ALEXANDER RYBAK – THEN AND NOW

19 October 2015 Roy van der Merwe Leave a comment

Written by Eric Andersson

If you’re like me, you remember the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Moscow Russia, as one of the best shows ever. Moscow pulled out all the stops that year and created a truly amazing stage, using almost a third of the entire planet’s supply of LEDs. The competition was fierce, with amazing acts like sexy Sakis Rouvas of Greece singing This is Our Night, stunning Chiara of Malta singing What if We, Denmark’s incredibly dreamy Brinck singing Believe Again, and the absolutely fantastic Svetlana Loboda from the Ukraine giving us naughty Roman soldiers and her dance song, Be my Valentine! (Anti-crisis Girl). It was a Grand Final to remember!

But when the voting started, it was soon apparent that a very young, very adorable Alexander Rybak from Norway was going to sweep the points with his song Fairytale. Wait, Alexander who? What was going on? I’d barely heard of this guy, and I tend to keep my ears open when it comes to ESC contestants. But here he was scoring the highest number of points in Eurovision history.

Recently, I invited some friends over and we watched that show again, and I enjoyed it almost as much as I did the first time. Afterwards, when I’d sobered up, I decided to do a little research of the then 23-year-old history maker. Here is what I found:

Alexander Rybak was born on May 13th 1986 in Minsk, Belarus, to parents, Natalia and Igor, both professionally trained musicians. He was taught the violin and piano at a very early age, but decided to focus his attention on the violin. At the age of ten, he enrolled at The Barrat Due Institute of Music where he not only studied the great classical masters, but also began playing jazz and popular pop hits.

In 2005, at the age of 19, Rybak joined the Norwegian talent-contest “Idol” and at 20, he competed in another talent-contest, Kjempesjansen, where he won playing a song of his own composition, Foolin. After that, he was cast in a production of Fiddler on the Roof, which earned him a Hedda, the highest award for Norwegian stage actors.

Later, he traveled around Norway playing for food and lodging. During this time, he wrote his now popular song, Fairytale. In 2009, he performed the song on stage at the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow where he earned a stunning 387 points, winning by a landslide.

Two weeks after the ESC, Rybak released his debut album Fairytales, which reached triple platinum in Norway, Gold in Sweden, and Double Platinum in Russia. A short time later, he went on tour in Norway, Sweden, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Poland, and the United States. Later that year, he performed at the Nobel Peace prize concert in Oslo.

According to his online biography, Rybak’s interest in acting has led to a character-role in the movie “Yohan- the child-wanderer” and the voice-dubbing part of the lead characters in the animated movies How to Train Your Dragon and The Moomins and the Comet Chase.

In June 2010, his second album, No Boundaries, was released, and in December of that year, he also released a Christmas-EP, God Jul. In June 2011, he released his 3rd album, Visa vid vindens ängar, a collection of poetic ballads all sung in Swedish by Alexander.

In 2011, Rybak got his bachelor’s degree with top grades as a violinist, and in November 2012, he released a Christmas-album “Christmas-tales” with new versions of his favorite Christmas songs as well as some of his own composition.

Last month (September 2015), Rybak released his first book called Trolle og den Magiske Fela (Trolle and the Magic Fiddle), a partially autobiographical children’s adventure about being different, bullying, and accepting what is different in others. Born in Minsk, Rybak felt ostracized at times for practicing the violin most days after school. In his book, Trolle, who has no tail, feels lonely when he is teased and bullied by the other trolls. It is a tale of a friendship that overcomes everything – even the darkest magic of the forest.

Currently, Rybak and actor Dennis Storhøi are on tour promoting the book. Storhøi uses voice and facial expressions to create the appropriate mystical atmosphere when reading the book to audiences, while Rybak fiddles a magical tune.

Member article

UNITED KINGDOM – A BIG EUROVISION PROBLEM

18 October 2015 Roy van der Merwe 2 Comments

Article by Christopher Cobb – United States of America

What is the UK problem? Well, look at its ESC results for, oh, almost
the last twenty years. At the same time, the UK has produced a
reliable stream of popular music. Here are just a few that come to
mind: Adele, Amy Winehouse (RIP), Arctic Monkeys, Atomic Kitten,
Bastille, Booty Luv, Calvin Harris, Coldplay, Culture Club / Boy
George, Dead or Alive, Duffy, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Elton John,
Fatboy Slim, Florence and the Machine, Frankie Goes to Hollywood,
Garbage, George Michael, Gorillaz, Groove Armada, Iron Maiden, James
Blunt, Jamiroquai, Kaiser Chiefs, Kate Bush, Kelly Osbourne, La Roux,
Leona Lewis, Little Boots, Morrissey, New Order, Oasis, Olly Murs,
Paul McCartney, Paul Oakenfold, Pet Shop Boys, Robbie Williams, Sam
Smith, Spice Girls (individually or together), Susan Boyle, Taio Cruz,
The Pogues, The Prodigy, Tinie Tempah, UB40, and Utah Saints. Even
Rihanna (Barbados) or Kylie (Australia) could help!

