Greece: Amanda Georgiadis Tenfjord will represent the country at Eurovision 2022!

Through Studio 4 on ERT1, the long-awaited revelation of the name of the artist who will raise the Greek flag in May in Turin took place a while ago. The announcement was made by Greece’s representative at Eurovision 2021, Stefania, live from the Netherlands.

The 24-year-old Greek-Norwegian Amanda Georgiadis, or Amanda Tenfjord as she is artistically known, whom we first presented to you as our possible representative on June 7, 2021, was announced officialy as the Greek represantative in the 66th Eurovision Song Contest which is going to be held in Turin, Italy. On the stage of Pala Alpitour she will perform a ballad written by her in lyrics and music, under the direction of Fokas Evangelinos, while the project manager of the project will be Ilias Kokotos.

ERT’s artistic committee evaluated the proposals of 25 artists and singled out the top five artists, who had private meetings at the ERT’s headquarters with the committee and the management of Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. After these meetings, where the candidates presented more details (stage appearance, song promotion, video clip designs, etc.), the competent committee considered Amanda’s proposal to be more complete, taking into account first the song, but also the above important factors.

The committee consisted of the following:

  • Dimitris Papadimitriou, composer – President
  • Maria Kozakou, Director of the Second Program of the NRA, commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest
  • Fotis Apergis, director of ERT radio
  • Peter Adam, music producer
  • Giannis Petridis, music producer
  • Konstantinos Bourounis, head of ERT’s youth program
  • Leonidas Antonopoulos, Journalist & music producer

Amanda’s Proposal

Her proposal includes a song, which as you read in our previous articles, is an inner ballad, written by her, that leads the listener to an explosion of emotions. The song was written after her separation, with a long-term relationship.

It was a painful separation and my feelings were extreme. When I was writing it, of course, I did not have in mind the Eurovision Song Contest, but when the idea came to me to take part in the Greek selection, everyone who listened to this song told me that this would be an ideal participation for both my country and me.

Amanda

The producer and orchestrator of the song is Bjørn Helge Gammelsæter, a Norwegian musician with several important collaborations to his credit.

The feeling caused by Amanda’s melody and interpretation is so intense that I wanted the approach to production to be as abstract as possible. I used a vocoder, something that makes the song very special without losing its sensitivity. The orchestration of the song has been built around Amanda’s voice so that her unique tone is not lost.

Bjørn Helge Gammelsæter

Fokas Evangelinos, who strongly believes in her participation, will take over her stage appearance in Turin, if of course she is selected.

From the first moment I saw Amanda and heard her song, I felt that she has this unique and special thing that the Eurovision contest demands. Amanda herself has a special beauty and a charm that attracts you from the first moment you see her, while her song creates strong emotions that can lead to a very special scene. presence that will make her stand out.

Fokas Evangelinos

The director of the video clip of the song will be Kostas Karydas, the same director who took over Stefania. The successful director gives us a small hint, for the result we will see, in case Amanda is the final choice of ERT.

I find the song excellent and Amanda a girl with very special beauty. The track has a strong introversion and I think that cinematically I have to move in the opposite direction to have a very interesting result. Because I recognize that in the Eurovision Song Contest the ethnic elements in the music of the songs are obsolete, we will try to include the Greek element in the video clip, as we did last year with Stefania.

Kostas Karydas

Project Manager of the whole effort will be Ilias Kokotos, through whom Amanda was approached by ERT. We remind you that Ilias Kokotos, project manager of all Dream Team participations in the competition, was the one who proposed Stefania to ERT in the fall of 2019.

Who Is Who

Amanda Georgiadis, 24, was born in Oslo but lived the first years of her life in Ioannina, where she visits every summer as her family maintains a home in the area.

At the age of 3, her parents decide to move to the small town of Tenfjord in Norway. At the age of 5 she started taking piano lessons and became an amateur musician, writing her first songs as a teenager. At the age of 18 she began her studies in medicine, while at the same time taking part in various festivals. 

She released her first EP, “First impression” under the stage name Amanda Tenfjord, from the city from which she grew up and received excellent reviews. Her second EP includes the song “Then I fell in love” which is a great radio success, remaining for over 20 weeks in the official top 10 radio chart of Norway. In 2020 Netflix includes the song “Troubled Water” in the series “Spinning out”.

 

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun, for all the developments regarding the Greek participation in Eurovision 2022!

 

Greece: ERT announces today the artist for Eurovision 2022!

The time has come! ERT with a relevant trailer that is already on the air, informs us that today will announce the artist who will represent Greece in the 66th Eurovision Song Contest! 

