Dilara Kazimova will represent Azerbaijan in Denmark.
Baku, Azerbaijan - Two weeks ago Dilara Kazimova got the trophy in the Azerbaijani national final Böyük Səhnə. Today, it is time to get to know her song. It is called Start A Fire and is composed by Stefan Örn, Johan Kronlund and Alessandra Günthardt. You can watch it on eurovision.tv!
Some months ago the participation in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest felt so unreachable for Dilara Kazimova. Two weeks ago her dreams came true when she won Böyük Səhnə in Azerbaijan. And now, it's time to introduce her song Start A Fire.
About the song
In her ballad Start A Fire, Dilara perfectly shows her unique vocal style. The music and lyrics of her entry have been written by Stefan Örn, Alessandra Günthardt and Johan Kronlund. The song has been chosen internally by the Azerbaijani national jury.
The young, talented Dilara describes her entry song as "a confession of strong yet vulnerable women." "The song is not just about love, but also about kindness, humanity and respect for each other", Dilara said. "It’s also about being absolutely lonely in a world that can be so cruel."
Dilara wanted a very special song for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contets. "Start A Fire is the best choice for me", Dilara says. "The melody is kind of hypnotizing and the story is deep and touching. It’s a bit tragic but with hope. I’m very much into the song and want to make my audiences feel its deep meaning."
About the composers
Stefan Örn is the Swedish music composer, guitarist and sound-producer, the member of the band Apollo Drive. He was one of the composers of the songs which represented Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010 and 2011. The song Drip Drop, co-written with Sandra Bjurman and Anders Bagge perfomed by Safura came on fifth place. Running Scared perfomed by Ell/Nikki in Düsseldorf won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.
Alessa Noa is the alias of Stockholm-based artist and songwriter Alessandra Günthardt. Born in Zürich and raised in France and Sweden, Alessandra was early on drawn to different cultures and influences. Consequently, her music can be described as being very eclectic, drawing inspiration from a wide array of genres, although icons such as Kate Bush and David Bowie are often cited as her main influences. Apart from making a name for herself as an artist, Alessandra has built up a steady career in songwriting and recently co-wrote the 2013 Swedish Idol song Belong. Johan Kronlund is a composer/producer and also an engineer. He has worked with such international pop and dance artists and bands as PLAY, Danny Saucedo, Montt mardié, Darin, September, Medina, Lucky Soul etc.
In our previous issues you can recollect the last shows of Böyük Səhnə and Dilara's long way to the victory.
San Marino - The song that Valentina Monetta will perform for San Marino is titled Maybe (Forse) and is composed by Ralph Siegel and Mauro Balestri. It will be third time in a row for both Valentina Monetta and Ralph Siegel at representing San Marino in Europe's Favourite Tv Show, whilst Mauro Balestri clocks up his second year in a row as lyricist for their entry.
In June 2013 San Marino RTV announced that Valentina Monetta had been asked to perform for the third time for the Republic of San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen.
The song chosen is called Maybe (Forse) and will be performed in English. It is composed and produced by Ralph Siegel, lyrics by Mauro Balestri in both English and Italian.
Watch the song 'Maybe'
One more time...
Last year, Carlo Romeo, Director General of San Marino RTV, was so disappointed at the totally unexpected Semi-Final result that he asked Valentina Monetta right after the Malmö Contest, if she would perform and try it again for a third time in Denmark 2014. After a serious and long consideration, Valentina and her producer Ralph Siegel agreed to give their best, and take part one more time.
In July, Siegel and Mauro Balestri started to write another song for Valentina and she was invited to record the demos in Forte dei Marmi, Italy, at the end of August. One month later Siegel finally recorded seven songs with Monetta in his studio in Munich. In the meantime, Monetta also wrote and produced nine songs in San Marino with a little help of her many musical friends and different artists.
Finally the new album was finished and the decision to choose the entry for Copenhagen was not easy. A great variety of potential songs were produced and many of them could have been the song for Copenhagen.
After long research with colleagues, professionals and friends, the clear and final decision was made and the song Maybe (Forse) was chosen. The song is in English, so everyone in Europe and all over the world can understand the wonderful lyrics by Balestri. The Italian version is also released, as well as a Dance-version for the Euroclub to enjoy the song in many different ways.
About Valentina Monetta
Valentina Monetta was born in 1975 in San Marino. She is the second of two children, her father is from Calabria and her mother is Sammarinese. Valentina spent her childhood in San Marino where she attended primary and secondary schools.
In her childhood she discovered the love for music, listening in a tireless way to various musical styles, creating and forming over time a specific taste. Although she has not dealt with an academic background, she had studied piano and singing by herself, reaching the same professional high quality.
Starting from 1995, she has been working with the best local musicians, becoming a versatile singer with a great talent for improvisation; her voice is both colorful and versatile, ranging from jazz to melodic Italian, from soul to R&B and pop.
Monetta is one of the most talented jazz and pop singers in San Marino and the whole country will be keeping fingers crossed, hoping that she will be third time lucky.
About the composers
Ralph Siegel is one of the most familair names to fans of the Eurovision Song Contest. 2014 marks 40 years since he first had one of his compositions in the contest, with the song Bye, Bye I Love You, which finished in fourth place when Ireen Sheer sung it in Brighton. That entry was for Luxembourg, but it is for his native Germany that he has written most compositions, including the winning song in 1982 Ein Bißchen Frieden sung by Nicole. In addition he was composed entries for Switzerland, Montenegro and of course San Marino.
Mauro Balestri was the lyricist of the song Crisalide (Vola) that represented San Marino in 2013. He was born in La Spezia (Italy) in 1965, from childhood he had an artistic vision of the world mainly influenced by grandparents and his painter uncle. Alongside his technical studies he developed a great passion for art and music. After an intense period of study he reach the world of music as drummer, engaging in projects of various types and style, in collaboration with different artists and bands.
You can watch the entire song presentation show again on Eurovision.tv
The Shin and Mariko recording their Eurovision song in Stuttgart, Germany.
Tbilisi, Georgia - The Shin & Mariko, the Georgian representatives for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest have already been announced. We also know the title of their entry for Copenhagen. This morning, the Georgian broadcaster GPB released the official video clip of Three Minutes To Earth!
The premiere of a video clip Three Minutes To Earth took place on the First Channel of the Georgian Public Broadcaster, GPB. Director of the video is Basa Potskhishvili. Zaza Miminoshvili, member of The Shin, composed the entry, while the author of the lyrics is Eugen Eliu.
Join The Shin & Mariko on their three minutes music journey! Their Eurovision song is definitely something special, as folk meets modern music, mixed with country and even quotes from Bach:
Last month, The Shin & Mariko recorded their song Three Minutes To Earth in Stuttgart, Germany. "It describes the last three minutes of a long walk back to Earth, back home", the Georgian artists told eurovision.tv in their last interview. Read the interview with The Shin & Mariko about their entry in our previous issue:
San Marino - It was back in June 2013 that San Marino announced that their entrant for this year's contest would be, for the third successive year, Valentina Monetta. Tonight SMTV finally reveal which song she will perform in Copenhagen, and you can watch the song presentation on Eurovision.tv from 21:10 CET
Maybe third time lucky?
Valentina Monetta first represented her country in 2012 with The Social Network Song (Oh Oh - Uh - Oh Oh) which finished in 14th place in the First Semi-Final with 31 points. One year later, Valentina returned to Europe's Favourite Tv Show, with the song Crisalide (Vola), this time narrowly missing out on a place in the Grand Final, finishing in 11th place in the Second Semi-Final with 47 points.
Maybe it will be third time lucky for Valentina Monetta when she takes to the stage in Copenhagen in the First Semi-Final on Tuesday 6th May, and aims to take San Marino into the Grand Final for the very first time. Watch tonight at 21:10 CET on Eurovision.tv when Valentina Monetta presents her song for 2014.
This year Valentina Monetta becomes only the fourth artist to represent their country in three successive editions of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Watch The Social Network Song (Oh Oh - Uh - Oh Oh)
Watch Crisalide (Vola)
Three-in-a-row entrants
Valentina Monetta joins a select group of artists who have made three successive appearances in the contest for their country, and by co-incidence all the others won Europe's Favourite Tv Show at some point.
Lys Assia (Switzerland) in 1956, 1957 and 1958
Corry Brokken (Netherlands) in 1956, 1957 and 1958
London, United Kingdom - Although the announcement of this year's United Kingdom entry for the Eurovision Song Contest isn't due to be revealed until the special UK Launch programme on the BBC Red Button service and on Eurovision.tv at 20:25 CET tonight. The internet has been rife with speculation that the singer Molly is to perform the song Children Of The Universe which she has written and composed herself.
On Sunday the 2nd of March, a top secret video shoot took place in central London, to which a number of people were invited to attend, and to be part of the video.
However the news quickly spread around social media, as to who it was who appeared to be the BBC's choice for 2014, and this was picked up by the many media outlets, including the BBC's own news pages.
Now, it seems possible that Molly will be the artist who will wave the flag for the United Kingdom in Copenhagen.
Watch the song presentation tonight
You can find out tonight if the speculation is correct, when the United Kingdom entry will be officially launched by the BBC on a special show at 20:25 CET on the BBC Red Button service for viewers in the United Kingdom. Internationally the programme will also be broadcast on Eurovision.tv.
About Molly
Molly Smitten-Downes to give her her full name studied at Leicester College Access to Music and Guildford’s Academy of Contemporary Music,
Smitten-Downes was the winner of 'Urban/Pop' at 'Live and Unsigned' 2012 and also received a separate award for 'Best Song' at The Best Of British Unsigned Music Awards with her song Lost Generation in 2013.
More recently Molly has been concentrating on her own music and has been gigging around London and the UK with her band. She has received praise from 'BBC Introducing' for her music and airplay for her song Strange Alien.
London, United Kingdom - It can now be officially confirmed that 26 year old Molly Smitten-Downes will indeed represent the United Kingdom in the Grand Final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, with her self-composed song Children Of The Universe.
In a special UK Launch programme, broadcast at 20:25 CET on the Red Button service on the BBC, and on Eurovision.tv, presenter Scott Mills introduced the singer and the song that will represent the country on the 10th of May in the B&W Hallerne at the Refshaleøen, in Copenhagen.
Molly Smitten-Downes
Molly, aged 26, from Leicestershire, was discovered through BBC Introducing and invited to compose and perform a song especially for the competition.
Performing for the UK as her artist name Molly, she has been singing and composing songs for over ten years and has become widely recognised within the music industry and live music scene. In 2012 she was awarded Best Urban/Pop Act at Live and Unsigned, has performed at numerous festivals including Sundown and in 2013 won Best Song at the Best of British Unsigned Music Awards.
She has supported artists such as Jake Bugg, Tinie Tempah, Labrinth & Chase n Status.
The song Children of the Universe is an anthemic, uplifting track specifically written with live performance in mind. The music video was recorded live to showcase Molly’s incredible vocal ability. Molly says: “I'm so excited for everyone to hear Children of The Universe. I'm so happy with it. To represent the United Kingdom in such a huge competition, not only as a singer and performer but as a songwriter is an unbelievable honour. I hope I can do us proud”.
Katie Taylor, Head of Entertainment and Live Events, says: “I couldn’t be happier that Molly is continuing her musical journey with the BBC. She has the chance to make her mark by flying the flag for the UK and be appreciated by millions of people throughout Europe.”
Executive Producer, Guy Freeman says: “BBC Introducing provided us with an extraordinary range of talent to explore and in Molly we found the perfect combination of contemporary song writing and real vocal quality. Her enthusiasm for the project is infectious and I’m sure that she’ll gain huge support on the journey to Copenhagen.”
About the video
On Sunday, fans were invited to attend a top-secret event in central London. They all knew what it was about, but other than that they had no clue who the artist was or what the song was called.
They were told to arrive at 17:30 sharp in order they would be in place for the exclusive recording of a music video.
The venue is, in fact a disused church, which has been kept in use for events like this one. The high ceilings, impressive balconies and stunning stone features make it the perfect setting for a music video. On stage stood a drum kit and four microphone stands. Above the stage, strings of lights were dangling and right behind were large lamps and spotlights – simple yet effective.
On, arrival it soon became clear that the vast majority of people in the audience had no clue what was happening. They had just obtained free tickets from an events website and were up for seeing a bit of live music. It was only when the BBC’s Scott Mills appeared on the rear balcony to record a VT to camera that the penny dropped. They were all there to be part of the music video for the United Kingdom’s 2014 Eurovision Song Contest entry.
Soon afterwards, they were introduced to the lady herself, Molly, who came on stage to rapturous applause.
Molly performed Children of the Universe five times and in different configurations. Each time it was performed live, and performed well. The crowd chanted her name after each performance and Molly was quite obviously very moved by the whole experience.
Not even Molly’s family knew
Molly has a very close-knit family who all turned out in London to support her, including her 91 year old Grandmother.
Molly was sworn to secrecy by the BBC so could not even tell her family what was going on. They just knew that they had to be in London to see “a very special gig”. It was only just before the video was recorded that she told them why this performance was that much more important, something that was incorporated into the BBC broadcast tonight.
You can watch the UK Launch programme on Eurovision.tv
London, United Kingdom - Tonight, on Eurovision.tv at 20:25 CET you can watch the first worldwide broadcast of the song presentation of the United Kingdom for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.
In a short 12 minute programme which will also be shown via the Red Button service on the BBC for viewers in the United Kingdom, presenter Scott Mills will introduce the artist and the song that will carry the hopes of the nation in Copenhagen in the Grand Final of Europe's favourite TV show on the 10th May.
Did you know?
The announcement of the United Kingdom entry takes place on the anniversary of the nation's first appearance in the contest on the 3rd March, 1957.
The song will be the 57th entry from the United Kingdom (having missed the contests of 1956 and 1958)
The United Kingdom has the longest unbroken run of appearances in the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, stretching back to 1959.
So #JoinUs tonight for The UK Launch at 20:25 CET when we will also be publishing the full details of the artist and the song!