Georgia: Nina's 'Warrior' video-clip presented!

The official video-clip of the Georgian entry, Warrior, has been revealed today. The song has also undergone a revamp. Enjoy!!

Malta: Official video-clip of 'Warrior' presented!

The Maltese entry has undergone a minor revamp and the official video-clip has been presented. Sometimes revamps don't work but I think it's worked for the better here. #TeamAmber! Enjoy it below....

Malta: Amber films official video-clip for 'Warrior'

Amber has this week been filming the official music video for Warrior in Rabat. It seems the song has undergone minor changes to make it even more powerful and the finished product will be released next month. Amber had this to say:

The song remains the star of the show. Warrior is about dealing with the challenges we have to face in life and having the strength to overcome obstacles. The moment I sing here I feel a lot of emotions. I hope that my fans can share this feeling when they listen to my song

Photograph - Daniel d’Anastasi

NINA SUBLATTI TO REPRESENT GEORGIA!

As expected, Nina Sublatti won in Georgia. Nina's Warrior was clearly the best of a bad bunch so I'm thrilled. It is probably to early to make predictions but I'm positive we will see Georgia back in the final. In 2013, she won the Georgian version of Idol. Her debut album, Be Nina Sublatti, became a best-selling album in Georgia following her win on Georgian Idol. Enjoy the Georgian entry below:

Georgia: National final details revealed!

On Wednesday, Georgia will pick their song for Vienna and some details regarding the selection show has been revealed. ESCToday reports that the Georgian national final will take place at 14:00 CET and will last for approximately 40 minutes. You will be able to watch the it on eurovision.tv. Eteri Beriashvili, NiUTONE, Misha Sulukhia, Nina Sublatti and Edward Meison are all in the running. Nina Sublatti seems to be the hot favourite and rightly so, her song rocks. I was lucky enough to interview her and you can read that here.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH NINA SUBLATTI!

Nina Sublatti is the big favourite to take the crown in Georgia and represent her country in Vienna. I was fortunate enough to speak with her about her latest projects. Enjoy!

Jack - Firstly, I'd like to say a massive thank you for agreeing to do this interview. I'm a big fan! 

Nina - Thank you too for being that cute! 

Jack - Why did you decide to enter the Georgian selection? 

Nina - Taking part in the Eurovision is very important thing for Georgia. I’ll try to explain why: Georgia is very small country, there are many talented people here who’s trying hard to go out and work in Europe. So I think that project is great chance for Georgian artists to show their work to the world. To be honest I was not interested to take part in the national final, I was working on my second album but my fans asked me to write some song for Eurovision. They were asking me to do that about 6 months, so I did that.. After several years of watching the Eurovision, I have developed an opinion about how to present Georgia so I hope that people will give me a chance to do that.

Jack - Can you tell us some information about your song? Did you compose it especially for Eurovision?

Nina - I wrote the song about me and generally about Georgian women. If we look at the history of Georgia, we see that women have always been important figures. They simply sought to be good women, good mothers, good teachers. The Georgian woman has to be able to control her temper and raise her child as a warrior. So, she became a warrior. In Georgian I chose the title “Mother Man”. Unfortunately, this word does not exist in other languages, and because of this I called it “Warrior”. I created the song ”Warrior” — the text, music and everything else belongs to me. I had to submit several versions for the competition, but none were satisfying. They didn’t have enough salt. At 4 o’clock at night, when I thought that all hope of writing the song was gone, I decided to write the last one. And if I didn’t like that one I would not take a part in a competition. I started to meditade. I gethered all my energy and I sang a melody with its lyrics. I liked it. I spent approximately 30 minutes on its structure. At last I sat down and by 7 o’clock I had finished it. I spent a few days thinking about the song, because the Eurovision format is different from my genre, which is ambient, psychedelic and alternative. So it took me a little time to rearrange it as pop music.

Jack - Your song is the clear favourite to win the Georgian selection, what does it mean for you to have so much support from people across Europe and the whole world? 

Nina - Well, let's see. National final results will be published on 14th January. As I said it's very hard to go out and work in Europe for Georgians. We work hard, we try hard but there's still huge distance between me and you... For me, as an artist the main thing is to make people listen my music. I was born to share my creature. That's why I decided to take part in national selection of Eurovision. I really would like to go out in Europe and take new experience.

Jack - If you do win the Georgian national final, can you reveal any details about your performance in Vienna?

Nina - Let's just wait and see what will happen 

Jack - What would it mean for you to represent your country in Eurovision? 

