Friday, April 27, 2018

Spain - Tu Canción - Amaia y Alfred

cdsingle
23 - 61 pts, not in semi

Spanish broadcaster TVE revived the good old Operación Triunfo to select this years Eurovision star.
The last five contestants had 9 songs among them (incl. duets) from which the Eurovision entry was chosen.
Alfred Garcia & Amaia Romero won the Eurovision Gala with their duet Tu Canción (Your song), written by Raul Gomez Garcia  and Sylvia Ruth Santoro Lopez.

The song was released as a digital track (see below) and on several Operacion Triunfo CDs (see below)
A new version announced as Version Definitiva was recorded for Eurovision. (Listen here)
This version was released as a 1-track cdsingle on March 23. It comes in a digipack sleeve with a small booklet with lyrics, pictures and info. Nice! (Universal 0602567489382).
The promo issue is different from the original release, it comes in a fold-out sleeve without tray.

An English version Your Song was released on April 27 (digital)

A week after the Eurovision Gala Amaia Romero went on to win the whole OT competition. Boyfriend and Eurovision partner Alfred Romero finished 4th.

All nine songs from the Eurovision Gala were released on digital platforms on the 29th of Januari. A CD release including all nine Gala songs is out since February 23 (see OT CD's below)
You can listen to all the songs here (you'll need Spotify).

English version DRI
Versions
Tu Canción - Version definitiva (ESC version)
- cdsingle
Tu Canción - original OT version
- various OT CDs, see below
Your Song - English version
- digital release
Tu Canción - live
- CD/DVD El Concierto
Tu Canción - karaoke (= instrumental)
- On the official karaoke album (digital)



OT CD's
Alfred's Revista + CD
All entries from the Eurovision Gala are released on a Deluxe 2CD on February 23. It has one CD Lo mejor (2ª Parte) with more highlights from the show (incl. a cover of Quedate Conmigo) and a second CD with all 9 songs from the Eurovision selection. (see full tracklist at the end of this post). The Deluxe edition also has 16 postcards, everything you always wanted.

Then there are two exclusive magazines (revistas) that each come with a CD.
Alfred García: Sus Canciones (18 tracks) and Amaia Romero: Sus Canciones (19 tracks) both include Tu Canción (the original version).
Alfred's also includes his version of last years Portuguese winner Amar Pelos Dois.
Other contestants Ana Guerra, Miriam and Aitana Ocaña
also have a magazine/CD release.
All magazines were released in Spain on May 9.

The Spanish physical charts of April 15
CDSingles
Tu Cancion was released as a CDsingle on March 23. The preselection song Camina, performed by all OT stars, was also released as a 1-track CDsingle with a calendar for 2018/2019.
On April 6 the 3rd place song Lo Malo by Aitana y Ana Guerra was also released as a cdsingle.
Lo Malo is already the biggest hit of OT 17 so far, outselling the Eurovision entry.

Other CD's with music from the new Operación that were already released are:
Amaia's Revista + CD
- Operación Triunfo 2017: Lo mejor (1ª Parte) was released on December 8 and features highlights from the first shows. It includes Eres Tu (The Spanish 1973 entry, OT live clip here) performed by all contestants.

El Concierto
A live version of Tu Canción can be found on the CD/DVD set El Concierto (Live recording from the Bercelona Palau Sant Jordi concert)

- Operación Triunfo 2017: Duetos was released on December 26. This one features duets from the OT Christmas show. 
- Operación Triunfo 2017: No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti was released on February 2 . This one features love songs to tie in with Valentines day. It includes a coverversion of last years winner Amar Pelos Dois by Alfred García.
- Operación Triunfo 2017: Lo mejor (2ª Parte) is out on February 23. (Single CD and Deluxe 2CD, see above)

On May 4 all Gala's were released on two 7CD box sets.

All CDs are released by Universal Music Spain.

1st Digital release image
Charts
Tu Canción enters the Spanish top 50 charts at #1, but that list is sort of discontinued as the main charts. Now there are three charts: A top 100 including sales and streaming, a top 50 with physical and digital sales and the top 20 with physical only sales.
Spanish top 100: 4, 3, 7, 12, 15, 17, 12, 20, 17, 32, 29, 43, 53, 26, 37, 19, 52, 73, 79, 100, -
Spanish top 50 Physical+Digital singles: 1, 3, 5, 10, 7, 10, 1, 8, 1, 1, 2, 5, 2, 2, 3, 13, 16, 24, 33, 30, 38, 49, 49, -
Spanish Physical singles top 20: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 9, chart discontinued
Links and sources:
Thanks to Frederick.
Amaia Romero: Facebook
Alfred Garcia: Facebook
Operación Triunfo pages
The cdsingle at BeaRecords
Viva España: 2017 -  2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009

Coverversion
It may be a bit cheeky to release a coverversion even before the contest has taken place, but Marina Damer and Carlos Ambros did just that. It was released as a digital single.
Marina Damer already released a coverversion of last years winner Amar Pelos Dois. (more about that here at Eurocovers).

