Eurovision 2022

Did six countries make a mutual deal?

Six countries have mutually agreed on the voting in this years Eurovision Song Contest. That’s what Jean Philip De Tender of the EBU said to Belgian newspaper “Het Laatste Nieuws“. Earlier it was announced that the points of the aforementioned six countries were annulled. The EBU announced that there were irregularities during the broadcast. A new points list has been compiled for these countries. The EBU then looks at the voting behavior of comparable countries.This situation would concern Azerbaijan, San Marino, Romania, Montenegro, Georgia and Poland, but the EBU does not want to confirm that. It seems that the EBU had not informed the countries about the nullification of the points. Georgia and Romania were not amused. Georgia is said to have given the twelve to Ukraine and now saw them go to the United Kingdom. Romania had awarded twelve points to Moldova, which went to Ukraine.

Ukraine wins Eurovision 2022

Ukraine has just won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. It is the 3rd time that wins. Kalush Orchestra reached the first place with the song “Stefania”. Note that both jury and televoter had different winners. United Kingdom was the winner of the expert jury, while Ukraine won a landslide among the televoters. Here you find the full result: Ukraine, 631 pts. United Kingdom, 466 pts. Spain, 459 pts. Sweden, 438 pts. Serbia, 312 pts. Italy, 268 pts. Moldova, 253 pts. Greece, 215 pts. Portugal, 207 pts. Norway, 182 pts. The Netherlands, 171 pts. Poland, 151 pts. Estonia, 141 pts. Lithuania, 128 pts. Australia, 125 pts. Azerbaijan, 106 pts. Switzerland, 78 pts. Romania, 65 pts. Belgium, 64 pts. Armenia, 61 pts. Czech Republic, 38 pts. Finland, 38 pts. Iceland, 20 pts. France, 17 pts. Germany, 6 pts.

UK or Ukraine…. our prediction for tonight

There are bookmakers, there are polls, there are so many different opinions and predictions. Our team gave it a go too, and we have different opinions. Some of us think, like many people, that Ukraine will win tonight. However, some of us are convinced the United Kingdom will win. Anyway, this is our final top 5: 1.United Kingdom Finally, after so many years of bad scores, the United Kingdom might win the Eurovision Song Contest. Let’s all go to London (or wherever in the UK) next year! 2.Ukraine A lot of emotion comes along with a song, that got a completely different meaning after the invasion, February 24 of this year. If Ukraine doesn’t win, it will at least end up very high! 3.Italy Before the Russian invasion, Italy was the number 1 at the bookies. That was not for nothing: the song was and is popular. Whatever happens, this will be the best score for a host country in years. 4.Sweden Bad luck these two weeks for Sweden. Even in the last rehearsals, things went wrong. But still, we have a strong pop song that stands out in this contest. Sweden might not win, but do well anyway. 5.Spain What goes for the United Kingdom, goes for Spain: after so many years of struggle to find a good song, they found one. A performance with a lot of dance, and a singer who can manage that: it’s unique. Welcome back to the top, Spain!

Running order: from Czech Republic to Estonia

This Saturday, the Eurovision Song Contest will start with the song that was the last one in the 2nd semifinal: the Czech song. It will end with one from the same semifinal: Estonia. There are some remarkable things in the running order: the contest starts with two uptempo songs with a lot of show: Czech Republic and Romania. At the end of the show, three powerballads (Australia, United Kingdom and Poland) will be performed in a row. Whether this will be a good running order or not, we will see. This is the complete overview:

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!

Who will perform when on Saturday?

On the picture: Cornelia Jakobs (Sweden) joking with the press conference host Tonight, during the winners’ press conference, every artist had to draw a ballot for the final. Will they perform in the 1st or in the 2nd half? Last week, the Big 5 already had their draw. And Tuesday, the winners of the first semifinal found out when they have to perform. Tonight, or early tomorrow morning, EBU will decide the following order. Only one thing is known yet: host country Italy will perform as 9th. 1st half: Armenia Czech Republic Finland France Germany Italy (9th place) Norway Portugal Romania Spain Switzerland The Netherlands Ukraine 2nd half: Australia Azerbaijan Belgium Estonia Greece Iceland Lithuania Moldova Poland Serbia Sweden United Kingdom

And the last ten finalists are….

Yes, the die is cast again. Ten songs will go through to the final, to be exactly the ten countries you will find below: Belgium Czech Republic Azerbaijan Poland Finland Estonia Australia Sweden Romania Serbia Congratulations to the ten winners. And remember: only ten songs could go through. That does not mean that the other songs are bad.

Our prediction for the 2nd semifinal

Two days ago we made a prediction for the first semi-final. Okay, no Albania and Latvia, but Moldova and Iceland instead. But don’t forget: we got no less than eight countries right! That’s why we’re taking the risk for another prediction tonight, this time for the second semifinal. We think that these are the countries that will advance to the final tomorrow: Finland: Who doesn’t know The Rasmus? These rockers have a huge fan base all over Europe. They will vote en masse. Finland makes it to the final. Serbia: The bookmakers are even predicting that Serbia will finish in the top-10. The act with washing hands will be appreciated by enough people for a place in the final. Unfortunately, Britain’s Prince Harry lives in the US. He would definitely vote for this song that mentions his wife. Azerbaijan: This country almost always makes it to the final according to a fixed recipe: a foreign team writes a song. A strong act is built around it. A guarantee for success! Australia: This song is one you either love or hate. There are plenty of people who really appreciate the act with the mask and feathers. The message also gets across. Sheldon is also a very good singer. Cyprus: A surprising song in Greek. Cyprus is not necessarily high on all lists, but it is just such a number that still gets enough appreciation to reach the final tomorrow evening. Estonia: This song makes people happy. And if there’s one thing we need right now, it’s hope, and what’s this song about….? Stefan will be in the final on Saturday. Romania: Spain votes in this semi-final and that helps, but in the meantime WRS also puts on a slick show. We think there is a good chance that it will be a final place. Poland: This is one of two entries on which our entire team is unanimous: Poland goes to the final with the rock-solid, well-sung ballad. Welcome back in the final, Poland! Belgium: The Belgian gospel song is one of a kind, well sung and therefore stands out in a positive way. Although the Belgians themselves seem to have doubts, we are convinced of a place in the final for Jérémie Makiese. Sweden: If Sweden doesn’t go to the final, nobody will. Even when everything went wrong, Cornelia Jacobs remained professional. The bookmakers are still predicting a very high position. But are we right? We’ll know in about 24 hours!

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!

And this is what we know about the following order

Tonight, during the winners’ press conference, every artist had to draw a ballot for the final. Will they perform in the 1st or in the 2nd half? Last week, the Big 5 already had their draw. However, there is one exception. The organizing country, in this case Italy, had already drawn for the 9th place on an earlier stage. As you notice, most of the countries drew a place in the first half. That means, next Thursday there will be a lot of places available in the 2nd half. 1st half: Armenia France Germany Italy (9th place) Norway Portugal Spain Switzerland The Netherlands Ukraine 2nd half: Iceland Lithuania Moldova United Kingdom