Russia: With Little Big in Eurovision 2021?

A very important speculation is circulating internet the last hour. According to the Russian Eurovision fan club VK, the CEO of the public broadcaster Channel1, Konstantin Ernst, has confirmed that Little Big will have a second chance to get on the Eurovision stage.

On 28th of September Channel 1 confirmed that it is going to be the responsible broadcaster for the selection of the representative of Russia at Eurovision 2021, since the 2020 was canceled. In Russia, there are two broadcasters that are members of the EBU, Channel 1 and RTR. Therefore the project is undertaken alternately by each channel.

If the speculation of the fan club VK is true, then Little Big will raise the number of the returning artists from 2020 to 23.

It is unknown yet when the speculations will be confirmed from Channel 1, since we are used to get the news from Russia at the very last moment.

Let’s remember the entry that was meant to compete at the 2020 contest, and was one of the hot favourites.

https://youtu.be/L_dWvTCdDQ4

 

Denmark: DMGP 2021 final on 6th of March | The winner will sing with live backing vocals at Eurovision!

Another country that had not announced the details of its national final, did so a while ago. Danish Public Broadcaster will host DMGP 2021 on March 6, at a television studio in Copenhagen, with 8 finalists. Unlike what happens in the national finals of most countries, both the contestants in DMGP 2021 and the representative of Denmark on the stage of Eurovision afterwards, will compete with live backing vocals.

The submission of entries for DMGP 2021 has started and the deadline will last until November 20. Foreign creators are allowed as long as the performer is Danish or has a close relationship with the country (permanent resident, active discography, etc.). 8 songs will compete in the final of DMGP 2021. The main difference between DMGP and the rest of the national finals in Europe is that the contestants must have live backing vocals. In fact, the winner of the national final, who will then represent Denmark in Eurovision 2021, will not make use of the regulation that allows for the next Eurovision Song Contest the pre-recorded vocals, since they will be live on the stage of Ahoy.

We remind you that this year’s DMGP winners, Ben & Tan, have already stated in the spring that they will not reclaim Denmark’s representation at Eurovision 2021.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ5tMhQIp1E

Source: DR

Italy: COVID-19 threatens Sanremo 2021 | RAI final decisions in January!

At the presentation of AmaSanremo, the competition through which 6 finalists for the Giovani category of Sanremo 2021 will emerge, the artistic director and presenter of the Festival, Amadeus, revealed that the final decisions of RAI will be announced in January, since no one can already knows what will happen with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amadeus said that both he and the RAI people are working to have a safe Sanremo from March 2 to 6, with the audience in the stands of the Teatro Ariston. Unfortunately, the evolution with the pandemic is such that nothing can be ruled out. Any decisions, however, will be made in January.

However, regardless of what will eventually happen and what RAI will decide, all the procedures related to Sanremo 2021 continue normally. Amadeus has already revealed that the interest in the Big category is twice as high as last year, from all record companies and independent musicians. He characteristically stated that among the candidates we will see well-known names, but also contemporary artists who are now making a success.

The director of RAI1, Stefano Coletta confirmed what Amadeus said, adding that nothing is a given at the moment and especially for the presence or not of the public, they will decide at the last minute, taking into account the epidemiological situation that will prevail.

We remind you that according to the recently announced Sanremo 2021 regulations, the winner of the big category will have the opportunity if he/she wishes to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest. In case of refusal then RAI will select another contestant of the big category, most likely following the final ranking of the festival. The artists of the big category of Sanremo 2021 will be announced on the night of the selection of the 8 finalists of the Giovani category, in the Casino of the City of Sanremo, on the 17th of December.

The winner of Sanremo 2020 and the representative of Italy in Eurovision 2020 that was finally canceled, was Diodato with Fai Rumore:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogyi0GPR_Ik

Source: radioitalia

Albania: Festivali i Këngës 59 participants revealed!

Recently, Eurovision Albania published exclusively the list of artists that will compete in the Festivali i Këngës 59, the national final of Albania for Eurovision 2021!

The deadline for submission of entries expired on October 2 and based on what the local media reported, on Friday, October 29, we expected the announcement of the finalists. Eurovision Albania, one day earlier, betrayed the surprise! Among the names we have almost all the rumored artists of the previous period, but also several who participated in previous FiK.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

EKSKLUZIVE / EXCLUSIVE PJESËMARRËSIT NË FEST 59 / PARTICIPANTS AT FIK 59

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Eurovision Albania (@eurovisionalbania) στις

Updated: 18.00

Shortly after Eurovision Abania revealed the list, the country’s public television (RTSG) confirmed the news, giving us the titles of the songs. The jury that selected the 26 songs consisted of: Alma Bektashi, Jonida Maliqi, Agim Doçi, Klodian Qafoku and Eugent Bushpepa. With enough dose of eurostars as you can see.

FiK 59 is expected to take place at the end of December, as usual. The winner is selected by a jury, without the participation of the audience. Arilena Ara who was the winner of last year’s FiK is not participating again, so now we can officially say that we will not see her in the next Eurovision song contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-E-kIFPrsY

Lithuania: Songs submission for the national final kicks off

There weren’t a few, those who interpreted the prolonged silence of the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT as a possible cancelation of the national final, which all the same had been announced since April 2020, and as an indication that The Roop band might be selected internally for 2021. However, a few moments ago, LRT announced the opening of the submissions process for the national final, through which the next representative is going to be chosen.

With the 2020 format to Eurovision 2021

Lithuanians are going to follow the successful concept of 2020 for the national final of 2021 as well.  The initial plan is the national process to be composed of 6 shows. The submissions deadline is on 14th of December, while the selection of the contestants will be carried out by a working committee of LRT, until 23rd of December. The songs must not last more than 3 minutes, must have been released from 1st of September 2020 and onwards and the maximum number of performers on stage must be 6.

The voting process will remain the same. 50% of the result will be determined by a professional jury and 50% by the public through televoting.

The money from the televoting process will be used for the staging of the Lithuanian entry in Eurovision 2021, as well as for the promotion of the song and the video clip.

The Roop will be direct to the final

The Roop who were the representatives of the Baltic nation in this year’s canceled contest and were one of the hot favourites to bring the the trophy to Lithuania for the first time, will have the chance to be advanced direct to the final, should they submit a song (which is very possible).

Vytautas Bikus, a creator who has competed many times in the past in Eurovision with the colours of Lithuania, will lead the team that will oversee the whole process. LRT Deputy Managing Director Gytis Oganauskas said about the new project:

Last year’s changes to the national “Eurovision” selection paid off, so there will be no major innovations in this year’s selection rules, except of the circumstances related to the pandemic.

 

Let’s take a look again at the missed chance of Lithuania to win the trophy:

https://youtu.be/1EAUxuuu1w8

Source: LRT

 

 

The Masked Singer: Eleni Foureira and Tamta in discussions for a place in the jury panel

Two beloved and very popular singers, who left their mark with their appearances on behalf of Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest in the previous two years, are discussing ,according to what has been published, a place in the jury of The Masked Singer, which is expected to be aired on SKAI, in the second half of the TV season.

Eleni Foureira and Tamta seem to be discussing for the jury of “The Masked Singer”. SKAI’s new show is expected to be aired during Easter and Nikos Moutsinas and Haris Varthakouris have already secured a place in the jury, while Sakis Rouvas will be the presenter.

However, SKAI has approached both Tamta and Eleni Foureira to be in the jury panel. According to the report of Giannis Poulopoulos, their record companies seem to have the opposite opinion and do not want them together in the music show, as they represent the same genre. All the same, the station wants them both. So which of those two will take a seat in the jury of The Masked Singer, which is a huge success in all the countries it has been broadcast ?

 

 

 

Sweden: The first names for Melodifestivalen 2021!

Yesterday, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet gave us the names of the first participants in Melodifestivalen 2021. We use the word “participants” because during the last years the information from Aftonbladet regarding the participants is almost accurate. For Melodifestivalen 2020, for instance, the paper predicted 23 of the 24 participants. The first three names that we will see at Melodifestivalen 2021 are Tusse Chiza, Sannex and Sami Rekik & Wahl.

Tusse

Tusse Chiza is 18 years old from the DR Congo and the winner of last year’s Idol. Christer Björkman as a guest judge at the time had made very positive comments about his talent and performance, so his participation comes as no surprise. “I’m waiting for you at the Melodifestivalen whenever you want,” Christer Björkman told him. During the summer Tusse participated in various songwriting camps looking for the song with which he will participate in Melodifestivalen 2021. Apart from Tusse himslef, Christer Bjöorkman was also looking for a song for Tusse.

 

Sannex

The Grammy awarded band Sannex will also be among the nominees for Melodifestivalen 2021. The Sannex were awarded a Grammy in 2017 for the Best Dance Band of the Year, and have received several other awards along the way.

Sami Rekik & Wahl

Two solo artists are joining their forces for Melodifestivalen 2021. Sami Rekik is 42 years old from Tunisia and part of the group Medina and Wahl ( full name Christopher Vahlberg) is 34 years old from Sweden and part of the group Södrasidan. The song with which the plan to take part will be a pop one with a structure that express the personal music style of both artists.

The full list of participants is expected to be revealed by the end of November.

Stay tuned on Eurovision Fun for all the developments regarding the participation of Sweden in Eurovision 2021

Source: Aftonbladet 

Eurovision 2021: 41 countries to participate!!

A few moments ago, the EBU revealed the list of the participating countries at the upcoming contest of Eurovision 2021, on 18th, 20th and 22nd of May in Rotterdam the Netherlands. Actually they are the same 41 nations that were about to take part in the 2020 contest that was canceled due to the COVID19 pandemic.

EBU and the Dutch host broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS have already revealed the 4 scenarios which their are focused on, and they abide by the restrictions and the facts of the pandemic and according to which the Eurovision 2021 will take place. The scenario, which will be chosen, will be announced in due time.

Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said:

“We are grateful for the commitment of the 41 participating broadcasters in helping us bring the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2021.”

“We have the exact same line up of countries that would have competed in 2020 and we are thrilled that they will all return next year. Together with our host broadcasters we are continuing to develop the 4 different scenarios and maintaining a dialogue with all participants. The team from NPO, NOS and AVROTROS are working hard on ensuring the Eurovision Song Contest will provide the excitement and innovation expected by over 180 million viewers, despite the challenging circumstances.”

 

Of the 41 nations taking part, 35 will compete in two Semi-Finals with 10 successful acts from each Semi-Final joining the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom) and hosts the Netherlands in the Grand Final.

Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, said:

“It is fantastic that the same 41 countries that would have taken part this year still want to come to the Netherlands in May 2021. This demonstrates their confidence in our country still being able to organize a successful Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam next year, after the cancellation of the 2020 edition.”

“We have set the bar high to create 3 amazing live shows for an audience of 180 million people, even in these challenging times. To achieve this, we are working on an extensive protocol that guarantees the health of employees, participants, the press and visitors as much as possible.”

 

Participating broadcasters
The following countries (and EBU Member broadcasters) will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam:

Albania (RTSH)

Armenia (AMPTV)

Australia (SBS)*

Austria (ORF)

Azerbaijan (Ictimai TV)

Belarus (BTRC)

Belgium (VRT)

Bulgaria (BNT)

Croatia (HRT)

Cyprus (CyBC)

Czech Republic (CT)

Denmark (DR)

Estonia (ERR)

Finland (YLE)

France (FT)

Germany (ARD/NDR)

Georgia (GPB)

Greece (ERT)

Iceland (RUV)

Ireland (RTE)

Israel (KAN)

Italy (RAI)

Latvia (LTV)

Lithuania (LRT)

Malta (PBS)

Moldova (TRM)

The Netherlands (AVROTROS)

North Macedonia (MKRTV)

Norway (NRK)

Poland (TVP)

Portugal (RTP)

Romania (TVR)

Russia (Channel One)

San Marino (RTV)

Serbia (RTS)

Slovenia (RTVSLO)

Spain (TVE)

Sweden (SVT)

Switzerland (SRG SSR)

Ukraine (UA:PBC)

United Kingdom (BBC)

*EBU Associate

 

It is worth to be mentioned this is the first time since 1990 that we have the same amount of participating countries in two consecutive years.

Source: Eurovision.tv

Eleni Foureira: Listen to the snippet of her new song, Light Up!

Eleni Foureira is about to release a new song and video clip with the title “Light Up” on 30th of October and Lifo.gr exclusively presented a mini teaser and backstage photos from the shooting.

In the videoclip, Eleni Foureira turns into an explosive disco queen and does not hesitate to try once again a different music genre. It presents the disco sound in its own way, following one of the most current music trends in the world at this time.

Light Up is a new English single that is going to be released by Panic Records on the upcoming Friday, not only in Greece and Cyprus but also in Spain and the Scandinavian nations.

She composed the music with Arcade and Michalis Tsousopoulos and the lyrics with Arcade and Andy Nicolas.

“Light It Up” is the beginning of a complete project with disco influences that will be released in December.

Source: Lifo.gr

Iceland: With Daði Freyr and Gagnamagnið in Eurovision 2021!

Through his social media accounts, Daði Freyr Pétursson announced that he is going to represent Iceland in Eurovision 2021. Of course, he will be accompanied by the Gagnamagnið.

Iceland becomes 22nd country confirming the same artist from the canceled 2020 edition for the 2021 contest.

Moreover Daði Freyr stated that he has not written a song yet but he is going to do so (write a new one) for the upcoming contest.

Daði Freyr Pétursson with Thing About Things was one of the hot favourites to win the 2020 contest. There weren’t a few those who wanted him back for 2021.

What do you think? Will he manage to bring the first trophy ever to the nation of ice and fire?

https://youtu.be/1HU7ocv3S2o