To say that I am excited now is an understatement. It will be out in 2weeks, they are shooting the video on Monday. The song will be called Het – or Hot for those of us who do not speak Swedish.

You go girls!!!

Swede’s don’t understand why we love Kom Kom Kom so much, and we don’t understand why they don’t love it even more! If Het is half way as good as Kom Kom Kom then we are in for a real treat

Katherine Lynch is an Irish comedienne who presents a show on RTE called “Wagon’s Den”, she takes on the personality of a Dublin knacker basically. Jedward were on the show last week and it is a funny watch.

Go enjoy

You can view the entire program on the RTE iPlayer (regional restrictions apply) or watch a clip of the show below:

Current odds from Paddy Power at 20th April 2011

LIMERICK’S Leanne Moore has received the call-up of a lifetime by being asked at the last minute to join Jedward’s bid for Eurovision glory in Germany in May.

The You’re A Star winner, who boasts a number one Irish single on her resume and currently works for the Irish News of the World as a showbiz and entertainment journalist, received a phone call close to two weeks ago to ask her to fill in for one of the backing singers on Jedward’s song ‘Lipstick’, which they will perform in front of millions at the Eurovision semi-finals on May 12.

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “I just cannot wait, I can’t even put it into words, it is going to be very exciting. Just the experience of actually being over there, the atmosphere of it all. It has always been something that was on in the household growing up as kids, we would always watch it – to actually be there in the middle of it will be an experience.”

The Limerick singer winner narrowly missed out on representing Ireland in her own right last year when she was one of five finalists in RTÉ’s Eurosong competition and admits that this opportunity is a “thrilling” one for her.

“This was literally a case of being in the right place at the right time when Louis and Caroline asked me would I be interested, which I laughed at and said ‘of course’” laughed Leanne.

“I always tell people that everything happens in its own time for its own reason and last year wasn’t the right time, so this year I get to go. I’m so excited – I’m getting my lipstick on!”

From Limerick Leader

Here is Leanne in her Eurosong debut last year with “Does heaven Need Much More”

Something tells us this was Louis Walsh’s idea. Attitude had Blue and Gay Times had Jedward, it’s a good time of year.

Good luck to the boys

So Dana International was on the Saturday Night show with Brendan O’Connor Saturday last, while the interview started a little like a train wreck she really pulled it round towards the end. In the interview, which you can watch here on the RTE iPlayer (regional restrictions apply), she talked about growing up in Israel, and the various decisions she had to make in her life to be where she is right now. Despite offering to marry the presenters father and adopt 7 kids with him like ‘Brangelina’ the interview was very enjoyable.

Including a rather remarkable comment about Jedward in 2 years time.

She did mime Ding Dong at the end of the show, but it doesn’t matter, she is Eurovision Royalty after all. So lets do as she asked Ireland, Israel 5 points (at least)!!!

Also in the interview was prettyboy Donal Skehan, a singer and rather famous food blogger/chef in Ireland, he tried to represent Ireland in the 2008 Eurosong only to come in 3rd place to Dustin the Turkey.

Another one of those clever internet elves has made a megamix of all 43 songs from this year. I like it, hope you will too.

You can find their Facebook page here.

Well just because their Eurovision is over doesn’t mean the artists have stopped. Lets have a quick look at what some of our Eastern European compatriots are up these days. So often I find myself actively disliking the Irish and UK charts, I’m not sure about the rest of ye

Ani Lorak is riding high in the Russian and Ukrainian charts right now with this little number:

Verka Serduchka has reared his head again with Dolce & Gabana

Dima Bilan is getting beaten up in

Serebro have a funky little number out with some faux lesbianism:

Madcon, those guys who did the interval act for Norway last year are enjoying a lot of success with this little number:

And Arash, one half of the Azerbaijan duo for 2009 has a song out as well

With 5 weeks to go we finally have something concrete on what the stage will look like.

1080 square metres of LED

The stage for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was designed by Florian Wieder. On an international level, he has styled the appearance of shows such as X Factor and MTV Europe Music Awards.

In 2009, he won the British Royal Television Society Judges Award and in 2006 he was awarded the German Television Prize for the Best Set category.

At least 40 lorries carrying 38 tons each will be needed to deliver the set materials for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The stage on the arena’s football pitch will have a diameter of 13 metres. A 60 metre wide and 18 metre high LED wall with 520 light elements will be assembled behind the stage for the two Semi-Finals and the Final to provide the appropriate atmosphere for the artists. The audience will be seated almost completely around the stage.

35 kilometres of cables

25 cameras will be used during the show. That includes four camera cranes, two steadycams and two wireless, portable cameras. Below the ceiling, a so-called spidercam which can be steered to any position in the arena and a camera on rails which can be lowered twelve metres provide an overview of the entire arena.

In addition, at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest the stage will be completely circled by a camera on rails and will also be covered by a highspeed rail and towercam in front of the stage.

The show will be produced completely independently of the regular electricity grid: 35 kilometres of power cables and eight diesel electricity generators with a combined output of 6 megawatts will supply the arena and the accompanying TV area.

What about the sound?

Around 90 microphones, handheld and headsets, will be used in the ESC shows. The total amplification power will amount to 350,000 watts.

The long reverberation time in the Düsseldorf Arena is a particular challenge for the sound technicians. In order to reduce the reverberation, fabric panels will be hung around the entire arena.

Before TV audiences in the 43 countries hear the live vocals from the stage, they will have been mixed in four cabins which are positioned adjacent to the arena, two for pre-mixing and two for post-mixing.

In order to ensure optimal conditions for the artists during the rehearsals and the shows, there will be a special “in-ear rehearsal room”.

The artists will be able to choose their preferred monitor mix and make adjustments after each rehearsal, meaning that they can be sure to hear themselves and the backing track as clearly as possible through an in-ear monitor during their performance.

Each of the 43 acts has a personal memory card with their settings saved on it, which are then read into the monitor desk on the main stage.

More than seven kilometres of rigging beams

Around 120 38-ton lorries are needed to transport the arena lighting, the LED technology, the lighting and sound rigging and the power supply equipment.

The lighting rig will hold more than 2,200 units. They include over 1,100 movable, automated light sources and 1,000 other multifunctional lights, e.g. LEDs which are mounted on more than seven kilometres of rigging beams.

The audience lighting also will become part of the performance. Colours and lighting moods on the stage are also incorporated into the auditorium lighting and LED strips extend far into the audience area.

TV-studio for 35,000 people

In order to transform the Arena in Düsseldorf into a giant TV studio with space for approx. 35,000 people, the whole football pitch has to be removed – a layer of turf that is 40 centimetres thick. The area will be filled with sand which is then compacted. Heavy duty floor panels will then be laid so that lorries and cranes can be driven within the stadium interior.

Around 80 cabins next to the arena will house the technical equipment, stage direction, image mixers, the switch room, the audio control room and the teams from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Digame, who are responsible for international televoting.

The 7,000 square metre light athletics stadium next to the Arena will be transformed into a press centre for approximately 2,500 journalists from the 43 participating nations and beyond.

Around 100 service providers from Germany and abroad are involved in running the show.