Ιreland: Bambie Thug will represent the country in Malmö with “Doomsday Blue”!

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Just a while ago, Eurosong 2024, the Irish national selection for Eurovision 2024, was concluded. Eurosong 2024 served for another year as the country’s selection method for Eurovision and was hosted during a special edition of The Late Late Show, on RTÉ’s studio live from Dublin.

Hosted by Patrick Kielty and following the combination of votes from an international jury, a national jury and public televoting, Bambie Thug was crowned as the winner with their song “Doomsday Blue“.

378 entries were submitted to the Irish broadcaster, out of which six entries were advanced to the televised final aiming for the Irish representation in Malmö. The six competing songs were revealed from January 8 to January 12 on “The Ray D’Arcy Show” and are the following:

  1. Isabella Kearney – “Let Me Be the Fire”
  2. Bambie Thug – “Doomsday Blue”
  3. JyellowL ft. Toshín – “Judas”
  4. Alisha – “Go Tobann” (Suddenly)
  5. Next in Line – “Love Like Us”
  6. Erica-Cody – “Love Me Like I Do”

Eurosong 2024 – in detail

Isabella Kearney – “Let Me Be the Fire”

A nice opener overall. It didn’t feel as the strongest vocal performance of the night. The song is not that memorable too. Nice try with the stage performance, though!

Bambie Thug – “Doomsday Blue”

100% honest. It is a complete chaos. The song is confusing itself and I actually caught myself confused by watching the performance and not in a good way. At least, their vocals were okay and the theatrical expressions on point. I guess you will either love or hate “Doomsday Blue”.

JyellowL ft. Toshín – “Judas”

The song is not that catchy itself and it simply does not give Eurovision vibes. The rap part was not bad at all, while the singing part was not good either. Same with the stage presentation. What both the song and the performance missed was that Eurovision vibe.

Alisha – “Go Tobann”

The song has a nice ethnic vibe. However, the vocal performance was not strong, while the staging felt really messy. The performance needs to be massively elevated for Eurovision stage.

Next in Line – “Love Like Us”

The cheesiest song of the selection. They don’t harmonize good enough and it sounds out of tune. The performance looked like it just came out of a talent-show. The energy is not present either and there is no chemistry between the group members. Personally, I’m not convinced.

Erica-Cody – “Love Me Like I Do”

A song that screams Eurovision. It’s fun, it’s catchy and it has a key-change. The performance was okay bearing in mind the production of the show, as well as Erica’s vocals – except that final high note. Personally, I think that “Love Me Like I Do” would be Ireland’s best choice, although I’m not quite sure whether it would be enough for a spot in the Grand Final.

The voting procedure

An international jury along with a national jury and the public audience vote decided in equal shares who would fly the Irish flag in Malmö.

International Jury

The international jury voted as following:

12 points – “Love Like Us”

10 points – “Love Me Like I Do”

8 points – “Doomsday Blue”

6 points – “Go Tobann”

4 points – “Judas”

2 points – “Let Me Be the Fire”

Next in Line topped the international jury voting, with Erica Cody and Bambie Thug following in the second and third place respectively.

National jury

The national jury voted as following:

12 points – “Doomsday Blue”

10 points – “Go Tobann”

8 points – “Judas”

6 points – “Love Me Like I Do”

4 points – “Let Me Be the Fire”

2 points – “Love Like Us”

Bambie Thug topped the national jury voting, with Alisha and JyellowL ft. Toshín following in the second and third place respectively.

Audience’s vote

The TV audience voted as following:

12 points – “Doomsday Blue”

10 points – “Love Like Us”

8 points – “Go Tobann”

6 points – “Love Me Like I Do”

4 points – “Judas”

2 points – “Let Me Be the Fire”

Bambie Thug won the public voting, followed by Next in Line and Alisha.

The winner

Following the combination of the above and with a total of 32 points, Bambie Thug was crowned as the winner of Eurosong 2024 and will therefore serve as the country’s representative in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest that will take place in Malmö in May.

