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 | SNEAK PEEK |
Over the next few weeks I am presenting some songs to listen out for in the Eurovision selections. Given bandwidth limits I'm only leaving the soundfiles online for a limited period, but please come back regularly to hear other
potential Eurovision entries.
Earlier selections : Selection1 Selection 2 Selection 3 Selection 4 Selection 5 Selection 6 Selection 7 Selection 8
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OLIVIA LEWIS |
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"Spare A Moment" |
We're now less than a week away from the annual marathon that is the Maltese Eurovision selection. This is a show that has been known to go for almost five hours and is the true test of the stamina of any Eurovision fan. This year a relatively modest 18 songs are
in competition, so unlike 2005 we might actually see the show finish before midnight. Among the songs in competition is "Spare A Moment" sung by Olivia Lewis. This talented and versatile Maltese singer equals Norway's Tor Endresen for persistence in trying to get to Eurovision. This will be her tenth successive Maltese final,
and last year she came within a whisker of going to Kyiv, when her song "Deja Vu" finished a very close second to Chiara's "Angel". This year Olivia has a ballad, and it's certainly a strong contender to give Olivia her long overdue Eurovision ticket. There will be more "sneak peeks2 of other Maltese finalists
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ANNIKA EKLUND |
"Shanghain Valot"(The Lights Of Shanghai) |
Finland's long drawn out Eurovision selection had its third semi-final on Friday 27th January, and among the three songs which progressed to the final was this amazingly retro kitsch song. This old style disco song has shades of a James Bond theme and I must admit
that I really love it (well I was a "boy DJ" in the late 1970's). 26 year old Annika Eklund was born in Vaasa and nowadays lives in Jyväskylä and she is one of the popular artists especially in "schlager" department. She was chosen in 1997 as the Lavatähti (Stagestar) of the year and in 2001 she was crown as the
"Tango Princess" in Seinäjoki Tangomarkkinat festival. She has already released two albums and her third is released in April and this is her first time in a Finnish final.
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PREGO |
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"Feelin'" |
After having one of their best ever Eurovision results in 2005 with the teen duo Walters & Kazaa, Latvia may look to another teenboy group to repeat the success in Athens. Prego (Olafs, Lavis and Ivo) finished 6th in last year's Latvian final with the song
"We Are One", and despite not doing a great deal since they're back to have another go. "Feelin'" is a slick well produced piece of modern pop music and what I especially like about the track is that it doesn't see the three minute limit as some kind of target. Far too many songs fill the three minutes with
tedious repetition rather than editing to a shorter length. In a very competitive Latvian competition, Prego and "Feelin'" might just be one to watch.
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