What's Up, Doc?

Well, the summer is now officially over and who would have thought - the workload is still full on regardless of the season!

With so much writing (both fiction and songs), rehearsing for the upcoming show and meticulous planning, I don't think I've ever juggled so many projects all at once. But that's what makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?

Over the past couple of months, I've been blessed to discover some fabulous new songwriters - and I don't just mean producer/writers but solid composers. Some people say the craft of songwriting is slowly disappearing, but let's face it, there's got to be some cracking talent on their way to writing a classic or two in the coming years! I suppose this is something I'm most excited about - finding new talent and seeing it blossom in front of my eyes. Creativity - it pushes all my buttons, that's for sure!

We're anticipating some very exciting covers this fall, including Yanni's upcoming new album and a PBS Special.

And of course, our very own "Thinking of Someone Else" remixed by Mystery & Matt Early - this brand new Jazz Funk mix is about to hit the radio stations thanks to the amazing work by Media 2 Radio worldwide and TopHit.ru in Russia!

Keep your eyes and ears open for more updates...

P.S. More songs coming your way within the next few weeks, including a brand new single "Treat Me Like a Woman" which I've just written with Fabulous Fab & Christopher Neil... It will be recorded in NYC's Lower Eastside Flux Studios next month. I'm so psyched, cannot wait to share it with all of you!

Final Day – Is It True? Yes, It Is!

It’s not only true, but it’s also over (the madness, the excitement, the 24 hour schedule with no time to sleep, et cetera). But what a fantastic ride it’s been, and what a great payoff in the end! I couldn’t be more ecstatic about the results…

Iceland came in second, with 218 points, including ‘Douze Points’ from three countries: Norway, Malta and Ireland. Ironically, one of the co-writers of our song – the legend, that is – happens to be an Irish-born Brit, Christopher Neil. I have to admit, getting 12 points from Chris Neil’s native Ireland was rather special for us. I sat next to him during the televoting and clutched his hand tightly with excitement throughout.

After all, it wasn’t just about Iceland anymore, was it? It was about a great singer singing a song that Graham Norton, the BBC commentator (and a huge UK TV personality) referred to as “a real song” in a song contest.

Countless TV interviews, shoots and meetings back to back – how does one leave such an artistic haven in the very heat of the moment? Truth be told, I should really be staying here for another week or so, but who could have predicted the outcome? The pre-ESC live primetime TV show, which broadcasted both nationwide and internationally, targeted millions of Russian-speaking viewers that certainly helped. And singing the song in Russian, in front of my colleagues in Moscow, well, it was simply unforgettable!

What’s next, I wonder? Apart from a flight to New York first thing in the morning, as well as tons of work waiting for me on the other side of the world, it’s probably wisest to strike the iron while it’s hot, and not relax for a second. Otherwise, how often does one compete and, moreover, beat songs written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Diane Warren and Ronan Keating? I’m so proud of our achievement, and of course so thrilled with Yohanna’s final performance on the last night (and all the nights prior to the grand finale – she’s been amazing throughout!) As a young songwriter, I’m humbled, but I'm also over the moon to be on the same songwriting team with real pros such as Christopher Neil and Oskar Pall Sveinsson!

It really has been a thrill and a great adventure taking my friends, readers and listeners along on a special Eurovision ride to Moscow, but everything has to come to an end at some point. But, rest assured that when the next big opportunity comes along (and there are a few ideas in the works, more on that later!) you’ll be the first to hop on the train and come along with me. There will be new stories, new characters and more unpredictable adventures. Indeed, there is a lot to look forward to!

In the meantime, thank you all so much, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing this very special moment with me from Day 1. Don’t forget – Chapter 2 is just around the corner!

Day 8 - Eurovision Fever in Moscow!

The last couple of days have been so intense and “full on” – there is absolutely no escape from the Eurovision madness. Wherever I go in Moscow, it’s unbelievable!


Constant press conferences, interviews (TV and radio, even across the other side of the world… but more on that later!) rehearsals and parties – I truly am having a blast! But on the same note, as you may already know, I haven’t been getting any sleep - only 3 hours per night at most – since I arrived here over a week ago. Dare I complain? Hell, no!

