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Home , Bernd Meinunger, Everything I Want, Fame (duo), Francine Jordi, George Theofanous, Gerard James Borg

The Contestants

The Contestants

CYPRUS

Song: Gimme Song: S.A.G.A.P.O (I Love You) Performer: One Performer: Michalis Rakintzis : George Theofanous Music: Michalis Rakintzis Lyrics: George Theofanous Lyrics: Michalis Rakintzis

One formed in 1999 with George Michalis Rakintzis is one of the most famous Theofanous, Constantinos Christoforou, male singers in Greece with 16 gold and Dimitris Koutsavlakis, Filippos Constantinos, platinum records to his name. This is his second Argyris Nastopoulos and Panos Tserpes. attempt to represent his country at the . The group’s first CD, One, went gold in Greece and platinum in and their maxi-single, 2001-ONE went platinum. Their second , SPAIN Moro Mou was also a big hit. Song: Europe’s Living A Celebration Performer: Rosa AUSTRIA Music: Xasqui Ten Lyrics:Toni Ten Song: Performer: Manuel Ortega Spain’s song, performed by Rosa López, is a Music:Alexander Kahr celebration of the European Union and single Lyrics: Robert Pfluger currency. Rosa won the hearts of her nation after taking part in the reality TV show Twenty-two-year-old Manuel Ortega is popular Operacion Triunfo. She used to sing at in Austria and his picture adorns the cover of weddings and baptisms in the villages of the many teenage magazines. He was born in Linz Alpujarro region and is now set to become one and, at the age of 10, he became a member of of Spain’s most popular stars. the Florianer Sängerknaben, one of the oldest boys’ choirs in Austria. CROATIA His love for brought him back to Linz where he joined a group named Sbaff and, Song: by the age of 15, he had performed at over 200 Performer:Vesna Pisarovic . At 17, he auditioned for an Austrian Music: Milana Vlaovic boy band and was chosen out of 1,300 Lyrics: Milana Vlaovic contestants to be the lead singer of the group Whatz Up. Vesna Pisarovic is a popular performer in Croatia and has released two . Born in A year ago, Manuel went solo and his single, Brcko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vesna is now El Amor, La Vida, became one of the most one of the most photographed women in the played songs in Austria during the summer of country. She moved to Zagreb with her band 2001. His first solo album, Any Kind Of Love and performed at the Croatian festival will be released shortly. Zadarfest, where she met Milana Vlaovic, who wrote Everything I Want. Milana and Vesna have now worked together on two albums: If

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You Knew (the best-selling debut album in Karolina made her debut at the age of 11 at the Croatia in 2000) and Made For You in 2001. Makfest ‘91 festival. She signed her first professional contract in February 2000 and Vesna Pisarovic has won numerous awards and hasn’t looked back since. her third album is due to be released shortly.

ISRAEL RUSSIA Song: Light A Candle Song: Northern Girl Performer: Performer: Premier Ministr Music: Svika Pick Music: Kim Breitburg Lyrics:Yoav Ginai Lyrics: Karen Kavaleryan, Evgene Fridlyand, Irina Antonyan Sarit Hadad, 23, is one of ’s most popular singers and, last year, was named Premier Ministr, described as Russia’s answer to Israel’s Woman of the Year and Best Female Take That!, formed in 1999. They have already Singer. Light A Candle is sung in English and released three best-selling albums in Russia; Hebrew and was written by Svika Pick and Northern Girl is their first song in English. Yoav Ginai, who composed Diva for , which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. Sarit was born into a family of musicians and Song: Runaway began performing at the age of eight. She has Performer: Sahléne released nine albums, all of which have achieved Music: Pearu Paulus, Ilmar Laisaar,Alar quadruple platinum status. She plays the drums, Kotkas the organ, the guitar and the accordion and was Lyrics: Jana Hallas the first Israeli singer ever to perform in Jordan.

