Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Congratulations to Eurovision Song Contest 2010 winner Germany's Lena Meyer-Landrut with a total of 246 for her song Satellite which was written and composed by: Julie Frost and John Gordon.

Song: Satellite
Performer: Lena
Composers/Lyricists: Julie Frost, John Gordon

Last year's Eurovision, hosted by Russia in Moscow was deemed to be one of the most successful ever, attracting a total of 124 Million viewers - a 17% increase on 2008. Alexander Rybak's "Fairytale", last year's winning song, became a major hit in Europe and went straight in at number 1 on most European iTunes charts. It also scored a top 3 on the European chart, achieving number 1 in Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Russia and number 2 in Ireland. On the back of his Eurovision success Alexander Rybakreleased his debut album "Fairytales" in more than 25 European countries and has sold nearly half a million copies to date across Europe going triple platinum in Norway, gold in Sweden anddouble platinum in Russia where it racked up a number 1 on the Russian Billboard charts.

This year Niamh Kavanagh represents Ireland and will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest second Semi-Final on Thursday 27 of May against 16 other countries in the hope of winning a top 10 position to qualify for the Final on Saturday the 29 of May. Singing "It's For You", Niamh comprehensively won both the public and jury vote in the Irish national final.

 

It's For You performed by Niamh Kavanagh

Music: Niall Mooney, Marten Eriksson & Jonas Gladnikoff
Lyrics: Lina Eriksson

Niamh Kavanagh has been singing for most of her life, but really into her own in 1990 when Alan Parker, director of The Commitments, included Niamh on the film’s hugely successful soundtrack album as main vocalist for the songs Destination Anywhere, Nowhere to Run and Do Right Woman, Do Right Man. She then toured extensively with the group appearing at such illustrious events as the 1992 Grammy Awards in New York and the Commitment to Life Concert in Los Angeles.

In 1993, before an international audience of over 350 million people, Niamh sang the winning entry for Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song, In Your Eyes, went on to achieve double platinum status. Having signed to Arista Records, she took her talent around Europe before flying to Nashville, Tennessee, to make her debut album, Flying Blind. The album, produced by John Jennings, was released to critical acclaim in 1995. Since then, Niamh has been touring and performing, with regular appearances at major venues and events as well as on television and radio. Over the last ten years she has recorded a collaboration album, Together Alone, along with Irish singer/song-writer Gerry Kearney. She has recorded music for a future album under the working title Wonderdrug, and recently added to her long line of collaborations, which include the Dubliners and Mary Chapin Carpenter, with an acclaimed contribution to the Secret Garden album, Inside I’m Singing. Her rendition of Simply You, joins other songs written by Secret Garden and Brendan Graham (who wrote the hugely successful You Raise Me Up), and Niamh found herself sharing album space with Elaine Paige and Barbra Streisand.

Niall Mooney & Jonas Gladnikoff, the writers who brought you “Et Cetera” Ireland’s 2009 Eurovision entry, are back. This time they have been joined by Lina and Marten Eriksson two of Sweden’s most successful writing/production partnerships.

Jonas and Niall have been collaborating for a number years clocking up a large number of National Final appearances around Europe including Lithuania, Bulgaria and Albania. In 2009 Jonas came very close to representing Denmark coming second in their National Final, only to be narrowly beaten by Ireland’s own Ronan Keating. This was made all the more unusual when Jonas found himself co-writer on the Irish entry the same year!!

Niall says, “After last year it is obvious Ireland are going to need something really special to get a high position in the contest”. The answer presented itself when he heard Niamh Kavanagh singing in the National Concert Hall. “Her voice literally raised the roof “, exclaims Niall. “I got talking to Niamh a few months later and she said she’d consider it only if she had a great song. That was the hard bit. Jonas and I literally spent months writing but nothing was really good enough. Then Lina and Marten joined the collaboration and the whole thing clicked”.

Marten and Lina have had many hits across Europe. There biggest successes have been writing for Simon Cowell’s TV show Pop Idol in both Sweden and Germany. Lina co-wrote the Swedish Pop Idol winners song in 2007 “This moment” which went double platinum overnight. Amongst others they also recorded a song and video with Rybak last year and to top it off Marten produced “Et Cetera” for Ireland.

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it “ Niall says. Big ballads do well every year and Ireland was the best at it once. I believe the time is right to be the best again. It takes a lot of courage for a singer to go back after winning 17 years ago. I am already so proud of Niamh for stepping up to the challenge and I think she will make the whole country proud if selected. After all this time……It’s for you!!”