Welcome to the second edition of Songwatch, the feature where we monitor where our confirmed artists are with recording their entries and revamps from Rotterdam! In this edition, we have gotten two entries and the title and genre(s) of another!
This time last week, we knew we would be getting Spain’s entry “Universo”. Literally any other update or piece of news is therefore a bonus. This week also saw Georgia break their silence, and tease us of some details of what to expect from Tornike’s entry, which now has a name. Of course, we still have no idea when we’ll get to hear the song…
NOTE: Only confirmed artists will be featured in these updates.
Speaking of confirmed artists, Nathan, Tim, Julian and myself reacted to the internally-selected artists we have so far:
Okay, now let’s get into the actual feature…
🇬🇪 Georgia: Tornike Kipiani – “Take Me As I Am” (UPDATE)
Announced: 31st December
Status: Recorded
Release date: TBA
In some unexpected news from Georgia, we now know the title of Tornike’s entry! It was revealed on the evening news that the title of the song is “Take Me As I Am”, which has now been recorded. The song has been described as a ‘mix of classic rock, electro and dubstep’. GPB has also revealed that he will be joined by three backing singers – Mariko Lezhava, Mariam Shengelia and Aleko Berdzenishvili. Still no word on when the song will be released, but let’s assume March for the time being…
🇪🇸 Spain: Blas Cantó – “Universo” (UPDATE)
Announced: October 5th
Status: Released!
Release date: January 30th
Yup, it’s here, as promised. This week, Spain became the second country to release their song for Rotterdam (if you count Albania). The song was produced at a songwriting camp in Edinburgh, with input from musicians across Europe. It eventually beat out 49 other songs, with Blas travelling to Scotland to work with producer Dan Hammond alongside English duo Bright Sparks and Mikolaj Trybulec, who wrote ‘Friend of a Friend’ (Czech Republic 2019).
This Songwatch may have ended, but Blas still might have some treats to share. Apparently, Blas is looking into recording ‘Universo’ in other languages to be able to better spread the songs message. That’ll be for another feature, mind.
The rest
As for the other eight confirmed artists, there have been no public updates, so we’ll just keep a handy list for reference:
- 🇦🇱 Albania: Arilena Ara – “Shaj”
- 🇦🇹 Austria: Vincent Bueno – “Alive”
- 🇧🇪 Belgium: Hooverphonic – TBA
- 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: VICTORIA – TBA
- 🇨🇾 Cyprus: Sandro – TBA
- 🇫🇷 France: Tom Leeb – TBA
- 🇲🇰 North Macedonia: Vasil – TBA
- 🇳🇱 the Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy – TBA
You can find all the information we know about the above entries in our previous edition here.
So, what do you think of “Universo”? Did we miss anything? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the run up to Rotterdam!
