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Iceland: All the details of Söngvakeppnin 2025!

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Iceland‘s national broadcaster, RÚV, has made official announcements for this year’s Söngvakeppnin, the national competition through which the country’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is selected.

Benedikt Valsson, Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir, and Fannar Sveinsson are going to present Söngvakeppnin 2025. They are no strangers to presenting the Icelandic contest as Benedikt and Fannar were presenters in 2020 and Guðrún in 2016.

As we mentioned in our previous article (here), until recently, only the date of the first semi-final of Söngvakeppnin 2025 was known. Now, the full program of the Icelandic competition has been announced, which is as per below:

  • First Semi-Final – Saturday 8 February
  • Second Semi-Final – Saturday 15 February
  • Final – Saturday 22 February

As in previous years, five songs are going to compete in each semi-final. Three songs from each semi-final advance to the final, which is going to consist of six songs instead of the five that were used in previous editions of Söngvakeppnin. In previous editions of the Icelandic song contest, the fifth entry to the final was determined by RÚV itself.

Additionally, in previous years the top two songs in the Söngvakeppnin final would compete against each other again in an additional round where only the public voted to determine the representative of the land of ice and fire. This process was abandoned for this year’s contest. The winner and therefore Iceland’s representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be the one who comes first in the combination of the public vote and the vote of an international jury consisting of 7 members, with a 50% – 50% system.

Rúnar Freyr Gíslason, the executive producer of Söngvakeppnin, explained that this approach is used in both Sweden’s Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest itself.

“We are very excited to adopt the Swedish method with this new format and believe it will create an even more thrilling competition.”

The competition returns to RVK Studios in Gufunes in the northeastern part of Reykjavík, which also hosted the competition in 2022 and 2023. There will be a significant upgrade in direction and production.

Selma Björnsdóttir, who represented Iceland twice at Eurovision (1999 2nd place, 2005 elimination from the final, 16th place in the semi-final), will return as a member of the artistic team. She has directed shows all over the world and has worked on shows such as Ísland got talent, Idol and Allir geta dansað. She will be joined by Thomas Benstem, a Swedish director, choreographer and graphic designer who has directed Melodifestivalen, So You Think You Can Dance, the MTV Music Awards, Eurovision and other major events. The team will also be joined by choreographer Baldvin Alan Thorarensen.

On Friday, January 17, the presentation of the artists and songs that will take part in Söngvakeppnin 2025 is scheduled at 20:40 CET through the special TV show “Lögin í Söngvakeppninni 2025”. For this year’s bid for the Icelandic representation, 110 entries were submitted to the Icelandic competition.

Source: RÚV

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Finland: New clues about the candidates of UMK 2025!

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The countdown to the reveal of the artists who are going to participate in the 2025 Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), Finland’s national competition for the Eurovision Song Contest, continues. With five days left until the list of artists who will claim the representation of the country at Eurovision 2025 in Basel on 13, 15 and 17 May is revealed, the national broadcaster, Yle, has made a third cryptic post on Instagram. You can read more about the first two posts in the article below.

Countdown to UMK 2025: Clues about Finland’s national final candidates revealed

The third post entails new clues related to one of the artists who is going to compete in UMK 2025.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη UMK (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

  • Mary J. Blige: Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and businesswoman. Her presence in the enigmatic post may indicate the style of the song, which may be in a similar style to Mary Jane Blige’s songs, or the artist’s profile may be similar to that of the American artist. Could it also indicate an artist from the United States? We’ll see.
  • Great Sphinx of Giza: The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the most famous monuments in the world. The presence of the monument in the post has multiple interpretations. The Sphinx as an ancient mythological creature was known for its riddles/enigmas, so it may refer to the title of the song “Enigma”!?!?. The song could also make references to personalities of ancient Egypt, such as Cleopatra or a Pharaoh. Finally, it may indicate the artist’s relationship with Egypt themselves.
  • Colourful flowers: The presence of flowers hides various meanings and may be one of the messages of the song. If we can group the meanings then the flowers may indicate 1) love and romance, 2) hope and new beginnings, 3) futility and transience, 4) spirituality and purity, 5) sadness and farewell, 6) friendship and joy.
  • Husky: The Husky dog ​​breed fits the profile of northern countries like Finland. Among other things, the presence of a Husky dog ​​may indicate endurance and perseverance, freedom and independence, but also resilience in difficult situations and circumstances.
  • Water: Water is a dominant element in the geography of Finland. It is no coincidence that Finland has the title of “Land of a Thousand Lakes”. As a symbol, water symbolizes life and rebirth, purification and cleansing, emotions, transformation and change, but also destruction.

On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, the UMK 2025 artists are going to be revealed. From January 9 to January 17, 2025, each song and music video will be released one at a time. One month later, on February 8, UMK 2025 is scheduled to take place in Nokia Arena, in Tampere.

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Serbia: One disqualification from Pesma za Evroviziju 2025!

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A few hours before the end of 2024, last-minute developments come to us from Serbia regarding the national competition Pesma za Evroviziju through which the country is going to select its participation for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, which is scheduled to take place in Basel, Switzerland, on May 13, 15 and 17, 2025.

According to the country’s national broadcaster, RTS, the band Buč Kesidi was disqualified from the Pesma za Evroviziju 2025 as their song “Tužne ljubavi” had been performed at the Sea Star Festival in the city of Umag, Croatia in May 2024. The void of this exclusion will be filled by the band Maršali with the song “Po policama sećanja”.

The updated list of the 30 contestants of Pesma za Evroviziju 2025 is as per below:

  • Maršali – Po policama sećanja
  • Igor Simić – Ne mogu
  • Tropico band – AI
  • Tam – Durum durum
  • Džet Vega – Rolerkoster
  • Mila – Gaia
  • Dušan Kurtić – Boginja
  • Harem Girls – Aladin
  • Mimi Mercedez – Turbo žurka
  • Dram – Vanja
  • Ivana Štrbac – La La La
  • Milan Nikolić i banda – Storia del amor
  • Bojana x David – Šesto čulo
  • Iskaz – Trendseter
  • Tanja Banjanin – Ja sam bolja
  • Princ – Mila
  • Biber – Da mi se vratiš
  • Nataša Kojić – Up and Down
  • Kruz Roudi – Sve i odmah
  • SEDLAR – Oči boje zemlje
  • Jelena Pajić – Kameleon
  • Nikola Antonijević Anton – U grad
  • AltCtrl – Mamurna jutra
  • Filarri – Meet and Greet
  • GIFTS & ROSES – Do kraja vremena
  • Maja Nikolić – Žali srce moje
  • Ohajo – MaMa
  • Ana & The Changes – Brinem
  • Vukayla – MASK
  • Vampiri – Tebi treba neko kao ja

We remind you that Pesma za Evroviziju consists of two Semi-Finals and a Grand Final. The dates of the Semi-Finals and the Final are:

  • First Semi-Final – 25 February
  • Second Semi-Final – 27 February
  • Final – 1 March

Source: RTS

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Israel: The song for Eurovision 2025 to be selected by a professional committee!

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Israel‘s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, to be performed by the winner of HaKokhav Haba, will be selected by a committee of professionals on behalf of the national broadcaster IPBC and Keshet 12. Song submissions will be open to distinguished artists who will receive an invitation from the committee of professionals.

IPBC and Keshet 12 have begun contacting 120 artists from all genres of Israeli music, selected by a professional committee, to propose songs to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel. The submission process will be open until February 2, 2025.

The IPBC stressed to the creators that the song for the Eurovision Song Contest can be in any language, but it must contain some sentences in Hebrew. An applicant creator will be allowed to submit a song alone or with other artists, but all but one of the creators must have Israeli citizenship.

The jury, which will consist of professionals from IPBC and Keshet, who have musical and television knowledge and experience, will then meet. The jury is expected to listen to the songs and select the most suitable one.

The selected song will be arranged, recorded and a video clip will be created in order to be presented in March 2025 in a special televised show.

The return of the “Hurricane” team

Two of the creators of this year’s Israeli entry “Hurricane”, performed by Eden Golan last May at Eurovision 2024, are set to participate in the song submission process for Eurovision 2025. These two members of the “Hurricane” team are Keren Peles and Avi Ohayon.

https://youtu.be/K60BWlEhtAA

The professional committee

The special professional committee will consist of 7 members:

  • The chairman of the committee – the director of the IPBC music stations.
  • Two representatives of the radio – music editors to be selected by the chairman of the committee.
  • Two representatives of the television – the director of the IPBC entertainment and culture department and one more representative to be selected by her.
  • Two representatives of Keshet.

The vote of each member of the committee will be in accordance with professional criteria, such as: the quality and originality of the lyrics and melody, the suitability of the song for the representative artist, the suitability of the song for the Eurovision Song Contest, the chances of the song succeeding in the Eurovision Song Contest, the suitability for representing the company as a public broadcaster, the overall impression the song leaves and other relevant criteria as decided by the jury. The proposed songs will be played and their lyrics will be presented to the committee anonymously, without revealing the identity of the song creators to the jury members. Creators participating in the selection process for the Israeli song will not be able to participate in writting/comppsing a song for another country for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.

According to the regulations, if the committee does not find a suitable song, it may publish an invitation to the general public for additional songs, select a song that was publicly published after September 1, or select a song from other songs submitted to the company for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest between the years 2022-2024.

Sources: euromix / euromix

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Iceland: The first semi-final of Söngvakeppnin 2025 on 8th of February 2025!

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The national broadcaster of Iceland, RÚV, through its television programme which is avaialble on its official website, seems to have set the date of at least the first semi-final of Söngvakeppnin, the national song contest through which the nation of fire and ice chooses its representative at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The information on the national song contest of Iceland for the upcoming Eurovision 2025 seems to be released in dribbles. Without any official update/announcement from RÚV, anyone who looks at the television schedule available on its website will find that the date for at least the first semi-final has been set for Saturday, February 8, 2025.

Regarding the second semi-final and the final of Söngvakeppnin, there is no information yet, but based on the way the Icelandic competition is conducted, they will most likely be held on Saturdays, February 15 and 22, respectively.

Regarding the artists who will compete for the Icelandic representation, as we mentioned in a previous article (here), the announcement is scheduled for Friday, January 17, 2025 at 20:40 CET through the special broadcast “Lögin í Söngvakeppninni 2025”. And this information was only made known through a search in the broadcaster’s television schedule.

This year, Hera Björk represented Iceland for the second time with the song “Scared of Heights”, but this time the land of fire and ice did not manage to reach the grand final as it finished in the 15th place of the first semi-final with 3 points.

https://youtu.be/VChBgcycVl8

Source: RÚV

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Israel: All the highlights from the eighteenth episode of HaKokhav Haba!

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Last Saturday, December 21, the 18th episode of HaKokhav Haba, the song contest through which Israel will select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, which will take place in Basel, Switzerland, on May 13, 15 and 17, 2025, was broadcast.

The next phase of HaKokhav Haba began with 18 contestants, which is the duet phase. Five duets competed in this episode, where one of the contestants left the competition at the end of the competition process.

Hosts and Judging Panel

Returning to host the show are Rotem Sela and Assi Azar. Azar has been involved with HaKokhav Haba since its inaugural edition in 2013 and previously hosted the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Sela joined as a host in the second season and has been a presenter ever since.

The judging panel for this season includes a diverse group of music industry veterans:

    • Assaf Amdursky
    • Keren Peles
    • Shiri Maimon
    • Eden Hason
    • Ran Danker
    • Itay Levi

The duets

Keller and Nati Levian

Keller and Nati performed Rihanna’s “Stay.” All judges gave this first couple a positive vote, reaching 94%, thus setting the bar very high for the other four couples.

Udi Schneider and Yuval Gold

Udi and Yuval performed Osher Cohen’s “Love.” Two (Assaf and Itay) of the six judges voted against it, resulting in a score of 68%.

Red Band feat. Moran Aharonia and Amit Sadeh

Red Band and Moran Aharonia with Amit Sadeh performed “I See Red” by Everybody Loves An Outlaw. All members of the jury voted in favor, and this duet reached 91%.

Uri Saban and Ilai Avidani

Uri Saban and Ilai Avidani performed Moshe Peretz’s “Signs of Time.” Two (Assaf and Keren) voted against the duet’s performance, narrowing it down to 63%.

Valerie Hamati and Daniel Weiss

Valerie Hamati and Daniel Weiss performed Israel’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, “Hurricane” by Eden Golan. All members of the jury voted in favor, and the pair reached 95%, securing their place in the next stage of the contest.

At the end of the competition, the duet of Uri Saban and Ilai Avidani had the lowest percentage, 63%, and the judges decided that Uri Saban’s journey ended here.

Last year’s winner of HaKokhav Haba and thus the country’s representative at Eurovision 2024 was Eden Golan. Eden Golan, with her song “Hurricane”, finished in fifth place in the final ranking.

Source: euromix

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Denmark: More details on Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2025!

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Additional information has been made available regarding the selection of the eight contestants for the 2025 Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, Denmark’s national competition through which the country selects its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest!

In an interview, Erik Struve Hansen, DR’s (the public broadcaster) director for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2025, spoke about how the broadcaster selected the eight contestants, their ambitions for Eurovision, and how they handle the psychological pressure of participating in such a big event as Eurovision. He also added relevant details about the participants, the genres of the songs, and their creation for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2025.

When asked about the songs, Hansen stated that there was more attention to variety and diversity in order to achieve a good result at Eurovision 2025.

“I am super satisfied. We have an absolutely amazing field of songs! I will be proud to take each and every one of them to Switzerland, and believe that every one can get us to the final. We have looked at how we can optimize the songs so that they both do well in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix and have potential in Eurovision.”

The artists and their songs will be revealed and released at a press conference on February 6, but Hansen has given some clues. All eight artists and songs have already been selected by DR, and they include a song in Danish, a former Danish Eurovision representative, and a song described as “the biggest ballad.”

Many songs were created in three different camps with songwriters from Denmark, Sweden and Norway, while others came from the open selection (DR’s upload database). In general, the songwriters and producers have a large list of hits outside of Eurovision, both in Denmark and abroad. Hansen also explained that this year, DR had the first choice of songs and did not have to look for entries that were not selected in other countries’ national selections.

In terms of genres, Hansen explained that DR tried to select both songs that represent the classic Eurovision style and new global genres that have never been included in the DMGP.

The voting model will remain the same as last year, with public voting and a jury consisting of music experts including international representatives and Danish Eurovision experts. Ole Tøpholm will be responsible for the careful selection of the jury members.

Finally, Hansen hopes for a place in the top 10 at the final of the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest and dreams of a victory. However, he knows that performing on the international stage is not always easy. That is why DR is also focusing on preparing the Danish winner for the mental pressure of Eurovision, with psychological support and press advice.

The Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2025 will take place at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, on Saturday 1 March 2025.

Source: Good Evening Europe

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Portugal: The semi-finals distribution of the composers of Festival da Canção 2025!

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The semi-finals distribution of the composers of Festival da Canção 2025 was announced!

The national broadcaster of the country, RTP, announced the distribution of the 20 composers in the two semi-finals of Festival da Canção for the 2025 edition, the national song contest through which Portugal chooses its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest!

The distribution of the composers is as per below:

First Semi-Final

  1. Margarida Campelo
  2. JOSH
  3. Capital da Bulgária
  4. Xico Gaiato
  5. Jéssica Pina
  6. Beato
  7. Bluay
  8. Marco Rodrigues
  9. Tiago Sampaio
  10. Peculiar

Second Semi-Final

  1. A Cantadeira
  2. Luca Argel
  3. HENKA
  4. Diana Vilarinho
  5. Inês Marques Lucas
  6. EU.CLIDES
  7. Bombazine
  8. Napa
  9. Emmy Curl
  10. Fernando Daniel

Festival da Canção 2025 Dates

Festival da Canção 2025 will follow a familiar format, with two semi-finals leading to the Grand Final. The dates are as follows:

  • First Semi-Final: February 22, 2025
  • Second Semi-Final: March 1, 2025
  • Grand Final: March 8, 2025

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San Marino: Changes in the name of the national contest and the date of the final!

