Denmark - Reiley - Breaking my heart

digital single image

14 - 6 pts in semi 2

Reiley's Breaking My Heart is the winner of 2023 Danish Melodi Grand Prix and will represent Denmark in Liverpool.

Reiley wrote the song himself with Sivert Hjeltnes Hagtvet, Hilda Stenmalm and Bård Mathias Bonsaksen.

Breaking My Heart was released as a digital single on January 19.

A slightly altered version with a new intro added was released on March 6 and it replaced the original one on streaming services.

And he's a tiktok phenomenon so a (godawful) sped up version had to be released (on April 10).

The acoustic version was released on April 28

Life Of Reiley

Reiley (Rani Petersen) is the first ever artist from the Faroe Islands to participate in Eurovision. He is kid from the Tik Tok generation, his popularity (10.7 million followers) attracted the attention of Atlantic records who signed him and a handful of single releases followed.

Many of his followers are from Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Even though he was born, like, just yesterday*, he had some controversy already. He was accused and campaigned against for being an industry planted fake lying about his age to please the tiktok crowd.

*Various wiki's had different ages for the guy but now it appears to be agreed on 1997, although several sites still have 2002.

When he performed in South Korea he had allegedly already performed his Eurovision entry before the date allowed according to Eurovision rules.

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen

Versions:

Breaking My Heart - new single version

- digital release 6-3

Breaking My Heart - original single version

- digital release 19-1

Breaking My Heart - Acoustic

- digital 28-4

Breaking My Heart - karaoke

- On the official karaoke album (digital)

Breaking My Heart - sped up version

- digital 10-4

Charts:

Denmark top 40 (DK Tracklisten): 31, -

Links and sources: 

Reiley Website, FB, Insta, linktree

DMGP 2023 at ESC History

Melodi Grand Prix at DR TV

Thanks to Marek.

Remember Emmelie de Forest, Fyr og Flamme and Rasmussen

Georgia - Iru - Echo

12 - 33 pts in semi 2

Iru (Irina) Khechanovi (ირუ ხეჩანოვი) will represent Georgia in Eurovision 2023. She won her ticket to Liverpool by winning The Voice Georgia. The Eurovision song was selected internally.

She's not a stranger to winning as Iru was a member of the group Candy who won the 2011 Junior Eurovision with Candy Music. Little kids grow up.
She has released a new single იდეა (Idea) in January 2023.

The Eurovision song, Echo, was revealed on March 16. Here's the video

Echo is written by 

Giorgi Kukhianidze (who wrote several Georgian Junior Eurovision songs), 

Beni Kadagidze (wrote last year's Junior song with Kukhianidze) and 

Iru Khechanovi

The digital single was released March 17, but it was temporary removed from all digital sources a few days later. It came back on on March 24 and nothing appears to have changed. 

On Spotify, Apple (and other services ???) you can find her music under the name IRU except for Echo which appears under Iru.

A remix by Nikusha Shxiani was released as a digital single on 24-4 (although it appeared earlier on Youtube, see comments)

Versions:

Echo - original

- digital 16-3

Echo - remix (by N. Shkhiani)

- digital 24-4

Another remix by Temo Datuashvili is now on Youtube 

Echo - karaoke

- On the official karaoke album (digital) This has a piano following the vocal line.

Echo - Instrumental (= 2nd karaoke, without the piano)

- Youtube, 26-5

Links and sources:
Iru Khechanovi FB, Insta

Armenia - Brunette - Future Lover

14 - 122 pts / 6 - 99 pts in semi 2

digital single image

Brunette is the singer for Armenia. Her song Future Lover was revealed on March 15. Here is the video.

The song is sung in English with a small part in Armenian at the end.

Future Lover was released on March 20 through the digital shops and streamers. (see comments, thanks Ben)

An alternate version with Kami Friends was released on April 14 or 17.

There is an issue with the lyrics, a part of them are an exact copy of an older quote (2013?) published on tumblr and other social media. (here).

Another part is largely derived from a 2016 quote (here on Pinterest) with the near café's as neat café's.

And there's more. 

It's not unusual to have quotes in a Eurovision song but I guess in this case it would justify some songwriting credits.

Let's wait and see what happens, probably nothing.

Brunette (real name Elen Yeremyan,  Էլեն Երեմյան) has been releasing several singles since 2014. Bac Kapuyt Achqerd (in Armenian) is the latest.

Versions:
Future Lover - single version
- digital 15-3
Future Lover - karaoke
- On the official karaoke album (digital)
Future Lover (Առաջին Ստուդիա) - with Kami Friends
- digital 14-4*
Spotify says 14-4 but I’m pretty sure it appeared later.
 

Links and sources:
Brunette Insta
Remember Rosa Linn? She's still in the charts you know.

Netherlands - Mia Nicolaï and Dion Cooper - Burning Daylight

13 - 7 pts in semi 1

vinyl single sleeve

Mia Nicolaï and Dion Cooper represented the Netherlands in Liverpool.

The song, Burning Daylight,
was revealed and released as a digital single on March 1. It is written by Mia, Dion, Jordan Garfield, LUKAZ and 2019 Eurovision winner Duncan Laurence.

Here's the video

digital release

A vinyl single was released on May 12. It's here (NL only) or here (NL, BE, DE only)

It has the instrumental on the b-side.

(Universal 0602455518316)

A remix is on the official Eurovision Youtube (here), said to be released later.

Dutch Female/Male duo's have done well in the past, so let's have a list (below)

Mia Nicolaï is also one of the songwriters of When Love's Real by Corina Ivanov, a song in this year's Moldovan final.

picture from AVROTROS

Rotterdam, Rotterdam, so good we had it twice.

Versions:

Burning Daylight - single version 

- digital 1-3, 7" inch vinyl

Burning Daylight - remix

- to be released?, video here

Burning Daylight - karaoke (= instrumental)

- On the official karaoke album (digital) and 7" inch vinyl

Charts

Netherlands top 100: 61, 62, 64, 68, 69, 66, 58, 67, 65, 42, 42, 83

Netherlands top 40: 28, 22, 21, 21, 23, 25, 28, 32, 32, 32, 40, -

Links and sources:
Mia Nicolaï FB, Linktree for other socials
Dion Cooper Website, FB, Insta, linktree

AVROTROS Eurovision pages

The History of the Dutch Female/Male duo's

1971 Saskia & Serge - Tijd (6th)

1972 Sandra & Andres - Als het om de liefde gaat (4th)

1974 Mouth & MacNeal - I see a star (3rd)

1996 Maxine & Franklin Brown - De eerste keer (7th)

2014 The Common Linnets - Calm after the storm (2nd)

2023 Mia Nicolaï and Dion Cooper - Burning Daylight (no final, 13th in semi)

back of vinyl single

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