The words sung by Harel Ska’at come straight from the heart. He took to the stage for his second rehearsal, and sang really well. Harel Ska’at had a few problems with his rehearsal this afternoon, that is with the lighting and general stage direction. As our hosts have been extremely punctual in their organisation, if… Read more
Our second semi-final will open next Thursday with Lithuania. And what better was to open a semi-final than with something upbeat and fun? InCulto have been around a lot in recent days, and always seem ready to party, perform and generally jam. They impressed at the FYR Macedonian party last night. And none the worse… Read more
Balladeers 3+2 were back today for their second rehearsal. They were in good spirits at their party last night, so would this show? Belarus means business this year. Their extensive publicity machine has been in overdrive, and they hosted a very successful party at the Euroclub the night before. They want to win and show us… Read more
Portugal have made the last two finals. So diminutive Filipa Azevedo has a reputation to keep up. Have we seen a song that will make it three finals in a row? Filipa had a few problems with her first rehearsal, and sadly these continued in her second. Some of the notes were slightly off, and… Read more
The ethnic song returned this afternoon, in the form of Legenda by Marcin Mrozinski. It’s downbeat – in a minor key – but in a very strong way. Marcin has one of the most powerful voices this year, and his opening lines demonstrate this perfectly. I wouldn’t rule out an impromptu round of applause as… Read more
Aisha looks to rehearse better than she did earlier in the week. She asks lots of questions in her song, but there’s only one we want to know: will she qualify? Aisha’s second rehearsal went relatively smoothly today, and was a large improvement on Monday’s showing. Her outfit for the night will be a short… Read more
Slovakia rehearsed a short time ago with an upbeat song after two slower numbers. Will this contrast be enough? Slovakia’s fortunes in Eurovision haven’t been the best over the years, so the young Kristína has a large weight on her shoulders. She acquits herself well, and the song itself has enough about it to carry… Read more
Russia rehearsed for the second time this morning, hoping to make a good impression ready for next Tuesday’s semi-final. Peter Nalitch and his Friends took to the stage after we’d seen the first very efficient change over after Moldova. There’s a 45 second window for the stage hands to clear one set up ready for… Read more
Our fourth day of rehearsals closed with maNga’s very modern, possibly the most contemporary of the 39 songs this year. And it was a total contrast to the three ballads before it. If the second semi-final wanted to finish with a bang, the Turkish song was an obvious choice. After three ballads, this rock-influenced number… Read more
Our other previous participants (after Niamh Kavanagh) took to the stage on a warm afternoon for their first rehearsal. This is a classy ballad, arguably the best in the second semi-final, and we wanted to see whether Feminnem’s experiences in Kyiv in 2005 would stand them in good stead. Feminnem may have changed part of… Read more
Jon Lilygreen’s rise from part-time pub performer in his native Wales to the Eurovision stage with an audience of millions would be what many singers dream of. He appears to be taking it all in his stride. The first Cypriot rehearsal was awaited by many, due to the fact Jon has been plucked from relative… Read more
The world of Eurovision lost another one of its former participants on Monday, with the death of Belgian singer Bobbejaan Schoepen. Belgium’s entrant in the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest passed away at the age of 85 on Monday. He was Belgium’s first participant to sing in the Dutch-Flemish language with the song Straatdeuntje. It finished… Read more
Romania’s highly-fancied duo of Paula Seling and Ovi rehearsed second today. Will we be playing with fire next year in Bucharest? Paula Seling and Ovi won their national final quite convincingly some months ago. Their performance now, as then, is energetic and they gave 100% today. The double-ended piano last seen in the song’s music… Read more
After the contraversy surrounding Ukraine’s selection this year, they were here to try and set the record straight, proving that they had sent the right song. Alyosha looks far far younger in real life than she does in her publicity shots. She sings about a possible apocalypse in the near future, and tells us it’s… Read more
The first Swiss song in French since 2002 tells of how love can make you feel like you’ve struck gold. Will they take first place this year? Michael von der Heide is an accomplished performer and music guru. It was he that helped pick The highest heights for Switzerland last year. His stage performance, resplendent… Read more
Eva Rivas’s first press conference, after her rehearsal was a busy affair. The head of delegation explained that there was a strong pedigree to the song, from the writer Karen Kavaleryan, to the various backing singers, and the flute player that will be joining the Armenians on stage for the dress rehearsals early next week. Read more
Armenia took to the stage today for their first rehearsal. This country has established a tradition of quality songs and respectable finishes. Can this continue? The first thing that struck the assembled masses with Armenia was props aplenty. The curtains last seen with Belarus made their second appearance, along with everyone’s favourite effect – dry… Read more
The second day of rehearsals was rounded off by Iceland’s Hera Björk. Would she have that special something? Hera Björk, as you may know, tried to represent Denmark in Moscow last year. This year was she back, and is singing for her native country. Je ne sais quoi is a strong way to end the… Read more
Portugal had its first rehearsal. Would it be one of those days for Filipa, or would we be pleasantly surprised by her first appearance in Oslo? The Portuguese would dearly love to win the contest, and many of us like the sound of two weeks in Lisbon. Portugal’s last ballad in 2008 did them proud,… Read more
Malta is always an enthusiastic participant in Eurovision. Thea put in a powerful performance, but will it be enough? Thea Garrett took to the stage today with her first rehearsal. The first thin we noticed was the slightly different orchestration to the national final in Malta. Her costume for the night is the same silver-grey… Read more
The UK’s fan club hosted its 6th annual Boom Bang-a-Bang party in Manchester on 30 April. Videos, voting and lots of surprises make sure that this is an event not to be missed. Fans from all over the north-west of England and beyond gathered at the Revolution bar to decide which songs they’d send to… Read more
Fans across the UK are gearing up for the return of the Boom Bang a Bang preview night. The party will take place on the 30th of April and promise to be a gathering where fans can have a lot of fun together. The Boom Bang a Bang preview event is now in its fourth… Read more
Germany’s innovative selection process for Oslo concluded tonight with a lavish final involving the two rising stars – Jennifer Braun and Lena Meyer-Landrut – battling through song for the right to represent Germany in the Eurovision final on 29 May. Germany’s journey to Oslo reached its conclusion tonight with a lavish production on ARD’s Das… Read more
The Slovak National Final was held at STV’s Studio 4 in Bratislava. Due to the Olympic Ice Hockey In Vancouver, the date was brought forward. The hot favourite was the winner in what proved a very close contest – Horehronie only winning through the amount of televotes it received. Arguably Slovakia’s best entry ever will… Read more
After a high quality final in Bucharest tonight, duo Paula and Ovi will be flying the flag with for Romania in Oslo. The show was beset by a few problems, most notably some of the telephone system crashing, but the result was never in doubt. Olsen Brothers, the Danish Eurovision winner from 2000 was a… Read more
After a comprehensive song selection process for 2010, STV finally picks who will sing in Oslo. Would one of last year’s performers make it 2nd time lucky, and would it be ‘popera’, ethnic, rock or ballad flying the Slovak flag? It ended in a tied first position. Kristína has been chosen to represent Slovakia in… Read more