EUROVISION 2014 - SAN MARINO - Third time lucky for Valentina Monetta?

By Steven Oldham

Eurovision fans love a trier.  Think of three-time entrant Chiara from Malta, or Lys Assia from Switzerland, still sending entries to the national pre-selection despite being 90 years old.

These artists quickly become fan favourites through their sheer determination to take part in the Contest, and falling neatly into this bracket is San Marino's 2014 representative Valentina Monetta.

After competing in both 2012 and 2013, Valentina, 39,  joins a short list of acts who have entered the contest three times.  She is yet to qualify, but her songs have achieved San Marino's best results, most notably Crisalide (Voila) which missed out on the 2013 grand final by one place.

She is back again for a third and potentially final year with her pop song Maybe (Forse), which is again composed by Ralph Siegel, also the writer of her previous entries.

Now an old hand at Eurovision, does she still get the same buzz from competing for her country?

"It's fantastic and amazing.  I am honoured to have had this opportunity again.  It would mean so much to me and San Marino to make the final this year," she said.

Music video for 'Maybe'

Competing for a micro-state with little influence in the wider world, and a minimal disaspora to rely on for votes, it's good to hear she is confident in her song's ability to do well in Copenhagen.

"I am confident in me, and the support my fans and team continue to give me.

Maybe has a positive message of the respect we should have for the infinite possibilities that life gives us - only if we want to, because we live only once, and unfortunately not for long sometimes.

Life is one and we should not limit ourselves to believe we do not deserve more than what we are used to getting," she explained.

In a competition such as Eurovision it seems natural to feel competitive about the other entries, but Valentina insists this is not the case for her.

"I'm not thinking of my fellow participants as adversaries rather than as companions of a wonderful journey.

I like a lot of the songs this year, it's hard to pick my absolute favourite this year.

I love the beat and energy of the songs from Greece, Hungary and Denmark.  I like Ruth Lorenzo's voice on the Spanish entry, and then there's the sound of Azerbaijan.

There are many others - I also enjoy Moldova, Israel and Austria and more," she said.

There have been reports saying 2014 will be Valentina's last time at Eurovision, but would qualifying for the final for the first time change her mind?

She cryptically answered with  one word.

"Maybe."

You can buy Maybe on iTunes here

Photo: Augusto Betiula & Valentina Monetta



EUROVISION 2014 - MALTA - Firelight looking to connect Europe with Coming Home

By Steven Oldham
 
Malta's Eurovision hopes lie with Firelight this year, and frontman Richard Edwards hopes his self-penned song Coming Home will strike a chord with voters across Europe.
 
Richard is joined in Firelight by sister Michelle (piano) and brothers Daniel (acoustic guitar) and Wayne William (backing vocals).  The band is completed by Tony (upright bass) and Leslie (drums & harmonica).
 
Coming Home is a driving folk pop song, which builds real momentum as Richard and Michelle trade vocals in the last half of the song.
 
Richard said:  "There was a personal story behind the song but I think it will mean different things to different people. It may be especially poignant for the thousands of Europeans who work abroad spending months away from their families."
 
Edwards is no stranger to Eurovision - he has entered the Maltese national selection before both in a group and as a solo artist, and was runner up in 2011 to Glen Vella with the song 'Finally'.
 
It is with Firelight however he has finally reached the Eurovision stage, and the 31-year-old says it is means a lot doing so surrounded by those close to him.
 
"It is a great honour to be representing Malta.  To win alongside my family and friends in Firelight was something special. I’ve been a fan of the Eurovision for as long as I can remember.
 
Growing up, our home was always full of music. Dad is a singer and my Mum was a dancer. My sister and brothers and I have been making music together from a young age."
 
Looking ahead to the semi final, Edwards won't be drawn on which countries they see as rivals for qualification, but says they are looking to make the most of being the first act on stage.
 
"There are a lot of good songs and I would think every artist has a chance. We are delighted to be performing first on the night. We will try to give the performance of our lives."
 
What about your personal favourites then Richard?
 
"I think Paula & Ovi from Romania and Aram MP3 from Armenia are strong, but there are many other great performers too," he said.
 

 

 Music video for 'Coming Home'

 
Firelight are aiming to continue Malta's recent run of success at Eurovision, with Gianluca Bezzina giving the island their best result since 2005 last year by finishing eighth with Tomorrow.  It was a big improvement on preceding years, where Malta failed to qualify for the final four times in six attempts.
 
