BIRTHDAY: José Cid from Portugal is 77 today I mention from time to time that we love someone who tries. Even though they’ll never be the continent’s favourite. Often through no fault of their own. Actually, today’s birthday boy did really well for his native Portugal, and his […]
BIRTHDAY: Willeke Alberti from the Netherlands is 74 today It’s always hoped that a good song, a popular song, will score well. Especially if it’s well-performed by a seasoned singer who can turn their hand to anything. Eurovision attracts singers of all ages, and it’s good to see […]
BIRTHDAY: Dana International from Israel is 47 today It’s winner time! Yeah, winner time! You know the ones. They scored more points than the countries they were up against. Except in one instance. But that’s another story. Plenty of countries have won more than once, and some have […]
BIRTHDAY: Hersi from Albania is 29 today Are you from a country that’s never won our favourite TV show? How do you feel? Do you think that [at least] one of your songs should have won, so we can see the delights of what your capital city has […]
BIRTHDAY: Helena Paparizou from Greece is 37 today People win the contest. From time to time anyway. There could be some contests where no song should have won, and the EBU should have told them to go away and try harder next year. But winners we have, and […]
BIRTHDAY: Dries Holten from the Netherlands is 83 today We have our fair share of ballads, floor-fillers and other songs with very carefully crafted lyrics, designed to reel in the casual voter and make them decide that melody is the best. Or, you could bounce onto stage, wear […]
BIRTHDAY: Liam Reilly from Ireland is 64 today I mentioned yesterday that songs had certain themes. Usually involving love. And, thankfully, very rarely about domestic abuse. But there are certain get outs you can use if you’re stuck as a song-writer. That’s why today’s song uses one of […]
BIRTHDAY: András Kállay-Saunders from Hungary is 34 today Isn’t it always the way that most songs have themes running through them. Falling in love, falling out of love, tributes, those sorts of things. Occasionally, we get a sing that’s a bit darker. Very dark in fact. It has […]
BIRTHDAY: Jaana Pelkonen from Finland is 42 today What’s this? A birthday and it isn’t a singer? Well we like to mix things up a little sometimes. So we’ve picked a presenter. Jaana did her stuff in Finland in 2007. She wasn’t alone – only Swedes do that […]
BIRTHDAY: Gary Lux from Austria is 60 today Legend is a word used way too much these days. Someone can spend three minutes on a stage, sing a song in a mediocre stylee and be given the title ‘legend’. It’s usually accompanied by the line “the real winner […]