Latvian state broadcaster LTV has recently revealed the 20 acts who have succeeded in making the grade in passing through the preliminary selection round. The jury responsible had quite a task in separating the wheat from the chaff, whittling down 71 entries to just 20. As mentioned previously, LTV have enforced restrictions whereby songs solely… Read more
Tonight saw Switzerland arrange a national final for the first time in a number of years, and with 12 acts competing for the prestige of representing the Alpine nation in Düsseldorf next year, there was definitely something to appeal to all tastes. Swiss broadcaster SF1 gave viewers a great show, faultlessly organized and very well… Read more
Winner of the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2009 and Eurovision representative Malena Ernman is reported to have been made singer by the appointment of the Royal Swedish Court, according to her comments on Twitter. It is the first time the title has been bestowed upon any artist in 5 years, and Malena’s reaction was one of amazement… Read more
Yesterday evening, the popular Swedish band The Ark released a press statement telling of their intention to go seperate ways during the course of 2011. The band have existed and enjoyed a large fan base in many countries but in Sweden especially for the last 20 years. The band was formed in 1991 and released… Read more
Following the joyous news that Italy has applied to the EBU and will return to the Eurovision family as of next year, other countries have been swift to confirm their participation in next year’s edition of Europe’s most beloved music show. French broadcaster France 3 have confirmed their intention to take part, through Head of… Read more
Following NRK’s press conference last week, when the names of the first 9 participating artists were revealed, a new announcement was made today, publishing the names of the last remaining artists to compete in next year’s Melodi Grand Prix. Norwegian gossip magazine Se og Hør had previously stated that a number of names had been… Read more
Many eager journalists attended the press conference held by MGP hosts Per Sundnes and Anne Rimmen from the Hard Rock Café at 1pm today, when the first 9 artists of this year’s Melodi Grand Prix hopefuls was made known. Most encouraging to see is that the percentage of songs to be performed in Norwegian has… Read more
St. Lucias Day is one of the most popular and beloved celebrations throughout Scandinavia and the Baltics. The day marks the introduction to Advent, and Swedish broadcaster SVT have decided to pull out all the stops this year, bringing us a spectacular programme. The day is normally observed by a candle bearing procession of children… Read more
Who can forget the mesmerizing stage show that Páll Óskar gave us when representing the saga nation in 1997 with Minn Hinsti Dans? Many fans are adamant that the entry was way ahead of its time, and, although only reaching a disappointing 20th place, the exposure Páll Óskar gained propelled him to international stardom. Since bursting… Read more
State broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija has kicked off its Eirodziesma season for 2011 by revealing some details surrounding their selection process for next year’s entry to represent Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest. Whereas other countries have given potential entrants a significant amount of time in which to submit their applications, LTV have decided to go… Read more
Azeri broadcaster Ictimai Televiziya (ITV) has published the first 11 names of the in all 77 artists and acts that have been selected from over 100 submitted entries, all trying for the chance to become Safura’s successor in Düsseldorf next year. Following Azerbaijan’s solid results the last three years, interest for the Eurovision Song Contest shows… Read more
Didrik set many hearts a flutter around the continent when he performed this year’s hotly tipped Norwegian entry, My Heart Is Yours. Since then, he has kept a relatively low media profile during the recording of this, his debut album Guilty Pleasures. It would be easy to pigeonhole Didrik Solli-Tangen as a peddler of schmalzy… Read more
State broadcaster RÚV have published the names of the composers whose entries have made the final shortlist of the entries that are to compete in the 2011 edition of Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins. A total of 174 submitted entries were eventually whittled down to a remaining shortlist of 15 entries by a jury. Icelandic daily DV informs… Read more
Recent revelations by national daily The Irish Independent have placed broadcaster RTÉ in a bit of a fix and will undoubtedly lead to public scrutiny. The newspaper recently gained access to information concerning the tab picked up by state broadcaster RTÉ, following their participation and coverage of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Details leaked surrounding… Read more
Originally a foursome, then a threesome, A1 enjoyed considerable success in the late 90’s/early 00’s. They eventually disbanded, but decided to regroup after a chance appearance on a popular TV show. The reformation gained momentum from there, culminating in their attempt to represent Norway at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Oddly enough, their newest release, Waiting… Read more
The Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix final saw Tone Damli Aaberge and Alexander Rybak fight it out as to who would win the right to represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow. Although Tone proved no match against the landslide vote that brought Alexander victory, both songs went on to be smash hits… Read more
Tensions in Sino-Norwegian relations have taken a new twist this week, following the announcement that Chinese dissident and activist Lui Xiaobao was this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Enter last year’s Eurovision Song Contest winner and unwitting victim, Alexander Rybak. The decision by the Chinese government to cancel all forthcoming appointments with a… Read more
This autumn sees a veritable bonanza for fans of Icelandic artists, with three major releases scheduled for the coming months. The albums in question are not new material as such, but nevertheless offer fans the opportunity to discover unknown musical sides to some of Iceland’s most popular and respected artists. First off the starting block… Read more
Norwegian-Irish combo, Secret Garden, recently held an impressive concert in Shanghai, China, as part of the global exhibition, EXPO 2010. Dubbed "Norway’s most popular group in China", they performed together with the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra. With only specially invited guests in attendance, the concert was, by all accounts, an unmitigated success. A few lucky individuals… Read more
Norwegian broadcaster, NRK, opened their search for next year’s Eurovision merely weeks after the triumphant production from Oslo. With only five days to go until the submission deadline comes to a close, any last minute stragglers had better get their skates on! Programme hosts Per Sundnes and Anne Rimmen are delighted with the response, claiming… Read more
Belgian Walloon broadcaster RTBF has unveil its plans for finding the successor of one of this year’s more pleasant surprises, Tom Dice. A website has been launched today in cooperation with music production company, Aka Music. 12 songs are competing to represent the country next year in Germany. Tom Dice and Me and My Guitar gave… Read more
A survey was carried out by Monitor on behalf of main Icelandic daily Morgunblaðið, where readers were asked to select their favourite Icelandic entry of all time. Approximately 2.000 people took part, which, contrary to what you may think, is actually quite remarkable for a country of this size! Since their debut in 1986, Icelanders… Read more
The 2009 winner, Alexander Rybak, has made a rather extraordinary appeal to his fans in conjunction with the production of the music video for his new song, Europe’s Skies. On his official Facebook page, he asked fans to send him smiling portraits of themselves, which he supposedly will use in his video, according to his… Read more
State broadcaster RÚV has launched its search for the much anticipated successor to Hera Björk, in the Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011. Organisers have previously stated that all entries are to be performed in Icelandic in next year’s edition of the competition. According to rules posted on the official website of Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, an Icelandic version of next… Read more
Despite what couldn’t have been anything but a disappointing result for Didrik Solli Tangen, the Norwegian representative at this year’s contest, he appears to have taken the defeat on the chin, turning the whole experience into something positive. Many in Norway were writing off Didrik as a one hit wonder, saying that his star had… Read more
Talk about keeping it in the family! For the last two years, Marte Stokstad has accompanied Per Sundnes around the country during the run up to the grand final of the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix. However, due to the fact that Marte will be heavily pregnant at the time the MGP season gets going, she… Read more