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 2/04/09 - The team behind the Belarus national selections, headed by Vasily Rainchik, has announced the semi-finalists for the 2009 Junior Eurovision Belorussian selection (Song for Europe). 63 individuals or groups entered, and 17 songs have been chosen for the semi finals. Members of the jury along with vocal consultants will further audition the children on April 5th in the National Center of Music Art named after Vladimir Mulyavin. In June the semi-final will be held in the form of a gala concert, then the final will be in September. The 17 songs for the final are (town of the singer in brackets):
1. Aslanov Magammed - "Tik-Tak" (Grodno)
2. Botyanovsky Kirill, Mikhalevich Timur, Yatsuk Roman, Samuilov Kirill - "White Birds" (Vitebsk)
3. Gromova Diana vs. Zemlyanik Anton - "Hey, Boys and Girls" (Gomel-Mozyr)
4. "Rocky Band" (Voloznev Roman and Ermakov Kirill) - "Only Forward!" (Minsk)
5. Guzino Diana - "Dream to Fly" (Grodno)
6. Kalofati Polina - "Supermodel" (Minsk)
7. Karpovich Lolita - "About Summer" (Grodno region, Volkovysk town)
8. Larchenko Zlata - "Baba-Yaga 2009" (Dzerrzhinsk)
9. Lovgen Vladislav - "Music of Dawn" (Grodno)
10. Mezhennaya Ekaterina - "Only Love" (Minsk)
11. Murashko Ekaterina - "Birthday" (Mogilev)
12. Naimovich Alla - "To Dream" (Pogorodno, Voronovo district, Grodno region)
13. Petukhov Maxim - "School Parties" (Minsk)
14. Pushnova Anzhelik - "Time to Dance" (Minsk)
15. Saldakaeva Yulia - "White Sail" (Brest)
16. Shulgina Darya - "Fire Tunes" (Grodno)
17. Tsvetkova Victoria - "Sweet Dreams" (Brest region, Baranovichi town) (source: www.tvr.by) |
29/03/09 - Alexandros Houndas, the Greek representative for 2005 gives junioreurosong.net an exclusive interview! Alex represented Greece in Junior Eurovision 2005 with the song Tora Ine I Sira Mas (It's Our Turn Now) where he and his partner Kalli placed 6th. This makes him Greece's most successful entrant to date. He gives us an interview with information on JESC and his current career.
Q: When did you first become interested in singing/dancing? Who are your role models?
A: I've been singing for as long as I can remember! Everything I found in front of me, I turned it into a microphone. Okay, more "professionally", I started to apply myself when I was 14 years old, when I participated at the Greek final of Junior Eurovision with my song "Tha 'thela".
Q: Was 2004 the first time you submitted a song to ERT? What can you tell us about your pre-JESC-2005 experience?
A: No .. In 2003 I followed the Greek final closely, because I was sent from a Greek television show to do a mini ''reportage''.. I was delighted! I wanted to live this experience too! And finally, in 2004 I lived it! I enjoyed it and I learned a lot throughout the whole process! Although the truth is that the contest in 2004 left me with a bitter taste and I didn't want to participate again! (note: he ended 4th in the 2004 nf)
Q: In the 2004 national final, you and Kalli entered separately, each singing a different style of song. What made you decide to sing a duet in 2005?
A: Our vocal coach, Mrs. Maria Katsouri! I met her through Kalli and I started to take lessons with her. Kalli was also disappointed by the contest and we were both very negative! (note: Kalli ended 3rd) But Kalli and I had a common goal! We had no complex and admired each other! Where we saw that our voices were very similar, we said "why don't we try that again, just for fun???'' The result has rewarded us!
Q: In the 2005 Greek national final, there was a problem with the voting lines, where viewers were provided with the incorrect voting numbers for songs 1-9. Do you think ERT reset the votes, or do you think that this may have given you and Kalli an advantage, being song number 10?
A: This problem was actually against us!
ERT gave SMS voting numbers like "01" for the first song, but, instead of ''10'', we were given "010"!! Those vote-counting machines accepted double-digit numbers only. So, whoever sent "010", he accidentally voted for the first song because, as I said, it counted only the first 2 digits. So, the machines were counting ''010'' as ''01''... And don't forget that we had a difference of thousands of votes from the other 9 songs! Anyway, the jury brought us in the first place! We had the best entry of the ten and i believe it! Even then, I knew that we would win, I felt it!
