How hard is it now? Part 1 in which N'evergreen is evergreen

My hard is yours. That was the grand message from Norway this year. Leading GEE to check out the hardness of several Eurovision blokes. But the contest is over and how hard is it all now? Follow us as we check out how the fab artists are doing these days.

Eurovision 2010 ended a while ago, and summer days are warm and lazy. In a moment like this we ask ourselves what keeps Tomas N'evergreen busy? Sure looks like a lot.

"I think I look very Russian in this one. Or maybe a little bit Cuban?"
(Pic nicked from nevergreen.com)


Pure bliss in Oslo
As one half of Chanée and N'evergreen, Danish Tomas N'evergreen, aka Tomas Christiansen, was one of the most successful participants this year. Denmark started off with a couple of douze points and managed to hit a glorious fourth place in the end - indeed very much better than the rest of Scandinavia. He ensures he had a great time in Oslo. "Singing in front of 100 million people was the best", he proclaims.


But didn't we spot some trouble during rehearsal and a somewhat decrease in the great popularity they achieved in advance? Nope, Tomas doesn't seem to know very much about that, as he points out the song remained number four on the bookmakers' lists. “And rehearsals are for rehearsing. If we didn't have troubles rehearsing, there wouldn't be any reason to rehearse. We were very happy about the result and we think it went very well at the finale”, Tomas says. Well, he's right about that, and we do find that last part kinda appealing, compared to some of those other whiny, rehearsing people, none mentioned, none forgotten.

Still playing pop music
A good result was probably one of the reasons Tomas N’evergreen was warmly welcomed back both to Denmark and to Russia, where he lives. He thinks participating in Eurovision is good for artists, as it certainly is good promo to perform in front of so many people. Still, he hasn't changed his image much. “I still play pop music. I think people look at me the same”, he says.

Playing pop music is something that has proven successful for N'evergreen, as he is a big star in Russia. And he has kept himself busy even after the 29th of May. “We are on tour at the moment. We have released our album in Sweden Norway and Denmark and we are performing in Belarus. After that we go to Norway and Denmark for concerts and in between I am performing solo. I just came back from concert in a Austria”, he tells us, and we are very impressed by the pace of this man, who also reveals he's making music for a new movie.

In Russia with love
Making your own music, that is something we do appreciate in GEE. But why does Tomas choose to do it in Russia? “I love Russia. I have my friends there. And my home. And my nevesta. The music business in Russia and Denmark is very similar”, he explains. Oh, ok, we think, but wait a minute. Doesn't nevesta mean bride in Russian? Could that be the lovely woman by his side in Oslo? “It means fiancée”, Tomas clarifies. “She is a model and her name is Ekaterina Vinogradova”. That's cool, we think, she even managed to charm us the second we met her, offering to take the picture of us and her man. A quick google session tells us the 24 year old beauty is also successful in Russia, even has been playmate of the month in Playboy, so good on the Dane being in Russia with love.

"Hey girls, do you need some welding done?" 
"Yes please! Just let your lady take our picture first"
(pic by Tomas' nevesta)



Seems pretty clear to us the Danish success this year will not just be a one hit wonderboy. But will we see Tomas in front of 100 million people again? “Maybe I'll go again one day. It's a competition with many factors that we don't know. There's a lot of politics in this game. And the best song might not win”, he says. Well, if you live in Russia, you should be used to dealing with the politics of things, we'd like to add. But we don't.

Our hard verdict:
We're really pleasantly surprised by this man. He does seem like a hard working artist with an understanding of the world around him, unlike some of the younger, way too confident people who didn't do as well as expected in Oslo. Plus for preferring Eastern Europe, writing his own music, loving music, keeping up the pace, and having a playmate. Minus for somewhat boring answers and blaming politics. But hey, who could blame him?

How hard is it really? Part 8 in which Marcin is the hardest

My hard is yours. That's the grand message from Norway this year. But how hard is it really? Follow us as we check up on some of the hottest men of Eurovision and give you our hard verdict. 

Mirror, mirror on our Facebook wall, who's the hardest of them all? We are proud to present Marcin from Poland!

