Around The Continent Eurovision 2023 NEWS 0

Around the Continent 2023: Week 8

By Doron LahavPosted on
Time to Read:-words

As we continue our weekly series Around The Continent, we will discuss the news and tell the story of each country’s preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

According to local media, one of the considered changes (wasn’t officially confirmed at all) in to wait with relating of the songs until the beginning of “Festivali i Këngës 61”.

As a reminder, the line-up of the festival:

SBS, the Australian broadcaster, still hasn’t finalized plans for Eurovision 2023.
Earlier this week, in an internal meeting, “Australia Decides” was marked as absent from the schedule.
According to the TV Tonight website, SBS is working on negotiations to enable “Australia Decides 2023″. However, if there are no mutual agreements, it is possible to have internal selection instead.

Myf Warhurst has been one of the hosts of “Australia Decides” since 2019.
Nowadays she is taking part in the production of “The Rocky Horror Show”.
However, it has been stated that Myf won’t be available between 8th and 12th of March 2023, due to Eurovision related commitments.

Formal information will probably be released next week.

Austria will be selected internally for Eurovision 2023.

Austrian producer Eberhard Forcher has approached 15 Austrian musicians to take part in the selection. Auditions took part last weekend.


This means that there aren’t any open paths for submissions, but artists that have been marked by the Austrian broadcaster.

However, the format of the internal selection was updated a little bit.
The candidates will be judged by a professional Austrian and international jury, alongside Eurovision fan clubs from different countries.
The results of these jury groups will determine the Austrian act for Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool.

“The Voice of Azerbaijan 2022″ participant Amrah Musayev, has shown an interest in representing the country at Eurovision 2023 as part of a duo with Humay Aslanova.

Due to the Flemish media, and especially the HLN magazine, we can reveal more details of the Belgian selection for Eurovision 2023 – “Belgian Eurosong 2023”.

The host of the national selection will be Peter Van de Veire

More details:

  • 7 artists will participate in the national selection
  • 2 of them are quite familiar, while the remaining 5 are artists at the beginning of their career.
  • “Eurosong 2023″ is expected to take place between 7th of January 2023 and 14th of January 2023.
  • Each one of the artists will perform 3 different songs for the public. One of them will make it to the final.
  • Each night on the first 7 night, will be dedicated to one artist only.
  • On the final, the 7 artists will perform, one song per an artist.
  • It is still unknown how the results will be determined, but it is possible to have a professional jury commenting on the performances, while the public decides.
  • National selection will be held at Palace 12, Brussels.
  •  Duncan Laurence, who won Eurovision 2019, representing The Netherlands, will be part of the professional jury.
  • However, the following names are strong in the mix of rumors:
    • The Starlings
    • Loredana
    • DJ Pat Krimson
    • Robin Crauwels
    • Cherine
    • IBE
    • Luka Cruysberghs
    • Pauline Slangen
    • Bazart (one of the members is Oliver Symons who represented Belgium at Junior Eurovision 2008)

The Czech Television has announced the selection process for Eurovision 2023: “ESCZ 2023″

Here are the main details, known to date:

  1. The submission window opened on the 2nd of November 2022 and will close on the 8th of December 2022.
  2. Applications can be made though this link.
  3. Artist can submit multiple songs.
  4. Tracks can be in the form of demo, final master is not required at this stage.
  5. Song duration is limited to 3 minutes.
  6. The songs mustn’t be published before the 1st of September 2022.
  7. The lead singer must hold a Czech citizenship. In case of duo, at least one of them must hold Czech citizenship
  8. 3 artists will be chosen to participate in a live TV show – “ESCZ 2023”.
  9. The results will be determined by a combination of the Czech public, international public (will vote via the Eurovision official app) and professional jury.

ERR, Estonian broadcaster, revealed 20 participants of “Eesti Laul 2023”:

  1. Robin Juhkental — “Kurbuse matused” (Eng: Funeral of Sadness)
  2. Anett x Fredi — “You Need To Move On”
  3. Bedwetters —“Monsters”
  4. Mia — “Üks samm korraga” (Eng: One Step at a Time)
  5. Ollie — “Venom”
  6. M Els  — “So Good At What You Do”
  7. Linalakk, Bonzo — “Aeg” (Eng: Time)
  8. Inger — “Awaiting You”
  9. Merlyn — “Unicorn Vibes”
  10. Neon Letters & Maiko — “Tokimeki” (This song is in Japanese)
  11. Carlos Ukareda —  “Whiskey Won’t Forget”
  12. Janek — “House Of Glass”
  13. Alika — “Bridges”
  14. Ellip — “Pretty Girl”
  15. Andreas — “Why Do You Love Me”
  16. Kaw — “Valik” (Eng: The Choice)
  17. Wiiralt & Ultima Thule “Salalik” (Eng: Secret)
  18. Elysa —  “Bad Philosophy”
  19. Meelik  — “Tuju”
  20. Sissi  — “Lighthouse”

Karl-Erik Taukar, Lenna, Alar Kotkas, Janika Sillamaa, Ott Lepland, Marta Püssa, Vaido Pannel, Robert Linna, Ingrid Kohtla, Margus Kamlat, Kristiina Kraus, Andres Aljaste, Ahto Kruusmann, Simon Jay, Carola Madis and Silver Laas were in the jury panel that selected these 20 songs among 217 submitted songs.

“Eesti Laul 2023” – Recap

  • ERR has received 217 submissions for the Estonian national selection ”Eesti Laul 2023”.
  • The songs will be heard for the first time in a special ETV program on December 2
  • 10 songs will compete in each one of the 2 semi-finals. 6 of them will qualify for the final from each semi-final.
  • The results of each show will be determined by 2 rounds. In the first round, by a combination of 50% jury vote and 50% public vote. In the second round, the results will be determined by the public vote.
  • The dates for “Eesti Laul 2023” are:
    • Semi-Final 1: Thursday, 12th January 2023
    • Semi-Final 2: Saturday, 14th January 2023
    • Grand Final: Saturday, 11th February 2023
  • The semi-finals will take place in Viimsi Artium
  • The final will be held at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn.

Germany will officially announce plans for Eurovision 2023 on Wednesday, around 12:00 local time:

Italian magazine 𝐐𝐔𝐈 𝖾𝖽 𝐎𝐑𝐀 𝖭𝖾𝗐𝗌 published their betting over “Sanremo 2023” participants:

The Dutch broadcaster  AVROTROS announced the artist for Eurovision 2023:
Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper were internally selected

The person behind the pairing is Eurovision 2019 winner Duncan Laurence.
Duncan Laurence and songwriter Jordan Garfiel approached them and suggested submitting a song for Eurovision 2023. The 4 musicians created a song together that impressed the professional committee and ended up selecting them for Eurovision 2023

It seems their song will be named “Chasing Heighs“, following the credit on the GEMA database:

Mia raised a mini-scandel, stating in her story in May that in 6 months (November) she will have a huge announcement:

Following reports on local MGP podcasts and the president of OGAE Norway, it seems almost certain that the beloved Ulrikke will compete at “Melodi Grand Prix 2023″

She previously won the “Melodi Grand Prix 2020” and should have represented Norway at Eurovision 2022, before it was canceled.

  1. “Melodi Grand Prix 2023” will include 3 semi-finals and a grand final. They will be broadcastered each Saturday:
    • Semi-Final 1 – 14th of January 2023
    • Semi-Final 2 – 21st of January 2023
    • Semi-Final 3 – 28th of January 2023
    • Final – 4th of February 2023
  2. Among the rumored artists, we will be able to find Ulrikke (“MGP 2020” winner) and KEiiNO (“MGP 2019” winners).
  3. Trondheim Spektrum is rumored to be the arena for the shows

Romanian broadcaster, TVR, will probably open a submission window for “Selecția Națională 2023” next week.

The 6 members of the professional jury in the auditions of “Una Voce Per San Marino 2023” are:

Maurizio Raimo –  Manager and Record Producer

Domenico Gallotti – Music publisher and record label owner

Emilio Munda – Producer, composer and songwriter

Domenico “Mimmo” Paganelli – Independent producer, music consultant and artistic director 

Andrea Mei – composer, keyboardist, producer of Italian and foreign artists

Roberto Costa – Bassist, phonicist, arranger and producer

Currently, auditions are still being held


As we have reported earlier, the submission window for Serbian selection will close on the 15th of November 2022.
The Hurricane band, who represented the country at Eurovision 2021 disbanded.
However, the founder of the band is running the band with 3 different members.
They have submitted a song for selection!

The song titles of “Benidorm Fest 2023” were published:

  1. Agoney – “Quiero arder” (I want to burn)
  2. Alice Wonder – “Yo quisiera” (I would like)
  3. Alfred García – “Desde que tú estás” (Since you are)
  4. Aritz Arén – “Flamenco”
  5. Blanca Paloma – “Eaea”
  6. E’Femme – “Uff!”
  7. Famous – “La Lola”
  8. Fusa Nocta – “Mi familia” (My family)
  9. José Otero – “Invierno en Marte” (Winter on Mars).
  10. Karmento – “Quiero y duelo” (I want to and I hurt)
  11. Megara – “Arcadia” (Arcade)
  12. Meler – “No nos moverán” (They won’t move us)
  13. Rakky – “Tracción” (Betrayal)
  14. Siderland – “Que esclati tot” (Let everything explode)
  15. Sharonne – “Aire” (Air)
  16. Sofía Martín – “Tuki”
  17. Twin Melody – “Sayonara” (Goodbye)
  18. Vicco – “Nochentera” (The Entire Night)

“Benidorm Fest 2023” – Recap

  1. The festival will include two semi-finals and a grand final.
  2. The shows will be held on the 31st of January, the 2nd of February, and the 4th of February 2023.
  3. This means that Spain will probably be one of the first countries to reveal its song for Eurovision 2023
  4. 16 artists will be shortlisted to participate. 8 artists will compete in each semi-final, and 4 of them will qualify for the final.
  5. Despite the Eurovision fans’ reviews, the results method will remain the same as it was for 2022. The results will be determined by combining a 50% professional jury, 25% dermoscopic jury, and 25% public vote.
  6. The festival will take place at the Palau d’Esports L’Illa in Benidorm
  7. Mónica Naranjo and Inés Hernand will host the festival.
  8. The results will be determined by:
    • National professional jury = 30%
    • International professional jury = 20%
    • Public vote = 25%
    • Demoscophic vote = 25%

Swedish website Aftonbaldet adds more names to the rumored artists for “Melodifestivalen 2023“:

#1. Emil Henrohn

Emil Henrohn is a 25 year old Swedish TikTok star. He made his breakthrough earlier this year with several viral clips on TikTok. “Melodifestivalen” was one of his dreams for a long time, and he will fulfill it this year.

In the meantime, you can listen to one of his releases:

#2. Theoz

Theoz is a 17 years old Swedish Tik-Tok star. In 2022, he participated in “Melodifestivalen” with the song “Som du vill“. He finished 4th in semi-final 1, and therefore didn’t qualify for the final.

#3. Marcus & Martinus

Marcus & Martinus are 20 years old Norwegian twin duo.
According to Aftonbladet, SVT has shown an interest in the duo since 2016.
Earlier in 2022, they won the Swedish “Maksed Singer“.

You can listen to one of their songs:

#4. Melanie Wehbe

Melanie Wehbe is a 30 year old singer-songwriter.
She has never competed at the “Melodifestivalen” as a performer.
However, she was involved as a song writer for the following:

  • The Mamas – “Move” (2020) – 1st place
  • Julia Alfride – “Rich” (2021) – eliminated in semi-final
  • Patrick Jean – “Tears Run Dry” (2021) – eliminated in second chance round
  • Lina Hedlund – “Victorious” (2019) – ended 11th in the final
  • Angelino – “The End” (2022) – eliminated in semi-final
  • Manda – “Glow” (2014) – eliminated in semi-final

According to rumors, she will also compete as a songwriter to another song in the contest.

You can watch her live performance of her recent song on SVT:

#5. Smash Into Pieces

Smash Into Pieces is an alternative rock band.
The band was formed in 2008 and has already released 7 studio albums.
Benjamin Jennebo, the guitarist of the band, composed Victor Crone‘s song for “Melodifestivalen 2020″ – “Troubled Waters”.
This will be their debut in “Melodifestivalen”.

Let’s listen to one of their songs:

#6. Panetoz

Panetoz band will probably return for the 3rd time to “Melodifestivalen”.
They broke through in 2012 with the song “Dansa pausa”.
In 2014, they competed in “Melodifestivalen 2014″ with “Efter Solsken” and finished 9th in the final:

In 2016, they competed with the song “Håll om mig hårt” and finished 8th in the final:

They are joining the former names:

  1. Wiktoria Johansson
  2. Nordman
  3. Loulou LaMotte (The Mamas)
  4. Anders Bagge – not confirmed

Ukrainian public can vote for their favorite candidates to be part of the jury in “Vidbir 2023“.
According to the broadcaster, at least 3 candidates will be chosen.


The leading candidates are:

  1. Jamala (Eurovision 2016 winner)
  2. Tina Karok (Eurovision 2006)
  3. Zlata Ognevich (Eurovision 2013)
  4. Kateryna Pavlenko (the lead singer of Go_A, Eurovision 2020-2021)
  5. Julia Sanina (the lead singer of “The Hardkiss” – participated in “Vidbir 2016“)
  6. Mykhailo Khoma – Ukrainian singer-songwriter, actor and film director
  7. Kostyantyn Tomilchenko – art director of Ukrainian acts at Eurovision
  8. Taras Topolia – rock and pop singer

You may also like:

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Around the Continent 2023: Week 27

Georgia: Listen to Eurovision 2023 Entry – “Echo” by Iru

Doron Lahav

Doron Lahav is 28 years old guy who lives in Israel. Doron watches Eurovision Song Contest since early 2000s. Doron works as a Data Scientist and also shows interest in singing and writing.

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