Eurovoxx's Eurovision Wishlist: Part 1/6

It's been almost two months since Portugal was crowned the winner of the 62nd Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine and many Euro-Fans are still craving for more Eurovision. To quell our need for more Eurovision, we set out to find singers from all over Europe and Australia and compiled them into a wish-list for the Eurovision Song Contest. Over this six part series we will travel from Norway to Australia, from Iceland to Portugal and from Finland to Italy in search of our favourite artists from all over Europe!

Albania - Stanaj

Albert Stanaj, better known by his stage-name "Stanaj" is a singer currently based in New York, USA, however, hails originally from the Adriatic nation, Albania. As a child he starred in numerous music videos in Albania and has performed at many festivals in both Europe and the USA meaning that he is no stranger to a big stage and audience. His new song, "Romantic", which was released in April of this year, is a perfect example of the current music style that is so prominent in society today. Stanaj boasts a soulful yet gentle voice which fits perfectly to the types of songs he produces. Although Stanaj is based predominantly in the USA and associates himself more with American artists such as Drake and JoJo, we believe he would be a great choice for Albania and hopefully put them back into the final after two years of absence.

Armenia - Lucy

Lusine Aghabekyan, also known as Lucy, is an Armenian singer born in 1990, who you may remember from Armenia's National Final in 2017 (Depi Evratesil) where she made it to the final six in the competition. Lucy began singing at the age of 9 and graduated from the Yerevan State College of Pop and Jazz Art. Lucy is no newbie when it comes to TV appearances as she has taken part and won numerous televised singing competitions in Armenia and Europe such as "Hay Superstar", "The Song of the Sea" and "The Golden Voice". She auditioned for Armenia's Depi Evratesil and would eventually be chosen to join Aram Mp3's team and after numerous rounds, became Aram's final act. Despite not winning the ticket to Kiev, she collaborated with Aram Mp3 after the competition and released a brand new song entitled "Best Of Me". The song boasts an edgy music video coupled with a fresh and current song as well as an incredible chorus which will be spinning around your head for days to come.

Australia - Alison Wonderland

Alex Sholler, or Alison Wonderland, is an Australian DJ, producer and singer currently based in the country's largest city, Sydney. Alison has been active on the music scene since around 2008, however, began producing her own music in 2013 when she signed to EMI Music Australia, Australia's largest independent dance music label. To date, she has released one album entitled "Run" back in 2015 and was very successful, reaching number 6 in the Australian charts as well as number 12 in New Zealand. Aside from this, she has numerous singles under her belt, one of which is "I Want U" which is her second most viewed song on YouTube with almost five million views. The song features rather light and soft vocals during the verses, accompanied by an ominous and imposing bass line, however, as the chorus arrives, the song reveals it's true colours and grabs you with it's mysterious and compelling tune.

Austria - Sunrise16

Sunrise16 are a band hailing from the Austrian city of Vienna and comprises of four members: Harald Fahrngruber, Sara Koell, Jason Dunman and Nadine Beiler who you may remember from Eurovision 2011 as she represented her country with "The Secret Is Love". The band focuses around various musical styles varying from, soul, electro rap pop and so on. In 2015 the group released an album ("Day One") wherein the song "Imaginarium" was included. The song is headed by Sara Koell who was a contestant on "The Voice of Germany" in 2013. The song itself is a very dark and mysterious one, combining elements of pop with undertones of rock as well producing an almost edgy atmosphere. The song and group could offer a change and contrast in style to Austria which, the past two years produced two very dreamy songs.

Azerbaijan - Rilaya

Rilaya is an Azerbaijani singer coming from the country's capital of Baku and is possibly most notable for competing in the National Final organised by the Azeri broadcaster in 2014, which was ultimately won by Dilara Kazimova. Rilaya has released numerous songs over the past couple of years after competing in the national final such as Saf, and Sen Olmasan both of which being emotional and touching ballads. However, Rilaya also likes to bring the party especially in the song Niye, a powerful number with a strong and striking beat, as well as her most recent song "Telefon" which was released only a few days ago. Rilaya boasts powerful and emotional vocals in all of her songs and would be a great choice for Azerbaijan to bring them back into the top ten again.

Belarus - Vladislav Kurasov

Vladislav or Vlad Kurasov is an aspiring singer, songwriter originating from the town of Brest in Belarus. Born in 1995, Vlad has performed on numerous TV contests predominantly in Ukraine, such as X Factor, where he finished third, and Star Ring - a competition for finalists of the X Factor, wherein he placed first. After winning Star Ring, he released his first single "Farewell, My Town" in June 2012. Vladislav has released a collection of songs sung in both English and Russian and was even a contestant in the Ukrainian National Final for Eurovision 2016, however, did not advance to the final. One of his more recent songs "Ne Smeysiya Sydbe V Litso" shows of his impressive vocals teasing you in with what you would assume to be a melancholic ballad, however after the first couple of bars the beat kicks in and grabs your attention immediately.

Belgium - Barbara Opsomer

Barbara Opsomer is a young singer and actress originating from Belgium, however, has spent much of her childhood in two other countries besides Belgium, namely the US and France. Barbara currently lives in the French capital where she headed after seeing the film "La Mome" as she wished to pursue a career in acting. After a couple of years Barbara turned her interests towards singing and subsequently released her first single "Aimez Vous". Over the past couple of years she has released numerous songs with her most famous song being "Je Sors Ce Soir" which was released in April 2015. However, her most recent number, "Cette Nuit La" possibly reflects the style she is focusing more around currently as the two songs different quite significantly. "Cette Nuit La" features enchanting and ethereal vocals on the part of Barbara as well as an infectious chorus that will get stuck in your head and have you humming Cette Nuit La for the next week.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bozo Vreco

Bozo Vreco is a singer and musician hailing from Bosnia and Herzegovina, currently living in the capital, Sarajevo. Bozo was born in the small town of Foca, eastern Bosnia, in 1983, and has become known in the region for his unique and distinct image of dark dresses, intricate tattoos and most of all his long hair and beard which in unison compliment each other and add greatly to Bozo's artistry. Bozo has numerous songs, albums as well as music videos to his name with his most popular numbers being "Lejlija", "Pasana" and "Sahtijan". Bozo's music and music videos especially bear a theme of nature as we see him immersing himself into his surroundings and embracing the world around him. His voice holds a strong influence and sticks with you after listening to his music. The song Sahtijan is a great example as Bozo's voice in combination with the unlit music video create a haunting atmosphere accompanied by modern electro sounds which are fairly uncommon in this region making Bozo one of the stand out artists in the whole of the Balkans.

If you want to see a recap of all of the songs be sure to watch our YouTube video on the eight artists and their songs from the article!

What do you think of our choices? Do you agree with them? Make sure to let us know and check out the next installment of our wishlist next week. In the meantime be sure to follow our social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

#Albania #Armenia #Australia #Austria #Azerbaijan #Belarus #Belgium #BosniaandHerzegovina #Wishlist #Eurovision