Eurovision Legends
- Folgen
- 151
- Erscheint
- wöchentlich
- Letzte Folge
- 30. Aug. 2026
Über den Podcast
Eurovision Legends is the podcast where Emil Löfström invites songwriters, artists and other important people from the world of the Eurovision Song Contest. How did the songs originate, what happened behind the scenes, who ought to have won the contest and what did the song demos sound like? This and much more...
Folgen 151
Gracia
In 2005, 22 year old Gracia's song climbed onto the German singles chart, earning her a wildcard into the national final. She went on to win it. Behind her stood an established songwriter with a string of past …
Shownotes
In 2005, 22 year old Gracia's song climbed onto the German singles chart, earning her a wildcard into the national final. She went on to win it. Behind her stood an established songwriter with a string of past hits already to his name, but soon after her victory it emerged that the chart placement wasn't as straightforward as it looked, triggering accusations, petitions, and a media storm that followed her all the way to the Eurovision stage.
How far did it really go, and who was pulling the strings? In this episode, Emil sits down with Gracia to finally get some answers. They talk about the man behind her career, the questions that nearly derailed everything before she'd even sung a note, and the night in Kyiv that ended in a last place finish, a result that would go on to haunt Germany at Eurovision again and again in the years that followed.
Twenty years later, Gracia looks back with Emil on what really happened, how it shaped her, and where life has taken her since. A story of pop stardom, scandal, and resilience, told with honesty and heart.
Johnny Logan
He's the only artist in Eurovision history to win the contest three times — as a performer in 1980 and 1987, and as a songwriter in 1992. In this episode, Marcus sits down with the legendary Johnny Logan for a …
Shownotes
He's the only artist in Eurovision history to win the contest three times — as a performer in 1980 and 1987, and as a songwriter in 1992. In this episode, Marcus sits down with the legendary Johnny Logan for a warm, open-hearted conversation that goes far beyond the trophies.
Johnny talks candidly about his complicated relationship with one of his own hit songs — one he's never quite warmed to, despite its success. He also opens up about the competitive fire that never really faded: his repeated attempts to return to Eurovision over the years, chasing that stage one more time. And in a story many Swedish fans may not know, he reveals just how close he once came to competing in Melodifestivalen itself.
Throughout the conversation, Johnny's warmth, humor, and honesty shine through, making this one of the most personal and heartfelt episodes yet — a rare chance to hear Mr. Eurovision reflect on a career unlike any other.
Loreen
Having started her career in the Swedish version of pop idol 2004, it took Loreen 7 years before the big breakthrough came. What happened in between and what does she have in common with Leila K. What was her …
Shownotes
Having started her career in the Swedish version of pop idol 2004, it took Loreen 7 years before the big breakthrough came. What happened in between and what does she have in common with Leila K.
What was her relation to Melodifestivalen before 2011 and what has this competition meant for her career?
Hear Loreen tell the story of her trip to Baku, memories from Melodifestivalen, art installations on stage, why Danny said no to ‘’Euphoria’’ and why she is back to the contest after already winning it and failing to qualify to the final.
Legend: Loreen
Song: Euphoria (Sweden 2012)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Jamala
In 2016, a Ukrainian trained opera singer sang a song about the deportation of Crimeans in 1944, which could easily also be interpreted as a thinly veiled comment on the recent Russian annexation of Crimea.It …
Shownotes
In 2016, a Ukrainian trained opera singer sang a song about the deportation of Crimeans in 1944, which could easily also be interpreted as a thinly veiled comment on the recent Russian annexation of Crimea.
It is sometimes hard to remember that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been going on for almost a decade now, but Jamala did try to warn us already back then and sadly she was proven all too correct when Russia invaded the entire Ukraine in February of 2022.
She has currently fled the country, but before the contest in Turin Emil managed to get a rare interview with the Ukrainian hero, hiding in an undisclosed location.
She tells us about her victory in Stockholm, her jobs as a juror on various - often controversial - Ukrainian national finals and of course about the ongoing war. Emil and Marcus also add their own comments on the situation.
Legend: Jamala
Song: 1944 (Ukraine 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Sidekick: Marcus Björkander
Contact: [email protected]
Hans Van Hemert
Many countries in Eurovision seem to have their own "super-composer", and in the case of the Netherlands this person is Hans van Hemert. He wrote the Dutch entries of 1972, 1974 and 1976, and he has made many …
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Many countries in Eurovision seem to have their own "super-composer", and in the case of the Netherlands this person is Hans van Hemert. He wrote the Dutch entries of 1972, 1974 and 1976, and he has made many more attempts, which we of course get to listen to in this episode. It gets really crowded in the virtual podcast room today, as Hans and Emil are joined by Frenk Reemer, brother of Sandra Reemer, Astrid Colle, daughter of Sandra's duet partner Andres, and a whistling parrot.
Hans takes us back to the glorious 70's and tells us about his main inspirations, which are ABBA and kid's songs. We also get to hear about how he made a fool of himself when meeting Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. We get to hear the intimate details about the relations between Mouth & MacNeal, Sandra & Andres and other famous artists that he has worked with.
Hans is still active, so what did the song that he submitted in 2022 sound like? We have the demo!
Legend: Hans Van Hemert
Songs: Als het om de liefde gaat (The Netherlands 1972), I See A Star (The Netherlands 1974), The Party's Over (The Netherlands 1976)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Udo Jürgens
Udo Jürgens was already a big star when he first competed in Eurovision for his Austria in 1964. He didn't win, but got the biggest hit after the contest, both with his own version and with covers in various …
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Udo Jürgens was already a big star when he first competed in Eurovision for his Austria in 1964. He didn't win, but got the biggest hit after the contest, both with his own version and with covers in various languages. He was back again the year after, and this time he almost competed for another country as well. It took some heavy convincing to get him to return for a third time in 1966, which was when he finally won the contest.
Emil has a nice chat with Udo's son John Jürgens, who tells us about his father's early years in Austria during the second world war, how he rose to fame as a composer and artist and sang his songs not only in German but also in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. We'll also learn about his relation to the contest, and John also tells us about both the positives and the negatives about growing up with such a famous father.
Legend: Udo Jürgens
Expert on the subject: John Jürgens (aka John Munich)
Songs: Warum nur, warum? (Austria 1964), Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen (Austria 1965), Merci, Cherie (Austria 1966) & Tausend Fenster (Austria 1968, Karel Gott)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Eva Santamaria
An argument in Los Angeles led to the creation of the perhaps most modern song to have taken part in Eurovision until that time, but the road that led Eva Santamaria there was quite a surprise. Hear what she …
Shownotes
An argument in Los Angeles led to the creation of the perhaps most modern song to have taken part in Eurovision until that time, but the road that led Eva Santamaria there was quite a surprise. Hear what she has to say about the orchestral arrangement of the song, about it becoming a feminist anthem, and about who did what with who in Millstreet (hint: "sexo")!
She was one of the favourites to the victory before the show, but who did not want her to win? Eva's memory is almost as good as her ability to laugh, but how come she almost sang the wrong song on stage and what happened with the choreography just days before?
Legend: Eva Santamaria
Song: Hombres (Spain 1993)
Host: Emil Löfström
Interpreter: Ruben Balesteiro
Contact: [email protected]
Merethe Trøan
The "plump chicken from Trondheim" tried to reach Eurovision already at 14 years old, but had to wait another seven years until she finally succeeded with the unusually structured banger "Visjoner". We get to …
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The "plump chicken from Trondheim" tried to reach Eurovision already at 14 years old, but had to wait another seven years until she finally succeeded with the unusually structured banger "Visjoner". We get to listen to the way too long and extremely different demo that was accepted to Melodi Grand Prix, and we get to hear Merethe's honest opinions about Rolf Løvland's final arrangement of the song for Eurovision. We will also learn what caused her to laugh out loud during her performance, which has made her something of a meme.
Why was this unusually positive 21-year-old treated so badly by the Swedes? Why was she styled like she was a 50 years old character from "Dynasty"? And what was the biggest prize she won in 1992? And despite the bad result in 1992, why did she return already in 1993, something she really regrets today? How did she find her way back to her own music after the debacle and what does she do today?
Legend: Merethe Trøan
Song: Visjoner (Norway 1992)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Baccara 2.0
Two years ago Emil spoke to Maria Mendiola and Cristina Sevilla from (one of the constellations of) Baccara. Since then they have gone viral, made a comeback on the charts and published new music, but on a much …
Shownotes
Two years ago Emil spoke to Maria Mendiola and Cristina Sevilla from (one of the constellations of) Baccara. Since then they have gone viral, made a comeback on the charts and published new music, but on a much sadder note Maria alas passed away in 2021.
Emil and Cristina have a new conversation, revisit some of the topics from the previous interview and Cristina tells us everything about the rather chaotic history of the group Baccara after the split of the two original members Maria Mendiola och Mayte Mateos, since Cristina has the rather unique position of having been the replacement partner of first Mayte and then Maria. What went wrong between them, who was to blame and did they ever bury the hatchet?
This interview was recorded especially for the Podcast Radio station, where Eurovision Legends episodes are currently airing.
Legend: Baccara
Song: Parlez-vous français? (Luxembourg 1978)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Hersi Matmuja
When Albanian singer Hersi Matmuja finally won Festivali i Këngës on her fourth attempt the usual revamp of the song started. How much of a say did she have in this process and why didn't she like the final …
Shownotes
When Albanian singer Hersi Matmuja finally won Festivali i Këngës on her fourth attempt the usual revamp of the song started. How much of a say did she have in this process and why didn't she like the final version? Was it only because it didn't bring her out of the semi-final at Eurovision? How did she and the Albanian people handle the disappointing result and how come she didn't even obtain a record contract? And whose bright idea was it for her to go to Denmark to get a huge back tattoo of the Albanian eagle for the postcard?
In spite of the outcome she has a successful and exciting career, which has taken her to such interesting places as the conservatory in Rome, Auschwitz and even North Korea. Trust me, this girl has stories to tell! And if all goes to plan, will we see her soon again?
Legend: Hersi Matmuja
Song: One Night's Anger (Albania 2014)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Robin Bengtsson
He was the guy who came on from backstage and gave working out in a suit a face, but the musical career of two meter Swedish hunk Robin Bengtsson started earlier than that. An alumn of the Idol franchise, he …
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He was the guy who came on from backstage and gave working out in a suit a face, but the musical career of two meter Swedish hunk Robin Bengtsson started earlier than that. An alumn of the Idol franchise, he got his first chance to compete in Melodifestivalen in 2016 and won it already on his second attempt in 2017. But how come he values his first song higher than the one he actually won with?
How have coincidences led to all of his participations, which will number at four times with his song for 2022, which we actually get to learn some things about? How come he has always performed other peoples' songs in Melodifestivalen, despite being a songwriter himself? Why did Kyiv feel so familiar to him despite him not being able to find Ukraine on a map, what did he really think about the winner from Portugal and what about the short Ukrainian guy who refused to lend Robin his equipment?
Legend: Robin Bengtsson
Song: I Can't Go On (Sweden 2017)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
John Ballard part II
Established in the business with successes like Ace of Base in his catalogue, John Ballard started to get invited to participate, mainly as a lyricist, on various projects for Eurovision by Dimitris …
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Established in the business with successes like Ace of Base in his catalogue, John Ballard started to get invited to participate, mainly as a lyricist, on various projects for Eurovision by Dimitris Kontopoulos. He grants us full access to all the various shenanigans that takes place to create a Eurovision success in some countries where he sometimes has had to write up to 80 (!) different lyrics for the same song, and he speaks his mind about his colleague and songwriting partner Philipp Kirkorov.
What is like to compete for countries such as Russia or Azerbaijan, and what do your colleagues have to say about it? How much is influenced by politics and is a simple Scottish lyricist from Sweden treated as a valued member of the team or only as a talent for hire? How many songs do you present for a superstar like Sergey Lazarev, which songs have made the rounds for several countries and how much has he attempted to compete in either Sweden or the United Kingdom?
We will learn this and much more when John Ballard opens up.
Legend: John Ballard
Songs: Hold Me (Azerbaijan 2013), Shine (Russia, 2014) You're The Only One (Russia 2016), This Is Love (Greece 2017) & My Lucky Day (Moldova 2018)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
John Ballard
He has finished top ten four times out of five attempts in Eurovision, but never for his home country nor for the country where he has lived for over 40 years. Who is John Ballard? The legendary lyricist behind …
Shownotes
He has finished top ten four times out of five attempts in Eurovision, but never for his home country nor for the country where he has lived for over 40 years. Who is John Ballard? The legendary lyricist behind such songs as "Hold Me" and "You're the Only One"?
In this first episode we find out why he moved from his native Scotland to the west coast of Sweden, and how he became a household name there with several participations in Melodifestivalen. We of course get to listen to these songs, as well as a version that John hasn't even heard himself, in addition to several attempts that were not selected to compete.
We also talk extensively about, and get to listen to several rare demos from, his long and successful career as a producer and songwriter. He was the guy who discovered one of the biggest bands ever, Ace of Base, and he also is the man behind other groups such as Yaki-da and Bubbles. However, despite all of this success he never again was invited to Melodifestivalen, and he sternly denies any involvement in the Melodifestivalen entry "Nattens änglar" by Jonas Berggren from Ace of Base!?
This is the first of two episodes, where we look at John's rise to fame from a pub musician in Scotland to a very successful producer in Sweden and all over the world, and in the second episode we will take a look at his adventures in Eurovision.
Legend: John Ballard
Songs: Hold Me (Azerbaijan 2013), Shine (Russia, 2014) You're The Only One (Russia 2016), This Is Love (Greece 2017) & My Lucky Day (Moldova 2018)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Mrs Einstein
We continue the story of Eurovision 1997 that started in the episodes with Icelandic Paul Oscar and Katrina and the Waves with one of Katrina's vodka suppliers – Marjolein Spijkers from the Dutch group Mrs …
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We continue the story of Eurovision 1997 that started in the episodes with Icelandic Paul Oscar and Katrina and the Waves with one of Katrina's vodka suppliers – Marjolein Spijkers from the Dutch group Mrs. Einstein. The theatrical group was selected to perform all of the entries in the Dutch selection, but were they all agreed that they should do it and did the right song really win?
How come they ditched their expensive outfits just one day before the final and when did they opt for going completely nude?
Did their meager five point result affect their careers and are the Granny Spices still going?
This and much more – like porn looks and "Vechny strannik" – in an interview that does not want to end when Marjolein flips the tables and starts to interview Emil.
Legend: Marjolein Spijkers from Mrs Einstein
Song: Niemand heeft nog tijd (The Netherlands)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
The Roop
Snubbed on a very good chance to win in the cancelled 2020 contest, The Roop fought their way to another victory and finally got to grace the Eurovision stage in 2021. But these were not the first times they …
Shownotes
Snubbed on a very good chance to win in the cancelled 2020 contest, The Roop fought their way to another victory and finally got to grace the Eurovision stage in 2021. But these were not the first times they have tried out for Eurovision, neither as The Roop nor in other constellations, even though Vaidotas seems a little uncertain on this point!? How do you handle the situation when you have no money? How do you follow up a success like "On Fire"? Have they been subject to ageism? Will we see them in Eurovision again? And most importantly, why so yellow? Robertas Baranauskas, Mantas Banišauskas and Vaidotas Valiukevičius are ready to answer these questions and many more.
Legends: The Roop
Songs: On Fire (Lithuania 2020) & Discoteque (Lithuania 2021)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Magdalena Tul
Following a streak of missed finals for Poland, hopes were higher when Magdalena Tul and the song "Jestem" became popular with the fans and was generally predicted to proceed to the final when she was to perfom …
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Following a streak of missed finals for Poland, hopes were higher when Magdalena Tul and the song "Jestem" became popular with the fans and was generally predicted to proceed to the final when she was to perfom first in the first semi final in 2011. The reality became quite the opposite, though, when she not just failed to reach the final, but it turned out that she had actually finished dead last in the semi final.
Did she have technical issues? Should she have chosen a different version of the song? Did she try to take on too many tasks around the performance herself or did she just not have the proper backing from the Polish broadcaster? All these are questions that she has asked herself for ten years and will be answered in this episode when "Lady Tulla" tells us about her greatest regrets from Düsseldorf.
We also learn about her other attempts to reach Eurovision and her newest songs, as well as the upcoming relocation.
Legend: Magdalena Tul
Song: Jestem (Poland 2011)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Frans
Having had a huge hit already at seven years old, Frans Jeppsson Wall surprised the Swedish audience when he, almost forgotten, suddenly appeared in Melodifestivalen ten years later with the first ever song he …
Shownotes
Having had a huge hit already at seven years old, Frans Jeppsson Wall surprised the Swedish audience when he, almost forgotten, suddenly appeared in Melodifestivalen ten years later with the first ever song he had written as an "adult".
What was it like breaking as a child star, did he even get paid and how does a child handle not winning the awards he has been nominated to?
Hear Frans tell the story of his return to the public eye, when he quickly went from an underdog to the big favourite and the final winner and what it was like representing Sweden at home soil while trying to handle school at the same time. What advice did his grandmother give him, who made him speachless with a hug and which other artist did he sneak out of the arena to be naughty with?
