In the western music industry, it seems that one of the artists that will not require an introduction is Anouk from The Netherlands whose past success definitely precedes her especially in the pop/rock genre which is truly a safe haven. She will be representing her home country in a bid to take them back into the final for the very first since 2004, which was also the first year in which the semi-final system was introduced. Their entry entitled Without You performed by Re-Union had failed miserably within the final achieving one of the lower end results. Birds, the track that Anouk will be presenting to Europe on the night of the first semi-final is co-written with Martin Gjerstad and Tore Johansson is a melanchonic ballad which is being perceived as finishing in the top ten. 

Anouk is somewhat making a return to the music industry with her new album Sad Singalong Songs set for official release during the week of the Eurovision Song Contest under the Goldilox imprint. Birds, the first official single off the album is the most successful resounding track since 2009 when her track Woman managed to climb to number #3 in the Dutch Charts as opposed to #33 in the Belgian Charts. Her Eurovision entry has already hit number #2 in her home country as opposed to number #24 in Belgium. When one takes into account current sales through iTunes, Birds finds itself at number #24 in The Netherlands and number #75 in Sweden, therefore making it one of the most successful entries in this years' Eurovision Song Contest. Looking at the Betting Odds at the moment, it seems that the song is seen as a contender for top five with the current list seeming putting Denmark in first place, followed by Ukraine and Norway as the first and second runners-up and Russia and The Netherlands following closely behind. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest news.

Source: esctracker.com

Ira Losco began her music career relatively early and achieved success as she built a road to the top noting that she went from a variety of local competitions to represent Malta within the Eurovision Song Contest, earning the first runner-up position with 7th Wonder composed by Philip Vella to the lyrics of Gerard James Borg. Upon her return, she was a true hero and she has built a reputable career, releasing her fifth studio album entitled The Fire, earlier this year. Working with the likes of producer, Howard Keith of Jagged House, Ira has always managed to carve out an image which keeps her grounded and true to herself. 

Her latest studio album has received rave reviews from local critics and has also led the albums chart on iTunes for five consecutive weeks and the next step is promoting the material off it through a number of live performances, and one of the first will be coming at the Beland Music Festival. Alongside her band, Ira will be performing with a nine piece band on Saturday, 11th May and remember that all of the proceeds would be going to Puttinu Cares, a charity which supports children in need. Ira Losco is a true, seasoned performer and in recent months, her live performances have been absolutely stunning. This will be one of the events of the season and despite following the tough act in the form of Kevin Borg on the day before, she will have the crowd at the palm of her hand considering how much she adores all of her fans.

Supporting Ira Losco on the night will be none other than two other bands, one of them being Planet Seed which is duly fronted by Klinsmann, finalist at the Malta Eurovision Song Contest on several occasions and the other one being known as The New Victorians. In the meantime, the evening shall be hosted by Moira Delia from Ilsien in-Nisa which airs on ONE Television as well as Christian Micallef who is known for hosting Replay on NET Television. Remember that you may purchase your copy of The Fire on iTunes. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest news as soon as it becomes available. 

Source: Beland Music Festival, Official Ira Losco Facebook Page

Fejn Tħobb il-Qalb and Fjura Fil-Kantina are two of the most recognised songs in the local music industry and tend to be played heavily either on radio or through guest appearances. They were both composed by none other than Maestro Ray Agius, one of the most renowned songwriters in the country. Despite being known mostly for writing the music, he has also been the individual behind some fantastic lyrics, making him a true all rounder. Nevertheless, his role in the series series entitled D.R.E.A.M.S is that of composer with lyrics being written by Michael Vella Haber and Evelyn Saliba La Rosa. The duo are also responsible for writing the script for the series, dictating the way that it evolves and creating a couple of loop holes along the way. escflashmalta.com has always been proud to support upcoming artists and this is one series which promotes the future of the local music industry. The series which airs on Television Malta, the main organ of transmittion for the Public Broadcasting Services will return for a twenty-first episode this evening.

Jade (Rachel Genovese) was surely the individual providing most of the comic moments in the past episode noting that she had to create a diversion in order for Katia (Jade Cini) to swipe the phone off Brandon (Jean Pierre Cassar). Indeed, this was a success when she almost suffocated him. The idea was to try and reveal Tiffany (Kristen Camilleri) as a completely crazed lunatic whose affections for Brandon have clouded her judgement in a bid to reclaim him from Antoinette (Annalise Psaila) who has been left out of this respective plot. In a close knit meeting, Jade alongside Katia and Jasmine (Rachael Tedesco Triccas) succeed but nevertheless, their plans might be foiled when Brandon realises what happened. It will be intriguing to see what reaction he will have especially as he confronts them with regards to the possibility that they might have his phone. Amber (Celine Cuschieri) was the second teenager involved in last weeks' storyline as her life is seemingly becoming public thanks to her friends, Chloe (Michela Dalli) and Lara (Petra Bugeja) being relatively nosey. In the past episode, Samwel (Joseph Fenech) was seen reuniting with Pamela (Lara Cuschieri) but nevertheless, it seems that the female counterpart in the equation is not feeling the moment and is trying to confront him. 

The reality of it all is that the public actually knows that it is Amber who is lying in this situation in an effort to lure his father away from Amber as her mother, Frances (Sabina Attard) is soon to be released from prison. At this point in time, Amber is going to be seen as extremely frustrated with the situation now that her friends know the truth about her mother. Chloe and Lara try to reach out and do their utmost to ease the situation but Amber won't have any of it unfortunately and thus the problem will continue to grow. The final individual who will surely be involved this time round is Karen (Lara Dimech) who most recently found out that the individual she thought to be her father was not and therefore, she is setting out on a father hunt with or without the help of Jeremy (Mikhail Attard). She did wake him up in the middle of the night but he seems to have a plan for more issues to come to light, ones which would resolve other issues. Another scintillating episode of D.R.E.A.M.S awaits on Television Malta right after the evening news bulletin at around 20:45 CET. Remember that every part of the episode bears a lot of importance and thus it is vital that one sees it through.

Source: Rewind Productions

Kevin Borg, first runner-up at this years' edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest with the track Needing You which he co-wrote with Michael Clauss, Simon Gribbe, Thomas Thornholm and Danne Attlerud will be returning to his home country in order to give a major concert. This event set for the 10th May 2013 will be taking place in the locality of Żejtun and will be kicking off this years' edition of The Beland Music Festival in aid of Puttinu Cares. In recent years, this prestigious week long of activities has been receiving a lot of exposure and attention from both locals and foreigners. Entertainment is offered for the whole week free of charge with a number of volunteers going round and collecting donations for a just cause.

The Beginning, the debut album from Kevin Borg following his success in the talent show, Idol managed to climb to number #3 in the Swedish charts and that was the beginning of what has been a pretty positive career. Within the first studio album, there were a number of hit singles including With Every Bit of Me, Street Lights and The Last Words. In recent years, songwriting has become more concurrent for the performer and as matter of fact, has a publishing deal with Lionheart Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music in Sweden. He has been working with a number of artists including none other than Robin Stjernberg who will represent Sweden with the track You. Kevin has always kept Malta close to heart and despite finishing in second place at the end of January, has pledged to support Gianluca in the best possible way as he represents Malta in Sweden with his entry Tomorrow co-written by Boris Cezek and Dean Muscat.

escflashmalta.com is proud to support The Beland Music Festival for a third year running and for this simple reason, our aim is to give you a detailed look at who will be performing and when. As a matter of fact, more articles will be released in the coming days. On the 10th May, Kevin Borg will also be supported by former Eurovision Song Contest representative; Glen Vella and one his backing vocalists, in the form of Pamela. In the meantime, Maestro Paul Abela has been enlisted to conduct the band as each performer takes to the stage to perform in a live manner. The hosts for the evening will be none other than Ronald Briffa and Pauline Agius, both of whom have hosted several competitions in recent years. Stay tuned for all of the latest news as soon as it becomes available and do not forget to buy Needing You on iTunes to continue supporting Kevin Borg.

Source: The Beland Music Festival