Martijn

Major changes in Eurovision voting

Some major changes in the Eurovision 2023 voting are announced. That was announced by EBU in a press release today. Only viewer votes will decide countries qualifying from Semi-Finals The Semi-Final results will be decided by televoting only. No expert jury will be involved. With that decision, the Semi-Finals will go back to the 2007 system. The main reason to get an expert jury involved was the diaspora vote. Several countries were succesful thanks to their diaspora. According to the results of the 2007 backup jury, for example Turkey would not have done that well. Germany however, would have reached a 4th place, while the entry “Frauen regier’n die Welt” became 19th with televoting only. Viewers in non-participating countries will be able to vote online There will be a ‘rest of the world’ jury, built up just like the other juries. That makes it possible for viewers from for example Canada or South Africa to vote in the contest as well. This jury can vote in both the Semi-Finals and the Grand Final. Jury votes will, as before, be combined with viewer votes to decide final result The way the results in the Grand Final will be decided, does not change; the only difference will be the ‘rest of the world’ jury.

Claes-Göran Hederstrom passed away

Today, the sad news reached us that Claes-Göran Hederström died last night. Hederström is best known for his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968. His song with the particularly long title “Det börjar verka kärlek banne mej” reached fifth place. Hederström was discovered in 1967 by conductor Mats Olsson. A year later he won Melodifestivalen and therefore participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. It became a number 1 hit in Sweden. A greater success than “Det börjar verka kärlek….” would not come. In 1968 he collaborated with many other Swedish artists. Together with Nina Fizell he scored another hit, “Flickan i fönstret mitt emot”, and in 1972 he had a solo hit, “Här ute på landet”. Claes-Göran Hederström made another attempt to enter the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973, but his “Historien om en vän” became eighth out of ten. Claes-Göran Hederström died last night at the age of 77 years.

Blast from the past: Belgium 1973

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we will have a look at 1973, when Nicole and Hugo represented Belgium with the song “Baby baby”. Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest Belgium is one of the countries that participates in the Eurovision Song Contest from the first moment on in 1956. The only Belgian victory came in 1986, with Sandra Kim and her song “J’aime la vie”. However, in recent years Loïc Nottet (2015) and Blanche (2017) reached the top-5, both with a 4th place. National Selection In 1973, the national final Liedjes voor Luxemburg was held on February 25th. The song presentation can be found on Youtube, sound only. Although five quite big names in Flanders participated, Nicole and Hugo were the big favourites, as they missed the contest in 1971. Rita Deneve, “Ga met me mee”, 0 pt., 4th Nicole and Hugo, “Jij en ik en wij”, 0 pt., 4th Ann Christy, “Bye bye”, 1 pt., 3rd Kalinka, “Nooit ga ik van je heen”, 0 pt., 4th Liliane Dorekens, “Morgen”, 0 pt., 4th Rita Deneve, “Vrede voor iedereen”, 2pt., 2nd Nicole & Hugo, “Baby, baby”, 4 pt., 1st Ann Christy, “Meeuwen”, 0 pt., 4th Kalinka, “Home sweet home”, 0 pt., 4th Liliane Dorekens, “Kiss, Kus, Kuss”, 0 pt., 4th For the Dutch speaking: a lot of information about the national final can be found in “Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong – 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisie Songfestival“, written by André Vermeulen. Nicole & Hugo The duo existed of Nicole Josy (Nicole van der Palm, born October 21st 1946) and Hugo Sigal (Hugo Verbraeken, born November 10th 1947). Both had a solo career before they met in 1970. Nicole already attempted to go to Eurovision in 1968. The first success of the duo came in 1971, when they won Canzonissima, the Belgian preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Goeiemorgen, morgen“. Unfortunately, Nicole got jaundice and had to stay in bed. The duo was replaced at the contest in Dublin. In December, 1971 became their happy year after all: Nicole and Hugo married. Two years later, they won the Belgian preselection again, and now they were able to go to Eurovision. Unfortunately they came last, but no one ever forgets the purple suits the duo was wearing. In 1974, they proved their success on another contest: the World Popular Song Contest in Tokyo, where they placed 2nd. It brought them several international tours in the 1970s. In 1984, they toured throughout the world on a cruise ship. A comeback came in 2004, when Nicole and Hugo participated in the Belgian preselections again with the song “Love is all around“. Although they didn’t win, the song became a hit. It was followed by several hits in Dutch like “Ik denk aan jou“, “Verliefd“, “Pastorale” and “Schietgebed“. In 2015 the duo decided to retire. On November 4th 2022, Nicole Josy passed away. Baby, Baby The song the duo sang at Eurovision in 1973, “Baby, baby” was composed by Ignace Baert, with lyrics from Erik Marijsse. A very remarkable line in the song was one Nicole sang: “Een vrouw kan niets alleen” (A woman can’t do anything alone). The song reached the 28th place in the Belgian charts. In Eurovision, most of the countries awarded it 5/10 or less, only Monaco and Spain awarded it with 6/10 votes. Therefore, the song became 17th and last.

Nicole Josy passed away

Today, the sad news came to us that Nicole Josy passed away. Nicole was the female half of the duo Nicole & Hugo. In 1971 Nicole Josy and her husband Hugo Sigal would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. With the song “Goeie morgen, morgen” they won the Belgian national final. Unfortunately, Nicole got jaundice and had to stay in bed. At the Eurovision Song Contest, the two were replaced by Jacques Raymond and Lily Castell, who had to rehearse the song and dance in haste. A new chance came two years later. Again Nicole and Hugo won the national final. With the song “Baby, baby” they could participate this time. Unfortunately, the duo came last. Yet their performance was unforgettable. This was mainly due to the bright purple suits that the two wore. In 2004 the duo again made a bid for Eurovision participation. However, they did not succeed with their song “Love is all around”. In 2015, the two decided to stop and enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Nicole had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for some time. However, she did not die from that. She fell on her head at home. She died from the injuries she sustained. Nicole was 76 years old.

Blast from the past: Sweden 2002

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we will have a look at 2002, when Afro-Dite represented Sweden with the song “Never let it go”. Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest Sweden is one of the most succesful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest. Their first entry came in 1958. Their first victory came in 1974 (Abba with “Waterloo“). The country also won the prize in 1984 (The Herreys with “Diggi-loo diggi-ley), 1991 (Carola with “Fångad av en stormvind“), 1999 (Charlotte Nilsson with “Take me to your heaven“), 2012 (Loreen with “Euphoria“) and 2015 (Måns Zelmerlöw with “Heroes“). National selection For the first time, the Swedish national selection did not last only one evening. Four rounds and a 2nd chance round (andra chancen) ended up in a final with 10 songs. Former participants Friends, Kikki Danielsson, Elisabeth Andreasson (Bettan), Lotta Engberg and Jan Johansen were among the candidates. This is the full list of the final: Afro-Dite sings “Never let it go“, 248 pts., 1st Brandsta City Släckers sing “Kom och ta mig“, 88 pts., 5th Javiera sings “No hay nada más“, 71 pt., 6th Barbados sings “Världen utanför“, 90 pts., 4th Hanna & Lina sing “Big time party“, 43 pts., 9th Östen med Resten sing “Hon kommer med solsken“, 33 pts., 10th Friends sing “The one that you need“, 46 pts., 8th Kikki, Bettan & Lotta, “Vem é dé du vill ha“, 100 pts., 3rd Jan Johansen, “Sista andetaget“, 65 pts., 7th Méndez, “Adrenaline“, 162 pts., 2nd Afro-Dite Afro-Dite is a Swedish pop group, which originally consisted of Gladys del Pilar, Blossom Tainton Lindquist and Kayo Shekoni. Gladys Del Pilar had previously participated in Melodifestivalen in 1994, where she became 2nd with her song “Det vackraste jeg vet“. The group won the Swedish Melodifestivalen in 2002 with the song “Never Let It Go.”. They also participated in Melodifestivalen 2003 with the song “Aqua Playa” and came seventh. In 2007 they released a new album which was released as a download on their website. Just in time for Stockholm Pride 2011, Jonas Hedqvist released a new version of the single “I am What I am” together with the group Afro-Dite. The group made a comeback and participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the song “The Boy Can Dance“. They came 5th in the first part of the competition and were thus eliminated. In 2015, Kayo Shekoni left the group and was replaced by Jessica Folcker. Never let it go The song “Never let it go” was a swinging, uptempo song. The song was written and composed by Marcos Ubeda, who previously wrote the winning lyrics of “Take me to your heaven” in 1999. After “Never let it go” Marcos wrote numerous songs for Melodifestivalen, but never won it again.

Blast from the past: Cyprus 1984

We know a lot about Eurovision; this is knowledge we want to share with you. Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we have a look at 1984, when Andy Paul represented the country with the song “Anna Mari-Elena”. Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest The first Cypriot entry entered the stage in 1981. Although Cyprus never won Eurovision, there were some huge successes. Cyprus was very close to winning back in 2018, when Eleni Foureira reached the 2nd place with her “Fuego”. National selection Official lists of the 1984 Cypriot national final are never published. Whether there was a live broadcast or an internal selection is not known. However, there are live recordings of several songs going on throughout the internet. We were able to distill a list of four songs, involved in the contest: *.”Anna Mari-Elena“, sung by Andy Paul, 1st*.”Htes”, sung by Lia Vissi-Piliouri, 2nd*.”Thimame“, sung by Yiannis Dimitrou, 3rd*.”Triantafila tou mai”, sung by Jimmy Makulis, 4th Jimmy Makulis had previously represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest, in 1961. Lia Vissi-Piliouri had to wait one more year; she was the 1985 Cypriot contestant. Yiannis Dimitrou and his song “Thimame” were supposed to represent Cyprus in 1988. The song was disqualified because it already took part in the 1984 national selection. Andy Paul Andy’s real name is Andros Pavlou. In the early 1960’s, he moved to the United Kingdom. As more Greek artists in the United Kingdom do (think about George Michael), Andros took a more English name: Andy Paul. His career as a singer started with performances in a pub, where he took part in a talent contest, he won with an Elvis imitation. It got him a contract at the pub. In 1983, Andy Paul released his first record: “Heartbreak situation”. The song was produced by the famous producers trio Stock, Aitken and Waterman. A year later he was chosen to represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song can be found on his 1986 album “Andy Paul”. An international disco hit followed in 1988: “Now that I’ve found you“. He also released an album, “Andy Paul”, in the same year. In 1989 a new album was made. Andy Paul is still performing. He currently sings songs from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially on weddings and other parties. Some material can be found on his website. Anna Mari-Elena The song “Anna Mari-Elena” was an uptempo disco song written by Paul himself. At the Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg the song was not a hot favourite to win the contest. Greece, very often supportive for Cyprus (if not always), did not take part. However, there was a country that gave it’s 12 to Cyprus: Yugoslavia. Denmark awarded the song with 10 points, but only Sweden, Ireland (4 points) and France (1 point) had Cyprus in their top-10. The song ended up in a 15th place.

