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| Saturday,
February 7, 2009 | ||
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| MUCH wringing of hands and possible thoughts of wringing one particular songwriter's neck in Hungary this week. The choosing-panel in Budapest were all set to send Mark Zentai with kiddy-yankee-pop confection How To Party to Moscow, when someone tactfully pointed out that the song had been recorded, with different lyrics, by Sweden's Big Brother Contestants in 2004. It transpires the composer thought it was within the rules to simply re-write the lyrics of his own work and submit it to the board. Oops. It always pays to have a back-up plan, so Hungary will now despatch the song which - allegedly - finished second with the panel. It's called Mag�nyos Cs�nak and is performed by the elfin Katya Tompos. This song will also appear on the soundtrack of a forthcoming comedy film. Judging by this tune, sounds like a right rib-tickling evening down the Multiplex. |
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| ONE of Andorra La Vella's largest coffee shops was the auspicious venue for the country's national final. Three songs took part - although with each performer miming, it's unclear how the winner will sound in the yooge Russian arena in May. That winner is cheeky-faced Susanna Georgi, who once competed in the Danish heats as part of the duo Me and My (they didn't win). The song is a bit of a cutie. It starts off with shades of Buggles, then drifts into something guitar-led, inoffensive and chirpy. Another hard slog faces them, but surely it's time this lot made it to the Saturday night final? We all adore an Andorra. |
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| THIS is all very noir-ish and moody - and the much-awaited song by highly acclaimed chanteuse Patricia Kaas whose cabaret-style smoky charms will fill the Moscow stage for three minutes in May. It seems that fans of Kaas' music took part in an online poll where they selected their favourite song from her new album. Their choice, Et S'il Fallait Le Faire, became the French entry for Eurovision 2009. This is just the sort of song which hardcore Eurovision fans will embrace to the nth degree, as it's a million miles away form the onomatopaeic fluff which saddles the event with its wider public perception. It's a good song - just not instant enough to win. |
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| ACCORDING to De Toppers, there are too many men in the world who fight. Fair enough, but they also believe that love makes people glow in the dark. Before Ready Brek snap these three up to back their next ad campaign, they have the small task of representing the Netherlands at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest with Shine. Certainly the most fun of the national finals held so far, the show was more like a concert (De Toppers fill stadia to the rafters up and down the Netherlands) with the result just a middling bit of admin to be handled at the end. The jury unanimously picked Angel of the Night as the song to go forward to Moscow, but this was overturned by the voting public, with bucketloads of points for Shine - the final song of the evening. It was later revealed that Gordon Topper wrote the song himself when he was feeling a bit low, but didn't tell the others. We just like the middle backing singer. Bet she's got a few tales to tell. |
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| OOH, now, Whoops Dragovic has just found one of its favourites among those chosen for 2009 so far. The winner of this year's Slovene final is half-instrumental/half-song Love Symphony, staged in such a teasing away, that you start to wonder if the singer is just too ugly to come out from behind that curtain. Reminiscent of the sort of stuff which fills Bond albums, this chugs dramatically along, making the brave move of not including any lyrics until one minute into the three minutes the judges will allow a Eurovision song to be. This isn't getting everyone as excited as Whoops is, but fingers crossed this will make the final. |
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| THE waiting is over. Whoops Dragovic can now reveal that the hunt for Waldo has reached its conclusion and the bespectacled gentleman in the stripey hat has been in Finland all this time. Clearly, his time in Finland has seen Waldo develop a passion for the Eurovision Song Contest, as he has gathered a group of associates together to prepare an entry for the pan-European musical extravaganza. Waldo's People were indeed victorious at the Finnish final, winning with the song Lose Control, which has already been a big hit in the domestic charts. It's very reminiscent of the house anthems which crossed over from clubland to the mainstream at the end of the '90s, but it's crowdpleasing enough to give the Finns some deserved confidence of making the May 16 final. Waddayareckon? |
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| SO there we have it. Little Miss Jade has turned Mark and The Twins green with envy by scooping the viewer vote in the final of Your Country Needs You. And here she is, performing the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Diane Warren composition My Time. As is usual with the UK entry, both singer and song have been largely slaughtered on the internet message forums, but the East End girl is gaining a small-ish core of support - even from non-Brits. Her next move is to take the song around the various national finals - she starts in Malta, although a fair few Eastern European heats wouldn't do her any harm - and record a studio version of the song. This will mean cutting around 15-20 seconds out of the tune somewhere, as it's just too long at the minute. Whoops wishes her well. For what it's worth, we like the song, but our girl will now have to face the voters of Europe, some of whom will be determined to hate the song before they've even listened to it. | |
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| BEJESUS, Ronan Keating has only gone and co-written the Danish entry. Big interest in this year's Danish final from the Eurovision fan community, as a select few of its kind were responsible for the entry from Hera Bjork, a rousing - if formulaic - schlager stomper called Someday, which may have been the better choice than this pleasant, albeit pedestrian, tune whose singer doesn't seem too hot at hitting the right notes. Although, this does mean that - if this wins - a song called Believe Again won the Contest the year after a song called Believe did. Historians will have to make it quite clear that the 2008 winner didn't strike gold in the 2009 event. Again. |
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| GOODNESS, she's a shrinking violet and no mistake. This is Elena Gheorge with The Balkan Girls, Romania's effort for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Now, she sings it quite quickly - and we can't actually work out at which point she sings the lyric 'The Balkan Girls', but let's leave that to one side for now. With the exception of last year's pop/classical hybrid, these Eurodance numbers are becoming Romania's stock-in-trade where Contest entries are concerned. We wouldn't be at all surprised if this does loads better than Nico and Vlad did in Belgrade. There's a lot to admire here, but not a lot to love, it has to be said. |
| Sunday,
January 25, 2009 | ||
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 OH, it all sounded so hopeful when Lord Andy appeared in his armchair just before Strictly Come Dancing in the autumn of last year. It now looks as though the UK entry for 2009 will be sung by those flaky-as-hell, unable-to-cope-in-a-very-big-arena-with-just-two-people-in-the-audience Twins. Buggeration. With only two acts definitely safe in last night's Your Country Needs You, it would seem that The Twins and Mark are the viewers' choice, with bookies' favourite Jade finishing either third or last in the phone vote and requiring to be saved by the Lord of the Middle Eight. ALW only seems to be able to tell the gruesome non-tunesome twosome that he is convinced the British public will "fall in love" with them. Just goes to show how disconnected you can become from reality if you spend your days writing for musical theatre or wearing poncey clothes in the House of Lords. So that gives Jade an uphill struggle for the final - unless the Emperors of Soul supporters jump on the only other soulful bandwagon remaining - but will that be enough for her to win through? We don't mind Mark, he's just a bit too squeaky clean. But better than the aural nightmare of that sybling 'harmonising' on stage in Moscow. One more thing, it has been revealed by hateful scaremongering rag The Daily Mail that the song Di and Andy have rustled up for Saturday's winner is called My Time and can fit either the Celine Dion power ballad mode, or a dance beat. How very versatile. Let's just hope it's only sung by ONE person in Moscow. |
| Saturday, January 24, 2009 | ||
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  JUST Get Out of My Life is the non-polite message from Montenegrin songstress Andrea Demirovic. Don't worry, manners fans, Miss Demirovic still helps wheezing nuns carry heavy shopping back to the abbey and listens intently while small children talk for 20 minutes about interesting shells they've found on the beach. Just Get Out Of My Life is title of the song she will perform for Montenegro in one of the semi-finals in Moscow. If you're not just a fan of manners, but also one of facts, you may be interested to hear that this is the first time Montegro has sent a female soloist to Eurovision. Considering a lady singer performing on her own is by far the most successful formula for success in the first 50-odd years of the event, you'd think they'd have cottoned on to this a bit quicker. |
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  ACT-that-people-from-their-homeland-have-actually-heard-of, Swiss pop/rock monkeys Lovebugs, are all set to represent said homeland in 2009. Some influential people in suits gathered around a big table in a boardroom at Swiss Telly and thought long and hard about a chart-friendly, potential-goods-delivering performer/s who could restore some pride to Switzerland's increasingly battered Eurovision reputation (Vanilla Ninja notwithstanding). It seems that the 'Bugs were one of those acts on the list who were willing to take a sip from that poisonous Euro-dipped chalice. The same chalice which put a premature end to DJ BoBo's career, but it would be cruel to mention that... |
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  ATHENS' Mr Entertainment will showcase the three songs he's wrapping his 'singing talent' around at the Greek final on February 18. Dodgy vocalist Sakis Rouvas will perform an unholy trilogy of pop ditties by Dimitris Kontopoulos at the Athinon Arena in a show hosted by the Maggira sisters (they're related). Don't forget, kids, Sakis has already said that failure is not an option. Presumably, Greek TV executives are going to exile him to Outer Siberia if success doesn't come Mr Rouvas' way. Here's hoping, anyway. |
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  IN a move which may require the BBC to explain to UK viewers it's not a song about gravy granules simmering away, rock types Regina are to represent Bosnia & Herzegovina in Russia with the song Bistra Voda, which translates as Clear Water. The song hasn't been made public yet. The band has been together since 1990 and are adamant that they are off to Eurovision "to win". Let's hope this lot and Sakis aren't going to come to to a backstage girly-slap stand-off. Not unless there's a camera crew around, anyway. |
| Saturday,
January 17, 2009 | ||
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 YES, we know, 'Jibbed' would look better in a headline, but there wasn't a children's book called Charlotte's Wib. After the second live show of Your Country Needs You, Charlotte-The-Wisp was sent packing by the very man who thought she had a great opportunity to grow over the course of the competition. Clearly, the growth spurt the 17-year-old showed over the course of one week was more than enough life experience for Lord Andy, who turned her down after a choose-off between said 'Shar Lott', as he insists on calling her, and the Emperors of Soul. Of the acts on show tonight, The Twins were on average as ever, but worryingly, keep on getting saved by the public/Sheffield vote - much as it's a valiant effort by the Beeb, YCNY certainly hasn't lodged in the national consciousness in the same way that X-Factor or Strictly has, so it would take just once concerted effort from a major conurbation to see one act safe each week. Jings crivens. The nit-picky backlash is already underway on other corners of the internet, with claims that neither Jade nor Mark can actually sing (the very experienced casting directors at the major West End shows these singers have appeared in should really give some web-based Eurovision fans a call for career advice). The rather shy Diane Warren also put in an appearance and both she and Lord Andy were seen at work putting some song/s together (which for a UK-based Eurovision fan was a heartlifting moment, it has to be said). At one tantalising moment, Andy said something about more than once singer needed for the one they were working on. That means he's either banking on The Twins, or we could have a Mark/Jade duet. Good to see, also, that they had a stopwatch on the table, so nobody will be going over the three-minute mark. Because, by jiggens, if the tune goes a split second over, there will be a fair few people sending emails straight to the EBU to grass them up. Once they've stopped dicussing who can sing and who can't on a web forum. Next week it's the semi-final - and Whoops is predicting a Jade/Mark/Twins final, with a horrible feeling that The Twins will be Russia-bound. Gawd help us. One more thing; does Diane Warren know that this song she's working on is for the Eurovision Song Contest? She didn't mention the event once in her interview. Has she actually heard of it? |
| Sunday,
January 11, 2009 | ||
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 | Claudia Faniello: Blue Sonata |
Miriam Christine: Mama |
| FIFTY-SIX songs were split into eight heats of seven and last night, the final Maltese qualifier took place, with the 20 songs making it through to the Song For Europe final on February 7 announced. Chiara is through, as you can see from the list on the left - which also shows the running order for the big night itself. There doesn't appear to be any outstanding song in the line-up, although the ones to look out for at this stage include Chiara, Trilogy's The Song In Your Heart and, quite possibly, Claudia Faniello's Blue Sonata. We'll find out who is off to Moscow in four weeks' times. | ||
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| LE rumour mill is in le overgrind over in France, with the news that Francophonic musical behemoth (although she looks quite petite in photos), Patricia Kaas is set to represent her nation in Moscow. One of the biggest-selling artists in France at the moment, this would be a real coup for the French TV team, headed by Mnsr Bruno Berberes, who really do try to find something that is very French, but will also stand out on the Eurovision stage, each year. If this does turn out to be true, it's the second connection that Diane Warren, the lyricist behind the UK entry, has with Moscow 2009, as she has worked with Kaas on a previous album. Oh, hang on, Diane Warren has worked with Dima Bilan too. Make that her third connection with Moscow 2009. |
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  ICELAND has held the first of its four semi-finals. The two songs going through from the four on show are: J�hanna Gu�r�n J�nsd�ttir - Is it true Edgar Sm�ri Atlason - The kiss we never kissed They're both rather ballad-y. Three more semis to come for the Reykjavik faithful. |
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  IN a shock move (we still can't get up off the floor), Lithuania is back in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest with a vengeance, after earlier claims there just weren't enough pennies in the official LT United piggybank to send an act all the way from Vilnius to Moscow. Anyway, the money bit is sorted and last night (Saturday, January 10) saw the first of their quarter-finals. It was won by whippersnappery young thing, Sasha Son, with the choon (that's what people who are 'with it' call songs, of yes) Pasiklydęs �mogus. Sasha scored 92 points, 14 points clear of his nearest rival. Goodness, that's a sterling evening's work - and no mistake. |
| Saturday,
January 10, 2009 | ||
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 NOT the result we'd have plumped for (get rid of those twins, and quickly - they went to pieces in an EMPTY arena, for goodness gracious) but Your Country Needs You has its first casualty. Smouldering Jones-type, Damien Flood, whom Whoops Dragovic remains convinced is also a semi-pro footballer, was put in the 'dangerzone' (Graham Norton's words, not ours) by viewers of tonight's show, along with wispy Charlotte. Damien had performed Michael Bolton's How Am I Supposed to Live Without You with a gusto-ic swagger (despite not moving his feet for the entire performance) while Charlotte did an admittedly impressive rendition of Kelly Clarkson's Because of You. Lord Andy was called on to save his favoured act - and he plumped for Britain's Most Nervous Woman ahead of the more assured, experienced vocalist. Still, he's written a lot more musicals than we ever have, so we still think he knows what he's doing. Just. In what was another encouraging sign that the BBC really is sticking its head over the parapet in the taking-Eurovision-seriously stakes, Your Country Needs You had the six shortlisted acts getting together for group performances (after a camper than Milletts joint rendition of Waterloo to open the show). Beginning with the girls doing something from Starlight Express about trains crashing in to each other (how lovely), then the solo lads joining forces with Emperors of Soul for No Matter What from Whistle Down the Wind. The finalists were also shown singing from the stage at the audienceless O2 arena to prove to Lord Andy - and Lulu - that they had what it takes to fill a stadium with their voices. The Twins couldn't. And the public STILL saved them. Grrrr. | |
 | One announcement that didn't leak out before the live show was the identity of the lyricist who will work alongside Lord Andy on his Eurovision-y quest. That job goes to none other than Diane Warren (pictured, left), a songwriter who has won loads of heavy and shiny awards and is behind such tunes as Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time, Toni Braxton's Unbreak My Heart, Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss a Thing and (ugh) Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me. Early reports suggest that Diane will be on the show next week in a live link-up to LA (just think, five years ago, the UK seleection was held in 45 minutes on Sundays between Songs of Praise and a repeat of Keeping Up Appearances) and that viewers will get the chance to hear the song/s that Andy has had simmering away in his noggin for the first time on the January 31 show. Reports also indicate that he'll be writing three songs, one for each of the finalists on the last night of Your Country Needs You. Whichever way you look at it, the UK has a heavyweight team behind its song this year - and let's hope Diane's role isn't limited to just the words as she's got more of a pop sensibility than ALW. The early support seems to be swelling behind Jade and Mark. It's already starting to get interesting. |
| Monday,
January 5, 2009 | ||
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 WHICH is a daft thing to write, as the only one who didn't accept her mission was Rita. So, here they are; the six acts who will go head to head over four live knock-out shows in January to be crowned the UK entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow in May. And then handed a song by Andrew Lloyd Webber. To help you keep up, Whoops Dragovic has provided a handy ready-reckoner of how the acts are doing so far. As you can see, they are all very much still in the competition at this stage.We'll be updating that handy table as soon as possible after each Saturday night show (provided we're not in the pub with Dot) and one of those boxes is going to start to look like a pools coupon straight away. We're not playing favourites (ahem), but we really, really, really hope that Charlotte and The Twins go first. There's no way either of those two acts could get out on stage in Moscow and belt one one out without collapsing in a gibbering heap of nerves, tears and - quite possibly - wee wee. |
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| WHAT'S this? Chiara in 'entering something a bit meh and bland for the Eurovision Song Contest' shocker? Bland and meh it is, as What If We, one of the more eagerly awaited submissions in this year's national finals season - particularly for fans of the salad-embargoing Maltese vocalist - just doesn't do very much at all. An attempt to have a peace and love-style tune, in the same mould as Angel, What If We is positively mouldy and hasn't been welcomed all that favourably in the curious world of internet fandom. Saying that, this probably will be Malta's entry for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. You couldn't not-vote for a national hero. |
| Thursday,
January 1, 2009 | ||
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| WHOOPS has only just digested its turkey and now there's Turkey to digest. At a little after midnight today (Thursday), Turkish television unveiled the song which Hadise will perform for one of Eurovision's most-improved nations in Russia later this year. It's called Dum Tek Tek, but despite the title, the vast majority is performed in English. It's certainly a tune that's true to its roots, although we do like the rather funky guitar stuff that's going on at the beginning. With Sir Terry gone, Graham Norton will now have to find a new way of saying "A whiff of the soukh" in the moments before this one gets underway on stage. At this stage - and considering Turkey's many former inhabitants dotted across the continent - it's unlikely this one is staying in the semis. Perhaps Hadise's next move should be a cover of Des O'Connor's Dik a Dum Dum. |
| Sunday,
December 21, 2008 | ||
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| AND they're off. The first country to choose its tune for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest is Albania. The 47th edition of the Festivali i Kenges in Tirana has been won by the youngster Kejsi Tola with the ethno-poppy-dancey number M� M�rr N� �nd�rr which translates as Take Me In Your Dreams. Whoops Dragovic 'enjoyed' a live webcast of the event, which at one point involved lengthy chats with the jurors, sat on the front row of the hall and looking very important with their clipboards. It was also good to see that Albanian TV's scoreboard showed the mouse cursor, as the techy highlighted the score next to each act and updated it as the points were read out. Kejsi got the top mark of 20 (there were 20 songs taking part, with the judges giving one point to their least favourite, two points to the song they had 19th, etc, with 20 for the one they liked best). Her lowest score of the evening was 15, which Whoops assumes came from the old woman in the glasses and cardigan who didn't seem to approve of pop music all that much. So, will it get Albania out of the semi-final in Moscow? We've included a performance of M� M�rr N� �nd�rr from the semi-final stage of Festivali i Kenges, so you can judge for yourself. |
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| IN an interview with evil scaremongering British rag, The Daily Mail, Lord Andrew of Lloyd Webber has announced that he and his team have finalised the six-strong shortlist of the acts going forward to Your Country Needs You, which gets underway on Saturday nights on BBC1 in January. Although no names have been officially made public yet, the Lord sayeth that he hath: "A really talented close harmony group, two wonderful-looking black guys, a couple of really good girl singers and sweet girl twins from Sheffield." The show begins on Janury 3 with an introduction to the competition, the audition phases and Lloydy's trip to Moscow to meet Mr Putin. Presumably, the final six will be introduced to the public at the end of the show before the eliminations get underway. As the weeks progress, the acts will take part in Contest-related tasks (perhaps one week it will be 'Approaching Heads of Delegations in Their Hotel Rooms with Envelopes Full of Cash in Exchange for Douzes'), while Lord Andy gets busy in his Churchillian bunker with the songwriting task ahead, assisted by his stern-faced stenographer, Miss Frobisher. It all sounds like jolly good tongue-in-cheek fun - and guaranteed to be hated by 'proper' fans in internet forums far and wide. |
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    CREDIT Crunching isn't just affecting first-time house buyers. The global financial crisis means that Latvia and San Marino are ducking out of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Although both nations expressed a keen interest in joining in with all the fun in Moscow, the cost of participating in the event would, their nation's broadcasting-related accountants have decided, would be better ploughed elsewhere. Lithuania may just be following their example. We'll keep you posted. |
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  FIRST of all, Johnny Logan was supposed to be making a triumphant comeback. Then, Eoghan Quigg from off of The X Factor made public his desire to represent Eire at Eurovision. But now, it has been confirmed, RTE and Ireland will be having a multi-act national final in February/March next year. Prior to the official announcement, there was some highly entertaining posts on certain internet forums as various Irish-based fans claimed to have an "exclusive" from their "contacts" at RTE just cooling on the widowsill, which they refused to go public on in case it stopped the flow of traffic to their respective websites. Whoops Dragovic couldn't even hope to be that important in the Eurovision world. All we'll say is, most of the tips these folks with contacts were sitting on turned out to be rather blunt. |