So, he didn't make it to the ESC final. But he made his way into our hearts the moment we met him. Marcin Mrozinski from Poland is just the most charming, funniest, hottest bloke around. While being one of the contestants with the largest career outside of Eurovision, he is not behaving like a star at all as he walks around talking to everybody, feeding us chocolate cake, complimenting our dresses and hugging every person in Euroclub like they were his best friends. Mind you, they might all be and we don't blame them.

We are some demanding women in Good Evening Europe, and therefore it's so nice to meet someone who meets all our requirements. After checking out some of the hardest men of Eurovision, we have encountered some good stuff. Our favorite Norwegian bloke, Alexander Stenerud, of course kicked Didrik's ass, and could have won if he was actually in the final instead of the boring and bored car mender from Porsgrunn. We will be devastated if Alexander doesn't participate next year. Then we would keep Per Sundnes off any stupid ideas. Harel Skaat from Israel is some pretty boy, but also quite boring and we wouldn't like his take on the Israel-Palestine conflict. We are excited about his announced bungee jump, though. Giorgios from Greece looked the best with his hat on and was a tough, cool dude. But a bit broke for our taste. Then Robin Juhkental from Estonia turned out to be some funny bunny who could have won if he didn't miss his girlfriend too much.

So in the end Marcin's hardest challenge was Jurgis from Lithuania. He also represents very much of what we want from a Eurovision man. Although we were a bit disappointed we didn't see him and his friends in so many parties and that his fellow band members pretended not to recognize us the times we did. He's one good runner up, though.

It's just that no one can really beat our wonderboy from Poland. We like the fact that Marcin is so good at communication, both in person and in social media. His sincerity, sense of humor and openness are also things we approve of. And if you look at that smile, we think you get the picture. Marcin can put on a simple white t-shirt and still look like the prettiest man in the room. Mind you, we have now given him a cooler t-shirt as a reward for winning our "How hard is it really?" contest.

So how can you make his hard yours? We don't know, but we recommend everyone to feed him an apple. Oslo will be a sadder place when this man is not here to hug and entertain us anymore. But so long, honey, so long.


One lucky GEE girl got to give Marcin his hard. Watta cute couple they make.

How hard is it really? Part 7, in which we hook up with ESC's most wanted

My hard is yours. That's the grand message from Norway this year. But how hard is it really? Follow us as we check up on some of the hottest men of Eurovision and give you our hard verdict.
 

So, the big buzz around Eurovision town is that the most charming, fun and likable contestant this year comes from Poland. And when he insisted on meeting us for an interview on his busiest and most important day of his Eurovision career so far, which is the D-day for Semi-Final 1, we knew that checking him out was worthwhile.

The atmosphere in the lobby of Oslo Plaza, where we met up with him this Tuesday morning, was charged with energy and anticipation as the different delegations waited to be picked up heading for Telenor Arena and their final dress rehearsal. Marcin didn't have a lot of time on his hands, but still he greeted us with a warm hug and gave us his undivided attention.

We kinda sensed that Marcin Mroziński had this special something already before we met him, cause he was all over the place on the internet, making witty video blogs on Youtube, talking to people on Facebook and sending greetings through the blogger site of Eurovision.tv. According to Marcin this is a great way to get attention when you don't have a lot of money to spend doing promotion in a more conventional way. "We don't have the same budget as other delegations, like Azerbaijan or Israel for example, so we just have to make the best of it and find alternative ways of making our entry known", Marcin tells us. "Besides this is something that really suits me, I love being on Facebook and getting to know people. When I came to Oslo I recognized a lot of people I've only met online, how great is that?" he smiles. We can't agree more. When we first met Marcin outside the Opera House at the Georgian party a couple of days ago he almost shouted at us when he saw us "Hey, I know you, you're the two blogger girls!" We almost fainted, what a star moment for two simple, small town girls from Norway.

"I also wanted to share with people what goes on behind the scenes. As a Eurovision fan myself, I know that this is stuff that people are interested in, so I just wish to show folks how it all works, how it looks like and try and communicate how it feels being in the middle of things" Marcin explains.

It is truly charming to see him act almost like a kid left alone in a candy store. You can just tell that he enjoys every second of this experience, being present at all the parties, talking to fans and journalists, cracking jokes and having fun. And he is not just a nobody hitting the jackpot coming out of nowhere for Eurovision. Marcin is a big star back home in Poland with 15 years in the limelight behind him, as an artist, actor and TV show host.

"Being an experienced artist helps me on stage in ESC. When presenting a song in ESC it helps a lot to have a background of acting, and having been on stage over 500 times doing musicals. I feel calm and confident and I hope to get some real energy from the audience in Telenor Arena tonight", our Polish friend tells us. He is ready to do his very best tonight, and does of course hope that Europe will love his song and his performance so much that they pick up the phone and vote for him.

Our hard verdict
How can we not love a man who gives himself so wholeheartedly to everyone crossing his path? Big plus for seeming so sincere and for his ability to live in the moment and getting the most out of every situation in life. We also applaud his smartness when it comes to taking advantage of using social media. If his artistic career goes badly, he can surely make a lot of money giving lectures on how to make use of this technology. Not that we ever think that will happen. His appearance is just rock solid in every thinkable aspect, so we suppose it can't get any harder than this.

Minuses? Can't really think of much. It must be if he doesn't pull trough to the final tonight, cause then we won't be able to enjoy the pleasure of his company here in Oslo any longer.

Now it's up to you Europe. Give this fabulous man your support!

How hard is it really? Part 6, in which we attend an Estonian Birthday Bash

My hard is yours. That's the grand message from Norway this year. But how hard is it really? Follow us as we check up on some of the hottest men of Eurovision and give you our hard verdict.

 















There's something about those Estonians. They don't make much ado about themselves, but when they go ahead and put Robin Juhkental on the ESC stage, they are bound to get attention whether they like it or not. We happily accepted the invitation to come and celebrate what turned out to be Robin's 22nd birthday with the Estonian embassy.

"It is really a coincidence that I am standing here now as Estonia's participant in ESC, I'm not that into the Eurovision stuff at all", Robin tells us. "5 months ago, no one knew who I was and I was just a road engineering student", he continues. Our background check up on him reveals that he has participated in various talent shows back in Estonia, so we suspect he is being a bit modest with us, but his big break is definitely connected with forming the duo Malcolm Lincoln with bassist Madis Kubu. The duo hooked up with the vocal group Manpower 4 (the Estonian version of Backstreet Boys according to their publicist), and together they went ahead winning the Eesti Laul 2010 earning them the right to represent Estonia in ESC.

From Eurolaul to Eesti Laul
After doing badly for many years in a row, the public interest for ESC was declining in Estonia. That's why they decided to change the format of the national selection process and the Eesti Laul was introduced, Robin tells us. They set out finding new talents, but unlike other comparable concepts like Idol and X-Factor it was not about finding a pretty face being good at sounding almost as good as some other pop star. The Estonians went ahead and swam against the stream searching for new and fresh music. A brave choice we think, but so far it has paid off. Last year they succeeded with Urban Symphony and the song "Rändajad".

"I have no idea how Europe will judge our song. We can end up in the bottom 5 or perhaps even the top 5", Robin answers when we ask him how he thinks he will do as the Estonian participant this year. "At least I hope I don't get beaten up in a bar, like Estonia's contestant in 2003 did", he mentions casually. Excuse me, come again? Apparently that actually happened with Vaiko Eplik after having entered the ESC as a joke and doing horribly bad. This didn't go down well with the at the time spoiled Estonians. We can't imagine this ever happening to Robin, who looks so innocent, honest and lovable that we would trust him with our lives and no questions asked.

