Previews of songs that will be performed in the first semifinal.
May is here and Europe’s (and Australia’s) favorite TV circus is just around the corner.
Last year, Salvador Sobral gave Portugal it’s first Eurovision Song Contest win in 53 years of competing. As a result, Portugal is hosting Eurovison Song Contest 2018. It’s capital Lisbon was chosen as the host city. The first semifinal is set for May 8, the second semifinal for May 10 and the grand final for May 12. The image above is the official logo of this year’s competition.
43 countries are taking part this year. Six countries are directly qualified for the grand final: the BIG 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom) and the host country (Portugal). The rest are divided into two semifinals. The first semifinal has 19 participants and the second semifinal has 18 participants. 10 countries from each semifinal will qualify for the grand final. All songs are available on iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify.
Semi-Final 1
1. AZERBAIJAN
Song Title: X My Heart
Performer: Aisel (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writer: Sandra Bjurman
Composer: Dimitris Kontopoulos
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Aisel comes from a family of musicians and she attended Special Secondary Musical School and Azerbaijan State Conservatory in Baku. Sandra Bjurman wrote ‘Running Scared’, 2011’s winning entry from Azerbaijan. Dimitris Kontopoulos wrote Russia’s 2016 entry, ‘You Are The Only One’. The song was recorded in London and it looks like Azerbaijan put a lot of money into this entry.
2. ICELAND
Song Title: Our Choice
Performer: Ari Ólafsson (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writer: Thorunn Clausen
Composer: Thorunn Clausen
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Air competed on The Voice of Iceland 2015. He is only 19 years old and a classically trained singer. He will start studying at the Royal Academy of music in London this fall.
3. ALBANIA
Song Title: Mall
Performer: Eugent Bushpepa (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writer: Eugent Bushpepa
Composer: Eugent Bushpepa
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: He started singing at the age of 6 (circa 1990). In his early 20’s he was a resident singer in a talk show.
4. BELGIUM
Song Title: A Matter Of Time
Performer: Sennek (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Laura Groeseneken (Sennek), Alex Callier, Maxime Tribeche
Composers: Laura Groeseneken (Sennek), Alex Callier, Maxime Tribeche
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: From her Eurovision.TV profile: Sennek is into Belgian fashion and likes Scandinavian design. As her day job, she works as a visual merchandiser for Ikea.
5. CZECH REPUBLIC
Song Title: Lie To Me
Performer: Mikolas Josef (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writer: Mikolas Josef
Composer: Mikolas Josef
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Mikolas comes from a family of musicians. He graduated from The English College in Prague, but decided not to go to prestigious UK colleges. He also won the highest meritorious award from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts; the Gold Medal with distinction for solo acting. He decided to pursue musical career instead of acting. He spent a year working as an international model for major global fashion brands. No wonder this kid has so much confidence.
6. LITHUANIA
Song Title: When We’re Old
Performer: Ieva Zasimauskaite (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writer: Vytautas Bikus
Composer: Vytautas Bikus
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: In 2012 she finished 2nd on The Voice of Lithuania.
7. ISRAEL
Song Title: TOY
Performer: Netta (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Doron Medalie & Stav Beger
Composers: Doron Medalie & Stav Beger
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Netta won this year’s Rising Star reality music show, HaKokhav HaBa L’Eurovizion (‘The Next Star For Eurovision’) and the ticket to represent Israel in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
8. BELARUS
Song Title: Forever
Performer: ALEKSEEV (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writer: Yevgeny Matyushenko
Composer: Kirill Pavlov
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: He is from Ukraine, but considers himself to be a Belarusian artist. At the age of 18 (circa 2011) he auditioned for the Ukrainian edition of The Voice, but did not pass the auditions. He tried again in 2014 when singer Ani Lorak, who came second in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, gave him a chance during the blind auditions. He didn’t win, but became the most popular participant of the series.
9. ESTONIA
Song Title: La Forza
Performer: Elina Nechayeva (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Elina Nechayeva, Ksenia Kuchukova
Composers: Mihkel Mattisen, Timo Vendt
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Elina graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2016 where she studied classical singing.
10. BULGARIA
Song Title: Bones
Performer: EQUINOX (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Borislav Milanov, Joacim Persson, Brandon Treyshun Campbell, Dag Lundberg
Composers: Borislav Milanov, Joacim Persson, Brandon Treyshun Campbell, Dag Lundberg
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: This group was put together especially for Eurovision. The lone female member, Zhana Bergendorff, was the winner of the second season of Bulgaria’s X Factor in 2013. Two members are American: Johnny Manuel is originally from Michigan, he was a semifinalist on America’s Got Talent in 2017. Meanwhile, Trey Campbell is a songwriter from Los Angeles.
