World Song Contest

This edition of the World Song started in October 2007, with 55 participants from all over the world (a new record). Famous artists like Amy Winehouse, Sinéad O'Connor or Lebo M took part but it's certainly the participation of Tose Proeski, as an hommage after he died in a tragic car crash, which will be remembered.

Some could think, FYR of Macedonia would have had an easy way to the final as voters would probably be sad, or give that country vote of sympathy. It didn't happen like that: FYR of Macedonia didn't manage to qualify, showing that people here mostly voted for the songs, not for the singer or what ever can happen in the life of an artist. But by giving the right to FYR of Macedonia to be represented by Tose Proeski (while rules couldn't allow that), the World Song Contest wanted to share the sadness and the pain of a nation. Tose Proeski was one of the artists which take part several times in WSC history, with a record of 7 participations including this one.

For the first time, more songs qualified from the semi finals and a total of 34 countries took part in the final. For once, countries which won their heat during the semi finals managed to reach the top 10 of the final. On the other hand, some songs which took part in the final as lucky losers did a really good job in the final. Austria came 11th, and Ukraine also managed to be in the top 20.

From the start of the live coverage, it came clear that the winner was among 4 countries: Canada, Finland, South Korea and Spain. It has to be noticed that Canada, which eventually win the contest thanks to RyanDan and the song "The Face", recieved votes from less countries than Spain (23 votes received), South Korea (21) or United Kingdom (20) which came 8th, and the same number than Finland and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

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THE WINNER

Country: Canada
Artist(s): RyanDan
Song: The Face

Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, born in 1979, are the two halves that make up pop-classical vocal power duo RyanDan. Brought up in an affluent suburb of Toronto, the Kowarsky brothers spent their early years watching their opera-singing father from the wings of local theaters. By the age of four both brothers had followed his lead and began performing in musicals and plays. The brothers' identical appearance allowed them to split roles, like the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which they shared while still in high school. Weened on Pavarotti and falling in love with Stevie Wonder in their teen years, the Kowarsky brothers set their sites on the vocal pop world early. Accompanied by a friend, Ryan and Dan waltzed into Sony Music Canada's office in Toronto and sang in the lobby at the age of 18. They left with a record deal, which would go on to earn them their first platinum record. As members of the boy band B4-4, the Kowarskys were introduced to the public and inner workings of the music industry, but disillusioned with the banal, uninteresting music they had to perform. As they matured the brothers chose to strike out on their own as a pop-classical duo, writing and selecting their own repertoire. For their debut release, RyanDan, the Kowarskys collaborated with veterans like folk artist Judie Tzuke and producer Steve Anderson. Singles such as "Like the Sun" and "The Face" won a place on Canadian pop charts, an unlikely destination for music with such a classical slant. The record placed on Canada's Top 100 in the year of its release, 2007. Their second album was released in 2010.