Been Too Long... But here's why!

There are times when I really miss the daily blogs followed by instant reactions that usually developed into full-on electronic dialogues. But for better or worse, I can only count on a few minutes here and there to post my regular (or nowadays "irregular"... My bad!) updates. Not surprisingly, though, it takes me so long to actually get to the computer for these overdue "news blogs" that I tend to forget half of them by the time I'm typing away yet again!

So, first things first... Earlier this afternoon, we heard from our European counterpart that the authors of "Is It True" (Christopher Neil, Oskar Pall and yours truly) performed most gloriously by Yohanna, have been awarded for the #1 Eurovision Song of the Decade as voted by the ESC viewers and ESC Today readers worldwide. Did we really beat some of the greats, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Diane Warren, Ronan Keating, Patricia Kaas, etc. to name but a few? I'm still reeling from this, to be honest!

And from Sweden - this very song was performed at the Swedish Idol semi-finals (and won the semi's!) by Erik Gronwall last week... which, by the way, you can hear (and see) right here.

Now, on a political note... As I'm getting ready to return to the UN Radio HQ next week to resume my weekly UN Uncovered show on Progressive Radio Network (it's been over a month, I can't believe it!) I am still trying to keep up with international political affairs... Believe it or not, I do read the Financial Times - still, even a year after the August War back home... So.... The other day, as I was surfing the web and reading the online Friday edition of the FT, I came across this article:

"Iceland after a year of financial crisis

Financial Times - London, England, UK

'Is it true? Is it over? Did I throw it away?' Seldom can the words

from an entry in the Eurovision Song Contest be more appropriate..."

To read more, please go to: FT.com

If you read on, you'll be equally surprised by the sudden twist - a pop song lyric in a heavily political piece? I couldn't be more excited, though, I admit!

And pop songs aside, I can proudly confirm that I am about to start working with the great Timothy Graphenreed, who wrote my very first song for me back when I was 16 years old, on our Broadway-themed concert to take place in NYC (theater, date, etc. TBC) in the new year - a variety of songs, ranging from American standards and some of my own tunes... Quite a challenge, but I'm extremely excited and really, really psyched!

While brand new material is on its way, I can already give you a quick hint - there's about 4-5 new tunes that I'm dying to post on here asap, but it will have to wait until it's been sent to my publishers at Kobalt Music and straight onto my homepage.

Please do stay tuned for more news and I promise to keep this blog up to date as much as possible... But for now, happy holiday to everyone (Columbus Day, if you haven't noticed - some of the stores are closed today.... Brrrr.....!)

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! :-)

Eurovision 2009: Through the Eyes of a Participant

The annual Eurovision Song Contest consists of forty-three participating nations, including most of NATO, the Eastern European block and Israel. It is one of the most anticipated television events in all of Europe, attracting anywhere from 100 to 200 million viewers worldwide on a yearly basis.

Originally conceived in 1956, as a means for peaceful reunification of European countries following the Second World War, the premier international song festival has also served as a career launching platform for some bright musical careers. Celine Dion, ABBA, Julio Iglesias and many other household names have established themselves in this massive kaleidoscope of contemporary music.

The ESC winner is determined by an hour-long (and a rather nerve-wrecking) telephone and jury voting system. There is one strict rule that no one is allowed to break - the callers cannot choose their own nation's entry. Fair enough! But the Scandinavian countries will always vote for each other no matter what, and so will the Eastern European block – over the years, the geopolitical aspect of the contest has unfortunately proved insurmountable!

Ironically, Eurovision 2009 will be taking place in the Russian capital for the first time in the 54 year history of the event, from May 12-16. And I say "ironically" because the idea of applying as either a songwriter or an artist in the national pre-selection process has never really entered my mind, until just recently.

In 1999-2000, when I was just starting out as an aspiring musician, there were casual talks in Moscow about sending me to ESC to represent Russia as its Georgian-born Russkiy citizen. However, the chances of beating famous Russian pop stars in the internal polls were minimal as a completely unknown 15-year-old girl. So I decided to wait, and take my chances at a later stage in my career...

Almost a decade - and many songs - later, I got a call from Reykjavik in October, from my long-time collaborator (and very well-known Icelandic songwriter/producer) Oskar Pall Sveinsson (known for his UK & US hits as Oskar Paul). He asked if I had any objections to his idea of pitching a song we had co-written together with the legendary producer Christopher Neil, as a possible contender to represent Iceland at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in May of 2009.

"We'll have to find an Icelandic artist to sing the song in order to qualify, but a multi-national songwriting team should go down well in the pre-selection process," Oskar promised. "And besides, the contest will be held in Moscow next year - could it be any better for you?"

To make a long story short, 217 songs, 4 weeks of semifinals and a nationally televised grand finale later, the wonderfully gifted Yohanna's performance of "Is It True" granted us a staggering 44% of the national votes across the country. Thanks to overwhelming support, the song immediately qualified as the official Icelandic entry, and it will compete against 41 of the best pop songs from Europe in mid-May... Just a few weeks away!

Since the primary concept of ESC is to find the best pop song, some the most renowned scribes in the world team up to compete. This year's "contestants" include Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ronan Keating, my hero Diane Warren, and many more. Really, why wouldn't they want to write the signature song of the year?

Could I be anymore humbled looking at the list of my colleagues and "competitors"? In fact, I'd be lying if I said that I'm not nervous - but at the same time I am oh so excited!

BTR will bring you exclusive coverage of this event through the eyes of a participant - up close, personal and totally unplugged at the biggest European song festival of the year. It just might be a first for the American media.

You can follow the three-week journey, promo tour, semi-finals and grand finale (we simply must qualify - and you'll be the first to know about the outcome!) right here on my DJ blog. I'll be sharing the latest news and pictures from my all my Eurovision adventures.

So, gear up, hop on my train of ESC madness and let's make it true for Iceland together!

Tinatin's Eurovision Ride with BTR

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!

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

"Is It True?" - PRAVDA?

A special feature article on "Is It True", Iceland's Eurovision entry 2009 was published in today's issue of the Ukrainian edition of Komsomolskaya Pravda... Does anyone remember the "Pravda" anecdotes during the communist times? :-) It's still one of the leading post-USSR newspapers today, it really is!

Ironically, "pravda" translated from Russian means "true"... if you also add a question mark to "pravda?" it can be interpreted as "is it true?"

And so it's true... Have a look for yourselves!

Eurovision Gamble Begins!

Still very early days to speculate about the results of the semifinals in Moscow on May 12 & 14 followed by the actual grand finale two days later, however, an interesting non-Icelandic review written by Spain's Rodrigo Romero has been circulating through the internet over the last few days...........




"Iceland has secured a place in the final"

Posted by Rodrigo Romero

EurovisionFamily.tv

In the first super Saturday, when no less than five songs were chosen to fly to Moscow, it was no surprise to see Iceland pick Is it true to represent them in May. Everything works perfectly with this entry, the lyrics are simple, but really beautiful, Johanna is simply lovely, the tune is quite catchy, and one that is easy to keep humming after listening to it once, the voice is sweet but at the same time powerful, the live performance was flawless... it all ads up to the conclusion that there was no better choice to have made, and that Iceland is, I think, beginning to stand out as a real contender to win the whole thing.

One thing is sure: they have secured a spot in the final. There is no way they can be left out; on the one hand, they have televote to rely on; on the other hand, if Johanna doesn't pull it off with televote (and then European public can seriously be locked in a mental health home), she has the jury vote to back her up. Having had the luck to be drawn to a semifinal which still has to produce an impressive song (and a marvelous ballad, which is better than this), it's difficult to see this one blown away; the only real excellent songs so far there are Andorra's and Montenegro's; Finland's, Malta's and Turkey's are ok; Romania's is nothing special, and Armenia's and Belarus' are terrible.

And then, let's not forget that the final will see a 50-50 split between televote and jury vote, and this song is the exact kind that the latter wouldn't doubt to support. So, still expecting for 20 songs to be either presented or chosen, I'd be brave enough to say that it's not too crazy to think about a Reykjavik 2010.

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

Tinatin Iced!

Tinatin's self-penned song “Is It True” co-written with Iceland’s Oskar Paul Sveinsson (Bjork, Steps, S Club 7) and my hero Christopher Neil (Celine Dion, Sheena Easton, Mike & the Mechanics) has been chosen as the Icelandic entry for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Moscow May 12!

“Is It True” to be performed by Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, was chosen from 217 Icelandic entries, which were pared down to 16 songs for a televised heat in January, leading to the national final.

Iceland will compete in the ultimate Eurovision contest against songs written by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Diane Warren and Patricia Kaas. All the details of Tina's journey to the top are on her blog. Tiinatin and Ayhan Sahin have worked together many times and I have reviewed her work in Billboard on several occasions. I couldn't be more thrilled.

- Chuck Taylor, Billboard Senior Correspondent

What's True and What Isn't?

Over the past week since the Eurovision finals in Iceland, we've witnessed quite a stir in the media about "who wrote the 2009 Icelandic entry?" ("Is It True")

The overall confusion started when the RUV channel that was broadcasting the national finals, initially included only the Icelandic co-writer's name (Oskar Pall Sveinsson) in the TV show credits. But in the follow-up broadcasts, the show's hosts repeatedly announced the three writers individually.

At first it all seemed too trivial, and quite frankly, nobody was too bothered since we were all too busy speculating about the outcome of the competition.

On February 14th, "Is It True" finally won in the national selection process (44%!) and we're officially taking the song to Moscow in mid-May!

What we weren't expecting, however, was the interest that the co-writer situation has sparked among Eurovision fans and the European media.

There was one particular article that caught my eye... have a look.

A few other press articles followed, including German, Russian and Belarusian media outlets.

A lot of these sources are accurate, with a couple of interesting suggestions ("Tinatin is an American singer with Georgian roots and an impressive track record as a songwriter in Iceland"....REALLY??? I didn't know that!!!)

One of the Eurovision Forums in Russian was a real joy to follow - so entertaining! Ranging from Icelandic-entry lovers to those who simply "don't get it", the members of the forum have also tracked down the original demo and they were enthusiastically comparing the two versions and trying to figure out if I wrote the song or just appeared on the demo as a session singer, or maybe at the last minute I had decided to perform the song myself at ESC 2009? VERY COMPLICATED!!!

But I assure you, it's all very simple: "Is It True" was written by Oskar Pall Sveinsson, Christopher Neil and yours truly; the song will be performed in Moscow (just like during the pre-selection in Reykjavik) by the wonderful Johanna; it will not be translated into Icelandic, as some have suggested and/or predicted - and finally, the semifinals (day 1) will be held at Moscow's Olympiyskiy Stadium on May 12th followed by the finals on May 16th, so do make sure you cast your votes during the semifinals accordingly :-)

And one more thing: this exclusive interview was featured in the weekend issue of Novoye Russkoye Slovo, the leading Russian newspaper in America, also published in Russia, Ukraine, Israel and the worldwide web!

P.S. Here are the preliminary charts on the Eurovision website -- the poll results will be updated every Monday based on the fans and potential televoters preferences, so feel free to vote for your favorite (or your least favorite) song by following the link

P.S.s. A little something to make you all... smile :-) a big fan of the song, apparently!

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

Is It True?

Yes, it is!

And moreover, it's official - a ballad that I wrote a few years ago with Chris Neil and Oskar Paul (Óskar Páll Sveinsson) called "Is It True" is now in the finals for this year's Eurovision Song Contest, which, ironically, will be held in Moscow (although the song will be represented by Iceland - that is, if and when it wins the finals!) next May.

"Is It True" performed at the semi-finals by Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir won the 1st round of semi-finals by staggering 44.8% according to the official poll results.

The finals, however, will be televised live on February 14th - so till then, fingers crossed and if by any chance you happen to be in Iceland, you can cast your votes, too!

And for those of you who haven't heard the original demo of "Is It True", feel free to have a listen!