Albania: Watch the performances from the first night of FiK 61!

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The first night of Festivali i Këngës 61 through which Albania’s representative for Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool will be selected, has been completed. Overall, 26 artists will compete in the contest. The first night was held in Pallati i Kongreseve at Tirana, where we heard the 13 first songs for the first time with a live orchestra and we watched the staging they suggest for the contest. Arbana Osmani is the presenter for FiK 61.

You can watch the performances of the first night at the links below:

  1. Enxhi Nasufi – “Burrë”
  2. Erma Mici – “Kozmosi i dashurisë”
  3. Fabian Basha – “Një gotë”
  4. Anduel Kovaçi – “Malli”
  5. Fifi – “Stop”
  6. Urban Band – “Në çdo hap”
  7. 2 Farm – “Atomike”
  8. Sara Kapo – “Para teje”
  9. Rezarta Smaja – “N’Eden”
  10. Albina & Familja Kelmendi – “Duje”
  11. Sergio Hajdini – “Vështirë”
  12. Luna Causholli – “Jetën ta fal”
  13. Rovena Dilo – “Motit”

Unlike previous editions, at FiK 61 the first prize of Festivali i Këngës will be determined from the professional jury and from a special media jury seen for the first time, while the song that will represent Albania in Eurovision 2023 will be selected with the televoting through SMS.

Also, Arbana Osmani has presented the professional jury members for the Festival.

The professional jury is comprised of:

  • Genc Saliu
  • Alma Bektashi
  • Zhani Ciko
  • Rita Petro
  • Elton Deda

We remind you that the artists we are going to see tomorrow are:

  1. Melodajn Mancaku
  2. Permit of stay
  3. Arsi Bako
  4. Gjergj Kaçinari
  5. Franc Koruni
  6. Petrit Çarkaxhiu
  7. Elsa Lila
  8. Gent Hoxha
  9. Evi Reçi
  10. Manjola Nallbani
  11. Lynx
  12. Alban & Lore
  13. Vanesa Sono

The final of Festivali i Këngës 61 will be held on Thursday, December 22nd at 22:00 EET where we are going to meet the next Albanian representative.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Albania’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Albania: Tonight the first night of Festivali i Këngës 61!

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The curtains for Albania’s national final, Festivali i Këngës 61, open tonight at Tirana. The festival is the means for selecting the neighboring country’s representative for Liverpool in May.

The participants

Thirteen artists participate in FiK 61‘s first semi-final, with the big winner taking the ticket for Liverpool.

The 13 artists participating at the first semi-final for Festivali i Këngës 61 are:

  1. Enxhi Nasufi
  2. Erma Mici
  3. Fabian Basha
  4. Anduel Kovaçi
  5. Fifi
  6. Urban Band
  7. 2 Farm
  8. Sara Kapo
  9. Rezarta Smaja
  10. Albina dhe familja Kelmendi
  11. Sergio Hajdini
  12. Luna Çausholli
  13. Rovena Dilo

Tonight we are going to listen to the songs for the first time.

Arbana Osmani will be the presenter for FiK 61 that will once again be held in Pallati i Kongreseve at Tirana. 90-year-old well-known actress from cinema and theater Margarita Xhepa will be the guest and she is about to deliver a very powerful message onstage.

Format

Tonight, at the first night of FiK 61, the first 13 contestants will perform their entries. The second night, the remaining 13 contestants will also perform their entries. The process for the third night hasn’t been announced yet. At the fourth and last night, Albania’s Grand Final will take place.

The first night of Festivali i Këngës 61 starts at 22:00 EET and you can watch it live HERE.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Albania’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Estonia: Interview with SISSI | Lighthouse and Eesti Laul 2023! (video)

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Following the announcement of her participation in this year’s Estonian national final, Eesti Laul 2023, SISSI speaks exclusively to EurovisionFun’s, Apostolos Bogiannos and Apostolis Matamis.

SISSI is among the finalists of this years Eesti Laul and she will try to represent her country in  Eurovision 2023 with the song “Lighthouse“.

