Back in May, Wiwi and his snapper-in-chief Vebooboo took hundreds of pics of the most enthusiastic (and occasionally frightening) Eurovision fans in Dusseldorf. We then narrowed them down to 34 finalists who competed in our inaugural competition to discover Eurovision’s Next Top Fan. One month later we have our winners: Irish drag queen Sheila Fits-Patrick [...]
Wiwi was skeptical of Jedward’s chances to win Eurovision 2011 a few months ago. But after watching several of their performances live in Germany, he’s now convinced they can and should win. Their energy is contagious, their act puts Wiwi in a good mood, and the song gets stuck in his head. It’s classic Eurovision—frothy, [...]
Wiwi and Vebooboo were scarfing down cookies and cake when one of the Danish back-up singers (yes, there are actually two hidden on stage!) sat down next to us in the press room. A few minutes of chit-chat led to an interview with Esben and Sebastian from Denmark’s A Friend in London. Here are the [...]
For folks living outside of Norway, the country conjures up images of well-to-do white people eating smoked fish and living large off state oil funds. But amid the sea of blonds that color foreign conceptions of the country live Sikhs and Vietnamese, Pakistanis and Poles, and a thriving community of African immigrants. By winning the [...]
On a stage where contestants sweat ambition, it’s only fitting that someone would rock up singing a song called “Popular.” Eric Saade, Sweden’s offering at Eurovision 2011, uses his three minutes to convey his desire for pan-European stardom — and the groupies that accompany it. “I’m trying to say that I want to be number [...]
John Paul Henry Daniel Richard Grimes and Edward Peter Anthony Kevin Patrick Grimes — the Irish twins better known as Jedward — understand the power of self-obsession. It’s a state of mind that has catapulted them from contestants on the X-Factor to the world’s most famous set of identical singing twins. Over the past year [...]
Last year Armenia’s Eurovision entry centered its stage act around a 100-lb. replica of an apricot stone. So it wasn’t exactly surprising when, during today’s first dress rehearsal in Düsseldorf, the Armenian delegation wheeled Emmy onto the stage in a larger-than-life boxing glove with her name spelled out in diamonds. With her solid vocals, skimpy [...]
In part one of our interview, Stella Mwangi dished on her Eurovision dress and why she wanted to compete at Eurovision 2011. In Part 2 of our interview below, the queen of Norwegian hip-hop explains why she can’t do gangster rap and admits that she’s been taking some singing lessons ahead of Eurovision. Recommend on [...]
Dana International, the only transsexual ever to win Eurovision, is hoping to reclaim her title in Düsseldorf. This time she’s fighting with a “Ding Dong.” An ode to silent prayer and personal resolve, the song sets perseverance to a mid-tempo dance beat. Its clichéd message that hope springs eternal would normally leave me yawning. But [...]
British expatriate David Bryan has made a home for himself in Romania. So much so that Romanian voters chose to send him and his band Hotel FM to Eurovision 2011. David recently spoke with Wiwi about how he ended up in Romania, his love of music and his plans to have plenty of girls [...]
Ten contestants competed in the Polish Eurovision final, but Magdalena still managed to walk away with 44% of the vote. Now Eurovision fans have their fingers crossed that she can win Eurovision in a landslide, too. Magda recently spoke with Wiwi about singing in Polish, femininity and her role on the Polish TV show “Name [...]
As part of their Eurovision promotional tour, Turkey’s Yüksek Sadakat have performed in 11 countries, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Italy and the Netherlands. After all that travel they still managed to gather the strength to speak with Wiwi about the growth of rock music in Turkey, their stage show in Düsseldorf and more. Here’s what they [...]
They’ve sold 13 million records, released 40 hit singles worldwide and collaborated with Elton John. But come May, Britain’s boy band Blue will share the Eurovision stage with lesser known acts like Emmy, an Armenian who is competing with a song called “Boom Boom,” and the TWiiNS, singers known more for their short skirts than [...]
In part one of our interview, the boys sounded off on their Eurovision stage show and what they think about Slovakia’s TWiiNS. In part two, they let loose about Germany’s Lena, the pressure to win and what they call “Jedward hype.” Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on [...]
Slovakia’s Daniela and Veronika Nízlová, the singing duo better known as the TWiiNS, want to double your pleasure and double your fun at Eurovision 2011. Known for their barely-there shorts and habit of standing legs akimbo, they’ve never been afraid to cast subtlety aside in the name of YouTube views. But you probably gathered that [...]
