Magdi Rúzsa gets international award

CLS Records reported that the Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) announced the winners of their awards of 2007. Magdi Rúzsa's album called „Ördögi angyal”, of which more than 30 000 copies have been sold, got silver award. CLS Records is a member of IMPALA.

This award is the first one that makes you realize that the pan-european-based success is needed to be recognized on different levels before the number of sold records reaches 1.000.000. It is already a huge success for many independent record companies to sell 30.000 copies. And that deserves the recognition.

The categories are:

Impala Silver 30 000

Impala Gold 100 000

Impala Diamond 250 000

Impala Platinum 500 000

Impala Double Platinum 1 000 000

IMPALA was established in 2000 as a non-profit organisation on scientific and art purpose to help independent record companies and labels. IMPALA has more than 3.500 members and one of them is CLS Records from Hungary.

source:Esc Hungary

Marija Serifovic at Pride Festival in Sweden

Maria Serifovic will sing at this years Pride Festival in Sweden on August 1st, during the Schlager special evening.

She is happy about coming to Sweden and wants to stay a little longer than the last time she was here reporters on Expressen reports. Marija hasn't been lucky in finding a record-label who wants to sign her and almost no radio stations outside Serbia is playing her winning song.

This means that Molitva is one of the least successful winning songs in Eurovision ever reports Expressen.

source;oikotimes.com

Verka Serduchka - Final Night Video

Eurovision SC Final 2007 - Ukraine - Verka Serduchka




Listen Verka singing Dancing lasha tumbai (lullaby version)

Verka Serduchka forbidden to act in Russia

The Ucranian singer Andrei Danilko, known as Verka Serduchka, was forbidden to perform in Russia, inform the Russian tabloid “Tvoi Den”.

According to this newspaper, “all the concert promoters received official instructions forbidding Verka to act or perform in Russia territory”.

Verka reached the second place in last Eurovision Song Contest with “Dancing Lasha tumbai”.

Many rumours, before and after the Finnish festival, said that the Ucranian entrant sang “Russia good-bye”, an “offence” to Russian people.

“I’m tired to say to everybody that I never sang “Russia good bye”. I don’t want to gain enemies in Russia”, told Verka to “Tvoi Den”.

source:oikotimes.com

Malta - Olivia Lewis -Semifinal Night

Eurovision Helsinki 2007 - Semi-Final - Malta - Olivia Lewis

Olivia Lewis - Vertigo Promo Video

Eurovision 2007 Malta - Olivia Lewis - Vertigo

Robert Abela promises a "mini-Revolution" for Maltasong 2008!

OGAE Malta reports:

Recently, Mr Robert Abela, Malta's head of delegation for the Eurovision Song Contest promised a "mini-revolution" for the selection of the next Maltese Eurovision entry.

Mr Abela, chairperson of the Maltasong Board - responsible for the Maltese entry at the Eurovision Song Contest, was interviewed by local journalist Lou Bondi. The interview was published on the "Sunday Circle" of Sunday 1st July 2007.

During the interview Mr Abela said that his position is that if the Minister of Culture, Dr Francis Zammit Dimech, asks him to stay on he will give it one last shot.

"But if he does go for it he is resolute on a mission - to throw caution to the wind and do what needs to be done. Robert Abela promises a "small revolution", reports Bondi.

"I will give importance to the song, not the singer. It could be that the semi-final winners would be chosen exclusively by a jury whose job would be to select the best songs to go got he final. However, the jury would retain the right to change the singers of those songs. The finals would still be decided by means of 100 % televoting", suggested Mr Abela.

Lou invited us to imagine this scenario:"Can you imagine the reaction of the singer whose song goes through to the final but he or she is bumped off? Imagine...A particular song is chosen by the jury to go to the finals but with a different singer. It goes on to win locally but then bombs abysmally at the Eurovision!!

"And...just for the record: The Lm60,000 forked out for the Eurovision annualy were cut down to Lm10,000 this year. The rest are covered by funds raised from ticket sales, sponsorships, televoting taking and what not. Robert Abela is clearly not happy with this state of affairs.

"This year he spent Lm2,000 of his own money to save face with his Eurovision colleagues abroad", claimed Bondi.

UPDATE: Ogae Malta has learnt from sources close to the Maltasong Board that a meeting with songwriters and other interested parties will be held during this week to discuss the proposals for the next edition of the Malta Song for Europe festival.