Elvana Gjata: “The two points I received will not stop me giving love”

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Two days have passed since Arilena’s victory in FiK58, as the two Albanian judges rated Elvana very low and denied her victory. The popular singer who failed to win, though she was the big favorite via her Instagram profile, made a statement that while wishing Arilena good luck, she does not hesitate to show her bitterness and annoyance at the Albanian judges’ ratings.

“I refuse to speak at such moments but this time I have to do it…

Arilena … you’re not alone in anything, I really wish you good luck. I want to thank my fans and my new European fans for supporting me since the release of “MeTana”. I saw the polls, I saw you sing and dance to my song every day, I saw you in the arena with your hands up. I heard you all scream under my name all over Pristina, and I heard it last night in Tirana like never before.

My heart is full of joy! I worked hard and will work until my last breath. The job never destroyed me, with or without command. Thank you very much to the European judges who voted for me the most. Not even Mikaela’s 2 points can stop giving me love.

Accept life with everything

Enjoy life with everything”

Elvana’s announcement came hours after Alketa Vesjiu, the festival’s presenter, made a statement, which also shifted her arrows to Mikaela’s rating and the 2 points she gave to Me Tana. We remind you that Arilena won by only 3 points difference, so the 2 that she received from Mikaela was essentially what deprived her of her victory.

Albania: Breaking News: the presenter of FiK58 strongly blames the jury panel for results

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Through her Instagram profile, Alketa Vejsiu, presenter of Festivali i Kenges 58, regrets that Elvana was not the winner of the festival, but also that the public opinion was not heard.

“I would like to express Arilena my congratulations on her victory! I hope her to do the best she can at Eurovision for Albania. But I can’t but thank Elvana Gjaten! Within 2 weeks she had more views (on YouTube) than everyone else, 3 and a half million! I can’t deny that her song was the celebration of this Festival! That Elvana was the news of this release, the voice and energy of the youth who danced together in the hall, bringing Albania, Kosovo and the Diaspora together! The matches announce the winners but not the losers. because successes never die.

After this Festival that I have done with my soul, I can say that I am poor and will never be on any jury, for any reason!
I believe in meritocracy and I deeply regret that I could not give voice to the public on this Festival’s platform! Excuse me if I disappointed you! I understand and respect your sensitivity! But keep your categories please! I was not on the jury and I did not choose the jury!

Elvana thank you! You came to this festival because you believed in my vision! You do not need the competition to confirm who you are, because you are who you are! And you have to feel victorious today, because all three members of the Eurovision International Jury gave you 18 points. These 2 points of Albania …. I’m speechless!”

See Alketa Vejsiu’s post here (it’s in Albanian),

Alketa Vejsiu, considered one of the most important television figures in Albania, normally empties the two women from Albania, who were members of the committee and essentially gave Arilena the low rating they gave Elvana.

Neither more or less, the festival’s winner is Elvana, and she apologizes to the audience for failing to make her voice heard.

Apparently, as she puts it, her arrows are directed at the Albanian public television, which chose this voting system and put the two specific ladies on the jury.

Recall that Arilena scored 67 points, with Elvana scoring just three points lower. See our related article for detailed results.

Below see Elvana’s appearance in the final:

Serbia: 90 songs for the Beovizija 2020

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With little increased interest, the songs which sent to the Beovizija 2020, produced by Serbia’s public broadcaster, RTS,  in the process by which Serbia is invited to choose the country’s next entry in the Eurovision 2020 contest.

A total of 90 songs were sent to the channel, compared to 76 from last year’s process, while a special jury of native musicians approved all 90 entries. In the next few days, the panel will listen to all the entries and evaluate them, choosing the best to participate in the Beovizija 2020.

To date, the number of entries in the national final has not been disclosed, nor what form it will take. For history, the 2019 national final consisted of 24 entries in two semifinals. The winner of the 2019 Beovizija was Nevena Božović and the song “Kruna”, which finished 18th in the Grand Final with 89 points.

Source/Image: escbubble

Croatia: Goran Karan withdraws from Dora 2020

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A few hours after Croatia’s public broadcaster, HRT, announced the participants of the Dora 2020, the national final through which the country will select the country’s representative in Eurovision 2020, Goran Karan announced his withdrawal.

Goran Karan, who represented Croatia at Eurovision in 2000, explained the reasons for leaving Dora 2020:

“The song “My Legacy Is Love” in the format sent to Dora differs significantly in the lyrics, music, orchestration and duration from what I sang at my concert in Visoki, Bosnia and Herzegovina. So, in order to avoid all possible misunderstanding, I decided to withdraw the song “My Legacy Is Love” from Dora. In this way I want to close any point of contention and misunderstanding, since, as the verse says, “my heritage is love”

Goran Karan

After Goran Karan’s withdrawment, he was replaced by Elis Lovrić with the song Jušto. Now, the list of 16 candidates for Dora 2020 is as follows:

  1. Marin Jurić Čivro – Naivno
  2. Edi Abazi – Coming home
  3. Mia Negovetić – When it Comes to You
  4. Colonia – Zidina
  5. Zdenka Kovačićek – Love, Love, Love
  6. Lorenzo feat Dino Purić & Reper iz sobe – Vrati se iz Irske
  7. Jure Brkljača – Hajde nazovi me!
  8. Damir Kedžo – Divlji vjetre
  9. Lorena Bućan – Drowning
  10. Alen Vitasović & B. Matija Čerina – Da se ne zatare
  11. Aklea Neon – Zovi ju mama
  12. Indira – You Will Never Break My Heart
  13. Nikola Marjanović – Let’s forgive
  14. Đana – One
  15. Bojan Jambrošić – Više od riječi
  16. Elis Lovrić – Jušto

The final of Dora 2020 will take place in the city of Opatija on February 29, with the winner to represent the country in the 65th Eurovision Song Contest and emerge after the jury and the television audience vote.

The national final Dora was the main selection process for the Croatian envoy from 1993 to 2011, and returned in 2019 to select Roko and “The Dream” song, but failed to win the gold ticket for the Grand Final after reaching the 14th place in the semifinal with 64 points.

Source: escbubble

Cyprus: Eurovision Buddies meet Sandro

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Our favorite Eurovision Buddies met Sandro during his recent visit to Athens and had a really interesting discussion with him!

The young Cyprus representative at the competition eagerly answered all of Dionysia’s questions and shed more light on his participation in Eurovision 2020.

As he revealed he is in the process of choosing the song. Among a small list of 3-4 songs he loves and believes in, along with RIK will choose the one who will sing in May at Ahoy Arena, representing the Cypriot colors.

Throughout the past, Sandro has been involved in the composition and production of songs, working with several major artists. This is a major difference with previous years where RIK had the song ready and with it approached Foureira and Tamta. This year, RIK reached out to Sandro, and then with a dynamic and productive process and with the artist’s involvement, they ended up with the song that will be Cypriot participation.

What surprised you is Sandro’s admission that he attended Eurovision for the first time in 2018! He feels very happy and grateful for the honor RIK has given him for choosing him to represent Cyprus in the contest.

His favorite songs from Eurovision are Fuego and Replay of course, but also Soldi and Arcade.

It also describes the ideal stage setting. He wants to be himself in Rotterdam, authentic and to interpret from his heart.

“With my song I want people who have problems to know that they are not alone”

So what we expect based on what Sandro told us is a dynamic ballad, with an important message, but also an internal interpretation, something that Sandro has proven to know very well!

We heartily wish every success on the Cyprus delegation and Sandro because they truly deserve it!

We would like to extend special thanks to Mr. Michalis Marateftis, former Director General of RIK, as well as to Ms. Evi Papamichael, Head of the Cyprus Delegation in the contest.

The Netherlands: Big plans in Amsterdam for Eurovision 2020

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Although the contest will take place in Rotterdam after the city’s victory over Amsterdam for the Eurovision 2020 event, the city of Amsterdam is implementing grand plans for the event.

The de Reguliers business club has plans to install large screens in May to broadcast the two semifinals and the grand final on Reguliersdwarsstraat Street, a street that has linked its reputation with the country’s homosexual life, as there are many gay restaurants and cafes, while hosting the annual Amsterdam Gay Pride.

The municipality has already awarded a € 35,000 grant from the event fund for this purpose. At the same time, there will be events and music playing on Eurovision for the rest of the day.

“We have been working closely with Eurovision Artists, an institution that has been involved with the song festival for at least twenty years”

Eward Koning, President of de Reguliers

However, in order to implement de Reguliers’ plans, special permits will have to be granted by the Centrum district council. Koning himself seems particularly optimistic about the request to the municipality:

“The municipality has stated that this is a unique and extraordinary event and that we want to help us implement it. Normally one can make noise by 23:00, but they have to make an exception on festival days”

Live link to Amsterdam during the contest?

At the suggestion of Sietse Bakker, executive producer of Eurovision 2020, the event could be broadcast live during the competition.

“The competition takes place in Rotterdam. But our community (Amsterdam BC) immediately asked us if we wanted to have something fun. That’s why we do this. We don’t want to steal the show from Rotterdam, but we want to celebrate, share and experience the experience.We discussed the plans with him (ed. Sietse Bakker) a month and a half ago. He suggested to see if we could switch to live broadcasting during the show. I don’t know if it will work, but how perfect would it be to see us in 180 million salons? ”

Finally, Eward Koning did not hold out his optimism by expressing his desire to hear the famous “douze points” from Reguliersdwarsstraat Street.

Source/Image: parool.nl/Nikolai Karaneschev

Albania: That’s how the judges voted on FiK58-Elvana was the first international judges choice! EXCLUSIVE

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Following the shock of unexpected Arilena victory for many, or better, Elvana’s defeat, Albania’s Public Television (RTSH) will air results of the judges. According to our exclusive information, Arilena’s victory came from the ratings of the two Albanian judges. In contrast, foreign judges gave Elvana the best.

Each judge rated the final 12 songs of the FiK58 final from 1 to 10, 13 and 18 points, starting with the song they liked least. To make it better, each judge assigned 1 score to this song they liked less, 2 to the next, 3 to the coke, up to 18 points to their favorite.

According to our exclusive information, the three foreign judges (D. Kontopoulos, C. Bjorkman, F. Bergsson) gave Elvana an excellent score (18 points), but Arilena also was ranked high. In contrast, the two judges from Albania gave Arilena the best, but they voted low for Elvana! This is how Arilena came first and Elvana second.

So, the comments of the foreign judges on the way to vote for Elvana in May in Rotterdam have no basis whatsoever, as the Albanian judges have basically judged the result.

Full confirmation of EurovisionFun after the Albanian public television announced  the detailed results.

Arilena scored 67 points and Elvana 64. Dimitris Kontopoulos, Felix Bergsson scored 18 points for Elvana and 13 for Arilena. Christer Bjorkman gave 18 to Elvana and 10 to Arilena. In contrast, the two Albanian judges gave Arilena 18 and 13 points and Elvana just 8 and 2 points respectively.

You can view the detailed results HERE.

 

Georgia: Georgian Idol finalists selected- Tornike’s fifth live sequel

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The semifinal of Georgian Idol, through which as it is known for the second consecutive year the representative of Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest will be selected was held on December 21st. Four contestants are left in the talent show, with Tornike Kipiani,the absolute favorite to win the first place for the fifth consecutive time!

The six contestants who continue on Georgian Idol after last week’s fourth Live, performed live once again in front of the television audience, voting for the candidate of their choice, by phone and facebook messenger.

The two contestants who got the lowest percentage of the vote were Davit Rusadze and Mariam Gogiberidze, with the first to leave.

At the sixth Georgian Idol Live Show, the candidates were asked to perform worldwide hits on a duet with participants of last year’s Georgian Idol. Below you can see their perfomances:

1.) Tornike Kipiani –  “Breathe” with Liza Kalandadze – 31.88%

2.) Barbara Samkharadze –  “Juice” with Grigol Kipshidze – 22.42%

3.) Tamar Kakalashvili –  “Runaway Baby” – 16.20%

4.) Mariam Gogiberidze – “Shallow” with Giorgi Nakashidze – 15.28%

5.) Davit Rusadze –  “O (Fly On)” with Giorgi Pruidze – 14.22%

Unlike this year when Georgian Idol selected both the artist and the song that represented Georgia at the Eurovision Contest, for 2020 only the artist will be selected through the popular talent show, since the song will be followed by internal selection.

We remind you that the four jury members who oversaw the three-episode phase of the auditions and will guide the ten finalists in their lives are:

-Natia Todua, a singer who has made a significant career in Germany after her win at The Voice of Germany in 2016.
-Tinatin Berdzenishvili, GPB’s Deputy General Manager and Head of Delegation of Georgia to the Eurovision Contest.
-David Evgenidze, composer. He was the head of the jury for the country’s participation in Junior Eurovision 2019. He will oversee the selection of the song for Eurovision 2020.
-David Aladashvili, pianist.

This year, Oto Nemsadze won the Georgian Idol and with “Keep on Going” represented Georgia in Tel Aviv, taking 14th place in the first semifinal. As he said, shortly after the end of the contest, his song had a political message and was directed against Russia and its politics in his country.

Albania: Arilena Ara with Shaj to represent the country in Rotterdam

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The first song for Eurovision 2020 is a fact! The Festivali i Këngës 58 was completed shortly after the overthrow of the prognosis, as Arilena was the big winner with the song “Shaj”. So Arilena becomes the sixth consecutive country representative of the upcoming Eurovision song contest to be announced.

For another year, Albanian Public Television (RTSH) chose to participate in Eurovision through FiK. Live from the Pallati i Kongreseve in Tirana hosted by Alketa Vejsiu, the 12 artists who made it to the final did their best to claim the five-member jury’s vote and win the festival and the  ticket to Rotterdam in May as well.

The contestants

In order of appearance the 12 current runners-up were:

1. Valon Shehu – “Kutia e Pandorës” (Pandora’s box)

2. Sara Bajraktari – “Ajër” (Air)

3. Robert Berisha – “Ajo nuk është unë” (This is not me)

4. Tiri Gjoci – “Me gotën bosh” (With an empty glass)

5. Bojken Lako – “Malaseen” (Without seeing me)

6. Arilena Ara – “Shaj” (Sweet as the curse)

7. Gena – “Shqiponja e lirë” (Free eagle)

8. Kamela Islamaj – “Më ngjyros” (Draw me)

9. Alberie Hadergjonaj – “Ku ta gjej dikë ta dua” (Where can I find someone to live)

10. Elvana Gjata – “Me tana” (With all)

11. Olta Boka – “Shkrime në mur” (Slogans on the wall)

12. Era Rusi – “Eja Merre” (Come and get it)

This evening, Eleni Foureira, who just before leaving for the USA, shone a spot on the FiK58 stage with all her big hits! But what we would like to dwell on is in the words of Eleni Foureira shortly after her interpretation is over. The popular singer commented on the refugee and the fact that Greece is the only country that has received so many immigrants on its territory and treated them, with the audience in the room applauding. ! Before the results came also Guisy Ferreri, the Italian superstar who has made success in and out of her country.

The results at Festivali i Këngës 58 were determined exclusively by the jury vote in which apart from two domestic music professionals, Greek Dimitris Kontopoulos, Swedish Christer Bjorkman and Icelander Felix Bergsson were involved.

In third place was Sara Bajraktari and in second place Elvana Gjata!

Albania at the Eurovision Contest

In 2020 we will have Albania’s 17th entry in the contest, which debuted in 2004, with Anjeza Shahini and “The Image Of You”, which reached seventh place! RTSH showed interest in the Eurovision song contest in 2003. However, three more countries made their debut that year and Albania was not eligible to participate. In the following years it managed to qualify seven times in the final and many more in the semifinals.

The best it won was 2012 with Rona Nishliu and “Suus”. The last two years it has managed to qualify for the final and obviously wants to continue her series.

In Tel Aviv Albania was represented by Jonida Maliqi with “Ktheju Land”, after winning the FiK 57 first! She managed to score 90 points and finish 17th in the final!

Listen to Albanian participation for Eurovision 2020 below:

 

Cyprus: Sandro: “The song will not be dancing, it will have a strong message”

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A few days ago, Sandro Nicolas, the representative of Cyprus at the 65th Eurovision Song Contest, was found in London to record the songs that would be a candidate for choice.

In an interview on the well-known Wiwibloggs website, Sandro revealed, among other things, that the song he will be performing will not be dancing.

“I’m probably the worst dancer in the world, I don’t have it with dance. I’m not a good dancer, I wish I could, but it’s not for me. The song is not going to be a dance track, it’s going to be a heart thing, I’m a very emotional guy, I have a story to tell and I want to help people because I know there are a lot of problems out there. I know a lot of people have a lot of problems, music is about helping each other, I write music for people who are sad, they just feel that everything is not just happiness. The song has a strong message.”

As for the song selection process, Sandro said:

“We’re very close to find a song. We have 5-6 songs, and it will be very difficult to choose. I like everything, it will be a difficult decision. Each one is a unique song, you can’t compare them, so the decision will be extremely difficult”

We met and loved Sandro through his participation in The Voice Germany, where he performed Shawn Mendez’s “In My Blood” in blind auditions because it meant a lot to him. How would he describe the song he will perform in the competition?

“It’s going to be an emotional song. It will be a combination of Shawn Mendez, James Arthur and Lewis Capaldi ”

You can watch the entire interview below:

It is recalled that Sandro was recently in Athens after recording the songs, where he met Eleni Foureira and Tamta, the last two representatives of Cyprus at the Eurovision contest. In addition, he met our beloved Eurovision Buddies and gave them an exclusive interview that will be released soon.

Source/Image: Wiwibloggs/CYBC: Eurovision Cyprus