Finland: The International Juries of UMK 2023!

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A little while ago, the Finnish broadcaster announced the 7 countries that will make up the International Juries for the UMK 2023 final. These are:

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

The international juries that will have a 25% say in the results of UMK 2023 have been announced.

The running order of the 7 artists who will compete in the UMK 2023 final is 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)

Yle also revealed some information about the commentary of UMK 2023. There will be commentary in eight different languages (Finnish, Swedish, English, English, Russian, Northern Sami and Inari Sami), sign language commentary provided by Miguel Peltomaa and for the first time there will be commentary in Ukrainian provided by Galyna Sergeyeva.

The national final is scheduled to take place on February 25th. UMK 2023 will be held in Turku with Samu Haber as the host, while the winner and Finland’s representative at Eurovision 2023 will be determined 25% by the international jury voting and 75% by the public vote.

Here you can enjoy the Eurovisionfun team on the reaction video for the UMK 2023 entries:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates on the UMK 2023!

Loreen: “Euphoria was the moonlight and Tattoo is the sunrise” | Exclusive Interview |

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Eurovision 2012 winner Loreen spoke exclusively to Eurovisionfun and Andreas Papagiannakis from Malmö, Sweden about her participation in Melodifestivalen 2023 with the song “Tattoo”!

She declares that she is particularly happy and excited about her return to Melodifestivalen and when asked about re-collaborating with the creators of the winning Euphoria, Loreen said:

“It’s wonderful! They know how to write a song and specifically a song for a dynamic voice. It was also very simple and easy as they sent me the song and it took me 45 minutes to record it to get to feel it!”

Then she revealed to us that they wrote the song exclusively for her! About her return to Melodifestivalen, 6 years after her last appearance with “Statements”, she said the following:

“All humans are constantly evolving! Every creation of mine was a reflection of my then self! In Euphoria I was in a very spiritual period, while in Statements I wanted a strong political tone and I wanted to fight for what I had to! Now I feel like we need to bring some light into our lives!”

“The song is dramatic and obviously has a big climax!”

About her stage presence, Loreen revealed to us:

“Spirituality will definitely be there! Euphoria was the sunset and the moon, while Tattoo is the sunrise!”

“I want the viewer to be able to interpret my appearance as he wants! You will see another side of me”

You can enjoy Loreen’s entire interview below:

@eurovisionfn H @Loreen διαβάζει Eurovisionfun.com , η νικήτρια της Eurovision 2012 επέστρεψε και θα προσπαθήσει να εκπροσωπήσει τη Σουηδία στη Eurovision 2023 ❤️ #eurovisionsongcontest #eurovision #melodifestivalen2023 #melodifestivalen #loreeneuphoria #loreen #fyp #fy ♬ Euphoria – Loreen

Many thanks to Loreen for the exclusive interview and we wish her the best of luck!

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to enjoy interviews, reaction videos and Live streams for our favorite competition!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments regarding Melodifestivalen and Eurovision 2023!

 

Sweden: Listen to the song snippets of the fourth heat of Melodifestivalen 2023!

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As usual, a couple of days before each Melodifestivalen heat, SVT publishes snippets of all seven competing songs of the heat. A while ago, the song snippets of the fourth heat got released.

The competing songs of the fourth heat:

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

In the meantime, you can read through the lyrics of all seven competing songs of this heat in our previous article.

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 two of the above artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals, on the 11th of March?

France: Eurovisionfun Reacts to Eurovision 2023 Entry “Évidemment”! (video)

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France is represented this year by La Zarra and the song “Évidemment“. This is the first time since 2020 that France, chose both its representative and song internally for the contest. La Zarra’s participation in the contest.

The Eurovisionfun team once again watched and reacted to the music video for the country’s participation in the upcoming Eurovision contest! Enjoy Apostolis, Christos and Aps in a delightful and highly comical Reaction video with detailed commentary on France’s participation in 2023!

Below you can enjoy this year French entry for Eurovision 2023:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWfbEFH9NvQ

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to enjoy interviews, reaction videos and Live streams for our favorite contest!

What do you think about the entry of France  for Eurovision 2023? Tell us in the comments!

Portion Boys: “Expect a high energy performance with surprises!”

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The Portion Boys are participating in this year’s national final of Finland, UMK 2023 with the track “Samaa taivasta taksanas” and a few days ago they spoke exclusively to Eurovisionfun, specifically to Apostolis Matamis and Apostolοs Bogiannos, about their participation and their plans for the national final.

After getting to know all five band members, we chatted about their decision to take part in this year’s Finnish national final!

“Last year we wrote the song and immediately knew that it would fit UMK, and we felt that this was the right time! Now Finland is ready for us, we are ready for her and hopefully all of Europe!”

Regarding the song with which they participate in this year’s national final, they told us:

“Life is not that serious and you can enjoy it the way you want! We want to make the audience feel happy through our song.

“Our message is that we are all different but equal! In our own unique way, we use humor as a tool to convey the very important message of our song.”

Regarding the references to other countries in the song’s lyrics, the band revealed that it was a way to include more people as they also liked the word “Acropolis” very much and wanted it in the song. Also, many countries and regions did not manage to get into the song but on the other hand they have received messages that their song also has an educational function for many young children.

“Among the countries there is also Hungary, which does not participate in Eurovision either! So we’re not using the countries to necessarily win votes, but of course we’d like the public’s votes!”

For their stage appearance, the Portion Boys revealed to us:

“Expect a lot of energy from us and a lot of surprises!“

They stated that their favorite Finnish participation is Lordi (Finland 2006) and Blind Channel (Finland 2021), while as their favorite participation of the competition they mentioned Loreen from Sweden, Dana International from Israel and the Moldovan participation from 2010 with the viral sax-guy!

Enjoy the full interview of Portion Boys below:

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to enjoy interviews, reaction videos and Live streams for our favorite contest!

Would you like to see Robin representing Finland in Eurovision 2023? Tell us in the comments!

Netherlands: Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper song to be released on March 1!

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Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper’s eurovision song will premier on March 01, 2023.

Dutch broadcaster AVOTROS made the announcement.   The duo was internally selected to represent the Netherlands in Liverpool.  Both Nicolai and Cooper are credited as songwriters along with Dutch Eurovision winner Duncan Laurence and his partner Jordan Garfield.

Mia Nicolai has been involved in music since the early age of three.  She has lived in London, Melbourne, Mexico, and currently resides in Los Angeles.  In 2020 she released her first single “Set Me Free”.  After that she released “Mutual Needs” as a second single which was aired in Zane Lowe Radio show.

Dion Cooper, 28 started playing the guitar when he was 15.  In 2021, he released his first EP “Too Young Too Dumb”.

The Netherlands was represented by S10 in Eurovision 2022 with the song “De diepte”.  S10 finished in 11th place in the Grand Final

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgOnu7ux2-k&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Germany: online voting for “Unser Lied für Liverpool” starts on Friday!

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The voting process for the German final “Unser Lied für Liverpool” starts on Friday, February 24, 2023.  The online voting will extend until March 03, 2023 at 10 pm.

The voting system will work as follows:

  • During the evening of Unser Lied für Liverpool people can vote through SMS or phone.  The online vote will be joined with the live voting.  The televote will weigh 50% of the total result.
  • The jury vote will decide the other 50% of the result.  During the show, the international jury will award 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points to the acts.

Eight international jurors from different countries will make the international jury from the music and entertaining industry.  The international jurors come from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Lithuania, Ukraine, Austria and Great Britain.

The competing acts in Unser Lied für Liverpool are:

Will Church – “Hold On”
Patty Gurdy – “Melodies of Hope”
TRONG – “Dare to Be Different”
Lonely Spring – “Misfit”
Anica Russo – “Once Upon a Dream”
Lord Of The Lost – “Blood and Glitter”
Frida Gold – “Alle Frauen in mir sind müde” (All the women in me are tired)
René Miller – “Concrete Heart”
Ikke Hüftgold – “Lied mit gutem Text” (Song with good lyrics)

Unser Lied für Liverpool will air on March 03, 2023 at 22:20 CET on Das Erste, ARD Mediathek, and eurovision.de.

Interval Acts

The band “The BossHoss” and Ilse DeLange will be the interval acts of the German national final.  Ilse DeLange came second in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as part of The Common Linnets.  This year, The BossHoss and Ilse DeLange will sing their new single “YOU”.

The BossHoss and The Common Linnets had already performed as an interval act during Unser Lied für Stockholm in 2016 covering the song “Jolene” by Dolly Parton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BYIou-oWXA&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Source

Eurovision 2023: Hosts revealed for Liverpool!