Q: Did you have a good time in Hasselt? Were they lots of Greeks there? What do you think of jESC 2005? Was it organised enough?
A: We lived a DREAM! When i think about it, I think I've seen it in my sleep! It was an incredible experience and i had a fantastic time!
There were lots of Greeks who supported us in every way and i'd like to thank them VERY VERY MUCH!! I won't forget them .. But what was also impressive was the love and admiration we were shown by the Belgians!
...I will not forget some events .. we visited a school in Belgium, where we did a mini concert. We entered the hall and we saw children dressed in traditional Greek costumes, wearing crowns of olive branches on their heads!!!( The olive branch in ancient Greece was the prize for the champions of the Olympics!)
The children stood up and when we started to sing, they sang the song with us and they knew the Greek lyrics very well!
Also, when the contest just finished and i were walking out of the venue, a girl (she must have been 20 -21 years old), which was crying, told me ''Please, please can i give you a kiss ??''! I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! By seeing her crying, I burst into tears from emotion too!
Q: At JESC 2005, which other contestants did you become closest to? Do you still keep in touch with anyone?
A: I became close with Dino and Lorena, with whom i have kept contact until now! But i became closest to Maria and Maria from Sweden, we had a great time together and laughed together a lot!!!
Q: Can you provide us with some green-room-gossip? EG, rumours say that Alina had a crush on Dino. Did you notice anything?
A: I don't know... i can't tell about Alina...you'd better ask her...
But this kind of "flirting" was common among the contestants!! Most of them appeared or developed during the voting procedure in the green room, you know, anxiety and nervousness bring people closer, hahahaha!!!
Q: Some people say that Kseniya's song was a horrible winner. Do you support this view? Who do you wanted to win? (apart from you  ) Was there any song you didn't like so much?
A: As the public gave so many votes to Kseniya, then she was a fair winner! The truth is i didn't like the Belarussian entry...I personally wouldn't vote for it. But the funny thing is that all contestants found Belarus as the least dangerous country, but... In general, i thing that the standards were very high in 2005! All songs, more or less, deserved to win!
Q: Do you still watch JESC. What are your favourite jESC songs ever?
A: I watch it as often as i can... I think that my favorite entry was Greece 2005, hahahahahahahahahahaha, i'm kidding of course!!! My favorite entry was Maria Isabel's! She is the biggest talent i've seen in my life!!!
Q: In 2007 you were the co-host of the national final, together with Chloe Boleti. How was it? Did you like the winners?
A: Yes, Chloe and I co-hosted the national final! It was a big experience and me and Chloe blended well together, we are friends and that is what helped us. I had a similar experience when i announced the results of the greek voting in the european final of 2005. Unforgettable moments!!!
As far as the girls who represented Greece at 2007 are concerned, i liked them a lot in the Greek final, because the song sounded original to me. In the European final i didn't like them at all!!! And the truth is that many of the Greek entries until now, even though i liked them in the national finals, when i saw them at the European finals, i was disappointed... i don't know why...
Q: Have you spoken to any of the other Greek JESC representatives? What was your favorite Greek entry?
A: Yes!!! I speak a lot with Nicolas (2003) and very good friends of mine are also Chloe (2006) and Andreas Kefalas (2004)! Among the Greek entries, i can't say that i liked any, after i saw them on the European final's stage...
But, as a song when i heard it for the first time, i have to say i liked "Den Peirazei"!
Q: During the last 3 years, the points-"gathering" of Greece is meagre. 11th position in 2006, last in 2007 and second-to-last in 2008 with no points received from a county (apart from Cyprus) since 2006. What went wrong for the other entries after "Tora einai i seira mas"?
A: That is the truth and i don't like it!!! I think that sometimes Greece has chosen the wrong songs to represent us and other times, even though they chose nice songs, their performance at the European finals wasn't "satisfying" enough... Anyway, Greece has lots of talented kids and i hope in any of the future contests Greece will climb even above the 6th position!!!
Q: Do you think that the quality of the contest has declined, bearing in mind the victory of Bzikebi in 2008? What do you think it must be done, so the future contests have the same quality as the older ones?
A: Unfortunately i havent't watched the European final of 2008... The standards have fallen indeed and they continue to fall as the years pass by. That happens because everyone wants to win and they don't create original songs! But they need to remember that the song which has the biggest chance to win is the one which is different from the others!
Q: As far as Greece is concerned, do you think that there is interest for Junior Eurovision? Do you know if ERT will withdraw?
A: IT'll be good if ERT doesn't withdraw! There are LOTS of talented kids in Greece who need to be shown!!
Q: And one last question. What are your plans for the future? Will you continue singing?
A: Now i'm applying myself professionally into acting (theatre and television) and singing, while at the same time i'm studying "philosophy-teaching-psychology" at the Philosophy faculty of the University of Athens! My dream was always to become an actor and singer and i hope that I'll fulfill it! As far as singing is concerned, i'm at negotiations right now and there is a big chance that a CD of mine be published! AMEN, haha!!!
Thank you very much and i wish to all kids with talent to live their dream.
Interview obtained and translated by Kosmas Martakidis on behalf of junioreurosong.net
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17/03/2009 - Anastaysia and Maria Tolmachevy (The Tolmachevy Twins) will be appearing on the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 held in Moscow, Russia. The twins won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with their song Vesenniy jazz (Spring Jaz), beating out Andrey Kunets from Belarus by a large margin. Since JESC they have appeared in a Russian movie, and released a CD in 2007 called Polovinki. They have also performed in numerous concerts around Russia, however have not gained much fame outside Eastern Europe.
The twins will perform the opening act for Semi Final 1 to an audience of over 600 million people watching via television and online. |  |
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 17/03/09 - Sophie Debattista, who represented Malta in 2006 with "Extra Cute" has released a new single, her first foray into her own individual CD. The song is called "The Clapping Song" and is a fun dance song, similar to her JESC song, although her voice has improved with age. It will be officially released on 9th April 2009, but it is available online now here.
Besides from working on her new CD, since the Junior Eurovision 2006, Sophie has been involved in a number of projects around Malta. Every Sunday she appears on 'Hadd Ghalik', a Maltese entertainment show with an audience of 80,000. She toured the United Kingdom with Showbiz High, a singing/dancing group of teenagers from Malta. Sophie acted as singer, dancer, song author and choreographer. At the end of 2008 she played Sharpay in a national High School Musical production. |
| Oliver Symons, who represented Belgium in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Lemesos with the song "Shut Up" has announced the title of his upcoming single. It will be called 'Where are You Now"and contains audio heard on 'Knetpop', a show on Belgian television featuring contestants who participated in the JESC preselections (Junior Eurosong). If you have any questions about his CD, you can contact his father here:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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 02/03 - Dutch trio Lisa, Amy & Shelley, who participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007, have recording several songs to be used in an upcoming kids movie called 'Kikkerdril'. The movie is about a young boy named Max who travels through the wilderness with his friend. The song Coole Kikker (Cool Frog) which is the themesong, can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HKQz8qkg3w. It is currently at number 1 on the Kids Top 20 charts in the Netherlands. You can also download the mp3 free here: www.lisa-amy-shelley.nl. Since Junior Eurovision, Lisa, Amy and Shelley have enjoyed a wide success around the Netherlands and Belgium, with their own online tv series attracting hundreds of thousands of views, and top selling albums. They have a very retro, colourful style, and produce catchy, upbeat songs to match it, although some of their songs cover more mature themes, such as love, seen in '100%'. |
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 23/02 - On January 19th Kseniya Sitnik made an appearance in the final of Eurofest 2009 (the senior Eurovision Belarus nf). She sang a song called 'Ignite Europe', which has a much more mature sound than her previous songs. A video of her performance can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acjcip2czVs |
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| 21/02 - Molly Sandén, who represented Sweden in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006 is now vying for the chance to sing once again for her country, this time on the grown-up stage of Eurovision. She passed straight to the final of Melodifestivalen 2009 with her ballad 'Så vill stjärnorna'. She beat out BWO with 'You're Not Alone' for a place in the final to be held at the Globe Arena on March 14. In JESC, Molly placed 3rd with 'Det Finaste Någon Kan Få' (The Best Someone Could Get). She managed to turn Sweden's three consecutive 15th place scorings into a 3rd.. we shall see if she can win the Melodiifestivalen and do the same in ESC.
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