My Crazy Month...

A crazy month so far... And the summer has only just kicked off!

Negotiating contracts, meeting with lawyers, publishers, agents and new
songwriting partners can be fascinating, exhausting and at times really
exciting, but what about some free time for a bit of fun and entertainment?

It's becoming increasingly difficult to take the entire day off, let alone a
proper weekend off work, without feeling somewhat guilty deep down ("I
should be working, not hanging out!") Although having said that, recharging
my batteries is definitely one of my priorities for the next couple of
months or so. That, along with a couple of trips that have been on the cards
for way too long, including London and possibly LA, but not excluding an
imminent return to Moscow for a potential project that is currently in the
works... Something massive but not yet finalized negotiation-wise, so I
daren't say more!

All in all, a very exciting time but it's also quite disappointing that I've
barely managed to catch up with any of my friends in-between the mad weeks
here and there. I don't regret it for a second, of course, but sometimes I
genuinely worry that my friends will soon start accusing me of ignorance -
and that would make me feel awful!!! :( I wish I could place everything on
hold - or maybe a pause button? - for a day or two and just concentrate on
catching up with each and every one of them!

Oh, and guess what else is happening next weekend? A gig in Central Park!
But more on that later... with pictures and possibly even a youtube video!

In the meantime, of course, the UN Uncovered radio show and the BTR Russkiy
in the Mix show are still very much on air and in production on weekly basis
- it's a way of switching off once a week, I guess, and thinking about the
bigger picture every now and then!

And the book... The synopsis for the sequel is already done, while the first
book is currently being reviewed and edited by the critics, so I'm excited
and just a little nervous!

Wow, would you believe that "Is It True?" is still in the charts and still
going strong? While "Thinking of Someone Else" is #2 on the iDanceFM charts
and we've just completed a pop cross-over radio mix in the UK, which I'll be
posting shortly on myspace! And by the way, it has just been picked up by
Hit FM and Europe Plus, a couple of leading Russian commercial radio
stations and will probably be added to a few more top stations throughout
Russia in the next couple of weeks or so.

I'll do my best to keep the blogs coming on regular basis and keep you all
posted at all times... My apologies again for not getting back to everyone
in timely manner but I promise to get better at it - I'm really not as good
as I used to be :-( But I'll improve, promise! :-)

Day 11 - It Is True, We Are Officially In!

I couldn’t be happier or more proud! Making it to the finals has most definitely been the highlight of my trip so far. Isn’t that why we are here, after all?

Rumor had it, just before the semi-final gala kicked off, that Iceland would either be the first to go through, or it would simply miss out by a couple of votes. The polls across the Olympiisky Stadium walls, however, had been very promising during the week. We were placed at the very top of the list, as the most likely contender for the finalist spot. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t confident… in fact, overly confident, particularly after hearing Yohanna’s semi-final performance in the Green Room – we were so proud!

But suddenly it all turned into a real Eurovision nightmare, as the finalists were announced one by one, each flag pulled out individually from the electronic envelopes. There were 10 of them in total. 1, 2, 3, 4, it wasn’t getting any easier, although what helped was the constant reminder that the results were being disclosed in random order. But still, were we going to make it? By #9 we knew it was going to be either Belarus or Iceland – or maybe neither, as Eurovision has always been famous for being completely unpredictable!

When the very last envelope was pulled out of the batch, I looked away from the screen and closed my eyes and ears. It was getting a little too intense! Would I be able to face another flag, other than our Icelandic one, when I opened my eyes?


I honestly cannot recall seeing our flag on the screen and neither can I remember hearing “Iceland” or “Is It True?” as we sat holding hands in our cozy Green Room. Yet, I do remember our screams and tears once it had finally hit home – we had made it to the finals, 10 out of 18 semi final entries! I wish I could describe how it felt without sounding too cliché, but I can’t help it – it really was THAT amazing!!!

What’s next for our team in the coming days? Well, a couple of top notch TV shows and exclusive interviews, which have already kicked off following our big night. And it’s going to get even bigger and all the more exciting (and perhaps even more nerve-wracking) on May 16th – the Grand Finale! Dare I make any predictions? Let’s wait and see. I’m just enjoying the moment, anticipating the unknown and making the most of this fantastic experience. Had I known it was so good, I would have made my first Eurovision attempt quite a few years ago. But I suppose it’s better to do it later than never at all!

And now it’s time to face another crazy day filled with intense drama, excitement, madness and a whole load of fun! Who knows what the rest of the week has in store for us? It just keeps getting better…. And tougher, too!

Day 10 - Semi Final Preparations!

As we are making last minute preparations for the semi final, due to take place tonight at 11 PM Moscow time, the excitement is building up and our overall schedule is getting tighter by the minute!

While most of the delegation parties are beginning to wind down (until the big night on the 16th) most of the participants are spending less time on the dance floor.Everyone is devoting all of their energy to the upcoming semi finals tonight, and on the 14th. As it happens, we are in the first group of semi finalists, hence the madness and major anticipation of the event.

Although the absolute highlight is bound to be the grand finale itself, tonight is quite a big deal, too – it’s pretty much down to a fantastic performance by Yohanna (we are VERY confident!) and of course, one of the primary ingredients – LUCK.

We simply MUST qualify tonight and go through to the finals, but I admit I’m a little nervous – who wouldn’t be? We all are, and if anyone says otherwise – they’re either insane or just lying!

And here’s the line up (I almost wrote the “track listing” – I’m too much of a studio nerd, I guess!)

(Composer/lyricist in brackets)


Montenegro - Andrea Demirović - Just get out of my life (Ralph Siegel/Bernd Meinunger, José Juan Santana Rodriguez)

Czech Republic - Gipsy.cz - Aven romale (Radoslav Banga)

Belgium - Copycat - Copycat (Miam Monster Miam/Jacques Duvall)

Belarus - Petr Elfimov - Eyes that never lie (Petr Elfimov/Valeriy Prokhozhy)

Sweden - Malena Ernman - La voix (Fredrik Kempe/Fredrik Kempe, Malena Ernman)

Armenia - Inga & Anush - Nor par (Mane Akopyan/Avet Barseghyan, Vardan Zadoyan)

Andorra - Susanne Georgi - La teva decisió (Get a life) (Pernilla Georgi, Susanne Georgi, Rune Braager, Lene Dissing, Marcus Winther-John/Josep Vila)

Switzerland - Lovebugs - The highest heights (Adrian Sieber, Thomas Rechberger, Florian Senn)

Turkey - Hadise - Düm tek tek (Sinan Akçil/Hadise, Sinan Akçil, Stefan Fernande)

Israel - Noa & Mira Awad - There must be another way (Noa, Mira Awad, Gil Dor)

Bulgaria - Krassimir Avramov - Illusion (Krassimir Avramov, William Tabanou/Casie Tabanou, Krassimir Avramov, William Tabanou)

Iceland - Yohanna - Is it true? (Tinatin Japaridze, Óskar Páll Sveinsson, Chris Neil)

FYR Macedonia - Next Time - Nešto što kje ostane (Damjan Lazarov, Jovan Jovanov/Elvir Mekić)

Romania - Elena Georghe - The Balkan girls (Daris Mangal, Ovidiu Bistriceanu, Laurenţiu Duţă/Laurenţiu Duţă, Alexandru Pelin)

Finland - Waldo's People - Lose control (Karima, Ari Erik Veikko Lehtonen/Karima, Annie Kratz-Gutå, Ari Erik Veikko Lehtonen, Waldo)

Portugal - Flor-de-Lis - Todas as ruas do amor (Pedro Marques/Pedro Marques, Paulo Pereira)

Malta - Chiara - What if we? (Marc Paelinck/Gregory Bilsen)

Bosnia & Herzegovina - Regina - Bistra voda (Aleksandar Čović)

And the rules? Oh, that’s the scary part!

18 countries listed above will present one song each, including “Is It True?” representing Iceland. Nine countries will be chosen by televoting to move forward to the grand final this Saturday and the tenth spot will go to the country that placed the highest in the voting of the juries but did not qualify through televoting. Only the qualifiers will be announced during the show, and the complete results will be revealed after the final.

There’s so much more I want to tell you about the last couple of days but it’s now time for me to rush over to a meeting with my publishers (and I have to sort out one of my publishers’ lost baggage – I keep forgetting I’m one of the very few Russian speakers in our delegation… if not the only one! I love it, most of the time) and I do promise to give you all the details following our semi final. It's all just a few hours away! I'm excited, sleepless and a little nervous – but not really. So stay tuned for the results and don’t forget to Vote for Iceland!

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!

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.

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!

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

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

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!! :-)

Build-up to Eurovision 2009

And here are the most recent news about Eurovision, the Icelandic entry in particular, and more! :-)

As some of you already know, every Monday the Eurovision website compiles and publishes the weekly polls based on the reactions and current favorites (and vice versa) of the potential televoters and ESC fans.

Here are the results for this week......

Charts for 23rd February 2009

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

Pl. Country Song Score Last week Change Poll

1 Norway Fairytale 118.9 NEW here
2 United Kingdom It's my time 96.2 109.4 (1st) down here
3 Turkey Düm tek tek 94.6 96.2 (3rd) = here
4 Finland Lose control 90.8 107.3 (2nd) down here
5 Iceland Is it true? 86.5 82.5 (4th) down here
6 Switzerland The highest heights 85.5 NEW here
7 Denmark Believe again 53.5 80.1 (5th) down here
8 France Et s'il fallait le faire 41.0 68.8 (6th) down here
9 Slovenia Love symphony 38.6 38.6 (11th) up here
10 Greece This is our night 35.4 NEW here
11 Hungary Tánclépés 35.2 NEW here
12 Montenegro Just get out of my life 31.4 64.7 (7th) down here
13 Albania Në merr në ëndërr 29.5 32.4 (12th) down here
14 Malta What if we 22.4 46.8 (8th) down here
15 Andorra La teva decisió 21.1 39.8 (10th) down here
16 Moldova Hora din Moldova 15.9 25.6 (14th) down here
17 Germany Miss kiss kiss bang 13.6 40.4 (9th) down here
18 Poland I don't wanna leave 4.8 31.1 (13th) down here
19 Lithuania Love 1.5 2.2 (15th) down here
20 Ireland Et cetera -3.4 NEW here
21 Romania The Balkan girls -11.4 0.3 (16th) down here
22 Netherlands Shine -14.5 -5.4 (17th) down here
23 Georgia We don't wanna put in -42.4 NEW here
24 Bulgaria Illusion -88.9 NEW here
25 Cyprus Firefly -101.1 -79.2 (18th) down here
26 FYR Macedonia Nešto što ke os -105.0 NEW here
27 Armenia Nor par -132.9 -121.8 (19th) down here
28 Belarus Eyes that never lie -179.9 -173.4 (20th) down here

Great fun to follow these, although of course it's still very early days. But will keep you posted on the poll results in the coming weeks!

As for more details and additional info/material about the Icelandic National Winner, "Is It True", here's a brand new source with the actual lyrics, photos, original demo and bios...

The NRS interview about the Icelandic entry was also published in "Narodniye Novosti" (National News - Russia) and you can also view the online version of the article released by the editor-in-chief in the editorial column right here.

And finally, here's the icing on the cake - this is really interesting and great fun... Have a look!

"The build-up to the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow"

Posted on 2009.02.26 at 16:10
By: Akoe07
Current Location: Edinburgh
http://akoe07.livejournal.com/133530.html

At this point there has been 28 of the 43 entries made public or selected.
So it seems appropriate to run through them and give my thoughts on each.

I will start with those entries known in Semi Final 1.
Of the 19 entries 13 are known which means that of these at least 4 will be in the Final.

BELARUS Petr Elfimov - "Eyes That Never Lie"
Very much a rock ballad and I actually quite like this song. My only concern is
Petr himself. His look is dubious to say the least but am sure that will be
spruced up for Moscow. Also his vocals tend to run away a bit toward the
end of the song and perhaps need to be harnessed in a little to make for a
more polished performance.
Possible Qualifier.

ARMENIA Inga and Anush Arshakyans - "Jan Jan"
Well this is very ethnic sounding, which I normally approve of, but this is not
a good example of ethnic sounds working in a song. The sisters vocals are
not good and very shouty in places. I would expect to see a total revamp of
this by May but as it stands this version is quite awful. The best bits are when
they are not singing.
This version Non Qualifier, but a revamped one combined with diaspora votes.
Possible Qualifier.

FYR MACEDONIA Next Time - "Nesto Sto Ke Ostane"
Well this is a rock song but for me it does not have any instant hook to
remember it by. Its a pleasant enough song to listen to but I cannot get
any more enthusiastic about it.
Non Qualifier

BULGARIA Krassimir Avromov -"My Illusion"
Well I love the studio version of this and the promo video. But when you
listen to this live I feel he loses control of his vocals by trying too hard
and consequently it turns into a bit of a disaster. Could improve big style
if they can sort this out better for Moscow.
Non Qualifier

GEORGIA Stephane & 3G -"I Don't Want To Put In"
Huge political controversy already with this song regarding the lyrics.
Meant to be a huge dig towards Russia, the hosts, and to Putin the
President in particular .I think there is no doubt these lyrics will change
to something less political. This song is based heavily in the 70's Disco era.
Its fun and visually could be great but I cannot see it continuing Georgia's
good run in this competition.
Non Qualifier.

ROMANIA Elena Gheorghe -"The Balkan Girls"
Well we have an upbeat Girlie dance song which has become a trademark
formula type of entry for quite a few countries over the last few years.
Its certainly worked well for the likes of Turkey and Greece but not convinced
this one will do as well. To me its inoffensive but a bit repetitive and ultimately dull.
Possible Qualifier.

ANDORRA Susanne Georgi - "La Teva Decisió"
Well for me this is Andorra's best entry so far. Its a very happy pleasant song.
Also has a catchy hook and could give Andorra their best result to date.
Of course they have never qualified for the Final before so whether achieving
this is possible? Depends on live performance.
Possible Qualifier

MALTA Chiara -"What If We"
Well we all know Chiara can sing and indeed is a very strong powerful
charismatic singer. This is her 3rd attempt now at Eurovision and I have
to say I feel this song to be the weakest of those three. However it is a
pleasant enough ballad and I feel Chiara can bring it up with her performance.
Definite Qualifier.

MONTENEGRO Andrea Demirovic -"Just Get Out Of My Life"
Well this one has a disco feel to it but in a better way than Georgia's entry.
Andrea is a pretty girl who sings well enough. The song is also pleasant enough
with quite a catchy hook.
Possible Qualifier.

SWITZERLAND Lovebugs -"The Highest Heights"
I really quite like this song, quite a contemporary band sound. Has distinct
hints of a New Order sound to it though which is no bad thing.
Possible Qualifier.

ICELAND Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir -"Is It True"
Of all the ballads chosen so far this is the most obvious one that ticks
all the Eurovision boxes. Great singer and absolutely wonderful haunting
ballad adds up to a stunner of an entry from Iceland.
Definite Qualifier.

FINLAND Waldo's People -"Lose Control"
After 3 years of rock entries Finland have plumped for a dance song by a
reformed group that found success back in the early noughties.
For me it was by far my favourite in the selection process and my only
concern whether the vocals would work live. In the Finnish Final they
worked really hard at getting the vocals across well and it works for me.
I love this song and expect it will have plenty fans, whether its good enough
to win though.....?
Definite Qualifier.

TURKEY Hadise -"Dum Tek Tek"
The title is the sound that the heart makes when in love. Pretty girl
with uptempo song is proving a good formula for Turkey.
This years entry is the same, upbeat song with an ethnic feel.
Its a good song though and I dont think it will have any problems
reaching the Final.
Definite qualifier.

So to summarize from these 13 entries the four definite qualifiers are
Turkey, Finland, Iceland and Malta.

So moving on to Semi Final 2.
From 19 entries we know already 12 and this means at least 3 will reach the Final.

CYPRUS Christina Metaxa -"Firefly"
Now this is a lovely ballad with a nice build through the song.
BUT, there is serious question marks towards the singers ability
to cut it live. If she can get her act together by May, then this
may do a lot better than current thoughts.
Non Qualifier.

NETHERLANDS Die Toppers -"Shine"
Now this is more than a bit cheesey but I like it(perhaps I am
cheesey too?). Good vocals and glitzy staging altogether very
camp really (not me!). May do better than expected.
Possible Qualifier.

IRELAND Sinead Mulvey and Black Daisy -"Et Cetera"
Normally this is the point where I have to tread carefully,
a UK blogger writing for Keith's AKOE Irish website.
Just as often as Keith has harsh and critical words for our
UK entries over recent years, I also have little empathy
with many recent irish entries. Sometimes it has been known
for Keith and myself to agree as well.
But fear not I dont need to pretend to like the Irish entry
as this year I love it. Its by far the best contemporary
entry in years, a refreshing change, and to be honest it
was really the only real choice from what was a dull selection.
It has a great rock chic feel has a nice pace, good vocals and
a great look with a good chemistry between Sinead and
Black Daisy. This song will be easily remembered afterwards
which is good for when the voting starts.
Definite Qualifier.

LITHUANIA Sasha Son -"Love"
Now this is a really nice ballad, good singer vocally and a bit
of a looker as well, this may have some impact in the shake up.
Possible Qualifier.

POLAND Lidia Kopania -"I Don't Wanna Leave"
Almost a repeat in style from last year another American sounding
ballad from Poland. It's pleasant enough really but not sure it will
repeat last year's move to the Final.
Non Qualifier

MOLDOVA Nelly Ciobanu -"Hora Din Moldova"
Now this is very ethnic but in a good way. Fun and dancy it also
has great sound and vocals. This will get lots of Eastern votes
and some more besides.
Definite Qualifier.

ALBANIA Kejsi Tola -"Më Merr Në Endërr"
Now this song will have to change dramatically as its way too long
and its likely to be sung in English too, so its hard to judge it.
But I do love this version of the song , ethnic and also dramatic.
I am hoping the final version keeps the feel and is tasteful.
Possible Qualifier.

HUNGARY Ádokzoli -"Dance With Me"
This is so gay that its more gay than Eurovision itself.
Its very very catchy. Good looking lad who can sing and
dance. Will either bomb badly or win, nothing inbetween.
Also adds some rivalry to Sakis who is in the same Semi.
Definite Qualifier.

GREECE Sakis Rouvas -"This Is Our Night"
Very typical upbeat and Greek uptempo entry. Seen many similar
entries in recent years. I do love this song though and its miles better
than his previous entry "Shake It". But I am still not convinced on Sakis
singing this well live combined with what is expected to be an
energetic choreography. If it all comes together then possible winner.
Definite Qualifier

SLOVENIA Quartissimo -"Love Symphony"
A while since we had an entry with few words and more instrumental.
Lots of strings in this one it sounds like a theme tune for an advert or
a TV show. Afraid this is not my cup of tea but have to admit its well
done for the genre.
Possible Qualifier.

DENMARK Niels Brinck -"Believe Again"
A really nice mid-tempo singalong kinda song. Manages to be very
Danish and very Ronan at the same time. This is very catchy and
will stick in many peoples minds.
Definite Qualifier.

NORWAY Alexander Ryback -"Fairytale"
This is pressing so many of the right buttons for Eurovision.
Very much a folksy feel combined with a great catchy hook.
Lovely singer too will appeal to all ages and sexes.
Will harvest votes from the East, West , Nordic, everywhere.
Huge potential winner.
Definite Qualifier.

So to summerize I have suggested 6 of the 12 are definite qualifiers.
Of course Serbia and Ukraine, two of the big hitters, have not revealed
their hands yet but would expect them to qualify too.
Of the 6 the 3 most obvious qualifiers are GREECE, NORWAY
AND MOLDOVA, but also have high hopes for Ireland, Denmark
and Hungary.

That just leaves us with the automatic finalists.
We still have to wait fro Russia and Spain but here are my
thoughts on the others.

GERMANY Alex Swings Oscar Sings -"Miss Kiss Kiss Bang"
One of the more unusual song titles this year and another swing style
song from Germany this year. To be honest first time I heard it I
did not like it at all. But watching the presentation at the awards
ceremony last week I was really impressed at the impact it had.
I think this could do really well for Germany this year.
Its actually quite catchy, instant and memorable.
Potential Top 10.

FRANCE Patricia Kaas -"Et S'il Fallait Le Faire"
Well for the first time in years France have come up with a
bloody brilliant song, very moody French Chanson.
Some find it boring but I think this will win over more people.
Deserves to do well.
Potential Top 10.

UNITED KINGDOM Jade -"My Time"
I often have a problem evaluating the UK entry mainly because we
hear it to death and its my country. In all honesty I have only really
liked 2 of our entries since we last won it.
Namely they were Imannii and Jessica Garlick.
I aslo find myself trying to defend our song against the usual yearly
onslaught that is Keith's opinion on the UK entry.
This year is no different regarding Keith's thoughts on this entry.
But for once I have some empathy with his thoughts on this one.
I do not detest this song to the same extent but I find myself
more than a little disappointed with the song. In some ways
I expected a cracker from the pens of ALW and Diane Warren.
But to me it sounds very much like an average ALW show ballad.
As far as the artist selection process, I was also disappointed with
the amateurish selection available. I really hoped for at least a couple
of known names coming in. But at the end of the day I still believe
Jade was the best choice of those available to us.
I think come May she will give this a fair chance of improving our
more recent bottom 5 finishes.
Potential 10-20th.

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