Portugal: The results of Semi-Final 1 of Festival da Canção 2023!

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A moment that many Eurofans were anticipating for a long time, has finally come. Festival da Canção 2023 has officially started today and will last for two more weeks. Some minutes ago, the First Semi-Final of Portugal‘s national final though which their Eurovision 2023 representative is being selected, has been completed. The show took place at RTP studios in Lisbon, while the presenters of the night were Tânia Ribas de Oliveira, José Carlos Malato and Inês Lopes Gonçalves.

The jury that is voting in the semi-finals is composed of:

  • Alex D’Alva (songwriter at Festival da Canção 2019 and 2021)
  • Carlos Mendes (representative of Portugal in Eurovision 1968 and 1972)
  • Márcia (participant in Festival da Canção 2017)
  • Maro (representative of Portugal in Eurovision 2022)
  • Neev (participant in Festival da Canção 2021)
  • Pedro Ribeiro (radio host)
  • Sara Correia (singer)
The ten songs that claimed the six tickets for the final are:

Blanca Paloma’s Performance

The Spanish representative for Eurovision 2023 appeared as a guest act in the First Semi-Final of Festival da Canção 2023. She performed a different version of “Eaea”.

Results:

The six finalists were determined 50% by the jury and 50% by the TV audience. The exact ranking of the artists by both the jury and the TV audience was not announced at the end of the evening. The detailed results will be made public at the end of the festival. 

The six artists that qualified to the Grand Final are:

However, due to technical issues with the televoting, it was decided to qualify one more song in the final. That was:

See you next Saturday, March 4th for the Second Semi-Final of Festival da Canção 2023!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Portugal’s participation in Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Source: RTP

Sweden: The running order of the Semi-Final show of Melodifestivalen 2023 is revealed!

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A while ago, the running order of the contestants, of the semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2023 was just revealed by SVT!

The running order is determined, each year, by the production team of Melodifestivalen, taking into consideration both the competing songs’ musical qualities as well as stage performance and other production considerations and can be seen below:

  1. Mer av dig – THEOZ
  2. One Day – Mariette
  3. Diamonds – Victor Crone
  4. Now I Know – Tennessee Tears
  5. Raggen går – Elov & Beny
  6. For The Show – Melanie Wehbe
  7. Släpp alla sorger – Nordman
  8. Where Did You Go – Kiana

The process

Two songs will directly qualify to the grand final of Melodifestivalen 2023, which will take place on the 11th of March. The songs that will place third and fourth will have to compete again, at the fifth semi-final, held on the 4th of March. There will be four heats in total.

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth show, known as the semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

Which of the above artists do you think will qualify to the finals that will take place at Friends Arena in Stockholm on the 11th of March?

Iceland: The results of Semi-Final 2 of Söngvakeppnin 2023!

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Iceland, the land of ice and fire, has started seeking its representative for Eurovision 2023 through the national final Söngvakeppnin. A few minutes ago, the Second Semi-Final was completed, with two out of five competing contestants qualifying for the Grand Final.

The hosts of the show where Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson, Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson.

The 5 entries appeared in the following order:

1. Úlfar – Betri maður

2. Kristín Sesselja – Óbyggðir

3. Langi Seli og Skuggarnir – OK- QUALIFIED

4. Silja Rós & Kjalar – Ég styð þína braut

5. Sigga Ózk – Gleyma þér og dansa – QUALIFIED

The eliminated act that received the wildcard and became the last finalists are Celebs with “Dómsdagsdans”.

The Grand Final, where the contestants can choose to perform their songs in English, will take place next Saturday, March 4. The lineup is:

Söngvakeppnin Format

A total of 10 songs take part in Söngvakeppnin 2023 after being selected by the relevant RÚV jury. Five songs take part in each of the two semi-finals, with the best two from each semi-final advancing to the Grand Final. After the semi-finals, the judges have the right to use a wildcard, on one of the six artists who did not qualify.

In the two semi-finals, the result will be decided solely by public vote, while in the final there will be a combined public and jury vote to decide the two songs that will advance to the Super Final. There, the Icelandic public has the ultimate say in choosing the country’s next representative.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the developments concerning Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest!

Finland: With Käärijä and “Cha Cha Cha” in Liverpool!

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The 12th edition of the Finnish national selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), took place tonight in the cultural centre Logomo of the city of Turku. 7 entries competed against each other in order to win the nomination of representing Finland in the upcoming Eurovision which is going to be held in May, in Liverpool, the United Kingdom.

The host of the show was one of the most famous Finnish musicians in the world, Samu Haber, the lead vocalist and frontman of pop-rock band Sunrise Avenue.

The participants

The 7 candidates of the show were as follows:

  1. Robin Packalen – “Girls Like You“
  2. KUUMMA – “Ylivoimainen” (Overpowered)
  3. Käärijä  – “Cha Cha Cha“
  4. Keira – “No Business on the Dancefloor“
  5. Benjamin – “Hoida mut” (Take care of me)
  6. Lxandra – “Something to Lose“
  7. Portion Boys – “Samaa taivasta katsotaan” (We look at the same sky)

The final result was determined by 75% televote and by 25% international juries. The international juries of UMK 2023 conisted of the following countries:

  • Australia
  • Germany
  • Poland
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom
  • Ukraine

With the combination of the votes from the jury and the televoting, the representative of Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is :

Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha

Käärijä and Finland are going to participate in the second half of the first semi-final which is scheduled on 9th of May. Do you think that Finland will  achieve a better placement than last year’s 21st place? Let us know in the comments below!

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun.com for all the developments regarding the Finnish entry at the upcoming 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. 

Sweden: Loreen and Smash Into Pieces are the two direct finalists of the Fourth Heat of Melodifestivalen 2023!

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Ninety minutes ago, the show for the Fourth Heat of Melodifestivalen 2023, started off on SVT and SVT Play. And we are here to share the results of the night with you!

The two numbers that qualify directly to the finals are Loreen and Smash Into Pieces which we will get to see perform their songs live, on the 11th of March, when the finals will take place at Friends Arena.

But how things developed during the night?

The show

Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi will present Melodifestivalen 2023. The heats are following the touring concept again, after SVT had pulled back last year due to health restrictions in Sweden, with the finals being held at Friends Arena! With the next show of the contest on Saturday February the 25th, Melodifestivalen will take place in Malmö then Örnsköldsvik follows and finally the final show in Stockholm on the 11th of March.

Back in 26th of February, almost 40 years ago, by just a day, Carola won Melodifestivalen 1983 with the song “Främling“. Fourty years later, there are seven contestants, bidding to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 to be held in Liverpool.

Jesper and Farah are at the arena and everything is ready to begin! It’s time to face the music!

Initially they go through the previous heat direct finalists and the semi-finalists and then they show us this show’s contestants!

The numbers

  • Kiana – Where Did You Go

The sixteen year old Kiana with her song “Where Did You Go”, participates with a pop banger which is super radio friendly. The song reminds me a bit of “When Love Takes Over” by David Guetta/Kelly Rowland, a bit of Sigala maybe. She is joined by six dancers on stage, who hold one light stick each. The light sticks are part of the choreography, and the number also features a dance break! Really nice Kiana!

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • Signe & Hjördis – Edelweiss

Signe & Hjördis with “Edelweiss“, a swedish folk song (entirely in Swedish), the kind of songs that Swedes would vote for. Also there’s a key change. The girls look like they are low on energy. There seems to be their style, that can’t be anything else. The staging is bright full of lights and the LED screen shows flowers, they’re also surrounded by rows and columns of lights.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under

Third number, Smash Into Pieces’ “Six Feet Under” is a pop rock song that gives me Evanescence (“Going Under“) and The Rasmus (“Livin’ In a World Without You“). Super nice hook, the guys give it all on stage! They have amazing energy.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • Mariette – One Day

Number 4 for this heat, Mariette with her song “One Day“. It gives me vibes of Cornelia Jacobs “Hold me Closer” and Atle Pettersen “Masterpiece” (the MGP number). The staging has really nice laid-back vibes. Mariette looks radiant and is joined by the in-house dancers plus some enormous stair and slide stand-in prop.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • Emil Henrohn – Mera mera mera

Emil Henrohn (known by going viral with “Jag är mamma” in TikTok) sings “Mera mera mera” which is super catchy and makes you wanna dance, even though it’s in Swedish and most of us international fans won’t understand much. Quite different from his song style that he has already up on Spotify, the staging gives off Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing vibes!