Spending quality time with our Icelandic delegation has become so addictive! I honestly can't imagine not seeing them every day, come this time next week. What a great crowd of fun, creative, and professional people! If teamwork is what this is all about, then I feel extremely fortunate, especially now that we’ve really, really clicked. We have all hit it off in a big way – each and every one of us, collectively and individually. It’s so wonderful to work together with a group of people toward a common goal!

The Greek Party at our local hotspot Euro-Club was great fun last night. Some of the highlight acts of ESC 2009, including the Eurovision heartthrob himself, Sakis Rouvas, performed (mostly) live. Others mimed as well (should I just zip my lip?) and introduced their upcoming entries for the competition. This was a very particular audience, consisting of obvious Eurovision fans from all over the world. We were no exception!

Chris Neil, Oskar, Alma and I stood on the balcony overlooking the Euro-Club stage. We watched Yohanna blow everyone away with her performance, yet again. It would be fair to say that she blew us away too! I don't know why, but the overall impact of the song, and the performance itself, well, both are getting stronger and stronger, instead of turning into a daily routine. This is quite unusual, I think. But then again, I’m getting so excited about the upcoming semi-final (and particularly the big final night) I can barely wait for another 48 hours!


Tonight is the official opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, and the welcoming party will be held at Moscow’s historic Manezh Hall, in Red Square. Although a lot of the former Eurovision stars were lip-synching all night long, it turned out to be a very entertaining event. We all had a great time just “chilling out,” as they say. The vibe was cool and the finger food was very impressive, too.

Unlike yesterday’s pre-Eurovision promo program, tonight’s gig featured only one of the entrants this year; Anastasia Prikhodko from Ukraine, who will represent Russia in the finals. Bizarre, isn’t it? Everyone’s representing everyone else, including our “not-so-purely Icelandic delegation!" It’s very exciting, though, since we are all so multi-national. And even though I’m Georgian-born, and not of Russian heritage at all, I am the most Russian of all the Russian representatives this year, being an official citizen of the Russkiy Land. This is all according to the local and national periodicals and news agencies. Is it true? Yes, it is!
During the opening ceremony, my producer and co-author of the Icelandic song (our new universal term for “Is It True?”) suddenly pointed out a gentleman standing in the corner by the bar – it was Chuck Taylor, one of the leading music journalists in the United States! Or so I thought, at first…

But soon enough I realized it wasn’t Chuck; it was his secret twin brother! In all honesty, I had sworn it was really him, and then I zoomed in on the poor look-alike. I harassed him with my digital camera for the remainder of the evening, still secretly hoping he’d turn out to be Chuck Taylor’s relative in Russia!

Just before we all decided to call it a night, before yet another manic day (and it really is going to start getting more and more intense, from tomorrow onwards) Chris and I were interviewed over the phone by the UK’s very own Dave Charles, at HFM. It was unusual and even spooky to a certain extent, but great fun – we stood next to Lenin’s Tomb as we chatted away with Dave. We talked about my songs, our Eurovision tune and “la vie” in Moscow. Pure magic!

It’s scary, but just a couple of decades ago, conducting an overseas interview from Soviet Russia with a capitalist world journalist would have been virtually impossible! I do feel incredibly fortunate to have witnessed a tad bit of that era, but I’m even luckier to be alive in a semi-democratic world as a young person. I can say or do whatever I like… well, some of the time! :-)

As Britney’s new single is playing in the background on Russian MTV (yes, I still watch Russian MTV once every couple of years) and as I’m slowly but surely beginning to realize I haven’t blinked an eye since the madness kicked off, first thing this morning, here’s a quick reminder before I drift off into the night: The official 6-day countdown to the main event has just begun, right here on BTR. So whatever you do, please be sure to keep your eyes on Iceland – you just NEVER know!

Day 7 - New Friends!

What a fantastic day! It really does keep getting better as the clock keeps on ticking away – and I am not exaggerating!

I really should be in bed by now, as I’m doing some writing in the studio tomorrow (I have never composed in Moscow – or at least have never co-written here, which is extremely exciting). But I wanted to share some of the latest news with you, and share some of my happiness.