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Graham Norton, Julia Sanina, Hannah Waddingham and Alesha Dixon will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

Presenting the Grand Final will be Eurovision legend Graham Norton, award-winning Ukrainian singer, Julia Sanina (of The HARDKISS), internationally acclaimed musical theatre performer, three-time Olivier Award nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, Hannah Waddingham, and singer-songwriter, pop star and TV presenter, Alesha Dixon.

Presenting the two live Semi-Finals from Liverpool will be the trio of musical superstars Julia, Hannah, and Alesha.

The Ηosts

  • Julia Sanina

Julia Sanina is the lead singer of The Hardkiss. In 2016, The Hardkiss finished second in the first edition of Vidbir, the Ukrainian national selection for Eurovision. Julia also appeared as a judge on Vidbir 2023.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Julia Sanina (@the_hardkiss)

  • Hannah Waddingham

Hannah Waddingham is a stage and screen actress. She is best known for playing Rebecca Welton in the comedy series Ted Lasso, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2021 and the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2021 and 2022. She has also starred in several West End shows such as Spamalot, Into the Woods and The Wizard of Oz.

  • Alesha Dixon

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη ALESHA DIXON (@aleshaofficial)

Alesha Dixon first found fame as a member of the girl group Mis-Teeq. After the group split up, Alesha began a successful solo career. She has also appeared as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, which she previously won, and Britain’s Got Talent.

  • Graham Norton

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη graham norton (@grahnort)

Graham Norton is best known for his chat show The Graham Norton Show, which has won five BAFTA TV Awards since first airing in 2007. Since 2009, he has been the main commentator for the BBC coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest. He also hosted both editions of the Eurovision Dance Contest in 2007 and 2008.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijk0m0QZcWE&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.iframe.ly%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news about Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Sweden: Markus & Martinus were asked to participate in MGP but declined the offer!

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Melodifestivalen 2023 is underway and the third heat took place in Lidköping on Saturday with Norwegian duo Markus & Martinus and Paul Rey advancing to the Grand Final in Stockholm.

Sweden: Marcus & Martinus and Paul Rey are the two direct finalists of the Third Heat of Melodifestivalen 2023!

There have been a lot of comments online regarding the participation of Markus & Martinus at the Swedish national final, while they are currently second in the betting odds to win Melodifestivalen 2023. As they revealed in an interview at the Swedish Newspaper Expressen, they were asked to participate in Melodi Grand Prix 2023, the Norwegian national selection for Eurovision, but declined the offer, since they have already agreed to take part in the Swedish preselection.

The boys are based in Sweden over the last years while they also have a new PR and Management team, after signing with Universal Sweden.

Despite not being registered or born in Sweden, a prerequisite to participate in Melodifestivalen, they are able to participate in the show since the songwriters of their entry “Air” (Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb and Linnea Deb) are all Swedish and co-wrote the song along with Marcus & Martinus.

The final of Melodifestivalen 2023 will take place on March 11th at Friends Arena in Stockholm.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates on the Swedish Eurovision entry and more!

Source: Expressen

Cyprus: Listen to a snippet from “Break a Broken heart” by Andrew Lambrou!

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The Cypriot Public Broadcaster  announced a few weeks ago that Andrew Lambrou is internally selected as the representative of the country in Liverpool.

Moments ago, through the official TikTok account of Wiwibloggs, a 30-second snippet of the song that Andrew will sing in Liverpool was released. The song is called “Break a Broken heart“and you can listen to it below:

 

@wiwibloggs_official 💔 @andrewlambrou’s #Eurovision2023 song “Break A Broken Heart” sounds very promising so far 😎 🇨🇾 #fyp #eurovision #cyprus #eurovisionsongcontest ♬ original sound – wiwibloggs

The song is written by the following songwriters, all of them with extensive experience in the competition:

  • Thomas Stengaard  : Denmark 2013, Germany 2018, Germany 2019, San Marino 2021, Cyprus 2021, Azerbaijan 2022
  • Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt  : Sweden 2021, San Marino 2021, Cyprus 2021
  • Jimmy Jansson  : Denmark 2020
  • Marcus Winther-John  : Andorra 2009

Official release on the 2nd of March

According to exclusive information from INFE Greece , the country’s song will be officially released on  Thursday, March 2nd. 

As we previously wrote, Andrew flew to Greece to shoot the music video of “Break a Broken heart”, directed by Giorgos Benioudakis who has collaborated with many popular Greek artists. The staging of the Cypriot entry will be co-created by Marvin Dietman and Ross Nicholson from the world-renowned directing team, Black Skull.

What do you think about the snippet of “Break a Broken Heart”? Tell us in the comments!