Stella Mwangi is already a pioneer of Norway’s hip-hop scene, and soon she may become the first black woman ever to win Eurovision. In part one of our two-part interview, Stella discusses her victory at Melodi Grand Prix, and recounts what it was like immigrating to Norway as a little girl. Recommend on Facebook Share [...]
Take six people with no discernible musical ability. Dress them up in clothes inspired by the Village People. Enter them in your national Eurovision contest. Watch your government fall. That, in short, sums up the journey of Homens da Luta (Men of Struggle), a Portuguese comedy troupe who have all of Portugal chanting rebellion. Recommend [...]
When talking to twins, an interview tends to run twice as long. When talking to Jedward, who speak in paragraphs rather than sentences, it runs longer still. So, in order to bring you all the Jedward goodness in digestible chunks, Wiwi has divided the interview into two parts. In part one, below, Jedward tell Wiwi [...]
If members of the Soviet Politburo ever produced an adult video, it might have looked something like this. In “I Love Belarus,” Anastasiya Vinnikova suggests that nationalism is sexy, and that loving your motherland will get you some love from its daughters. In the opening bars, the 20-year-old singer–prone to posing provocatively in silhouette–describes herself [...]
Under the influence of alcohol, you might mispronounce Azerbaijan as aspiration. You wouldn’t be far off the mark. A fiery patriotism makes doing well at the Eurovision Song Contest a matter of national importance, and that occasionally leaves competitors scratching their heads. In 2010, as Europe tightened its purse strings, Azerbaijan sunk more than $2 [...]
From the moment French broadcaster France 3 announced that Amaury Vassili had been selected for Eurovision 2011, Eurovision fans and bookies have been shouting “Ooo la la!” Amaury instantly became the bookies’ favorite, and he’s increasingly seen at or near the top of online voting polls. The French opera star recently spoke with Wiwi about [...]
Eric Saade won top marks from the international jury and public televoters at last month’s Melodifestivalen final. But the hard work that catapulted the half-Lebanese singer to stardom started long before that. As the oldest of eight siblings and half siblings, he shouldered grown-up responsibilities when his parents divorced—and when he signed his first record [...]
If Romania’s Eurovision entry has it right, then the more a woman loves a man, the more she wants to kill him. And the more she wants to kill him, the more she wants to prance around in leather. In “Playing With Fire,” Paula Seling and Ovi embody that conflict. They portray lovers balancing fiery [...]
Choose a bad egg, and you’ll end up with yolk all over your crotch. It’s a lesson that officials at NTU, Ukraine’s national broadcaster, learned all too well while selecting the nation’s 2010 Eurovision contestant. Rather than holding a public vote (de rigeur in Eurovision Nation), NTU’s director made an executive decision to send Vasyl [...]
There’s a fine line between puppy love and psychotic obsession — and Lena Meyer-Landrut blurs it brilliantly. In her Eurovision entry “Satellite,” the 18-year old projects frustration at being ignored: “I went everywhere for you/ I even did my hair for you/ I bought new underwear that’s blue/ And I wore it just the other [...]
Opponents of Turkey’s bid to join the E.U. portray it as an alien culture with social and religious beliefs that are decidedly un-European. Following his election as French president in 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy said Europe “must give itself borders” and declared that Turkey “has no place” in the organization. In “We Could Be The Same,” [...]
When 17-year old Safura Alizade won last year’s edition of Azerbaijani Idol, she became one of Baku’s most recognized faces. Now, as the Azeri representative to Eurovision, she’s poised to become a national hero. Bookies have billed her as the favorite for months — and the charts back that up. In April, Safura’s Eurovision entry [...]
Since winning Albania’s Eurovision selection contest in December, Juliana Pasha has learned what it means to look the part. The 29-year old has transformed herself from a rather dowdy looking lounge singer in a wig into a disco diva who shakes her hips as freely as she styles her hair. In March, when she debuted [...]
Ask French Eurovision fans what they think about Jessy Matador’s entry “Allez! Ola! Olé!” and you’ll likely hear that it’s nasty, tacky, cheap, uncouth, and annoying. Many critics say that that it bastardizes the French language, a suggestion born out by this rather saucy excerpt: Darling, you must get up and move your butt. Dancing, [...]
At the Eurovision Song Contest, sex appeal has as much currency as musical ability. Last year, Albania’s Kejsi Tola wore a tutu and stood on a wind machine, and Ukraine’s Svetlana Loboda did a pole dance in a metal orb. This year, flesh once again takes center stage. But the most sexually charged performance doesn’t [...]