Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join Union Station, releasing her first album with them as a group in 1989 and performing with them ever since.
The music of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines includes thriving music scenes based on Big Drum, calypso, soca, steelpan and also reggae. String band music, quadrille, bélé music and traditional storytelling are also popular.
Eurovision is a pan-European television telecommunications network owned and operated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was founded in 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 1954. However, a year before the official launch, on 2 June 1953 the coronation of Elizabeth II was one of the first events to be broadcast across Europe.
"Roll It Gal" is a song written by Shontelle Layne and Sheldon Benjamin, and originally recorded by soca singer Alison Hinds, taken from her debut album Soca Queen. The single was released by Hinds in 2005 in Barbados and in the United Kingdom in 2007. A music video was produced for Hinds' version of the song in 2005. The Hinds version of "Roll It Gal" shot to the top of the charts in Barbados, Trinidad and throughout the Caribbean. The song contains a sample of Benjamin's "Big Love".
Crop Over is a traditional harvest festival which began in Barbados, having had its early beginnings on the sugar cane plantations during slavery.
Alison Amanda Hinds is a British-born Bajan soca artist and songwriter based in Barbados. She is one of the most revered soca singers in the world. Alison is also known for her contributions to the genre of Soca music. Alison is often referred to as the "Queen of Soca" due to her significant impact on the genre.
The Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) founded in 1970 is a non-profit association of public service and commercial broadcasters in the Caribbean. Its secretariat is located in Barbados.
Machel Jesus Montano is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and record producer. Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances, he is one of the genre's most popular artists.
Festivali i Këngës në RTSH, commonly known as Festivali i Këngës and also referred to as simply FiK or Fest, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, the festival has determined the country's representative to the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004.
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2008 was the fourteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Rathausplatz in Vienna, Austria on 9 May 2008. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), musicians from seven countries participated in the televised final. This was the second time that the competition was held on an open-air stage and was the beginning of the annual Vienna Festival. Austria and broadcaster ORF previously hosted the contest in 1990, 1998 and 2006.
Orville Richard Burrell, better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-born American reggae musician, rapper and singer who scored hits with the songs "It Wasn't Me", "Boombastic", "In the Summertime", "Oh Carolina", and "Angel". He has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning twice for Best Reggae Album with Boombastic in 1996 and 44/876 with Sting in 2019, and has won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist in 2002.
Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and songwriter. She is also known by the stage names Lyon Empress, Mane the Matriarch, and the Silver Surfer, a nickname which she claimed during her performance at the 2008 International Soca Monarch. Personally she's married to Bunji Garlin.
OTI Festival, often known simply as La OTI, was an international song competition, organised annually between 1972 and 2000 by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI), featuring participants representing primarily Ibero-American countries. Each participating OTI member broadcaster submitted an original song primarily in Spanish or Portuguese to be performed on live television and transmitted to all OTI broadcasters via satellite. It was preceded by the Festival Mundial de la Canción Latina, held in 1969 and 1970 in Mexico.
Square One is a Bajan soca band formed in December 1987. It continued until 2004, when singer Alison Hinds left the group, then re-formed in 2010.
The ABU TV Song Festival is an annual non-competitive gala that showcases songs or instrumentals by musicians across Asia, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). Participating countries which have full or additional full ABU membership are invited to submit a song to be performed in front of a live audience. It is live recorded so that each of the national broadcasters may add subtitles in their respective Asian languages.
The ABU Radio Song Festival is a biennial non-competitive gala that showcases songs or instrumentals by musicians across Asia, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), and is based on the Eurovision Song Contest. The format consists of a non-televised semi-final and grand final which is broadcast.
Claudette Peters, OH is an Antiguan soca and soul singer-songwriter. Peters is best known as Antigua's "Soca Diva" and the Queen of Soca of Antigua and Barbuda was the lead vocalist for the Taxik Band. Claudette has multiple Jumpy and Groovy Party Monarch crowns in which she won from the annual Antigua Carnival's Party Monarch Competition to justify her claim to fame.
The OTI Festival 1972 was the very first edition of the annual OTI Festival and was held in Madrid, Spain. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE), the contest was held at the auditorium of the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos on Saturday 25 November 1972 and was hosted by Rosa María Mateo and Raúl Matas.
OTI Festival 1974 was the third edition of the annual OTI Festival. It was held in Acapulco, Mexico, following the country's victory at the 1973 contest with the song "Que alegre va María" by Imelda Miller. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Televisa, the contest was held at the Ruiz de Alarcón Theatre on Saturday 26 October 1974 and was hosted by Raul Velasco and Lolita Ayala.
The OTI Festival 1979 was the eighth edition of the annual OTI Festival. It was held in Caracas, Venezuela after being decided in a draw. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Venevisión, the contest was held at the National Theatre of the Military Academy on Saturday 8 December 1979 and was hosted by Eduardo Serrano and Carmen Victoria Pérez.
