| Eurovision Song Contest News - 2010 Oslo, Norway 

Asko Paolo

I live in Italy and so I feel the complete loneliness to be the only one around my friends who loves and follows the Eurovision Song Contest... I started loving it in the early '70s and after a long pause in the '90s I could start once again following it thanx to foreign friends and later to satellite TV and web. My great dream would be to see Italy once again in the contest but I think it won't become real very soon... Whenever you are from Italy too don't esitate to contact me (askopaolo@libero.it), I would like to create a group of Italian eurofans in order to pull RAI to enter the contest once again!

About recent times, I am a bit worried about the Balcan and Eastern blocks that altered the last contests, and I think that only a mixed vote (televote 50\\% and an expert panel 50\\%) will save the contest and will give it more quality and more success.

And finally here some of my most beloved euro songs through the latest 20 years:

1989 Italy - Avrei voluto - Anna Oxa & Fausto Leali, Portugal - Conquistador - Da Vinci
1990 Israel - Shara barechovot - RIta
1991 France - Le dernier qui a parlé - Amina (one of the greatest Euro classics), UK - A message to your heart - Samantha Janus
1992 Italy - Rapsodia - Mia Martini (the best Italian song for Eurofestival); Netherlands - Wijs me de weg - Humphrey Campbell, Ireland - Why me - Linda Martin
1993 Netherlands - Vrede - Ruth Jacott
1994 Finland - Bye bye baby - Cat cat, Ireland - Rock'n roll kids - Ireland, Slowakia - Nekonecna piesen - Martin Durinda
1995 Sweden - Se pa mej - Jan Johansen
1996 Various nice songs but none unforgettable...
1997 Iceland - Minn hinsti dans - Paul Oscar (a real shock for the contest, not appreciated...), UK - Love shine a light - Katrina & the waves
1998 (Great year!) Croatia - Neka mi ne svane - Danijela; Netherlands - Hemel aan haarde - Edsilia; Belgium - Dis oui - Melanie Kohl
1999 UK - Say it again - Precious, Bosnia - Putnici - Dino & Beatrice
2000 Latvia - My star - Brainstorm (what a debut!) , France - On aura le ciel - Sofia Mestari
2001 France - Je n'ai que mon ame - Natasha St.Pier, Greece - Die for you - Antique
2002 Very weak year, no remarkable songs
2003 Turkey - Every way that I can - Sertab Erener, Iceland - Open your heart - Birgitta Haukdal, Ireland - We've got the world tonight - Mickey Harte
2004 Serbia/Montenegro - Lane moje - Zeljko Joksimovic
2005 (very great year!) Hungary - Forogj vilag - Nox (the best eurovision act ever in my opinion: their album Ragyogas is absolutely fabulous!), Little by little - Laura & the Lovers - Lithuania, Israel - Hasheket shenish'ar - Shiry Maymon, Latvia - The war is not over - Walter & Kazha, Greece - My number one - Helena Paparizou, France - Chacun pense à soi - Ortal
2006 Belgium - Je t'adore - Kate Ryan, Germany - No no never - Texas Lightning (a great surprise!)
2007 Georgia - Visionary dream - Sopho (a very strong beginning, with Bjork-like sounds)
... And what about this year? Nice first impression from Israel, Switzerland. Good luck to the courageous choice from San Marino! Oh, don' t forget Belgium maybe is a childish one but melody stays immediately impressed and can't get out of mind! Be careful: that's the real dark horse this year! But at the end I fear it will be a fight between Serbia and Ireland...