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Israel: Everything that happened in the seventh HaKokhav Haba episode!

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The seventh episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition), the talent show through which Israel‘s representative for Eurovision 2024 will be selected, aired on Monday, December 18!

Four more artists qualified for the next phase of HaKokhav Haba.

In episode seven, five auditions aired and four more artists went through to the next round. Assi Azar and Rotem Sela, who have been hosting HaKokhav Haba since 2014, are the show’s presenters. The jury is made up of Eden Hasson, Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar, and Keren Pels.

In total, 24 artists have qualified for the second phase of the contest, with one of them ending up as the Israeli representative in Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

Mika Curtis

Mika is 17 years old, and even though her parents did not concent, she took part in HaKokhav Haba, aiming for the win and the stage of Eurovision.  She offered an excellent performance with great pronunciation and feeling. With the vote of almost all the judges, Mika manages to get the 87% of the votes and qualifies for the next phase.

Israel Levy

Israel is 22 years old with many years in music studies. Despite his great voice, the judges weren’t sure if he was the most capable for Eurovision. With a percentage of 78%, he qualifies for the next phase of the show.

Eitan Giorno

Eitan immigrated from France in 2015. He didn’t have an easy childhood as he faced many antisemetic behaviours. With judges being excited about his performance and telling him that he is one of the favourites to win this season, he qualifies with a percentage of 90%.

Romi Netz

Romi is 16 years old and is of a musical family. Despite her young age she is very confident on stage, however, the judges are doubting that she is ready to stand on the stage of Eurovision. With a percentage of 78%, she qualifies for to the next phase.

In the upcoming episode—the airdate of which is still unknown— additional auditions will be broadcasted. Israel qualified for the finals every year from 2015 to 2020 through HaKokhav HaBa, and Netta won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 with the song “Toy”.

Israel was represented this year by Noa Kirel and the song “Unicorn”, which came in third place with 362 points overall.

Stay tuned on EurovisionFun to stay up to date on all the latest news about the world’s largest music competition!

Source: euromix.co.il

Sweden: A collaboration Smash Into Pieces made might be in breach of SVT rules?

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“Smash Into Pieces initiates a collaboration with Keep Sweden Tidy“. That was a press release that the sanitation organization sent out recently. The press release also mentioned that the band has participated in this year’s Melodifestivalen and “finished in an impressive third place” and since then “continued to make an impression”.

This may be in conflict with SVT‘s rules for how artists may use the Melodifestivalen brand in other contexts. Earlier this year, the project manager for Melodifestivalen, Anders Wistbacka, says to Resumé after they asked questions about Smash Into Pieces‘ collaboration with Keep Sweden Tidy:

“The participants have the right to do whatever they want, as long as there is no connection to Melodifestivalen. Any violations must be examined on a case-by-case basis and we will now contact the parties concerned to investigate this case”

What is a connection to Melodifestivalen? Is a mention in a press release enough? It has become increasingly difficult for SVT to stick to its original rule that artists in Melodifestivalen are not allowed to engage commercially in connection with the festival. Prior to this year’s Melodifestivalen, SVT itself wrote that: “SVT seems to have become more generous in its interpretation of the regulations for Melodifestivalen artists’ advertising assignments.” Then Aftonbladet‘s reporter Tobbe Ek explained the change as follows:

“20 years ago, artists’ advertising collaborations were a controversial topic. SVT was careful not to mix with companies with Melodifestvialen’s participating artists. Nowadays, there are many artists who get their main income through commercial collaborations and since Melodifestivalen wants to have the hottest artists, the regulations have had to be interpreted more openly.”

For Resumé, Anders Wistbacka clarifies the relaxed rules:

“Participating artists are not under a waiting period for their participation in Melodifestivalen. This means that it’s okay to do advertising collaborations. However, the artists are not allowed to link their participation in Melodifestivalen to commercial contexts. The song itself is under a 30-day waiting period after the last participation in Melodifestivalen. It is impossible for us to continuously control all artists’ activities outside Melodifestivalen, but we always act when situations come to our attention.”

Lisa Possne Frisell, Head of Communications at Keep Sweden Tidy, writes in an email to Resumé:

“We have been in dialogue with SVT and understood our miswording in the message as the partnership is not dependent or should be reflected in their participation in Melodifestivalen. So we would like to correct the design.”

Smash Into Pieces will take part in Heat 1, Saturday 3 February 2024, in Malmö Arena, with the song“Heroes Are Calling”. In 2023, they participated with the song “Six Feet Under” and placed third.

Source: Resumé

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest news regarding Melodifestivalen, the most loved national selection process!

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Cyprus: RIK and artistic team are in feverish preparations!

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Τhe Cypriot team is doing some major preparations, as they want to have everything prepared ahead of time for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, wanting to present the most competitive and professional entry possible, once more.

The Song is Reaching Its Final Form

The song with which Silia Kapsis wil represent Cyprus in Eurovision 2024 is almost ready to shine, as its just some steps before the Final Mixing. The previous weeks, Dimitris Kontopoulos finalised the production of the song, in a famous studio abroad, along his colleagues. The song has become even more dynamic, in order to make the most out of Silia’s dancing and vocal skills, and make the greatest impression on stage.

Kelly Sweeney and Guy Groove started making the Choreography

The famous choreographers that RIK selected to be on Silia’s side in the contest, have already received the song and are now in a creative phase. According to our information, they were excited by the song, and by having already worked with Silia in the past, they know what she is capable of, so they’re making a choreography of great demands, in order to make the track shine on stage.

Right after Christmas, Silia is going to Los Angeles, where she is going to stay for about a week, for the first rehearsals with her choreographers.

Impressive LEDs for Silia’s performance

Except for the choreography, the artistic team is preparing the LEDs that will accompany Silia’s performance in our screens. The concept is already in the making, and in the coming days, the Ukrainian company that also made the LEDs of Stefania and Amanda in the past, will be in charge of developing everything.

What we can say, as of now, is that the LEDs will be a major part in Silia’s performance and we are sure that even the most skeptical viewer will be mesmerised by the result.

What’s Coming next?

Immediately after her trip to Los Angeles, Silia Kapsis will return to Cyprus for some interviews, but also to shoot the music vdeo, which thiswill take place exclusively on the island this time. After the end of the filming of the music video, she is coming for a permanent stay in Greece, where she will make some more appearences in the media of our country. The song is expected to be released at the end of February/beginning of March, of course through RIK.

Silia will stay in Athens until the beginning of May, for the latest rehearsals until the contest.

The Cypriot delegation continues with a well-organized plan, their preparations for Eurovision 2024, always keeping a low profile, but hoping that it will manage to impress and find themselves even higher in the ranking table, higher than the 12th place, of the impressive Andrew Lambrou last year.

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

United Kingdom: Rylan Clark comments “Eurovision Song Contest UK 2025”! | January 4 the release of the song?

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Last night, BBC announced that the Olly Alexander will represent the United Kingdom at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö.

Specifically, Olly revealed the news during the Grand Final of BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday 16 December to a delighted studio audience and to the millions of viewers watching at home.

A while ago Rylan Clark, who had provided the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals commentary on BBC One with Scott Mills and hosted the grand final commentary on BBC Radio Two last May, took to X to comment on the selection of Olly Alexander as the UK representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden.

The song is co-written by Danny Harle, who has written with Charli XCX and Dua Lipa, and the artist himself.

This comment is really hyping the entire fandom up, to such an extent that they are hunting on Easter eggs on the video posted by Olly!

According to Lucy Percy and Wiwibloggs, there are a couple of Easter eggs to look out for:

Numbers one and four

These numbers aren’t immediately obvious, but the fact that one and four can be found more than once throughout the background might be a proof that these are a clue. Normally new releases are on a Friday in the UK and January 4 is a Thursday. Could it be something else important announced on that date?

La

A sticker on the London phone booth reads “La“. In the Channel 4 show called “It’s A Sin” where Olly starred, a large group of friends live together in a house and greet each other by saying “La!” to each other. Olly was nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award and a BAFTA Award (the British Emmy Awards, basically) for his portrayal of the young queer character living through late 80s Britain.

Olly hugging himself

X user @corr1e noticed something key hiding away. In the image, on the pathway Olly is seen to be hugging another one of him. Could this mean the song is about self-love, or self-acceptance?

Several emojis

There are plenty of mixed emotions emojis stuck on the phone box. Could it point to the song being about mixed emotions?