We really do have a taste for this birthday boy. His style, his looks and his unpretentious attitude suit each other perfectly. And Estonia should be proud having chosen such a strong and different song for Eurovision this year, regardless of what happens in the semi final next Tuesday. According to Robin, "Siren" is a very simple song. "The lyrics are kind of surreal, anyone who listens to it can give it a new meaning", he states. As for his stage performance he stresses that he likes to be unpredictable. "I don't plan my moves on stage, I like to be impulsive. You should see me when I do electronic music. Then I am really crazy", he adds. So prepare yourselves for movement you have never seen before. During the mini concert we attended at the reception yesterday we saw something similar to an Estonian moonwalk, as well as a variation over the Norwegian ESC King Jahn Teigen's split jump and Robin trowing the microphone cord around like any other cowboy.

Our hard verdict
When seeing how polite and modest Robin is in person, it's actually quite surprising to see how outgoing, silly, quirky and funny he is on stage. We love his mod rocker style and the fact he don´t seem to take himself so seriously, has a great sense of humor and just tries to be a regular down to earth guy in the ESC craziness he has gotten himself into. And we are of course suckers for talented men like him who writes his own music and has a voice which gives us goosebumps when he hits the highest notes.

It adds to the hardiness that Robin likes our favorite Lithuanian men in InCulto, and German Lena, which shares the same indie touch as this fellow. Minus for missing his girlfriend, which is kind of sweet, but also a bit on the soft side while being surrounded by all the Eurovision divas in Oslo right now. Just show up on any party, and we'll take very good care of you, Robin.

How hard is it really? Part 5, in which we get a few nice words out of Israel

My hard is yours. That's the grand message from Norway this year. But how hard is it really? Follow us as we check up on some of the hottest men of Eurovision and give you our hard verdict. 

Harel Skaat is the prettiest looking boy coming out of Israel, and perhaps even in Eurovision, for quite some time. But is he really that interesting? We did a check up on the singer everyone would like to have on their lips.

We don’t really know who we were most jealous of – Anne-Marie David or Harel Skaat, when those two held hands and sang “Tu te reconnaîtres” during Miss Israel recently. “It is a beautiful, great and classical song. A classic that was written and performed as one”, mr Israel Harel says, and our Eurovision hearts, holding a special place for Luxembourg, start melting. This is some nice person, and it doesn’t help that he loves very many of this year’s entries and try not to think of them as competitors. How very sympathetic of him!

The good boy from Israel

With a voice of an angel and the looks of a God, what other country could Harel descend from but Israel? He tells us everyone in his country is very excited about ESC and that it gives him great strength. This is what he loves the most about participating. “The honor and the knowledge that an entire country is crossing their fingers and hoping you bring this great competition back to Jerusalem. Also knowing that so many people are exposed to you and your music, it's a molding experience, which I hope never to forget”, Harel states. 

Well, nicely put, but still very sweet, innocent boy this. We’re happy we have received some sweaty pics and a steamy video, because if not, we would have been a bit sickened by now. But let’s go on to his role as an artist. The deep brown eyes of Harel hopes his participation in Eurovision will have a positive impact on his career in Israel as well as abroad. “I dream of performing and singing in different countries and different languages, in front of a large and diverse audience around the world”, his soft smile adds.  

Bungee jumping and spending time in bed 

Yumm, we are starting to like the taste of a good boy from Israel. He agrees with us looks are important in the competition, but his good consciousness of course has to add that “many beautiful people still feel much less good looking than some of the less beautiful people”. Yeah, yeah, whatever, we think. Harel certainly knows how to get his look right with his tight, but relaxed suits and sharp shoes. It is stylist Gal Apple who helps him, he reveals, but stresses the fact that by the end of the day he makes his own decisions. Well, that ought to count for something. We will look forward to seeing him at the finals in what he classifies as an amazing suit, designed by Yossi Katzaw.

As the sweet, innocent boy Harel turns out to be, there is not much dirt to get out of him. He gives us the regular interests of recording, performing, writing, working in the studio and occasionally going out with friends. But spending time in bed, now that is something he appreciates. He likes to sleep. A lot, he tells us. We can only picture that.

As we wrap up the interview we suddenly remember Harel’s promise of bungee jumping from the Tel Aviv tower if he wins the ESC. Shoot, we forgot to ask him about that. It could have spiced it up a little. Oh, well, at least we remember it for our verdict. And we’ll have something to ask him about in Oslo, where we surely will be looking out for some Israeli hot stuff. Because we do get that sweet tooth ever so often in GEE.