The renewed popularity of folk in recent years thanks to bands such as Mumford & Sons and Noah & The Whale seems to be transferring to Eurovision, with more countries sending songs in this style at recent contests, with Latvia and Switzerland also choosing the folk route this year.
 
I asked Richard why he feels this is.
 
"Music is always evolving. All I can tell you is that we in Firelight have been working to produce a different sound, a fusion of rock, pop and folk. It is going down well in Malta. We just hope the rest of Europe finds it appealing, " he replied.
 
The band have been busy on the campaign trail, making promotional visits to the likes of the UK, Russia and the Netherlands, getting a warm welcome by fans across Europe.
 
Eagle-eyed UK fans may rememeber Richard from his appearance in the 2005 series of The X Factor, where he made the last 80.
 
"The X Factor experience was great fun. Simon Cowell gave me the thumbs up and I made it to boot camp performing alongside the likes of Leona Lewis. It would be fantastic if the Eurovision led to Firelight getting greater exposure in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. We would love to tour more and this is a big opportunity.  I just hope people who like Coming Home will vote for Malta."
 
If you do like Coming Home, you can help the dream for Valletta 2015 to become reality by voting 01 in the second semi final. 
 
The song is available to buy on iTunes here
 


Will Firelight bring Eurovision 2015 to Malta?

Ten of the best non-English Eurovision entries 2004-2014...Part 1

By Steven Oldham

Since the relaxation of the language rule in 1999, the number of English songs has increased as countries ditch their national tongue in the hope of broader appeal.

Only one fully non-English song has won in recent years, when Serbia's Marija Serifovic took victory with Molitva.

Though generally songs in English perform better, it is a shame native languages are not used more often as there have been some quality entries in the past decade.

This is a list of personal favourites, not influenced by success (or indeed lack of it) in the Contest.

10 - Twin Twin - Moustache (France 2014)

On first listen it's easy to dismiss Twin Twin's entry as a novelty.  A song about a moustache, really? Listen closer though and there's a bigger message about the band's disdain for modern society's materialistic attitudes.  Not to mention the ultra catchy backing track.  With Bob Sinclar-esque guitar riffs, lots of synths and Justice-style looped backing vocals over the bridge this is a highly enjoyable track.  The video's hilarious too. The guy playing the cheesy game show host has it spot on.  The song has really grown on me and is one of my favourites from 2014.


9. Aliona Moon - O Mie (Moldova 2013)

An English version of this surfaced in the run up to last year's contest.  A switch to English would've been disappointing and I'm pleased Aliona stuck with O Mie in this state.  A powerful ballad which would've sounded even better with a live orchestra.  Written by Moldova's entrant from the year before, Pasha Parfeny, you wonder why he gives songs like this to other singers and keeps the odd Lautar for himself.  Aliona was only outdone by Farid Mammadov for spectacular staging with the elements flashing through her dress.  The song and performance really picks up in the final minute and this song deserved better than 11th place.

8. Kristina - Horehronie (Slovakia 2010)

Slovakia failed to qualify in any of their four recent attempts at Eurovision and look unlikely to return in the near future having sat out both this year and last.  Horehronie was one of my favourites of 2010 though, an interesting mix of traditional folk elements and a persistent driving beat giving the song more life.  Having watched this performance again though Kristina's vocals were below par on the night which will have hindered her progress.  Still, the studio version remains a good listen and is by far the best of Slovakia's recent Eurovision efforts.

7. Jessy Matador - Allez Ola Olé (France 2010)

France's second appearance on my list and it's another upbeat song.  The internally selected Jessy only came twelfth with this mega catchy dancehall hit. It proved more popular across the continent on sales charts, reaching the top ten in Norway, Belgium and Finland as well as topping the charts in his home country.  A song for the summer, this may have done better if the contest was held in baking heat with everyone in party mood.  France rarely use other languages for their entry and it would be good if other countries did the same.

6. Adrian & Bledar - Identitet (Albania 2013)

A vastly underrated entry in my eyes who failed to qualify for last year's final.  Rock entries either fly or die at Eurovision and unfortunately this did the latter.  A strong sense of national identity in a song's lyrics normally set a song well at the Contest but clearly Europe didn't like Albania's mix of rock and orchestral music.  I loved it.  I would've preferred Adrian to sing on his own, he has much the better voice of the two, but it's still disappointing it performed so poorly.  Especially after Suus' miraculous performance the year before, which was painful to listen to.

Coming up in part two, five songs from five countries yet to feature in the top ten. What's your favourite? Do you love or hate my picks? Let me know here or via Twitter.