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  THE full line-up of Melodifestivalen 2009 has been revealed, as indeed has the cities each act will perform in - and with which song. Old favourites such as BWO and Shirley Clamp are back in the mix, but melodi-executivalen Christer Bjorkman has hinted that a broader variety of tunes will be on display in '09 and that it could be a tighter race than usual. Sounds like something of a schlager embargo. Is that a schlambargo? Intriguingly, Maria Haukass Storeng, Norway's top-five finisher in Belgrade, is now trying to represent Sweden in a duet with Anna Sahlene, better known as Estonia's 2002 representative, when she went by just her surname and got just a smany points as Jessica Garlick. Here's the full list of who's doing what and where: |
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  OVER on Spanish telly's official website, you'll find the 455 shortlisted (yes, that's right SHORTlisted) songs entered in to the national final via MySpace. The same system which, of course, resulted in Baila El Chiki Chiki in Belgrade. Sorted in to categories, each surfer is entitled to 20 votes - but a maximum of five per artist - each day. At midnight, Spanish time, on January 20, the vote grinds to a halt, numbers are totted up and the five most popular acts from each category will go forward to the next stage. Whatever that may be. More than 100,000 votes are reported to have been cast so far, and despite some technical hitches, it all seems to be going according to plan. Bravo. |
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  EIGHTEEN songs were scheduled to take part in the Norwegian heats for 2009, but an unexpected submission of quality songs led the song-picking types at NRK to increase the number of tunes to 21. These will now be split into three heats of seven songs, leading up to the grand final in Oslo's Spektrum on February 21. No artists announced yet, but rumours suggest the line-up includes Wencke Myrhe, the Norwegian lass who shimmied her way into sixth place, with loads of votes from the UK, at the Albert Hall in 1968. |
| Wednesday, November 12, 2008 | ||
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| IT looks like De Toppers will be in Moscow, but *NOT* with disgruntled former member Gerard Joling. Making up the numbers for next year's Dutch entrants is one Jeroen van der Boom. Jeroen is described by Dutch experts as having a great voice and very honoured to be taking part in next year's Contest. It's almost worth wishing this lot win now, just to see the look on Mr Joling's hissy-fit face. |
| Sunday, November 9, 2008 | ||
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| THE dream could be over before it has even begun. Gerard Joling, Netherlands' 1988 Eurovision entrant and one third of its 2009 act, De Toppers, has walked out of the group, stating that he is no longer involved in any of the group's concerts, their impending TV docusoap, or indeed, the Eurovision Song Contest. Of course, it could just be a cunning publicity stunt on the band management's behalf. However, De Toppers' manager is currently recuperating from an operation and is having to haul himself out of bed tomorrow morning to try and sort out this little niggle. Who'd have thought Eurovision 2009 could get this nasty this quickly? Obviously not Dutch telly - they may now have to find another act to fly their stripes in Moscow - and sharpish. |
  A TRIO of talented names is in contention to be the Israeli entrant in Moscow next year. It is understood that the names in the frame are Maya Buskila, Harel Ska'at and Keren Peles. No official announcement as yet, however. Israel's Eurovision chiefs have been locked in a darkened room until the New Year in case they tell anyone. |
| RALPH Siegel, that most famous of Maltese nationals, was among the composers competing to reach the final of Malta's Song For Europe competition, broadcast on Maltese telly last night (Saturday). There were seven songs fighting for a place in the final, with the group Classic Rebels singing Siegel's Tonight At the Opera. Early indications are that all seven tunes were rather unremarkable - with the bookies' odds still seeming the shortest for the offering from Chiara - who could very well go from third in 1998 and second in 2005 to Eurovision winner in 2009 if this year's Contest was being scripted by Walt Disney. Who knows? |
| Tuesday, October 28, 2008 | ||
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| THAT old Maltese buggerlugs looks like she's back for another go. Chiara, the lady who finished third to an ex-lady in Birmingham in 1998 and second to some auld Greek slapper in 2005 is going for gold in 2008 - but she has to make it past the Maltese final first. The 56 songs on the Maltese shortlist were announced this week, with the usual pile of slushy, sugary sentiments. Chiara (who regularly has her fellow countrymen ground into yellow spheres, covered in milk chocolate and placed in a big red bag with 'Maltesers' printed on it to keep her hunger in check between verses when performing live) is striding forth with a number entitled What If We, written by the same team behind Xandee's 2004 flop for Belgium - 1 Life. The Maltese final will be broadcast early next year - and it would be a her-yooge shock if the Maltese don't send their most successful Eurovision entrant ever to Moscow for a third shot at the trophy. |
| Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | ||
