Romania

Romania
Artist - Hotel FM
Song - Change
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 14

Hotel FM formed in 2005 and is made up David Bryan (singer), Gabriel Băruţa (piano) and Alex Szűz (drums). David is British, although Gabriel and Alex are Romanian. In 2010, they participated in the Romanian National Selection, "Selecţia Naţională". Their song "Come As One" placed fourth on the night, with Paula and Ovi winning the competition. In 2011, they took part in Selecţia Naţională again, with the song "Change". They recieved 10 points from the Televote, and 12 from the Jury, thus winning the show.

"Change" was written by Gabriel Băruţa and Alexandra Ivan, and was composed by Gabriel Băruţa. Former Romanian representatives Mihai Trăistariu and Paula Seling, praised the song on its good beat, message and vocal performance. The song entered the Romanian charts at number 98.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 100/1

My Prediction - I think this could qualify, but they have a long way to go to beat "Playing with Fire".

                          Noroc!

Changes in the Voting Procedure??

When the draw for the running order took place in March, something that was expected, didn't happen....
The draw for the voting order. Usually the countries are drawn at random, to determine the order that they will announce their votes. The EBU have announced that there will be a change to this year, but what could it be??

Some theories include -

The order will be decided on the night of the final, to try and make it a more exciting show. By doing this, they can make it a race for the top, rather than previous years, where it has been fairly obvious who will win by the 10th country announcing.

Another theory is that only the countries in the final will vote, thus making it more thorough. Or the countries that didn't qualify, will give their votes as one.

To me, these seem rather radical, although the first theory could work. I suspect that the changes will only be minor, but as soon as its announced i'll let you know!!

Check back later today for the Romanian profile!!

Finland

Finland
Artist - Paradise Oskar
Song - Da Da Dam
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 10

Axel Ehnström, born in 1990, is better known to the Finnish population as Paradise Oskar. His name comes from the childrens book "Rasmus and the Vagabond". He studies pop and jazz at the Helsinki Music Institute. This year, he took part in the Finnish National Selection, "Euroviisut 2011". The contest took place from the 14th January to the 12th February. In the final he came first, and in the super-final he won the show with 46.7% of the vote. Only 6% more than the artist in second place.

His song, "Da Da Dam", tells a story of a boy who makes a stand, and tries to save the planet, although he is ignored by everyone. The song was written and composed by Axel Ehnström.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 50/1

My Prediction - I don't think this will qualify. Its a sweet song, with a good story to tell, but its too similar to Tom Dice.

                               Onnea Suomi!!

Results of the Mediterranean and Former Soviet Polls!!!!

The results of our 4th and 5th Poll are in!! Here are what they look like -

Mediterranean
France - 40%
Israel - 21%
Spain - 20%
Greece - 16%
Turkey - 16%
Malta - 10%
Portugal - 4%
Cyprus - 2%
                               (Overall amount of votes - 83)
So Amaury Vassili from France and Dana International from Israel will proceed to our Big Poll!

Former Soviet
Estonia - 47%
Azerbaijan - 26%
Russia - 19%
Belarus - 15%
Georgia - 9%
Latvia - 9%
Armenia - 6%
Lithuania - 5%
Ukraine - 5%
Moldova - 1%
                                  (Overall amount of votes - 72)
The qualifiers of the Former Soviet Poll are Getter Jaani from Estonia, and Eldar & Nigar from Azerbaijan.

So here is what our Big Poll line-up looks like now -

Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Serbia & Sweden

Our last two polls are "Remaining Eastern Countries" and "Remaining Western Countries". This is the line up for those two polls -

Remaining Eastern - Albania, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Slovakia
Remaining Western - Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, The Netherlands and The United Kingdom.

Make sure you vote on our last two polls!!!!

Poland

Poland
Artist - Magdalena Tul
Song - Jestem
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 1

Magdalena Tul was born in 1980, in Gdansk, Poland. From the age of 19, Magdalena has been heavily envolved in music. In 2000, she started working in theatre, performing in musicals such as Grease and Cats. In late 2005, she recorded a song for the Polish version of the Walt Disney movie "The Emperor's New Groove". In June of 2006, she came 3rd in an international songwriting competition called "Unisong", in the USA. Her first album was entitled "The Victory of Heart". Her first two singles were "Nie ma Jej" and "Jestem".

"Jestem" was both written and composed by Magdalena Tul. In the Polish National Final, she got 44.47% of the overall vote, which was double the amount of the artist in second place. An English version of the song was made, entitled "First Class Ticket To Heaven", although at Eurovision the song shall be performed in Polish.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 66/1
My Prediction - I think that Poland deserve to qualify with this song. Placing between 16 and 25.

                              Powodzenia!

Lithuania

Lithuania
Artist - Evelina Sašenko
Song - C'est ma vie
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 17

Evelina Sašenko was born in 1987. She is of both Lithuanian and Polish decent. In 2009, Evelina took part in the opera contest, "Triumfo arka", which gained her both fame and recognition. She also took part in the 2010 Lithuanian National Final for Eurovision, with her song "For This I'll Pray". She eventually placed 3rd. Once again in 2011, Evelina participated in the Lithuanian selection. She placed first in her semi-final, winning her a place in the final. In the final, she recieved 12 points from both the jury and the televote, giving her the honour to represent Lithuania in Germany.

Although having a french title, "C'est ma vie" has only two lines in french, with the rest being sung in english. The song was written by Andrius Kairys and composed by Paulius Zdanavičius.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 200/1
My Prediction - This song would be better suited in a musical. I don't think this will qualify.

                                  Sėkmės!

Albania

Albania

Artist - Aurela Gace

Song - Feel The Passion

Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 3

Aurela Gace was born in 1974 in Albania. She has won "Festivali i Këngës" three times, including this year, where she won the honour to represent her country at the ESC. "Origjinale" was her most successful song, reaching 4.5 million views on Youtube.

In late 2010, she took part in the Albanian selection. After making it through the semi final, she won the show with "Kënga ime" (My Song), 16 points ahead of the artist in second place. It was announced that she will sing the song in English at Eurovision, under the title "Feel The Passion".

The Song was written by Sokol Marsi and composed by Shpëtim Saraçi.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 150/1

My Prediction - I can't make my mind up with this song. I think the song itself is quite good, but could be better with a different singer. I still think it will qualify.

                               Paç fat!

Latvia

Latvia
Artist - Musiqq
Song - Angel In Disguise
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 17

Musiqq are a Latvian duo, made up of Marats Ogļezņevs and Emīls Balceris. Musiqq gained popularity, through radio hits such as "Abrakadabra", "Klimata Kontrole" and "Dzimšanas diena". Marats was also a singer-songwriter for the Latvian act "Device".

From the 5th to the 26th February, the Latvian National Selection took place. Musiqq were placed second in their semi-final, thus gaining a place in the final. In the final, they came second and went forward to the super final, and won the show.

Their song for Eurovision, "Angel in Disguise", was written and composed by Marats Ogļezņevs.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 150/1

My Prediction - I personally love the song, but I doubt it will qualify.

                       Lai jums veicas!

Israel

Israel

Artist - Dana International

Song - Ding Dong

Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 12

Sharon Cohen, better known as Dana International was born in 1972, and is arguably one of the worlds famous transsexuals. As well as this, she was also the winner of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, with her smash hit single, "Diva". Sharon was born as Yaron Cohen, but at the age of 13, she came out as a transsexual. In 1993, she released her first album, "Danna International". (After the first few years, she dropped a "n" out of Danna). In 1995 she tried to represent Israel at Eurovision, but failed to do so, coming second in the pre-selection. In 1998, she successfully represented Israel, and won the show, as well as winning the hearts of many european nations. After this her fame boomed, and Sharon became famous all over Europe, as well as having Israel's most selling single in 2007, "Love boy". She also wrote the song that represented Israel in 2008 "The Fire in Your Eyes", that was sung by Boaz.

It was announced that Dana International would return to K'dam, and after a great national final, she won the show with the song "Ding Dong".

Dana International wrote the song herself, and it is performed in both Hebrew and English.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 80/1

My Prediction - A lovely song, with a beautiful meaning. I definitely think this will progress to the final. Placing between 8th and 22nd.

                                        בהצלחה

Italy

Italy
Artist - Raphael Gualazzi
Song - Madness Of Love
Draw - Final, Place 12

Raphael Gualazzi was born in 1981, in Urbino. In September of 2005, he released his debut album, "Love Outside the Window".

On the 2nd December it was announced that Italy would be returning to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011.

On the 19th of February 2011, the Sanremo festival took place, with Raphael winning the "Giovani" (New Generation) section. Yet winning the contest, did not mean that they would automatically represent the country at the ESC. But it was announced that Raphael would indeed be the Italian representative in May.

