Greece: Amanda’s new song “Plans” is out!

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After representing Greece at Eurovision, Amanda released her new song “Plans”. The announcement of the song was made with a video through her personal account on TikTok, which she later posted on Instagram.

“Plans” is the second song from Amanda’s new album, as the first one is “Die Together”, which gave Greece the 8th place in the Grand final.

The lyrics of the song were written by her together with Bjørn, as he also produced the song. Martin Bremnes has taken the photo that will appear in the song, trondheim solistene which is a set of musicians from Norway plays the strings in the song. Other contributors are Henrik Lødøen, dePresno and Fredrik Svabø.

Listen “Plans” here:

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Montenegro: RTCG’s answer to the EBU about the voting irregularities!

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A few hours after EBU’s announcement about the irregularities in the jury voting in the second semi-final, the Montenegrin broadcaster, RTCG is the first broadcaster to share their thoughts on the announcement!

The official announcement by EBU on voting irregularities during Semi-Final 2

The RTCG states the following:

Following EBU’s announcement about the alleged irregular voting of the jury of experts in up to 6 countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, we want to emphasize that it has nothing to do with Montenegro and that it is only speculation that is not true and unverified information.

As they point out, it is statistically impossible to avoid certain repetitions, as evidenced by the fact that the group of countries participating in the second semi-final night, as in Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Estonia…

These are, according to RTCG, examples of mutual exchange of points between the countries in the second semi-final:

Australia
12 points for Sweden
10 points for Israel
8 points for Belgium
7 points for North Macedonia
6 points for Ireland

12 points from Sweden
10 points from Israel
8 points from Belgium
5 points from North Macedonia
5 points from Ireland

Sweden
12 points for Australia
10 points for Estonia
8 points for Belgium
7 points for Malta
6 points for the Czech Republic

12 points from Australia
12 points from Estonia
10 points from Belgium
12 points from Malta
12 points from the Czech Republic

Belgium
10 points for Sweden
8 points for Australia
7 points for Israel

8 points from Sweden
8 points from Australia
7 points from Israel

So, with such a small number of countries in the semi-finals, it is impossible to avoid certain repetitions.

It is not for us to judge why these countries did not raise suspicions, whereas there were 6 countries where it was impractical to have repetitions. On the other hand, in some of the countries on the EBU list, the organiser almost completely changed the votes.

Montenegro’s votes were announced by the artist Zombijana and, as you could see in the live stream, the jury’s vote coincided almost perfectly with the final results.

As you can see on the Eurovision website, among the countries that received Montenegro’s jury votes in the final, there were none of the entries from the semi-final night.

Finally, the Eurovision Song Contest is a contest that has its regular and large audience and is almost always accompanied by various intrigues, which, we are sure, also contribute to its popularity

Vladana represented Montenegro in Turin and with “Breathe” she ended up 17th in the second semi-final. You can see her performance here:

https://youtu.be/L-ViRVRiGl0

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Source: RTCG

The official announcement by EBU on voting irregularities during Semi-Final 2

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Moments ago EBU released an official announcement on “irregular voting patterns” during the second Semi-Final 2022, naming for the fist time the juries of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, San Marino.

Below is the full announcement:

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) was an enormous success in bringing hundreds of millions of people across the world together in unity and celebration.

As communicated on Saturday 14 May, the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) independent pan-European Voting Partner detected irregular voting patterns in the jury votes of six countries taking part in the Second Semi-Final: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, San Marino.

The integrity of the voting, both by the national juries in each country and the viewers voting by phone or SMS, is essential to the show’s success. It is the EBU’s duty to all stakeholders, not least all 40 participating public service broadcasters, to ensure we can deliver a valid result at the end of each of the Live Shows. Any breach in the rules is consequently taken very seriously.

In the Second Semi-Final, it was observed that four of the six juries all placed five of the other countries in their Top Five (taking into account they could not vote for themselves); one jury voted for the same five countries in their Top 6; and the last of the six juries placed four of the others in the Top 4 and the fifth in their Top 7. Four of the six received at least one set of 12 points which is the maximum that can be awarded.

