Luxembourg

🇮🇪 Ireland: Dickie Rock passed away

Ireland: Dickie Rock passed away aged 88. That is what his family have announced. His death was confirmed in a statement issued by his family this evening: “His children, Jason, John, Richard, Sarah Jane and Peter will miss him very much. Dickie lost his beloved Judy in 2022 and they are now together again, and that is of some comfort to the family.” Dickie Rock was born on October 10, 1936, in Dublin, Ireland. He became very popular in the 1960s as the lead singer of The Miami Showband. That was one of Ireland’s top bands at the time. With his great voice and lively performances, Dickie won many fans and had several hit songs in Ireland. His song “Every Step of the Way“ was one of his biggest successes. In 1966, Dickie represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Come Back to Stay”. He finished in fourth place. Fans loved his singing so much that he became a national favorite, and the phrase “spit on me, Dickie” showed how much people adored him. Even today, Dickie Rock is remembered as one of Ireland’s best-loved entertainers, inspiring many with his music. Dickie Rock participated in the Irish national Song Contest several times. In 1965, he made his debut there. A year later, he even had three songs, and won! Also in 1969 and 1977, he did attempts. However, he did not win anymore. Dickie Rock passed away at age 88.

After the Eurovision Fame: Vicky Leandros

Vicky Leandros participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2 times; in 1967 she represented Luxembourg with “L’amour est blue” and finished in fourth place. The song, however, became a worldwide hit, and was covered by many. In 1972 she was again asked to represent Luxembourg. She won the festival that year with “Après Toi” and gained worldwide fame. Early life and Career Vicky was born as Vasiliki Papathansasiou in Paleokastritsa (Corfu, Greece) on August 23. According to her own statement, she was born in 1952, but many biographies have mentioned birth year as 1949. In 1958, the Papathanasiou family moved to West Germany. After her parents’ divorce in 1961, her mother returned to Greece, and Vicky grew up with her father, who himself had a successful career as Leo Leandros. With his support, she built a career in Greece and Germany, initially under the name Vicky. Her first single was released in 1965: “Messer, Gabel, Schere, Licht” and became an instant hit in Germany. Until 1967 she had already scored several hits in this country, as well as in Canada and Greece. After the Eurovision Fame After winning the Eurovision Song Contest, Vicky was very successful in many countries, such as France, Greece, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan and Canada. She scored many hits worldwide, in different languages. In 2000 she released her first album of her own compositions. 2005 was a jubilee year for Vicky; She was on stage for 30 years and celebrated this with a double CD with her greatest hits and some new tracks. Actually, it was her 40th anniversary as an artist, but she withdrew from publicity for about 10 years from 1982, in order to be able to pay more attention to her husband and 3 children. During that period, however, new albums were released. In 2006 Vicky participated in the preselections for Eurosong in Germany, with the song “Don’t Break My Heart”. In this way, she hoped to represent her country in Athens. However, she had to leave the victory to the Texas Lightning. Throughout her impressive career, she has sold over 55 million albums. Political career On 15 October 2006 Vicky Leandros was elected town counselor of the Greek harbour town of Piraeus on the Pasok list. Her task concerned the Cultural and International development of Piraeus. She was also Deputy Mayor of Piraeus. It was announced in June 2008 that Leandros decided to leave her position in Greek politics with immediate effect. She stated, that she had underestimated the work load and time needed to fulfill her political obligations. Also it became impossible to combine those duties with her singing career. In August 2022, a few days after her 70th (or 73rd) birthday, she announced her retirement with a farewell tour in Austria and Germany, which will take place until the end of 2024.

Malmö Messages: yesterday’s pressconference

photo: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett Yesterday, after winning the tickets to the final, the 10 winners headed to the winners’ pressconference. We of Eurovision Universe were present at this press conference. Cyprus Silia Kapsis said it was a huge opportunity to be here. She was super proud and super happy. About her country of birth, Australia, she said she was proud as well that the Australians showed their culture. It was her goal to make her country proud and after this, to grow as a pop artist. Serbia Teya Dora said it was crazy; the rehearsals, the performance; it was all super exciting and she was happy. She wants to make her country proud and give the best she can, with the best placement. She loves it that so many people watched her performance. And about Konstrakta, who was in the introduction film, she loved her amazing energy. Lithuania Silvester Belt thanks the audience. To all the bullies from the past he has a message: “I know you are struggling. And to the little boy I was: I love you so much”. The biggest challenge this week was sleeping. About singing in the Lithuanian language he said: “only Lithuanians wanted me to sing in English. Everybody else said I should sing in Lithuanian.” Ireland Bambie Thug said they are completely dissociated after this succes, but also that they are super proud. They have a small team and they are en independent artist, yet they reached this. And also, they are the first non binary artist in the contest. Bambie revealed that they met the rules of the EBU: texts like Ceasefire and Free Palestine were not allowed, so Crown The Witch was the only text left. On the question what made them special, Bambie answered “What makes me special is that I’m a queer”. Ukraine Alyona Alyona explained that she and Jerry Heil raised fund to rebuild Ukrainian schools. She called for donation. Half of the money is there, but you can donate via United24. “Children are our future”, Alyona Alyona stated. Jerry also stated that it was great to be in Malmö now. It was a super possibility to say thank you for your help. And yes, they felt pressure, because they felt Ukraine expected something from them. Croatia The performance was way better than the rehearsals. Before going on stage, Baby Lasagna tried to empty his mind, but before him Poland performed; that song got stuck in his mind. About his first place in the odds he said that odds are just numbers, it’s not over ’til it’s done. He felt comfortable in Malmö as Eurovision is, in his opinion, the next level of professional, with all the sound- and camerawork. The energy to him was fine. Slovenia Raiven said she was grateful. She was unsure about the result and doubting all the time. That meant going to the final was a huge surprise for her. When it comes to making music and visuals she went with her instinct. “The staging is really me, and I am very satisfied with it”, she said. About the fact that she was called Eurovision’s opera diva, she said that it is great to hear that people checked her background. Finland It was our own Kal (!!) who had the opportunity to ask windows95man a question. Due to the lyrics of the song “No rules”, Kal was interested to know which of the many rules of Eurovision had to go in his opinion. “More nakedness! For everybody!”, windows95man replied without any hesitation. Windows95man also told that he got help in preparing for the show. Before the show the men do some physical exercises. Portugal Iolanda from Portugal thinks that music can be whatever you like. She wrote the song in her grandmothers house. Her message is that you can do a lot with not so much money. She designed the act with the stage director and the choreographer. She also added that she believes music connects. Luxembourg “I nearly had a heart attack”, Tali explained, “It was brutal, but the camera was approaching and I thought…. maybe”. In Tali’s opinion Eurovision is a beautiful contet that unites. She was thrilled and was hoping to inspire other countries to return to Eurovision. “Music is my life, my therapy, my everything”, Tali stated.

Malmö messages: from rainbows to proud Eurovision fans

Azerbaijan: Fahree and Ilkin Dovlatov represent Azerbaijan. In the photos that have been released, it becomes even clearer that hands play a leading role in “Özünlə Apar”, the song Azerbaijan is sending. For the first time, the Azerbaijani language can be heard at the song contest, albeit in a few lines. The entry doesn’t impress much; bookmakers place it in 34th position. Australia: Many people were curious about how Electric Fields would perform their song “One Milkali (One Blood).” Lots of color, lots of instruments including a didgeridoo, and Zaachariaha wearing a white dress on which a rainbow is projected. Since the first rehearsal, Australia has been climbing in the bookmakers’ rankings. They now predict a 25th place for the country. Portugal: We’ve seen masked men before today. The Portuguese singer Iolanda is surrounded by them. Although these gentlemen bear a striking resemblance to beekeepers in their attire. But in Portugal, of course, it’s about the song and the music, as Salvador Sobral intended. Iolanda is unlikely to match Salvador’s success. Currently, bookmakers even predict her to reach 33rd place. Luxembourg: How proud Eric LeMan must be! This Luxembourgish Eurovision fan has hoped for years that his country would return to the festival, and his wish has come true. Of course, he was involved in the auditions himself. Tali represents Luxembourg with an energetic entry. It’s all about dance with “Fighter.” Tali is getting warm from it. Who knows, Luxembourg might make it to the final. However, the bookmakers are skeptical and place the country in 30th position. And in the end, we have a small update from Finland. We spoke to windows95man. “We’re still figuring out what we want to do with the pyro, as last rehearsal we used too much, but this time we used too little” We think he doesn’t want to burn his socks again.

