UK Eurovision entry to be an unknown artist

March 2, 2014 13:38

The act has been chosen in conjunction with BBC Introducing...

This year's UK Eurovision entry will be an unknown artist, it has been announced.

The BBC will reveal the United Kingdom entry into this year's contest, which will take place at the B&W Hallerne in Denmark on May 10, tomorrow night (March 3). The artist has been selected in conjunction with BBC Introducing.

The official BBC Eurovision Twitter, tweeted:

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: @scott_mills will premiere our UK act and song in a Red Button, iPlayer exclusive next Monday at 7.30pm

— BBC Eurovision (@bbceurovision) February 28, 2014

Guy Freeman, the executive producer for BBC Eurovision, explained the selection process. He said: "It’s clear there’s a disconnect between what kind of songs and artists are now winning Eurovision, versus the stereotype that many people – including much of the music industry - still hold in their minds. Yes, novelty songs and acts do still turn up in the show, provide great entertainment and make good press – but they don’t tend to win.

"So, early on in plans for 2014, we took the view that we needed a bespoke, contemporary song, written specifically to suit the conditions of the competition – rather than trying to get lucky with a pre-existing track from an artist."

He added: "In trying to practice that art, we all listened to a great many potential songs and looked at footage of a great many artists performing live. Nothing was quite right until we looked at a resource right under our nose: BBC Introducing. This is the gateway for undiscovered and unsigned music makers to upload their best tracks and get them heard and featured by the BBC. Some of the artists who’ve received BBC Introducing support at the start of their careers include Florence And The Machine, Ed Sheeran, Rizzle Kicks and Jake Bugg."

The UK's 2014 Eurovision entry will be announced on Monday (March 3) via the BBC red button.

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Let's Add 'Burnout' to the List of Artist Problems...

If you ask Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino about the aging artist problem, he'll point you to some very popular younger artists. You see, it's all a cycle: Lady Gaga will be packing stadiums in thirty years, just like Madonna and the Rolling Stones today.  But right now, as a twenty-something, Lady Gaga is recovering from hip surgery, a decidedly seventy-something ailment that led to the cancelation of more than 20 dates.   

Just an aberration? Well, it's also happening to Adele, who underwent vocal cord surgery at 23 and was forced to cancel dates on both sides of the Atlantic.  Other signs of burnout aren't hard to spot: Rihanna, for example, has shown signs of frying while canceling dates, including a late-2011 flame-out in Malmo, Sweden.  Even Justin Bieber, the youngest of the lot, is barfing on stage and passing out from exhaustion.

Athletes also get injured.  Then again, athletes retire at 32.  Which makes these troubling developments for artists that theoretically have fifty years of lucrative, stadium-packing tours ahead of them.  At this rate, there's a distinct possibility that they won't make it there.

So what's going on?  Meat Loaf thinks this is what the modern music industry is doing to artists.  Instead of embarking on grand tours to support lucrative album releases, the collapse of the recording is forcing artists to be 'always on,' constantly gigging, recording, and making appearances.  

Add the intense demands of digital, and artists are frying themselves.  "That's the problem with a new artist," Meat Loaf recently observed. "They don't sell records like they used to."

Toya Glasgow, an R&B-focused blogger, pointed to an appallingly overworked Rihanna.  Back in 2011, the non-stop, never-take-a-break rush included a full tour and upcoming album.  "Rihanna has been overworking herself like mad.  She's been touring excessively with not much of a gap in between so-called breaks.  When she does get a day or two off, she uses it in the studio to finish recording her upcoming new album." 

And remember, these are the wealthiest, best-supported, most mainstream artists around.  So what about everyone else?  For developing and less-lucrative acts, touring now seems closer to a survival exercise than a good time.   And part of the reason is that selling recordings (ie, pressed CDs) on tour is no longer a viable option.  "That kept a tour going," one source with experience in the van told us, while pointing to newfound pressure on less-lucrative items like specialty vinyl, hats, and yes, t-shirts.

Which means, some will break through, score festival slots or develop a following, but most will face extremely difficult financial choices and punishing schedules.  Because if Lady Gaga has a cloudy future ahead of her, so does every developing, struggling artist.

Written while listening to Mat Zo & Arty.

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African diva Angelique Kidjo wins Songlines Best Artist award

Benin singer Angelique Kidjo performs during the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo December 11, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Leonhard Foeger

By Angus MacSwan

LONDON | Thu Apr 25, 2013 8:27pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - African diva Angelique Kidjo was named Best Artist in Songlines magazine's annual world music awards on Friday, lauded for her high-energy shows and her championing of social causes.

French veterans Lo'jo, who mix French folk with African and Arabic sounds, picked up the Best Group award and the young Zimbabwean band Mokoomba was chosen as top Newcomer.

The Best Cross Cultural-Collaboration went to Dub Colossus for the blend of Ethiopian roots, reggae and dub beats on their latest album "Dub Me Tender Vol. 1+2".

Kidjo, originally from Benin, is one of Africa's biggest singing stars. Over the years she has worked with Prince, sang at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and sold out New York's Carnegie Hall.

The Best Artist award was given for her live "Spirit Rising" album but was also recognition of her career achievements, Songlines editor-in-chief Simon Broughton told Reuters.

"She's been around a long time but she's always inspiring," he said. "What clinched it was a concert she gave in London in March for Women's Day. It was breathtaking. I've never seen her so exuberant. She bonds people and really makes it special."

Kidjo, 52, has adopted the mantle of the late South African singer Miriam Makeba as a political voice and campaigns for women's rights and education in Africa.

"The award is also for what she stands for," Broughton said.

Lo'jo, from southwest France, has also been around a long time and the band's latest album, "Cinema el Mundo", showed them to be as strong as ever.

"They are much better known in the Francophone world than elsewhere. They've not been tempted to become more mainstream," Broughton said.

"They are a quality act, an unusual, interesting group, especially in their connections with West and North Africa."

YOUNG BANDS AND FANS

The Newcomer winner, Mokoomba, is a young group from Zimbabwe but the horn-driven music is pan-African, bringing in the sounds of Congo, South Africa and other countries. Its "Rising Tide" album sealed the award.

Dub Colossus' award was recognition of its work over the past 10 years in popularizing Ethiopian music and blending it with modern beats.

"It's risen from being unknown to something hip and really getting an audience. There's a lot of people fusing Ethiopian and Western sounds so they represent a wide movement and are bringing in a lot of young people," Broughton said.

World music has had mixed fortunes in the past year.

The live scene was still healthy, with a host of performers filling venues in London and elsewhere, Songlines publisher Paul Geoghegan said.

But the recording scene was very difficult for artists, record labels and distributors due to the closure of record stores and declining CD sales. The collapse of British chain HMV, whose shops stocked a wide variety of world music, was a big blow, he said.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

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