News Archive

From the moment Lena Meyer-Landrut raised the microphone-shaped Eurovision trophy in Oslo, devout fans have been wondering where German officials will stage the 2011 contest. On August 21, the bidding process ended with four cities filing applications. They are: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Hannover. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and German broadcaster NDR will make their final decision in the coming weeks.

Wiwi thinks this is a no-brainer. Eurovision prides itself on bridging East and West, so staging the contest in Berlin—once divided by that ugly wall—provides a pretty symbolic platform. Plus it’s the epicenter of Cool Europe, and affordable to boot. Hamburg appears to be the favorite of German Eurovision fans (judging from the ESC Facebook page, at least). It’s home to the NDR, who has the gargantuan task of throwing the party, so a homegrown show makes a lot of sense.

The NDR’s Thomas Schreiber says he was impressed by the detailed plans laid out by each city. “Whoever wins this bid, Germany will be an excellent host to viewers from around the world!” Let’s just hope the city still supplies buckets of confetti and oversized LED screens. In June, German politician Hans-Joachim Otto wrote to the NDR requesting that the broadcaster host the contest on a shoestring budget. “It doesn’t always have to be bigger, brighter, more pompous, and above all more expensive,” he wrote.

What do y’all think? Where do you want to see the 2011 contest? Vote below and be sure to leave your feedback below.

Verka Serduchka, the most famous drag artist in the former Soviet Union, has been awarded an automatic place in the Ukraine’s national Eurovision final. Serduchka, who represented Ukraine at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest and placed second, will compete against 19 other singers, who will be selected in a series of 10 semi-finals.

The decision by the NTU, Ukraine’s national broadcaster, is probably an act of atonement for last year’s disastrous selection process. After NTU chose baritone Vasyl Lazarovich internally rather than staging a contest, the public revolted, NTU stripped him of his title and nuclear holocaust crooner Alyosha wound up competing in Oslo.

Verka competing at Eurovision in 2007:

Verka’s video Gop, gop! Jump, jump!

You can take the girl out of Eurovision, but you can’t take Eurovision out of the girl. Three months after finishing fifth at ESC 2010, Azerbaijan’s Safura continues to pout and pander to the camera as if all of Europe is watching.

In the video for her second single “March On,” she prances around two souped-up SUVs, vogues inside a cage and dances in an abandoned parking lot. Although she sings of soldiers and strength and perseverance, her facial expression suggests, “I’m easy. Invade me.” From a production standpoint, Safura reinterprets Destiny Child’s “Survivor” video: three women in camouflage grind in the city while singing about strength, and a gratuitous glamor sequence captures Safura with a leaf in her hair. You can compare the videos below.

Safura’s “March On”:

March On lyrics:

The battle has begun and we must move as one Despite what we’ve done we can achieve And yes we bleed and we scar But we can’t forget who we are Now we’ve reached the stars We can’t stop believin’

We used to be enemies, now we need us We’re gonna be backin’ up, backin’ up And with every move, with every breath we take

We’re gonna march on, like there’s nothing in our way We’re gonna march on, like soldiers – not afraid Yeah, we’re carved in time here on the front line We’re gonna march on on Yeah, we’re gonna march, yeah, we’re gonna march Yeah, we’re gonna march on

We know what lies up ahead up ahead, up ahead But we push, push on instead Of turning out backs on a friend We begin to realise what we’ve achieved

We used to be enemies, now we need us We’re gonna be backin’ up, backin’ up And with every move, with every breath we take

We’re gonna march on, like there’s nothing in our way We’re gonna march on, like soldiers – not afraid Yeah, we’re carved in time here on the front line We’re gonna march on on Yeah, we’re gonna march, yeah, we’re gonna march Yeah, we’re gonna march

1, 2, 3, 4, just keep marchin on the floor 5, 6, 7, 8, get up it’s never too late 8, 7, 6, 5, everybody come alive 4, 3, 2, 1, keep on marchin’, march on Keep on marchin’, march Keep on marchin’, march Keep on marchin’, march on

We’re gonna march on, like there’s nothing in our way We’re gonna march on on, like soldiers – not afraid Yeah, we’re carved in time here on the front line

We’re gonna march on, like there’s nothing in our way We’re gonna march on, like soldiers – not afraid Yeah, we’re carved in time here on the front line We’re gonna march on on Yeah, we’re gonna march, yeah, we’re gonna march Yeah, we’re gonna march on

Destiny’s Child with “Survivor”:

Nadja Benaissa, member of German girl group No Angels, has apologized to a German court for having intercourse with three different partners and not disclosing that she carries HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“I am sorry with all my heart,” Benaissa, 28, told justices at the District Court of Darmstadt on August 16. She described herself as feeling “absolutely careless” for having sex with three men on five occasions without first discussing her condition. She also said she was fully prepared to accept the legal consequences.

The mother-of-one faces three charges of attempted aggravated assault for having unprotected sex with the three men, and one charge of aggravated assault because one of the men has since tested positive for HIV. A verdict is expected on August 26, and a conviction of aggravated assault could carry a ten-year sentence.

“I never wanted this to happen to one of my partners,” Benaissa said. She will call on an AIDS expert later this week who will testify that the HIV-positive plaintiff could have become infected by another partner.

Benaissa, who said she began using crack cocaine at age 14, discovered her HIV status after becoming pregnant in 1999. She was just 16 years old. Because the sexual encounters in question took place between 2000 and 2004, she is being tried in a juvenile court.

In her opening statement, the singer said she hid her condition to shield her daughter from harassment, and to prevent No Angels from falling apart. “I’d been told the likelihood of infecting someone or that I would develop the illness was more or less zero,” she said. “For that reason, I kept the news, even from my close group of friends. I didn’t want my daughter to be stigmatized. I told the band members because I trusted them but I never made it public because I feared that it would mean the end of the band.”

The 34-year old man who claims he contracted HIV from Benaissa won’t accept that as an excuse. “You have created a lot of suffering in the world,” he told the singer in court. He said he learned about Benaissa’s HIV status from her aunt and underwent an HIV test as soon as he could.

Police arrested Benaissa in April 2009 in front of fans at a Frankfurt night club, just before the group was set to take the stage. After serving 10 days on remand custody, the half-Roma, half-Moroccan singer publicly revealed her condition. In July 2009, she discussed her condition during a candid television interview.

“I can’t just go anywhere I like and be free and be a normal person. I now have this stamp. I will do my best to make the most of it,” she said. “I am actually completely healthy, not sick. I am HIV positive. Being HIV positive doesn’t mean being ill. If the disease breaks out it is called AIDS. I have a completely normal life expectancy.”

Nadja discusses her HIV infection / Nadja Benaissa über ihre HIV-Infektion in December 2009:

No Angels shot to fame in 2000 during the first season of the German reality series Popstars. The group had a number of hits in central Europe, including “Daylight in Your Eyes” and  “Rivers of Joy,” before splitting up in 2003. In 2007 the group reunited to compete at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, where they finished a disappointing 23rd.

No Angels performing “Disappear” at Eurovision in 2008.

When France’s state broadcaster announced that Jessy Matador would represent France at Eurovision, Eurovision fans cried Mon dieu! The lyrics to his entry Allez Ola Olé did little to promote French culture abroad: “Darling, you must get up and move your butt. Dancing, squeezed tight for a salty kiss.” And up to that point Matador (probably not his real name) was best known for shaking his hips rather provocatively in the dance troupe Les cœurs brisés (The Broken Hearts). But after Matador  placed a respectable eighth among televoters and 12th overall in Oslo, the French got over their ish and embraced the Congolese-born singer: his entry Allez Ola Olé shot to number one in France before climbing the digital charts across Europe.

Now Matador is back. In his single Bomba, the first from his new album Electro Soukouss, he once again manages to use the words “shake,” “sexy” and “body” in the same song. You can enjoy the video and nonsensical lyrics below!

Bomba:

Bombastick I like your bombastick hey ho Bombastick je veux ton bombastick hey ho

Hey baby (baby), montre moi ton corps de rêve Qui fait kiffer tous les bandits (bandits) Quand tu bouges ton body Tout le monde te regarde et applaudit T’es belle et sexy Bomba dans la party

Bombastick I like your bombastick hey ho Bombastick je veux ton bombastick hey ho Bombastick I like your bombastick hey ho Bombastick je veux ton bombastick hey ho Bombastick I like your bombastick hey ho Bombastick je veux ton bombastick hey ho

Je veux te voir bouger Vas-y remues tes formes Suis moi tu vas kiffer Pas moyen que tu dormes

Hey baby (baby), montre moi ton corps de rêve Qui fait kiffer tous les bandits (bandits) Quand tu bouges ton body Tout le monde te regarde et applaudit T’es belle et sexy Bomba dans la party

One month ago Wiwi asked y’all to vote for the Eurovision 2010 song you’re still listening to. After 1,158 votes, we have a winner: Turkey’s maNga with “We Could Be The Same.”

Turkey’s hottest rap-rock band earned a whopping 45% of all votes, perhaps owing to front man Ferman Akgul’s recent victory in Wiwi’s search for Eurovision’s Next Top Male Model.

Germany’s Lena Meyer-Landrut, this year’s Eurovision winner, placed second.

Romania’s Paula Seling & Ovi came third—just like they did in Oslo.

The full results, posted below, seem to prove that you don’t have to do well at Eurovision for your song to endure (something you’ll remember from Wiwi’s post on how contestants fared on the iTunes charts). Harel Skaat, the much-hyped Israeli contestant and a favorite with the bookies, only placed 14th at Eurovision, but his song placed third in our poll. And Norway’s saddest lounge singer Didrik Solli-Tangen, who placed 20th at Eurovision, finished an impressive sixth in Wiwi’s poll.

In some instances, though, it’s a case of once a loser, always a loser. Latvia’s Aisha, who came last in the first semi-final, also finished last here. The daughter of one of Latvia’s biggest rock stars, Aisha didn’t receive a single vote from Wiwi’s readers.

Contestants are listed below in the order they finished, along with the number of votes they received and the percentage that represents. The number in parentheses denotes where the contestant finished at Eurovision. In instances where contestants did not advance past the semi-final, the placement comes from the semi-final and is marked with an SF.

TROS, the Dutch broadcaster, has confirmed that the 3Js, a band from Volendam in northern Holland, will fly the Dutch flag in Berlin. Schooled in soft rock and armed with an acoustic sound, the group isn’t exactly edgy: 3Js stands for members Jan Dulles, Jaap Kwakman and Jaap de White. Even so, the 3Js represent a sharp turn from Sieneke, the country’s 2010 rep (and a part-time hairstylist). Her carnival-themed performance to Ik Ben Verliefd went down well with fans in Oslo, but had viewers at home reaching for the remote: she finished a disappointing 14th out of 17 countries during the second Eurovision semi-final, and Sweden’s Anna Bergendahl cited Sieneke as the contestant she’d least like to become. Meow!

Officials clearly hope to put that behind them. “With this choice, we stay close to our roots and appeal to a broad audience,” TROS director Peter Kuipers said on July 16. “The 3Js sing in Dutch, but have an international sound and a broad fan base to support them. Most of all, they are great musicians, and I am convinced they will do great in Germany next year.” During a live radio show this morning, one of the three Js (Wiwi can’t tell them apart!) explained that they’re competing because “It’s about the song again.” Wiwi takes this as a swipe at Sieneke and her quesitonable staging in Oslo, which featured a circus backdrop flanked by two clowns.

All y’all fans of the democratic process needn’t fret over the internal selection. The 3Js will produce five songs before the end of the year and the public, along with a professional jury, will vote for the song they’d like to hear in Berlin.

To give you a sense of what they might cook up, here’s the group singing “Watermensen” (Water People), which reached #7 in the Dutch charts in 2008.

Wiwi prefers “Geloven In Het Leven” (Believe in Life), which peacked at #9 earlier this year.

What do y’all think? Will they fare better than Sieneke? Do you think it’s wise of officials to bypass the public and choose their candidate internally? And which one is Jan?

