May 12, 2023

Hosts enjoy a party with heart and soul

Hosts You have seen three of the four hosts already: Ukrainian Julia Sanina and British Hannah Waddingham and Alesha Dixon. But Graham Norton, who is also the BBC commenter, will only show up in the final. Graham Norton: heart and soul Today, the four attended a press conference. For Graham, that was a special occasion, as someone from Israel had a present for him: the Hebrew version of his book. Graham also stated that Eurovision is a party, but this year it’s different. “Because of Ukraine, it’s a party with heart and soul”. Graham is also asked about the speech Ukrainian president Zelensky wanted to have, but the EBU decided not to allow politics. “That is EBU’s decision, not ours. We were not involved”, the host replied. Hannah Waddingham: I am grateful Hannah states that she already knew Graham. “But we have never met as ladies”, she states about her colleagues Julia and Alesha. “I am grateful and have such respect for them because it’s not an easy job. I didn’t think it’s as popular as it is. I am really thrilled.” Hanna also explained that she had her first hosting job a month ago at the Olivier Awards. “I would say the winners and the losers make the efforts of their lifes, unified by music”, she compares both events. Alesha Dixon: the hosting job is enough for me Did some of you recognize Julia Sanina? Well, she participated in the 2016 Ukrainian national final with the band The Hardkiss. They became 2nd. Logical question is whether she ever wants to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. “We tried to participate in 2016 national selection which Jamala won. We will see wat’s in the future. I wont say no. I really love the audience. It’s more likely to do it after I saw it.” Alesha also responds on that question answering that she will not participate. The hosting job is enough for her. Julia Sanina: it’s super hard to smile Julia also speaks about British humour: “British humour quite dry. With the girls I feel so much joy, especially backstage when nobody is listening. They made me laugh a lot. Of course I am nervous, first time hosting, it is not my language. There was a joke about the word ‘queue’, I really didn’t know what that word meant.” But apart from the humour, Julia also became emotional, when someone asked her how she felt representing Ukraine. “for me it’s a huge responsibility because in ukraine we have war now. My every morning starts with bad news. It’s super hard to smile and feel joy. I feel a lot of support from Ukraine. They are proud of what we’ve done in Eurovision. I hope that in this dark times we bring some joy in the lifes of Ukrainian people.”

Welcome back Luxembourg!

Luxembourg is back Great news today for next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Although the host country will of course be announced in the night from Saturday to Sunday, but we already know that one country will return that last participated thirty years ago: Luxembourg! Martin Österdahl Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor says: “We are thrilled to welcome Luxembourg back to the Eurovision Song Contest after thirty years. The country has one of the most successful records in the Contest with five victories in its first three decades of the competition alone. We very much look forward to working with RTL on their return to the world’s biggest musical event in 2024.” Victories Luxembourg participated for the first time in 1956, during the very first Eurovision song contest. No victory then, but the Luxembourgians did not have to await a victory very long. In 1961 Jean-Claude Pascal won with “Nous les amoureux”. The first, but certainly not the last Luxembourg victory. They were France Gall (“Poupée de cire, poupée de son” in 1965), Vicky Leandros (“Après toi” in 1972), Anne Marie David (“Tu te reconnaîtras” in 1973) and Corinne Hermes (“Si la vie est gift” in 1983) who won the first prize. A striking similarity between all winners: they did not come from Luxembourg itself. The Grand Duchy usually resorted artists from abroad; French artists often took part, but artists from other countries were also present. An example is the Spanish duo Baccara, who took part in 1978. Withdrawn In 1993 it was the group Modern Times that took part. At that time there were no semifinals. A country that finished very low had to skip a year. It happened to Luxembourg. After that year we never saw the country again. So until today, now that the joyful news came that we have a Luxembourg entry next year!

In the spotlight: Loreen

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place on Saturday 13 May. One of the favorites for the win is Loreen representing Sweden. But who is Loreen ? Let’s give her a spotlight. Loreen (Lorine Zineb Noka Talhaoui), is a Swedish singer of Moroccan descent. She was born on October 16, 1983 in Åkersbergabeter, Sweden, as the eldest of six children in a liberal Muslim family. When Loreen was six years old, her parents divorced and the children moved to Västerås with their mother. Pop Idol, Melodifestivalen and Eurovision Song Contest In 2004, Loreen took part in the Swedish version of Pop Idol where she placed fourth. Together with the band Rob’n’Raz she released the single “The Snake” in 2005. Loreen in 2004 Seven years later, in 2011, Loreen took part in Melodifestivalen, the Swedish preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. She did this with the song “My Heart is Refusing Me”. She placed fourth in the semi-finals, so she did not advance directly to the final, but was allowed to participate in the second chance round. However, she still failed to do so. A year later, Loreen took another chance. With the song “Euphoria” she made it easily to the final, which she convincingly won. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, which was held in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, Loreen was then allowed to represent her home country Sweden. During the second semi-final on May 24, 2012, she managed to qualify for the grand final which she won two days later, on May 26, 2012, with 372 points. It marked the fifth Swedish victory in the history of the Eurovision song contest. In the weeks after her win, “Euphoria” became a big hit in many European countries. Loreen was number 1 in eleven countries. “Euphoria” eventually even became the most successful and longest recorded Eurovision hit in history in the Netherlands. Loreen’s debut album “Heal” was released on October 22, 2012. It contained eight new songs and three already released songs. The single “My Heart is Refusing Me” was also included, in a new international version. Ride, Melodifestivalen and Så mycket bättre In April 2014, Loreen went on a tour called XIV. On this tour she performed some of her new songs, including “Jupiter Drive” and “Dumpster”. The long-awaited second album “Ride” was released in 2017 but it was not very successful. That year Loreen participated again in Melodifestivalen with the song “Statements”. However, she failed to qualify for the final. In 2020, Loreen participated in the Swedish TV show “Så mycket bättre” (Swedish for ‘So much better’). This program is based on the Dutch show “Beste Zangers” (‘Best Singers’). Loreen then sang in Swedish for the first time. The success of her performances led to the announcement of a Swedish-language album that Loreen would be working on. The first single, Sötvattentårar (Swedish for ‘Freshwater Tears’), was released in March 2021. In 2021, Loreen made her acting debut in the movie “Vinterviken”. In this she plays a Moroccan mother with a teenage son. She was inspired by her own mother for this role. Return to Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest At the beginning of 2023, Loreen took part in Melodifestivalen for the fourth time. She did this with the song “Tattoo”. Her performance in the preliminary round was disrupted by climate activists, forcing it to be shut down. Immediately afterwards she was allowed to perform her entry again and she managed to qualify for the final. On March 11th, she won the final, making her the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Will she manage to win the Eurovision Song Contest, just like in 2012? We’ll know on Saturday.