4 days until rehearsals start!

Its getting a pretty exciting time for any Eurovision fan this week, as it is the lead up to the rehearsals for this year's contest! On Sunday the rehearsals for the first semi-final will begin, and we can get a sneaky look into the stage production, any changes to the song, outfits and nerves! During the rehearsals I will be doing posts throughout the day, updating you of the latest news and gossip, with clips and photos of the rehearsals.


For any of you that didn't see, here is a basic schedule for the rehearsals.


The First Rehearsals for each song will be as follows -

Getter Jaani, one of the
favourites this year,
will be rehearsing on
the 4th, 8th and 12th
of May!



1st May 2011: Semi-Final 1 - Poland, Norway, Albania, Armenia, Turkey, Serbia, Russia, Switzerland, Georgia and Finland

2nd May 2011: Semi-Final 1 - Malta, San Marino, Croatia, Iceland, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Greece

3rd May 2011: Semi-Final 2 - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, Ukraine, Moldova, Sweden and Cyprus 

4th May 2011: Semi-Final 2 - Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Israel, Slovenia, Romania, Estonia, Belarus, Latvia, Denmark and Ireland

The Second Rehearsals for each song will be as follows -


5th May 2011: Semi-Final 1 - Poland, Norway, Albania, Armenia, Turkey, Serbia, Russia, Switzerland, Georgia, Finland, Malta, San Marino and Croatia
6th May 2011: Semi-Final 1 & 2 - Iceland, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Greece, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova
7th May 2011: Semi-Final 2 and First rehearsal of Big 5 - Sweden, Cyprus, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia and Israel. France, Italy, UK, Germany and Spain.
8th May 2011: Semi-Final 2 and Big 5 - Slovenia, Romania, Estonia, Belarus, Latvia, Denmark and Ireland. France, Italy, UK, Germany and Spain.


Dress Rehearsals -


9th & 10th May 2011: Dress rehearsals for Semi-Final 1
11th & 12th May 2011: Dress rehearsals for Semi-Final 2
13th & 14th May 2011: Dress rehearsals for Final and voting


To check out the full schedule visit http://www.eurovision.tv/upload/press-downloads/2011/RehearsalSchedule2011_press.pdf

Judith Rakers

Judith Rakers was born in 1976, in Paderborn, Germany. Between 1995 and 2001, she studied at the Pelizaeus-Gymnasium Paderborn, and then went on to the University at Münster, where she graduated in Journalism and Communication Studies, German Philology and modern and contemporary history.

Judith worked at the NRW local radio stations, "Radio Hochstift" and "Antenne Münster". Between January 2004 and January 2010, she presented the "Hamburg Journal" for local tv station "Norddeutscher Rundfunk". Since 2005, Judith presents the Tagesschau news programme on ARD, as well as reading the news for the Tagesthemen, Nachtmagazin and Morgenmagazin. She also presents the radio station Radio Bremen's talk show "3 nach 9".

In December of 2010, ARD announced that Judith Rakers would host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011, along with Stefan Raab and Anke Engelke.

Esprit Arena

The host arena this year will be the multi-functional football stadium, The Esprit Arena. The Arena was constructed in 2002-2004. The stadium can hold 54,500 spectators, and a huge 66,500 people for concerts. The Esprit Arena cost the city of Düsseldorf around 240 million euros to construct.

The stadium regularly hosted both first-round matches of the German League Cup every July between 2005 and 2007. In 2008, the stadium played host as the home stadium for Bayer Leverkusen, due to the redevelopment of their usual home ground. 

The Arena has also held concerts for musical acts such as Madonna in 2006 and 2008, as well as The Black Eyed Peas in 2011.

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf will be the host city for the 56th Eurovision Song Contest. Düsseldorf is the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. It's current population is approximately 586,217. Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs.

In terms of quality of living, the city is ranked sixth worldwide, and first in Germany. The temperature of the city ranges from 2°C in the winter months, and 17°C in the summer. In May, the temperature should be approximately 13°C!

Düsseldorf has a thriving music scene as well as being the producer of the famous Altbier. In addition to this, the city is also home to the Goethe Museum and the Düsseldorf Tonhalle.

It's twinned with other European cities such as Reading in the UK, Haifa in Israel, Toulouse in France, Warsaw in Poland and Moscow in Russia.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan
Artist - Ell & Nikki
Song - Running Scared
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 18

Eldar Gasimov was born in in 1989, in Baku. He is the grandson of the famous Azerbaijani couple, Abbas Mirza Sharifzadeh and Marziyya Davudova. From 2001, he has attended professional voice training, as well as learning to play the piano. He graduated from Baku Slavic University with a double major in international relations and regional Geography. He speaks fluent Germany.


Nigar Jamal was born in 1980, in Baku. Since 2005, she has been living in the United Kingdom. In 2001, she majored in economics and management at the Khazar University. Her insperation comes from Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys and Craig David.


Between the 15th November 2010 and the 11th February 2011, the Azerbaijani National Selection, Milli Seçim Turu, took place. Eldar and Nigar took part, and worked through the heats to the final. At the final, they were both picked to represent Azerbaijan in May.

"Running Scared" was written by Stefan Örn and Sandra Bjurman, and was composed by Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman and Iain Farguhanson. They are also the writers of "Drip Drop".


Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 10/1
My Prediction - Pleasant song, will qualify. Placing in the top ten.

                                   Uğur!

Slovakia

Slovakia
Artist - TWiiNS
Song - I'm Still Alive
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 5

TWiiNS consists of sisters, Daniela and Veronika Nízlová. In 2000, the twins were offered a record contract in Slovakia, and went on to release four albums, which gave them three golden records and one platinum. In 2008, they were backing singers for the Czech Entry, "Have Some Fun". In 2010, they released "Boys Boys Boys", which was a cover version of the song by Italian singer, Sabrina Salerno. In March 2011, they released another single, entitled "Welcome to Hollywood". The song was written by Andreas Carlsson, who has also worked with famous singers such as Britney Spears.

On the 18th February, it was announced that TWiiNS would be representing Slovakia at the ESC 2011.

Their song, "I'm Still Alive", was written by Bryan Todd, Sandra Nordstrom and Brano Jancich, and composed by Bryan Todd.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 100/1
My Prediction - Beautiful song from Slovakia, yet they had a great song last year but didn't qualify. I fear the same could happen.

                       Veľa šťastia!

Ukraine

Ukraine
Artist - Mika Newton
Song - Angels
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 6

Oksana Stefanivna Hrytsay, better known as Mika Newton, was born in 1986 in the Ukraine. Her first album was released in 2005, and was called "Anomaliya". Mika is the lead vocals in a rock band, known well in Ukraine. From the 31st October 2010 to the 26th February 2011, the Ukrainian National Selection took place. Mika reached the Final, and was against famous Ukrainian singers such as Jamala and Anastasia Prikhodko. Mika recieved full points from the internet voting, jury and televote.

Yet after the final, controversy hit the contest. There were rumours of fixed results, so the Ukrainian broadcaster NTU, decided to hold another final. This would be between the top three acts from the previous final, Mika Newton, Zlata Ognevich and Jamala. After a few days, Jamala withdrew, stating that the votes would only be rigged again. Soon after this Zlata withdrew, as she was already due to take part in another show. It was then announced that by default, Mika Newton would represent Ukraine in Germany.

Her song "Angels", was written by Ruslan Kvinta and composed by Maryna Skomorohova. The song will be performed in English at the ESC.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 100/1
My Prediction - For the second year in a row, Ukraine has had controversy. In my opinion this song is more set for a funeral than the Eurovision Song Contest. No doubt it will qualify, but to me there are more worthy songs.

                                 Удача

                                              

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bosnia-Herzegovina
Artist - Dino Merlin
Song - Love In Rewind
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 1

Edin Dervišhalidović, more commonly known as Dino Merlin, is a popular singer/songwriter from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Not only is he popular in his own country, but also in the former Yugoslavian countries, such as Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia. In 1983, he founded the band "Merlin". They had hit albums such as "Merlin" and "Peta strana svijeta". Dino wrote the first Bosnian National Anthem called "Jedna si, jedina". This was used until 1998. He wrote the Bosnian entry to Eurovision in 1993, and sung the entry in 1999, placing seventh.

On the 1st December 2010, it was announced that he had been internally selected to represent the Balkan country in May.

The song, "Love in Rewind", was both written and composed by Dino Merlin.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 14/1
My Prediction - Obviously Bosnia will qualify. It's a catchy song, and has grown on me. Top ten.

                 Sretno!

Results of the Last Two Polls!

The results of the last two polls are in! Let's take a look -

Remaining Western Countries
United Kingdom - 46%
Germany - 37%
The Netherlands - 21%
Switzerland - 20%
Belgium - 12%
Ireland - 10%
                                  Total number of votes - 79
So Blue from the United Kingdom and Lena from Germany will go through to our Big Poll!

Remaining Eastern Countries
Poland - 45%
Albania - 31%
Romania - 31%
Slovakia - 22%
Bulgaria - 11%
                          Total number of votes - 70
Magdalena Tul from Poland has qualified for the Big Poll.

*** Due to there being a tie for second place, a poll between Albania and Romania will open for one day. The winner of that poll will take the last place in the Big Poll 2011. ***

The Netherlands

The Netherlands
Artist - 3JS
Song - Never Alone
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 3

3JS consists of Jan Dulles, Jaap Kwakman and Jaap de Witte. The band officially formed in 2002, and reached fame after the release of their first album, "Watermensen" in 2007. Also that year, a programme called "3JS komen eraan" was shown, and ran for eight weeks. After this they released their second album, "Kamers van m'n hart" in 2008, and their third album, "Dromers en dwazen" in 2010.

On the 15th July 2010, only two months after the ESC in Oslo, it was revealed that 3JS had been internally selected by TROS. The Nationaal Songfestival took place on the 30th January 2011, to decide the band's song for May. The voting was made up of 50% jury and 50% televote. In the jury, were two former Dutch representatives, Rene Froger (De Toppers) 2009, and Hind from 2008. The song "Je vecht nooit alleen" was the favourite with both the jury and the public, therefore was picked as the Dutch entry for Germany.

At Eurovision, the song will be sung in English, under the title "Never Alone". It was written and composed by 3JS. The song reached number one in the Dutch charts.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 80/1

My Prediction - This may be the first year since 2004 that the Netherlands qualify. Great song, with a nice meaning.

                               Geluk!

Georgia

Georgia
Artist - Eldrine
Song - One More Day
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 9

Eldrine is made up of Sophio Toroshelidze - Vocals, Mikheil Chelidze (MIKEN) - Guitar, Irakli Bibilashvili (BIBO) - Bass Guitar, David Changoshvili (Chango) - Drummer and Beso Tsikhelashvili (DJ BE$$). Sophio has had alot to do with music for someone of a young age. In 2006 she won Song Of The Year, with a song that she wrote "Suprised Again". In 2009, she took part in "Star's Academy" (The Georgian Version of Pop Idol/XFactor). As well as this, that year she was also picked to be the vocal coach for participants at the Junior ESC. In 2010, she was at Eurovision, yet as a backing vocalist. On the 19th February, Eldrine won the right to represent Georgia in May.

Their song, "One More Day", was written by DJ Rock and Mikheil Chelidze and was composed by Beso Tsikhelashvili.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 100/1
My Prediction - Since Georgia's debut in Helsinki, the country has had fantastic entries by beautiful singers. Whats gone wrong?!?! For me this song is amongst the worst this year, but I'm sure it'll qualify.

           საუკეთესო სურვილები!

Belarus

Belarus
Artist - Anastasia Vinnikova
Song - I Love Belarus
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 16

Anastasia Vinnikova was born in 1991, in Dzerzhinsk, Belarus. She studied at the Minsk State Linguistic University. After this, she admitted into the Youth Variety Theatre. From an early age she has loved to sing, and it had not gone unnoticed by her friends and colleagues.

On the 28th February, it was announced that Anastasia had been internally selected to represent Belarus, with the song "Born in Byelorussia". At first it was rumoured that the song could be disqualified due to its reference to the USSR. Yet it was eventually disqualified for a different reason.....the song had been performed a year earlier. After a few days of wondering whether the country would actually participate this year, it was confirmed that Anastasia would sing a different song at the ESC, "I Love Belarus".

"I Love Belarus" was written and composed by Evgeny Oleinik and Svetlana Geraskova.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 150/1
My Prediction - I actually love this song, and think she has a great voice. But I don't know whether this will qualify.......

                 Поспехі

Moldova

Moldova
Artist - Zdob şi Zdub
Song - So Lucky
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 7

Zdob şi Zdub are a band that formed in 1994, and represented Moldova at their debut in 2005 at the ESC, with "Boonika Bate Toba". Their style is a mixture of hip-hop and hardcore punk, with an element of tradtional Moldovan music. They have toured Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, the Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Italy and Hungary, so they are well known throughout Europe. At Eurovision 2005, they placed 6th, which is also Moldova's best placing to date.

On the 26th February, the band took part in the Moldovan National Selection once again. When the votes were announced they had recieved second place with the jury and second place with the televote, meaning they had won the show. In second place was 2007 Moldovan representative Natalia Barbu, who placed first with the jury, yet only fourth with the public.

Their song "So Lucky", was written by Andy Shuman and Marc Elsner, and composed by Roman Yagupov, Mihai Gincu and Marc Elsner.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 100/1
My Prediction - I didn't like them in 2005, and I don't like them now. I don't think that they will be as popular this time as they were before, so I think that Moldova shall not qualify.

                                   Noroc!

This Week's Updates

Let's take a look at whats been happening this week, in preparation for Eurovision -

The Netherlands - 3JS are improving their English, to try and be a bigger hit with Europe.
Spain - Lucia and the Spanish team are planning a great dance routine for May, apparently its going to be a routine that's "simple and will get everyone to join in". Hmmm....we'll see.
Ireland - Katy Perry has announced her support for Jedward. There's one fan for Jedward that's over 14!
United Kingdom - Blue released the official video for "I Can", and also said there may possibly be a few changes to the song.
Sweden - The video for "Popular" has been released. It shows Eric getting beaten up by thugs. Not quite sure of the relevance for that, but hey ho!
Bosnia-Herzegovina - Dino is continuing his promo tour across Europe, with Sweden and Denmark next on his list.
Israel - The dance version of "Ding Dong" has been made, and Dana will be appearing on Irish tv this weekend.
Turkey - The band have visited Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Germany, with Albania next up.

OGAE - The results have started to pour in from the OGAE, with Sweden at the top, closely followed by Hungary, the UK and France.

Switzerland

Switzerland
Artist - Anna Rossinelli
Song - In Love For A While
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 8

Anna Rossinelli was born in 1987, in Basel, Switzerland. She is of both Swiss and Polish decent. Along with representing Switzerland this year at Eurovision, she is also the vocals for her band "Anne Claire". In December of last year, Anna took part in the Swiss National Selection "Die grosse Entscheidungs Show". Acts such as Todomondo, Miodio and DQ, from Romania 2007, San Marino 2008 and Denmark 2007, applied yet failed to get a spot in the final. After all the acts had performed and voting had closed, it was announced that Anna had received 23.93% of the overall vote, therefore winning the show.

Her song, "In Love For a While", was written and composed by David Klein. The song is a breezy and light performace, which many see as being similar to Lena last year.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 100/1

My Prediction - This could qualify, but its up against many big dominating countries, so I think it will struggle......

  Bonne chance! / Viel Glück! / Buona Fortuna!

FYR Macedonia

FYR Macedonia
Artist - Vlatko Ilievski
Song - Rusinka
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 11

Vlatko Ilievski was born in 1985, in Skopje. In 2000, he performed in the Macedonian Rock-Fest and won two prizes. He was a student of acting at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Skopje, where he graduated in 2010 with the drama "Anger". In 2007 he started his solo career. In 2010, Vlatko participated in the Macedonian Selection, "Skopje Fest 2010", for the ESC. He came second to Gjoko Tanseki, although Vlatko did recieve the most points from the televote. In 2011, he participated in Skopje Fest again, winning with the song "Rusinka".

"Rusinka" (Russian Girl) was written and composed by Gilgor Koprov, Vladimir Dojcinovski and Jovan Jovanov.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 200/1

My Prediciton - I'm not a fan of this song, and I think that Macedonia need to find something really special for next year, instead of mediocre songs.

                       Со среќа!

Estonia

Estonia
Artist - Getter Jaani
Song - Rockefeller Street
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 15

Getter Jaani was born in 1993, in Tallinn. She rose to fame by participating in the Estonian talent show, "Eesti otsib superstaari" (a show similar to "Pop Idol" and "the X Factor"), singing hits such as "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus and "Happy" by Leona Lewis. In the show, she came 4th, which eventually led her to have a role in "High School Musical" in Tallinn, playing Sharpay Evans. She attends the Centre of Vocational Disciplines, training to be a stylist/tailor.

During February 2011, Getter participated in the Estonian National Selection for Eurovision, "Eesti Laul". She was in the first of the two semi-finals, placing second with the jury and first with the public. In the final, she received 7 points from the jury, along with 10 from the televote. Getter and a group called "Outloudz" proceeded to the super final, with her winning with 62 % of the overall vote.

"Rockefeller Street" was written and composed by Sven Lõhmus, who also wrote previous Estonian entries, "Let's Get Loud" and  "Rändajad".

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 6/1
My Prediction - Great catchy song that sticks in your head. I think that this will qualify, placing in the top 10.

                               Õnne!!

Belgium

Belgium
Artist - Witloof Bay
Song - With Love Baby
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 4

Witloof Bay are band made up of Senjka Danhieux, Etienne Debaisieux, Benoît Giaux, Nicolas Dorian, Florence Huby, and Mathilde Sevrin. They all come from different parts of Belgium, thus the band represents Belgium as a whole country. In late 2007, they relesed their first album entitled "Witloof Bay". Between the 20th September and the 12th February, the Belgian National Selection took place. The National Final voting was rather peculiar on the other hand, as each judge had to say yes or no to each song, with Witloof Bay being the only act to get all four judges to say yes. (A rather unreliable way if you ask me!!!) From this, those results were changed in to the typical 12, 10, 8-1 votes and then the public would vote for the other 50%.

Their song "With Love Baby", was both written and composed by RoxorLoops and Benoît Giaux.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 200/1
My Prediction - Such a disappointment after Tom Dice, but I can understand why others like it. I don't think that this will qualify.

                             Bonne chance!! / Geluk!!

Turkey

Turkey
Artist - Yüksek Sadakat
Song - Live It Up
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 5

Yüksek Sadakat are a Turkish rock band, that formed in 1997. The band consists of Kenan Vural (vocals), Serkan Özgen (guitar), Kutlu Özmakinacı (bass), Uğur Onatkut (keyboard) and Alpay Şalt (drums). They rose to fame in 2005 with their self entitled album. Their music is a mixture of rock and pop, with a Turkish influence. Their name is Turkish for Hi-Fi.

On the 1st January 2011, it was announced that they had been internally selected to represent Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest in Germany. Their song, "Live It Up", was written by Ergün Arsal and composed by Kutlu Özmakinacı.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 40/1
My Prediction - Again, dispora will get Turkey through. I personally do not like this song, and I feel Turkey need to find something new for next year.

                         Iyi şanslar!

Another New Top Ten!!

William Hill have announced yet another top ten!! A few countries have swapped position, and we have one newcomer! Let's take a look -

9/2 France
6/1 United Kingdom
6/1 Estonia
10/1 Azerbaijan
10/1 Sweden
12/1 Hungary
12/1 Germany
14/1 Norway
14/1 Bosnia-Herzegovina
20/1 Ireland

Just missing out on a top ten place this time, is Denmark (knocked out of 10th place), Russia and Italy.

After browsing through nearly every ESC site on the web, I have noticed a few trends -

France appear to be top with nearly all bookmakers, yet only rank at about 4th/5th with public polls.
Hungary do not seem to get in the top five with any bookmaker, although on public polls they are 1st in most.
Italy and Ireland seem to be making the best improvement in terms of public opinions. As each day passes, they move up a little on the leader boards.
Germany seems to be losing popularity, with most people feeling it is a bit of a let down after "Satellite".

Note - These are not my personal opinions, they are trends which are happening on many ESC sites!