TheManxMissile wrote:


Christ, that's about as tenuous a link to a country as is physically possible

The first of our debutants will be the only Nordic country yet to participate in the Daily Song Contest: Finland. The Finnish head of delegation Marcovdw announced that the alternative pop band Softengine was internally selected to perform for the nation in their first DSC in Antwerp later this month. 'YellowHouse' will be their song and the lead singer Topi Latukka rates their chances highly: "We have selected some great staging for our song and we look forward to performing infront of the Belgian crowd in the Sportpaleis.

Welcome in to the contest Guernsey! This Channel Island will make it's debut into the DSC jungle in the upcoming contest with the song 'I Wake Up Every Day' performed by Thomas D'Arcy. He was selected after BBC Radio Guernsey announced their participation, which was followed with a song selection process held on the radio. "With bright colours and shapes in abundance, this song will definitely catch your eye in the recap" states head of delegation fjhoekie.

Finally, it is time for Poland to show us what they've got! Black metal band Mgła will shred the stage in Antwerp with what is sure to be an unforgettable performance. "Metal music doesn't have the best record at the Daily Song Contest with 2 last places, but I'm sure we can conquer that!" band member Mikołaj expressed after their head of delegation, LangborgDK, revealed the nation's debut in Gdansk last week.

Brazil are here, and they are ready to serve us up some samba realness! Yes, Brazil have finally made their debut into the competition, and for this they have sent Novos Baianos and their song Mistério do Planeta. The retro Brazilian rock band won the national selection in Sao Paulo after a resounding victory in the public televoting results. Matt17br will also make a comeback as Head of Delegation, so expect some ethnic and traditional staging in next week's show.

This edition of the Daily Song Contest features more Eastern European nations than ever before, one of them being the debutants Croatia. Head of Delegation, Luxemburger has jumped ships over to Croatia to guide their artist Vatra with Tango. They won their national final and are now on their way over to Antwerp. Lead singer Ivan commented on their victory in Zagreb as "one of our nation's biggest musical opportunities" and also said "Our song 'Tango' is a chill, smooth song which will claim people's heart across the World."

Rapping pop duo Plamen & Ivo have been internally selected to be Bulgaria's first ever DSC entry. X-Factor contestants Plamen & Ivo will perform the song '2x2' in Antwerp next week. According to the Bulgarian Head of Delegation, ivaneurope, has told DSC.tv that the performance will be "high in energy and full of pyrotechnics". Although the duo failed to win the X-Factor, they'll be targeting victory in Belgium.

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, or Daddy Yankee, will fly the flag for Puerto Rico in Antwerp to make its DSC debut with the song 'Limbo'! The DSC allowed its participation before the Winter Edition, and their delegation, lead by emre99, is more ready than ever. The hip-hop Latin singer's song will be an "injection of energy in the show" as emre99 himself stated after the selection in San Juan.

Portugal joins the party in Antwerp! Portuguese singer Aurea will perform her hit 'Okay Alright' in Antwerp. Her live vocals and jazzy vibe will leave the Sportpaleis rocking during the Grand Final on Saturday. The host of The Voice Portugal said she's "excited out of my mind, I can't wait to stand on that stage infornt of 20,000 DSC fans in the arena, and then to sit in the green room with the points coming in is going to bean experience I will never forget!". Head of Delegation PeterRyder, who guided Celine Dion last time to 13th place , told DSC.tv reporters that he'll be looking to convey the carnival vibes of the song on stage on Saturday night.

Four In Four for Iceland in Antwerp! The DSC's most successful and most northerly nation will return to the DSC yet again with the contest's most seasoned act: Of Monsters And Men! The Icelandic group will perform the song 'From Finner' which almost mirrors the style of their other two entries 'Mountain Sound' and Edition 1's winning song 'Little Talks'. Head of Delegation trekbmc boasts 3 top 5s is "no fluke, we give everything into this contest and we want to bookend 2015 with 2 victories". The odds don't lie either placing them up at the top. Will it be a second victory for Iceland in Antwerp?

