North Macedonia: With a new version of “Circles” to Eurovision 2022!

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“Circles” the North Macedonian entry for Eurovision 2022 will undergo a production revamp ahead of the contest in Turin, Italy.

MRT the public broadcaster of North Macedonia has allocated a budget of 2,000 Euro to improve the production of the nation’s entry for Eurovision. The budget is part of a package of support that Andrea will be offered following her victory in Za Evrosong on Friday night.

Andrea won Za Evrosong after tieing with Viktor Apostolovski with a total of 20 points each. Andrea was selected as the winner in the tie-break having received more points from the jury,

Andrea will compete in the second half in the second semi-final on May 12.

Here you can listen to the studio version of “Circles” :

Source: MRT

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest news regarding the North Macedonian participation in Eurovision 2022!

Eurovision 2022: Italy at the top of the betting tables!

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The favorite column of many of you is back, as the betting analyzes for the 66th Eurovision Song Contest are here again.

With the puzzle of the 41 songs that will participate in Eurovision 2022 having been completed by a quarter, we will take a look at the odds of the betting companies regarding the chances of victory of each country in this year’s Contest.

In any case, these returns reflect trends and are based on what we know so far in relation to the participation of each country.

Top 5

With the best omens, the host Italy starts its effort for the home competition of Turin. The triumph of Mahmood & Blanco at the 72nd San Remo Festival has brought the organizers to the first place of the betting tables, with a difference from the other contenders. An important role in this development has been played by the response of the Italian participation, which is in the five most popular songs at the moment on Spotify.

Greece is currently in second place among betting companies in the event of victory, with three out of four companies giving single-digit odds on Amanda bringing the second victory in the Mediterranean country. However, as you can see in the table below, the highest country-by-country odd is taken into account in order to rank. This is the reason why Greece is listed as fourth. With the odds in most companies having fallen, it is a matter of hours for Greece to formally rise in this ranking. This is a very promising start for the Greek participation, which is constantly rising in recent days.

Australia and Poland are close by. For Australia, the anticipation of a strong participation by Sheldon Riley and the – so far – level of songs of Australia Decides has played a role in considering the country of Oceania the third favorite. Along with Australia is Poland, which seems to be represented by Krystian Ochman and the song “River”. The release of this song brought the Central European country to the top of the betting tables midweek.

Sweden completes the top five. Belief in an even higher level of songs in the upcoming semifinals of the Melodifestivalen 2022 and the excellent tradition of the Scandinavians in the competition over the last decade, places them – as every year – in the top favorites.

Top 10

The rest of the top ten includes four countries that have so far kept quiet about their participation in Eurovision 2022. It remains unknown for Russia and Armenia who will represent them in the 66th Eurovision Song Contest. For France and Germany we are waiting for details in the next period, regarding the participants of the national finals and their songs.

The only country that is in the Top 10 and we know details about its candidate artists is Norway. Just yesterday, the fourth semifinal of the Melodi Grand Prix 2022 was held and now we know nine out of the ten finalists. The appearances of the MGP 2022 have affected the betting performances of the Scandinavian country, with some favorites underperforming and some surprises impressing on stage.

Conclusions

A lot can change in the next three months. The odds, of course, will go through various ups and downs. With just 9 of the 41 songs available, it’s extremely early to draw any conclusions. Information about the stage presence and of course the appearances at the PalaAlpitour in Turin can change everything at the tables of the betting companies.

Do you think Italy can do the back-to-back and become the first country after Ireland in the early 90’s to achieve consecutive victories in Eurovision?

Ukraine: Here are the judges of Vidbir 2022!

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The Ukrainian public radio and television announced the jury that will evaluate the candidates for the national final of the country, Vidbir 2022, in order to become the next representative of the country for Eurovision 2022!

The jury of Vidbir 2022 will be:

Tina Karol
Tina Karol with the song “Show me your love” represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 in Athens, where she placed 7th. In 2020 she was a member of the jury of the National Selection for Eurovision. For her 19-year music career, Tina has won over 20 music and television awards.

Yaroslav Lodygin

Yaroslav Lodygin is a member of the board of Public Linguist, responsible for the television platform. In 2019 he became a member of the European Film Academy for his work as a director and screenwriter (his most famous work is “Wild Field”). Yaroslav Lodygin is the producer and author of the documentary series UA: THE FIRST “Collapse: How the Ukrainians Destroyed the Evil Empire”. He is one of the founders of Internet Radio Aristocrats and the A-Prize Music Award.

Jamala

In early 2011 she took part in the Ukrainian national selection to represent her country with the song ‘Smile’. The song was the audience’s favorite, but in the national final it reached 3rd place, among 19 entries. Jamala in its second attempt to represent Ukraine in the competition was crowned with absolute success. She managed to win ESC 2016 with her song ‘1944’ receiving 534 points. Jamala was also a member of the jury of the National Selection for Eurovision in the period from 2017 to 2019.