The pattern in question was detected as irregular by the pan-European Voting Partner and acknowledged by the Independent Voting Monitor, as five of these six countries were ranked outside the Top 8 by the juries in the 15 other countries voting in the same Semi-Final (which included three of the Big Five: Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom). Additionally, four of the six countries were ranked in the Bottom 6 of the other 15 countries voting in this Semi-Final. A jury voting pattern irregularity of such a scale is unprecedented.

 

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As stated in the Eurovision Song Contest Rules and in the Official Voting instructions of the Contest, if votes by National Juries present irregular voting patterns (as may be detected by the pan-European Voting Partner and acknowledged by the Independent Voting Monitor), the ESC Executive Supervisor has the right to remove the votes concerned for allocating the ranks and to replace them with a substitute aggregated result calculated automatically to determine the final country result of these countries in the Second Semi-Final.

Given the unprecedented nature of the irregularity detected in the Second Semi Final, the EBU in consultation with the pan-European Voting Partner and the Independent Voting Monitor decided, in accordance with the Voting Instructions of the Contest, to exercise its right to remove the votes cast by the six juries in question from the ranking allocation in the Grand Final to preserve the integrity of the voting system. Consequently, the same procedure was followed and the automatically calculated substitute aggregate result has been used to determine the final jury results of the six countries involved, in the Grand Final.

These decisions were approved by the Chair of the ESC Reference Group, the Contest’s governing board, and the Deputy Director General of the EBU in line with the requirements of the Voting Instructions of the Contest.

The EBU has since discussed the jury patterns with the relevant broadcasters and given them the opportunity to further investigate the jury voting in their countries.

The EBU reconfirms its decision to replace the jury votes for these six countries with a substitute aggregate result in both the Second Semi-Final and the Grand Final.

The EBU also confirms the final rankings of the 40 participants in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.

The EBU, its Members and the Reference Group will continue to collaborate closely on safeguarding the integrity and success of an event that has been a unique platform for creative talent over 66 years, and looks forward to continuing to entertaining audiences worldwide.

What are your thought on EBU’s announcement? How will the mentioned countries react? Tell us in the comments below!

Timur Miroshnychenko talks on Ukraine’s victory and the 2023 contest

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Eurovision 2017 and Junior Eurovision 2009 and 2013 host, Timur Miroshnychenko, spoke to The Euro Trip podcast on commentating for Ukrainian television from a bomb shelter, his feelings after Kalush Orchestra won and hosting the 2023 contest.

Timur has been commentating Eurovision for Ukraine since 2007, with the exception of 2017 when he hosted the contest along Oleksandr Skichko and Volodymyr Ostapchuk. His reaction to Ukraine’s third victory in the contest while commentating from a bomb shelter, made headlines. When asked what did he say when Ukraine was announced as a winner, he replies:

First of all I’ve said that this victory is dedicated to the armed forces of Ukraine, because of their heroism we had an opportunity to participate in this year Eurovision, and to be with the free world. On 24th of February we didn’t think about Eurovision of course we just thought about how to stay alive, and in May just 2 1/2 months after that date, we were there and right now we think where to host next year.

He revealed that on the second day of the war he had to fled Kiev with his family and go to the West of Ukraine, while he had to go back and volunteer on various occasions. Being one of the hosts of the most popular morning show on Ukrainian television, which was relaunched a few weeks after the Russian invasion, he feels that he helps from his part to uplift the morale of Ukrainians and that is what he also tried to do while commentating Eurovision.

Miroshnychenko praised Kalush Orchestra and explained that “Stefania” became an unofficial anthem of Ukraine even before their victory, when it was the soundtrack of thousands of posts from people in the frontline fleeing the country. When asked for the meaning of this victory to Ukrainians, he tells The Euro Trip podcast:

When the hosts announced the results we just blew up with emotions. I received  hundreds of thousands of messages on social media from Ukrainian people who have written to me “we cried with you” […] On 24th of February all of us thought that we are alone in this war, and the result of this year’s Eurovision is like a sign for all of us that hey guys we are here, we stand by you everything is gonna be ok.

When it comes on hosting next years contest, Timur says that he strongly believes in the Ukrainian armed forces and he hopes that the war will end soon, enabling Ukraine to welcome everyone and use this opportunity to thank them for their support during these difficult times. He also notes that this decision will be taken at a later stage but he believes that cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and Dnipro who had no big damages from the war, will be able to host next year’s Eurovision.

Below you can listen to the full interview of Timur Miroshnychenko

Do you think Ukraine will host Eurovision 2023? Tells us in the comments!

Iceland: Daði Freyr wants an end to pre-recorded backing vocals at Eurovision!

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Daði Freyr called for an end to the  pre-recorded vocals in the Eurovision Song Contest. The singer who represented Iceland in Rotterdam , made a post on Twitter to express his feelings.

In  the tweet , which you can see below, Daði Freyr commented on the use of pre-recorded vocals. Mentioning  that it is less interesting to use vocals on a backing tape, as he would prefer to listen all the vocals live on stage.

Several Twitter users pointed out that last year, Daði og Gagnamagnið themselves made the most use of pre-recorded vocals. ” 10 Years”  was accompanied by a large pre-recorded choir of fans.

The pre-recorded vocals

In 2021, the new Executive Supervisor, Martin Österdahl , announced that pre-recorded vocals will be used in Rotterdam’s competition. EBU took the measure to create smaller delegations amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. A smaller delegation would most likely ensure a safer contest, as less people would be on the ground in Rotterdam.

In addition, EBU said that as the music landscape evolves, this change will allow live shows to be even closer to their studio counterparts. Examples of songs that had to be adapted due to the previous set of rules include Poli Genova’s “If Love Was a Crime” and JOWST ‘s “Grab the Moment” .

Prior to the 2022 competition, the EBU decided that the pre-recorded vocals would remain for the competition in Turin. The information originally came from the Icelandic television network RÚV and in the end turned out to be true.

Daði & Gagnamagnið and the song “10 Years” , represented Iceland in 2021, winning 4th place with 378 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSMhu-PrLME

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Source

Greece: Amanda is the Greek with the most monthly listeners on Spotify!

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A few days after the Eurovision Song Contest, Amanda, the Greek representative, reached 1,000,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, the Greek with the most monthly listeners on Spotify at the moment!

Die Together also reaches the one milestone after another on Spotify, as it reached 4,000,000 streams, applying for one of the most popular Greek entries on Spotify. At the same time, it appears in # 37 of the Global Viral 50 on Spotify, while it is in number 2 of the Greek Viral 50 and in # 28 of the Greek Top 50.

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Spain: The royal family congratulated Chanel!

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Chanel managed to bring Spain to the top 3 of the Eurovision Song Contest standings after 27 whole years and the royal family of the country hurried to congratulate her for this important achievement!

On Tuesday, Chanel received a letter from King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain about its success at Eurovision.

Congratulations on your fantastic performance at Eurovision. You made history for Spain in this competition after taking third place in such a complex final, in which both the public and the jury recognized your strengths.

We also want to send our congratulations to the team that accompanied you and thank them for representing Spain so well and making us feel so proud.

The Spaniards gave an enthusiastic welcome to Chanel, which managed to collect 459 points in the grand final, more than those gathered together by the last ten representatives of the country in the competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSQYTt4xg3I

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Poland: The announcement of TVP on the cancellation of their jury’s votes!

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Telewizja Polska has published their first statements regarding the cancellation of their jury’s vote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

Eurowizja.org reports that the Polish TV station has made its first comments on the jury vote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The six countries whose jury votes were removed from the contest and replaced by the EBU with results based on previous voting patterns are: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and San Marino.

Reactions continue over the cancellation of the voting of six juries!

