Czech Republic

It’s Vesna for Czech Republic!

Czech Republic has chosen. With 70% of an international jury and 30% of Czech audience, the winner is Vesna with the song  “My sister’s crown”. The song is written by Kateryna Vatchenko, Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Tanita Yankova and composed by Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Tanita Yankova. Czech Republic will perform in the 2nd half of the 1st semifinal. Vesna, “My sister’s crown”,  10.584 pts. Pam Rabbit, “Ghosting”, 4.217 pts. Rodan, “Introvert party club”, 1.995 pts. Markéta Irglová, “Happy”, 1.009 pts. Maella, “Flood”, 599 pts.  

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Czech Republic: we will have a winner!

One week ago, Czech Republic presented 5 songs, one of which will represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Today the winner will be announced. That will happen at 19.00 CET, and you can watch it on YouTube. The five competing songs are: 1 Maella Flood 2 Pam Rabbit Ghosting 3 Markéta Irglová Happy 4 Vesna My sister’s crown 5 Rodan Introvert party club Pam Rabbit took part in the national selection in 2019 (2nd) and 2020 (6th).

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We Are Domi

©EBU/Louise Bennett About Quick Facts Members Dominika HaškováCasper HatlestadBenjamin Rekstad Formed2016 Nationality🇨🇿 Czech/🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionESCZ 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongLights off (2022) Biography We Are Domi, also known as DOMI, is a Norwegian-Czech electro-pop band, founded in 2018 and based in Prague in the Czech Republic. The band’s crew consists of front vocalist Dominika Hašková, daughter of the former ice hockey player Dominik Hašek, guitarist Casper Bjelland Hatlestad from Stavanger and keyboardist Benjamin Rekstad from Nesodden.  We Are Domi was founded in 2018 in Leeds, UK. The three met while studying jazz music at the Leeds Conservatoire. The band is known for energetic performances and mixes different genres such as dance, electro-pop and Scandinavian-inspired pop. In August 2020, the band moved from the UK to the Czech Republic, due to the strict virus restrictions in the UK. In the autumn of 2021, the band was announced as one of seven entries in the Czech music competition ESCZ 2022. The competition was organized by the Czech national broadcaster ČT. On Thursday 16 December 2021, the broadcaster announced that the band We Are Domi had won the competition. The result was that they represented the Czech Republic in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin with the song “Lights off”. Entries Lights off Country   Czech Republic Year2022 LanguageEnglish LyricsAbigail Frances JonesDominika HaškováBenjamin Rekstad MusicEinar Eriksen KvaløyAbigail Frances JonesDominika HaškováCasper HatlestadBenjamin Rekstad BackingsNikol Držmíšková Results Semi Points: 227Position: 4Running order: 18 Results Finals Points: 38Position: 22Running order: 1 https://youtu.be/EGRzSefqOm0

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Day 7: A crystal mask, a thunderstorm and Murphy’s Law

The penultimate day of rehearsal: it is becoming increasingly clear what the viewer can expect. Today we saw the last artists of the second semifinal. Let’s take a closer look at the rehearsals: AUSTRALIA: Whatever you think of Sheldon Riley, he sings like no other. During his emotional ballad he wears the white suit with the enormous drag of feathers. He wears his crystal mask for most of the act, but it goes off. It can’t be difficult for Australia to make it to the final. CYPRUS: For the first time in years, Cyprus is singing (partially) in Greek again. Andromache and her dancers stand in a kind of shell as they sing the song. We have to admit that we would describe Andromache’s vocals as ‘not bad’. If is that a recommendation….? IRELAND: Ireland falls into the ‘how nice’ category. Brooke’s vocals are certainly not bad, neither is the act. However, you may wonder if this is the song with which Ireland will finally reach the final again. We cannot rule out the possibility that it will not work. NORTH MACEDONIA: Perhaps Andrea had hoped for greater success. She was not happy with her first rehearsal. The song comes across as screaming; a hoarseness that suits Kaliopi (2012 and 2016) but not Andrea. ESTONIA: Unfortunately, Stefan can’t count on the 12 points from Armenia, because the country where his roots lie is performing in the other semifinal. The many movements he makes do have an effect on Stefan’s voice, but somehow it doesn’t seem to matter for the entry. It is a happy song that can easily go through to the final. ROMANIA: The Romanians made some minor changes to the act, making it even better and slicker. Furthermore, it seemed as if WRS had changed the melody of the chorus a little bit here and there. In any case, a spectacular show is in store for Romania. POLAND: The ballad of Polen starts very calmly with Ochman alone on stage. Halfway through, when the song becomes a little less quiet, the aforementioned dancers (forest nymphs?) come on stage. We see that a heavy thunderstorm erupts on the stage. Finally a strong contender for Poland agiain. MONTENEGRO: A ballad in which not much happens in 3 minutes. The advantage is that not much can go wrong. We had already mentioned the blue dress that Vladana is wearing. Behind her a circle that most resembles the fluff ball of a dandelion. It is not sure whether it stands out enough to go to the final. BELGIUM: The Belgians have a strong singer with a gospel-like power ballad in Jérémie Makiese. He will definitely get points for that. Fortunately, because the act he shows looks a bit stiff and doesn’t really do justice to the song and singer. SWEDEN: Murphy’s Law strikes. If one thing goes wrong, everything immediately goes wrong. Problems with the sound, problems with the technique and a falling cameraman meant that she was only able to do one whole runthrough. Cornelia did manage to show how professional she is, by showing a good rehearsal even with all that trouble. CZECH REPUBLIC: The act with lots of light and nice graphics fits very well with the Czech entry. In that respect it is a unity. The vocals, however, leave a lot to be desired. That could cost them their heads if it has to be clear who will go to the final.

Read More »

Day 4: new sun troubles, a Swedish circle and many more

Today is the day of the stage again. Today the EBU has made an official statement about it: “During the technical tests in Turin, the production team has experienced challenges with how long it takes to adjust the “sun” to different positions in the time between the different performances. Together with the host station RAI it was therefore decided that the sun will remain in the same position during all 40 songs, to ensure a fair competition for all participating countries.”. What position that is, is still being discussed. So to be continued again. It is certain that a number of countries now have to make changes in their staging. Meanwhile, 9 countries rehearsed for their performance in the second semifinal. IRELAND: Brooke takes the stage in a bright blue suit. During her performance she is assisted by four dancers. They start the song lying on the floor! Ireland uses many floor projections. Brooke is also praised by Eurovision.tv for her strong voice. Pyrotechnics are used at the end of her performance. NORTH MACEDONIA: Andrea stands alone on the podium for North Macedonia. She sings her song completely wrapped in black leather. In her performance she uses the lifting bridges over the water. Shadows of hands are visible on the LED screens. The sun is not only orange but also white and blue. ESTONIA: Stefan starts his performance on the B stage. He is accompanied only by his guitar. Later in the song, he goes wild: then he uses the entire stage to present his performance. The two cowboys from the national final stayed home. ROMANIA: WRS from Romania wears glittering wetlook trousers. He also wears a red blouse, but according to Eurovision tradition, that goes off. He turns out to be wearing a sleeveless shirt with glitter underneath. There is a lot of dancing. As a result, the Romanian likely gets a lot of attention from the crowd. POLAND: The Polish competitor Ochman is also in black, he wears a black suit. He is assisted by four dancers, who seem to represent some kind of water spirits. Flashing light effects can be seen during the performance. The waterfall on the stage is also used… what else could we expect with a song about a river? MONTENEGRO: Vladana has her entire performance on the B stage. She wears a blue dress during her performance. The background is also blue, with splashes of white as graphics. Vladana mainly remains in one place. BELGIUM: The Belgian Jérémie Makiese impressed with his song. Jérémie is flanked by four dancers. He himself wears blue-grey trousers, a black shirt and a silver jacket, while the dancers wear black jackets. At the end of the act all the light falls on Jérémie, who is standing on a platform on which flames are projected. SWEDEN: Cornelia Jakobs ranks high among the bookmakers. As the Swedes always do, Cornelia Jakobs also puts on the same act as during the national final Melodifestivalen. The starry sky at the beginning, the large, first green and then red, circular plate right behind Cornelia, even the silver-black clothing and the bare feet are the same. CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech group We Are Domi is the last to rehearse today. The group uses a lot of light, which makes you feel like you’re in a disco. Funny effect: the ‘sun’ on stage looks like a vinyl album here. Eurovision.tv mentions the cello-string guitar: the guitarist made it himself.

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We Are Domi met at a Halloween Party

We Are Domi is a group with a special composition: Casper Hatlestad and Benjamin Rekstad are from Norway, Dominika Hašková is from the Czech Republic. And to complicate matters, they live in London. We Are Domi won the Czech Republic national selection with the song “Lights off”. The afternoon before Eurovision In Concert, our reporter Kal Engels spoke with the group. About how the group started (yes, they met at a Halloween party!), how they looked forward to Eurovision In Concert, but also about what is so special about Casper’s guitar. So watch the video quickly. It’s more than worth it!

Read More »

This is the running order

Today, the running order for the two semifinals in the Eurovision Song Contest has been announced. The running order for the final is not known yet, apart from Italy: Mahmood and Blanco will perform in 9th place. 1st semifinal: Albania Latvia Lithuania Switzerland Slovenia Ukraine Bulgaria The Netherlands Moldova Portugal Croatia Denmark Austria Iceland Greece Norway Armenia   2nd semifinal: Finland Israel Serbia Azerbaijan Georgia Malta San Marino Australia Cyprus Ireland North Macedonia Estonia Romania Poland Montenegro Belgium Sweden Czech Republic  

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Allocation draw: these are the semifinals

From the Madama Palace in Turin, the allocation draw took place this afternoon. The draw was hosted by Carolina Di Domenico and Gabriele Corsi. During the ceremony, mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb (Rotterdam) handed over the key of the Eurovision City to his Turinese colleague Stefano Lo Russo. The semifinals will be as follows: 1st semifinal, 1st half: Albania Latvia Switzerland Slovenia Bulgaria Moldova Ukraine Lithuania The Netherlands   1st semifinal, 2nd half: Norway Russia Portugal Denmark Armenia Austria Croatia Iceland Greece   The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 1st one are: France and Italy.   2nd semifinal, 1st half: Australia Georgia Cyprus Serbia Finland Azerbaijan San Marino Israel Malta   2nd semifinal, 2nd half: Montenegro Romania Czech Republic Poland Belgium North Macedonia Sweden Estonia Ireland   The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 2nd one are: United Kingdom, Spain and Germany.

