Olivier Vanhoutte is from BELGIUM and has been to EUROVISION for 18 years as a member of many different countries’ delegations. This year, Oliver Vanhoutte is a member of the Belarus delegation. He will serve as the P.R.O., or the Public Relations Officer. So in a nutshell, he is the person from the Belarus delegation that is in charge of …
Interview with Dr. Mikle Ledgerwood, Eurovision researcher and fan
From Zack: Dr. Mikle D. Ledgerwood is a Professor of French and Linguistics and the Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. He is also a big fan of the Eurovision Song Contest, which he highlights in his work in European Studies teaching at Samford. Although Mike, as he goes by, …
Interview with Gilad Mandelboim, co-founder of Europhoria
Many Americans have little knowledge of Eurovision, despite a number of well-known artists (ABBA, Celine Dion, Olivia Newton-John, Julio Iglesias) having roots from the annual song contest. Moreover, the US has had some songs from Eurovision become successful there, such as “Waterloo,” “Eres Tu,” “Ooh Ahh Just a Little Bit,” and “Save All Your Kisses For Me.” One person who …
Interview with Guntars Racs, Latvian artist, songwriter, producer extraordinaire
Guntars Racs is an artist, songwriter, and producer from Latvia and has worked with MicRec Records. This year, MicRec had a number of their artists perform at the Latvian National Selection Dziesma 2013. Five of them performed in the finals (Liene Candy, Marta Ritova, Sabine Berezina, and Antra Stafecka). ESC United had the opportunity to chat with Guntars. —————————————— ESCUnited: …
Kahori and Gabe – Eurovision fans from Japan and South Korea
Zack: Eurovision fans live all around the world. I myself grew up on Maui, but now reside on the opposite side of the US in North Carolina. Roy is from South Africa. Matt is originally from Germany but now lives in California. From time to time, we will introduce everyone to some of these international fans. ————————————– KAHORI – JAPAN …
Interview with Jaz, creator of Eurovision blog “Eurovision by Jaz”
Zack: We at ESC United love to network with other Eurovision websites and blogs. With all the great contacts people have out there, why not network?! One of my personal favorite blogs that I follow on Facebook is from Jaz in Australia. Eurovision by Jaz provides some nice thoughtful editorials on the Eurovision scene. And much to my delight, I had …
Interview with Vasco Cardoso, Ruben Pacheco, and Michael James Down, co-writers of Moldova National Selection entry “A Brighter Day” by Tatiana Heghea
ZACK: I say shame-free that if there is one country I’m always excited about, it’s MOLDOVA! They always bring a fun quirky number to the Eurovision stage. So when the 24 entries were announced for the 2013 Moldova national selection, I was excited to see some familiar names, particularly Tatiana Heghea, who was one of the back-up singers for …
The road to Malmo: Hungary: Interview with Compact Disco
As part of our special coverage for the Hungarian Road to Malmo series, ESC UNITED was lucky enough to interview Compact Disco. Last year they managed to take Hungary to the Finals with their entry “Sound of our hearts”. Csaba Walkó, the lead singer of the band, is currently a judge on A Dal and has a say in who …
Interview with Bas Tukker, expert of the Eurovision orchestra
Zack: I myself have heard the discussion many times before: whether or not the orchestra, last seen in 1998, should return. For a slight second, it seemed it would after rumblings of rumors during the months leading to the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. Those rumors did not come to fruition. On the Internet, you can find a number of sites …