Last night we got an invitation from the Ambassador of Iceland in Russia, to attend an Icelandic ESC party. It was hosted at the Embassy to honor our delegation, with the main focus on this year’s Icelandic entry, performed by Iceland’s very own, Danish-born Yohanna.

Since most of the delegations are hosting Eurovision parties at the Euro-Club, based on the informal protocol, we felt very privileged to attend our very own Eurovision extravaganza in the very heart of Icelandic culture – the diplomatic headquarters of Iceland’s Permanent Representative to the Russian Federation, Ambassador Benedikt Ásgeirsson.

Ambassador Ásgeirsson personally welcomed and greeted our team individually, and then we were all photographed with him. This went on throughout the reception, with photos being taken by various Icelandic, Danish, German, UK and Russian press and media representatives, who were also present at the special event. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to use my camera, as it would have been slightly awkward to be walking around with this digital friend, snapping pictures of everyone. However, various international photographers attending the party have promised us the shots as soon as possible, so, fingers crossed!



Fridrik Omar, Hera Bjork Thorhallsdottir and Erna Hronn Olafsdottir, who are supporting our stunning headliner as backing vocalists (but are in fact famous Icelandic and Danish singers themselves) performed several songs together with Yohanna, including “Is It True?” in both English and in Russian. I absolutely loved humming along with the Russian version, which I’m particularly fond of these days. It was adorable watching four accomplished Scandinavian artists singing in (what I can now easily refer to as) my “second native language”!



The press, as well as the Icelandic Ambassador, were equally charmed by the unplugged, yet extremely classy (and honest) performances. Meanwhile us, the three composers, enjoyed every moment of the magical evening. It's all really beginning to feel like a dream come true. Six years ago, who would have that the song we were writing was going to end up bringing the three of us back together in Moscow – miles away from London, Reykjavik and New York – for the Eurovision Song Contest?

I absolutely can't wait to post the pictures from this fabulous event on my blog. Then you can all experience – or at least witness – a glimpse of our collective pride, joy and excitement. It all comes from the very realization of the fact that, after all, representing the beautiful country of Iceland, in front of 100-600 million viewers across the world, is not a trivial pursuit.

Although it really has gone way past my regular (but in this case irregular) bedtime, I have to share one more highlight of the day with my new, but hopefully loyal BTR readers and listeners.

Do you remember Tomas N’Evergreen, whose songs I’ve featured numerously on my BTR show, Russkiy in the Mix (including this week’s premiere of his new single, “Popstar”)?

I’ve been a big fan of N’Evergreen’s since I first heard his single “Since You’ve Been Gone”, which was in the Top 5 in Russia for absolute ages, just a few years ago. And now that he’s living in Moscow for the time, releasing his second album throughout Europe in the coming months, there was no way I could pass through Moscow without meeting my favorite English-language artist!

It was wonderful talking to a like-minded, music-oriented artist; one who has managed to keep his feet firmly on the ground. At the same time, he is one of the most successful artists in the vast country of the Russian Federation! We swapped stories, experiences, ideas and tips, as though we’d been friends for a long time. That really doesn’t happen too often nowadays, particularly in the ever-changing and somewhat fickle music business.

Who knows, we may even collaborate on a song together, in the near future. If so, you really will be the first ones to hear about it! But for the time being, stay tuned for the latest N’Evergreen songs that I’m already excited about – the new album is on the way! I only wonder why Tomas isn’t representing his native Denmark this year? With all due respect to this year’s Danish song (written by Ronan Keating), I would have certainly voted for Denmark, if only… Hey, never say never!

Will I be up and running in a matter of 3-4 hours yet again? I’m afraid so, but dare I complain? This is one of the most memorable adventures I’ve experienced so far in life, and being able to take you along for the ride makes it all so much more worthwhile, and undeniably special!

P.S. This beautiful electronic postcard was made by Nathan Waddell at ESCtime – one of the biggest supporters of our Icelandic song in the UK. I was particularly touched by the lovely note at the bottom - isn’t it adorable? I was venting in one of my previous blogs earlier this week about being perceived by the press here at Eurovision as more of an artist (although I’m not singing at the moment!), versus my primary role as a songwriter, so here’s the answer from Nathan!

Day 6 - Back To Eurovision 2009!

I have so enjoyed spending time catching up with old friends from school! I am back in my hometown, after all, so a little sightseeing is mandatory. I must look like a wide-eyed tourist, or rather an expatriate who’s been away for far too long!

That said, following a much-deserved “collective” day off on Day 5, we are now fully back on ESC track, and in full gear!

The highlight of the day was welcoming Christopher Neil (my executive producer and co-writer of “Is It True?”) without an ounce of exaggeration. The man is a true legend, and responsible for some of the biggest worldwide hit records, including Celine Dion, Cher, Rod Stewart, I mean, the list could go on forever!

While our folks were watching some of the rehearsals for semi 2, I drove to the airport with our ESC hosts. I was finally going to meet Chris for the first time in my home town. It was a very special moment for me!

This moment was brief, however. There was a minor mishap, for we soon realized that Chris had misplaced his Eurovision Pass! Since we were due at Olympiisky Stadium by 6 PM for the second Icelandic rehearsal (it was already 5:50 PM by then) our driver, Denis, took matters into his own hands. He must have broke the Guinness World Record. We got from A to B within 15 minutes, and through a manic traffic jam at that!

The set looked really beautiful, and we were all impressed with the sound, especially during the playback in the viewing room. Chris, who has been to more mega-huge gigs in the last few decades than I can even imagine, told me that it’s far more professional-sounding than he had expected. Did you know that one of the top sound engineers from Europe (who happens to be from “our neighboring” country of Sweden) is in charge of the ESC sound this year?

As soon as Yohanna got on stage, she blew everyone away with her performance. Unlike most rehearsals, ours was actually one of the few that felt like the real deal. The crew and some of the press people attending clapped after every soundcheck and every take, which apparently is very unusual.

After the rehearsal and our private playback (where we discussed the performance and made last minute comments about bits and pieces - mostly technical stuff) the organizers escorted us to the press conference room. There was going to be some media madness on the spot!

Although today’s conference was a little shorter than Monday’s extravaganza (probably due to press representatives trying to juggle a million things at once during the pre-ESC prep time) it was really cute to hear Yohanna sing a cappella in Russian, especially for the benefit of the local press!

By the time we had wrapped up at the venue, it suddenly hit us that we hadn’t eaten a thing since God knew when. So, the next stop turned out to be quite predictable, and not too exotic, either - our new favorite Italian restaurant in downtown Moscow!

The best part so far, I have to admit, has been ordering food for our delegation every time we go out. Since I’m the only other Russian speaker, aside from our hosts, do I feel like a true Muscovite when I’m around them?!

Although I’ve promised our musicians that I’ll take them out clubbing tomorrow night, I’m actually very limited in my knowledge of the Moscow nightlife. Aside from the restaurants, I don't know too much about it, so it will be interesting to see if they’ll like my local Zagat choice!

Tomorrow is another crazy day, or so we’ve been warned. The highlight will certainly be our Icelandic Party, to be hosted by the Icelandic Ambassador, at the Embassy here in Moscow. This is extremely exciting, as there will be a lot of singing, dancing, and probably quite a bit of drinking as well. But, I promise to behave! In all seriousness though, it should be interesting, as I’ve never really been to a purely Icelandic party. That's quite an intriguing prospect, to say the least!
I daren’t look at the time, in case it has gone past 2 or 3 AM again. So far I’ve been going to bed at or around 5 AM, at the earliest. I've been doing a seemingly endless amount of radio promo interviews in Europe every night, and it's made a regular bedtime somewhat awkward, if not impossible. Of course, it’s been amazing to be able to promote both my UK single, “Thinking of Someone Else”, and the Eurovision song, “Is It True?” at the same time. But it’s also been a little hectic! Plus, I’ve got to draft the synopsis for my book sequel (which I’ve only just submitted to my agent) while I’m in Moscow. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get some time off to party with my new Icelandic friends. Of course, you’ll be the first to know on BTR, so stay tuned!


Oh, and one more thing before I turn my laptop off for the night – a major Russian TV channel, ORT 1, and the main news show, "Vremya," are endorsing “Is It True?” They are highlighting it as one of the ESC songs with a strong Russian connection, and they are telling our compatriots to keep their eyes and ears on throughout the competition for it. So with ORT’s support, which is a huge deal over here, we shouldn’t do too badly at all! In fact, we are very optimistic, so, fingers crossed!

