Iceland's Secret Eurovision Weapon

From today's Iceland Review:

27/03/2009 | 11:55

Iceland Reveals Secret Eurovision Weapon

The secret is out! Russian singer-songwriter Tinatin Japaridze co-wrote Iceland’s contribution to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, the ballad “Is it True?” performed by Icelandic singer Jóhanna Gudrún Jónsdóttir.

“We tried to keep it secret because we wanted people to value the song for what it is but not vote for it because of political interests,” Japaridze told Fréttabladid.

Japaridze is currently translating parts of the lyrics into Russian to promote it in her home country. She is very pleased with Jónsdóttir’s rendition of it and is confident that she will deliver a grand performance in Moscow.

Click here to read more about Iceland’s Eurovision contribution and here to watch Jónsdóttir perform “Is it True?”

Official Blog Up & Running!

And the official ESC's Icelandic Delegation blog is up and running....

With great support from the official sources!

ESC Official Icelandic Blog

ESCToday Press Release

ESC TV

Eurovision.tv Press Release

What's next? A Russian lyric - quite literally!

ESC Official Icelandic Blog!

From the Official ESC Blog of the Icelandic Entry 2009:

Finally, here's the ultimate source brought to you directly by the Icelandic delegation of the 2009 ESC entry, "Is It True".

If you hear a rumor circulating on the internet in one of the online forums, make sure you visit our blog to see if "it's true!"

Latest news, pictures, links and more will follow in the coming weeks - and when we finally get to Moscow in early May, we'll be in touch with some great backstage info and material that you won't be able to get anywhere else online or offline, so be sure to stay tuned ! :-)

The ESC Icelandic Delegation of 2009.....



Yohanna, Oskar, Tinatin & Chris

A secret composer of the Icelandic Eurovision song "Is It True?"

Brand new article in today's issue of Frettabladid, the Icelandic newspaper with the largest circulation.

P.S. Special thanks to Magga!


Leynihöfundur að íslenska Eurovisionlaginu Is it True?

Þýðir textann yfir á rússnesku Tinatin vinnur nú hörðum höndum að því að þýða texta íslenska Eurovision-lagsins yfir á rússnesku og telur að það gæti heillað Rússa upp úr skónum.

Nafnið Tinatin Japaridze kemur sennilega flestum Íslendingum spánskt fyrir sjónir. En það tengist landi og þjóð með nokkrum sérstökum hætti. Því þessi georgíska poppstjarna sem alin er upp í Moskvu en býr nú í New York er einn þriggja höfunda að framlagi Íslands til Eurovision, Is it True? sem Jóhanna Guðrún flytur. Og Íslendingar hafa þarna náð töluverðu forskoti á önnur lönd með ögn skárri rússneskri tengingu en Rússalánið víðfræga. „Við reyndum að halda þessu leyndu enda vildum við að fólkið kynni að meta lagið en væri ekki að spá í einhverja pólitík. Það gekk eftir og ég get ekki beðið eftir að hitta Jóhönnu, Óskar og Chris í Moskvu,“ segir Tinatin í samtali við Fréttablaðið í gær.
Is it True? var upphaflega hugsað á plötu Tinatin sem hún vann með Óskari Páli og lagahöfundinum Christopher Neil í London fyrir nokkrum árum. Lagasmíðarnar gengu hins vegar það vel að lagið rataði ofan í skúffu þar sem það hálfpartinn gleymdist. „Síðan hafði Óskar samband við mig fyrir hálfu ári og spurði hvort það væri mér að sársaukalausu að senda lagið inn í Eurovision,“ útskýrir Tinatin sem fór í kjölfarið að fylgjast grannt með keppninni hérna heima í gegnum fartölvu sína í New York. „Óskar var alveg handviss um að það kæmist í gegnum sextán laga úrslitin en svo gæti brugðið til beggja vona á úrslitakvöldinu.“ Tinatin hélt því niðri í sér andanum þegar hún horfði á úrslitakvöldið og reyndi að skilja hvað var í gangi. „Ég skil auðvitað ekki stakt orð í íslensku og vissi því ekkert hvernig þetta fór fram. Fyrst hélt ég að við hefðum lent í öðru sæti og fannst það alveg frábært. Ég meira að segja vakti mömmu mína í Moskvu og sagði henni frá því. En svo varð náttúrulega allt brjálað þegar ég komst að því að við hefðum unnið og hvorki ég, Christopher né Óskar Páll vorum viðstödd,“ segir Tinatin.
Söngkonan er nú að vinna að því að þýða texta lagsins yfir á rússnesku ásamt landa sínum sem búsettur er í New York. Og hún hlakkar mikið til að koma til Moskvu og fá tækifæri til að taka þátt í Eurovision-ævintýri Íslendinga og hitta fjölskyldu sína sem þar er búsett. Tinatin hefur jafnframt mikla trú á Jóhönnu Guðrúnu. „Þegar maður er listamaður er maður mjög vandfýsinn á aðra listamenn. En að svona falleg stúlka geti sungið jafnvel er náttúrulega bara draumur.“ Og Tinatin telur að Íslendingar hafi alla burði til að heilla að minnsta kosti Rússa upp úr skónum ef ekki aðrar þjóðir. „Samband Íslands og Rússlands er mjög sérstakt og ég held að þetta eigi eftir að ganga mjög vel.“

freyrgigja@frettabladid.is


A secret composer of the Icelandic Eurovision song "Is it true?"

The name Tinatin Japaridze is most likely unknown to Icelanders but it connects to the nation and the country in a special way. This Georgian pop star who was raised in Moscow but now resides in New York is one of three composers of Iceland's entry in Eurovision, performed by Jóhanna Guðrún. And this way by, the Icelanders have made a better and stronger connection to Russia instead of the famous Russian financial loan.

"We tried to keep it secret and not make it a big deal so people would appreciate the song for what it is rather than start thinking about the politics. It worked and now I cannot wait to meet Jóhanna, Óskar and Chris in Moscow - in many ways my home where I spent most of my childhood," says Tinatin in an interview with Fréttablaðið yesterday.

"Is it true?" was originally written and recording for Tinatin's album which she made with Óskar Páll and songwriter/producer Christopher Neil in London several years ago. The song turned out really well but as it happens quite often in the music industry, the track was put away for a while and it practically forgotten. "Óskar contacted me 6 months ago and asked if he could submit it for the Eurovision pre-selection," explains Tinatin, who soon began to follow the Icelandic national final on her laptop in New York. "Óskar was positive the song would make it through the first round but I wasn't as sure about the finals." Tinatin kept her fingers crossed when she watched the final night and tried to understand what was happening on the screen. "Of course I didn't understand a word of Icelandic and had no idea how things were unfolding. At first I thought we came second and I was very happy about that. I even woke my mother up in Moscow to tell her. But of course when I realized we had actually won, it was quite amazing and insane too since none of us - neither Óskar, Chris nor I were at the finals," says Tinatin.

The singer/songwriter is now preparing on the Russian translation after contacting a Russian writer who also lives in New York to collaborate on the special version . She very much looks forward to going to Moscow and taking part in the Icelandic Eurovision-fairytale - and of course meet her family. Tinatin has a lot of faith in Jóhanna Guðrún. "When you're an artist, even more so than a writer, you become incredibly picky about other artists. But seeing such a beautiful girl who can really sing that well is of course rare and fantastic!" Tinatin believes that the Icelanders can charm the Russians as well as other nations."The connection between Iceland and Russia has become special over the years and somehow I think everything will go well."

freyrgigja@frettabladid.is

Russkiy in the Mix

You thought you knew everything?

Not really! :-) And here's why...

As most of you already know about my passion for radio and the current PRN radio show that I host and produce from the United Nations called "U.N. Uncovered", I have recently embarked on a new parallel journey that I'm very excited about and have been counting the weeks to finally share the offspring with you all!

Break Thru Radio, one of the most open-minded and musically diverse stations amid today's commercial overload on all fronts, has become the catalyst and the driving force behind my most recent adventure - Russkiy in the Mix with DJ Tinatin.

You can hear the show anytime by visiting the BTR www.breakthruradio.com website or just follow one of the links above to explore other BTR shows in the Program Guide - you won't regret it, there's everything for everyone ranging from Jazz to Country, Japanese, German and Australian pop/rock to Russkiy in the Mix... How cool is that?!

So stay tuned - every first Tuesday of each month or simply by clicking right here to hear the only English-language source of fresh Russian music on US radio with a monthly dose of what’s fresh and “happening” in Moscow, St. Petersburg and beyond…

For those of you who know too little about Russian modern music but are fascinated by the nation's immense culture and history, be sure to check it out...

And by the way, if you're wondering why those lengthy blogs have disappeared from my homepage, here's your new source from now on - on weekly basis, every Wednesday there's a brand new Tinatin-penned Feature Article on www.breakthruradio.com -- voila a few of the latest links:

Freedom of Speech

Russian America

Evolution of Music

Politicians vs. Popstars - Equal?

A Wednesday featurette entitled "Loli-Pop" will be available first thing tomorrow morning on BTR's website - check it out and stay tuned for more! :-)

Eurovision Running Order!

And here it is... finally!

To listen to the songs preceding and immediately following "Is It True", click on the highlighted links below!

1. Montenegro
2. Czech Republic
3. Belgium
4. Belarus
5. Sweden
6. Armenia
7. Andorra
8. Switzerland
9. Turkey
10. Israel
11. Bulgaria
12. Iceland
13. FYR Macedonia
14. Romania
15. Finland
16. Portugal
17. Malta
18. Bosnia & Herzegovina


Final: 16th May

Spain is allowed to choose its position and goes for number 25.
Russia is drawn at number 10.
The UK is drawn at number 23.
Germany is drawn at number 17.
France is drawn at number 3.
The voting order for the final:

Spain
Belgium
Belarus
Malta
Germany
Czech Republic
Sweden
Iceland
France
Israel
Russia
Latvia
Montenegro
Andorra
Finland
Switzerland
Norway
Bulgaria
Lithuania
United Kingdom
FYR Macedonia
Slovakia
Greece
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Ukraine
Turkey
Albania
Serbia
Cyprus
Poland
Netherlands
Estonia
Croatia
Portugal
Romania
Ireland
Denmark
Moldova
Slovenia
Armenia
Hungary
Azerbaijan

Eurovision Update!

Desperately trying to juggle a million things at once with more surprises on the way... but in the meantime, here's the latest from Eurovision 2009 and our Icelandic entry -- if it's true, it's bound to appear right here for your eyes only!

First things first - the new weekly poll from ESC Today:

Please note: These charts are in no way supposed to predict the outcome of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, they are just supposed to show which songs have the most fans among the readers.

Charts for 2nd March 2009

The results are based on the votes cast until 20:00 CET.

Pl. Country Song Score Last week Change Poll

1 Spain La noche es para mí 121.9 NEW here
2 Norway Fairytale 121.4 118.9 (1st) down here
3 Turkey Düm tek tek 89.1 94.6 (3rd) = here
4 Iceland Is it true? 86.2 86.5 (5th) up here
5 Finland Lose control 81.6 90.8 (4th) down here
6 Switzerland The highest heights 72.3 85.5 (6th) = here
7 United Kingdom It's my time 72.2 96.2 (2nd) down here
8 Bosnia & Herzegovina Bistra voda 62.0 NEW here
9 Portugal Todas as ruas do amor 52.7 NEW here
10 Denmark Believe again 50.9 53.5 (7th) down here
11 France Et s'il fallait le faire 40.8 41.0 (8th) down here
12 Montenegro Just get out of my life 32.5 31.4 (12th) = here
13 Greece This is our night 31.3 35.4 (10th) down here
14 Hungary Dance with me 28.3 35.2 (11th) down here
15 Albania Në merr në ëndërr 26.5 29.5 (13th) down here
16 Poland I don't wanna leave 24.3 4.8 (18th) up here
17 Slovenia Love symphony 24.1 38.6 (9th) down here
18 Andorra La teva decisió 22.2 21.1 (15th) down here
19 Malta What if we 22.1 22.4 (14th) down here
20 Germany Miss kiss kiss bang 20.4 13.6 (17th) down here
21 Moldova Hora din Moldova 14.3 15.9 (16th) down here
22 Lithuania Love 8.6 1.5 (19th) down here
23 Ireland Et cetera -3.1 -3.4 (20th) down here
24 Croatia Lijepa Tena -4.7 NEW here
25 Romania The Balkan girls -6.3 -11.4 (21st) down here
26 Georgia We don't wanna put in -18.6 -42.4 (23rd) down here
27 Netherlands Shine -19.1 -14.5 (22nd) down here
28 Bulgaria Illusion -79.5 -88.9 (24th) down here
29 Cyprus Firefly -94.2 -101.1 (25th) down here
30 FYR Macedonia Nešto što kje ostane -107.8 -105.0 (26th) down here
31 Armenia No par -140.1 -132.9 (27th) down here
32 Latvia Probka -154.5 NEW here
33 Belarus Eyes that never lie -169.0 -179.9 (28th) down here


One of the many opinion blogs about the upcoming semifinals and the grand finale in Moscow, here's an excerpt from 12Points.tv:

Edwin's 12points IV

Edwin, our 12points blogger, is very busy these days, watching all national finals, semi finals and other eurovision related tv shows, as they are programmed, allmost dayly, the last few weeks. Today we learn what he thinks about the latest selected songs. You can of course listen to all the songs on 12points too, as they are listed under this blog.



writen by Edwin Peeters [26.02.2009]

13 more songs and again I give my opinion. Some ballads, some controversial songs, some songs with traditional influences, some rock songs and this year's winner (I'm quite sure!) are chosen.

