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After the Eurovision Fame: Johnny Logan

Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest three times. Twice he did this as a performing artist; in 1980 in The Hague, The Netherlands with “What’s another year” and in 1987 in Brussels, Belgium with “Hold me now”. In 1992 he participated in Malmö, Sweden as a lyricist and composer of “Why me?” (Linda Martin). It earned him the nickname “Mr. Eurovision”.   Early life and career Johnny Logan was born as Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard in Frankston, Victoria (Australia), on May 13, 1954. He was the son of the famous Irish tenor Patrick O’Hagan. When he was three years old, the family moved back to Ireland. Sherrard had a musical childhood in which he learned to play the guitar at a young age. He composed his first songs when he was 13. After high school, he started working as an electrician. He also performed as a musician in clubs. He also starred in several musicals. Together with his brother Michael he was part of several bands. At the beginning of his professional music career, Sherrard took the stage name Johnny Logan. This name was taken from the main character from the movie Johnny Guitar. He then recorded his first single in 1978: “No, I don’t want to fall in love”. The song wasn’t a hit. In a quest for more success, he decided to register for the Irish national heat for the Eurovision Song Contest of 1979. With the song “Angie ” he finished behind winner Cathal Dunne in third place. Later that year his debut album, “In London” , was released. First Eurovision victory In March 1980, Logan made another attempt to go to the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland. In the Irish heat of that year he performed “What’s another year”, a song by Shay Healy. This time Logan easily won the national competition and was able to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest, on April 19, 1980 in The Hague. He was previously counted among the favorites for the final victory and turned out to be able to meet those expectations. Excluding Morocco and Turkey, he received points from every country and with a total score of 143 points he gave Ireland a Eurovision victory after ten years. “What’s another year” became a big hit in several European countries. In addition to Ireland itself, it also reached the number 1 position in Belgium and the United Kingdom, among others. Nevertheless, Logan failed to maintain his sudden international success. Successive singles flopped and the number of bookings was disappointing, in his own words due to poor management and his own inexperience. As a result, the singer got into financial trouble and also developed an alcohol problem. In 1984, however, Logan had another success as a writer of the song “Terminal 3”, with which Linda Martin finished second on behalf of Ireland at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. He got the taste of the Eurovision song contest again and continued to write potential entries. For example, his brother Michael (Mike) Sherrard appeared in the Irish heat of 1985 with the song “Hearts” written by Logan, which ended up in last place. Mike (Michael Sherrard) In 1986, his song “If I can change your mind,” was re-performed by Linda Martin, became fourth in the Irish preselection. Second Eurovision victory In an attempt to get his career back on track, and to erase his predicate of one-day fly, Logan himself wanted to return to the Eurovision song contest to try to win the event again. In 1987 he wrote and composed the song “Hold me now”, which he submitted to the Irish national heat of that year. He managed to win the selection again and was thus allowed to represent Ireland again at the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held two months later in Brussels, Belgium. At the Eurovision song contest, where he received a lot of media attention as a former winner, Logan was again considered one of the favorites. The total points score of 172 was ultimately enough for the victory. It meant, after 1970 and 1980, the third Irish Eurovision victory, and the second for Logan personally. He thus became the first (and to date only) performing artist to win the Eurovision Song Contest twice. As with “What’s another year”, Johnny Logan also scored a big hit with “Hold me now” in several European countries. In addition to Ireland himself, he also reached the number 1 position in Flanders. The subsequent single “I’m not in love” was, as well as the released album “Hold me now”, a modest success. Third Eurovision victory After a few years, in which he made an international tour, Logan again occupied himself with the Eurovision Song Contest at the beginning of the nineties. For the 1991 Irish national heat he wrote the song “When do I get over you?” which put his brother Mike in sixth place. A year later he resumed his collaboration with Linda Martin and wrote for her the song “Why me?”, which would become the Irish entry at the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. The song caught on and ensured another victory for Ireland. Logan became the first (and to date only) person to win the Eurovision Song Contest three times.   Later career In the years that followed, Logan continued to write and release music. He became a much sought-after artist at events where the Eurovision Song Contest is central. His popularity stabilized especially in Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Live during ” Het Grote Songfestivalfeest” in Amsterdam in 2019 Logan remained involved in the Eurovision Song Contest in various ways over the years. For example, during the scoring in 2004 he passed on the Irish points and he wrote several songs for preliminary rounds, and he also regularly sat on professional juries during national selections. In both 2007 and 2009, Logan was approached by Irish broadcaster RTÉ to represent Ireland again at the Eurovision Song Contest, but in both cases the talks came to nothing. In 2010

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In the spotlights: Sam Ryder

    Tomorrow, the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will take place in Turin. One of the favourites for the win is Sam Ryder, who represents the United Kingdom. But who is Sam Ryder? Sam Ryder is a familiar face to TikTok users, but he will be a newcomer to millions if they see him represent the UK at Eurovision 2022. Sam was born on 25 June 1989 in Maldon – United Kingdom. As a child he started singing, and after seeing the Canadian Rock band Sum 41, he knew from a young age that he wanted to become a professional musician. It was 2009 when he made his debut as a singer and guitarist in 2009 with the band “The morning After” of which he was the co-founder. In 2010, when he was a member of the band The Morning After, Ryder stepped in to replace Casey Jones as a backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Blessed By A Broken Heart, a Canadian glam rock band, that was touring Europe at the time. In July 2012, Ryder joined the band full-time and appeared on their single “Out of Control”. The band broke up two months later and Ryder became the lead singer of Close Your Eyes, an American Christian hardcore band from Abilene, Texas. Ryder replaced old “Close Your Eyes” frontman Shane Redmond, which caused concern among the band’s fans. Nevertheless, the band’s 2013 album Line in the Sand was well received.  On December 15, 2014, Ryder announced his decision to leave the band. He returned to “The Morning After” as lead singer and guitarist. From 2014 to 2019, “The Morning After” toured American coffee houses and farmers markets. He became known via TikTok in 2020, when he started posting his music covers. He found new famous fans such as Sia, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys and Elton John. By the end of the year he became the most followed British artist on the platform. Sam soon signed a record deal with Parlophone and in 2021 he released his debut EP, “The Sun’s Going to Rise”, followed by a sold-out tour. The United Kingdom has not done too well in the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years, but now Sam Ryder is high in the polls, and he is, next to Sweden and Ukraine, even tipped as the winner! Is that going to happen? We will know tomorrow. In any case, we wish Sam Ryder a lot of success!  

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In the spotlight: Kalush Orchestra

Eurovision week has arrived. Tomorrow night is  the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. One of the contenders for the win this Saturday is Ukraine, which is represented by the group Kalush Orchestra. But who are they?

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Everything you need to know about Pesaro

The bidding war between potential host cities in Italy is in full swing. A few weeks ago we told you all about making the most of your Eurovision trip to Rome. We would like to tell you a little more about one of the other contenders to host the Eurovision Song Contest 022. In this article you’ll read all about the must sees in Pesaro, Italy.

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Eurovision Universe Summer Party: Kate Ryan – Je t’adore

Kate Ryan (Katrien Verbeeck) from Belgium started her singing carreer in 2001, and  found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly.  In 2006, she represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Athens, Greece. Unfortunately she didn’t make it to  the final, but with “Je t’adore” she gave us a great contribution to our summer party.  

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Switzerland

Switzerland in Eurovision Entries: 64Wins: 3 (2024, 1988, 1956)Last Place: 8 (2016, 2015, 2010, 2004, 1998, 1974, 1967, 1964)

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Sweden

Sweden in Eurovision Entries: 63Wins: 7 (2023, 2015, 2012, 1999, 1991, 1984, 1974)Last Place: 2 (1977, 1963)

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