Around the Continent 2022 – Week 28

As we continue our weekly series Around The Continent, we will discuss the news and tell the story of each country’s preparation for Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

As we get closer to the time of “Australia Decides 2022″, more details are revealed.
Several artists are competing for the last spot in the selection, which will be given through a Tik-Tok wildcard.
One of the contenders is Leea Nanos (who competed in “Australia Decides 2019″)

Tik-Tok competition ends on Sunday 16th of January 2022 at 11:59PM (AEST).

German website ESC Kompakt claims 4 potential acts to represent Austria at Eurovision 2022 are:

ANGER

Candlelight Ficus

DelaDap

LUM! X

ORF will make the final decision very soon. we will likely have the name of the Austrian artist by the end of January 2022

HRT has revealed that “Dora 2022” will be held in the city of Opatija, in the 19th of February 2022

“Eesti Laul 2022” Semi-Finals Draw Has Been Determined (pay attention: not running order)

Semi-Final 1 (Thursday, 3rd of February 2022)

[By alphabatical order]

Alabama Watchdog – Move On [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 3]
Andrei Zevakin feat. Grete Paia – Mis nüüd saab (Eng:What Now?) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
Elina Nechayeva – Remedy [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 3]
ELYSA – Fire [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
Helen – Vaatu minu poole (Eng: Look at Me) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
Kaia-Liisa Kesler – Vaikus (Eng:Silence) [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
Merilin Mälk – Little Girl [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
Ott Lepland – Aovalguses (Eng: In The Light) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
Stig Rästa – Interstellar [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
Triin Niitoja & Frants Tikerpuu – Laululind (Eng: Songbird) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]

Semi-Final 2 (Saturday, 5th of February 2022)

[By alphabatical order]

Anna Sahlene – Champion [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 3]
Black Velvet – Sandra [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
Boamadu – Mitte kauaks (Eng: Not For Long) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
Evelin Samuel – Waterfall [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
Jaagup Tuisk – Kui Vaid (Eng: If Only) [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
Jyrise – Plaksuta (Eng: Claps) [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
Maian – Meeletu (Eng: Crazy) [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
Minimal Wind ft. Elisabeth Tiffany – What To Make Of This [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
Púr Múdd & Shira – Golden Shore [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
Stefan – Hope [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 3]

Each semi-final will have 2 rounds of voting.
The first round will be determined by 50% public vote and 50% jury vote.
The top 3-4 acts in the combined results will get a direct path for the final.
The remaining 6-7 acts will face a second round of voting that will be based on public voting only.
At the end of each semi-final, 5 artists will qualify for the final.

The semi-finals hosts will be Maarja-Liis Ilus & Priit Loog.
Maarja-Liis Ilus represented Estonia at Eurovision 1996 and 1997.

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You’re welcome to read out the full review of the semi-finalists song

YLE revealed 7 competing artists in “UMK 2022“. Artists revealed alongside their song titles and date of song releases:

Cyan Kicks – Hurricane (Thursday, 13th of January 2022)

BESS – Ram pam pam (Friday, 14th of January 2022)

The Rasmus – Jezebel (Monday, 17th of January 2022)

Younghearted – Sun Numero (Tuesday, 18th of January 2022)

Olivera – Thank God I’m An Atheist (Wednesday, 18th of January 2022)

Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua (Eng: Life carries me) (Thursday, 20th of January 2022

Isaac Sene – Kuuma jäbä (Eng: Hot Ice) (Friday, 21st of January 2022)

The songs will be revealed one by one each day.

The show will be held on Saturday, 26th of February 2022.
The results will be determined by 50% public voting and 50% international jury

Based on the bid that was published by Bildergarten Entertainment GmbH & Co. KG company (that will produce the German selection), we can learn that the German selection “Unser Lied für Turin“ will take place in March 2022 in Berlin.

