It's Hotel FM for Romania!

After a MARATHON of a preselection, spanning over five hours (and technically, two years!), the Romanians have come up with their representative to Eurovision for 2011.  After coming in 4th place during last year's Selecţia Naţională with their song "Come as One", Oradea-based band Hotel FM will go to Düsseldorf with their song "Change".


It's a light, poppy song that reminds me a bit of Simon Mathew's "All Night Long" for Denmark from a few years back.  It's got a light, happy message that often fits nicely into Eurovision, and it's completely inoffensive.  (Plus, it seems that the lead singer is British, which would explain why his English is so flawless!)  I'm not sure if it's as much of a standout as Paula and Ovi's "Playing with Fire" from last year, which took Romania to a 3rd place finish.  But this will likely crack into the finals, with 12 points from Moldova, as per usual. 

This is likely my last message to you all in 2010 (although it's already past midnight in Europe!)...I just want to wish all of my readers the happiest, healthiest, and most prosperous year for 2011!  I hope to continue bringing you all the best in news, opinions, and predictions...and I hope you're along for the ride with me!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
-Samantha

This just in: Yüksek Sadakat for Turkey

Within the last few moments, Turkish network TRT has announced that rock band Yüksek Sadakat (literally, "High Fidelity") will be representing the nation in Germany.  The group was formed in 1997, but really hit the big time in early 2006.  They're known for blending pop-rock with traditional Turkish sounds.  This selection not only defies the rumors of either Atiye Deniz or Tarkan's participation in the contest this year (then again, rumors surround Tarkan nearly every year), but it also goes against the recent trend for the Turks to alternate between rock and hip-shaking pop!

More information is coming...but from all indications, this is not a bad way to kick off the New Year!  (You know how I love it when the Turks rock the house!)

43 Nations in Düsseldorf

We all knew that the EBU would be releasing the official list of participating nations sometime after Christmas, and, as anticipated, they came through for us on New Year's Eve!  After the dust has all settled, it looks like we will, in fact, have 43 nations competing in Eurovision 2011.  Slovakia, after hemming and hawing over their decision, has decided to join the party in Germany, along with the aforementioned returns from San Marino, Hungary, Italy, and Austria.  Also, this will be the first ESC since Kiev in 2005 where there have been no withdrawals!  Furthermore, as Italy has been such a major financial contributor to the EBU, they automatically qualify for the final as a member of the newly-minted "Big Five", alongside France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and hosts Germany.

The complete list of participating nations, along with their national broadcasters, is after the jump:

Another country returns to Eurovision!

...And the good news continues to come in!  Adding to a string of nations returning to the ESC stage, today brought news of Hungarian broadcaster MTV (no, not that MTV...we're talking Magyar Televízió!) confirming that they will, in fact, be represented in Düsseldorf!  That makes the 4th nation returning to the competition (including Austria, Italy, and San Marino).  Hungary's last participation was back in 2009, with stage performer Zoltan "Zoli" Ádok's disco-pop number "Dance with Me", which didn't qualify for the finals.  (Zoli's performance did, however, win the infamous "Barbara Dex Award", a dubious honor presented to the evening's worst-dressed performer.)

The jury is still out on Slovakia, so to speak.  They had said back in early December that 2011 was a no-go, but rumors of their participation still hovered around them.  Supposedly, they had applied to be on the provisional list of participants, with the option of withdrawing their names by Christmastime.  We haven't heard any confirmations one way or the other, so we'll have to wait for the EBU's official verdict on who's in and who's out, which should come any day now.  If Slovakia rejoins the competition, that means that the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest will be tied with 2008 for the record as the biggest event ever, with 43 participating nations!  Unfortunately, applications from Liechtenstein and Qatar to join the EBU were rejected for the time being, so we won't see any debuts from them (or any other nation) at the moment.  But there's always 2012!

Look for the ESC Insider on Facebook and Twitter!

Just a quick note: I've just created a Facebook page for the ESC Insider.  Look us up, "like" us, and join in the fun!  Start a discussion, ask questions, and write up reviews and opinions of your own!  I also just created an account on Twitter (@escinsider), which I'll try to sync up with the facebook updates.  (I'm new to the world of Twitter, so bear with me as I learn the basics!)

I look forward to seeing you there!  Spread the word, and join the party!
-Samantha

It's Aurela Gaçe for Albania!

Well, the 2010 Festivali i Këngës has just wrapped up, and with a commanding victory, Albania has decided that their representative in Düsseldorf will be Aurela Gaçe, with her song "Kënga Ime (My Song)".  The 36-year old Aurela is no newcomer to the Albanian music scene; she won the FiK in 1999 and 2001, soon before her nation took part in Eurovision.  Albania, in the past, has taken advantage of the long time frame between their National Selection and Eurovision itself to edit, remix, and even translate their song into English (which shouldn't be difficult, as Aurela currently resides in New York), so it's hard to say what Albania's final version will look and sound like.  As it now stands, the song is over the 3 minute time length that Eurovision rules enforce, so something will have to change from the original version to the one we'll see on stage in Germany.

(I'd normally post the video of the song here, but it seems that most of the versions of "Kënga Ime" that were on YouTube or DailyMotion have either been removed or have disabled embedding...but here's a link!)

What do you think?  How does it stack up to last year's entry, "Nuk Mundem Pa Ty/It's All About You" from the lovely Juliana Pasha?  It came in 16th place in Oslo's final, after a 6th place semifinal finish.  Do you think Aurela will be able to best Juliana's benchmark, or even the national-record 7th place, set by Anjeza Shahini's "The Image of You" back in 2004?  I like the drama that Aurela brings to the song (not to mention her incredibly strong vocal prowess), and I'm still looking for lyrics to connect to the powerful melody.  Let's see what the future holds for this one!

Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to take a quick moment to wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas, Happy (Belated) Hanukkah, Festive Yule, and best wishes for every other holiday that I might be missing.  I still feel so honored and touched to see my flag counter grow, adding another country to my list.  (I'd still love to know more about you, my readers...feel free to leave comments!)  No matter where you are, or who you are, I hope the joy and spirit of the season reaches you.

Albania will be giving us their customary Christmas gift in a few hours with the announcement of the winner of the 49th Festivali i Këngës, which has become their national preselection for Eurovision.  As soon as it's announced, I'll pass along the news to you all!  (And I know that I'm supposed to be impartial, but if you must know, I'm supporting Kamela Islamaj all the way!  She rocked the FiK last year with Gjëra të thjeshta, and she's following it up with more rock...I'd love to know more about her, so if anyone from Albania or Kosovo has more information on her biography or singing career, please share it with us!  Any album out, possibly?)