Dima Bilan, special guest at Junior Eurovision 2008

Dima Bilan singing Number One Fan and Believe at the Junior Eurovision '08 as a special guest.

Evridiki and Dimitris Korgialas at Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Evridiki and Dimitris Korgialas (ESC 2007) singing "Fun in the sun" on the Junior Eurovision 2008 stage.

Georgia won Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008

The goup Bzikibi from Georgia, with the song Bzz.., has won the sixth edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008.


Bzkizbi - Bzz




Congratulations Georgia!

Congratulation Cyprus for the wonderfull show!

Sirusho will be in Lemessos on the 22nd of November

Sirusho, who successfully represented Armenia at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest with "Qele, Qele", will travel to Cyprus in November to support the Armenian Junior Eurovision Song Contest participants.

Armenia will be represented by Monika Manucharova, who will sing Im Ergi Hnchyune in Lemesos on the 22nd of November. Armenian superstar Sirusho will also pack for Cyprus, to support, guide and advise the young singer representing her country in the lead up to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

The role of Armenia's former Eurovision Song Contest hope is limited to supporting the young delegates in Cyprus, and Sirusho is not scheduled to make an appearance on the show itself.

source:eurovision.tv

Deep Zone as support for other artists in the Bulgarian national final

Deep Zone will be producing the singles of some artists participating in this year's Bulgarian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Producing and remixing most hit singles of other Bulgarian artists, Deep Zone also started Music Space, a project to promote their young protégés.

But Deep Zone is not only helping other artists in buliding a successful career, they have been busy following their own ambitious projects as well, such as their National Club Tour which led them to 20 Bulgarian cities. Moreover, they did over hundred live performances and club gigs, including an appearance at Spirit of Bourgas, an international music festival.

Their current single is called Let the music love ya, which was released in October and managed to reach the top of various important charts. Due to a contract with ToCo International, the single is set to be released worldwide in a month.



source: esctoday.com

Romania: Morandi demand help from Bulgarian fans on MTV

After Morandi were chosen for "Best artist in Romania", the pop duo, consisting of composer Marius Moga and singer Andrei Ropcea (Randi), will fight for the prestigious award in the category "Europe's favorite" of the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Voting for "Europe's favorite" is already active and the deadline is on November 3. The official awards ceremony will be held on November 6 in Liverpool, England.

Morandi's opponents in this category are Nightwish, Leona Lewis, Eurovision 2008 - Dima Billan and others.

source

Anna Vissi new videoclip "To Parelthon Mou"

From Mad Tv, the new song and the new videoclip of Anna Vissi.

To Parelthon Mou (My Past)



Anna Vissi - To Parelthon Mou, Making Of [fannatics.gr]

Esctoday.com Awards

The third annual esctoday.com awards are just a few weeks away, and this year esctoday.com members will be given the chance to determine the nominations for each category.

[..]Over the next two weeks, we will run a series of polls for each category The esctoday.com team will then finalise the nominations and you, the fans of the Eurovision Song Contest, will be able to vote in the biggest awards programme for the competition.[..]

More information at esctoday.com

The categories are:

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2008:

SONG OF THE YEAR
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
LYRICIST OF THE YEAR
COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
BEST BAND PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
BEST ENTRY NOT TO QUALIFY FROM THE SEMI FINAL
BEST DRESSED PERFORMER(S) OF THE YEAR
WORST DRESSED PERFORMER(S) OF THE YEAR

NATIONAL FINALS 2008:

BEST NATIONAL FINAL 2008
BEST NATIONAL FINAL PERFORMANCE (EXCLUDING WINNER) OF THE YEAR
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE NOT TO QUALIFY FOR EUROVISION
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE NOT TO QUALIFY FOR EUROVISION
BEST BAND PERFORMANCE NOT TO QUALIFY FOR EUROVISION

To vote, you must be a registered esctoday.com member. Membership is free and allows you to vote in the online polls, react to articles and enter all competitions on the website.

Click here to register.

News about Greece and Sakis Rouvas

According to oikotimes.com ERT is about to announce this week the date for the Eurovision 2009 press conference.

For 10 weeks, Sakis Rouvas song "Kai Se Thelo" has been in the top of the Greek National Airplay charts this year.

On October 24, Sakis will appear for the first time as the host of the Greek X-Faxtor show on Antenna TV.

Read more about at oikotimes.com

Dima Bilan and Elena Berezhnaya again on ice - video

Dima Bilan suprise us once again skating on ice, only this time much better.




credit video


See also:

Dima Bilan and Elena Berezhnaya on ice - 1st video

Dima Bilan and Elena Berezhnaya on ice - video

Dima Bilan, the Russian representative and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 took part in a show called Stars on ice, where he danced on the ice together with the Olympic champion Elena Berezhnaya.

The concept of the show is to take a professional ice-skater and a famous artist or a singer from Russia, who never stood on ice before. The pairs train together all week long and on Saturday nights they show the audience and tele-audience what they have achieved.







credit video LiveWithBilan

See also:

Dima Bilan again on ice -2nd video

3440 songs entered for Sweden National Final

SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster,has announced that 3440 songs have been entered for the national final Melodifestivalen which serves as the country's selection for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.

