An Xtra Happy Birthday; June 23

It’s almost the weekend, and we have a double birthday to celebrate. That surely means we need to pop the cava, no?
Today’s birthday duo is (almost) as different as they come, but the one thing they have in common is the only thing that matters; EUROVISION!!
And as always I’ll start with the one who has wandered this earth the longest.
The Jewish-Israeli singer Noa represented Israel in 2009 alongside Arab-Israeli singer Mira Awad. They  performed the song “There must be another way”, which is not as much a song of peace as it is a song about respecting the humanity of others.
Noa was born in the “summer of 69”, meaning she’s celebrating her 48th birthday today!

We will also celebrate the birthday of a young(ish) British lad who has had worldwide success with his band, and it led to much excitement when it was announced that they would be representing the United Kingdom in the 2011 contest.
We are of course talking about world famous boyband Blue, and maybe their least famous member; Antony Costa. Antony turns 36 today! In Dusseldorf, he and the rest of the band ended in 11th place with their song “I Can”.

This was, however, not Antony’s first “taste of Eurovision”. Back in 2006 he took part in the UK preselection “Making Your Mind Up” with the song “Beautiful Thing”, only to be beaten by Daz Sampson’s “Teenage Life”. Daz ended in 19th place; do you think “Beautiful Thing” could have given the UK a better result?

All of us here at escXtra wish Noa and Antony the best of birthdays, hoping they celebrate in style!