Sahléne (Anna Cecilia Sahlin) is a 25-year-old Swedish singer, who has performed at the SWITZERLAND Eurovision Song Contest three times before as a backing singer. The of Runaway are Song: Dans le jardin de mon âme well-known producers and writers in Estonia, Performer: and their song Once In A Lifetime came fourth Music: Francine Jordi at the Eurovision Song Contest two years ago. Lyrics: Francine Jordi

Twenty-four-year-old Francine Jordi is popular MACEDONIA in Austria and and has won a national . Jordi started her singing Song: (It Depends On Us) career performing with her sister and parents in Performer: Karolina a vocal band when she was 10. Her latest album Music: Nikola Perevski was a big success in Switzerland. Arranger: Diran Tavitjan Lyrics:Vladimir Krstevski SWEDEN Karolina is a 22-year old singer who has won many awards in Macedonia. Her two albums, Song: I’ve Got A Song and Why The Dream Has An Performer:Afro-dite End have enjoyed great success and spawned Music: Marcos Ubeda several hit singles. Lyrics: Marcos Ubeda

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Gladys del Pilar, Blossom Tainton and Kayo DENMARK Shekoni make up Afro-dite, Sweden’s entry for Eurovision. Song: Tell Me Who You Are Performer: Malene W Mortensen Gladys was born in Ecuador and came to Music: Michael Ronson Sweden at the age of seven. Her career took off Lyrics: Michael Ronson in the early Nineties and she has worked with big names in Sweden, including Denniz Pop and Denmark is represented by 19-year-old music Dr Alban. Her real breakthrough came in 1993 student Malene Winther Mortensenm, a well- when she performed in ABBA – The True Story known singer in her country. She first found in . In 1994, Gladys came second in on Star For A Night on Danish TV – an the Swedish Eurovision finals with Det amateur song contest – and came second, vackraste jag vet and she has had both speaking propelling her to overnight success and making and singing roles in Disney films. her an obvious choice for the Eurovision Song Contest. Blossom Tainton has been in the spotlight for as long as she can remember. She’s worked in the Despite all the attention she has received, theatre, song, dance, musicals, gospel and as a Malene has put her school work first – she is a TV host. She is also a personal trainer. student at one of Denmark’s most highly regarded music schools – and intends to return Kayode Shekoni has been a singer, actress, TV to do her final exams immediately after the host, tour guide, model, speaker and entertainer. Eurovision Song Contest in Estonia. In 1980 she was in the pop group Freestyle, who had a huge hit in Sweden with Vill ha dej. Malene comes from a musical family; her father Kayo has had four solo albums, one of which is a well-known player, and her mother, was successfully launched in the USA. who died a few years ago, was the drummer in one of the leading female rock groups in Denmark in the Eighties. FINLAND

Song: Addicted To You BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Performer: Laura Music: Maki Kolehmainen Song: Na Jastuku Za Dvoje (Fairytales Arranger: Mika Mettälä About Love) Lyrics: Janina Frostell and Tracy Lipp Performer: Maja Tatic Music: Dragan Mijatovic is a 27-year-old Finnish Lyrics: Ruzica Cavic and Stevo Cvikic singer. Her first single, Muuttanut oot maailmain (You Changed My World), was Maja Tatic is a 31-year-old singer who lives released in 1993. She has received two Emma on the Canary Islands. She started performing Awards and has had her own TV show. In 1997 at an early age, and has taken part in several she became of Meg from the Walt song contests. She recently completed a Disney cartoon Hercules. formal musical education, specialising in classical guitar. At the age of five, Laura was accepted to music kindergarten and a year later she learned to play At the age of 17, Maja began her professional the cello. She joined her first band, Kevytlinja, career and has been in several pop and rock when she was just 15 years old. bands. She released a CD of cover versions in the Canary Islands last year, performing songs She also appeared in the musical What A by and Tina Turner, among others. Feeling in London and Helsinki.

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BELGIUM comes true and she performs I Can’t Live Without Music at the Contest in Estonia. Blind Song: Sister since birth, Corinna is already a popular singer Performer: Sergio And The Ladies in Germany. Music: Mark Paelinck Lyrics: Dirk Paelinck TURKEY

Sergio (Serge Quisquater) is a 36-year-old Song: Leylaklar Soldu Kalvinde Belgian singer and released his first single at the (Lilacs Have Faded In Your Heart) age of 22. He is a popular TV host in his native Peformer: Buket Bengisu and Sapphire country, presenting a show called One Hour Music: Fani Hodara Full Power, which sums him up! He was, until Lyrics: Sami Hodara, Figen Cakmak recently, one half of Touch Of Joy but he has put the group on the back burner while he Turkey is represented by Sapphire, fronted by continues his solo career. Buket Bengisu with Eser Alioglu, Dilek Aba, Gulnur Gokce and Sitare Bilge. The song beat Sister is a powerful melting pot of rock and 195 other songs at Turkey’s National Final. soul, written by the Paelinck brothers, Mark and Dirk. Ibernice Macbean, Ingrid Simons and Jodi Pijper, all from Holland, are “The Ladies”, who join Sergio on stage for the backing vocals. Song: Seventh Wonder FRANCE Performer: Music: Song: Il faut du temps (It Takes Time) Lyrics: Performer: Sandrine François Music: Rick Allison Twenty-one-year-old Maltese singer Ira Losco Lyrics: Patrick Bruel, Marie-Florence Gros started singing five years ago with an alternative rock band named Tiara. She has represented her Sandrine was born in 1980 near Paris, where country in previous years and last year was she has lived all her life. After studying design, awarded the title of best Maltese female singer. she devoted her time to singing, until a French TV film crew discovered her in a Paris bar and She released her first CD, Butterfly, earlier this invited her to appear on Mireille Dumas’s La vie year and it reached No. 2 in the Maltese charts. a l’endroit. Following her appearance, she Tiara recently released an EP and are working received a phone call from record company on a new album. Ira is currently studying for a BMG and she’s now working on her first album. communication degree at the University of Malta and hopes to pursue a career in the . GERMANY

Song: I Can’t Live Without Music ROMANIA Performer: Music: Ralph Siege, Bernd Meinunger Song: Tell Me Why Performer: , In 1999, Corinna May was chosen to represent Music: Ionel Tudor Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest, only Lyrics: Mirela Fugaro to have her victory annulled when it transpired that the song had already appeared elsewhere. Monica Anghel and Marcel Pavel represent The following year, she came second in the Romania. Monica is one of most Romania’s preliminary rounds but in 2002 her dream best-loved singers and has taken part in the

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Eurovision preliminary rounds before. She LITHUANIA has also supported both Ray Charles and Julio Iglesias. Song: Performer:Aivaras Marcel has had several hits in Romania and is Music:Aivaras Stepukonis considered the country’s best male singer. Lyrics:Aivaras Stepukonis

Aivaras became Lithuania’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, following the disqualification of B’Avaria. He was educated at Song: (Only Love) The Conservatory of Juozas Grudois where he Peformer: studied clarinet. He later attended the University Music: Robert Pesut of Steubeville in Ohio, US and The International Lyrics: Barbara Pesut Academy of Philosophy in Liechtenstein, where he gained an MA in Philosophy. In 2001 he was Sestre (Sisters) look set to make their mark on a doctoral student at the Lithuanian Institute of the Eurovision Song Contest when they perform Philosophy and Sociology. Samo Ljubezen. The trio of transvestites, Miss Marlena (Tomaz Mihelic), Daphne (Srecko Blas) and Emperatrizz (Damjan Levec), have been on the Slovenic music scene for over two years.

They started their career as the Strumpant Sisters (The Suspender Sisters), appearing on various TV shows.

LATVIA

Song: I Wanna Peformer: Marie N Music: Maria Naumova Lyrics: Maria Naumova, Marats Samauskis

Marie N represents Latvia, marking her third appearance at the Contest. She first entered in 2000 with For You My Friend and then again in 2001, with Hey Boy, Follow Me. She has written all three songs.

Marie has a law degree and speaks Latvian, Russian, French, English and Italian.

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