The song "Follia d'amore" was written by Raphael Gualazzi and composed by Raphael and Ferdinando Arno. At Eurovision, the song will be performed in both English and Italian, under the title "Madness of Love". The song has reached number 8 in the Italian charts.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 28/1

My Prediction - A pleasant enough song, but a bit of a let down as we have waited so long for Italy's return. Place between 13-25

                        Buona fortuna!
Check back later today for the Israeli Profile!! 

United Kingdom

United Kingdom
Artist - Blue
Song - I Can
Draw - Final, Place 14

Blue are a successful Britsh boyband, who rose to fame in the early 2000s. Blue consists of Duncan James, Lee Ryan, Antony Costa and Simon Webbe. In May 2001 they released their debut single "All Rise", which reached number 4 in the British charts. After this they released many singles and had seven worldwide number ones. In 2004/5 they decided to split, and to try and concentrate on their individual careers.

On the 19th January 2011, it was announced that Blue would represent the United Kingdom in Germany, with the song "I Can". When they perform at Eurovision, it will coincide with their 10 year anniversary. The song was described as a true British anthem, as well as having the typical "Blue" feel to it. The song was first performed on the 11th March, on The Graham Norton Show, although a snippet of the song had been released a few days prior to this.

"I Can", was written and composed by Duncan James, Lee Ryan, Ciaron Bell, Ben Collier, Ian Hope and Liam Keenan.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 6/1
My Prediction - This will be the year that the UK make their true comeback. Top 6!

                                 Good Luck!!

What do the Statistics predict??

As any Eurovision fan would know, it is thought that if you are drawn to sing nearer to the end of the contest, you are more likely to qualify for the final, or win the show. ESC fan site, ESCNation, recently released the odds of each country getting through, in terms of their draw. Lets have a look (the percentage shows the chance of qualification) -  

1. 50% (Poland / Bosnia-Herzegovina)
2. 50% (Norway / Austria)
3. 25% (Albania / Netherlands)
4. 25% (Armenia / Belgium)
5. 13% (Turkey / Slovakia)
6. 38% (Serbia / Ukraine)
7. 38% (Russia / Moldova)
8. 50% (Switzerland / Sweden)
9. 38% (Georgia / Cyprus)
10. 75% (Finland / Bulgaria)
11. 38% (Malta / FYR-Macedonia)
12. 50% (San Marino / Israel)
13. 75% (Croatia / Slovenia)
14. 100% (Iceland / Romania)
15. 50% (Hungary / Estonia)
16. 75% (Portugal / Belarus)
17. 50% (Lithuania / Latvia)
18. 88% (Azerbaijan / Denmark)
19. 75% (Greece / Ireland)

So it seems that place number 14 is the most likely to qualify, with place number 5 the least likely. But with Turkey at place 5 this year, do you think that could change?

Check back later today, when the profile of the United Kingdom will be added!

Hungary

Hungary
Artist - Kati Wolf
Song - What About My Dreams?
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 15

Kati Wolf was born in 1974 in Szentendre, Hungary. In 2010, Kati took part in the Hungarian version of the X Factor, making it to the final. At the beginning of 2011, she began working on her solo album. On the 9th March 2011, it was announced that Kati would represent Hungary in this years Eurovision. Her first single, "Szerelem, Miért Múlsz?", which is also the Hungarian version of her song for the ESC, became a huge success immediately.

The song was written by Viktor Rakonczai and Gergő Rácz. It was announced that the song would be sung in english at Eurovision, under the title "What About My Dreams?". Although the song isn't ranked to highly with the bookmakers, it seems to be a very strong favourite with the European public.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 14/1
My Prediction - I think that this is the dark horse of 2011. Definitely top 8.

                  Sok szerencsét!

Spain

Spain
Artist - Lucia Perez
Song - Que me quiten lo bailao
Draw - Final, Place 22

Lucia Perez, born in 1985, was chosen to represent Spain, through their selection process "Destino Eurovision". There were two heats and a semi-final, to decide which three participants would make it through to the National Final on the 18th February. Melissa, Auryn and Lucia Perez took part with three songs each. Eventually Lucia won the show with 68% of the votes.

Her song for Eurovision is "Que me quiten lo bailao", which translates literally as "May they take away from me what I have danced". The song was written by Rafael Artesero Herrero, who has written other Eurovision songs such as "La Mirada Interior" and "Sense Tu" (Andorra 2005 and 2006 repectively). It was available for download from the 25th March, and the video to the song was recorded on the 5th March 2011.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 150/1
My Prediction - A bit disappointing to be fair, but it is nice that it shows a sense of spanish music.

 

                              ¡Buena suerte!

Results of the ex-Yugoslavian poll!!

After 7 days of voting on the ex-Yugoslavian poll, we can now see the two qualifiers!

1. Bosnia-Herzegovina -  45%
2. Serbia - 26%
3. Slovenia - 25%
4. Croatia - 18%
5. FYR Macedonia - 2%

For the past few days, it has been a tight race for 2nd place between Serbia and Slovenia, but it looks like Serbia just grabbed it by 1 vote!

So now that Dino Merlin from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nina from Serbia are added to the final, here is what the line up looks like so far -

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Serbia and Sweden.

Make sure to vote on the Mediterranean and Former Soviet polls!!

Revamped Versions!!

Over the past few weeks we have seen many of the songs for this years ESC develop. Lets take a look at some of the new "revamped" versions of some songs.

First up is the Norwegian entry, "Haba Haba". I think they have done an excellent job with this! They grab you into the song by starting with a snippet from the chorus, and they have added much more of a beat to the song, so now it really has a brilliant african feel to it.

Next we have a former Eurovision champion, Dana International. Her entry has been given more of a dance/electronic feel to it, which I think will work in Israel's favour!

Comeback nation, Italy, have also released the new version of their entry, under the new title "Madness of Love". This includes both Italian and English lyrics. My only concern is that by adding english lyrics, it may of taken away the Italian charm of the song......

Slovenia, Iceland, Albania and Hungary recently released the english versions of their entries for Eurovision too. Do you think they have improved?

Full Rehearsal Schedule is Released!

In preparation for Europe's biggest show, the full rehearsal schedule has been released!


The First Rehearsals for each song will be as follows -


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

Austria

Austria
Artist - Nadine Beiler
Song - The Secret Is Love
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 2

Nadine Beiler was born in 1990, in the village on Inzing in Austria. In 2006, Nadine auditioned for the Austrian show, Starmania. After making it through to the main shows, she won the final in early 2007, after performing hits such as "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou and "Hurt" by Christina Aguilera.

It was confirmed in late July 2010, that Austria would be returning to Eurovision after a four year break. On the 3rd January 2011, ORF (the Austrian broadcaster) announced the 30 candidates for the online voting. Included in these, were popular artists that had already grown to fame in Austria, such as the rock band "Excuse Me Moses", Petra Frey and former Austrian representative Alf Poier. In the online voting Nadine was placed second, only four points behind the winner. On the 25th of February, the national televised final took place, with the top 10 artists from the online voting participating. Nadine, along with two other acts, proceeded to the Super Final, where she won with 46.73% of the final vote.

Her song is "The Secret is Love", written by Nadine Beiler, and composed by Thomas Rabitsch. The song is a pop ballad, which shows off her vocal ability.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 33/1
My Prediction - I think this could progress to the final. Placing between 16 and 25.

                            Viel glück!!

Iceland

Iceland

Artist - Sigurjón's Friends

Song - Coming Home

Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 14

Sigurjón's friends are made up of Gunnar Ólafsson, Vignir Snær Vigfússon, Pálmi Sigurhjartarson, Matthías Matthíasson, Hreimur Örn Heimisson and Benedikt Brynleifsson. Sadly at the beginning of 2011, Sigurjón Brink passed away, whilst he was only in his early 30s. He was due to perform a song he composed, "Aftur Heim" at the Icelandic National Selection, but due to his death, it was decided by his family that his friends should perform the song in his place. They made it through to the final, and eventually won, beating the strong favourite of the show, Yohanna.

At Eurovision, the group will perform the song in english, under the title "Coming Home". The song was written by Thorunn Clausen and Sigurjón Brink, and composed by Sigurjón Brink. Aftur Heim reached number one in the Icelandic charts.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 150/1
My Prediction - The song clearly has a touching story, yet I don't think that will help carry it through to the final........



                                   Gangi þér vel!

Later today we shall be looking at the Austrian entry!!

Slovenia

Slovenia
Artist - Maja Keuc
Song - No One
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 13

Maja Keuc was born in 1992, in Maribor, Slovenia. In February 2011, Maja took part in the Slovenian National Selection, EMA 2011. During the final she sang the Slovenian version of the song "Vanilija", where she advanced to the Super-Final and went head to head against April with the song "Ladadidej". When the votes were announced, she had recieved over double the amount of points as April, with 28,908.

The song will be performed in english at Eurovision, under the title "No One". The song was written by Urša Vlašič and composed by Matjaž Vlašič.


Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 40/1
My Prediction - I think that this could make the final, placing between 14 and 25.

                            Srečno!!