Malmö Messages: many cubes, flashy graphics and white clothes

For Azerbaijan, Fahree and Ilkin Dovlatov will perform this year. They sing a song with an Azerbaijani title, but mainly sung in English. Dressed in black and silver, they sing their song, with Ilkin taking on the traditional Azerbaijani mugham vocals, especially in the second half of the performance. Before that, Fahree stands alone on stage, with graphics of a figure slowly emerging from the water. Hands play a prominent role in this. photo: EBU/Sarah Cumming Electric Fields is the duo representing Australia with “One Milkali (One Blood).” No one had seen a live performance of this song yet. Zaachariaha Fielding, half of the duo, wears a white dress. The graphics initially depict a rainbow, later described as an explosion of color and light by eurovision.tv. Zaachariaha and Michael Ross are surrounded by cubes. The whole presentation is very flashy. photo: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett Portugal is represented by Iolanda singing “Grito.” She performs in the same manner as during the Portuguese selection round. Iolanda is surrounded by five dancers dressed in white and masked. Above the heads of the six, a large cube is visible. photo: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett For the first time since 1993, Luxembourg is on the stage. Tali will sing “Fighter” for this country. She herself wears a dark bodysuit, her dancers wear red, but not uniformly. They use some kind of white blocks during the performance. Everything is visible: smoke, fireworks, and flames. The whole presentation looks very flashy. photo: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett in collaboration with Eurovision Artists

🇱🇺 Road to Malmö: Luxembourg

photo: RTL We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: Luxembourg. Tali Tali Golergant is a singer, songwriter, film actor, and musical theater performer from Israel, who now lives in Luxembourg. She’s becoming very popular in New York City’s music and art world. Tali loves music by Lizzy McAlpine, Sara Bareilles, and Lady Gaga. She mixes pop, indie, and R&B to make her own special sound. Her first song, made when she was just 16, got played over 70,000 times on Spotify. In 2021, she put out her first collection of songs called “lose you” with help from another artist, Francis of Delirium. After COVID-19, Tali started doing live shows in New York with her band. She’s performed at famous places like RockWood Music Hall and Mercury Lounge. People love her singing and her songs. Tali is also doing great in movies and theater. She acted in a short movie called “Agua” and played big roles in plays like “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Les Miserables.” On January 27, 2024, Tali was picked to sing for Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Fighter.” She’s really talented in many ways and is getting noticed for her work in music and acting. Luxembourg Song Contest The Luxembourgish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest was called Luxembourg Song Contest. After a lot of auditions, eight artists took part in the Luxembourgish final. De show was hosted by, among others, Désirée Nosbusch. She’s a familiar face to the Eurovision crowd, as she hosted the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest. Three artists, Joel Marques Luna, Krick and Tali, headed to a superfinal. Tali won as she was the choice of the jury. Krick won the televote but it was a close call, so Tali ended up with the highest amount of point in total. Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is a unique year for Luxembourg: they return to the contest after a long break. Their previous entry was in 1993. Luxembourg has often been a succesful country, with no less than five victories. Jean-Claude Pascal (1961, “Nous les amoureux”), France Gall (1965, “Poupée de cire, poupée de son”), Vicky Leandros (1972, “Après toi”), Anne Marie David (1973, “Tu te reconnaitras”) and Corinne Hermes (1983, “Si la vie est cadeau”) brought the trophy to Luxembourg. The Bookmakers In the odds, Luxembourg doesn’t do well with a 35th place. However, we don’t know yet what kind of show we can expect. Luxembourg can easily bring us a surprise in Malmö. The song And this is the song:

Tali

© EBU/Alma Bengtsson About Quick Facts NameTali Golergant Born2000 Nationality Luxembourgish National SelectionLuxembourg Song Contest 2024 In Eurovision2024 Malmö SongFighter (2024) Biography Tali Golergant is an Israeli born Luxembourgish singer, songwriter, film actor, and musical theater performer, now making waves in the NYC music and arts scene. Influenced by the likes of Lizzy McAlpine, Sara Bareilles, and Lady Gaga, Tali has crafted a unique blend of pop, indie, and R&B in her music. Her journey in music began impressively; her debut single, written at the age of 16, has already amassed over 70,000 streams on Spotify. In 2021, Tali released her debut EP titled “lose you,” co-written with the artist Francis of Delirium, showcasing her evolving artistry. After the pandemic, Tali began performing live gigs in New York City with her music group, gracing stages at renowned venues such as RockWood Music Hall, Mercury Lounge, Arlene’s Grocery, and The Delancey. Her performances have captivated audiences, highlighting her prowess as both a singer and a songwriter. Beyond her burgeoning career in pop music and songwriting, Tali has also made significant strides in the film and theater worlds. She starred in the indie short film “Agua,” which is currently in post-production. Her versatility as a performer is further exemplified in her theatrical roles, where she has portrayed characters like Tzeitel from “Fiddler on the Roof,” Susan Snell in “Carrie,” and Eponine in “Les Miserables.” Tali Golergant’s multifaceted talent continues to shine across different facets of the arts, marking her as a rising star in both the music and acting industries. On 27 January, 2024, Tali was chosen to represent Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Fighter”. Being the first Luxembourgish participant since 1993, she reached the Grand Final and reached a 13th place there. Entries Fighter Country🇱🇺 Luxembourg Year2024 LanguageEnglishFrench LyricsAna ZimmerManon RomitiSilvio Lisbonne MusicAna ZimmerDario FainiManon Romiti DancersLuana ManukaMathilde EggenRandy RochaSalaam ParachSimi Simoes Results Semi Points: 117Position: 5Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: 103Position: 13Running order: 4 https://youtu.be/TCWH3Nq5y9A?si=eBOGxo-vlqnY4B1F

🇱🇺 Luxembourg is back with Tali

Finally, there is a new Luxembourgish Eurovision Contestant, and it’s Tali. After an exciting voting, Tali was chosen to represent the country, for the first time since 1993. Her song “Fighter”, written and composed by Ana Zimmer, Manon Romiti and Silvio Lisbonne, will be the entry. At first, eight songs were presented, three went to the superfinal: Joel Marques, “Believer” Edsun, “Finally alive” Naomi Ayé, “Paumée sur terre” Angy & Rafa Ela, “Drop” One Last Time, “Devil in the detail” Krick, “Drowning in the rain” Chaild, “Hold on” Tali, “Fighter” The final result was decided by televoting and an expert jury together: Tali, “Fighter”, 178 Krick, “Drowning in the rain”, 165 Joel Marques, “Believer”, 136 Tali was the winner of the international jury and the televote.