11. F.Y.R. MACEDONIA
Song Title: Lost And Found
Performer: Eye Cue (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writer: Bojan Trajkovski
Composers: Bojan Trajkovski, Darko Dimitrov
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Eye Cue is one of the most popular pop/rock bands in Macedonia.
12. CROATIA
Song Title: Crazy
Performer: Franka (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writer: Franka Batelic
Composer: Branimir Mihaljevic
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: As a child Franka sang in church choirs. She won Showtime in 2007, a TV show similar to Pop Idol. Later she studied music performance and song writing at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Currently she is studying Law at the University of Zagreb.
13. AUSTRIA
Song Title: Nobody But You
Performer: Cesár Sampson (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Sebastian Arman, Cesár Sampson, Joacim Persson, Johan Alkenäs, Borislav Milanov
Composers: Sebastian Arman, Cesár Sampson, Joacim Persson, Johan Alkenäs, Borislav Milanov
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: In his late teens he toured the the world as lead singer for some of Austria’s most internationally acclaimed alternative music acts; Kruder & Dorfmeister, Sofa Surfers and Louie Austen. Then he moved behind the scenes and became a a songwriter, lyricist and vocal producer.
14. GREECE
Song Title: Oniro Mou
Performer: Yianna Terzi (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Yianna Terzi, Aris Kalimeris, Michalis Papathanasiou, Dimitris Stamatiou
Composers: Yianna Terzi, Aris Kalimeris, Michalis Papathanasiou, Dimitris Stamatiou
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: She comes from a musical family of professional singers. She lives and works in the United States.
15. FINLAND
Song Title: Monsters
Performer: Saara Aalto (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Saara Aalto, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Ki Fitzgerald
Composers: Saara Aalto, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Ki Fitzgerald
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Saara is well known on this blog. She was a runner up on The Voice of Finland, Finland’s Got Talent and X Factor UK. She was the runner-up in the Finnish Eurovision national selections twice (2011 and 2016). Her stint on X Factor UK in late 2016 practically earned her Finnish Eurovision ticket for 2018. She also voiced Princess Anna in the Finnish version of the global hit movie Frozen.
16. ARMENIA
Song Title: Qami
Performer: Sevak Khanagyan (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Anna Danielyan, Victoria Maloyan
Composer: Sevak Khanagyan
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: He graduated from the Kursk Cultural College and later received a higher education at the Moscow State Classical Academy. In 2015 he participated in two major television competitions: Glavnaya Stsena and The Voice of Armenia. After thet he appeared on X Factor Ukraine and won.
17. SWITZERLAND
Song Title: Stones
Performer: ZiBBZ (Corinne and Stefan Gfeller) (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Laurell Barker, Corinne Gfeller
Composers: Laurell Barker, Corinne Gfeller, Stefan Gfeller
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Corinne and Stefan are siblings. Corinne graduated from London’s Laine Theatre Arts School and toured with shows such as We Will Rock You and Art on Ice.
18. IRELAND
Song Title: Together
Performer: Ryan O’Shaughnessy (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Mark Caplice, Laura Elizabeth Hughes
Composers: Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Mark Caplice, Laura Elizabeth Hughes
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Ryan was born into a musical family. At the age of 8 he got a role on RTÉ’s long-running soap opera Fair City. He left Fair City at the age of 17 to pursue a career in music. He studied songwriting at college in Dublin. He appeared on The Voice of Ireland and Britain’s Got Talent. He got signed to Sony UK after BGT. In 2013, Ryan took part in RTÉ’s new Irish songwriting competition The Hit, competing against (and beating) his former Voice of Ireland coach and 2006 Eurovision finalist Brian Kennedy.
19. CYPRUS
Song Title: Fuego
Performer: Eleni Foureira (Eurovison.tv Profile)
Writers: Alex Papaconstantinou, Geraldo Sandell, Anderz Wrethov, Viktor Svensson, Didrick
Composers: Alex Papaconstantinou, Geraldo Sandell, Anderz Wrethov, Viktor Svensson, Didrick
Videos: Music Video – National Final / Presentation Performance – Profile Video
Notes: Eleni was born in Albania, but has a pop music careet in Greece and Cyprus. She has been a judge on the Greek version of So You Think You Can Dance.
OFFICIAL RECAP: The first Semi-Final of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest
