Valentina Monetta, a young artist from San Marino who will always be known in the history books for having represented the micro-state on two occasions having donned the same honour last year with her entry The Social Network Song which was also composed by Ralph Siegel. San Marino is one of the few nations which is yet to make it through to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest unfortunately and it seems that they have their best shot ahead of them. escflashmalta.com with the help of Fernando Mercieca, part of the Delegation of San Marino this year has managed to get in touch with the female artist and speak to her about a variety of things including last years' representation, her career in San Marino and what she expects out of this years' competition.

This will be the fourth participation of San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest with all of the previous attempts proving to be somewhat futile unfortunately despite the variety of genres put forward by the broadcaster whose internal panel always had a successful strategy in place. As a former representative, what do you believe was the element behind the negative results and what do you plan to do later on this year when you take on the stage of the event once more?

I think that when an artist has to substitute another artist at the last minute , like what happened to me last year, its not a good start to have success. This year I feel more strong and thanks to the collaboration with Ralph Seigel finally I can propose my self and I believe that this is the secret , believing in your self and you respect your art. On the park in Malmo you will see a different Valentina but still authentic who will sing my story with my favourite colour red.

You are the first solo artist from San Marino to try and get your nation into the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, having already taken up the position last year with the track The Social Networking Song co-written by Timothy Touchton, Jose Santana Rodriguez and Ralph Siegel. The final individual mentioned in the list is a veteran of the spectacle and has come up with a second song for you to perform, one which seems to merge together two genres, which are stunning separately yet fuse in wonderfully together. What could you tell us about the song Crisalide (Vola) and the lyrics in Italian which have been written by Mauro Balestri?

Mauro Balestri is a poet 'Crisalide' is like a breath of life, an awareness of a new truth to help us face courage, a positive message to recover our selves.... destroying all the walls that doesn’t let us to believe in ourselves. The Beatles used to say “Let it be” and I say “Fly”.

One of the most positive elements within the Eurovision Song Contest is the number of healthy relationships between competing nations and indeed, Malta and San Marino have grown to enjoy each other’s music through this spectacle. Earlier this year, Gianluca was selected to competing in this years’ edition with the song Tomorrow co-written by Dean Muscat and Boris Cezek and as a matter of fact, will be taking part in the same semi- final. What are your thoughts about the Maltese entry and do you think that you’ll both be smiling towards the end of the semi-final?

Volaaaaaaa (Fly) … Gianluca, I hope that we will both go to the final :)

Versatility is the key to every artist and indeed, through the songs that you have presented within the Eurovision Song Contest, you have shown your fans and the general audience that you can perform roughly anything. As a matter of fact, you have already released a solo album which mainly features the jazz genre under the title Il Mio Gioco Preferito (My Preferred Favourite Game) with a trio known as My Funky Valentine. What could you tell us about this studio album and what did it mean to record it?

My album is a celebration of my dream that i had since i was a child, of my work and my passion towards music.

In recent years, several broadcasters across Europe have chosen to select their entries for the Eurovision Song Contest in an internal manner with a panel of judges or even through the delegation responsible for the actual participation. The public is generally appalled by not having a choice with the selection process unfortunately. What is your opinion about this matter and do you believe that the public should start having a say in the selection of representation of San Marino?

Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to do a public selection like other countries do and I do feel sorry about this as it is a very good method to choose the right song ... My colleagues within the Delegation of San Marino know about the possibility how to visualise the material whilst keeping in mind that this is for the Eurovision Song Contest, an event which costs a lot of money. I feel quite fortunate knowing that I have a production team which acknowledges this, whilst keeping in line with the elements of music and professionality. 

Prior to your selection as the representative of San Marino at last years' Eurovision Song Contest, it was quite a stellar year already having had the opportunity to participate within the show Ma Che Differenza Fa, a tribute to the stunning Ornella Vanoni. During the showcase you had the opportunity to show more than your vocal abilities, taking up an acting role as well. Then following your performance at the international spectacle, finishing in fourteenth place, you were selected for a lead role in the music Camelia commission by UNICEF. Such projects are a hallmark in one's musical career and how did you perceive them?

Its a great confimation that I had when I started to choose the patt of what to do... in both shows they did not celebrate my maturity and growth... In Camelia that Crisalide was born.

One of the positive elements which many had foreseen with the entry of San Marino into the Eurovision Song Contest is surely the return of the Italian language as a matter of fact, you will be taking up this idea and executing it during the second semi-final. Italian had not been seen in the event on a consistent basis because of the free language rule and also because Italy had stopped participating. Of course, this changed on their return as they have presented songs partly in English and Italian. What is your opinion on the language choice?

I think that it would be more interesting and authentic to listen to the songs in their own native language, even thought the English version would be potentially great from a commercial aspect.

Would you like to say anything to your fans and our readers at escflashmalta.com?

Thanks … my love and my breath is for all of you :)

Alongside Sweden, Luxembourg is the second most successful country in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest but consecutive disappointing results achieved in 1992 and 1993 respectively saw to their withdrawal. The support between smaller countries has always been evident and in the two aforementioned years, Malta gave the tiny duchy ten points on both occasions. It seems that our long lasting friendship is still appreciated by the rather strong fanbase as the OGAE members have voted Malta's entry Tomorrow performed by Gianluca in second place just behind Denmark whose entry is entitled Only Teardrops and set to be sung by Emmelie de Forest.

Marion Welter, representative at the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Luxembourg was also part of the team of reviewers on escflashmalta.com last year seeing to the entries that competed in the second semi-final. As has already been noted by several online blogs and forums alike, Denmark is the outright favourite with the fans whilst San Marino's entry entitled Crisalide (Vola) is currently in second place overall. At this point in time, there are around nine countries who are yet to pick up any points with some having obtained votes from one country, as has been the case with Malta who has never really done well in OGAE voting along the years. 

• 1 point - Greece
• 2 points - Hungary
• 3 points - San Marino
• 4 points - Moldova
• 5 points - Norway
• 6 points - Sweden
• 7 points - Netherlands
• 8 points - Germany
• 10 points - Malta
• 12 points - Denmark

Yesterday, we were proud to announce that Martin Isherwood from the United Kingdom, Sharon Vaughn from the United States and Stano Simor from Slovakia have been relatively busy in these past couple of weeks listening to the tracks competing in the second semi-final of this years' Eurovision Song Contest. The show which will comprise of seventeen (17) tracks in total is set to be quite intriguing and thus we move on to the slot number two (2) which will be featuring San Marino whose entry entitled Crisalide (Vola) composed by Ralph Siegel to the lyrics of Mauro Balestri, is vocally performed by Valentina Monetta. SMRTV, the broadcaster responsible for the participation of San Marino in the esteemed music competition is hoping to qualify for the very first time.

Valentina Monetta is representing the republic of San Marino for the second year in succession, after having just missed out on qualification for the Grand Final in Baku last year. Valentina Monetta was born on the 1st of March,1975 in the Republic of San Marino. She is the second of two children, her father is from Calabria and her mother is San Marinese. Monetta spent her childhood in San Marino where she attended primary and secondary schools. She then graduated from the high school for arts “Giovanni da Rimini” in Rimini. In her childhood she discovered the love for music, listening tirelessly 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's artistic versatility has allowed her to deal with varied work experience as a singer, actress and presenter, and she even composed the music and written the lyrics to her first solo album, a celebratory work of personal and professional balance, releasing the CD Il Mio Gioco Preferito recorded with the trio My Funky Valentine. In 1995, Monetta started an adventure with her first band Tiberio, and soon thereafter formed the Parafunky. She was also part of the group 2Black, as well as forming the female vocal duo Harem'B. In 2002, with the project Charme, she released the single Sharp, and collaborated with the band Bluesmobile.

In March 2012 she worked with Fabrizio Raggi staging the show Ma Che Differenza Fa, a tribute to Ornella Vanoni in which Monetta shows her singing and acting talent. In August 2012, still directed by Raggi, she was the protagonist of Camelia, a musical commissioned by UNICEF, in which Valentina presented her songs together with covers of some great Italian singers and songwriters. Her most recent experiences are all with her live band My Funky Valentine. Performing live for Monetta is crucial, as she really loves the stage and having contact with the public.She is influenced by her musical idols Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Erika Badu, Caterina Valente and Ornella Vanoni. It is important to note that San Marino have once more opted for an internal selection and one which was made very carefully it seems noting that vocalists presented several bids to represent the micro-state.