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Pivotal changes were announced today regarding the process that is followed in San Marino for the selection of their entry in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland!

Despite the fact that the auditions have commenced since September, today the national broadcaster of the Most Serene Republic, RTV, announced through its official account on X, two big changes. The first big change has to do with the rebranding of the national song contest Una Voce per San Marino. The new name of the national contest is San Marino Song Contest! The second change has to do with the date of the final of San Marino Song Contest. Initially, the final was scheduled to take place on 22 February 2025, but it was postponed for 8 March 2025.

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Lithuania: Changes in the lineup of Eurovizija.LT 2025!

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Two days ago, Lithuania’s national broadcaster, LRT, released the list of participants and their songs for Eurovizija.LT 2025, the national song contest through which the Baltic country will select its entry for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland.

However, today LRT announced a change in the list of participants for Eurovizija.LT 2025. Specifically, Evelina Gancewska, who was to perform the song “Aurora”, has been replaced by Austėja Lukaitė, who will perform the song “Kas esu be tavės?”. The reason for this change is that the song “Aurora” was also submitted for the Croatian national contest Dora 2025, where it was accepted, and will be performed by Teenah.

So, the updated lineup in as per below:

  1. Aistay „Meile sapnavau”
  2. Amari „Sirens Call”
  3. Amoralu „Freedom”
  4. Anyanya „Running Out Of Time”
  5. Austėja Lukaitė “Kas esu be tavęs?”
  6. „Black Biceps” „Visaip man reik”
  7. Donata „Empower”
  8. „Euften” „Goodbye Hell”
  9. Ewa „Tell me lie”
  10. Freya Alley „Lalala”
  11. Gebrasy „Whole”
  12. Goya „After Storm”
  13. Godo Yorke „<3 neparodai”
  14. „Halummi” „The Flame”
  15. „Hansanova” „Leilydo”
  16. leva Zasimauskaite „Don’t You Ever Leave Me”
  17. Indre ir Laimonas „Namo”
  18. Jokübas Jankauskas „Far Away”
  19. Joseph June „Ko man nesakei?”
  20. Juste Baradulinaite „Tired”
  21. Justinas „Alright”
  22. Káro „Love Bug”
  23. „Katarsis” „Tavo akys”
  24. Liepa „Ar mylétum”
  25. Lion Ceccah „Drobe”
  26. LIT „You’re Not Alone”
  27. Mantas Ben „Svajones po 12″
  28. Mario Junes „Bury Me”
  29. Matas Ligeika „Saule”
  30. Matt Len „Not Alone”
  31. MeidE „Gyvates”
  32. Noy „Just Take Me On A Date”
  33. Ofelija „Sirdele”
  34. Petunija „l salduma”
  35. „Queens of Roses” “Taip!”
  36. Rüta Budreckaite „Tai kur namai”
  37. Siga ,Walking With My Shadow”
  38. Sophie Ali „The Bluest Bell”
  39. „Sun Francisco” „Atsimerkt”
  40. „The Ditties” „Zui Zu Bi”
  41. Thomas G „Highest Goals”
  42. Tomas Dirgela „Pa§ok”
  43. Ustin „You’re The One”
  44. Viktorija Faith „Scary Beautiful”
  45. Vilija „Liesti negalima”

“Eurovizija.LT” 2025 will kick off on January 11th with the first of five semi-finals, each featuring nine participants. Only two acts from each semi-final will qualify for the Grand Final.

The Grand Final will take place at Žalgiris Arena in Kaunas on 15th of February 2025. Unlike the earlier stages, where jury opinions will play a role, the Grand Final winner will be determined solely by public televoting, ensuring that the Lithuanian public has the final say in their Eurovision representative.

Artists have until December 20th to withdraw their participation. After this date, the lineup will be considered final.

Source: LRT

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