Official results released by the European Broadcasting Union reveal that for the second year running televoters and jury members agreed on the contest’s winner. But discrepancies in voting also show that Eurovision fans liked Germany’s Lena Meyer-Landrut a smidge more than the music professionals did.

Televoters awarded the “Satellite” singer first place with 243 points; they gave the second-place finishers from Turkey just 177. And while the jury also awarded Lena first place, they only handed her 187 points—just two more than their second favorite act from Belgium. Televoters and jury members both rated Britain’s Josh Dubovie last—a result, no doubt, of his lackluster performance and the pompous remarks made by his songwriter Peter Waterman. Here’s the complete breakdown for the final.

Until 2008, televoters had total control over who won. But the introduction of a jury has diluted televoting power and done much to shake up results. France’s Jessy Matador would have placed eighth this year if the contest were decided strictly by televoting. But the jury ranked him a disappointing 20th, so he finished 12th overall. That discrepancy of 14 places between televoters and jurors represented the biggest discrepancy in the final. On the flip side, Israel’s Harel Skaat benefited the most from the jury: they ranked him fifth, while televoters ranked him 19th. The following chart lists contestants in the order that the jury hurt them. A negative number represents a downgrade by the jury, zero represents no discrepancy, and a positive number represents a boost from the jury.

FIRST SEMI-FINAL

In the weeks leading up to Eurovision, bookies saw the first semi-final as a contest between Slovakia’s Kristina, Belgium’s Tom Dice and Greece’s Giorgos Alkaios. But as the complete results show, neither televoters nor jury members had much love for Kristina’s timid performance, ranking her 14th and 16th respectively. Televoters awarded Greece victory by a margin of two points over Iceland, and five points over Belgium. The jury begged to differ. It awarded guitar-strumming Tom Dice first place with a margin of 58 points. Proving they value musicality more than flash, they awarded second place to Portugal’s Filipa Azevedo. Her ability to sing in tune placed her eight points ahead of Greece (the ones with all the homoerotic thrusting and grunting).

As in the final, televoters and jury members both agreed on the last-place finisher. Aisha, the daughter of a Latvian pop star, proved that the apple can sometimes land very far from the tree. The lyrics to her entry “What For?” were simply excruciating: “I’ve asked my uncle Joe/ But he can’t speak/ Why does the wind still blow and blood still leaks?/ So many questions now with no reply/ What for do people live until they die?”

Again, the following chart indicates how the jury influenced the results. Russia’s Peter Nalitch, whose depressing ballad “Lost and Forgotten” proved popular among Prozac users, was hurt the most by the jury.

SECOND SEMI-FINAL

Bookies also misjudged how the second semi-final would play out. For months they had forecast that Azerbaijan’s Safura would pout her way to the top of the leader board, followed closely by Israel’s Harel Skaat, Armenia’s Eva Rivas and Denmark’s duo Chanée and Tomas N’evergreen (who, Wiwi might add, have no chemistry. She looked like she would rather hold hands with a serial killer when they were on stage in Oslo).

In the end, Safura won televoter hearts and minds: they ranked her first, seven points ahead of Turkey’s maNga. But jury members only placed her third, behind Georgia’s Sofia Nizharadze and Turkey. Wiwi suspects the professional producers ranked Sofia first because of her strong resemblance to British pop icon Cheryl Cole.

In terms of relative placement, Lithuanian funk band InCulto suffered the most at the hands of the jury. Under the old system, they would have placed eighth and advanced to the final. But their combined total left them in 12th, so they had to catch an early morning flight to Vilnius. Anna Bergendahl, the first Swedish contestant ever to be eliminated in the semi-final rounds of Eurovision, would also have advanced under the old system.

On April 1 Wiwi Bloggs met with Europe’s top modeling agencies to determine which Eurovision contestants had the beauty and charm to succeed as international superstars. After heated deliberations and a few broken stilettos, Wiwi invited 23 men from the Eurovision family to compete in the semi-finals of Eurovision’s Next Top Male Model 2010. Contestants from Britain to Belarus flashed their pearly whites, flexed their muscles and sang their hearts out to convince you they have what it takes to become Europe’s next big thang.  Following six weeks and more than 13,400 votes (7,440 in the semi-finals, 6,031 in the finals), Wiwi is proud to announce that Turkey’s Ferman Akgül is Eurovision’s Next Top Male Model.

