Austria - Teya & Salena - Who The Hell Is Edgar?

15 - 120 pts / 2 - 137 pts in semi 2

Teya & Salena are chosen to sing for Austria in the 2023 contest.

Teya and Salena met at the Starmania 21 talent show and have been friends ever since. That's nice.

The song is titled Who The Hell Is Edgar? and was revealed and released on March 8. The titular Edgar refers to the mystery writer and poet Edgar Allen Poe, or at least his ghost.

The song is written by Teodora Spirić (Teya), Selina-Maria Edbauer (Salena) , Ronald Janeček and Pele Loriano, so they'll have to split the 0.003 per stream cent 4-ways.

I think the lyrics are brilliant, best experienced when you watch the video.

Teodora Spirić participated in the Serbian selection in 2020 (as Thea Devy). She ended 10th in the final with Sudnji Dan, a song that she had also entered for consideration to be the Austrian entry, but in English as Judgement day. But, as you know, there was no Eurovision Song Contest anyway.

We know songwriter Pele Loriano from Switzerland 2010, Lithuania 2019 and Austria 2020 (from the contest that never happened).

Who The Hell is he anyway?

Edgar Allen Poe 1809-1949

If you want to know who the hell Edgar is, or rather was, he has a museum and they have a bio on their website here.

Spooky fact: The Edgar Allan Poe museum had to close down because of a power outage on the day that the Austrian entry was revealed. That can't be a coincidence.

It is also rumoured that Poe sometimes visits the museum in his afterlife and there are also claims that he continued writing after his death. Well, he has a facebook page, so that's probably true.

The Vienna Collection

Versions:

Who The Hell Is Edgar? - single version

- digital 8-3

Who The Hell Is Edgar? - karaoke

- On the official karaoke album (digital)

Charts:

Austria top 75: 4, 24, -

Sweden top 100 (Topplistan): 79, -

Ireland top 100 (IRMA): 67

Finland top 50 (IFPI): 20, 32

U.K. top 100 (OCC): 48

At the end of the 2014 Conchita page you can find a list of all Austrian entries'chart results (in Austria)

Links and sources:

Teya & Salena FB

Teya Insta Salena Insta 

ORF stories

Remember Conchita, Lum!x 'n' Pia and César Sampson.

Foto by Thomas Ramsdorfer supplied by ORF

Magical History Tour

1956 - 2020 Eurovision Collectors Guide (via FB)

Find out how you can get your own (inbetweenish) Eurovision Collectors Guide 1956-2020 via our Facebook page or download it here at ESC History. (Thanks Rick!)

The document features all Eurovision entries from 1956 to 2020 with points, places, versions, release details etc. 

Something updated and more userfriendly is under construction to be released after Liverpool.

We have a Facebook for the news bits, odd and ends. Find out more here.

On Spotify we have a playlist with the latest new versions, re-recordings and other discoveries of the tunes of Eurovision Past. Just search for Eurovision Collectors Guide Playlist and follow.

Eurocovers, the original website for Eurovision coverversions, Est. 2006.

And the other Collections (below) have all the details on releases, versions, charts, and other trivia you didn't know you needed. But you do!

Basel Basics 2025

Some of you may have some of these lying about

2009 Moscow
2010 Oslo
2011 Düsseldorf
2012 Baku
2013 Malmö
2014 Copenhagen
2015 Vienna
2016 Stockholm
2017 Kyiv
2018 Lisbon
2019 Tel Aviv
2020 Rotterdam (cancelled)
2021 Rotterdam 2.1

2022 Torino / Turin
 

Albania - Albina Kelmensi x Familja Kelmendi - Duje

22 - 76 pts / 9 - 83 pts in semi 2

Albina Kelmendi and her family won the televote in the 61st Festivali I Këngës (Fest 61) with the song Duje written by Enis Mullaj and Eriona Rushiti.

new version image

It was decided beforehand that the Televoting winner was to head to Liverpool and not the Jury / Overall winner. Multi FiK winner Elsa Lila won Fest 61 but got no ticket to Liverpool.

The live Fest 61 live version of the song was released as a digital track on December 29 (2022) (Spotify) along with separate releases of all Fest 61 songs in their live versions.

The original studio version wasn't released officially but can be found on Youtube.

A new version is recorded but the song remains in Albanian in Liverpool. And it will be a family affair. The new version video was revealed on March 10. The digital single was released on the same date.

The instrumental and first studio version (videoclip) can be found on the Youtube channel of the producer/songwriter Enis Mullaj.

The first studio version was released in december 2023, a year after the original FiK.

Albina's family are mom Albana, dad Bujar, sisters Vesa & Sidorela and brother Albin.

We know songwriter Eriona Rushiti from Ktheju Tokës, the 2019 Eurovision entry for Albania (produced by Enis Mullaj).

Versions

Fest 61 version release image

Duje - Eurovision version

- digital 10-3 (video)

Duje - Fest 61 live version

- digital release 29-12-2022

Duje - First studio / Radio remix version  

- Youtube video 2-4, digital 20-12-2023

Duje - Instrumental (with some vocal effects)

- Youtube 11-3, also on the official karaoke album (digital)

Links and sources

Albina Kelmendi FB, Insta

FiK 2023 details at ESC History

San Marino - Piqued Jacks - Like An Animal

piq from Piqued Jacks instagram

15 - 0 pts in semi 2

Like An Animal by Italian rock band Piqued Jacks is the song for San Marino. The song won the Una Voce per San Marino.
The song is written by the band themselves. On April 5 it was the last studio version of the 2023 Eurovision to be released

Here's the Una Voce clip.

Piqued Jacks are Andrea Lazzeretti (E-King), Francesco Bini (littleladle), Marco Sgaramella (Majic-o), Tommaso Oliveri (HolyHargot) (see comments).

The band formed in 2006 and have released four albums since 2015.

In 2019 they won the award for Rock at Sanremo Rock.

release image from Piqued Jacks Facebook

Versions:

The single version was recorded after the victory in Una Voce Per San Marino and is different from the version used there. A version with the original arrangement remains unreleased.

Like An Animal - single version

- digital 5-4

Like An Animal - karaoke

- On the official karaoke album (digital)

Links and sources:
Piqued Jacks Website, FB, Insta, Shop

Una Voce per San Marino at ESC History
Una Voce per San Marino: Website.

We love Achille Lauro,  Senhit, Valentina and Serhat.

Azerbaijan - TuralTuranX - Tell Me More

14 - 4 pts in semi 1

digital single release image

Tural and Turan Bağmanov are twins and go by the name TuralTuranX

pic from Instagram

, not to be confused with TuranTuralX.

They will represent Azerbaijan in Liverpool with  Tell Me More, written by the duo themselves with Nihad Aliyev and Tunar Taghiyev.

The video premieered on March 13 and here it is.

The digital single was released on March 14.

Versions:

Tell Me More

- digital 14-3

Tell Me More - karaoke

- On the official karaoke album (digital)

Links and sources:
TuralTuranX Insta, FB

Remember when Azerbaijan won with Ell'n'Nikki? 

Or the one with the horse?  Efendi! , Efendi!!

Twins in Eurovision

I saw a shout-out of Jedward to the Azerbaijani twins which made me think about the twins representing their (or another) country in Eurovision. 

Here's a list, did I miss any?

Alice & Helen Kessler (Germany 1959)

- The famous 50's and 60's dancing twins are still around.
Sophie & Magalie (Gilles-Giovannoni, Luxembourg 1980)

- Their Papa Pingouin is the second most sold Eurovision single in France.    Sadly both sisters are no longer with us.
Next Time (Martin and Stefan Filipovski, F.Y.R.O.Macedonia 2009)

- We may not have heard much from them since the jury wildcard for Finland denied them the final in 2009, but they're still active and touring Australia in April 2023.
TWiiNS (Daniela and Veronika Nízlová, Slovakia 2011)

- They recorded a single with Flo Rida way before Senhit did.

Jedward (John & Edward Grimes, Ireland 2011 & 2012)

- The ADHD brothers still record music but they also do bit of modelling.

  Lipstick remains their biggest international hit.
Tolmachevy Sisters (Anastasia & Maria Tolmacheva, Russia 2014)

Twin Twin (France 2014) did not feature any twins and only one of them actually had a Moustache.

TuralTuranX (Tural and Turan Bağmanov, Azerbaijan 2023)

2024 update

The Norwegian Gunnarsen Twins Marcus & Martinus sing for Sweden in Malmö

Ireland - Wild Youth - We Are One

12 - 10 pts in semi 1

The band Wild Youth sings for Ireland in Liverpool.
The fab-foursome dug up the old Malmö 2013 slogan and won the six-song Irish Eurosong on February 3.

The song was written by band members Ed Porter and Conor O'Donohoe with Swedish songwriter Jörgen Elofsson. The other band members are David Wheland and Callum McAdam.

We Are One was released as a digital single on January 27. 

A new  recorded for Eurovision is revealed on March 8..

The Acoustic version was released on March 22 (even though it syas January 27 at your digitals).

All Irish Eurosong songs have been released as digital singles. One, Hawaii by Public Image Ltd. will also get a physical release as a 7"inch single. (available here, here or here.

For Jörgen Elofsson We Are One is the 2nd Eurovision entry. He wrote Dying To Try for Brendan Murray in 2017 with James Newman. But we all know and love him for giving us Agnetha Fältskog's A.

Wild Youth formed in 2017 and released their first single All Or Nothing in 2017. They released over a dozen digital singles since then. Their 2021 mini album (EP) Forever Girl was also released on Vinyl 12" (available here). The Last Goodbye EP was released as a CD-EP, both on Imperfectly Perfect Records (their own label).

Versions:

We Are One - ESC version

- 8-3 reveal, 10-3 digital release

We Are One - original version

- digital release 27-1

We Are One - Acoustic

- digital release 22-3

We Are One - karaoke

- On the official karaoke album

Charts:

Ireland top 100 (IRMA): 93, -

Links and sources:
Wild Youth Website, Shop, FB, Linktree,
Eurosong 2023 at ESC History

Eurovision record holders Ireland may have the most wins to their name but they failed to get to the final 7 times out of the last 10 years, only Ryan Dolan and Ryan O'Shaugnessy made it. And of course we all remember Jedward and Jedward.

Greece - Victor Vernicos - What They Say

13 - 14 pts in semi 2

Victor Vernicos will represent Greece in Liverpool with the song What They Say. Victor Vernicos Jörgensen wrote the song himself.

The song was revealed on March 12. Here's the video (at ERT YT)

Fun fact, he wasn't even born when Greece won Eurovision in 2005. (G. I'm getting old....). He has released a handful of digital singles since 2021 of which Brutally Honest With You is the most recent. (pictured)

Versions:

What They Say - single version

- digital 12-3

What They Say - karaoke

- On the official karaoke album

Links and sources:
Victor Vernicos Insta, linktree

Remember Stefania, Amanda or even Sakis?