the song or the way it was chosen, but the idea of coming 27th place would be hideous and I would be so gutted. And we don't know that they're like live. Will they crumble due to the nerves? Performing in front of 200 million people isn't going to be an easy task. I don't know... I felt a bit upset last night actually. Very underwhelmed indeed. More has to be done in this country to ensure the public can back their Eurovision entry. Molly's song was never going to be a mega hit but people liked it. It was a respectable effort. Children Of The Universe had airtime and reached #23 in the British charts. Not amazing but it's something. I don't think the Brits will support Still In Love With You. This blogger doesn't hate the song - but we could have done better. Much better. The Guardian said:

It feels mean-spirited to criticise Electro Velvet too harshly for this. After all, they didn’t write the song – that was the man who wrote the Jim’ll Fix It theme tune – and they certainly weren’t the ones who let it represent the UK. They’re just jobbing performers with an upsetting lack of taste. Our real scorn should be directed at the people who organise the UK entry; the ones who chose this song and hid their process from view. They’re the reason why we’re going to collectively hide our faces behind a pillow come May, and they deserve to be punished. Surely we can do better than this.

We can do better than this! Last year was awesome. Even though Bonnie and Engelbert didn't exactly set the leader-board on fire, they were known and had professionalism behind them. I do respect Electro Velvet and hope they do the UK proud, that goes without saying, But I think the only way London will get to host Eurovision in 2016 will be if Australia wins.. Oh well. There's always next year! ;-)

Please feel free to comment on your thoughts about the British entry below!