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

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The second 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 second night was also held in Pallati i Kongreseve at Tirana, where we heard the 13 remaining 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 second night at the links below:

  1. Melodajn Mancaku – “Gjysma e zemrës sime“
  2. Permit of stay – “Fobia“
  3. Arsi Bako – “Sonte dua të jem me ty“
  4. Gjergj Kaçinari – “Dje“
  5. Franc Koruni – “Në pritje“
  6. Petrit Çarkaxhiu – “Emri yt mirësi“
  7. Elsa Lila – “Evita“
  8. Gent Hoxha – “Ajër“
  9. Evi Reçi – “Ma kthe“
  10. Manjola Nallbani – “Dua“
  11. Lynx – “Nëse ke besim“
  12. Alban & Lore – “Melodi“
  13. Vanesa Sono – “Aroma jonë“

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, at the first night 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

The 5 new artists that progressed to the final, are:

  1. Melodajn Mancaku
  2. Erma Mici
  3. Vanesa Sono
  4. Urban Band
  5. Gent Hoxha

We remind you that tomorrow, at the third night, we are going to see duets singing adaptations from FiK’s history. Also, Eurovision 2022 winners Kalush Orchestra will be the guests of the night.

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!

Finland: Artists that are rumoured to be competing at UMK 2023 are revealed!

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Uuden musiikin kilpailu, the winner of which will be Finland’s next Eurovision representative, will be held on February 25. However some acts name that are supposedly participating in next years UMK have been revealed by Iltalehti, way in advance!

According to sources of Iltalehti, which has correctly reported UMK participants in the previous years, Robin Packalen, Portion Boys, Benjamin Peltonen and a less-known artist Lxandra are rumoured to be competing in the hopes of representing Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Liverpool next year.

But let’s see who these artists are:

Robin Packalen

The 24-year-old Robin Packalen, also known by his stage name Robin, is a Finnish singer who started as a teen pop artist. During his career, Robin’s certified albums and singles have sold over 370000 copies, which makes him one of the 70 all-time best-selling artists of his country.

Portion Boys

Portion Boys is a band from Tampere that started its activities on the YouTube service in 2010. Back in 2021, Portion Boys released a new version of the song “Vauhti kiihtyy”, featuring the original performers Matti & Teppo, which version grew into a major hit during the summer and fall of 2021. Since its release, it was in the top ten of Finland’s official singles list for 28 weeks, including 13 weeks in the top three and has been listened to more than 11 million times on Spotify alone.

Benjamin Peltonen

Benjamin Peltonen, 25 years old, also known as Benjamin, is a Finnish singer who broke through on Instagram, where he earned, more than 280,000 followers. In May 2014 Peltonen signed a record deal with the record company Warner Music Finland.

Lxandra

Lxandra, born Alexandra Lehti, is an aspiring Finnish pop singer and songwriter. Raised in Suomenlinna, she is the daughter of journalist Baba Lybeck and musician Pekka Lehti, and currently lives in Berlin.

The Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu  will take place on February 25, in Logomo, Turku for the second year in a row. Seven songs will participate in the final, which will be announced on January 11 and will begin to be released on different days, from January 12 to 20. The seven songs were selected from 363 entries submitted to Yle.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding the Finnish participation at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023!

Source: Iltalehti.fi

Ukraine: KRUTb appeals against TVORCHI! | Selection of “Heart of Steel” is still valid, Suspline confirms!!

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Last Saturday, 17th of December, the Ukrainian national selection for Eurovision 2023 took place, crowning as the winners of this year’s Vidbir the band TVORCHI with the song “Heart of Steel”.

We’re a couple of days away from the Ukrainian national selection finals and just yesterday, Monday, the Ukrainian organizing commitee had to take the appeal of finalist KRUTb, against the winning act TVORCHI, into consideration!

According to KRUTb, the main vocal part during the performance of TVORCHI seemed to be a lead dub, something that is against the rules of the Ukrainian national selection.

The organizing committee heard the assessment of the music producer of the Ukrainian national selection Dmytro Shurov, who noted that only after he watched the live broadcast of the final show, during the performance of TVORCHI, at the indicated seconds of the song, a voice double can be heard. However, this was such a subtle detail that only sound and music professionals could observe. That said, such a tiny non-compliance to the rules of the national selection cannot cause the disqualification of TVORCHI as the country’s representatives next year.

The organizing committee also took into account that a lot of finalists committed a number of minor violations during the National Selection, but none of them was a sufficient reason to disqualify any of the participants. The organizing committee of course had to take into cosnideration the special conditions of this year’s selection both for the rehearsals of the artists and for the work that the music producer, the team of organizers and producers of the television version all had to do.

KRUTЬ doubted the validity of the selection of TVORCHI by mentioning that their distribution company called “Beliebe” continues to operate on the territory of the aggressor country. However, “Believe” is a French company engaged in music distribution in Europe and Asia. The distribution of finalists’ songs by this company is not a violation of the rules of the National Selection. Five out of ten finalists of the National Selection published their competition songs through the same distributor, being the distribution company “Believe”.

The Eurovision Organizing Committee decided that the appeal of the finalist KRUTЬ is not a valid reason to disqualify TVORCHI’s participation in the National Selection, therefore, their selection as Ukraine’s representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest next year. In addition, as Dmytro Shurov suggested, the organizing committee decided to improve the organization of the selection in the future to involve an additional specialist who will monitor the compliance of the broadcast sound of the participants’ performances with the rules during rehearsals and live broadcasting.

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

Source: corp.suspilne.media

Belgium: The artists themselves will decide which of their two songs they will be taking to Eurosong 2023!

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Less than a month before Eurosong 2023, Belgium’s national final for Eurovision 2023, VRT announced that the artists themselves will choose which of their two songs they will be performing and therefore competing with in order to claim the country’s representation in Eurovision 2023.

In the week before the national final, each artist will present the two songs in a remote area, Belgium’s Tournai, to an audience of Belgian artists, and then choose, themselves, which one they will be participating with, after considering the Belgian artists’ advice.

The Eurosong 2023 presenter and commentator for Belgium at Eurovision stated, regarding the procedure:

“We have created a club of artists. Each artist will perform their two songs in front of other singers. Then, all of these singers will advise the artists which of the two is more suitable for the national final. It is up to the artist whether they will listen to their advice or choose themselves.

Artists must realize that, with their choice, they may give away their victory to someone else, which is not so obvious in such a competition.”

We remind you that the Eurosong 2023 final will take place on January 14 at Paleis 12/Palais 12 in Brussels. You can listen to a snippet of all the songs here.

After Jeremie Makiese’s 19th place in Eurovision 2022, Belgium are attempting to return to the left side of the scoreboard. You can remember last year’s Miss You below:

Which of the candidate songs do you think you will be rooting for, judging by the released snippets? Tell us in the comments!

Source: Eurovoix

Ukraine: Country’s head of delegation states that they’re aiming to win Eurovision 2023!

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Last Saturday, the Ukrainian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 took place, in which TVORCHI were crowned the winners with their song “Heart of Steel”.

After the completion of the national final, the head of the country’s delegation to the contest, Oksana Skybinska, spoke about TVORCHI’s victory, but also about Eurovision 2023.

Specifically, she stated that everyone worked hard for the realization of Vidbir 2023, under harsh war conditions, and that she is completely satisfied with the final result.

In addition, she stated that she’s happy about the fact that Ukraine will be represented by a song of western sound, different to the country’s ethnic recipe of the last years.

“The important thing is that the song is original, of high quality and reflects the current state of the Ukrainian music scene.”

According to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, the next stage will be the signing of the contract with the winners, while preparations for the group’s appearance on the stage of Eurovision 2023 are due to begin soon.

Finally, she commented on the fact that Ukraine is, for the second year in a row, in the first place of betting odds, saying:

“Of course, going into the competition, we want to win. We’re fighting for the first place, because there is always a new artist who passes new messages, showcases their work, their hopes on the song. Therefore, it cannot be said that because Ukraine won last year, we can’t do it again.

However, this is a competition and it is still too early to talk about betting odds. Of course, the goal is the highest result.

Eurovision 2023 will be very special and unique. There has never been such a contest, a country running the contest on behalf of another. Therefore, we are actively working on the presence and visibility of Ukraine in various aspects of the competition.”

Below you can watch the Eurovisionfun team commenting on the participation of TVORCHI with the song “Heart of Steel”.

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

Source: corp.suspilne.media

Lithuania: Pabandom iš naujo! 2023 artists revealed

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30 artists will compete to represent Lithuania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

Public broadcaster LTR revealed the list of artists and songs competing in their national selection Pabandom iš naujo! 2023.

Among the wishful candidates there are some familiar faces for Eurovision fans including Monika Linkytė who represented Lithuania together with Vaidas Baumila in 2015 with the song “This Time”.  Apart from her, former selection participants like Aistė Pilvelytė, Alen Chicco, Antikvariniai Kašpirovskio Dantys, Gebrasy, Justė Kraujelytė or Voldemars Petersons are making a return.

The 30 competing entries are:

Agnė – New Start
Aistė Pilvelytė – We’re Not Running
Alen Chicco – Do You
Antikvariniai Kašpirovskio dantys – Sėdi ir važiuoji
Baiba – When the Lights Go Out
Beatrich – Like a Movie
Donata – Dreamer
Gabrielius Vagelis – Šauksmas
Gebrasy – Saw Your Ghost
Il Senso – Sparnai
I. T. – Žinau, tai tu
Joseph June – Vacuum
Justa Rubežiūtė – When I’ll Find
Justė Kraujelytė – ESC Need More Fun
Justin 3 feat. Dj AugustYno – Not Giving Up
Lina Štalytė – My Body
Luknė – Paradise
Mario Junes – Do What You Do
Matt Len – Midnight Train
Melona – Song Of Whispers
Monika Linkytė – Stay
MoonBee – Rumor
Multiks – London
NOY – Destiny’s Child
Paulina Paukštaitytė – Let Me Think About Me
Petunija – Love Of My Life
Rūta MUR – So Low
Viktorija Faith – If You Ever Miss Me
Voldemaras Petersonas – Things
W.I – You Can Not

 

Pabandom iš naujo! 2023 will take place between January 21 and  February 18

BBC reveals further production team details for Eurovision 2023!

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A few months ago, BBC revealed the core production team for Eurovision 2023. Today, further details are revealed regarding the team responsible to produce the three live shows in May 2023.

The rest of the team is consisted of:

  • Multi Camera Directors: Nikki Parsons, Richard Valentine and Ollie Bartlett

Nikki Parsons will be lead director on the Grand Final. Since 2006 Nikki has been Series Director of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing (the UK version of Dancing With The Stars), and has huge expertise in directing live entertainment shows in UK and US. Richard Valentine is a BAFTA and Royal Television Society award winning Multi Camera director and Ollie Bartlett has worked at multiple shows and was one of the BBC directors on the coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

  • Lead Creative Director: Dan Shipton

Dan has worked in many major events and will oversee various creative elements of the shows including the interval acts and the Flag Parade working together with German Nenov, who has been appointed by Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC as their Creative Director.

  • Music Director: Kojo Samuel

Kojo was the Music Executive of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony and will oversee the music production and arrangements on the show’s interval acts and the Flag Parade.

  • Set Designer: Julio Himede

Julio has designed sets for many major events and TV shows such as the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, the 2018-2021 MTV Video Music Awards, the 2016-2021 MTV EMAs etc.

  • Head of Sound: Robert Edwards

BAFTA winner Robert Edwards will supervise the sound and it’s not the first time he is involved with Eurovision since he was the Sound Supervisor for Eurovision 2018.

  • Lighting Designer: Tim Routledge

Tim is a multi-award winning Lighting Designer having worked for major events and TV-shows like X-Factor, Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony 2014 and more.

We remind you that the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place in Liverpool. The semi-finals will take place in May 9 and May 11 and the Grand Final on May 13th, live from Liverpool Arena.

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

Source: Eurovision.tv

Greece: 7 songs on ERT’s final shortlist!

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A short while ago, during a broadcast on Greek public television, more details were revealed about the process that will be followed from now on for the final selection of the country’s participation in Eurovision 2023. The most important thing that was revealed is that seven songs were selected for the shortlist, as opposed to last year’s five.

As it was said in the broadcast the “Public Committee”, a number of Greek civilians that will be involved in the final song selection, has already been completed through the electronic lottery held at ERT’s radio building yesterday.

The members of the committee will listen on Wednesday 28/12 with headphones and in small groups, but also in different rooms, to the seven songs that remain in the process and have been selected by the creative committee.

Furthermore, ERT’s legal department has drawn up specific confidentiality protocols, which the 70 members of the Public Committee will be asked to follow. so that none of the songs are leaked.

Immediately after the evaluation of the seven songs by the Public Committee, the names of the seven artists who continue to compete for the Greek representation in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest will be publicly announced.

After the audition and scoring of the seven songs by the Public Committee, the artists will have separate appointments with their teams and the ERT committee, in order to present their plans for the contest, in case they are selected.

The final decision on the artist and the song that will represent Greece will be announced in early January.

Which seven artists do you think are on ERT’s final shortlist? Let us know in the comments below!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates!

Romania: Listen to the first songs of Selecţia Naţională 2023!

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Some of the 12 artists participating in Selecţia Naţională 2023 have released their entries.

You can listen to the five already published songs below:

The candidates for Selecţia Naţională 2023:

  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)”

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

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

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates on Romania’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

 

 

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

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The curtains for Albania’s national final, Festivali i Këngës 61, have opened at Tirana. The festival is the means for selecting the neighboring country’s representative for Liverpool in May. The four-day celebration dedicated to albanian music continues tonight, with 13 more candidates performing at the stage of Pallati i Kongreseve.

The participants

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

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

  1. Melodajna 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

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.

Format

At the first night of FiK 61, the first 13 contestants will perform their entries. Tonight, at 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 second 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!