Periodically OGAE Malta members have the unique opportunity to meet popular Eurovision artists, both locally and internatinally. In this section you will be able to find some information, comments and interviews of these artists who visited us in Malta.

Ruslana
Brian Kennedy
Severina, Ich Troje and Mihai
Dima Bilan
Kate Ryan
Anna Vissi
Annet Artani
Keith Camilleri
Helena Paparizou
Constantinos
Angelica Agurbash
GreenJolly
Luminita Anghel and Sistem

Brian Kennedy was accompanied by the Maltasong Board representative, Mr. Joseph Dalmas. Kennedy also visited the Mdina Dungeons and later enjoyed the picturesque view while taking a cup of coffee at La Fontanella.

We took Brian Kennedy for a walk around the streets of Mdina. The full interview was later shown on our tv-show, Eurovision Fever.

During the interview Brian Kennedy talked about his preparation for this year's Eurovision Song Contest. He revealed that it is his greatest wish to see Ireland back with a good result at the Eurovision Song contest, contrary to what happened in the recent televoting-years!

19.04.2006 - Russia 
Dima Bilan - Eurovision 2006

Dima Bilan and his manager arrived in Malta as part of their promotour.  They arrived later than expected after having missed their original flight to Malta.  Meanwhile, Maltese singer Fabrizio was getting on his way to Germany for his next leg of his extensive promotour.

On Tuesday morning, Dima Bilan appeared on popular television and radio shows. He also gave interviews to the local printed press.  OGAE Malta met Dima Bilan at the hotel where he spent his short stay on our island. We chose an unusual place for the interview - Dima Bilan's private room at the Westin Dragonara! Dima Bilan accepted immediately.  The interview was broadcast on Ogae Malta's popular TV show,  Eurovision Fever later the same day.

We had a great time interacting with Dima, he was very funny and hyper. He told us that he's not getting much sleep lately cos of all the travelling to promote his song. We also got to meet with Dima's mascot... the little pre-historic squirrel from the movie ICE AGE

During the interview Dima talked about his preparation for this year's Eurovision Song Contest. He revealed that he will be accompanied by the Ballet dancers who appear on his video clip too.  He might be opting for the same casual look - jeans and white t-shirt for the Eurovision Song Contest performance so that the attention goes to the song itself.

The Belgian representative, Kate Ryan, has ended her weekend promo-trip in Malta. Members from Malta's official Eurovision Fan Club, OGAE Malta, met Kate Ryan for a chat and wished her luck for her Eurovision 2006 adventure in Athens.

An interview with Kate Ryan was shown on Wednesday 19th on Ogae Malta's EUROVISION FEVER (Wednesdays 22:00 and Sundays 17:35 on Super One Tv). 

Kate Ryan wished to keep her Eurovision 2006 act as a surprise and didn't wish to talk much about it. However, Ogae Malta managed to get some information and this was revealed on Wednesday during EUROVISION FEVER.

Kate Ryan will have a new choreography, however her team is trying its best to keep the 'knee swinging' in the act. She will be accompanied by 2 Swedish backing vocalists, the same who were with her on stage when she won Eurosong 2006 and thus obtained the ticket to represent her homecountry at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Kate Ryan is very popular in the dance charts around Europe and her presence in Athens clearly shows how hard the Belgians are trying to get the Eurovision Song Contest in their country and to turn the bad fate suffered by Xandee's popular 1 Life, which however scored very low at the 2004 contest.  Kate Ryan didn't wish to talk much about the high ratings which her entry is getting at the moment from all the Betting Agencies and Website polls.

30.03.2006 - Greece
Anna Vissi - Eurovision 2006 (Greece), 1982 (Cyprus) and 1980 (Greece)

Anna is part of the Euro jet-set crowd without any of the Euro trash attitude. She is a very stylish woman without the trappings of excessive designers that seem to use stars as a canvas for the most outrageous design ideas. As a brunette, Anna was already good-looking, but with blonde hair, she just entered the 10 out of 10 range. Anna Vissi's vocal range allows her to carry ballads, operas, and rock operas. She is known for her emotionally charged concerts and intensity on stage.

Anna Vissi is Greece's major singing sensation. She is considered the Greek version of Madonna. No, not the bra wearing, boundary-pushing Madonna but the I've been in the game long, and I am still successful  Madonna.

Anna Vissi is very busy visiting various tv and radio channels promoting her entry. Thanks to the collaboration with Maltasong, Ogae Malta caught up with Anna Vissi and spent some time with her.

Anna Vissi spoke about her various successes including the summer hit Nylon.  She penned the lyrics of her Eurovision 2006 entry Everything herself.  She describes the storyline behind the videoclip of her entry as very faithful to the idea she had in her mind when writing the lyrics of her enty.  Anna Vissi was very relaxed during the chat and repeated for several times how happy she feels with Maltese.  

Accompanied by a large team from ERT, Anna Vissi seems well focused in being the host participant at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.  She is also well aware of the huge responsibility placed on her shoulders by all the current online bettings and polls placing her at the very top place.  However, she declares that she doesn't want to think about this experience as a competition but rather as an opportunity where she can perform infront of a wider European audience.

Anna Vissi also revealed that she is currently working with Mia Michaels - one of the world's top choreographers.  Michaels worked on Celine Dion's A New Day Los Angeles' concerts as well as Madonna's Drowned World Tour.  However Anna Vissi declares that she is also very spontaneous and a true lover of improvisations during her concerts and shows.

Asked whether she is in love or not at the moment, Anna Vissi declared, 'I am happy!. And that is what counts at the end!'

During her chat with some members of the Maltese Eurovision fan club, the 26 year old singer said that although she was born and raised in America, she always felt close to her Greek roots.  She also feels close to the sister island, Cyprus which she is representing at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.  Her love for Reiki and Yoga keeps her down to earth and humble.  Annet says that she is not after materialistic fame but after a research of the soul and touching the hearts of her audiences through her music. 

Speaking about her plans for the Eurovision Song Contest, Annet announced that she will be accompanied by 5 backing vocalists among whom the backing vocalist with whom she backed Britney Spears in her 'Dream Within A Dream' tour.  A gospel touch is what we're expecting from this year's Cypriot Eurovision entry.  Speaking about the disappointing result obtained by Cypriot star, Constantinos last year, Annet said that it must have been a 'bad day' for the Cypriot artist as he surely didn't deserve such a low score.  Annet described the semi-finals round as 'a hurdle sent by God to test our strengths.'. 

And we asked her...'Is it Annet or Annette?'....here is her reply: 'In America my name is written as ANNETTE but I was adviced to use ANNET in Europe, thus avoiding being called Annet-Te!"

As a singer-songwriter, Annet wrote several of the tunes for her upcoming EP while dashing around the world with Britney Spears. One of only two backup vocalists on the pop princess's ‘Dream Within A Dream’ tour, Annette travelled the globe, as she puts it, "singing and dancing my butt off!" During time spent hanging with Britney at her Hollywood home, they also wrote some songs together. Their ballad ‘Everytime’ was included on Britney's ‘In The Zone’ CD and charted top 15 on Billboard in 2004

16.12.2005 - Switzerland
Interview with Keith Camilleri - Six4One

Ogae Malta: Why six4one?
Keith: 6 completely different cultures are coming together...that's why 6 (cultures) for 1. The song needed performers from six different countries. I will be representing Malta in it, that's why I was picked to form part of six4one.

One of the singers is Claudia D'Addio. We call her "Da Dio" (From God). Her voice is really superb. She sounds like Anastacia, that's why they call her "The voice" in Switzerland. Another singer is the 16 year old Liel. Her voice is very particular. It sounds really ethnic, and you will be able to hear that in the song too. Tinka from Bosnia is very popular in her country. Marco from Portugal, residing in Germany, is a very popular singer too. He has a great powerful voice and he was a plus for our song. Swedish Andreas is very down to earth. He is a very nice guy. Andres is a great fan of the Eurovision Song Contest. At the moment he has taken a break from his band "Alcazar" to concentrate on this project for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Is six4one just a project for Eurovision or are you planning to stay together as a band?
Keith: We are six individual performers who came together for this song to represent Switzerland. However, if this project achieves a great success, there are plans that we might stay together. Everything depends on how the audience reacts to us together.

Now that you are singing with Andreas, how about joining 'Alcazar'?
Keith: That's a dream....I haven't discussed this with Andreas yet, but I wish to record something with them. Who knows perhaps a song with: Alcazar featuring Keith Camilleri. Why not?

Can you tell us something more about the song which you will be singing?
Keith: The song is very particular. It has some parts which are really challenging for us singers. Well it wouldn't be a nice song if it didn't have any challenges! The song is made of 6 different styles which at parts are fused together into one.

In which language will you sing?
Keith: The lyrics of the song are all in English. we will not use any other language.

Some reports quoted Liel saying that the song will be about peace. is that true?
Keith: No. The song's theme is not about peace. Liel said so only to stir some gossip in her own country, with the aim to create some more interest in this project. I cannot reveal much about the song because ralf siegel asked us not to reveal anything yet. We still don't know when we can start talking about the song...perhaps first reveleations will be out towards end of January to February.

What about Ms. Grace Borg, who will be joining your team in Athens as part of the Swiss Delegation?
Keith: As far as I know, Ms. Grace Borg is not part of the Swiss Delegation. She will be there as the representative from Malta - to promote Malta within our team.

How will you promote your song in Malta?
Keith: Actually, my wish is that six4one will sing the Swiss entry for the first on the final night of Malta Song for Europe 2006 on 4th February. I will also be filming some shots for the video clip of the entry in Malta. As we will be filming in six different countries, including Malta for our song. The scenary which I have in mind for the parts concerning Malta are to show the Capital Valletta, the fishermen's boats and some other beautiful scenaries from Malta.

Are you planning to issue an album with six4one?
Keith: Yes, we're planning to issue an album which will be a mixture of 6 different cultures. The album will include 4 songs which we recorded as a group. These vary from pop to ballads. The lyrics are about friendship, opportunities, to believe in your dreams and other positive messages. Every singer will have 2 other songs as a soloist in the album. I have an uptempo song, "Sunshine in your eyes" by Ralf Siegel/John O'Flynn and a ballad "Adonis to Venus" by Philip Vella/Gerard J. Borg.

Tell us more about "Adonis to Venus"?
Keith: Actually it was meant to be submitted for Malta Song for Europe 2006 but I had to change plans since the news regarding my participation in Switzerland broke out a few days before the submissions date in Malta. It's a ballad, a completely different style from the usual upbeaty songs which the audience is used to watch me perform.

Are you planning a solo album?
Keith: Yes I am. I will include also the song "Stand your ground" by Ray Agius/Alfred C. Sant/Godwin Sant which was submitted for Maltasong 2005 but was later withdrawn from the competition. There will also be a song in Italian, "Questa mia via" written by Ricky Piu, following an idea which my Italian girlfriend and I had for the lyrics.

Do you think Malta will give 12pts to Switzerland because of you?
Keith: Maltese are very intelligent and they will vote for the song they like best. I hope that they will like our song best, so they will give us points.

How will you react at the Eurovision Song Contest? Will you fly the Maltese flag or the Swiss one?
Keith: I'll be honoured if I hear "Malta 12pts!" I wouldn't mind if Malta wins while Switzerland will be second at the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens. As a Maltese Eurovision fan, I will be honoured by whichever song and whoever is chosen to represent Malta in Athens 2006.

Do you have a favourite from Malta?
Keith: There are many great singers, even the upcoming ones. I am already looking forward to sit in the green room in Athens next to the singer/s who will represent Malta! Let's fly the Maltese flag together guys!

Thank you Keith for your time!
Keith: Thanks to OGAE Malta, Eurovision Radio and all the fans of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malta!

29.03.2005 - Greece 
Helena Paparizou - Eurovision 2001 (Antique) and 2005 (Winner)

Helena Paparizou and the Greek Eurovision Song Contest delegation arrived in Malta, the third stop on their tour, late on Monday 28th March 2005 evening. Meanwhile, Maltese singer Chiara was getting ready to visit Athens for the second time.

At the Malta International Airport, the Greek singer was welcomed by Greeks who live in Malta. Helena signed autographs for them and her photograph taken with them before leaving for the hotel where she stayed for her two-day visit to the island. Her schedule was extremely heavy, with appearances on major Maltese television channels, with interviews on well-known radio stations and websites. On Tuesday morning, Helena Paparizou visited Malta's historical regions of Mdina and Rabat, and afterwards she appeared on popular television programmes and radio shows. One of which, Eurovision Radio hosted and produced by OGAE Malta’s Deo Grech.

During the interview Helena talked about the heavy promotional tour around all Eurovision participating countries. She also said that she is preparing a very choreographed performance for her entry in Kyiv. She gave her best wishes to Chiara saying that this might be the year when the Eurovision will go back to the classics and thus we can see Angel winning the title. Helena expressed her wish to see the Eurovision won by a Mediterranean country especially Malta, Cyprus or Greece!

12.04.2005 - Cyprus
Constantinos - Eurovision 1996, 2002 and 2005

Cypriot singer Constantinos Christoforou arrived in Malta for his third time as part of his Eurovision Song Contest promotional tour. His schedule in Malta was very busy with interviews for major television and radio stations, newspapers and local Eurovision-related websites.

Constantinos meets Chiara:
Constantinos Christoforou arrived at Malta International Airport on 12th April and left the island the day after. One of the first people to welcome Constantinos in Malta was Maltese Eurovision Song Contest representative Chiara. Together they had dinner in St.Julians.

Plans for Kyiv were revealed on Eurovision Radio:
OGAE Malta caught up with Constantinos Christoforou for an interview aired on Eurovision Radio on Wednesday 13th. The show was broadcast on Super One radio with webcast live via www.super1.com at 20:45 CET. In Eurovision Radio the Club Remix of Ela Ela was exclusively premiered. Constantinos revealed that there will be six people on stage during his performance of Ela ela in Kyiv, including another singer replacing Helena Patroklou who recently resigned due to personal reasons. The choreography and outfits are still being worked on but they won't be too different from the performance in the video clip of the Cypriot entry.

Constantinos fond of Greek and Maltese entry:
Constantinos singled out the Greek entry My Number One and the Maltese entry Angel as his two favourites from this year's Eurovision Song Contest. He admitted that it will be a very tough competition with 39 countries taking part and said that at least his mind is at rest when thinking that he is directly qualified for the final.

Constantinos is a huge fan of the Eurovision Song Contest and will be trying his luck for the third time. He is looking forward for this experience and wishes himself a third time lucky! Constantinos also revealed that his all time favourite Eurovision song is the 1983 winner from Luxembourg Si la vie est cadeau by Corinee Hermes.

16.04.2005 - Belarus
Angelica - Eurovision 2005

Belarusian singer Angelica Agurbash arrived in Malta as part of her busy promotional tour leading to the Eurovision Song Contest. A large team accompanied her, including five male street-ballet dancers. The Belarusian representative revealed more information on her upcoming Eurovision Song Contest participation.

Television shows and interviews
Angelica was interviewed on top local TV shows including PBS' Xarabank, Net TV's 50 Eurovision, Siesta and on Super One's Kalamita Weekend. Once again, thanks to Maltasong, OGAE Malta was given the go-ahead for an interview with the singer on Eurovision Radio.

Plans for Kyiv revealed on Eurovision Radio
The full interview will be aired on Eurovision Radio on Wednesday 20th April as of 20:45 CET. It can be heard live via link: www.super1.com.
Angelica revealed some of her plans during her interview on Eurovision Radio. Angelica will be accompanied by 3 dancers and 2 backing vocalists on stage. She will be wearing an outfit remindful of the national dress wore by Princess Efrosina, with some modern elements. Various designers are giving a helping hand, including Italian designer Roberto Cavalli.

More surprises for Kyiv
Angelica's team is working on many surprises for the performance in Kyiv. It will definately be different from the one you're seeing in the video clip, she said. She is looking forward not only to go through to the final but also to win the Eurovision Song Contest. One of the guys working hard for her is Russian star Philip Kirkarov (Russia 1995), who is giving her all his support for the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest.

Charity projects for Angelica
When asked why she gave up the song Boys and Girls and the idea of singing a song with a message in favour of the future of the children, Angelica said that the song had to be changed but that children in need will not be forgotten by her team. All profits gained from the sales of the Love me tonight cd-single will go to charity pojects helping children in need. A remix of her entry will be launched next week.

Malta is in her fave's list for Kyiv
Angelica Agurbash sees no problem in singing a song by a Greek team. After all her husband is of Greek origin. Moreover she is in favour of the televoting system and not fearing the competition at all. Angelica has 5 favourite songs: in no particular order the songs are from Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Norway and Malta. Angelica announced also that she will hold a huge party in Kyiv celebrating her birthday on 17th May.

When asked about her all time Eurovision favourites, Angelica mentioned Shake it by Sakis Rouvas (Greece 2004) and The One that I Love by Chiara (Malta 1998).

21.04.2005 - Ukraine
GreenJolly - Eurovision 2005

Ukranian band GreenJolly arrived in Malta as part of their promotional tour leading to the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. They look forward to promote their entry as a song to unite and inspire people and want it to be considered as a symbol of human courage and patriotism.

Television shows and interviews
Greenjolly will appear on the leading Maltese TV and Radio shows including Net TV's 50 Eurovision and Super One Radio's Eurovision Radio.  OGAE Malta caught up with Greenjolly for an interview on popular Eurovision Radio.

The plans for Kyiv
Greenjolly revealed some of their plans for Kyiv. They will be accompanied by 2 dancers and a drummer on stage. They did not want to talk much about the outfits and the performance for Kyiv. However they said that they have some surprises which they will keep until the Eurovision Song Contest.