The final results are as follows:

1. Turkey, Ferman Akgül (2,175 votes, 36.06%) 2. Israel, Harel Skaat (1,555, 25.78%) 3. Poland, Marcin Mrozinski (465, 7.71%) 4. Romania, Ovi (384, 6.37%) 5. Norway, Didrik Solli-Tangen (381, 6.32%) 6. Spain, Daniel Diges (304, 5.04%) 7. Bosnia, Vukasin Brajic (271, 4.49%) 8. Serbia, Milan Stankovic (146, 2.42%) 9. Bulgaria, Miro (78, 1.29%) 10. Belgium, Tom Dice (70, 1.16%) 11. Greece, Giorgos Alkaios (58, 0.96%) 12. Cyprus, Jon Lilygreen (56, 0.93%) 13. Russia, Peter Nalitch (51, 0.85%) 14. United Kingdom, Josh Dubovie (37, 0.61%)

Turkish Delight

Ferman and his rap-rock band maNga were stars long before Wiwi began his search for Eurovision’s Next Top Model. In 2009, the group won “Best European Act” at the MTV Music Awards, and their single “Dünyanin Sonuna Dogmusum” (End of the World) topped the charts in Turkey and climbed to #335 in Russia (hey, it’s a big country with a lot of artists — give maNga some credit). Along the way the group learned how to rock black, and Ferman learned how to flirt with the camera. Here’s the video.

“Beni Benimie Birak” peaked at #2 in Turkey. Werq!

In a year of rather bland looks—Belgium’s Tom Dice seriously looked like a flight attendant—Ferman and maNga brought edgy looks to the table, as captured in their live Eurovision performance.

The Road to Becoming Eurovision’s Next Top Male Model:

During the first week of voting, Poland’s Marcin Mrozinski established himself as the early front-runner. Of the 1,136 votes cast, Marcin claimed an impressive 42% of them. Norway’s Didrik Solli-Tangen finished second with 17%. Norwegian voters, who didn’t like the photo that Wiwi selected of Didrik, accused Wiwi of trying to sabotage Norway’s campaign. Looking back, the photo does make Didrik look as if he’d like to cut someone with a razor blade. Wiwi is sorry.

Anyway, Israel’s Harel Skaat, who Wiwi deemed the sexiest Eurovision contestant ever, finished the first week in third position with 15%. Turkey’s Ferman Akgul was in fifth position with 5% of the vote. (Coincidentally, Romania’s Paula Seling, the eventual winner of Eurovision’s Next Top Model 2010, was also in fifth place at the end of the first week of voting. Cosmic connections, people!)

With the Top Model House overrun with testosterone, Wiwi decided that two men had to go. A quick google image search of Belarus’ “Artyom Mihalenko” didn’t turn up any photos. Without a past, Arytom had no chance of a future and was sent home. Wiwi also booted Estonia’s Madis Kubu, mainly because his video for “Siren” was real creepy.

During the second week of competition, the death of Poland’s president and a number of the government’s elite forced Marcin Mrozinski to cancel Eurovision appearances and to delay the release of the final version of his Eurovision song “Legenda.” Wiwi’s voters respected his courage and kept him in first position with 35% of all votes. Harel Skaat, the jock from Jerusalem, finally made his move and slid into joint second with Norway’s Didrik Solli-Tangen, with both men claiming 17%. Spain’s Daniel Diges also surged, perhaps because Wiwi posted this photo of him modeling Calvin Klein underwear. Caliente!

Wiwi grew tired of cleaning up after the 21 remaining men. In a bold move partly related to a pharmacist not refilling his subscription for painkillers, Wiwi sent six men home: Denmark’s Tomas N’evergreen, Estonia’s Robin Juhkental, Switzerland’s Michael von der Heide, F.Y.R. Macedonia’s Gjoko Taneski, Lithuania’s Jurgis Didziulis, and the other guy from Belarus (couldn’t pronounce his name then, can’t pronounce it now).

The search for Eurovision’s Next Top Male Model took a sharp turn during the third week of competition. Fans in Spain and Turkey began to rally support on Facebook and Twitter, so Daniel Diges and Ferman Akgul pushed to the front of the pack with 30% and 24% of all votes respectively. Poland, Israel and Norway remained contenders with 19%, 9% and 9% respectively. Serbia’s Milan Stankovic saw a surge in votes after Wiwi published this shirtless photo of him. He finished the week in a solid sixth position:

Wiwi was feeling generous following the previous week’s bloodbath, so he made no eliminations.

After four weeks of voting and a total of 7,440 votes, Wiwi finally brought the semi-finals to a close. France’s Jessy Matador was the last contestant sent home. That left us with 14 men. Based on the semi-final results, there were clear favorites. Turkey had pushed to the front with 42% of all votes, but Spain remained a threat with 30%. Poland (10%), Israel (7%) and Norway (5%) would have to work harder to catch them in the finals. As we can see from the final results, Israel came closest—but none of them were able to stop Europe from indulging in a bit of Turkish Delight.

The aftermath

Ferman’s selection as Eurovision’s Next Top Male Model hasn’t been embraced by everyone. As you can see on this comments page, a number of Wiwi’s readers believe that Harel Skaat is the rightful winner and that he lost out as a result of the Turkish diaspora’s voting power. What do y’all think? Did Ferman deserve the title? Why are people upset? Did Britain’s Josh Dubovie deserve to finish last? And what exactly makes a good top male model anyway? Let Wiwi know below!

Eurovision’s media team has released footage that captures contestants’ backstage reactions during the May 29 finale. For the most part it confirms Wiwi’s suspicions: Moldova needs to lay off the hairspray and Belarus’ blond twins are robots. But it also humanizes Serbia’s Milan Stankovic who finally shows some nerves, and you get the sense that Belgium’s Tom Dice has a personality after all. Here’s the video followed but Wiwi’s highlights.

1. Azerbaijan’s back-up dancers speak stellar English, but teen starlet Safura only knows how to say “I love you.” Also, the entire delegation may need to enroll in Alcoholics Anonymous.

2. Norway’s Didrik Solli-Tangen has adopted the annoying American habit of calling everything “amazing” and “insane.” He also says he is “so happy.” Wiwi wonders how Didrik felt after finishing in 20th position. Sad Wiwi.

3. We already knew that Moldova’s Sunshine Project & Olia Tira were masters of Eurovision English. We now also suspect that they have a great deal of pent-up sexual angst. See Olia’s gratuitous writhing from the 1:20 mark.

4. Cyprus’ Jon Lilygreen—the only contestant of Welsh descent at Eurovision in 2010—continues to flash his “hairy belly.” It’s really not welcome, Jon. Nor is your inability to hold the Cypriot flag upright. That yellow figure on the front is the island, you see…

5. Serbia’s Milan Stankovic, who topped Eurovision’s Worst Dressed List this year, was seriously drained after his performance. Perhaps he was coping with the fact he resembles Britain’s most famous one-legged former model Heather Mills?

6. The Belarusian contestant doesn’t like to use verbs. And someone appears to have spilled water on the electronic blond twins. They’ve malfunctioned and are stuck on jive mode.

7. When Greece’s Giorgos Alkaios says “it’s very nice,” he must be referring to working with the protein-fed, testosterone-emitting back-up dancers prancing around in white track suits. Breathe deeply, ladies. But what’s up with all the tattoos? Did Giorgos recruit these dancers from an Athenian prison?

8. Oh, bless. En route to his rather embarrassing last place finish, the U.K.’s Josh Dubovie donned his lucky socks and held his lucky teddy bear. I blame songwriter Pete Waterman for building up this poor lad’s hopes.

9. Georgia’s Sofia Nizharadze seriously resembles former Girls Aloud front woman  Cheryl Cole.

10. Wiwi has already written about how the Albanian contestant praises God through electro-pop—and now Juliana Pasha confirms it. Werq!