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Sweden: Smash Into Pieces and Lisa Ajax are the two direct finalists of the First Heat of Melodifestivalen 2024!

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Ninety minutes ago, the show for the First Heat of Melodifestivalen 2024, started off on SVT and SVT Play. And we are here to share the results of the night with you!

The two numbers that qualify directly to the finals are Smash Into Piecesand Lisa Ajax which we will get to see perform their songs live, on the 9th of March, when the finals will take place at Friends Arena.

But how things developed during the night?

The show

The first week of competition arrived really fast. Today, Saturday, February 3, Melodifestivalen 2024 started from this year’s Eurovision city Malmö.

Carina Berg is the host of all the shows of the tour this year! After tonights show, Göteborg follows and finally the final show in Stockholm on the 9th of March.

The show started with an intro, Carina was chilling at home, then it all became like a musical with Carina singing and changing costumes throughout the number.

The experts make an first

New in Melodifestivalen this year is the participation of a couple of really knowledgeable music and Mello-experts – radio and TV profile Tina Mehrafzoon and Mello-oracle Ronny Larsson. During both the races and the final, they analyze the evening’s line-up and give their opinion on how they are doing.

The numbers

  • “Supernatural” – Adam Woods

First up on stage Adam Woods. It’s an EDM pop, reminds me of Avicii, Alesso, Swedish House Mafia, in general Swedish dance bangers. Amazing vocals, great production, but everything is there for a reason. It is an immersive experience, Adam plays with the LED throughout his performance, on the floor and in the back LED screen. There are flowing projections on there that make you feel like you’re drowning in love, in combination to the song.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Hela världen väntar” – Samir & Viktor

Typical Samir & Viktor song in Swedish, of course an “oj oj oj” part would be there. This song got the crowds involved a lot. Vocally they seemed a bit off, the chorus part was okay since there were mainly the backing vocals. The staging also reminds me of concepts of Fokas Evangelinos. Large prop with stairs and projections of cities and natures at the back. In the first two rehearsals the colours were a bit more cold, now they kind of changed the tint of the background LED  screens to more earthy colours and a more vivid turquoise. By the end, glitter got thrown in the arena and the crowd started cheering manically. Pyro and fireworks also made their appearance.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Min melodi” – Melina Borglowe

It’s a guitar-based pop song with obvious indie elements. I can hear Thomas G:Son contribution to the song. Melina‘s voice is so sweet, but she sounded much more confident in her two first rehearsals, at some point she kind of lost it. It is this kind of Melfest entries, with a girl, a guitar, dark background and lights all around, very emotional and cute. A pleasant song overall. The audience clapped as they should but they didn’t go manic over this performance.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Forever Yours” – Elisa Lindström

Schlager party is the theme, if you know what I mean. Lots of pink, glitter, light, glow. Elisa shines, so you’d better wear sunglasses during this performance. Elisa does what Sweden knows to do best. High notes and an ear-candy key change! The staging reminds me kind of the one that Andromachihad with Cyprus back in 2022. But make it Swedish and put it 20 levels higher than what you saw. Four silver dancers, two girls and two boys. The audience went crazy, also fireworks made an entrance! Great great great!

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Awful Liar” – Lisa Ajax

A love power-ballad for Lisa this year. Reminds me of a Natalie Imbruglia ballad. Guitar and strings on the plate for a hapily sad song. Beautiful song. Moon behind her, a girl and a boy doing a contemporary dance routine around her. Her vocals are on point and she makes us all get relatable and get all the feels. We’ve all been there, where we have been betrayed, lied to, cheated on. You feel all of this by listening to this song.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Heroes Are Calling” – Smash Into Pieces

Their distinctive sound is there, the song in my opinion is stronger than their entry last year, expectedly with an amazing production to the last touch. Their staging now I think is a bit less than last year, I probably had more expectations since they did that great in 2023. The Apocalypse DJ is behind the led screens and can be seen in parts of their performance. A very cinematic presentation and as the guys said in their interview, the whole idea was that we are following Apoc in his own mission. Red laser beams and strobe lights add to the staging. Chris’ voice always sounds like the studio version, if not better. At the end it’s all about fireworks! Is this song a contender for the win? I think it is. Smash into Pieces make a great impact to the audience. But it is too early to say.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

After the six performances, Carina‘s husband footballer Erik Berg brings this year’s trophy, the Sångfågel, which has pink tiles on it

Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT

These were the six numbers of this week, a recap follows to show the voting numbers for the contestants of the heat.

The Intervals

Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT

Already in this round, the first of five, there is an interval with a capital I when the successful group A-Teens reunites to celebrate their 25th anniversary. For the first time in eighteen years, Marie Serneholt, Sara Lumholdt, Dhani Lennevald and Amit Paul will perform together, and will offer a sparkling medley with both their own and some of ABBA‘s songs. First song is ABBA‘s “Mamma Mia“. “Upside Down“ followed, which was released as first single from their second album, then “Floorfiller” backed by six dancers, lots of lights and laser beams. This is very impressive. Again on ABBA mode, with the song “Gimme, gimme, gimme (A Man After Midnight)“!