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Czech Republic: It’s We Are Domi

After a week of voting, in the end the band We Are Domi won the Czech national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They will sing the song “Lights off”. Czech TV announced the winner tonight! The full results are: We Are Domi with “Lights off”, 21 pts. Elis Mraz with “Imma be”, 17 pts. Giudy with “Jezinky”, 15 pts. Jordan Haj & Emma Smetana with “By now”, 12 pts. Skywalker with “Way down”, 12 pts. Annabelle with “Running out of F* time”, 11 pts. The Valentines with “Stay or go”, 6 pts.  

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Let the first National final begin! ESCZ 2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like… Eurovision season? Yes that’s right because the first national final has begun! The Czech Republic has started their ESCZ 2022 show, and you can already vote! There are seven new songs in the selection! Here they are: ANNABELLE – Running Out Of TimeElis Mraz – Imma Be Jordan Haj & Emma Smetana – By NowThe Valentines- Stay or GoWe Are Domi – Lights OffGuidi – Jezinky (Sinfonia)Skywalker – Way Down A lot of new faces but someone we know is back. Elis Mraz is back after being the runner up at ESCZ 2020. You can vote until the 15th of December. This year the Czech people have more saying in who will represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. The voting process will go like this: 25% Czech fans, 25% international fans, and 50% international jury. You can vote via the Official Eurovision App.

Read More »

It’s Vesna for Czech Republic!

Czech Republic has chosen. With 70% of an international jury and 30% of Czech audience, the winner is Vesna with the song  “My sister’s crown”. The song is written by Kateryna Vatchenko, Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Tanita Yankova and composed by Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Tanita Yankova. Czech Republic will perform in the 2nd half of the 1st semifinal. Vesna, “My sister’s crown”,  10.584 pts. Pam Rabbit, “Ghosting”, 4.217 pts. Rodan, “Introvert party club”, 1.995 pts. Markéta Irglová, “Happy”, 1.009 pts. Maella, “Flood”, 599 pts.  

Read More »

Czech Republic: we will have a winner!

One week ago, Czech Republic presented 5 songs, one of which will represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Today the winner will be announced. That will happen at 19.00 CET, and you can watch it on YouTube. The five competing songs are: 1 Maella Flood 2 Pam Rabbit Ghosting 3 Markéta Irglová Happy 4 Vesna My sister’s crown 5 Rodan Introvert party club Pam Rabbit took part in the national selection in 2019 (2nd) and 2020 (6th).

Read More »

We Are Domi

©EBU/Louise Bennett About Quick Facts Members Dominika HaškováCasper HatlestadBenjamin Rekstad Formed2016 Nationality🇨🇿 Czech/🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionESCZ 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongLights off (2022) Biography We Are Domi, also known as DOMI, is a Norwegian-Czech electro-pop band, founded in 2018 and based in Prague in the Czech Republic. The band’s crew consists of front vocalist Dominika Hašková, daughter of the former ice hockey player Dominik Hašek, guitarist Casper Bjelland Hatlestad from Stavanger and keyboardist Benjamin Rekstad from Nesodden.  We Are Domi was founded in 2018 in Leeds, UK. The three met while studying jazz music at the Leeds Conservatoire. The band is known for energetic performances and mixes different genres such as dance, electro-pop and Scandinavian-inspired pop. In August 2020, the band moved from the UK to the Czech Republic, due to the strict virus restrictions in the UK. In the autumn of 2021, the band was announced as one of seven entries in the Czech music competition ESCZ 2022. The competition was organized by the Czech national broadcaster ČT. On Thursday 16 December 2021, the broadcaster announced that the band We Are Domi had won the competition. The result was that they represented the Czech Republic in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin with the song “Lights off”. Entries Lights off Country   Czech Republic Year2022 LanguageEnglish LyricsAbigail Frances JonesDominika HaškováBenjamin Rekstad MusicEinar Eriksen KvaløyAbigail Frances JonesDominika HaškováCasper HatlestadBenjamin Rekstad BackingsNikol Držmíšková Results Semi Points: 227Position: 4Running order: 18 Results Finals Points: 38Position: 22Running order: 1 https://youtu.be/EGRzSefqOm0

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Day 7: A crystal mask, a thunderstorm and Murphy’s Law

