Despite a disappointing result in Baku for Joan Franka and her entry You And Me, it wasn’t all bad news for Dutch broadcaster TROS. The revamp of Nationaal Songfestival with John De Mol at the helm resulted in a number of triumphs for the channel. Once the humiliating defeat for popular Dutch trio the 3JS… Read more
After Loreen’s sensational victory with Euphoria speculation has already begun as to just how and where next year’s Eurovision final will be held in Sweden. Among many in Baku the newly constructed Friends Arena was almost a foregone conclusion as host venue but other surprising candidates have appeared. Swedish daily Expressen are quick off the… Read more
NRK have restored the fortunes of the national selection Melodi Grand Prix in Norway in recent years, making it a more attractive competition and attracting bigger, more established names. But all things must come to an end and so the ways of NRK and Sundes will part. Following varying results from mediocre to catastrophic in… Read more
Norway came 26th and therefore claimed stake on the jumbo position in this year’s final of the Eurovision Song Contest, coming last for a record 11th time. Critics have attributed the poor placing to an average song but Tooji’s mum however claims there are far more darker reasons behind her son’s dire result. NRK and… Read more
The Eurovision has always had a firm following in Norway, with broadcaster NRK practically guaranteed solid viewing figures and the final show has more often than not figured at the top of the statistics among the most watched programme of the year. NRK were in for quite a shock this year. The one Saturday evening in… Read more
Shortly after her euphoric victory, Loreen made her grand entrance into the press arena to answer questions from the international press, curious to learn more about the act that had managed to make its way to the top of the scoreboard this year. Journalists from around the globe were present to hear what Loreen had… Read more
The atmosphere here at the spectacular Crystal Hall is steadily building towards the big day tomorrow, as 26 nations battle it out to become the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. But, prior to the actual contest, one more hurdle remains and that is the all important jury final. Who will bomb and who… Read more
Things are starting to hotten up here in Baku as the second semi final draws nearer. There are some big names among tonight’s performers, most noteably Loreen and Željko Joksimović. Will they live up to the hype? Will feathered Joan charm the Netherlands into the final for the first time in eight years? Stay tuned… Read more
It’s the third and final rehearsal for all 18 countries this evening before the first semi final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The tension is mounting here in Baku as eighteen participants battle it out for only ten spots in Saturday’s final. Who will make it and who will be dissappointed? We’ll know in… Read more
Today’s rehearsal from home grown talent and favourite Sabina Babayeva made quite an impact for a number of reasons. Her dress caused quite a sensation in the hall and she delivered an impeccable performance with three run throughs of consistently high quality. Sabina was flanked by three female backing singers to her right, behind her… Read more
It was a case of every man for himself, as people almost fought for space in the press area in the hall, eager to catch the second rehearsal of seventies star Engelbert Humperdinck. He delivered a stable performance yesterday but no outstanding vocal performance. Would he go one better today? The stage and act in… Read more
"I don’t know what I’m doing tonight" Tooji sings. Well, we got a completely diffferent impression in the hall, as Tooji turned in an extremely confident and impressive rehearsal. But would the moves affect his vocal performance? We didn’t have to worry about what we had in store from the Norwegian entrant Tooji this year.… Read more
World superstar Anggun takes to the stage to proudly fly the tricolor for France today. Will her global success as an artist translate into success at the contest? That all depends mainly on just how she performs. Following on as a stark contrast to the rather subdued German entry, France takes it’s turn on the… Read more
Momentum is gathering and expectations for Loreen‘s second rehearsal are massive here in Baku. Swedish press are buzzing and you can really feel the euphoria – quite literally. Loreen set the bar high with her first rehearsal on Wednesday. Will the PR juggernaut that is Euphoria push the level of quality even higher? The press… Read more
Bulgarian temptress Sofi Marinova took the stage today thankfully dressed in something slightly more conservative. Gone is the frightful leopard print worn in the last rehearsal – she has hopefully made the shrewd move to go for something more classy. But how did her vocals hold up? She came on stage today with what looked… Read more
Young Filipa Sousa wowed many with her first rehearsal delivering a performance of a very high calibre indeed. Could she manage to maintain the same wow factor with this, her second rehearsal. And top it she did. Portugal are wisely sticking to a tried and tested formula, and this epic slice of fado should be… Read more
Friday sees Austria and Trackshittaz return to the stage for their second rehearsal. Their first run through saw the two turning in a rather flat perfomance vocally. So did the daring duo manage to improve on what primarily is the main flaw of the act? The second rehearsal saw them wearing the same costumes as… Read more
Iceland’s darlings Greta Salóme and Jónsi took to the stage amidst extremely high expectations of a stellar performance. They gave an amazing show in the national final Söngvakeppni, but would they be able to replicate it in Baku and give us an equally unforgettable performance? And so Sunday continues with the Icelandic duo, Greta Salóme… Read more
When Jónsi was recording the duet of Mundu Eftir Mér with Greta Salóme, he knew little of the twists and turns that lay ahead. Both artists have recently given an interview with Icelandic broadcaster RÚV, telling of how their collaboration came about and just how it felt to win the national selection, Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2012.… Read more
Sibling rivalry between Sweden and Norway each year at the Eurovision Song Contest is nothing new. This year however, developments have taken a rather unexpected path. In previous years it has become something of an annual ritual, all part and parcel of participation for both countries to speak rather too freely about each others entry.… Read more
Not to be outshone by their easterly neighbours, broadcaster NRK have adopted the format used by SVT otherwise known as Inför Eurovision Song Contest, adapting it for Norwegian TV screens under the name Adresse Baku. The series features 4 hour-long shows presenting all of this year’s entries with a panel consisting of 6 members giving… Read more
Crooner Didrik Solli Tangen has just completed one of the toughest reality shows on Norwegian TV, where he pipped trumpetist Ole Edvard Antonsen at the post to carry off the title. TV viewers and Eurovision fans alike are used to seeing Didrik Solli Tangen dressed quite differently, usually in a dashing tuxedo, performing operatic numbers… Read more
Former Icelandic Eurovision entrant Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson, otherwise known as Jónsi has confirmed today that he is one of the acts competing for the Icelandic ticket to Baku in 2012. Due to Birgitta Haukdal’s 8th position at the 2003 contest in Riga, Jónsi was directly qualified for the final from Istanbul in 2004, where he… Read more
NRK recently revealed the last few remaining names of those competing in next year’s edition of Melodi Grand Prix. Two of the artists will be returning for another pop after taking part this year as part of power duo Åste & Rikke and country band Sie Gubba. Singer/songwriter Silya Nymoen is known to most Norwegians for… Read more
Three more acts are now known, augmenting the line up for next year’s Melodi Grand Prix, including a big name in Norwegian showbusiness and a fond reunion with a former Norwegian entrant. United are the next name out of the hat, and conists of a trio – Norway’s answer to Eminem, the rapper Sirius, promising… Read more
MTV or Magyar Televízió repsonsible for the selection of Hungary’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku have just held a press conference where it was confirmed that next year’s entry will be chosen through a public final, the first time they have used this method in four years. Hungary and the Eurovision Song Contest… Read more