The Direct Qualifiers

First voting round winner: Smash Into Pieces
Second voting round winner: Lisa Ajax

 

Semi-Finalists

Second voting round 2nd place: Elisa Lindström
Second voting round 3rd place: Adam Woods

Second voting round results

Age-band 3-9 years old winner: Adam Woods

Age-band 10-15 years old winner: Lisa Ajax

Age-band 16-29 years old winner: Lisa Ajax

Age-band 30-44 years old winner: Lisa Ajax

Age-band 45-59 years old winner: Lisa Ajax

Age-band 60-74 years old winner: Elisa Lindström

Age-band 75+ years old winner: Elisa Lindström

Televoting winner: Elisa Lindström

See you next Saturday, at the next heat, when you will have the chance to be informed in detail about the show and the next two finalists, as soon as they are announced on TV!

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2024 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2024!

Source: SVT
Photos: Andreas Papayiannakis / EurovisionFun, Stina Stjernkvist / SVT

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Luxembourg: These are the eight finalists of Luxembourg Song Contest!

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Luxembourg will return to the Eurovision Song Contest after thirty years of absence. The Duchy returns to the contest aiming to repeat its glorious Eurovision past, counting five wins, and is now ready to compete and win for one more time.

For its return, Luxembourg has decided to host a national final in order to select its Eurovision 2024 act. Following the closing of the submission window and the end of the “castings” stage, RTL underwent an evaluation process, coming down to a longlist of around 70 songs and 50 artists.

The selection of the finalists for the televised competition was then left to an international jury. The jury evaluated the longlisted artists after three days of auditions and has now reached a decision.

Today and via “Today Radio“, RTL announced the eight finalists of “Luxembourg Song Contest“.  Hence, the finalists of the Luxembourgish national selection for Eurovision 2024 are the following:

Joel Marques

He is a 25-year-old singer from Differdange and previously worked as a teacher.

This year he made it to the Battles of The Voice of Germany. On 8 December, he released his first single with the title “Stranger”.

Naomi Ayé

The student is only 15 years old, but has already made a name for herself as a singer, composer and pianist.

In 2020, she took part in the 7th season of “The Voice Kids” and reached the final in France with her interpretation of the Queen classic “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

In February 2022, the video “Turn My Back On Light”, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, was released. In March 2022, the student, whose full name is Naomi Ayé Vajdovics Suárez, was a guest on the RTL show Live! Planet People.

EDSUN

Edson Pires Domingos, as he is known by his real name, already has a lot of experience in the music business, having released his first EP “N.O.” in 2015. In 2016, the video for his song “Apologee” won an award at the Luxembourg Music Awards.

In 2018, he released a new EP with the release of “You Are Not Just One Thing”. A good year, as he was also named Artist of the Year at the Luxembourg Music Awards. This was followed by a tour entitled “The Platonic Touch”.

In 2022, he released two singles: “Just Text” and “Carter”.

Krick

Christine Heitz, 26, works as a nurse. That hasn’t stopped her from already having several great moments in the world of music. In 2014, she founded the cover band “The Daydreamer”.

In 2017, she took part in the German version of “The Voice”. The following year, her first single “Face Cake” was released!

One Last Time

With a resolute pop-rock style, their first EP was released in 2022.

Here are the members of One Last Time:

  • Andrea Galleti – lead singer, 30 years old, works as an advertising agent
  • Jonathan Fersino – bass, 31 years old, works as advertising agent & sound engineer
  • Barbara Salvi – keyboard, 26 years old, works as a French teacher
  • Tom Sagramola – guitar, 34 years old, works as a civil servant
  • Alessandro Sorbelli (Lalo) – drums, 24 years old, is self-employed

TALI

Real name Tali Golergant, she’s an accomplished artist despite being only 23. She wrote her first single when she was 16. She also has a band which is currently on tour in New York.

She works as a music and singing teacher.

Angy & Rafa Ela
The duo consists of the 39 year-old Angy Sciacqua, a self-employed singer-songwriter and Rafaela Teixeira Fernandes, a 26 year-old who works for the state.

Angy took part in the 2013 edition of “The Voice Belgium” while Rafaela won “Luxembourg’s Next Popstar” in 2016, and subsequently won “Top Voice Luxembourg” in 2018.

CHAiLD

At 25, Adriano Lopes Da Silva is a singer and songwriter, who has been a musician for four years. He lives and works in Brussels, the world of electro-pop.

The international jury

As it was mentioned before, the Luxembourgish line-up was decided by a five-member international jury, ensuring the greatest possible neutrality in a small country as Luxembourg. The jury consisted of the following five members, strongly associated with Eurovision:

  • Christer Björkmann, who is a Swedish producer and TV host as well as a former Eurovision participant(Sweden 1992). Björkmann has also served as a Head of Delegation for Sweden, has produced the 2013 and 2016 editions of Eurovision Song Contest held in Sweden and the only and only to date American Song Contest.
  • Jan Bors, who has served as a Head of Delegation for Czechia.
  • Cesár Sampson, who has represented Austria in the 2018 edition of Εurovision and was crowned as the jury winner. Sampson will also play an active role in the Czech preselection this year, serving as an artistic director and the presenter of the national final.
  • Alex Panayi, who is also considered as a Eurovision expert. Panayi has represented Cyprus in Eurovision on two occasions, in 1995 and 2000. In recent years, he has served as a vocal coach for several Eurovision participants and was also the backing vocalist of the 2005 winner, Helena Paparizou.
  • Tali Eshkoli, which an Israeli television producer. Eshkoli has been the producer of the 2019 edition of Eurovision, has also contributed to the 2021 edition of the Miss Universe competition held in Israel and has served as a jury member in various Eurovision preselections.

The Luxembourgish national final

The Luxembourgish national final will take place on January 27, 2024 in a major live show broadcast on RTL Télé. Viewers will be able to vote for the person they want to see represent Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö. More details are expected soon.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!

Source: RTL

Ukraine: These are the ten finalists of Vidbir 2024!

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Around a week ago, Suspilne revealed the twenty artists longlisted for Vidbir 2024. The twenty artists longlisted were those advanced to the next stage of the competition, the “Live Auditions” stage. This stage was used in order to determine the participants of Vidbir 2024 televised final scheduled to air in February.

Hence, following a week of auditions, Suspilne announced the ten artists along with their song titles that have qualified to the final of the competition.

The ten finalists of Vidbir 2024 are the following:

  • Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil — “Teresa & Maria”
  • Drevo — “Endless chain”
  • INGRET — “Keeper”
  • MÉLOVIN — “DREAMER”
  • NAHABA — “GLASS”
  • NAZVA — “Slavic English”
  • SKYLERR — “Time is running out”
  • YAGODY — “Tsunamia”
  • YAKTAK — “Lalala”
  • Ziferblat — “Place I Call Home”

What’s next for Vidbir 2024?

  • Among the remaining competitors, who were not advanced to the final at this stage, an online voting will be held in order to determine one more participant to the televised final of Vidbir 2024. The online public vote for the extra spot in Vidbir 2024 final will be conducted in December.
  • The final line-up will be revealed by December 29, 2023.
  • While, the songs of the remaining ten artists will be revealed to public, so that the online voting can be conducted, the ten songs that have already made it to the final will be published in early 2024, as we approach the date of the national selection.

The televised final of Vidbir 2024 will be held in February 2024. The winner will be determined by public and jury voting. Also, the composition of the jury will be decided by the Ukrainian public at a later time through online voting.

The previous winners of Vidbir and Ukraine’s representatives in Eurovision 2023, were Tvorchi with their song “Heart of Steel”, ending up in sixth place of the Grand Final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2oqDpefJ1s&feature=youtu.be

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!

Source: Suspilne

Israel: These are the eight songs of the national selection process, for Eurovision 2022!

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The X Factor Israel started on October 30, where the artist and the song that will represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, will be selected.

A while ago, the eight songs that the four finalists of The XFactor Israel will have to perform, were played for the first time on Kan Gimmel. One of these eight songs will be the song that finally Israel will compete with, at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

You can listen to all the eight songs below:
  • Inbal Bibi – ZAZA
  • Inbal Bibi – Marionette
  • Michael Ben David – Don’t
  • Michael Ben David –I.M 
  • Eli Huli – Blinded Dreamers
  • Eli Huli – Nostalgia
  • Sapir Saban – Breaking My Own Walls
  • Sapir Saban – Head Up

The finalists

On January 27, four finalists were selected, on the second semi final of XFactor Israel, the selection process of Israel for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest!

The four finalists of  The XFactor Israel are:

  1. Inbal Bibi
  2. Eli Huli
  3. Michael Ben David
  4. Sapir Saban

The selection Process

Out of the 130 songs that were submitted, the above eight songs were selected and will be assigned to the four finalists in the hopes of becoming the Israeli representative of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

The final of the competition will take place on the 5th of February with the above four finalists. Each of the four will be assigned with two of the above new songs, which they will have to perform. There will also be a semi-final round, to select one of the two songs for each artist on February 3rd.

The song that will be selected will be the one with which each participant will claim the representation of Israel for Eurovision 2022. Four songs and four artists will compete in the X Factor Grand Final. Then, the audience and the jury will jointly choose the artist and the song who will represent the country in Turin.

We remind you that the popular talent show will be presented by Liron Weizman. According to domestic media, X Factor Israel judges will include Netta Barzilai, Aviv Geffen, Margalit Tzan’ani, Ran Danker and Miri Mesika.

Israel was represented by Eden Alene in Eurovision 2021 with the song Set Me Free, finishing 17th in the grand final on May 22nd.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Israel’s entry for Eurovision 2022!