Armenia – Jan Jan - Inga & Anush
It reminds me in some way of Ofra Haza songs. It is a pop tune with traditional influences. The two sisters have a good energy together. The song is original and doesn't get boring. This could take Armenia into the final once more and might be the next succes in Armenian Eurovision history. Or is it too traditional for the audience?

Iceland - Is It True? - Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir A beautiful blonde on stage in a white dress. She will get lots of votes because of her looks. A good ballad. It misses out on not having a bridge, but she will make it to the final in Moscow.

Lithuania - Pasiklydes Zmogus – Sasha Son
Another ballad, but not in a traditional Eurovision way. It is more of a pop song. This song is very original, just like the singer. A good perfomer who carries the song. I'm not quite sure about the electric guitar solo (hope it will be ditched before Eurovision), but, hey, it can't be perfect. Don't know if the average Eurovison watching European will vote for this song. If they like quality they will. But I think Sasha will barely make it to the final. I'm keeping my finger crossed that he will.

Poland - I Don't Wanna Leave - Lidia Kopania
And again, a ballad. The beginning of the song sounds mysterious, but the chorus doesn't. The singer is gonna get some votes with her looks, but I would like to see her in a classy dress in stead of the short one she wore at the national final... or she should borrow Edyta Górniak's (ESC 1994) dress, also short, but more stylish. She is gonna make it to the final in Moscow. After that is difficult to predict wich ballad will do best.

Moldova - Hora Din Moldova - Nelly Ciobanu
Another song with a Balkan influence, like the Romanian song. Although this contribution from Moldova (the Romanian neighbours) sounds more traditional and authentic than the more poppy Romanian one. I also have to think about gipsy music. To me it sounds good, but gipsy music generally doesn't do well at Eurovision. This will struggle to get into the final, I fear, although it makes me feel really happy: hey hey!

Georgia – We Don't Wanna Put In - Stefane & 3G
Oh no, a disco tune, with a rap in the middle. This is one of the controversial songs. Not because of the music, but because of the lyrics. 'We Don't Wanna Put In'... get it?: PUTIN! The difficult relationship with the Russians makes this title sound like a political statement. And that is forbidden at Eurovision. So they probably have to change the lyrics or Georgia will have to send their number two from the national final. I don't know about this. It could go either way.

Greece - This Is Our Night – Sakis Rouvas
He's back, how great is that! The three songs that were selected for (or by) him to compete in the national final were not as strong as 'Shake Shake Shake', but at least the best (last) song was chosen. It doesn't sound typically Greek, but it definitely suits Sakis' oevre. Great dancetune! Of course his energy and appearance will make the song go straight into the final and top 10.

Ireland - Et Cetera - Sinead Mulvey & Black Daisy
Good pop song. It sounds a little bit northern American. Could have been a song from Avril Lavigne. Very commercial and it could do well in Eurovision, even if it doesn't sound very Irish (I'm used to ballads or traditional songs from Ireland), she will make it to the final in Moscow. At least her name is Irish!

Bulgaria – Ilussion – Krasimir Avramov
Another controversial song. This time it's about the voting (he got many more votes than number two in the national final and some people didn't trust it) and the performance (he didn't do well at the national final). Hearing the studio version of the song it is one of my favourites, but live... well, let's say he needs to get some singing lessons or a group of superb backing vocals. But still there is the deal with is high notes. I find it weird to watch and listen to a man singing such high notes and then switch to a more manly sound. If the act and performance is alright and his voice is put into the background (just a little bit), then this could be top 10 in the final. But with a poor presentation and a weak performance it will end up at the bottom of its semi final.

Norway – Fairytale - Alexander Rybak
Like I wrote before (Edwin's 12 points III)... Wow, that guy is hot and sweet! He knows how to play the camera, he is energetic, he can sing, he plays the violin (for real), he wrote this song himself and did I mention his looks? Watch out Moscow, here is the winner of Eurovision 2009! And how great would it be that a guy of Russian descent (or almost... Belarussian actually) would win in Moscow with this song that combines eastern and western European music, dance and looks. I don't know what to say anymore. Oh yes: the dancers are supporting Alexander wonderfully, as well as the backing vocals! This act is so complete and blew me away and according to the standing ovation of the audience at the national final, there is no competition.

Macedonia - Nesto sto ke ostane - Next Time
A rock song, wich doesn't impress me at all. I guess this will be the second year in a row that Macedonia doesn't make it to the final. Popular as they may be in Macedonia, they look like a young version of Bon Jovi, with eighties looks. I don't like it, I'm very sorry. I miss the Macedonian soul or sound in this song. Not to the final... please!

Switzerland - The Highest Heights – Lovebugs
The best Swiss entry since (Estonian) Vanilla Ninja's 'Cool Vibes' in 2005. When I hear this song I think I'm listening to the radio. It could be a big hit. It's not a typical Eurovision song, but it is oh so good! Very good! This deserves to be in the top 10 in the final

Hungary - Dance With Me - Ádok Zoli
Interesting entry from Hungary. A handsome guy sings and dances to a pop tune. Light and bright are words that come to mind when I hear this song. A little bit of disco (but better than the Georgians) without a big message. It's just a feel good song. It could do very well, even into the final's top 10. And that for a song that was Hungarian's third choice! There was a controversy concerning the first choice. That song had been performed years ago in a Swedish reality show. Second choice, a Hungarian actress, decided not to participate because of her busy schedule (well, why did she enter her entry in the first place?). So I'm glad that this song (the best of the three) was finally chosen to represent Hungary! I'm sure he's gonna melt some people with his eyes.

And finally we've discovered a proper "lyrics, credits + additional info" page.

For those of you interested in the little bits and pieces, check out the Icelandic homepage

And one more thing... how could we possibly spend a week without yet another confusion in one of the Eurovision Forums....?

The Georgian Times - "Tinatin: Georgia's Best Kept Secret for Much Too Long..."

Tinatin Interview - The Georgian Times 03.03.2009

“It is definitely one of my goals to finally return to my roots when the time is right and introduce myself to my audience back home as “one of their own.”

Probably most Georgians would feel proud to hear that over the Atlantic a 24-year-old girl, Tinatin Japaridze, is on her way to reaching the heights of two careers: as a writer and a musician. Heralded by Billboard Magazine as one of the "fresh faces to keep an eye out for in 2008," she was a finalist in the worldwide John Lennon Song Contest and her song “Wild” was hailed as a 2007 year-end Billboard Top 10 Critics’ Pick.

Years ago in London Tinatin, together with Christopher Neil who is also her Executive Producer and Vocal Producer and Oskar Pall Sveinsson wrote a song called “Is It True?” which has become Iceland’s Eurovision Song Contest Entry for 2009. The song won the national finals by a staggering 44% and will be competing with at the international finals to be held in Russia in May.

Tinatin's music career began in 1998 when she auditioned with Professor Luigi Alva at La Scala and was offered a place at the Academy. At 14, she began classical vocal lessons with renowned Maestro Gocha Bezhuashvili, who has worked with La Scala, The Metropolitan Opera and Covent Garden. In the summer of 1998, Tinatin was invited to open the 1st Festival of Russian Films in Cannes and was then asked by the Mayor of Nice to close the annual Carnival of Flowers with her version of Jacques Brel's "Quand On Na Que L'Amour."

Three years later, she went to London to study journalism—and while there, launched her first promotional tour, organized by Event One, Jeff Chegwin and Yegor Shishkovsky, the latter of whom is a widely popular Russian-born journalist and radio personality. Live performances and TV/radio interviews with Tinatin were featured on BBC, Channel 5 and ITV's "London Tonight," where Capital FM's Neil "Doctor" Fox referred to her as having a "really fantastic and beautiful voice. She's unbelievable. It's a voice that you would want people to put money behind."

Born in Georgia and raised in Moscow, Tinatin has written in Russian for the leading Russian Newspaper in America, in English for the United Nations (where she is the United Nations Radio Correspondent) and in Georgia she has both written and been written about - including a story about her in Cosmopolitan – for which Cambridge Jones, the UK’s top photographer, took portraits.

Tinatin is currently working on two literary projects, fiction and non-fiction. Her songs are top hits on UK Radio stations and in clubs. Catapulting into mainstream success with a current dance/club hit in the UK, “Thinking of Someone Else,” Tinatin is adding final touches to her debut album with a number of the industry's top producers and scribes.

As her collaborator Sahin has described, Tinatin’s voice is very soft and just floats over the music. The basis for this, he believes, could be the Georgian culture she is coming from.

"One of the highlights of my early days came when I was asked by my all-time heroes, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, to perform 'A Piece of Sky' from 'Yentl' at the Creative Arts Awards honouring Marilyn, who alongside her husband wrote some of the most touching and beautiful lyrics that I was brought up listening to," says Tinatin. That performance marked her American debut, where she was presented to Mayor Rudy Giuliani and consummate Broadway composer Cy Coleman by the legendary conductor, arranger and composer Marvin Hamlisch, and accompanied by jazz piano great Mike Renzi.

To find out more about Tinatin we took our chance to ask her several questions as well:

Q: What are your expectations concerning Johanna Gudrun Jonsdottir, as you are the co-writer of her Eurovision song with Oskar Pall Sveinsson and Christopher Neil?

A: My long-time collaborators Oskar Paul Sveinsson, Christopher Neil and I co-wrote Is It True? several years ago in London as one of the few songs recorded for my pending album at the time. As often happens in creative situations, we somehow ended up putting the song aside after its completion. Many songs and years later, I got a call from Oskar asking if I had any objections to his idea of submitting it for this year's preselection process in Reykjavik.

In an announcement made by RÚV Television, just over 69,000 votes were cast by the public when they chose our song as the nation's representative out of the 217 entries. It was so unexpected – Chris Neil was away and Oskar was in hospital, so you can only imagine our excitement when the news finally arrived!

As for my expectations of the ESC finals in Moscow, it's very hard to predict the outcome at this point – had you asked me last year if I was planning to participate in Eurovision 2009, I would have rolled my eyes and said, “I doubt it”, for no reason other than the simple fact that planning anything ahead of time is nearly always a complete waste of energy!

Thanks to Oskar, we discovered the wonderfully gifted and beautiful Johanna, and she did a great job! As a singer, I was inevitably "picky" but couldn't find a single flaw in Johanna's performance, which in itself was extremely gratifying. I think she's got a lot to offer at this year's competition, so we're very proud and definitely very much looking forward to it!

Q: Currently you are writing an autobiography, will it be available for Georgian readers?

A: This autobiography is definitely something I have long wanted to write, but now more than ever before, it seems like the right moment for me to share my story, which will be published in the UK later this year.

Hopefully, it will resonate with my compatriots, as in many ways this book also represents my journey from Tbilisi, my hometown, to Moscow where I moved at the age of nine, and my final destination – the United States of America, where I’ve been living for the past four and a half years.

Q: When did you obtain Russian citizenship and what was the reason for this?

A: We moved to Moscow in the early 90’s during the upheaval in Georgia when my dad, the architect and painter Givi Japaridze, was offered the opportunity to pursue his professional career in Russia.

It was the beginning of a difficult transition, but it was also a challenge that I chose to embrace, along with many other Georgian émigrés in Moscow at the time. I pursued my studies at the International School of Tomorrow and at the Moscow State University, until I finally moved abroad: first stop – London for several years, and only later – New York.

Q: You're at #2 on the Dance Radio Top 25 along with Madonna, Donna Summer and Jennifer Hudson with the song "Thinking of Someone Else," how do you intend to continue catching the attention of your fans?

A: To be honest, that’s a very tricky question! I've often been told that a lot of twists and turns that I took in my early career have never really followed a set pattern of a debutante – it all happened ''upside down''.

For example, while most artists become involved in political issues much later, a couple of years ago, the former President of the UN Correspondents' Association, Ian Williams, suggested that I compose a piece of music based on the United Nations Charter as a one-of-a-kind ''UN song''. Less than a year later, I was standing onstage at the UN Headquarters singing "We the Peoples" at the request of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, honoring Sir Richard Branson. It suddenly dawned on me that yes, sometimes we do have the craziest ideas, and yes, everyone will tell you not to do it, but with a little bit of luck, effort and belief, everything is within our reach - even the most insane and ridiculous fantasies!

I suppose trying to calculate the next move, no matter how predictable, is one of the most difficult tasks for me. And while my heart inevitably lies in contemporary music, I consider classical training and particularly bel canto to be an absolute must for any vocalist in any given genre; and needless to say, Maestro Gocha Bezhuashvili has certainly become one of my most trusted mentors.

Q: Do you plan any tours in the future and would Georgia be one of the countries on the list?