Our hard verdict

What’s the deal with all innocent boys this year? We’re somewhat disappointed by the hardness of this fellow. Expectations were great, but now we are not putting him at the top of our list for party invites - he'll be asleep by then. Still, he does look amazing and kind is never completely wrong. Maybe we’ll see other sides of him later? 

Plus for sweaty pictures, tight suits, spending a lot of time in bed and planning bungee jumping. Minus for being a little reserved and way too sweet. After all, one does get sick of eating too much cake. That we learnt from Marie Antoinette. 

So off with his head? Nope, not yet. It's worth too much and we’d like to see this man up close in Oslo.

How hard is it really? Part 4, in which we share the passion for music with Giorgos. Opa!

My hard is yours. That's the grand message from Norway this year. But how hard is it really? Follow us as we check up on some of the hottest men of Eurovision and give you our hard verdict.

The toughest guy in Eurovision is without a doubt Giorgos Alkaios from Greece. After our rather eh... bleak review of the Greek entry in this years competition, it takes a real man to face the challenge when we put him on the spot and asked him to share his thoughts about Eurovision, music and all the other important things in life.

We have a confession to make. Set aside ringing mobile phones and the over the top exaggarted display of male potency, it's impossible not to get hung up on Giorgos' raw, powerful and explosive performance. Sure, it gives us a bit of a laugh, but in a good way! It just seems to have something madly contagious about it, and whatever it is we think we're already infected. That's why we had to investigate what's behind this kick ass hard surface, and to tell you the truth we became quite surprised by our findings.

It's all about the music
"I am not a competitive person at all. I like music and music has no 'battles'", Giorgos reveals, and there goes our first presumption down the drain. One should think that this man could hardly wait to crush all his competitors like small bugs under his stomping feet.

"The best thing about the Eurovision Song Contest is the great opportunity given to meet with other musicians and producers from all over the world and make new friends who share the one and only passion- music! This is why I love this year's motto 'Share the moment'. It is a unique moment and we are very lucky to live and share it”, Giorgos continues.

Well hello there, making new friends, we like the sound of that, and through music is indeed a great way to connect. GEE will be the first to admit that his song sounded all Greek to us in the beginning, but we totally get the point when Giorgos explains the message he wishes to communicate. It's about motivating people to surpass problems, forget about the past and have a positive outlook for the future. A message which probably spoke right to the heart and soul of the nowadays troubled Greeks who gave him the chance to represent his country in Oslo this year. And when the going gets tough, the tough gets going, like the Greeks rose to the occasion when Athens hosted ESC in 2006, one of the most successful organizations ever, according to Giorgos.

And there certainly is a chance that our Opa man will bring the ESC games back to Greece, which should be interesting. We're thinking candle lit stage with unplugged performances of all the entries in an open air square beneath the Acropolis. Giorgos is the man behind the hit "Opa, Opa" (why aren't we surprised by this?) which kick started the duo Antique's career. Antique did later move on to reach third place for Greece in ESC back in 2001, and half of this duo is Helena Paparizou whom we all know very well by now. Safe to say, this year's Greek contestant sure knows how to lure the crowd on to the dance floor.

Get ready to OPA!
There's no doubt that this man lives and breaths for music, and he tells us that inspiration can be drawn from every situation in life. "Inspiration might come even when I am stuck in traffic jam, inspiration has no time, no place or no borders", he says. To us, someone who is as passionate about his work is truly inspirational. And the staying true to his roots gives us the oh so beloved ethnic fix which we badly miss from many of Greece's ESC competitors this year.

It seems like music takes up so much of his time that he just hasn't gotten around to quite settle down yet. He tells us that he's still searching for the ideal partner and destiny will decide when that happens.  So don't let it be all work and no play in Oslo, we'd say!

