Pianist Cor Bakker recently held a concert on the 20th of August in Amsterdam. The venue was Het Concertgebouw, in none other than the Grand Concert Hall. The musician wanted to offer the public something special and that he did by calling on none other than bubbly Edsilia Rombley. Cor Bakker held a concert at… Read more
Rumours have been abounding lately surrounding the possible participation of ageing popstar/actor David Hasselhoff at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Only last week, British tabloid The Sun claimed that Hasselhoff was one of two hotly tipped acts to follow in the footsteps of Blue, the other being the Spice Girls. This week however, the story… Read more
Mattis Hætta, sidekick of Sverre Kjeldsberg who both represented Norway in 1980 with Sámiid Ædnan isn’t one to mix his words. In an interview with tabloid VG, Hætta tells why he is incensed. It all began when ABBA manager Stikkan Andersson purchased the rights to Sámiid Ædnan through his company Sweden Music. The company was… Read more
It’s no secret that the victory of Ell & Nikki for Azerbaijan in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf raised concerns both with individuals as well as numerous human rights organisations, describing the eurasian country as a dictatorship. The ambitious plans of Azerbaijan to host next year’s contest are already incensing many. With just… Read more
During the filming of an appearance on prime time Swedish TV, Mr. Eurovision himself Johnny Logan spoke openly to the press about his views on the state of the Eurovision Song Contest today. Although having won the contest 3 times himself, he makes no efforts to hide his disdain at the annual event. It was… Read more
Former Belgian entrants Nicole & Hugo who were forever immortalized in 1973 with Baby Baby and their purple flaired suits have always enjoyed something of a cult following. A camera team have followed them "up close and personal" on their annual journey to their holiday favourite St. Tropez. A crew from the series De Nieuwe… Read more
With a musical output of one album a year, there is a certain danger in some cases that quantity will forego quality. After a lukewarm reception and ditto sales figures for his last album No Boundaries, Alexander Rybak has ventured into the studio once more with a rather fetching new project. Visa Vid Vindens Ängar is,… Read more
The immensely popular Swedish TV series Allsång På Skansen had a somewhat sombre air about it yesterday, following the bomb blast and massacre in neighbouring country Norway. The Swedish people have also been greatly affected by the tragedy and Måns Zelmerlöw seized the opportunity to talk about the event in yesterday’s show. The show was… Read more
Charlotte Perrelli, winner of the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest and Swedish entrant in 2008 recently gave an extremely candid interview with Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet where she amongst other things discussed the hard times she endured while representing Sweden with Hero in Belgrade. Problems with her marriage and an unfaithful husband culminated in the star having… Read more
For the third consecutive year, former winner Alexander Rybak has released a new album, with his productivity showing no signs of stagnating. His newest offering, Visa vid Vindens Ängar is entirely in Swedish and shows a marked maturity in the young artist’s musical style. The album Visa vid Vindens Ängar was came out on the… Read more
Anyone in search of a continuum of Stella’s infectious Haba Haba will no doubt be bitterly disappointed. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what Stella wishes to achieve with this, her second album. Whereas Kinanda bears a Swahili name, the expecations of colourful tribal rhythms make no appearance on her latest offering except on the first track.… Read more
Superstar Lotta Engberg, who represented Sweden in 1987 with Boogaloo, is in increasingly deep water due to allegations of serious tax fraud. Investigations of the singer were apparently launched back in May 2010. If found guilty, the popular artist could face a stretch inside of up to six years. According to Swedish daily Expressen, Engberg… Read more
In a frank interview with Norwegian tabloid Dagbladet, former winner Alexander Rybak tells of both the ups and downs of his career and personal life following his victory at the Eurovision Song Contest, 2009 with Fairytale. It has long been public knowledge in Norway that following his overnight success throughout Europe, the pressure became too… Read more
It finally appears as if Dutch broadcaster TROS has given in to mounting criticism of and resentment for their selection methods as well as public demand following the catastrophic placing of the 3JS in their semi final in Düsseldorf and have decided to change the format of Nationaal Songfestival. Articles began to surface in the Dutch… Read more
Poor Eric Saade. He came so enticingly close to representing Sweden last year with Manboy. The subsuquent release of his album Masquerade proved something of a fata morgana for his career, as the next single to be lifted off the album did nothing at all, hardly bothering the lower reaches of the charts. All that is… Read more
Icelandic diva supreme Hera Björk has made quite a splash in the USA this last week. And as if one Eurovision star wasn’t enough to satisfy American appetites, Páll Óskar was there as well! It was in conjunction with the gay pride celebrations in New York that Hera Björk made the trip across the pond to appear… Read more
Just who will follow in the footsteps of this year’s Norwegian entrant Stella Mwangi? Broadcaster NRK are eager to find out, and launched therefore their selection process today by calling for entries to be submitted. NRK announced on their website today that the hunt for next year’s Norwegian entrant is now underway. Project Manager for… Read more
Jahn Teigen and ex-wife Anita Skorgan performed together for the last time at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1983 singing Do-Re-Mi, but continued their succesfull partnership back home in Norway. The duo have however finally decided to quit while ahead. Although both stars’ careers are nothing like the dizzying heights of their heyday back in… Read more
Alcazar, almost a part of the fixtures and fittings at Melodifestivalen, have decided to split and the recent announcement has sent shockwaves amongst their fans. The group were formed in 1999 and became an instant success, going on to become one of Sweden’s biggest selling music exports. Their biggest hit came in 2001 with Crying… Read more
The young Sámi band from Northern Norway, BlackSheeps, who came 2nd in this year’s Melodi Grand Prix with Dance Tonight as well as winning the Melodi Grand Prix Nordic contest in 2008 with Oro Jaska, Beana, have ended up in a fierce legal battle. The twist arose as both past and present members of the… Read more
Things have been somewhat quiet around Israeli superstar Rita of late. Many remember her for the memorable performance of שרה ברחובות at the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest, but were you aware that Rita is also an accomplished actress? Rita’s first taste of treading the boards came in 1982, following a two year stint of completing… Read more
Kikki, undisputed queen of Swedish schlager and dansband music is back on the scene after a five year hiatus with her newest offering Första Dagen På Resten av mitt Liv (The First Day of the Rest of my Life). The troubled star recently held a concert at the alternative rock venue Debaser in Stockholm, heralding her… Read more
Tom Dice, the young singer that brought Belgium its best result in many years (6th place) with the tender ballad Me And My Guitar back in 2010 is once again in the spotlight, this time as one half of a duo. Fresh from performing as opening act for the mega country star Taylor Swift in… Read more
Despite the extremely poor placings that the Netherlands has achieved over the past years, artists are practically falling over themselves in their wishes to represent and defend the honour of their country. The list of candidates that have shown interest in participation makes for impressive reading. During the course of last week, several artists put… Read more
The president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev has, in a suprise move, appointed his wife Mehriban Aliyeva as project manager for next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. The land of fire finally managed to secure a victory in the contest this year with Eldar and Nigar and Running Scared, after four years of hard work… Read more
With Popular still flying high on the Swedish charts following Eric Saade’s 3rd placing in Düsseldorf, the talented young artist continues with his plan for total pop domination and releases a new single. His newest single, Hearts In The Air was released today both on Spotify and iTunes, and is predicted to be just as… Read more