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| NOW, we're not saying that Sertab Erener is ugly, but the lass who's been hoiked over from Belgium to represent Turkey at Eurovision 2009 has certainly had more of a dust with the lovely brush than previous ladies to have represented this proud nation. Hadise (we're not sure how to pronounce it, we think 'Hah-deese') has indeed been confirmed as Turkish TV's official representative in Moscow. Hadise's career began in Belgium, where she did quite well in their version of Pop Idol, and has released singles with such granny-pleasing titles as Sweat, My Body and Milk Chocolate Girl. Hadise said in 2006 that she would never 'do' Eurovision after her smashing pal Kate Ryan failed to progress from the semi-final in Athens. It's amazing how three years of an ever-plateauing pop career can make a girl change her mind. |
| Tuesday, October 21, 2008 | ||
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| ANDREW Lloyd Webber is to write the United Kingdom's Eurovision entry for 2009, it has been announced. The international heart-throb and winner of Most Handsome Theatrical Impresario for 27 years on the run is to be at the forefront of a national selection process entitled Your Country Needs You, which begins its quest on January 3, with the successful act selected on January 31. The man behind West End hits such as Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express and The Dale Winton Story has already told Radio 1 that the song won't necessarily be one of his dramatic West End ballads - and he won't even think of writing it until the audition process is well underway. Graham Norton will present Your Country Needs You. Whether John Barrowman will be on hand to champion yet another entirely unsuitable act for Eurovision has not yet been announced. | |
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| IT WAS that time of year where Sweden grinds to a halt. seven-eights of the Melodifestivalen songlist longlist for 2009 has been announced - with four wildcards to follow soonish. The Swedes do tease, as ever. We won't know the names of the acts singing the songs until a later date. Until then, here's your ample slices of schlager and the Goudasmiths behind them:
When the full list of 32 songs are known, the pool of choons will be split into four heats of eight, before 10 songs make it through the qualifiers to the Melodifestivalen final next spring. Hoppa. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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  ESTONIA'S Eurovision heat will now be known as the Eesti Laul - and no longer the Eurolaul. This is all down to new boss Heidy Purga, drafted in by the TV chiefs to get the 2001 champs back in to the Eurovision final for the first time since 2003. Last year, the plumptious swaying of Kreisiraadio and the novelty skit Leto Svet did not progress from the semi-final stage, a fate shared with the Estonian entrants of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. The competition will be open to all Estonian nationals and organisers are particularly keen to see something of the national identity in the songs they receive. If you are Estonian and are reading this, you have until December 8 to hand your demo disc in to the lovely receptionist at Estonian telly. | |
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  SLOVAKIA is to make a shock comeback to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009. The shock news comes 11 shocking years after Slovakia last performed at the Eurovision Song Contest, where Katrina Hasprova did shockingly badly with Modlitba. The shocking news has shocked many Eurovision fans. One easily shocked fan told Vodka & Phonic: "I'm shocked." | |
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| THe Dutch have called in the big guns. Meet Gerard Joling, Gordon and Rene Froger. Together, they are known as De Toppers (they go down very well on Old Compton Street, we gather) and these are the gents who will represent the Netherlands in Moscow. Although unknown to many outside the Dutch borders, the trio regularly pack out arenas in their homeland and the lads are expected to perform a shortlist of numbers in their national final in early 2009, from which the public will choose the one they like the most. How refreshing to see such democracy in action. In order to whet your appetite, next to these words is footage of De Toppers singing a Motown medley in front of lots of excited Dutch people. Who says Dutchmen can't sing soul? | |
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| THERE is no other way to break this to you, but gently. Sakis Rouvas, the vocally challenged, incredibly irritating, former Greek athlete is back to represent his country. Not content with crucifying the concept of the term 'singing' in 2004 (but still coming in third) and effortlessly taking the Eurovision Less Presenting Charisma Than a Plank of Wood title in 2006, the man who can't seem to keep his clothes on in front of a camera is back, back, back for another crack at the title. The great big show-off recently held a press conference in his homeland, stating that anything other than first place would be a failure. All we can say is, it wasn't our idea - and we're as upset about this as anybody. The Samaritans are considering opening a helpline if he wins. |