What Is Operación Triunfo?
TVE started Operación Triunfo (OT), a reality show style talent competition, in 2001 to select the 2002 Eurovision entry. The first series was won by Rosa Lopez who went to Eurovision with the song Europe's Living A Celebration. She ended in 7th place in Tallinn. The TV shows, accompanying concerts and CD releases were extremely successful.
The Eurovision entries of 2003 and 2004 were also connected to the OT series but the Eurovision singer were not the winners: Beth (Dime, 8th in 2003) was 3rd in OT and Ramon (Para Llenarme De Ti, 10th in 2004) was 2nd in OT.
In the following five editions the ties between OT and Eurovision were severed but the 2005 runner up Soraya Arnelas went on to represent Spain in the 2009 Moscow Eurovision. Edurne, who was 6th in the 2005 OT went to Eurovision in 2015.
Operación Triunfo died a slow death after the 2011 season but it is revived in 2017/2018.
In 2016 a re-union TV series and concert of the 2001 edition proved that OT still is popular. The TV shows had high ratings and the concert in Barcelona sold out in a few hours (17.000 attended).
The TV series and concert were released on a CD/DVD set OT: El Reencuentro (Universal). This includes a new live version of Europe's Living A Celebration by Rosa López, the Eurovision entry of 2002.

Tracklist CD 2 - Operación Triunfo 2017: Eurovisión
1. Camina - Finalistas de Operación Triunfo 2017
2. Al Cantar - Amaia
3. Arde - Aitana
4. Que Nos Sigan Las Luces - Alfred
5. Lejos De Tu Piel - Miriam
6. El Remedio - Ana Guerra
7. Tu Canción - Amaia y Alfred
8. Lo Malo - Aitana y Ana Guerra
9. Magia - Miriam y Agoney

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Finland - Monsters - Saara Aalto

Digital release image
25 - 46 pts, 10 - 108 pts in semi 2

Monsters is the Finnish Eurovision song for Saara Aalto. It won the UMK final on March 3.
Monsters is written by Saara herself with Joy Deb, Linnea Deb en Ki Fitzgerald (yep! Son Of Scott).

Finland had planned a new edition of their Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) contest to select an entry for Lisbon but later they announced Saara Aalto as the entrant for the 2018 contest.
Saara Aalto had her own UMK pre-selection with three songs: Monsters, Domino and Queens.

The songs were revealed (and released in digital shops) one by one on 9, 16 and 23 February.
Watch and listen here at Saara's Youtube.
The final (still named UMK) was on March 3.

WWW
Saara Aalto has released her new CD album Wild Wild Wonderland on April 27.
The album will also include Domino, Queens and No Fear,
The tracklist is at the end of this page.
Four remixes of Monsters are released on April 20. (see versions below).
The Twilight version was released on April 26 (digital).
There will be no physical single release but a few cd-r's have been dispatched by Warner Music Finland.

A counterfeit, fake, illegal cdsingle has been spotted, don't buy it. No official physical release or promo was made.

Twilight version DRI
Versions
Monsters - single version
- digital release
Monsters - karaoke
- digital on the official karaoke album
Monsters - Initial talk remix
Monsters - Cutmore remix
Monsters - Extended original
Monsters - Cutmore radio edit
- remixes are digital releases
Monsters - Twilight version
- digital release
The Cutmore Radio mix can also be found on the DMC DJ CD DMC Essential Hits 158.
The full Cutmore remix is on the DMC DJ CD DMC Dance Mixes 206.

Charts
After release Monsters initially spent a week at #14 in the Finnish top 20 (IFPI) but it fell out the next week. After the National Final it entered at #15 but fell out again the next week. Domino and Queens failed to chart.
Finnish top 20 (Ifpi): 14, -, 15, -, re:(10 weeks later): 13, -

爱的祝福 (2013)
Runner Up
Some of you may have spotted Saara Aalto in the U.K. X-Factor where she ended 2nd in 2016.
She achieved the same result when she entered the 2012 edition of The Voice Of Finland.
She also entered the Finnish Eurovision selection twice and, you guessed it, ended 2nd on both occasions.
Saara's UMK hits:
2011: Blessed with love (2nd)
2016: No Fear (2nd)
Saara Aalto released five albums.
Check out her 2013 album Ai De Zhu Fu (爱的祝福) for which she recorded songs from her previous CD's in Chinese (Mandarin)! The title track is a version of her 2011 preselection song Blessed With Love. Will Saara be the first Eurovision singer to record her entry in Chinese?

Links and Sources:
Thanks to Nora at Leikki promotion, Thanks to Marek
Saara Aalto: Website, Facebook, Instagram
The NoFear store has Saara Aalto merchandise incl CDs, T-Shirts and even earplugs.
YLE UMK pages
Finlands recent entries: 2017 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009

Out now! The new Saara Aalto album
Wild Wild Wonderland
Tracklist
1. Monsters
2. Hän
3. Dance!!!
4. Queens
5. Half A Heart
6. Dance Like Nobody’s Watching
7. Sirens
8. Don’t Deny Our Love
9. My Touch
10. Walking On Nails
11. Domino
12. Wild Wild Wonderland
13. No Fear (Bonus Track)
(Warner Music Finland 5054197007347)

Monday, April 9, 2018

Romania - Goodbye - The Humans

Lisbon promo cds
11 - 107 pts in semi 2

The Humans won the Romanian Eurovision selection and represented Romania in the Lisbon Eurovision.
Their song, Goodbye, was written by band members Alexandru Matei, Alin Neagoe and Cristina Caramarcu.

Goodbye was released as a digital single on January 12.
Two remixes by Cristian Eberhard were also released. (all through Roton music)
Two promo cds have the single version and the Christian Eberhard remix. The first one comes in a white sleeve with five members on the front, the one used Lisbon comes in a black sleeve and has all six members.
Both promo's have the same number (Roton RO 6608270)

1st Promo cds
Romania selected their entry for Lisbon through a six-night spectacular Selecţia Naţională 2018.
Five pre-rounds, each in a different city, and a final in Bucharest on februari 25.
You can listen to all the songs (60!) here at TVR.

The Humans are a Bucharest based band who released their first single Indura Inima (Hot heart) in 2017.

The Humans are: Cristina Caramarcu, Alexandru Cismaru, Alexandru Matei, Alin Neagoe and Adi Tetrade. For Eurovision they are now joined by Corina Matei.



Remix DRI

Versions
Goodbye - single version
Goodbye - Cristian Eberhard remix
- both on promo cds
Goodbye - Cristian Eberhard extended remix
- digital release
Goodbye - karaoke
- digital on the official karaoke album




1st Digital release image
Links and sources:
Special thanks to Ioana at Roton Music.
Thanks to Krzysztof, to Alexander and to Pablo.
The Humans: Facebook, Instagram
TVR Eurovision pages
Romania's recent Eurovision gems:
2017 -  2016 (out) - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011
2010 - 2009

Friday, April 6, 2018

Montenegro - Inje - Vanja Radovanović

Promo, picture from Vanja's Facebook.
16 - 40 pts in semi 2

Inje (rime, poem) by Vanja Radovanović is the Montenegran entry for the 2018 contest.
Vanja wrote the song himself.
Listen and watch here at RTCG (song starts at 0:45) or here at Eurovision.tv

The Montenegran selection Montevizija took place on Februari 17.
5 songs were in the running.

The digital single was released on April 6

Vanja shared a picture of the promo CD, so there's that to look out for.
It includes the Eurovision version, karaoke, video and photoset.
There's also a USB card with similar content.


Vanja Radovanović (Вања Радовановић) has released (at least) two albums: Pričaj Dodirom  (Talk by touching, 2008) and Svi Životi Moji (All my life, 2016)

Digital release image
In 2006 Vanja Radovanović entered the semi final of Beovizija, the infamous Serbia-Montenegro selection for Eurovision that in the end didn't produce a Eurovision entry.
His song Kad Me Jednom Za Te Ne Bude (If I'm not the one for you) ended 21st (out of 23) in the first semi. The song was released on the Beovizija 2006 CD (RTS 415784)


Versions
Inje - single version
- digital release
Inje - karaoke
- digital on the official karaoke album

Links and sources
Vanja Radovanović: Facebook
RTCG
Montenegro in Eurovision: 2017 -  2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2009 

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Ireland - Together - Ryan O'Shaughnessy

Digital Release Image
16 - 136 pts, 6 - 179 pts in semi 1

Ryan O'Shaughnessy participated for Ireland in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
Ryan  wrote the song Together together with Marc Caplice and Laura Elisabeth Hughes.
The song was revealed on March 9.
Watch and listen here.

The digital single was released on April 3.

Ryan O'Shaughnessy is a Britain's Got Talent and Voice Of Ireland contestant. His debut single No Name was a top 3 hit in Ireland and also went to 31 on the U.K. charts.
His debut mini album Ryan O'Shaughnessy was a No. 1 in the Irish album charts in 2012 and went to No. 9 in the U.K..
He released his first full length album Back To Square One in 2016.

And if you thought his name sounds familiar, Ryan's uncle Gary O'Shaughnessy represented Ireland in 2001.

Versions
Together - single version
- digital release
Together - karaoke
- digital on the official karaoke album
2016 album Back to square one

Charts
Ireland top 100 (IRMA) : 17, 79
France top 200 (Ifop): 168
Spain Physical+Digital sales top 50: 46

Links and sources: 
Ryan O'Shaughnessy: Website (new link),  Facebook, Instagram
More entries from Ireland: 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009