And Giorgos goal in ESC is quite simple, he wish everybody to say "OPA!". No worries there, darling, you had us at O. And if you think you've seen all of him already, think again. Along with his four sizzling hot dancers and the exceptional lyre player Lazos Ioannidis (note to self, presumed baseball bat appears to be the musical instrument lyre), he's planning to conquer Europe from the stage in Telenor Arena with a great surprise. Woha, we can hardly wait!

Our hard verdict:
Yup, we're infected with the Opa bug, and there ain't no cure for real passion. Plus since we certainly have a soft spot for men feeling so passionate about what they do, that's hard stuff in our book. And nothing is more intriguing than a man of many layers and different shades. We love the shady side, being all tough and dangerous on stage, as well as the shiny, bright side spreading joy and making friends trough the common language of music.

Minus for having rather dull hobbies besides music, like playing soccer and going to the beach, but that's probably just us being jealous thinking about Giorgos lounging by the pool in sunny Greece while we are stuck in a freakin blizzard in the cold north. And not many points to score for having Celine Dion and Johnny Logan as ESC favorites. Say no more...

Giorgos sure is a worthy contender in our little Mr Eurovision pageant 2010, and he almost won us completely over by his finishing remark. "I need you to know that My Heart is Yours!!" That's a hard one to resist, we'll see you at the parties in Oslo, honey!

How hard is it really? Part 3, in which we certainly like it rough

My hard is yours. That’s the grand message from Norway this year. But how hard is it really? Follow us as we check out some of the hottest men of Eurovision and give you our hard verdict.  

They are the coolest guys of Eurovision this year – the five hunky men of Lithuanian InCulto showing us the Eastern European kind of funk. It’s certainly our kind of men. And funkiest of them all is lead singer Jurgis Didziulis. We chatted him up loud and clear.

Claiming to like it rough while ripping your pants off? Well, hello mister sparkling hotpants. Of course you are off to a flying start in our How hard is it really? column. But can Jurgis Didziulis stand up to his performance? Let’s find out, starting by asking a little about ESC. His favorite performer is certainly a good pick: “Verka Serduchka is great, energetic and extravagant and that is exactly what Eurovision needs. It definitely left the biggest impression on me”, he answers, and we can only applaud that. But what does ESC mean to Lithuania and to InCulto?

More copulation than masturbation
Jurgis thinks ESC is one of few opportunities Lithuania has to express national character, as the country misses out in what GEE would classify as boring Eurotrash things like soccer. Many people warned InCulto from participating, but given the musical situation in Lithuania, Jurgis thinks it’s a good step:

“We have nowhere else to go. We played all the weddings and private parties in Lithuania. I know that after our European promo tour we are going to be invited to a birthday in Ukraine and a couple of weddings in Georgia. So just because of that it's important” Jurgis says. Now if that doesn’t melt our heart, the next remark certainly does:

“With InCulto, our objective is to stimulate ourselves and others, as well. To make it not an act of masturbation but more an act of common copulation”.

Something for everybody
Yay to common copulation with these five guys, that in Jurgis’ words represents a hotchpotch of styles both in their music and their appearance. Here’s a little something for everybody, and only Jurgis himself is inspired by as varied artists as Benny More, Frank Sinatra, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth and Pixies.

“My goals are to not let myself down and produce good art. What ‘good art’ means is very subjective matter. I realize that the most important thing is to be honest to yourself. You can do anything as long as it is satisfying to you”, Jurgis goes on. Well, this Colombian born man is certainly satisfying art to us, with his relaxed, cool style, bright energy and pretty face. He agrees style is important in Eurovision.

“If it's a TV show you have to look good or at least have enough charisma to compensate for your bad looks. I think the fact that we are all sexy, very good looking guys really helps us out”, Jurgis states and tells us the costumes, made by Jolanta Rimkute and Ieva Seviakovaite at Lt Identity, probably will remain the same.

Sexual liberation and hot oil
How about the pants rip of session? Any plans for further development there? “Well, the show is supposed to be funny and a bit cheeky, but not vulgar”, Jurgis points out revealing initial plans of both wet t-shirts and a girl covering the guys in hot oil during the performance. We’re kind of glad the manager stopped him from that – it could have been a bit too much for our tender hearts. Still it reveals a creative spirit and a self confident, liberated man.