The penultimate day of rehearsal: it is becoming increasingly clear what the viewer can expect. Today we saw the last artists of the second semifinal. Let’s take a closer look at the rehearsals: AUSTRALIA: Whatever you think of Sheldon Riley, he sings like no other. During his emotional ballad he wears the white suit with the enormous drag of feathers. He wears his crystal mask for most of the act, but it goes off. It can’t be difficult for Australia to make it to the final. CYPRUS: For the first time in years, Cyprus is singing (partially) in Greek again. Andromache and her dancers stand in a kind of shell as they sing the song. We have to admit that we would describe Andromache’s vocals as ‘not bad’. If is that a recommendation….? IRELAND: Ireland falls into the ‘how nice’ category. Brooke’s vocals are certainly not bad, neither is the act. However, you may wonder if this is the song with which Ireland will finally reach the final again. We cannot rule out the possibility that it will not work. NORTH MACEDONIA: Perhaps Andrea had hoped for greater success. She was not happy with her first rehearsal. The song comes across as screaming; a hoarseness that suits Kaliopi (2012 and 2016) but not Andrea. ESTONIA: Unfortunately, Stefan can’t count on the 12 points from Armenia, because the country where his roots lie is performing in the other semifinal. The many movements he makes do have an effect on Stefan’s voice, but somehow it doesn’t seem to matter for the entry. It is a happy song that can easily go through to the final. ROMANIA: The Romanians made some minor changes to the act, making it even better and slicker. Furthermore, it seemed as if WRS had changed the melody of the chorus a little bit here and there. In any case, a spectacular show is in store for Romania. POLAND: The ballad of Polen starts very calmly with Ochman alone on stage. Halfway through, when the song becomes a little less quiet, the aforementioned dancers (forest nymphs?) come on stage. We see that a heavy thunderstorm erupts on the stage. Finally a strong contender for Poland agiain. MONTENEGRO: A ballad in which not much happens in 3 minutes. The advantage is that not much can go wrong. We had already mentioned the blue dress that Vladana is wearing. Behind her a circle that most resembles the fluff ball of a dandelion. It is not sure whether it stands out enough to go to the final. BELGIUM: The Belgians have a strong singer with a gospel-like power ballad in Jérémie Makiese. He will definitely get points for that. Fortunately, because the act he shows looks a bit stiff and doesn’t really do justice to the song and singer. SWEDEN: Murphy’s Law strikes. If one thing goes wrong, everything immediately goes wrong. Problems with the sound, problems with the technique and a falling cameraman meant that she was only able to do one whole runthrough. Cornelia did manage to show how professional she is, by showing a good rehearsal even with all that trouble. CZECH REPUBLIC: The act with lots of light and nice graphics fits very well with the Czech entry. In that respect it is a unity. The vocals, however, leave a lot to be desired. That could cost them their heads if it has to be clear who will go to the final.

Read More »

Day 4: new sun troubles, a Swedish circle and many more

Today is the day of the stage again. Today the EBU has made an official statement about it: “During the technical tests in Turin, the production team has experienced challenges with how long it takes to adjust the “sun” to different positions in the time between the different performances. Together with the host station RAI it was therefore decided that the sun will remain in the same position during all 40 songs, to ensure a fair competition for all participating countries.”. What position that is, is still being discussed. So to be continued again. It is certain that a number of countries now have to make changes in their staging. Meanwhile, 9 countries rehearsed for their performance in the second semifinal. IRELAND: Brooke takes the stage in a bright blue suit. During her performance she is assisted by four dancers. They start the song lying on the floor! Ireland uses many floor projections. Brooke is also praised by Eurovision.tv for her strong voice. Pyrotechnics are used at the end of her performance. NORTH MACEDONIA: Andrea stands alone on the podium for North Macedonia. She sings her song completely wrapped in black leather. In her performance she uses the lifting bridges over the water. Shadows of hands are visible on the LED screens. The sun is not only orange but also white and blue. ESTONIA: Stefan starts his performance on the B stage. He is accompanied only by his guitar. Later in the song, he goes wild: then he uses the entire stage to present his performance. The two cowboys from the national final stayed home. ROMANIA: WRS from Romania wears glittering wetlook trousers. He also wears a red blouse, but according to Eurovision tradition, that goes off. He turns out to be wearing a sleeveless shirt with glitter underneath. There is a lot of dancing. As a result, the Romanian likely gets a lot of attention from the crowd. POLAND: The Polish competitor Ochman is also in black, he wears a black suit. He is assisted by four dancers, who seem to represent some kind of water spirits. Flashing light effects can be seen during the performance. The waterfall on the stage is also used… what else could we expect with a song about a river? MONTENEGRO: Vladana has her entire performance on the B stage. She wears a blue dress during her performance. The background is also blue, with splashes of white as graphics. Vladana mainly remains in one place. BELGIUM: The Belgian Jérémie Makiese impressed with his song. Jérémie is flanked by four dancers. He himself wears blue-grey trousers, a black shirt and a silver jacket, while the dancers wear black jackets. At the end of the act all the light falls on Jérémie, who is standing on a platform on which flames are projected. SWEDEN: Cornelia Jakobs ranks high among the bookmakers. As the Swedes always do, Cornelia Jakobs also puts on the same act as during the national final Melodifestivalen. The starry sky at the beginning, the large, first green and then red, circular plate right behind Cornelia, even the silver-black clothing and the bare feet are the same. CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech group We Are Domi is the last to rehearse today. The group uses a lot of light, which makes you feel like you’re in a disco. Funny effect: the ‘sun’ on stage looks like a vinyl album here. Eurovision.tv mentions the cello-string guitar: the guitarist made it himself.

Read More »

We Are Domi met at a Halloween Party

We Are Domi is a group with a special composition: Casper Hatlestad and Benjamin Rekstad are from Norway, Dominika Hašková is from the Czech Republic. And to complicate matters, they live in London. We Are Domi won the Czech Republic national selection with the song “Lights off”. The afternoon before Eurovision In Concert, our reporter Kal Engels spoke with the group. About how the group started (yes, they met at a Halloween party!), how they looked forward to Eurovision In Concert, but also about what is so special about Casper’s guitar. So watch the video quickly. It’s more than worth it!

Read More »

This is the running order

Today, the running order for the two semifinals in the Eurovision Song Contest has been announced. The running order for the final is not known yet, apart from Italy: Mahmood and Blanco will perform in 9th place. 1st semifinal: Albania Latvia Lithuania Switzerland Slovenia Ukraine Bulgaria The Netherlands Moldova Portugal Croatia Denmark Austria Iceland Greece Norway Armenia   2nd semifinal: Finland Israel Serbia Azerbaijan Georgia Malta San Marino Australia Cyprus Ireland North Macedonia Estonia Romania Poland Montenegro Belgium Sweden Czech Republic  

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Allocation draw: these are the semifinals

From the Madama Palace in Turin, the allocation draw took place this afternoon. The draw was hosted by Carolina Di Domenico and Gabriele Corsi. During the ceremony, mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb (Rotterdam) handed over the key of the Eurovision City to his Turinese colleague Stefano Lo Russo. The semifinals will be as follows: 1st semifinal, 1st half: Albania Latvia Switzerland Slovenia Bulgaria Moldova Ukraine Lithuania The Netherlands   1st semifinal, 2nd half: Norway Russia Portugal Denmark Armenia Austria Croatia Iceland Greece   The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 1st one are: France and Italy.   2nd semifinal, 1st half: Australia Georgia Cyprus Serbia Finland Azerbaijan San Marino Israel Malta   2nd semifinal, 2nd half: Montenegro Romania Czech Republic Poland Belgium North Macedonia Sweden Estonia Ireland   The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 2nd one are: United Kingdom, Spain and Germany.

Read More »

Czech Republic: It’s We Are Domi

After a week of voting, in the end the band We Are Domi won the Czech national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They will sing the song “Lights off”. Czech TV announced the winner tonight! The full results are: We Are Domi with “Lights off”, 21 pts. Elis Mraz with “Imma be”, 17 pts. Giudy with “Jezinky”, 15 pts. Jordan Haj & Emma Smetana with “By now”, 12 pts. Skywalker with “Way down”, 12 pts. Annabelle with “Running out of F* time”, 11 pts. The Valentines with “Stay or go”, 6 pts.  

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Let the first National final begin! ESCZ 2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like… Eurovision season? Yes that’s right because the first national final has begun! The Czech Republic has started their ESCZ 2022 show, and you can already vote! There are seven new songs in the selection! Here they are: ANNABELLE – Running Out Of TimeElis Mraz – Imma Be Jordan Haj & Emma Smetana – By NowThe Valentines- Stay or GoWe Are Domi – Lights OffGuidi – Jezinky (Sinfonia)Skywalker – Way Down A lot of new faces but someone we know is back. Elis Mraz is back after being the runner up at ESCZ 2020. You can vote until the 15th of December. This year the Czech people have more saying in who will represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. The voting process will go like this: 25% Czech fans, 25% international fans, and 50% international jury. You can vote via the Official Eurovision App.

Read More »

It’s Vesna for Czech Republic!

Czech Republic has chosen. With 70% of an international jury and 30% of Czech audience, the winner is Vesna with the song  “My sister’s crown”. The song is written by Kateryna Vatchenko, Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Tanita Yankova and composed by Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Tanita Yankova. Czech Republic will perform in the 2nd half of the 1st semifinal. Vesna, “My sister’s crown”,  10.584 pts. Pam Rabbit, “Ghosting”, 4.217 pts. Rodan, “Introvert party club”, 1.995 pts. Markéta Irglová, “Happy”, 1.009 pts. Maella, “Flood”, 599 pts.  

Read More »

Czech Republic: we will have a winner!

One week ago, Czech Republic presented 5 songs, one of which will represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Today the winner will be announced. That will happen at 19.00 CET, and you can watch it on YouTube. The five competing songs are: 1 Maella Flood 2 Pam Rabbit Ghosting 3 Markéta Irglová Happy 4 Vesna My sister’s crown 5 Rodan Introvert party club Pam Rabbit took part in the national selection in 2019 (2nd) and 2020 (6th).

Read More »

We Are Domi

©EBU/Louise Bennett About Quick Facts Members Dominika HaškováCasper HatlestadBenjamin Rekstad Formed2016 Nationality🇨🇿 Czech/🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionESCZ 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongLights off (2022) Biography We Are Domi, also known as DOMI, is a Norwegian-Czech electro-pop band, founded in 2018 and based in Prague in the Czech Republic. The band’s crew consists of front vocalist Dominika Hašková, daughter of the former ice hockey player Dominik Hašek, guitarist Casper Bjelland Hatlestad from Stavanger and keyboardist Benjamin Rekstad from Nesodden.  We Are Domi was founded in 2018 in Leeds, UK. The three met while studying jazz music at the Leeds Conservatoire. The band is known for energetic performances and mixes different genres such as dance, electro-pop and Scandinavian-inspired pop. In August 2020, the band moved from the UK to the Czech Republic, due to the strict virus restrictions in the UK. In the autumn of 2021, the band was announced as one of seven entries in the Czech music competition ESCZ 2022. The competition was organized by the Czech national broadcaster ČT. On Thursday 16 December 2021, the broadcaster announced that the band We Are Domi had won the competition. The result was that they represented the Czech Republic in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin with the song “Lights off”. Entries Lights off Country   Czech Republic Year2022 LanguageEnglish LyricsAbigail Frances JonesDominika HaškováBenjamin Rekstad MusicEinar Eriksen KvaløyAbigail Frances JonesDominika HaškováCasper HatlestadBenjamin Rekstad BackingsNikol Držmíšková Results Semi Points: 227Position: 4Running order: 18 Results Finals Points: 38Position: 22Running order: 1 https://youtu.be/EGRzSefqOm0