Nina - Oh, that would be taking responsibility to show your best without any budget. That's very very hard! 

Jack - Are you a fan of Eurovision? Did you watch the 2014 contest?

Nina - I started watching Eurovision from the first Georgian singers performance, don't really remember the date. So i did watch 2014 contest. I will watch 2015's too.

Jack - Could you tell us something about yourself that people won't necessarily know? 

Nina - Oh well, there's too many things to tell. My latest news is that I'm working on my second album and preparing to open my own fashion clothes and accessories line. Besides that I'm a vocal coach and imagemaker. I was studying in art school, than in Tbilisi state academy of art, now I'm in Tbilisi State Conservatoire, learning music technologies.. No really! There's too many things! 

Jack - It's been an absolute pleasure, Nina! I wish you the best of luck! Thank you so much..

Nina - Thank you very much! for the interview and for warm wishes! Good luck!

The Georgian representative will be chosen on 14th January. Enjoy Nina's song below:

Review 2015: Georgia's National Selection!

Ahead of the Georgian national final, I decided to review the competing entries. Can't say it's a great year for Georgia...

Eter Beriashvili - If Someone
If Someone isn't a bad song, but it's hardly going to be a worldwide hit either. Eter Beriashvili is a great singer but the song lets her down. I wouldn't be thrilled if she won but Georgia do have worse on offer.... 4/12

Edvard Meison - We Are Freeee
Edvard Meison is the 2nd favourite to represent Georgia. This blogger isn't a massive fan of We Are Freeee but I can see its appeal. He has a decent voice. If he did win, the song would need some work before the contest. Nothing more to say I'm afraid. 5/12

Niutone - Run Away
Meanwhile, Run Away is the song Niutone are aiming to represent the country with. Not to be confused with the Sweet Brain's Run Away which was in the Belarusian selection although that was equally as awful. I'm not impressed here. It's a shame because I actually expected something awesome from Niutone. I would be very surprised if Georgia selected this song. Some people like it, though. It gets three points on weirdness alone. 3/12

Misha Sulukhia - One and Only
Misha Sulukhia's song is probably my least favourite, and damn that's saying something here! One and Only is boring but he does have a good voice and I somehow wish he had a stronger song. Will he win? I'd be massively suprised and underwhelmed if he did.. 2/12

Nina Sublatti - Warrior
Nina Sublatti is the hot favourite, and my favourite, to represent Georgia with Warrior. She looks fantastic and her voice really suits the song. I adore it. Obviously, the song title is identical to Amber's Eurovision entry and therefore people are comparing the songs. I love them both - and really hope we will get to see another Warrior in Vienna. Good luck, Nina! 10/12

The Georgian entry will be chosen on 14th January! For me, it simply has to be Nina!! But who do you want to win? Please leave me a comment!

AMBER TO REPRESENT MALTA!

The Maltese representative for Vienna is ... AMBER! This blogger couldn't be happier!! Amber was the best choice without a doubt. She topped the jury and the televote. Christabelle came 2nd and Glen Vella achieved 3rd place. The Maltese national final was fantastic. The staging was fabulous and I reckon it's only a matter of time until Malta host Eurovision itself... hey, maybe it'll happen in 2016? Fan favourite Jessika only managed 9th place (she didn't sound the best) and poor old Karen didn't get a single point. Amber was actually a backing singer for Kurt Calleja in Baku and has tried several times before to get to Eurovision with Catch 22 in 2011, Answer with your Eyes in 2012, In Control in 2013 and Because I Have You in 2014... now she's victorious! Apparently the song itself might have a slight revamp before Vienna, which will no doubt make it even stronger. I just pray they won't change it all together!! The full results:

1. Warrior – Amber – 72 points
2. Rush – Christabelle – 47 points
3. Breakaway – Glen Vella – 39 points
4. Closed Doors – Chris Grech – 35 points
5. Still Here – Franklin – 26 points
6. Something In The Way – Daniel Testa – 24 points
7. Love and Let Go – Ekklesia Sisters – 23 points
8. The One That You Love – Lawrence Grey – 18 points
9. Fandango – Jessika – 18 points
10. Chasing A Dream – Trilogy – 12 points
11. It’s Ok – Deborah C – 12 points
12. Once In A While – Dominic – 11 points
13. Beautiful To Me – L-Aħwa – 11 points
14. 12, Baker Street – Karen Debattista

Amber will fly the Maltese flag :-)

Enjoy the live performance below: