Martijn

We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: Lithuania. Monika Linkytė Monika Linkytė won the national selection in Lithuania. Her song is called “Stay”. She wrote and composed the song together with Krists Indrišonoks and Jānis Jačmenkins. Monika Linkytė was born in 1992. Already at a young age she started singing. She took part in the Lithuanian final of the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Monika also participated in the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010, 2011 and 2014. She took part in the New Wave contest in Jūrmala too in 2014. In the same year she participated in The Voice Lithuania. In 2015 she represented Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest in duet with Vaidas Baumila.After Eurovision, she released an album, “Walk with me”. Probably her most popular single was “Po dangum“. Monika kept on releasing singles. “Stay” is currently a big hit in Lithuania. Interview for Eurovision Universe Our reporter Kal did an interview with Monika. You can watch it here: Pabandom iš naujo! The national final in Lithuania is called Pabandom iš naujo! (Let’s try again!). That is the name of the contest since 2020. With the exception of the first participation in 1994, Lithuania has always had a national final. A returning name again and again is Aistė Pilvelytė. She took part in 1999 for the first time and her most recent participation was in 2023. Another remarkable participant was Lolita Zero. She participated in 2017 when her “Get frighten” reached the final. In 2022 she did it again with “Not your mother”. Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest Lithuania first took part in 1994. Ovidijus Vyšniauskas was the first one to do the job but did not receive any point at all. Lithuania took a break after this disappointment. The country came back in 1999 with Aistė Smilgevičiūtė and her “Strazdas”. So far, Lithuania never reached the top-5. Their best score was in 2006, when LT United sang “We are the winners” and reached a 6th place. The Roop also did a good job, as their “Discoteque” became 8th. Bookmakers Currently, Lithuania is 28th in the betting odds. However, if we look at the semifinal odds, Lithuania is 6th and will thus reach the final. Let’s hope for the country and for the singer this will happen. The song And of course, this is the song:

Our reporter Kal spoke to French contestant La Zarra. The two spoke about the similarities between Montreal and Amsterdam, about Moroccan food, about how the song was written and about the lyrics. “You have to be the first to believe in yourself” is an advice La Zarra gives. Watch the whole interview, as again it is more than worth it.

We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: Albania. Albina and Familja Kelmendi Albina and Familja Kelmendi were chosen to represent Albania. Their song is “Duje”, which means “Love it”. The song is written by Eriona Rushiti and composed by Enis Mulaj. Albina was born in Peja, Kosovo (then part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). She studied clarinet and piano at a music school in her hometown and began performing with her family under the name Family Band. She became famous in 2014, when she was runner-up in the fourth season of The Voice of Albania. A year later, she took part in the twelfth edition of Top Fest, where she presented the song “Nuk ka ma mirle”. In June 2022, Albina Kelmendi released her debut album, “Nana loke”. In December of the same year, she participated in the 61st Song Festival, where she presented the song “Duje” together with her family. They were chosen to represent Albania. Festivali i Këngës Although Albania debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, their national selection Festivali i Këngës already excists since 1962. It is a national songcontest, held in the last week of the year. Famous and almost legendary is Vaçe Zela (1939-2014). This singer/songwriter won Festivali i Këngës no less than 11 times!! In the years when Albania was a dictatorship, the festival was used a lot of times for propaganda. In 1972, dictator Enver Hoxha was critical of the festival and its organizers, accusing them of promoting decadent Western values and being enemies of the people. He believed that the festival was not promoting authentic Albanian culture and was instead catering to foreign influences. The organizers of the festival were prosecuted for this.Since 2003, the winner of Festival i Këngës goes to Eurovision the next year, with the exception of 2014. Because a disagreement arose between the composer of “Diell” and the Albanian broadcaster, the former withdrew the song for Eurovision participation. Singer Elhaida Dani then got another song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. In 2022, for the first time the winner did not go to Eurovision 2023. Albina and her family were chosen as representants by a special televoting jury. Statue of Vaçe Zela, Wikimedia Commons Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest As said, Albania took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2004. Anjeza Shahini was immediately successful. She reached the final with “The image of you” and was placed 7th there. It was one of only two Albanian entries that managed to get into the top-10. The other one was “Suus” by Rona Nishliu in 2012: she was 5th. The emotional ballad got an extra touch after 13 students and the driver of their bus died in  a car accident inHimarë, in the south of Albania. It felt like Rona brought the sadness of her country on stage. Bookmakers Currently, Albania is 37th and last at the betting odds. Let’s hope for the country and for Albina and her family that this is not gonna happen. The song And of course, this is the song:  

Our reporter Kal did another interview, this time with The Busker. They talk about Amsterdam and how they like the city, about how they learn lessons with this promo tour, and they ask you to vote…. for no. 2 in the first semifinal!

We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: Austria. Teya and Salena Teya and Salena were chosen internally to represent Austria. Their song “Who the hell is Edgar?” was written and composed by themselves with Ronald Janeček and Pele Loriano. Teodora Špirić is Teya’s real name, but she is also known as Thea Devy. Under that name, she released her debut single “Waiting for” in 2017. She also worked in Switzerland. She took part in the Beyond Music Project. In 2020 she submitted the song “Judgement day” to the Austrian internal selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. She also took part in the Serbian national final with the Serbian version “Sudnji dan“. A year later, she took part in the Austrian show Starmania under her real name. She featured in Croatian Ninski’s song “Runaway (stay)“. Salena’s real name is Selina-Maria Edbauer. She took part in The Voice of Germany in 2017. Two years later, she submitted a song for the Eurovision Song Contest, “Behind the waterfalls”, to the Austrian internal selection. Just like Teya, Salena took part in the 2021 Starmania. Who the hell is Edgar? Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American writer, poet and literary critic. He was known for his dar, mysterious and often macabre tales. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Poe had a difficult childhood marked by the death of his parents and a turbulent relationship with his foster father. Despite these challenges, he became one of the most influential literary figures of the 19th century. He published works such as “The Raven”, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Poe’s writing was characterized by themes of death, madness and the supernatural. His contributions to the horror and detective genres continue to inspire and captivate readers to this day.It is not the first time someone sang about Edgar Allan Poe on Eurovision. In 1990, Joëlle Ursull sang about him in her “White and black blues”: Je me sens d’un conte d’Edgar Allan Poe (I feel like I’m in an Edgar Allan Poe tale). Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest Austria first took part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957. It was in 1964 when Udo Jürgens first took part. He then became 6th. A year later he reached the 4th place. For him it was 3 times lucky: in 1966 he managed to win the Eurovision Song Contest for Austria.The country had to wait a long time before they won again. It was Conchita Wurst who managed to bring the trophy home in 2014 with her “Rise like a Phoenix”.Austria had not always been successful in the Eurovision Song Contest. The only other song that managed to reach the top-3 was Cesár Sampson‘s “Nobody but you” in 2018. It was even the winner of the juries! Austria reached the 4th place only with Udo Jürgens. The country was 5th on four occasions. Bookmakers Austria is currently 8th at the betting odds. If that would happen, Austria can definitely be satisfied with the result, because 2018 was the last year they even qualified. The song And of course, this is the song:  

“It was a last minute decision”, the Tvorchi guys say to our reporter Kal. And they tell him more. What has a ‘happy birthday’ song to do with the start of Tvorchi? What would the guys say to their younger self? And what do they tell about the Ukrainian part of the lyrics? The answers to these questions and many more can be found out below! Watch this interview, it’s really worth it!

We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: San Marino. Piqued Jacks The band was chosen to represent San Marino this year. The song “Like an animal” was written and composed by the bandmembers themselves. Piqued Jacks are an Italian band. They were formed in Buggiano in 2006. Their first three EP’s were released in respectively 2010, 2011 and 2013. In 2014 they released the singles “Upturned perspectives” and “No bazooka”. One year later they were able to release their first album. After some changes in the line up the band released the singles “Wildly shining” and “The living past”. In 2020 they were selected by MTV for the New Generation platform. Valentina Monetta When you say San Marino, you say Valentina Monetta. She is a Sammarinese singer who rose to fame when she took part in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. The lyrics of her song “Facebook” had to be changed. Names of brands are not allowed in songs, so it became “The social network song”. She did not make it to the final. A year later, with “Crisalide (vola)” she was among the favourites in the betting odds. Strangely enough she just missed the final again. So it was a great surprise when, in 2014, her song “Maybe” did reach the final. In 2015 she was the jury spokeswoman and in 2017 she took part again. This time not allone but with Jimmy Wilson and their song “Spirit of the night”. No final for Valentina this time. At the 2018 rehearsals, the Sammarinese delegation did an inside joke for Eurovision fans. A robot had to hold a piece of paper with a text during the act. At the rehearsals, the text was “Justice for Valentina”. San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest San Marino took part for the first time in 2008. Italian/Sammarinese band Miodio didn’t make it to the final. It caused a stop, but in 2011 they returned. Three artists took part for San Marino more than once. Senhit, the aforenamed Valentina Monetta and Serhat. And exactly those three made it to the final: Valentina in 2014, Serhat in 2019 and Senhit in 2021. With a 19th place, Serhat’s entry “Say na na na” is the best scoring song for San Marino. Bookmakers Unfortunately it doesn’t look good for San Marino this year in the betting odds. They are no. 33, and in the specific odds about the 2nd semifinal they are even last. Hopefully they are wrong, but maybe a second participation for Piqued Jacks is necessary to reach the final. The song And of course, here is the song:

“The stars have connected for us”, Joker Out says to our reporter Kal. In this great interview they explain what they mean with that. Joker Out also tells something about how the band started and where the name come from. Kal also talks with them about the lyrics of “Carpe diem”. Watch it, you will not regret it!

We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: Georgia. Iru Iru won The Voice Georgia and with that the right to represent her country in Eurovision. The song “Echo” is composed for her by Giorgi Kukhianidze. Iru wrote the lyrics together with Beni Kadagidze. Iru’s full name is Iru Khechanovi. She was born in Tbilisi in 2000. She is of Armenian descent. She started her career when she was a child ad won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2011. She was a member of the group Candy, who reached the first place with the song  “Candy music”. In 2019, Iru participated in Georgian Idol. That year, the show was the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2021 she released her debut solo single “No Jerk Around Me”. The song was followed by two more singles, “Not like today” and “Tu mama”. Georgia’s success in Junior Eurovision As said, Iru won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Georgia is extremely successfull in the Junior contest with three victories and a total of no less than 6 top-3 placings. And all of that since their first participation in 2007. The first victory was in 2008, when the bees of Bzikebi won with the song “Bzzz…“. Three years later it was the aforementioned Candy. In 2016 the first place was for Georgia again. Mariam Mamadashvili brought the trophy home with her song “Mzeo“. Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest Georgia started participating in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, the same year they started in the Junior version. It was Sopho who sang her “Visionary dream” to a 12th place. On two occasions, Georgia became 9th: Sofia Nizharadze with “Shine” in 2010, Eldrine with “One more day” a year later. The last few years, Georgia is not so successful. The last time the country reached the final was in 2016. Bookmakers When the betting odds are right, the odds turn for Georgia. Currently they are 16th in the betting odds, and with a 4th place in the semifinal bettings they can almost be called a sure qualifier. Let’s hope for Georgia this will happen. They deserve it. The song And of course, this is the song:  

Our reporter Kal had an interview with Spain’s contestant Blanca Paloma. She explains how she was inspired by her grandmother in this song. And Kal proves that music is a common language. Watch this video. Believe us: it’s more than worth it!!