Meanwhile, here is the list of rumored artists:

Eskimo Callboy – Pump It
IZZA – Easier
KLAN – Fiebar
Marie Reim – Illusion
Paula Dolle Corta – Clearer Now
Samuel Rösch – Gstern

RÚV has changed the dates of “Söngvakeppnin 2022”:

Saturday, 5th of February 2022 – Songs and artists revealing
Saturday, 26th of February 2022 – “Söngvakeppnin 2022” Semi-Final 2
Saturday, 5th of March 2022 – “Söngvakeppnin 2022” Semi-Final 2
Friday, 11th of March 2022 – Family Show / Jury Show (won’t be broadcast)
Saturday, 12th of March 2022 – “Söngvakeppnin 2022” Grand Final

“Söngvakeppnin 2022” – Full Details

RÚV have receieved a total of 158 songs for the selection.
10 artists will compete in the national selection this year.
5 artists have been chosen out of public submissions. 5 others have been chosen among established song writers who were directly contacted by RÚV.
5 artists will compete in each semi-final. The results of each semi-final will be determined by public vote only. 2 artists will advance to the final.
There’s a possibility that the jury will give a wild-card to one of the non-qualifiers.
The shows will be held in a new location, in the so-called Singing Competition Hall, which is in the RVK Studios in Gufunes.
5 artists will compete in the grand final. In the first round, the results will be determined by 50% jury voting and 50% public voting.
In the “Super-Final”, the top 2 artists will compete while the results will be determined solely by the public.

The top8 remaining candidated in “X Factor Israel” are:

Inbal Bibi (Girls team)
Sapir Saban (Girls team)
Eli Huli (Boys team)
Michael Ben David (Boys team)
Anna Stefanie (Girls team)
Ilay Elmakayas (Youngs team)
Shahar Adawi (Boys team)
Linet (Groups and Over 30 years old)

On Sunday, the 8 artists will compete in 4 duels. The 4 winners will get a direct path to the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the 4 losers will fight for additional 2 spots in the semi-finals

Earlier this week, rehearsals for “Sanremo 2022” began:

Francesca Michielin also published on her Facebook page that she will be conducting Sanremo‘s orchestra during Emma‘s performance:

In addition, the Eurovision 2022 semi-finals allocation draw ceremony will take place at the Palazzo Madama on the 25th of January 2022

As we reported last week, 16 participants have already guaranteed their place in “Supernova 2022“.
The 17th semi-finalist will be chosen as a wild-card. The 10 optional candidates for the wild-card are:

Antra Stafecka and Atis Ieviņš – “Call the Lights”
Dārta Stepanova – “Brīnumzeme” (Wonderland)
Edvards Strazdiņš – “Open Road”
Katrīna Dimanta – “My Voice” [represented Latvia at Eurovision 2014, and competed in “Supernova 2022“]
Marta Ritova – “Let Me Go”
Mārtiņš Strods – “One More Time”
Miks Galvanovskis – “I’m Just A Sinner”
Rihards Bērziņš – “1+1”
Tētis – “Labākie vārdi”
Toms Kalderauskis – “Naked smile”

Online voting will close on 14th January 2022 at 11:59 pm local time.
Audio versions are available here

This Saturday night, LRT will hold the second heat of “Pabandom iš naujo 2022”.
11 artists will fight on 6 spots in the semi-finals:

Viktorija Kajokaitė – Piece of the universe
Gabrea – Make it real.
Clockwork Creep – Grow
Emilija Katauskaitė – Illuminate
Justė Kraujelytė – How To Get My Life Back
Titus and Benas – “Getting Through This”
Ieva Zasimauskaitė – I’ll be there
Queens of Roses – Washing machine
Cosmic Bride – The Devil Lives in Spain
Justin 3 feat. nanaart – Something that is natural
Moosu X – Love That Hurts

Last week, 6 other artists qualified for the semi-finals:

Erica Jennings – “Back to myself” (1st place)
Augustė Vedrickaitė – ”Before you’re 6 ft under” (2nd place)
Urtė Šilagalytė – ”Running Chords” (3rd place)
Joseph June – ”Deadly” (4th place)
Mary Mo – ”Get Up” (5th place)
Elonas Pokanevič – ”Someday” (6th place)

The full results can be found here

Maltese selection “MESC 2022” will take place on the 17th of February 2022 and on the 19th of February 2022.
22 artists will take part in this year’s selection, but only 16 of them will qualify for the final.

