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.
General
The semi-final allocation draw for Eurovision 2022 took place last Tuesday.
Here are the results of the draw:
In addition, the Big5 countries were allocated to vote in one of 2 semi-finas:
Italian media reports on 2 certain names to host Eurovision 2022: Alessandro Cattelan and Laura Pausini:
They might be joined by Mika
Ronela Hajati has worked on a new version for “Sekret“. She recorded it (probably with a video clip) in London. The new version will include more words in English.
According to media reports, it seems like there are 3 artists that are considered by AMPTV to represent the country:
- Kamil Show – who participated in the Armenian selection for Eurovision 2018
- Athena Manoukian – who should have represented Armenia at Eurovision 2020
- Saro – who won the “New Wave” music festival in 2021, and was a backing vocalist for Armenia in 2019. He started to work on a song, composed by Tokioinine (who composed Armenia songs at Eurovision 2019 and Junior Eurovision 2021).
The line-up for “Australia Decdies 2022” has almost been completed:
- Andrew Lambrou
- Charley
- G-Nat!on
- Isaiah Firebrace Feat. Evie Irie – “When I’m With You”
- Jaguar Jonze
- Jude York – I Won’t Need to Dream
- Paulini – We Are One
- Seann Miley Moore – My Body
- Sheldon Riley – Not the Same
- Voyager – Dreamer
- ? – TikTok Wildcard
Here is a snippet of “We Are One” by Paulini:
“Australia Decides 2022” will be held on the 26th of February 2022.
According to Austrian and German media, it seems that the decision has narrowed to 2 artists:
ANGER – “Das Meer” (Eng: The Sea)
DJ LUM!X (Feat. Victoria Swarovski – ?) – “Halo”
You can read more about them in our article here
This means that probably an electropop duet will represent Austria!
“Dora 2022” hosts will Franka Batelić (represtned Croatia at Eurovision 2018) and Elizabeta Brodić:
“Dora 2022” will be held on Saturuday the 19th of February 2022.
This year, the songs will be released before the show.
The premiere will be on Thursday, the 10th of February 2022, at “Svijet diskografije” program.
Afterwards, the songs will be available on the HRT website.
14 artists will take part in “Dora 2022” in the following running order:
- Mila Elegović – “Ljubav” (Eng: Love)
- Mia Negovetić – “Forgive Me (Oprosti)”
- Marko Bošnjak – “Moli za nas” (Eng: Pray for us)
- Jessa – “My Next Mistake”
- Zdenka Kovačiček – “Stay on the Bright Side”
- Tina Vukov – “Hideout”
- Roko Vušković – “Malo kasnije” (Eng: A little later)
- Bernarda – “Here for Love”
- Erik Vidović – “I Found You”
- ToMa – “In the Darkness”
- Elis Lovrić – “No War”
- Ella Orešković – “If You Go Away”
- Tia – “Voli me do neba” (Eng: Love me to heaven).
- Mia Dimšić – “Guilty Pleasure”
Next week Estonia will broadcast the semi-finals in “Eesti Laul 2022“:
Semi-Final 1 (Thursday, 3rd of February 2022)
- ELYSA – Fire [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
- Helen – Vaatu minu poole (Eng: Look at Me) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
- Andrei Zevakin feat. Grete Paia – Mis nüüd saab (Eng:What Now?) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
- Alabama Watchdog – Move On [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 3]
- Merilin Mälk – Little Girl [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
- Stig Rästa – Interstellar [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
- Triin Niitoja & Frants Tikerpuu – Laululind (Eng: Songbird) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
- Kaia-Liisa Kesler – Vaikus (Eng:Silence) [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
- Elina Nechayeva – Remedy [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 3]
- Ott Lepland – Aovalguses (Eng: In The Light) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
Semi-Final 2 (Saturday, 5th of February 2022)
- Jyrise – Plaksuta (Eng: Claps) [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 2]
- Maian – Meeletu (Eng: Crazy) [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
- Boamadu – Mitte kauaks (Eng: Not For Long) [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
- Evelin Samuel – Waterfall [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
- Black Velvet – Sandra [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
- Púr Múdd & Shira – Golden Shore [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
- Jaagup Tuisk – Kui Vaid (Eng: If Only) [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 1]
- Minimal Wind ft. Elisabeth Tiffany – What To Make Of This [Jury Qualifier, Quarter-Final 4]
- Stefan – Hope [Public Qualifier, Quarter-Final 3]
- Anna Sahlene – Champion [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.
Here is the stage for “Eesti Laul 2022“:
Doron‘s written review can be found here
Full playlists can be found here:
YouTube
Official Site / Song Lyrics
Spotify
Apple Music
You can read Doron‘s review of “UMK 2022” songs here:
RÚV revealed the 3 hosts for “Söngvakeppnin 2022”: Björg Magnúsdóttir, Jón Jónsson and Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir
The selection dates are:
- Saturday, 5th of February 2022 – Songs and artists in the TV show “Lögin í Söngvakeppninn” on RÚV.
- 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
Ireland’s selection show for Eurovision 2022 (“Eurosong 2022“) will be held on Friday, the 4th of February 2022.
Last Thursday, we received the full image of Israeli finalists for Eurovision 2022:
From left to right: Michael Ben David, Sapir Saban, Inbal Bibi and Eli Huli.
Next week will be selection week with 3 different important events to follow:
- 30th of January 2022 – Song Revealing. 8 songs have been shortlisted by a professional committee. Each finalist was matched with 2 songs [12:00 Israel Time, 11:00 CET]
- 3rd of February 2022 : “Hashir Shelanu La’Eurovision 2022” – Each finalist will perform his 2 potential songs. With a combination of 25% jury votes, 25% professional committees, and 50% public vote, each finalist will remain with only one song!
- 5th of February 2022 : “X-Factor Israel 2022” the grand final – Each finalist will perform his song for Eurovision. The results will be determined by 25% professional committees, and 50% public vote.
Here are some additional details:
- Chen Aharoni, a finalist in “Hakochav Haba La’Eurovision 2018” wrote one of the songs. The title of the song is “I am“. According to our sources, the song will be performed by Michael Ben David.
2. Another song was written by the singer-songwriter Dikla. It will probably involve some oriental elements. It will probably be perfroemd by Sapir Saban.
3. Eli Huli was probably involved in his potential songs for the selection. He may have collaborated with producer Ruby Fayer.
4. Stav Begger, one of the co-writers of “Toy” (performed by Netta, winning song of Eurovision 2018), was the producer of 6 out of 8 shortlisted songs!
5. One of Eli Huli’s songs will probably be “Nostalgy”
“Sanremo 2022” shows won’t be geoblocked this year.
In addition, the BBC will supply English commentary on the night of the final.
“Supernova 2022” semi-final will be held on the 5th of February 2022.
The hosts will be Ketija Šēnberga & Lauris Reiniks
The running order will be:
- Citi Zēni – “Eat Your Salad”
- Miks Dukurs – “First Love”
- Linda Rušeniece – “Pay My Own Bills”
- Elina Gluzunova – “Es pabiju tur”
- RAUM – “Plans”
- Patriks Peterson – “Can’t Get You Outta My Head”
- Mēs Jūs Mīlam – “Rich Itch”
- KATŌ – “Promises”
- Miks Galvanovskis – “I’m Just a Sinner”
- Markus Riva – “If You’re Gonna Love Me”
- The Coco’nuts – “In And Out of the Dark”
- Aminata – “I’m Letting You Go”
- Bermudu Divstūris – “Bad”
- Beatrise Heislere – “On the Way Home”
- Zelma Jēgere – “How”
- Bujāns – “He, She, You & Me”
- Inspo – “A Happy Place”
The results will be determined by 50% public vote and 50% jury vote.
