Ireland

Niamh Kavanagh (Ireland 1993, 2010) talks to EuroVisionary.com

Posted 6 March, 2010 - 06:50 by Denis McEvoy

Niamh Kavanagh & Songwriting team © Denis McEvoy

Niamh Kavanagh has already won the Eurovision Song Contest once, now 17 years after her first win she's going to try it again for Ireland. She talks to us about her song, her plans for Oslo and her memories of the 1993 contest in Milstreet.

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Marty Whelan: "we have our tipple in the afternoon and we sober up for the event"

Posted 6 March, 2010 - 06:28 by Denis McEvoy

Marty Whelan has commentated on the Eurovision Song Contest for RTÉ since Pat Kenny left the role after the 1999 contest. He spoke with EuroVisionary.com about his renewed enthusiam in Ireland's Eurovision effort and he and Terry Wogan sneaking Baileys into their commentator's boxes.

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Eurosong 2010 host, Ryan Tubridy talks to EuroVisionary.com

Posted 6 March, 2010 - 06:12 by Denis McEvoy

Ryan Tubridy hosted his first Eurosong last night. He talked to us about his thoughts on taking over the Late Late Show, Ireland's 2010 entry and the national final that chose it.

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Niall Mooney: "there was something left to do"

Posted 6 March, 2010 - 05:04 by Denis McEvoy

Niall Mooney and Jonas Gladnikoff won the Irish national final, Eurosong, for the second year in a row last night. We caught up with Niall at after the show to get his feelings on this year's entry and what they've learnt from last year.

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Niamh Kavanagh to try to do the double for Ireland

Posted 6 March, 2010 - 00:40 by Charlotte Jensen

Ireland hasn't reached the final of the Eurovision Song Contest the past two years. Tonight they decided that it will be up to Niamh Kavanagh to try to do the double after winning the contest for Ireland back in 1993. This time her song is called It's For You and is written by the team who also wrote last year's Irish entry.

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Eurosong 2010: a preview of tonight's show

Posted 5 March, 2010 - 03:39 by Denis McEvoy

Eurosong 2010 will take place tonight at RTÉ studios in Donnybrook in Dublin. There are five songs that will fight it out to represent Ireland the the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo.

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Niamh Kavanagh and Ralph Siegel in Eurosong 2010

Posted 10 February, 2010 - 21:01 by Denis McEvoy

RTÉ have announced the five finalists for Eurosong 2010 and among them are 1993 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Niamh Kavanagh and 1982 winning songwriter Ralph Siegel. The final will take place on March 5 as part of the Late Late Show on RTÉ 1.

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Big names rumoured for Eurosong 2010

Posted 5 February, 2010 - 21:43 by Denis McEvoy

The deadline for submitting entries to RTÉ for Eurosong 2010, the Irish selection procedure, closed on February 1. The five-man jury, led by Linda Martin, are believed to have selected the lucky six finalists for the show on March 5.

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Ireland - Eurosong

Date:

5 Mar 2010

1992

Basic information

Date:

9 May 1992

Venue:

Isstadion, MalmöMässan, Malmö, Sweden

Broadcaster:

SVT

Presenter(s):

Harald Treutiger and Lydia Capolicchio

About the contest:

Sweden’s third city, Malmö, was chosen to play host to the 37th contest in the home of the local ice-hockey team. Because The Netherlands returned after withdrawing the year before, and no country pulled out, a new record number of 23 countries took part. Yugoslavia was in its final days as a country, and its break up would have major implications for the future of the contest.

Linda Martin helped Johnny Logan achieve the full set of victories. In 1980, he won as a singer. In 1987 he won as singer/songwriter and this time, he won as the writer. Why Me? Had always been the favourite, although the competition was of a higher standard than Johnny had previously faced.

The United Kingdom had got used to finishing in the top five, but fortunes had recently been on the wane. In an effort to improve things, the BBC changed the selection process from a multi artist contest, to one singer format. West End star, Michael Ball, was persuaded to take up the baton. The result was a record number of entries for the ‘A Song For Europe’ contest. Eight songs were chosen and the winner was written by three young unknowns, who had been up against more established songwriters. Michael entertained everyone in Malmö and gave one of the all time great performances in achieving second place.

Serafin, Evridiki and Tony Wegas made their first Eurovision appearances, while Linda Marin, Mia Martini and Sigga from Iceland’s Heart 2 Heart made their second, and Wind its third.

The points were awarded in the usual way. Juries awarded points from 1-8, then 10 and finally 12.

Trivia:

Swiss singer Daisy Auvray had finished second in the national final, but travelled to the contest courtesy of a disqualification. Geraldine Olivier had won with the song 'Soliel Soliel', which was in German despite the French title. The song had originally been written in French and entered through the French arm of the Swiss national television company. When it was rejected, the lyrics were changed to German and the song re-entered through the German arm of the television company. After it won, the French company protested and the song was withdrawn, but not before 'Soliel Soliel' had been released as a single with the ‘Eurovision 1992’ pressing.

About the songs:

Serafin	Spain - Serafin - Todo Esto Es La Música (Spanish) Music/Lyrics: Alfredo Valbuena, Luis Miguelez/Luis Miguelez Conductor: Javier Losada Serafin gave the contest a melodic and solid opening. Everything was uncomplicated, from the tune to the presentation.
Morgane	Belgium - Morgane - Nous On Veut Des Violons (French) Music/Lyrics: Claude Barzotti/Anne-Marie Gaspard Conductor: Frank Fievez Sixteen year old Morgane arrived in Malmö fresh from her debut single topping the Belgian charts. Nous On Veut Des Violons was her second release and she performed with the shy charm that had won over the accredited journalists all week during rehearsals. Given the title, there are no surprises contained within the arrangement.
Dafna	Israel - Dafna - Ze Rak Sport (Hebrew) Music/Lyrics: Kobi Oshrat/Ehud Manor Conductor: Kobi Oshrat Dafna came through one of the highest quality national finals of the year. Her backing singers had problems in rehearsals with the positioning of their microphones, which were eventually hung around their necks. Ze Rak Sport is up-tempo and was suitable in what was an Olympic year.
Aylin Vatankos	Turkey - Aylin Vatankos - Yaz Bitti (Turkish) Music/Lyrics: Aldogan Simsekyay/Aylin Ucanlar~ Conductor: Aydin Özari It was a family affair for Turkey. The composer (who somewhat worryingly hit the very high note every time) and his sons made up Aylin’s backing group. The song is flavoured with Turkish and European influences and is a bit underwhelming.
Cleopatra	Greece - Cleopatra - Olou Tou Kosmou I Elpida (Greek) Music/Lyrics: Christos Lagos/Christos Lagos Conductor: Haris Andreadis Traditional Greek rhythms and melody made this a strong contender, as did Cleopatra’s performance.
Kali	France - Kali - Monté La Riviè (French) Music/Lyrics: Kali/Rémi Bellenchombre Conductor: Magdi Vasco Noverraz This is the first, and so far last, Eurovision song to be sung in Creole. France continued its recent trend of entering songs with music from specific parts of the world. The tactic had earned it two successive second places, but didn’t work this time.
Christer Björkmann	Sweden - Christer Björkmann - I Morgon är En Annan Dag (Swedish) Music/Lyrics: Niklas Strömstedt/Niklas Strömstedt Conductor: Anders Berglund The hometown favourite had a lovely ballad. However, while it moves along freely and unspectacularly, it lacked the impact to make it memorable in a field of 22 songs.
Diná	Portugal - Diná - Amor D'água Fresca (Portuguese) Music/Lyrics: Dina/Rosa Lobato de Faria Conductor: Carlos Alberto Moniz Diminutive Dina was very lively and so she should have been. There are more fruits than a supermarket in her song, which is a cheerful clap-along full of bounce.
Evridiki	Cyprus - Evridiki - Teriazoume (Greek) Music/Lyrics: George Theophanous/George Theophanous Conductor: George Theophanous Written by Evridiki’s husband, Teriazoume is quietly powerful. The false endings keep the listener guessing and Evridiki was seductive in her performance.
Mary Spiteri	Malta - Mary Spiteri - Little Child (English) Music/Lyrics: Georgina Abela/Raymond Mahoney Conductor: Paul Abela Mary’s big ballad came across very well in the Isstadion, but unfortunately, some of the grandness was lost through the camera lens. Mary had the voice necessary to give the vocal performance the song needed to be a contender.
Heart 2 Heart	Iceland - Heart 2 Heart - Nei Eða Já (Icelandic) Music/Lyrics: Fredrik Karlsson, Grétar Örvarsson/Stefán Hilmarsson Conductor: Nigel Wright Heart 2 Heart was essentially Stjórnin, the group that represented Iceland in 1990, with a few more members. The song was a crowd pleaser and a mood lifter.