You can also check out the interview Bambie Thug gave exclusively to EurovisionFun, below:

Do you agree with Ireland’s choice for Eurovision 2024? Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Ukraine: Watch Jerry Heil & Alyona Alyona perform “Teresa & Maria” on TV for the first time!

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Just a week prior Vidbir 2024, the Ukrainian national selection format for Eurovision 2024, Jerry Heil & Alyona Alyona gave their first televised performance of their entry “Teresa & Maria”, in the morning show “Сниданок з 1+1“.

“Teresa & Maria” is already a big favorite to win the Ukrainian selection and fly to Malmö, counting 800 thousand streams on Spotify and 1.4 million views on Youtube, something that no other Vidbir 2024 entry has accomplished yet.

Vidbir 2024

After the selection of a committee and an online wildcard, the following eleven artists will compete in Vidbir 2024

  1. YAKTAK  —  “Lalala”
  2. INGRET  —  “Keeper”
  3. NAZVA  —  “Slavic English”
  4. ANKA  —  “Palala”
  5. Drevo  —  “Endless chain”
  6. alyona alyona & Jerry Heil  —  “Teresa & Maria”
  7. MÉLOVIN  —  “DREAMER”
  8. SKYLERR  —  “Time is running out”
  9. Ziferblat  —  “Place I Call Home”
  10. YAGODY  —  “Tsunamia”
  11. NAHABA  —  “GLASS”

The Ukrainian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will be held on February 03 at 18:00 CET, broadcasted by UA public TV channel (UA:First). The winner will be decided by a combination of 50% TV audience and 50% jury vote.

You can also check out the reaction video of the EurovisionFun team on Vidbir 2024 finalists:

The winners of Vidbir 2023 and hence the representatives of the country in Liverpool were TVORCHI with their song “Heart of Steel”, finishing in the sixth place of the scoreboard.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Croatia: The allocation of the artists in the semi-finals of Dora 2024!

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A few hours ago, HRT, the public broadcaster of Croatia, announced the way the artists are allocated in the two semi-finals of Dora 2024, and their respective running ordrer.

First Semi-Final, February 22

Oι καλλιτέχνες που θα πάρουν μέρος στον πρώτο ημιτελικό είναι:

  1. Noelle – “Baby, Baby”
  2. Mario Battifiaca feat. Robert Ferlin – “Vodu piti trizan biti”
  3. Stefany Žužić – “Sretnih dana dat’ će Bog”
  4. MISHA – “One Day”
  5. Erna – “How Do You Love Me”
  6. Eugen – “Tišine”
  7. Vinko – “Lying Eyes”
  8. Barbara Munjas – “Nepobjediva”
  9. Let 3 – “Baba Roga”
  10. Lana Mandarić – “More”
  11. Pavel – “TO THE MOON”
  12. Saša Lozar – “Ne plačem zbog nje”

Second Semi-Final, February 23

  1. Lu Dedić – “Plavi leptir”
  2. James Night – “NEBO PLAČE”
  3. Lara Demarin – “Ne vjerujem ti”
  4. Alen Đuras – “A Tamburitza Lullaby”
  5. The Splitters – “Od kad te sanjam”
  6. Boris Štok – “Can We Talk”
  7. Baby Lasagna – “RIM TIM TAGI DIM”
  8. ET – “Pametnom dosta”
  9. Vatra – “Slatke suze, gorka ljubav”
  10. Damir Kedžo – “Voljena ženo“
  11. Natalie Balmix – “Dijamanti”
  12. MARCELA – “Gasoline”

As mentioned, Dora 2024 will take place from February 22 to 25, with the Grand Final in the 25th, where the Croatian representative for Eurovision 2024 will be seleceted. The hosts for the competition will be Duško Ćurlić, Maja Ciglenečki and Anja Cerar.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Croatian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: HRT Dora

Norway: Artists ask for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2024!

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Almost 300 Norwegian artists have signed a petition against Israel’s participation in Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö. “We want NRK to take more responsibility”, says Marthe Valle, one of the singers included in the petition.

Ane Brun, Aurora and the group Karpe are some of those  who have signed. In total there are 293 artists that have signed the petition. Some familiar names that have competed in MGP can be found in the list, like Ulrikke Brandstorp, Maria Haukaas Mittet, Jørn Hoel and Åge Aleksandersen as well.

Aleksandersen took part in MGP 1980, in what is considered the best MGP final in history. He says that it was a matter of course for him to sign this petition:

“It means so much to me. I have made songs that address this issue. And I think what is happening is so ugly, and it hurts me and many others. Therefore, it was right for me to contribute with my voice.”

The petition states that Israel’s violation of intenational law, is now normalized because there are no concequences:

“For now, the EBU says that it will not ban Israel from this year’s final, as it did with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This is selective morality and politics from a union that claims to be apolitical.”

Singers Marthe Valle and Μarte Wulff are the initiators of this petition, and they say they want NRK to take responsibility and put some pressure to the EBU:

“We wish we didn’t have to do this. We wish NRK took responsibility. But then the point of this appeal is to show that there are many voices who now say that Israel cannot be a participant in Eurovision. All the time we are selective about when we should promote morality and politics, and when we choose to overlook it. We cannot pretend that this should be an arena for dialogue and solidarity, when Israel kills several hundred children a day.”

In this list you can see the names of all the artists that have signed the petition.
NRK MGP Demonstration against Israel

NRK MGP Demonstration against Israel

Despite this whole situation in Norway, NRK, the country’s public broadcaster, has announced that they are not going to boycott Israel’s participation in Eurovision this year.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Norwegian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: nrk.no

Iceland: First favourite to win Eurovision 2024 according to the bookies!

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It took Iceland around 24 hours to climb to the top of the betting table in terms of the likelihood of winning Eurovision 2024. The news that among the candidates in Söngvakeppnin 2024, the country’s national final for the contest, there is a Palestinian artist among them, has sent Iceland’s odds plummeting and now the possibility of its first ever Eurovision win is more likely than ever, at least according to betting companies.

The announcement by Icelandic public broadcaster RUV that among the 10 candidates for the semi-finals of Söngvakeppnin 2024, there is also Palestinian Bashar Murad, brought a strong shock to the Bookers. Iceland may be thinking about their participation in Eurovision 2024 and even “threatening” to pull out of the contest, but the message sent out by the participation of a Palestinian artist in the country’s national final and Iceland‘s eventual representation in Malmö by him, is apparently enough in its favour to put it at the top of the betting in terms of the possibility of winning Eurovision 2024.

So Iceland have now passed superpower Ukraine who have been at the top for days now, and the UK who via BBC and with their superstar Olly Alexander as their representative are aiming very high this year, leaving them in second and third place respectively.

RUV revealed that they will make their final decision on whether or not to participate in the upcoming song contest after the end of Söngvakeppnin 2024, and in consultation with the winner. Iceland‘s national final concludes on March 2, so we will know then if Iceland will finally make it to this year’s competition or not.

Of course, in this year’s very fluid landscape, all of the above can easily be overturned. Either because Bashar Murad‘s song with which he will participate in the Icelandic national final will not be the expected one, or because the Palestinian artist will not win in Söngvakeppnin after all and will not be the one who will be nominated to represent Iceland in Malmö. In that case, everyone who rushed in the last few hours to put their money on a possible Icelandic victory will have blown their money.

The many swings we have seen at the top of the betting this year bode well for an exciting year where we will not know the winner early on, as has been the case in the past two seasons. Always, of course, under the condition that no one song will emerge as a standout and the betting companies will anoint it as the firm favourite, as happened with Stefania and Tattoo. We are probably heading towards a repeat of 2021, where things were not even clear in rehearsals, as we had 3-4 songs that were almost equally contested by bettors to win.

Do you think Iceland will be able to get their first win in May in Malmö? Tell us in the comments below!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Ireland: Two Eurosong’s contestants believe that Israel should withdraw from the Contest!

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The official entry for Ireland in Eurovision 2024 is scheduled to be revealed tonight. However, two contestants of Eurosong 2024, the Irish national final, believe that Israel should not be allowed to participate in Eurovision; at the same time, one of them has shared her thoughts of not representing Ireland in May in case she is the winner of Eurosong 2024.

Tonight Ireland is going to select its official entry through Euroson and “The Late Late Show“, nevertheless the two participants believe that the exact same case of Russia’s expulsion from the Contest, should be implemented here as well.

These two participants are Erica Cody and Bambie Thug, who perceive Israel’s participation as unaccepatable since the war of Gaza continues to be raged. More specifically, the former has stated:

We need to see the same energy that was given to Russia when they invaded Ukraine, it should be exact the same. I think it’s an absolute disgrace. This is meant to be a celebration of life and music, and acceptance and love.

Moreover, when Erica Cody was asked if she could consider the possibility of not competing at all in May if she wins tonight, she stated:

We will cross that bridge when we get to it but I think anybody who knows me and knows me morally over the last couple of years should know that I would never step into something like this with an ignorant head on my shoulders.

Erica Cody is the odds’ big favourite of victory tonight, and it would be of great interest to see what she will decide to do if she is the winner of Eurosong 2024.

The candidates for Ireland’s representation who are going to compete tonight at Eurosong 2024 are the following:

  1. Isabella Kearney – “Let Me Be the Fire”
  2. Bambie Thug – “Doomsday Blue”
  3.  JyellowL ft. Toshín – “Judas”
  4. Alisha – “Go Tobann” 
  5. Next in Line – “Love Like Us”
  6. Erica-Cody – “Love Me Like I Do”

The official entry of Ireland will be decided through an equal voting procedure among the public, an international jury and a jury present at the studio.

You can watch live Eurosong 2024 at 23.35 (Greece’s time) by clicking here.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for even more news regarding Ireland’s participation!

Source: The Journal

Italy: The stage for Sanremo 2024 has been revealed!

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RAI has released the stage of Sanremo 2024, which is ready to welcome the 30 artists from February 6 to 10.

Set designers are Gaetano and Maria Chiara Castelli. The idea behind the design of the scene is for flowers to bloom.

This year we wanted to rely on organic shapes, taking inspiration from a flower like the orchid and its petals, exaggerating its shapes, to also softly design the two lateral stairs, desired by Amadeus, from which they will descend the competing artists. The central part, however, will be automated and can be raised to become the “door” for conductors and guests towards the stage, under which the orchestra will find space.

Sanremo 2024 will be held from 6 to 10 February, with the winner having the right to represent Italy at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

 

Israel: The results of the 19th episode of HaKokhav Haba | Only six artists left!

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Yesterday 25/1, the 19th episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition), the talent show through which the artist who will raise the flag of Israel at Eurovision 2024 will be announced!

As we have already informed you, 35 artists passed the scope of the auditions, with 14 of them going to the second phase – the battles phase, and they will claim the representation of the country in Eurovision 2024!

In the 19th episode we watched duets of the candidates with well-known Israeli artists, with six contestants advancing to the next stage and one leaving the show. We remind you that the presenters of HaKokhav Haba are Assi Azar and Rotem Sela who have been in this position since 2014, while the members of the jury are Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar and Keren Pels with a new addition being Eden Hasson.

Seven contestants then appeared in front of an audience and a panel of judges, with the one with the lowest score leaving the show.

Or Cohen

Opening the night is Or Cohen, who continues to show great confidence on stage. Despite relatively mediocre comments from the judges, everyone votes for her. Or Cohen receives 94% and advances to the next phase.

Mika Moshe

Mika joins in with a duet with Netta. The voices of both match very well and this of course does not go unnoticed by the judges. All but one judge votes for her. With 86% she advances to the next phase.

Dor Shimoni

Dor insists on his familiar Mediterranean style and this is commented negatively by the judges, who would like him to try other styles, like the other contestants. With 79%, however, he advances to the next phase.

Eden Golan

Eden performs a Beatles song and proves that she can sing anything. The comments are once again demeaning to Eden. With 92% it proves that it is one of the big favorites for the victory.

Shay Tamino

Shay’s performance divided the judges, with some saying it was her best on the show and two judges not liking it, voting her off. Finally with 72% it will be in the next episode as well.

Leanne Byrne

Leanne’s choice of song and performance did not convince most of the panel. In the end, with 56%, she will manage to qualify for the next phase.

Arik Sinai

Although Arik received generally positive reviews, he did not convince the audience and the jury with his performance. With 51% he was the one who was eliminated from the continuation of the show.

The six artists who are still in the running to represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 are:

Leanne Byrne
Eden Golan
Shay Tamino
Or Cohen
Mika Moshe
Dor Shimoni

Through HaKokhav HaBa, Israel managed to advance to the final of our favorite competition every year from 2015 to 2020, while in 2018 Netta was also the winner of Eurovision with the song “Toy”.

This year Israel at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool was represented by the explosive Noa Kirel and the song “Unicorn” who gave the Middle Eastern country the third place in the Grand Final by collecting 362 points.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Estonia: Over 300,000 viewers watched the Eesti Laul 2024 Semi-Final shows

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A total of 344,000 viewers watched at least 15 minutes of the broadcasts of the semi-final of Eesti Laul 2024.

ERR reported that last week more than 300,000 people watched part of the broadcasts that made up the coverage of the Eesti Laul 2024 semi-final by broadcasters. Across all TV networks ETV, ETV+ and TV2, a total of 344,000 people watched at least 15 minutes of one of the broadcasts.

During the live broadcast of the semi-final on Saturday evening, an average of 179,000 viewers watched the show on ETV, while another 10,000 viewers watched it on ETV+. In addition, 10,000 people watched the live broadcast on online platforms and radio.

Two accompanying broadcasts were also aired as part of the Eesti Laul 2024 semi-final. An average of 101,000 people watched Eesti Laul 2024. In the European Capital of Culture in Tartu, 97,000 viewers watched the Pink Carpet broadcast preceding the semi-final.

The results of the semi-final were as follows (qualifiers in bold):

  1. 5miinust ja Puuluup – “(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi”
  2. Inga – “No Dog On a Leash”
  3. Ollie – “My Friend”
  4. Yonna  – “I Don’t Know About You”
  5. Peter Põder – “Korra veel”
  6. Cartoon and Ewert Sundja – “Oblivion” 
  7. Traffic – “Wunderbar” 
  8. Ingmar –“Dreaming”
  9. Anet Vaikmaa – “Serotoniin” 
  10. Laura – “Here’s Where I Draw the Line”
  11. Sofia Rubina – “Be Good”
  12. Antsud – “Vetevaim”
  13. Silver Jusilo – “Lately”
  14. Cecilia –“FOMO”
  15. Ewert and The Two Dragons – “Hold Me Now”

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest news regarding Estonia’s participation in Eurovision 2024!

Ireland: The running order of Eurosong 2024!

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Éirevision has announced the line-up for the Irish national Eurosong 2024 final, which will take place tonight at 23:35 and will run for two hours.

Irish broadcaster RTE has given Éirevision the line-up for Eurosong 2024, the Irish selection for the Eurovision 2024 song contest. Patrick Kielty will present the Irish final, while Marty Whelan will be backstage talking to the artists. Tonight’s show on The Late Late Show will be opened by Isabella Kearney, while Erica-Cody will close the contest.

The running order is as follows:

  1. Isabella Kearney – “Let Me Be the Fire”
  2. Bambie Thug – “Doomsday Blue”
  3.  JyellowL ft. Toshín – “Judas”
  4. Alisha – “Go Tobann” 
  5. Next in Line – “Love Like Us”
  6. Erica-Cody – “Love Me Like I Do”

Ireland’s representative at Eurovision 2024 will be decided equally by public vote, the vote of an international jury and a jury in the studio.

Watch Eurosong 2024 live here.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest news on Ireland’s participation in Eurovision 2024!