Belarus: National final set for early January!

Submissions have now opened in Belarus as BTRC, the Belorussian broadcaster, has announced this through their official website. There will be a national final which is set for January.

About 10 to 15 acts will compete and the winner will represent Belarus in Copenhagen! That's if they don't change their minds and send another song - this is Belarus guys so who knows?! LOL! All interested artists and composers must apply before 24th November.

Hungary: "A Dal" to select entrant for Copenhagen!

Hungarian broadcaster, MTV, have announced that they will hold a national final to select their representative for next year. The rules for "A Dal" have also been released...

Take a look here on esctoday.com to see these rules and how to apply. I wonder if the interest will be higher this year due to ByeAlex achieving 10th place in Malmo... not that he deserved that! Yes, it was a pretty nice song but it should not have ended that high on the night. The deadline for interested artists to apply is 1st December. There will be semi finals again like last year, with a national final set for early March.

NuVidz: Valentina Monetta, Samira Said, Kaisa Vala, Alyona Lanskaya!

It's all about the ladies this week! While we wait for her 2014 song, Valentina Monetta releases a jazzy tune entitled  L'amore verrà. I love it, everyone loves it, so with any luck Valentina will be singing a jazz song in Copenhagen. Meanwhile the only Moroccan entrant to grace the Eurovision stage releases the much anticipated Mazal! Samira Said never fails to amaze me. I love her! Caught in Translation is the new track from Kaisa Vala. It's actually quite fabulous! ...and last but not least we have Alyona Lanskaya! She presents You're The Lucky One and it's a pretty decent song. She also released a Russian version entitled Сказка о любви. I much prefer the Russian version and I wish we heard Russian more in Eurovision. One of my favourite languages!!!

Estonia: Birgit Oigemeel gives birth to a baby boy!

The Estonian singer, Birgit Oigemeel, has given birth to a baby boy!!! This blogger sends massive congratulations to Birgit and her partner Indrek Sarrap. Birgit posted this onto her Facebook account...

My dearest friends and fans! I’ll take a little break from singing and I’ll be back for you in December. This year was really exciting and eventful and I want to thank you all for sharing this special time with me! See you soon :) Birgit

Awwww!

San Marino: Valentina will release a new album in January, it'll contain her ESC entry!

eurofestivalnews.com reports that Valentina Monetta will release a new album in January. It will contain her Eurovision entry for the 2014 contest, too!

This new album will feature a total of 12 new songs, some written by Ralph Siegel, and some written by Valentina herself. Valentina and Ralph are currently working on songs for the album - and one song will be the 5th Sanmarinesse entry! No dates have been released although we know we'll hear it in January. I hope her Eurovision song will be jazzy and catchy... and in Italian!

Lithuania: National final on 8th February, several shows beforehand!

A few days ago it was announced that Lithuania select their entry for 2014 through a large scale national final. The fun will commence on 14th December - as that's when there will be a special Jubilee concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Lithuania's participation!

The producers will choose what song each artist performs - this is what Moldova did thus year, and it was quite controversial. Anyone interested in flying the Lithuanian flag has until 15th November.

NuVidz: Veca Janicsák, Rod Stewart, Ilse DeLange, Roberto Bellarosa!

Veca Janicsák was my favourite in the Hungarian selection this year with "Új Generáció" and she's now released New Generation - the English version of it. Fantastic song!!! It's about 100 times better than the rubbish they actually sent. I've also discovered Rod Stewart's new album this week and my favourite song from it is It's Over. Really sweet song indeed. Anouk's rival, Ilse DeLange, has a new track out entitled  Blue Bittersweet - I like it. Roberto Bellarosa is also back on the scene with Suivre mon étoile. It's been quite a busy week!

Cyprus: Another broadcaster is willing to help!

There's still hope in Cyprus, y'all! A commercial broadcaster, SIGMA TV, have said that they are willing to work together with CyBE to ensure the Cyprus sends an entry to Copenhagen. Eeeek!

It's still early days but this does look very promising. Mr Dimitris Tsokaris, the Deputy Chief of SIGMA TV, said:

“We are willing to produce the national selection and the necessary expenses for the song and the artist like MAD TV did for Greece last year… it’s never too late for CyBC to change their minds, there’s still time.”

Indeed there's still time. We should also find out what Slovenia are doing within the next few weeks.

Austria: Internal selection for Conchita Wurst!

Conchita Wurst's song for next years Eurovision will be chosen internally. The controversial Austrian singer will present her song in February - and thus there be no national final to select the song. So the Austrian public will have no say in their 2014 representation.

Maybe it can work although she'll just be seen as a joke act regardless of the song. She does have a fantastic voice, judging from YouTube videos. Take a look at this! Austria haven't made the finals since 2011 and I doubt that will change next year.

Albania: Festivali i Këngës dates revealed!

It's been announced that Albania will hold their annual Festivali i Këngës on 20th, 21st and 22nd December. Therefore my friends, we will now the Albanian entry on 22nd December. Its looking likely that Albania will be the first to select their entry this year - after Switzerland are moving their final to February.

Adrian Lulgjurak and Bledar Sejko flew in Albanian flag in Malmo although failed to reach the final. It was a shame. A nice song which was brilliantly performed!

FYR Macedonia: Tijana's song to be presented 15th January!

It's been announced that the Macedonian entry will be revealed on January 15th. Another date to put on the calender! ^^

Tijana hasn't given any information away regarding the song or the authors yet so there's not much else to say about that. A few weeks ago it was confirmed that Tamara (who flew the Macedonian flag in Belgrade) will join her sister on stage although she'll just be a backing singer.

Cyprus: Withdrawal from Eurovision 2014 confirmed!

The Cypriot broadcaster, RIK, have confirmed that they won't be taking part next year due to financial problems. I posted that Cyprus might withdraw yesterday and unfortunately it's turned out to be true...

So with Croatia withdrawing, and no returnees yet, is there really going to be any need for two semi finals? I pray to god the EBU do something quick... soon there's going to be hardly anyone left. A statement was released earlier:

RIK announced the decision of the managment board to abstain from the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The board was led to this decision, after taking into account public opinion on the economic crisis. (The institute) took into consideration further cuts to RIK's budget for 2014, and the need for drastic cuts to spending for the programmes.

Could this be the nail in the coffin for Greece's participation? I doubt they'll be in Copenhagen either. It's worth mentioning that Lithuania have confirmed so all is not bad. ^^

Cyprus: Withdrawal on the cards?

Indications are showing that Cyprus may be forced to leave the contest next year, due to financial problems, and a decision will be made in the coming weeks. Croatia has already withdrawn thanks to financial strains - and it's very likely Cyprus will follow them.

Greece are also going through hard times too, and could withdraw. They only participated this year because they found a sponsor to fund everything. I think they'll be less than 39 participants next year... Plus it doesn't help that Cyprus failed to qualify in Malmo.

Belgium: Eurosong details announced, final on 16th March!

It's been announced that Belgium will pick their entry on 16th March. After Roberto Bellarosa came 12th in Malmo, the Belgians are really taking the contest seriously once again!

There will be casting shows, semi finals, a second chance round and the grand finale. The new selection will start on 2nd February, an will run through into mid-March. Belgium's selection is going to be in two stages - firstly by selecting the singers, then matching these singers with songs (a special jury will choose the best songs). These are the dates when Eurosong will take place:

2nd Febuary - Casting show #1
9th Febuary - Casting show #2
16th February - Second chance
23rd February - Semifinal #1
2nd March - Semifinal #2
9th March - Semifinal #3
16th March - FINAL!

I've got a weird feeling Belgium may do very well in 2014... ;)

UK: Participation confirmed for 2014!

Yipee!!! I'm so happy! The BBC have confirmed that they will be sending an entry to Copenhagen next year. I'm relieved as there have been a few rumours circulating saying that the UK would withdraw... thankfully that's turned out the be nonsense!

How will the British entry be selected? Internal selection is likely although this hasn't been confirmed. Ruth Lorenzo has already said she'd love to represent the UK in Eurovision. Apparently even TVE (Spanish broadcaster) asked her a few years ago although she felt she wasn't ready at the time and hence declined the offer. Maybe now she is..... ;)

Bonnie Tyler came 19th in Malmo - awesome performance, stunning voice, average song. Hopefully we'll send an awesome act next year <3

NuVidz: Krista Siegfrids, James Arthur, Within Temptation, Shany Zamir!

The 2013 Finnish representative returns with Can You See Me? - a beautiful ballad dedicated to her father who died when she was 15. A sweet song and a stunning video-clip and she's already doing well in the Finnish iTunes charts. James Arthur releases You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You. He won The X Factor in 2012 - a slightly weird track although I do enjoy it. He's got a really unique voice... Tarja joins forces with Within Temptation and they release Paradise. Fantastic song... they're releasing a new CD in January. The adorable Shany Zamir covers Caruso - one of the greatest covers I've heard of that song. Israel really missed out when they didn't select her for Malmo.