Finally, what has happened since and what is his life like today when he recently left his safe small home town for life in the big city of Stockholm?
Legend: Frans Jeppsson Wall
Song: If I were Sorry (Sweden 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Alon Amir Part II
We continue to listen to the fascinating adventures of Alon Amir in the world of Eurovision, starting in a bed together with Anne-Marie David.Our first stop is Moscow in 2009 with two political artists and a …
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We continue to listen to the fascinating adventures of Alon Amir in the world of Eurovision, starting in a bed together with Anne-Marie David.
Our first stop is Moscow in 2009 with two political artists and a political song which he pressured the jury to get selected. He hated the city but the vodka consumption increased by each day, and with this the pranks within the delegation.
Then we have the suicide mission to Baku, where Alon was surprised not to return home in a coffin, and the time when he seriously considered burning or shredding the artist's dress.
He had adventures with the rather special Hovi Star all over Europe with a song that they had to pretend to like, we get the explanation to the beef with Douwe Bob, the nasty story of why Russian customs destroyed Hovi's passport, and his drunkenly honest opinion about Sergey Lazarev's birthday cake.
Alon has countless stories about being on various juries around Europe, such as in which country he had to endure 40 rubbish songs in a row and when he fought hard for a song that wouldn't end up in the contest until three year's later. He also tells us about being approached by other countries with suggestions of foul play.
Legend: Alon Amir
Titles in Eurovision: Production assistant, Journalist, Assistant to the executive producer, Executive producer, Head of press, Jury member and Manager
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Alon Amir
Most of us Eurovision fans dream of one day playing some minor part to contribute to or nestle your way into our beloved contest, be it by submitting songs, doing volunteer work at an event or why not starting …
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Most of us Eurovision fans dream of one day playing some minor part to contribute to or nestle your way into our beloved contest, be it by submitting songs, doing volunteer work at an event or why not starting your own podcast about the topic?
Alon Amir from Israel managed to do this for the first time at the tender age of 17 when his job was to light the candles for the 1995 Israeli entry "Amen", candles that they later weren't allowed to bring to Ireland, but they brought Alon anyway.
Through a stunning career at Shlomo Zach's record company, he got to do various tasks related to the Israeli Eurovision entries, and was very much involved in the victory of "Diva" in 1998.
Luckily for us, Alon has no scruples of telling us almost everything about what has happened during all his Eurovision trips.
Why didn't Dana International wear her expensive Jean-Paul Gaultier bird-suit in 1998 and what about the fall in 1999, why does Alon want the EBU to serve food in the green room, how much mafia money can you really make by being a totally inexperienced head of press for Belarus and was it really dangerous to return to the hotel after the semi-final?
Maybe not, but something that was seriously dangerous was to be part of the Israeli delegation in Azerbaijan, a muslim country with an open border to Iran and no guarantees for their personal safety, and Alon tells us about this suicide mission as well.
Alon bubbles over with so many interesting stories and new pieces of information at such a rate that it is hard to know which to focus on here, and to avoid a complete mental overload we will save half of this marathon interview for next week.
Legend: Alon Amir
Titles in Eurovision: Production assistant, Journalist, Assistant to the executive producer, Executive producer, Head of press, Jury member and Manager
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Lise Haavik
People all over the world often have a hard time separating the Scandinavian countries, and honestly, who can blame them when we have people like Lise Haavik, who was born and raised in northern Norway, moved …
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People all over the world often have a hard time separating the Scandinavian countries, and honestly, who can blame them when we have people like Lise Haavik, who was born and raised in northern Norway, moved to Denmark to study economics, formed a band and a marriage with Danish artist John Hatting (against her father's better judgement, mind you), tried out for the Danish Eurovision ticket a couple of times and finally won the right to represent Denmark, when the competition was held in Norway of all places, with a song and a performance borrowing heavily from a previous Swedish entry?
Set in the world of Danish "happy-schlager", what was the road that led her to this point, what happened to Lise and John's marriage and artistic cooperation, what are Lise's further attempts to reach the Eurovision and why does the classic Danish song "Under stjernerne på himlen" with Tommy Seebach keep recurring during this interview, despite having nothing to do with neither Lise nor John? Or has it?
