World Song Contest

when Music rules the World

The Story Goes On...

The 14th edition of the World Song Contest started on April 15th 2006. 34 countries showed their interest, a number which usually led to a qualifying round. But a new rule was taken, and all countries competed in a final. It was more exciting during the live coverage with 6 countries receiving at least 100 points, but also harder for voters to decide to which songs they were going to vote.

Among the entries, one of them probably received a lot of attention. Japan made its debut in this edition, and it's always a pleasure to welcome countries from other continents than Europe or America. This led to a great first try with a thrid position. But if new countries joined, others just didn't take part. Poland and Austria were missed for the originality they usually bring to the contest.

The Eurovision Song Contest season was in its crucial week when the results were revealed. It's not a surprised that some players tried to see the popularity of some of this year's ESC participants. The final results were not really optimistic. Lordi for Finland came last and Keith Camilleri, member of the Swiss band six4one, didn't reach the top 20 for Malta.

Russia was ready for a 4th victory but Israel, which wasn't seen as a favourite by several participants, surprised everyone by taking the crown. Only two points seperated the songs, but they were enough for Shiri Maimon and Lean She'Lo Telchi to give a first victory to Israel.

Results

 1  Israel  Shiri Maimon: Lean She'Lo Telchi  117 pts
 2  Russia  Yulia Savicheva: Esli V Serdce Zhiviot Liubov  115 pts
 3  Japan  Utada Hikaru: Simple And Clean  104 pts
 4  Sweden  Velvet: Mi Amore  102 pts
 5  Italy  Anna Tatangelo: Pensiero Stupendo  101 pts
 6  Turkey  Almora: Kaf Daginin Ardinda  100 pts
 7  Bosnia & Herzegovina  Selma Bajrami: Tijelo Uz Tijelo  87 pts
 8  United States of America  Ashlee Simpson: L.O.V.E.  84 pts
 9  Spain  La Oreja De Van Gogh: 20 De Enero  83 pts
 10  Iceland  Myst: Here For You  82 pts
 11  United Kingdom  Jem: Wish I  76 pts
 12  Australia  Rogue Traders: Watching You  75 pts
 13  France  Nâdiya feat. Smartzee: Tous Ces Mots  73 pts
 14  Venezuela  Carlos Baute: Me Faltas Tú  67 pts
 15  Belgium  Sioen: Cruisin'  63 pts
 16  The Philippines  Tuesday Vargas: Babae Po Ako  58 pts
 17  Andorra  Chenoa: Rutinas  50 pts
 18  F.Y.R. of Macedonia  Elena Risteska: Ona Drugoto  49 pts
 19  Bulgaria  Star Tattooed feat. Ava: Make Me High  44 pts
 20  Denmark  Blue Foundation: End Of The Day (Silence)  43 pts
 21  Monaco  Dany Brillant: Un Jour  41 pts
 22  Estonia  Alumiinium, Sinu Sädelev Sõber: Prozac  38 pts
 23  Malta  Keith Camilleri: Adonis To Venus  36 pts
 24  Germany  Joana Zimmer: Got To Be Sure  33 pts
 25  Norway  Vamp: Tir N'a Noir  32 pts
 26  Portugal  Adelaide Ferreira: Há Quanto Tempo (Eu Espero)  31 pts
 27  Lithuania  Alanas Chosnau: The Heat  30 pts
 28  Ireland  Sharon Shannon feat. Marvel & Lady K: What You Make It (Da Da Da Da)  30 pts
 29  The Netherlands  Jim: Dapper En Sterk  28 pts
 30  Greece  Eleftheria Arvanitaki: Ti Lipi  25 pts
 31  Canada  Marilou: Deux Enfants  21 pts
 32  Serbia & Montenegro  Aleksandra Kovac: For Better Or Worse  20 pts
 33  Croatia  Colonia: Obican Dan  19 pts
 34  Finland  Lordi: Would You Love A Monsterman ?  15 pts

* When there's a tie, the difference is made by the number of votes received by each country, or if it's not possible to decide a winner, by the number of 12 pts received (and so on untill we can make the difference)...

The Scoreboard

 

The Winner

ISRAEL
Shiri Maimon: Lean She'Lo Telchi

Shiri Maimon was born on May 17, 1981, in Haifa, Israel. From the age of four, she knew that she wanted to be a singer, even without knowing the true meaning of the word. She was an active member of her family’s ‘entertainment team’ – singing and dancing on every possible occasion. The microphone was one of her first ‘toys’ and being on stage is one of her most vivid memories of her childhood. In 1991, aged ten, Shiri had her first ‘professional’ appearance on stage when she sang a well-known song of that period in the annual children’s ‘Festigal’. During her school years Shiri was a member of Haifa’s youth ‘group’, appearing at a variety of different functions. At the same time, Shiri worked on developing her ‘stage presence’, taking guitar and keyboard lessons as well as jazz dancing. In 2000 Shiri was called up for her National Service, and was invited to join the Air Force Entertainment Group traveling the length and breadth of the country to entertain the troops. After the Army, Shiri decided to move to Eilat which is Israel’s major ‘tourist’ town and, as a result, a source of employment for many singers and dancers in the hotels and clubs. She worked there for a year as a singer and dancer. In 2003 Shiri auditioned for ‘A Star Is Born’, Israel’s version of ‘Pop Idol’. She was voted into 2nd place, gained tremendous popularity with the public, and was one of the few artists to be signed to a recording contract by Helicon Records. As a result of being ‘discovered’ through the ‘A Star Is Born’ competition, Shiri was invited to join the team of presenters of ‘Exit’, a daily television program in which she interviews people and discusses subjects that are of interest to youth. Shiri also had a lead part, singing and acting in the children’s musical ‘Mamamia’. Shiri is currently working on her first album. November 2004 saw the release of the first single – ‘Until You Understand Me’. The second single is ‘The Silence That Remains’, the song which was selected to represent Israel in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. She burst into spotlight after the contest. In September 2005, Shiri released her self titled debut album, which contains 12 tracks. Today, Shiri Maimon is one of Israel's hottest stars, as she continues to rise to greater stardom.

Official website: www.shiri-maimon.co.il