Nicole Hammett – A Lover’s Heart
Jessica Grech – Aphrodisiac
Janice Mangion – Army
Denise Mercieca – Boy
Matt BLXCK – Come Around
Baklava Ft Nicole – Electric Indigo
Sarah Bonnici – HEAVEN
Richard Micallef – Hey Little
Norbert Bondin – How special you are
Derrick Schembri – II
Nicole Azzopardi – Into The Fire
Jessica Muscat – Kaleidoscope
Miriana Conte – Look what you’ve done now
Emma Muscat – Out Of Sight
Raquel Galdes Briffa – Over You
Jade Vella – REVELACIÓN
Francesca Sciberras – RISE
Aidan Cassar – Ritmu
Mark Anthony Bartolo – Serenity
Enya Magri – SHAME
Malcolm Pisani – We Came For LOVE
Rachell Lowell – White Doves

All snippets are available on the Eurovision Song Malta Facebook page as well.
We will probably get a chance to hear the songs on Monday.

The submission window for the Moldovan selection ”Finala națională 2022” will close on the 24th of January 2022.
However, we can discuss some submitted entries.
Greek lyricist Nikos Sofis collaborated with Aaron Sibley on the song “Starlight” which will be performed by Marcela Scripcaru

Nikos has also revealed he will submit another song

Last Monday, NRK revealed the 21 competing acts in the “Melodi Grand Prix 2022”.

The hosts of the show are: Kåre Magnus Bergh, Annika Momrak, and Mikkel Niva:

Semi Finals:

Semi Final 1 (January 15, 2022)

(Watch Live Performances) (Watch Full Show)

Eline Noelia – Ecstasy
Frode Vassel – Black Flowers
Mira Craig – We Still Here
TrollfesT – Dance Like a Pink Flamingo

Semi Final 2 (January 22, 2022)

(Watch Live Performances) (Watch Full Show)

Lilly Löwe – Bad Baby
Steffen Jakobsen – With Me Tonight
Farida Louise – Dangerous
Daniel Lukas – Kvelertak

Semi Final 3 (January 29, 2022)

(Watch Live Performances) (Watch Full Show)

Mari Bølla – Your Loss
Oda Gondrosen – Hammer of Thor
Sturla – Skår i hjertet
VILDE – Titans

Semi Final 4 (February 5, 2022)

(Watch Live Performances) (Watch Full Show)

Alexandra Joner – Hasta La Vista
Maria Mohn – Fly
Kim Wigaard – La melodia
Sofie Fellvjang – Made of Glass

Final – Direct-Qualifiers (19th of February 2022)

Elsie Bay – Death Of Us
Christian Ingebrigtsen – Wonder of the World
Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf A Banana
NorthKid – Someone
Anna-Lisa Kumoji – Queen Bees

You can read our review for the first semi-final here:

You can find the playlists here:

YouTube Playlist

Spotify Playlist

Polish broadcaster TVP changes plans and puts its efforts towards a national selection “Krajowe Eliminacje 2022“. 10 artists will take part in the selection:

Ania Byrcyn – “Dokąd” (Where)
Daria – “Paranoia”
Emilia Dębska (Mila) – “All I need”
Karolina Lizer – “Czysta woda” (Eng: Clean water)
Karolina Stanisławczyk & Chica Toro – “Move”
Kuba Szmajkowski – “Lovesick”
Krystian Ochman – “River”
Lidia Kopania – “Why does it hurt” [represented Poland at Eurovision 2009]
Siostry Szlachta – “Drogowskazy” (Eng: Signposts)
Unmute – “Głośniej niż decybele” (Eng: Louder than decibels)

The selection will be held on Saturday, the 19th of February 2022.
The results will be determined by 50% public voting and 50% jury voting

RTP revealed the 2 hosts of the first semi-final in “Festival da Canção 2022“:

Sónia Araújo will host for the 17th time, while Jorge Gabriel will host for the 9th time.

San Marino will probably reveal the shortlisted artists in the emerging artists in “Una voce per San Marino” in the next week.
585 artists submitted a song for selection. 299 of them have received an invitation to audition.

