Straighteurovision understands that the beeb has contacted both Alcazar and Same Difference to perform in Dusseldorf this May.
Personally if this does turn out to be true, its probably five years too late!! However, you gotta love both bands in their own way. Alcazar for being one of the greatest pop bands of the last decade, and Same difference for growing up on the South Coast...the provence of Great Britain. ;-)
Well goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood mornin!
We are expecting a full eurovision 'making your mind up' lineup on Thursday 7th February from the BBC Headquarters, and Straighteurovision can reveal that us UK fans should not be expecting too much....
Previous rumours included Daz Sampson, Daniel Beddingfield, Dannii Minogue, Same Difference, Futureproof & Booty Luv, and Straighteurovision can confirm that the line-up is likely to be more Z list than C or D list.
Straighteurovision has inside information that Daniel Beddingfield was expected to make the final line-up but has pulled out!
Therefore don't be surprised if we see H from Steps, the girl from S Club 7 who never sang (think Tina was her name), and some unknown boy or girl band.
However, with every cloud.....If the song is good, the artist(s) can sing in tune, they have a credible performance, frankly let it go to Belgrade...not that a good song seems to matter these days! lol
P.s. At least it couldn't be as bad as Brian Harvey's off-key, embarassing effort this time last year
So, LaGaylia of MF fame finds herself in the Romanian eurovision selection...How the hell did that happen? Especially as the queen 'Sahlene' was supposed to be singing the song 'Mr Frankenstein'. Hmmmm! Not happy here!
LaGaylia never quite made it to MF final, but her two songs were hits in Sweden....Editors note: Not sure they were hits in Romania though!
Of course Romania are no strangers to ex-MF stars....try the Rednex for example! Below is the LaGaylia song...frankly its pants! Next!
I havent had a chance to comment on the Albanian entry just yet, as we at straighteurovision were too busy enjoying christmas to worry about the albanian selection which is according to Mrs straighteurovision 'a 3-hour long streak of piss'. Delicately put!!!! Anyway, she is right, and as always the finished article is worryingly poor. Its the kind of song which makes you smile at the face you couldn't be bothered to tune in anyway, and laugh at those who did! :-)
For anyone who cares, the live video is below....
BTW its incredibly dated....even more so than the 'ming the mercilous' look-a-like that Albania sent last year....I am still troubled by his sister wailing at us fans at the fan centre last May...things that only nightmares are made of!
Malta have also chosen with an aptly named 'Vodka'. Listen to this load of shite for more than 30 seconds, and you wont be just grabbing for a bottle of Vodka, you will be eyeing up the parafin and matches! Trust me its truly awful. The songwriter was clearly deaf when he wrote this tripe...with any luck this song will send Malta over the edge (no offence Schlagerboys!)
Switzerland who were clearly robbed with DJ Bobo's monumental effort last year (manequins and all) have gone back to the 1980's with their entry.
Actually its OK, just very dated, like the majority of selected songs thusfar!
Czech Republic have decided to 'have some fun'. I like this! Actually ive decided I like her :-)......A lot!
Anyways, more on eurovision hopefuls later.
Over to Belgium, for the most bizarre national final entry so far!
Well the first big national final approaches, and in Norway all three semi-finals have been completed with just the 'sista chansen' remaining. I still remember last years Rocket Ride and Dusty Cowshit (either should have gone to eurovision in my opinion - dusty cowshit moreso, especially as they were in Tallin anyway, presumably in case Guri Schanke broke a leg or something!)
Anyway, here are the chosen finalists (with two further winners of sista chansen to be added):
Torstein Sødal - Eastern wind
A power ballad with theatrical similarities. This would not be out of place in the Lion King - Strong, but incredibly dated for eurovision - 6.5/10
King of Trolls - Far away
A far cry from Hall of the Mountain Kings, the trolls perform a cross between a bad Lordi and the Poodles (MF 06). Frankly, this again is quite dated, and whilst you can understand what the trolls have tried to achieve, they have failed miserably! - 4/10
Crash! - Get up
Crash were one of the favourites to win the Norwegen final last year with 'Wannabe', however one year has passed and clearly so has puberty for the boys (and girls) of Crash! This years entry seems to have similarities to Bryan Adams and McFly. This certainly stands out amongst the other finalists. One to watch! 7.5/10
Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold on, be strong
Another song with slight similarities to other artists; in this case the Sugarbabes. A pop/rnb ballad. This is certainly a front runner. 7/10
Veronica Akselsen - Am I supposed to love again
Bossanova-pop-ballad with slighly French/Latin influences from Veronica; by the way Veronica made the final of MGP last year qualifying through the 'Sista Chansen' round. This entry is good but possibly too sleepy for eurovision, however it certainly has its qualities. 6.5/10
Ann-Marie Anderson - Ándagassii
Tip: If you want to do well in a national final (outside UK) try singing in your native tongue! This clearly works here! Actually this is possibly the best song in the final, and with only Crash! as major competitors, I could see this winning by a clear margin. 8/10
Give me a chance to get back into the swing of things as I have had an unforseen absence since my last post, but as always as soon as January appears, eurovision and in particular MF starts to hot up...
So MF 2008 will grace us with some of the best known eurovision singers, and established international performers of all time. In my opinion, MF 2008 is by far the best swedish national final yet.......Oh boy its gonna be great!
CAROLA - Winner 1991
CHARLOTTE PERELLI - Eurovision Winner 1999
BWO - 2nd 2006
SANNA NIELSEN - Has been in more MF's than I care to remember - and her boobs get bigger with every entry!
LINDA BENGTZING - Ok so she has never got within an asses roar of eurovision, but she is highly rated in Svenska!
VELVET - My personal favourite, but if you have ever read Straighteurovision, you will know that...
ANDREAS JOHNSON object width="425" height="355">
My tips :
My Heart says = Velvet My Head says = Carola & Andreas Johnson
Carrie Grant (born Carrie Gray August 17, 1965) is a British celebrity vocal coach and session singer. She is best known for her work on the television talent contests Fame Academy, Comic Relief does Fame Academy and Pop Idol, together with her husband and colleague David Grant. She is also personal voice coach to many successful pop stars.
Grant has had various roles in the entertainment industry, starting as a dancer on television and moving into presenting for children's television. She was a member of the singing trio Sweet Dreams, who entered the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "I'm Never Giving Up," which reached number 21 on the UK singles chart and gave them sixth placing in the contest.
Grant later became one of the UK’s top session singers, working with artists such as Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Rod Stewart, Lighthouse Family, Fatboy Slim and many others.
Carrie and David Grant then collaborated on their highly acclaimed gospel album "Watching and Waiting" which went on to win a MOBO Award as best gospel album for 1997.
This led to further work for Grant as vocal coach and producer, working with some of the UK’s top pop acts including Take That, S Club, and more recently Will Young, Atomic Kitten, Melanie C, Lemar, Charlotte Church and others throughout the US, Europe and the UK. In 2006 she appeared in the four part BBC TV series The Sound of Musicals, which was filmed in 2005. In 2006 (broadcast 2007) she took part in the BBC2 reality series Safari School in which eight celebrities were trained in the skills of game rangers at the Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa. Grant was the series champion, beating actor Jeremy Sheffield in the final test.
Since 1999 has also presented several BBC schools' radio programmes including, Music Workshop, The Song Tree and Something to Think About.
She is also a prominent member of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease, as she has had Crohn's Disease since she was twenty.
She and husband David have a daughter, Olivia Grant, who played Alice in series 5 of Tracy Beaker the tv series.
