DENMARK 🇩🇰
Two members of the jury who will help to determine the acts competing in the radio semi-finals of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2020 have been revealed. James Benedict Thomas and Bryan Rice have revealed that they are members of the jury for DR P4’s semi-finals for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2019. The two will be part of a jury of nine music professionals that will select nine songs to be played on DR P4 throughout January 2020. The songs will be voted on by the listeners, with the top three advancing to the final of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.
GEORGIA 🇬🇪
Georgian Idol kicks off on October 26th and GPB revealed information about the format of the show. After the auditions phase we will be watching in the first shows, a total of 10 candidates will be participating in the live shows. So the 10 candidates who will fight will be the winner who will represent the country in Rotterdam. Subsequently, the GPB Special Committee will be responsible for both the selection of the song and the overall preparations until May (recording of the song, filming of the official music video, stage presence in Rotterdam, choreography, marketing, costume etc.).
RUSSIA 🇷🇺
Dima Bilan, the winner of Eurovision 2008, has told Russian media that he wishes to return to the contest for a third time. Speaking on ‘Alena, blin’, Dima Bilan has expressed an interest in representing Russia for a third time at the Eurovision Song Contest.
GERMANY 🇩🇪
Sandro Nicolas is a rising artist of Greek descent, making a career in Germany. An Instagram Story by Linnea Deb, who herself shared through the recording studio, makes us suspect that the Greek descent performer will try his hand at the German national final for the Eurovision Song Contest.
IRELAND 🇮🇪
In April 1994, Michael Flatley, Jean Butler and their talented group of dancers took to the Eurovision stage in Dublin as that year’s interval act. What would follow would become another iconic moment in the contest’s history, and the competition birthed another international sensation in unlikely circumstances. Now, 25 years on from that performance, the Irish dance phenomenon is marking the milestone with an international tour of the stage show that was born a year later at the Point Theatre in the Irish capital.
ISRAEL 🇮🇱
Lion Rosenberg (+ Shmonim VeMashehu Band), Shira, Ohad Shragai and Judah Gavra are reported by local press that participated in the auditions for THE NEXT STAR, the show through which Israel will desire its representative for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest.
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
The ARIA Awards — Australia’s answer to the Grammy Awards — arrive every fall amid plenty of hype. And this year several Eurovision acts have landed nominations, putting them front and centre in the country’s competitive music industry. Jessica Mauboy, Guy Sebastian and Electric Fields land prestigious nominations in Australia.
THE NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱
He is one of the hottest DJs on the planet and a hit-making machine. But, Dutch producer Martin Garrix has shot down the idea of him representing the Netherlands at Eurovision. In an interview with Dutch website AD.nl, the “Animals” DJ confirms that he has no desire to represent his home country in Rotterdam. “That ain’t gonna work, man”, he says. However, Martin still finds good things to say, comparing the contest to soccer: “I like it, though, it brings a country together — just like soccer.”
SWEDEN 🇸🇪
Renaida Braun, the always-smiley singer who gave us “All the Feels” at Melodifestivalen 2018, has revealed that she’s battling cancer. Speaking on Instagram, she said: “It’s been a long time since I was here on Instagram, and I’ll tell you why. It’s because I got sick. I have cancer. Which sucks. So now you know.”