10 artists will qualify for the grand final that will be held on the 12th of February 2022
The full playlist can be found on different digital platforms:
YouTube
Official Website
Spotify
Apple Music
You’re invited to read Doron’s musical review here:
This Saturday, 9 artists will participate in the first semi-final of “Pabandom iš naujo 2022”:
- Elonas Pokanevič – Someday
- Joseph June – Deadly
- Gebrasy – Into Your Arms
- Emilija Katauskaitė – Illuminate
- Queens of Roses – Washing machine
- Gintarė Korsakaitė – Fantasy Eyes
- Lolita Zero – Not Your Mother
- Justė Kraujelytė – How To Get My Life Back
- Erica Jennings – Back to myself
4 of them will qualify for the final. The results will be determined by a public vote and a national jury vote.
You can read more about their performances here:
28 artists (with 29 songs) will attend the auditions level this year.
The auditions will take place on the 29th of January 2022.
- Annet Smirnova – Toxic Eyes
- Denis Midone – Run Away
- Katy Rain – Lele
- NaMinAl – Stop tonight
- Ricky Ardezianu – Cherche la femme
- Sasha Bognibov – (I Just Had) Sex with Your Ex
- The Tramps – Sky blues
- Trio EVA – Get a Kiss
- Y-LIMIT – Nothing More
- Bumbac Tudor – Iarta-ma ca te iubesc
- Carolina Gorun & Danieli Shvets – Take me anywhere
- Emilia Vlas – Yama
- LEMONIQUE – Boys
- Marcela Scripcaru – Starlight
- Maxim Zavidia – READY
- Mihaela Andrei – Libre
- Sasha Bognibov – My Friend Is Gay
- Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov – Trenulețul
- Lanjeron – Magic Carpet
- Pelageya Stefoglo – I’m the only one
- Ana Cernicova – Silent Battlefield
- Angel Kiss – The Sunshine in Me
- Diana Elmas – Spirit high
- Ferum – Love is
- SENDREI – Beginer’s Luck
- Valeria Barbas – My Tree
- Viola Julea – Before (Twin flame)
- Viorela Moraru – Tell me that you love me
After the live auditions, the The highest-ranked audition will mark Moldovan’s representation of Eurovision 2022.
The televised selection show that should have taken place on the 5th of March is cancelled due to the Covid situation in Moldova.
You can listen to the songs on different digital platforms:
Official Website
YouTube
Spotify
Apple Music
Tonight, 28th of January 2022, we will be able to listen to the 6 competing songs in the North Macedonian selection – “Za Evrosong 2022“
- Kaly – Love and Light
- Yon Idy – Dreams
- Lara Ivanova – Flower of Sorrow
- Viktor Apostolovski – Superman
- Andrea Koevska – Circles
- Boris Cvetanovski – Flying to Berlin
The public will be able to vote until the 4th of February 2022.
The results will be determined by 50% public vote and 50% internationl jury .
On the 4th of February 2022, we will find out the winner.
However, participants won’t give any live performances
Link to the songs themsevles can be found here
This Saturday, Norway will hold the 3rd semi-final of “Melodi Grand Prix 2022“.
The participants are:
Duel 1
Mari Bølla – “Your Loss”
Oda Gondrosen – “Hammer of Thor”
Duel 2
Sturla – “Skår i hjertet” (Shards in the Heart)
VILDE – “Titans”
They will compete in 3 duels, until a winner is crowned. The winner will qualify for the final of “Melodi Grand Prix 2022“
You can read Doron‘s review of the songs in semi-final 3:
Last week it was Farida who qualified for the final
The Polish selection will have a new name: “Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hity na Eurowizję” (Eng: This is where the heart of Europe beats! We are choosing hits for Eurovision).
Some of the songs have already been released:
- Ania Byrcyn – Dokąd
- Daria – Paranoia
- Emilia D ębbska (Mila) – All I Need
- Karolina Lizer – Clean Water
- Karolina Stanisławczyk & Chika Toro – Move
- Kuba Szmaikowski – Lovesick
- Lidia Kopania – Why Does It Hurt?
- Ochman – River
- Siostry Szlachta – Drogowskazy
- Unmute – Louder Than Decibels
You can find the playlists on different digital platforms:
YouTube
Spotify
Apple Music
Recordings of live versions of Romanian songs for the national selection “Selecţia Naţională 2022” took place. Here are some images – credit to TVR:
- The semi-final of the Selecţia Naţională 2022 will take place between 5th of February 2022 and 12th of February 2022, and has two stages.
- The first stage of the semi-final will take place between 5th of February 2022 and 10th of February 2022. Special jury members will judge the songs. 15 songs will be shortlisted by the jury.
- Each jury member will be granted 1-8, 10, 12 points for his/her top 10 songs.
- The second stage of the semi-final will involve televoting. The public will be able to select an additional 5 songs.
- Public voting will be available on the Eurovision Romania Facebook page, between 9th of February 2022 (20.00 o’clock) and 10th of February 2022 (20.00 o’clock).
- On the 12nd of February 2022. the televised semi-final with live performances will take place with 20 songs.
- A special jury panel will judge the songs.
- 10 songs out of 20 will advance to the final.
- The grand final of “Selecţia Naţională 2022” will be held on Saturday the 5th of March 2022.
- The results of the grand-final will be determined by a combination of 50% public vote and 50% jury vote.
You can find the playlists on different digital platforms:
YouTube
Spotify
Apple Music
“Pesma za Evroviziju 2022” songs will be released on the 8th of February 2022.
You can read about the songs here:
The selection will include 3 shows
Pesma za Evroviziju ’22 – Semi-Final 1 – Thursday, 3rd of March 2022
Pesma za Evroviziju ’22 – Semi-Final 2 – Friday, 4th of March 2022
Pesma za Evroviziju ’22 – Final – Saturday, 5th of March 2022
Some of the songs have already been released, and you can find them here:
YouTube
Apple Music
Spotify
The grand final of “EMA Freš 2022” was held on Friday, the 28th of January 2022.
The presenters of “EMA Freš 2022” were: Eva Boto (represented Slovenia at Eurovision 2012), Melani Mekicar, and Arne Međedović:
The competing acts:
- 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
Qualifiers: 2 acts were chosen by the public, while other 2 acts were chosen by the jury
They received spots in the semi-finals of “EMA 2022“:
LUMA – All in
Stela Sofia – Tu in zdaj
LPS – Disco
Leya Leanne – Naked
8 finalists for “Benidorm Fest 2022″ are:
The performance will be in the following running order:
- Rayden – Calle de la llorería
- Tanxugueiras – Terra
- Varry Brava – Raffaella
- Chanel – SloMo
- Rigoberta Bandini – Ay Mama
- Xeinn – Eco
- Gonzalo Hermida – Quién lo diría
- Blanca Paloma – Secreto del agua
The results of the grand final will be determined by the following mechanism:
- The results will be determined by 50% public vote and 50% jury vote
- The jury will include 3 Spanish and 2 international members
- Felix Bergsson, head of the Icelandic delegation for Eurovision
- Marvin Dietmann, Austrian art director
- Natalia Calderon, Spanish vocal coach – Head of Jury
- Estefanía García , Spanish mezzo-soprano of the RTVE Choir
- Miryam Blessed, Spanish choreographer
- Each juror will grant 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ,10 ,12 points to the songs.
- This makes the jury vote to be equal to 52X5 = 260 points.
- Public voting will be divided into 2 subgroups: Demoscopic jury and SMS.
- Demoscopic jury, those are 350 people from the Spanish public that are from different regions in Spain. They will grant the songs (by mutual ranking): 30, 25, 20 ,18, 15, 12, 10 points.
- SMS – The songs will get 30, 25, 20 ,18, 15, 12, 10 points by the total ranking.
You can read our review here
Video reactions are available here
There will be some changes in the Voting System of “Melodifestivalen 2022” – The Swedish selection for Eurovision 2022:
- In the semi-finals, 2 rounds of voting will take place. After the first round, the first place will be announced and will get a direct path for the final. The public vote will be done in the SVT app.
- In the second round, all 6 remaining artists will compete for an additional spot. The votes from the previous round will still be taken under consideration. Viewers will get 5 free votes to spread this round.
- At the end of the evening, the second place (or first place among the 6 remaining) will get a spot in the final as well.
- Artists in place of 3 – 4 will get a ticket for the 5th semi – final (“Second chance”).
- The public vote will be divided and aggregated by the age groups: televoters, 3 – 9 years old, 10 –15, 16 – 29, 30 – 44, 45 – 59, 60 – 74, and 75+.
- The full results of the semi-final will be given in the Grand final Eurovision method. Think of each voter group as a country. This means we will have the full ranking of each semi – final at the end of the night!
- The 2 qualifiers from each semi-final will skip tradition and will not sing their songs again.
- For the 5th semi-final (“Second chance“) there will be some changes as well: The 8 participants will be assigned into 2 groups. For each group of 4 contentans, 2 will qualify for the final. The public vote will be divided and aggregated by the age groups. However, we won’t get the full details of the voting
- Grand Final – first round of voting
- All viewers have five free votes per participant.
- Viewers will only be able to vote during the live performance
- Grand Final – second round of voting:
- The second round will occur after international jury results are revealed
- Once again, viewers have five free votes per participant.
- The public vote will be divided and aggregated by the age groups: televoters, 3 – 9 years old, 10 –15, 16 – 29, 30 – 44, 45 – 59, 60 – 74, and 75+.
- In the grand final, each voter group will grant 1 – 8 ,10 ,12 points to their top 10.
The first semi-final of “Melodifestivalen 2022” will be held on the 5th of February 2022 in “Friends Arena”:
Dutch creative team for Eurovision 2022 revealed by broadcaster AVROTROS:
The team members are:
- Wouter van Ransbeek – Supervisor and concept behind performance
- Marnix Kaart – Director of staging, was part of the director’s team for Eurovision 2021
- Henk Jan van Beek – a light designer, was a member of the Dutch delegation for Eurovision 2017
The 8 finalists in “Vidbir 2022” are:
First Half (Songs 1-4)
Cloudless – All Be Alright
Michael Soul – Demons
Our Atlantic – Moia liubov (Моя любов)
Barleben – Hear My Words
Second Half (Songs 5-8)
Alina Pash – Tini zabutykh predkiv (Тіні забутих предків)
Kalush Orchestra – Stefania
Roxolana – Girlzzzz
Wellboy – Nozzy Bossy
“Vidbir 2022” will be held on the 12th of February 2022.
The hosts are: Masha Efrosinina (main host) & Timur Miroshnychenko (green room)
Some of the songs have already been released. You can find them on the different digital platforms:
YouTube
Spotify
Apple Music
Earlier this week, TAP Music (who are responsible for selecting the UK‘s act for Eurovision 2022) shared some information about the selection process.
Ben Mawson (TaP Music) reacted:
We’re getting really close to making our final decision, we have lots of options and have been pleasantly surprised by how many wonderful artists, both new and more established want to be part of this process with us. Like us, they recognise that Eurovision is the biggest music TV opportunity in the world. It’s a tough decision with so many strong contenders, many with existing European fanbases, which is exciting. When we decide on the act, we will put an incredible team around the chosen act and look forward to sharing news shortly
Ed Millett, CEO of TAP Music, commented as well:
“The challenge has been finding a talent that has both an incredible voice – because live vocals to 200 million people is no easy feat – as well as having incredible stage presence and an unforgettable song – it is the Song Contest after all. The reason we want to do this, whether our act tops the leader board or not, is to do something special on stage that the UK can be proud of.”
