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41 countries in Rotterdam: one was never absent

As you might have noticed, today the participating countries for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest are announced. Exactly the same countries that were already on the list for Rotterdam 2020, will be back in 2021.

We would like to give a shout out to one country in particular: Germany. This country has had an entry at all of the Eurovision Song Contests so far. That means that, including the 2 entries in 1956 and the entry for this years cancelled contest, we will be able to greet the 67th German entry.

Only one time, the German entry did not manage to reach the Eurovision stage. In 1996, the songs first had to go through an audio preselection as only 23 countries could take part. Poor Leon, the singer who was supposed to represent Germany, did not make it to the best 23. An unexpected failure, as the Germans were pretty sure Leon’s “Planet of blue” was going to do very well in the contest. 

Leon, whose real name is Jürgen Göbel, did another attempt to represent his country in 1997, but became 2nd in the national preselection.

But, final or not, there wás a German entry in 1996. Let’s look forward to the 2021 entry, whatever and with whoever it is…

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Blast from the past

Blast from the past: Romania 2003

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today we look back at Nicola’s Don’t Break My Heart, Romania 2003. Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest Romania made their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. The year before, they already did an attempt. That year, they took part in the Eastern European qualification round Kvalifikacija za Millstreet. Romania has never won the Eurovision Song Contest so far. Both Luminița Anghel & Sistem with Let Me Try (2005) and Paula Seling & Ovi with Playing With Fire (2010) reached a 3rd place. However, Romania did not participate in this year’s contest. They will also be absent in the 2025 contest. Luminița Anghel Selecția Națională 2003 The Romanian national selection is called Selecția Națională. That was already the case in 2003. Two semifinals were held with 12 songs each. Mălina Olinescu (Eurovision 1998) was one of the contestants but she didn’t reach the final. The 10 who did are listed below: Valahia sang Friends Are Friends, 11 pts. 3rd D’La Vegas sang Oxigen, 5 pts, 10th Nicola sang Don’t Break My Heart, 24 pts, 1st Genius sang My Life, 9 pts, 6th Paula Seling sang Let’s Go!, 11 pts, 3rd Răzvan Crivaci and Liviu Sorescu sang Once Upon A Time, 9 pts, 6th Alexandra Ungureau sang Make This Love Come True, 11 pts, 3rd Centru’ Civic sang Come With Us, 9 pts, 6th Aurelian Temișan sang Let’s Have A Holiday, 20 pts, 2nd Mihai Trăistariu (member of Valahia) and Paula Seling later also represented Romania, Paula even twice. Mihai Trăistariu Nicola Nicoleta Alexandru, known as Nicola, was born on November 5, 1966, in Bucharest, Romania. She began her music career in 1985, performing at the Mamaia Festival, where she won several awards. Nicola sang in various bands before launching her solo career in 1999 with the hit song Cu tălpile goale (Barefoot). The song gained widespread airplay on many radio and TV stations across Romania. In 2003, Nicola rose to fame after winning Romania’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Don’t Break My Heart. She represented Romania in Riga, Latvia, and secured 10th place. That same year, she released her album Best of Nicola, which achieved great success and earned her a Platinum Disc. Nicola continued her music career, releasing albums and singles such as De mă vei chema (If You Call Me) and Honey in 2005. She received several MTV Romania Music Award nominations and collaborated with well-known international artists, including Thomas Nichols. In 2019, Nicola competed again in Romania’s Eurovision selection with the song Weight of the World. Don’t Break My Heart Nicola wrote and composed Don’t Break My Heart, with her husband Mihai Alexandru producing the song. With its catchy tune and her strong performance, Nicola won first place in Romania’s national competition, securing her spot at the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga. On May 24, 2003, Nicola performed Don’t Break My Heart for an international audience. The song’s upbeat pop melody and her powerful vocals captured attention. Nicola finished in 10th place, earning 73 points from the voting countries, marking a strong result for Romania at that time.     Share

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Blast from the past
Martijn

Blast from the past: Romania 2003

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today we look back at Nicola’s Don’t Break My Heart, Romania 2003. Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest Romania made their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. The year before, they already did an attempt. That year, they took part in the Eastern European qualification round Kvalifikacija za Millstreet. Romania has never won the Eurovision Song Contest so far. Both Luminița Anghel & Sistem with Let Me Try (2005) and Paula Seling & Ovi with Playing With Fire (2010) reached a 3rd place. However, Romania did not participate in this year’s contest. They will also be absent in the 2025 contest. Luminița Anghel Selecția Națională 2003 The Romanian national selection is called Selecția Națională. That was already the case in 2003. Two semifinals were held with 12 songs each. Mălina Olinescu (Eurovision 1998) was one of the contestants but she didn’t reach the final. The 10 who did are listed below: Valahia sang Friends Are Friends, 11 pts. 3rd D’La Vegas sang Oxigen, 5 pts, 10th Nicola sang Don’t Break My Heart, 24 pts, 1st Genius sang My Life, 9 pts, 6th Paula Seling sang Let’s Go!, 11 pts, 3rd Răzvan Crivaci and Liviu Sorescu sang Once Upon A Time, 9 pts, 6th Alexandra Ungureau sang Make This Love Come True, 11 pts, 3rd Centru’ Civic sang Come With Us, 9 pts, 6th Aurelian Temișan sang Let’s Have A Holiday, 20 pts, 2nd Mihai Trăistariu (member of Valahia) and Paula Seling later also represented Romania, Paula even twice. Mihai Trăistariu Nicola Nicoleta Alexandru, known as Nicola, was born on November 5, 1966, in Bucharest, Romania. She began her music career in 1985, performing at the Mamaia Festival, where she won several awards. Nicola sang in various bands before launching her solo career in 1999 with the hit song Cu tălpile goale (Barefoot). The song gained widespread airplay on many radio and TV stations across Romania. In 2003, Nicola rose to fame after winning Romania’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Don’t Break My Heart. She represented Romania in Riga, Latvia, and secured 10th place. That same year, she released her album Best of Nicola, which achieved great success and earned her a Platinum Disc. Nicola continued her music career, releasing albums and singles such as De mă vei chema (If You Call Me) and Honey in 2005. She received several MTV Romania Music Award nominations and collaborated with well-known international artists, including Thomas Nichols. In 2019, Nicola competed again in Romania’s Eurovision selection with the song Weight of the World. Don’t Break My Heart Nicola wrote and composed Don’t Break My Heart, with her husband Mihai Alexandru producing the song. With its catchy tune and her strong performance, Nicola won first place in Romania’s national competition, securing her spot at the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga. On May 24, 2003, Nicola performed Don’t Break My Heart for an international audience. The song’s upbeat pop melody and her powerful vocals captured attention. Nicola finished in 10th place, earning 73 points from the voting countries, marking a strong result for Romania at that time.     Share

Share
Read More »