Eurovision Daily

After a few days in Scandinavia, it's time to go a little further south in Europe again. Laura Tesoro was born on 19 August 1996 in Antwerp to an Italian father and a Belgian mother. She had her first acting role in the Flemish crime drama 'Witse' as Evy Cuypers in 2008, and went on to perform in musicals such as 'Annie' and 'Domino'. From 2012 to 2014, she appeared as Charlotte in 'Familie', a love interest to Guido. After an appearance in season three of The Voice van Vlaanderen, where she ended up as the runner-up, she was selected to represent Belgium at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. Her song 'What's the pressure' finished in tenth place.

You won't find many 'winning songs' on this blog, but an exception has to be granted to one of the most beautiful melodies the Contest has ever seen: 'Dansevise' by Jørgen and Grethe Ingmann. It should happen today because 27 years ago today, Grethe Ingmann died of cancer. Born on 17 June 1938, Grethe performed with her husband, guitarist Jørgen, since the late Fifties. They met in 1955, married in 1956 and divorced in 1975. They represented Denmark in 1963 with 'Dansevise', written by Otto Francker and Sejr Volmer-Sørensen. The song, quite rightfully, won.

Katri Helena Kalaoja (née Koistinen) was born on 17 August 1945. She released her first songs in 1963 and has since sold over 630,000 certified records, which makes her the second-best-selling female soloist in Finland behind Madonna and places her also among the top 20 best-selling music artists in the Finnish market. She has represented Finland twice in the Eurovision Song Contest: in 1979 with her song 'Katson sineen taivaan' and in 1993 with 'Tule luo'. Katri Helena has been married three times. She had two daughters and a son with her husband Timo Kalaoja, who died of a heart attack in 1988. His death affected her so much that she withdrew from public view and stopped performing and recording for four years. Her only son, Juha Kalaoja, died at age 33 on 29 April 2009.

Jari Veikko Sillanpää was born on 16 August 1965. With over 820,000 records sold, he is the fifth-best-selling music artist and second-best-selling solo artist in Finland. Sillanpää gained fame after winning the Seinäjoki Tangomarkkinat tango contest in 1995. Sillanpää's 1995 self-titled debut album is the best-selling album of all time in Finland, with over 270,000 copies sold. Sillanpää represented Finland in Eurovision Song Contest 2004 and his song "Takes 2 to Tango" (which he wrote the lyrics for) received 51 points in the semi-final, taking the 14th place and not qualifying for the final. Sillanpää participated in the Finnish National Final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Kirkas kipinä", making it to the final show, but finishing out of the final three.

Rappers always try to look cool and act tough, but if anything, Danish rapper Kølig Kaj was predominantly funny. He appeared on the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest stage with 'Stemmen i mit liv', a love song for a person - or an automated voice - on the directory enquiries service. At the close of voting, it had received 25 points, placing 16th in a field of 25. To date, it is still the last song to be performed in Danish on the Eurovision stage. Kølig Kaj was born as Thomas Lægaard Sørensen in Pindstrup (Denmark) on 15 August 1971. He only released one album, 'Solgt Ud', in 1997.

Until this year, Portugal has been a bit underrated at the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite sending in several marvellous songs, they were often unrewarded. 'Só sei ser feliz assim' (2001) is a good example of this. The song only received 18 ponts (6 from Spain and 12 from France), placing 17th in a field of 23 competitors. MTM was formed in 2001 by Marco Quelhas and Tony Jackson. Their song was written by Quelhas, who was born on 14 August 1957 - exactly 60 years ago today. 'Só sei ser feliz assim' was not his only Eurovision composition: in 1993 he co-wrote 'A cidade até ser dia', performed by Anabela.

Six years ago today, Ellen Winther passed away. Born on 11 August 1933 in Århus (Denmark), she was a Danish opera singer and actress. Winther trained as an opera singer and made her professional debut in 1957 at the Royal Danish Theatre, where she would be employed for 30 years both as a singer and a dramatic actress. In 1962, Winther won the Danish Eurovision Song Contest selection with the song 'Vuggevise' ('Lullaby'), and went forward to the seventh Eurovision Song Contest. The song finished in joint tenth place of 16 entries. In 1983 Winther was awarded the Order of the Dannebrog for her contribution to the arts in Denmark. She was married to pianist John Winther between 1960 and 1966, with two children from this marriage, and to writer and politician Hans Jørgen Lembourn from 1973 until his death in 1997.

Margot Eskens was born on 12 August 1939 in Düren (Germany). In 1954, while a dental assistant, Eskens won a Polydor Records talent competition with the song 'Moulin Rouge'. A contract with Polydor followed, and in 1955 she had her first hit in Germany with 'Ich möchte heut ausgehn'. In 1956 and 1957 she had two number 1 hits, 'Tiritomba', which sold over 800,000 copies, and 'Cindy oh Cindy', which was her biggest hit, staying for 25 weeks in the German Singles Top 10. In 1966, she represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Die Zeiger der Uhr'. The song ended up in tenth place, in a field of 18 competitors. During her career she sold over 40 million records. At the end of the 1980s she began to record more traditional 'Schlagermusik' like her album 'Mein Traumland am Wörthersee' (1990). Today she actually lives beside the scenic lake Wörthersee in the Carinthian region of Austria.

Frédéric Van Goitsenhoven-Maeterlinck was born on 11 August 1968 in Brussels. Soon after his birth his family emigrated to Los Angeles, where they lived until 1977. They then lived in Nice, France, for three years before returning to Brussels. Etherlinck later became a singer and drummer, performing in bars and cabarets in the Brussels area. In 1995, Etherlinck took part in the Eurovision Song Contest, representig Belgium with the song 'La voix est libre' ('The voice is free'). The song ended up in 20th place in a field of 23 competitors. The song reached number 21 on the Wallonian singles chart, but further success proved elusive. Etherlinck released an album entitled 'Les années lumières' ('Light years') which was not a commercial success. Since then, little has been heard of him.

Karin Vlasblom turns 50 today. Hard to believe when she is etched in Eurovision fans' memory as a young thing, one of the four members of Frizzle Sizzle, the girl group representing the Netherlands in the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest. She was only 18 when she participated with 'Alles heeft een ritme' ('Everything has rhythm'), which ended up in 13th place in a field of 20 competitors. Frizzle Sizzle released a handful of singles and one album in English with varying success, both in the Netherlands and in other countries. From the four girls, Karin Vlasblom was the least ambitious one. Soon after Frizzle Sizzle broke up, she married entrepreneur Klaas Lameijer. Together they moved to Irvine, California, where they still reside today.

Odd Børre Sørensen (born 9 August 1939 in Harstad) is a former Norwegian pop singer. He was better known by his stage name of Odd Børre. He sang in the Kjell Karlsen's Orchestra (1962–70) and was releasing singles during that period. Internationally, he is best known for the song 'Stress' that he performed in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1968. He finished in 13th place, in a field of 17 contestants. He retired from full-time professional singing in 1970 and became an insurance company agent (although he did perform in the Norwegian national finals in 1971 and 1977 and was one of the judges in the 1978 final). After retiring in the early 2000s, Odd Børre teamed up again with Kjell Karlsen and is currently performing.

Harel Skaat was born exactly 36 years ago today. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song 'Milim'. Skaat has been singing and performing in public since he was a child. At the age of six, he won a children's song festival competition. While still in elementary school he appeared on national television and as a teenager, he was the lead singer for both his city's and high school's bands. During his mandatory duty with the Israeli Defense Forces, he sang in the Communication Corps Band. Skaat's professional breakthrough came when he was a contestant on the second season of Kochav Nolad ('A Star is Born'), a reality competition television show similar in format to American Idol, and finished in second place. After the show ended, he signed a recording contract with Hed Arzi, one of the largest music companies in Israel. After just one album, Skaat and Hed Arzi became embroiled in a year-long legal dispute. Shortly after

Ann Christy (born Christianne Leenaerts, 22 September 1945 in Antwerp, died 7 August 1984 in Meise) was a Belgian singer who enjoyed success in her native country. She began a singing career with The Adams Orchestra, whose drummer, Marc Hoyois, she later married. Her first solo  recordings met with little success. During this period she toured in Belgium and France with Salvatore Adamo. In 1968 she won the Knokke Cup singing contest. Her first attempt to represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest came in 1970 with the song 'Le temps, le vent', which failed to progress past the national semi-final stage. She did better the following year, when 'Dag vreemde man' finished in second place. A third attempt in 1973, when each of five chosen acts performed two songs, ended in third place for 'Bye Bye'. In 1975 she was finally successful, winning the national final with the song 'Gelukkig zijn'. Christy sang the first half of the song in Dutch and

An absolute legend, Italian singer Domenico Modugno, passed away 23 years ago today. Born on 9 January 1928, he was just 66 years old when he died. In Eurovision terms, he became a legend almost by accident, after his 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' became an international hit song in 1958 after not winning the Eurovision Song Contest. The song became known as 'Volare' and was covered by numerous other legendary artists such as Dean Martin, Connie Francis, Al Martino, David Bowie and Paul McCartney. Modugno also performed Italy's 1959 entry, 'Piove (ciao, ciao bambina)', which you can see here. After becoming 3rd in a field of 10 contestants in 1958,  'Piove' only made it to 6th place in a field of 11 competitors.

Danica Radojicic was born on 5 August 1989. She represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song 'Caroban', composed by Kristina Kovac. The song finished in 14th place in a field of 25 competitors. Nina began playing the piano aged six, and also attended dance classes. She finished both elementary and secondary musical school, but she entered pharmacy at the University of Belgrade. She has performed in various clubs with her band "Legal Sex Department". Nina cites "Duffy, Muse, and other pop and alternative artists" as her major influences.

Paul Layton was born as Paul Martin Layton on 4 August 1947. He studied acting, leaving school at fourteen to train at the Aida Foster Stage School. As a teenager he had parts in the films 'I Could Go on Singing' (with Judy Garland), and 'Beckett'; and television appearances in 'Dixon of Dock Green' and 'Emergency Ward 10' amongst the three hundred in which he had acted in by the age of seventeen. In 1969 he secured a recording contract. After some solo releases, Layton joined the New Seekers as a bassist. Despite some line-up changes, he has remained in the band to this day. In 1972, the New Seekers represented the United Kingdom with 'Beg steal or borrow', which ended in second place in a field of 18 competitors. The single went on to become a chart success throughout Europe. The band even recorded a German version of the song for the German market.

Gina G was born on 3 August 1970. She performed one of the most successful British Eurovision songs in terms of chart success: 'Ooh aah... Just a little bit'. It was already a top 10 hit in the UK before she even stepped on the Eurovision stage back in 1996. Therefore, expectations were pretty high once the event took place in Oslo (Norway). Unfortunately, despite the sexy dress and the excessive dancing, Gina was singing way off key and the whole dream of winning Eurovision was shattered. The song did, however, miraculously end up in eighth place in a field of 23 competitors. Gina seemed destined for a great career, but unfortunately she became entangled in all kinds of legal wrangles with her record company. She now lives in California with her husband and two children.

Justyna Steczkowska was born exactly 45 years ago today in Rzeszów, Poland. She comes from a big musical family, has five sisters (Agata, Krystyna, Magdalena, Maria, Cecylia) and three brothers (Pawel, Jacek, Marcin). She played violin in a family band before becoming a solo singer. In 1995, she represented Poland at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Sama' ('Alone'). The rather peculiar song was an artistic triumph but only got to 18th place. In Poland she appeared in two movies and took part in the Polish edition of 'Dancing with the stars'. In 2013, she was one of the coaches on the talent show The Voice of Poland.

It's 21 years ago today that Eurovision singer Frida Boccara tragically died in Paris, aged 55, from a pulmonary infection. She was a Moroccan-born French singer of Jewish-Italian descent who performed and recorded in a number of languages, including French, Spanish, English, Italian, German, Dutch and Russian. In 1969 she represented France with the song 'Un jour, un enfant'. The song became one of the four winners in this historic edition, because there was no mechanism to decide the winner in case of a draw. She did try to participate again in 1980 and 1981, but she didn't win the French national finals.