Read More »

Day 7: A crystal mask, a thunderstorm and Murphy’s Law

The penultimate day of rehearsal: it is becoming increasingly clear what the viewer can expect. Today we saw the last artists of the second semifinal. Let’s take a closer look at the rehearsals: AUSTRALIA: Whatever you think of Sheldon Riley, he sings like no other. During his emotional ballad he wears the white suit with the enormous drag of feathers. He wears his crystal mask for most of the act, but it goes off. It can’t be difficult for Australia to make it to the final. CYPRUS: For the first time in years, Cyprus is singing (partially) in Greek again. Andromache and her dancers stand in a kind of shell as they sing the song. We have to admit that we would describe Andromache’s vocals as ‘not bad’. If is that a recommendation….? IRELAND: Ireland falls into the ‘how nice’ category. Brooke’s vocals are certainly not bad, neither is the act. However, you may wonder if this is the song with which Ireland will finally reach the final again. We cannot rule out the possibility that it will not work. NORTH MACEDONIA: Perhaps Andrea had hoped for greater success. She was not happy with her first rehearsal. The song comes across as screaming; a hoarseness that suits Kaliopi (2012 and 2016) but not Andrea. ESTONIA: Unfortunately, Stefan can’t count on the 12 points from Armenia, because the country where his roots lie is performing in the other semifinal. The many movements he makes do have an effect on Stefan’s voice, but somehow it doesn’t seem to matter for the entry. It is a happy song that can easily go through to the final. ROMANIA: The Romanians made some minor changes to the act, making it even better and slicker. Furthermore, it seemed as if WRS had changed the melody of the chorus a little bit here and there. In any case, a spectacular show is in store for Romania. POLAND: The ballad of Polen starts very calmly with Ochman alone on stage. Halfway through, when the song becomes a little less quiet, the aforementioned dancers (forest nymphs?) come on stage. We see that a heavy thunderstorm erupts on the stage. Finally a strong contender for Poland agiain. MONTENEGRO: A ballad in which not much happens in 3 minutes. The advantage is that not much can go wrong. We had already mentioned the blue dress that Vladana is wearing. Behind her a circle that most resembles the fluff ball of a dandelion. It is not sure whether it stands out enough to go to the final. BELGIUM: The Belgians have a strong singer with a gospel-like power ballad in Jérémie Makiese. He will definitely get points for that. Fortunately, because the act he shows looks a bit stiff and doesn’t really do justice to the song and singer. SWEDEN: Murphy’s Law strikes. If one thing goes wrong, everything immediately goes wrong. Problems with the sound, problems with the technique and a falling cameraman meant that she was only able to do one whole runthrough. Cornelia did manage to show how professional she is, by showing a good rehearsal even with all that trouble. CZECH REPUBLIC: The act with lots of light and nice graphics fits very well with the Czech entry. In that respect it is a unity. The vocals, however, leave a lot to be desired. That could cost them their heads if it has to be clear who will go to the final.

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Day 4: new sun troubles, a Swedish circle and many more

Today is the day of the stage again. Today the EBU has made an official statement about it: “During the technical tests in Turin, the production team has experienced challenges with how long it takes to adjust the “sun” to different positions in the time between the different performances. Together with the host station RAI it was therefore decided that the sun will remain in the same position during all 40 songs, to ensure a fair competition for all participating countries.”. What position that is, is still being discussed. So to be continued again. It is certain that a number of countries now have to make changes in their staging. Meanwhile, 9 countries rehearsed for their performance in the second semifinal. IRELAND: Brooke takes the stage in a bright blue suit. During her performance she is assisted by four dancers. They start the song lying on the floor! Ireland uses many floor projections. Brooke is also praised by Eurovision.tv for her strong voice. Pyrotechnics are used at the end of her performance. NORTH MACEDONIA: Andrea stands alone on the podium for North Macedonia. She sings her song completely wrapped in black leather. In her performance she uses the lifting bridges over the water. Shadows of hands are visible on the LED screens. The sun is not only orange but also white and blue. ESTONIA: Stefan starts his performance on the B stage. He is accompanied only by his guitar. Later in the song, he goes wild: then he uses the entire stage to present his performance. The two cowboys from the national final stayed home. ROMANIA: WRS from Romania wears glittering wetlook trousers. He also wears a red blouse, but according to Eurovision tradition, that goes off. He turns out to be wearing a sleeveless shirt with glitter underneath. There is a lot of dancing. As a result, the Romanian likely gets a lot of attention from the crowd. POLAND: The Polish competitor Ochman is also in black, he wears a black suit. He is assisted by four dancers, who seem to represent some kind of water spirits. Flashing light effects can be seen during the performance. The waterfall on the stage is also used… what else could we expect with a song about a river? MONTENEGRO: Vladana has her entire performance on the B stage. She wears a blue dress during her performance. The background is also blue, with splashes of white as graphics. Vladana mainly remains in one place. BELGIUM: The Belgian Jérémie Makiese impressed with his song. Jérémie is flanked by four dancers. He himself wears blue-grey trousers, a black shirt and a silver jacket, while the dancers wear black jackets. At the end of the act all the light falls on Jérémie, who is standing on a platform on which flames are projected. SWEDEN: Cornelia Jakobs ranks high among the bookmakers. As the Swedes always do, Cornelia Jakobs also puts on the same act as during the national final Melodifestivalen. The starry sky at the beginning, the large, first green and then red, circular plate right behind Cornelia, even the silver-black clothing and the bare feet are the same. CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech group We Are Domi is the last to rehearse today. The group uses a lot of light, which makes you feel like you’re in a disco. Funny effect: the ‘sun’ on stage looks like a vinyl album here. Eurovision.tv mentions the cello-string guitar: the guitarist made it himself.

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We Are Domi met at a Halloween Party

We Are Domi is a group with a special composition: Casper Hatlestad and Benjamin Rekstad are from Norway, Dominika Hašková is from the Czech Republic. And to complicate matters, they live in London. We Are Domi won the Czech Republic national selection with the song “Lights off”. The afternoon before Eurovision In Concert, our reporter Kal Engels spoke with the group. About how the group started (yes, they met at a Halloween party!), how they looked forward to Eurovision In Concert, but also about what is so special about Casper’s guitar. So watch the video quickly. It’s more than worth it!

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This is the running order

Today, the running order for the two semifinals in the Eurovision Song Contest has been announced. The running order for the final is not known yet, apart from Italy: Mahmood and Blanco will perform in 9th place. 1st semifinal: Albania Latvia Lithuania Switzerland Slovenia Ukraine Bulgaria The Netherlands Moldova Portugal Croatia Denmark Austria Iceland Greece Norway Armenia   2nd semifinal: Finland Israel Serbia Azerbaijan Georgia Malta San Marino Australia Cyprus Ireland North Macedonia Estonia Romania Poland Montenegro Belgium Sweden Czech Republic  

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Allocation draw: these are the semifinals

From the Madama Palace in Turin, the allocation draw took place this afternoon. The draw was hosted by Carolina Di Domenico and Gabriele Corsi. During the ceremony, mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb (Rotterdam) handed over the key of the Eurovision City to his Turinese colleague Stefano Lo Russo. The semifinals will be as follows: 1st semifinal, 1st half: Albania Latvia Switzerland Slovenia Bulgaria Moldova Ukraine Lithuania The Netherlands   1st semifinal, 2nd half: Norway Russia Portugal Denmark Armenia Austria Croatia Iceland Greece   The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 1st one are: France and Italy.   2nd semifinal, 1st half: Australia Georgia Cyprus Serbia Finland Azerbaijan San Marino Israel Malta   2nd semifinal, 2nd half: Montenegro Romania Czech Republic Poland Belgium North Macedonia Sweden Estonia Ireland   The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 2nd one are: United Kingdom, Spain and Germany.

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Czech Republic: It’s We Are Domi

After a week of voting, in the end the band We Are Domi won the Czech national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They will sing the song “Lights off”. Czech TV announced the winner tonight! The full results are: We Are Domi with “Lights off”, 21 pts. Elis Mraz with “Imma be”, 17 pts. Giudy with “Jezinky”, 15 pts. Jordan Haj & Emma Smetana with “By now”, 12 pts. Skywalker with “Way down”, 12 pts. Annabelle with “Running out of F* time”, 11 pts. The Valentines with “Stay or go”, 6 pts.  

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Let the first National final begin! ESCZ 2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like… Eurovision season? Yes that’s right because the first national final has begun! The Czech Republic has started their ESCZ 2022 show, and you can already vote! There are seven new songs in the selection! Here they are: ANNABELLE – Running Out Of TimeElis Mraz – Imma Be Jordan Haj & Emma Smetana – By NowThe Valentines- Stay or GoWe Are Domi – Lights OffGuidi – Jezinky (Sinfonia)Skywalker – Way Down A lot of new faces but someone we know is back. Elis Mraz is back after being the runner up at ESCZ 2020. You can vote until the 15th of December. This year the Czech people have more saying in who will represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. The voting process will go like this: 25% Czech fans, 25% international fans, and 50% international jury. You can vote via the Official Eurovision App.

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It’s Vesna for Czech Republic!

Czech Republic has chosen. With 70% of an international jury and 30% of Czech audience, the winner is Vesna with the song  “My sister’s crown”. The song is written by Kateryna Vatchenko, Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Tanita Yankova and composed by Patricie Kaňok Fuxová and Tanita Yankova. Czech Republic will perform in the 2nd half of the 1st semifinal. Vesna, “My sister’s crown”,  10.584 pts. Pam Rabbit, “Ghosting”, 4.217 pts. Rodan, “Introvert party club”, 1.995 pts. Markéta Irglová, “Happy”, 1.009 pts. Maella, “Flood”, 599 pts.  

