BELGIUM

Loïc Nottet is ready and all set to represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. His self-written song received very good reviews so far. The only big question mark still is: what will his performance look like in the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna? “The act will be something very bright, minimalistic and pure, clean, with some robotic movements. There will be surprises for sure,” says the 19-year-old singer.

Just like The Netherlands last year (who ended up second in the final), Belgium will go for “the big surprise act” on stage. No one, except for Loïc’s entourage, knows how the Belgian performance in the first semifinal on the 19th of May will look. Nevertheless, according to experts and fans, Loïc has a big chance to go to the final on the 23rd of May. Although Loïc doesn’t want to speculate, his latest appearance on The Voice Belgique has blown everyone away.

“My act on The Voice Belgique will inspire what I will do on the Eurovision Song Contest but my performance in Vienna will also be very different. I am going to keep it simple but modern with new technologies. It’s going to be something new for Eurovision,” tells Loïc, “I will only have support from 5 backing vocals. ‘Rhythm Inside’ is a really complicated song and I need a lot of voices to back me up. The main rule on the contest is that all the vocals in the song should be sang live. Another rule is that only 6 people are allowed on stage,” Nottet explains.

Also Loïc’s look remains a big mystery. Loïc can only reveal that he will be dressed by the Belgian fashion label ‘Les Hommes’ on the red carpet in Vienna. His suit will be mainly black with an edge, but yet very refreshing. Loïc will arrive on the 10th of May in Vienna to prepare himself for his biggest challenge so far.

GERMANY

The stage is her life. This fact was proven by Ann Sophie at the beginning of March in the ESC preliminary decision in Hanover, and is noticeable in every second that the 24-year-old singer spends performing. Born in London and raised in Hamburg, this full-blooded musician has tried all artistic directions. As a child, Ann Sophie developed a deep passion for singing, inspired by her idols Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. After finishing school, she moved to New York. By day, she studied at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute; by night, she enchanted audiences as a singer at various trendy live clubs. Full of ambition after returning to Hamburg in 2013, Ann Sophie completed a self-produced demo album, toured through German venues, and was soon discovered for the ESC.

Music means everything to this singer-songwriter. All of her self-composed and self-written songs are one hundred percent Ann Sophie. “I can only write about things I’ve experienced myself and what I feel. Most of my songs happen completely subconsciously – I play random melodies on the piano and write words to them. It’s very exciting to find things out about myself that I may not have been aware of before. The great art is letting go and being guided entirely by your emotions.” On her ESC contribution “Black Smoke”, Ann Sophie shows that she understands her craft. Carried by her captivating, emotive voice, she manages the balance between neo-soulful passion and rocking power, between vulnerability, drama, and a dash of pop wickedness. “The song describes a situation that many of us are familiar with: being in a long-term relationship and eventually realising that too many wishes have gone unfulfilled and you just can’t be together anymore.”

“Black Smoke” is a daring play of light and shadow. “I love the contrast between dark and light. There’s both light and darkness in every single one of us. Many people can’t accept that. You shouldn’t see your dark sides as something negative, but as something complementary. One can’t exist without the other.”

Ann Sophie’s motto: always stay true to yourself and trust in fate. With a whole lot of confidence and an unmistakable voice, she wants to continue on her path that knows only one goal: to reach the very top.

The first step on the way will hopefully be at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Saturday 23/05. All fingers and toes are crossed!

Ann’s website is available at:www.annsophiemusic.com

HUNGARY

This year Boggie will represent Hungary at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest with the peace anthem ‘Wars for Nothing’. As part of the promotion of this song, Boggie is inviting fans to join in her flashmob tour of Europe. Her tour commenced in Budapest where her video was filmed and will end in Vienna on 5 May. Already Boggie has visited Amsterdam, Berlin and Stockholm and will continue over coming days in London, Paris and Rome.

“It is a very exciting mission and of course great fun to play music on the most beautiful squares of Europe together with my friend Milán Szakonyi who will also stand on stage with me in Vienna. Nevertheless, this action also has a deeper meaning. While I sing this song, I sing it for and in the name of many of us. To perform it together with strangers and the fact that people are willing to become part of it, is a great symbol of the need for unity and of course for the power of music. I cannot wait to stand on the Eurovision stage in Vienna but until then I want to spread my song and its message as far as I can”, Boggie explains.

Follow Boggie’s flashmob tour on her official Facebook page.

Boggie will perform in the first semi-final on Tuesday 19 May 2015.

MALTA

Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) – Malta presented “WARRIOR”, Malta’s entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, together with the music video on Monday 9th March 2015 at Creativity Hub, in G’Mangia, Malta.

The song “Warrior” is about dealing with the challenges we have to face in life and having the strength to overcome obstacles. The video is faithful to the lyrics and interprets the song by turning a negative mood into a positive attitude. It presents Amber living her memories and shows how she comes out triumphant over the challenges she faced in her past.

Despite the fact that the video does not have a shooting script, the concept was to create an aspect of mystery, always bringing the past into the present. It was made to visually complement the song whilst adding to its already powerful nature. The visual elements progress in a way that suits the song rather than in a chronological manner, and therefore leave “Warrior” centre stage.

A lot of care and attention was put into the rigging of the special effects. Rigging had to be totally invisible to the viewer. Given the fact that items were being smashed, there was no capacity for retakes. One of those moments of tension was capturing in a single shot the letting go of the chandelier!

“Working on the music video is definitely an unforgettable experience. The song is the star in the music video. The mystery and darkness represented in the environment are defeated by the will and the strength of the “Warrior” living inside me”, expressed Amber totally excited after viewing the finished video for the first time.

The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Vienna in May. The first semi-final will take place on Tuesday 19th May. Malta will compete in the first half of the second semi-final on Thursday 21st May. The Grand Final of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest is on Saturday 23rd May.

SLOVENIA

The Slovenian duo Maraaya, comprising singer Marjetka and producer Raay, will represent Slovenia at this year’s 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna after winning the EMA/Evrovizija final in February. Their song ‘Here for You’ has already been a huge success at home, hitting #1 on Slovenia’s iTunes chart.

Slovenia’s national broadcaster RTVSLO has confirmed that Marjetka will be wearing a white dress in Vienna, but the style of the dress is still to be decided. Marjetka wore a white dress on the night of the EMA final and wears a white dress in the song’s official video. Let’s hope white turns to a golden win in Vienna.

Filming of this year’s “postcards” by the European Broadcasting Union and Austria’s ORF is well underway and will build on this year’s motto “Building Bridges”. These short clips will be shown before each song at the Contest. Clips begin with the contestants receiving an invitation to one of the nine regions in Austria (Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol, Carinthia, Salzburg, Vorarlberg and Burgenland). Contestants will then tour the region, passing by landmarks, natural beauties and other places of interest in order to find their way to Vienna. Each postcard will also have a theme such as culture, sport and science.

Slovene duo Marjetka Vovk and Aleš Vovk (“Raay”) (aka Maraaya) have recently completed the filming of their postcard – below are a couple of pictures from the shoot.

Maraaya perform their song, Here for You, in the second semi-final, Thursday, May 21.

ICELAND

Last Friday, March 13, María Ólafsdóttir and composer trio, StopWaitGo, premiered their official video for Iceland’s Eurovision 2015 entry, Unbroken. The new video was directed and produced by IRIS Films (Andri Páll Alfreðsson, Jakob Gabríel Þórhallson, and Jónas Bragi Þórhallsson), and choreographed by Stella Rósenkranz.

Parts of the video were filmed in an old cement factory in Akranes, West Iceland. Other scenes were filmed in Korpúlfsstaðir in Reykjavík, once the country’s largest dairy farm.

Since María won the Icelandic Eurovision Grand Prix in February, she and the StopWaitGo team have been working on the song and the act. Some minor changes have been made to the arrangement, and national final runner-up, Friðrik Dór, has joined the backing vocals team. Eurovision diva, Hera Björk has also joined the group as vocal coach and backing vocal, and two times Eurovision contestant, Selma Björnsdóttir will choreograph the act.

María performs the song, Unbroken, on the stage in Wiener Stadthalle in the second semi-final, Thursday, May 21.

SAN MARINO

San Marino’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was born from an intuition which comes from the Junior Eurovision. It all starts from the idea of having two young and beautiful singers on stage together: Anita Simoncini & Michele Perniola, both former Junior Eurovision artists for San Marino and both very young. The idea came to light right after the Junior Eurovision in Malta and we all immediately thought, it’s a strong idea. They already hold a record: they’re the youngest couple and Anita is the first artist taking part to both competition in a row.At that point, we just needed the song so we asked some European authors, producers, record companies to send us songs. We trusted to receive quality and to be able to choose the best for the two youngsters. In the end we chose ‘Chain of Light’, by Ralph Siegel & John O’Flynn, simply because it was the best song for Anita & Michele and they loved it.

Anita strongly believes in the message of unity and cooperation conveyed by “Chain of lights”, the song she and her friend Michele Perniola will perform in Vienna. “When I sing ‘We’ve only got one life, so let’s try to make our dreams survive’ I really mean it, because I think there’s nothing more important in life than pursuing our dreams; giving up is not an option”, she said.”I wish our lights will illuminate the darkness of souls and minds, restoring faith and hope in Europe and the rest of the world. What we really need to understand is that we are able to shape the future at our own discretion and we have to do it remembering the importance of harmony and mutual respect, no matter where we come from”. But most of all she is very curious and more than happy to represent her home country San Marino at the “Eurovision Song Contest 2015” in Vienna. Definitely, she will have another great experience in Vienna and hopefully a successful time with a lucky result!

I really feel privileged to represent the Republic of San Marino in the most extraordinary event in Europe. I’m only 16 and only 18 months have passed since I had my debut in Europe in the Junior Eurovision, thanks to San Marino RTV. This is the reason why the Republic of San Marino has become my second homeland and I’ll give my best to honor this amazing country. 

I’m really happy for what is happening now, it’s like living on a dream but most of all I am happy for all those who believed in me since the beginning. 
Now, you just have to follow us in Vienna and light a candle for me and Anita during our performance (maybe you’d better use your smartphone!); we only imagine it, you can help us realize our biggest dream!

It is more than a great honour to represent San Marino for the fourth time in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna – with the remarkable youngest Duet in ESC History – Anita Simoncini & Michele Perniola – together 32 years old.
 John O’Flynn (lyrics) and me are more than happy that they, as well as the Executives from San Marino RTV, have chosen our song ‘Chain of Lights’.
 The demo version was over 4 minutes long, but it had to be three minutes. After hearing it, Anita and Michele loved the song and the idea immediately. They took a flight to Munich and we worked together until everybody was satisfied. They even flew back and forth to re-record the changes in the lyrics and music for this ESC version. San Marino RTV decided to send ‘Chain of lights’ to Vienna and we all hope that people around the world will like it and wish to make a ‘Chain of Lights’ for peace and understanding.Good luck Anita!
Good luck Michele!

