Regular readers will have seen seven of these posts before...
We have reached year EIGHT
of LET ME BE THE ONE - THE BLOG!
LET ME BE THE ONE has become an integral part of my life now, what with the radio show reaching its 153rd show and the blog being integrated with it. Unless I happen to become financially secure and not work ever again (!), chances are that Eurovision fortnight will be the main time that stand-alone posts for the blog happen now. Having said that, it is still nice to be able to add to the show via words and visuals, hopefully something that is appreciated by listeners and readers alike. I decided this year to feature in the show a song that linked nicely to each previous year, plus this one too - have a listen to see which ones I chose:
The playlist should make it more obvious...
"Let Me Be The One" - The Shadows
"Soldi" - Mahmood
"Yom Huledet (Birthday)" - Eden
"Karma" (Eurovision edit) - Anxhela Peristeri
"Solayoh" - Alyona Lanskaya
"Répondez-moi" - Gjon's Tears
"Love Love, Peace Peace" - Måns Zelmerlöw & Petra Mede
"A Million Years" - Mariette
"Have You Now" - Whogaux & Karl-Kristian ft Maian
"Waterloo" - ABBA
"Our Choice" - Ari Ólafsson
"Zero Gravity" - Kate Miller-Heidke
"Apricot Stone" - Eva Rivas
"Only Teardrops" - Emmelie de Forest
"Sing Sang Song" - Les Humphries Singers
"Stronger Every Minute 2021" - Lisa Andreas
"Waiting On Your Love" - Victor Crone
"Need You To Know" - Wiktoria
"Í nótt" - Eivør Pálsdóttir
"It's For You" - Niamh Kavanagh
"Apocalypse" - IZZA
"Do neba" - Hurricane
"Qaralama" - Dilara Kazimova
"Let Me Be The One" (Eurovision live) - The Shadows
Two versions of the song by The Shadows that has been a part of the blog, since article 1 back on July 17th 2013, were on this week's show - it has been the most played track on the radio show throughout the 153 editions too! I'll take you through the reasons for playing the anniversary songs that I did, starting with the UK's entry for 1975...
Where It All Started : "Let Me Be The One" - The Shadows
I still like to think that any artist participating in a national selection process or any of the Eurovision shows must think this at some point - "Let Me Be The One", as in the winner! Along with this being the 9th runner-up spot for the UK, the name is hopefully synonymous now with my involvement in Eurovision! Given that I wanted to choose a blog name connected with the UK at Eurovision, I think that I went with the right one eight years ago!
First Celebration : Eden - "Yom Huledet (Birthday)"
You can see why David Mann had no difficulty choosing a suitable song for his Birthday File slot on Radio International! I also had no problem with selecting this back in 2014 when it was the blog's first anniversary and also playing it again this week. A superb host entry song and ultimately this is on a par with most Christmas songs - you will always have a reason to play this, almost everyday of the year, as long as it is for someone who loves Eurovision! Happy Birthday indeed back then and by that time I had decided that I was in for the long haul...
Year 2 : Alyona Lanskaya - "Solayoh"
By the second anniversary of LMBTO, I was starting to get involved in more external things away from the blog - I had experienced my first Eurobash, gone to the Greatest Hits Concert and been a radio guest on Bradley Stoke Radio for the first time. For this birthday, I went with my 'other blog' that I set up that year but has fallen away with time, "Eurovision Beauty". Alyona was one of my artists there and she appreciated being there on social media, hence why I picked this as the song for the radio. The perfect summer song for a UK heatwave - perhaps one day I will reactivate that blog, but it is still there to look at...
2016 : Måns Zelmerlöw & Petra Mede Love Love Peace Peace
My third anniversary song is one of the best interval acts ever seen at Eurovision - as I am old enough to remember seeing Riverdance live, I have to say that Måns and Petra are pretty close to that level but not quite. Having this on the show was a first though and a nice change of pace to the other choices for 'birthday songs'. The post I published about 2016 is still one of my most viewed...