Pave	Finland - Pave - Yamma Yamma (Finnish) Music/Lyrics: Pave/Heikki Haarma Conductor: Olli Ahvenlahti Pave seemed to have aspirations to be a rocker, but rock songs don’t have lyrics like Yamma Yamma does. The whole chorus is that one word repeated several times
Daisy Auvray	Switzerland - Daisy Auvray - Mister Music Man (French) Music/Lyrics: Gordon Dent/Gordon Dent Conductor: Roby Seidel Daisy was only in the contest because the song that won the Swiss final was disqualified. They should have stuck with the other song! Mister Music Man is really just The Stripper with lyrics.
Marion Welter	Luxembourg - Marion Welter and Kontinent - Sou Fräi (Luxembourgish) Music/Lyrics: Jang Linster, Ab van Goor/Jang Linster, Ab van Goor Conductor: Christian Jacob Sou Fräi is only the second cong to represent Luxembourg is Luxembourgish instead of French. Her outfit looked not so much spray painted as splash painted. The song is a nice mid-tempo number which you will hum along to, but won’t make you dash for the ‘repeat’ button.
Tony Wegas	Austria - Tony Wegas - Zusammen Geh'n (German) Music/Lyrics: Dieter Bohlen/Joachim Horn-Bernges Conductor: Leon Ives A big personality with a big voice; it’s one of Austria’s best, but perhaps it’s position in the running order, plonked immediately before the eventual top two, did it no favours. Tony’s voice sounded slightly strained in some sections of his epic ballad.
Michael Ball	United Kingdom - Michael Ball - One Step Out Of Time (English) Music/Lyrics: Paul Davies, Tony Ryan, Victor Stratton/Paul Davies, Tony Ryan, Victor Stratton Conductor: Ronnie Hazlehurst Michael earned every penny of the large fee he was reported as having been paid by the BBC. His voice, charismatic stage presence and dynamic performance lifted One Step Out Of Time beyond where this up-tempo song would otherwise have finished.
Linda Martin	Ireland - Linda Martin - Why Me? (English) Music/Lyrics: Johnny Logan/Johnny Logan Conductor: Noel Kelehan Johnny Logan completed his hat-trick of victories with another ballad. Linda was an experienced singer and paced herself to be at her peak on the big night.
Lotte Nilsson and Kenny Lübcke	Denmark - Lotte Nilsson and Kenny Lübcke - Ålt Det Som Ingen Ser (Danish) Music/Lyrics: Carsten Warming/Carsten Warming Conductor: Henrik Krogsgaard This is not a lovey-dovey duet expressing eternal love. It’s a couple trying to sort out their relationship but, being Danish, it’s done in a jolly way.
Mia Martini	Italy - Mia Martini - Rapsodia (Italy) Music/Lyrics: Giuseppe Dati/Giancarlo Bigazzi Conductor: Marco Falagiani Having finished second in the Sanremo festival, Mimì, as she was affectionately known, was asked to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time. This is a true Italian song, full of sincerity, emotion, intensity, with a hint of desperation.
Extra Nena	Yugoslavia - Extra Nena - Ljubim Te Pesmama (Serbo-Croat) Music/Lyrics: Rade Radivojevic/Gale Jankovic Conductor: Anders Berglund This proved to be Yugoslavia’s last entry. In fact, the country was already started to disintegrate. It went out in style with a song that starts softly and builds verse by verse to end the song and Yugoslavia’s participation on a high musically, if not high on the scoreboard.
Merethe Trøan	Norway - Merethe Trøan - Visjoner (Norwegian) Music/Lyrics: Robert Morley/Eva Jansen Conductor: Rolf Lôvland Perky Merethe won many friends with her jolly personality while she was in Malmö. She even found time to laugh while she performed her anthem to save the planet, a theme that would crop up with boring regularity in years to come.
Wind 1992	Germany - Wind - Träume Sind Für Alle Da (German) Music/Lyrics: Ralph Siegel/Bernd Meinunger Conductor: Norbert Daum The same name, but a very different line up to the Wind of the 1985 and 1987 contests. The subject matter is the same, ’peace for all’, but the result was more deserved than the previous two.
Humphrey Campbell	The Netherlands - Humphrey Campbell - Wijs Me De Weg (Dutch) Music/Lyrics: Edwin Schimscheimer/Edwin Schimscheimer Conductor: Harry van Hoof The accordion made a rare appearance. Wijs Me De Weg tries to be a floor filler of a dance tune, but doesn’t quite achieve it. That said, it’s still a worthy tune and may have benefited from using a backing track rather than the orchestra.