Ireland: RTÉ to evaluate Eurovision options for the future

Wild Youth represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.  Unfortunately for the country that holds the record of most number of victories in the contest, they failed to qualify to the Grand Final once again.  Ireland has not gone through the finals since 2018.

Head of Delegation Michael Kealy has shared his first throught about the negative results for Ireland.  According to Mr. Kealy, it is important for Ireland to change its format to select their representative.  In the most recent years Ireland has chosen their representative using The Late Late Show as their national selection:

“I think The Late Late has served it well in a way – it’s been the only vehicle of a sufficient scale that we can do, to be honest. It’s very limited, but it’s the best thing we can do in that studio.”

However, he also blames a lack of funding from the public broadcaster as one of the reasons for the bad results:

“I’m not going to win any popularity contests for saying this, but RTÉ has been chronically underfunded I think, in my opinion, for decades, and it shows particularly when it comes to us putting on entertainment shows (…) When it comes to entertainment, you need scale to make it look as impressive as a show that you would see in other European countries, and the truth is our facilities in RTÉ are not sufficient to mount shows like that.”

Although we are at an early stage for next year’s selection, Mr. Kealy stressed that RTÉ will discuss the future path of the country at Eurovision at their entertainment department and with the Late Late Show about the song selection approach for 2024.

 

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Andrew Lambrou: “We are prepared for tonight’s semi-final!”| Exclusive Interview

Right after the Family Show finished and just a few hours before going to the Eurovision 2023 stage for the Second Semi-Final, this year’s representative of Cyprus Andrew Lambrou spoke exclusively to Eurovisionfun and Apostolis Matamis at the press center of M&S Bank Arena!

 

As he told us, he feels particularly happy with his last rehearsal and extremely prepared for tonight’s semi-final.

“My team and I are very pleased and we can’t wait for you to see the final result!”

He declares himself ready to set fire to the stage of Liverpool again.  Further he did not hesitate to express his love for the fans of the competition and the audience that watched his performance.

Andrew Lambrou shared with us his plans for the future:

“After the competition, I would like to start a music career in Greece and Cyprus!

Finally, we also mentioned the Greek representative Victor Vernicos :

“He should be proud of himself! He is only 16 years old and sings fantastically. Of course Greece and Cyprus support each other and it is very nice that we are here together!

Watch Andrew Lambrou ‘s full interview below:

Good luck Cyprus!

Good luck Andrew Lambrou!

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Serbia: Teodora Džehverović promises to take part in Eurovision one day!

Teodora Džehverović is a 26-year-old Serbian pop-folk singer with a great career and influence in the Balkan region, being among the most popular and loved singers in the area, counting more than 780 million views on YouTube.

Teodora recently shared a screenshot in which someone had forwarded her the performance of Israel’s Noa Kirel in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest saying “That’s how we all see you”.

The young star posted this story on her official Instagram account commenting One day, I promise!

No description available.

She has also collaborated with Hurricane who represented the country in Eurovision 2021!

Below you can take a loot at some of her most popular songs:

What is your opinion about Teodora? Would you like to see her or this genre on the Eurovision stage? Let us know in the comments below!

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Sweden: BBC missed significant shot from Loreen’s performance!

Loreen performed during the first Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 receiving wide acclaim from viewers and fans.  However, some of the viewers noticed a remarkable change between her Eurovision performance compared to Melodifestivalen.

There is a shot deemed as “decisive”, “best in the whole issue”, “with so much feeling and meaning” missing in the Semi-Final.  The missing shot takes place at the final minute of the performance when Loreen stands up.  In that moment the TV camera should have zoomed out in a wide shot showing the led screen above Loreen displaying a variety of signs and symbols.

You can see the difference between Loreen’s performance during Melodifestivalen 2023 on top and her performance during the First Semi-Final in the picture down below:

The Swedish Head of Delegation, Lotta Furebäck has replied to the questions from the fans and the media about this incident.  In her reply she said that it was not a choice of the Swedish team to change this shot:

That image should be there, but on Tuesday the image was denser and then the image was not included.We have mentioned this to the production

Source: Aftonbladet

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Croatia: Let 3 lead singer falls sick!

Lead singer from Let 3 Zoran Prodanović Prlja has fallen sick recently.  The band qualified in the First Semi-Final of Eurovision 2023 this Tuesday.

