The diversity of music is always very much well respected within the arts field and the release of brand new material is appreciated by several individuals. One of the finalists of this years' edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest namely Raquela whose 'If I Could Do It All Again' finished fifth in this years' national selection has returned with a brand new single entitled 'Entertain Me'. The new single is somewhat very much different than the material which we know her with and thus this will prove to be quite an interesting project.

The song deviates from the typical genre that Raquela has been associated with within her entries to try and possibly represent Malta at the annual Eurovision Song Contest having presented ballads in 2009, 'Crossroads', in 2010, 'Here I Am' and in 2011, 'If I Could Do It All Again'. Her brand new single will surely be one that could not only reach success with the people but could also be a hit on the radios sounding clearly like a chart topper on Bay 89.7FM. The new song has been written and produced by none other than Boris Cezek in collaboration with Dean Muscat. Cezek himself is a leading man in the music industry and one of the favourite producers for Maltese artists having been behind acts such as Thomas Hedley, Bridget Bone and Miriam Christine amongst others whilst Dean has recently written Chart Topping single, 'Frontline' for 2010 Eurovision Song Contest representative Thea Garrett.

Source: Facebook, Youtube

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In the past week, the homepage of our web-portal has had a poll in it's sideline and following a number of individual votes that have been cast, we have decided to release the results. The question was about the return of Chiara at the Eurovision Song Contest, a question which many have been asking, the opinions have always been varied and despite a huge support base earlier on during the week, the result got more closer as the days went by but still, the people would love to see Chiara return to the annual event for a fourth time.

The well respected singer has already represented Malta on three occasions, kicking off back in 1998 when she sang the song 'The One That I Love' composed by Jason Cassar and penned by Sunny Aquilina, the same team who recently wrote the song 'My Dream' for Thea Garrett. Within this experience she finished third in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She took a lengthy time out from that scene and worked on her musical background returning for a second participation with the self-penned entry 'Angel' which went onto finish second in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Kiev, Ukraine. She actually decided that she should give it another try in 2009 and having just suffered the passing away of her father, it was the right moment going abroad with the song 'What If We' composed by Marc Paelinck and penned by Gregory Bilsen only to finish a disappointing twenty-second in Moscow, Russia despite making it past the semi-final.

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The poll in itself shows that the majority of our total voters, which amounted to well over a hundred different individuals in this case. They would send her again, with the final 'YES' tally amounting to 56.8% of the votes. According to our research statistics, the votes came from Belgium, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and of course Malta but then again, there was also a large amount of voters who took up the 'NO' stance with 43.2% polling in such a direction.

It is quite interesting to note that the votes also came from the Netherlands and Malta this time showing that the support from these two nations is somewhat mixed at the moment. It will be quite interesting as to whether the Public Broadcasting Services will amend the rules in 2012 in order to let her return noting that she did want to come back last year as stated during an interview with our collaborator Juergen Boernig during the Romanian National Final.

Source: ESCflashmalta

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One quarter of the winning team of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, Cheryl Baker has been keeping herself quite busy over the past couple of months, returning to prominence when it comes to the annual musical event apart from other gigs she has been doing with the original members of Bucks Fizz whose entry 'Making Your Mind Up' brought victory to the United Kingdom. A celebrity in her own right, interest is still high and recently she accepted to take part in a reality show entitled 'Popstat to Operastar' hosted by well known singing sensation Myleene Klass.

Yesterday evening, the shows' performances began and three high profile celebrities including former X Factor Winner, Joe McElderry, former Eurovision Song Contest winner Cheryl Baker and former Pussycat Doll, Melody Thorthon took to the stage to perform. The program sees the artists perform a number of arias over a number of weeks, with the people at home, choosing the top two and leaving another two under the verdict of the expert panel made up of Violinist, Vanessa-Mae, Actor and Theatre Director, Simon Callow, Tenor, Rolando Villazon and Classical-Crossover artist, Katherine Jenkins. Cheryl opened on a high last night performing the song 'Barcarolle (Bell Nuit, O Nuit D'Amour). Midge Ure from Ultravox was the one eliminated following a tie with the experts and the choice of televoting.

Source: ITV

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According to good sources, it seems like the German broadcaster, NDR has already started working to make sure that next years' participation in Baku, Azerbaijan is a success and the first step was to query with Brainpool's music division about whether a number of artists would consider making an appearance within a long semi-final type of selection and according to unconfirmed reports, the results have been quite positive and thus Germany might be going ahead with a long national selection.

The idea is to have four (4) semi-finals with six (6) to eight (8) songs within each and every evening, all of which are broadcaster on the station Pro Sieben to keep into account that the German broadcasters work today. The proceedings will take place in a number of cities like the Melodifestivalen in Sweden and this would also go onto confirm the news that the broadcaster has recently bought the Melodifestivalen format from the Swedish broadcaster, SVT.

Record labels have now been asked to submit songs and artists to the production company, Brainpool where an internal committee would pick the songs which would make it through to the selection phase. A number of acts maybe internally selected through a wildcard process although the confirmation of such a process is still somewhat weeks away because if the broadcaster goes ahead with this news, then the announcement would have to incorporate all the details of the submission process and regulations.

This year, Germany were represented by Lena Meyer-Landrut whose entry 'Taken By A Stranger' finished in an extremely respectable tenth position following her victory with the song 'Satellite' the previous year.

Source: ESCnation

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Every now and then, an individual manages to rise above others and reach the scaling heights of success, doing what others only dream of doing within their life. One of such individuals is none other than Kevin Borg whose victory in the fifth series of the Idol competition in Sweden propelled him to national fame both in Malta and in Sweden obtaining what is very much the title of a heartthrob. Recently, the artist has been on tours of musical theater starring in High School Musical a couple of months ago whilst preparing for a run in Grease but it seems like he has been busy working in the studio as he releases a brand new single entitled 'Sunrise'.

The star released his debut album bearing the name 'The Beginning' with Sony BMG back in 2009 and it managed to peak at number #3 in the charts with a Gold Certification. The album spawned two physical singles entitled 'With Every Bit of Me', a chart topper and Platinum Certification and 'Streetlights', another top ten success at position number #10. Still, all of this was two years ago. For a whole year, between his concerts and projects within the line of musical theater, Kevin has been busy recording brand new material and his first song to come out is none other than 'Sunrise', a fresh and funky type of pop song which quickly puts one in a positive mood.

It is a clear summer hit and it seems to have already made an impact on the charts because it has entered the Itunes chart at position #28 based only on just one day of sales whilst hitting the official charts at position #36. We would like to wish Kevin Borg the very best of luck with his brand new single 'Sunrise' and hope that it will continue to rise and impress because it clearly deserves to do so. You can buy the single through online music store, Itunes. One will definitely hope that his second album will be in the vein of this type of music because it suits the artist and the music industry in the Scandinavian country.

Source: Kevin Borg's Official Website

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One of the artists who continues to grace the stage at many venues in Europe throughout the year following a number of invitations is none other than Chiara, the three time Maltese Eurovision Song Contest representative whom according to a recent poll held on our web-portal is wanted to return for yet another time, making her fourth appearance within the annual musical event. She was recently in The Netherlands as the main guest within the 'Eurovision Artists' concert.

The event which took place at the Pim Jacobs Theatre, last Saturday 4th June 2011 saw Chiara receiving a multiple of stunning applauses from the pre-dominantly Dutch Eurovision Fans. She took to the stage in a stunning black, silver floor length gown and sang a number of tunes live including her three entries within the Eurovision Song Contest being 'The One The I Love', 'Angel' and 'What If We' as well as her latest uptempo single 'Believe (We Are One)' amidst a couple of covers including 'Hurt' and 'Beautiful' originally performed by the one and only Christina Aguilera. She was in fine form and fashion clearly and was received very well.

This is not the first time that Chiara was asked abroad this year actually having been to Sweden, Belgium and Romania already marking that she is still very much a very popular singer and an honour to the country. We have just been informed that Chiara will be making an appearance within Portugal later on this year where along with a number of stars from the world of the Eurovision Song Contest being local in Portugal or foreign including Marcin Mrozinski (Poland 2009), Tânia Tavares and Rui Andrade (Festival Da Cancao 2011) and Chen Aharoni (Kdam 2011). More artists for this event to be confirmed soon, we will keep you posted.

Source: ESCnation

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This years' edition of the Eurovision Song Contest held in Dusseldorf, Germany saw a number of acts emerge as commercial successes within their own respective nations. One of the most respected groups in this years' event was none other than the 3JS who represented The Netherlands within the second semi-final only to finish dead last with just a measly thirteen (13) points in total. Over the past couple of weeks, their career has continued in the best possible with a number of plans already set up.

The Dutch group are currently promoting their latest album release 'Dromers en Dwazen' which managed to peak at number #3 in the national charts. Following the success of their Eurovision Song Contest entry 'Je Vecht Nooit Alleen' which also managed to reach the heights at number #1, the group are currently preparing for the release of their second single bearing the name 'De Stroom' which was also a song within their national selection, the one which finished second with both the Jury and the Televote achieving a total of 25.5% of the final vote. It will be quite interesting to see how this song fairs noting that it is quite different from their typical sound.

Source: Belgovision

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Major tabloids in the United Kingdom have been showing a lot of interest towards the Eurovision Song Contest following the renewed vigour of the British Broadcasting Corporation which saw them choose none other than British Boyband Blue to represent them in this years' edition of the event only to languish within what could be touted as a disappointing eleventh (11th) place with the song 'I Can'. A number of names are currently being discussed as possible successors including those of JLS, Katherine Jenkins, Charlotte and now Katie Melua.

The idea of the nation being represented by a female artist should actually be quite an interesting prospect when noting that their last female representative was Jade Ewen back in 2009 who finished in fifth place with the Andrew Lloyd Webber penned song 'It's My Time' and prior to that it was Javine in 2005, a heavy favourite only to languish in a bottom position with the song 'Touch My Fire' and also before that, it was Jessica Garlick with the song 'Comeback' in 2002 which finished in third place so one could note that generally speaking females for the nation have done quite well.

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In the meantime, the current name being touted, that of Katie Melua comes up once more following the initial time she was mentioned back in late 2009 only to see the broadcasting inking the contract with Pete Waterman, the man who would go onto pen the song 'That Sounds Good to Me' performed by Josh Dubovie which finished dead last. Katie's relationship with the Eurovision Song Contest is actually active due to a special guest appearance at the Junior event back in 2007 when the contest took place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

It seems that she would still very much like to represent the United Kingdom at the annual event and with her very different style of music, I believe that she could very much impress and do the nation proud. Amongst her most notable hits include 'Nine Million Bicycles' as well as 'If I Were a Sailboat' whilst her most recent album 'The House' was a top five hit in the United Kingdom, the lowest of her releases though peaking at number #4 and certified Gold.

Source: Digital Spy Forums

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The emergence of new talent is somewhat catapulting all over the world and one of the artists who is definitely making strides within her career is the Slovakian born, Mista who is surely remembered for finishing as the first runner-up in the national final of Slovakia back in 2010 with the song 'Emotions' missing out to Kristina and her song 'Horehronie' which stalled in the semi-final of the event despite being a favourite to qualify. The broadcaster had an internal choice in 2011 but chose the sisterly duo of TWiiNS this time round leaving her at the alternate. She is back though, stronger than ever with a brand new single entitled 'Rock It!'

The new song is already tipped to be the next Summer Hit in Slovakia and the surrounding nations including the Czech Republic where she is also quite popular. The young, charismatic artist was recently in Malta actually to perform within the WAFA Concert. The song which she performed there 'Vendetta' was an energetic type of song which definitely made a hit with the public present. She has already released her debut album beating the name 'Emotions' after her possible Eurovision Song Contest entry back in 2010. She is currently in the middle of recording her second album which will include both of her recently released tracks. Such material is set to be promoted within a number of nations including the United States of America where a number of individuals within the music industry are trying to work with her giving Mista the credibility she deserves.

Source: Official Website

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The national music scene is developing with each passing day yet a number of individuals have continues to ride high on their previous successes. One of these people is surely none other than two time Eurovision Song Contest representative Fabrizio Faniello who made his coveted return to the industry with the song 'No Surrender' which was also a potential Maltese representative in this years' musical competition in Europe held in Dusseldorf, Germany where the artists' management is based. Continuously showing promise, he has released a brand new video for what will surely be his next single bearing the name 'Know Me Better'.

The song which is written by Warren Bacci, Michael Johansson and Johan Bejerholm is one of the thirteen (13) tracks on the album 'No Surrender' which was recently launched in the Maltese Islands within a star studded event which included performances from Deborah C, Floren Sultana, Malta Eurovision 2011 second runner-up Kurt Calleja as well as former Eurosong runner-up and sister Claudia Faniello. It seems that his management is going to release a variety of different song genres from this album but with regards to this entry, one could note a melody which sounds both modern and contemporary at the very same time and that could be prove to be a pivotal factor in the success of the song.

Source: Fabrizio Faniello

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