Through Studio 4, as we had informed you in a series of our previous articles, the long-awaited revelation of the name of the artist who will raise the Greek flag in May in Turin will take place. Live from the Netherlands, Stefania, will announce the singer who will be the next greek representer.

The choice was made as you already know in two phases. In the first phase, the competent jury of ERT chose between 25 artists and about 40 songs, the five best with an equal number of performers. These were (alphabetically):

  • Amanda Georgiadis Tenfjord
  • Good Job Nicky
  • Joanna Drigo
  • Lou is
  • Elias Kozas

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Eurovision ERT (@eurovisionert)


Then the above five artists after having private meetings at the ERT’s headquarters, with the jury and the management of ERT, presenting more details of their proposal (stage appearance, promotion of the song, plans for the video clip etc) came to its final decision, which we will learn about this afternoon.

The committee consists of the following:

  • Dimitris Papadimitriou, composer – President
  • Maria Kozakou, Director of the Second Program of the NRA, commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest
  • Fotis Apergis, director of ERT radio
  • Peter Adam, music producer
  • Giannis Petridis, music producer
  • Konstantinos Bourounis, head of ERT’s youth program

Earlier than ever and with more hopes and expectations even from this year, ERT begins its journey for Eurovision 2022.

 

See you at 15.00 cet, in Studio 4 to find out the answer!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the details about the Greek entry in Eurovision 2022!

Albania: Listen live to the two favourites of Fik 2021!

Live snippets from the rehearsals of the two favorites of Festivali i Këngës 2021 have been available since yesterday and earlier today.

   Yesterday, on December 13th, a snippet from the rehearsal of Alban Ramosaj was posted, one of the candidates for the representation of Albania with the song “Theje”.

Later today, a snippet from the rehearsal of Ronela Hajati was uploaded today performing her entry “Sekret” which you can watch below:


   The 60th Festivali i Këngës is going to take place on 27, 28 and 29 December 2021 while the presentation will be undertaken by Ardit Gjebrea, Jonida Maliqi, Xhemi Shehu, Klevi Kadilli and Isli Islami

  Last year, Albania was represented by Anxhela Peristeri and the song “Karma”, which qualified last as it finished 10th in the 2nd Semifinal, while in the final it ended up in 21st place with 57 points.

https://youtu.be/OxniMKVXjqM

In case one of the two aforementioned candidates wins the upcoming Albanian national selection, is it possible for Albania to achieve a better placing at Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy? Let us know in the comments.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun.com for the latest news regarding Albania, and the rest of the 40 nations of Eurovision 2022. 

 

Armenia 2022: Saro hints at possible Eurovision participation

Armenian singer Saro Gevorgyan took his Instagram to hint a possible Eurovision participation.  However he did not go as far as confirming that Armenian broadcaster AMPTV internally selected him for Turin.  In any case, the singer seems very interested to represent Armenia in the European competition.

Saro Gevorgyan shared on his Instagram stories a video where we can see Armenian singer Erik Karapetyan.  As a New Wave winner and X-factor jury, Karapetyan is a well known name in the music industry in his country.  In the video shared by Saro, Erik Karapetyan seems to be talking about the Armenian national selection when he says:

Saro is the winner of New Wave and the future winner of Eurovision

Saro shared this comment with his audience.  Nevertheless, he stopped short from confirming his participation on Eurovision 2022.

Saro Gevorgyan won the 2021 edition of New Wave.  He was one of the backing vocalist of Srbuk at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv.  Furthermore, as a winner of New Wave Saro has closed relations with Philipp Kirkorov.  This increases the chances of him being the Armenian representative in the near future.

 

 

Junior Eurovision 2021: Dream Team in Paris with the Russian delegation!

The Dream Team (Dimitris Kontopoulos, Elias Kokotos and Philipp Kirkorov) is in Paris with the Russian delegation, in order to support Tanya and help her bring the third victory for her country, in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Junior Eurovision 2021 takes place on Sunday and today the rehearsals of the 19 participants begin. Russia participates with the song Mon Ami and appears in seventh place. The song has won the impressions and is considered one of the favorites to win the competition. According to our information, the Dream Team has edited Tanya’s entire appearance and that was one of the reasons for the recent trips of Dimitris Kontopoulos and Elias Kokotos to Moscow.

This is the first time that the Dream Team is so actively (obviously at least) involved with Junior Eurovision and it comes at a time when everything shows that it will take over the participation of Russia in the senior Eurovision.

According to our information, we will see a very impressive act on stage by Tanya, transferring the colorful video clip of Mon Ami to the stage of La Seine Musicale in Paris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHlgT3gRCPo

Junior Eurovision 2021 will be held on Sunday, December 19, 2021, at 16.00 cet and you can watch it through the official YouTube channel of the contest!

Sweden: Running order and semi-final allocation for Melodifestivalen 2022 revealed!

The the running order as well as contestant allocation for the semi-finals of Melodifestivalen 2022 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 read below:

1st Semi Final – 5th of February, in Malmö

  1. Malou Prytz – Bananas
  2. THEOZ – Som du vill
  3. Shirley Clamp – Let There Be Angels
  4. Omar Rudberg – Moving Like That
  5. Danne Stråhed – Hallaballoo
  6. Cornelia Jacobs – Hold Me Closer
  7. Robin Bengtsson – Innocent Love

2nd Semi Final – 12th of February, in Gothenburg

  1. LIAMOO – Bluffin
  2. Niello & Lisa Ajax – Tror du att jag bryr mig
  3. Samira Manners – I Want To Be Loved
  4. Alvaro Estrella – Suave
  5. Browsing Collection – Face In The Crowd
  6. John Lundvik – Änglavakt
  7. Tone Sekelius – My Way

3rd Semi Final – 19th of February, in Linköping

  1. Cazzi Opeia – I Can’t Get Enough
  2. Lancelot – Lyckligt slut
  3. Lisa Miskovsky – Best To come
  4. Tribe Friday – Shut Me Up
  5. Faith Kakembo – Freedom
  6. Linda Bengtzing – Fyrfaldigt hurra!
  7. Anders Bagge – Bigger Than The Universe

4th Semi Final – 26th of February, in Lidköping

  1. Anna Bergendahl – Higher Power
  2. Lillasyster – Till Our Days Are Over
  3. Malin Christin – Synd om dig
  4. Tenori – La Stella
  5. MEDINA – In i dimman
  6. Angelino – The End
  7. Klara Hammarström – Run To The Hills

The detailed schedule of Melodifestivalen 2022 is described below:

  • First Semi on the 5th of February
  • Second Semi on the 12th of February
  • Third Semi on the 19th of Februrary
  • Fourth Semi on the 26th of February
  • Fifth Semi on the 5th of March
  • The Finals on the 12th of March

Oscar Zia will present Melodifestivalen 2022. The Semi-Finals will follow the touring concept once more (after the coronavirus outbreak), as usual, with the finals being held at Friends Arena! With the opening of the contest in Malmö, Saturday February the 5th, Melodifestivalen will be held in Göteborg, Linköping, Lidköping, Örnsköldsvik and then in Stockholm.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments related to the Swedish national selection for Eurovision 2022!

Sweden: Tomorrow semi-final allocation and running order for Melodifestivalen 2022 to be revealed by SVT!

It’s the final countdown!

Just a few minutes ago, the Swedish public broadcaster SVT, posted an announcement on their official Twitter account for Melodifestivalen, stating that tomorrow morning at 09:00 Greek time (08:00 CET) the allocation of all contestants to the semi-finals and their running order will finally be revealed!

https://twitter.com/SVTmelfest/status/1470414288795877377?s=20

The 28 contestants

We remind you that the line-up of the 28 contestants that will compete, in hopes of representing Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 are the following:

  • Anders Bagge – Bigger Than The Universe
  • Cazzi Opeia – I Can’t Get Enough
  • Omar Rudberg – Moving Like That
  • Klara Hammarström – Run To The Hills
  • Tribe Friday – Shut Me Up
  • John Lundvik – Änglavakt
  • Cornelia Jacobs – Hold Me Closer
  • Niello & Lisa Ajax
  • Faith Kakembo – Freedom
  • LIAMOO – Bluffin
  • Linda Bengtzing – Fyrfaldigt hurra!
  • Samira Manners – I Want To Be Loved
  • Danne Stråhed – Hallaballoo
  • THEOZ – Som du vill
  • Malou Prytz – Bananas
  • Lisa Miskovsky – Best To come
  • Browsing Collection – Face In The Crowd
  • Anna Bergendahl – Higher Power
  • MEDINA – In i dimman
  • Robin Bengtsson – Innocent Love
  • Tenori – La Stella
  • Shirley Clamp – Let There Be Angels
  • Lancelot – Lyckligt slut
  • Tone Sekelius – My Way
  • Alvaro Estrella – Suave
  • Malin Christin – Synd om dig
  • Angelino – The End
  • Lillasyster – Till Our Days Are Over

The detailed schedule of Melodifestivalen 2022 is described below:

  • First Semi on the 5th of February
  • Second Semi on the 12th of February
  • Third Semi on the 19th of Februrary
  • Fourth Semi on the 26th of February
  • Fifth Semi on the 5th of March
  • The Finals on the 12th of March

Oscar Zia will present Melodifestivalen 2022. The Semi-Finals will follow the touring concept once more (after the coronavirus outbreak), as usual, with the finals being held at Friends Arena! With the opening of the contest in Malmö, Saturday February the 5th, Melodifestivalen will be held in Göteborg, Linköping, Lidköping, Örnsköldsvik and then in Stockholm.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments related to the Swedish national selection for Eurovision 2022!

Monaco 2023? Country gets a new public broadcaster

New developments on a potential Monegasque return to Eurovision have emerged.  In 2022, Monte-Carlo Riviera will start operations as the new public broadcaster of the country.  Thanks to this new development, Monaco can apply again for a EBU membership.

Previously, Monaco’s public broadcaster was Téle-Montecarlo.  However, French TF1 bought the channel in 2016 making a return for the small nation a distant possibility.  Téle-Montecarlo was the only Monegasque broadcaster with an EBU membership.

Therefore the brand-new broadcaster can become a EBU member and path the way for a Monaco return to Eurovision.  Nevertheless, this is only the first step towards their participation.  Monte-Carlo Rivera will need to apply for a EBU membership in order to participate in 2023.  This possibility seems likely considering that Monaco allocated 100000 euros on its budget for a 2023 bid.

Monaco in Eurovision

Monaco participated in Eurovision from 1959 until 1979.  During this period they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 with the song Un banc, un arbre, une rue.  They also achieved a second place and three third places in the competition.  In 2004 Monaco returned to Eurovision.  They competed for three years in a row.  Unfortunately, they failed to qualify to the Grand Final.  Monaco participated in 2006 for the last time until now.

Are you excited about a potential Monaco return to Eurovision?

North Macedonia: Through “Eurosong 2022” the choice for Turin!

The National Radio-Television of North Macedonia, MRT, recently announced the holding of a national final for Eurovision 2022.

The fact that the results of the country in the competition have proven quite dissapointing, heightened the need of a different way of selection of the entry.

The submission of the entries for “EUROSONG 2022″ is now open and MRT is looking forward to receive original and modern entries. The artists have to submit the complete versions of the songs. MRT will also choose six out of those sumbissions that will compete in “EUROSONG 2022”. The channel speaks of a transparent process according to which the participants will perform live, while international jury and the audience will be responsible for the 50% and 50% of the result, respectively.

As far as the artists are concerned, the singers have to come from North Macedonia, while the composers can come from the abroad as well.

The submission process ends on January 16, 2022, while those interested can submit their proposals, either on “eurosong.macedonia@gmail.com” or at the adress “Македонска Радио Телевизија, бул.Гоце Делчев бр.18, 1000 Скопје, Р. Северна Македонија, со назнака ЗА ЕВРОСОНГ 2022” (Macedonian Radio and Television, 18 Goce Delchev Avenue, 1000 Skopje, R. North Macedonia, with the indication “FOR EUROSONG 2022”). You can see the rules HERE.

The last time the country had a national final was in 2015, when Daniel Kajmakoski represented the country with the song “Autumn Leaves”.

Stay Tuned at Eurovisionfun for more updates!!!

 

Italy: Laura Pausini among the candidates to host Eurovision 2022!

The Italian newspaper, La Stampa, reports that the country’s singer and superstar, Laura Pausini, is among the candidates for the presentation of the 66th Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place next May in Turin.

La Stampa reports that Laura Pausini has already been hit by RAI over the above possibility. Laura first appeared on the music scene in 1993 when she won the Young Artists category at the Sanremo Festival, with the now legendary “La solitudine”. This song was the springboard for her later career, as it brought her to the charts of almost all European countries.

Since then she has released fourteen studio albums, toured around the world, coached talent shows in Italy and Spain, and starred in an Amazon film.

Rai1 director Stefano Coletta confirmed in an interview with ANSA that the hosts of Eurovision 2022 will not be revealed until after the end of Sanremo 2022 which will take place between 1 and 5 February.

Turin will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 on 10, 12 and 14 May 2022. The venue of the 2022 contest is PalaOlimpico. The arena opened in 2005 and has hosted many concerts and sporting events, including ice hockey tournaments during the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding our favorite music contest!

Source: La Stampa