Melodifestivalen is the most watched show on Swedish television every year with approximately 4 million Swedes watching the exciting final which usually takes place in Stockholm's Globen Arena.
Lots of the 32 songs that reached the semi-finals in the previous years have become big hits in the Swedish charts and this year's compilation CD was awarded 6 times platinum.



source:eurovision.tv

The Toppers will represent the Netherlands at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest

Dutch broadcaster NOS officially confirmed that The Toppers will represent the Netherlands at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.




The Toppers consists of Gerard Joling (48), Gordon (40) and René Froger (47).



A national selection will take place on the 1st of February.
TV viewers will get the opportunity to pick the song that will represent the Netherlands in Moscow.

Songwriters and composer are invited to send in their songs, contributions are welcome until the 23rd of November.



source:eurovision.tv

Bulgaria: 45 songs, nine heats

On Thursday 2nd October, the first heat of "Be a star in Bulgaria" will open the national finals and preselections season for Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Every month (October, November and December) will have 4 shows. In the first 3, 5 of the participating songs will be presented, and in the 4th one the televoting results will be presented. The top three songs from each month will qualify for the semifinal.

In the semifinal, to be held in January, 18 songs will take part - nine that qualified from the heats, and another nine that will be chosen by a committee. Nine of those songs will be sent to the final by a jury where they will be joined by three wildcards, commissioned by BNT.

read more on esctoday.com

Slovakia back to the Eurovision Song Contest

Slovakian public broadcaster STV announced that it will bring Slovakia back to the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow next year. It will be the first time that the country participates in eleven years.

Slovakia has entered the competition three times in the past, with poor results on each occasion.
They entered for the first time in 1994 with Martin Durinda and Tublatanka singing Nekonečná pieseň, winning just 15 points. In total, they have picked up only 42 points.




source:esctoday.com

Dima Bilan special guest star at Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Dima Bilan, winner of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, will be the special guest star at the 6th Junior Eurovision Song Contest on the 22nd November in Lemesos, Cyprus!



He will also meet all this year’s participants of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to offer them some last-minute advice after Friday night's dress rehearsal. During the live final on the Saturday night, Dima will also perform his winning song Believe on the stage of the Spyros Kyrianou Arena.


source:eurovision.tv

First ever Asiavision Song Contest in mid-2009

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)announce that the Eurovision Song Contest format was purchased by Asiavision Pte. Ltd., to hold the first ever Asiavision Song Contest in mid-2009!

The plan is to organize the first ever Asiavision Song Contest in mid-2009, with 15 represented countries, including China and India. It will be based on the highly popular Eurovision Song Contest, which is an annual competition for active Members of the EBU, represented by the public broadcasters in their respective countries.

The annual song contest is planned to be a six-month regional and national tournament culminating in the Grand Final. The song contest will be distributed in the following countries: China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Targeting the most populous region in the world with more than three billion people the show has a potential audience of over 500 million viewers. A number of broadcasters have indicated their desire to be the Host Broadcaster for the first ever Asiavision Song Contest.

Read more...

Estonia decided to participate in ESC 2009

ETV, Estonian national broadcaster, decided to take part in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.
The country won’t boycott the festival. The decision was based on a poll organized by the national broadcasting association, where 66% of the public voted YES to the Estonian participation.

Margus Allikmaa, ERR Chairman of the board, is still not convinced Estonia should participate in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.

"Eurovision was never free of politics", every country has used the contest for political reasons and so will Russia!. It is very naive to believe that singing and politics can be kept apart. But as our poll showed that the majority of Estonians wish our country to participate, I have to respect that", said M.Allikmaa.



sources:esctoday.com;oikotimes.com

Natalia Barbu and Natalia Gordienko in Greece

Natalia Barbu, who represented Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with the song Fight, composed by Alexandru Brasoveanu and Natalia Gordienko, who also represented Moldova in Athens in 2006 with the song Loca, duet with Arsenium, will visit Greece for a big promotion of their new songs and albums that will be released soon.

The two female pop idols were invited by a Greek manager to promote their new work in Greece. They have a huge and busy program including TV shows, Radio interviews and meetings with Greek Eurovision stars and composers as both of them want to represent their country again next year looking for new ideas and styles.

Natalia Barbu is working on her new album that will be released soon and she also thinks of participating again in the next Eurovision while Natalia Gordienko is preparing already her Eurovision entry song for the upcoming Moldovan national final.

Natalia Gordienko won last year the New Wave 2007 Festival. In the same contest Mihai Traistariu (ESC 2006) and Kostas Martakis (NF 2008) also participated, qualifing in the first 10.

Natalia Barbu and Natalia Gordienko are working with Alexandru Brasoveanu, the well known Moldovan composer who is also going to be with them during their promo tour in Greece and they will also be accompanied by a profesional dancer and new singer, Sergyo.

All the four of them are going to arrive in Greece next week and they are also willing to attend Madonna's concert that will take place in Athens on the 27th of September.

For more information about the artists you can visit their personal sites:
www.nataliabarbu.com
www.sergyo.co.nr


sources:esctoday.com;eurovisionnews.blogspot.com

The jury is back for ESC 2009 Final

eurovision.tv reports:

During a meeting in Moscow, the EBU Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest decided to introduce a voting model of a mix between televoting and jury votes in the 2009 Final.

No change will be made in the voting during the Semi-Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Details on the balance between jury and televoting outcome are still to be determined in the months to come.

A survey amongst delegation heads from represented countries revealed that a majority is in favor of such mixed model.
A mixed voting system also has great support amongst the fans of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Svante Stockselius, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest said:

"Nothing is more democratic than the vote of the public. But a jury takes the opportunity to listen to the songs several times, before they make up their minds. In Belgrade, we saw a difference in judgment of the public and the back-up juries, and we believe a combination will make the show more interesting."

In its next meeting, later this year, the Reference Group will decide upon the exact way the jury has to be composed, and to discuss rules to assure a fair jury vote.

The Semi-Finals will not see any changes in the voting procedure. As at the 2008 contest, televoters will again decide upon the nine songs that qualify in each of the two Semi-Finals, while the highest ranked entry of the back-up juries that didn't qualify yet through televoting will also qualify.


read also: Eurovision 'Big Four' final spots confirmed

Verka Serduchka and Andrey Danilko - Tango

Verka Serduchka and Andrey Danilko - Tango





Thanks to Nackroniz for the video and the translation:


Verka: Hello "goodbye" passion tango.
danilko: It is tango
Verka: it's goodbye passion tango.
danilko: Hello Verka
Verka: Hello Andrusha. It looks like after tango we have to get divorced forever.
Danilko: Both of us know who is manager and who is "servant"(something like that).
Verka: ax like that, began to speak this dood.
(BAR SCENE)
Verka: without me you are not interesting, without my clothes and my songs.
Danilko: You began to speak about songs, who writes them you didin't forgot?
Verka: From Moskow till Kontimanciska(city) people loves those..forms.
Danilko: those forms, Vera, it's only paralon.
(REFRAIN)
Danilko: Remember how i met you? Stupid woman with red beret..You walked throw the grass, you carried a tea for someone, and i was captivated by you...
Verka: You were young but i was not so...You were nothing, and i was a star. And in the middle of a clear day, i was captivated by you and i'm still captivated...
(CHAIR SCENE)
Verka:We can't forgot everything what was before.
Danilko: How much i loved...
Verka how much I loved...
Danilko: how sad i was...
Verka: how sad I was...
Danilko: Maybe we can start everything from the beggining.
Verka: Happy new year, Andrusha!
Danilko: Happy luck, my little soul!
Both: we'll be together forever.
(REFRAIN)
Danilko: Remember how i met you? Stupid woman with red beret..You walked throw the grass, you carried a tea for someone, and i was captivated by you...
Verka: You were young but i was not so...You were nothing, and i was a star. And in the middle of a clear day, i was captivated by you and i'm still captivated...

Dima Bilan in Vilnius - Lithuania - video

Dima Bilan singing Protiv pravil in Vilnius, Lithuania. 12.09.2008



more videos here

Moscow officialy accepted as Host City for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest

The Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest has officially approved the Russian capital as the Host City of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, as proposed by Channel One.

The governing body of the song contest also approved the Olympiski Arena as the venue of the event in May 2009.

Svante Stockselius, EBU's Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said to Eurovision.tv:

"Moscow is an impressive city and the proposed venue gives us the fantastic possibility to put everything under one roof. We are confident that Channel One Russia will organize a fantastic 54th Eurovision Song Contest."

The green light of the Reference Group gives the Host Broadcaster the opportunity to go full speed ahead with their preparations for the upcoming contest.

In the months ahead, Channel One organizers are to make numerous important decisions, from the creative concept of the event to the practical details of the cooperation with the city of Moscow and many, many others.



source:eurovision.tv
credit photo

New t.A.T.u album "Happy Smiles"

t.A.T.u. confirmed with a press release that their third studio album has been titled "Veselye Ulybki"- "Happy Smiles", featuring 12 tracks.






A press release states:

"For almost a year a working title of the album was "Upravleniye Otbrosami" - "Waste Management". But a month before the release - for the sake of ironic smile of those, who understand – the title changed. The essence, however, remained."

The press release (PDF) here.





















source

Ruslana to release "Wild Energy" album on October 2008

The long-awaited Ruslana album "Wild Energy" will be released on 10 October 2008.

Recorded at the legendary Hit Factory Criteria Studios in Miami and produced by Ego Works, "Wild Energy" maintains Ruslana’s unique musical components blended with modern urban influences. This release contains a first for Ruslana - the collaboration with the American Urban superstars T-Pain and Missy Elliott in two great songs with very dramatic and amazing results.

“Moon of Dreams” - The first single and video - is a duet with T-Pain and is already a smash in Poland and the Ukraine and the album was released on the 2nd of September 2008 in Canada.

"Wild Energy" combines the elements of music, video production, literature and social commitment in an extraordinary way. Dedicated to the idea of the independence of human feelings and freedoms using original and rarely heard ethnic sounds; the music blends these ancient styles and singing traditions of the Carpathian Mountain people with modern popular music. The timbre of Ruslana’s voice coupled with her unique vocal styling is unmistakable and instantly identifiable to millions of her fans.

The ESC winner in 2004, Ruslana peformed a special concert at the festival Golden Stag Romania on September 5.

source&photo

Miodio at Golden Stag Festival - video

Miodio (ESC 2008)performing at Golden Stag Festival,Romania the song Dincolo de Nori"

The song was performed for the first time by Dan Bittman, Romania at 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.