36 artists will take part in the Serbian selection for Eurovision 2022: ”Pesma za Evroviziju ’22”.
The selection will include 3 shows:

Semi-Final 1: 3rd March 2022
Semi-Final 2: 4th March 2022
Grand Final: 5th March 2022

The acts are:

Naiva – Skidam [participated in “Beovizija 2020”]

Biber – Dve godine i šes’ dana

Marija Mirković – Požuri, požuri

Gift – Haos

Boris Subotić – Vrati mi

Marko Nikolić – Dođi da te volim [participated in ESC 2013]

Vasco – Znaš li

Bane Lalić i MVP – Tu gde je ljubav tu ne postoji mrak

Ivana Vladović i Jovana Stanimirović – Prijaće ti

Marija Mikić – Ljubav me inspiriše

Julija – Brižna

Angellina – Origami

VIS Limunada – Pesma ljubavi

Aleksandar Vuksanović Aca Lukas – Oskar

Igor Simić – Nisam ja [participated in “Beovizija 2020”]

Goca Tržan – Fitilj

Sanja Bogosavljević – Priđi mi [participated in “Beovizija 2020”]

Dušan Svilar – Samo ne reci da voliš [participated in “Beosong 2013”]

Srđan Lazić – Tražim te [participated in “Beovizija 2020”]

Julijana Vincan – Istina i laži

Jelena Pajić – Pogledi

Bojana Mašković – Dama [participated in “Beovizija 2020”]

Zoe kida (Ana Radonjić) – Bejbi

Orkestar Aleksandra Sofronijevića – Anđele moj

Sara Jo – Muškarčina (Zabranjeno voće) [participated in ESC 2013]

Mia – Blanko

Zejna Murkić – Nema te

Gramophonedzie – Počinjem da ludim

Stefan Zdravković (Princ od Vranje) – Ljubi svog čoveka

Zorja Pajić – Zorja

Lift – Drama [participated in “Beovizija 2020”]

Konstrakta – Corpore sano

Ivona Pantelić – Znam

Rocher Etno Band – Hajde sad nek’ svak peva [participated in “Beovizija 2020”]

Ana Stanić – Put bez povratka

Euterpa – Nedostaješ

The grand final of “EMA Freš 2022” – the emerging path in the Slovenian selection, will be held on the 28th of January 2022. The results will be determined by 50% public voting and 50% jury voting.
14 artists will fight for 4 spots in the grand final of “EMA 2022“.

Mia Vučković – Telenovela
De Liri – Obstajam (Eng: I Exist)
Jon Vitezič – Jesus Style
INA – Moj dopamin (Eng: My Dopamine)
Marijan & Špela – I am so in Love
Stela Sofia – Tu in zdaj (Eng: Here And Now)
Leya Leanne – Naked
Nika S. – Počakaj me (Eng: Wait For Me)
Katja Kos – Deadly Flower
Jaka Hliš – Svoje sreče krojač (Eng: Your lucky tailor)
Anja Vodošek – Maniac
EMMA – Moja sreča (Eng: My happiness)
LPS – Disko
LUMA – All in

The presenters of “EMA Freš 2022” will be: Eva Boto (represented Slovenia at Eurovision 2012), Melani Mekicar, and Arne Međedović:

Reports in Spain reveal that one of the “Unique” band members tested positive for covid
Here’s the semi-finals allocation draw and running order for “Benidom Fest 2022“.
14 artists will participate in the festival. 7 artists will take part in each semi-final, where only 3 artists will qualify for the final.

Semi-Final 1: Wednesday the 26th of January 2022

Luna Ki – Quiero Morir
Varry Brava – Raffaella
Azúcar Moreno – Postureo
Blanca Paloma – Secreto del agua
Unique – Mejores
Tanxugueiras – Terra
Chanel – Slo mo

Semi-Final 2: Thursday the 27th of January 2022

Xeinn – Eco
Marta Sango – Sigues en mi mente
Javiera Mena – Culpa
Gonzalo Hermida – Quién lo diría
Rigoberta Bandini – Ay Mama
Rayden – Calle de la llorería
Sara Deop – Make you say

The grand-final will take place on Saturday, the 29th of January 2022

You can the full playlist on different digital platforms here:

“Vidbir 2022″ will be held on the 12th of February 2022.
A total of 284 songs were received. 8 finalists for “Vidbir 2022” will be announced by 24th January 2022.

Among the submitted acts, we can find: