Gossip: Eurovision Doesn’t Guarantee Success

Former Participants – whilst some former Eurovision acts go on to greater things some others see their fortunes go in decidedly the opposite direction. In recent weeks we’ve seen former participants sadly not doing so well. The latest is the news that former UK participant, Andy Abrahams, has had to declare himself bankrupt, as the Irish entry from 2004 Chris Doran gets arrested!

Poll: Worst of the Worst Dressed!

Poll – On the day that Serbia’s Moje 3 won the 2013 Barbrara Dex Award, we decided to look back at all the previous winners… and see which you think is the worst of the worst! Since the award began in 1997, the House of Eurovision has given the award to 17 recipients. We want you to tell us who you think has been the worst dressed Eurovision star in those 17 years! Vote now!

Krista Siegfrids Releases New Video

Krista Siegfrids – Several of this year’s Eurovison acts returned home to promote record releases. Marco Mengoni is touring his album ‘#prontoacorrere’, in Italy, Ryan Dolan is promoting his album ‘Frequency‘ in Ireland and has charted in 28 countries. Also out is the debut album ‘Ding Dong‘ from Finland’s Krista Siegfrids. Today saw the launch of her new video for the track ‘Amen‘ from it.

The Biggest Eurovision Quiz Ever!

Malmö 2013 – Monday night saw the biggest Eurovision quiz ever at Moriskan. Fans in their hundreds crowded in to the fan cafe until 2am to answer 23 questions on mobile phones to be in with a chance to win tickets for the Eurovision Song Contest Final. Entertainment was provided by Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko of Albania, Linda Martin, Glen Vella and Bobby Sox!

Pictures and Videos from the Estonian Party!

Estonian Party – Today’s events at the Eurovision Village kicked off with The Estonian Party! Hundreds of Estonians were out in force waving their flags to see Ott Lepland (2012) and Tanel Padar (Winner 2001) perform together in a band alongside this year’s entrant Birgit, and neighbours PeR of Latvia. It was also expected that Finland would perform but sadly they did not come along. 

Day 4: More Coverage from Malmö!

Malmö 2013 – It’s been another busy day today in the Malmö Arena and press centre. We managed to catch Latvia, San Marino, FYR Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Malta, Bulgaria, Iceland, Armenia, Hungary, Greece and Norway. We’ve had some fun performances in the press conferences including Krista from Finland’s portable wind machine! Check out our pictures now…

Mika Newton and Jedward Hook Up in LA

Former Participants – Two former Eurovision stars of 2011 met up by chance last week in Los Angeles and decided to spend a little time together. Ukraine’s Mika Newton (2011) bumped into Ireland’s Jedward (2011 & 2012), and the Irish twins then went along to Mika’s concert at Hotel Cafe. Check out photographs from the recent encounter and see what Mika is up to now in America.

UK: Former Eurovision Winner Fails to Make The Voice

United Kingdom – A former Eurovision winner has tonight failed in her comeback attempt… failing to qualify for this year’s UK singing contest The Voice. Jay Aston, from 1981 winners Bucks Fizz, failed to impress any of the judges and none of them turned round. Jay was sent home and did not progress onto the live competition shows.

The Biggest Eurovision Quiz Ever!

Eurovision 2013 – The first guests for this year’s huge Eurovision quiz have been announced by the Moriskan Pavillion Twitter account. This is the venue that will host the Euro Fan cafe this year. The quiz night, which will take place on 13th May, will see past Eurovision stars Linda Martin (Ireland), Hera Björk (Iceland), Bobbysocks (Norway) and Glen Vella (Malta) take part.

Lukas Plochl (Trackshittaz, Austria 2012) Releases New Album

Lukas Plochl, founding member of rap duo, the Trackshittaz has released his new solo album this weekend. The self titled album was released in Austria and Germany this past Friday and will be available elsewhere across Europe on iTunes on Monday (April 8th). The Trackshittaz represented Austria in 2012 with their song “Woki Mit Deim Popo” coming last place in the first Semi-Final with a total of only 8 points.

Lys Assia Chooses Her Winner!

Lys Assia – The legendary Lys Assia has named her top 20 songs in this year’s contest, and omitted her home country of Switzerland from the top 10! Since her win in 1956 Lys has regularly been involved in Eurovision and for the past two years has tried to represent her home country again. She has now revealed her top 20 songs for 2013. See who she wants to win!

A Friend in London Reduce to a Duo

A Friend in London – Denmark’s 2011 act, A Friend in London, have downsized. Two members, Esben Svane and Aske Bramming have left the band. Singer Tim Schou will continue, along with Sebastian Vinther staying to support him as and when his studies allow. The band had tasted some success after Eurovision, touring the world, and supporting the reformed New Kids on the Block. Read the full statement:

Ireland: Best of Eurovision Tour to go Overseas

Ireland – Last year saw a successful tour of former Irish Eurovision winners around Ireland. They now intend to take the tour further. Savee Entertainment has announced that due to the phenomenal success of the BEST OF EUROVISION show in 2012, they are delighted to announce that the show will tour again in Autumn 2013 in venues across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.

Russia: Statue for Russian Grannies

Russia – It has been announced that Izhevsk, the capital of Udmurt, is to designate May 26th as ‘Day of the Grandmother’ in the region, and a statue of the Buranovskie Babushki is to be commissioned. May 26th was the day the group of Russian grandmothers came in 2nd place in the 2012 song contest. A competition will be held to choose a design for the monument.

London Eurofest: Conchita Wurst to Perform

Eurofest – This week sees the UK’s annual Eurofest fundraising event and the guest performer will be Austria’s Conchita Wurst. Conchita just missed out last year with her song ‘That’s What I Am’, with Trackshittaz being chosen to go to Baku instead. For more details about the event, read on…

And What Is…Doing?: Lordi Film a Rockumentary

The Arockalypse – A lot has happened to Lordi, the Finnish winners of 2006 since they were triumphant with the anthemic Hard Rock Hallelujah. Worldwide fame, national hero status, and a full touring diary for years. But they have also had lows as well as the highs with the sad death of their drummer. Now a ‘rockumentary’ is underway to record this rollercoaster journey and finally unmask the monsters…

Englebert Humperdinck to Duet with Sir Elton John

Engelbert Humperdinck  – Reports in today’s UK and Irish news reveal that veteran crooner, Engelbert Humperdinck, has teamed up with Sir Elton John for the first time to work on a duet. Humperdinck, now 76 years old, represented the UK at last year’s contest in Baku, and is releasing an album of duets early next year… 45 years after his first massive number one single, ‘Please Release Me‘.

Dima Bilan Wins MTV EMA Nomination for Worldwide Act

Dima Bilan – The former Eurovision winner has won the nomination for Worldwide Act Europe Nominee in the prestigious MTV EMAs which take place in Frankfurt on 11th November. He faces competition from Ahmed Soultan (Africa-India-Middle East), Han Geng (Asia), Restart (Latin America) and Rhianna (North America). You can vote on the MTV EMA page until 9th November.

Former Swedish Star Escapes Prison

Melodifestivalen stalwart, Kikki Danielsson, has escaped a prison sentence for drug smuggling, and has instead been given a reprimand and fined 10,000 SEK (EUR 1,160). Kikki has taken part in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 9 times. She has participated in the ESC twice, in 1982 (as a part of the Swedish pop and country group Chips) and in the 1985 (solo) with the song “Bra vibrationer”, finishing 3rd.

Loreen: New Album ‘Heal’ Released

Loreen  – Swedish winner Loreen sees the release of her much awaited new album, Heal, this week. Last year’s winning ESC song “Euphoria” has become one of the most successful Eurovision singles in 20 years, topping charts around the world. Two singles have been released from the album so far; a remixed version of her 2011 hit “My Heart Is Refusing Me” and  “Crying Out Your Name”.

Stockholm Pride Welcomes Eurovision Stars

Eurovision fans in Sweden can catch up with previous stars of Eurovision 2011 and 2012 this week as several of them, including Loreen and Eric Saade, are appearing at this year’s Stockholm Pride. A ‘Schlagerpopnight’ concert has been arranged with appearances from Jedward, Ivi Adamou, Eleftheria Eleftheriou and Ott Lepland.

And What Is…Doing?: Patricia Kaas Sings Edith Piaf

  And What Is…Doing? – She wowed Eurovision fans, viewers and the audience at Moscow’s Olympiski Arena in 2009 with her song “Et S’il Fallait Le Faire“, which for some fans became a modern classic of the Eurovision Song Contest. This fall Patricia Kaas will return to the spotlight with a very special project: “Kaas Chante Piaf” (“Kaas Sings Piaf”) is her personal tribute to arguably the biggest female star of French music, the renowned Edith Piaf.

Two Eurovision Duets

  Former Participants – In the last few days two high-profile Eurovision duets have been released. Alexander Rybak (1st for Norway, 2009) and Paula Selig (3rd for Romania, 2010) recorded the song “I’ll show you“. Surprisingly there are high notes by Paula as well as violin playing by Alexander. Furthermore, Eurovision winners Dima Bilan (2008 for Russia) and Nikki Jamal (2011 for Azerbaijan) recorded the song “Come into my world” together, which was presented in Baku. Listen to the songs here:

Ireland: Former Irish Winners Announce Eurovision Tour

Ireland – Ireland, who hold the record for the most number of Eurovision wins, will see their former winners go on a nationwide tour together. The tour will feature Johnny Logan (1980 and 1987), Dana (1970), Linda Martin (1992) – pictured left, Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan (1994) and Niamh Kavanagh (1993). There will be a 12-date tour around Ireland in October.

Ireland: Linda Martin Looks at Eurovisions Past and Future

Ireland – Eurovision often welcomes back former entrants. This year sees Linda Martin involved again as a mentor of the Irish entry. Linda narrowly lost in 1984 but went on to win in 1992. She has just been interviewed talking about some of her memories from former Song Contests, and she looks ahead to Baku 2012. See what she’s got to say about some of this year’s entries and how she misses the orchestra.

Eurovision History Chat: Yugoslavia

  ESC History Chat – 20 years ago, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia began its breakup culminating in the eventual independence of all its former member republics, most of which have joined Eurovision as independent countries. Within Eurovision, Yugoslavia, as a Communist country that looked West while many of its neighbours looked East, provided a

And What Is…Doing?: Sandie Shaw Rings in the New Year

United Kingdom – Sixties pop icon Sandie Shaw was one of the headline acts on Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny; which aired on UK BBC2 on the night of New Year’s Eve. Appearing alongside acts such as Cyndi Lauper, Caro Emerald, Jessie J, James Morrisson and Imelda May, 64-year old Shaw delighted the audience with energetic performances of her chart-topping hits Always Something There to Remind Me and Long Live Love.

Music tip: Max Mutzke – Let it happen

Germany – Max Mutzke, the German participant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul (achieving a 8th place) with “Can’t wait until tonight” has presented his latest single at a German radio station. The song is calles “Let it happen” and is the first single from his new album “Homework soul”. Thee single will be released August 6th. In an interview with another radio station the host pointed out the similarity with Lena’s “Satellite”. Especially the intro is very very similar, but judge for yourself. Nevertheless I like the song a lot and wanted to share it with you:

Alexander Rybak wants to write a song for Lena

The Sunday edition of the “Berliner Zeitung” reports that Alexander Rybak wants to write a song for Lena. “Of course we are in contact. I have to see her again soon. “I have a dream with Lena and that is to write a song for her and to record it with a producer in Sweden” Rybak said. “She only has to come and sing!” all other expenses and the organization will be done by Rybak. He had the idea for this project during a performance with Lena in German TV show “tv total” in Oslo. Rybak had accompanied Lena to her song “Satellite”, which would go on and win the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 making Lena his successor. About the kiss during the presentation