Malmö

🇳🇱 The Netherlands: In memoriam Humphrey Campbell

Dutch Eurovision singer Humphrey Campbell passed away. He was 66 years old. Campbell’s journey in the music industry kicked off when he, still a teenager in Suriname, clinched victory at a School Song Festival. This win earned him a record deal, under the mentorship of Oscar Harris. Following a tour in the Netherlands alongside Harris, Campbell was inspired to settle there and pursue his musical career. He took part at the Knokke Song Contest, and secured a lead role in the musical “A Night at the Cotton Club,” where he starred alongside Ruth Jacott. Jacott and Campbell had a relationship at that time. During this period, he crafted a unique musical style that fused jazz with elements of South American music. Campbell’s big break came in 1992 when he was selected to represent at the Eurovision Song Contest, outperforming nine other competitors. Ruth Jacott joined him at the contest in Malmö, Sweden, as his background singer. His song, “Wijs me de weg”, reached a 9th place. The following year, roles reversed as Campbell supported Ruth Jacott with background vocals when she represented the Netherlands with the song “Vrede.” Following his stint at Eurovision, Campbell continued his music career predominantly behind the scenes, collaborating as a guest musician with artists such as Paul de Leeuw, Anita Meijer, and Rob de Nijs. He also shared his expertise as a conservatory teacher in Amsterdam. Last week, Humphrey Campbell announced that he had to cancel a planned tour, as he was seriously ill, suffering from cancer. Campbell was 66 years old.

Ilkin Dovlatov

@EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts Nameİlkin Dövlətov Born16 June 1990 Nationality🇦🇿 Azerbaijani National SelectionInternal selection 2024 In Eurovision2024 Malmö SongÖzünlə apar (& Fahree, 2024) Biography Ilkin Dovlatov (Azerbaijani: İlkin Dövlətov), born on June 16, 1990, is renowned for his contributions to Azerbaijani music as a mugham vocalist. Born into a musically inclined family in Baku in 1990, Dovlatov was greatly influenced by his father, sparking his interest in music from a young age. At just four years old, he performed “Qəlbimdə qaldı,” marking the beginning of his musical journey. His exceptional singing talent was recognized by a school music teacher who encouraged him to showcase his musical talents. Dovlatov’s career saw a significant milestone in 2023 when he participated in The Voice of Azerbaijan, specializing in native songs, under the mentorship of Ilqar Khayal. He secured the runner-up position in the competition and has also been a contestant in the Azəri Star song contest. In the latter part of October 2023, İctimai Television announced a group comprising Ilkin Dovlatov, Mila Miles, and Etibar Asadli as contenders in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest selection process for Azerbaijan. They progressed to the final six candidates the following week, performing the song “İnsanlar.” Although Fahree was initially chosen for the Eurovision representation on March 7, 2024, a subsequent announcement on March 13 revealed that Dovlatov would join Fahree on stage, presenting the song “Özünlə apar.” Unfortunately, the two didn’t reach the final. Entries Özünlə apar (& Fahree) Country🇦🇿 Azerbaijan Year2024 LanguageEnglishAzerbaijani LyricsFahreeMado Salikh MusicFahreeEdgar RavinHasan HaydarMila Miles Backings– Results Semi Points: 11Position: 14Running order: 12 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/QhN9r8TH2Hw?si=GOjsQd0BfXoI7M94

🇦🇿 The last entry of this year, Azerbaijan: Fahree & Ilkin Dövlatov with “Özünlə apar”

“Özünlə apar” is the song Azerbaijani Fahree will sing to represent his country during the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. All other countries had already announced their artist and song but Azerbaijan waited a while to release their song “Özünlə apar” on March 15th. And thus concluded the 37 act announcements. Fahree will perform the song together with singer Ilkin Dövlətov. Ilkin is known for his participation in the Azerbaijani version of “The Voice”. The song is a mix of pop and traditional elements. The music styles of the two artists will compliment each other. Fahree is considered a primarily pop artist while Dövlətov is known for incorporating more traditional and folk elements into his music. Additionally, Fahree stated: “We have already started preparations, our stage choreography will be really different and spectacular. Since the stage structure is very big and difficult, I will start acting lessons.” Moreover, a very interesting message was conveyed by “The Azeri Times” about Armenia’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, “Jako” by Ladaniva. More specifically, the following text was posted on the official Twitter/X account of “The Azeri Times”: “Lovely music accompanied by a beautiful theme. The day we exchange 12 points between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be a beautiful symbol of true peace. Here’s to hoping for that day!”

🇦🇲 Armenia presented their song

Armenia presented their song today. Only a few days ago, Armenian TV announced that the French/Armenian duo Ladaniva represents the country in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. Now we know the song: “Jako”. The song is sung in Armenian; lyrics and music are from the duo itself, but the song is co-composed by Audrey Leclercq. Armenia will perform in the first half of the 2nd semifinal; this is the song:

🇸🇪 News from the HoD meeting

Today, there is some interesting news from the Head of Delegation meeting. This meeting took place today, and some decisions are made about the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest: Iceland It was a big questionmark whether Iceland was going to take part or not. Icelandic broadcaster RUV stated that they, together with the artist, would make a decision. Icelandic artists expressed serious concern about their country taking part in a contest with Israel being there.The decision now made is that Iceland will take part. Big releave for singer Hera Björk, who now will for sure represent her country. Marcus & Martinus Always, the place for the host country gets drawn at the HoD meeting. So this time, it was decided where Sweden would perform in the final. And the result is: they will open it! In 1984, Sweden opened the show too and won. Is it an omen? Big Five For the very first time, the artists from the Big Five countries – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – and host nation Sweden will each perform their entries in full live during the Semi-Finals. In other years, a part of the rehearsals was shown, but never the entire performance. Longer ago, even that didn’t happen and only a part of the video was shown. The voting A new feature for Malmö 2024 includes extending the timeframe for voting during the Grand Final. Voting will start just before the first song is performed on Saturday, 11 May. This allows viewers to vote for the songs in real-time as they are being performed, a departure from the traditional method where voting commenced after all the entries were showcased. This approach was the standard since the introduction of public voting in 1997, with the exceptions of 2010 and 2011 when voting opened at the show’s start. Moreover, fans from countries not competing (Rest of The World) will be given almost 24 hours to vote for their preferred songs before the start of each live show. For these international fans, online voting will be available right after the conclusion of the second dress rehearsal for each Semi-Final and the Grand Final, continuing until the commencement of the live broadcasts.

🇬🇪 Georgia: This is how “Firefighter” sounds

“Firefighter” is the title of the Georgian entry. Nutsa Buzaladze was already chosen some time ago to represent Georgia in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. Her song is written and composed by Ada Skidka and Darko Dimitrov. Dimitrov pens the Georgian entry for the first time. However, he has written the North Macedonian entry on 6 occasions, the Serbian one 3 times and also 1 Montenegrin Eurovision Song. His biggest success was “Proud”, sung by Tamara Todevska; the song became 7th overall and the jury winner of 2019. This is how “Firefighter” sounds:

🇮🇱 “Hurricane” is the song for Israel

Tonight, the Israeli song “Hurricane” has been presented. Singer Eden Golan was chosen already a few months ago. Her entry was controversial: the lyrics of the song, originally titled “October rain”, where rejected by the EBU. Another text was also rejected; after that Israeli broadcaster changed the lyrics of “October rain”, now titled “Hurricane”. It became the Israeli song. The song is written and composed by Avi Ohion, Keren Peles and Stav Beger.

Iolanda

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts NameIolanda Costa Born04 November 1994 Nationality🇵🇹 Portuguese National SelectionFestival RTP Da Canção 2024 In Eurovision2024 Malmö SongGrito (2024) Biography Iolanda Costa, known simply as Iolanda, is a Portuguese singer and songwriter. Iolanda Costa was born in São Pedro, Figueira da Foz, on November 4, 1994. In her childhood, she moved to Pombal, where she discovered her passion for music. Her parents supported her interest, enrolling her in music studies first at Tecnimúsica, a local school, and later at the Conservatory. By the age of 14, in December 2008, Iolanda participated in the first edition of the contest Uma Canção para Ti, aired on TVI, but was eliminated in the 2nd gala. At 17, she again sought television exposure by participating in the 5th edition of Ídolos in 2012 on SIC, but did not advance to the live gala phase. After completing high school, Iolanda moved to Lisbon to pursue higher education and graduated in Communication Sciences from ISCSP. During this period, she sought to break into the music scene through performances in bars and national talent contests. Her journey continued when she moved to London to study songwriting at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute at the University of Sussex. In 2014, she competed in the Blind Auditions of the second season of The Voice Portugal on RTP1, performing “Who You Are” by Jessie J, yet none of the four mentors turned their chairs for her. Iolanda’s first significant contribution to music came in 2022 as a co-author and co-composer of the song “Mar No Fim,” performed by Blacci at the Festival da Canção. The following year, in 2023, she released her first EP titled “Cura,” which was inspired by her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, Iolanda achieved a notable milestone by being selected to compete in the RTP Festival da Canção with her song “Grito.” She won the contest on March 9, 2024, and was thus chosen to represent Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest. Iolanda reached the Grand Final and got a 10th place there. Entries Grito Country🇵🇹 Portugal Year2024 LanguagePortuguese LyricsIolanda Costa MusicIolanda CostaAlberto Hérnandez DancersGonçalo CarrapiçoInês GonferMélissa CarodosoRenato GarciaTelmo Teite Results Semi Points: 58Position: 8Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: 152Position: 10Running order: 18 https://youtu.be/OZn4-H6JvKU?si=OykbBlOVGYiKga_y

🇵🇹 Iolanda wins Portuguese national final

National final season is over! Iolanda has won in Portugal. She sings the song “Grito”, written by Iolanda herself. She also composed the song along with Luar. Iolanda was the clear choice of the jury, while the televoters applied for João Borsch, who became 2nd. Portugal will perform in the second half of the first semifinal. These are the full results: Iolanda, “Grito”, 22 pts. João Borsch, “….pelas costuras”, 18 pts. Leo Middea, “Doce mistério”, 18 pts. Silk Nobre, “Change”, 12 pts. Rita Rocha, “Pontos finais”, 11 pts. Buba Espinho, “O farol”, 10 pts. Noble, “Memory”, 7 pts. Rita Onofre, “Criatura”, 5 pts. Perpétua, “Bem longe daqui”, 4 pts. Nena, “Teorias da conspiração”, 4 pts. No Maka ft. Ana Maria, “Aceitar”, 3 pts. Cristina Clara, “Primavera”, 2 pts.

Marcus & Martinus

© EBU/Alma Bengtsson About Quick Facts MembersMarcus GunnarsenMartinus Gunnarsen Born21 February 2002 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionMelodifestivalen 2024Melodifestivalen 2023 In Eurovision2024 Malmö SongUnforgettable (2024) Biography Marcus & Martinus, known as M&M, are a Norwegian dance-pop duo formed by identical twin brothers Marcus and Martinus Gunnarsen, born on 21 February 2002 in Elverum, Norway. The duo’s career began in 2012 when they competed in the eleventh season of Melodi Grand Prix Junior, held at the Oslo Spektrum and broadcast live by NRK. They won the contest with their song “To dråper vann” (“Two Drops of Water”), which peaked at number eight on the Norwegian Singles Chart. In 2015, Marcus & Martinus released their debut studio album “Hei” (“Hi”), which climbed to number 1 on the Norwegian Albums Chart and stayed in the top ten for 20 consecutive weeks out of 35. The album featured the single “Plystre på deg” (“Whistle at You”), and they also released other singles like “Elektrisk” (“Electric”) with Katastrofe, and “Ei som deg” (“One Like You”) with Innertier. They later released a special fan version of “Hei”, including “Elektrisk” among other extras. 2016 was a busy year for the duo as they released several singles including “Girls” with Madcon, which hit number 1 in Norway and Sweden, and “Heartbeat” and “I Don’t Wanna Fall in Love”. They followed up with “Light It Up” and “One More Second”. Their first English album, “Together”, was released in November, featuring hits like “Girls” and “Heartbeat”, and debuted at number 1 in Norway and Sweden. They performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in December. In 2017, Marcus & Martinus announced Norway’s Jury points for the Eurovision Song Contest. They released singles including “Like It Like It” with Silentó, “First Kiss”, and performed a special song for Swedish Crown Princess Victoria’s 40th birthday. They also released “Dance with You”, “Make You Believe in Love”, “One Flight Away”, “Never”, and their third album “Moments”. The single “Invited” was released in September. From 2019 to 2021, they released an EP called “Soon”, singles “Love You Less”, “It’s Christmas Time”, and were featured on Stig Brenner’s “Miserabel”. They also released “Belinda” with Latin star Alex Rose, and “Feel” with Bruno Martini. In 2022, they won the Swedish version of “Masked Singer” and released “When All the Lights Go Out”. They competed in Melodifestivalen 2023 with “Air”, finishing second behind Loreen. They participated in Melodifestivalen 2024 with “Unforgettable” and won on 9 March with 177 points, set to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö. In the Grand Final of the contest, they reached a 9th place. Entries Unforgettable Country🇸🇪 Sweden Year2024 LanguageEnglish LyricsJimmy ‘Joker’ ThornfeldtJoy DebLinnea DebMarcus GunnarsenMartinus Gunnarsen MusicJimmy ‘Joker’ ThornfeldtJoy DebLinnea DebMarcus GunnarsenMartinus Gunnarsen DancersDaniel KoivunenKenny LantzKim PastorPauline Eddeborn Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 174Position: 9Running order: 1 https://youtu.be/DcZpzObYzxs?si=p7IAkrPs3QigWuK2