San Marino: 1 in 360 removes entries from Margaret and Syuzanna…but then reuploads them

They’re some of the most talked-about names to pop up in 1 in 360 — San Marino’s search for an Internet candidate for Eurovision 2018.

But, in news that won’t surprise most of you, it turns out that “submissions” from Margaret, Egine, Berget and Syuzanna Melqonyan may not all have been legitimate.

By Wednesday morning organisers had removed these entries from 1in360.com. Presumably this follows their own investigation after fans pressed alarm bells about the submissions.

Interestingly, the submissions from Margaret and Syuzanna were re-uploaded about an hour after we published this post.

Today on Twitter 1 in 360 organisers confirmed that Syuzanna’s video is real.

Apparently the “troll police” — lol — suggested it was fake, which initially led them to take it down, only to restore it this afternoon.

Syuzanna’s entry fell victim to an overzealous troll police. Sorry about that. There may be one or two other entries we need to restore. https://t.co/SJDhLeQKhR

— 1in360 (@1in360talent) November 15, 2017

However, writing on their official Facebook page, they finally and officially confirmed that Margaret’s entry is fake. “Sorry, guys,” they wrote. “Margaret’s management just came back and confirmed it’s a fake submission. We’re removing it from the website.”

In any case, the submissions had raised the hopes of many fans, who long to see these ladies slay the global stage.

We initially thought several of these entries were fake, following the logic below.

As we discuss in our video above, Margaret — whose Krajowe Eliminacje 2016 song “Cool Me Down” trended globally on Spotify — has said publicly that she is no longer interested in pursuing Eurovision.

Egine and Syuzanna, fresh from last year’s Depi Evratesil selection, seem to have that Eurovision fire — but are perhaps more keen to represent their Motherland Armenia.

And Berget, a Dutch Songfestival veteran who just wrapped UK X Factor a few weeks ago, likely has numerous gigs in the pipeline, which would make a Eurovision run in San Marino unlikely.

Also gone is a video of popular YouTuber Ben Woodward covering Dua Lipa’s “New Rules”. Perhaps a fan submitted it with the hope Ben would take up the offer?

But there is still plenty to smile about: Other submissions rumoured to be fake are still online, suggesting that they are, in fact, real.

Yola Dinis — the talented fado singer who many thought should have won Portugal’s Eurovision selection in 2015 — has been actively courting votes on Facebook.

Maxine Swaby — the singer behind one of the very first “WTF is this?” songs — is also in the race. She rose to infamy with “Pardon Me”, which you can watch below. Here’s how Know Your Meme describes that song:

“Pardon Me (also known as “Tunnel of Love”) is a viral video & original song by Maxine Swaby, a hairdresser and Gospel singer from Coventry, England. The video is most notable for its sub-par production quality, which shows Maxine singing and dancing rather awkwardly in front of various downtown locations and outdoor landscapes.”

San Marino’s second wildcard

The hopefuls who don’t pass the judge’s exacting eyes (and ears) will still have a chance to get to the live shows in January.

Zoë, one of the three judges of the San Marinese competition, recently revealed how the second wildcard act will be chosen.

“On the 1st of December, which is also my birthday, all likes on the web site will be reset and then you have 10 days to vote for your favourite artist,” she explained. “On the 10th of December at 11:59pm we will count all the likes and the artist with the most likes will get the second wildcard.”

This follows the November 1 announcement about the first wildcard, who, along with the two other wildcard entries, will progress to the final 10 and live shows.

The first of these wildcards will be placed in the hands of the OGAE fan groups around the world.

Are you saddened by today’s news? Did you think that any of the ladies who have been removed were real contenders?

Vote for our songbirds William & Deban in 1in360

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4dmGuX247s