Anja Kroeze

Festival da Canção 2024 – Semi final 2 results

In Portugal, 6 more finalists were chosen in the semi final 2. 10 Participants competed for a ticket for the big final. 50% televoting and 50% jury votes determined the top five acts of the night: Buba Espinho – “O Farol” Cristina Clara – “Primavera” Leo Middea – “Doce Mistério” No Maka feat. Ana Maria – “Aceitar” Silk Nobre – “Change” After that, the public voted for number 6: Rita Onofre – “Criatura” The non qualifiers are: Filipa – “You Can’t Hide” João Couto – “Quarto para Um” Huca – “Pé de Choro” Maria João – “Dia” The big final will take place next week saturday, March 9.

🇷🇸 Teya Dora wins in Serbia!

After an exciting voting, Teya Dora has won the Serbian national final with the song “Ramaonda”. This is the full result: Teya Dora – ” Ramonda” Breskvica – “Orlovo gnezdo” Zorja, – “Lik u ogledalu” Konstrakta, – “Novo, bolje” Zejna – “Najbojla” Dušan Kurtić – “Zbog tebe živim” Bojana & David – “No No No” Džordži – “Luna Park” Lena Kovačević – “Zovi me Lena” Hristina – “Bedem” Keni nije mrtav – “Dijamanti” Iva Lorens – “Dom” M.Ira – “Percepcija” Marko Mandić – “Dno” Nemanja Radošević – “Jutra bez tebe” Milan Bujaković, “Moje tvoje”

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.

In the Spotlight: Blanca Paloma

Blanca Eurovision Spain Liverpool

In the spotlight: Käärijä

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place in Liverpool on Saturday 13th of May. One of the favorites for the win is Käärijä, who represents Finland. But who is Käärijä ? Let’s give him a spotlight! Käärijä (Jere Pöyhönen) is a Finnish singer, rapper and songwriter born in Helsinki on October 21, 1993.He grew up in the Ruskeasanta district of Vantaa, near the Finnish capital Helsinki. While growing up Käärijä was a hockey player. Later on, he discovered his passion for music, while learning to play the drums. Start musical career and stage name His stage name comes from a joke with his friends about gambling (kääriminen), a recurring theme in his music. In 2014, Jere was rushed into hospital, when he was diagnosed with a sudden serious illness in the colon. His condition worsened fast to the point Jere’s life was threatened due to the illness. Emergency surgery followed, after which he started to recover. However, the incident signalled a turning point in his artistic career, allowing him to focus solely on producing music. Pöyhönen self-released his music until 2017 when he signed a contract with the record label Monsp Records. He subsequently released the double single “Koppi tules” / “Nou roblem”. The following year, he released an extended play, titled “Peliä”. His debut album Fantastista was released in 2020. This album was announced in a very special way: At the beginning of 2023 he took part in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, the Finnish preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. The song he brought, is nothing more than a cozy song about a night out, and the drinks that are drunk, but catchy it absolutely is. Nevertheless, “Cha cha cha” convincingly won Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. Will he also win he Eurovision Song Contest 2023? We will know on Saturday.

Sweden: Melodifestivalen results are in

The results of Melodifestivalen’s 2nd round are in. Of course, Maria Sur is the winner as expected. Here are the full results. The results are: Maria Sur, “Never give up” Panetoz, “On my way” Theoz, “Mer av deg” Tennessee Tears, “Now I know” Wiktoria, “All my life (where have you been) “Uje Brandelius, “The pot” Eden, “Comfortable”

After the Eurovision Fame: Johnny Logan

Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest three times. Twice he did this as a performing artist; in 1980 in The Hague, The Netherlands with “What’s another year” and in 1987 in Brussels, Belgium with “Hold me now”. In 1992 he participated in Malmö, Sweden as a lyricist and composer of “Why me?” (Linda Martin). It earned him the nickname “Mr. Eurovision”. Early life and career Johnny Logan was born as Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard in Frankston, Victoria (Australia), on May 13, 1954. He was the son of the famous Irish tenor Patrick O’Hagan. When he was three years old, the family moved back to Ireland. Sherrard had a musical childhood in which he learned to play the guitar at a young age. He composed his first songs when he was 13. After high school, he started working as an electrician. He also performed as a musician in clubs. He also starred in several musicals. Together with his brother Michael he was part of several bands. At the beginning of his professional music career, Sherrard took the stage name Johnny Logan. This name was taken from the main character from the movie Johnny Guitar. He then recorded his first single in 1978: “No, I don’t want to fall in love”. The song wasn’t a hit. In a quest for more success, he decided to register for the Irish national heat for the Eurovision Song Contest of 1979. With the song “Angie ” he finished behind winner Cathal Dunne in third place. Later that year his debut album, “In London” , was released. First Eurovision victory In March 1980, Logan made another attempt to go to the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland. In the Irish heat of that year he performed “What’s another year”, a song by Shay Healy. This time Logan easily won the national competition and was able to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest, on April 19, 1980 in The Hague. He was previously counted among the favorites for the final victory and turned out to be able to meet those expectations. Excluding Morocco and Turkey, he received points from every country and with a total score of 143 points he gave Ireland a Eurovision victory after ten years. “What’s another year” became a big hit in several European countries. In addition to Ireland itself, it also reached the number 1 position in Belgium and the United Kingdom, among others. Nevertheless, Logan failed to maintain his sudden international success. Successive singles flopped and the number of bookings was disappointing, in his own words due to poor management and his own inexperience. As a result, the singer got into financial trouble and also developed an alcohol problem. In 1984, however, Logan had another success as a writer of the song “Terminal 3”, with which Linda Martin finished second on behalf of Ireland at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. He got the taste of the Eurovision song contest again and continued to write potential entries. For example, his brother Michael (Mike) Sherrard appeared in the Irish heat of 1985 with the song “Hearts” written by Logan, which ended up in last place. Mike (Michael Sherrard) In 1986, his song “If I can change your mind,” was re-performed by Linda Martin, became fourth in the Irish preselection. Second Eurovision victory In an attempt to get his career back on track, and to erase his predicate of one-day fly, Logan himself wanted to return to the Eurovision song contest to try to win the event again. In 1987 he wrote and composed the song “Hold me now”, which he submitted to the Irish national heat of that year. He managed to win the selection again and was thus allowed to represent Ireland again at the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held two months later in Brussels, Belgium. At the Eurovision song contest, where he received a lot of media attention as a former winner, Logan was again considered one of the favorites. The total points score of 172 was ultimately enough for the victory. It meant, after 1970 and 1980, the third Irish Eurovision victory, and the second for Logan personally. He thus became the first (and to date only) performing artist to win the Eurovision Song Contest twice. As with “What’s another year”, Johnny Logan also scored a big hit with “Hold me now” in several European countries. In addition to Ireland himself, he also reached the number 1 position in Flanders. The subsequent single “I’m not in love” was, as well as the released album “Hold me now”, a modest success. Third Eurovision victory After a few years, in which he made an international tour, Logan again occupied himself with the Eurovision Song Contest at the beginning of the nineties. For the 1991 Irish national heat he wrote the song “When do I get over you?” which put his brother Mike in sixth place. A year later he resumed his collaboration with Linda Martin and wrote for her the song “Why me?”, which would become the Irish entry at the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. The song caught on and ensured another victory for Ireland. Logan became the first (and to date only) person to win the Eurovision Song Contest three times. Later career In the years that followed, Logan continued to write and release music. He became a much sought-after artist at events where the Eurovision Song Contest is central. His popularity stabilized especially in Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Live during ” Het Grote Songfestivalfeest” in Amsterdam in 2019 Logan remained involved in the Eurovision Song Contest in various ways over the years. For example, during the scoring in 2004 he passed on the Irish points and he wrote several songs for preliminary rounds, and he also regularly sat on professional juries during national selections. In both 2007 and 2009, Logan was approached by Irish broadcaster RTÉ to represent Ireland again at the Eurovision Song Contest, but in both cases the talks came to nothing. In 2010

In the spotlights: Sam Ryder

Tomorrow, the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will take place in Turin. One of the favourites for the win is Sam Ryder, who represents the United Kingdom. But who is Sam Ryder? Sam Ryder is a familiar face to TikTok users, but he will be a newcomer to millions if they see him represent the UK at Eurovision 2022. Sam was born on 25 June 1989 in Maldon – United Kingdom. As a child he started singing, and after seeing the Canadian Rock band Sum 41, he knew from a young age that he wanted to become a professional musician. It was 2009 when he made his debut as a singer and guitarist in 2009 with the band “The morning After” of which he was the co-founder. In 2010, when he was a member of the band The Morning After, Ryder stepped in to replace Casey Jones as a backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Blessed By A Broken Heart, a Canadian glam rock band, that was touring Europe at the time. In July 2012, Ryder joined the band full-time and appeared on their single “Out of Control”. The band broke up two months later and Ryder became the lead singer of Close Your Eyes, an American Christian hardcore band from Abilene, Texas. Ryder replaced old “Close Your Eyes” frontman Shane Redmond, which caused concern among the band’s fans. Nevertheless, the band’s 2013 album Line in the Sand was well received. On December 15, 2014, Ryder announced his decision to leave the band. He returned to “The Morning After” as lead singer and guitarist. From 2014 to 2019, “The Morning After” toured American coffee houses and farmers markets. He became known via TikTok in 2020, when he started posting his music covers. He found new famous fans such as Sia, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys and Elton John. By the end of the year he became the most followed British artist on the platform. Sam soon signed a record deal with Parlophone and in 2021 he released his debut EP, “The Sun’s Going to Rise”, followed by a sold-out tour. The United Kingdom has not done too well in the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years, but now Sam Ryder is high in the polls, and he is, next to Sweden and Ukraine, even tipped as the winner! Is that going to happen? We will know tomorrow. In any case, we wish Sam Ryder a lot of success!

In the Spotlights: Cornelia Jakobs

Tomorrow is the 2nd semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. One of the contenders for the win next Saturday is Sweden, represented by Cornelia Jakobs. But who is she? Cornelia Jakobs was born on March 9, 1992 as Anna Cornelia Jakobsdotter Samuelsson, in Nacka – Sweden. Her father Jakob Samuels was the singer of the Swedish glamour metal band “The Poodles”. Because of this she came into contact with music from a young age. In 2008 she took her first steps in the music world. She auditioned, unsuccessfully, for Swedish Idols. In 2011 and 2012 she participated in the “Melodifestivalen” (the Swedish preliminary round of the Eurovision Song Contest). As part of the girl group “Love Generation” she failed to reach the final of the Swedish preliminary round both times. Love Generation in 2011 In 2021 she participated again in the Melodifestivalen, but now as a songwriter. For Efraim Leo, she co-wrote the song “Best of Me”. Once again, it failed to reach the final. In 2022 she decides to participate as a solo artist in the Melodifestivalen, and with success this time. With 146 points she wins the final, and represents Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin with the song “Hold Me Closer”. There is no doubt that she will qualify tomorrow. Goodluck to Cornelia!