The bassist of Let 3, Damir Martinović Mrle talked about this situation during an interview with HRT 1.  During the programme Kod nas doma, Martinović Mrle revealed the lead singer has fallen sick right after the First Semifinal:

“We have been in those spaces for days where we have rehearsals and performances that are constantly under air conditioning and ventilation and when a person stays there for 10, 12 hours, then it is a little problematic because it affects some people’s throats. And when it affects the singers’ throats, then it’s not good.  He caught that last night. You could feel it in that vocal, I don’t know how much the audience felt it, but this morning he woke up sick, his nose and throat are blocked, he can hardly speak, so now he is lying in bed and let’s hope that he can recover in two days.”

 

The Croatian Head of Delegation for Croatia, Mr. Tomislav Štengl has also commented on these recent news.  He is however more positive that Prlja will get a quick recovery:

“Everyone had a bit of a cold but Prlja might have got it a little worse. I think everything will be fine for Friday and Saturday.  The atmosphere is great. Everyone congratulates us, everyone is delighted.”

Last Semi-Final marked the first time Croatia qualifies for a Grand Final since 2017 and the first time Croatia qualifies with a song in Croatian since 2008.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more news about Croatia in Eurovision 2023

Source: HRT

USA: Partners looking at options for the American Song Contest!

The EBU provided an update on the status of the American Song Contest following its cancellation by NBC earlier this year.

The American Song Contest was cancelled after its first season on NBC due to disappointing ratings and lack of impact on the music charts. Martin Österdahl the Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest commented at a press conference in Liverpool earlier today:

Partners in America are looking at other options

The Eurovision franchise in the US is operated by Voxovation, which holds the exclusive rights to the Eurovision brand beyond the European region.

The winner of the 2022 Contest was AleXa, from Oklahoma, with the song Wonderland.

Source: Eurovoix

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Spain: Eurovision 2024 participation confirmed| Benidorm Fest 2024 rules published!

RTVE confirmed Spain’s participation in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, revealing the rules of Benidorm Fest 2024.

What if the 2023 edition of Eurovision Song Contest is still under away, the Spanish national broadcaster is already looking at the 2024 edition, as the rules of Benidorm Fest 2024, the contest through which the Kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula chooses their representative, were released.

The submission process commences on 16th of May and is going to last until 10th of October. The reason behind the early beginning of the preparation is because RTVE wants they candidates to have plenty of time to prepare properly their entries. 16 artists are going to take part in the 2024 Benidorm Fest, while 6 will be under back-up status in case of circumstances changes.

This year Spain is being represented by Blanca Paloma and the song “Eaea” and they compete directly in the Grand Final of Saturday 13th of May, as the country is a Big 5 member.

https://youtu.be/NGnEoSypBhE

In the following video you can also watch the reaction of the Eurovision Fun team to the Spanish entry.

Source: Eurovoix

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Eurovision 2023: Family Show of the Second Semi-Final – Live Commentary! (Updated Live)

Just hours before the Second Semi-Final of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, its time for the third and the last general rehearsal before the Semi-Final. The family show has just started and the the Liverpool Arena is filled with eurofans! Like every year, the evening before each live show, a more financially convenient show for families, identical to the live one, takes place.

EurovisionFun will be watching all the 16 countries competing and will serve you feedback and opinions of the show. Also, the journalists have the chance to fully watch the rehearsals of United KingdomSpain and the winner of last year’s edition, Ukraine.

This article gets updated in real-time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser!

So stay tuned to this article as we update it with all details, preparing you for what you will see in the Semi-Final today, at 21:00 CEST.

The Show

The show has started and we are watching a recap from everything that happened in Tuesday night with the First Semi-Final. The three female presenters are on stage and welcome everyone on the show again! The explain the voting system, the united vibe between Ukraine and United Kingdom and within the first five minutes the show begins!

The Competing Countries – LIVE COMMENTARY

Denmark: Reiley – Breaking My Heart

Reiley is dressed in pink inside a prop that looks like a house. The prop rotates in different rooms with different colour but the performance is based in pink. In the middle of the perfomance, Reiley walks to the second stage and the led wall becomes in lime colours with a lot of white shaped hearts. Reiley seems to be vocally weak and annoying enough with the backing autotuned vocal.

Armenia: Brunette – Future Lover

This act starts with Brunnete laying in a inclined plane in pink and purple colors. Then in the rap part the lights become in black and white. After the rap part, THERE IS A DANCE BREAK EVERYONE!!!! The goosebumps I got from this performance. She literally KILLED IT. She was vocally on point and she will qualify for sure. Congratulations Armenia!

Romania: Theodor Andrei – D.G.T (Off And On)

Theodor is charismatic and a great performer but the song ain’t it… sadly the entire performance and staging, with distasteful led content and awkward choreography from Theodor and his dancer, seems very amateurish. Romania will be lucky if they avoid the absolute last place of this Semi-Final.

Estonia: Alika – Bridges

The performance begins with Alike sitting in a piano, the croud has their flashlights open, the song become even more intense and dramatic when she singer elevates her vocals even more. The staging is based in blue and white colours, matching her dress.

Belgium: Gustaph – Because Of You

Without any doubt, Gustaph carries on the performance with his vocals allong with the backing singers and a dancer doing voguing. Gustaph gives the show some much needed energy, with his 90s themed song. The LED are like the videoclip, some shadows dancing on the rhythm of the song and also him on the outfit of the video clip. A very energetic performance!

First Break

Cyprus: Andrew Lambrou – Break A Broken Heart

The performance starts with Andrew being alone in a blue LED scene,it reminds me of the water element. He looks good dressed in black and vocally good. In the first chorus we see a waterfall behind him and towards the end it becomes a huge flame with many fire jets. The whole performance is based on the nature elements. An easy qualification for Cyprus.

Iceland: Diljá – Power

A very energetic and hyperactive perfocmance from the Icelandic singer. Vocally was a bit off and the performance feels completely all over the place, with the young singer doing unnecessary acrobatics and coming off rather aggresive. The camera shots aren’t great, making the viewer feel dizzy and overall quite bored, if not annoyed.

Greece: Victor Vernicos – What They Say

The younger artists takes the stages with a emotional and dynamic ballad reminding us that we need to be ourselves. He is very improved vocally, compered to his previous attempts. The beginning of the performance, with him laying on the floor is very interesting visually but the rest of the staging is quite messy. Victor is not bouncing a lot so vocally was more stable and he seems like he enjoyed it a lot! Maybe he could sneak into the final but I’m not so sure…

Poland: Blanka – Solo

It’s time for our BEJBA! The biggest suprise of the rehearsals.  The dance break is nice, she seems confident and there’s no blur effect BUT the whole performance give the vibe of last year’s Poland with the SFX effects and it’s not really good. The Blanka hologram doesn’t seem real at all. Vocally is so improved and I enjoyed the whole performance. Europe will vote for this for sure!

Slovenia: Joker Out – Carpe Diem

The charismatic band is on stage… the audience gives the pulse, elevating the performace in the 150%. They really own the stage and the croud seemed to love this! The seem confident and cool with their 80s style of clothing. The singer is vocally just like the recorded version and the whole lights are red. In the end, the members of the group, bowed towards the crowd and we see a huge “Joker Out” in the LED. They are fighting for the first place in this semi-final.

Georgia: Iru – Echo

Iru is standing in a small platform the whole perfomace wearing a white dress with silver jewels. ED behind her are dark and in the end everything become brighter. A wind machine is helping her to serve a very dramatic look. A very statc performance and vocally was bit off, seemed annoying.

Second Break 

San Marino: Piqued Jacks – Like An Animal

The show starts with a huge mouth in the LED. In generall, the LED is in red shades in the whole performance. The singer is vocally on point and the staging is decent but the song by it’s self is really repetitive and weak to make it through.

Austria: Teya & Salena – Who The Hell Is Edgar?

It’s time for the favourites of this semi-final.  The croud is clapping and singing in Poe Poe rhythms in the whole performance. Visualy this performance is amaizng in black and red colors but the singers are very static. Both of them are on point and everyne enjoyed it! The biggest clap in the show.

Albania: Albina & Familja Kelmendi – Duje

The outsiders of this semi-final are on stage with Albina giviving everything vocally and the croud cheering her. Also this performance is based in black and red colors like the Albanian flag. A very emotional performance and the whole family are giving a great show! This definetely stands out as the only ethnic song and is performed professionaly but perhaps has a very limited audience. I hope Europe will see the potential of this song and manages to qualify.

Lithuania: Monika Linkyte – Stay

Reaching almost at the end of the contest part, Monika Linkyte delivers a vocally powerful and visually pleasing, warm performance, accompanied by her backing vocalists. They manage to create a beautiful atmosphere that the audience seems to enjoy. She made the croud to sing with her and it was a very good feeling and for us from home (*screams* CIUTO TUTO FINALLY MY HEART IS BEATING).

Australia: Voyager – Promise 

This song is not my cup of tea BUT vocally the front man was very good! Excellent staging with 80s vaporwave vibes and a car on stage. The arena loves them, as they deliver an excellent performance, full of energy, that is guaranteed to qualify tomorrow night. A great way to close the show!

Certain Qualifiers

Armenia

Belgium

Cyprus

Poland

Slovenia

Austria

Albania

Lithuania

Australia

Borderline Qualifiers

Estonia

Greece

Georgia

Non Qualifiers

Denmark

Romania

Iceland

San Marino

 

Ukrainian singers Mariya Yaremchuk, Otoy and Zlata Dziunka perform a medley of Ukrainian songs. Then we watch another recap and get ready for lines to close.

Three drag queens take the place of the presenters and perform “Be Who You Wanna Be”.

Mans Zelmerlow and Filomena return with the “game” of guessing which countries they have or have not qualified in the past.

Big 5 and Ukraine

We will be watching a small clip from the rehearsal of those countries, down bellow you will find my comments.

Spain: Blanca Paloma – EaEa

A very similar to the national selection perfomance with Blanca serving vocals once again. During her perfomance we see a light hitting her hand and the backing vocals screaming her name. A very impacful perfomance.

Ukraine: TVORCHI – Heart Of Steel

Ukrainians show once again that they are the masters of staging at Eurovision. TVORVHI probably have the most sleek, stylish and modern performance of the year. It starts a bit low energy but that is quickly fixed, when pyro jets join the show. Great act but the song is probably a bit forgettable. Of course, Ukraine’s result is maybe the biggest mystery of the year, as we don’t know how the sympathy and diaspora votes will impact their score.

United Kingdom: Mae Muller – I Wrote A Song

Mae Muller will close Saturday’s Grand Final with a fun and upbeat number, staged cleverly with colorful pop art vibes. Her vocals however are perhaps the worst in this year’s contest and completely destroy the act. She’s struggling to hit the notes and looks uncomfortable, which means United Kingdom could be returning to the bottom of the scoreboard.

The Results

Martin Osterdahl executive producer of Eurovision Song Contest 2022, declares that he is happy to see that we now have a valid result!

The ten countries that (virtually) qualified for the purposes of the rehearsal were the following:

Greece, Denmark, Romania, Georgia, Australia, Albania, Austria, San Marino, Poland and finally Slovenia

 

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Kosovo: RTK pushing for full EBU membership!

The Chairman of RTK confirmed that the national broadcaster of Kosovo continues pushing for full membership in the European Broadcasting Union.

Speaking to the Board of RTK regarding the first month of 2023, Besnik Boletini, the Chairman of the national broadcaster confirmed that organisation continues lobbying for full EBU membership, through attending EBU events and hoping for full membership and invitation for participation the Eurovision Song Contest.

In order to be eligible to participate in the Song Contest, Kosovo must become member of the International Television Union and of course a member of the United Nations. Earlier this year the broadcaster launched Festivalit të Këngës which would be used as the nation’s Eurovision selection should it be able to compete.

In the past Kosovo has been allowed to participate in other Eurovision related events. In 2011 it took part in the Eurovision Young Dancers represented by Tringa Hsya. In this year’s Eurovision Song Contest the partially recognised nation of the Balkans is somehow present as the Albanian representatives hail from Kosovo.

Source: Eurovoix

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Belgium: Bart Cannaerts Will Reveal The Jury Points for Eurovision 2023!

Comedian and famous TV presenter Bart Cannaerts will reveal the results of the Belgian jury in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

The scores of the Belgian jury in the Grand Final of the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will be announced by Bart Cannaerts, known for his participation in The Masked Singer, De dag vandaag and De Allerslimste Mens ter Wereld 202.

The other spokespersons announced to date are:

Estonia – Ragnar Klavan
Albania – Andri Xhahu
Cyprus – Loukas Hamatsos
Greece – Fotis Sergoulopoulos
Israel – Ilanit
San Marino – John Kennedy O’Connor
Spain – Ruth Lorenzo
Switzerland – Chiara Dubey
Netherlands – S10
Ukraine – Zlata Ognevi
Estonia – Ragnar Klavanch
Poland – Ida Nowakowska
Azerbaijan – Narmin Salmanova
Romania – Eda Marcus
Italy – Kaze
Austria – Philipp Hansa
Sweden – Farah Abadi
Finland – Bess

Below you can enjoy the reaction video of Belgium in Eurovision 2023:

Source: Songfestival.be

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