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Welcome to our 5th Eurovision Song Contest season and podcast 58! We conclude our review of entries of the 2nd semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the last 6 songs of this semi-final:   Denmark - Lighthouse X - Soldiers of Love Ukraine - Jamala - 1944 Norway - Agnete - Icebreaker Georgia - Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz - Midnight Gold Albania - Eneda Tarifa - Fairytale Belgium - Laura Tesoro - What's the Pressure If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive. The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is presented by Joe Varnell & Slaviša Mijatović, and produced by Kevin Bourassa. All songs are found on

Welcome to our 5th Eurovision Song Contest season and podcast 57! We continue our review of entries of the 2nd semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the middle 6 songs of this semi-final:   Ireland - Nicky Byrne - Sunlight FYR Macedonia - Kaliopi - Dona Lithuania - Donny Montell - I've Been Waiting for This Night Australia - Dami Im - Sound of Silence Slovenia - ManuElla - Blue and Red Bulgaria - Poli Genova - If Love Was A Crime   If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is presented b

Welcome to our 5th Eurovision Song Contest season and podcast 56! We begin our review of entries of the 2nd semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the first 6 songs of this semi-final:   Latvia - Justs - Heartbeat Poland - Michal Szpak - Color of Your Life Switzerland - Rykka - The Last of Our Kind Israel - Hovi Star - Made of Stars Belarus - Ivan - Help You Fly Serbia - ZAA Sanja Vucic - Goodbye (Shelter)   If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive. The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is presented by Joe Varnell & Slaviša Mijatović, and prod

Welcome to our 5th Eurovision Song Contest season and podcast 55! We conclude our review of entries of the 1st semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the last 6 songs of this semi-final:   Estonia - Juri Pootmsann - Play Azerbaijan - Samra - Miracle Montenegro - Highway - The Real Thing Iceland - Greta Salome - Hear Them Calling Bosnia & Herzegovina - Dalal & Deen - Ljubav Je Malta - Ira Losco - Walk on Water   If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive. The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell & Slaviša Mijatović, and produced by Kevin Bourassa. All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and co

Welcome to our 5th Eurovision Song Contest season and podcast 54!   We continue our review of entries, with the six songs that make up the middle of the 1st semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest:   Armenia - Iveta Mukuchyan - LoveWave,  San Marino - Serhat - I Didn't Know, Russia - Sergey Lazarev - You Are the Only One, Czech Republic - Gabriela Guncikova - I Stand, Cyprus - Minus One - Alter Ego Austria - Zoe - Loin D'ici   If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive. The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell & Slaviša Mijatović, and produced by Kevin Bourassa. All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used. 

  Welcome to our 5th Eurovision Song Contest season and podcast 53!   We continue our review of entries, with the first six songs that kick-off the 1st semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest:    Finland - Sandhja - Sing It Away,  Greece - Argo - Utopian Land,  Moldova - Lidia Isac - Falling Stars,  Hungary - Freddie - Pioneer,  Croatia - Nina Kraljic - Lighthouse, and  the Netherlands - Douwe Bob - Slow Down.   If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive. The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell & Slaviša Mijatović, and produced by Kevin Bourassa. All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong

Welcome to Podcast 52, in our 5th year of podcasting about the Eurovision Song Contest. We have a short segment for you, originally created for Tommy Ferguson's Eurovision Show on Mearns FM in Scotland.  Rumour has it, that wayward correspondent, Joe Varnell has recovered from home renovations and his producer has recovered from a technology overhaul in the studio, and a new postcard will soon be sent to Tommy. Meanwhile, we offer you Joe's 1st postcard, originally broadcast last fall on Tommy's Eurovision Show: A Postcard from Canada. As we made the decision to travel to Stockhom for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, Joe recalls attending the Contest in Athens, in 2006. If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa. All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used. 

Welcome to our 5th Eurovision Song Contest season and podcast 51! We kick off our season with a look at the big six, otherwise known as the automatic qualifiers who go direct to the Final of the Eurovision Song Contest:   France - Amir - J’ai cherché Germany - Jamie-Lee Kriewitz - Ghost Italy - Francesca Michielin - No Degree of Separation Spain - Barei - Say Yay! Sweden - Frans - If I Were Sorry UK - Joe and Jake - You're Not Alone   Join Joe Varnell and Slaviša Mijatović as they review the big six!   If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive. The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell & Slaviša Mijatović, and produced by Kevin Bourassa. All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong

We've decided to take a deeper dive into the oft-posed and deceptively simply question, "what is a Eurovision Song?" Sounds straight-forward enough, but over the past 60 years, the changing nature of Europe's Eurovision Song Contest has made defining a typical Eurovision song atypically challenging: As elusive as an Abba reunion! If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM or Internet Archive.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa. All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts.  Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or depending on your browser, either right click or click on the link below to download this audio file to your computer. You can also get all our future podcasts by subscribing to our RSS Podcast feed: http://www.eurovisioncanada.com/podcasts/rss.xml

Welcome to our 49th podcast, the 14th of our 2015 Eurovision Song Contest season!   Ah, la pauvre France. Historically, you are a Eurovision Song Contest power house. You’ve won the contest 5 times and until 1993, you had more wins than any other nation in the history of Eurovision. But it’s been 36 years since France’s last victory and despite some bright spots, it’s been mainly the bottom 10 for France since 1998.     France, it’s going to take more than the Mighty Marseilles to turn things around. You need Eurovision Canada to get you back on track.   Join Joe Varnell and Slaviša Mijatović as they go on a tour de France.   If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast on Stitcher or Internet Archive.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is presented by Joe Varnell & Slaviša Mijatović and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used. 

Welcome to our 48th podcast, the 13th of our 2015 Eurovision Song Contest season!   The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest is over. In a tight race, full of drama and politics, Sweden emerged victorious!   Our top-10 predictions in Podcasts 43 and 45, achieved a 90% success rate, and we achieved the same 90% success rate with our predicitions for inclusions in the top-10 in the Final (Podcast 47).   Join Joe Varnell and Slaviša Mijatović as they discuss the shape of Austria's SHIP (Staging, Hosting, Interval & Postcards). They talk about the winner, some losers, the juries, and the politics of trying to be non-political. We end with a look forward to Sweden. If your browser cannot manage the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here. The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts. 

Welcome to our 47th podcast, the 12th of our 2015 Eurovision Song Contest season!   With both semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest complete, our top-10 predictions in Podcasts 43 and 45, achieved a 90% success rate.    Will we do better or worse this time, as we turn our attention to tha main event: The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Final!   Our predictions are based on: your opinion (expressed via Twitter, email, and commentary on our webiste), our expierience living with the songs through-out the Eurovision season, watching the videoed performances at Eurovision in Concert, watching the Eurovision dress rehearsal video coverage, observing trends with bookies, and observing media and fan commentary.  If your browser is having difficulty with the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here. The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts. 

Welcome to our 46th podcast, the 11th of our 2015 Eurovision Song Contest season!   The 2nd Semi-Final of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest is over! Ten countries were selected (50% & 50% Televote).   How did we do with our predicitions in Podcast 45? Nine of ten songs that we chose, qualified for the Final!   Join Joe Varnell and Slaviša Mijatović for some post-Semi-Final commentary as they discuss the Austrian hosting and production of the show, and of course, a review of the song outcomes from this 2nd of 2 semi-finals.   If your browser is having difficulty with the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts.  Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or depending on your browser, either right click or click on the link below to download this audio file to your computer. You can also get all our future podcasts by subscribing to our RSS Podcast feed: http://www.eurovisioncanada.com/podcasts/rss.xml

Welcome to our 45th podcast, the 10th of our 2015 Eurovision Song Contest season!   The 1st Semi-Final is over! Ten countries were selected (50% Jury & 50% Televote). How did we do with our predicitions in Podcast 43?    Nine of the ten songs that we predicted would qualify did indeed go on to the Final! Now time to make our top ten predictions of the 2nd Semi-Final of the Contest.   Our predictions are based on: your opinion (expressed via Twitter, email, and commentary on our webiste), our expierience living with the songs through-out the Eurovision season, watching the videoed performances at Eurovision in Concert, watching the Eurovision dress rehearsal video coverage, observing trends with bookies, and observing media and fan commentary.  If your browser is having difficulty with the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts. 

Welcome to our 44th podcast, the 9th of our 2015 Eurovision Song Contest season! The 1st Semi-Final is over! Ten countries were selected (50% Jury & 50% Televote). How did we do with our predicitions in Podcast 43?   Nine of the ten songs that we predicted would qualify did indeed go on to the Final!   Join Joe Varnell and Slaviša Mijatović for some post-Semi-Final commentary as they discuss the Austrian hosting and production of the show, and of course, a review of the song outcomes from this 1st of 2 semi-finals.   If your browser is having difficulty with the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts.  Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or depending on your browser, either right click or click on the link below to download this audio file to you

Welcome to our 43rd podcast, the 8th of our 2015 Eurovision Song Contest season!   With our review of the Contestants complete, we now turn our attention to predicting the top-10 outcomes of the 1st Semi-Final.   Our predictions are based on: your opinion (expressed via Twitter, email, and commentary on our webiste), our expierience living with the songs through-out the Eurovision season, watching the videoed performances at Eurovision in Concert, watching the Eurovision dress rehearsal video coverage, observing trends with bookies, and observing media and fan commentary.    If your browser is having difficulty with the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts.  Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or depending on your browser, either right click or click on the link below to download this audio file to your computer. You can

Welcome to our 42nd podcast, the 7th of our 2015 Eurovision season! We conclude our review of entries in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, with the automatic qualifiers: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the host country Austria, and special guest Australia. Join us in welcoming Slaviša Mijatović, Eurovision academic and fan, to the podcast. Slavi received his Masters from York University in Toronto. His thesis was titled, For the Homeland: Transnational Diasporic Nationalism and the Eurovision Song Contest.   Slavi & Joe Varnell each review the automatic qualifiers and allocate up to 5 Maple Leafs to the contestants.   If your browser is having difficulty with the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts.  Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or depending on your browser, either right click or click on the link below to download this audio file to your computer. You can also get all our future podcasts by subscribing to our RSS Podcast feed: http://www.eurovisioncanada.com/podcasts/rss.xml

Welcome to our 41st Podcast, the 6th of our 2015 Eurovision season! We continue our review of entries in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, with the entrants in the 2nd-half of the 2nd semi-final.  We award up to 5 Maple Leafs to each song.  The 2nd semi-final of the Contest is arguably the stronger of the two semi-finals, with the second-half featuring: Israel, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Sweden, Switzerland, Cyprus, Slovenia, and Poland.   If your browser is having difficulty with the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts.  Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or depending on your browser, either right click or click on the link below to download this audio file to your computer. You can also get all our future podcasts by subscribing to our RSS Podcast feed: http://www.eurovisioncanada.com/podcasts/rss.xml

 Welcome to our 40th Podcast, the 5th of our 2015 Eurovision season! We continue our review of entries in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, with the entrants in the 1st-half of the 2nd semi-final.  We award up to 5 Maple Leafs to each song.  The 2nd semi-final of the Contest is arguably the stronger of the two semi-finals, with the first half featuring: Lithuania, Ireland, San Marino, Montenegro, Malta, Norway, Portugal and the Czech Republic.   If your browser is having difficulty with the media player below, you can listen to the podcast here.   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.  All songs are found on YouTube and are used here under fair use for music criticism and commentary in a non-commercial context. Strong language and/or strong lyrics are rarely used.  Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts.  Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or depending on your browser, either right click or click on the link below to download this audio file to your computer. You can also get all our future podcasts by subscribing to our RSS Podcast feed: http://www.eurovisioncanada.com/podcasts/rss.xml

Welcome to our 39th podcast, the 4th of our Eurovision Song Contest 2015 season. This is one of our infrequent short video episodes, made by request.   Four years ago, a group of fans gathered to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. This year, they continue their tradition, in celebration of the Contest 8.650 kms away in Vienna.The spirit of Eurovision, however, brings all of us closer together.Join EurovisionCanada.com in embracing the 2015 Eurovision theme of "Building Bridges": we congratulate fans in Venezuela, on their 4th year of gathering to watch the world's favourite song contest. Bridges built to make this video:Barbados: Joe Varnell, introduction.Canada: Kevin Bourassa, post-productionVenezuela: @jeccR, photos   The EurovisionCanada.com Podcast is hosted by Joe Varnell and produced by Kevin Bourassa.   Contact us with your thoughts or recommendations for future podcasts.&nbs