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • Axel Schylström – Gorgeous

Axel is one of the writers of Theoz number “Mer Av Dig” and participates by himself too with “Gorgeous“. A nice pop power ballad with choruses. Also has a vocoder part (remember how “Die Together” by Amanda Tenfjord starts?). Ends with a huge clap part! Stagewise, it’s very nice aesthetically pleasing. It gives me gospel vibes, he is joined by four backing vocalists. I just disagree with what they’ve selected for him to wear. Other than that, a cute entry.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • Loreen – Tattoo

Last (but not least) Melodifestivalen queen herself! Starts with a very distinctive lead synth and aetherial vocals by Loreen. The song gives melancholic-joy vibes. There’s also a bridge with strings. The song is very very strong! If not the winner, top two for sure. Don’t expect a Euphoria 2, cause it’s nothing like it. Has similar elements but Loreen does not repeat herself! She promised me she wouldn’t have a dark staging, and this staging is not even dark, there’s a decent amount of light! Two LED screens, one above her and one where she stands on. The screen distance gets bigger as the song progresses. There’s a build up and you can see it throughout Loreen’s performance. I am still in a state of shock! Unreal vocals! Supreme staging, too 2025, 100/10!

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

After all the performances are complete, the presenters interview the contestants and after that there’s a recap of all the numbers of the show, as usual.

The Intervals

This week it is 40 years since Carola broke through with a bang in the Melodifestivalen at the Palladium in Malmö. After the success story with “Främling” and other hit songs, she is one of the country’s most famous artists. Now Carola celebrates by returning to where it all began to be a guest at Melodifestivalen on Saturday.

Carola has participated in Melodifestivalen five times. Three of these times she has won the entire competition and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Now she is celebrating that it is 40 years since the breakthrough by visiting the Melodifestivalen competition in Malmö.
She will perform the Swedish winning songs “Främling” (1983) by Lasse Holm and Monica Forsberg, “Fångad av en stormvind” (1991) written by Carola herself and Stephan Berg as well as “Evighet” or known as “Invincible” (2006) written by Bobby Ljunggren, Carola, Henrik Wikström and Thomas G:son.

The Direct Qualifiers

First voting round virtual winner: Loreen – Tattoo
Second voting round virtual winner: Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under

Semi-Finalists

Second voting round virtual 2nd place: Kiana – Where Did You Go
Second voting round virtual 3rd place: Mariette – One Day

Second voting round results

Age-band 3-9 years old virtual winner: Kiana – Where Did You Go

Age-band 10-15 years old virtual winner: Kiana – Where Did You Go

Age-band 16-29 years old virtual winner: Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under

Age-band 30-44 years old virtual winner: Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under

Age-band 45-59 years old virtual winner: Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under

Age-band 60-74 years old virtual winner: Mariette – One Day

Age-band 75+ years old virtual winner: Mariette – One Day

Televoting virtual winner: Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under

The semi-finalists

  • Victor Crone – “Diamonds“
  • Elov & Beny – “Raggen går“
  • THEOZ – “Mer av dig“
  • Tennessee Tears – “Now I Know“
  • Nordman – “Släpp alla sorger“
  • Melanie Wehbe – “For the Show“
  • Kiana – “Where Did You Go”
  • Mariette – “One Day“

See you next Saturday, at the semi-final, when you will have the chance to be informed in detail about what will the total final show line-up be, as soon as they are announced on TV!

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2023 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source: SVT
Photos: Eurovisionfun/Andreas Papayiannakis

Sweden: The betting odds, just a few moments before the Fourth Melodifestivalen 2023 Heat results!

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Melodifestivalen 2023 Fourth Heat show will begin in a few moments, with the new competition and voting format in place and will be aired on SVT and SVT Play. Seven contestants will have to compete against each other tonight, in order to secure one of the direct finalist places, or if not directly qualifying to the finals, claiming their ticket for the semi-final show, as their last chance in the hopes of competing at the finals.

Tonight’s contestants

  1. Kiana – Where Did You Go
  2. Signe & Hjördis – Edelweiss
  3. Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under
  4. Mariette – One Day
  5. Emil Henrohn – Mera mera mera
  6. Axel Schylström – Gorgeous
  7. Loreen – Tattoo

The odds

The betting odds depend on many factors and as these factors are subject to changes anytime, the odds can still fluctuate, even last minute. Currently there seem to be two clear direct finalists and these are Loreen and Smash Into Pieces.

As for the two semi-final qualifiers, we might have quite a close combat between some of the artists. Currently, in the third and fourth place of the betting odds we have Mariette and Emil Henrohn respectively.

Let’s see what is going to happen, we will get the chance to watch the actual heat live, on SVT and SVT Play and of course at EurovisionFun you will get the chance to be informed about the results as soon as they are announced on TV!

Which two of today’s competing artists do you think will be the direct finalists, that will be competing on the 11th of March, hoping to represent Sweden in Liverpool, this year?

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2023 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source: Eurovision World

San Marino: Tonight the Final of “Una Voce Per San Marino”!

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Today, among so many countries, the time of San Marino to choose their artist for Eurovision 2023 has come. Tonight the final of “Una Voce Per San Marino” will be completed and we will officially know the winner of the San Marinize National Final.

The show will start at 21:00 CET live from Teatro Nuovo in the center of the country and it will last approximately 3 hours. you can watch it from RTV by pressing the button here.

The Host of UVPSM:

The host of the show will be (again) Senhit, the singer represented San Marino three time in Eurovision (in 2011, 2020 and 2021) and she hosted the previous Final of “Una Voce Per San Marino”.

The jurors of the show:

Also, this morning, SMRTV revealed the jury for tonight’s National Final. The jury consists of six members which are:

  • Al Bano (singer and president of the jury)
  • Steve Lyon (producer and sound engineer)
  • Dino Stewart (managing director – BMG Music Italy)
  • Charlotte Davis (artist)
  • Antonio Rospini (artist)
  • Clarissa Martinelli (radio producer)

https://twitter.com/ESCdiscord/status/1629416691124912129?s=20

The results of the show will be decided only by the vote of the jury.

The finalists of Una Voce Per San Marino 2023:

Down bellow you will find the twenty two artists with their songs where one of them will claim the ticket of Liverpool in an alphabetical order:

  1. Alfie Arcuri – “Collide”
  2. Deborah Iurato – “Out of Space”
  3. Deshedus – “Non basterà”
  4. E.E.F. – “Something for You”
  5. Eiffel 65 – “Movie Star”
  6. Ellynora – “Mama Told Me”
  7. Iole – “Sul tetto del mondo”
  8. Le Deva – “Fiori su Marte”
  9. Lorenzo Licitra – “Never Give Up”
  10. Mayu – “C’è qualcosa in me che non funziona”
  11. Nevruz – “L’alieno”
  12. Piqued Jacks – “Like an Animal”
  13. Thomas – “23:23”
  14. Tothem – “Sacro e profano”
  15. Vina Rose – “Oblivious”
  16. XGiove – “Fuoco e benzina”
  17. Kida – “Stessa Pelle”
  18. Simone – “Catching  Memories”
  19. Edoardo Brogi – “Due punti sull’equatore”
  20. Mate – “Prisma”
  21. Ronela – “Salvaje”
  22. Roy Paci – “Tromba”

 

Last year’s winner of “Una Voce Per San Marino” and representative of San Marino in Eurovision 2022 was the Italian singer Achille Lauro with the song “Stripper”. Nevertheless, he failed to claim a qualification for last May’s Grand Final by finishing 14th in the second semi final.

https://youtu.be/vCmX64N_sXM

Stay tuned on EurovisionFun for all the news regarding San Marino’s participation in Eurovision 2023! 

 

Finland: Tonight the final of UMK 2023!

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The greatest moment is now for Finland. Tonight will be the grand final of UMK 2023, one of this year’s strongest national finals ahead of Eurovision 2023.

Seven songs will compete tonight, with the big UMK winner representing the Nordic country in May in Liverpool.

Participants

The participants of the Finnish national final, in order of appearance, are:

  1. Robin Packalen – “Girls Like You“
  2. KUUMMA – “Ylivoimainen” (Overpowered)
  3. Käärijä  – “Cha Cha Cha“
  4. Keira – “No Business on the Dancefloor“
  5. Benjamin – “Hoida mut” (Take care of me)
  6. Lxandra – “Something to Lose“
  7. Portion Boys – “Samaa taivasta katsotaan” (We look at the same sky)

Format

The grand winner of UMK 2023 will be determined 25% by the preference of an international jury and 75% by the will of the Finnish viewers.

The Finnish national final is hosted by Samu Haber, singer of the famous rock band, Sunrise Avenue.

The grand final of UMK 2023 starts at 21:00 and will last for two hours. You can watch it through the YLE website with an English broadcast, by clicking HERE.

Until we find out who will represent Finland at Eurovision 2023, let’s remember the country’s participation in last year’s contest. Previous UMK winners and Finland’s representatives at Eurovision 2022 were The Rasmus with the song “Jezebel” and they finished in 21st place in the Grand Final:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments regarding Finland’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Sweden: Heat 4 of Melodifestivalen 2023 tonight!

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Melodifestivalen 2023 continues tonight, with the fourth heat of this year’s Swedish national selection. Four heats, one semi-final and the grand final will keep us company from today until March 11, when we will officially find out the representative of Sweden in Eurovision 2023.

In tonight’s fourth heat, seven entries claim the two tickets to the final, while two more entries will have the chance to compete in the semi-final on March 4th.

Participants

  1. Kiana – Where Did You Go
  2. Signe & Hjördis – Edelweiss
  3. Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under
  4. Mariette – One Day
  5. Emil Henrohn – Mera mera mera
  6. Axel Schylström – Gorgeous
  7. Loreen – Tattoo

Finalists

From the first three heats, six artists have secured their presence in the grand final of the Swedish national selection. These artists are:

From the first third heats, six artists will claim through the semi-final their presence in the grand final of the Swedish national selection. These artists are:

Format

Two songs will directly qualify to the grand final of Melodifestivalen 2023, which will take place on the 11th of March. The songs that will place third and fourth will have to compete again, at the semi-final, held on the 4th of March. There will be four heats in total.

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth show, known as the semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

The fourth heat of Melodifestivalen 2023 will start at 20:00 CET and will last one and a half hour. You can watch it through the SVT frequency by clicking HERE.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2023 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2023!

Portugal: First Festival da Canção 2023 Semi-Final tonight!

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The Festival da Canção 2023 starts tonight, through which Portugal will choose its representative at Eurovision 2023.

The Portuguese national selection will take place on three different nights: two semifinals on February 25th and March 4th and the grand final on March 11th.

Contestants

Ten artists are participating in tonight’s first semifinal of the Festival da Canção 2023. These artists are:

  1. MOYAH – “Too Much Sauce”
  2. Bolha – “Sonhos de Liberdade”
  3. April Ivy –“Modo Voo”
  4. Churky – “Encruzilhad”
  5. Cláudia Pascoal – “Nasci Maria”
  6. SAL – “Viver”
  7. Mimicat – “Ai Coração”
  8. You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown – “Contraste Mudo”
  9. NEOH SOHO – “Endless World”
  10. Esse Povo – “Sapatos de Cimento”

Five artists will qualify for the grand final. The first five finalists will be chosen by 50% of the will of the Portuguese public and 50% of the preference of the jury.

Presenters of the first semifinal of the Festival da Canção 2023 are Tânia Ribas de Oliveira, José Carlos Malato and Inês Lopes Gonçalves..

The first semifinal of the Festival da Canção 2023 will start at 22:00 CET and will last for three hours. You can follow it through the RTP website by clicking HERE.

Until we know who will represent Portugal at Eurovision 2023, let’s remember the country’s participation in last year’s contest. The previous winner of the Festival da Canção and Portugal‘s representative at Eurovision 2022 was Maro with the song “Saudade, Saudade” and she finished in 9th place in the Grand Final, bringing the country’s best position since its victory in 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZtbD47u6yI

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Portugal’s participation in Eurovision 2023!