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Czech Republic: we will have a winner!

One week ago, Czech Republic presented 5 songs, one of which will represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Today the winner will be announced. That will happen at 19.00 CET, and you can watch it on YouTube. The five competing songs are: 1 Maella Flood 2 Pam Rabbit Ghosting 3 Markéta Irglová Happy 4 Vesna My sister’s crown 5 Rodan Introvert party club Pam Rabbit took part in the national selection in 2019 (2nd) and 2020 (6th).

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We Are Domi

©EBU/Louise Bennett About Quick Facts Members Dominika HaškováCasper HatlestadBenjamin Rekstad Formed2016 Nationality🇨🇿 Czech/🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionESCZ 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongLights off (2022) Biography We Are Domi, also known as DOMI, is a Norwegian-Czech electro-pop band, founded in 2018 and based in Prague in the Czech Republic. The band’s crew consists of front vocalist Dominika Hašková, daughter of the former ice hockey player Dominik Hašek, guitarist Casper Bjelland Hatlestad from Stavanger and keyboardist Benjamin Rekstad from Nesodden.  We Are Domi was founded in 2018 in Leeds, UK. The three met while studying jazz music at the Leeds Conservatoire. The band is

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Day 7: A crystal mask, a thunderstorm and Murphy’s Law

The penultimate day of rehearsal: it is becoming increasingly clear what the viewer can expect. Today we saw the last artists of the second semifinal. Let’s take a closer look at the rehearsals: AUSTRALIA: Whatever you think of Sheldon Riley, he sings like no other. During his emotional ballad he wears the white suit with the enormous drag of feathers. He wears his crystal mask for most of the act, but it goes off. It can’t be difficult for Australia to make it to the final. CYPRUS: For the first time in years, Cyprus is singing (partially) in Greek again. Andromache

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Day 4: new sun troubles, a Swedish circle and many more

Today is the day of the stage again. Today the EBU has made an official statement about it: “During the technical tests in Turin, the production team has experienced challenges with how long it takes to adjust the “sun” to different positions in the time between the different performances. Together with the host station RAI it was therefore decided that the sun will remain in the same position during all 40 songs, to ensure a fair competition for all participating countries.”. What position that is, is still being discussed. So to be continued again. It is certain that a number of

Read More »

We Are Domi met at a Halloween Party

We Are Domi is a group with a special composition: Casper Hatlestad and Benjamin Rekstad are from Norway, Dominika Hašková is from the Czech Republic. And to complicate matters, they live in London. We Are Domi won the Czech Republic national selection with the song “Lights off”. The afternoon before Eurovision In Concert, our reporter Kal Engels spoke with the group. About how the group started (yes, they met at a Halloween party!), how they looked forward to Eurovision In Concert, but also about what is so special about Casper’s guitar. So watch the video quickly. It’s more than worth it!

Read More »

This is the running order

Today, the running order for the two semifinals in the Eurovision Song Contest has been announced. The running order for the final is not known yet, apart from Italy: Mahmood and Blanco will perform in 9th place. 1st semifinal: Albania Latvia Lithuania Switzerland Slovenia Ukraine Bulgaria The Netherlands Moldova Portugal Croatia Denmark Austria Iceland Greece Norway Armenia   2nd semifinal: Finland Israel Serbia Azerbaijan Georgia Malta San Marino Australia Cyprus Ireland North Macedonia Estonia Romania Poland Montenegro Belgium Sweden Czech Republic  

Read More »

Allocation draw: these are the semifinals

From the Madama Palace in Turin, the allocation draw took place this afternoon. The draw was hosted by Carolina Di Domenico and Gabriele Corsi. During the ceremony, mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb (Rotterdam) handed over the key of the Eurovision City to his Turinese colleague Stefano Lo Russo. The semifinals will be as follows: 1st semifinal, 1st half: Albania Latvia Switzerland Slovenia Bulgaria Moldova Ukraine Lithuania The Netherlands   1st semifinal, 2nd half: Norway Russia Portugal Denmark Armenia Austria Croatia Iceland Greece   The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 1st one are: France and Italy.  

Read More »

Czech Republic: It’s We Are Domi

After a week of voting, in the end the band We Are Domi won the Czech national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They will sing the song “Lights off”. Czech TV announced the winner tonight! The full results are: We Are Domi with “Lights off”, 21 pts. Elis Mraz with “Imma be”, 17 pts. Giudy with “Jezinky”, 15 pts. Jordan Haj & Emma Smetana with “By now”, 12 pts. Skywalker with “Way down”, 12 pts. Annabelle with “Running out of F* time”, 11 pts. The Valentines with “Stay or go”, 6 pts.  

Read More »

Let the first National final begin! ESCZ 2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like… Eurovision season? Yes that’s right because the first national final has begun! The Czech Republic has started their ESCZ 2022 show, and you can already vote! There are seven new songs in the selection! Here they are: ANNABELLE – Running Out Of TimeElis Mraz – Imma Be Jordan Haj & Emma Smetana – By NowThe Valentines- Stay or GoWe Are Domi – Lights OffGuidi – Jezinky (Sinfonia)Skywalker – Way Down A lot of new faces but someone we know is back. Elis Mraz is back after being the runner up at ESCZ 2020. You

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