Could it be that Rylan has already listened to the song? Let’s be patient and we will see in the next few weeks.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is organized in collaboration with the city of Malmö and will be broadcast from Malmö Arena on Tuesday 7 May (semi-final 1), Thursday 9 May (semi-final 2) and Saturday 11 May (final) after Loreen won for a second time in Liverpool with the song “Tattoo“.

Source: Wiwibloggs

What do you think about the speculations on the UK entry? Have you managed to spot any other Easter eggs on the photo?

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United Kingdom: “The song is not a ballad!” | Olly Alexander speaks at the BBC!

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Last night, BBC announced that the Olly Alexander will represent the United Kingdom at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö.

Specifically, Olly revealed the news during the Grand Final of BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday 16 December to a delighted studio audience and to the millions of viewers watching at home.

The star later on backstage at Strictly Come Dancing, minutes after revealing live on air that he would be singing for the UK at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, he spoke to BBC about it! He kept it a secret for about two months and adds:

“I’ve known for about two months. It’s been really tough to keep it secret.”

But Olly is actually a massive Eurovision fan and comments on that:

“It goes right back to being a kid and watching the show with my family – ordering pizza and spending all night in front of the TV watching this insane, amazing show. It’s a bit like a spiritual homecoming for me because I love Eurovision so much. I love the theatrics, the drama. There’s such an amazing chaos of different musical styles and performers. You get so much on one night. It’s just so fun and camp.”

On the song he reveals that the song is a really good one and that he co-wrote it with Danny Harle, who has written with Charli XCX and Dua Lipa:

“I wrote the song with Danny Harle, and it’ll be coming next year. And it’s really good. That’s definitely the vibe. It’s gonna be electronic, something you can dance to. But yeah, I can’t say much more than that. I mean, it wasn’t gonna be a ballad. Or maybe it could have been a ballad. I love a ballad. Am I saying too much now? It’s not a ballad.”

Seemingly, BBC is taking it really seriously by announcing it so early this year. Olly makes it clear that he will be touring around Europe to promote the song, possible in most of the Eurovision pre-parties:

“I can’t wait to get out there and meet the fans and everyone else taking part. It’s going to be the wildest experience of my life.”

Who is Olly Alexander?

The 33 year-old Olly Alexander is a singer and actor from England. He is best known for his work as the lead singer of Years & Years, one of the UK’s most successful groups and as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series “It’s a Sin”. Alexander has been multi-nominee in the Brit Awards as well as several other awards within the United Kingdom.

Earlier today, Danny L Harle also commented on the song with a post on his X (Twitter) account:

Who is Danny L Harle?

Born on October 20, 1988, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Danny L Harle is a visionary producer and electronic music artist whose groundbreaking contributions have left an indelible mark on the UK music scene. As a prominent member of the PC Music collective, Harle gained widespread recognition for his innovative fusion of hyperkinetic beats and infectious melodies. His collaboration with Carly Rae Jepsen on “Broken Flowers” in 2015 showcased his ability to seamlessly blend experimental electronic elements with mainstream pop, catapulting him to the forefront of the industry. Notably, Harle has extended his influence through collaborations with acclaimed artists such as Dua Lipa, when he co-produced Lipa’s insistent comeback song “Houdini” along with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Charli XCX, further solidifying his status as a sought-after producer and creative trailblazer in the dynamic landscape of electronic and pop music in the UK.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is organized in collaboration with the city of Malmö and will be broadcast from Malmö Arena on Tuesday 7 May (semi-final 1), Thursday 9 May (semi-final 2) and Saturday 11 May (final) after Loreen won for a second time in Liverpool with the song “Tattoo“.

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest!

Source: BBC

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Australia: Delta Goodrem talks about a possible Eurovision participation!

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Australia has been the youngest member of the Eurovision family since its debut back in 2015. During all those years multiple famous artists have represented the Land Down Under in the Contest with Jessica Mauboy, Dami Im and Kate Miller–Heidke being among those beloved singers.

One more beloved and world-wide famous singer and songwriter from Australia, however, who talked about a possible participation is Delta Goodrem, who recently returned from Europe where she performed for her world tour.

During her interview with Yahoo Lifestyle, she did not forget to express her love and admiration for Eurovision stating that:

I’ve always loved watching Eurovision, it’s such a great moment in time. I’ve always been just running in my own race and whatever I’m meant to sort of cross paths with I’ll move towards that if a time feels right, but not currently. But I always loved cheering on everybody because the music is always so great. I mean look what Måneskin did, it’s amazing.

Currently Delta Goodrem, who became a world-wide famous artist in 2003 with her debut album “Innocent Eyes”, is returning to her acting career working on her movie “Love Is In the Air” on Netflix, meaning that both 2023 and 2024 will be two of the busiest years of her life, without rejecting however the possibility of a future participation.

Until then take a look at her 2015 single “Wings”:

Source: Yahoo Lifestyle

What do you think ? Would you like to see Delta Goodrem participating in Eurovision Song Contest ? Let us know in the comment sectrion below!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for even more news that hold a Eurovision essence.

Ιreland: RTÉ is asked to boycott Eurovision 2024 because of Israel’s involvement!

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Following the reveal of the participants’ list in Eurovision 2024, several backlash was made regarding Israel’s participation regardless the ongoing war. Along with the petition on Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland asking RUV to boycott the contest, RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster, has also received a petition to withdraw from the contest too.

In fact, RTÉ has received approximately 465 emails calling to “immediately withdraw support and participation in the contest next year, if Israel is permitted to compete”.

According to this petition, in case Ireland participates in the contest alongside with Israel, it means that the nation supports the atrocities currently being carried out by Israel in Palestine.

Moreover, the protestors also state that Israel’s participation is a tool used by the country’s government in order to portray itself as a modern, liberal, forward-thinking state, despite the years of occupation and violence against Palestine.

It is also noted that the protestors are aware that Ireland’s boycott will not bring the end of the atrocities but it will serve as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people, calling the nation to use its voice as to condemn the actions of the Israeli government. Thus, it is similar to the message of solidarity sent by Europe to Ukraine in 2022 during the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The petition of the Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland to RÚV

A few days ago the Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland opposed the country’s participation in Eurovision 2024 unless Israel is disqualified. Via their petition they stated the following:

The board of FTT, an association of composers and lyricists, calls on RÚV not to participate in Eurovision in 2024 unless Israel is denied participation in the competition on the same grounds as Russia in the last competition. We all have a duty to take a stand against war and the killing of civilians and innocent children. We always have the choice not to put our name to such things, whether we are individuals or state institutions. We owe it to the nations that act with military force to not share with them in an event that is always characterized by joy and optimism.

The reaction of RTÉ and EBU

RTÉ takes into account the petition and the protests but it does not seem that neither RTÉ nor any other EBU member will take action, boycotting the contest. Specifically, an RTÉ’s spokesperson mentions:

RTÉ has always approached the event in the spirit in which it was founded – which is a non-political contest designed to unite audiences and bring people together through a shared love of music and entertainment.

and

RTÉ is not aware of any participating Public Service Broadcaster who is planning to boycott the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

Furthermore, EBU responds to the protestors stating that the Union itself serves as an alliance of public service media organizations and hence the Eurovision Song Contest is a competition for broadcasters – not governments.

Regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024 EBU, via a spokesperson, claims that:

We are a member-led organisation. The governing bodies of the European Broadcasting Union represent the membership.

These bodies have reviewed the participants list and agreed that the Israeli public broadcaster KAN meets all the competition rules and can participate in the Contest next year in Malmö, Sweden, alongside 36 other broadcasters.

Protests against Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024 are growing in Europe, though this is not the first time. When Tel Aviv hosted the contest in 2019, there were numerous petitions circulated throughout Europe in order to boycott the event, but none were successful.

 

What do you think? Will any of EBU members decide to boycott the 68th Eurovision Song Contest? Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!

Source: The Journal

Croatia: These are the artists and songs competing in Dora 2024!