Now I’m really off to bed, no excuses! Up in 4 hours…

ESCtime Interview (Part I & Part II)

Exclusive interview for ESCtime with Tinatin & Christopher Neil.....

Esctime speaks to Tinatin & Chris (Part 1)

Esctime had the pleasure of exclusively interviewing both Tinatin Japaridze and Christopher Neil, the Icelandic songwriters of this year.

To see the full Iceland 2009 profile, click here. Thanks to the fans that submitted their questions!!!

01 - Were you tempted at all to put more instruments in the track, or was the intention from the start to strip it right back to concentrate on Yohanna's vocals? (Anne)
Chris: The song has a quiet, reflective quality, and at the start at least, we didn’t want make the instrumentation too busy. Also when you have such a great vocalist it’s best not to let the arrangement get in the way.

02 - “I love your song, but I would love it even more if it had a bridge”. Is there any chance of adding a bridge to make the song even more complete, either before or after the contest? (Stefanos)
C: We felt we had said in the verses and choruses all we had to say. Plus the fact that with a bridge the song would come in at almost 4 minutes….a little too long, especially for Eurovision.

03 - What does the song “Is it true” mean to you? A personal experience? (Theo)
C: Not really….it’s just the universal story of a relationship breaking up….nothing personal.

04 - Besides Eurovision, what kind of song writing and composing are you involved in? Do you write for yourself or others? (Renee)
C: I write and produce regular pop/rock songs for various artists.
Tinatin: I have very recently started writing for other artists as well as myself. I’ve just written a new song with Sertab (she won ESC for Turkey in 2003) for her upcoming album – it’s a completely different experience than writing for my own project. Unlike Chris who has written for some of the biggest artists out there, I had never worn that cap before and I’m really getting into it!

05 - Is this your first entry in Eurovision?
C & T: Yes…..for both of us.

06 - What does the future hold for Tinatin? Do you plan to enter Eurovision again? What are your plans?
T: To be honest, the ESC entry was never on the cards – it was all an accident, a very good one, of course, but we had never planned it beforehand. The song was written for me back then but the direction was somewhat different from the rest of the material, so we ended up putting it away for the time being… And I’m glad we did as it has really found its home now.

As for my future plans, I’m involved in a number of ventures at the moment, from music (my priority, as always) to radio journalism and a literary project that I’m completing at the moment which is going to be my debut novel based on a true story.

Naturally, music is always the ultimate driving force behind everything I do, and I’m writing new material both for myself and a few other artists right now.

I’ve come to realize recently that writing and experimenting as a musician is an endless process and you just never know what’s going to «click» - it’s usually the most unexpected collaborations and the least predictable songs that really work in the end… «Is It True» is a perfect example – we wrote and recorded the demo a week before I left London after three-and-a-half years and moved to NY… so who would have thought? It was also our only co-write with Oskar (Oskar Pall Sveinsson) so it’s very special!

Eurovision entry in the future? Never say never, obviously, but as of now, we’re still not through with this year’s upcoming semis and hopefully the grand finale, so I’m still in the ESC 2009 mode

07 - How long did it take you to write ‘Is It True?’ (Dan)
C: About a day to write, and another day to record the demo, as far as I remember.
T: Hmm… I recall it taking a few days, actually. The melody was written fairly quickly and I demoed the basic «la la la» the same day we sat down to write the song, but the lyrics took a couple of days. Some songs take absolute ages, but this was not the case…

I have to admit, Chris was instrumental in coming up with the storyline and also the title! Oskar and I loved it immediately – we had the title, we just needed the lyrics so it was a matter of sitting down together and brainstorming That’s always the fun part.

I do remember being completely obsessed with Kit Kat chocolate in-between the takes when we were recording!

08 - This is for Tinatin; what do you think about the Georgian entry? (Nathan)
T: Since I’m Georgian-born myself, I really wanted the Georgian entry to make an impact in a positive way this year. But when I first heard the song, it was obvious that the overly political theme of the lyric was going to arouse negative emotions, especially with the committee – and it’s understandable.