This is her third time being on the national final and she feels amazing to be back, cause she loves not only competing but also being a part of a big celebration of music alongside with other artists. About her decision to participate in this years national final, she told us:

“Τhis year there was actually no plan to participate. The previous years we had a plan of making an entry for Eesti Laul, but finally I get to work with a new producer who listened to my song “Lighthouse” and he fell in love with it! At first, it was supposed to be my next single, but after we finished it, he was sure that this song is for Eurovision!”

As SISSI mentioned her song has three layers and works as a therapy for her. It’s a very personal song for her and she wrote it in a very hard period of her life, when she couldn’t even thought of writing a song. Some months before, two member of her family drowned and that’s why water plays a big part also on her music video.

“My song is about grief either on a lost love or a person who will never come back! Through this song I finally got to except my own emotions and all the chaos and beauty that brings to my life. My goal is to inspire other people too!”

 

Asked about her staging of the song in the national final SISSI said:

“This time I will be more free on the stage! My sister and my mother will be in charge of the stage choreography and we will work on the camera angles but we will not know what exactly I am going to do on the stage!”

Her favorite Estonian entries is Ott Lepland’s  Kuula from 2012 but also she gives a shoutout to songs that ended up on second or third place in the national final of Estonia. In general her favourite Eurovision entries are Portugal 2017, Sweden 2013 and 2012.

Sometime before the end of the interview, SISSI offered us a part of her song acapella!

Watch the exclusive interview with SISSI in the following video:

Listen to SISSI – Lighthouse from Eesti Laul 2023:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Εstonian entry for Eurovision 2023!

 

 

 

Spain: Listen to the songs of Benidorm Fest 2023!

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The Spanish broadcaster has just published on its online platform, RTVEplay, the songs that will be competing at the Benidorm Fest this February for the ticket to Liverpool!

Tomorrow, after 13CET, the songs will be available on all digital platforms!

Listen to them below by clicking on the title of each song:

Can you pick out a song? Are you waiting to see someone’s stage performance? Let us know in the comments below!

Stay Tuned to Eurovisionfun for more news on Benidorm Fest 2023!

Ireland: More information about Eurosong 2023!

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The songs that are going to compete in the Irish national final for Eurovision 2023, are now in the process of being selected.

The Irish Eurosong 2023, the country’s new national final, is now being organized by RTÉ, the  Irish public broadcaster. A jury panel has now listened to all the songs submitted and is going to pick the songs that will compete in the national final, the next days. Many artists have announced themselves that they have submitted their songs for the national final and they have gotten further information on whether they have been selected or not.

Cruachan, for example, are a metal folk band from Dublin that has been in the music scene since the beginning of the 1990s and they were among the favourites to take part in Eurosong 2023. In an Instagram post, they announced that they had a word with Michael Kealy, the Head of Music and Entertainment of RTÉ, who informed them that the juries liked their songs but unfortunatelly was not one of the six songs that qualified for the final. Their song, however, is going to be published around the time of the next contest.

We remind you that Eurosong 2023, the national final of Ireland for Eurovision Song Contest 2023, is most likely going to take place in February 3.

The previous winner of the Irish Eurosong and Ireland’s representative in Eurovision 2022 was Brooke with the song “That’s Rich“, who didn’t manage to qualify for the final, ending up in 15th place of the second semi-final:

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

Eurovision 2023: The odds after the Ukrainian national final!

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A few hours have just passed since the first national final of this season and as expected, there are not a few rearrangements in the betting tables. That’s why your favorite column is here again, to give you a first taste of the betting odds ahead of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

While you are preparing for your Christmas break and a “hot” Eurovision winter, the bookers are already busy, with the Eurovision 2023 winner section already being offered to some companies. So, we’re taking this opportunity to present to you what we have so far for the next contest.

Winner and Top 5

Despite the dominance of an underdog in yesterday’s Ukrainian national final, TVORCHI, the Eastern European country still remains at the top of the betting tables. Nevertheless, the odds for a possible fourth Ukrainian victory are “rising”, approaching 4.40 in some companies.

This is a clear increase compared to the previous time period, where a victory of Ukraine barely tripled the money of the bettor. The Ukrainian back-to-back is currently being played at odds between 2.75 and 4.40.

Behind Ukraine, in the Top-3, are Italy and Sweden. The Eurovision 2022 host and the six-time winner of the competition are among the heavy favorites for Eurovision 2023, with bookers relying mainly on the long tradition and quality of entries at Sanremo and Melodifestivalen respectively. Italy’s win is offered at 8 and Sweden’s win at 10.

Spain and the United Kingdom complete the top five. These are two countries that impressed in Turin and in which the betting companies show confidence that they can achieve an equally successful result in Liverpool in May. Bookers give the British victory at odds between 7 and 18, while the corresponding Spanish one between 15 and 16.

Top 10

Greece is seen as the sixth favorite to win Eurovision 2023, with bookers recognizing the positive results of the 2021-2022 biennium and the change of approach by ERT within the current decade. Greek victory is played at odds between 17 and 20.

In seventh and eighth place, with similar odds, Norway and Australia are playing. Both are played at a maximum of 21, making two respectable sizes for our favorite contest. Ninth is France, which is called upon to prove that the 2nd place in 2021 was not a “firework”, while the first ten are jointly completed by Belgium and Serbia. Both the Central European country and the Balkan country return 34 times the money of those who bet on them.

Do you think Ukraine can make it back-to-back and become the first country since Ireland in the early 90s to achieve back-to-back wins in our beloved contest?

Ukraine: With TVORCHI and “Heart of Steel” in Eurovision 2023!

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The winning country of Eurovision 2022 Ukraine becomes the first country to have officially chosen a representative for Eurovision 2023, as the results of Vidbir 2023 have just come in.

The show took place from 16:00 to 20:00 CET and was hosted by Timur Miroshnychenko, Kateryna Pavlenko and Zlata Ognevich.

The participants

Ten artists competed in the final of Vidbir 2023, attempting to win the ticket to Liverpool.

The 10 participants who claimed the representation of Ukraine in Eurovision 2023 were the following:

  1. Moisei – «I’m Not Alone» 
  2. OY Sound System – «Ой, тужу»
  3. DEMCHUK – «Alive» 
  4. Jerry Heil – «WHEN GOD SHUT THE DOOR»
  5. FIINKA – «Довбуш»
  6. KRUTЬ – «Колискова»
  7. Tember Blanche – «Я вдома»
  8. Angelina – «Stronger» 
  9. 2TONE – «Квітка»
  10. TVORCHI – «Heart Of Steel»

The results

The final result was determined 50% by the preference of the ukrainian viewers and 50% by the preference of the jury, consisting of Taras Topola, Jamala and Yulia Sanina.

The jury voted as follows:

After the televote was added in, the final results were formed as follows:

TVORCHI were, therefore, crowned the winners and will be representing Ukraine in Eurovision 2023 with the song “Heart of Steel”.

Do you think Ukraine made the right choice? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Eurovision 2023!

Romania: These are the 12 finalists of Selecţia Nacională 2023!

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The Romanian broadcaster, TVR, announced through their website the 12 songs that will compete in Selecţia Nţională 2023 from the 84 that participated in the preselection phase of the competition. The composition of the jury that selected the 12 finalists is as follows; Sebastian Ferenţ, Bogdan Stratula, John Varbiu, Alin Vaida, Mihai Predescu as well as Remus Achim.

The list of the finalists are as follows:

  1. Adriana Moraru – “Faralaes”
  2. Aledaida – “Bla Bla Bla”
  3. AMIA – “Puppet”
  4. Andrada Popa – “No time for me”
  5. Andreea D Folclor Orchestra – “Periniţa mea”
  6. Deiona – “Call on me”
  7. Erin Dăneţ – “Bad&cool”
  8. Maryliss – “Hai Vino”
  9. Ocean Drive – “Take you home”
  10. No Artist – “Statues”
  11. Steven Roho x Gabriella x Formaţia Albatros – “Lele”
  12. Theodor Andrei – “D.G.T. (Off and on)”

Selecţia Nacională 2023 will take place on February 11, 2023 and will be broadcast live from TVR’s studios. The winner will be determined solely by the public vote, with voting opening during the show.

