Thursday, August 16, 2007

Eurosong is of 'national importance', but for whom?

belgovision.com reports:
For whom is Eurosong of national importance? "For VRT without a doubt," affirms journalist Marc Coenegracht in the newspaper Het Laatse Nieuws. "The public broadcaster is throwing loads of money at the weekly shows and builds up a huge hype in order to then be able to look contentedly at the outstanding viewing figures."
But is Eurosong also of national importance to the image of Flanders and to the Flemish winners, asks Marc, who in a distant past took his place in the professional jury of Eurosong several times. read more...

Why Malta is not taking part in the Eurovision Dance Contest?

OGAE Malta reports:
OGAE Malta, the official Eurovision fan club, which is affiliated to OGAE International, has asked the Maltasong board and the administration of the Public Broadcasting Services to explain why Malta did not apply to take part in the first Eurovision dance contest, which will be held on 1 September this year.
OGAE Malta believes that this could have been a golden opportunity for professional Maltese dancers to compete against other professionals from around Europe and show their talents in this dance competition.
OGAE Malta also believes that the exercise could help the Maltasong board team, as the local delegation for the Eurovision Song Contest, to build stronger ties with other European members of the European Broadcasting Union.
Malta would eventually benefit from such ties in all the competitions held by EBU – the Eurovision Song Contest, the Junior Eurovision and now the Eurovision Dance Contest.
So far, no reaction was received from neither the Maltasong Board nor the PBS Administration.

Johnny Logan - First ever No1 album

Eurovision king Johnny Logan is experiencing a career high across Europe at the moment -- even enjoying his first ever number one album!
"I'm really over the moon. While I have had several number one singles, I've never in my entire career had a number one album. It's fantastic. I'm really chuffed. I'm going to be presented with gold and platinum discs for sales in Denmark and Norway, and it's being released in Sweden in October," he stated.
His new album The Irish Connection has been number one in the charts in Denmark for the past four weeks -- and has also been in the Top 10 in Norway and Germany, where himself and his band are based.
The album features Johnny covering such Irish classics as Dirty Old Town and Whiskey In The Jar, and was recorded with his own band in a studio in just two days.
Three-times Eurovision winner Logan has always been popular on continental Europe, but his success is now bigger than ever.
source:independent.ie