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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 Withdrawn In 1993 it was the group Modern Times that took part.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.

Semifinal 2: the results

The gauntlet has been thrown again. That means that all the finalists are known now. These are the 10 countries from the 2nd semifinal that will go through to the Grand Final. Albania Cyprus Estonia Belgium Austria Lithuania Poland Australia Armenia Slovenia

A funny guide through the 2nd semifinal

Did you agree with the results of the first semi final? It’s time for the 2nd one. We look at it at this funny guide again. Don’t be shocked, Julia Sanina is wearing traditional Ukrainian clothing. We start with Denmark. It is pink all over, but the whole stage reminds us a bit of the well-known candy hearts. By the way: Reiley looks like 16, but is actually 26. We don’t see Denmark qualify. It is still pink all over. Armenia also has a lot of pink, although that changes if Brunette is not sitting on the structure again. Surpsise, she sings a part of the song in Armenian. Of course we will see Armenia back on Saturday, in the final. It is not entirely clear to us what Theodor Andrei from Romania wants to convey. He sings a love song, has his jacket opened but also wears shorts and Spongebob socks. We don’t quite get it. By the way, theodor’s legs are not the last hairy legs you will see. But you wont see Theodor in the final. If you think that Alika from Estonia will sing a fairly quiet Wouter Hardy ballad with little frills, you will be disappointed. If you look very closely, you will see that the piano on stage is playing itself. It is likely for Estonia to go to the final. It’s pink all over again, but now we’re talking about Gustaph’s pants. Gustaph’s act is the Brussels waffle of the festival: it contains a lot of sugar. The whole performance is rock solid and Gustaph’s vocals are good. Don’t forget dancer PussCee West who made a big contribution to the act. Of course Belgium will go to the final. It’s actually quite sad: it’s been raining here all week, and then Andrew Lambrou of Cyprus is also getting wet on stage. Fortunately, at the end of his performance, the EBU turns on the fireplace. We will see Andrew back in the final. Diljá flies across the stage in a silver suit. Although she sings about p..p…p..power, we mainly see f…f….f….flowers in the background. Because of all the moving, Diljá gets out of breath. The singers are clearly not all Noa Kirel this year. No final for Iceland this year. Victor Vernicos is 16 but looks 26, and yet another pair of hairy legs in shorts. Victor hops and jumps across the stage and gets so out of breath that he doesn’t sing a note in tune. We are not going to joke about this, we particularly feel sorry for the boy. Unfortunately the final will be mission impossible for Greece. And if you think you’ve had it all in terms of bad singing, Blanka comes from Poland. Anyone who thinks that she has improved her singing since the national final will unfortunately be disappointed. The summery atmosphere that we did see in the photos does not come across at all with the camera work. However, we would not be surprised if Poland qualifies. Would Joker Out! be the only band that will make it, on behalf of Slovenia. We have to say that in addition to a nice song, the group member with a mother from Assen also plays a role. In Amsterdam at Eurovision In Concert, the band did its best to speak some Dutch to our reporter Kal. That was great! We are convinced that the band will go through to the final. Iru from Georgia didn’t want a bracelet at first. In the end it turned out to be one, a little one. The song is one for the connoisseur, well sung. Her movements are especially reminiscent of Kate Bush from the time of “Wuthering heights”. Georgia will qualify, we are convinced. You do your best, write a song for the Eurovision song contest and then nobody likes it. It happened to the Italian group Piqued Jacks who participate for San Marino. With a thin voice, singer E-King shows that he is not the greatest singing talent of the evening. Sorry, but no San Marino in the final. Imagine you have very nice graphics of a typewriter, Edgar Allan Poe and the singers themselves and then the camerawork is not good. It happens to Teya and Salena from Austria. The result is that the song does not come across as the hit that was previously expected. But a qualifier it is! Singer Albina from Albania has brought her whole family on stage. Those who don’t turn on the sound or don’t speak Albanian might think it’s a funeral: not only because of the black clothing, but also because of the dramatic faces that the artists show. Qualifying is possible, but will be a tough job for Albania. And then there is another returning artist: Monika Linkytė. She wears orange as if she were a Dutch lady on King’s Day. Monika and her backing singers are standing in a circle, making us wonder what children’s game they are playing. But Monika also sings a piece of the song in her own language. Lithuania will for sure qualify for the final. Sebastien Tellier (France 2008) once had a golf cart on stage. The band Voyager makes it even more colorful with a complete car. With this typical Voyager song we rock out the 2nd semifinal. We will see this car back in the final. So in the end, we think Austria, Slovenia, Georgia, Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Armenia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland will qualify for the final.

In the Spotlight: Blanca Paloma

Blanca Eurovision Spain Liverpool

Winners press conference

Ten countries head to the final. After this there is a winners press conference. The ten winners all answered some questions, and here is a short overview of what was said. Croatia will perform in the second half of the final. The groups wants to make this world a little bit better place for everybody. The singer said “please stop f*cking wars. In wars there is no winners, in Eurovision there is no losers. They are proud to reach the final, as several times they reached the 11th place. Moldova will perform in the second half of the final. It felt pretty similar to his 2012 performance, because even Loreen is back! He likes to feel that they were more prepared this year. His wife says that if you work together you do everything together, even taking a shower together. Switzerland will perform in the first half of the final. Remo says it was his biggest dream to go to the finals. He started believing in it. Remo also confirms that the fan bubble in Eurovision is another level: he felt the love, also in the preview parties. He is the youngest qualifier. The next goal in his life is to win Eurovision. He always had a very low voice, people never expected it. “It is what it is, I have a babyface and a low voice. It’s okay for me to be the baby”. When he heard the song for the first time he started crying. It’s about a boy with a watergun now having to fight for his country. He is very sad about the situation in Ukraine. There is hope for a better future and he keeps Ukraine in his prayers. Finland will perform in the first half of the final. He is one of the favourites, and he says he doesn’t want to take any pressure. He wanted to have his vocals good by training and practicing. All artists want to win. “I just go and do my best and let’s see what happens”. Maybe he just wants to smile when he does his performance in the final. Some people do some crazy things, they got power and energy, maybe they can do the same in the final. It feels great for him to do the song entirely in Finnish. He wants to show and do his best, showing that you can win, also with a song in Finnish. Czechia will perform in the first half of the final. They say that they wanted braids because it shows the concept of sisterhood. She said that if all people no matter in what country would feel with their heart, there wouldn’t be a war like this. In the past the husband said “it is me or the career’, but she is happy that there is not a situation like this anymore. In some countries there is still that situation, and she hopes that is gonna change. The hands in the song symbolize manipulation. At one point you see the hand that is coming up above them. It symbolize the power that you have when you use it for bad things, you have the power to use it in a good way too. Israel will perform in the second half of the final. She feels the energy, this is different from other things as you are representing her country. In the beginning she was afraid not to make it to the final. She says “You know me, I am never relaxed, I want to do it better and better and better.” Her parents were with her in the green room: “Making my parents proud is so important to me. They were always there for me, there couldn’t be something more powerful than for them to be there”. Portugal will perform in the first half of the final. She thought of giving away “Ai coração” to other people. Her husband told her not to do it. The song is a very traditional song but she wanted to do a specific Mimicat song. As soon as she was selected she changed the arrangement. She says she was not confident with herself and her body as a teenager. She started living her live when she was in college and started making music. She played in a band and the members of the band told her she was vulgar. That’s where she wanted to prove them wrong. She wanted to say: keep going on and be yourself, as a message to her younger self. About getting to the final she says: “I have no expectations for the final as my goal was to get into the final”. Sweden will perform in the first half of the final. She never thought in her wildest dreams that she would come back to Eurovision. She fell in love with the song and then the Melodifestivalen question came up. She first said no but when she said ‘maybe’, people were so happy. That is how she decided to do it again. She had to feel not like she had to improve herself but she does have a need to make us feel and for that she works her ass off. Thoughts about winning or losing she blocks, as in her opinion the performance is not authentic anymore. “My job is to make you feel”. Serbia will perform in the first half of the final. He wrote the song originally as an anthem during the pandemic. He wanted to sleep through everything by playing videogames. He wanted to wake up himself and then wake up the world for the world problems. Luke Black also talks about the mass shootings in Belgrade. It triggered people more in their mental health. Luke wants to dedicate this performance to the victims. He wants to say ‘stay strong’ to the families. Norway will perform in the second half of the final. Alessandra said it was nervewrecking to be mentioned as the last one. She said her stomach was talking while

Semifinal 1: the results

The gauntlet had been thrown. Ten finalists will go through to Saturday’s Grand Final. The happy ten are: Croatia Moldova Switzerland Finland Czechia Israel Portugal Sweden Serbia Norway

The 1st semifinal is there!

It is almost time. At 21.00 CET central European time, the moment we have all been waiting for has come. You can watch this show on Youtube, but in many countries also on your national TV-channel. 15 countries will compete, and within a few hours we know which 10 will go to the final. We keep you updated!