Legend: Lise Haavik (Trax)
Song: Du er fuld af løgn (Denmark 1986)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Sandra Reemer
Sandra Reemer was one of the dutch great and competed three times in Eurovision during the 1970's. Alas, she is no longer with us so instead we have invited her brother, Frenk Reemer, who has been close to his …
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Sandra Reemer was one of the dutch great and competed three times in Eurovision during the 1970's. Alas, she is no longer with us so instead we have invited her brother, Frenk Reemer, who has been close to his sister during all the years and is also working on a book about their family.
Let's hear the story about the girl who was forced to leave Indonesia at a very young age and who together with Frenk started singing in local events to gather money for the construction of a church in their new dutch hometown.
From her first single at the age of twelve, which was a cover of the Italian Eurovision entry from 1961, she went from success to success.
Why did she stopped singing solo, how did she meet her longtime duet partner Andres (Dries Holten), why did they split up and was it on good terms?
Apart from the time with Andres, she competed an additional two times in Eurovision; what has she told her brother about this? She later established herself as a gay icon as part of the Dutch Divas together with Marga Bult and Maggie MacNeal, but what happened to her career and her mood? Frenk gives us a generous insight into her career and her feelings about it and we get to listen to some never before heard rare gems. Together with Frenk, who himself might become a Eurovision legend in the near future, this episode is in memoriam of a very special Eurovision Legend who left us way too early.
Legend: Sandra Reemer
Expert on the subject: Frenk Reemer
Songs: Als het om de liefde gaat (The Netherlands 1972), The Party's Over (The Netherlands 1976) & Colorado (The Netherlands 1979)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Petri Laaksonen part II
This is the second part of the interview with Petri Laaksonen, in which our hero finally learns that you don't always win every time you take part. After winning on his first two attempts, Petri continued to …
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This is the second part of the interview with Petri Laaksonen, in which our hero finally learns that you don't always win every time you take part. After winning on his first two attempts, Petri continued to submit songs to the Finnish pre-selection, so many that he claims that he is the composer with the most songs in the contest throughout history.
Now with experience and a network of contacts, he co-operated with artists such as Arja Saijonmaa (who finally sung the wrong song), Ami Aspelund (who perhaps wasn't perfectly suited for the erotic lyrics), Jari Sillanpää (who later got a smash hit with a rejected song about Jean Sibelius), Anneli Saaristo (who won with another song), Anna Eriksson (whose song became a huge fan favourite) and Tommi Soidinmäki, although his interest to sing the songs himself grew and grew.
However, it became tougher and tougher to get his songs accepted, not least when the legendary Ossi Runne left the conductor's pulpet to Olli Ahvenlahti, who stopped inviting Petri. (But he did invite himself!)
We get to hear all the details; who was a sore loser, which song was inspired by ABBA and which was inspired by Pet Shop Boys and which artist wanted YLE to postpone the contest two weeks in order to better suit her schedule, and we also get to listen to lots of exclusive demos and early drafts, most of which have been painstakingly excavated by Petri himself and have never been heard before.
Legend: Petri Laaksonen
Songs: Amor Amor (Ami Aspelund, 1988), Oi äiti maa (Anneli Saaristo, 1989), Gabriela (Arja Saijonmaa, 1990), Oot voimani mun (Anna Eriksson, 2000), Kirkas kipinä (Jari Sillanpää, 2009), Seis (Tommi Soidinmäki, 2011) & several other Euroviisut rejects.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Petri Laaksonen part I
The young student Petri Laaksonen was totally inexperienced as a songwriter, but after some encouragement from his teacher he decided to try to take part in the Finnish pre-selection for the Eurovision Song …
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The young student Petri Laaksonen was totally inexperienced as a songwriter, but after some encouragement from his teacher he decided to try to take part in the Finnish pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Without any connections in the music business, he found lyricist Veli-Pekka Lehto in the phone book and had him write lyrics to the song he had composed, and to their surprise it was accepted. However, the pre-selected artists weren't too keen on his composition, until established artist Sonja Lumme said that she could sing it. Despite being described in media as containing too many weird Finnish vowels and maybe should have been sung in Swedish instead, the song won comfortably and our young and broke composer got to travel to Gothenburg on his own expenses, and almost had to resort to prostituting himself to finance his adventure.
As a fan of the contest, Petri still remembers and tells us everything in detail, both about the participation with "Eläköön elämä" in 1985 and about his second attempt with "Sata salamaa" in 1987, which turned out to be another victory, with an artist who had to be tricked and threatened to return to her singing career. The man who couldn't lose got to travel to Brussels, yet again on his own accord, but a forgotten tape and a stolen item of clothing made sure that neither his trip nor the song turned out exactly as planned.
Legend: Petri Laaksonen
Songs: Eläköön elämä (Sonja Lumme, Finland 1985) & Sata salamaa (Vicky Rosti, Finland 1987)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Jon Ola Sand
He used to be the coolest guy in every Eurovision, but don't you want to hear about when Jon Ola Sand got really angry during the broadcast?Or why he was so dissatisfied in Birmingham in 1998?Much happened …
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He used to be the coolest guy in every Eurovision, but don't you want to hear about when Jon Ola Sand got really angry during the broadcast?
Or why he was so dissatisfied in Birmingham in 1998?
Much happened during his ten years as the Executive Supervisor for Eurovision, and already before that in other roles as Head of Delegation and Producer.
What has he got to say about Azerbaijan? When was he really disappointed in Russia? How close are Liechtenstein, Kosovo and Kazakhstan to compete, Turkey to return and how many countries are blocked by Israel?
Which rule would he change and did he really torture Christer Björkman on purpose?
Jon Ola Sand opens up a year after stepping down as the Executive Supervisor and lets us know why he thrives on chaos.
Legend: Jon Ola Sand
Titles: Head of delegation (Norway 1998-2005), Producer (2010), Executive Supervisor (2011-2020)
Host: Emil Löfström
Sidekick: Marcus Björkander
Contact: [email protected]
ABBA part II
Most of us believe that ABBA became a huge success all over the world immediately after they won Eurovision 1974, and although their winning entry "Waterloo" made a big impact on the charts all over the world …
Shownotes
Most of us believe that ABBA became a huge success all over the world immediately after they won Eurovision 1974, and although their winning entry "Waterloo" made a big impact on the charts all over the world and their manager "Stikkan" Andersson was well prepared to launch them it wasn't really as simple as that.
Björn and Benny competed again as composers in Melodifestivalen already the next year and several of the songs that later became huge hits for ABBA were first floated around to other artists, as we heard from Martin Lee of Brotherhood of Man in a previous episode.
The ultimate expert on ABBA – Carl-Magnus Palm – is back and helps us separate the rumours from the truths.
Why did relations sour with manager "Stikkan" Anderson, has Carl-Magnus heard the story about "Stikkan" and Kobi Oshrat, why did Agnetha Fältskog resurface in Melodifestivalen 1981, did they stay friends and did they ever patch things up with their manager, how many unpublished ABBA songs are there, where did the members' careers go after they "went on a break", what does Carl-Magnus think about the new album "Voyage" and which are his favourite songs from their entire catalogue?
Legend: ABBA
Expert on the subject: Carl Magnus Palm
Song: Waterloo (Sweden 1974)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
ABBA
In 1974, a Swedish group changed Eurovision and music forever, but the story of ABBA did not in any way start there.All four members of ABBA, or five if you include manager and lyricist Stig "Stikkan" Anderson …
Shownotes
In 1974, a Swedish group changed Eurovision and music forever, but the story of ABBA did not in any way start there.
All four members of ABBA, or five if you include manager and lyricist Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, had their respective careers, in Agnetha's case it was even "international", before they formed the group, and together with the ABBA expert Carl-Magnus Palm we take a deep dive in the roads that converged into the pop sensation that won Sweden its first victory in the Eurovision.
Separately and together, they had already made several accepted and rejected attempts to participate in the Swedish pre-selection, and of course we talk about all of these. Finally they won Melodifestivalen in 1974 without being the outright favourite, and went on to do the same thing at the Eurovision in Brighton. What happened there and which roles did Hotenanny Singers, Hep Stars, Lena Andersson, Brita Borg, Lill-Babs, Tommy Körberg, Lasse Berghagen, Jan Malmsjö, Neil Sedaka, Arthur Greenslade, Titti Sjöblom, Mouth & McNeal and Svenne & Lotta play in this story?
Legend: ABBA
Expert on the subject: Carl Magnus Palm
Song: Waterloo (Sweden 1974)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Manuela Bravo
Manuela Bravo participated for Portugal in 1979, which by many fans is considered to be a really good year, but still she managed to give Portugal one of its best results ever until their victory in 2017. Born …
Shownotes
Manuela Bravo participated for Portugal in 1979, which by many fans is considered to be a really good year, but still she managed to give Portugal one of its best results ever until their victory in 2017. Born from a musical family, she started her career at only five years old, and sixteen years later she was offered the happy-go-lucky "Sobe, sobe, balão sobe" for the Portugese national final after an other artist had turned the song down.
Who was her biggest opponent in Portugal, what does she remember from the Eurovision final in the holy land, and what did she think about the result? She recorded the song in Portuguese, English and French and it's still a classic in Portugal which has been both covered and sampled by many other artists. What does she do these days?
Legend: Manuela Bravo
Song: Sobe, sobe, balão sobe (Portugal 1979)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Martina Majerle
With the same origins as the 1993 Croatian representative Put, Martina Majerle has gone on to grace the Eurovision stage with her presence more times than any other Balkan singer, and for three different …
Shownotes
With the same origins as the 1993 Croatian representative Put, Martina Majerle has gone on to grace the Eurovision stage with her presence more times than any other Balkan singer, and for three different countries nonetheless. Often in cooperation with legendary songwriter Andrej Babic, she has recorded demos and provided backup lots of times and her eight appearances at Eurovision has made her well-travelled and with stories to tell.
What has been the differences between the different host cities? Why was she the least visible the one time she was the main act? What happens when a backup singer falls down a hole and loses her in-ears seconds before they are to go on stage? And why did she wait so long to finally go solo? The questions are plentiful, but Martina provides us with the answers and also a listen to her latest single.
Legend: Martina Majerle
Songs: Vise Nisam Tvoja, (Croatia 2003) Cvet Z Juga, (Slovenia 2007) Zauvijek Volim Te, (Montenegro 2008) Love Symphony, (Slovenia 2009) No One ( Slovenia 2011) Verjamem (Slovenia 2012) Moj Svijet ( Montenegro 2014) Lighthouse (Croatia 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
Paschalis Arvanitidis Πασχάλης Αρβανιτίδης
Paschalis Arvanitidis became a huge star in Greece already with the group The Olympians in the 1960's and then went solo, and even had a brief career in Germany with Leo Leandros, the father of Vicky Leandros …
Shownotes
Paschalis Arvanitidis became a huge star in Greece already with the group The Olympians in the 1960's and then went solo, and even had a brief career in Germany with Leo Leandros, the father of Vicky Leandros. So when he teamed up with three other successful solo artists (Robert Williams, Bessy and Mariana) in Greece to submit the song "Mathema solfege" to the Greek broadcaster for Eurovision 1977, it was basically a done deal as soon as the selection jury recognized their famous voices.
Their participation in London gave Greece what for a long time was their best result ever and the song got hugely popular and globally covered, despite that they experienced sound issues and some weird staging that put the focus on the only member of the group who had an English name, and Paschalis believes that the French winner was a copy of an older song (which one?).
What else does he remember from London, does his very tight outfit still fit, is he still in contact with his band mates, what did the song that he submitted already the year after sound like and what has happened since?
In this episode we make a rapid dash through memory lane of a career that spans seven different decades together with Paschalis and his daughter Zinovia, who helps out with some translating and who is a musician in her own right and collaborates with her father.
Legend: Paschalis Arvanitidis
Song: Mathema solfege Μάθημα Σολφέζ (Greece 1977)
Host: Emil Löfström
Interpreter: Zinovia Arvanitidi
Contact: [email protected]
Egon Egemann
Way before Alexander Rybak fiddled his way to victory, an Austrian guy brandishing a white violin represented Switzerland with a song about his love for his instrument. The song was allegedly written by his …
Shownotes
Way before Alexander Rybak fiddled his way to victory, an Austrian guy brandishing a white violin represented Switzerland with a song about his love for his instrument. The song was allegedly written by his Swiss wife, but was that really entirely true?
In this episode with Egon Egemann we will finally learn the true origin story of the melodic masterpiece "Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus", as well as numerous other facts and stories about his career and life. How come he went for a solo career in the first place, when he was having so much success with the huge Austrian band Die Paldauer? What can he tell us about the contest in a crumbling Yugoslavia? What was his role in the disqualified Swiss winner from 1992, "Soleil, Soleil"? What made him participate again behind Gunvor Guggisberg and what was that like? How many more times has he tried out for the contest, is he really a singer and what does he do today?
Legend: Egon Egemann
Song: Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus (Switzerland 1990)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
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