A: It is definitely one of my goals to finally return to my roots when the time is right and introduce myself to my audience back home as “one of their own.” The fact that this has not yet happened was certainly not my decision.

These days, I often get fan mail from young Georgian people asking me why I still haven’t made any effort to appear publicly in Georgia and have somehow managed to remain the country’s “best-kept secret for much too long”… I admit that singing foreign songs and working on an English-language project did not necessarily work in my favour in Tbilisi. Some accused me of unpatriotic tendencies, while others simply didn’t care much for American songs sung by a Georgian girl who was being produced by some of the leading European and American scribes and producers. Why? Because I wasn’t singing in Georgian!

I have to be honest and say that, to a certain extent, I was slightly disappointed by the unexpected reaction of my fellow Georgians. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our compatriots achieving success and recognition in other parts of the world – if anything, doesn't their popularity abroad promote our own country and its citizens beyond the ramifications of geography and politics?



Eka Bilanishvili
2009.03.03 18:55

"Thinking of Someone Else" #1 Channel Prize!

Yeah!! We did it!!!

After months on the Our Stage Electro-Pop and Dance Charts, "Thinking of Someone Else" has finally been voted as the #1 Most Played, Fan Favorite, Top Track and the highest ranking electro dance song (all different categories, by the way!) by Our Stage Fans and Judges for the ENTIRE month of February 2009 - and here's the banner for the #1 Channel Prize ... grand finale Feb 09!

News: Poland, Scotland, New York and beyond...

A few bits and pieces for those of you subscribed to the updates on both the Eurovision song, "Is It True", and the club single, "Thinking of Someone Else"....!


But first things first.... this week's Eurovision pre-chart '09 week #2 !

This is a pre-chart of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, which will take place in Moscow. In this chart all the countries are in the one and same chart. All the votes have to be updated within 2 weeks after a new song has been heard, until all songs have been heard.

POS COUNTRY PERFORMER(S) TITLE POINTS FAVE

1 Norway Alexander Rybak Fairytale 3325 143
2 Greece Sakis Rouvas This is our night 3288 140
3 France Patricia Kaas S'il fallait le faire 3248 112
4 Finland Waldo's People Lose control 2906 52
5 United Kingdom Jade My time 2717 34
6 Iceland Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir Is it true 2484 33
7 Turkey Hadise Düm tek tek 2464 27
8 Malta Chiara What if we 2022 14
9 Denmark Brinck Believe again 1959 18
10 Cyprus Christina Metaxa Firefly 1588 11
11 Germany Alex Swings Oscar Sings Miss kiss kiss bang 1506 9
12 Montenegro Andrea Demirovic Just get out of my life 1473 6
13 Slovenia Quartissimo Love symphony 1378 18
14 Albania Kejsi Tola Më mërr në ëndërr 1374 7
15 Andorra Susanna Georgi Get a life 1255 9
16 Romania Elena Gheorghe The Balkan girls 1219 4
17 Poland Lidia Kopania I don't wanna leave 1184 24
18 Moldova Nelly Ciobanu Hora din Moldova 1155 5
19 Lithuania Sasha Son Pasiklydes žmogus 973 17
20 Netherlands De Toppers Shine 944 8
21 Georgia Stefane & 3G We don't wanna put in 801 8
22 Armenia Inga & Anush Arshakyanner Jan jan 715 10
23 Ireland Sinead Mulvey & Black Daisy Et cetera 675 9
24 Switzerland Lovebugs The highest heights 654 12
25 Bulgaria Krassimir Avramov Illusion 600 6
26 Belarus Petr Elfimov Eyes that never lie 517 1
27 Hungary Ádokzoli Dance with me 416 3
28 FYR Macedonia Next Time Nesto sto ke ostane 254 3
29 Croatia Igor Cukrov Lijepa tena 0 0
29 Latvia Intars Busulis Sastregums 0 0
29 Portugal Flor-de-Lis Todas as ruas do amor 0 0
29 Spain Soraya La noche es para mí 0 0
33 Bosnia & Herzegovina Regina Bistra voda 0 0

Last week's #7 is now at #6 !

Moving on to the Eurovision semi-final selection reviews, here are a couple of the latest additions to the batch!

Eurovision Countdown 2009: Iceland

By Richard MacKinnon (Scotland)

There’s a joke (with various versions) going around at the moment concerning the financial meltdown in Iceland and the worsening situation in Ireland: “What’s the difference between Iceland and Ireland? About six months…” Iceland have never won the Eurovision, despite entering some excellent, professional songs. They’ve entered someone with real class and a decent song this year, but a part of me is imagining the Iceland government sitting with fingers crossed that 2009 isn’t their year.

