Magdi Rúzsa: The bus stop sign was my idea

Magdi Rúzsa´s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest became somewhat of a fairy tale come true. Not only did she manage to qualify for the final, she also reached the 9th place in the grand final and thereby secured Hungary a guaranteed place in next year´s final. After the final Magdi received the Composers´ award and recently she won the ESC Radio Award for Best Female 2007. In the same voting Unsubstantial Blues won 2nd prize in the Best song 2007 category.

Warm congratulations Magdi on the 9th place in the Eurovision Song Contest final and the 2nd place in the qualifying heat! How does it feel?

- It was really big pleasure!

Are you the slightest bit disappointed that you did not finish 2nd in the final as well?

- Well, we didn’t know in the final, that we had qualified in second place. We are not disappointed, as we saw that voting was rather based on geographical and national base than on musical taste

You finished in the top 3 in the televote in all the Nordic countries, why do you think your song was so popular in that particular region?

- I think my song is different from the others in the contest, and Nordic countries have a really sophisticated taste, so I am very happy they liked my song.

You were born in Serbia, how did you feel when you got 12 points in the Serbian televote?

- I was extremely happy, I know this was thanks to the people living in Vojvodina and the nearby.

And what do you think about the Serbian victory?

- It is a really great song, and she is a really big talent, so she deserved it well.

Did you make any news friends among your fellow competitors in Helsinki?

- Well, we made good relationship with Dado Topic, and there is a chance of future co-operation with him as well

Whose idea was it to have the bus stop sign on stage in Helsinki?

- It was my idea, and my label boss chose a nice bus stop design for it

What are your plans now? Are you going to release anything in other countries than Hungary?

- My CD has just been made available on Amazon.de and we hope that our Hungarian distributor Universal Music can make the release in Nordic territories happen.

Would you ever consider participating in the Eurovision Song Contest again?

- Yes, sure, why not, but again only with such a song that is typical of me

Magdi Rúzsa

Favourite Eurovision Song Contest entry from the past:
Lane Moje by Zejko Joksimovic (Serbia 2004)

I would like to do a duet with this artist:
There are too many, but with Dado Topic for sure

If I had not been an artist I would have like to have become:
I was working as a maternity nurse

The best memory that I brought back with me from Helsinki:
There were too many, but the moment I learnt, my song was chosen the best song by all composers maybe

Favourite Internet site:
www.rmfc.hu my fans’ website, I love them

Magdi chooses:

Dog                                         Cat
Working in the studio     Performing live
Reading                                 Writing

Download all versions of “Song #1″

Now you can download 13 versions and the video of the Russian entry for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, Song #1 performed by Serebro.

The song is currently at number 9 in the Queerovision chart.

Enjoy!

Andreas Johnson – The Collector

Number of tracks: 16 

Duration: 62:46

Best song: Sing For Me

From having been considered by many as somewhat of a one hit wonder Mr. Johnson, whose room according to the title of his latest studio album was on fire, got his second breakthrough at last year´s Melodifestivalen when he set a lot of hearts on fire with the fantastic Sing For Me. The entry was the juries´ favourite but it only finished 3rd after the televotes had been counted. However, the song went on to become a smash hit and topped almost every chart possible for months on end.

This year Andreas went one place better in Melodifestivalen when he - all dressed in leather and allegedly performning without any underwear – came 2nd with A Little Bit Of Love.

As is always the case with greatest hits collections it is quite difficult to judge the contents. Some of the songs were released several years ago and the different tracks were not intented to complement each other.

The quality of the songs is somewhat uneven and spans from the ingenious to the downright boring. It is obvious, though, that a lot of Andreas´ songs have been heavily underrated. The great Show Me Love and The Games We Play are certainly well worthy of a reminder.

There are also two brand new tracks on the album. The upcoming single Go For The Soul is bound to be a minor summer hit. The other new song Do What You Want is a nice enough rock song, but it lacks a hook so it does not really stand out.

However, it is the hits Glorious, Sing For Me and A Little Bit Of Love that are the real highlights of the collection.

Personally I miss the ballad Drop In The Ocean which in my humble opinion is one of Andreas´ best and most beautiful songs ever.

Although Andreas has said that he will take a break from Melodifestivalen next I hope he will change his mind and give it another go with the song of his life.

Grade (0-5):

   

The Collector can be bought at CDON.com

Andreas´ website can be found here

The first Queerovision chart is here

Thanks to 81 voters the very first Queerovision Chart has been compiled.

Click here to see the top 10 and the new challengers. And do not forget to cast your votes for next month´s chart.