An Xtra Happy Birthday; January 4th

From yesterday’s two, we have three Eurostars to celebrate today; two birthday girls and one boy. The oldest is born in the 40s, the youngest in the 80s. None of the performed in English on the Eurovision stage, and unfortunately none of them did as well as they had hoped. One did nonetheless finish 6th; Mélanie Cohl! 

Vesa Matti Loiri, 73

Vesa Matti represented Finland at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest in The Hague. Being a flute-player, he performed the song “Huilumies”, meaning “The Flute Man”. Despite both singing and playing the flute on stage, he failed to make an impression on the juries, finishing dead last.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAMnm_W5hQQ

Louisa Baïleche, 41

Louisa represented France at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest in Riga. She performed the very French ballad “Monts et merveilles”, finishing 18th out of 26 participants. What made the biggest impression on some people, however, might have been “the hair incident”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvjntluRupU

Mélanie Cohl, 36

Mélanie Cohl represented Belgium at the 1998 Eurovision Sonc Contest in Birmingham. She performed the song “Dis oui”, finishing in a very respectable 6th place. Despite being only 17 years old, she performed her entry with confidence, and managed to impress the voters, receiving votes from all but three countries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRfWIBJvioM
All of us here at escXtra wish Vesa Matti, Louisa and Mélanie the very best of birthdays!