🇱🇺 Finally a new song for Luxembourg

After 31 years Luxembourg will select a Eurovision entry again. After the 1993 contest, Luxembourg has left Eurovision and did not return…. until now. Tonight, a new chapter will be added to the Luxembourg Eurovision history. Out of eight songs, Luxembourgish broadcaster RTL will select one. The show starts at 20.00 CET and you can watch it here. Of course, none of the contestants did participate before. However, we do have a familiar face: One of the hosts, Désirée Nosbusch, hosted the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest. These are the eight contestants: Song Artist * Drop Angy & Rafa Ela * Hold on Chaild * Finally alive Edsun * Believer Joel Marques * Drowning in the rain Krick * Paumée sur terre Naomi Ayé * Devil in the detail One Last Time * Fighter Tali

🇱🇺 Blast from the past: Luxembourg 1980

photo credits: Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Netherlands 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: two cute ladies, but unfortunately also a sad story. Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest Luxembourg has triumphed in the contest on five distinct occasions. However, the twist is that not a single winner was of Luxembourgish descent. The champions Jean-Claude Pascal (1961), France Gall (1965), Anne-Marie David (1973), and Corinne Hermes (1983) originated from France. Meanwhile, Vicky Leandros (1972), a Greek by birth, has made Germany her longtime residence. National final In 1980, Luxembourg selected their song internally. It is not exactly known how. However, there is a video in which we can see something that looks like an audition. Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger composed a song. For the French lyrics of it, they teamed up with Jean-Paul Cara and Pierre Delanoë. The twins Sophie and Magaly were chosen to sing the entry. Sophie and Magaly Sophie and Magaly, French twin sisters, formed a musical duo. They were born in Neuilly-sur-Seine at 24 august 1962. They gained significant attention when they represented Luxembourg in the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest with “Papa Pingouin”, securing the ninth position. Despite this placement, the track witnessed tremendous commercial acclaim in France, selling over a million copies. Their subsequent release, “Arlequin”, didn’t fare well, leading their German producer Ralph Siegel from Ariola to part ways with them. Another producer, Charles Talar, stepped in, but the duo’s later tracks, “Toi” and “Les nanas de Zorro”, failed to capture the audience, resulting in their disbandment. When Sophie and Magaly, still minors at the time, entered into a contract with Ralph Siegel, their parents lacked insight into the standard practices of the showbiz world. The agreement they made with Siegel ensured only a minimal percentage of the sales would go to the sisters. In April 1982, during a prime-time slot on TF1’s “Droit de réponse”, Magaly opened up about their earnings. She revealed that they each had been paid a mere 5,000 francs (equivalent to 762 € before adjusting for inflation), despite their record sales surpassing a million 45 rpm units. Further, she shared that Siegel had chosen to discontinue his professional relationship with them and was unwilling to revisit the terms of the contract, maintaining that it was already fair and binding. Years later, in 2005, French songwriter Jean-Paul Cara corroborated that Siegel’s intention was never to propel Sophie and Magaly to stardom. He had enlisted them specifically for that one song. Tragically, in the late ’80s, Magaly was diagnosed with HIV, culminating in her passing from AIDS on 2 april 1996. Sophie, grappling with severe depression, resided in southern France until her death on 27 February 2019. Papa Pingouin As said, the song was written and composed by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger along with Pierre Delanoë and Jean-Paul Cara. The song delves into the whimsical daydreams of the main character, a restless penguin who envisions himself soaring like a seagull and journeying globally, recounting several imagined destinations. By the song’s conclusion, the penguin discerns that existence “on the ice floe” isn’t as dismal as he perceived. Symbolizing his relinquished wanderlust, he “sets his suitcase ablaze.” The song reached the 9th place in the Eurovision Song Contest in Den Haag. Additionally, Sophie & Magaly produced a German rendition of the track titled “Papa Pinguin.” A 2006 animated rendition by the penguin Pigloo propelled the song back into the limelight in France, topping the SNEP Singles Chart for a trio of weeks. With its 27-week chart presence, it ranked as the fifth most popular single in France for that year. Additionally, the tune made its mark on the Swiss Singles Chart, securing the 24th spot. Its German counterpart, “Papa Pinguin”, gained traction in German-speaking regions, climbing to fourth place in Austria and securing the sixth position in both Germany and Switzerland.