Like all international events, the Eurovision costs a mint to host and quite frankly, Iceland has better things to do with its money right now. So let’s hope Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir gets a good showing with this song - somewhere in the final top 10 - but just doesn’t quite reach the top. Here’s a clip of the song itself: “Is it true?”

Now for those of you who speak Polish, below is the review about the Icelandic entry from Poland:

EUROWIZJA 2009 - PIOSENKI
Single i ciekawostki

Najwcześniej wydanym na singlu utworem z ESC 2009 jest węgierskie "Dance with me/Tanclepes", które swoją premierę miało już 6. października. Na singlu znajduje się węgierska i angielska wersja utworu (mp3 z tymi wersjami dostępne po lewej stronie pod terminarzem) oraz dwa remixy do "Tanclepes". Dodatkowo na oficjalnej stronie wokalisty obejrzeć można teledyski zarówno do angielskiego jak i węgierskiego wariantu.

Na TEJ stronie można odsłuchać demo utworu "Is It True", który w Moskwie wykona debiutująca wokalistka Johanna. W wersji demo słychać głos Tinatin, jednej ze współtwórców piosenki. Tinatin na swoim blogu zapowiedziała, że islandzka wersja eurowizyjnej piosenki nie zostanie nagrana.

Wkrótce swoją premierę będą miały remixy do bułgarskiego utworu "Ilussion", stworzone przez Deep Zone Project (ESC 2008). Remixów do swojej piosenki nie planują holenderscy reprezentanci - grupa De Toppers. Singiel z utworem "Shine" zawiera tylko jedną wersję utworu. Na profilu MySpace Sinead Mulvey z Irlandii usłyszeć można jej wersję utworu "Love?" z 2005 roku.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Encyclopedia has now been created and posted at the following link. To check out the info on "Is It True" and down the mp3 (it's official!) visit the Eurovision encyclopedia right here.

Yet another lovely blog article featured on one of the most informative music, entertainment and current event blogs out there - Zero Gossip, and also a little something closer to home.....

Yes, "Thinking of Someone Else" club remix has come full circle after many stop-overs across Europe, it has finally reached NYC.

For more info, check out Club Kerry NYC's Sunrise After Dark & Anthemic set lists at http://clubkerry.blogspot.com including a special download @ iTunes...

Just follow the link above!

Sunrise After Dark - The Set List (66:04):

1.Call Me (Original Short Version) - Shark & Sylvain
2.Teardrop (Aaron Fonzerelli Mcclelland Remix) - Eleze
3.Photograph (Kerry’s Teardrop’s in the Original Mix) - Alex M.O.R.P.H. featuring Roberta Harrison
4.Man on the Run - Dash Berlin featuring Cerf, Mitiska, & Jaren
5.Sunday Morning - Miqro & Maiqel
6.Ordinary Moment - Filo & Peri featuring Fisher
7.New Direction (Robbie Rivera Juicy Vocal Mix) - Robbie Rivera
8.Need to Feel Loved (Adam K & Soha Vocal Mix) - Reflekt
9.Miles Away (Peter Rauhofer Part 3 Final) - Madonna
10.The Fear (Stonebridge Explicit Club Mix) - Lily Allen
11.Made of Love (Push Remix) - Ferry Corsten featuring Betsie Larkin
12.Ain’t Nobody (2009 Rivaz Club Mix) - Kay & Stoxx featuring Mary Geras


Anthemic - The Set List (57:39):

1.Anthem (Original Mix) - Filo & Peri Featuring Eric Lumiere
2.Because I Love You (Dave Ramone Extended Mix) - September
3.You’re Not Alone (Club Mix) - Jose Amnesia Featuring Jennifer Rene
4.Come Fly Away (Soha And Adam K Remix) - Benny Benassi Featuring Channing
5.Get High (Nikola Gala Mix) - Chab & JD Davis
6.If You Knew (Original Mix) - Chris Lake Featuring Nastala
7.Can’t Help Myself (Sunfreakz Extended Mix) - Bellatrax featuring Sophia May
8.Self Control (Original Mix) - Dim Chris & Thomas Gold
9.Thinking Of Someone Else (Riffs & Rays Club Mix) - Tinatin
10.Shine On (Club Mix) - Filo & Peri (Hot New Track!)

That's all folks, but stay tuned for more!! :-)