That’s a pretty good variety: new comers to old timers; groups to
solos; producers to over-produced; safe to edgy; pretentious to
ironic; photogenic to good personalities; men to women to gender
non-conforming; and even a few that might be willing to give it a go
if asked. What is the problem?

Here are some ideas:

1. Are there too many big fish in a tiny pond. Is going to ESC viewed
by the UK music scene as too small-time? Is it like a big movie star
doing television? Other nations don’t seem to view ESC that way. It’s
not a sign of weakness to represent your country. Even worse, do the
other nations see this snobbery and punish the UK when it comes time
to vote?

2. The block has crumbled. The big five still offer some support to
each other. England and Ireland still exchange some votes. But, maybe
it’s time for the UK to enter as three or four separate nations. In
other contests (e.g. FIFA, IRU, ICC) the individual nations are given
their own berths in the competition. Why is Eurovision any different?

3. Could it be the “special relationship”? Lots of people resent the
US and its pushy ways. Is the UK punished because of its close ties to
the US? There is a lot of inbreeding between the US and UK music
scenes. Madonna doesn’t even know which accent to use anymore. Calvin
Harris owns Vegas. Does this make the UK an Extraeuropean interloper?

4. Has the UK selection process been dominated by a handful of greedy
producers who are looking to introduce the next big act? A newbie is
easier to manipulate. The producer of the act takes a bigger cut of
the earnings. So, the people deciding who goes to ESC don’t pick from
the sea of proven talent but instead hope to get rich quick with a new
discovery. Except, they aren’t very good at the discovery part and
occasionally have to send an act hoping to make a comeback.

I’m an anglophile by birth. It’s just part of being American. Most of
my European friends are from the UK. We cheer for them every year. We
even have a “nul point” drinking game (our UK friends don’t find that
amusing). I would love to see the UK do better. What needs to change
for this to happen?

Aram MP3 & The Sunside Band/You're My Sunshine

Aram MP3 releases new single – ‘You’re My Sunshine’

18 October 2015 Ian Fowell 3 Comments

Aram MP3 (from the official video clip of You're My Sunshine) — Aram MP3 (from the official video clip of You’re My Sunshine)

One of the big favourites at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen was the Armenian entry by Aram MP3 with his song Not Alone, where he eventually finished in fourth place that year.

Aram MP3 is back with a brand new single featuring The Sunside Band. The song is called You’re My Sunshine. It has an uptempo and retro 80s sound and has an overall happy vibe. The music was composed by the Sunside Band with lyrics by Lily Vardanyan.

You can see the official video clip for You’re My Sunshine below.

Source: Aram MP3 official You Tube; www.esccovers.com

Uncategorized

SUMMER NIGHT CITY – A TRIBUTE TO ABBA

16 October 2015 Roy van der Merwe 1 Comment

Written by: Andrew Scott and Dean Cheley

When explaining Eurovision to a novice, the first name that typically comes up is ABBA. How can it not – they are the quintessential Eurovision band, and continue to be an extremely important part of the ESC, despite having won over 40 years ago. Each time one of their songs is played, the room livens up, Like an Angel Passing Through My Room. That’s why Dean and I were Head Over Heels at the opportunity to see an ABBA tribute show (ABBA The Concert) at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, not the least because we got Two for the Price of One. The band was amazing – and the members were almost identical to the real thing, almost like ABBA was As Good As New.

While they expectedly played many of the major hits, we were surprised at the many songs from the ‘vault’ some of which were even new to us. This meant they didn’t have time to do some of my favorites (S.O.S., Super Trouper and The Name of the Game), but it was great to Let the Music Speak and hear the true diversity of songs that ABBA performed throughout their career. It definitely brought out the Dancing Queen in all of us. If It Wasn’t For the Nights like these, where the music goes On and On and On, life would be unbearably boring. When All is Said and Done all I can say is People Need Love so Thank You for the Music and let the countdown to Eurovision begin – only ~200 days to go! Perhaps this year will produce the ‘ABBA’ for the next generation.

