Russia | Participant reveal by January 15th? Could it be Philipp Kirkorov?

Last year, it was revealed via a source at VGTRK that the Russian artist for the 64th Eurovision Song Contest would be revealed either late January or early February however unconfirmed reports from Russian sources suggest that we could be set for the artist reveal a little earlier than originally planned - by January 15th 2019. In another interesting turn of events, a member of the government has been quoted saying this week that the perfect candidate for Russia's 2019 Eurovision bid would be 1995 representative and prestigious songwriter Philipp Kirkorov ... could we be looking at a Kirkorov reveal next week?

On Russian website vk.com, Russian Eurovision fansites are reporting that information from a source at VGTRK indicates that they will be presenting the Russian participant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 by January 15th. It is important to remember that until we receive official confirmation from the Russian broadcaster that these are unsubstantiated rumours which could turn out to be false.

Meanwhile, what we do know is that that 'dream team' Philipp Kirkorov and Dimitris Kontopoulos will be involved in the Russian entry (as they have been for a number of high placing songs) following an Instagram post Kirkorov posted last November wishing Kontopoulos a happy birthday with the caption;

"I can’t wait for our next adventure next year in Israel. It will be great!"

Earlier this week, Vadim Manukyan, a member of the expert council on the development of the information society and the media at the State Duma of Russia, told Russian media outlet Express-Gazeta that he feels Philipp Kirkorov would be the best man for the job in securing a strong performance for Russia in Tel Aviv.

“In my opinion, if we stay at Eurovision and annually send our participant to this music competition, then it’s time to put together all that we have in this regard. And who in Russia is the biggest fan of this competition and at the same time already been its participant in the past? Of course, Philip Kirkorov! We will send him!"

Manukyan concluded that as a result of Kirkorov's extensive Eurovision experience both as a performer and as a mentor to many other Eurovision performers, he would be able to potentially win the extravagant music competition. He added;

"Kirkorov is greedy. Greedy to win. He has cool shows, he still sings beautifully, in the crowd of the competition he has his own for a long time. In my opinion, the time has come for the experience to gain the upper hand at Eurovision and again Russia after Dima Bilan’s victory to get a crystal microphone, this time with the help of Philip Kirkorov."

Could this be the adventure Kirkorov was referencing in his earlier Instagram post!? Philipp Kirkorov represented Russia back in 1995 with the song "Kolybelnaya dlya vulkana". The Russian language song placed 17th in the contest with 17 points.

Also rumoured is 2016 representative and third placer Sergey Lazarev who gained many fans (and even won the televote!) after his performance of 'You Are The Only One' on the Eurovision stage back in Stockholm. He has been hotly rumoured by many for a number of months but has yet to confirm or deny these rumours. All eyes are on Sergey to see if he could possibly replicate Dima Bilan's returning success by taking the title.

Who would you like to see represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest this year? Let us know in the comments below or via our social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube.