Norway: A Eurostar among the rumoured MGP 2022 participants!

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The participants of Melodi Grand Prix 2022 will be announced next week but escNorge.no has already revealed some names that according to them will be among the competitors.

It seems that VILDE, Kim Wigaard, Northkid, Farida, Maria Mohn, Christian Ingebrigtsen, Oda Gondrosen, Mari Bølla and Elsie Bay might be on the list of the participants of the Norwegian national final.

Also, former Melodi Grand Prix participants Anna-Lisa Kumoji (MGP 2019) and Alexandra Joner (MGP 2015) are likely to return.

However, what is perhaps the most interesting revelation is that a former MGP winner is probably in the running, aiming to represent Norway once more, or for the first time, in case the former winner turns out to be Ulrikke.

The participation of a former MGP winner was also hinted by the Twitter account of Eurovision Norway :

NRK will reveal the 22 competing artists on Monday, January 10th 2022 and all the songs will be released later on the same day.

The schedule for the Melodi Grand Prix shows is as follows:

  • January 15 – Semi-Final One
  • January 22 – Semi-Final Two
  • January 29 – Semi-Final Three
  • February 5 – Semi-Final Four
  • February 12 – Second Chance Round
  • February 19 – Grand Final

Source: escNorge

Who do you think is the returning MGP winner? Are you excited for any of the other competitors? Comment below!

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the news regarding Melodi Grand Prix 2022!

Kalomira: “I have a song ready for Eurovision”!

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Kalomira wished all Greeks a happy new year, through the show “What do you say now!” , live from Washington, DC, United States.

The famous snger who brought Greece a respectable third place at Eurovision 2008, wished for the new year, talked about her career in singing and her life in the USA. She was moved by the tribute video prepared by the show’s hosts and talked about her past in Greece and the effort she made to fulfill her dream: to become a singer.

“I have missed Greece a lot, the job, the people, the backstage” she noted and added: “I want to come to Greece, but it is difficult with the children, because they are young and all our relatives are in the USA. I feel that I will not be a good mom, if I do what I want and they do not see any of their relatives “.

“I live another life here, I am 100% Greek, but I was born here and I have a normal daily life. I live another life in Greece “, added Kalomira, emphasizing that her children have not seen her sing live. “My children ask me why they want an interview from you” .

Speaking about her husband, she noted that she is very busy with the children, while she stressed that she does gymnastics every day from 06:00 to 07:00. “It’s the only time I can, because then I have to make them breakfast,” she said.

Kalomira and Eurovision

Of course, she was asked about Eurovision, a story that lasts at least from 2018, when her name was first heard as a possible representative of Greece or Cyprus in the contest.

I have five songs ready, one of which is for Eurovision which I keep if I happen to go again. I keep it if something happens. It’s awesome, it’s the most beautiful song, I wrote it with Claydee, Mohombi and very successful people.

Kalomira also answers the question whether she would represent a country other than Greece.

I have been offered, but I think how I will keep another flag!

Finally, she added about her future in the field of music, emphasizing that she has collaborated with successful producers and is looking for a way to release them in Greece.

We remind you that through Eurovisionfun in August, you were informed about Kalomira’s interest in representing Greece at Eurovision 2022. Finally, for unknown reasons, she did not submit her participation to ERT, although she was indeed in Greece for the recording of these songs, with the assistance of Claydee, but also of Mohombi, while she had made an appointment in ERT in early September for this purpose.

Would you like to see Kalomira, returns at the Eurovision Song Contest?

Sietse Bakker: ”In 2005 I was in the Greek National Selection jury and I didnt vote for My Number One”!

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Sietse Bakker the producer of Eurovision 2021 and member of the Reference Group of the competition, made an exciting revelation.

The occasion was a video on Tik-Tok by the most famous Eurofan and Youtuber of America, Alesia Michelle, in which she humorously criticizes the members of the juries in Eurovision, for the fact that they do not vote the winning songs every year, in high place.

Seeing Alesia’s post on Instagram, Sieste Bakker wanted to take a stand, revealing something that no one knew until now and concerns the Greek participation in Eurovision 2005, saying:

I was in the Greek National Selection jury in 2005 and had the chance to pick ‘My Number One’. I didn’t, ranked it second and ranked ‘OK’ on top as it stuck with me since the dress rehearsal, the day before. Epic fail! Thankfully the other judges had a better vision. I never dared to predict a Eurovision winner again ever since.

In 2005, ERT internally selected Elena Paparizou to represent our country in Kiev. The song was chosen through a national final in which the greek audience and a jury decide between three songs, the greek entrance for Eurovision 2005. These were the songs My Number One, OK και Let’s Get Wild, with the first won not only the the National Final but the one and only victory of Greece in Eurovision.

You? What was your favorite song from our national final in 2005? Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding the Greek participation in Eurovision 2022!

Ivi Adamou expresses interest in returning to Eurovision!

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In a recent interview with real.gr, Ivi Adamou, the Cypriot Eurovision 2012 representative, has expressed her interest to once again take part in the contest!

When asked about whether she would be interested in representing either Greece or Cyprus again in the future, her response was the following:

I would, yes, it was a wonderful experience. They have proposed it to me multiple times. I believe I’ll feel it when the moment is right. I want a really good song and a really strong team. Let’s see, I hope so!

As she stated herself, she had already received multiple proposals from cypriot broadcaster RIK in the past couple of years, however she had to refuse in order to take care of her newborn, then, daughter. This year, however, among general pressure from the public for an actual cypriot artist to represent Cyprus in Eurovision 2022, the cypriot singer decided to finally show her interest.

Ivi is currently on a summer tour with her partner Michalis Kouinelis, member of the hip hop group Stavento. You can listen to their latest single below:

Lisa Andreas: “Never Say Never” to a Eurovision comeback for Cyprus!

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In 2004 she managed to bring the best result for Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest, something that was surpassed only by Eleni Foureira in 2018. We are talking of course about Lisa Andreas who is now called Lisa Porter and lives with her family in the USA. On the occasion of the official release of Stronger Every Minutes some days ago and 17 whole years after her participation with that song in Eurovision 2004, Lisa spoke exclusively to Eurovisionfun, in an interview that will be discussed. Read more

Philipp Kirkorov appeals to the European Court of Human Rights!

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Philipp Kirkorov has decided to react strongly after the announcement of the Lithuanian Immigration Department a few days ago, that his name was added to a list of unwanted citizens who were banned from entering the Baltic country for the next five years. According to what was conveyed to us from the environment of the biggest pop star of Russia, he has already started the proceedings with his lawyers, to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Read more

Andriamad: “Our main goal is to bring people together, to give joy and positive emotions” | Exclusive interview! (video)

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EurovisionFun had the pleasure and honor of hosting Andriamad, in an exclusive interview. Andriamad is a music duo characterized by its pop, electronic and tropical music and consists of Cécile and Kévin. This year, they are going to take part in the national final of France for Eurovision, Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez !, with the song “Alléluia“. The final will take place next January and will be organized by France Télévisions in collaboration with the French television station France 2.

 

 

Interview with Andriamad

 

First of all, thank you very much for this interview. You are one of the finalists of the French national final for Eurovision 2021. How did you decide to participate and how did you feel after the announcement that you were finally selected?

Hi ! First of all thank you for your support! We decided this year to try the national selection of Eurovision, our goal is to bring people together, this is our way to help the situation, with art, joy, music, positive energy and a message of peace. We are very happy and excited about our choice! This opportunity is amazing for us, it brings a kind of magic in the air.

What does France’s representation at Eurovision mean to you?

We want to represent the open mind of France, the mix of every culture, the respect for the different in a global way. France has always been a hospitable country, so we want to show this part of it.

Tell us more about you. What was the central idea behind the creation of your band?

We met 4 years ago, and the central idea was to combine our personality in music, influence and state of mind. Andriamad is from the beginning a project about sharing, with tolerance and an open mind. In every song we release, we try to put a positive message and we try in our music and on stage, to bring people together.

In Greece, you are popular both for your music and for your covers of popular songs. Have you ever visited or would you like to visit our country?

We would like to do a concert after all this time in Greece, with pleasure! Every time we hear about Greece, we see a very beautiful country. We have already visited Corfu and we loved this island. So we would like to visit the other islands of Greece and of course Greece in general.

So you decided to participate with the song “Alléluia”. What is the meaning of the song? What message do you want to convey to the world with this?

We composed the song a few months ago in our small studio in Paris and we decided to write a peaceful song about the period we have just been through and a song about the open mind, the tolerance and the positive curiosity for others, because this is what we hope most, to bring people together no matter who you are or where you are from. It’s just all these positive vibes we want to give. We also wanted to include a word that can be understood by everyone, and to have the ability to celebrate life with joy, so we chose to sing some “Allléuia” among the lyrics.

Is the video clip of the song in your next plans?

We were already working on the lyric video, which is now available on YouTube! We want to insist on the lyrics of the song and its meaning and give the vibe first with this video. We will now work on everything related to the national final. Maybe after all this we can think of a video clip.

Have you thought about how you would like to present the song in the national final?

COLORFUL AND GENEROUS 🙂 and the rest … a surprise!

This year France won the Junior Eurovision. Is the thought of doubling the victories for the country, in such a difficult year for the whole planet, among your goals?

We are already happy to participate in the competition. Our main goal is to bring people together, to give joy and positive emotions. For us, the main idea is to convey our message with our song. The rest is just an amazing bonus. 😉

In closing, I would like to ask you, what is your favorite song that represented France in the competition?

Ne partez pas sans moi by Celine Dion. She is such an amazing artist and we respect her a lot.

*After the interview, Andriamad send a message to the readers of EurovisionFun*

We warmly thank Andriamad for this interview and we wish them best of luck next year in the national final!

USA: Kaiti Garbi and SuRie comment on Trump’s madness about the election result!

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They are two favorite eurostars, who from time to time do not hesitate through social media to comment on various issues, even politics. With very caustic humor, Kaiti Garbi and SuRie scold the fact that Donald Trump says nothing to digest that he lost the election.

SuRie, who in 2018 represented the United Kingdom in the contest, singing Storm and occupying the 24th place, refers to the tweet of the outgoing US President, that he is the winner of the recent elections and in fact by far.

On the other hand, the unique Kaiti Garbi with her boundless talent and humor, uses one of her great successes, commenting on the same (You’ve lost your mind).

Of course, many more eurostars are reporting in the last few hours with relief at the change of White House tenant, as thousands of Americans take to the streets to celebrate Joe Biden’s victory.

“Hello You”: Doron’s song for the new Israeli-UAE relations!

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The normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has produced its first musical collaboration: “Ahlan Bik”, or “Hello you” in Arabic.

“This is a historic moment,” said Israeli singer Elkana Marziano, whose duet with Emirati artist Walid Aljasim has clocked more than 1.1 million YouTube views since it was posted on September 30.

Marziano, 28, is a former winner of Israel’s version of The Voice, a singing competition TV show, and an Arabic speaker influenced by the Mizrahi culture of Jews from the Arab world.

He told AFP that he and Aljasim had collaborated over the Zoom video-conferencing service, with some parts of the song recorded in Dubai and others in Israel.

“The understanding was immediate,” Marziano said of the partnership.

One online commentator, who posted under the name Shaked Sharon, said: “With this song, you feel the new Middle East.”

The ‘new Middle East’? 

In August, Israel and the UAE announced that they had reached a US-brokered deal to normalise ties, following years of discreet economic and security cooperation.

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, approved the UAE deal on Thursday.

Bahrain ultimately joined the pact known as the Abraham Accords signed at the White House last month, making it and the UAE the third a fourth Arab states to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.

Israel signed a peace agreement with neighbouring Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has boasted that the Gulf deals highlight shifting priorities in the region.

The right-winger has insisted that more Arab states want ties with Israel even though its conflict with the Palestinians remains unresolved.

The UAE’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has said the pact “opens the way to a new era of cooperation”.

Palestinian leaders have condemned the deals and called on the Arab world to withhold establishing ties with Israel until it reaches a viable peace with the Palestinians.

While some YouTube commenters have celebrated “Ahlan Bik”, others have condemned the song and Israeli-Emirati normalisation, while calling for the creation of a Palestinian state.

Live concert

The song was written by Doron Medalie, who also wrote “Toy”, which won the 2018 Eurovision contest in Israel.

The chorus — “I hear you friend far away, far away” — is repeated in the three languages, while the music video’s action pivots from Marziano dancing with friends in Israel to Aljasim in Dubai.

Marziano said that peace was a common theme in Israeli music, which has regularly been in conflict with its neighbours since its founding in 1948.

He said it was a “personal victory” to see young Israelis and Emiratis interacting online to discuss the song on his YouTube page, adding that he is planning a live concert with Aljasim when the coronavirus pandemic ends.

“I am very moved by the idea of singing this song, and others, on the same stage (with Aljasim),” Marziano told AFP.

Source: Moneycontrol

Laka: “The problem of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Eurovision is also the religion of our representative”!

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Laka is one of the most popular and successful songwriters in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2008 with his sister represented the country in Belgrade with the song Pokušaj, taking tenth place.

It is known that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s public broadcaster is facing significant financial problems, hence its abstention from the contest.

In a recent interview, Laka believes that financial resources can be found if the country’s broadcaster decides to return to the contest. But then the problem will be the choice of the artist and the religion / ethnicity to which he belongs. Laka, however, speaks with nostalgia about his previous participation and declares his presence in a possible comeback.

Once the state is interested in being promoted in Europe, money will be found for the Eurovision Song Contest, but it will still be difficult to choose who will represent the country, a Serb, a Croat, a Bosnian, a Christian or a Muslim. It was great for us at the Eurovision Song Contest, so I would love to participate in this event again.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in the 1990s was the focus of fierce fighting between Serbs on the one hand and Bosniaks and Croats on the other, is now a single state entity, with two federal republics and another autonomous region.

About 55% of the country belongs to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the remaining 45% belongs to the Republika Srpska. There is even the small autonomous region of Brcko. In each of these federal districts, another ethnic group predominates. Demographically, about 50% of the population identifies as Bosniaks, 35% as Serbs, 10% as Croats, and the remaining 5% belong to other ethnicities.

The above puzzle, of course, from time to time created problems in the selection of the representative, since artists from the two most important components of the country (Bosniaks and Serbs) had to be selected.

Thus while e.g. in 2008 the country was represented by Laka, who is Bosnian, last year Marija Sestic, who is of Serbian origin, was chosen.

Laka addresses this problem with his above statement. However, we wish Bosnia and Herzegovina to return to the Eurovision Song Contest soon and give us other entries, such as Pokušaj, which you can enjoy below:

Source: avaz.ba