Anita Simoncini
Anita Simoncini was born on April, 14th 1999 in San Marino and lives in Montegiardino, the smallest municipality of the country, surrounded by the loving presence of her parents, little brother and two older twin sisters. She is successfully attending the second year of high school with linguistic specialization in the capital of the Republic, studying English, French and German.Music has always played a key role in her life and she has always enjoyed singing in her spare time, especially doing homework or in the bathtub; she just loved to turn on the radio and sing along with her favorite artists, as every natural talent does.She started doing it professionally at the age of 7 years old in the context of the children choir organized by “Fausto Giacomini”, teacher at San Marino’s music institute “Istituto Musicale Sammarinese”. Since 2014, she has been attending singing lessons to improve her skills with her mentor Linda Hermes and “Augusto Ciavatta” at the “Voice Academy” in San Marino.She represented her country in the “Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014” in Malta as a member of the girl group “The Peppermints” with the song “Breaking My Heart”, with the support of Beatrice Simoncini, one of her older sisters, who has become her manager since. They performed third in the final, placed 15th and achieving 21 points. “Junior Eurovision” being the crucial point of her career, she loves to define it as one of the best times of her life.Besides singing, she also has a passion for ballet, which she started practicing at the age of 4 years old at “Attitude Centro Danza” in San Marino. She loves reading and writing, as well as going out with her best friends and travelling around the world with her grandma to experience the wonders of foreign cultures. She also loves animals of every species; therefore, she is also a vegetarian.

Her musical taste is very varied. She loves listening to soft rock bands, like Coldplay, but also into metal bands, like Linkin Park. She loves artists like Radiohead, Nirvana, Beyoncé and Etta James, as well as dancing to the rhythms of DJs performing in the context of a more electronic perspective on music.

Michele Perniola
Michele Perniola was born on September 6, 1998 in Palagiano in the province of Taranto, Italy, where he lives with his parents and two younger sisters and where he attends the second grade of Accounting High School “G.M. Sforza”.

His early interest in music was founded by his musician father. From the age of 9 he attended school of classic ballet and took singing lessons. In late 2012 he rose to the national fame with his performances in “Ti lascio una canzone”, the popular RAI 1 TV contest for the under 15. He was rewarded by both jury and TV audience, being labeled as “The Italian Michael Jackson”. He performed Jackson’s songs, among others “Billie Jean” “Man in the Mirror”, “Beat It” and “Earth Song”, performing duets with established Italian Eurovision Stars such as “Al Bano” and “Raf”. On December 1, 2012 he won the sixth edition of the talent show, getting 43% of the total votes.

After the show Michele has given series of concerts in his region, and in spring he toured the United States together with other participants of “Ti lascio una canzone”.

Michele has been chosen internally by San Marino RTV for their debut in the “Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013” in Kyiv with the song “O-o-O Sole intorno a me” (O-o-O Sunlight all around me) which is Michele’s first single release. He co-wrote this song together with his producer and vocal coach Antonello Carozza.

“I am very happy to had the opportunity to participate at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013, it’s was a terrific experience” he said; “but now I am more than happy to be part of the amazing event of the “Eurovision Song Contest 2015” in Vienna and to represent San Marino in the biggest music competition from all over Europe.

About the composer
Ralph Siegel
Ralph Siegel, a native of Munich, was born on September 30, 1945 – shortly after the end of World War II. His father was a composer and lyricist, his mother an opera singer – no wonder that Ralph began dedicating his life to music at a very early age.

At 13, he started taking lessons in harmony and composition and, at the same time, studied various instruments such as piano, accordion, guitar and drums. After graduation, he spent some years in Paris, Nashville and New York in order to learn the trade and then came back to his hometown of Munich, starting his professional career at the age of 20. Ever since, he has been busy as composer, lyricist, producer and publisher.

Ralph himself has written more than 2,000 recorded songs and hit the Top 100 Charts more than 100 times. Many of his compositions have reached top chart positions worldwide. As well as: Eurovision Song Contest winner 1982 (“A Little Peace” with Nicole). He was 19 times in the Final – with hits such as “Theater” (Second in Den Haag), “Johnny Blue” (Second in Dublin), “Let The Sunshine in Your Heart” (Second in Brussels), “Journey to Jerusalem – Kudüs’e Seyahat”, (Third in Jerusalem) “We’re giving a Party” (Third in Dublin), “Genghis Khan” (Fourth in Jerusalem).

Music was my life since I was born and I thank all the people around me, who still give me their heart, support, knowledge, power, goodwill and motivation to go on. Thank you San Marino, thank you Anita and Michele and thank you ESC!