The Weekend Preview, 2/18

And another big weekend kicks off for Eurofans everywhere!

First, we've got the Finals of "Unser Song Für Deutschland", Germany's national final.  Lena will sing the six remaining songs from the two semifinals, and within the next few hours we should know the song that will represent the home country this year.  And the finalists are:
Maybe (Daniel Schaub, Pär Lammers) 
Taken by a Stranger (Gus Seyffert, Nicole Morier, Monica Birkenes) 
What happened to me (Lena Meyer-Landrut, Stefan Raab) 
A million and one (Errol Rennalls, Stavros Ioannou) 
Push forward (Daniel Schaub, Pär Lammers) 
Mama told me (Lena Meyer-Landrut, Stefan Raab)

Also tonight, Spain will select their Song/Singer combination.  Last week, the performers were narrowed down to Lucía Pérez, Melissa, or boy-band Auryn.  Each act will perform three unique songs each, and after a 50/50 jury/audience vote, we will know who will carry the Spanish flag to Düsseldorf!

Auryn:
El sol brillará (Rafael de Alba)
Evangelyne (Kjell Jennstig, Dejan Belgrenius & Kristin Molin)
Volver (Primoz Poglajen, Jonas Gladnikoff, Camilla Gottschalck & Christina Schilling)

Lucía Pérez:
Abrázame (Antonio Sánchez-Ohlsson & Thomas G.son)
C’est la vie! It’s allright (W&M, Nestor Geli, Susie Päivärinta, P. Andersson & M. Lindberg)
Que me quiten lo bailao (Rafael Artesero Herrero)

Melissa:
Diamonds (Nestor Geli, Susie Päivärinta, Pär Lönn)
Eos (Jesús Cañadilla & Alejandro de Pinedo)
Sueños rotos (Primoz Poglajen, Jonas Gladnikoff, Camilla Gottschalck, Christina Schilling)

On Saturday, Georgia will select their entry.  From seven entries,  only one will have the honor of becoming their nation's fourth official Eurovision entry (fifth, if you count their withdrawn 2009 entry!).  You can listen to the songs here.
Temo Sajaia - Soldier song
Salome Korkotashvili – Love
Sweet Pills – Face to face
Dito Lagvilava and November – New day
Nini Shermadini – Rejected
The Georgians –  Loved, seen, dreaming
Eldrine – One more day


The Final official selection this weekend is expected from Italy, as the annual San Remo Festival will wrap up.  Now, rather than simply having the winner go on to compete at Eurovision, a special jury made up of local dignitaries, network officials, and one of the festival's hosts will select the nation's first representative in fourteen years.  San Remo this year includes two competitions under one umbrella: one contest for up-and-coming artists and another for established stars.  It's still unclear if the jury will select a new name or a well-known entity for their representative, but hopefully we'll find out soon.
Anna Tatangelo - Bastardo
Anna Oxa -  La mia anima d'uomo
Luca Madonia with Franco Battiato - L'Alieno
Max Pezzali - Il mio secondo tempo
Roberto Vecchioni - Chiamami ancora amore
Tricarico -  3 colori
Albano Carrisi - Amanda è libera
Nathalie - Vivo sospesa
Modá with Emma Marrone - Arriverá
Davide Van De Sfroos - Yanez
Patty Pravo - Il vento e le rose
Giusy Ferreri - Il mare immenso
La Crus - Io confesso
Luca Barbarossa and Raquel del Rosario - Fino in fondo

(Just for the record, my favorites are Modà feat. Emma, Nathalie Giannitrapani, Giusi Ferreri, and Anna Tatangelo!)

We can also expect semifinals from Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden...phew!