The 1st Irish Qualifier is…

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Semi final 1 of the Irish selection has ended and we have our first finalist!

There were eight kids in the semi:

Hannah McNicholas Roche – Titim as a Cheile
Susie Power – Popsicle
Walter McCabe – Las Do Sholas
Bernadette Royo – Bean Si
Molly McCarthy – Imithe Leis An Ghaoth
Cathal Gavin – Seo he Mo Ghlor
Amy Meehan – Tapaigh An Deis
Jael Katebe-Wini – An Ghra i do Chroi

The top 2 who then faced off were Hannah and Walter with Dublin’s Walter going through to the final! Click the names to watch the performances.

We Are.. excited to hear Australia’s song!

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Twelve year old Alexa Curtis, winner of The Voice Australia has released the song she will sing in Malta! It is called ‘We Are’ and is an American style pop song, similar to Bella Paige’s genre. The song was co-written by Ali Tamposi, best known for co-writing Kelly Clarkson’s Grammy-nominated song, “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”, award-winning writer Tania Doko, who has worked with artists including 2015 Eurovision Song Contest winner Måns Zelmerlöw, Tina Arena and Samantha Jade, and Boi 1da, a Canadian hip-hop producer who has worked with artists including Eminem, Jay Z, and Kendrick Lamar. Big names!

Alexa Curtis said of her entry: “I really love this song. It’s uplifting and sends a positive message to inspire people to believe that we are who we are, no matter what, and to believe in ourselves. It’s about saying that we don’t need money or nice things. It’s about friendship and feeling empowered. I feel relaxed and happy when I sing it and hope that it makes other people happy too.”

Listen to the song here!

U la la la, Serbia is out!

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Serbia has revealed their entry tonight! Dunja Jeličić sings ‘U la la la’, a funky upbeat number with some Balkan influences. Dunja has a really mature and deep voice which should be very impressive for juries and audiences alike. The composer of the song was Vladimir Graić (composer of ESC Serbia 2007 and Slovenia 2012) and written by Leontina Vukomanović (ESC Montenegro 2004 and Serbia 2015). RTS collaborated with Children’s Belgrade Cultural Center when searching for a singer. They wanted someone who could both sing and dance, was comfortable performing and could communicate well. Dunja was the lucky one. She comes from the same show as Lena from 2015, Pinkove Zvezde. Watch her song below:

Dance Floor Released!

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cyprus2George Michaelides released his song ‘Dance Floor’ which will be the Cypriot entry this year. It’s a style which is unique to Junior Eurovison, instead of a chorus there is more a techno dance track. George is an avid dancer, he has previously come 3rd in the European Street Dance Championships, so we can perhaps expect an amazing dance routine in Malta. This entry should prove very popular with the local audience if that’s the case. The song was written and composed by Andreas Anastasiou and Jonas Gladnikoff, as well as George himself. The music video for the song was directed by Maria Charis.

Mariam for Georgia!

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Mariam Mamadashvili will sing for Georgia this year in Malta! She is 10 years old and a member of Bzikebi Studio. She was chosen by a jury comprising of Rusudan Bakhtadze (Vocal), Nato Dumbadze (producer), Zaza orashvili (Director), Nick Kocharov (singer) & JESC’s Lizi Pop. The final two were Mariam and Luke Kacharvan but Mariam won overall. She actually attended JESC in Malta as part of the Georgian delegation so she will know what to expect. The song will be written by regular Georgian composer Giga Kukhianidze, therefore despite having a national final this year, in the end the team remains the same.

Mariam has been singing since she was 4, first at studio Basti Bubu (responsible for JESC 2009 the Princesses), then at Bzikebi Studio. She also plays the piano and has acted in ‘Anna and I’. Last year she moved to the USA and atends Tomlinson Middle School and the Broadway Method Academy music school.
You can see her past music video Butterfly here.

Alexa for Australia!

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SBS has announced that Alexa Curtis will represent Australia in Junior Eurovision 2016! She was the winner of the Voice Kids, beating out last year’s representative Bella Paige, who ended 2nd.

Music and dance has been Alexa’s passion since she was young and at just 12 years of age she is already an accomplished and experienced performer. With no formal voice training until she entered the Voice, the experience encouraged Alexa to realise her dream and pursue her passion of performing and singing professionally.

Alexa Curtis said: “I was so excited when I found out that I would be representing Australia at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Malta. I think I am still a little bit in shock to be honest. I would like to thank SBS for this once in a lifetime opportunity. I know it’s going to be a crazy experience but I just can’t wait to get over there and do what I love doing most: singing for people. I can’t wait to perform my song. I really love it and hope Australia and the rest of the world will too.”

Alexa was selected by SBS and production partner Blink TV as the perfect young artist to showcase Australia’s musical talents to the world.

SBS Director of Television and Online Content Marshall Heald said: “SBS is thrilled to be part of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for a second consecutive year, giving Australia the opportunity to strengthen our long-standing love affair with all things Eurovision. Alexa is an incredibly talented young performer who embodies SBS’s celebration of creativity and diversity, and we can’t wait to see her take the stage in Malta where she will undoubtedly do Australia proud.”

Director of Blink TV, Paul Clarke said: “I’m sure Alexa will be a terrific ambassador for Australia – she has a vocal maturity well beyond her years, but she’s also a classic Aussie kid! We can’t wait to see her on the Eurovision Junior stage, and we’re delighted to be associated with Eurovision once again.”

SBS will broadcast the Junior Eurovision Song Contest at 3.30pm Saturday 26 November on SBS. Eurovision fans can also tune in to SBS’s LIVE coverage of the contest from Valetta, Malta at 2:00am Monday 21 November on SBS.

More details about Alexa’s song entry and Australia’s voting jury will be announced soon.

Israel completes the lineup for 2016!

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2016logoThe EBU has matched the number of participating countries from last year, we have 17 countries in for 2016, only one less than the all-time high of 18. This is great news! The brilliant 17 are:

  • Albania
  • Armenia
  • Australia
  • Belarus
  • Bulgaria
  • Cyprus – returning after a 1 year absence
  • Georgia
  • Ireland
  • Israel – returning after a 3 year absence
  • Italy
  • Macedonia
  • Malta
  • Poland – returning after a 11 year absence
  • Russia
  • Serbia
  • The Netherlands
  • Ukraine

Sadly we lost Montenegro, San Marino and Slovenia. However Poland is a large country and will bring a much larger viewership to the contest (we hope!).

Sofia to Represent Russia

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The Russian broadcaster Russia-1 was responsible for organising Russia‘s national final this year. It was held on 16th August 2016 at Artek in Crimea and the winner was Sofia Fisenko with ‘Zhivaya voda (Living Water)’. The voting was 50/50 jury and internet voting. Sofia is 14 and has previously participated in the national final in 2013, coming 3rd. She told MiaMusic after winning: “I am very pleased I won and it’s like a fairy-tale at the moment. I sang a song Living Water, which reveals what takes place in the soul and mind of a teenager when they grow older. As I am also a representative of the younger generation, I know that very well. I am really hoping for strong support from friends and fans!”

Results were:

1st – Sofia Fisenko – Zhivaya Voda (jury winner, internet winner)
2nd – Maria Mirova – Padayem i vzletayem (jury 2nd)
3rd – Friends – Derzhi menya za ruku (internet 2nd place)
4th – Yulya Asessorova – Ya Ne Boyus
5th – Maria Zhuravleva – Nauchu mechtat (internet 3rd place)
6th – Alexey Zabugin – Rozhyonniye Pod Solntsem (jury 3rd)
7th – Katya Maneshina – Lyubov spasyot etot mir
8th – Lilya Verdiyan – Tantsuy so mnoy bystreye
9th – Vilena Hikmatullina – Nado Kruzhit
10th – Alisa Khilko – Golovolomki
11th – Chto Skazhut Deti – Bit Nashego Serdtsa
12th – Milana Pavlova – Navsegda veryu
13th – Liza Kuznetsova – Prisnilos
14th – Milana Zharekhina – Oglyanites
15th – Sofia Pastushkova – Pover v sebya
16th – Zhara – Papochka, Kupi Gitaru

Sofia Rol Sings for Love

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ukraineOn 10th September 2016 Ukraine held their national final for Junior Eurovision and the winner was Sofia Rol with the song “Planet Craves For Love”. She came 2nd in the jury vote with 11 points and 1st in the televoting with 2740 votes (beating 2nd place by over 1000 votes). The full results were:

1st – Sofia Rol – Planet Craves for Love
2nd – Anastasiya Bahinska – Miy svit (jury winner)
3rd – Andrey Boyko – Open Your Heart (televoting 2nd)
4th – Denis Rodin – Ukraina – mama moya
5th – Diana Sapozhko – Tviy svit
6th – Sofia Sckidchenko – Dolce vita
7th – Sofia Lozina – Uhorskyi tanok
8th – Alisa Panchuk – Pyi svoyi mriyi
9th – Polina Dashkova – Do Boha
10th – Yulia Radchuk – Moya zorya
11th – Denis Dovirak & Natalia Sadova – Ya chekayuu dosi svoho lysta
12th – Voiceland – Vidchiny svoye sertse

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