TVP’s statement mentions the following:

Telewizja Polska categorically rejects all accusations made against Polish jurors as groundless and absurd. The jurors voted solely as they felt and at their discretion, without taking into account any algorithm, not even the EBU algorithm. By judging Ukraine as the highest, the jurors expressed their independence and the lack of any relationship between their scores and the votes cast by other countries for Poland.
In the coming days, Telewizja Polska will explain the situation with representatives of the European Broadcasting Union, which is the organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest. They will be presented with a TVP protest and a demand to improve the transparency of voting and the method of awarding points, so as to avoid unnecessary confusion that occurred this year in the future.
Ochman finished 12th in the grand final for Poland with the song “River”. This is the best result for Poland in the competition since 2016, when Michał Szpak placed 8th in Stockholm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRVDZ6446eM

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Source: oko.press

Reactions continue over the cancellation of the voting of six juries!

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On Saturday night, during the Grand Final, the EBU sent out a vague statement saying it had identified “voting irregularities” in six unnamed countries after the second rehearsals of the Second Semi-Final. Their jury votes were cancelled and replaced with a ” substitute aggregated result for each concerned country for both the Second Semi-Final and the Grand Final (calculated based on the results of other countries with similar voting records)”

Understandably, the above treatment caused a reaction from these countries as there had been no prior information and they ended up seeing a different score from the one they had given themselves.

Romania

On Sunday morning, Romanian television posted a lengthy statement on the official Eurovision page, which among other things said

“Romanian TV is fully committed to participate in Eurovision 2022, paying the participation fee and preparing, together with the WRS team, a project that won the appreciation of the public”

“We were surprised to see that the result of the Romanian jury’s vote was not taken into account in the final ranking, with the organisers assigning a different score on behalf of our country’s jury”

“We clarify that the Romanian jury decided to give the maximum score to the Moldovan representatives”

Furthermore, TVR, asks the EBU for the exact reasons why they made the cancellation of their committee’s score and they are able to make amends in case they made a mistake.

Montenegro

The Montenegrin broadcaster reacted in the same way

“Following the announcements made on the Eurovision website, we would like to inform the public that we have sent a request for clarification to authorised representatives of the EBU”

“Following the submission of our jury’s vote, the relevant officials stated that the RTCG vote was conducted in accordance with the normal procedure, was legally certified by the EBU, and they saw no reason to suspect any form of irregularity. We therefore await a detailed answer to the question of our vote change.”

Georgia

Georgia’s broadcaster, GPB, has issued a statement regarding the removal of the Georgian jury’s votes from Eurovision 2022

“The Public Broadcaster met all the requirements, sent the official document and received the EBU’s consent that there were no possible irregularities”

“The Georgian jury gave its highest score, the 12 points, to Ukraine. However, when the results of the Final were announced, the 12 points from Georgia were given to the United Kingdom”

“The Georgian delegation had no interest in manipulating the results. It was of prime importance for our jury to secure 12 points for a deserving contestant, which in this case was the representative of Ukraine”

The Georgian public broadcaster remains in active communication with the EBU regarding the current situation and hopes that official answers will be provided soon.

To date, the EBU has not yet clarified the exact reason why the votes of the six juries were removed.

What do you think of all this? Could much of the confusion have been cleared up if the EBU had given more specific information from the start? We look forward to reading your views in the comments below!

Source: Wiwibloggs, Eurovoix

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Romania: The points awarded by the Romanian Jury!

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Romanian public television announced the points that their jury would have given if the EBU had not canceled their rating.

Romania was also one of the six countries whose jury results were annulled, as in the second semifinal, as reported by the EBU, they had strange results.

Romania Public Television recently announced the results of the jury in the Grand Final, as it would have voted if it had not canceled its rating:

Here the question arises, that the results of Romania were strange, when for example in the final it gave 12 to Moldova which did not vote for Romania at all and 10 to Greece, which gave 7 to Romania. No exchange occurs here and erroneously in our opinion the results of their jury in the final were canceled.

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