JOY Eurovision

18 Jan 2014

The Update: 2014’s entries start flooding in

This is The Update – a (semi) regular news post, keeping you up to speed with the happenings of Eurovision 2014. In this edition, we look at the final list of participants, the songs that have (and haven’t) already made it to Copenhagen and the National Finals coming up.

The Final List: Who’s In

Join Us 2014 theme

The paperwork has finally been submitted, the lists have been drawn up and the final list of participants in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest has been released.

Big news comes from Poland and Portugal, who have returned to the Contest after some time away. Greece‘s new broadcaster NERIT has also been given the green light to field an entry in Copenhagen. Slovenia has just announced that they will be participating in this year’s Contest, after RTV-SLO was given an extension for their final application. Here is the final list:

: Albania

: Armenia

: Austria

: Azerbaijan

: Belarus

: Belgium

: Denmark

: Estonia

: Finland

: France

: Georgia

: Germany

: Greece

: Hungary

: Iceland

: Ireland

: Israel

: Italy

: Latvia

: Lithuania

: FYR Macedonia

: Malta

: Moldova

: Montenegro

: The Netherlands

: Norway

: Poland

: Portugal

: Romania

: Russia

: San Marino

: Slovenia

: Spain

: Sweden

: Switzerland

: United Kingdom

: Ukraine

Although originally declaring that they will participate, Bosnia-Herzegovina‘s broadcaster withdrew their application before the final deadline.

The Songs That Made It (and those that came second)

Europe has already begun to choose its entries for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen. To date, three countries have decided on an artist and song, and seven have decided on an artist. Let’s have a look at what won, and what missed out.

Ukraine

Maria Yaremchuk (ukraine 2014)

One of the first countries to decide on their winner was Ukraine, with the selection taking place before Christmas. The winning song was Tick-Tock by Maria Yaremchuk. Viewers of the National Final were mixed in their reactions, notably that the interval act was more entertaining than the songs in the final.

Yaremchuk overwhelmingly won, with Victor Romanchenko coming second with На краю пропасти (On the brink). This is what came second:

Albania

Festivali i Këngës is the mechanism by which the Albanian broadcaster, RTSH, chooses the entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. This year the jury needed to select a winner from 16 finalists. As a throwback to the heyday of ESC Orchestras, the festival used the 60-piece RTSH Orchestra to back the singers.

In the end, Hersi Matmuja won the final with her song, Zemërimi I Një Nate (One Night’s Anger). She received 69 points from the Jury, well ahead of second-place Klodian Kaçani getting 45 points with Me ty (With you). Here’s what missed out on going to Copenhagen:

Belarus

Teo(Belarus2014) A combination of jury and public vote helped to decide the Belarusian entry for Copenhagen. There was some major excitement when there was a draw after the public votes were combined with the jury votes. In the end, the members of the jury had to nominate their preferred track from the two tied winners. In the end, all eight jury members chose TEO with Cheesecake.

ESC commentators have explored the possibility that Cheesecake might be in violation of Contest rule 1.2.2.g, which prohibits ‘commercial messages’ in songs, since TEO repeatedly sings about ‘Google Maps’. This was the same rule that led to the Sammarinese song, Facebook, Uh, Oh, Oh (A Satirical Song), being changed to The Social Network Song in 2012.

The unlucky second-place getters were Max Lorens & Didyulya. Sadly they missed out with Now You’re Gone. Have a listen to it for yourself:

The Artists Who Have Made It (but don’t have a song yet)

Quite a number of broadcasters have already made a decision about an artist but not yet about a song. Some broadcasters will internally decide on the song, while others will allow the public to vote. These are the artists who already have a ticket to Copenhagen:

: San Marino: Valentina Monetta

: Montenegro: Sergej Ćetković

: The Netherlands: The Common Linnets

: Israel: Mey Feyn

: Austria: Conchita Wurst

The Finals to Come

There are heaps of National Finals ready to rock. Here are some of the details. You can even check out the songs online for most of them! Just click the links to find out more.

Finland – UMK

Finland

Finland is already in UMK mode, with the semi finals already taking place. The Grand Final will be held on 1 February.

YLE’s UMK website has all the details, including some tracks that you can listen to while the voting period for each Semi is open.

Switzerland – Die Grosse Entscheidungsshow

logo-SWITZERLAND After months of working out the finalists from all the Swiss broadcasters, the Grand Final is to be held on 1 February.

Visit the SRF website to listen to all the entries. Which do you like? Share your thoughts on Facebook or use the #JOYEurovision hashtag on Twitter.

Malta

The Maltese love a good song contest, and their National Final tries to deliver. The Semi will take place on 7 February, with the Grand Final being held the next day (8 February).

Visit the TVM website to listen to all the entries. Which do you like? Share your thoughts on Facebook or use the #JOYEurovision hashtag on Twitter.

Latvia – Dziesmas

Dziesmas is always an entertaining competition and this year is no exception. This year, LTV ruled that all artists must be Latvian. And there are some quality tracks here – some would even qualify for airplay on JOY! There are Semis leading to the Grand Final on 22 February.

Visit the LTV website to listen to all the entries. Which do you like? Share your thoughts on Facebook or use the #JOYEurovision hashtag on Twitter.

Hungary – A Dal

Another big National Final is Hungary’s A’Dal. There are a number of rounds that will lead to the Grand Final, being held on 22 February.

Visit the MTVA website to listen to all the entries. Which do you like? Share your thoughts on Facebook or use the #JOYEurovision hashtag on Twitter.

Ireland – Eurosong

Five participants will be announced on 6 February on RTE Radio 1’s Mooney Show.

As has happened in the past, the Grand Final will be held on 28 February on a special edition of RTE’s Late Late Show. The artists will also be mentored by famous Irish artists.

Sweden – Melodifestival

And the big one! Melodifestivalen begins with the first Semi on 1 February and Semi Finals and Second Chance shows being held all over Sweden. The Grand Final will take place on 8 March.