Martijn

Road to Liverpool: Ireland

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: Ireland. Wild Youth The national final in Ireland was won by Wild Youth. They sang the song “We are one”, which is written and composed by Conor O’Donohoe, Ed Porter and Jörgen Elofsson. Wild Youth was formed in Dublin in 2016. The band exists of David Whelan, Conor O’Donohoe, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam. In 2017 they released their first single “All or nothing“. In 2019 they released their first album “The last goodbye”. The band toured through Ireland and the United Kingdom. Last year, they opened for Lewis Capaldi on his concerts. At the same time their song “Live without you” was a hit. In 2023 they won, as said, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. Public Image Ltd. Ireland has chosen the song through a national final called Eurosong 2023. The competition was part of the show the Late Late Show. A total of six artists and songs participated. One of the participants was a very remarkable one: the band PIL. They sang the song “Hawaii“. They became 4th. PIL (Public Image Limited) is not new to the audience. The band already had a big hit in 1983, “This is not a love song“, and “Rise” in 1984. Singer John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, also was the singer of punk band The Sex Pistols. Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest In 1965 Ireland debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest. They only had to wait until 1970 before Dana took the prize for the green island. The 2nd, 3rd ánd 4th victory were for mr. Eurovision himself, Johnny Logan. He sang the songs in 1980 and 1987 himself, while he composed the song for Linda Martin in 1992. That was the start of a long row of Irish victories: Niamh Kavanagh in 1993, Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan in 1994 and Eimear Quinn in 1996. Oh, and let’s not forget 1995: Norway won, but the group Secret Garden was led by the Irish violinist Fionualla Sherry. Anyway, Ireland holds the record of 7 (!!!) victories. The last few years were not so succesful for Ireland. Since 2014, only one contestant (Ryan O’Shaugnessy in 2018) reached the final. Bookmakers Currently, Ireland is number 23 in the betting odds. That would mean a place in the final this year. The Irish will probably be happy with a result like that. The song And of course, here is the song:

Road to Liverpool: Portugal

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: Portugal. Mimicat Festival RTP da Canção, the Portuguese national selection, has been won by Mimicat with het song “Ai coração”. Mimicat wrote and composed the song herself. Co-composer is Luís Pereira. Mimicat’s real name is Marisa Mena. When she was 9 years old she recorded her first album. She was only 15 years old when she first participated in Festival RTP da Canção, back in 2001. She sang the song “Mundo colorido” but did not make it to the final. She took part in Idolos 2004, the Portuguese version of Idol. Here she entered the last 50. The name Mimicat exists since 2014. In that year she recorded her first single “Tell me why” and her debut album. Mimicat released two albums and a lot of singles in English. She performed in Brazil and worked together with Selah Sue. Since 2019 she sings in Portuguese. That is what lead to her victory in Festival da Canção. Festival RTP da Canção Festival RTP da Canção is a contest with a lot of history. It is held since Portugal started participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. Even in 1970, when Portugal did not participate in Eurovision, there was a Festival da Canção. The winner, Sérgio Borges, never made it to Eurovision. In recent years, Festival da Canção contains two semifinals and a final. This year, former Eurovision participant Cláudia Pascoal was one of the contenders. Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest As said, Portugal participates in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1964. Portugal often sings in Portuguese, with only a few exceptions. The country hardly ever makes it to the top. No top-5 position was there for Portugal. Lúcia Moniz did best in 1996 with “O meu coração não tem cor”: 6th. Until 2017: Salvador Sobral represented Portugal in those days. His “Amar pelos dos” became the first and, so far, only winning Portuguese entry so far. The bookmakers Portugal is currently 27th at the bookmakers. That would mean that Portugal would not reach the final. However, they are close to making it. Let’s hope for the final for Mimicat. The song And of course, this is the song:

Road to Liverpool: Latvia

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: Latvia. Sudden Lights Sudden Lights won Supernova, the Latvian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They sang the selfwritten song “Aijā”, which is sung in both English and Latvian. Sudden Lights exists of Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis, Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis and Kārlis Vārtiņš. They started the band in 2012, but got their first chances to record songs in 2015. After they won a music competition they released their debut single “Tik Savādi”. One of their biggest hits in 2016 was “Priekšpilsētas valsis“. In 2018, Sudden Lights already took part in Supernova with their song “Just fine“. They became 2nd. In 2020 they teamed up with the band Astro’n’out for the song “Haosā“. In total, Sudden Lights released three albums. Supernova The national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in Latvia is named Supernova. The contest was held first in 2015, when Aminata won the contest with “Love injected”. Every year, one or two semifinals are held before the final. This year, it was only one semifinal. Aminata often took part, not only as a singer but also as a composer. One of her songs, sung by Justs, won in 2016. Another singer who attempted to win the ticket to Eurovision many times was Markus Riva. He never made it to the Eurovision stage so far. Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest Latvia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000, and immediately with success. Brainstorm reached a third place with “My star”. Two years later, Marie N led the country to a victory with her song “I wanna”. That brought the contest to the capital Riga in 2003. After this, only one top-5 position was there for Latvia. In 2005 Walters and Kazha sang “The war is not over”. It was in two languages: English and sign language. The bookmakers Latvia is in 35th place at the bookmakers at this moment. That would be a big disappointment for the country that never made it to the final after 2016. Let’s hope for them the bookmakers are wrong. The song And of course, this is the song:

Road to Liverpool: Serbia

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: Serbia. Luke Black Luke Black won the Serbian national final with the song “Samo mi se spava”. The song is written and composed by Luke Black himself. It is sung in both Serbian and English. Luke Black’s real name is Luka Ivanović. He was born in Čačak, Serbia, in 1992. His career started in 2014, when he performed at the Groveland Festival. His first hit single “D-generation” was released in 2015. In 2016, Luke Black was one of the contenders to represent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song “Demons” was not selected but became a success for Luke. In total, Luke Black released 3 EP’s. The most recent one was “F23.8” this year. It included his 2021 hit “Amsterdam“. Pesma Za Evroviziju This year’s national final was called Pesma Za Evroviziju 2023. After two semifinals, a final with 16 songs was held on 4 March. Remarkable participant was the group Hurricane. They won the national selection in 2020. Due to the cancellation of the contest, the group was invited for the 2021 edition. In the end both jury and televoters had different opinions. Nađa won the jury vote, while Princ was the favourite of the televoters. Both jury’s had Luke Black in 2nd place. Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest When Yugoslavia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, Serbia provided the entry on 6 occasions but never ended up higher than the 12th place. How different it was when Serbia and Montenegro started to participate. Željko Joksimović reached a 2nd place. In 2006, the country withdrew. Serbian TV and the audience in the national final did not agree with the Montenegrin winner. Shortly after the contest, Montenegro voted for independence in a referendum. That was when Serbia started to participate…. and won rightaway! Marija Šerifović reached the first place with “Molitva”. Željko Joksimović participated again in 2012 and became 3rd. Last year, Serbia was also succesful with a 5th place for Konstrakta’s “In corpore sano”. The bookmakers Serbia is currently 15th according to the bookmakers. That would not be as high as Konstrakta last year. But at least Serbia would reach the final in this case. However, Konstrakta was a big surprise. So who knows… The song This is the song:

Road to Liverpool: Malta

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: Malta. The Busker The Busker is the band that will represent Malta. The band already exists since 2012. In 2013, they released their first video “The ballad of John Brown”. After a few changes, the band currently exists of Dav Jr, Jean Paul Borg and Sean Meachen. In 2017, they released their debut album “Telegram”. In 2021 their second album “Ladies and gentlemen” followed. The band worked together with Matthew James for the song “Just a little bit more” and with Raquella for “Don’t you tell me what you feel“. The band never before took part in any national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. As a solo singer, Dav jr. was involved in X-Factor Malta 2020. That was the national selection in that year. Dav jr. reached the last 10.This year they won the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with “Dance (Our own party)”. MESC Malta chose their entry through MESC (Malta Eurovision Song Contest), the same contest as last year. Malta has always chosen their entry through national finals. In 2019 and 2020 they selected their song through the X-Factor Malta. This year, it all started with 3 quarter finals. There was a semifinal with 24 songs and a final with 16 artists. Controversial: the favourite to win the contest, Aidan with his song “Regina”, was disqualified after the first quarter final. He made social media posts about his song in a way that was, according to the MESC rules, was not allowed. Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest Malta never won the Eurovision Song Contest. Their first participation was in 1971, but after 1975 the island quit. After their return in 1991, there was a second place in two occasions. In 2002 it was Ira Losco with “7th wonder”, in 2005 Chiara with “Angel”. Malta always sung in English, with the exception of the first two entries. The bookmakers The bookmakers currently predict a 31st place for Malta. That means Malta would not qualify for a second time in a row. Hopefully Malta does better than predicted. The song And of course this is the song:

Road to Liverpool: Norway

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: Norway. Alessandra Mele Alessandra Mele will represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest. She wrote the song “Queen of kings” together with Henning Olerud, Stanley Ferdinandez and Linda Dale. 20 years old Alessandra was born in Pietra Ligure, Savona, Italy. She has an Italian father and a Norwegian mother. Music has always been important in her life. She first took part in a talent show when she was only 6 years old. She rose to fame last year when she participated in The Voice Norge. Espen Lind was the coach she chose after the blind audition. She reached the live shows. Eurovision came right after The Voice. Her song “Queen of kings” reached the #1 spot in the Norwegian charts. It’s also a hit in Finland, Hungary, Iceland and Sweden. Melodi Grand Prix Alessandra’s “Queen of kings” has won Melodi Grand Prix 2023. Ever since Norway participated for the first time, in 1960, the song has been chosen through Melodi Grand Prix. The name always remained the same. The way of selection, however, was different. This year, there were 3 semifinals and a final. Through Melodi Grand Prix history there were many remarkable participations. In 1961, Per Asplin sang “S’il vous plaît” which was not a success in those days. However, a revamped version by De Lillos became a huge hit in Norway 26 years later! Another man who is part of Melodi Grand Prix history, is Jahn Teigen. He won three times, but took part on numerous occasions. Most remarkable was his 1976 song “Voodoo“, a duet with Inger-Lise Rypdal. Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest Norway started participating in 1960. The first victory came in 1985, after “a long and thorny path”, as 1986 host Åse Kleveland stated. Bobbysocks brought the victory home with “La det swinge”. Ten years later, it was Secret Garden with “Nocturne”. The most recent Norwegian victory was in 2009: Alexander Rybak won the contest with “Fairytale”, a Eurovision classic. In recent years, in 2019 to be precise, KEiiNO won the televote with “Spirit in the sky”. Overall, the song became 7th. The bookmakers The bookmakers predict a 4th place for Norway. That would confirm again that the days of bad scores and zeros are completely over for Norway. The song And of course, this is the song:

Road to Liverpool: United Kingdom

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: the United Kingdom. Mae Muller Mae Muller was internally chosen to represent the United Kingdom. Her song is called “I wrote a song”. She will thus be the representative of the host country. Do you remember the video of Mika’s song “Grace Kelly“? And do you remember the little girl in the green dress? Well, that was Mae Muller. Mae Muller was working as a waitress in a drag bar. That is how her career started when she was a teenager. In 2017 she started uploading her songs to soundcloud. A year later she released two EP’s. She opened for Little Mix on their 2019 tour. That was also the year she released her debut album “Chapter 1”. Her real breakthrough came in 2021, when she had an international hit with “Better days“. A Song For Europe Mae was chosen internally by British broadcaster BBC, as was Sam Ryder last year. But the United Kingdom has a history of having national finals under the name “A Song For Europe”. In the late sixties and early seventies, a huge star was chosen to sing all the songs. Later, a national final with 8 or 12 songs was held. An international hit was “Have you ever been in love?” for Leo Sayer. The song was sung in A Song For Europe 1981 by a group called Gem. United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest The first time the United Kingdom took part in Eurovision was in 1957. Patricia Bredin sang one of the shortest songs ever, “All”. Five times, the victory was for the UK. Sandie Shaw won with a landslide in 1967 with “Puppet on a String”. Two years later, Lulu got the shared victory with “Boom Bang A Bang”. In 1976, Brotherhood of Man won with “Save your kisses for me”. Another group won in 1981: Bucks Fizz with “Making your mind up”. The last British winner was Katrina & The Waves with “Love shine a light”. Very remarkable: the UK reached the 2nd place on no less than 16 occassions. Bookmakers The United Kingdom currently has the 8th place at the bookmakers. Another top-10 score for the UK would be wonderful. It would also be proof that the UK found their way back to the top. The song And of course, here is the song:

Road to Liverpool: Ukraine

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: Ukraine. Tvorchi This year, Ukraine was the first country to select this song. Tvorchi was chosen with the song “Heart of steel”. The song was inspired by the events in May in the Azovstal factory in Mariupol. By that time, the factory was the last place in Mariupol which was defended against the Russians. The duo singing the song is Tvorchi. Tvorchi excists of Andrii Hutsuliak and Nigerian born Jimoh Augustus Kihende. Both were students at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ternopil, in the west of Ukraine. released their debut single “Slow” in 2017. Their debut album followed in 2018. In 2020, Tvorchi became 4th in Vidbir, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Bonfire“. So far, Tvorchi released four albums. Vidbir The national final for the Eurovision Song Contest is called Vidbir. On 17 December last year the final was held in a shelter, the Maidan Nezhalesto Metro Station. After a shortlist with 36 names was published, 10 acts and songs were selected for Vidbir. While the jury chose for Krutь, the televoting audience had Tvorchi as there favourite. Tvorchi became the overall winner. It is not the first time that Vidbir is the national selection. It is the name of the national final since 2016. Often, with this year as an exception, the final is held after two semifinals. Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest Ukraine participates in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2003. Already after one year, Ruslana brought the trophy home with her song “Wild dances”. The second Ukrainian victory came in 2016 with Jamala. She sang “1944”. With a landslide victory, Kalush Orchestra managed to win the contest last year with “Stefania”. But Ukraine also holds another record. No other country reached the final in ALL occasions. The contest is not held in Ukraine this year. Due to the war, safety guarantees could not be made. The bookmakers Ukraine is currently 3rd at the bookmakers. It would not be a surprise if they really get that place. The country reached a top-3 place in no less than 3 occasions. The song And of course here is the song:

Road to Liverpool: Spain

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: Spain. Blanca Paloma The winner of the Spanish national final, Benidorm Fest, is Blanca Paloma. She will sing the song “Eaea”, written and composed by Blanca herself with José Pablo Polo and Alvaro Tato. Blanca was born in 1989 in Elche, near Valencia. She sang in several bands, among others Alfakay. Blanca also sang the title song for the television series “Lucía en la teleraña“. She participated in Benidorm Fest 2022, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Secreto de agua“. After that, she released a new single called “Niña de fuego“. Benidorm Fest Spain has had numerous ways to select their entry. There have been huge national finals. On a lot of occasions however, Spain selected internally. One of the rejected songs from the 1986 internal selection became a worldwide hit: “Hijo de la luna” by Mecano. Last year, Benidorm Fest was the national selection for the first time. It might be the succes of winner Chanel and her song “Solo”. Chanel reached a 3rd place in the Eurovision Song Contest. A new era was there for the Spaniards! Reason enough to have another Benidorm Fest in 2023. And a big party it is! When you are in Benidorm around that time, you know it’s party time. Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest Spain participates in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1961. The country won twice: in 1968 with Massiel‘s “La, la, la”, while a year later Salomé got the trophy for her “Vivo cantando”. But let’s not forget Mocedades. They took part in 1973, didn’t win, but their “Eres tu” is now a Eurovision classic. The last few years, Spain ended up at the bottom of the list again and again. As stated before, Chanel broke that tradition last year. It resulted in a welcome in Spain, as if she had won the contest. The bookmakers The bookmakers currently predict a 6th place for Spain. That would be wonderful for the country. After many years of bad scores, Spain is back at the top! It would be a confirmation that Spanish broadcaster TVE is on the right track with Benidorm Fest. The song And last, but certainly not least: here is the song we are talking about:

Road to Liverpool: Italy

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: Italy. Marco Mengoni Marco Mengoni won the Festival di Sanremo 2023. He became the first choice to go to Eurovision, and accepted it. However, it took him some time to decide that this would be with “Due vite”, his Sanremo song. He wrote the song together with Davide Petrella and Davide Simonetta. Marco Mengoni won the X-Factor in 2009. His prize: participation in the Festival Di Sanremo 2010. He also scored his first hit “Dove si vola” with the X-Factor final song. In total, Marco released 7 studio albums and 4 live albums. In 2013 he won the Festival di Sanremo with the song “L’essenziale”. With this song, Marco went to the Eurovision Song Contest, were he got the 7th place. Mengoni reached the number 1 spot in the Italian charts several times: with “Dove si vola” and “L’essenziale”, but also “Guerriero” and “Ti ho voluto bene veramente“. Eurovision vs Sanremo Marco Mengoni was first choice for the Eurovision Song Contest because he won the Festival di Sanremo. He chose to do the job and represent his country. In Eurovision history, the contest and the Festival di Sanremo are closely connected. The idea for the Eurovision Song Contest came from Italian producers. They were enthousiast about Sanremo and wanted to implement it in Europe. The first years, until 1966, the winning song and singer automatically went to Eurovision. After that, sometimes the winner was the contestant, sometimes the winning song. And a few times, another participating song went to Eurovision. Only in the seventies and early eighthies, the festivals were not connected. Most of the times, the winner also had the right to refuse a trip to Eurovision. That happened in 1990. Winning band I Pooh decided to reject the Eurovision offer. Runner up Toto Cutugno accepted it an won the contest. Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest That brings us to Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest. Toto Cutugno was one of the three winners. In 1964, young Gigliola Cinquetti reached the first place with a landslide. Quite recently, in 2021, the band Måneskin did it. Other Italian Eurovision entries became classics. Who doesn’t remember “Piove“, “I treni di tozeur” or “Gente di mare“. The 1958 Eurovision entry “Nel blu dipinto di blu“, later named “Volare”, was probably the most selling Eurovision Song ever. Bookmakers The bookmakers currently predict an 11th place for Marco Mengoni. That is probably not what the Italians expect from “Due vite”. Italy does score very well in Eurovision most of the time, so let’s hope for a high score for Marco. The song And of course, you can listen to the song here. Enjoy “Due vite”!