October 28: Eurovision Night in Tilburg

Save the date!! Friday 28 October, Café Peanuts in Tilburg is organizing a Eurovision Night. The night is organized in collaboration with OGAE Netherlands, Songfestivalweblog and Eurovision Universe. You can enjoy the most danceable songs from Eurovision Histor. There will also be a sing-a-long and you can show your karaoke qualities. The icing on the cake of this great event will be a performance of Justine Pelmelay. Justine represented the Netherlands in the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest. Of course she will sing her Eurovision song “Blijf zoals je bent. The event starts at 20:00, but doors are open from 19:00. Café Peanuts can be found at Stadhuisstraat 19 in Tilburg and the entrance is free.

3 withdrawals in one day: what’s happening!?

Two more countries announced that they would not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest: North Macedonia and Bulgaria. The news came after the Eurovision community woke up this morning with the withdrawal of Montenegro. North Macedonia North Macedonia issued a statement this afternoon: “Such a decision is in the best interest of the citizens, taking into account the increased costs due to the energy crisis, which occupy a large part of the budget of the Public Service, as well as the increased registration fee for the participation in Eurovision 2023. This decision will enable the saving of funds that would have been set aside for the Macedonian delegation’s stay in Liverpool, where Eurovision 2023 is being held.” The North Macedonian broadcaster MRT has announced that they will broadcast the festival. North Macedonia has not been very successful in the past two years. They did not make the final. There was a riot around a flag in both 2021 and 2022. However, in 2019 North Macedonia still won the jury vote. “Proud”, the entry sung by Tamara Todevska, was the country’s most successful ever. Bulgaria The Bulgarian withdrawal was different. In a personal message from the Instagram account @bg_eurovision to OGAE Greece, it was announced that Bulgaria was no longer interested in the Eurovision Song Contest. BG Eurovision announces that no Bulgarian entry should be expected in the coming years. Bulgaria has been very successful in the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years. The country was almost the winner in 2017 with Kristian Kostov and his “Beautiful mess”. Conclusion? Twice (Montenegro and North Macedonia) it is a financial reason that is indicated. It is not clear what is really behind the Bulgarian withdrawal. We can only guess. Both Montenegro (2021) and Bulgaria (2019) have recently skipped a year. Immediately after the most recent Eurovision song contest, North Macedonia already expressed its doubts about participation.

No Montenegro in Liverpool

Montenegro will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool next year. That is what Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG announced. Financial problems are said to underlie this decision. The Montenegrin broadcaster has tried to find sponsors for the contest, but has not been successful. Montenegro took part in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve times. The country reached the final only twice. The best score so far for Montenegro was a 13th place for Knez, who sang the song “Adio” in 2015. This year, the country failed to reach the final. Montenegro would not have participated in 2020 and did not participate in 2021. The reason was also financial. People then made different budgetary choices.

Vesa-Matti Loiri passed away

This week, Finnish singer and actor Vesa-Matti Loiri passed away. Loiri, who was nicknamed Vesku, was a Finnish actor, comedian, singer and musician. He is considered one of Finland’s most versatile entertainment artists. He was one of the biggest names in Finnish art and entertainment. Loiri has acted in theatre, films and television. As a comedian, he is known for television programs and movies. As a singer, Loiri gained popularity, especially as an interpreter of songs composed to Eino Leino’s poems. He has also recorded Finnish hits. In 1975, he took part in Euroviisut, the Finnish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. His song “Laulu” became 3rd. Four years later, with “Huilumies”, he was more succesful. He was chosen to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, in the international final in Den Haag, it was not a great success. He became last. In 2014, Loiri appeared in the third season of the Finnish TV series Vain läämää. Loiri died of cancer on August 10, 2022. “He was one of Finland’s most well-known, most loved and most successful entertainment artists of all time,” music editor Ilkka Mattila describes Loiri.’s career in the death news.