This will be the fourth participation of San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest and the third in succession noting that their debut came back in 2008 when the group, Miodio took to the stage for a performance of the song Complice which only managed five (5) points, finishing in a disappointing nineteenth position. They disappeared, withdrawing due to the negative outcome, only to return three years later with Senit whose entry Stand By was predicted to fair well and possibly even qualify. The juries beleived in the song and ultimately gave it a boost but the public did not agree and thus the track finished in sixteenth place with thirty-four (34) points. Last years' edition of the Eurovision Song Contest almost saw to the qualification of the country with Valentina Monetta and her entry known as The Social Network Song. The track managed thirty-one (31) points and a fourteenth place but received massive exposure in the lead up to the international spectacle.

Professional Critics Voice their Opinion

Rating: 63%

Martin Isherwood: Chrysalis - Fly Nice idea. Lovely voice. Unusual shift from 3 to 4 and from ballad to dance track. Typical of many ESC songs in its use of harmony, but also flavours of 'the day before you came'.

Sharon Vaughn: Lovely energy and clever mid-section composition. I believe this artist when she performs and that is a very important aspect within the performance.

Stano Simor: The genre of this particular type of track has already been presented at the Eurovision Song Contest and therefore, nothing new or revolutionary. Valentina Monetta is a strong vocalist and something positive about this song is that the shift from a ballad to an uptempo is done well and this could very much impress the public and the jury.

Source: eurovision.tv

Qualification is somewhat an extremely difficult task for a number of nations especially for ones which are said to small and microscopic. San Marino are taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the fourth year, and third consecutive but have only managed to perform within the semi-final. Their best result was achieved last year by Valentina Monetta whose track The Social Network Song managed thirteenth place with thirty-one points. SMTV, the broadcaster responsible for the participation is somewhat vying to make the best of their representation and have thus made another internal selection from the several offers which were put forward to the board of directors.

As a matter of fact, taking on the role for the second consecutive year is Valentina Monetta, one of the reasons being that she is an actual native of the micro-state and thus represents it with pride and honour. Crisalide (Vola) composed by Ralph Siegel to the lyrics of Mauro Balestri is the entry that she will be performing in the first half of the second semi-final. The track which leaked out on YouTube earlier this afternoon kicks off as a ballad and keeps to the genre for the first two minutes before turning into uptempo for the final minute. The comments thus far have been mostly positive and many believe that this is going to be the best chance for San Marino to qualify especially should the staging be done in an organised manner. The official music video will be made available this evening! Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest news as soon as it becomes available.

Source: SMTV

Whilst rehearsals for this years' edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest were taking place, the broadcaster responsible for the participation of San Marino in the esteemed event announced that Valentina Monetta would be carrying the baton for a second consecutive year. The track that she will be performing bears the title Crisalide and is composed by the legendary Ralph Siegel with lyrics provided by Mauro Balestri. There has been a lot of speculation over the type of entry that they have gone for this time round considering that The Social Network Song did not manage to garner a qualification spot albeit finishing in a positive fourteenth place with 31 points.

Valentina Monetta is from San Marino and therefore, it is an honour for a local to be representing the microstate within such an international spectacle. SMRTV in collaboration with Euro Song Records will be officially unveiling the track on the 15th March at 20:25 CET on three websites; the first being that of the broadcaster, the second being the official website of the Eurovision Song Contest and last but not least, esctoday.com which is one of the most popular fansites. The song will also be released on iTunes on the same day at 21:00 CET, around the same time that a brand new official website will be launched, which could be accessed here. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest news.

Source: Press Release, SMRTV, Euro Song Records

SMTV, the broadcaster responsible for the participation of San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest is currently gearing up for their fourth participation in the renowned international showcase. Several music submissions were sent in but ultimately, it was decided that Valentina Monetta would be returning to the competition, with a song entitled Crisalide composed by Ralph Siegel and penned by Mauro Balestri. It was revealed during the press conference this morning that Siegel and Monetta worked together to create the ideal song, in order to suit her vocals and it seems that the broadcaster saw it as the best option.

During the 2012 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, Valentina Monetta had represented the microstate of San Marino with The Social Network Song, achieving fourteenth place with thirty one points in total, clearly the best result achieved at the international showcase. It is yet unknown whether Valentina will be performing the track in Italian or in English at the Eurovision Song Contest although it seems that both versions have been recorded. The track of the mico-state will be revealed quite soon during a special programme which will focus about the two-time representative, Valentina Monetta. We urge you to stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest updates.

Source: SMTV, Eurovision.tv

Valentina Monetta is the first San Marino representative to actually come from the small state and it seems that she has been gaining a lot of reaction everywhere she goes noting that her entry was quite controversial at first due to the lyrics in which she heavily promoted social networking website Facebook but since then the Ralph Siegel track has been altered in order to focus on all types of media in the present social world. The performance of the song will be put forward during the first semi-final of this years' Eurovision Song Contest and many have been discounting it to qualify but the way that she has been welcome during her promotional tour might suggest the complete opposite. Valentina oozes charm and character every where she goes and her last two stops were the United Kingdom and Israel.

During her time in the United Kingdom, Valentina gave an interview to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) along with all of the other participants in the event answering a number of short questions apart from performing at the event. Nevertheless, the visit in Israel was quite different noting that her presence during the fan-club party was very well appreciated. She has also recorded an interview for Channel 10's late night programme known as Tznor Layla where she spoke about her plans for Baku, Azerbaijan. In the meantime, she also made sure to attend the Eurovision Tribute Concert at the  Jerusalem Theatre filmed by the state broadcaster; IBA. This was the point where she met up with Izhar Cohen, the winner of the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest.

The last visit that she made was to the Wailing Wall, the holiest site for any Judaism followers. Her final day in Israel included an interview with Radio Tel Aviv 102FM followed by a join press conferences with Izabo as the Montefiore Restaurant in Tel Aviv. She would end up giving yet another radio interview to Radius 100FM before meeting up with fans at the OGAE Israel party in the evening where she was given an honorary lifetime membership in the club. Valentina Monetta also found the time to record a video message for her fans of escflashmalta.com which you can see just above. Stay tuned for more news as soon as it becomes available.

Source: Press Release

The Team of Radio International would like to invite to join the weekly Ultimate Eurovision Experience. The Show is broadcast on 106.8FM and Digital Cabel 41 in the Netherlands and also via the internet via www.radiointernational.tv and will also be web-televised via the show's own Live Video Channel via the website. The simulcast will be from 2000 – 2300 hours CET this Wednesday.

Eurovision in Concert 2012: 

Last Saturday, 21 April 2012, the annual Eurovision Music extravaganza took place in Amsterdam for the fourth time where this year is a record of 24 countries' representatives performed their entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 which will come from Baku, Azerbaijan on May 22, 24 and 26. The event was a full success with an early start for the artists and journalists meeting in the delegation hotel in Amsterdam for the first session of interviews. After a Word of Welcome from EBU's Sietse Bakker the artists were taken by boat to the centre of Amsterdam for their soundcheck in the venue for the evening - The Melkweg. That also included the second session of interviews with the many international media that was accredited. The Team of Radio International in combination with Poplight from Sweden were also present to conduct as many interviews as possible with the 2012 Hopefulls. This week on Radio International listen to interviews with the representatives of Austria, Belarus, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, San Marino and Switzerland.

Interview with Litesound (Belarus 2012):

After Anastasia Vinnekova's "I love Belarus" in 2011 which did not qualify Belarus for the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Belarus tries it this time with a young Rock & Pop Band by the name of Litesound. The band is composed of the two brothers Dmitry and Vladimir Karyakin, and Italian singer Jacopo Massa and will perform "We are the Heroes" which is definitely a grower. Belarus will be in Semi Final 2 on Thursday, 24 May 2012 at Number 5. Eric & JP met the singers at the annual Eurovision Promotion event in Brussels last weekend and had the big pleasure of an extensive interview.

Interview with Donny Montell (Lithuania 2012):   

Lithuania will be represented by young singer Donny Montell who will perform the song "Love is blind" which will go into the competition in Semi Final 2 at Number 18. Donny was also part of the guest list of Eurovision in Concert 2012 in Amsterdam on 21 April 2012 and the team of Radio International had the pleasure of a short interview with the singer.  

Interview with Mandinga (Romania 2012):  

In 2011 Hotel FM represented Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Change". This year Romania sends in the happy sounds of Romanian Group Mandinga who is a mix of Romanian and Cuban members. The song is called "Zaleilah" and is based in Mandinga's Dance during the peformance. But more details you can hear in the interview on this week's show. Romania will be in Semi Final 1 at Number 6. 

Eurovision Song Contest Sportlight - Eurovision 2012 - The Team's Favourites:  

Last week Dermot Manning gave us his lists of the Top 10 what he thinks will be ending up in the Top Ten but also what his favourite Top 10 of the 57th Eurovision Song Contest are. This week is the turn of Alasdair Rendall. 

Interview with Valentina Monetta (San Marino 2012): 

2012 is the third time for San Marino to take part at the Eurovision Song Contest after Mio Dio in 2008 and Senit in 2011. This year San Marino teamed up with German Song Writer Ralph Siegel who delivered the "Social Network Song" which will be performed by Valentina Monetta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Semi Final 1 at Number 11. Radio International interviewed the young lady during Eurovision in Concert 2012 in Amsterdam on 21 April 2012.  

Euro Friends Song Contest 2012 with Andy Simon:

Continuing with the Euro Friends Song Contest in search for the ultimate Eurovision song as voted for by the many fans around the world. Andy  Simon joins us every week to reveal the qualifiers for the next round.  The website of the Euro Friends Song Contest www.euro-friends.com where you can easily vote for your favourite Eurovision song per country and also see The Euro-Friends TV Show as hosted by Andy Simon. You can also join the Facebook Group. This week Andy looks at the next qualifiers from Heat 47 (United Kingdom).

Interview with Sinplus (Switzerland 2012):  

Gabriel & Ivan are Sinplus and were also on the guest list of Eurovision in Concert but as well part if the Eurovision Promo Event in Brussels on 29 April 2012. There Radio International's Eric chattet with the boys about the preprations for Baku. "Unbreakable" is the Eurovision entry of Switzerland  in Semi Final 1 at Number 7. 

Eurovision Song Contest News with Luke Fisher from escXtra.com:

Check out the latest developments connected to the Eurovision Song Contest. Whether it is music releases of Eurovision performers, appearances, special concerts, gossip, news, etc. Luke will have the latest updates during this week's edition of the show.

Interview with the Trackshittaz (Austria 2012):  

Part of the guest line-up at Eurovision in Concert was also the Austrian representatives to the 57th Eurovision Song Contest - the Trackshittaz who will perform "Woki mit deim Popo" in Semi Final 1 at Number 16. This song is in total contrast to what the country sent in 2011 when Nadine Beiler performed "The Secret is Love". You either love or hate "Woki mit deim Popo". Check out the interview the Team of Radio International did at the event with the Rappers from Austria.  

Eurovision Music Requests/Eurovision Quiz:

A big part of the show is playing listeners' requests. Submit your requests and / or greetings to your Eurovision friends through Radio International via the CONTACT Link on www.radiointernational.tv or via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . But also don’t miss out on the weekly Eurovision Quiz where you can win something.

Interview with Filipa Sousa (Portugal 2012):  

The winner of the Portuguese national selection to the Eurovision Song Contest called Festival da Canacao this year is Filipa Sousa who is the Portuguese Ambassador at the 57th Eurovision Song Contes. Unlike last year with Homens da Luta, Filipa bring back to Eurovision the traditional "Fado-like" sounds of Portugal to Eurovision in the song "Vida Minha" (My Life) which wil be in Semi Final 2 at Number 6. Listen to a short interview with the singer done at Eurovision in Concert 2012. 

Join Radio International on Wednesday, 02 May 2012 from 2000 - 2300 hours CET, via the website or on FM. Radio International is available live via www.radiointernational.tv and on FM 106.8 and Digital Cabel Channel 41 in parts of the Netherlands. Should you not be able to listen live, the show will appear in the Programme’s Show Archive a few hours after it’s airing on the radio.

Source: Team of Radio International

San Marino is one of the countries that continues making headlines day after day for a number of issues, whether positive or negative but nevertheless, the promotion is somewhat quite interesting especially when Valentina Monetta, this years' representative has also decided to include her fans in the proceedings. He is organizing a Social Network Video Contest with the lucky winner given a trip for two to the Oktoberfest in Munich. Apart from that, there will also be a €1000 cash prize and also some prizes for the runner-ups. The videos can be submitted until the 14th May 2012 meaning there is not a lot of time left. You can watch those submitted thus far through the official YouTube page of the artist whilst we are going to tell you how you can apply for such a project.

Step by step, this is of course possible therefore, the first thing that one has to do is to download the song through the medium of iTunes, either as an instrumental or as it will be presented at the Eurovision Song Contest. Then make sure to use your iPhone, iPad, Android , Camera, Webcam or Camcorder to create a music video for the song itself. The team behind the song has also given the option of downloading the special green screen of the music video and then one could edit himself within the video. This could be done through iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, FinalCutX, Premiere, AFX or any other video editing software to create your own music video.

The reviews are quickly moving forward and despite the recent time in lieu which had to be adhered to due to a technical fault, we are back with the eleventh entry in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The songs in the first semi-final feature a diversity of genres and that is why many fans of the competition feel that there will be a number of surprises in terms of the nations that will eventually be making it to the final stages. There are a couple of songs which will be expected to qyualify but then the other spots will remain a mystery until the live performances which are known to make or break an entry with both the juries and the people at home. This spot in the running order has been granted to the smallest nation to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest being San Marino who this year will be represented by Valentina Monetta and the track 'The Social Network Song (Oh Oh – Uh - Oh Oh)' composed by Ralph Siegel and penned by Timothy Touchton & José Santana Rodriguez.

The internal selection started, the proposals left were finally two and then one, but at the very last moment the unplanned happened. They needed a good, young, Sammarinese singer and they needed her straight away. Valentina Monetta was singing on a Saturday night, and that same night, the SMtv director was there by chance. She listened to her, and really appreciated her. She was the perfect singer for the song they had already selected. On the Monday they organised an audition. Monetta has got a rich career, and she is used to adapting every style to suit her. Two days afterwards she recorded the song and shot the video in the production studio. 

With her first group 'Tiberio' she got her first taste of Black Music vocals (R&B, Soul, Funky, Acid Jazz), while she worked with Hip Hop with her second group 'Parafunky' and started a new partnership with Monica Giacomobono for the Sharm project, which then became Harem-B. In 2002 she released the single Sharp in collaboration with Paul Manners Production. She continued her collaboration with vocalist Vanessa J and high calliper musicians like Marcello Sutera, Nicola Peruk and Nabuk. 

In the meantime, she was able to put her love of jazz and Bossa nova into practice with various local bands. In 2006, she joined the discography project, 2black, a very successful record in 2004 with the single (a remake of In Alto Mare by Loredana Bertè) Waves of Love, releasing the main track VAI with a new single in the summer of 2006. She has backed performers such as Silvie Vartan, Vanessa-J, DJ Master Frees, Bombo’s, El Ruben, Elena Cattaneo and Dance-House for musical productions, and the New York artist R Fame. 

She has also worked with Sammarinese band Blue Mobile. In the meantime, Valentina created her bases, her melodies and her beats, submitting the song Se Non Ci Sei Tu for the competition to select the artist to represent San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008. Today, thanks to her experience, better self-awareness and talent, Valentina Monetta started to explore her love of jazz and Bebop rediscovering the importance of Italian music and its artists. She recorded her album Il Mio Gioco Preferito with the trio 'My Funky Valentine'.

The Critics Voice Their Opinion

Jan Van Dijck

• Oh, oh, uh,oh, oh! What the hell is this…..? I can’t find any words in describing it! I just cannot award this any points, unfortunately hence zero (0) points from my end. It’s all together really ridiculous!

Knut-Oyvind Hagen

• Sometimes it’s actually wise to stay at home. San Marino’s “effort” is so crap that it nearly makes you sick. An ordinary 12-year old will write better songs than this within 15 minutes! I recommend every viewer to put the remote on its mute-function during these 3 minutes, cause music like this can start wars or fights any time. As my colleague above, zero (0) points!

Pitchtunes

• A dance-influenced song with a cheesy touch and too much autotune. Melody is catchy sometimes but lacks a message. We have decided to give this entry two (2) points for the effort.

Entry Background

Performers: Valentina Monetta

Composers: Ralph Siegel

Authors: Timothy Touchton & José Santana Rodriguez

Song: The Social Network Song (Uh Uh - Oh - Uh Uh)

Language: English / Italian

Broadcaster: SMRTV

History of the Nation

San Marino is the last country to join the Eurovision Song Contest coming into the competition back in 2008 when the group Miodio took on the competition with the song Complice and following a disappointing result, they pulled out of the event only to return last year with a well known performer who goes by the name of Senit. The song that she performed in the competition was entitled Stand By and improved on the first result but still did not manage to qualify unfortunately and are hoping that their third entry will achieve a different result but most of the people and the experts do not seem to agree.

Source: Eurovision.tv for the Biographical Information and all respective media