Watch Eurovision’s colourful medley tribute to Italo-disco music

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicThe story of Casablanca Records has been told by many — in books, articles and by the larger-than-life characters who lived through the salad days of mid- to late-1970s rock and disco music. Its ascent as a hit factory — home to KISS, Donna Summer, the Village People and Parliament Funkadelic — was short and swift and substantial.Founded in 1974 by Neil Bogart, who’d had limited success as a record man at Buddha Records, a sublabel of MGM which had signed Gladys Knight and the Pips and the Ohio Express, Casablanca had the reputation of a place of excess.

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 winners Kalush Orchestra returned to their homeland Ukraine following an emotional victory. Hundreds of fans greeted the Ukrainian band at the border with Poland as Russia’s occupancy of the country continues.

Eurovision entry Sam Ryder has announced details of a new 2022 London show.Ryder came second during the weekend’s Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, with Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra winning the event with a massive 631 points. It was the UK’s best performance result since 1997.Viral TikTok sensation Ryder went into the competition as the bookmakers second-favourite to win with his song ‘Space Man’.He will now play brand-new London venue Outernet in London on November 24.

Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, according to Italian officials.Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra beat UK entrant Sam Ryder to win the 2022 contest, picking up a massive 631 points – largely from the public vote – to overhaul the UK, who were winning after the jury votes.According to Reuters, the Italian government’s cybersecurity department blocked attempts from the ‘Killnet’ and ‘Legion’ groups to hack the competition’s voting systems.A further report in Forbes says ‘Killnet’ had threatened prior to the contest to “send 10 billion requests” to the competition’s online voting platform and “add votes to some other country” instead of Ukraine.In a statement to MailOnline, a Eurovision spokesperson said that the “voting system has a wide range of security measures in place to protect the audience participation from outside influences.”In Ukraine meanwhile, the win has brought “incredible happiness” to a country under invasion by Russia.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Instagram that the courage of Ukraine “impresses the world” and congratulated Kalush Orchestra on their win.He then went on to promise to host Eurovision in the future in a “free, peaceful and rebuilt” Mariupol, a city currently largely under Russian control.At the end of their performance at the show’s finale, Kalush Orchestra said: “I ask all of you, please help Ukraine, help Mariupol, help Azovstal right now.”Speaking to NME this week, frontman Oleh Psiuk explained how their taking part was a “huge responsibility”, given the ongoing war with Russia.“To represent Ukraine in the international arena is always a responsibility, but to represent it during the war is just the highest responsibility possible,” he said.“The song [‘Stefania’] was composed

scored a landslide victory from the televote after performing their song Stefania. While the winning country usually hosts the next year’s competition, doubts have been cast on whether Ukraine will be able to host in 2023 due to the ongoing war with Russia. However, when asked about President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that Eurovision will be hosted in Ukraine, Kalush Orchestra star Oleh Psiuk said: ‘If the President said it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen.

EUROVISION champs Ukraine could be hosted by Spain after the country's national broadcaster RTVE made an offer to accommodate their 2023 contest. Last night saw the troubled country's act Kalush Orchestra score top points, scooping more than 400 votes from the public to add to the judges tally.

UKRAINE have been crowned Eurovision Song Contest champions 2022 after winning the hearts of the European public. Kalush Orchestra overwhelming won the public support to be crowned Eurovision winners and per tradition Ukraine are in line to host Eurovision 2023.

The Eurovision Song Contest’s participants are officially banned from making any political statements from the stage, either verbally or in their lyrics, but that didn’t stop Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra.

Kalush Orchestra have shared a powerful video for ‘Stefania’, the song that won them last night’s (May 14) Eurovision Song Contest.The band triumphed over the UK’s Sam Ryder at the Turin ceremony, receiving a massive portion of the public vote.Following the performance, they have shared an official video for ‘Stefania’, which was shot in the cities of Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka and Hostomel, all of which were bombed during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.At the end of the video, a message from the band reads:“This video was filmed in Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Hostomel, cities near Kyiv that suffered the horrors of Russian occupation.“Dedicated to the brave Ukrainian people, to the mothers protecting their children, to all those who gave their lives for our freedom.“Every man, every woman, every innocent child.“The war in Ukraine has multiple faces, but it is our mother’s face that keeps our hearts alive in the darkest times.“Stand with Ukraine!”Watch the ‘Stefania’ video below:Speaking to NME this week, frontman Oleh Psiuk explained how their taking part was a “huge responsibility”, given the ongoing war with Russia.“To represent Ukraine in the international arena is always a responsibility, but to represent it during the war is just the highest responsibility possible,” he said.“The song [‘Stefania’] was composed and dedicated to my mother, but after the war the song has acquired lots of nuances because a lot of people are perceiving it as if Ukraine is my mother,” said Psiuk.

Måneskin returned to the Eurovision Song Contest last night (May 14) to give new single ‘Supermodel’ its live debut – check the performance out below.The Italian band, who won the 2021 contest with their song ‘Zitti E Buoni’, have had a massive year since their Eurovision triumph, playing across the globe and announcing a massive arena tour.This week, the band returned with new single ‘Supermodel’, their first new music of 2022, and the track was given its live debut during the half-time break at last night’s Eurovision in Turin.After the track was played, the band then debuted a snippet of an unreleased song called ‘If I Can Dream’, revealing that it was written in collaboration with Baz Luhrmann and set to appear on the soundtrack to his forthcoming Elvis Presley biopic.“We felt a huge connection and we decided to jump on it,” frontman Damiano David said of working with Luhrmann. “We’re really proud of what we did, we can’t wait to see it.”Watch the two performances below:Eurovision 2022 was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra with the song ‘Stefania’, with the UK’s Sam Ryder coming in second, the country’s best placed finish since 1997.

K.J. Yossman The unspoken question in the run up to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest was whether Ukraine would be able to host next spring if they won.Before the event, sources close to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the annual music contest, indicated it was not a situation they were looking forward to grappling with.However, when Ukrainian rappers Kalush Orchestra were announced as the winners in Italy on Saturday night, it became an inevitability.The contest is hosted each year in the country which won the previous year.

K.J. Yossman Ukraine won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Italy on Saturday night. The country was represented by hip hop act Kalush Orchestra with the song “Stefania,” a tribute to lead singer Oleh Psiuk’s mother Stefania, which merges Ukrainian folklore with rap.The U.K.

Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest in the early hours of Sunday in a clear show of support for the war-ravaged nation.

posted to his social media pages Saturday as the competition got underway.“I believe that, in the end, this word will be ‘Victory!'” he added — urging viewers to cast their votes for Kalush Orchestra, Ukraine’s representative in the 66-year-old international competition.The hybrid folk-rap band is heavily favored to win for “Stefania,” a tribute to frontman Oleh Psiuk’s mother.The long-running musical extravaganza has pitted acts representing the countries of the European Broadcast Union in a head-to-head battle of the bands since 1956.This year’s show, in Turin, Italy, saw 40 nations fighting for the coveted glass microphone.The competition is known for its over-the-top staging — and for launching the careers of superstars like ABBA and Celine Dion.

global singing contest. The group combine hip hop with traditional Ukrainian folk music. Kalush Orchestra will be performing their song Stefania - an emotional song that has taken on new meaning since Russia's horrifying invasion of Ukraine.

British bookies are currently offering odds of 7/18 for Ukraine to triumph at this evening’s Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy, with their entry Kalush Orchestra’s distinctive blend of rap and folk music, combined with the country’s current courage in the face of Russian invasion, expected to unite voters across Europe in support.

Ukraine.

Eurovision 2022 – you can see a full list of the latest odds below.This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the PalaOlimpico in Turin, Italy tomorrow (May 14) following the country’s victory in last year’s competition, which saw Måneskin take the top prize.After emerging as the favourites in recent weeks, Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra remain 1/3 favourites with William Hill to win tomorrow’s competition.The act are also listed at 2/5 to win on Oddschecker, an aggregate bookies’ website which lists odds by 28 of the world’s leading bookmakers.The UK’s entrant Sam Ryder is priced at 6/1 on William Hill, making him the second-favourite to prevail in Turin tomorrow.

Eurovision Song Contest.The act are currently favourites to win the overall contest, which takes place this week in Turin amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.Last night (May 10) the first semi-finals were held ahead of Saturday’s (May 14) grand final, with Ukraine progressing along with Armenia, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk said following their qualification: “We understand we need to stay focused because we want to promote Ukrainian culture and let everyone know about it, This is our goal.”Here's the 10 qualifiers from the First Semi-Final! #Eurovision #ESC2022 pic.twitter.com/qxqezFuY9g— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 10, 2022Kalush Orchestra, a rap group who formed in 2019, replaced Ukraine’s original entrant Alina Pash, who withdrew from the competition in February, for Eurovision 2022. The group’s track ‘Stefania’ is an ode to powerful mothers.Speaking to NME this week, Psiuk explained how their taking part was a “huge responsibility”, given the ongoing war with Russia.“To represent Ukraine in the international arena is always a responsibility, but to represent it during the war is just the highest responsibility possible,” he said.“The song [‘Stefania’] was composed and dedicated to my mother, but after the war the song has acquired lots of nuances because a lot of people are perceiving it as if Ukraine is my mother,” said Psiuk.

Ukraine have been tipped as the favourites to win this years Eurovision Song Contest. Kalush Orchestra, who are representing Ukraine, have been given special permission to leave the country to travel to the contest, taking place in Turin, Italy. The rap trio Kalush formed in 2019 and they have joined forces with Ukrainian folk flute player Vitalii Duzhyk and vocalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Oleksandr Slobodianyk to create Kalush Orchestra and their entry song Stefani.

Eurovision Song Contest, Kalush Orchestra, have spoken to NME about their song ‘Stefania’ and what it means to be representing their country during a time of war. Watch our full video interview with frontman Oleh Psiuk above.The rap group, who formed in 2019, replaced Ukraine’s original entrant Alina Pash, who withdrew from the competition in February.