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Portugal: Festival Da Canção 2022 songs to be released on the 21st of January!

A few minutes ago, the official Instagram account of Festival Da Canção announced that the songs that will compete this year for the representation of Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, will be released this Friday, January the 21st!

The 20 composers that will take part in this year’s  Festival Da Canção are the following:
  • Agir
  • Aurea
  • Blacci
  • Cubita
  • DJ Marfox
  • Fábia Rebordão
  • Fado Bicha
  • FF
  • Joana Espadinha
  • Kumpania Algazarra
  • Maro
  • Norton
  • Os Azeitonas
  • Pedro Marques
  • Pepperoni Passion
  • PZ
  • Syro
  • The Mister Driver
  • Tiago Nogueira (Os Quatro e Meia)
  • Valas

We remind you that ten songs will compete in each of the two semi finals, out of a total of 20. In the Final show we will have 5 qualifiers of each semi final, leading to a total of 10 competing songs. The winning act will get the chance to represent Portugal in Turin!

The detailed schedule of Festival Da Canção 2022 is described below:

  • First Semi on the 5th of March
  • Second Semi on the 7th of March
  • The Grand Final on the 12th of March

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Festival Da Canção and the Portuguese participation at Eurovision 2022!

Estonia: The Eesti Laul 2022 semi-finalists allocation!

The public broadcaster of Estonia, EER, revealed today the allocation of the 20 candidates in the two semi-finals of Eesti Laul 2022.

First Semi-Final – 3rd of February (alphabetical order) :

1. Alabama Watchdog: “Move On
2. Andrei Zevakin feat. Grete Paia: “Mis nüüd saab
3. Elina Nechayeva: “Remedy
4. Elysa: “Fire
5. Helen: “Vaata minu poole
6. Kaia-Liisa Kesler: “Vaikus
7. Merilin Mälk: “Little Girl
8. Ott Lepland: “Aovalguses
9. Stig Rästa: “Interstellar
10. Triin Niitoja and Frants Tikerpuu: “Laululind

Second Semi-Final – 5th of February (alphabetical order) :

1. Anna Sahlene: “Champion
2. Black Velvet: “Sandra
3. Boamadu: “Mitte kauaks
4. Evelin Samuel: “Waterfall
5. Jaagup Tuisk: “Kui vaid
6. Jyrise: “Plaksuta
7. Maian: “Meeletu
8. Minimal Wind ft. Elisabeth Tiffany: “What To Make Of This
9. Pur Mudd, Shira: “Golden Shores
10. Stefan: “Hope

The 20 semi-finalists of Eesti Laul have qualified through the Quarter-Finals that took place for the first time this year. “Three shows are going to take place, in which, apart from the contestants, are going to perform some of the most famous local artists”, as Tomi Rahula, the executive producer of Eesti Laul, promised.

There are going to be surprises as far as the presenters of the shows are concerned, who are going to be revealed very soon. “Such a couple has never been appeared in front of the audience before” Rahula said.

The Eesti Laulu Semifinals is going to take place on February 3rd and 5th at the Saku Grand Hall, while the Grand Final on February 12th. Five artists are going to qualify from each Semifinal based on the votes of the audience and the jury and in the Final they will claim the country’s representation in Eurovision 2022.

Eesti Laul, as a method of selecting Estonian participation, has been used since 2009. Through this selection process have been achieved some of the best results for this baltic nation – including: Urban Symphony (2009), Kuula (2012), La Forza (2018).

Source: EER

Stay tuned on Eurovision Fun for all the developments related to Estonia’s participation in Eurovision 2022!

Lithuania: The disappointment of The Roop for having to go through the national final!

On an interview at the Euro Trip Podcast last month, the members of the Roop Band, Vaidotas Valiukevičius, Mantas Banišauskas and Robertas Baranauskas, who represented the Baltic nation in Rotterdam last year, revealed their disappointment for having to compete again at the national final of Lithuania Pabandom iš Naujo! 

The Roop Band had also won the national final in 2020, but due to the cancelation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, the national public broadcaster, LRT, invited them to compete again at the following national final of 2021.

The lead singer of the band, Vaidotas Valiukevičius, commented :

“As I remember national television [LRT] said ‘give us three weeks and we’ll decide what we’re going to do’. It was very strange for us.”

“I was mad, I remember I was mad. I thought ‘f*** off’. Then I remembered it’s a new situation for everyone, and we just have to get on with it.”

Additionally, the band’s guitarist, Mantas Banišauskas, mentioned:

“We thought that a better decision could have been made [about the selection process].”

“When we went through the selection… we didn’t think we would win that easily, so that was a stressful period; that whole selection thing.”

Eventually the Roop didn’t only achieved a landslide victory at the national final, but also the best result for Lithuania, 8th place in the Grand Final, the second best placing after the 6th place of LT United back in Athens in 2006.

As far as a Eurovision comeback is concerned, Banišauskas, said:

“We still have unfinished business I guess, we still have to win.”

“The last two times we went to Eurovision [it was about whether we had the right song] so maybe if the time is right.”

Below you can listen again to the two Eurovision entries of the Roop Band for 2020 and 2021.

https://youtu.be/1EAUxuuu1w8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNweec5olYw

Would you like to see the Roop returning on the Eurovision stage in the coming years? Let us know on the comments below.

Source: Eurotrippodcast.com

 

Norway: Amanda Tenfjord on the Headline of the Norwegian media!!

Since 15:00 CET, Amanda Georgiadis Tenfjord has been announced as the Greek representative at Eurovision Song Contest 2022, the upcoming May, at Turin Italy.

The big news had an imminent impact that reached media abroad, including Norway, the country where Amanda lives in and pursues her carrer.

In particular, the news made headlines on Norway’s largest news sites, from NRK‘s public broadcaster to Dagbladet, one of Norway’s largest tabloids, with 1,400,000 daily mobile readers.

  • Norway’s public broadcaster NRK

  • Trodheim biggest news site, where Amanda attends Medical School

  • Norway’s biggest Eurovision site

  • The biggest newspaper of Norway, based in Oslo

  • One of Norway’s biggest tabloids with over 1,4 million readers

  • The biggest newspaper and site of Norway

  • Ålesund local newspaper

 

The aforementioned headlines show that the interest of the Norwegian media about Amanda is already significant, making us already hoping for a high point from the public televoting of Norway, at least.

Stay focused on  Eurovisionfun.com for the latest news regarding Greece and the rest of the 40 nations competing at the upcoming contest in Turin Italy 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. 

 

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!

Greece: Ilias Kozas submitted his proposals to ERT!

An other artist, who is feverishly working his own proposal, is Ilias Kozas. This time as a solo artist, he will try to get on the Eurovision stage for a second time after 2013 in Malmö Sweden, where he ended up in 6th place alongside with Koza Mostra and Agathonas Iakovidis.

It comes out as a surprise the fact that Ilias Kozas has submitted three songs, all of them with English lyrics and not with Greek. His proposed entries are of rock style, a genre he has served in his recent work both as solo artist and together with Koza Mostra band.

With an already good “previous service” at the contest, having been the last Greek entry that has finished in top 10 before Stefania brought the nation back to it this year, do you thing that ERT will give him the green light to represent the Greek colours once more in Turin in 2022?

Below you can watch his maiden participation in 2013 with Alcohol is Free!! 

Belarus: Lukashenko goes after Eurovision/Junior Eurovision stars

The Lukashenko regime has been in the news recently for its rapid drift towards authoritarianism.  Belarusian athlete, Kristina Tsimanuskaya was the center of an international scandal during the Tokyo summer Olympics.  The Belarus delegation tried to deport her by force to her country after she criticized the Belarus coaching staff.  Furthermore, Tsimanuskaya stated that she was in danger if she returned to Belarus.

Sadly, the ongoing political situation in Belarus is also affecting musicians in this country.  There is a “blacklist” of athletes, artists and personalities who are labeled as ‘enemies’ of the Lukashenko regime.  This blacklist includes former Eurovision and Junior Eurovision representatives.  In addition, Evgeniy Perlin who host the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Minsk is targeted in this list.

The disturbing list of public enemies of the regime include among others:

Volha Satsiuk (4th place JESC 2003)

Ksenia Sitnik (1st place JESC 2005)

Alexey Zhigalkovich (1st place JESC 2007)

Angelica Agurbash (13th place in the ESC 2005 Semifinals)

Polina Smolova (22nd place in the ESC Semifinals 2006)

Dmitriy Koldun (6th place ESC 2007)

Litesound (16th place in the 2nd Semifinal ESC 2012)

Uzari (12th place in the 1st Semifinal ESC 2015)

Naviband (17th place ESC 2017)

VAL (selected representatives in the canceled ESC 2020)

We will continue reporting about any updates on these concerning news developments.

 

Portugal: Salvador Sobral’s New Album and Long-waited Apology.

It was May of 2017 when Salvador Sobral won the Eurovision Song Contest for Portugal. The jazz artist managed to collect 758 points, achieving the record the highest score ever, until this point.  Now Sobral has released his brand new album with the title “BPM” (Beats per minute) and gave a heartfelt interview on his musical journey.

The singer confessed that during the Eurovision period he was in really bad health conditions and needed an immediate heart transplant. Throughout his time in Ukraine, he was constantly under close observation by doctors and was on a waiting list for a possible donor. “During rehearsals, my sister was on stage while I stayed in the dressing room”.

Sharing more about his ESC experience he says he was never expecting to participate or even win the contest. He decided to sing “amar pelos dois” to support his sister, ended up winning Festival Eurovisão da Canção and representing Portugal in Eurovision. As a memory of his winning moment, Sobral reflects: “I just thought to myself: Now you must not have a heart attack, that would be humiliating. It’s crazy: I didn’t think about dying, but that it would be a humiliation to die when I just won something.”

After winning, he gave some interviews saying that ESC was his “personal prostitution”. Then he made a few uncomfortable comments for participants of the 2018 edition of the show, including the winner of the 2018 “Toy”. In his latest interview with Reinhard Köchl, Salvador said that he shouldn’t have said those things. “I shouldn’t have done it. I wanted to be funny and come across a little rebellious.” His idea of Eurovision is changed now, he understands the importance of it and the people-connecting idea of it. He closes his interview by saying that he is very grateful for participating and winning the contest.

You can listen to Salvador’s new album BPM and share your opinions with us!

source: Augsburger Allgemeinen

United Kingdom: Eurofans calling for the Steps!

And may the Steps answer!

It is true that if you are a Eurovision fan and you have heard at least one song from the Steps you must have thought “They would do great in Eurovision”.

The Steps is a UK dance-pop group, consisting of five members, that was formed in 1997. The group has been around for 25 years (though between 2001 and 2011 when they were on a break). They have six studio albums and 23 singles! Trust me, you need to give a good listen to Steps.

Eurovision 2021 was a shock for the UK and the BBC. The county received a set of zero points (both from the audience and the international juries) and was placed last on the contest’s scoreboard for the second consecutive year.

But, we, Eurofans never give up (!) and this time we want Steps to represent the UK in Eurovision! (Is there a petition? where do I sign for this?)

According to one of the vocalists, Claire Richards, The pop group has already given a thought to Eurovision, but the singer didn’t give us more hints on whether they think about participating next year or not.

The singer said that we will not be able to know whether the UK will win the Eurovision for sure unless someone like Ed Sheeran or Adele enters. At the same time, the group is collaborating with international stars, like Michelle Visage, getting prepared for a massive UK tour and the release of their next album this September. Why wait for anyone else to snatch the trophy? Aren’t the Steps a good chance for the UK to get back in the competition and “Bring it home” for the first time since 1997?

Even though the Steps have been considered cheesy and bubblegum pop in the past, their 25-year-presence has proven their worth. The audience loves them, and we can’t wait for more of their music.

As Claire says, “I think Steps are timeless”.

C’mon BBC, make the right ‘Steps’.

Source: Dailyrecord