“We need to pay respect to the camp aspect of Eurovision and the fact that this contest is all about sexual liberation, being a bit more extravagant than you are usually, flaunting what you've got. In that sense, we actually pay respect to people who have been putting sexual liberation on the mainstream agenda for the past 20 years”, Jurgis stresses.

Considering all these amazing answers by our favorite Lithuanian singer, we are finding ourselves really looking forward to five funky men showing up in our town next week. Especially since free drinks, food and parties are their favorite part of ESC. “We are taking our instruments and our super cool portable gear with which we can play anywhere anytime with minimal preparation, so we'll take advantage of that and rock many venues”, Jurgis says, promising they will take a little bit more care than usual, since the legal systems actually appears to be working over here.

Too bad for every excited person in Oslo, Jurgis is married to glorious Erica Jennings, who represented Lithuania in ESC 2001, and who he jumps on stage with when the occasion rises. He just loves to spend time with her and their two kids. But hey, they are probably super excited on his behalf and wants him to have a blast in Oslo.

Our hard verdict
We have to admit tight pants turn disco hotpants kinda had us there already, but by now, we are just super charmed as well by this talented singer and his BA in political science. Such joy, charm, wit and coolness all in one person is rare both inside and outside ESC. Plus for appearing tough, liking it rough and still being real nice. Sure looks hard to us. No minus, except for the settled and married part, which is almost as boring as soccer. But that’s ok, cause we like it rough too.

So, do we have our winner? A bit early to say, as many European studs are still lined up. Stay tuned for more, including our Oslo date with InCulto in a week or so.

Do you love InCulto as much as us? Check out your chance to win an autographed CD
Wanna see what InCulto was up to last time they were in Oslo? Check out their video blog.

How hard is it really? Part 2, in which we trash talk Didrik

Twinkle, twinkle little star. How we wonder WHERE you are.

Here we are giving you some of the hottest men of Eurovision. They are sexy, shiny, twinkly, funny and just so damn nice. But why won't we give you Didrik, you might ask. Well certainly because Alexander Stenerud is a better Norwegian option. But also because, honestly, we don't know where Didrik is. And neither does the majority of the Norwegian press.

What goes around, wins around. That's the sentence of truth for most artists, and perhaps even more so for Eurovision participants. Most of them travel around Europe for months before the finals presenting themselves and getting to know their thereby rapidly growing group of fans. All the while Didrik stays at home mending his cars, talking to the local newspaper of 200 readers and being grumpy on his own blog. He's just mad at journalists for being interested and trash-talking his buddy, last years winner Alexander Rybak, to anyone who cares to listen. And his management is busy telling people Didrik is too busy to talk to them before the finals. The only thing our Eurovision star is doing in the media, it seems, is trying to pick up the Swedish contestant. 1-0 to Sweden and a lot of embarrassment to Didrik there.

So no Didrik for us and no Didrik for you. He had such a good starting point as Europe was getting acquainted with the charming young boys of Norway. He certainly represents both the looks and the fit bodies we love. Paired up with his confident flirtations with the camera what could have gone wrong? His hard was ours, for crying out loud. Yes, all the wet panties of Europe could have voted for Didrik's shiny eyes, but as he disappeared into the inner woods of Telemark, the fans probably turned to Harel Skaat instead. We do not blame them for a second. Because so do we. Watch out next week.

Our hard verdict:
This is so soft we can't even see it. A little twinkling of the eye to the big camera doesn't help much when Israel is on in every channel. Plus if Didrik actually have time to show up for the finals. Minus for just about everything else, including the lame website of typos someone decided to throw in our face a month before the final and Didrik's grumpy attitude. Shame on you, Didrik. You are not our winner after all. But hey, best of luck.

There is really nothing more to say about this sad, little fellow.

How hard is it really? Part 1, in which we declare our love for Alexander Stenerud

My hard is yours. That’s the grand message from Norway this year. But how hard is it really? Follow us as we check out some of the hottest men of Eurovision and give you our hard verdict.  

So, you figured our Norwegian hearts belonged to Didrik? Think again. Here’s Alexander Stenerud. In Norway he has introduced himself in MGP, the Norwegian national pre selection rounds for ESC, during the past three years, with great success.

"I don’t think I will participate another time" Alexander Stenerud declares over lunch beneath the spire of the Oslo cathedral. It breaks our hearts, as he has been one of our favorites during all of his three contributions so far. Although we do understand his wish to focus on other great projects, like his synth pop band Zuma bringing joy to our radio ever so often, we still don’t picture anything better suited for Eurovision extravaganza than his upbeat pop pearls reminding us of Norway’s largest success since Ibsen, A-ha. Let’s just hope he is playing hard to get.

Developed from 2008
How is it like to participate several years in a row? "I think I developed much from the first time", Alexander answers.  "Always Always was somewhat anonymous, and I didn’t get that part of being charming on TV – I looked arrogant. After that, I’ve worked with communication, charisma and smiling to the camera. I realized that I could actually smile while on stage, and show everyone how much fun it was". Smiling at everything is something we can easily picture Alexander doing as we meet his deep brown gaze across our salads. We did find his cockiness in 2008 kinda hot, but yeah, Mr. Charming in 2009’s Find my girl and 2010’s Give it to me probably made more televoters reach for their cell phones. Unfortunately it was not enough to take down the young loverboys Norway tends to cheer for. Please, Norwegian housewives, come to your senses and find your Man.

Speaking of Eurovision quality, music is the single most important factor for Alexander. He writes both the music and lyrics himself, being inspired by Paul McCartney, Prince and crooners like Andy Williams. Still, he agrees with us that style and performance is essential to succeed in this contest. He has ignored hints at dressing less conservative and is very particular about his appearance. That shows in his sharp suits, paired up with glitterati ties and the coolest shoes on this planet. In fact, Alexander is one of those artists that have managed to bring his own style to Eurovision instead of being trapped in someone else’s costume party. "The shoes are authentic Chelsea boots", he reveals. "They were popular in the 60s’ Swinging London and worn by The Beatles. I used to buy them at Angels Speed Equipment, but they don’t sell them anymore". Lucky for Alexander, Internet does, but big thumbs up from us for shopping in Oslo’s coolest store.

Not really a Eurovision fan
Despite almost having become a regular in the Norwegian MGP over the past years, Alexander doesn´t really care that much for Eurovision. "You´re probably more experts with Eurovision history than I am", he says pointing at us. We blush slightly over this compliment, but manage to put him on the spot and ask him to give us some of his all time favorite entries. "I was more into Eurovision when I was a kid, and think many of the entries from the 70´s and 80´s were great. Like Ein Bißchen Frieden with Nicole. I also love Nocturne from 95, which in my opinion is a real classic" he tells us.

Good pick by Alexander, who is really everything you would want from a man. He is so nice and down to earth while also behaving like a gentleman and a natural born star, making the waitress stumble with words while taking his order and fellow restaurant guests turn in strange chair positions to try and catch a phrase or two. We’re happy to have met him, and can’t help but wishing just a little bit that he was our man when Europe came to town.

Our hard verdict
If Napoleon surrendered at Waterloo, we surrender here. This is hard stuff. We will not accept Alexander being the runner up anymore.

Plus for retro chic tight suits, sharp hairdos and cool shoes, for agreeing with us regarding Netherland’s horrible ESC entry this year and for being such a gentleman. Minus for not really loving Eurovision and for having a salad for lunch, which is a bit soft, but mind you – we did recommend the salads at this place and he did choose the one containing meat. So yes, we could easily give it to him.

The only reason why Alexander Stenerud won’t win our Mr. Eurovision pageant 2010 is that he’s not actually running in the finals. But watch out for him at the parties during the ESC weeks in Oslo. He has revealed that he will be performing, and one should always, always take the opportunity to see him live on stage.  Lastly we do hope Europe can have a real share of him next year. Pretty please, Alexander, don’t let us down!