Blue are a British boy band consisting of members Simon Webbe, Duncan James, Antony Costa and Lee Ryan. The group formed in 2000 and released three studio albums before announcing a hiatus in late 2004. In January 2011, the group reformed and represented the United Kingdom at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with the song "I Can", coming in 11th place with 100 points. In 2013, it was confirmed that the group would be joining The Big Reunion, in which six groups from the past reform for a one-off gig. On 27 March 2013, the group announced they would embark on their first headlining tour later on in the year, their first tour in nearly ten years.
Vanilla Ninja is an Estonian all-female rock band which enjoyed chart success in a number of countries across Europe, especially in Estonia, Germany and Austria.
Scooch is a British pop group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "No No Never" written by Jane Comerford. The song was performed by the band Texas Lightning. The German entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was selected through the national final Der Deutsche Vorentscheid 2006 – 50 Jahre Grand Prix, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 9 March 2006 and featured three competing acts with the winner being selected through public televoting. "No No Never" performed by Texas Lightning was selected as the German entry for Athens after gaining 365,361 of votes.
Reamonn was a German pop rock band fronted by local-based Irish singer/songwriter Rea Garvey. Formed in 1999, they have recorded and released a total of six full-length studio albums which were highly successful in Germany and also saw some success in other European countries. They gained recognition in 2000 with their song "Supergirl" from their debut album Tuesday. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2012.
Jane Comerford is an Australian singer, songwriter, lecturer, and vocal coach working in Germany.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Cool Vibes" written by David Brandes, Jane Tempest and John O'Flynn. The song was performed by the band Vanilla Ninja, which was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse in November 2004 to represent the nation at the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. "Cool Vibes" was presented to the public as the Swiss song during the show Congratulations - 50 Jahre Eurovision Song Contest on 5 March 2005.
"No No Never" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in English by Texas Lightning. While Germany had finished the 2005 contest in last place, their position as one of the Contest's "Big Four" ensured the song an automatic final berth. Thus, it was performed eighth on the night, following Malta's Fabrizio Faniello with "I Do" and preceding Denmark's Sidsel Ben Semmane with "Twist of Love". At the close of voting, it had received 36 points, placing 14th in a field of 24.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Frauen regier'n die Welt" written by Matthias Haß and Frank Ramond. The song was performed by Roger Cicero. The German entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland, was selected through the national final Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2007 – Wer singt für Deutschland?, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 8 March 2007 and featured three competing acts with the winner being selected through public televoting. "Frauen regier'n die Welt" performed by Roger Cicero was selected as the German entry for Helsinki after gaining 70% of the votes.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Vampires Are Alive" written by René Baumann and Axel Breitung. The song was performed by DJ BoBo, which is the artistic name of singer René Baumann who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse in December 2006 to represent the nation at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. "Vampires Are Alive" was presented to the public as the Swiss song on 21 February 2007.
"Disappear" is a song recorded by all-female German pop group No Angels, taken from Destiny Reloaded (2008), the reissue of their fourth studio album. It was written by Norwegian singer-songwriter Hanne Sørvaag along with Danish musicians Remee and Thomas Troelsen, the latter of which also handled production on the track. A mid-paced pop song that is built on a ticking clock sample, the song is influenced by elements of Europop and synthpop. Its instrumentation consists essentially of synthesizers and keyboards. Lyrically, it finds the protagonist thinking deeply over her relationship with her love interest from whom she parted; however, she still pines for him and feels self-conscious for doing so.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "The Highest Heights" written by Adrian Sieber, Thomas Rechberger and Florian Senn. The song was performed by the band Lovebugs, which was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse in January 2009 to represent the nation at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. "The Highest Heights" was presented to the public as the Swiss song on 23 February 2009.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" written by Alex Christensen and Steffen Häfelinger. The song was performed by Alex Swings Oscar Sings!, consisting of producer Alex Christensen and singer Oscar Loya. The German entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was internally selected by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The announcement of "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" as the German entry occurred on 9 February 2009 and the presentation of the song occurred during the Echo Music Prize awards show on 21 February 2009.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Il pleut de l'or" written by Michael von der Heide, Pele Loriano and Heike Kospach. The song was performed by Michael von der Heide, who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse to represent the nation at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. "Il pleut de l'or" was announced as the Swiss entry on 18 December 2009, while the song was presented to the public on 9 January 2010.
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch... is a pop/country album by the German band Texas Lightning, made up of country-style covers of pop songs. The album was re-released on 3 March 2006, including the song "No No Never" from Texas Lightning's Eurovision entry. "No No Never" has music & lyrics written by Jane Comerford; it was a huge hit all over Europe in 2006, and Germany's entry for that year's Eurovision finals.
"I Can" is a song released by British boy group Blue, taken from their fourth studio album, Roulette. It was the United Kingdom's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, in Düsseldorf, Germany. It was written by group members Duncan James and Lee Ryan with Ciaron Bell, Ben Collieer, Ian Hope, Liam Keenan, and NoThwegian production team StarSign.
Kevin "Kiev" Connolly is an Irish songwriter, producer and musician. His group, Kiev Connolly and The Missing Passengers, represented Ireland at the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix", written by Charlie Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski and Julian Maas. The song was performed by Conchita Wurst, the drag stage persona of Tom Neuwirth, who had risen to fame after taking part in an Austrian talent show in 2011 and attempting to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. In September 2013 the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) announced that they had internally selected Wurst to compete at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, with her song presented to the public in March 2014.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Hunter of Stars" written and performed by Sebalter, which is the artistic name of singer Sebastiano Paù-Lessi. The Swiss entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2014, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 18 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; nine entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 30 November 2013 and involved three/four experts evaluating the live performances of the 18 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 1 February 2014 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Hunter of Stars" performed by Sebalter as the winner.
"Hunter of Stars" is a song by Swiss singer Sebalter. It was chosen to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Denmark. The song was released in Switzerland as a digital download on December 2, 2013, as the lead single from his debut studio album Day of Glory (2015).