The candidates for the Ukrainian national final, Vidbir 2022 are:

We remind you that the national final of Ukraine for the Eurovision 2022 Song Contest will be held on February 12 at 18:00 CET,  live on the channel UA public TV (UA: First).

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Ukraine’s participation in Eurovision 2022!

Serbia: Interview with Boris Subotić from Pesma Za Evroviziju 2022!

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After the announcement of his participation in this year’s Serbian national final, Pesma Za Evroviziju 2022, Boris Subotić talks exclusively to EurovisionFun and Konstantinos Thermos.

Boris Subotić is participating in the national final with the song “Vrati mi” (Give me back) and is one of the 36 nominated artists who will compete on 3, 4 and 5 March for the ticket to represent Serbia in Turin in May.

– Boris, it is a great pleasure for us that you accepted our proposal and we thank you for that! First of all we would like to ask you, why Pesma Za Evroviziju? Why Eurovision? And why now? What made you take this decision and is it, perhaps, something you have wanted for a long time?

– Eurovision has been my biggest wish for a long time, so I knew that sooner or later I would apply for the selection of the representative. I waited a long time for this, because I thought I had to grow up enough to be able to take on this project. My main partner, Miloš Marković, suggested that we apply, I agreed and here I am!

– You have participated in several music competitions, including the national final to represent Serbia in Junior Eurovision. Would you say that your previous experience will help you have less stress during the competition?

– Since I was exposed to similar competitions as a child, I think I am ready to meet the pace such a competition requires. As for the stress, I think this time I will have the most!

– We know that you have written “Vrati Mi” yourself. What is the message of your song and what inspired you to write it?

– I want to let the audience find their own meaning and message in the song. The song is a reflection of myself from the first verse to the last. For the first time I am totally presenting myself the way I want to and the way I think I should!

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Boris Subotić (@borisubotic)

– Since your candidacy was officially announced, what was the best comment you have heard about yourself? And correspondingly, has there been anything you’ve heard that you think is wrong or unfair towards you?

– Being a used to exposure, because of my past experiences, I try not to dwell too much on people’s comments. However, I have to admit that I have received a lot of positive feedback, which makes me incredibly happy!

– Do you have any thoughts about your stage presentation in the national final, and if so, could you share something with us?

– I can’t reveal anything at the moment, but the stage presence will definitely follow the song and me as a performer closely!

– Were you a fan of the contest from before? What’s your favorite entry?

– Considering that I am someone who is not overly involved in sports and competitions, I can say that Eurovision is the only contest that I follow closely every year! My favourite song, apart from my country’s entries, is definitely “Don’t come easy” sung by Isaiah in 2017.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Boris Subotić (@borisubotic)

– Have you listened to any of this year’s already selected songs or any of the songs from the other national finals, and if so, which ones did you like the most?

– Honestly, right now my life is just focused on my performance and song, so I can’t say I’ve listened to or watched anything this year, but as soon as I get some free time I’ll definitely listen to everything!

– Is there anything you would like to share with those who read this interview?

– I would like to invite people to listen to ¨Vrati mi¨ and if they like it, even half as much as I do, to be by my side on this journey!

At this point we would like to thank Boris Subotić once again for the interview and wish him all the best!

 

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the latest news regarding Serbia’s participation in Eurovision 2022!

 

Mahmood & Blanco will represent Italy at Eurovision 2022!

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After the end of the Sanremo 2022 in which were crowned winners, Mahmood & Blanco officially said yes to the representation of Italy at Eurovision 2022 in Turin!

During the press conference after the victory of the duo, the official announcement was made by Mahmood:

I am happy that Eurovision will take place in Turin, we will see you in Turin!

Asked if the song would remain in Italian or if it would be sung in English, Blanco initially said it would remain in Italian, but later said:

We want to bring Italian music abroad, we still do not know, we will see…

https://twitter.com/EurovisionRai/status/1490143884944543751?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1490143884944543751%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feurovisionfun.com%2F2022%2F02%2FCEB9CF84CEB1CEBBCEAFCEB1-CEBCCEB5-CF84CEBFCF85CF82-mahmood-blanco-CF83CF84CEB7-eurovision-2022%2F

Mahmood said he did not dedicate much of the song to somewhere, while Blanco said they worked hard to get this track out, as it should be for all beautiful things.

Italy as the host country and member of the Big 5 competes directly in the final of Eurovision 2022. We will have the opportunity to see the song live for the first time during the first semifinal of Eurovision on May 10!

Listen to the song that will represent Italy at Eurovision 2022:

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news about Italy’s participation in the Contest!

Italy: Mahmood & Blanco are the winners of Sanremo 2022!