Another country making their fourth appearance will be Scotland. Scotland will also welcome back a previous performer: CHVRCHES. They performed last time at their home contest in Glasgow back in March with the song 'Dead Air', landing themselves in 10th. CHVRCHES were selected after performing at Scotland's national selection, 'ScotSong'. They won with an overwhelming majority and the Head of Delegation Ewan Wilson told DSC.tv "this is our chance to shine at the DSC. We had a fantastic finish in Stockholm in September but I feel the song we have here is a lot stronger and the staging will be stunning on the night".

Greece is back to the Daily Song Contest in Antwerp. The American born artist Kelly Clarkson, who found fame on Idol, will represent her heritage nation in the Belgian city this weekend. Her song 'Heartbeat Song' will be the number we'll hear on the night. Greece doesn't have the best record at the Daily Song Contest, but Clarkson aims to "score their best placing yet" as she stated on the night she won the Greek selection.

Galantis, Måns, House Mafia & Seinabo Sey. Those are the names of Sweden's acts over the past 4 years. Sweden also holds a strong record in the contest with a top 10, and 2 podium finishes including Måns' victory in Reykjavik back in June, which took the contest back to Stockholm for the Autumn edition. The new Head of Delegation, lakebeach, has yet again staged the fantastic Melodifestivalen selection show which runs over numerous weeks. This season's winner was Seinabo Sey with the song 'Younger' in a thrilling duel with runner-up Elias and 'Revolution' in the final in Malmö last weekend. Seinabo Sey promised DSC.tv "emotion and colour on stage in Antwerp".

"Nothing can beat Kraftklub back in the Spring!" said Scottish HoD EwanWilson when discussing Germany's selection on the same night as ScotSong. A mega collaboration between numerous older German artists seems to be the aim for their entry 'drogen nehmen und rumfahren'. They were chosen internally at German HQ and have said that the staging will be "weird but memorable" to quote Dippofix, Head of Delegation.

Indie folk band Mumford & Sons will be England's fourth DSC entry. "It's time to bring some banjos into the Daily Song Contest" as lead singer Marcus Mumford put it during an interview after appearing on the Graham Norton Show to perform their entry 'Winter Winds'. The band aim to raise England's best finish of 11th. Seasoned HoD sammyt93 will take the helm of the country for this edition so expect some phenomenal staging on the big platform in the Sportpaleis on Saturday.

Of course they're back! It'll be yet another appearance for the United States in Antwerp. Actress/singer Anna Kendrick is the one to fly the star spangled banner in the Belgian city on Saturday night. Her hit song 'Cups; is the number for the US who don't have the strongest of DSC records, peaking at 11th place back in Glasgow so Anna is feeling the pressure coming into what could be the US' biggest chance. HoD TheManxMissile who will lead the nation for the second occasion said to DSC.tv "we will do everything to get Anna on the left hand side of the scoreboard on Saturday night".

Surprisingly one nation who has always participated is the only one on this list from the Southern Hemisphere: New Zealand. Unlike their Anzac brothers who've only competed once, the valiant Kiwis have sticked at it earning themselves a peak finish of 6th place back in Reykjavik. Their positioning at the Autumn edition in Stockholm, Sweden was rather controversial, after coming in as a fan favourite before the contest. Head of Delegation jandal7 told us about this after the announcement in Auckland: "Six60 were incredible on the night but somehow it didn't translate into high points which I feel we were robbed of. However we want revenge and I hope that The Swingers can do that with 'Counting The Beat' on Saturday. We want to host the first DSC out of Europe!"

