Opinion piece: Who do our experts want to host Eurovision?

Who do Emily and Elliot think will be announced as Eurovision 2016 hosts?

Emily

Hosting a Eurovision Song Contest is a tough job, and I think to do it well you’d have to be a confident person with some experience in working in TV. Personally, I would like to see the likes of Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede as a duo, with Sarah Dawn Finer mixed in there somewhere, like that of Malmö 2013. Måns has the likeability factor and, like Conchita as the green room host, brings some more excitement to the contest, especially for the Eurofans as it’s always great to see returning artists no matter what context that may be.

As for Petra, I think she did an amazing job in 2013 on her own and we know that she would be able to handle doing it again. She’s funny (not in a cheesy-joke sort of way either), and would make a dream team if put with Måns. SDF would just top it all off, with her short segments (again, like 2013) as extra comedic value and gives the production crew more time to set up the staging/prepare the artists to make it an all-round brilliant show.

Elliot

Let’s be honest and realistic with ourselves for a second, the Eurovision hosts list is probably as long, if not longer than the list of countries for the contest itself and whoever takes the role alongside Mans will be a brilliant choice. SVT is renowned for delivering a great show and hosts with entertaining qualities, and part me of wanted Gina to have the main gig but as she is the Meldofestivalen host its time to strike Eurovision wish list.

Eurovision 2015 winner Mans Zelmerlow

Anyway I believe SVT should go with three hosts – two on the main stage and one in the green room, last year the three on stage just did not work and we saw no real personality from them as they are splitting up what was already a short time frame into three equal parts – didn’t work, as we know Mans is one but the people I believe who should be alongside him are the following – Sarah Dawn Finer and Danny Saucedo.

Now I think Sarah and Danny could be in either position, but if I had the control, put Sarah on stage and Danny in the green room. They are both entertaining, both established artists and both have tried and failed to represent Sweden at Eurovision so there is potential for comedy and banter at their expense. Sarah Dawn Finer is such a large personality and character she would be in her element and get the audience right on board in a heartbeat and she is very entertaining to watch. Also with Mans, Danny and Sarah all hosting Melodifestivalen, they have the presenting skills for such a show and format down perfectly and therefore have a strong connection with Eurovision which is the viewing public will enjoy as they will respect the contest for what it is in all of its entirety.

Saying this there are plenty of other credible hosts who would do a great job, Petra, Sanna, Eric to name just a few, but in my heart of hearts I would love the line up to be Mans Zelmerlow, Sarah Dawn Finer and Danny Saucedo.

NEW PODCAST: Episode 18 is here!

The latest podcast is here with loads for you to enjoy! There's plenty of new music including the latest single from Avicii. The European Music Chart also tells us what's number one, plus plenty of Eurovision discussion too.

Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, we're @theeuro_trip.

The Euro Trip : Episode 18 by The Euro Trip on Mixcloud

Elliot Interviews Minus One

Find out what happened when Elliot Harris spoke to Cypriot Eurovision 2016 entry, Minus One...

It was recently announced that “Minus One” would be representing the island of Cyprus in Eurovision 2016 – a decision taken internally by the broadcatsers CYBC, I was able to contact them recently and get a few answers of how they are feeling towards the competition and what we can expect to see from the rock band that is “Minus One”

Hello there guys thankyou for giving up your time for us!

So Minus One, last year you came third 3rd in the Cypriot selection final. How does it feel to be selected internally for Stockholm?

It's great! We wouldn't want to go through another selection, once was enough, so when we were internally selected it worked out perfectly and we are very happy that CYBC trusted us with this.

You have been an established band since 2009 so with plenty of experience. Do you feel this could help when it comes to the live performance in May?

Definitely, we have bonded through the last 6 years and that can only be a good thing, I mean, we're still here, so obviously things are working out.

We are like a well oiled machine, when we get on stage great things just happen. 

Minus One took part in the Cypriot selection last year

It's also been announced you will be working with Thomas G:Son for the track. How did this collaboration come to be and with his Eurovison experience how do feel to work with him?

Actually CYBC came up with the idea and we found it very intriguing. We love writing our own stuff but collaborations can be a lot of fun and open up new musical directions.

We are very excited to work with Thomas, he is a great guy and we really hit it off socially and musically. 

Cyprus’ highest finish has been 5th on three occasions. Are you hoping to surpass this?

Of course we are, but hey.... if we don't, we hope to have a hell of a ride!

Since Lordi winning in 2006. The Rock/metal genre has not been as successful as other musical styles. Are you hoping to rectify this and how so?

We like to believe that a good song is exactly that, a good song. Even if Rock/metal songs are not as popular in this competition a good song is always appreciated.

We are not a Metal band so you can rule that out but we do have a lot of attitude (veeeery different from Lordi ) and we will show it in the song but we will also 

Definitely bring it with us to Stockholm.

You stand as the only established rock band in Eurovison 2016 so far. Are you happy to stand alone in the genre or would you like some direct competition? 

We'll be totally honest here and say.... Are we happy to stand alone? hell no!! The most awesomest of awesomes would be if all countries were entering with established Rock Bands.

I mean...that would be a party!

Do you have a favourite song from Eurovison 2015 that was not Cyprus' own Giannis Karayannis? 

We liked his song actually, other than that we didn't really hear a lot.

Cyprus finished 22nd in Vienna, Austria

Has the band or any of their members been to Stockholm or performed there in the past?

No, we have all been to many places around Europe for shows and also the USA. We're really looking forward to Stockholm.

Finally, Eurovison is such a visual spectacle can we expect anything special from you guys with the staging and effects for the semi final and hopefully grand final?

We haven't finished the song yet so we have to wait and see. It is still early to know about the staging but we will let you know as soon as we do.

So Minus One seem to up for the challenge of Eurovision, how do you think the band could potentially fare in May? Let us know your thoughts and opinions!

Rob and Emily's Junior Eurovision Predictions

Ahead of Junior Eurovision 2015, Rob Lilley and Emily Herbert give us their opinions on which countries will be tasting success in Bulgaria this year.

Rob Lilley

1. Slovenia - Lina Kuduzovic 'Prva ljubezen'
2. Ireland - Aimee Banks 'Realta na mara'
3. Australia - Bella Paige 'My Girls'
4. Malta - 'Destiny Chukunyere'
5. Montenegro - Jana Mirkovic 'Oluja'

Emily Herbert

1. Slovenia - Lina Kuduzovic 'Prva ljubezen'
2. Armenia - Mika 'Love'
3. Russia - Mikhail Smirnov 'Mechta'
4. Malta - Destiny Chukunyere 'Not My Soul'
5. Australia - Bella Paige 'My Girls'




Don't forget to let us know you're predictions too! You can tweet us to let us know your thoughts over @TheEuro_Trip

The Euro Trip : Junior Eurovision 2015 Preview by The Euro Trip on Mixcloud

Junior Eurovision Preview 2015

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is just days away, and here at The Euro Trip we're very excited. There's debuts, returning nations, and loads of really great quality songs all battling it out this year.

In our special preview edition of The Euro Trip podcast Rob Lilley looks at the countries which could be taking home the JESC crown this year.

The Euro Trip : Junior Eurovision 2015 Preview by The Euro Trip on Mixcloud

UK in Eurovision 2016: What needs to be done to taste success in Stockholm?

In the second of two opinion blogs, The Euro Trip blogger Elliot Harris takes a look at the route he'd like the BBC to take when it comes to Eurovision 2016.

As we know the United Kingdom has announced essentially an open casting call for their Eurovision representative.

Bonnie Tyler sang 'Believe In Me' in Malmo in 2013

For me I feel we need, and I have said for many years amongst friends, is that we need to send a up tempo song, nothing swing, no ballads, simple easy listening up tempo, something with replay ability and mainstream, basically what Sweden did last year and looked what happened. The UK’s problem is that in recent years we have played the gimmick of “big name” card with no effect, trying to stand out with a big name is pointless without a decent song to back it up (Bonnie Tyler anyone?) At the end of the day the song needs to be good enough ANYONE can perform it and do a good job, so first and foremost we need to focus on the song, maybe take some Scandinavian pop influences perhaps?

As for the performer itself to grace the stage and fly the flag for the United Kingdom in Stockholm, if I had my way I would probably send someone from the X Factor or The Voice, someone with stage and competition experience, it won’t be a big leap from what they are used to. I think someone with that experience would work wonders potentially, but if we were not to send someone from that area I personally would love Sam Smith to go, he is my favourite UK act in the last decade and love his song and his performance and is a fantastic songwriter, however with him just releasing his new single for the new James Bond film, something tells me he doesn’t have to do Eurovision anytime soon.

Well they are my thoughts on the UK for Eurovision 2016, feel free to agree and disagree on the comments, but let us see what happens with the UK in Sweden, hopefully not languishing near the bottom of the leader board once again. Elliot

Can the UK do well at Eurovision again, and what do they need to do to succeed?

In the first of two opinion blogs, The Euro Trip blogger Emily Herbert takes a look at how the UK had enjoy success at Eurovision next year.

Over the past few years, the UK have gained a reputation of doing “bad” at Eurovision, but why? Perhaps we haven’t quite got the formula right. It’s hard to tell what song you’d like to see at a contest when you don’t know what genre the other songs are (e.g is it a ballad year like 2015?). What I’ve found is that if a solo female wins the year before, there’s an increase in solo female artists the year after (2013 for example). The same goes with duets; The Common Linnets came 2nd in 2014 for The Netherlands, and we saw an increase in duet entries in 2015.

So, if we look at the top of the leaderboard in 2015, we see that we obviously have Sweden at the top with Måns Zelmerlöw, his catchy pop song and captivating graphics. Perhaps cool graphics are the way to go? Stage presentation is key. With Electro Velvet, the stage looked nice and colourful, but VERY busy, and so that could have made it forgettable. Additionally, we haven’t sent a (young) solo male artist in a while, maybe now is the right time?! 

Jade Ewen sang the UK to 5th in Moscow

Songwriting is also key. Whoever ends up producing the song for this year must have experience or background in the industry, or at least done research on the competition so they know what they’re looking for. Gary Barlow for example (though I have a feeling he mentioned he didn’t want to do Eurovision?) would be a good choice, with the success of Take That and the X Factor. Andrew Lloyd Webber was the songwriter for Jade Ewen in 2009 where she came 5th (and that year was a tough one!), so that is one factor that needs carefully deciding.

Personally, as much as I’d like a National Final, the quality of the songs may not be as good as if it was selected internally with a good songwriter. If the NF was at Melodifestivalen standard (which I think is the best NF), there would be more budding artists wanting to get involved with good quality songs, but for now I think that the country doesn’t take the contest seriously enough.

In 2016 I’d like to see a powerful solo male ballad from the UK, produced by a well-known composer or songwriter. I don’t think there are ever enough male solo ballads at the contest and they do relatively well (e.g Andras Kallay-Saunders or even Johnny Logan). A young artist would be better (see Engelburt Humpadinck), thought they have to be experienced and not so nervous (see Josh Dubovie). With the right staging, strong vocals and support from the public, I believe we could do well again. Emily