After their catastrophic result in Oslo, speculation arose as to the future of Christer Björkman’s role as head of delegation for Swedish broadcaster SVT. Catastrophe has however changed to triumph, following Eric Saade’s 3rd placing in Düsseldorf this year, restoring the faith of Swedish television viewers in Christer’s capabilities. In a frank interview with Swedish… Read more
Kikki Danielsson has for many years been the undisputed queen of dansband music in Sweden. She has also figured heavily in the tabloids as her private struggle against alcoholism has been made public. Her life took a turn for the better however following a chance encounter with rock musician Sören Karlsson. Kikki and Sören met in 2009… Read more
Blonde valkyrie Christine Guldbrandsen enchanted many a fan throughout Europe following her stellar performance of Alvedansen at the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, 2006, bringing Norway a 14th place. She chooses to break her 4 year silence with her newest album, Colors. Christine has, ever since her debut, been touted as the silver tonsiled successor… Read more
Former Dutch entrant Glennis Grace is experiencing something of a career revival of late in her home country. The versatile singer has just scored the biggest hit of her career with a cover version of the song Afscheid (Farewell) but has at the same time ended up in a rather tricky situation. Following Glennis‘ failure… Read more
Who could have resisted the charms of young Axel Ehnström, otherwise known as Paradise Oskar as he strummed his simple plea to save the planet for Finland in Düsseldorf? Well, the talented young musician strikes will the iron is hot and wastes no time in releasing his debut album Sunday Songs. The album gets off… Read more
Singer Hadise is apparently still hot property 2 years on after representing Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow and ending up with a highly respectable 4th place with Düm Tek Tek. Popularity has its drawbacks, so it seems… The Belgian-Turkish beauty was supposed to make an appearance at the Kanaalfeest on the 27th.… Read more
Stella Mwangi, despite her failure to advance from the 1st semi final in Düsseldorf, can’t be kept down for long. Europe may not have fallen for her bundles of charm and bubbly personality, but that certainly doesn’t appear to have put a dampener on her outlook to the future. No sooner has the schlager glitter… Read more
With Stella Mwangi doing a "Kate Ryan" and failing to qualify for the final in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, things were looking rather bleak for state broadcaster NRK who can normally rely on whopping viewing figures for one of the most popular programmes in Norway. Despite Stella’s failure to qualify however, just under a… Read more
The day has finally arrived and you can feel the excitement in the air; the buzz around the city is fantastic; it’s most entertaining to see the hordes of teenage Jedward fans making their way to the Arena today to see the 3rd dress rehearsal. With not that many ballads among the line up, we’re… Read more
Things went impressively smoothly in getting the stage set up for the Italian act who were next on stage after France. Raphael’s white / transparent grand piano with steel trim looks fabulous on stage, especially when accompanied by a huge contrabass! The staging is very elegant, with images of the singer playing at his piano… Read more
Just when you think things can’t get any better, A Friend in London manage to outdo themselves, making their qualification a dead cert and leaving many Danes present in the arena extremely proud. The Danes are proving to be something of a dark horse in this year’s contest with a song that is so understated… Read more
Latvia were the fifth country to take to the stage today and many curious fans and press ahd gathered in front of the stage to see what Musiqq had to offer us today. The 4 backing singers have decided to slip into something altogether more informal, with totally uncoordinated outfits. The two singers that make… Read more
Following their 3rd placing from last year, Romania are eager for more and have a lot riding on their entrants this year, Hotel FM. Following an excellent first rehearsal, expectations for their second rehearsal today were high. The trio show us just how good an uncomplicated act can be, with no need for special effects… Read more
Next up after Blue were Spain and the vivacious Lucía Pérez – would she be able to recreate her bubbly, joyful act on the decidedly bigger stage in the Esprit Arena? Eurovisionary tagged along to find out… Lucía is flanked by 3 female backing singers and 2 male dancers. The dancers are dressed in white… Read more
France is the first of the Big 5 to start their rehearsals. After seeing one of the french dancers in action a few nights ago at the Euroclub, our curiosity was heightened after being witness to a beautiful ballet floor show. Amaury took to the stage wearing a black military style jacket in the style… Read more
Cyprus was next on after Sweden, and it was a refreshing contrast to see a stage not cluttered up with so many props. The contrast couldn’t be bigger either in terms of music, with Cyprus’ brooding ballad sandwiched between Sweden’s electro dance effort and Bulgaria’s punkish number. Cyprus have chosen to keep the abstract backdrop… Read more
With an extremely busy and complicated staging of their first rehearsal, it will be interesting to see today if Zdob si Zdub make any alterations to their quirky stage show. Ditching the drum banging grandmother in favour of a tutu clad cyclist, things don’t get much quirkier than this! xxx Is there some significance behind… Read more
It took a while for the Dutch act to find their form following a so-so first rehearsal, but spectators in the arena were in for a pleasant surprise. The threesome also scrubbed up rather well, with Jan wearing a dazzling white suit with a blue shirt which suited his hair colour well, with blond Jaap… Read more
With something of a disappointing first rehearsal for Greece on their first attempt, there was a lot of issues to be addressed during their rehearsals today. With insignificant changes to the Greek number, their chances of qualification are looking slimmer and slimmer by the minute. Pretty much the same staging for the second Greek rehearsal of… Read more
Day six of rehearsals got off to a jolly start, with Sjonni’s Friends for Iceland, with the sextet in much better shape than in their first rehearsal. Things are really coming together for the Icelandic entrants this year, Sjonni’s Friends. They started the day with a breezy performance. They have a fantastic stage presence, managing to… Read more
The contrast couldn’t be bigger between San Marino and the previous act, Malta. Whereas Malta sounds youthful and brash, Senit’s song is perhaps aimed at the more mature viewer. She was again wearing the floor length flowing silver creation that she had worn in the first rehearsal, her backing singers in a matching black and… Read more
Georgia had a first rehearsal that they were extremely contented with. Would their second rehearsal prove to be equally successful and give Eldrine the chance to sing One More time in the final on the 14th of May? The group have opted to keep their same outfits, two long leather trenchcoats for two of the… Read more
With a succesful first rehearsal under his belt, Russia’s young Alexej has a lot riding on today’s second rehearsal. Is being at the Euroclub most evenings starting to take its toll on the young star? The second rehersal has kept the same visual effects as the first rehearsal with the two LED screens either side of… Read more
With an impressive second placing to follow up, Turkey have no intentions of changing their succesful formula – after all, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Turkey’s choice of outfit for the reherasal today was a casual affair, with jeans and t-shirts being the order of the day, and keeping in line with the rock… Read more
The national media aren’t exactly overconfident of Stella’s chances of reaching the final, and judging by the second rehearsal, I can’t for the life of me think why. Stella is wearing on stage what presumably will be her outfit on the night of the first semi final – hotpants and bustier in gold lamé with pronounced ruffles… Read more
Denmark are pinning their hopes on young rock band A Friend In London this year, and optimism and a buoyant mood are evident as New Tomorrow is performed on stage. The Danes have great ambitions for their entry this year and are leaving nothing to chance. Looking every part the rock band, lead singer Tim… Read more