Points/results

Points for 5 TASKS

16 October 2015 Andy Mikheev 2 Comments

We will reflect them in POINTS TABLE shortly. Please contact us if you think we have missed your points for the 5 TASKS.

aj poncin – 30
alexandru badea – 10
andre durham – 30
andrew bayley – 10
andrew scott – 30
andrew wortham – 30
anthony zanker – 30
belinda conn – 20
bernando ordas – 20
beth hackney – 30
camilo gomez – 30
christopher cobb – 15
darren tompsett – 30
david robichaud – 5
david thielen – 30
dean cheley – 30
dimitri karagianides – 30
edward till – 30
eloise sowden -30
emily smith – 30
eric andersson – 30
fred medeiros – 30
gavin a-rainey – 15
hien djie – 5
ian lambert – 10
james hare – 30
jason watkins – 30
johnny kollin – 30
jose luise abaya – 15
julia foskey – 30
kyle woods – 30
len whitney – 30
luc spencer gardner – 30
luis chong – 20
lukman uleng – 5
michael muniz – 5
michaela sowden – 20
nathan mountford – 30
niall drennan – 15
nicolas saurez – 20
roger a-rainey – 30
ronny addamo – 30
sascha stolp – 30
scott parsons – 20
shirley thielen – 15
steve humpfries – 10
stuart d’addona – 30
tricia flores – 10

Member blog

WHAT’S IN A CONTEST?

15 October 2015 Roy van der Merwe 1 Comment

Written by Edward Till (UK)

I’ve been lucky enough to attend 6 Eurovision Song Contests now (Athens 06, Dusseldorf 11, Baku 12, Malmö 13, Copenhagen 14 & Vienna 15) and often get asked which was my favourite Contest. I realised that it was difficult to answer as each Contest had it’s own pros and cons.

So what does it take to produce a great Contest to actually attend, as opposed to watching on television. I’m sure those of you who have attended o contest will have their own criteria, but for me, it all comes down to the following factors:

Eurovision Fever in the host city

This can influence your enjoyment of the contest immensely. When the city is wrapped up in Eurovision logos and your favourite Eurovision songs are playing in the shops, it really can make you feel welcomed in your host city.

Here I would have to say Malmö won hands down for me. Being a small city, you really felt the presence of Eurovision everywhere you went, from the Eurovision butterflies adorning the statues, the Eurovision hits played in the train stations, and even the Eurovision canal cruise.

Who lacked in this regard? I would have to say Vienna. The venues were so spread out and this large host city is so used to many more tourists, that you just didn’t see the Eurovision spirit until you arrived at the arena.

The venue itself

When you have thousands of excited fans in a small area, you want the venue to be able to handle the crowds easily enough, is easy to get to and has a great vibe.

I think the best venue so far was probably Vienna. There were enough food and drinks stands to handle your orders quickly, the atmosphere was fantastic, it was easy to get in, easy enough to get to, and just very well organised.

The worst for me? Probably Baku. The venue itself was amazing, but it was a long walk to get to, there wasn’t enough food and drinks available (not even water on the first night), and the security did not make you feel at all welcome.

That special something

Each year, there is something that makes that year particularly memorable. Maybe it’s the glorious weather, or the fact that it is your first Contest, or that your favourite won.

For me, the most memorable contest has to be Baku because of all the new and lasting friendships that was made that year. The organisers insisted on only issuing tickets on that day for each show, meaning we were forced to meet up as an OGAE crowd before every show to pick up our tickets for that day, and as such ended up travelling to the venue together too, socialising along the way.

So to sum it all up? Which was my favourite year? If I had to choose, it would be Malmö in 2013. The weather was perfect, it was well organised, the city embraced all the fans and a fantastic week of Eurovision was had by all. Although Baku was definitely a close second (despite the problems with the venue).

What was your favourite, and why?

Elene Mikiashvili/2015 The Voice of Georgia

Elene Mikiashvili participates in The Voice of Georgia

14 October 2015 Ian Fowell 1 Comment

Elene Mikiashvili {copyright: Imedi tv/The Voice of Georgia}

Elene Mikiashvili is a promising and rising star from Georgia. Earlier this year she submitted her song I’m Gonna Run to the national selection in Georgia. Now Elene is participating in the 2015 The Voice of Georgia competition.

The Voice of Georgia coaches this year have a Eurovision flavour. They include Anri Jokhadze (2012 ESC – I’m A Joker) and Nodi Tatishvili (2013 ESC – Waterfall with Sopho Gelovani).

