Michelle Courtens | |
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Background information | |
Born | Netherlands | 3 August 1981
Occupation | singer |
Michelle Courtens (born 3 August 1981), performing as Michelle, is a Dutch singer, who is known from her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. [1] [2]
She was born in Venray, The Netherlands. On 2 March 2001, Michelle competed in the final of the Dutch National Song Contest, with the alternative pop song "Out on My Own". She won the final with a score of 84, 30 points more than the contestant finishing second. Both the audience and the professional jury awarded her the most points, respectively 50 and 34. This meant she could go to the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 in Copenhagen, Denmark. In Copenhagen, she only achieved 18th place with 16 points. In 2002, she released the single "Coming Up Roses". Currently, she is working as a singing teacher. [3]
The Eurovision Song Contest 1964 was the 9th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the 1963 contest with the song "Dansevise" by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR), the contest was held at Tivolis Koncertsal on 21 March 1964, and was hosted by Danish TV presenter Lotte Wæver.
Carola Maria Häggkvist, commonly known simply as Carola, is a Swedish pop singer and songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music. Her debut album, Främling (1983), sold around one million copies and remains the biggest-selling album in Swedish music history. During her career, she has recorded many top-selling albums and singles and is referred to as Sweden's most prominent female singer. Some of her biggest hits are "Främling", "Tommy tycker om mig", "Fångad av en stormvind", "All the Reasons to Live", "I Believe in Love", "Genom allt", and "Evighet". Besides Swedish, she has also released records in Dutch, German, English, Norwegian and Japanese.
The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries at the first contest in 1956. The country has missed only four contests, twice because the dates coincided with Remembrance of the Dead, and twice because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year. It has missed the final despite qualifying once, in 2024, due to the personal conduct of its entrant which led to disqualification. The current Dutch participant broadcaster in the contest is AVROTROS. The Netherlands has hosted the contest five times: in Hilversum (1958), Amsterdam (1970), The Hague, and Rotterdam (2021).
"Love Shine a Light" is a song by British rock band Katrina and the Waves written by Kimberley Rew. It represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 held in Dublin, resulting in the country's fifth and most recent win at the contest. It was released as a single on 28 April 1997 and later included on the band's ninth studio album, Walk on Water (1997), serving as the album's lead single.
Antique is a Swedish-Greek singing duo consisting of Helena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis, originating from Sweden and combining Greek popular music and lyrics with a Nordic dance-pop beat. Both Paparizou and Panagiotidis were born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. They were the first ever to be nominated for a Swedish Grammis in the category modern dance with a Greek song. In 2001, Antique were selected to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen with the song "Die for You", sung in a blend of English and Greek, ending with a third place – only behind Estonia and hosts Denmark. This group is famous in Scandinavian countries, Cyprus, Greece, Germany and Italy. After 19 years of hiatus the group reunited in March 2022 in Greece releasing a cover hit song from 90's meant to be their comeback in music industry.
"Diva" is a song recorded by Israeli singer Dana International with music composed by Tzvika Pick and lyrics written by Yoav Ginai. It represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 held in Birmingham, resulting in the country's third win in the contest. Her win is considered influential in making trans identity mainstream.
"Everybody" is a song recorded by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton, along with 2XL, with music composed by Ivar Must and lyrics written by Maian-Anna Kärmas. It represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 held in Copenhagen, resulting in the country's only ever win at the contest and the first victory by one of the countries that debuted in the contest in the 1990s after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Sanna Viktoria Nielsen is a Swedish singer, television presenter and musical theatre performer. On her seventh attempt, she won Melodifestivalen in 2014 with the song "Undo" and so represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, finishing in 3rd place overall. Sanna was one of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 commentators for Sweden and hosted Melodifestivalen 2015 along with comedian Robin Paulsson. She was announced as the new presenter for the sing-along show Allsång på Skansen for the summer of 2016. She hosted Eurovision The Party at the Tele2 Arena for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.
Tanja Gisela Hewer, known by the stage name Michelle, is a German schlager singer. She represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song Wer Liebe lebt, which placed eighth from 23 participating countries with 66 points. Since her debut in 1992 she has won numerous awards, including two Echo awards, two Goldene Stimmgabeln and two Amadeus Austria awards. She sold more than 6,2 Million Copies in Europe.
Paula Seling is a Romanian singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. She has released more than thirteen albums and over twenty singles, which include two top-ten hits in the Romanian Top 100, and a minor European hit which entered the charts in Finland and Norway, as well as the UK Singles Chart.
Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, known outside Iceland as Yohanna, is an Icelandic singer. Beginning her music career as a child singer, Yohanna received international recognition after representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Is It True?", placing as the runner-up. This tied for the best result Iceland had ever achieved in the contest. Following the success at Eurovision, she released the studio album Butterflies and Elvis (2009).
Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Wer Liebe lebt" written by Gino Trovatello, Matthias Stingl, and Eva Richter, and performed by Michelle. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), organised the national final Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2001 in order to select their entry for the contest. The national final took place on 2 March 2001 and featured twelve competing acts with the winner being selected through two rounds of public televoting. "Wer Liebe lebt" performed by Michelle was selected as the German entry after placing first in the top three during the first round of voting and ultimately gaining 36.6% of the votes in the second round.
The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Out on My Own", written by Dirk-Jan Vermeij and André Remkes, and performed by Michelle. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry for the contest through Nationaal Songfestival 2001. Six entries competed in the national final on 3 March 2001 where "Out on My Own" performed by Michelle was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three jury panels and a public vote.
The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "One More Night", written by Tjeerd van Zanen and Alan Michael, and performed by Esther Hart. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry for the contest through Nationaal Songfestival 2003. The broadcaster returned to the contest after a one-year absence following its relegation in 2002 as one of the bottom six entrants in 2001. 32 entries competed in the national final which consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Eight entries qualified from to compete in the final on 1 March 2003 where "One More Night" performed by Esther Hart was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a seven-member jury panel and a public vote.
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Axel Hirsoux is a Belgian singer. He represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark with the song "Mother". In the final of the local pre-selection Eurosong, he received more than 50 percent of the televotes and 4 times the maximum of 12 points from the international jury.