Four Years In : Whogaux & Karl-Kristian ft. Maian - "Have You Now"
That year between 2016 and 2017 was arguably the biggest switch-up of my involvement with Eurovision - I started interviewing artists at Eurobash& London Eurovision Party, plus I went to my first foreign selection process, Eesti Laul, in March 2017, where one of those moments happened that I will never forget. My 50th birthday coincided with Estonia's National Final and I was fortunate enough to be press there - that led to helping out in the Family Show that afternoon by being a stand-in for Toomas Edur, a ballet dancer, giving my 12 points to these three and Maian blowing me a kiss as thank-you! That is why a song that finished fourth at Eesti Laul has appeared on the show a few times - that memory will never leave my head...
Five Years Reached : Ari Ólafsson - "Our Choice"
My last year solely a Eurovision blogger, 2018 saw the culmination of many years of being a Eurovision fan (attending my first Eurovision live in Lisbon), continuing with artist interviews in Amsterdam and having the wonderful experience of following two artists through the process from beginning to their conclusion (Sara de Blue in San Marino, Laura Rizzotto in Latvia). Being recognised myself from social media by others (fans and Laura) was a novelty too! The reason for picking Ari as the artist to signify five years on the show? He was a great singer, a really nice bloke and a thoughtful interviewee - he might not have had the most successful entry but his professionalism at such a young age shone through. It was a privilege to meet him and I felt that "Our Choice" was the right one for this week's show...
Tel Aviv : Kate Miller-Heidke - "Zero Gravity"
Come on, there was never going to be any other song that I would link to my 6th anniversary, was there? 2019 saw my first attendance as press as Eurovision, for Australia and so my allegiance was always with Kate, even though I never had the opportunity to meet her! I was one of her biggest advocates as soon as I heard "Zero Gravity" before the Australian National Final and it was a real pleasure to see her get a top ten, being able to be one of those who could say "I told you so". Same with KEiiNO and "Spirit In The Sky" - there were a lot of pundits and fans who merged into the background when that defied their nay says, but I digress! This was the first milestone after my radio show started in August 2018 and so the blog and Bradley Stoke Radio's Eurovision Show were merging into one, as I wanted to provide more information about the show, plus realising that my time was becoming limited to do both! More great memories...
Seven Year Cycle : Emmelie de Forest - "Only Teardrops"
I could have as easily kicked off this week's radio show with this track as it is entwined so closely to why I started writing about Eurovision in the first place. LET ME BE THE ONE might be the name by which all my published material is grouped but if I had been a Dane, "Only Teardrops" would definitely have been what this blog (and radio show) would have been known as! The performance above was when I knew who was going to win Eurovision 2013 and it was a question of who would be second - how that triggered my starting this blog is well known to my readers and followers, so I won't repeat it here. Emmelie deserved another play and linking her to the 2020 slot seemed right, given that a year ago it was also my 100th show, a 100% Request episode and therefore my choice was...well, you know! For a time where there was no Contest, having a familiar face and sound here was a pleasure...
My 8th Birthday : Lisa Andreas - "Stronger Every Minute"
I could have picked a huge number of songs from this past twelve months that had stuck in my head but having a song that has made a revival after seventeen years on the show just seemed right. As you all know, "Stronger Every Minute" was re-released in several versions on a new EP and being able to chat with Lisa was a real pleasure, given her connection with the UK and the fact that where she grew up is somewhere I know well too. It just seemed right to play it on the show, that and it is one of my all time Eurovision favourites - a great way to complete the eight songs on the show...
Along with details of where it is and the line-up of Niamh Kavanagh, Nicki French, Ray Caruana, Eye Cue and Michael Rice. It is going to be a great evening, so I hope to see you there.
Remember this list? My interview targets for the summer on LET ME BE THE ONE? Well, look at the blocks above Lisa's entry - first name has five letters, the surname has eight, a female singer who sung one of my all-time favourite Eurovision entries. I have interviewed her before back in 2018...
Show 154 is all about Laura Rizzotto
Latvia's artist for 2018 with "Funny Girl".
My summer is what my dreams are made of!