Last year’s Selecţia Nacională winner was WRS with the song “Llamame” which brought Romania to the final for the first time since 2017!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPpuwy79sHs&feature=emb_title

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Romania’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Source: TVR

Ukraine: Vidbir 2023 takes place tonight!

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Tonight is the night Ukraine, winning country of Eurovision 2022, will choose its representative for Eurovision 2023. The successful Eastern European country has once again chosen to determine their representative through a national final, namely Vidbir 2023.

The participants

Ten artists are in the final of Vidbir 2023, attempting to win the ticket to Liverpool.

The 10 participants who will claim the representation of Ukraine in Eurovision 2023 are the following:

  1. Moisei – «I’m Not Alone» 
  2. OY Sound System – «Ой, тужу»
  3. DEMCHUK – «Alive» 
  4. Jerry Heil – «WHEN GOD SHUT THE DOOR»
  5. FIINKA – «Довбуш»
  6. KRUTЬ – «Колискова»
  7. Tember Blanche – «Я вдома»
  8. Angelina – «Stronger» 
  9. 2TONE – «Квітка»
  10. TVORCHI – «Heart Of Steel»

The final result will be determined 50% by the preference of the Ukrainian viewers and 50% by the preference of the jury, consisting of Taras Topola, Jamala and Yulia Sanina.

Vidbir 2023 will be hosted by Timur Miroshnychenko, Kateryna Pavlenko and Zlata Ognevich.

The grand final of Vidbir 2023 will start at 16:00 CET and will last four hours. You can watch it in the official Eurovision-themed channel of the Ukrainian television:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Ukraine’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Italy: Sanremo Giovani 2022 has just been completed!

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The night of Sanremo Giovani 2022, the subcategory of the Sanremo Festival for new artists, has just come to an end.

12 artists competed to win a place among the already known Big participants of Sanremo 2023, however according to this year’s regulations by Sanremo’s artistic director and presenter Amadeus, only 6 of them managed to secure a place among the Big at the Festival in February. The 6 artists we will soon be seeing and hearing from again, therefore, are the following:

  • Shari
  • gIANMARIA
  • Colla Zio
  • Sethu
  • Will
  • Olly

Out of which gIANMARIA was declared the winner with the song La città che odi.

The 6 of them will, of course, compete with different songs at the Sanremo Festival than in today’s Sanremo Giovani final, whose titles are revealed below.

Sanremo song titles

In addition to the appearances of the Sanremo Giovani contestants and the announcement of the winners, the official presentation of Sanremo 2023’s Big participants also took place, where the titles of their songs were revealed:

  • Ultimo – Alba
  • Tananai – Tango 
  • Madame – Il bene nel male
  • Giorgia – Parole dette male
  • Mr. Rain – Supereroi
  • Elodie – Due
  • Gianluca Grignani – Quando ti manca il fiato
  • Marco Mengoni – Due vite
  • Anna Oxa – Sali (Canto dell’anima)
  • Lazza – Cenere
  • Mara Sattei – Duemila minuti
  • Modà – Lasciami
  • Paola e Chiara – Furore
  • Colapesce Dimartino – Splash
  • Leo Gassmann – Terzo cuore
  • Articolo 31 – Un bel viaggio
  • Ariete – Mare di guai
  • I Cugini di Campagna – Lettera 22
  • Levante – Vivo
  • Coma_Cose – L’addio
  • LDA – Se poi domani
  • Rosa Chemical – Made in Italy
  • gIANMARIA – Mostro
  • Colla Zio – Non mi va
  • Shari – Egoista
  • Olly – Polvere
  • Sethu – Cause perse
  • Will – Stupido

We remind you that Sanremo 2023 will take place from 7 to 11 February 2023.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Sanremo 2023 and Italy’s participation in Eurovision 2023!