Organising committee member, France, will stage their national selection tonight to be the last entry and artist to be announced at the Bercy Arena in Paris later tonight. HoD Scattershot Will has one of the cleanest records in the contest scoring 2 podiums and a top 10 over the past 3 editions. The favourites for tonight's show includes Black M and Louane but anything can happen in what is known as the craziest selection of all. Former French contestant and commentator for 2, French broadcaster, Wad Ad gave us a little heads up before the show: "the French have really enjoyed the show and have always held an interest in the show, which I think is what makes us so successful in the competition. Expect to see a lot of tricoloures in Belgium on Saturday"

The orange nation will return for the 4th edition of the Daily Song Contest in neighbour nation Belgium. Of course, we are talking about The Netherlands who will return with world renowned DJ Armin van Buuren and the song 'Heading Up High'. Armin will appear on stage with band Kensington who also hail from the Netherlands. The Netherlands have a cnsistant record in the contest peaking in Reykjavik with a fifth place when Caro Emerald steeped onstage with her song 'Quicksand'. We met up with Armin in his home town of Leiden to talk to him about his song "it is a song about self belief, but it is also a EDM-pop banger. What I want is to see the crowd bouncing when we're on stage in the Sportpaleis."

Finally, last but by no means least its our host nation BELGIUM! It seems to be the case of the winning performer as Lost Frequencies will return to the contest but with the help of young Flemish vocalist Emma Bale with the song 'Run'. This was determined a week ago at the selection in the very arena the Grand Final will be held in on Saturday night. The home crowd will be hoping for a finish to mirror what Lost Frequencies triumphed back in September after a tight voting sequence which held the winner unknown until the final 5 set of votes. Our winning Head of Delegation handsball will return with what looks to be a very promising entry. We caught up with him in Antwerp after the selection: "this is an absolute dream! After the win in Stockholm I knew I'd had to try so hard to get back in and perform again, but then I found Emma, and voila, perfection! It is still pretty crazy when you think about what happened in Friends Arena, it is just a blur to me now it was that crazy and I really hope I can become the first double winner!"

jandal7 wrote:
I'll take Counting the Beat from The Swingers

Last night was the night we were all waiting for, the French national final which would determine our last song in Antwerp on Saturday night. 3 artists names were ringing among the potential victors: Black M, Ycare and Louane. After a stunning spectacle in the Bercy Arena on the outskirts of Paris, the votes began to pour in from each region of France 1 by 1. By the last region: Nord Pas De Calais, only 1 point separated Louane's song Avenir with second place M83 and 'Midnight City'. Finally as the last 12 points were read out M83 threw their arms in the air as they became France's fourth DSC competitor, and the 22nd in Antwerp. Here's the song Midnight City':

Three nations will make their way back into the DSC scene in Antwerp tonight: Norway, Wales and Slovenia. Firstly we will talk about one of the bookies favourites: Norway! International DJ Kygo will perform his song 'Stole The Show' with the help of Australian vocalist Parson James. Kygo will be wanting to stel the show after a lack lustering finish by Staysman & Lazz last time in Stockholm. This will be Norway's 3rd appearance in the DSC due to the withdrawal in Reykjavik after suffering a placing of 20th in Glasgow. The DJ vowed to the Norwegian public on NRK talkshow Skavlan that he would bring them home a new placing record for the Scandinavian nation in Antwerp.

Tom Jones is back for Wales! Head of Delegation sutty68 announced the music legend's return in Cardiff last week with a Christmas themed duet with Welsh singer Carys Matthews. Christmas classic 'Baby It's Cold Outside' is their song. Tom and Carys promised us "fake snow and wind machines" during the performance inside the Sportpaleis tonight to bring the festive spirit to Flanders!

Get ready for a slice of Slavic oomph in Antwerp! Slovenia return to bookend their DSC year with the song 'Na Golici' by the very traditional group Ansambel bratov Avesnik. Last time we saw the Adriatic country was in Glasgow with Olympic skiier Tina Maze and her song 'My Way Is My Decision' which finished 19th on the night. Returning Head of Delegation ziga007 told DSC.tv that he wants to try and make it as Slovenian as possible on stage during the performance which will certainly be interesting to see.

01 - Portugal
02 - Guernsey
03 - Greece
04 - Wales
05 - Poland
06 - Brazil
07 - Puerto Rico
08 - New Zealand
09 - Scotland
10 - Germany
11 - Slovenia
12 - Belgium
13 - Croatia
14 - The Netherlands
15 - Finland
16 - Bulgaria
17 - Iceland
18 - Norway
19 - Sweden
20 - England
21 - France
22 - United States