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 | SNEAK PEEK 14 (February 21st) |
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.
PLEASE NOTE : MP3's and videos are available for demonstration only and remain the copyright of the owners of the recordings contained therein. The files should NOT be downloaded or stored on your hard drive. If any of the copyright holders would like me to remove any files, please send me an email and I will do so. The wallpaper and screensavers will be downloadable and I will add instructions on how to use them once they are available. Once the official CD is released I will be withdrawing the audio files to encourage everyone to buy the CD. The video files are
for windows media player.
Earlier selections : Selection1 Selection 2 Selection 3 Selection 4 Selection 5 Selection 6 Selection 7 Selection 8 Selection 9 Selection 10 Selection 11 Selection 12 Selection 13
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ANDREAS JOHNSSON |
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"Sing For Me" (listen here) |
For many people, the Eurovision season only gets into top gear when the biggest and most popular national selection begins. Last Saturday was that day, with the start of Sweden's internationally famous Melodifestivalen. Amazingly, this year Sweden has to qualify
for the Eurovision final through the semi-final, following the disappointing result of "Las Vegas" in Kyiv. While the first Swedish qualifier was far from having the best selection of songs, one wonderful potential entry stood out from the pack and if selected could quite easily give the Swedes their fifth Eurovision Song
Contest victory. Andreas Johnsson is best known on this side of the world for his Top 5 hit "Glorious" in 2000. The now 35 year old was given a "wildcard" by Swedish television, in order to encourage different kinds of music in the Swedish selection, but even they can't have expected a song like "Sing For
Me". This joyous anthem has shades of 1960s band like The Beatles and The Kinks, and indeed dressed in his suit and cravat, Andreas bears a striking resemblance to Ray Davies, the Kinks' lead singer. On March 18th we'll get to see if Swedish televoters will dare to send something so untypical to Eurovision, but one way or another,
this song has "hit" written all over it. |
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AKCENT |
"Jokero" (listen here) |
While Sweden languishes in the semi-final, perennial Eurovision underachievers Romania find themselves as an automatic finalist, following their Top 3 result in 2005. This week Romania chooses its entry for Athens, over three evenings, with two semi-finals and a
final on Saturday night. Popular local boyband Akcent are seen as one of the big favourites to make it through, with this catchy dance track which has already been a sizeable hit in Romania, and where the video is a staple on local music channels. The one thing that may hinder the chances of "Jokero" getting to Athens
is the fact that there is a lot of synthesized vocals, which may be very difficult to replicate live on stage.
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VICKY LEANDROS |
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"Don't Break My Heart" (listen here) |
Now here's a blast from Eurovision's past. Vicky Leandros was born on the Greek island of Corfu in in either 1949 or 1952, depending on which biography you read. Either way she first came to international attention singing "L'Amour Est Bleu" for
Luxembourg in the 1967. The song only finished 4th in Vienna, but went on to be massive international hit. A successful international musical career followed, and Vicky ended up with her own television series which was shown all over Europe. In 1973 Vicky recorded the song "Dann Kast Du" with the intention of representing
Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest. German television decided they wanted a national final and the song was withdrawn, translated to French as "Apres Toi" and became Luxembourg's entry, going on to win the contest in Edinburgh. Translated to "Come What May" it became one of Eurovision's biggest sellers and a
string of European hits followed. Vicky became one of Germany's biggest selling recording stars of the 1970s and her fame also spread as far afield as South Africa, where she became hugely popular. Amazingly over thirty years later, Vicky may finally represent Germany, where she has lived for many years, with the big ballad "Don't
Break My Heat", which she co-wrote. Her bid to return to her native country and become the only Greek born singer in Athens will be decided on March 9th, in a three song German final, which will also look back at the 50 years of the Eurovision Song Contest.
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