My Dream Eurovision stars: Albania to Azerbaijan

With Eurovision 2017 season on the horizon, what better way to kick off things than for me to talk about my dream singers for the upcoming contest. Who knows whether anyone of them will be in Ukraine next year. In this edition, I will be looking at the countries of Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria and Azerbaijan and of course, rather than giving just one singer for each country I will be sharing two or three artists for each countries because it’s so much more fun that way.
Albania:
Albania have a long history of choosing their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest through their own ‘Festival I Kenges’, but let’s at what else Albania has to offer.
Rezarta Smaja: Rezarta Smaja has competed in Festival I Kenges for a few consecutive years now, well since 2013 with her amazing debut entry ‘Ti’ which to date, in my opinion is probably her best entry in the contest. She has a very rock and soul uniqueness to her voice, and we all know how Albania love to send Rock to the contest. Just look back to their 2013 entry in Malmo. With the right song, I see no reason why Rezarta cannot bring Albania back into the Eurovision Grand Final.

Era Istrefi: Now I’m sure we’re all familiar with the name that is Era Istrefi, due to her huge international hit ‘Bonbob’ and what a song it is. It incorporates Rnb, Hip hop and even some rap to it and it’s a single that makes me think of Rihanna. Surely that’s a good thing. Even her single ‘Shume pis’ incorporates the same genres, and it shows that Era is an artist that knows who she is and the type of music she wants to produce.

Genta Ismajli: A superstar in both Albania and Kosovo, is well known for her Pop, RnB and Dance hits, that often have quite the video. She is not one to shy away from risqué outfits or performances and oozes confidence. Genta, is perfect for Eurovision and exactly the type of performer that Albania should seriously think of sending to Ukraine for Eurovision next year.

Andorra:
Andorra may have been absent from the Eurovision Song contest since 2010, but that does not mean that I cannot dream of them sending one of these artists to Eurovision again, and who knows maybe to Ukraine next year.
Susanna Georgi: Yes, I know what you’re thinking. She already represented Andorra in 2009 with her entry ‘Get a Life’ and failed to qualify, but I truly believe that with the perfect song this woman can return to the contest and do Andorra proud.

Gisela: Gisela, is another artist that represented Andorra in the Belgrade edition, back in 2008 with the fantastic pop song ‘Casanova’. A true injustice which needs to avenged and I would love for Gisela to be the woman to bring Andorra to their first ever Eurovision Grand Final appearance.

Both artists have previously appeared at Eurovision, but they both deserve the chance to be given the opportunity to go back to the contest in the future.
Armenia:
Now, it’s time for me to talk about my favourite country in Eurovision and that is ARMENIA. They have sent the fabulous ‘Sirusho’ and sexy ‘Iveta Mukuchyan’, but who will they send to Ukraine. We know that Armenian state broadcaster will be having a ‘National Selection’ called ‘Depi Evratesil’ but I can still dream that one of these artists will represent Armenia and bring the contest to Yerevan.
Lilit Hovhannisyan: Lilit has such a beautiful voice, that whenever she sings you are simply mesmerised. She is known for singing powerful and emotional ballads that could see her as the ‘Armenian Whitney Houston’. The effortless manner in which she hits those high notes. Just take a listen to her Single ‘Requiem’, along with ‘Im Tiknikn Es’ which showcase how she truly can sing any genre of music. By sending her to Eurovision, surely an Armenian Victory is inevitable.

Mihran Tsarukyan: Mihran has released a number of Armenian pop hits and are super fun and energetic. He is not only a great vocalist but a great dancer too, something which is definitely useful at Eurovision. One of his latest single ‘Anhnar e’ with the beautiful Arpi Gabrielyan, is just truly amazing and really surprises me how an Armenian duet has never been sent to Eurovision before. Nonetheless, a strong song in the Armenian language will be sure to do well in Eurovision.

Sona Rubenyan: The winner of ‘Hay Superstar’ 2011 which is Armenian’s equivalent of ‘Pop idol’. Sona Rubenyan is truly an artist that I would love to see at Eurovision very soon. Her beautiful voice and the way in which she can adapt her vocal range is something that truly makes me think ‘Wow, what a singer. One of her older singles ‘Ashnan Serenad’ is a single that I still listen to, and still love. She just has that ‘Je ne sais Quoi’ factor that Hera Bjork famously says. Please Armenia television, I truly hope you read this article and have Sona, in your plans for Eurovision in the future.

Australia:
Having only taken part since 2015, after having been invited for the 60th anniversary, let’s take a look at my dream artists to represent Australia in Eurovision.
Delta Goodrem: she is no stranger to eurofans, after heavily being rumoured to represent Australia in Stockholm. Of course, this did not happen, but with the release of her latest album ‘Wings of the Wild’ which have absolute gems of songs, Delta could definite continue Australia’s outstanding run of performances at Eurovision.

The Veronicas: The Veronicas, are a duo of twin sisters who are internationally known for their singles, such as ‘Untouched’ and even more recent single ‘In My Blood’ of their latest self entitled Album called ‘The Veronicas’. Needless, to say that these two sisters would really give it the performance at Eurovision, and it’s not the first time that twin siblings have sang at Eurovision. Just rewind back to Eurovision 2011, when there was both Jedward (Ireland) and Twiins (Slovakia), so why not in 2017 with the Veronicas.

Regardless of whom SBS (Australian Broadcaster) decides to go to Eurovision in Ukraine. One thing that is guaranteed is that they will provide an unforgettable performance.
Austria:
Winner of the 2014 contest with Conchita Wurst and ‘Rise like a Phoenix’ is Austria. Now Austria have been known for sending ‘Hits and Misses’ to Eurovision in the past so what will they send in 2017. Let’s look at who I would like to represent Austria in 2017.
Sara Koell: Sara participated in the ‘Voice of Germany’ in 2013 and just missed out on making it to the Live Shows of the Contest. She has a great voice, and is not someone that is new to the Eurovision world, having taken part in the 2016 national selection, through the facebook wildcard selection with her single ‘Closer To The Sun’ and just missing out on being the triumphant wildcard, having lost out to AzRaH. Maybe, we will see Sara Koell, taking part in the Austrian Selection again.

Natalia Kelly: The beautiful voice and singer that is Natalia Kelly, who unfortunately missed out on making the Grand final in 2013. She deserved another chance to represent her country at Eurovision and with better luck (Not performing first in the Semi Final) she could give Austria another qualification to the Eurovision Grand Final.

Azerbaijan:
Now it’s time for the final country to be looked at and that country is Azerbaijan. Having been quite the ‘powerhouse’, they have not fared so well in recent editions of the contest. Let’s take a look at some Azerbaijani artists who I think could bring Azerbaijan back to their glorious days.
Sevil Sevinc: A beautiful singer, singing in a beautiful language. Yes, that’s right, she’s singing in Azerbaijani. Something that we haven’t been blessed with as of yet. Her single ‘Hardan’ truly showcases how lovely it is to listen to different cultures, something which has been lacking in Eurovision in recent years. Sevil singing a song in Azerbaijani at Eurovision would be an absolute dream.

Manana Japaridze: A true icon in Azerbaijan, Eurovision has Manana’s name written all over it. She infuses both modern and traditional elements of Azerbaijani Music which is what I like to see. Old and new mixed together. She was also one of the judges on the first season of the ‘Voice of Azerbaijan’ and truly vocally showed that she is a true legend. Just look at her phenomenal vocals whilst performing with Samra Rahimli (2016), whom she mentored in the contest. The woman knows what it takes and she definitely has it all.

So what do you all think? Who would you like to see represent Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria or Azerbaijan at Eurovision?