A funny guide through the 1st semifinal

Tonight it’s that time again: the Eurovision Song Contest kicks off with its first semifinal. We cheerfully look at the entries per country. Norway starts the row. Alessandra is ready for it and after the Norwegian entry we are too. Since the starting order is determined by the EBU and no longer by draw, it is always a blast that can open. She does that very will. In the Norwegian national final she sang with autotune. We conclude: she does not need that. Without autotune she will also go to the final. Malta seems to have prepared the act in a special way. Normally there are all kinds of ideas from which a choice can be made. The Maltese have decided not to make a choice, but to do everything. At the start, the men show us that they feel better in their sweater. Halfway through the sweaters come off and they appear to be wearing silver glitter sweaters that many Eurovision participants would be jealous of. A place in the final for Malta will be difficult. Serbia starts as if Luke Black just woke up and doesn’t feel like it at all. That is what the lyrics say. Around him four men (his demons?) who are connected to his bed with some sort of of vacuum cleaner hoses. Luke Black pulls those hoses loose. The Serbs can be happy tonight: they will most likely make it to the final. Latvia is, after Malta, already the second band. The composition is a bright one. The staging with the beautiful lamps is nice, but you kind of forget that there is also a band playing there. And that’s a pity, Latvia does not stand out in this semifinal. That will also be the case in the result. Latvia will not qualify. Do you remember Suzy? She represented Portugal with all glee in 2014. She didn’t make it to the final. It could just happen this year, because Mimicat brings a song in the same genre, but much better. And as red as red can be. But we think Mimicat can be a happy woman tonight after the hosts mentioned her as one of the finalists. We would have loved to have been present at the brainstorming session about Ireland’s act. Because at a good moment someone must have shouted: ‘a golden jumpsuit, that’s it!’. Apparently no one said at the time that this was not a good idea. The result: you look at a jumpsuit for three minutes and completely forgets about the song. We will only see the suit once; Ireland will not be there on Saturday. The Croatian participants seem to have fun. Thank goodness, at least someone has to have fun. A band with members in their sixties in the cloths of dictators, and later in their underpants. Well yeah, for everything is a market, and we even think the country will go to the final. Remo Forrer from Switzerland sings a song about a water gun. Fortunately, no one in the delegation thought that he should also shoot with a water gun. The act is kept sober but fits the song. The final should be possible for Switzerland. Fortunately, the Israeli delegation looked at Wikipedia to see what a unicorn actually is. In the music video, they performed another centaur, now a unicorn. In any case, a lot happens on stage, but unlike Malta, this is a unity. Noa communicates with the audience in the dance part. We cannot imagine Israel failing to reach the final. Moldova sends Pasha Parfeni for the second time. This time he is supported by two ladies, each with a horn of hair on their heads. The entire group’s clothing is somewhat reminiscent of what Ruslana and her backing group wore when they won in 2004. This time it will not be easy for him to reach the final. And then we get Sweden. We can easily say that we see a Eurovision winner at work here. Even if she doesn’t win this year, Loreen already did. Will Loreen be the one who will get two victories, like Johnny Logan? It is possible. Vocally she is good now and the act is also rock solid. We are glad that the structure hanging above her head is hung on sturdy cables. We cannot imagine that Azerbaijan will reach the final. We know first hand that people in Azerbaijan themselves do not trust it either. The first images come from the time when the world was still in black and white and Azerbaijan was still part of the Soviet Union. Fortunately, the rest is in color. However, qualification will be very hard, if not impossible, for Azerbaijan. And on we go to the Czech Republic: beautiful pink is not ugly. And the women of Vesna all have very long braids. We have news for you: the braids are not real. For those who know the video clip, the act in the final does not seem to come across very strongly. We think it is strong enough for the final however. And then the Netherlands: a lot of work has been done and improvement is visible in the act. The vocals certainly sound good, although it must be said that Mia and Dion come across as very cautious. Especially in the first part of the song. The high note that Dion makes sounds very beautiful, and the last half minute is downright magical. We think a place in the final is possible. The last one is Finland. Anyone who thought to get a rest at the end will be disappointed. We can now dream Käärijä with his green bolero. An engaging person who effortlessly conquers the hearts of people of all sort. Televoter winner? Then he would also win the semi-final tonight because there is no jury present. If Finland does not go to the final, we will eat our shoe. All in all, we can conclude that this is a pretty strong and

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.