Elene performed the popular Proud Mary (recorded by acts such as Creedence Clear Water Revival and Tina Turner) in the blind auditions. She showcased her strong and clear vocals and Anri turned his chair. Now Elene is on Anri’s team and we will see how she progresses over the coming weeks.

Source: www.imedi.ge; www.esccovers.com

Membership

INTRODUCING NEW MEMBER

14 October 2015 Roy van der Merwe Leave a comment

We are introducing James Hare.

My reason for joining OGAE is due to my partner Danny’s obsession with Eurovision. Every year over the last 17 years he has orchestrated many parties where we have celebrated Eurovision with friends. He loves how cringe worthy some of the entries are and the comedy element. He will fanatically develop marking sheets and banners,the marking is the standard form, with the addition of scoring for special effects outfits, drums and good topless guys.

Next year is my partners 40 th birthday and I am aiming to take him as a surprise to Eurovision, if we manage to get tickets then he will be beside himself with excitement. His family will also be there to share the experience.

My favourite Eurovision song was Belgium’s entry in 2003 by Urban Tran who sang with no words.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=S6KGzTlpxT4

Iveta Mukuchyan

Iveta Mukuchyan to represent Armenia at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest

13 October 2015 Ian Fowell Leave a comment

Iveta Mukuchyan {copyright: www.snipview.com}

The Public Television of Armenia has chosen Iveta Mukuchyan to represent them in Stockholm, Sweden at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. Iveta was internally selected to sing for Armenia.

Iveta was born in Yerevan but moved to Germany as a child. She took part in The Voice of Germany in 2012 and even performed the winning song of Sweden at Eurovision that year on the show, Euphoria, by Loreen.

Iveta has just released her latest single and video entitled Simple Like A Flower. She wrote the music and lyrics herself. You can see the video for the song below.

The Public TV of Armenia has invited composers to submit songs in an open competition by email by 13 November to selection@armtv.com.

Source: www.eurovision.tv; www.esccovers.com

Uncategorized

LAST CHANCE TO EARN POINTS FOR 2016 TICKET LIST

13 October 2015 Roy van der Merwe Leave a comment

The points table will close on 31 October 2015.

There is one more chance for points but this is exclusively just for people who became members for 2016. We know some of you joined late and did not have all the chances for points like the older members (especially good luck messages). So here is your last chance – the closing date is 21 October 2015.
It is a much more difficult task but there are a lot of points at stake – two members can get 100 points each which will almost guarentee those two for ticket packages.
The two winners will be judges by a panel of three people
Andy Mikheev – Kazakhstan
Cole van Dais – South Africa
Gerry Avelino – United States
These three people are not taking tickets themselves so they will judge each entry purely on merit. They won’t even know who is who, as I will get the entries and give it to them just as entry from A or B or C, no names.
So unlike normal tasks, this task will requite a little more thought to make sure you stand a chance to be one of the two winners.
One of the most important aspects of EUROVISION is which countries will take part and fans are always sad when some countries decide not to take part. Recently we heard NO’s from Croatia, Bosnia and Portugal. But we also know Turkey, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Andorra and Monaco will not participate.
The task is, you have to pick one of these NON participating countries and write a letter to their HEAD OF TV ENTERTAINMENT and give reasons why you as a fan want this country to reconsider and take part.
I myself have done this several times and in the case of two, I have had some success in that these countries did take part and one even wrote to me saying my mail got them thinking. The first example is CZECH REPUBLIC 2015. I wrote a long letter to them once we knew Eurovision 2015 would be in Vienna. My reasons for them to take part is that in 1968 their most famous singer KAREL GOTT took part for Austria in Eurovision with a song composed by Udo Jurgens, the only previous Austrian winner and it would be wonderful to have them make a return in Vienna. Even in Vienna Marta and Vaclav spoke to me as they knew of the South African who is a huge Karel Gott fan. In my mail to Czech republic I attached also sales figures of Karel Gott covers in South Africa (12 of his songs have been covered in Afrikaans with sales to around 3 million). Of course they did write to me to say other factors played a role as well, but it was great that I reminded them about this special connection between Austria and the Czech republic.
The second example was AUSTRIA 2011 – and here I focused mainly on the fact that Eurovision 2011 was in DUSSELDORF in Germany and it would look awful if a fellow German speaking country is absent.
I know this is not going to be easy but a lot of points are at stake and so think carefully which country you will pick and what reasons you will use to get them to return.
I would like to send the best mails to these countries – maybe a last passionate plea would get maybe one to return. We have nothing to loose.

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