Serbia: RTS extends submission deadline for Pesma za Evroviziju 2024

The Serbian Public Broadcaster RTS announced that it has decided to extend the submission deadline for the national final of the country, Pesma za Evroviziju 2024.

Initially, submissions began on August 1st but according to a statement by the  Head of the Serbian delegation at the Eurovision Song Contest, Uroš Marković, the new deadline for submissions is November 10, 2023. 

This is to allow artists and songwriters to refine their entries which are to be showcased on such an important platform as Pezma za Evroviziju 2024. RTS encourages both up-and-coming and established artists to submit entries.

Luke Black won Pezma za Evroviziju 2023 and therefore represented Serbia in Eurovision 2023 with the song “Samo Mi Se Spava” , finishing at the 24th place.

Source: Escunited

Netherlands: Cornald Maas Almost Resigned Amid Netherlands’ Eurovision 2023 Controversy

Cornald Maas, revealed that the controversy surrounding the Netherlands’ Eurovision 2023 entry nearly pushed him to step down from his role.

The controversy revolved around the Netherlands’ choice of Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper for Eurovision 2023, particularly their live performances of their song “Burning Daylight” at pre-parties leading up to the competition. These performances faced intense criticism and even ridicule within the Dutch media.

Speaking on the NPO radio program ‘Mischa!’ earlier this week, Maas expressed how the relentless criticism by Dutch media of Mia & Dion had a lasting and detrimental impact on him and those close to him. Despite these challenges, Maas ultimately decided to remain part of the Dutch Eurovision team, as Eurovision has a special place in his heart.

Even though the song was revamped to help the artists better perform it, “Burning Daylight” did not advance to the Grand Final of Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool, marking the first Dutch entry not to qualify since 2015.

Maas says that the criticism by local media affected even his family. He also added:

“It was not over in a day or a week. There were so many untruths that were debated. In consultation with AVROTROS, I did not respond to this so that the oil slick would not get bigger. That went against my character and my nature.”

Affected by this controversy was also Eurovision 2019 winner Duncan Laurence, who was one of the writers of the entry and was appointed to train the artists for the Eurovision stage.

After the end of Eurovision 2023, AVROTROS acknowledged that mistakes were made in selecting “Burning Daylight” for Eurovision 2023. Consequently, there have been changes within the Dutch Eurovision team, with Twan van de Nieuwenhuijze appointed as the Head of Delegation for the Netherlands and the new chairman of the selection committee.

The Netherlands will select its entry internally for Eurovision 2024 and Cornald Maas remains as part of the selecting jury.

Source: RTL Boulevard

 

 

Eurovision 2023: £55m profit for Liverpool!

According to the official announcements of the city of Liverpool, during Eurovision 2023 the economy had a revenue of £55 million. Twice as much as they originally estimated.

473,000 people visited Liverpool during the week of Eurovision Song Contest, leaving at the local economy (in cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants, shops) approximately £55 million.

Both the visitors, as well as the financial gains for Liverpool, were more than the competent bodies were expecting from the beginning. Council chairman Liam Robinson said the figures speak for themselves, adding:

Jobs were created, local businesses were on the receiving end of a much-needed boost and hundreds of thousands of people came to the city, had a great time and are more than likely to return again!

The Mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotheram, pointed out that the city had given fans, whether watching in person or on TV, “a Eurovision they will never forget” and that it was “a vital shot in the arm for our local economy”.

Culture Minister Stuart Andrew noted: “This research demonstrates the positive impact of hosting major events and I hope that we can continue to build on this success.”

Liverpool was the first city in the United Kingdom to host Eurovision Song Contest after 25 years, with the main shows being held at M&S Bank Arena.

After Loreen’s win, Sweden will host next year’s contest at Malmö!

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Source: BBC

Spotify: “Tattoo” just surpassed Alexander Rybak’s Fairytale in streams! | It is now the 4th most-listened Eurovision song of all time!

Loreen is doing amazing at all streaming platforms, following her big success at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, held in Liverpool, UK. Only three days after the release of her first post-Eurovision singleIs it Love“, her winning song “Tattoo” managed to surpass Alexander Rybak’sFairytale in streams, at the highly-popular streaming platform of Spotify.

As of Monday, October the 16th, “Tattoo” is the 4th most streamed Eurovision song of all time and has accumulated 307.971.675 streams in total, while Alexander Rybak’s Fairytale has accrued a tiny few less, 306.503.428 streams in total.

Top 10 – Most streamed Eurovision songs of all time (at the time of writing)

  1. ArcadeDuncan Laurence (1,039 Billion)
  2. SnapRosa Linn (816,3 Million)
  3. ZITTI E BUONIMåneskin (423,9 Million)
  4. TattooLoreen (306,8 Million)
  5. FairytaleAlexander Rybak (306,3 Million)
  6. WaterlooABBA (276,1 Million)
  7. EuphoriaLoreen (247,6 Million)
  8. SoldiMahmood (226,5 Million)
  9. HeroesMåns Zelmerlow (152,6 Million)
  10. BrividiMahmood, BLANCO (138,5 Million)

Loreen is only the second artist to be in this top 10 with two different songs (“Euphoria” and “Tattoo“) after Mahmood (“Soldi” and “Brividi“) and her success after her second Eurovision victory goes on.

Photo: Universal Sweden/Charli Ljung

How far do you think Loreen’s Tattoo can go? Will it manage to become the most-streamed Eurovision song of all times? 

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Italy: Marco Mengoni releases French version of “Due Vite”!

After giving Italy another Top 5 result and releasing an album that still gets numerous streams daily, Marco Mengoni never stops, and he is now offering us a different version of his Eurovision song, “Due Vite”, with which he got fourth place in the Contest.

Read more

Albania: Elsa Lila returns to Festivali i Këngës 62!

After last year’s triumph with the song “Evita”, Elsa Lila is reportedly returning to Festivali i Këngës 62, in order to claim her fourth win in the Festival! Read more

Cyprus: Andrew Lambrou wants to return to Eurovision!

Cyprus’ representative for this year’s Eurovision, Andrew Lambrou, expressed an interest to participate in the contest again in an interview with Happy Day yesterday.

“Eurovision was the best experience of my life, I would do it again”.

Performing “Break a Broken Heart” for Cyprus in Liverpool, Andrew Lambrou came in 12th overall with 126 points, just 3 points outside the top ten. Would you like to see Andrew return to the competition?


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Estonia’s Alika wants to participate in Eurovision again in the future!

In an interview with ETV, Alika, who represented Estonia at this year’s Eurovision, expressed interest in returning to the competition in the future.

She initially referred to the most vivid memories she has of her participation this year:

The most beautiful memory was when the final jury voting started and at one point I was second. Overall, the juries ranked me fifth.

When I got back to Estonia, I ran across a few people who told me that my participation made them proud to be Estonians.

She concluded by saying that she would like to participate in the competition again in the future:

I’d like to do it again, but in four or five years. Then I think it would be a good time.

Alika represented Estonia at Eurovision 2023 with the song “Bridges”, finishing 8th overall, which is one of the best results of the country in recent years. More specifically, she was ranked 5th by the juries and 19th by the television viewers.

Alika will release her debut album on November 24th!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsbC-OYMA3s


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Sources: eurovoix, ERR

OGAE Song Contest 2023: Participants and Lineup

The OGAE Song Contest 2023 has officially revealed its list of participating entries, marking the third time that OGAE Australia will host this prestigious event. This year’s edition will feature 31 songs in the competition.

Originating in 1986, the OGAE Song Contest stands out as one of the most successful Eurovision-affiliated contests. Annually, OGAE clubs (short for Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l’Eurovision, or the General Organisation of Eurovision Fans) are invited to submit songs that have not been featured in the official Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC), or national finals.

The voting period for this year’s competition has officially commenced and will run until October 21st, with the winner set to be announced on November 25th.

In the wake of Australia’s victory in the 2021 edition with “Fly Away” by Tones and I, the country was slated to host the OGAE Song Contest in 2022. However, the contest had to be canceled for the year due to ongoing geopolitical tensions involving Ukraine and Russia. Consequently, Australia is now gearing up to host the event in 2023.

 

Here is the lineup of participating countries, with the corresponding links:

 

 

For more comprehensive information about the contest, including the complete rulebook and snippets of the competing songs, visit OGAE Australia’s website

 

Source: eurovoix

 

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Luxembourg: First impressions from the auditions!

For the participation of Luxembourg at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, the first auditions took place with more than 100 people taking part at Rockhal in July.

A performance on the big stage of the Eurovision Song Contest lasts three minutes, and it will have a great repercussion on the lucky candidate. After a hiatus of 30 years, Luxembourg is back and therefore looking for the candidate or group that will represent the country in the 68th contest in Sweden. Therefore, candidates can apply for three categories:

  1. Singers and bands who can present a complete song.
  2. Candidates who don’t have their own song yet.
  3. Composers and songwriters who will collaborate with someone from category 2 to compose a new song.

Doropshi was the first audition in July of all the people who submitted their candidacy in the second category. Over two days, the most diverse candidates found their way to Rockhal.

At 63, Pierre Urbing was not only the oldest candidate, but also the first to sing.

“Basically, it was always my desire to make music when I was young, but then the opportunity wasn’t as available as it is today. And now we said, try to do something for Luxembourg”.

Melina Frisch is only 16 years old, so she was one of the youngest who dared to stand before the jury.

“I think even younger people should be asked to show that they can do something from a young age. Not just adults. I’m just doing it for fun and who knows what will come out of this”

She was accompanied by Christiane Hoffmann, a friend of the family. For her, the dream of the big stage had already come true in 1991, when she was able to represent Luxembourg as a pianist in Italy.

“It was a bit stressful because we couldn’t see much of Rome. So we had to go to Cinecittà every other day to rehearse. And it was very nice, because you got to know the other countries too. At that time there were not many. It was a great experience.”

Before audition candidates even take the stage, they would first have to convince the jury. The panel consisted of RTL.lu manager Sandra Biintz, RTL cultural program manager Jenny Fischbach, Eurovision coordinator Eric Lehmann, sound expert Jules Serrig, head of Radio Dave Gloesener and radio animator Samuel Steen.

“I would say that 50 percent of the candidates who came forward sing well. We have also made some suggestions for improvement. And I think the crowd will continue to improve until January when the decision is made and I think we’ll keep 40 to 50 people,” says jury member Eric Lehmann after the first day of casting.

Most performances were a cappella. Mainly in English and French, but partly in Luxembourgish, German, Portuguese and even Serbian. Some solo performers were accompanied by guitar or piano or brought a musical accompaniment. As a result, most candidates had chosen a slower song. The jury would like more up-tempo songs, but will take this into consideration for improvement next year and possibly allow background music during auditions.

The best singers will later compete with those candidates who are already more established in the music industry and have their own songs in their repertoire. The finalists will then compete against each other in a big televised show at the Rockhal on January 27, and the winner will represent Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May 2024.

Source: RTL

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