Eurovision as a major entertainment TV show is a wonderful escape from the madness we live in for at least a few hours once a year, and burdening the public with more politics and negative emotions is just not fair.

This is my personal opinion, but as much as I instinctively wanted to support the Georgian entry, it didn’t strike me as an appropriate move in the already complicated political climate we live in today.

09 - What do you both think about the Russian entry?
C & T: Heard it once…we both think it stands as good a chance as any other song in the contest. It’s very hard to predict how the songs will «translate» or come across to the viewers on the night of the finals… A majority of these people haven’t heard the entries yet and will only be able to make their judgment based on that one night’s performance!

10 - What is your favourite Eurovision entry ever?
C: «Waterloo» - ABBA
T: I know I’m very cheesy but I can’t help it! Celine Dion, «Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi» - you can’t really beat that voice and the power of her performance is always mesmerizing and really convincing no matter what she sings!

11 - How is the visual performance going to look on-stage in May, can you reveal anything to us?
C & T: We are not involved in the visual production, so we have no idea and we’re as curious and intrigued as you are!!!

12 - What are your favourite Broadway and West End musicals?
C: “ West Side Story” and “ Pippin”
T: Personally I love Broadway from the 40’s, 50’s and the early 60’s… The great American classics, of course – but an actual favorite? “Funny Girl”, no doubt.

13 - Did you watch Melodifestivalen 2009? If so, what was your favourite song? Mine was Scotts’ “Jag tror på oss” because I prefer upbeat music to ballads usually!
T: I quite liked EMD’s «Baby Goodbye» but to be honest, I didn’t watch the entire contest… the chorus was very catchy, though!

14 - Who has been inspirational for you in your life?
C: Musical inspiration – Paul Simon!
T: In reference to «Funny Girl» - Barbra Streisand. Not only musically but also creatively and personally – it’s admirable to watch an amazingly talented and smart woman in a man’s world achieve so much without losing her feminine side through it all.

15 - Why did you both decide to enter this song for Iceland and not any other country?
C & T: We wrote the song with Oskar Paul… And as he is Icelandic, it was a natural choice.

(Part 2)

16 - What do you think of the new voting system? (Nathan)
C & T: We hope it works!

17 - What do you think of Dima Bilan’s song “Believe” and his previous entry “Never Let You Go”? Which one was your favourite?
C & T: “Never Let You Go”, which actually didn’t win the contest in 2006 – so here’s the perfect example that you just never know, it’s so hard to predict the outcome! We are following the pre-charts and the polls all over the Net from time to time, but at the end of the day, what happens on the night is still very much a secret for everybody and that’s what makes it fun!

18 - What’s your favourite Icelandic entry?
T: I only watched the Icelandic SF & NF this year for the first time ever – I liked «Lygin Ein» - I’ve still got it on my iPod J The competition between us and Kaja was pretty much 50/50 during the semifinals… it was a matter of either going for a ballad or a dance song, and as you know, Iceland chose the former – I’m glad they did! J

19 - Chris - what is your favourite UK entry?
C: “ Making Your Mind Up”

20 - Tinatin - which Georgian entry do you prefer? Sopho’s “Visionary Dream” or Diana’s “Peace Will Come”?
T: Diana’s “Peace Will Come”…

21 - Which are your favourite 2009 songs? (Antons)
T: I haven’t made my mind up about an absolute favorite but it will probably be one of the least predictable ones… it’s very easy to get bored with the same songs when you’ve heard them over and over again during the selection process, so I’m trying not to overdo it for now – we’ll have to sit through the semis in Moscow and the finals as well, hopefully, so we have plenty of time!!!

22 - Which part of “Is It True?” do you like best?
C: The key change!
T: Definitely! The modulation has always been a favorite even when we did the demo, but Yohanna’s performance and the final version in particular have really emphasized the key change without overdoing or exaggerating it, which is always a bit risky… That’s why I agree with Chris – having a full blown bridge in the song would have been a bit too much….

23 - How did you decide that Yohanna would sing the song? (Yoni)
C: It was decided in Iceland……..good choice!
T: When I first saw Yohanna on TV after Oskar told us about her, I thought to myself: «she’s so beautiful but can she sing?» What a great surprise when she opened her mouth– she certainly can sing, we are really happy with the choice!

24 - What do you think about Iceland’s chances at Eurovision this year? How do you react to “Is It True?” becoming a fan favourite?
C & T: We think we have a good chance…and we are thrilled it has become so popular with the fans!

25 - A lot of bad comments have been towards Eurovision music in recent years, do you think that the level of music at Eurovision is lowered because of that?
C & T: It is a show as well as a song contest…a lot of critics don’t like that…..but over two hundred million viewers can’t be wrong!!!!!

Thanks guys and good luck!!!

Esctime.com would sincerely like to thank Chris and Tinatin for this interview, well more like chat!!! Which you can only find on Esctime.com! Good luck in the future!

Currently Tinatin is working in the studio with Sertab Erener (Turkey 2003 ESC winner) on her next English album which is planned to be released this June!!! We will keep you updated on this.

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!

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

Iceland: Song Selected But Who Wrote It?

Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir won the Icelandic selection with "Is It True".

At 18 Jóhanna is a relative newcomer to the Icelandic music scene but in true Icelandic tradition she has recorded some songs for children's cds as a young teen.

Listen to the song and all other Icelandic contenders at the RÚV Söngvakeppni page

You can also listen to the original demo version by Tinatin at reverbnation and read all about it at Tinatin's MySpace blog.

There is a little discrepancy though, RÚV only mentions Óskar Páll Sveinsson as the writer of the song, but Tinatin wrote it with Chris Neil and aforementioned Oskar Paul. Sort it out guys.

Tónlist has the album with all selections songs (digital), Eurovision CD out soon on Sena.


Special thanks to Jan @ the Moscow Collection !!

http://moscoweurovision.blogspot.com/2009/02/iceland.html

It’s True for Iceland!

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to confirm that yes, indeed, it's true Iceland! My self-penned song, "Is It True" co-written with Iceland's very own Oskar Paul Sveinsson (Bjork, Steps, S Club 7, etc.) and Christopher Neil (Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Mike & the Mechanics) has now officially been picked as the Icelandic entry for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Moscow this coming May.

As some of you may already know, "Is It True", performed by the wonderfully gifted and beautiful Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, will be up against some of the upcoming highlights of the contest, including songs written and/or performed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Diane Warren, Patricia Kaas, to name but a few.

For those of you interested in the details of how this year's Icelandic entry came about (and yes, as you know I am Georgian-born, a Russian citizen after moving to Moscow at the age of 9 and currently living in New York, so why Iceland?) .....

Two hundred and seventeen songs were submitted to the Icelandic broadcaster in their open call for songs for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest pre-selection. Sixteen of those were selected to proceed to the next phase which will include four televised heats in January, leading to the national final.

In an announcement made earlier this morning, Icelandic television broadcaster RÚV made it clear that just over 69,000 votes were cast by the Icelandic public when they chose Jóhanna's performance of the song "Is It True" as the nations representative for 2009 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The results clearly show that when it came down to choosing an entry to fulfill Iceland's Eurovision hopes and dreams, there was really only one choice.

To watch the youtube of both the national semi-final and final performances of "Is It True", please follow these links:

Semi-final Performance:

Semi-final performance

National finals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBQv4k3hu28


Official Eurovision YouTube homepage


Thank you all for your continued support and look forward to seeing you either in Moscow or live from the Russian capital on national European TV and/or online webcast!

In the meantime, stay tuned and don't forget to vote for Iceland (of all countries!) on May 12th! :-)

Tinatin

“Thinking of Someone Else” Charmix in the UK by Euro Solution

It's official - Tinatin's "Thinking of Someone Else" (Tinatin/Christopher Neil/Ben Jammin' Robbins) Charmix by Dr. Octavo has now hit the clubs across the United Kingdom!

For more info, please check out the following links and for those of you in the UK - enjoy "Thinking of Someone Else"!!!!!

Euro Solution's current projects

Tinatin on Euro Solution

Euro Solution website

Thinking of Someone Else...AGAIN!

Yesssss....!!!

"Thinking of Someone Else" by Dr. Octavo/Tinatin Charmix is at No.1 in the Club/Dance Charts on Ourstage!

Last time this very song was no. 1 on Ourstage was the original demo version by Chris Neil and Ben "Jammin'" Robbins (also my co-writers on the song) but this time it's the actual radio remix... by none other than Dr. Octavo (Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Britney, Usher, Justin Timberlake remixes... you name it!)

Please check out the banner below for more details!

Thank you all so much for voting and getting it to the number one slot! :-)

Tinatin xxx

Never-Ending Story of Love

Those of you who are still here after myspacious soap operetta - welcome back! :-)

At times, the obligation that comes with being a myspace member (logging in regularly, checking messages, maintaining the homepage, etc.) can be a bit of a drag for some. But on the other hand, it can really turn into a wonderful tool if you use it the right away. Every now and then, you come across people, and particularly musicians, that you've been hearing of for ages but never actually met them (and in this case, I'm not talking about the celebrity spaces run by their loyal fans - we're on to the real deal here!)

In my case, yesterday I connected with a musician, singer/songwriter whose self-written song became the very first professional recording I made when I started making my initial steps in the recording world upon moving to London.

Her name is Kit Hain. Kit was the vocal half of the famous duo Marshall Hain whose "Dancing In The City" was a European top 3 smash, and mind you, she's written songs for Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Peter Cetera & Chaka Khan, to name but a few.

So when my producer, Chris Neil, initially played me Kit's newly crafted "Never-Ending Story of Love", I fell in love with it right away, and although Chris had in on hold for Celine Dion, I talked him into letting me do a version regardless. You can imagine my excitement when he told me that he was thinking of recording it with Celine - I was all the more ecstatic! :-) But I was 17 years old, you see....

Just a bit of history here (can't be as painful as soap operas, right?)

When I was 16 years old, I was introduced to Christopher Neil, the producer of Rod Stewart, Mike & the Mechanics, Cher, Sheena Easton and Celine Dion, among many, many others that I loved and admired as a little girl. You can just about picture me all thrilled and excited about meeting Chris Neil (I used to love his backing vocals on Celine's "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" - apart from being quite an amazing producer and songwriter, Chris started actually started out as a singer - the first Jesus Christ Superstar in the West End, in fact, no kidding!) when ITV's London Tonight informed us that they'd be interviewing him about my music for a special segment about a Russian girl (funny how at the time being Georgian was too confusing to explain to an average viewer) coming to London to make it in the showbiz across Europe. (For those of you who are interested, the video of the TV piece is actually on youtube accessible through myspace.)

To make a long story short, Chris invited us and the television crew to Metropolis Studios in West London, where at the time, he was mixing Rod Stewart's ninth studio album, "Human". I was not only blown away by meeting a hero of mine, but the recording studio made such a huge impact on my 16-year-old psyche, I made a promise to myself that one day I'd recorded in that very room, Studio D, with none other than the same record producer. Quite pretentious of me, really, and ambitious too. Oh, teenage madness!

I won't be exaggerating if I say that it took me literally 18 months to get back in touch with Chris Neil personally and to finally work with him. Guess where? In the same studio, the same control room, with the same engineer, Simon Hurrell, who recorded Celine's first few albums done by Chris ("Unison", "The Colour of My Love", to be precise.) Could I be more ecstatic?

Our first attempt was, in fact, this very same song, "Never-Ending Story of Love"... As I'm writing this blog, I happen to be listening to the demo on my laptop at the same time... So many memories, and it seems like a million years ago, honestly. The recording session coincided with my falling in love for the very first time, therefore, the experience and the outcome meant SO much more to me... teenage follies, first time in love, etc. Don't laugh, it's not supposed to be cheesy!

So when I eventually connected with Kit through myspace last night for the very first time, it brought so many more memories back, it's quite incredible, and she asked me to send her an mp3 of the track - my very studio recording in the west with a world class record producer... How much more significant does it get for an artist? I'm a bit nervous about Kit hearing this demo - I was, after all, 17 years old, brand new to the whole process, really.

And yet, I can remember this session in such great detail - every take, every break in-between the takes... I could not believe it was really happening to me. And little did I know at the time that it was only the very beginning of a rather adventurous journey.........