Greenjolly's favourites
Greenjolly have already met some of this year's participants during their promotional tour. They seem to be really fond of the three sisters from Spain, Son del Sol, singing Brujería. They list the Maltese entry Angel by Chiara as one of the top favourites to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Talking about the technical difficulties faced by Ukranian organisation, mainly the selling of the tickets from internet, Greenjolly said that they cannot say much because they are busy rehearsing and visiting countries as part of their promotional tour and they are not in a position to speak for such decisions.

Scandals and Accusations
When talking about the various scandals and accusations following their win at the Ukranian national final, Greenjolly said that it was truly unfair on those who accused their song as plagiarism or a remake of the 1960's Pueblo unido. "Yes, the message is similar but the melody line is not. And that makes the two songs different from each other", remarked Greenjolly members. "If conveying the same message makes you guilty of plagiarism, then there are many plagiarists out there all writing songs about the same thing: Love, Love, Love".

They also said that it was no problem for them to change the lyrics, but they only did it because it was imposed by the EBU. As for them, they would have left Yushenko's name in the chorus. "To us the word 'Yushenko' doesn't only refer to the politician and the new president of Ukraine but it also means freedom".

When speaking about Ani Lorak, they said that she will definately represent Ukraine one day because she is really popular in Ukraine and she's very good too. "Perhaps we will see her in 2006 with a better song", they said.

When speaking about their all time Eurovision favourites Greenjolly mentioned Shake it by Sakis Rouvas (Greece 2004), For real by Athena (Turkey 2004), The one that I love by Chiara (Malta 1998) and of course Ruslana's Wild Dances, of whom they were only 50/50 sure of her potential to win the Eurovision last year. Greenjolly stated that they will do their best to keep Eurovision home!

Luminita & Sistem
Eurovision 2005 - Romania

Luminita Anghel and percussion band Sistem are visiting Malta as part of their Eurovision Song Contest promotional tour. The Romanian representatives gave interviews for the major television and radio stations, newspapers and local Eurovision-related websites.

Luminita & Sistem present at the Eurolivin cd-launch
Luminita Anghel and Zoli Toth, leader and manger of the percussion band Sistem arrived at Malta International Airport on 28th April and will leave the island on Saturday 30th April. On their first day in Malta, the Romanian participants attended Maltasong's launch of the cd-single Eurolivin.

Plans for Kyiv revealed on Eurovision Radio
OGAE Malta caught up with Luminita & Sistem for an interview, to be aired on Eurovision Radio on Wednesday 4th May. The show has a broadcast on Super One radio with webcast live via www.super1.com at 20:45 CET. Luminita & Sistem revealed that they will produce a very energetic, electric and powerful act on stage. "I will dance and play on the barrels with Sistem" stated Luminita. Sistem's leader confirmed that their performance will be similar to the one in the video clip and in the Romanian national final. "It will only be better...more energetic and electrifying," Luminita & Sistem agreed. "We will do our best to give the impression of an international act and do not want to look like as if we are just another Balkan-Ethnic group."

Eurovision Song Contest talk
Clearing all the doubts, Luminita confirmed that she is a good friend of Monica Anghel, who represented Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002 in duet with Marcel Pavel. However they are no relatives. Luminita & Sistem have Waterloo by Abba as their all time favourite Eurovision song. Their favourite Romanian Eurovision Song Contest entry is Dincoro de nori, the debut song from Romania at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Dan Bittman.

Luminita admitted that Romanians are not so keen on the Eurovision Song Contest due to the bad results obtained by the six previous Romanian representatives. However, Sistem noted that this year there seems to be some Eurovision-revival in the local media and among the Romanian public in general. About the various negative reactions issued by the runner-up of the Romanian national final Loredana in the Romanian press Sistem remarked that "she didn't sing well. This is about giving a brilliant performance and she didn't. That's why she lost."

Luminita fond of Hungary, Sistem of Norway
Speaking about their favourites, Luminita mentioned the Hungarian ethnic act, while Sistem mentioned the Norwegian rock song. They don't know yet if the Eurovision Song Contest is ready for rock songs such as the ones presented by Norway, Switzerland, Greece and Russia this year. However they said that it will be an interesting and tough contest.

Luminita & Sistem also remarked that they are not worried about them being drawn right in between Norway and Hungary in the semifinal on 19th May. Nevertheless they are feeling the pressure to qualify for the final. "We are determined to win and bring the Eurovision Song Contest home," remarked Sistem leader Zoli Toth. "We will do our best because all depends on the performance on stage," concluded Lumita. "We only want to win!", agreed Sistem.