Helena Paparizou, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2005 remains one of the most popular vocalists in Greece and it seems that her brand new record deal with EMI Music could just be what she required to take the next step. In recent weeks, fans of the international showcase had the opportunity to view a duet which featured Helena and Vicky Leandros during the Greek national final in which Apres Toi was performed in both French and Greek. This was a true treat for everyone involved and it was the first time that the two popular icones shared the stage. Many were surprised to learn that Paparizou left Sony Music Greece but nevertheless, this is definitely the beginning of a new era as signalled by a brand new single.

At this point in time, looking at the discography, Helena Paparizou has released a total of five studio albums including a compilation of greatest hits and all except the latter have managed to peak at number #1 in Greece whilst also managed to enter the top #2 in Cyprus. Her latest record which is as yet untitled and to be released through EMI Music Greece is being preceded by the first single entitled Poso M'Aresei which translates into How I Like. This will be the first Greek single since 2010 and having already given it a listen, one has to denote that it sounds fantastic. Helena Paparizou has always remained connected to the Eurovision Song Contest and whilst she has not ruled out a return, it seems unlikely she will send in a contribution as the main performer although co-writing is definitely not out of the question. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest news as soon as it becomes available.

Source: EMI Music Greece

An exclusive piece of information released by our colleagues at oikotimes.com shows that the Greek national final will be taking place on Monday 18th February and will be including a stunning line-up of international guests with spectacular surprises all throughout the evening. This will be the first time the selection is being organized in collaboration between two broadcasters; ERT and MAD TV who represent two of the most popular channels in the country. It is important to denote that Eleftheria Eleftheriou was the last representative of the nation and was the first not to achieve a top ten result in almost ten years, finishing behind their neighbouring country of Cyprus for the first time in an extremely long time.

Melodifestivalen, the Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest has always been known to be organized on a huge scale due to the fact that the Scandinavian country can boast several resources but nevertheless, the results following a victory have almost always been disappointing with their last ever try going to Roger Pontare and his track Spirits Are Calling My Name which finished in a surprisingly encouraging seventh place in 2000 as opposed to what happened the previous time when Christer Bjorkman had done the honour in 1992 with the ballad entitled I morgon är en annan dag finishing in twenty second place with just nine points. The upcoming edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is being staged in Malmö and it seems that the broadcaster, SVT, does not only want to put up an exceptional show but also be represented by a great entry noting that the submissions reflect an increase in the quality of names rather than numbers. The provisional list as posted by Aftonbladet tends to be quite correct.

According to the initial reports, the main names to be included in next years' selection process are actually two former winners of the Eurovision Song Contest, the first being none other than three time representative Carola who last did her nation proud in 2006 with the song Invincible and the second being two time representative Helena Paparizou who last took part in 2005, winning the competition for her native Greece. Her mixture in terms of heritage is quite intriguing and Christer Bjorkman has been hoping to get her on board for quite some time. Amongst the others names who have been mentioned, there are the likes of multiple Melodifestivalen attendees such as Sarah Dawn Finer who played the role of hostess last year alongside Mans Zelmerow who was the host in the previous year and last but not least Linda Bengtzing who is known for performing Schlager uptempo songs in Swedish. There were a couple of other names from the last edition of the competition, those being David Lindgren and Sean Banan but former participants such as Cookies N Beans as well as Jessica Folcker and Jessica Andersson will surely be draw cards. One of the names which was not mentioned on the list by Aftonbladet was that of Tone Damli, but then again, Expressen, another Swedish tabloid did include her in their respective list. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com as we follow the proceedings unravel in the days and weeks to come.

Source: Aftonbladet

One of the main subjects that has been circulating in the past couple of years is surely the possibility of the return of Helena Paparizou to the world of the Eurovision Song Contest noting that the victory achieved in 2005 with the song My Number One was on behalf of half of her heritage, the one being Greek and it seems that Sweden would like her to do the honours this time round. The discussions between Melodifestivalen Coordinator, Christer Bjorkman and the artist have never come to a positive conclusion but it seems that Helena has just changed her management and they are looking at the possibility of her making a comeback in the event as it heads into Sweden in 2013.

Since winning the 2005 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, Helena has enjoyed considerable success across the board noting that she has released five studio albums and one greatest hits compilation, all of which have peaked at number #1 or #2 in the Greek or the Cypriot charts. Recent reports have suggested that the 2013 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will be one of the biggest yet and therefore, it would be a great opportunity for her to showcase a new sound to the Scandinavian audiences, a market which she can target well due to her half Swedish heritage. In recent months, Helena has been doing a lot of promotion in the country noting that she appeared in the local version of Let's Dance and also made a guest appearance at Melodifestivalen performing her take on the 2011 Swedish Eurovision entry 'Popular' originally performed by Eric Saade. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for more of such news items.

Source: escflashmalta.com