Malta: 20 finalists revealed!

Last night, the Maltese finalists were announced through Xarabank - a popular Maltese show! Unfortunately I missed it so I haven't heard any of the songs but judging from the reactions I've seen online, there are great songs this year!

These are the lucky acts which have made the live shows:

• Amber – Because I have you
• Andreana – Now and forever
• Chris Grech – Oblivion
• Christabelle - Lovetricity
• Corazon – Ten
• Daniel Testa – One last ride
• Davinia – Brand new day
• Debbie Stivala – Pin the middle
• Deborah C – Until we meet again
• Fabrizio Faniello - Just no place like home
• Firelight – Coming home
• Franklin – Love will take me home
• Jessika - Hypnotica
• Miriam Christine – Safe
• Pamela – Take me
• Raquel Galdes - Invisible
• Romina Mamo – Addictive
• Ryan Paul Abela – City lady
• Sophie – Let the sunshine in
• Wayne William – Some kind of wonderful

Only snippets of each song was revealed last night... the semi-final will take place on 7th February! Then the grand final will follow the day after. I'm delighted to see that Chris Grech and Davinia are back!

Off-topic - y'all can watch the expert check in Switzerland here.

Belarus: 15 finalists revealed, final set for 10th January!

Belorussian broadcaster, BTRC, has tonight revealed the 15 acts that'll compete to represent Belarus in Copenhagen. Over 100 acts submitted their offerings in the hope to make the national final.

No names I recognise here:

• Matvei Bondarenko
• Yuri Vashchuk
• Alexey Gross
• Daria
• Janette
• Max Lorens & Didyulya
• Anastasia Malashkevich
• Artem Mikhalenko
• Alina Moshchenko
• “NAPOLI”
• “Nuteki”
• Natalia Odintsova
• Elena Siniavskaya
• Natalia Tamelo
• SWITTER BOYS 

The final will take place on 10th January - the winner will be decided by televote and a professional jury.

Spain: Have TVE chosen Ruth Lorenzo for Eurovision?

Ruth Lorenzo is apparently going to represent Spain, according to the online magazine El Corte Inglés - the site which exclusively reported El Sueño de Morfeo would represent Spain in Malmo. TVE have seemingly been in negations with her for sometime...

Ruth has previously stated that she'd happily go to Eurovision for UK, but now it appears she could be representing her homeland instead. She competed in The X Factor UK a few years ago and came 5th, respectively. It looks like Ruth will be flying the Spanish flag as her songs release date has been delayed and her website has been updated. 

The Spanish representative will be officially revealed very soon! 

Lithuania: LRT aim to produce a high quality selection!

Lithuania's participation in Copenhagen will mark their 20th entry in Eurovision and thus LRT are aiming to produce an awesome show! The hosts have also been announced - and they are Arūnas Valinskas and Simona Nainė.

An ‘anniversary concert’ will be held on 14th December, then the selection will properly kick off the week after and will air every week until early February. Lithuania will choose their representative on 8th February! Some artists have already announced that they'll compete in the selection. These include: Sasha Son, Aistė Pilvelytė and Pop Ladies.

20 acts will compete in the selection, with the best 6 making the grand final! I'm very excited about this! ;-)

France: Destan, Joanna and Twin Twin announced as French hopefuls!

France will hold a national final on 26th January where three participants will showcase their offerings in the hope to represent France - and now these participants are known!

I've had a quick look on YouTube and they all have potential - but I think my favourite is Joanna. She has such a strong voice but Destan also look great. Twin Twin look interesting, to say the least, but with the right song they could be awesome. It's going to depend on the song. On 2nd March, the French representative will be revealed by Natasha St. Piere.

Talking of France - I've recently come across this, wow...

Sweden: Melodifestivalen 2014 line-up complete!

Today SVT revealed the remaining 16 names that'll compete in Melodifestivalen 2014! We have some familiar names too today, including Anton Ewald, Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing!

These acts will participate in the third semi final:

• State of Drama with "All we are"
• dr. alban & Jessica Folcker with "Around the world!
• Shirley Clamp with "Burning alive"
• Ace Wilder with "Busy doin’ nothin’"
• Outtrigger with "Echo"
• CajsaStina Åkerström with "En enkel sång"
• EKO with "Red"
• Oscar Zia with "Yes we can"

...and these are the acts which will compete in the forth semi:

• Alcazar with "Blame it on the disco"
• Ellinore Holmer with "En himmelsk sång"
• I.D.A with "Fight me if you dare"
• Josef Johansson with "Hela natten"
• Janet Leon with "Hollow"
• Anton Ewald with "Natural"
• Ammotrack with "Raise your hands!"
• Linda Bengtzing with "Ta mig"

All 32 acts have know been revealed. The fun begins on 1st February with the first semi final... 

NuVidz: Lily Allen, neAngely, Abi Sampa, Kurt Calleja!

Lily Allen has covered the beautiful Somewhere only we know. This is like the prefect Christmas song, it's lovely... I'm not normally a massive fan of hers but this does tug at the heart strings. neAngely are aiming to represent Ukraine in Copenhagen with Courageous. It is fantastic!!! Ukraine will select their song on 21st December and I hope this wins. Abi Sampa has covered Wake Me Up <3 she's amazing! Abi brings an Eastern influence in her music. She was a contestant on The Voice UK 2013 however didn't make the live shows. Finally, Kurt Calleja, Malta's 2012 representative, has unveiled a new song called Love On Mars. Sweet video and a really cool song!

Sweden: First 16 artists have been announced!

The first 16 participates to participate in Melodifestivalen have been revealed by SVT, the Swedish broadcaster. There are some well known names in the mix - including Helena Paparizou, Sanna Nielsen, YOHIO and Martin Stenmarck.

Here are the acts which will compete in the first semi final:

• Mahan Moin with “Aleo”
• Alvaro Estrella with “Bedroom”
• Linus Svenning with “Bröder”
• Sylvester Schlegel with “Bygdens son”
• Elisa Lindström with “Casanova”
• Ellen Benediktson with “Songbird”
• Helena Paparizou with “Survivor”
• Yohio with “To the End”

...and here are the acts to compete in the second semi final:

• Panetoz with “Efter solsken”
• Manda with “Glow”
• The Refershments with “Hallelujah”
• Pink Pistols with “I Am Somebody”
• JEM with “Love Trigger”
• Martin Stenmarck with “När änglarna går hem”
• Little Great Things with “Set Yourself Free”
• Sanna Nielsen with “Undo”

The remaining 16 artists will be revealed on Thursday!

Copenhagen 2014: Sneak peak of unfinished logo!

DR have released a photograph of what next years logo could look like. This isn't the finished version, however we can see what kind of look they are going for.

Me gusta! This is what Jan Lagermand Lundme, show producer at DR said:

It is not the finished theme art, but a preview of the graphics that includes some of the important elements that we work with. The idea is that the graphic to support our slogan # JoinUs. And this slogan with a hashtag in front is at the center of the graphics, which has red, blue and purple elements and has a diamond-like shape.

The Netherlands: The Common Linnets to Copenhagen!

Ilse Delange and Waylon have been announced as the Dutch representatives! TROS revealed this in a press conference in Hilversum this morning. They will compete under the name "The Common Linnets".

I'm very excited about this! They are both fantastic artists and will release a new album soon - which has been recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. The duo have worked together for many years now - and this is what Ilse had to say about flying the Dutch flag:

We’ve known each other a long time out of the country circuit. Early this year I wanted to make a record with a like-minded artist, and I came out [to Nashville] with Waylon. We went several times to Nashville and wrote there. We have written a lot of songs together, but haven’t decided what number we are going to do in the contest. One morning in Nashville we had a talk about the contest and then I was pretty enthusiastic about it.

The song hasn't been chosen yet however it is going to be country song. I'm expecting good things from Holland next year... Their Eurovision entry will be released in March.

Here they are performing together...

Bulgaria: BNT react to the new deadline!

A couple of days ago, Bulgaria announced that they would leaving Eurovision because of financial problems however now the EBU have moved the deadline to 10th January - it seems there is still hope!

