Eurovision Song Contest 2017

[haiducii]

In less than 83 days Eurovision Song Contest 2017 begins. The 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine, following Ukraine's victory at the 2016 contest in Stockholm with the song "1944", written and performed by Jamala.

This will be the second time the contest takes place in Kiev, after 2005, and the fourth Eurovision event after hosting the Junior Eurovision Song Contests in 2009 and 2013. The contest is expected to consist of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and the final on 13 May 2017.

Forty-three countries will participate in the 2017 contest. Portugal and Romania are to return to the contest, both having been absent from the 2016 edition. After returning in 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina has again withdrawn due to financial difficulties.

 

[haiducii]

Germany: Levina - Perfect Life

Isabella "Levina" Lueen, more commonly known as Levina, has won the German national selection Eurovision Song Contest - Unser Song 2017 with the song Perfect Life.For the first time ever, international viewers were able to have their say in who should represent Germany in 2017, using a feature on the official Eurovision Song Contest app, Eurovision Vibes.

Levina is 25 and lives in Berlin. She is currently studying Music Management at the London College of Music. She writes soul and pop songs, she received singing and piano lessons at the age of nine, and played in children's musicals until her 16th birthday. She regularly plays in bars with her band.

Perfect Life comes from the American songwriters Lindy Robbins, Dave Bassett and Lindsey Ray. Lindy Robbins said; "The song Perfect Life is particularly important to me, because it is about taking risks and going after your dreams - life is an adventure, and the journey is about!"

 

[haiducii]

Belarus: Naviband - Historyja Majho Zyccia

Naviband have been chosen to represent Belarus at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Historyja majho zyccia. NAVI (band) are a Belarusian indie pop duo. The group is led by Arciom Lukjanienka (vocals, guitar) and Ksienija Žuk (vocals, keyboards). It is the first Belarusian Eurovision entry to be performed in the Belarusian language.

The show was hosted by popular TV presenter Olga Ryzhikova and Teo who represented Belarus at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with his song Cheesecake.

Belarus has participated in the the Eurovision Song Contest every year since 2004. The country achieved its best placing in 2007 with Work Your Magic performed by Dmitry Koldun which finished 6th in the Grand Final in Helsinki.

 

[haiducii]

United Kingdom: Lucie Jones - Never Give Up On You

Lucie Jones has won Eurovision: You Decide tonight at the Eventim Apollo in London, and will represent the United Kingdom in Kyiv with the song Never Give Up On You. The song was co-written by Emmelie de Forest, who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Denmark in 2013 with the song Only Teardrops.

Lucie Bethan Jones is a Welsh singer, actress, and model. Jones first came to prominence while competing on series 6 of The X Factor UK in 2009, where she placed eighth.

After The X Factor Lucie was signed up to play the role of Cosette in the West End production of Les Miserables, and in 2015 as Molly in the Chinese tour of Ghost The Musical, and in 2016 as Maureen in the UK tour of Rent. Her television work includes role in Midsomer Murders and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

 

[haiducii]

Spain: Manel Navarro - Do It for Your Lover

Objetivo Eurovisión, the Spanish national final for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest finished in Madrid with Manel Navarro as the winner with the song Do It For Your Lover.

Manel Navarro (20) participates with a pop song of his own, Do It For Your Lover. The young singer-songwriter from Sabadell, Barcelona, writes in English with acoustic and electronic arrangements, but always with his guitar. He started uploading covers on social media, and three years ago he excelled with his acoustic cover of Drake's Hold On, We're Going Home.

 

[haiducii]

France: Alma - Requiem

Following the huge success of Amir, France’s representative in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, France 2 and France 4 have joined forces once again in 2017. The upcoming young talent Alma will fly the flag for France in Kyiv with her song Requiem which was written and composed by Nazim Khaled.

After finishing a business degree, Alma (28) decided to devote herself to her lifelong passion; music and so she moved to Paris to pursue her dream. It was in the French capital that she met songwriter Nazim, who has also written for Amir, who finished 6th for France in the Eurovision Song Contest last year. Nazim wrote most of the songs of Alma’s debut album which will be released on 5th May 2017.

“I’m deeply honoured to have been selected to represent my country, France, at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest”, said Alma. “I strongly hope to count on the public’s love and support to deliver the best performance possible”, she added.

 

[haiducii]

Italy: Francesco Gabbani - Occidentali's Karma

Francesco Gabbani has just been crowned winner of Sanremo 2017 with the song Occidentali's Karma. The popular Italian Song Contest is also used as the Italian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest as the Italian broadcaster RAI offers the winner to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest. For Kyiv 2017 Gabbani has accepted and he will perform the song Occidentali's Karma in May.

Francesco was born in Carrara in 1982. He debuted at the Festival last year winning the Newcomers' category, and also won the critics' prize, with Amen. His histrionic lyrics and stage presence immediately become a favourite of the public. His song Occidentali's Karma (Western karma) was the only one this year that presented a dance routine, and it's an ironic reflection on the attraction that Western people have for the spirituality of oriental cultures.

"You can guess from the title the combination of two different cultures. The lyrics look like a jumble of random words, but I think there are some ideas in them to think about the world today. They are ironic, in a provocative way, about our clumsy attempt to ape the Eastern habits to find inner peace. The truth is that in other people's cultures we will always be tourists”, the winner of Sanremo told to the magazine TV Sorrisi e Canzoni.

 

[haiducii]

Switzerland: Timebelle - Apollo

The group Timebelle won the Swiss national selection for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, taking their song Apollo to Kyiv. The song was composed by Elias Näslin, Nicolas Günthardt and Alessandra Günthardt.

Timebelle, consisting of lead vocalist Miruna Manescu, drummer Samuel Forster and multi-instrumentalist Emanuel Daniel Andriescu, has its roots in the Swiss city of Bern, where it was formed while its members were students at the local university. Miruna Manescu and Emanuel Daniel Andriescu both have Romanian roots. The name of the band is derived from the Zytglogge which is one of the main sights of Bern.

They took part in the Swiss national selection before, back in 2015, with Singing About Love, but placed second in the Swiss national final.

 

[haiducii]

Malta: Claudia Faniello - Breathlessly

Claudia Faniello (28) has won the Maltese national selection with the song Breathlessly and will represent Malta in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. The winning song Breathlessly is composed by Philip Vella, Sean Vella and Gerard James Borg.

60 songs were shortlisted from the submissions before the final 16 entries were chosen. Claudia Faniello becomes the 30th act to represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest. She was chosen solely through televoting, and achieved the maximum possible.

She feel Breathlessly captures so many special emotions in just one song. She said that, “If it manages to touch people the way it has touched me, then I will be happy. After all, the most beautiful things in this world need to be felt with the heart.”

 

[haiducii]

Hungary: Joci Pápai - Origo

Joci Pápai has won the Hungarian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, A Dal 2017, with the song Origo and will thus represent Hungary in Kyiv. The sixth edition of the competition saw 30 acts battle for a ticket to Ukraine in May. The winning song was decided by a combination of jury and public votes.

Joci Pápai, is 35 years old and comes from Tata in Hungary. His first public grand debut was in 2005 when he took part of the show Megasztár. He was eliminated in the consolation rounds but was determined to continue in music. His first bigger success was with the song Ne nézz így rám in 2006 and after that he had several hits, both solo and with the rapper Majka.

 

[haiducii]

Poland: Kasia Moś - Flashlight

Kasia Moś has won the Polish national selection with the song Flashlight and will represent Poland in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. The winner was selected by a combination of jury and public votes. Kasia Moś beat nine other participants to go on to become the 20th act to represent Poland in the competition. During the announcement, Kasia could barely believe that she had won. Once the joyful shock had settled, she could finally go up on stage to perform her song once more.

Kasia was born into a musical family and studied the cello at secondary school. In 2015 she released her first album, Inspiration, for which she wrote the majority of the songs. Kasia has performed in some of the biggest festivals in Poland and played several theatre roles. She already participated in the Polish national final last year with the song Addiction.

 

[haiducii]

Albania: Lindita - World

The singer Lindita, with the song Botë (translates as World), won the 55th Festivali i Këngës which took place in Tirana in December 2016, and will now represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.

Lindita Halimi, 27, better known as Linda Halimi or simply as Lindita and born in Kosovo, is a singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the sixth edition of the competition Top Fest. In 2013 she moved to the United States where she has participated in the 2016 edition of American Idol.

 

[haiducii]

Finland: Norma John - Blackbird

Norma John, the indie pop duo, is the winner of UMK 2017, the national final of Finland for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, and will sing the song Blackbird in Kyiv in May. Despite the predictions, the band won both the international jury and the public votes and will represent Finland in Ukraine next May.

Two longtime friends Leena and Lasse form an indie pop duo by the name of Norma John. Their music has a strong cinematic feel and it oozes harsh Scandinavian beauty. “We really needed to take the next step with our music and UMK feels like the right forum to take that step.” Norma John’s stunningly beautiful Blackbird is all about splitting up and about the way you feel when every single thing reminds you of the past.

 

[haiducii]

Georgia: Tako Gachechiladze - Keep the Faith

Tako Gachechiladze will represent Georgia in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Keep The Faith. The winner was decided by a combination international jury and public votes. The show was broadcast live from Tbilisi's Philharmonic Concert Hall. Keep The Faith was written by Tako herself and will be the 10th Georgian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Tako Gachechiladze is a Georgian singer, songwriter, and actress. As a member of the quartet Stephane & 3G, she was going to represent Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "We Don't Wanna Put In", until the group's entry was disqualified for political content. She also took part in Georgia's 2008 national final, with the song "Me and My Funky", placing tenth.

Georgia has won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest a record three times, in 2008, 2011 and 2016.

 

[haiducii]

Make Eurovision Fun Again!

I have nothing against ballads, but this is terrible. This Eurovision will be really boring. Celebrate diversity with 30 ladyballads. Are you kidding me!? :worried:

What is with countries sending old-fashioned (outdated) over-dramatic entries like Malta ? This song is so 1996.

I’m not sure, but if this tendency continues, I’ll probably be dreaming after the second ballad in the first semifinal.

 

[Now&Forever]

I love ballads, but have to agree that there's just too many so far.
Romania has to send the amazingYodel It to liven things up a bit.
As much as I love Omar Naber, Slovenia might get a better result with BQL.

 

[haiducii]

As much as I love Omar Naber, Slovenia might get a better result with BQL.

Agree. As Slovene I really want BQL to represent us. So, my vote on Friday (the Final of EMA 2017) definitely goes to brothers Piletič.



I really hope they will win. The song is catchy and that’s only a plus. It would definitely stand out of all the balads this year.

 

[Shelter]

I'll press my thumbs Haiducii for these guys. Their song is going straight into the legs!
AAAAAAANNNNDDD - And the singer is V E R Y cute!!!

 

[haiducii]

AAAAAAANNNNDDD - And the singer is V E R Y cute!!!

:agree: He should apply for a job at he1ix studios.

 

[ihno]

I have nothing against ballads, but this is terrible. This Eurovision will be really boring. Celebrate diversity with 30 ladyballads. Are you kidding me!? :worried:

Yes, that's the incredibly stupid thing about "diversity".
It's not "diverse", it's just one old predictable stale standard replaced with a new predictable stale standard.

What is with countries sending old-fashioned (outdated) over-dramatic entries like Malta ? This song is so 1996.

I don't know what Ralph Siegel does this year.

I’m not sure, but if this tendency continues, I’ll probably be dreaming after the second ballad in the first semifinal.

I don't think I will watch the semifinals, they make the main show really boring since you've seen it all before then.