Exclusive: Fokas Evangelinos appointed as Artistic Director for Marina Satti’s Eurovision 2024 Entry!

Just a few days ago, during the morning show “Super Katerina” on Alpha TV, journalist Giannis Poulopoulos revealed that Fokas Evangelinos had been offered the role of overseeing Marina Satti’s participation in Eurovision 2024. Now, we can exclusively disclose that the two parties have reached an agreement, with the esteemed and experienced director taking on the artistic direction of Greece’s entry in Eurovision 2024!

Below you can see the report from the Greek TV show:

According to our sources, the renowned director and choreographer responded positively to the proposal from ERT and Marina Satti. He will be responsible for shaping Marina Satti’s stage performance at the competition in Malmö. The remaining question is whether Fokas will solely handle Marina Satti’s stage presentation or if there will be other collaborators on the team.

Fokas Evangelinos has overseen the following Eurovision entries:

  • 2022: 8th place for Greece with Amanda Georgiadis Tenfjord and the song “Die Together.”
  • 2021: 13th place for Moldova with Natalia Gordienko and the song “Sugar.”
  • 2021: 10th place for Greece with Stefania Liberakakis and the song “Last Dance.”
  • 2019: 22nd place for Spain with Miki Nunez and the song “La Venda.”
  • 2019: 3rd place for Russia with Sergey Lazarev and the song “Scream.”
  • 2018: 11th place in the first semifinal for Azerbaijan with Aisel Mammadova and the song “X My Heart.”
  • 2017: 19th place for Greece with Demy and the song “This Is Love.”
  • 2016: 3rd place for Russia with Sergey Lazarev and the song “You’re the Only One.”
  • 2014: 7th place for Russia with Tolmachevy Sisters and the song “Shine.”
  • 2013: 2nd place for Azerbaijan with Farid Mammadov and the song “Hold Me.”
  • 2009: 7th place for Greece with Sakis Rouvas and the song “This Is Our Night.”
  • 2008: 1st place for Russia with Dima Bilan and the song “Believe.”
  • 2008: 2nd place for Ukraine with Ani Lorak and the song “Shady Lady.”
  • 2007: 6th place for Belarus with Dmitry Koldun and the song “Work Your Magic.”
  • 2006: 2nd place for Russia with Dima Bilan and the song “Never Let You Go.”
  • 2006: Creative Director of Eurovision Song Contest held in Greece.
  • 2005: 1st place for Greece with Helena Paparizou and the song “My Number One.”
  • 2004: 3rd place for Greece with Sakis Rouvas and the song “Shake It.”

He has directed a total of 17 entries, with 13 of them reaching the top 10, a record unmatched by any other director in the contest.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates on Eurovision!

Slovenia: Listen to “Veronika” by Raiven for Eurovision 2024!

In December 12, RTVSLO, the public broadcaster of Slovenia, announced in a special press conference, that Raiven, a mezzo-soprano, pop singer, songwriter and harpist, will be the country’s representative in Malmö!

Raiven was selected internally by RTVSLO, which came to many as a surprise, as the country selected their representative internally and not through a national final, only for the third time in its history.

Raiven’s anticipated song for Eurovision 2024, was revealed through a special show called Misija Malmö.

Her song is titled “Veronika” and is in Slovenian (You can listen to it in the video below):

About the Song

The song is based on Veronika Deseniška (Veronika of Desenice), the second wife of Frederick II, Count of Celje. Raiven says about her song:

“The song was not written with the idea of going to Eurovision. When creating it, I focused primarily on the dramatic quality, which is key to telling Veronika’s story effectively. I wanted her story to not only be expressed but also resonate with the year 2024. The idea that she needed music, which was just right – cinematic and contemporary – was present throughout the creative process.”

Veronika” will be featured on Raiven’s upcoming album Sirene which is set to be released on February 17th, and was written and composed by Raiven herself and a team which also consisted of Bojan Cvjetićanin, the lead songer of Joker Out the country’s representatives in 2023:

“Bojan is a very good friend of mine. We often talked about doing something together, and our musical collaboration on Veronika came about very spontaneously”

Who is Raiven?

Sara Briški Ciman, better known as Raiven is a singer who regularly appears on the country’s public television. He has presented numerous shows, and has appeared in a variety of concerts and music shows.

Her latest single titled “Ikona has become a big sensation in the country after being featured in RTVSLO’s Popevka 2023, alongside Helena Blagne.

No one can deny her professionalismvocal skillsstage appearance and close relationships with RTVS, a set of things that fits perfectly with Eurovision.

Many Eurofans certainly remember Raiven, from her appearances in the Slovenian national final, EMA, having finished third in 2017 and second in 2016 (by just 100 votes) and 2019.

Below you can watch our reaction video for “Veronika”:

What do you think of the Slovene entry for Eurovision 2024? Will she manage to qualify for the final and get a great result?

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Slovene participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: eurovision.tv

Eurovision 2024: 37 countries will join the 68th contest in Malmö!

The Eurovision season has officially started! Just moments ago, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the participants’ list of Eurovision 2024 in Malmö. In total, 37 countries will participate in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

In detail, the following countries will take part in Malmö:

🇦🇱 Albania – RTSH

🇦🇺 Australia – SBS

🇦🇲 Armenia – AMPTV

🇦🇹 Austria – ORF

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan – İctimai

🇧🇪 Belgium – RTBF

🇭🇷 Croatia – HRT

🇨🇾 Cyprus – CyBC

🇨🇿 Czech Republic – ČT

🇩🇰 Denmark – DR

🇪🇪 Estonia – ERR

🇫🇮 Finland – YLE

🇫🇷 France – FT

🇬🇪 Georgia – GPB

🇩🇪 Germany – ARD/NDR

🇬🇷 Greece – ERT

🇮🇸 Iceland – RÚV

🇮🇪 Ireland – RTÉ

🇮🇱 Israel – IPBC/Kan

🇮🇹 Italy – RAI

🇱🇻 Latvia – LTV

🇱🇹 Lithuania – LRT

🇱🇺 Luxembourg – RTL

🇲🇹 Malta – PBS

🇲🇩 Moldova – TRM

🇳🇱 Netherlands – AVROTROS

🇳🇴 Norway – NRK

🇵🇱 Poland – TVP

🇵🇹 Portugal – RTP

🇸🇲 San Marino – SMRTV

🇷🇸 Serbia – RTS

🇸🇮 Slovenia – RTVSLO

🇪🇸 Spain – TVE

🇸🇪 Sweden – SVT

🇨🇭 Switzerland – SRG / SSR

🇺🇦 Ukraine – UA:PBC

🇬🇧 United Kingdom – BBC

Whilst Romania is currently not confirmed to compete next year, talks are continuing with TVR on their potential participation as well. That means we might have 38 nations competing in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

Luxembourg, one of the founding members of Eurovision as well as successful, having won the contest five times, will return after three decades long absence. In fact, Luxembourg’s return was known to public since May and it was even announced during the Grand Final of Eurovision 2023.

North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Montenegro still remain out, claiming financial reasons.

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Malmö, Sweden during 7-11 of May 2024, following Loreen’s second win in Liverpool.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

EXCLUSIVE: The composer and producer of “Tattoo” is making a song for Marina Satti!

Peter Boström the composer and producer of “Tattoo”, the song that won this year’s Eurovision, is currently in the studio alongside the Greek composer Dimitri Stassos and they are making a song for Marina Satti for Eurovision 2024, which will be submitted to ERT in the following days, as we can now exclusively reveal to you! Read more

Greece: Victor Vernicos’s entry will be revealed on March 6! | EXCLUSIVE

According to our exclusive information, the song that will represent Greece in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest will be officially released next Monday, March 6, 2023.

Victor Vernicos‘ “What They Say” will be released by ERT in its final version, along with the music video. The shooting of the music video, which will be directed by ERT director Yannis Georgioudakis, will take place in the next few days.

Kostas Kalimeris, Steve Sovolos and Vangelis Yialamas have participated in the production of the track.

The stage director of the Greek entry will be Konstantinos Rigos, who has directed the Greek entries in Eurovision 2011 and 2012.

We are looking forward with great anticipation to the reveal of the Greek entry in Eurovision 2023 next Monday!

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the latest developments regarding Greece’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Junior Eurovision 2022: France is the Big Winner!

Just a while ago, the 20th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 took place in Yerevan, Armenia with France being the new winner of the contest with the song “Oh maman!”. Little Lissandro won the second throphy for his country in three years! Armenia came in second place and Georgia in third.

The Contest

The contest took place at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex for the second time, as in 2011, with Iveta Mukuchyan, Garik Papoyan and Karina Ignatyan hosting the evening.

The United Kingdom returned to the contest after a 16-years absence, while Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Germany withdrew and Russia was expelled from the contest.

The Netherlands opened the show and Ukraine performed last.

  1. Netherlands: Luna – La Festa
  2. Poland: Laura – To The Moon
  3. Kazakhstan: David Charlin – Jer-Ana (Mother Earth)
  4. Malta: Gaia Gambuzza – Diamonds In The Skies
  5. Italy: Chanel Dilecta – BLA BLA BLA
  6. France: Lissandro – Oh Maman!
  7. Albania: Kejtlin Gjata – Pakëz Diell
  8. Georgia: Mariam Bigvava – I Believe
  9. Ireland: Sophie Lennon – Solas
  10. North Macedonia: Lara feat. Jovan & Irina – Životot E Pred Mene
  11. Spain: Carlos Higes – Señorita
  12. United Kingdom: Freya Skye – Lose My Head
  13. Portugal: Nicolas Alves – Anos 70
  14. Serbia: Katarina Savić – Svet Bez Granica
  15. Armenia: Nare – DANCE!
  16. Ukraine: Zlata Dziunka – Nezlamna (Unbreakable)

The Results

The winner of the contest was determined by the jury vote, combined with the online public vote in a 50-50 ratio, as it was in Eurovision until the last contest.

Online voting determined 100% of the public vote as voting by phone or SMS is not possible. The public decides by 50% on the results, with the remaining 50% coming from the votes of each country’s juries. The Junior Eurovision 2022 Jury included three music industry professionals and two children aged 10 to 15 years.

The result of the jury 

At the end of the jury vote, France was on top for the third year in a row,with 132 points, getting four twelve-points from the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland and Portugal. Georgia ended up second with 114 points and two twelve-points from Armenia and Poland. Then, the host country Armenia got third place with 110 points and four twelve-points from France, Kazakhstan, Spain and North Macedonia. It’s worth mentioning that Kazakhstan, which is used to getting a really high ranking in the jury vote, ended up last with only five points.

The result of the public vote and final results:

Final Results of Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022

United Kingdom was first in the public vote with 80 points, Spain was second with 78 points, while France was third with 71 points. A really interesting fact is that people from 178 different countries voted in the online voting.

The Winner

After the public and the jury vote were combined the winner of Junior Eurovision 2022 was France with Lissandro and the song “Oh Maman!”. Below you can watch the performance that brought France their second victory. Now it remains to be seen whether France will be asked to host the competition again in 2023 after hosting again in 2021.

https://youtu.be/4dgVbV1rRxs

 

What do you think of the final result of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022? Tell us your opinion in the comments below!

Eurovision 2023: 37 countries will join the 67th contest in Liverpool!

Just moments ago, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the countries that will take part in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool37 countries will be present in the contest, with three countries withdrawing, in contrast with the 40 countries last year in Turin.

These countries  withdrawing are Bulgaria, Montenegro and North Macedonia, which after their participation in Eurovision 2022, all three of them withdraw for financial reasons.

Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, shared his thoughts on the line-up:

“We’re looking forward to welcoming artists from all 37 countries to Liverpool, the city of pop, next May. Next year’s competition promises to be an extra special one and we’re working hard with the BBC right now to ensure that hundreds of millions of viewers will enjoy the best Eurovision Song Contest yet, with Ukraine at the heart of the event.”

In detail, the countries that are going to take part are:

  • 🇦🇱 Albania – RTSH
  • 🇦🇺 Australia– SBS
  • 🇦🇲 Armenia– AMPTV
  • 🇦🇹 Austria – ORF
  • 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan – Ictimai TV
  • 🇧🇪 Belgium – RTBF
  • 🇭🇷 Croatia – HRT
  • 🇨🇾 Cyprus – CyBC
  • 🇨🇿 Czech Republic – CT
  • 🇩🇰 Denmark – DR
  • 🇪🇪 Estonia – ERR
  • 🇫🇮 Finland  – YLE
  • 🇫🇷 France – FT
  • 🇬🇪 Georgia – GPB
  • 🇩🇪 Germany – ARD/NDR
  • 🇬🇷 Greece – ΕΡΤ
  • 🇮🇸 Iceland – RUV
  • 🇮🇪 Ireland– RTE
  • 🇮🇱 Israel – IPBC/Kan
  • 🇮🇹 Italy– RAI
  • 🇱🇻 Latvia – LTV
  • 🇱🇹 Lithuania – LRT
  • 🇲🇹 Malta – PBS
  • 🇲🇩 Moldova – TRM
  • 🇳🇱 Netherlands – AVROTROS
  • 🇳🇴 Norway – NRK
  • 🇵🇱 Poland – TVP
  • 🇵🇹 Portugal – RTP
  • 🇷🇴 Romania – TVR
  • 🇸🇲 San Marino – RTV
  • 🇷🇸 Serbia – RTS
  • 🇸🇮 Slovenia ​​- RTVSLO
  • 🇪🇸 Spain  – TVE
  • 🇸🇪 Sweden – SVT
  • 🇨🇭 Switzerland – SRG / SSR
  • 🇺🇦 Ukraine – UA: PBC
  • 🇬🇧 United Kingdom – BBC

Martin Green, BBC’s Managing Director of the Eurovision Song Contest added:

“We are incredibly proud to be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine and welcoming delegations from 37 countries to Liverpool next year. The BBC is committed to making the event a true reflection of Ukrainian culture and showcasing British creativity to a global audience.”

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2022: Vote in our big poll!

Eurovision is senseless, without fan vote, predictions and everything related. So this year Eurovisionfun in collaboration with the Douze Points channel on Youtube is organizing a big poll.

So we start with the two semifinals. We will vote until Sunday, April 3, for the ten countries that will go through each semifinal. Following are the videos with the recaps, but also the voting form.

First Semifinal

YOU CAN VOTE HERE

Second Semifinal

YOU CAN VOTE HERE

The results will be announced on Tuesday 5/4 and Thursday 7/4. 50% of the result will be determined based on your vote and the remaining 50% by the authors of EurovisionFun.

Of course, the vote for the grand final will follow. Who will be the winner of the Eurovisionfun vote?


 

Vote in our poll! For the First Semifinal you vote HERE and for the Second Semifinal you vote HERE.

Cyprus: Skeptical well-known Greek artist, for the surprise proposal of RIK! EXCLUSIVE

It seems that RIK is preparing a big surprise for the Eurovision 2022. Eurovisionfun presents to you exclusively everything that RIK has been planning lately in relation to its participation and it is definitely news that will make you excited!

What we officially know so far

What has been said and is known so far, is that RIK wants in its next entry to have a strong Cypriot element, in the team that will represent the country in Turin.

The head of the press of the Cypriot delegation, Andreas Anastasiou, in the interview he gave to the show of Melina Karageorgiou on RIK, Europhoria, stated that 2022 will be a year where the Cypriot talent will be displayed in the competition. As people from RIK told us, this means that the country would be represented by Cypriots at Eurovision 2022, without clarifying whether this concerns the artist or only the creators.

With a composer-surprise at Eurovision 2022

RIK follows the same selection method used in recent years. At first they choose the song and then having the song and a complete proposal, they seek to find the artist.

For Eurovision 2022 and according to our exclusive and secure information, RIK plans to be represented by a song signed by George Michael.

George Michael or Georgios Kyriakos Panagiotou as his real name is, was born and raised in London, but having a Cypriot father, as his name testifies. He was involved in music from a very young age, while he gained worldwide recognition initially as a member of Wham and later as a solo artist. He is considered one of the biggest pop stars of the 80s and 90s, while counting dozens of hits.

The successful songwriter passed away in 2016, but has left a large legacy of anecdotal pieces. One of these songs that did not manage to be released, wants the RIK team to ensure that it will be the next Cypriot participation in the contest.

The proposal to a well-known Greek singer

As we are informed from the environment of a well-known Greek singer, RIK has already contacted him, proposing him to represent Cyprus in Eurovision 2022 with the song of George Michael.

The artist in question reserved his answer, expecting of course to listen to the proposed song first. From his environment, however, there are some serious reservations.

The basic and most expected reservation of course is whether a song by George Michael, which as a songwriter was successful in the 80s and 90s mainly, can musically meet the requirements of the competition in 2022. In addition, there is a fear that because it is a George Michael’s song, which is no longer alive, is considered by some to be emotional blackmail. Finally, although of course we are talking about a very big name in world music history, there are concerns of repeating the story with Bonnie Tyler, where her name alone was not enough to bring enough points to the UK in 2013, occupying the 19th place.

For all the above reasons, the artist’s team will give its final answer to RIK, as soon as it has the song in its hands and it will be possible to evaluate all the data.

Of course all of the above will make sense once the securing of George Michael’s song by the company that manages the copyright is completed. In case the above perspective fails, then RIK will look for another song, always aiming to be represented by a Cypriot composer.

What do you think about RIK’s plans for Eurovision 2022? Tell us in the comments below!