The Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest is tonight, so here's the second of my annual posts. You can see the first here:
Countdown to Eurovision 2024!: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/05/countdown-to-eurovision-2024.html
I ended up watching both semi-finals this year. (Some years I've only watched one, so I didn't hear all the songs beforehand.) The UK could vote in the first one. Here are my favourites from this year. :)
Silia Kapsis- Liar (Cyprus)
Cyprus' song Liar by Silia Kapsis was my favourite entry in the 1st semi-final and I voted for it. It got through to the final.
Silia (full name Vasiliki Silia Kapsis) is an Australian singer with Greek and Cypriot heritage. Her dad Giorgis Kapsis is also a singer. She is one of this year's youngest competitors at 17.
Silia has been lead singer for the Australian Youth Performing Arts Company (AYPAC) and also performed at other events worldwide. She released her debut single Who Am I? in 2022, a song that she wrote and composed when she was only 12 years old. To date she has released 4 more singles- No Boys Allowed, Disco Dancer and Night Out (all during 2023) and Liar, her Eurovision entry.
Silia is also a dancer and actress. Her acting and TV credits include the short film Pearly Gates and appearing in a dance documentary produced by rapper Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas.
Liar was released as a single in February and is an upbeat pop/dance song (one of my favourite types of Eurovision entries!). it's about "people who live in a fake word with a fake script".
For more on Silia visit these links:
Eurovision profile: https://eurovision.tv/participant/silia-kapsis-2024
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silia_kapsis/
Fan of Cyprus in Eurovision? Check out these posts:
Eleni Foureira's Fuego was my favourite in 2018's contest (scroll down): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/05/selection-of-eurovision-songs.html
In 2022 I liked Ela by Andromache: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/05/eurovision-2022-favourites.html
TALI- Fighter (Luxembourg)
My second favourite in the first semi-final was Luxembourg's TALI with Fighter. 2024 is actually the first time in 31 years that Luxembourg has entered Eurovision! The song qualified for the final, so it's a nice return for them.
TALI (full name Tali Golergant) is a performer, vocal coach and music teacher. She was born in Israel, and has a Peruvian Jewish dad and an Israeli mum. As a child she lived in several countries in South America due to her father's job, before moving to Luxembourg. (I can relate to that, having lived in 4 different countries as a young child!). She currently lives in New York.
TALI released her debut EP Lose You in 2021 and is currently working on her debut album with new band Blue Stripe. She writes her own songs and also acts, mostly in theatre.
Fighter was originally released as a single in January. After TALI won the Luxembourg Song Contest and became the country's ESC entry, the song was revamped and the new version was released on 29th March. It's a mix of French and English, and is about persevering and finding strength, even while going through tough times.
As with Cyprus' Liar (see above) I like the pop/dance vibe of this song. It's got a good message as well.
For more on TALI visit these links:
Eurovision profile: https://eurovision.tv/participant/tali-2024
Official website: https://www.taligolergant.com/
Marina Satti- ZARI (Greece)
One of my faves from the second semi-final was ZARI by Greece's Marina Satti. It also got through, so it will be in the final.
Singer and songwriter Marina is from Greece and has a Greek mum and Sudanese Arab dad. She got a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in America, and went on to found Fonés ("Voices" in English), a women's polyphonic group and CHÓRES, a choir of 200 women which sings traditional Greek songs. She has also represented her country as part of the EBU's Euroradio Jazz Orchestra and been involved in other public performances
Marina's music
combines the different musical traditions that influenced her growing up, such
as Greek, Arabic and Balkan, with pop and urban sounds. She released her debut single Yrgo fili in 2008. Her breakthrough single was Mantissa (Fortune Teller) which came out in 2017. Her other singles include PALI and Ponos Krifos.
In 2022, Marina released her first album YENNA (Birth), which mixed Geek and Balkan influences with hip hop and electronic music.
ZARI was released as a single in March and reached No. 1 in Greece. The title translates as "Die" in English. I like the style of it, something different! People commented on YouTube that Marina's dad died a few weeks ago and that she was ill when she performed, so it must have been hard for her to go ahead. But she did well. :)
For more on Marina visit these links:
Eurovision profile: https://eurovision.tv/participant/marina-satti-2024
haumea magazine article: https://www.haumeamagazine.com/en/13-marina-satti-ponos-krifos-2/
Official site: https://marinasatti.com/
Want more Greece in Eurovision? Visit these posts:
Back in 2013 I included 2005 winner Helena Paparizou's My Number One in the post Eurovision Songs I Like: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2013/05/eurovision-songs-i-like.html
The following year my Eurovision Past and Present post featured the 2008 entry Secret Combination by Kalomira: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2014/05/eurovision-past-and-present.html
Nutsa Buzaladze- Firefighter (Georgia)
I also like Georgia's entry, Firefighter by Nutsa Buzaladze. She was also in the second semi-final and qualified for the final.
Nutsa was born in Tbilisi (the capital of Georgia) but grew up in Turkey. She was involved in music from a young age, being part of a children's choir and plying the piano. In 2011she entered Georgia's Got Talent and went on to enter more song contests, including New Wave (which she won aged 17), The Voice of Turkey, All Togethe rNow and American Idol.
Fun fact: She has collaborated with Turkish Belgian singer Hadise. who was Turkey's 2009 Eurovision entry with Dum Tek Tek. Hadise was also Nutsa's coach on The Voice Turkey.
In 2019 Nutsa released her debut album under the name Nutsa22, which contained Georgian and English songs. It was popular but her career really took off after the release of the single Gvirilebi (Chammoiles). She went on to tour Georgia with a live band. After living in Los Angeles for a bit, she's currently based in Dubai.
Firefighter was released as a single in March. It's a powerful pop song and I like the music in the dance breakdown.
For more on Nutsa visit these links:
Eurovision profile: https://eurovision.tv/participant/nutsa-buzaladze-2024
Official site: https://nutsaofficial.com/
And here are a couple of other songs I liked:
Mustii- Before The Party's Over (Belgium): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNIemQwCaM4
This song was in the second semi-final. I wasn't sure if I'd like this when it first started but then when it got further in, it grew on me. It's quite a powerful song, with a rousing chorus. It didn't make the final though, which is a shame for Mustii.
LADANIVA- Jako (Armenia): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0sefiNLP_E
As well as the pop and dance songs, I also like "ethnic" ones which showcase the culture. Armenia's LADANVIA (made up of Armenian vocalist Jacklin Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas) combine traditional Balkan melodies with maloya (a type of music that originated on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean), jazz and reggae in their music, which makes a unique mix! They qualified, so youll be seeing them again tonight. :)
Hope you enjoyed the post! :) If you're watching Eurovision who is your favourite this year?
The Eurovision Grand Final is tonight at 8pm BST/9pm CEST. In the UK it will be shown on BBC1.
Keep up with all things ESC on the official site: https://eurovision.tv/
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