Stefan Raab

Stefan Raab's rise to fame began in 1993, when he was the host of the Vivasion on German television. Since then he has presented shows such as, TV Total, which is aired four time a week on the channel "ProSieben", TV Total Turmspringen and TV Total Stock Car Crash Challenge. In 2006, he invented the game show, "Schlag den Raab", (literally: Beat Raab) a show where a contestant had to beat the host in a series of challenges. He also frequently organises "Pokerstars.de Nacht", a poker game with other celebrities.

Stefan has written many songs over the years, as well as being the writer (and on one occasion the performer) of the German entry for Eurovision. In 1998, he wrote "Guildo hat euch lieb", which was performed by Guildo Horn. In 2000 he wrote and sang the song, "Wadde hadde dudde da?" in Stockholm. In 2004, he wrote "Can't Wait Until Tonight", by Max, and in 2010 and 2011, he will be acting as mentor to Lena. Each participation he has had at Eurovision, has got Germany into the top ten.

As well as all of this, he can also play many musical instruments, including the piano, guitar, drums, ukulele and some wind instruments.

In December of 2010, it was announced that he would host the Eurovision Song Contest in Germany, along with Judith Rakers and Anke Engelke.

Anke Engelke

Anke Engelke was born in 1965, in Quebec, Canada. In 1971 she moved to Cologne with her parents. She has sung with Fred Kellner und die famosen Soul Sisters since 1989. Since 1993, she has been part of the SWF3-Comedy-Ensemble Gagtory. From 1994 to 2000, Engelke was married to the keyboardist Andreas Grimm with whom she has a daughter. Currently she is married to musician Claus Fischer, and she also has two children, fathered by him.

Anke is well known for her ability to jump into different female roles, playing them very convincingly, and changing them in the blink of an eye. A very wide variety of facial expressions (which tend to the funny side) is also at her disposal. In 2003, Anke Engelke and Olli Dittrich were awarded the golden Adolf Grimme Prize for the show Blind Date 2 - Taxi nach Schweinau. In December 2003, Engelke provided the voice of the fish Dory in the German-language version of the computer-animated film Finding Nemo, which is voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in the English-language version. She was also the voice of Jane Porter in the German-language version of the Disney movie Tarzan.

In December of 2010, it was announced that she would host the ESC 2011, along with Judith Rakers and Stefan Raab.

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.

What's next?

Now that all of the country profiles are completed, we will spend the next few days looking over some other important aspects of the Eurovision Song Contest. We shall take a brief insight into the host city for this year, Düsseldorf, as well as the Esprit Arena, where the show will be held in May. Obviously another important and crucial part of the show, are the hosts, so we will look at their backgrounds and careers. In addition to this we will have the current betting odds and favourites to win, as well as general ESC gossip. From the 1st May, there will be information from the rehearsals, also the results from the Big Poll 2011 on the 9th May.

So stay tuned, you won't want to miss a thing!

William Hill have a new Top Ten!

Today, William Hill have released the new top ten favourites to win the ESC 2011 in May.

Let's take a look!!

France is the current favourite
to win in Germany.

France 4/1
Estonia 13/2
United Kingdom 7/1
Hungary 8/1
Azerbaijan 10/1
Bosnia-Herzegovina 10/1
Sweden 10/1
Germany 12/1
Norway 14/1
Russia 20/1

Now lets look at the favourites to qualify from the semi-finals.

Semi-Final 1

Azerbaijan, Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Norway, Greece, Serbia, Finland, Armenia and Georgia

Kati's chances keep growing
as the weeks progress!

Semi-Final 2

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sweden, Estonia, Denmark, Romania, Israel, Ukraine, Moldova, Austria and Slovenia


If any of these are your favourites this year, vote for them in our Big Poll!!

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!

Big Poll 2011 - Start Voting!!

The Big Poll for this year has opened!! This is our chance to see the blog's favourite entry for the ESC 2011.

The participants in the big poll were chosen by a series of seven polls, with the top two from each, qualifying for this poll.
Let's take a look at the line up -

Albania - Aurela Gace - Feel the Passion
Azerbaijan - Eldar & Nigar - Running Scared
Bosnia-Herzegovina - Dino Merlin - Love in Rewind
Denmark - A Friend in London - New Tomorrow
Estonia - Getter Jaani - Rockefeller Street
France - Amaury Vassili - Sognu
Germany - Lena - Taken By a Stranger
Hungary - Kati Wolf - What About My Dreams?
Israel - Dana International - Ding Dong
Italy - Raphael Gualazzi - Madness of Love
Poland - Magdalena Tul - Jestem
Serbia - Nina - Caroban
Sweden - Eric Saade - Popular
United Kingdom - Blue - I Can

This poll will be open until the 8th May 2011, with the results being announced on the 9th May.

Start Voting Now!!

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!

Albania vs Romania

*** Due to there being a tie for second place in the "Remaining Eastern Countries" poll, 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. *** 

*Please note: Should both countries get an equal percentage, neither will progress to the Big Poll 2011

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!