Hit maker and steam enthusiast Pete Waterman will produce this year's UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The Hitman has been responsible for producing and writing more than 200 hits in over 25 years and worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Donna Summer, Bananarama and... you get the idea. The song will be performed at Eurovision 2010, which takes place in Oslo in May.
Most people I know, don't really like pop music. A lot of them have beards. A lot of them DJ. They're united in their dislike for all things popular in the music world. Yet, somehow, once a year, they all settle down to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. Now, you could argue that Eurovision is a bit like the FIFA World Cup. Loads of people tune in for the World Cup Final that don't even like football... the event takes hold. However, in a World Cup, you get the best football on the planet... in Eurovision, you really don't get the best music can offer. Hell, you don't even get the best pop music. So what is it?
Well it's all over for another year but just how will Eurovision 2009 be remembered? As the year that the UK finally revived its flagging fortunes? As the year that Norway scored more points in a Eurovision setting than one ever thought remotely possible? Or simply as one of the best contests in years, one in which it finally became about the music again as opposed to a popularity contest between friends?
For other Eurovision posts, go here.
I gave up on Eurovision a long time ago, so nothing much surprises me in this competition these days. So another year and another odd winner (Norway's Alexander Rybak). Still, Oslo's a lovely place to visit and Our Jade avoided the ignominy of being rubbish.
Yup, it's the big one tonight, the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, the moment we the UK discovers whether it can revive its flagging contest fortunes with a little help from Andrew Lloyd Webber or if we are doomed to moulder at the bottom of the scoreboard once again. I have to admit I'm quite excited about the UK's prospects for the first time in years, but for every person who says that there's another cynic hiding round the corner waiting to tell you that the UK may as well give up because they will never again achieve another decent Eurovision result, not while the East European countries continue to dominate.
Our Eurovision section.
It's the second Eurovision semi-final tonight at 8pm on BBC Three (yup, we've had barely 48 hours to recover from Tuesday and here we go again), with another 10 countries set to make their way into Saturday's final and this time complete the line-up. Yesterday we previewed the first 10 contenders, but here's what you can expect from the second half of the show.....
Last night Eurovision 2009 kicked off in style with the first semi-final, which saw fantastic performances from the likes of Malta, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia and Iceland, all of whom have qualified for Saturday's final along with Romania, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Israel and Turkey. All of whom earned their place in Saturday's line-up, although it was a pity to see Switzerland miss the cut. Oh well, maybe next year? The running order for the final as it stands has created a marvellous opportunity for the UK who are not only singing third from last (regarded as a very strong place in the running order) but are now sandwiched between Finland and Romania, the weakest of last night's qualifiers, and both of whom have uptempo songs which will make Andrew Lloyd Webber's ballad stand out all the more.
Related: Eurovision Semi-final Part One | Eurovision Semi-final Part Two
Tonight's the night, when the first semi-final of Eurovision 2009 takes place in Moscow. Yesterday I previewed the first 10 countries that'll be competing in Tuesday's extravaganza, but here's what else you can expect from the night, together with who's likely to qualify, who might make the cut and who'll be packing their bags by the time the night is over....
Tuesday night sees the first of two Eurovision semi-finals. Yup, there are so many countries taking part now that they have to compete for their places in the main event by taking part in one of two semis, with 10 places in the final at stake in each. For non-Eurovision fans this is probably akin to being tossed into the seventh layer of hell - but for fans of the contest the opportunity to see two 'mini-contests' ahead of the real thing is too good to miss - and in this country we see both of them even though we only get to vote in one (by way of explanation: only countries in the same semi-final can vote for each other although the five countries already qualified - host country Russia and the so-called 'Big 4' of UK, France, Spain and Germany are randomly assigned to cast votes in one of the semis, usually the one which has less of their 'neighbours' in it. It is supposed to make the voting fairer you understand).
The Eurovision Song Contest kicks off this weekend (BBC One, Saturday, 16 May, 8pm) with Jade Ewen heading off to, well, probably lose. The pop spectacular takes place in the huge Olympiyski Stadium in Moscow and, for the first time in six hundred and thirty eight years, Terry Wogan won't be manning the mic, this year, being replaced by Graham Norton. Of course, many of us will be tuning in to see what disasters their are... it's part of the charm isn't it? So with that, over the jump, you can see a selection of some of my favourite Eurovision wrongs..
Related: Our Eurovision Quiz | Our review of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest
Unless you've been living in a bubble for the past month, you'll probably know that the Eurovision Song Contest is soon to be upon us - next week, to be precise, with the hopes of the UK resting on Jade Ewen and Andrew Lloyd Webber (although to be honest the UK has done so poorly in recent years that even finishing in the top 15 would frankly be a cause for celebration).
And if you're an ardent fan of the annual music spectacle - and trust me there are thousands of them, scattered all across the continent - you'll doubtless have been following the whole build-up to the contest online, right from when the first entry - from Albania - was chosen back in December (yes, that's December 2008, some of these countries sure like to get everything sorted out early). There are loads of websites dedicated to Eurovision, although the BBC's official site is particularly good in this regard - and they've just launched their newest feature guaranteed to keep Euro-freaks happy for hours.
While the UK may currently be getting in a froth about Susan Boyle, the rest of the continent is gearing up for this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, which is just a matter of days away. And it really is: the first semi-final (for these days there are two, don't ya know, and you can watch them both on BBC3) is a week on Tuesday, followed by the second one on Thursday May 14th. The grand final then takes place two days later on Saturday 16th.
The UK is of course pinning its hopes - or hoping for more points than simply from Ireland and San Marino (and since the latter aren't even taking part this year it would be a tall order to get points fro them) - on Andrew Lloyd Webber and his newest discovery, the ballad-belting diva Jade Ewen, who has been furiously plugging her song across Europe and will be guesting on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross this week too. But this year the contest has its hottest favourite in a very long time in the shape of Norway's song Fairytale - so hot a favourite in fact that you would be forgiven for thinking the Scandinavians have the contest all sewn up.
On the 15th August, I wondered out-loud, whether Graham Norton would replace Terry Wogan on Eurovision. Guess what? After more than 30 years of guiding viewers through the highs and lows, panache, trash and pizzazz of the unfathomable world of the Eurovision Song Contest, Sir Terry Wogan, the doyen of the show is bowing out of the competition to make way for Graham Norton.
Related: Eurovision review | Wogan slates Eurovision
He turned his reputation around thanks to three TV talent contests, and rumours abounded whether he would team up with the BBC for another primetime series. Now we know. I received an email from the BBC press office yesterday, with an a clip attached - it was ALW addressing the nation, explaining that he would be not only writing next year's Eurovision song, but also overseeing the selection of the singer/singers who will perform it at the ceremony in a series called Your Country Needs You. This is a bit of risk for the Dark Lord - Britain's recent record in the competition isn't exactly great and ALW's involvement wont guarantee an imprved performance (especially if there's the usual tactical voting). Have a listen to ALW's address over the jump.
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Oh, why not? It's not like anyone has a scrap of credibility left anymore. Webber's possibly going to be chief judge on an X Factor-style panel to select the next Eurovision entry. His old friend Graham Norton will be hosting, so it might be fun! Who knows? Who knows.
Meanwhile, there's a voting overhaul for the actual show to stop everyone voting for their neighbouring countries and hating on England all the damn time.
I don't know if I read it or wrote it, but I've been thinking for a while that the inevitable replacement for Terry Wogan on the coverage of The Eurovision Song Contest would either be Jonathan Ross or Graham Norton. I say this because these days, Eurovision is seen more like a comedy show than a music show. You need someone who can mercilessly tease. So with that, it looks like The Beeb are making eyes at Graham Norton for the job (according to The Currant Bun). Of course, Wogan looks like he's walking away from the show (read here for a refresher) and Norton would be a worthy replacement... bear with me...
Forget the hosts bacofoil dress. Forget the old man scratching with a gramophone. Forget the histrionics and blue oyster bar rave. The thing that I see and hear every time I close my eyes since the close of Eurovision 2008 (BBC One, Saturday, 24 May, 8pm) is the wacky antics and ear bleeding yells of the yoorawizzon green-room. Still, that's not to say that's all there was to it...
Spring is in the air, it's a bank holiday weekend, and you know what that means: Eurovision is only just around the corner! With a "funky love song" co-written by our 2008 performer Andy Abraham that Eurovision veteran Terry Wogan reckons is "the UK's best for years" do we really stand a chance of winning for once? Or, as Wogan himself goes on to say, "will any song from Western Europe ever win again?"
From: TV Review: Too Poor for Posh School, Channel 4, Thursday, 11 March, 9pm