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The 72nd Sanremo Festival has just come to an end. After five very successful nights in terms of viewership and more, the Festival concluded tonight with its grand final, crowning Mahmood & Blanco winners with the song “Brividi”.

The show

On the Ariston scene, Amadeus wasn’t alone. Each night, as we know, he had different co-hosts by his side. Sabrina Ferilli, one of the most famous actresses of Italian television and Italian cinema, was next to him on the night of the final.

The Campioni

We remind you that the 25 artists competing in this year’s Sanremo were the following (in order in which they performed tonight):

The voting

There were two rounds of voting tonight. In the first round, only the television audience had the right to vote. The ranking of the audience was taken into account and was combined with the scores of the previous nights.

Then, positions 25 -4 were unveiled. Positions 25-4 were as follows:

4. Irama

5. Sangiovanni

6. Emma

7. La rappresentante di Lista

8. Massimo Ranieri

9. Dargen D’Amico

10. Michele Bravi

11. Matteo Romano

12. Fabrizio Moro

13. Aka 7even

14. Achille Lauro feat. Harlem Gospel Choir

15. Noemi

16. Ditonellapiaga & Rettore

17. Rkomi

18. Iva Zanicchi

19. Giovanni Truppi

20. Highsnob & Hu

21. Yuman

22. Le Vibrazioni

23. Giusy Ferreri

24. Ana Mena

25. Tananai

The top three in the ranking, without their exact placing being revealed, advanced to the second round of voting. The artists that made it into the top 3, in no particular order, were the following:

  • Mahmood & Blanco
  • Gianni Morandi
  • Elisa

In the second round, all previous voting for the top 3 artists from the previous nights and rankings were canceled. The televote (34%), the journalists (33%) and the demoscopic jury (33%) voted among the top 3 from scratch, in order to determine the winner. The results after the second round, the final ones, were the following:

  1. Mahmood & Blanco – WINNERS
  2. Elisa
  3. Gianni Morandi

Mahmood & Blanco were, therefore, crowned winners of the 72nd Sanremo edition! In the winner’s press conference that followed, they confirmed they’ve accepted to represent Italy in Eurovision on home soil in Turin this May!

The awards

In addition to the grand prize of the winner of Sanremo, additional awards are given every year. This year’s winners are the following:

Mia Martini Award (jury): Massimo Ranieri
Sergio Bardotti Award (best lyrics): Fabrizio Moro
Lucio Dalla Award (journalist jury): Gianni Morandi
Giancarlo Bigazzi Award (best composition, voted by the orchestra): Elisa

What do you think of the results? Do you agree with the final ranking? Tell us in the comments!

Israel: Michael Ben David is representing Israel to Eurovision 2022!

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It’s time for Israel to choose their representative for Eurovision 2022 tonight, as the grand final of the X Factor Israel is taking place.

Inbal Bibi, Michael Ben David, Eli Huli and Sapir Saban fought to represent Israel at the 66th Eurovision Song Contest this May in Turin. The big winner was Michael Ben David!

In the show the day before yesterday, the four finalists performed two songs each, with the voting determining the song with which each of them will claim the ticket for the 66th Eurovision Song Contest.

The songs

We listened to four songs in tonight’s grand final. These songs were the following:

  • Inbal Bibi – Marionette
  • Michael Ben David – I.M 
  • Eli Huli – Blinded Dreamers
  • Sapir Saban – Breaking My Own Walls

Method of selection

Tonight’s grand final of X Factor Israel will be held in two rounds. In the first round, the four finalists will perform a cover. The artist who receives the lowest score was excluded from the continuation of the final. In the second round, the three remaining artists perofrmed their entries.

The final result was determined 25% by the jury of the show (Netta Barzilai, Aviv Geffen, Margalit Tzan’ani, Ran Danker, Miri Mesika), 25% by an international jury and 50% by the Israeli viewers.

The results

In the first round, the artist who receives the lowest score was Sapir Saban.

The winner of X factor and the next artist to represent Israel in Eurovision Song Contest in Italy is Michael Ben David, with the song “I.M”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqu3-CHeOWM

Stay tuned in Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Israel at Eurovision 2022.

Iceland: Listen to the entries of Söngvakeppnin 2022!

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After a short break in 2021, when Dadi Freyr was internally selected to represent Iceland, Söngvakeppnin returns to select the country’s entry for Eurovision 2022.

Iceland’s broadcaster, RUV, officially announced the 10 entries selected to compete in the semifinals of Söngvakeppnin 2022 tomorrow.

The competing artists and entries in Söngvakeppnin 2022 are :

1st Semi Final :

  1. Amarosis – “Don’t you know”
  2. Stefán Óli – “Ljósið” (The light)/ “All I know”
  3. Haffi Haff – “Gía” / “Volcano”
  4. Stefanía Svavarsdóttir – “Hjartað mitt” (My heart) / “Heart of mine”
  5. Sigga, Beta & Elín – “Með hækkandi sól” (With the rising sun)

2nd Semi Final :

  1. Hanna Mia and the Astrotourists – “Séns með þér” (See you soon) / “Gemini”
  2. Katla – “Þaðan af” (From there) / “Then again”
  3. Markéta Irglová – “Mögulegt” (Possible) / “Possible”
  4. Reykjavikurdaetur – “Tökum af stað” (Let’s get started) / “Turn this around”
  5. Suncity and Sanna – “Hækkum í botn” (Let’s go to the bottom) / “Keep it cool”

You can listen to all of the songs here

As usual, all the candidates will sing their songs in Icelandic in the semifinals, while in the final they have the option to perform the English versions.

The 2 semifinals will be held on February 26 and March 5. From each semifinal 2 out of 5 contestants will qualify for the final, which will take place on March 12. The jury can choose one of the 6 artists who were eliminated to compete in the final as a wildcard.

The final will consist of 2 rounds. In the first round, the audience and the jury will choose which 2 acts will advance to the Super Final, where the winner will be determined exclusively by the televoters.

Söngvakeppnin 2022 will be presented by Björg Magnúsdóttir, Jón Jónsson and Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir.

In 2021 Iceland was represented by Dadi Freyr with his band and the song “10 years” and finished 4th with 378 points, the best result of the country since 2009.

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

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news concerning Iceland in the competition!

Lithuania: Results of the second semifinal of Pabandom iš naujo

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The second semifinal of  Pabandom iš naujo 2022 took place today, which saw the last 9 semifinalists compete for the right to represent Lithuania at Eurovision 2022. 

In each semifinal 4 songs will qualify for the final. The 4 finalists were determined by 50% jury voting and 50% public voting.

The presenters of tonights show were Giedrius Masalskis, Ieva Stasiulevičiūtė and Richardas Jonaitis.

Tonights running order was:

• Mary Mo – “Get Up”

Second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", Mary Mo.

• Vilija – “101”

The second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", Vilija

• Urtė Šilagalytė – “Running Chords”

Second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", Urtė Šilagalytė

• Ieva Zasimauskaitė – “I’ll Be There”

Second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", Ieva Zasimauskaitė

• Augustė Vedrickaitė – “Before You’re 6ft Under”

Second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", Augustė Vedrickaitė

• Rūta Loop – “Call Me from the Cold”

Second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", Rūta Loop

• Titas and Benas – “Getting Through This”

Second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", Titus and Ben

• Monika Liu – “Sentimentai”

Second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", Monika Liu

• Moosu X – “Love That Hurts”

Second semi-final of the national "Eurovision" selection "Let's try again!", "Moosu X"

The jurors who make up 50% of the result. These were revealed during the show are:

• Ramūnas Zilnys
• Gerūta Griniūtė
• Vytautas Bikus
• Ieva Narkutė
• Stanislavas Stavickis-Stano

Tonights 4 finalists are:

1st – Monika Liu – “Sentimentai” (24 points)

2nd – Augustė Vedrickaitė – “Before You’re 6ft Under” (18 points)

3rd – Rūta Loop – “Call Me from the Cold” (14 points)

4th – Ieva Zasimauskaitė – “I’ll Be There” (13 points)

Monika Liu with the song “Sentimentai” was the winner of the second semifinal, placing 1st with both the jury and the televote.

Jury Result:

Televote Result:

Overall result:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Lithuania’s participation in Eurovision 2022!

Slovenia: Results of the first semi-final of EMA 2022!

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Slovenia continues searching for a representative for Eurovision 2022! The first semi-final of EMA 2022 was completed a few minutes ago, with six contestants advancing to the next stage of the grand final.

The presenters of the evening were Melani Mekicar and Bojan Cvjetićanin.

The artists who competed on the first semi-final were:

  1. July Jones – “Girls Can Do Anything“
  2. David Amaro – “Še vedno si lepa“
  3. Le Serpentine – “Tud teb se lahk zgodi“
  4. Bowrain and Brina – “Čas je“
  5. Luma – “All In“
  6. Stela Sofia – “Tu in zdaj“
  7. Jonatan Haller – “Obzorje“
  8. Batista Cadillac – “Mim pravil“
  9. Zala Smolnikar – “V ogledalu“
  10. Manouche – “Si sama?“

The results:

Three qualifiers were selected by a special jury and three were chosen by the audience through a telephone vote.

The artists that made it to the final are:
  • Batista Cadillac
  • July Jones
  • Manouche
  • David Amaro
  • Stela Sofia
  • Luma

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Slovenia’s participation in Eurovision 2022!