Miodio - Dincolo de nori




Dan Bittman (ESC 1994) Dincolo de Nori

The Winners of the Golden Stag International Festival 2008 - videos

Razvan Krivach from Romania won the Golden Stag 2008, Brasov, Romania

Biondo, the Swedish band who came second after Nico and Vlad Mirita this year in the Romanian final with Shine, won the Silver Stag.

Tony Poptamas & Desperado who competed in the 2007 Romanian preselection won the Bronze Stag.

Miodio, the first ever representatives of San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, and Moldavian finalist this year, Olia Tira, missed out on a place in the final.

Razvan Krivach singing "Too much love will kill you" at Golden Stag Final



via

Biondo, Sweden singing Shine and Cerul (The sky) at Golden Stag 2008




Tony Poptamas &Desperado singing "The Universe" at Golden Stag Final

Lordi - "Bite It Like A Bulldog"

Lordi's fourth studio album, entitled Deadache, will be released in the US on October 28th, 2008 and internationally in the same week.




The look of each character has been redesigned for this album. The new costumes will be revealed when Lordi headlines Popkomm in Berlin this October.


Listen the first single off the album, "Bite It Like A Bulldog"

Eurovision 2009 under threat after Russian invasion of Georgia

Next year's Eurovision Song Contest is under threat after ex-Soviet states called for a boycott after Russia invaded Georgia.

Russia's Dima Bilan won the 2008 contest thanks to ex-pats in former Soviet-bloc states banding together to vote for him.

As a result, the 2009 contest will take place in Moscow.

But Baltic nations Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia may pull out of the annual TV show.

A poll in Estonia has already backed the boycott, while pressure is also rising for a Polish withdrawal.

Estonia's culture minister Laine Janes, said: "Solidarity must exist with Lithuania and Latvia to show consolidated support for Georgia."

The European Broadcasting Union, who run Eurovision, have said the Georgian conflict cannot be allowed to wreck the contest.

Spokesman Svante Stockselius said: "These issues should not be linked. We are organising a non-political event and if the hosting country is able to ensure the safety of participants there is no reason why it should not be allowed to host the finals."

The potential eastern boycott is another problem for Eurovision, who are already struggling to allay the fears of the western countries that they now no longer have a chance in the contest.

Sir Terry Wogan confirmed last month he would be stepping down as the BBC's Eurovision host after 37 years. The 70-year-old presenter has tired of the "political voting" that determined the outcome.

source

Elitsa Todorova seriously injured during rehearsal

The Bulgarian singer Elitsa Todorova (ESC 2007) survived by miracle Saturday, after hundreds of kilograms of iron crashed down, on top of her during a concert rehearsal.

A sudden storm had caused a scaffold from the concert's stage to crash down on performers and the technical team. Two other individuals have been injured, however, Elitsa's condition is the most serious one because the singer had sustained head trauma.

It is still unclear if the concert would take place as scheduled. According to reports, the wind in the area is becoming stronger and there is a possibility of cancelling it.

The company that has built the stage on the sand has not yet offered an explanation of the cause of the incident.


Hope she'll be ok soon!




source

t.A.T.u for Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs latest muses are the two girls that make up the band t.A.T.u., Julia Volkova and Lena Katina. They're the new faces of his Fall and Winter lines.


But it's not all about their collaboration, t.A.T.u. will also carry out the casting Девушка Марка, in which winner will go to New York to perform on catwalk of one of the best fashion designers!

Take a peek at this behind-the-scenes look at their photo shoot!



Behind the Scenes of Marc Jacobs photoshoot - photos

source

Don’t boycott Moscow’s Eurovision song contest said EBU to Estonia

European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is not amused over calls of prominent Estonian politicians to boycott next year’s Eurovision song contest hosted by Russia for Georgian conflict.

Svante Stockselius, executive of EBU that is organising the annual Eurovision Song Contest, told Postimees that Eurovision was an non-political event and that politicians have no right to decide whether to boycott it or not.

Stockselius said that he could not understand the proposal made by the Estonian Minister of Culture Laine Jänes and by chairman of the National Broadcasting Association Margus Allikmaa that Estonia could boycott next year’s Eurovision finals in Moscow over the conflict in Georgia.

"These issues should not be linked. We are organizing a non-political event and if the hosting country is able to ensure the safety of participants, there is no reason why it should not be allowed to host the finals," said Stockselius.

The EBU official added that if Estonia wishes to stay away from the Eurovision song festival in 2009, it is up to the country. "We have many members who don’t participate every year and who return later," added Stockselius. -source-

Estonia itself hosted the Eurovision contest in 2002 after winning the 2001 edition.

Culture Minister of Lithuania, Jonas Jucas says that it is too early to speak about the opportunity to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow with intention to express the protest over the Russian aggression against Georgia.

According to Jucas- "Spontaneous decisions might aggravate the efforts of diplomats to harmonize the conflict. It is not right time to speak about that," the culture minister noted. -source-


credit photo

New Wave 2008 - Jurmala - Photos

Dima Bilan at New Wave 2008, Jurmala












































Alla Pugachyova and Maxim Galkin at New Wave 2008, Jurmala















Filipp Kirikorov at New Wave 2008, Jurmala

















Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe, guest star at New Wave 2008- Jurmala together with Russian tenor Nikolai Baskov






















credit photos

Kate Ryan at Sopot Hit Festival 2008

Kate Ryan opened the first night of the Hit Festiwal 2008 in Sopot on Friday. Kate sang a piece of L.I.L.Y. and Ella Elle L'a.




source: belgovision.com

Tickets for Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 are now available online

The tickets for the 6th edition of Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 which will take place this year in Cyprus are now avalilable online.

Tickets are available for the three Dress Rehearsals, and the live show on Saturday, 22nd of November.

Dress Rehearsal tickets are available for prices between 5 and 20 euros, while live show tickets cost between 30 and 70 euros.

You can buy your tickets through a special ticket ordering website.

source

Running order for Eurovision Dance Contest

The order of performances for the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest, which will take place on the 6th of September in the Scottish city of Glasgow, was announced:




1. Sweden
2. Austria
3. Denmark
4. Azerbaijan
5. Ireland
6. Finland
7. The Netherlands
8. Lithuania
9. United Kingdom
10. Russia
11. Greece
12. Portugal
13. Poland
14. Ukraine
15. Spain

The winner of this year's competition will be decided by televote and a special expert jury.

source

Kostas Martakis - Fila Me - Videoclip

Watch Kostas Martakis(NF 2008) new videoclip "Fila Me"

Sarbel No.1 on LGR TOP 20 Chart

Sarbel - Desperado (1)
The woo factor that will attract the ladies in the pop dance tune with striking Greek and Latin elements, and a vocal which is done in English.







Desperado - Sarbel
Asculta mai multe audio Divertisment »


London Greek Radio TOP 20

1. Sarbel – Desperado (5)
2. Elena Paparizou – I Kardia Sou Petra (4)
3. Thanos Petrelis – Ksypna Thanasi (1)
4. Sarbel – Ola Dika Sou (2)
5. Giannis Ploutarhos – Ax Aggele Mou (9)
6. Sakis Rouvas – Kai Se Thelo < >
7. Christina Koletsa – Ekti Aisthisi (3)
8. Haris Varthakouris - Ta Pia (10)
9. Anna Vissi - Diri Daxta (NEW)
10. Panos Kiamos – To Xeis (9)
11. Christos Dantis - Ektos Troxias (8)
12. Dionisis Makris – Ime Full Erotevmenos (11)
13. Giannis Kotsiras – Kane to Xeimona Kalokairi (9)
14. Kostas Karafotis – H Aggeloi (7)
15. Giannis Ploutarhos - Fotia sto Potiri Sou (NEW)
16. Christos Hatzinassios Ft. Nancy Alexiadi - Kakomathimeno < >
17. Kalomoira - Secret Combination < >
18. Amaryllis – Giati Den Pantrevomaste (6)
19. Nikos Kourkoulis - Amartia (15)
20. Maria Iakovou Feat. Thirio – Mavra Mesanyxta (13))

Belgium plans internal selection for ESC 2009

Belgian broadcaster RTBF will again internally select the Belgian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow.

"I can already confirm that there won't be an open national selection," Jean-Michel Germys, RTBF's Director of Entertainment,told Belgovision.com.

Whether RTBF will go for a pure internal selection or a variation of it, will become clear later. French-speaking Belgian artists who have the ambition to represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest, will be disappointed. In no way an open national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 will be organized.

source

Greece: Good news, Bad news

Good News:

"The first ever (and only, so far) winner of the Eurovision Song Contest for Greece, Helena Paparizou is about to start recordings for her international album.[..]
At the moment she is touring Greece giving concerts along with Manos Pirovolakis."

Bad News:

"The pressure of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest and the treatment Kalomira had from the Greek media and press before and after Belgrade seems to be the main reason for her trip back to her family in New York. This is what we get from her father's statement in an interview in Downtown magazine.

Kalomira was mistreated and wasn't paid for her promo activities he said but at the end he leaves an opening for his daughter to come back in Greece in August. The news come as a shock since it is weird how a young artist who reached almost the top in Eurovision and applauded (afterwards) in Greece, stops everything. At the moment Kalomira is in New York close to her family, especially her sister who gave birth to her first child."

source: oikotimes.com

Kostas Martakis @ New Wave 2008 - Jurmala

Kostas Martakis at New Wave 2008 music festival singing russian version of "Always and Forever"

Dima Bilan at New Wave 2008 - Jurmala

Watch Dima Bilan's performance at New Wave 2008 music festival - Jurmala, Latvia.

Eurovision Dance Contest site online

The European Broadcasting Union launched the official website of the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest on http://www.eurovisiondance.tv.





As the event comes closer, the website will be gradually expanded with more information.

The Eurovision Dance Contest took place for the first time in 2007.
The 2008 running of the show takes place on the 6th of September in Glasgow, Scotland.


source

Filipp Kirkorov@New Wave 2008 - Jurmala

Watch Filipp Korokorov's performance at New Wave 2008 music festival - Jurmala, Latvia.

Alla Pugachyova&Maxim Galkin@New Wave 2008 -Jurmala

Alla Pugachyova and Maxim Galkin at New Wave 2008 -Jurmala singing "Громоотводы" (Lightning).

Verka Serduchka at New Wave 2008 festival - Jurmala

Verka Serduchka (ESC 2007) singing "Do, Re, Mi" at New Wave 2008 music festival - Jurmala, Latvia.

Serebro at New Wave 2008 Festival - Jurmala

Serebro (ESC 2007) performing in premiere a new song "Dirty Kiss" at New Wave 2008 music festival - Jurmala, Latvia.

Ani Lorak at New Wave 2008 Festival - Jurmala

Ani Lorak (ESC 2008) performing "Let's Get Loud" on the New Wave 2008 Festival in Jurmala (Latvia).

Nana Mouskouri bids farewell with Athens concert

Nana Mouskouri has bid adieu to a remarkable half-century in music with a farewell concert in her native Greece at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens.

Fans filled the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus on Wednesday evening to hear the 73-year-old songstress -- one of the best-selling recording artists of all time -- perform from her wide repertoire.

Hours earlier, the city of Athens bestowed its gold medal on Mouskouri, who has been on a worldwide farewell tour since she announced her plans to retire three years ago.

Born on the island of Crete, the bespectacled Mouskouri has sold more than 300 million records in French, English, Germany, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Hebrew and Japanese, her record company Universal says.

She was also engaged in humanitarian work, serving as a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) ambassador, and served as a Greek member of the European Parliament in the 1990s.


photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP
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Alexander Zhukov to head ESC 2009 organising committee

First Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov will head the organising committee for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

"The composition of the organising committee will be approved this or, at the latest, next week," Zhukov said on Wednesday.

He said not even tentative cost estimates for the event had been made yet.
"There are no estimates yet. We have to create the organising committee first," Zhukov said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the Eurovision Song Contest would be held in Moscow, taking into account the level of its preparedness, the development of infrastructure and the possibility of minimising the costs.[...]

Moscow authorities said they are ready to organise and hold the Eurovision-2009 song contest in the Russian capital.

Moscow will do it “at the highest level”, an official in the city administration said.

"We have big experience of holding such events. We can do it. We will receive the guests and provide them with transportation and accommodation," he said.[...]

read more...

Helena Paparizou new videoclip: I Kardia sou Petra

Helena Paparizou, the greek winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, has a new videoclip for the song "I Kardia sou Petra"



Related posts:
MAD VMA 2008: Stavento ft Helena Paparizou

MAD VMA 2008: Helena Paparizou - Porta Gia Ton Ourano

The Golden Stag: Foreign participants

27 foreign artists will compete in the Golden Stag 2008 in Brasov, together with 3 Romanian artists, for a total of 30 contestants.


The 3 Romanians will be the winners of the semifinal held on 10th of August in a live show by TVR1.

Among the participants are San Marino's first entrants Miodio, alongside Biondo (Romanian NF 2008) representing Sweden, Crash (Norwegian NF 2007, 2008) representing Norway, Maya (Slovenian NF 2004, 2006 & Irish NF 2008) representing Slovenia and Alexandra & Constantin (Belarusian NF 2004) representing Belarus.

The complete list of foreign participants selected for the competition:

(in alphabetical order)

1. 3Nity – FRANCE

2. Alexa – MOLDOVA

3. Alexander Prosek – GERMANY

4. Alexandra & Constantin – BELARUS

5. Biondo – SWEDEN

6. Biu – CUBA

7. Chen Luhong – CHINA

8. Crash! – NORWAY

9. Deniz – TURKEY

10. Dewi Marpaung – INDONESIA

11. En Yang – CHINA

12. Josefin – SWEDEN

13. Krikka Reggae – ITALY

14. Lena Grach – RUSSIA

15. Maya – SLOVENIA

16. Millenium – MOLDOVA

17. Miodio - SAN MARINO

18. Mudmen – CANADA

19. Nevena – BULGARIA

20. Nicolas Cantoro – ARGENTINA

21. Nicole Jane – UK

22.Priscilla – MALTA

23. Sabine Berezina – LATVIA

24. Sarah Reeve – AUSTRALIA

25. Olia Tira - MOLDOVA *

26. Tami & Nir – ISRAEL

27. Victoria Linskaya – RUSSIA

* SOFIA, the competitor from Greece, retired from this year's edition of the GOLDEN STAG, therefor her place will be taken by OLIA TIRA, from Moldova, as she obtained the higest score from the jury after Sofia in the preselection for the GOLDEN STAG hold on July 16, 2008.

You can listen all the songs HERE

Putin settles it:Moscow will host Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday chose Moscow as the host city for next year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Vladimir Putin made the announcement at a meeting of the Russian inner Cabinet.

Several Russian cities had applied to host the event. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said the strongest rival bid had come from St. Petersburg.

Zhukov, charged with overseeing preparations for the event, said Moscow's Olimpiysky sports complex would be the likely venue.

Vladimir Putin, a St. Petersburg native, pointed to Moscow's developed infrastructure and the possibility of reducing costs as reasons for the choice.

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Kostas Martakis at Slaviansky Bazaar Festival

Kostas Martakis (Greece NF 2008) singing Always and Forever, in russian language,at Slavianky Bazaar Music Festival.

Dima Bilan at Slavianski Bazaar

Dima singing Belive at Slavianski Bazaar Festival (Витебске)

Dima Koldun -"Surrender" at Slavianski Bazaar

Dima Koldun (ESC 2007) singing his new song "Surrenerd" at Slavianski Bazaar Festival

Dima Bilan didn't sing with Nelly Furtado

The scheduled duet didn't take place anymore as the Nelly Furtado's plane arrived too late in Moscow, so Bilan and Furtado didn’t have time for the rehearsals.

Dima Bilan sang four songs alone, just before Nelly’s concert.

Sakis Rouvas to Moscow!

According to mad.tv and oikotimes.com Sakis Rouvas will represent Greece next year in Moscow.

"The Greek national broadcaster confirmed the news to oikotimes.com few moments ago but officially they will launch a special press conference most likely in September. This makes Greece the first country revealing its artist for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The song might be also internally selected but for sure either internally or selected by the public will be delivered by Dimitris Kontopoulos, secure sources told us."

Sakis Rouvas - Kai se thelw

Esc Radio Awards 2008 - The Winners

The winners of the ESC Radio Awards 2008 in four categories are:





BEST SONG:
"Believe" (Russia) written by Jim Beanz & Dima Bilan performed by Dima Bilan

BEST FEMALE ARTIST:
Ani Lorak (Ukraine)

Best MALE ARTIST:
Dima Bilan (Russia)

Best GROUP:
Euroband (Iceland)

For the complete results of the 3rd Annual ESC Radio Awards, click HERE



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Anna Vissi has new album after two year gap

Anna Vissi will be set to launch her brand new album - in the wake of a two year gap in the music industry.

The singer had ventured into a pain-staking procedure of sorting through 600 potential tunes, for the requirements of the eagerly anticipated album.

Her implementation of the "action plan" at a revival of her career is not only focused on fresh releases, but will also extend to giving a series of performances at the Athinon Arena, in the winter.

"I'm not doing an album with a Diva attitude - it feels the same as when I was 18 and I was searching for songs I liked. I'm seeking new sounds, something that only new people can give." (DownTown)


The collaboration with American producers/writers Diane Warren, Glen Ballard, and Brian Hewes, and Robbin Di Maggio, is to create a fresh chapter, in her illustrious career.

"One in Greek and one international which will be released later on. Patrick R. Leonard is one of the composers for the international album, famous from his collaboration with Madonna (he wrote Frozen and Like a prayer) and whom I'm very happy to be working with".

"As for the composers... let this be a surprise. I have listened to more than 600 songs, I'm in a studio from morning to night and I feel that I'm living a very special period of my life".


Listen the promo song Diri Daxta which is sung in Greek/English.

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Anna Vissi - Diri Daxta

Album: DIRI DAXTA

Released: 06/2008

CD-Type: Cd Single

Number of tracks: 1












Anna Vissi - Diri Daxta

The Golden Stag International Festival 2008

The Golden Stag Festival is an annual international music festival held in Braşov, Romania. The festival has two main components: an international contest and guest performances by both Romanian and foreign stars.

In March 1968 was held the first edition and 22 solo performers from 28 countries competed for winning the Trophy that left for Belgium that year, with Jacques Hustin.

Even if only at the beginning, the musical event organized by Romania was also called "The festival from the East that looked like in the West!"

Worldwide broadcast in 1970, the festival got a larger and larger recognition, while winning a prize in the competition was an important goal for any solo performer.

Famous names nowadays, like Julio Iglesias or Christina Aguilera, currently dominating the musical industry and having fans in the whole world, sang on the stage in Brasov, in their early career.

Well-known artists have performed at the festival over the years, including James Brown, Kenny Rogers, Culture Beat, Paul Young, Boy George, Ray Charles, Enrico Macias, Dalida, Toto Cutugno, Patricia Kaas, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross, Sheryl Crow, Zucchero, INXS, UB 40, Cyndi Lauper, Vaya con Dios, The Kelly Family, Boyz II Men, T.A.T.U, Scorpions, Ricky Martin, Simple Minds, Pink, Nino D’Angelo and Thomas Anders.

This year 27 foreign artists will compete in the Golden Stag 2008 in Brasov, together with 3 Romanian artists, for a total of 30 contestants. Some of them are former participants at Eurovision Song Contest.

The 3 Romanians will be the winners of the semifinal held on 10th of August in a live show by TVR1.

Festival will take place between September 3rd- 7th, 2008

More information about the foreign and romanian competitors soon.

Tonight Dima Bilan special guest at Nelly Furtado’s concert

Tonight, at the Olimpisky Stadium - Moscow, Dima Bilan will open Nelly Furtado’s concert performing four songs.

In an exclusive premiere Dima will sing with Nelly Furtado the song "Can you get to heaven", produced by Timbaland.

Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 will take place in Glasgow

The EBU have officially announced that the second Eurovision Dance Contest will take place this year in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow, on Saturday, 6th of September.

The two-hour and fifteen minute European co-production is organised by the EBU, and will be hosted by the BBC, and produced by two UK production companies, Splash Media and Sunset+Vine, with assistance from the International Dance Sport Federation (IDSF).

The show will be broadcast live on television across Europe at 21:00 CET, in the 5,000m² SECC Arena Hall, where up to 2,000 spectators will be able to witness this event live.

As was the case in 2007, the show will be hosted by one of the BBC's most popular talents, Graham Norton, and co-hosted by Claudia Winkleman.

Thursday and Friday, delegation leaders and organizers meet in Glasgow to officially present their contestants, and to inform each other on the progress of the preparations.

The website of the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest is expected to be launched in the next couple of weeks.


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Start voting for ESC Radio Awards 2008

Start voting for ESC Radio Awards 2008!

Between July 7 and July 13 the world-wide listeners of ESCRADIO.COM, the biggest online platform for Eurovision music, can vote for their favourites in four categories:

- Best Song 2008
- Best Female Artist 2008
- Best Male Artist 2008
- Best Group 2008

The 42 songs and artists from this year's Eurovision Song Contest-2008, get a second chance.

Vote for your favourites here

Master Tempo and Chrispa at MAD VMA 2008

Master Tempo and Chrispa "Hawai" at Mad VMA 2008

Kostas Martakis and Dessislava at MAD VMA 2008

Kostas Martakis and Dessislava "Mercy" at Mad VMA 2008

Sakis Rouvas "Kai se thelw" at MAD VMA 2008

At the 5th edition of Mad Video Music Awards Sakis Rouvas has won Best Male Singer Award.

Watch him performing the song "Kai se thelw" at Mad VMA 2008

MAD VMA 2008: Stavento feat Helena Paparizou

Stavento ft Helena Paparizou at 5th edition of MAD Video Music Awards.

Marija Serifovic preparing new album for European market

Marija Serifovic is currently preparing new album in English language for the European market.


While she is recording new songs with which she plans to conquer foreign music scene, she talk for "Blic" about music, successes, as well as jealousy and hard times in showbusiness and discloses future collaboration with a foreign musician.


"As the winner of last year’s Eurovision, I had a chance to go on European tour and see the difference between our and their way of organizing work and I realized it is completely different. Unlike Serbia where everything is done ad hoc, people do there everything on time. Of course they have a higher standard as well, so they can invest more in the quality of music. I agree that it is not easy to make an international career, but it is possible. From the beginning of my career I have tried hard to be different from other musicians. It is hard to make the career in Europe, but I am on my way to realize it. That is my wish, intention and ultimate goal."

Read more here

Finland starts earlier the selection process for 2009

escfinland.eu reports:

Finnish broadcaster YLE has published the rules and dates of their selection process for 2009. The competition is again going to be between invited artists and songs selected in co-operation with their record companies. The biggest change from last year is that the whole process starts much earlier and the songs can be made public already on the 10th of December 2008, and even earlier on YLE's own channels.

There will be 12 artists competing in three semi-finals on the 9th, 16th and 23rd January. Already now the head of YLE Entertainment, Ms Tuire Lindström is making a point that they will concentrate extra hard on the selection process of the competing artists, who will range from male and female solo singers to bands. The full artist line-up will be announced already in September. Ms. Lindström also promises some surprises. "We are very happy with our Eurovision project this year with Teräsbetoni making it to the final in Belgrade, so we will use the same process to select out next entry", she concludes.

From every semi-final two artists get voted straight to the final, which will be broadcast on the 31 January. Just like last year, there will be a second chance vote to start off the final between the 6 artists who did not make it directly to the final taking the number of participants in the final to 8. The final will be again in two parts and the winner will be decided by a tele- and SMS-vote. There is also a mention of a compilation CD of all the entries planned for a January release.

The host city and the venue have not been announced yet. YLE TV entertainment and TV channel 2 hosting all the Eurovision shows reside in the city of Tampere, and the semi-finals have in the past few years been transmitted "as live" from the Tohloppi TV centre studios there. Also the hosts will be announced later. Jaana Pelkonen, YLE's host for Eurovision shows since 2005 and one of the hosts of the 2007 Helsinki final has previously been reported to be looking for a career in politics after finishing her university studies earlier this year and might thus not be available to host Eurovision shows anymore.

source

LORDI New album out in october

LORDI will realease a new album internationally on October 20, 2008.

The new, still unnamed album presents melodic hard rock wich had characterized Lordi's musical career throughout the years from Get Heavy to The Arockalypse.

The Arockalypse has sold 350 000 units and cerified gold in Sweden and Germany and triple platinum status in Finland.

"Dark Floors – The Lordi Motion Picture DVD” went gold in Finland before its official released date, Friday June 13th.

Meanwhile, the band announced the tour schedule for the next weeks:

05.07.2008: Bergum, The Netherlands -
12.07.2008: Lisalmi, Finland
25.07.2008: Benatska Festival, Czech Republic
26.07.2008: Lorka Rock, Madrid, Spain
02.08.2008: Wacken, Germany
16.08.2008: Witney, UK
23.08.2008: Imatra, Finland

source

ESC Radio Awards 2008

Start voting for ESC Radio Awards 2008

The 42 songs and artists from this year's Eurovision Song Contest-2008, get a second chance. Between July 7 and July 13 the world-wide listeners of ESCRADIO.COM, the biggest online platform for Eurovision music, can vote for their favourites in four categories:


- Best Song 2008
- Best Female Artist 2008
- Best Male Artist 2008
- Best Group 2008

OGAE Home Composed Song Contest 2008

The 17th edition of the OGAE Home Composed Song Contest for amateur composers, lyricists and singers takes place this year, virtually hosted from Hamburg by Stefan Engel, winner of the 2007 edition. The deadline for the submission of the songs is 12th October2008.

Read more HERE

For more information visit the contest’s official site, here.

Helena Paparizou:Porta Gia Ton Ourano at VMA 2008

At the 5th edition of Mad Video Music Awards the sexy Helena Paparizou has won two awards: Best POP Videoclip - "To fili tis zois" and Artist of the year.

Watch her performing the song "Porta gia ton ourano (remix)" at MAD Video Music Awards 2008




The show will be broadcast on Alpha TV on Monday 23rd June at 21.00 and on Mad TV on 29th June.