After the Eurovision fame: Dima Bilan

Dima Bilan won the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest for Russia.

Early life

Dima Bilan was born as Victor Belan on December 24, 1981. He was born in Ust-Dzheguta, in the Autonomous Soviet Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia. He took part in several music competitions. For example, he won the “Young Voices of the Caucasus” competition. His first performance on television was in 1995, also in a talent show. In 1998, when he was 16 years old, he went to Moscow to participate in the Chunga-Changa festival, where the chairman of the jury gave him a diploma. He chose ‘Dima Bilan’ as his stage name; Dmitriy was his grandfather’s name. So Dima is a tribute to him.

Breakthrough and first two albums

Once he lived in Moscow, Dima began to record his first songs. The video of his debut single “Osen” became a success. The video was shot in the Gulf of Finland. At the time, under the pseudonym Dima Belan, he was regularly seen on MTV Russia.
Although he studied to become an opera singer, he dreamed of a career as a pop singer. The dream came true when a classmate introduced him to producer Yuri Aizenshpis. His first real big success came in 2002, when he took fourth place in the New Wave festival. A new single and video, “Boom”, followed and in 2003 there was Dima Bilan’s debut album “Ya nochnoy huligan”. Television appearances followed, and his single “Na beregu neba” reached number 2 in the Russian charts. The album with the same name went gold in 2004. It became one of the best-selling albums of 2004 in Russia.

First steps in the field of Eurovision

After this success, producer Aizenshpis registered Bilan to participate in the national final of the Eurovision Song Contest. He sang in English: “Not that simple”. Although he was close, Dima Bilan didn’t win the ticket to the Eurovision song contest in Kiev. He did, however, have a hit with the song. The Russian version “”Ty dolzhna ryadom byt'” became one of the biggest hits of 2005. Several other hits followed. When Yuri Aizenshpis passed away in late 2005, producers lined up to take Dima under their wing, eventually Yana became Rudkovskaya his new producer. That caused another problem with his name, because it was officially owned by Aizenshpis’ company. When this conflict was resolved, Dima decided to officially register under the name Dima Bilan.

Eurovision 2006
In 2006, the Russian broadcaster wanted to be sure that Dima Bilan would represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest. They decided to single him out without a national final. His song “Never let you go” did very well: a second place was awarded to him. Never had a Russian candidate finished higher. He subsequently represented Russia at the MTV Europe Awards and won an Award as best-selling Russian singer at the World Music Awards.

Winning the Eurovision Song Contest

In 2007, Dima Bilan recorded an English-language album with the famous producers Jim Beanz and Ryan Tedder. Again, he won awards at the MTV Russia Award. In 2008 a new Russian album was released. He also took part in the national final for the Eurovision song contest again. During the contest in Belgrade he sang “Believe”. The song was co-written by Jim Beanz. Dima was accompanied by Hungarian violinist Edvin Barton and Olympic figure skating champion Evgeni Plushenko. Dima Bilan managed to win the Eurovision Song Contest.


No return to Eurovision

The album “Believe” soon followed. In 2010, Dima Bilan had a song ready to participate in the Eurovision song contest: “White nights”. However, he decided not to. Joining again two years later would be too soon, according to Bilan. In that year he did play the lead role in a short film. In 2011, he released another new Russian album. The return to the song contest came in 2012: in duet with Yulia Volkova (known from t.A.T.u.), “Back to her future”. Despite their favorite role, they did not win but had to make do with second place.

The Voice

After the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, Dima Bilan released four more studio albums. He was also a coach in several seasons of the Russian version of The Voice. He was in the chair in seasons 1 through 3, in seasons 5 and 6, and will soon be seen again in season 10. He also coached the first four seasons of The Voice Kids in Russia.

 

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Blast from the past: Turkey 1983

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 go back to 1983, when Çetin Alp & Short Wave represented Turkey with their song “Opera”. Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest Turkey debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975 and competed until 2012. The country won once, in 2003, when Sertab Erener’s “Everyway That I Can” brought the trophy to Türkiye for the first time. Istanbul hosted the 2004 contest. Through the 2000s, Turkey mixed pop, rock and ethnic sounds, with entries by artists such as Kenan Doğulu, Mor ve Ötesi, Hadise and maNga earning regular top ten finishes. Turkey withdrew after 2012, citing rules on juries, televoting and the “Big Five”. Discussions about a return surface periodically, but no comeback has followed. The broadcaster has not announced future participation. 7. Eurovision Şarkı Yarışması Türkiye Finali The Turkish entry was chosen out of 8 songs in what was called 7. Eurovision Şarkı Yarışması Türkiye Finali (7th Eurovision Song Contest Türkiye Final). The results were decided by an expert jury. Only the top-3 was announced. Müzisyen, sung by Vedat Sakman Boğaziçi, sung by Hakan Sıvacı Heyecan, sung by Ayşegül Aldinç (3rd place) Yaşayamam, sung by Mehmet Şengenç Dön bana, sung by Coşkun Demir Opera, sung by Çetin Alp & Short Wave (1st place) Heyamola, sung by Mavi Yolcular Atlantis, sung by Beş Yıl Önce, On Yıl Sonra (2nd place) Ayşegül Aldinç already represented Turkey in 1981, for Beş Yıl Önce, On Yıl Sonra the time had not come yet. They had to wait a year for their turn. Çetin Alp & Short Wave Çetin Küçükarslan, known as Çetin Alp (21 June 1947, Malatya – 18 May 2004, Istanbul), was a Turkish pop singer. His career unfolded across the 1970s and 1980s. He came to notice after winning the Altın Ses competition and began releasing 45s. Early singles included “Günah Bize / Meçhul Karanlık” (1970), “Ayrılık Yok Artık / Bir Gün Biter Demiştin” (1972) and “Bir Kadeh Atınca Birşeyin Kalmaz / Hatıralar” (1973). In the late 1970s he recorded “Çek Çek / Sana Ne Olmuş” and continued to appear with orchestras led by Yurdaer Doğulu and Zekai Apaydın. During the early 1980s Alp performed with Kısa Dalga Vokal Grubu, known internationally as The Short Wave, a three‑voice pop ensemble active in 1976–1980 that reunited periodically. Their collaboration culminated in 1983, when the group supported him on stage in Eurovision and in television appearances. The Short Wave’s members released several disco‑pop albums of their own. Away from the stage, Alp’s legal name was Çetin Küçükarslan. He was married and divorced more than once; in the 1980s he lived and worked for several years with actress‑singer Suna Yıldızoğlu, with whom he also recorded the duet “Sonsuz Aşk” (1981).  In later years he continued to perform in Turkey. Alp had long‑standing heart problems and died in Istanbul in May 2004, aged fifty‑six. His recordings—especially the run of 1970s 45s—and his brief partnership with The Short Wave preserve his place in Turkish popular music today. Opera “Opera” is the 1983 Turkish Eurovision entry performed by Çetin Alp with the vocal group The Short Wave. Written by Aysel Gürel and composed by Buğra Uğur, the song is an uptempo tribute to opera, with lyrics that reference well‑known works and a chorus built on fanfare‑style hooks. On stage in Munich, Alp performed with the group’s close harmonies and straightforward choreography. On the night, however, the juries awarded the song no points. It therefore tied for last place at the Eurovision Song Contest final that year. “Opera” remains a snapshot of Turkey’s early‑1980s pop experimentation on an international stage. Share

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August 17, 2025 No Comments
Uncategorized
Martijn

Blast from the past: Turkey 1983

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 go back to 1983, when Çetin Alp & Short Wave represented Turkey with their song “Opera”. Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest Turkey debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975 and competed until 2012. The country won once, in 2003, when Sertab Erener’s “Everyway That I Can” brought the trophy to Türkiye for the first time. Istanbul hosted the 2004 contest. Through the 2000s, Turkey mixed pop, rock and ethnic sounds, with entries by artists such as Kenan Doğulu, Mor ve Ötesi, Hadise and maNga earning regular top ten finishes. Turkey withdrew after 2012, citing rules on juries, televoting and the “Big Five”. Discussions about a return surface periodically, but no comeback has followed. The broadcaster has not announced future participation. 7. Eurovision Şarkı Yarışması Türkiye Finali The Turkish entry was chosen out of 8 songs in what was called 7. Eurovision Şarkı Yarışması Türkiye Finali (7th Eurovision Song Contest Türkiye Final). The results were decided by an expert jury. Only the top-3 was announced. Müzisyen, sung by Vedat Sakman Boğaziçi, sung by Hakan Sıvacı Heyecan, sung by Ayşegül Aldinç (3rd place) Yaşayamam, sung by Mehmet Şengenç Dön bana, sung by Coşkun Demir Opera, sung by Çetin Alp & Short Wave (1st place) Heyamola, sung by Mavi Yolcular Atlantis, sung by Beş Yıl Önce, On Yıl Sonra (2nd place) Ayşegül Aldinç already represented Turkey in 1981, for Beş Yıl Önce, On Yıl Sonra the time had not come yet. They had to wait a year for their turn. Çetin Alp & Short Wave Çetin Küçükarslan, known as Çetin Alp (21 June 1947, Malatya – 18 May 2004, Istanbul), was a Turkish pop singer. His career unfolded across the 1970s and 1980s. He came to notice after winning the Altın Ses competition and began releasing 45s. Early singles included “Günah Bize / Meçhul Karanlık” (1970), “Ayrılık Yok Artık / Bir Gün Biter Demiştin” (1972) and “Bir Kadeh Atınca Birşeyin Kalmaz / Hatıralar” (1973). In the late 1970s he recorded “Çek Çek / Sana Ne Olmuş” and continued to appear with orchestras led by Yurdaer Doğulu and Zekai Apaydın. During the early 1980s Alp performed with Kısa Dalga Vokal Grubu, known internationally as The Short Wave, a three‑voice pop ensemble active in 1976–1980 that reunited periodically. Their collaboration culminated in 1983, when the group supported him on stage in Eurovision and in television appearances. The Short Wave’s members released several disco‑pop albums of their own. Away from the stage, Alp’s legal name was Çetin Küçükarslan. He was married and divorced more than once; in the 1980s he lived and worked for several years with actress‑singer Suna Yıldızoğlu, with whom he also recorded the duet “Sonsuz Aşk” (1981).  In later years he continued to perform in Turkey. Alp had long‑standing heart problems and died in Istanbul in May 2004, aged fifty‑six. His recordings—especially the run of 1970s 45s—and his brief partnership with The Short Wave preserve his place in Turkish popular music today. Opera “Opera” is the 1983 Turkish Eurovision entry performed by Çetin Alp with the vocal group The Short Wave. Written by Aysel Gürel and composed by Buğra Uğur, the song is an uptempo tribute to opera, with lyrics that reference well‑known works and a chorus built on fanfare‑style hooks. On stage in Munich, Alp performed with the group’s close harmonies and straightforward choreography. On the night, however, the juries awarded the song no points. It therefore tied for last place at the Eurovision Song Contest final that year. “Opera” remains a snapshot of Turkey’s early‑1980s pop experimentation on an international stage. Share

Share
Read More »
August 17, 2025 No Comments
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