Norway: First rumored acts for Melodi Grand Prix 2023!

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Many countries have already started their preparations for Eurovision 2023 which will take place in United Kingdom. Norway is among them, and there are already hints about the acts that can be featured on Melodi Grand Prix 2023, the country’s national final and among the most popular pre-selections in the Eurovision community.

During the last weeks, the Head of Delegation of Norway in the contest Stig Karlsen, has posted several posts and stories on social media from songwriting camps that take place, only a few weeks before the beginning of the submission period for Melodi Grand Prix 2023.

Artists that have competed in the past in the show and its possible to see them again this year are: Elsie Bay (2022), Oda Gondrosen (2022), Imerika (2021), Emmy (2021), Raylee (2020/2021) and Tone Damli. Artists that should also be mentioned are Alessandra Mele (The Voice Norge 2022), Lillen Stenberg (Idol 2017) and Magnus Winjlum (MGP jr 2017).

Notable singers/songwriters that can be spotted are Christian Ingebrigtsen (Participant 2022, composer- Attention, 2020), Åge Nilsen (winner MGP 2005), Eniar Kvaløy (Lights Off, Czech Republic 2022), Alan Roy Scott (Cleopatra, Azerbaijan 2020) Morten Franck (I Can’t Escape, 2021), Bjørn Edvardsen (I Can’t Escape, 2021), Ben Adams (I Can’t Escape, 2021), Audun Agnar Guldbrandsen (Ecstacy, 2022) and Jonas Jensen (Death of Us, 2022).

Below you can see a post by Morten Franck from the recent songwriting camp:

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Morten F (@mortenfr)

Norway was represented in Eurovision 2022 by Subwoolfer and the song Give That Wolf A Banana, coming 10th in the Grand Final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adCU2rQyDeY

Greece: Mike Connaris sent a submission to ERT for Eurovision 2023!

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Songwriter Mike Connaris is willing to return to Eurovision Song Contest, after representing Cyprus twice (2004 and 2015), managing to progress at the Grand Final both times.

Mike Connaris is testing his capabilities with Greece

We have mentioned before that a songwriter that represented Cyprus in the past was on his way working on a Greek Eurovision 2023 participation. Relying on our exclusive information, we are able to reveal that this songwriter is Mike Connaris and he has already submitted his song to ERT!

In 2015 John Karayiannis won the Cypriot national final with One Thing I Should Have Done, a song composed by Mike Connaris. Cyprus could progress to the Grand Final, but this time it was limited to the 22nd place.

Taking into account his love for Eurovision Song Contest and the fact that Cyprus is collaborating with Panik Records once again, he decided to test his capabilities this time with Greece, having already sent a submission to ERT.

With which performer he is collaborating for Eurovision 2023?

Mike Connaris in this song is collaborating with Cynthia Verazie. She may be remembered by many from her participation to ANT1’s Rising Star where she impressed both juries and the public with her vocal capabilities, despite her young age.

Cynthia was residing with her family to Limassol, but she is of Polish decent. In 2018 she moved to Norway, where she became known from her participation in The Voice of Norway. There, she managed to progress as far as the semi-final. Cynthia’s dream is to become an opera singer, hence her studies to this direction.

A ballad for Cynthia

The song Mike Connaris wrote for Cynthia could be nothing else than a ballad, taking into consideration that this is the genre he excels at. At our previous article we have already informed you that at this time of writing, more than ten songs have been submitted to ERT, one of those being the participation from Mike Connaris-Cynthia Verazie.

How does the collaboration of Mike Connaris and Cynthia appeal to you? Would you like to see them in Eurovision?

Denmark: Melodi Grand Prix final to take place on February 11!

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Denmark’s public broadcaster, DR, announced that the final of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2023, will take place in Νæstved, in Saturday, February 11.

It’s the first time that Næstved will host DMGP, with the national final taking place in Arena Næstved, with a capacity of 7.000 audience.

Eight songs will take part in the competition, with the submission currently being in progress until the 28th of October in the noon.

Gustav Lützhøft, the senior editor of DR Kultur, Debat og Musik said that:

“Dansk Melodi Grand Prix is a proud tradition and a musical festival, bringing us together across generations and music tastes. Therefore, again this year, what we want is to create a show that brings Danish people together in their homes, in their living rooms and celebrates music and the art of songwriting.”

Carsten Rasmussen, mayor of Næstved added on it and said:

“We are happy that DR has chosen Næstved as the venue for DMGP 2023. If we have to say so ourselves, it is obvious, because Næstved is a city with a lot of musical culture. We even have two DMGP winners: From Næstved Musikskole singer and actress Flora Ofelia, who won the children’s DMGP in 2015, and the Næstved Ungdomsskole drummer Ihan Haydar, who won the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in 2012 and also competed last year.”

Τhe group Reddi won last year’s Dansk MGP and represented Denmark in Eurovision 2022 with the song “The Show”,  but didn’t manage to qualify for the final, ending up in 13th place of the first semi-final.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Dansk participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, in the United Kingdom!

Ukraine: Possibly 10 songs to Compete in Vidbir 2023!

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Ukrainian musical outlet Muzvar revealed some details about Ukraine’s Eurovision pre-selection national final, Vidbir. Its sources state that 10 songs will compete to represent Ukraine in Eurovision Song Contest 2023 that will take place in the United Kingdom. This will be the largest Vidbir final since 2014, when 20 acts competed for a chance to represent Ukraine in Copenhagen.

The country’s national broadcaster UA:PBC on the other hand, decided to use the mobile application Diia for the public voting in an attempt to maintain the largest possible number of voters, taking into consideration the mobile networking issues caused by the conflict.

The final of Vidbir 2023 will take place in December 2022 at Kyiv and the winner that will be selected by a combination of public and jury voting, will represent Ukraine in Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in the United Kingdom. The jury members will be chosen by the public.

Ukraine was represented in Eurovision 2022 by Kalush Orchestra and their song “Stefania”. In the end, they managed to win the contest. They also achieved the greatest televote result in the history of ESC. Due to the ongoing war situation in Ukraine, EBU declared it unable to host Eurovision 2023, making it the first time since 1980 that the contest will not be held at the previous winning country. However, Ukraine will still automatically qualify for the final as it won the last year’s contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fl60ypdLs

Source: Eurovoix

Estonia: ERR announces various dates for Eesti Laul 2023!

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Yesterday, the Estonian national broadcaster ERR announced the opening for the song submission window, which will be open until 12:00 at the noon of October 20th.  20 songs will be selected to compete by a professional jury and will be revealed at early December.

The show dates are the following:

  • First Semi-Final – January 12th
  • Second Semi-Final – January 14th
  • Grand Final – February 11th

The participation fees vary in price. Until October 17th, the participation fee for a song in Estonian is 50 euro while the price is doubled to 100 euro for a song in a foreign language, including English. At the final phase of the competition both prices double to 100 euro and 200 euro respectively.

The songwriters and artists eligible for participating in Eesti Laul can be either Estonian citizens or just residents in Estonia, or even non-residents. The same applies for the artists. However, a song may be able to have one non-resident songwriter but they should definitely be accompanied by other songwriters that hold the Estonian residency.

The winner of Eesti Laul 2022 was Stefan with the song “Hope”, with which he represented Estonia in Eurovision 2022. He finished 13th at the Grand final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdTpQmMem8U

Source: Eurovoix

Albania: RTSH adds Televoting in Festivali i Këngës 61!

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The traditionally first Eurovision pre-selection national final of the season, is going to experience something no less than a revolution. The Albanian national broadcaster RTSH decided to add the possibility of televoting in Festivali i Këngës 61. This means that Albanian TV viewers will be able to have a word for who is going to represent them at Eurovision Song Contest 2023 that will take place at United Kingdom. However, the percentage that televoting points will hold for the final score of each participant is still unknown. Last time that televoting was used in FiK was at 2016 (for the selection of the Albanian representative for Eurovision 2017) and held 1/13 of the final result, while jury voting held 12/13. Televoting was used for the first time in FiK at 2005, for the selection of the Eurovision 2006 Albanian representative.

The news became known via the official Instagram account of OGAE member Eurovision Albania.

As announced earlier in August, Festivali i Këngës 61 will be presented by one of the most loved Albanian TV personalities, Arbana Osmani, while the art director will be Flori Mumajesi, one of the most successful songwriters of the new generation. RTSH has opened song submissions for FiK 61 since June 3rd, while the shows’ dates are yet to be announced. The submission window will be opened until September 30th.

Ronela Hajati won FiK 60 with the ethnic-pop song “Sekret”. It is quite rare for such a song to win FiK, that’s why it’s the first FiK winner of that kind for the first time in many years. She represented Albania in Eurovision 2022 and couldn’t manage to progress in the Grand Final, finishing 12th in the First Semi-Final.

Source: OGAE Albania

 

Greece: One month left for song submissions | More than 10 songs submitted already!

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There is one month left, for those interested in representing Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

There are more artists interested in submitting songs, in comparison to other years, with more than 10 songs already submitted to ERT, the Greek public broadcaster, while at the same point of time during last year’s selection, no song had been submitted!

The interest for the Greek representation is increased!

The Greek public broadcaster expects at least double the amount of song that were submitted last year. The 43 songs for Eurovision 2022, are expected to look like a small number.

The above statement was made clear from early on, back in August 26 when ERT gave out the outline for song submission, for those interested in representing Greece in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, and since then they get phone calls every day for extra information.

Last year, all artists waited until the last week of the submission deadline to send in their songs, but now more than 10 songs are submitted and there is still one month left. Thinking that as the deadline comes closer the number of submitted songs is increased, ERT’s Eurovision  team is positive that the songs that will be submitted until October 9, when the submission period is over, will be double the amount of last year’s songs.

But of course, the biggest names wait until the last days of the submission period to send their songs, wanting to use all possible time to have a more competitive proposal.

National Final rumors have once again started.

There are tons of fake news in the Greek media about Eurovision, regarding artist proposals from ERT but also, as it has become usual the last years, rumors about the songs taking part in a national final.

We don’t have any information on this as of now, but as common sense says, and also based on our experience on how ERT sees the contest, we are going to say what is written on previous articles.

Due to the political changes that will take place in Greece in the coming months due to elections, but mainly because when a selection process is successful it won’t change, the song and artist selection will once again be internal.

We are waiting one more month, as the next 30 days more and more artists will submit their songs to win the representation of Greece in the contest, with everything new being written in our page!

Last year Greece picked Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord internally to represent them with the song “Die Together” and continued for yet another year the top 10 streak, ending up 8th with 215 points.

https://youtu.be/BWeT0nJpB3Y

So stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Greek participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, in the United Kingdom!

Ukraine: UA:PBC Reveals That 42 Songs Submitted to Vidbir 2023 So Far!

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The Ukrainian national broadcaster UA:PBC, has announced that so far, 42 songs have been submitted to Vidbir 2023. It also revealed that the most common reason for the submitted songs to be ineligibe for selection, is that they are being over three minutes long and have been publicly performed in the past.

Oksana Skybinska, Head of Delegation for Ukraine, explained:

“It is very important that the song which has been is submitted to the selection has not appeared anywhere before – in whole or in part. This composition, which can be up to 3 minutes long, could have been written specifically for the National Selection or is simply waiting for its time to be sung loudly for the first time for the whole world precisely at the selection. We also urgently ask you to send us the final version of the song so that we can evaluate the composition as fully as possible.”

Submissions for Vidbir 2023 will be open until October 15th, while the national final will take place during December 2022 in Kyiv. The winner that will represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2023, will be selected by a combination of jury and public voting. The jury members will be chosen by the public.

Ukraine was represented in Eurovision 2022 by Kalush Orchestra and their song “Stefania”. In the end, they managed to win the contest. They also achieved the greatest televote result in the history of ESC. Due to the ongoing war situation in Ukraine, EBU declared it unable to host Eurovision 2023, making it the first time since 1980 that the contest will not be held at the previous winning country. However, Ukraine will still automatically qualify for the final as it won the last year’s contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fl60ypdLs

Source: Eurovoix

United Kingdom: Participation selection with the 2022 formula in 2023!

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BBC confirmed the rumors and announced today that it will follow the 2022 formula for selecting a partipant and a song for Eurovision 2023, that is going to take place at United Kingdom.

As announced, BBC and BBC Studios will once again be collaborating with TaP Music (an international management and music publishing company), that is behind world’s most successful pop artists, such as Lana del Rey, Ellie Goulding, London Grammar, Dermot Kennedy and Mabel in order to choose a song and act that will represent the United Kingdom in Eurovision 2023.

At its statement, BBC refers to last year’s very successful British participation – that was selected through the same process that is going to be followed this year – performed by Sam Ryder. The song “Space Man” finished 2nd at the Grand Final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ0hqX_92zI

Some statements by BBC, BBC Studios and TaP Music follow. Rachel Ashdown, Commissioning Editor for BBC says:

“We are thrilled that Ben Mawson and Ed Millett plus the team at TaP will once again bring their unrivalled expertise to work with the BBC and BBC Studios to find an act and song to represent the UK at Eurovision. I hope we can find another artist who will not only be a brilliant ambassador for Eurovision but like Sam will sing their head off with a stand out song.”

Suzy Lamb, MD for BBC Studios Entertainment and Music says:

“BBC Studios are looking forward to working closely with the team at TaP again to continue to build on the success of this year’s collaboration. After Sam Ryder’s incredible result in Turin, we have a hard act to follow, but are looking forward to the challenge of finding a stand-out act and song for Eurovision 2023 that will be cheered on by a home crowd!”

Ben Mawson and Ed Millett at TaP Music says:

“TaP are very excited to be back working with the BBC to select the UK entry for Eurovision 2023. Last year we wanted to change the narrative around the UK and Eurovision to something much more positive. We focussed on what Eurovision is all about – we found an brilliant artist, an unforgettable song and an incredible person in Sam Ryder – we’re so proud of his fantastic success, coming 2nd in the competition and then achieving a number 1 single. 2022 will be a hard act to follow but we’re more than ready for the challenge – Eurovision being held in the UK for 2023 is such an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of British musical talent. Our search starts here!”

Do you agree with the selection proccess chosen by BBC for Eurovision 2023?

Source: bbc.co.uk

Denmark: Opens Song Submissions for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2023!

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Danish national broadcaster DR, confirmed the country’s participation at Eurovision 2023 by announcing the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2023 National Final.

Eight songs will compete at the national selection process, while song submissions start from today, September 8th, until the afternoon of October 28th.

The rules are the following:

  • At least one composer, songwriter or singer should be a Danish citizen or somehow be associated with Denmark e.g. residing in Denmark or be married with someone Danish.
  • Feroe Islands and Greenland citizens will also be eligible for participating.
  • All the songs must be original and should not have been played publicly or be available in the internet.
  • The composers and songwriters can submit mutiple participations.
  • The lyrics should not have political messages, swear words or other forms of explicit language.
  • All the songs that meet the Contest’s criteria will be reviewed from a professional jury established by DR. The decision for the final selection cannot be doubted in any way.
  • Until DR reveals the song titles and the creators from the selected participations, the ones involved are not allowed to reveal any details regarding their participation.
  • All the vocals must be performed live during the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix final.
  • The greatest rule change is that in past editions, the participants should have been at least 16 years old during the DMGP final. Now, they should be 16 years old until the ESC final.

Real all the DMGP 2023 rules here.

The national final’s date is not announced yet.

In Eurovision 2022 Denmark was represented by Reddi with the song “The Show” and finished 13th at the First Semi-Final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqakAZP4D24

Source: dr.dk