Latest information about Eurovision 2009

Wanna find out more about Eurovision 2009?

There are several websites which have information about this year's contest. Other than http://www.eurovision.tv there are also:

• http://www.12points.tv -videos of the previous and this year contestants. Belgian website, but it contains also information from all over the Europe.
• http://www.belgovision.com -belgian site which contains news about Eurovision
• http://www.esckaz.com -Despite the fact that Kazachstan is not at Eurovision this year this website provides news about the contest in Russian and English.
• http://www.escnation.com- message board
• http://www.esctoday.com - Eurovision fan site
• http://www.escsweeden.com -news from Sweeden
• http://www.esctime.com - it covers the Eurovision Song Contest, Junior Eurovision Contest, Eurovision Dance Contest

Can Eurovision Survive?

This is a question that I ask myself sometimes. You may ask why? Well, because there are many countries which have a solid music industry with great artists like United Kingdom or Germany,etc and don't choose to send the best singers at Eurovision like other countries. To my surprise, this year is different. This is due to the UK selection for Eurovision. Jade Ewen who will represent UK in the contest with the song "My time" composed and written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, a well-known English composer of musical theatre. The other writter of this song is Diane Warren. Jade is pretty famous in UK, she being an actress as well, having the role of Nala from The Lion King as a debut.

In 2005, Ewen became a member of the R&B group Trinity Stone, which was signed to Sony BMG; the group had moderate succes in UK, Ireland and Russia with a few music singles. Trinity Stone also worked with Ne-Yo for the single "Real Love", they were produced by famous names like Grammy-award winning Brian Rawling and Cee-Lo Green. So, we can say that she has some experience and it is for the first time after many years when UK send an important artist at Eurovision.

Let's hope that it isn't an accident and that will see in the future more popular artists at this prestigious contest...

info about Jade Ewen can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Ewen

Interview with Elena Gheorghe

Radio 21 made an interview with Romanian singer Elena Gheorghe that will represent Romania at Eurovision. Here is this interview (the romanian version of the interview can be found on http://www.radio21.ro/site/stiri/interviuri/content/id/5258/Elena_Gheorghe_tine_cu_Norvegia_la_Eurovision.html

1. Elena Gheorghe-solo. How do you feel now after Mandinga period?
Elena Gheorghe: A mature person, more responsible , much more ambitious, confident and optimistic.

2. You changed your style and look. Had Elena to reinvent herself?
Elena Gheorghe: The relationship with the fans, the audience is the most important for an artist. In order not to get the people bored, the artist has to reinvent himself, to bring something new... The international artists reinvent themselves from one clip to another, from single to single...
I won't change too much the style that made me popular, especially because this style defines my personality. There will be small changes in the future, a new look , a new show. Regardin Eurovision, you will see another Elena Gheorghe, performing a different style of music, a Elena much more vulcanic...the balkan girl.

3. You represent Romania at Eurovision 2009. How do you feel now when the people hopes are linked with you?
Elena Gheorghe: I feel honoured to represent Romania and I am happy that God offered me this chance to live this extraordinary experience.

4. How are you training yourself for Eurovision?
Elena Gheorghe: What was the most difficult it passed. Now I am doing rehearsals both in what concerns the dance and also with the backing vocals, I am trying different outfits, a tour to promote my song and a lot of sport.

5. If you didn't win who do you think would have won the national selection?
Elena Gheorghe: I have said it and I will repeat it. It was a tight competition, as the jury said. There were good songs, good voices and shows better than in previous years. Anyone could have won the national selection.

6. With Eurovision you will become popular on an international scale? Is this a big step for you?
Elena Gheorghe: The participation is a first chance, but everything depends on the impression you make on your 3 minutes when you are on the stage. Now I have a chance and I will do everything to win the audience, that I need in order to have an international career.

7. In a poll on the Eurovision Oficiall website The balkan girls was on 25th position out of 33. Does this fact discourage you?
Elena Gheorghe: I consider that in this competition my biggest rival is myself because it is not so difficult to dance, to sing but to confront with your emotions. Anyway, I am optimistic and I don't take into consideration the polls made before the evening of the contest.

8. Do you think that your career will suffer if you don't have success at Eurovision?
Elena Gheorghe: I will do everything not to disappoint my fans. If I am unlucky, I don't think that this thing will affect my career.

9. What qualities does a person need in order to participate at Eurovision?
Elena Gheorghe: To sing well, to have a great show, to enjoy the music and the audience.

10. If you could vote for any of the contestants for this year contest, who would be your choice?
Elena Gheorghe: Norway.

Where is this year's contest held?

What do you need to know about this year's location of Eurovision? It is Moscow at Olympiyski Indoor Arena. This stadium was built for the 1980 Summer Olympics and hosted the basketball and boxing events. The maximum capacity is 80,000 and it has hosted the Davis Cup finals on several occasions and is the home of the Kremlin tournament.
With four weeks left before the contest starts, the preparations at Olypiyski Indoor Arena are in full swing. Truss, lights, sound equipment, stage elements.. this happened in the last period. The first big challenge was the creation of the so-called mother grid, a construction made of four kilometers of steel to carry the main lights and sound equipment in the ceiling of the arena.
Outside the arena, power generators providing over 8 megawatt are placed to ensure plenty of power. A team of graphic designers in London was employed in order to create something original for the 42 entries.
The setting for this year's Eurovision Song Contest is a creation of US-based set designer John Casey.

Info and pictures from http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=2079 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Stadium_(Moscow_arena)

The balkan girls like to party like nobody...

This is Romania's entry this year at Eurovision. The performer of this song is Elena Gheorghe, a very talented singer, former at Mandinga,a latino band. In the last years at the national selection for Eurovision the competition was tight, the most well-known singers participated. This year surprise was Blaxy Girls, a rock band where the singers are teenagers. They were the 3rd at the end of the contest.
In my personal view, Elena is favourite in the final of Eurovision.I'm saying this not only because I'm romanian, but I really believe in this song. We will wait and see the winner. The video for the Balkan Girls is good, focuse on the image of the singer. I think that in order to win you neeed to have a strong campain before the real contest. What is important as well is the show that each country will have when they perform.
Her official website http://www.elenagheorghe.ro announce on 31.03.2009 that Elena is rehearsing a lot both the vocal parts and also the show that she plans to do. For the backing vocal she has chosen Lucia Dumitrescu, the winner of Mamaia Festival, which is very popular in Romania.
For her promoting campaign ,Elena's team made a video with the most well-known Romanian footballer, Gheorghe Hagi, who is saying that his option for this year contest is Elena and that he bets on her.

MORE ABOUT ROMANIA'S PARTICIPATION AT EUROVISION (the video can also be found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSLBjcooWCg)

What do you think about the new voting system at Eurovision?

This new edition of Eurovision that is held in Moscow introduces a new voting system. At a meeting in Moscow the EBU Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest decided to introduce a voting model of a mix between televoting and jury votes in the 2009 Final. This system doesn't apply in the semi-finals. The fans have expressed their joy about this change on the websites dedicated to this contest. On one of the largest fan sites a poll was conducted where 86,9% of the voters agreed that it was a good decision. Only 9,5% disapproved and 3,6% were not sure. The fans consider that the contest will become in this way more objective. Do you think that this new system will make Eurovision a more powerful and appreciated contest?

more info on http://www.eurovision.tv
picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision

Meet the Contestants and their Songs

In order to qualify for the big final the singers have to pass the semi-finals.
They are split this way:

• First semi-final:

1. Andrea Demirovic(Montenegro) -Just Get Out Of My Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9MNtyvgvqk





2. Gipsy.cz (Czech Republic)-Aven Romale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXZd8hXXvtE




3. Copycat (Belgium)- Copycat


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOn0QwBFOGI




4. Petr Elfimov (Belarus)- Eyes That Never Lie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgD9XqffLL4






5. Malena Ernman (Sweeden) -La Voix


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swPY8P1VGzM






6. Inga &Anush (Armenia)- Jan Jan


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKVvkm0Imh0






7. Susanne Georgi (Andorra) -La Teva Decisió (Get A Life)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfsHeLgJscg&feature=related





8. Lovebugs (Switzerland)-The Highest Heights


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CseWa_d43ck





9. Hadise (Turkey) -Düm Tek Tek



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP6JS4a4uS0






10. Noa & Mira Awad (Israel)- There Must Be Another Way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BIsD1P0I9A





11. Krassimir Avramov (Bulgaria) - Illusion



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuW3WuXz-74







12. Yohanna (Iceland)- Is It True?




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUPK0Kow7Ak








13. Next Time (F.Y.R. Macedonia) -Neshto Shto Ke Ostane


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1jhBPTPymU






14. Elena (Romania) -The balkan girls


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSLBjcooWCg








15. Waldo's People (Finland) - Lose control


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybbNQnSPseA







16. Flor-de-lis (Portugal) -Todas As Ruas Do Amor


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnyje9Q9ZmY






17. Chiara (Malta) -What if We



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpgISr5_nxA






18. Regina (Bosnia and Herzegovina) -Bistra Voda


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJX0Ij3WD3M

• Second semi-final :

1. Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea (Croatia) - Liepa Tena


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU7r5oxvlHE





2. Sinéad Mulvey & Black Daisy (Ireland) -Et Cetera


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRwad26jd3A





3. Intars Busulis (Latvia) -Probka


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbMuYxmnFkI&feature=related






4. Marko Kon & Milaan (Serbia) - Cipela


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5JKtt1HO0U



5. Lidia Kopania (Poland) -I Don't Wanna Leave



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpmyPMrtYvM






6. Alexander Rybak (Norway) - Fairytale


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dbfMBgLNMc







7. Christina Metaxa (Cyprus) -Firefly


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxkj-fRxSrk






8. Kamil Mikulčík & Nela Pocisková ( Slovakia) -Leť Tmou


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKv69E3dQKI




9. Brinck (Denmark) - Believe Again



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te1YJU1Cp4o






10. Quartissimo feat. Martina (Slovenia) -Love Symphony


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY4VHe85efA





11. Zoli Ádok (Hungary) - Dance with Me



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANW9RIP3CqM






12. AySel & Arash (Azerbaijan) -Always



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAiZQVQYmvQ






13. Sakis Rouvas (Greece) - This Is Our Night



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd5ThoUYx_s





14. Sasha Son (Lithuania) -Love


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc1yTx9nktU






15. Nelly Ciobanu (Moldova) -Hora din Moldova


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGIg-2JKUhQ






16. Kejsi Tola (Albania) -Carry Me In Your Dreams



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRQdxqQixZc




17. Svetlana Loboda (Ukraine) -Be my Valentine! (Anti-crisis Girl)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqLAqEvYxZg





18. Urban Symphony (Estonia) -Rändajad



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U29y5bjJ92c





19. The Toppers (The Netherlands) - Shine


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18y3B9RP11g





There are five countries already qualified in the FINAL:

1. Patricia Kaas (France) -Et S'il Fallait Le Faire


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HCI4l7GNqg





2. Soraya (Spain) -La Noche Es Para Mí (The Night Is For Me)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5y77Q9I4JA




3. Jade Ewen (United Kingdom) -My time



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eADt1lFpmCA







4. Alex Swings Oscar Sings! (Germany) -Miss Kiss Kiss Bang


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FAuk8qGImA





5. Anastasia Prikhodko (Russia) -Mamo



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4VoLG-5v_4




The pictures are taken from http://www.eurovision.tv and the clips from http://www.youtube.com

History of Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision is probably the most popular song contest in Europe. It started in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. During the years, Eurovision suffered different changes in term of format and the way it is broadcast. Since the year 2000, the Contest has also been broadcast over the Internet with more than 74,000 people in almost 140 countries having watched the 2006 edition online. The way the contest is run it is as following: each country selects a song and then at the contest the tune is performed live. What is interesting is the fact that people can't vote for their own country.The country which wins the Eurovision has the right to organize the contest next year.
In the 1950s, as a war-torn rebuilt itself, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)—based in Switzerland —came up with the idea of an international song contest whereby countries would participate in one television programme, to be transmitted simultaneously to all countries of the union.
The contest took place for the first time in Lugano, Switzerland on on 24 May 1956.Seven countries participated—each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only Contest in which more than one song per country was performed: since 1957 all Contests have allowed one entry per country.The edition of 1956 was won by the host nation, Switzerland.
The programme had different names: "Eurovision Grand Prix", "Le Grand-Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne", "Concours" and lastly "Eurovision".
The winners of Eurovision Song Contest have become famous after winning the big prize. They are: Lys Assia, Corry Brokken, Andre Claveau, Tedy Scholten, Jacqueline Boyer, Jean Claude-Pascal , Isabelle Aubert, Grethe & Jorgen Ingmann, Gigliola Cinquetti, France Gall, Udo Jurgens, Sandie Shaw, Massiel, Salome, Lulu, Lennie Kuhr, Frida Boccara, Dana, Severine, Vicky Leandros, Anne-Marie David, ABBA, Teach-In, Brotherhood of Man, Marie Myriam, Izhar Cohen& Alphabeta, Gali Atari& Milk and Honey, Johnny Logan, Celine Dion, Riva, Toto Cutugno, Carola , Linda Martin, Niamh Kavanagh, Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan, Secret Garden, Eimear Quinn, Katrina and the Waves, Dana International, Charlotte Nilsson, Olsen Brothers, Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL, Marie N, Sertab Erener, Ruslana , Helena Paparizou , Lordi, Marija Serifovic and Dima Bilan.
WHO IS GOING TO WIN THE 2009 Eurovision Song Contest?? I'm waiting for your comments!

Information about EUROVISION IS TAKEN FROM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision