Today, the sad news came to us that Finnish singer Laila Halme passed away. Laila Halme, born Laila Soppi in the Finnish town of Jääski, was a Finnish singer and actress. She began her career in the 1950, singing in several orchestras. Her first single “Kaunis rakkaus” was released in 1959. In 1960, she released several singles and EP’s at the Philips label. In 1961 she debuted as an actress in two films: “Penkki” and “Tähtisumua”.
In 1963, she participated in Euroviisut, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Olen mikä olen”. She became 3rd, while the song “Muistojeni laulu” won and Irmeli Mäkelä was chosen to sing it in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, Finnish broadcaster YLE decided to let Laila Halme sing it in the international final. She did not receive any point at all. A year later, Laila Halme represented Finland in the festival of Sopot in Poland. She released a couple of singles but left showbusiness in 1967. We only saw her back in 1987, when she hosted Euroviisut. Her son Jussi Halme is also a singer, he took part in Euroviisut in 1990.
Laila Halme was 87 years old.
🇧🇬 National: Bulgaria selects their artist
Bulgaria will select their artist tonight. Out of eight artists, a five member jury and televote will select the winner. The show will start at 20.00 CET and you can watch it at BNT (not in all countries) and ESC Plus. final date: 31 JanuaryPlace: BNT Studio 1, SofiaHosts: Georgi Lyubenov, Boryana Gramatikova & Vladimira Ilieva (backstage) * Dara * Innerglow * Kerana & Cosmonauts * Mihaela Marinova * Molec * Mona * Preyah * Roksana semifinal date: 24 JanuaryPlace: BNT Studio 1, SofiaHosts: Georgi Lyubenov, Boryana Gramatikova & Vladimira Ilieva (backstage) * Dara 25 14 39 1 * Dara Ekimova 21 4 25 12 * Dia 18 3 21 13 * Elizabet 18 1 19 15 * Fiki 21 7 28 9 * Innerglow 22 9 31 7 * Kerana & Cosmonauts 23 10 33 6 * Mihaela Fileva 22 6 28 9 * Mihaela Marinova 24 13 37 2 * Molec 24 12 36 3 * Mona 19 15 34 5 * Preyah 24 11 35 4 * Roksana 23 8 31 7 * Vall 19 2 21 14 * Veniamin 21 5 26 11 The selected artist for Bulgaria sings 3 songs. A combined 5 member jury and an online voting decide who represents Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. The show starts at 20.00 CET and you can watch it at BNT. final date: 28 februaryPlace: BNT Studio 1, SofiaHosts: Georgi Lyubenov, Boryana Gramatikova & Vladimira Ilieva (backstage) * * *
