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MARCO MENGONI IN FERRRAGAMO FOR EUROVISION FINAL

Marco Mengoni will be wearing Maison Salvatore Ferragamo in Eurovision 2013, just like he did in sanremo 2013. He will be wearing a tuxedo designed exclusively for him by the brand's creative director Massimiliano Giornetti, on Saturday evening, May 18,. It's peacock green shawl collar, shirt and tie ton sur ton.

http://ilkar.blogspot.fi/2013/05/marco-mengoni-in-ferrragamo-for.html

Reykjavik Boulevard met MARCO MENGONI, the italian finalist at Eurovision Song Contest 2013.

All of his previous albums reached the top of the italian chart straight in the first week. He won the talent show X-Factor in 2009, then it was a long list of awards.

He is competing with a ballad called “L’essenziale” (The essential), first single from his new album #PRONTOACORRERE (Ready to run) on the record label SONY. He’s ready to take the whole cake and become worldwide famous. We had an exclusive interview with him just before the kick off of his italian tour, get to know this future international star coming from Rome!

Hello Marco, today Reykjavik Boulevard is in Milan to meet you and to ask you some things, especially about the Eurovision Song Contest, event in which you are in the final with the song “L’Essenziale”. Moreover we would like to know your thoughts about this European competition since in Italy it has been a bit “snubbed” in the past.

Definitely, in fact I started to follow better the whole event just from this year, basically, even though I was cheering for Rafael Gualazzi two years ago and I saw that edition almost entirely. I must say perhaps in Italy it has been a little absent during these fourteen years, so there has not been that heat you can find in the rest of Europe. I talked with some friends who live in Spain and as soon as I named the Eurovision Song Contest they nearly jumped out of their chair: “Oh God! It’s a thing…” And then I said: “Hell it is very famous in Europe, why not in Italy?”. Perhaps because we did not participate, perhaps because it’s been absent for all these years and thus it has not been given the right importance. But I hope that for three years now, including this one, it would make inroads because it is a real moment of sharing, or otherwise of communion, with Europe: we should not underestimate it, especially in these times when society is slowly falling to pieces and there is a strong need of this, of staying together with other people and with humanity.

Since you had already taken part to the preliminary phases, how was the welcome in this case?

I expected much more competition, for example, among those who took part. But it wasn’t so! It was an authentic celebration, a real celebration of Europe and all its different ethnic groups. And I must say that I have met some incredible people. For example, I’m very impressed by the Greeks who have all this energy, and I also really like what they present. I am very happy and even a little worried because it is very difficult to go there alone to represent an entire nation, musically speaking. Moreover, I am very young, I just started to be a star in the music business and so, I knuckle down to it…

Among the contenders, is there someone who you think is stronger than the others? Is there any song that has affected you in particular?

I repeat, I was certainly impressed by Greece because I like all the mixture and the blending that they made in their piece. Uhm, I really like France, then for sure Anouk hits the ground running with a plus because virtually she already is an international star, already recognized throughout the world. Then for the rest I have not heard all the songs, so I reserve to be “there” to judge.

You present “L’Essenziale”, song with which you’ve already won the italian major music Festival of San Remo – triumphed, I would say – where you’re listed as co-author. What is the difference between singing a song in which you actively took part to the writing process and one that has been written for you?

Definitely, a song that you wrote is like a piece of your body. So you put into it also your own impression, feelings, your own emotion, a fact living in your own memory, and definitely it is much easier then to reinterpret a piece someone else wrote. In that case you have to look for an experience that possibly gets you closer to what the writer wanted to communicate or, at least, to what you want to express through those words, the idea that you want to give, the emotion that you want to share. So I’m very pleased to sing “L’Essenziale” because I feel myself part of it and because I think it is the most rightful song: as if Italy had given a pass, a passepartout to Europe, because it has had an awesome result and a very positive feedback. So we decided to bring this song both for its writing, which is very Italian – it is a classical Italian ballad – [noise] hey! WE ARE MAKING AN INTERVIEW, SHUT UP! Ha ha ha, they’re singing. It is really nice to sing your own songs, it’s an incredible feeling. The lyrics, well they talk about hope, as I said before, dealing with the fact that society is increasingly evolving and it is changing although – in many aspects – in a negative way… And so, what the riff of this song says is that while the world is falling apart, it solves with a hopeful light, I compose new spaces, that is: we must try to compose something new and then restart, to rise again from this darkness which could be an affair, which could be a friendship, and so on…

So, various aspects of life… “L’Essenziale” was also the first single from the new album “#Prontoacorrere” and it is immediately visible the hashtag before the title of this album, so you’re following the trend of the previous “Solo 2.0″, of web and technology. What is your relationship with this…

Well, I was born in 1988, on the rise of technology: social networks were born when I was younger. Again, society is in full evolution, always, so I think that is the future. Even now, the communication is constantly present in the web. I’m both pro and con about these technologies. The pros are that speed has become really instantaneous, to communicate, for example with my fans, an emotion, a feeling, a photograph, a moment requires just a second to post or write a message. For this reason I really like this thing because I get closer and much faster. The fact that I regret is that however many people use it to hide themselves behind a screen, it means to be fearful of human relationships, the real ones outside. For this reason I have some negative ideas about this. But we say I am “pro-evolution”, so obviously I paid tribute to this more technological society.

Ok, because Reykjavik Boulevard, instead, took a step back, because we have a little more romantic vision, especially of paper magazines. I can show you our magazine’s first release…

Wow, you’re full of money, you, gosh! Beautiful magazine!

We wish we were full of money! Actually, we are looking for sponsors! We decided to go back to paper and we also really like vinyls that, for example, are becoming very fashionable. I would like to know if, from this point of view, do you think you’re going to have this kind of support in the future?

Limitation to physical supports only is nowadays pretty ridiculous, especially for music. Obviously discs are nearly no longer purchased, it is as if you buy a gem… You say: “Ok, I’ll buy a disc”. So everything moves with the web, given that charts – for example, music charts – are associated to that of downloads. So, I hope to record a vinyl one day, because me too I love vinyl. And I hope discs won’t completely disappear even if in a little they will become like vinyl: rare and precious things. And I’m a bit sorry because it’s like putting a work, a piece of art in… In an invisible cloud, right? In an invisible computer memory, so you do not have it physically. Previously, there was a more complex research on paper, on photography, on how it was printed. Conversely, today there is much less. And so… Gosh, I’m saying too many negative things about technology, and it is not true.

The tour that kicks off tonight from Milan will provide many dates around Italy. How will you face up this tour after the previous experiences you had? First maybe you were the rookie, even in front of a bigger audience, and maybe now you’re ready to face this new experience.

Well, I must say that I desired and wanted this tour with all my heart, and I hope it will kick off as soon as possible because I really need to share all the emotions – that are very strong – which we felt and especially I have felt. I hope to get immediate feedback from the audience and to share emotions with them immediately. It’s going very well and we’ll start with this preview of ten dates. I am very happy it had been well accepted, indeed we are sold out almost everywhere and so… I am wound up, really wound up…

Thank you so much, we will be waiting for you in Iceland!

http://www.reykjavikboulevard.com/marco-mengoni-eurovision/

ITALY: SMILES AND SONGS GOES EUROVISION!

As we know the Italian media has been rather unwillingly talking about Eurovision, if at all. Things are changing though. TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (translates to TV Smiles and Songs), the biggest TV magazine and very popular weekly magazine for gossip, entetainment, stars and such, has been featuring some tiny Eurovision articles this spring. But the real surprise comes with this week's number. There's a real ABC to the event for Italians who don't know/remember it anymore. 16 essential questions and answers like how many times has Italy won, who are in, why Malmö, who are the favorites... Plus there a big photo of Mengoni and interview with him, nicely titled "What do you say if I now win in Europe, too?". And even that's not all, there's a nice look out to the Italian history in the contest including videos of their best placed entries. And even that's not all yet! In the end there's their Spotify list including allthe Italian entries! Che goduria, like Italian might say!

http://ilkar.blogspot.fi/2013/05/italy-smiles-and-songs-goes-eurovision.html

Only his fantastic Italian voice counts!

Malmö, Sweden -

Simplicity on stage but vocal perfectionism – that what Marco Mengoni’s entrance is about. During his second rehearsal, the audience in the Malmö Arena enjoyed Marco’s beautiful and moving ballad L'Essenziale.

Today, the singer entered the stage for his second rehearsal in the Malmö Arena and delivered, without any exaggerations, a vocally fantastic performance. Everything in Marco’s entry has been held modest: his cloths, his movements, the stage and colours. And against this simple background, Marco's powerful ballad L'Essenziale sounded perfect.

The stage was set in dark blue colours with some reddish-orange-blue shades on the projections. Marco wore blue jeans, a T-shirt and a blue jacket.

http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=only_his_fantastic_italian_voice_counts&source=twitter&medium=social&campaign=Twitter

Eurovision 2013: Direct Finalists Rehearse

Italy (Second Half)

RAI, the broadcaster responsible for the participation of Italy is definitely trying to keep the setup similar to the one used in the Sanremo competition but nevertheless, the stage there was more occupied with the orchestra rather than the performer. Marco is taking to the stage alone and he is wearing casual clothing for the performance today, rather than a suit as is expected. His vocals are brilliant as always and it seems that he is playing around with the notes ever so slightly. Prior to the final chorus, he skips onto the catwalk (literally). This is coming across beautifully on screen and Italy are sailing into the top five.

http://escflashmalta.com/index.php/music-news/international-music-news/item/2942-eurovision-2013-direct-finalists-rehearse-live

Day 10: Direct finalists’ round two rehearsals

The direct finalists, Big5 and Sweden, had their second round of reharsals in Malmö Arena today. These rehearsals were open for the press so that we got to see full 3-minute rehearsal videos.

ITALY

The Italians’ favorite boy Marco Mengoni conquered the arena next. Overall, the Big5 seem to have great artists with great songs in this year’s contest and Italy follows the path. Marco is on stage alone which is not a bad thing at all – he really manages to take over the space with his voice. Time will tell what he will wear on Saturday which, of course, is an essential part of Eurovision.

http://escwebs.net/2013/05/15/day-10-direct-finalists-round-two-rehearsals/

ITALY - Marco Mengoni - L'Essenziale

Marco didn't rehearse in his suit but we got to see the jacket and the color and indeed Ferragamo's peacock green looks great on him. Vocally great. The staging is kept minimal and only by the end he takes his microphone and walks via catwalk to the small stage where the song comes to its interrupt end. Marco drew himself to the second half of the final and I hope he would be placed last. People would maybe realize after all the glitter, bombs, rains of fire, dance acts and gimmicks that all you really need in the end is a good song and performance. Like this one. Eurovision so-called fanexperts mainly don't like this so much as it lacks all those elements mentioned before. But in the end, is this a song contest or a show contest? And wasn't the main idea of this year's edition downscaling? Italy is doing exactly that, bringing in only ... the essential. I am so hoping Italy wins.

http://ilkar.blogspot.fi/2013/05/esc-2013-malmo-day-10-italy.html

Interview: Marco Mengoni of Italy

Eurovision Times was lucky enough to be able to speak with Italy’s Marco Mengoni this week. As you can imagine, we were very grateful to be able to chat with one of the Big Five, and a huge thank you goes to Marco and the Italian delegation for making Marco so accessible this year. Things were not made easy thanks to some very noisy Danes… but check out the interview now!

Unfortunately just as we started the interview, Denmark’s delegation and press descended en masse to hold a press conference with Emmelie de Forrest in the same area of the hotel and made no effort to keep the noise down whilst waiting for her to arrive despite the fact they could see Marco conducting interviews! The Italian PR had to go and ask if they could be a little quieter whilst waiting. We’ve left the video in its unedited state so you can share in my time with Marco fully… and laugh at him growling (jokingly) at the exuberant Danes!

http://eurovisiontimes.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/interview-marco-mengoni-of-italy/

BACKSTAGE MAY 16: THE 2013 HOTTIES!

The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 is one of the best shows made up to day. We also have the hottest men of this edition and we proudly presenting them to you.

We start with the hottest of all giving him 12 points: Farid Mammadov from Azerbaijan. We alls saw him excersising in Malmoe, we also saw doing gym without his T-shirt and we also saw his training photos. He is the hottest six pack boxer we had this year in Malmoe.

We would like to give 10 points to Marco Mengoni. We is a true stree-boy-style handsome man and he is always smiling, without stressing for anything. He opens his arms for a hug and he is tall. His facial expressions are amazing and he is always giving a funny facial for each pitcure with the fans. (Marco al secondo posto per figaggine? Sacrilegio! )

We would like to give 08 points to the Irish dancers and the dancers of Belaruas (from Slovenia and Turkey/Germany) as they are hot like hell, getting on stage with almost no clothes and getting our minds dirty as hell. We love seeing them dancing and we love the way they are boosting their participants’ act.

We would like to give 06 points to Ryan Dolan himself. Not only because he has a great six-pack but because he is not a show off person. He has a great body but his social life with media and fans is not based on it. Besides that he should get 1000 points jsut because of his personality, simple, hummble and low profiled.

We would like to give 05 points to PeR from Latvia: The two guys are so handsome and they have this twink-alike body type whishc we love a lot. They are hot than ever and they actually can perform and dance at the same time. I need to get to know them better!

Last but not least we give 04 points to Andrius Pojavis (in a tie though with Pasha Parfeny – composer o the 2013 Moldovan entry). Andrius is a totally cool-alike guy, low profiled and it’s always hard to get him. But wehn you do, it always feels great! He has a great moment when performing with hands risen up the t-shirt which we simply love.

http://oikotimes.com/2013/05/16/backstage-may-16-the-2013-hotties/

http://ilkar.blogspot.fi/2013/05/blogilkar-exclusive-interview-marco.html

BLOGILKAR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MARCO MENGONI
Blogilkar's Bicyckling reporter Robert had a chance to interview the essential Italian Marco Mengoni. In his press conference he said Europe needs more to unite it than coins: music. And music needs place to breath: Eurovision. He's also happy Italy has returned to the contest after the absence of 14 years and thinks it's a shame they missed all those years as it's so great! What did he talk about in this joint interview in more private settings? Find out here:

Thank you Marco for your time. Italian broadcaster RAI chose you for Eurovision. Was it also your wish beforehand?
It was some years that I heard again about Eurovision since we returned in 2011, and yes of course I wanted to do this fantastic event. It was a dream. But I was feeling a bit inmature for such a big international stage, not knowing languages, being so young.... I'm living a wonderful experience here and I hope this will be a big brick in the wall of my career, so to speak.
When and why did you decide on L'Essenziale?
There were many options really. This project started in Sanremo, after many years in making. Last year I changed all my staff and it was like a new beginning for me. I don't want to talk about the song's success in Italy, because it's a bit... Anyways, it made feel like Italians approve the choice. We chose this also because of the lyrics. It's a song written by 3 Italians including me, a typical Italian ballad talking about hope, in this historic and difficult moment we are living it felt like a right thing to do. I'm here to represent Italy and this felt right song to do it with. I hope it's a starting point for me and my album abroad as well.
Sanremo is the biggest music festival in Italy, but what is your favorite Italian Eurovision song?
First of all I'm very young man... but I remember one. Volare. But I remember another one, Jalisse's Fiumi di parole! It's my first Eurovision memory. It was huge, all over this year.
Italy has sent some big names to Eurovision like Anna Oxa and Alice... Would you like duet with them, or someone else?
Boh, I don't know. I think I would go for some more recent names.... I could do a duet with Raphael Gualazzi, we share the same backgroud in soul and jazz. But I don't know... Other? Hmm... Toto Cutugno? Gianni Morandi did Eurovision, right? Him.
Many Italian artists are popular abroad like Laura Pausini and sell a lot of CDs. Are you also going to release internationally?
Yes, we are thinking about that and there are plans. We have recorded half of the album in English, and we have done demos in Spanish and the album is available on iTunes and Amazon wordlwide... I was very happy to sing in Big5 concert last night the English version of Pronto a correre, written by Take That's Marc Owen. Maybe you didn't understand a word I was singing but I assure you the studio version is almost perfect! Ha ha!
Now some personal question. You are going to wear Ferragamo in the final. What about the shoes? The beard?
Ha ha ha.... I will have elegant shoes.... :-) Black shoes with Swarovski chrystals.... just to be essential... ha ha ha! The beard... should I shave? I don't know yet! We'll see how I feel Saturday morning! Depends on the weather, ha ha!
Italians are known with their close relationship with mother. Are you a mammone?
I run away from home when I was 17 exactly for that reason! ha ha!
Have you seen your mother since?
She almost died when I said I'm leaving, my father didn't. I spoke to her last night on Skype. No one from my family is coming here...
Are you feeling alone?
Absolutely not! Ha ha ha! 200 rompicoglioni (pain in the ass, Ed.note) around all the time..... ;-) No, really, I'm joking. I believe a part of my Esercito (means Army aka his fans, Ed.note) will come here on Saturday. They are coming, be aware. You won't miss them!
I will stay away from them then.....
Just show them a picture with Marco and they will love you, too, ha ha ha!
Ok... When you need to rest, where do you go in Italy?
I never rest! Ha ha. I go back to my parents... mamma! Near Rome. There's mountains, a lake, nothing to do..... ! I return to the origins, like in the song. The song is about that really.
You started your concert tour just before coming here. How do you psyche up to sing only one song, 3 minutes?
In a way I'm happy it's only a few minutes. In a concert you may fall and rise, so to speak. Here you have 3 minutes, you really have to do it like your life depended on it. I do it like if it was my last day... my last interview.... like I do everything in my life, ha ha. I love the hard things. The concentration of those 3 minutes gives me a lot of adrenalin. I like it.
Did you receive any advice and help from Nina Zilli or Raphael Gualazzi?
No, I didn't. They should have told me, how crazy this is going to be! Ha ha! All these crazy journalists and all....
As we know Eurovision isn't that well known in Italy. How much your participation will help with that?
I don't know. A lot I hope! We'll find out later, but I know already that the rates of the First semifinal on Tuesday doubled in Italy, that's a good sign. It's my Army! :-) They are fantastic! Their virtual power is amazing and most of all, I want to thank them all! Tuesday in Twitter #esercito was top-2 trend in the world, they destroy everything!
If you were to do a cover version of any of this year's songs, what would it be? And why?
Marry me..... No!... that Ding Dong Team was all over the place in Amsterdam! Really, they are really sweet but.... Believe in me! No.... I don't know which song but I'd love to collaborate with the Greek band! They are full of energy. Birds might fit me too, beautiful... oh and they have an airbag in vocals, too! ha ha ha.... Oh, now we have to go, we are late. Of course.....
Ok, ciao Marco!

http://www.lepetitjournal.com/rome/societe/en-italie/152326-eurovision-gare-a-la-cacophonie

EUROVISION – Gare à la cacophonie

Boys band britannique surfait, Autrichien grunge décalé ou Castafiore estonienne siliconée, l'Eurovision est l'occasion de voyager à travers le Vieux Continent, aux rythmes de ses cultures et musicalités. Le concours n'est pourtant que peu plébiscité par les Italiens même si leur représentant, Marco Mengoni, pourrait créer la surprise samedi soir.

L'essentiel est de participer

Charmeur désabusé et mélancolique, Marco Mengoni espère faire gagner l'Italie lors de la 58e édition de l'Eurovision, samedi soir en Suède. À 24 ans, le jeune artiste a déjà remporté le festival de San Remo en février, étape nécessaire pour participer au concours paneuropéen. Avec L'Essenziale, numéro un des charts italiens pendant plusieurs semaines, le gagnant de X-Factor tentera de réitérer les prouesses de Gigliola Cinquetti et Toto Cutugno, vainqueurs en 1964 et 1990.

"Je crois qu'il a toutes ses chances. Il a une voix et un charisme exceptionnels", s'enchante Sara, rencontrée dans une grande enseigne multimédia à Rome. La compétition est néanmoins rude puisque Marco Mengoni affrontera 25 finalistes – après l'élimination de 13 candidats lors de deux demi-finales. Contributeur financier important, l'Italie échappe à cette sélection depuis 2000, tout comme la France, l'Allemagne, l'Espagne et le Royaume-Uni. Amandine Bourgeois et sa ballade aux tonalités groovy, "L'enfer et moi", pourrait donc faire triompher les couleurs françaises. La Suède, également épargnée de pré-sélection en tant que pays-hôte, soutient, quant à elle, le jeune Robin Stjernberg et son tube pop "You".

Le royaume scandinave a d'ailleurs dépensé 14,5 millions d'euros pour assurer le spectacle, loin des 100 millions d'euros investis par l'Azerbaïdjan l'an passé. "C'est indécent de gaspiller tant d'argent alors qu'on nous répète sans arrêt de faire des efforts", s'emporte Paolo, regardant furtivement les CD en tête de gondole. Le Portugal, la Slovaquie et la Bosnie-Herzégovine se sont ainsi désistés pour raison budgétaire. Dans une moindre mesure, la délégation espagnole avait "priée" sa candidate de ne pas être couronnée en 2012, de peur de devoir organiser le télé-crochet européen l'année suivante.

"Je t'aime, moi non plus"

Si Marco Mengoni remporte l'Eurovision, la Péninsule accueillera donc la compétition musicale en 2014 avec le soin d'éviter les fausses notes du passé. En 1965, l'orchestre italien s'était en effet virulemment disputé avec Serge Gainsbourg, auteur-compositeur pour le Luxembourg, peu avant la soirée. Représentant le Duché à Naples, France Gall avait finalement réussi à imposer "Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son" (vidéo) en tête du classement. Vingt-six ans plus tard, tout aurait pu se passer plus sereinement si Rome n'avait pas été choisie à la dernière minute. Dans une capitale inondée par des pluies diluviennes, les répétions avaient pris du retard, entachant la cérémonie de nombreux couacs en direct.

Bien que membre-fondateur en 1956, l'Italie n'a participé que 38 fois à l'Eurovision. La chanson en compétition de l'année 1974, intitulée "Sí", a même été censurée par la Rai. Quelques jours avant que les électeurs ne se prononcent par référendum contre le divorce, le titre était accusé de véhiculer un sens caché. En 1981, 1982 et 1986, la télévision publique estime également que le concours ne passionne pas assez son audience pour qu'elle présente un candidat. "Beaucoup de gens ne connaissent pas l'Eurovision. Je me demande quand je l'ai regardée pour la dernière fois", avoue Vanni, quinquagénaire peu friand de ces shows télévisés.

Si Umberto Tozzi et Raf décrochent la troisième place en 1987, parvenant à séduire leurs compatriotes, l'émission n'a jamais égalé le succès incroyable du Festival de San Remo, qui l'a inspirée. Elle disparaît de nouveau des ondes de 1994 à 1996 puis de 1998 à 2010. "Le concept est trop formaté et ringard", regrette Gianfranco, trentenaire dans la communication. Bien que passionné de musique, il ne fait pas partie des quelque 1,4 million d'Italiens (7,51% du public) qui ont suivi la retransmission sur Rai 2 en 2012. La compétition n'avait d'ailleurs attiré qu'environ 64 millions de téléspectateurs dans le monde, soit une baisse de 6 millions par rapport à 2011. Après s'être longtemps désintéressés du programme, les Français étaient quant à eux près de 4 millions (23%) devant France 3, deuxième chaîne de la soirée – moins que les 7,5 millions de Britanniques (36,2%) branchés sur BBC One.

Dis-moi qui sont tes amis, je te dirai qui tu es

"La grande majorité des chansons ne parle que d'amour. Je trouve aussi dommage que la plupart des candidats chante en anglais simplement pour espérer gagner des points", déplore Gianfranco. La stratégie prime en effet souvent sur l'authenticité puisque les interprètes sont libres de composer dans n'importe quelle langue. Cherchant un certain compromis avec "L'Amore è femmina (Out of Love)", Nina Zilli, présentée comme l'Amy Winehouse latine, a allié italien et anglais l'an passé. Parfois, les artistes ne sont même pas originaires de la nation qu'ils défendent, à l'instar de Céline Dion ("Ne partez pas sans moi"), victorieuse de l'Eurovision en 1988 au nom de la Suisse.

"Je regrette aussi que les pays votent plus par affinités diplomatiques que pour la chanson préférée", renchérit le Romain. Résultat de cette entente, le Portugal, l'Espagne et la France soutiennent régulièrement leurs amis italiens. Las de n'avoir pas remporté le concours depuis 1977, la délégation française a alors choisi Patricia Kaas en 2009 afin de courtiser les pays de l'Est, où elle y est très populaire. L'interprète de "Mon mec à moi" a toutefois été déçue de n'atteindre que la huitième place du classement avec les accents blues de sa partition "Et s'il fallait le faire".

"C'est émouvant de voir réuni le Vieux Continent à l'heure où l'idéal européen est mis à mal", se réjouit Luca, anesthésiste vénitien de passage à Rome. Tout autant europhile, Marco Mengoni (vidéo) s'est confié en début de mois sur Radio24 : "Je me sens citoyen européen même si je fais partie d'une nation qui tient beaucoup à son identité. Je suis ému et un peu anxieux. Je me sens si petit face à une aussi grande scène que l'Europe." Malgré une certaine appréhension, fera-t-il mieux que le brillant pianiste Raphael Gualazzi, arrivé second en 2011 ? Réponse samedi soir.

Martin CANGELOSI (www.lepetitjournal.com/rome) - Jeudi 16 mai 2013

Eurovision: A statistical analysis

17 May 2013

The Eurovision Song Contest was started in the 1950s with the noble aim of bringing the countries of Europe together after WWII.

But many of the competition's regular viewers have more than a sneaking suspicion that all is not equal when it comes to the voting patterns.

From Scandinavian mutual back-slapping to former Eastern bloc favouritism, the accusations of bias usually come thick and fast as soon as the judges register their scores.

The introduction of a combination of televoting and jury votes has altered voting patterns but, according to Dr Derek Gatherer, it has not ended regional bloc voting.

He has made a statistical study of how Eurovision votes are cast, in the hope of finding out what's really going on.

Under the voting system used, countries award their ten favourite songs with marks which rise from 1 to a maximum of 12.

Using his calculations, Mr Gatherer predicts Russia will win the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22560481

Por qué hay que participar en el Festival de Eurovisión

Todos los años por estas fechas son numerosas las voces que piden la retirada de España del Festival de Eurovisión sin realmente pararse a pensar cuáles son los objetivos que se persiguen y los beneficios que se obtienen.

Un país con larga tradición en el certamen, Italia, decidía retirarse del concurso en 1997 después de no haber obtenido los resultados esperados. Una larga ausencia a la que ponía fin en 2010 de una forma realmente exitosa. Europa le abrió los brazos y Raphael Gualazzi quedó segundo con la canción Follia d'amore.

El pasado año Nina Zilli volvió a dejar el pabellón italiano bien alto obteniendo una novena posición y este año Marco Mengoni se encuentra dentro de los favoritos. Una exitosa vuelta que ha servido para demostrar a sus vecinos las razones por las que un país no puede darle la espalda a tamaño evento musical y político.

"Italia se retiró un poco por el miedo en general y porque tenía poca audiencia. El formato estaba decayendo, necesitaba encontrar un nuevo estilo y cuando todo empezó a cambiar, la RAI estuvo un poco inerte al cambio", comenta a Vanitatis en un perfecto español Niccola Caligiori, jefe de la delegación italiana.

"Cuando mi jefe y yo llegamos a la RAI, nos dimos cuenta de que el hecho de que Italia faltara al certamen no estaba bien y de que el servicio público tenía que hacer algo por la promoción del país y su cultura. El servicio público tiene el deber de dar ayuda a la cultura, sobre todo en estos momentos coyunturales tan difíciles", recuerda.

Y añade. "Pero, además, este es un proyecto en el que también entran las relaciones internacionales. Eurovision es una ocasión muy importante para promover Italia, para promover Italia en Europa. Eurovision es el único programa, ademas de los eventos deportivos, que une Europa en frente de la televisión y crea un sentido de cohesión europea a través de la música. A veces se olvida ese mensaje, no es sólo un concurso musical. Es un momento en el que Europa se para y junta celebra su existencia".

Lo esencial de Italia

"Es una oportunidad de unión para una Europa en crisis", comenta por su parte Mengoni, que se presenta al certamen con la bonita y fantástica balada L'essenziale tras haber ganado la 63 edición Festival de San Remo en marzo y haberse convertido en un superventas en Italia.

Una canción que sirve para demostrar que para conseguir un buen papel en Eurovisión no son necesarias grandes puestas en escenas, sino lo más esencial de la música: la canción. "La música no necesita de grandes presupuestos, sólo de oídos para esucharla", confiesa este cantante romano afincado en Milán.

"No estoy convencido de que lo mejor para Eurovisión sea traer grandes puestas en escena. Lo que nos propusimos era traer calidad, proyectos consistentes, que no sólo estuvieran hechos para Eurovisión sino que nuestro representante pueda empezar una carrera europea, que Marco se convierta en el próximo Eros Ramazzotti", añade Caligiori.

Y lo argumenta con ejemplos. "Raphael está teniendo una carrera muy importante en Europa. Se ha mudado a Londres, hace giras por Europa, volvió a San Remo. Era un proyecto real. Y Nina ya está inmersa en la grabación de su segundo disco. Italia tiene una gran tradición musical y queremos que quede constancia de ello".

¿Y ese miedo a quedar mal del que se habla? "Ninguno. Verdaderamente siento un sentimiento de comunión. Da igual quedar último o primero. Yo no sabía lo que era Eurovisión y ahora he entendido cuánto significa", comenta Mengoni.

http://www.vanitatis.com/cine-tv/2013/05/17/por-que-hay-que-participar-en-el-festival-de-eurovision-24379/

10 razones por las que el cantante italiano es nuestro favorito en Eurovisión
¿Por qué votaremos por Marco Mengoni?

Como en Eurovisión (lee aquí nuestra crónica de la Primera Semifinal y de la Segunda Semifinal) no nos podemos votar a nosotros mismos –léase El sueño de Morfeo– tenemos claro que mañana nos vamos a dejar los dedos marcando lo que haya que marcar para votar por el representante de Italia en el Festival, Marco Mengoni.

Aquí os damos las 10 razones por las que este joven italiano de 24 años nos lo ha robado todo.

Una
Porque ‘L’Ezzenciale’, la canción que va a interpretar, es el mayor ‘tormentone’ de las últimas décadas. ‘Tormentone’ es como llaman los italianos a la canción que gana Sanremo. El videoclip es el más visto de la historia del país en forma de bota

Dos
Porque ha declarado que nunca va a responder si es gay, o no.

Tres
Porque en el pasado fue adicto a la Nutella y engordó 20 kg.

Cuatro
Porque nos ha hecho recuperar la fe en los concursos musicales televisivos: fue descubierto en la edición italiana de ‘X Factor’.

Cinco
Porque solo viste Salvatore Ferragamo.

Seis
Porque tiene un lado intelectual y es coautor de sus propias canciones. Por cierto, que tiene una titulada ‘Solo (Vuelta al ruedo)’. Así, en castellano.

Siete
Porque tiene un tic que le hace guiñar un ojo en sus actuaciones. Adorable.

Ocho
Porque en el Festival de Sanremo interpretó ‘Ciao, amore, ciao’, la canción con la que en 1967 participó Luigi Tenco. Este último se suicidió tras ser descalificado en la primera ronda del concurso.

Nueve
Porque para conseguir ese esculpido despeinado solo se lava el pelo una vez a la semana.

Diez
Porque es un ‘fashion victim’ que ha fijado su residencia en Milán para poder estar más cerca de una de las mecas de la moda.

http://www.lecturas.com/articulo/ultima_hora/1501/por_que_votaremos_por_marco_mengoni.html#

http://www.eurovision.de/teilnehmer/marcomengoni133.html?utm_content=ESC,+Eurovision&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"Der ESC ist süß, fruchtig und heiß"

Der italienische Sänger Marco Mengoni im Gespräch Sanremo-Gewinner, Man of the year und erster Italiener mit MTV Music Award: Marco Mengoni will den ESC trotzdem nicht gewinnen. Ein warmer Frühsommertag in Malmö. Marco Mengoni schlendert entspannt durch die Altstadt. An einen Ort kommt er während dieser Woche besonders gerne: Denn dort gibt es nicht nur Kaffee, sondern auch Schallplatten zu kaufen. Bei einem Café Crema mit Milch, Espresso mag er nicht, erzählt er von seinen Ängsten, seinen Hoffnungen und verrät, warum er an die Unteilbarkeit der Zahl Drei glaubt.

Du hast bei der Pressekonferenz gesagt, der härteste Teil deiner Arbeit sind Interviews. Ist es jetzt sehr schlimm?

Marco Mengoni: Einzelinterviews sind immer OK, aber vor Pressekonferenzen habe ich wirklich Angst. Ich weiß gar nicht warum, aber da bin ich immer aufgeregt. Das hat auch gar nichts mit der Sprache zu tun. In Sanremo war ich auch aufgeregt. Wenn ich auf der Bühne stehe, ist das nicht so. Da fühle ich mich zu Hause.

Eigentlich bist du ja gerade auf Tour. Das Konzert in Mailand war am 11. Mai und am 20. Mai geht es weiter in Turin. Diese Woche in Malmö muss doch Urlaub für dich sein!

Mengoni: Ja (lacht). Aber im Ernst: Ich bin sehr zufrieden, das erste Konzert in Mailand gemacht zu haben. Ich konnte ein bisschen Energie tanken und mit Kraft aus meinem Land ins Ausland kommen.

Für seine schmachtige Liebesballade, die der Repräsentant für Italien in Malmö präsentieren will, verwandelt sich der 24-jährige Marco Mengoni in einen singenden Fisch.

Du wirkst immer extrem entspannt auf der Bühne. Auch bei deinen ESC-Proben und Auftritten. Ist dir der ESC egal?

Mengoni: Nein, ich mache das, was ganz natürlich in mir ist. Deshalb gehe ich auch im Pyjama auf die Bühne.

Und wie trittst du beim Finale auf? Wirst du dich rasieren?

Mengoni: Das weiß ich noch nicht, ob ich mich rasiere. Sicherlich kürze ich meinen Bart ein bisschen. Aber das hängt davon ab.

Wovon?

Mengoni: Davon, wie ich aufwache (lacht). Das hängt vom Feeling am Morgen und vom Karma ab. Aber ich werde mich elegant kleiden. So wie es Italien von mir verlangt (lacht). Ich werde etwas von dem Designer Salvatore Ferragamo tragen.

Du hast bist früher auf Hochzeiten aufgetreten. Gibt es ein Lied, das dich seitdem verfolgt?

Mengoni: Das mit den Hochzeiten habe ich gemacht , um nebenbei Geld zu verdienen. Ein Lied, dass ich wirklich abgrundtief hasse ist "Il Meneito" (singt). Das ist so wie "Macarena". Furchtbar! Und wirklich alle haben sich das gewünscht. Ich musste es viel zu oft singen. Aber trotzdem war es eine gute Schule.

Aber auch hier beim ESC gibt es viele Tanz-Choreografien. Da fällst du mit deinem Auftritt raus.

Der italienische Sänger Marco Mengoni im Gespräch Eine Tanzchoreographie zu "L'Essenziale"? Lieber nicht, meint Marco Mengoni. Mengoni: Ja, zum Glück! Stell Dir mal vor, ich würde zu "L’essenziale" "Macarena" tanzen! (Lacht.) Aber ein Großteil der Lieder hier beim ESC sind Dance-Stücke. Wir präsentieren eine klassische italienische Ballade und ich bin sehr zufrieden damit. Denn in Italien ist "L’essenziale" sehr gut angekommen. Und deshalb ist es für mich so, als hätten die Italiener gesagt: "OK, geh in andere Länder mit dem Song."

Du selbst bist ja sehr bekannt in Italien. Kann deine Teilnahme am ESC den Wettbewerb dort bekannter machen?

Mengoni: Ich hoffe, dass der ESC mehr Aufmerksamkeit bekommt. Aber er wird auch jetzt schon positiv wahrgenommen. Italien hat so viele Jahre gefehlt beim ESC, deshalb ist der Wettbewerb nicht so bekannt wie hier. Aber ich bin sehr zufrieden. Denn das erste Semifinale haben doppelt so viele gesehen wie im Vorjahr.

Und erst recht, wenn du gewinnen würdest!

Mengoni: Nein! Ich darf nicht gewinnen! Italien steckt zu tief in der Krise. Da müsste uns schon Angela Merkel helfen (lacht).

Aber wie wäre es, wenn der ESC tatsächlich in Italien stattfinden würde?

Mengoni: Das wäre eine phantastische Sache. Wir haben so viele wunderschöne Städte. Wahrscheinlich würde der ESC in Turin stattfinden. Aber ich sehe ihn in Rom, im Hintergrund das Colosseum und alle Denkmäler.

Was würdest du denn am ESC ändern, wenn du könntest?

Mengoni: Dass Musiker live auf der Bühne spielen und es kein Instrumentalplayback gibt. So machen wir das ja auch in Sanremo. Es wird wirklich live gespielt mit einem großen Orchester. Vor allem in Osteuropa gibt es unglaubliche Orchester. Das wäre doch toll, die auf der Bühne zu sehen.

Du hast ja lange Zeit als Barkeeper gearbeitet. Welcher Cocktail ist der ESC?

Der italienische Sänger Marco Mengoni im Gespräch Mengonis Favorit? Deutschland. Er selbst würde gerne auf den dritten Platz kommen. Mengoni: Von der Leidenschaft, die die Menschen in ihn stecken, wäre es ein "Sex on the Beach". Süß, fruchtig und ein bisschen heiß. Denn die Leute flippen ja total aus. In diesen Tagen in Malmö habe ich wirklich verrückte Leute gesehen in unglaublichen Situationen. Beim ESC ist wirklich viel "Euphoria" zu spüren. Und für mich ist das ganz seltsam, weil wir das vom ESC in Italien nicht kennen. Aber ich finde es toll, diese Begeisterung zu sehen.

Aber jetzt mal ehrlich: Welche Platzierung würdest du gerne erreichen?

Mengoni: Meine Lieblingszahl ist die Drei. Sie zieht sich irgendwie durch mein ganzes Leben. Bei meinem ersten Mal in Sanremo habe ich den dritten Platz gemacht. Ich glaube an die Unteilbarkeit der Drei. Auf dem dritten Platz zu landen, wäre fantastisch. Aber vielleicht erwarte ich da auch zu viel.

Dann machen wir doch mit der Drei weiter. Dein aktuelles Album #protoaccorere widmest du deinen Followern auf Twitter. Beschreibe den ESC mit drei Hashtags!

Mengoni: #passion, #crazypeople, #unitedstatesofeurope

Wer wird am Samstag den ESC gewinnen?

Mengoni: Deutschland gewinnt! Ist doch klar.

Das sagst du doch jetzt, weil wir aus Deutschland kommen!

Mengoni: Nein, ihr seid doch die einzigen, die den nächsten ESC organisieren können (lacht). Ich mag Cascada wirklich gerne und höre nur Gutes von ihr. Mir gefällt elektronische Musik. Da sind Deutschland, aber auch Frankreich ganz vorne dabei. Ich sage sicher: Cascada gewinnt. Wobei mir persönlich auch der griechische Beitrag sehr gut gefällt.

Das Interview führte Marie Marzahn.

Eurovision 2013: Grand Final Dress Rehearsal 1
Posted by Daniel

I love France’s ‘L’Enfer et Moi’ as much as anybody but it strikes an odd tone as the show opener. Amandine Bourgeois threatening bad things on whomever has crossed her jars with the ‘We Are One’ stuff that precedes it. The number two slot is oft considered the worst of the lot, but Lithuania’s ‘Something’ does introduce viewers to a strong beat and Andrius was actually in great form this afternoon. On this evidence, it’s not propping up the scoreboard.

Moldova doesn’t stack up so badly in third either. It’s our first big Eurovision ballad of the evening, and that along with the staging may help it stick in viewers’ minds longer than plenty of others following it. I’m not sure how healthy it is for Finland’s ‘Marry Me’ to be on so early, but the camera angles and staging for this looked great once more. It’s definitely not good for Spain, though. Pleasant though the song is, it’s the polar opposite of Finland in terms of impact.

Qualifying for the final seems to have given Belgium’s Roberto Bellarosa’s confidence a tremendous boost. He was far better at putting across ‘Love Kills’ than earlier in the week. Estonia’s composition seems very old-fashioned next to it but Birgit sold it as well as she always does. Belarus offers a welcome change of pace though it still seems like we’re stuck in a previous Eurovision era. To be fair, Alyona Lanskaya was in good form this afternoon.

Coming after the slightly forced nature of Belarus emphasises the contrasting charm and warmth of Malta’s ‘Tomorrow’. Gianluca had no problems vocally, though his schtick works best with the arena full for some glad-handling during his catwalk moment. Russia too needs the crowd to help life the final chorus by waving illuminated bracelets, although the overall effect of ‘What If’ is always going to be cheesy but immediate.

Fans of ‘Glorious’ will be pleased to hear that Natalie Horler was back in top form for this rehearsal. Germany have added some extra pyros for the instrumental after the first chorus. Not all the camera angles were right here, but this was far more encouraging. Armenia suffers from coming afterwards as much as Spain isn’t helped by following Finland.

What comes next is a skit from comedy character Lynda Woodruff, which means Netherlands’ Anouk is first on after the big break. I’m not sure it’s ideal for her, but she sounded great this afternnon. She’s now followed by Romania’s Cezar who had the last laugh in the second semi-final. I’m once bitten and twice shy concerning the fate of ‘It’s My Life’.

Many UK fans were unhappy about the 15 slot, but Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Believe In Me’ works very well here as a return to sanity. The staging continues to be effective. It’s actually got better for Sweden’s ‘You’ too, I think because the camera angles are more polished.

After the pyros of the Swedish finale, Hungary’s more low-key approach is incredibly refreshing. The problem for ByeAlex is that it’s followed by the winner’s staging of Denmark’s ‘Only Teardrops’. Emmelie is looking increasingly confident on the Malmo stage.

Iceland’s Eythor is not overawed though. He’s doing his shaggy-haired, sensitive Viking thing to great effect, and ’Eg a Lif’ offers a welcome and natural performance. Azerbaijan’s ‘Hold Me’ comes across as rather contrived in comparison, but its impact on the scoreboard shouldn’t be underestimated.

‘Alcohol Is Free’ really needs the outifts and a full arena to lift it; but the Koza Mostra boys were in fine voice. I have to admit readers, that the poorly-structured ‘Gravity’ from Ukraine has grown on me over the past week. It’s still a mess of a song, but Zlata is captivating, especially given the testosterone that surrounds her this late in the running order.

Italy’s Marco Mengoni accidentally caught the camera’s eye once as he scanned the arena. But his heartfelt performance of ‘L’essenziale’ with catwalk use for the finale does have an impact. I can’t rule out a decent finish for this either given the way the draw has helped it. Norway’s Margaret Berger was in good form; it’s becoming clear just how strong this run of songs is.

Georgia’s ‘Waterfall’ can seem more formulaic in comparison and the final minute still sounds a little shouty, but don’t discount the fact it’s the best love story viewers will get out of this Saturday night. Talking of love, Ireland has a tough set of songs to follow but it’s an entirely fitting closing number.

Initial conclusion? The producer-decided draw has created an unprecedented finale with very few duds in the last third of the running order. That makes life more difficult for punters. Let me know your thoughts below.

http://sofabet.com/2013/05/17/eurovision-2013-grand-final-dress-rehearsal-1/

ITALIAN SUPERSTARS SUPPORT MENGONI IN EUROVISION!

Marco Mengoni has got a lot of support messages and good wishes from his fans, but not only. Even Italian heavyweight singers and superstars like Eros Ramazzotti, Claudio Baglioni, Andrea Bocelli, Gianna Nannini and Adriano Celentano with wife Claudia Mori have sent their wishes. I'm happily surprised they even know about Eurovision! Gianna, Eros.... could you consider it next year, please? :-)
Also Take That's Marc Owen has sent his greetings, so he's not sore his song for him wasn't chosen! And that is of course Pronto a correre.

http://ilkar.blogspot.fi/2013/05/italian-superstars-support-mengoni-in.html

Eurovision 2013: Jury Dress Rehearsal (Final)

Italy

Marco Mengoni, the Italian hearthrob who stole the show at Sanremo earlier this year. He is wearing a teal suit as seen in this afternoons' rehearsal video and whilst this might not look great on the same video below, it comes across beautifully on the cameras. This is definitely going to pick up a lot of votes with the juries this evening considering that Sanremo is somewhat riddles with juries. He is definitely trying to play with his vocals and it seems that the performance is far too emotional. The vocals are just stunning and he manages to impress. I am sure that the juries will give this an extremely high position.

http://www.escflashmalta.com/index.php/music-news/international-music-news/item/2955-eurovision-2013-jury-dress-rehearsal-final-live

Eurovisión 2013: el norte gana al sur
El concurso musical por excelencia en Europa llega a su 58ª edición con un bloque de países nórdicos muy potente

Tras la irrupción de la Europa del Este y los países balcánicos en el Festival de Eurovisión a finales de los noventa, los clásicos del concurso, los de toda la vida, parecieron quedar un poco descolocados debido al empuje de los nuevos participantes. El Festival se desbordó y hubo que reformular las normas y crear semifinales eliminatorias. En la actualidad, el eje de rotación parece haberse trasladado de nuevo a los orígenes.

Siempre se ha dicho que los países nórdicos son los que más en serio se toman su participación en Eurovisión. Suecia, el anfitrión este año, organiza, incluso, un festival interno, el Melodifestivalen, para elegir a su representante. No en vano, sueca es la que se considera, hasta ahora, la mejor canción de toda la historia del concurso: Waterloo, de ABBA. Por eso se vivió como un pequeño drama que Suecia quedara excluida de la final en 2010, algo inconcebible para un país que vive el festival todo el año.

Sin embargo, Suecia no ha sido la única. Otros países considerados clásicos de Eurovisión han sufrido dramas similares en los últimos años, consecuencia del aluvión de países que se quisieron sumar al festival tras la desintegración de la URSS y de Yugoslavia. Este año, sin ir más lejos, Israel, Suiza o Chipre no han llegado a la final, mientras que Países Bajos, uno de los participantes clásicos presentes en el concurso desde su primera edición, vuelve en 2013 a la final después de ocho años sin lograr clasificarse.

Las quinielas

De los 39 países que han querido participar este año en Eurovisión, 26 han pasado a la gran final. De ellos, como siempre, seis participantes lo hacen directamente, sin tener que enfrentarse en semifinales. Son los llamados Big Five (Reino Unido, Alemania, Francia, Italia y España), los cinco países que más fondos aportan a la UER (Unión Europea de Radiodifusión), a los que se suma el anfitrión, que organiza el festival por haber ganado la edición anterior. Es habitual que ninguno de estos países se encuentre entre los favoritos en las casas de apuestas sobre Eurovisión. Claro, que eso no significa que cualquiera de ellos pueda ganar. Al fin y al cabo las apuestas solo son especulaciones y lo que importa es el resultado de la votación final.

Este año, las quinielas las lidera Dinamarca, con la canción Only teardrops, de Emmely de Forest, un tema que, en ocasiones, recuerda al exitoso Euphoria, de Loreen, ganadora de la edición anterior.

En segunda posición se sitúa la noruega Margaret Berger y su I feed you my love, seguida de las representantes de Ucrania y Rusia, todas ellas con una gran demostración vocal y dominio del escenario.

Otra mujer, la holandesa Anouk, con la canción Birds, dulce y melódica, ha logrado colocarse entre las consideradas con más probabilidades de triunfar.

En el otro lado de la tabla de apuestas, es decir, donde se ubican aquellos a quienes se les otorgan menos posibilidades de ganar, están la canción de Armenia, la española de El Sueño de Morfeo o la francesa de Amandine Bourgeois (L'enfer et moi).

Al margen de los favoritos, cada año hay una serie de canciones que pueden equilibrar la balanza o, incluso, dar la vuelta a las apuestas y situarse entre los primeros puestos de la tabla de clasificación. Este año, esas canciones con los ingredientes necesarios para obtener un buen puesto son la italiana de Marco Mengoni (L'essenziale).

Alemania, con el tema Glorious; Irlanda, y su movido Only love survives; y la gran apuesta de Eurovisión este año: la rockera británica Bonnie Tyler, con la canción Believe in me, con la que Reino Unido intentará reeditar su última victoria en el festival, en el año 1997, tras recuperar a otro de sus clásicos para el concurso: Katrina & The Waves.

Norte y Sur

Echando un rápido vistazo al mapa de participantes, se podría decir que el bloque de países del norte y del este de Europa triunfa sobre los del sur. De las naciones más duramente azotadas por la crisis, sólo Grecia, Italia y España están en la final, y ninguna entre las favoritas. Chipre ha quedado descalificada en semifinales, mientras que Portugal y Andorra, que tradicionalmente siempre han otorgado su puntuación máxima a la canción española, este año han decidido no participar, al igual que Turquía. Además, por primera vez desde su incorporación al Festival de Eurovisión, este año no ha llegado a la final ni un solo país de la ex Yugoslavia (Serbia, Croacia, Eslovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia y Montenegro). Será interesante comprobar en qué países recaen sus votos ya que, aunque no estén en la fase final del concurso, sí que pueden otorgar sus puntos.

http://www.cadenaser.com/cultura/articulo/eurovision-2013-norte-gana-sur/csrcsrpor/20130518csrcsrcul_2/Tes

http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=marco_mengoni_sings_with_hope_for_italy

Marco Mengoni sings with hope for Italy

Marco Mengoni represents Italy in Malmö.
Published 44 minutes ago

Written by Victor M. Escudero

About Marco Mengoni

December 25th, 1988. Marco was born on Christmas Day in Ronciglione (Viterbo, Italy). He became interested in music from an early age: “As a little kid, I used to listen to a little bit of everything, from pop to r&b, from rock to soul music. I discovered karaoke and I would sing when nobody was looking, as I was pretty shy. One day my parents heard me singing and decided to send me to singing lessons. Soon I found out that music was not as easy as I thought, I had a lot to learn…breathing techniques, facial exercises, musical scales, vocalisations of every kind to improve my voice.”

Malmö, Sweden -
Italy has only ended in the Top 10 since their broadcaster decided to rejoin the Eurovision Song Contest. This year all their hopes fall in the winning song of their Sanremo Festival, L'Essenziale (The Essential) and its performer, Marco Mengoni.

Moments before the Grand Final takes place we've had the pleasure of chatting with Marco Mengoni about Italy , the Eurovision and his own song L'Essenziale. Check it out in our video below:

The interest towards the Eurovision Song Contest has increased in Italy this year. And the reason is Marco Mengoni. He is the number one artist in his country at the moment, especially after he won the coveted Festival di Sanremo back in February.

He is fully supported back home, not only by his fans and the Italian broadcaster RAI but virtually by all his fellow artists like Eros Ramazzotti or Andrea Bocelli who've been backing him on social media in the last couple of days. Also the city of Turin has offered to host the competition in case Italy wins tonight.

What do you think of Italy's chances tonight? Will you support Marco?

MARCO MENGONI BEST OF THE BIG5+1

Once again Italy did well in the Eurovision. After their return they have been 2nd, 9th and now 7th with Marco Mengoni's L'Essenziale, being by far the best of the Big5+1 countries. Host country Sweden managed 14th, but United Kingdom was 19th, Germany 21st, France 23rd and Spain 25th. All also brought in a rather famous name, yet... Not much to be happy about, is there!

http://ilkar.blogspot.fi/2013/05/marco-mengoni-best-of-big51.html

First reactions of tonight's contestants

As the final notes of Te Deum echoed around the Malmö Arena, and Emmelie de Forest was still celebrating on the stage. The other 25 artists started to drift from the Green Room, and we had a chance to get a few words with some of them.

For some their result had come as a complete surprise, and they were thrilled and what they had just achieved, and for others it was difficult to hide their disappointment.

One of the first we had the chance to talk to was Robin Stjernberg, who had the pleasure of performing in front of a home crowd, and was very enthusiastic in his praise for everything tonight.

Margaret Berger was very gracious in her praise for the Danish winner, and was delighted with her own result in the contest, a fourth place.

Just one place behind her was Dina Garipova for Russia, who was just beaming in her smiles to the cameras,

From the United Kingdom, Bonnie Tyler was equally as gracious, and was delighted not only with her own performance, but of the amazing atmosphere in the arena, and was pleased that she hadn't finished in last place.

Malta achieved one of their best results for several years, and Gianluca was thrilled at having come in eighth place, and just loved the atmosphere on stage. We asked him that if he enjoyed it so much, would he do the contest again? He replied he would, but maybe not as soon as next year.

Greece had got off to the best possible start in the voting, and their lead singer, and composer, Ilias Kozas, was very happy at the result with a sixth place, and was full of praise for the winner.

The Belgian artist, Roberto Bellarosa was extremely happy with his result (12th place), and was full of smiles for our camera.

Nodi Tatishvili, who is one half of the couple that represented Georgia, expressed his satisfaction with everything, and was more than happy to talk to us, whilst his partner Sophie Gelovani was being physically carried along the red carpet corridor that connects the two venues.

The Italian entrant, Marco Mengoni, who isn't known for his command of the English language, seemed to suddenly find the ability to talk to us in some length in English, and was happy that Italy achieved another respectable result.

http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=first_reactions_of_tonights_contestants&source=twitter&medium=social&campaign=Twitter

ANOUK AND MENGONI INCREASE THE EUROVISION AUDIENCE

The first viewing figures are out. In The Netherlands Anouk continued her boom. Ober 4,8 million Dutch followed her adventure and the peak during her performance was 5,9 million. That's the best figures in The Netherlands in 14 years.
In Italy Mengoni didn't manage to attract that well but there is a rise, nearly 1,9 million Italians tuned in (last year 1,4 million and in 2011 1,3 million). That's still 0,5 million more, it's a jump! And it was against very popular Amici reality show on Canale5 (4,7 million viewers last night)

http://ilkar.blogspot.fi/2013/05/anouk-and-mengoni-rise-eurovision.html

CAN YOU BUY A VICTORY IN EUROVISION?

Or a top place? It's the eternal question. It emerges most every year and there's also proof about it in the past. The finger has been pointed to Azerbaijan previously (and country's run in Eurovision is rather unique: 8th, 3rd, 5th, winner, 4th, 2nd). This blogger heard the first rumours about it right after the second semifinal and today there seems to be proof as well. Check out this article in our partner 12points.tv's website. Let's see how this ends and will EBU takes action and if, what kind....

http://ilkar.blogspot.fi/2013/05/can-you-buy-victory-in-eurovision.html

Proof of vote rigging by Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan got second place at ESC 2013, but apparently this wasn't an earned victory - more one that was paid for.

Last year, we here at 12points.tv analyzed the voting patterns among all countries and discovered a pattern in the voting results for Azerbaijan. In past years, countries with small populations and/or with little Eurovision engagement were voting for the Azerbaijani entries. This resulted, for example, in Malta awarding the full 12 points to Azerbaijan three times in a row. Read the entire article from last year here.
The footage is below - and it's in Russian without subtitles:
https://youtu.be/JvHwxzXkeo8

Things seem not to have changed since last year, Malta awarded its 12 to the Azeri again, and so did Bulgaria, Israel and Lithuania, to name a few - just like in 2012. There is no argument in the fact that the stage presentation of "Hold Me" was one of the most original and well executed. However, yesterday some proof for this theory appeared when Lithuanian journalists filmed a meeting they had with persons who had been offering 20 € to vote for specified artists, as often as possible.

The music is appropriately cheesy for such a deal. But if you're not a Russian speaker, the website 15minutes.lv summarized what their journalists did in the video:

"Eurovision 2013" can only be won by buying votes. Two Russian-speaking men were sure of this who boldly and without shyness offered Lithuanians money for their votes for one of the participants. The story began on Saturday morning when several students came to the edition and told an amazing story: near the White Bridge in Vilnius Russian-speaking men approached them and offered money. It was necessary to vote in the evening for a specified artist of "Eurovision-2013" as much as possible, and to get 20 euro fee for that. With this vote buyers have promised to provide sim cards, on which the account was topped up in advance.

Journalists of 15min.lt pretended greedy citizens and went to meet the buyers of votes. Along the way, they armed with hidden cameras and tape recorders. Already at the meeting it was discovered, that students mixed country - vote buying was conducted not for Russia, but for Azerbaijan.

The buyers came to the appointed place in the cafe on time. Only a little more than ten minutes of conversation they had time to put the whole scheme, boasted that the purchase was in nearly all countries that otherwise there would be no competition for a long time, nobody would win, and indeed, almost did not let reporters ask a single question - told all themselves and without constraint.

The man without any hesitation said that Azerbaijan is working in this way in 15 countries. When asked how much it cost to win the contest, the man laconically answered that millions.

After seeing how the EBU handled all of the endless Azeribaijan reports from the mass media and the Eurovision fan press - i.e. not at all, will this video provoke them to investigate what happened? It's not the EBU's fault if the voting is corrupted, more to do with the participants who are working to rig the result. The Azeris would not be missed in the competition if these allegations, this time with proof, prove to be too much for the contest next year.

http://12points.tv/esc/item/1950-proof-of-vote-rigging-by-azerbaijan