Possibly the most poignant moment of Eurovision 2018 - Julia Samoylova finally getting the opportunity to see the ocean for the first time in her life, accompanied by her husband. To those of us who grew up within a couple of miles of the sea, this might not seem like a big deal but given what that lady has gone through in her life already, this was a scene that warmed my heart. Her entry at the Contest this year was always destined to fail though, given her live vocal performance, but at least Russia stuck to their guns and let her attend the Lisbon extravaganza - you'll have to listen to find out why she is on my playlist this week. Talking about that, I'll show you all the songs and artists in show EIGHTEEN...
"Not Alone" - Aram Mp3
"Yete Karogh Es" - Srbuk
"Qami" - Sevak Khanagyan
"Take Me Down" - Markus Riva
"I Need A Hero" - Samanta Tina
"Younger Days" - Edgars Kreilis
"My Heart Wants Me Dead" - Lisa Ajax
"Hej Clown" - Jan Malmsjö
"Kiss You Goodbye" - Anton Hagman
"En värld full av strider (Eatneme gusnie jeenh dåaroeh)" - Jon Henrik Fjällgren
"Högt över havet" - Arja Saijonmaa
"I Won't Break" - Julia Samoylova
"Visionary Dream" - Sopho
"Let Me Be The One" - The Shadows
The show is really split into three this week - Armenia deservedly opening the show with their announcement of their artist, Srbuk, for Tel Aviv. Part two looks at some of the Supernova artists trying out for Latvia and the third section continues with those singers up for Melodifestivalen this year. I then gave Julia her chance and then finished with (in my opinion) the best debut entry of any nation at Eurovision and you have show 18! Go on, you know you want to listen...
I'm looking forward to hearing what Srbuk will be singing next year and I've realised that I'm really picking up the MF bug! It is only after playing FOURTEEN of the artist's back catalogues that I realise how diverse a selection of vocal styles and ages we are going to have in Sweden this year - all good stuff! I was also delighted to hear the news of Sopho's new status as Deputy Mayor in Batumi as it gave my the opportunity to play "Visionary Dream"...
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So what is happening for show NINETEEN? Estonia has revealed all the Eesti Laul entries in their entirety, Hungary all of theirs in 30 second clips and we know some of the artists for Australia. I'm sure that I'll be able to play you some music from those, past and even present as far as A Dal 2019 is concerned - you see, I have a copy of one of the entries in its Eurovision format to play for you, supplied by the band itself:
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You might say that everything's coming up "Roses"...