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HRT, the public broadcaster of Croatia, announced the artists competing in Dora 2024, the country’s national final for Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

From the 200 songs submitted to the broadcaster, a jury panel evaluated and chose 24 artists to compete for the country’s representation in the national final taking place in February. Four more artists were chosen, in case someone could not, perform or withdraws.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Dora HRT (@dora.hrt)

 

The artists taking place in Dora 2024  are the following (in alphabetical order by their song title):

  1. A TAMBURITZA LULLABY – Alen Đuras
  2. BABAROGA – Let 3
  3. BABY, BABY – Noelle
  4. CAN WE TALK – Boris Štok
  5. Dijamanti – Natalie Balmix
  6. TO THE MOON – Pavel
  7. GASOLINE – Marcela
  8. HOW DO YOU LOVE ME – Erna
  9. LYING EYES – Vinko
  10. MORE – Lana Mandarić
  11. NEBO PLAČE – James Night
  12. I DON’T CRY FOR HER – Saša Lozar
  13. INVINCIBLE – Barbara Munjas
  14. Ne vjerujem ti – Lara Demarin
  15. SINCE I DREAM OF YOU – The Splitters
  16. ONE DAY – Misha
  17. PAMETNOM DOSTA – ET
  18. BLUE BUTTERFLY – Lu Dedić
  19. WAKE UP MY LIPS – Zsa Zsa
  20. SWEET TEARS, BITTER LOVE – Fire
  21. Sretnih dana dat’ će Bog – Stefany Žužić
  22. Tišine – Eugen
  23. Vodu piti trizan biti – Mario Battifiaca feat. Robert Ferlin
  24. VOLJENA ŽENO – Damir Kedžo

Furthermore, the four reserve songs in case a finalist is unable to perform or withdraws are:

  1. RIM TIM TAGI DIM – Baby Lasagna
  2. PUT YOURSELF IN PLACE – Cota G4
  3. GET BACK – Mihael Kvorka
  4. DIVE DEEP – Ether

In the above list, we can see familiar names who have previously taken part in Dora, as well as Let3, the Croatian representatives in Eurovision 2023 and Damir Kedžo, who won Dora 2020 but did not make it to the Eurovision stage as the contest was cancelled that year.

The previous winners of Dora and Croatia’s representatives in Eurovision 2023, were LET 3 with their songs “Mama ŠČ!” ending up in 13th place of the Grand Final, as well as managing to bring their country back to the final for the first time since 2017:
Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Croatian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!
Source: magazin.hrt

Eurovision 2024: The theme art of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest!

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The theme art of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest has just been revealed. Following EBU’s announcement it is now revealed that “The Eurovision Lights” will serve as the theme art for the contest held in Malmö.

https://youtu.be/tBzQQHJpLS8

This visual identity for Eurovision 2024 was created by combining the northern lights and the harmonic rhythm of sound equalizers. ‘The Eurovision Lights’ is a concept based on simple linear gradients, inspired by the vertical lines that pervade both the northern lights and sound equalizers, and was designed to be a versatile identity that can be adapted based on need and device.

The Deputy Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, namely Christel Tholse Willers, mentions that:

We are so proud to present an identity that is designed to be flexible and useful both on and off screen. It is inspired by the magnificent ‘northern lights’, the beauty and mystery of which has been transformed into ‘The Eurovision Lights’. It is a captivating and beautiful mix of the Eurovision Song Contest’s sparkling brand colours that will not only be seen across the three live shows but also in exciting variations in different contexts across the event’s digital platforms and gives a Eurovision feel in Malmö’s urban spaces.

Johan Bello from design agency Uncut, the creator of the artwork mentions:

The identity is not just a logo but a story in itself, with the northern lights as the basis and the Eurovision Song Contest’s [brand] colour palette as the driving force. This union of elements creates a dynamic and versatile palette that will open up for creative use in different ways.

Sidney Lim, who was also involved in the design, added:

Our goal is to use clean, simple gradients as basic building blocks to create a Eurovision identity that is bright, modern and forward-looking.

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Malmö, Sweden during 7-11 of May 2024, following Loreen’s second win in Liverpool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE2Fj0W4jP4

What do you think of this year’s theme art? Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!

Source: eurovision.tv

Eurovision 2024: Semi-final allocation draw will be held on January 30!

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31 countries will compete in the Semi-Finals. The Semi-Final in which they compete will be decided by a draw to be held on Tuesday 30 January 2024, as published by eurovision.tv a while ago on their FAQ. 10 countries from each Semi-Final will qualify for the Grand Final.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is organized in collaboration with the city of Malmö and will be broadcast from Malmö Arena on Tuesday 7 May (semi-final 1), Thursday 9 May (semi-final 2) and Saturday 11 May (final) after Loreen won for a second time in Liverpool with the song “Tattoo“.

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest!

Source: eurovision.tv

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