BNT, the Bulgarian broadcaster, released this statement:

“New date announced by the official website of the organizers at DR, stating that to date there may be any changes in the list of participating countries. After this came out, application for participation in ” Eurovision ” 2014 will finally be possible.”

Meanwhile OGAE Serbia are asking for support so have set up a Facebook page in the hope that the Serbian broadcaster will re-think their plans on Eurovision 2014.

Copenhagen 2014: EBU expand deadline to 10th January!

Only 37 countries have initially confirmed participation for the 2014 contest, so the EBU have decided to expend their deadline. The official deadline is now 10th January - so there's still hope for Bulgaria, Serbia, Cyprus, Croatia... they have two months to get their finances in order and find sponsors.

Slovenia and Greece likely to participate although confirmation will come in the coming weeks. Poland will announce their decision tomorrow. Both Slovenia and Greece have sent applications to compete, however they said they need to get their finances in order before they confirm officially. I reckon the EBU will talk to the withdrawn countries, and maybe help them financially, as that's the reason there has been four withdrawals.

Bulgaria: BNT decide to withdraw, too!

OMG NO! Bulgaria won't participate in Copenhagen either. They did confirm ages ago but have decided not to enter blaming money problems. This is the worst day of my life *cries*

The national broadcaster in Bulgaria have released this statement:

Given the cost of this project and pending budget cuts next year, BNT decided to withdraw from Eurovision Song Contest as a first step in the financial constraints the television will have to take.

This means that four countries have announced their withdrawal. Sad times!

Serbia: Withdrawal confirmed!

Due to financial difficulties, it has been confirmed that Serbia will not send an entry to Copenhagen. RTS, the Serbian broadcaster, have been in discussion for sometime and have decided to withdraw today.

This is very sad. Both Cyprus and Croatia have also withdrawn for the 2014 contest. Serbia is one of my favourite Eurovision countries, as is Cyprus, so I'm gutted to read that they're leaving the contest. Slovenia and Moldova are still yet to confirm... Oh, and Poland! And Greece.

Bye Serbia... you've send some amazing songs!!! <3

Source - RTS

Copenhagen 2014: Deadline day... WHO WILL PARTICIPATE? Updated!

Today is the official deadline for all countries to send their applications into the EBU - so confirmations have been coming through all day... which is fantastic. Although broadcasters can decide to withdraw up until December 15th without a financial penalty. The biggest questions today are... will Poland return? Will Romania compete? Will Slovenia compete? Stay tuned!

Here are the countries which have confirmed:

• Albania
• Austria
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• FYR Macedonia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Malta
• Moldova 
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• San Marino
• Slovenia  
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom

Countries which have confirmed they won't participate:

• Bulgaria 
• Croatia 
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Slovakia
• Morocco
• Turkey
• Serbia

Keep refreshing this page to see who has confirmed! 

Switzerland: Final 18 participants announced!

The three Swiss broadcasters RSI, RTS and SRF have all announced their acts to compete in the "expert check" on 30th November. Then out of those 18 acts, only 6 will qualify for the live national final.

I'm rather unimpressed to be honest... Ilary didn't make it, Rebecca didn't make it, neither did Daria or Jerome Mevis. Shame. However one of my favourites did make it into the final 18 - and that's the lovely Gosia! Swissters also made it, they're pretty good too. Here are the 18 acts to compete in the expert check...

SRF candidates:

• 3forAll – Together forever
• Arxpendida – Mercurii diei
• Gosia – I’m not afraid
• Hot connection – Music from the sixties
• Martin Kirchberger – Yourope
• Nino Colnna – La luce del cuore
• One day remains – Alpha
• Swissters – Celebration
• Yasmina Hunzinger – I still believe

RTS candidates:

• Christian Tschanz – Au paradis
• Lola Sparkes – Baby can’t you see
• Joël Murner – In my life
• Natacha & Stéphanie – Une terre sans vous
• Paula Marengo – J’ai envie de toi
• Tanita – Another day alone

RSI candidates:

• Jasmine Mossier – Higher love
• Sebalter – Hunter of stars
• Valentino Alfano – 103 parole