#ESC2016: FESTIVALI I KËNGËS FINAL ON 27TH DECEMBER, ARTISTS REVEALED

As always, Festivali i Këngës will consist of two semi finals and a final. The semis will take place on 25th and 26th December with the finale set for 27th December. RTSH, the national broadcaster, also announced the participants and there's some familiar names in the mix....

Egert Pano – Mos ik

Eneda Tarifa – Përrallë

Revolt Klan – Dashurinë s’e gjejmë dot

Kozma Dushi – Një kafe

Enxhi Nasufi – Infinit

Florent Abrashi – Të ndjek çdo hap

Dilan Reka – Buzëqesh

Evans Rama – Flakë

Sigi Bastri – Engjëll i lirë

Simbol – Artiste

Lindi Islami – Për një mrekulli

Egzon Pireci – Triumf

Aslajdon Zaimaj – Merrmë që sot

Nilsa Hysi – Asaj

Jozefina Simoni – Një det me ty

Genc Tukiçi – Sa të dashuroj

Erga Halilaj – Monolog

Teuta Kurti – Në sytë e mi

Klodian Kaçani & Rezarta Smaja – Dashuri në përjetësi

Luiz Ejlli – Pa mbarim

Renis Gjoka – Ato që s’ti them dot

Besa Krasniqi – Liroje zemrën

Flaka Krelani – S’je për mua

Andi Tanko – Dielli vazhdon të më ngrohë

Edea Demaliaj – Era

Adrian Lulgjuraj – Jeto dhe ëndërro

Kristi Popa – Ajo çfarë ndjej

Voltan Prodani – Dëgjoje këngën o Atë

Klajdi Musabelli – Ndodh edhe kështu

Niku & Entela Zhula – Muza

Luiz Ejlli (2006) and Adrian Lulgjuraj (2013) are back. Will we see one of them represent Albania again? Other familiar names include Kozma Dushi, Lindi Islami, Teuta Kurti, Rezarta Smaja, Flaka Krelani and Klajdi Musabelliu. Albania produced my favourite entry in the 2015 contest.. will they do it again next year? :-)

#ESC2016: ICELAND DECIDES ON 20TH FEBRUARY

Iceland will celebrate 30 years of participating in Eurovision next year and so will naturally be looking for a decent result in Stockholm. Some rules regarding the upcoming Icelandic national selection have been released. 12 artists in total will participate where six will qualify, plus one wildcard, meaning seven acts will battle it out in the final for the Icelandic ticket. Söngvakeppni will take place on the following days:

Semi Final 1 – February 6

Semi Final 2 – February 13

Final – February 20

All songs must be sung in Icelandic during the semi finals, although acts can perform English or bilingual versions of their entries in the final.

MÅNS ZELMERLÖW COMPOSES TWO SONGS FOR MELFEST

Måns Zelmerlöw is planning on entering Melodifestivalen next year - but as a composer. He told WiwiBloggs, that he has submitted two songs for the competition. Måns plans on releasing a new EP next spring too and is currently touring Europe.. According to Swedish reports, he's going to host Eurovision although official confirmation is still to come. Now the question is - who will be singing Måns's songs?

#ESC2016: RUTH LORENZO FOR SPAIN AGAIN?

Will Ruth Lorenzo return to Eurovision? According to Spanish press, it's not impossible. Ruth always said she'd happily return to Eurovision as it was an incredible experience etc. and even said she would return with an uptempo song. Read more here.. Listen to her new song below:

This is the proposed song. It's 3 minutes long, released this month (so it complies with the EBU's rules...) And Ruth is loved. #RuthLorenzoAEurovision was a trending topic last weekend on Twitter. The people want her but what about TVE? Ruth is still appearing on Tu cara me suena and has also released an official video-clip for 99. Enjoy!

#ESC2016: IVETA MUKUCHYAN TO REPRESENT ARMENIA!

Iveta Mukuchyan has been announced as the Armenian representative for Stockholm! In 2010, she placed 5th on Hay Superstar (Armenian Pop Idol) and also has appeared on The Voice of Germany. Watch her blind audition below.. y'all might regonise the song :-)

I am really excited to hear her song! Great choice, Armenia.

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?

Bosnia and Herzegovina: No participation in 2016?

Despite announcing their intention to participate some weeks ago, Bosnia and Herzegovina has unfortunately decided to withdraw and therefore 2016 will be the forth year in a row they miss. There's still a glimmer of hope though.. The EBU has granted BHRT until the end of October to find a sponsor who can foot the bill. Maybe Bosnia will be there after all? Maybe.

PORTUGAL WITHDRAWS FROM EUROVISION 2016!

Damn. Portugal won't participate in Eurovision 2016. I'm so saddened. Portugal therefore becomes the first country to withdraw from the contest. OGAE Portugal reports that it's financial difficulties that have lead the country to withdraw. An official statement from RTP is still to come so stay tuned... Many Eurofans need to listen to this now.

Source - Eurovoix

WISHLIST 2016: ROBIN FOR FINLAND!

There's so much potential when considering Finland's act for Stockholm. Antti Tuisku, Haloo Helsinki!, Jenni Vartiainen... and as much as I love them all, I think Robin would be the ideal candidate. 

Robin (full name Robin Packalen) is only 17 years old and has had a string of domestic hits. Back in 2009, he represented Finland in New Wave Junior Contest in Moscow when he was only 11 years old. He has also often be refereed to as "The Justin Bieber of Finland" - that bit isn't helping my argument, is it? :-) In fairness, Robin is already ranked among the 70 best selling artists in Finland of all time and with a decent song, he would be brilliant. Rumour has it that he's wanting to break into the international market... What better way is there of entering Eurovision? 

WISHLIST 2016: SYLWIA GRZESZCZAK FOR POLAND!

Poland confirmed their presence in Stockholm only yesterday and there's one lady who I'd love to see represent them. The incredibly talented Sylwia Grzeszczak.

She is arguably one of Poland's biggest and most respected musicians. Sylwia has three albums to her name already with the last two been awarded double platinum. They subsequently occupied the 1st and 4th place on the list selling albums in Poland. This girl is big, y'all! I think she would be a fantastic option for Poland next year. Come in TVP, sign her up! Enjoy some of her biggest hits below...

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. 

Lithuania: National selection for Stockholm!

A national selection will be used to decide Lithuania's entry for 2016. Submissions to compete close on 1st December and all entrants must be Lithuanian. Naturally. The dates remain unknown...

WISHLIST 2016: MALÚ FOR SPAIN!

Regarding Spain 2016, all eyes are on Marta Sánchez and as much as I love her and think she would be a brilliant representative there's someone else who would be even better. Malú!

Malú is arguably one of Spain's biggest and most successful singers. has released 11 albums (many have been awarded multiple platinum) and her 12th is expected to drop in November. The 33 year old has sold 2.5 million albums in total. Her latest single became number one on iTunes within hours of its release. Her name is often mentioned on people's 'wishlists' - will 2016 be the year we finally see her in Eurovision? It's unlikely but it's good to dream...

WISHLIST 2016: ANNALISA FOR ITALY!

Ahh Italia! There's so many Italian artists who would be incredible in Eurovision so this was a pretty difficult choice however I think Annalisa would be the best choice for Italy next year.

Annalisa (also known as Nali) took part in Sanremo 2015 with this beautiful song and finished 4th:

In 2011, Nali rose to fame on the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi where she placed 2nd. Since then, she has had numerous hits, participated in Sanremo twice, received 3 Platinum discs and 3 Gold discs and has sold 225,000 singles. Europe would love her. She is always perfect live and could rock that stage in Stockholm with something like this Vincerò. Senza riserva is also beautiful. And so is Tra due minuti è primavera. Actually all of her songs are fabulous! Italy are really trying to win. Marco Mengoni, Emma, Il Volo... Will Annalisa be next? Unfortuantly, I think it's rather unlikely because she participated in Sanremo earleir this year - would she do it for the 2nd year in a row? Would she want Eurovision? Let's enjoy her latest single below...

HIGHWAY TO REPRESENT MONTENEGRO!

The pop-rock trio, Highway, will represent Montenegro in Stockholm. Tonight the Montenegrin broadcaster announced they had internally selected them following some speculation about a possible withdrawal by Montenegro... Remember the drama with their juries votes? Highway rose to fame on The X Factor Adria and came 4th overall. The trio consist of Peter Tošić, Marko Pešić and Luka Vojvodić. No information regarding their song yet.