Jon Lilygreen
Jon Lilygreen (born August 4, 1987 ) is a Welsh singer and guitarist. Together with the band The Islanders he represented Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo .
biography
Jon Lilygreen comes from Bettws, in the port city of Newport , where he still lives today and graduated from Coleg Gwent in singing, guitar and composition. During his training he wrote his own songs, which were released on the school's Coleg Gwent Green album in 2009. Lilygreen then made numerous appearances in his hometown, including the Summer Sessions (2009) hosted by the Riverfront Theater . He is under contract with the independent label Long Life Records . At the beginning of February 2010 Lilygreen won the Cypriot preliminary decision for the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo together with the band The Islanders . Her title Life Looks Better in the Spring was written and composed by the Cypriots Nasos Lambrianides and Melis Konstantinou. It is a guitar ballad using a gospel choir . The group was put together in early 2009 for recording at the Welsh music studio Gold Disc Productions in Treorchy, Rhondda , by Scottish drummer John Gregory and his wife, Norwegian pianist Sylvia Strand. Lambrianides became aware of their studio via the Internet. The song was rearranged with another by Lambrianides and Konstantinou and provided with harmonies and string instruments. In addition to Lilygreen, who played guitar in an orchestra with Strand, Gregory and Strand, the band consists of the English singer Katherine Squire, the Welsh singer Sean Watts and the Greek-Cypriot guitarist Charalambos Kallona.
When the band members found out that the composers had submitted the two songs for the Cypriot ESC preliminary round and that they had reached the final, Lilygreen and The Islanders traveled to Cyprus and rehearsed for a week. Due to a better chance of winning, they only presented one song, Life Looks Better in the Spring , and to their own surprise won the competition against nine competitors.
After the win, the band toured the UK and Europe and returned to Cyprus for final preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest. Lilygreen and The Islanders represented the Mediterranean country at the 55th Eurovision Song Contest on May 27, 2010 in Oslo in the second semi-final and reached the final two days later. There the formation took 21st place. The points came from:
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Greece - 12 points for Cyprus
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Bulgaria - 4 points for Cyprus
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Croatia - 4 points for Cyprus
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Sweden - 3 points for Cyprus
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Slovakia - 2 points for Cyprus
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Denmark - 1 point for Cyprus
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Lithuania - 1 point for Cyprus
Web links
- Profile on MySpace (English)
- Profile at eurovision.tv (English)
- Gwent singer eyes Eurovision glory ... for Cyprus - portrait and video at southwalesargus.co.uk, 10 February 2010
- Interview at human2stay.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Profile at eurovisionary.com (English); accessed on May 27, 2010
- ↑ Portrait at eurovision.ndr.de (accessed on May 27, 2010)
- ^ Rutherford, Andy: Gwent students go green with CD release . In: South Wales Argus, June 19, 2009 (accessed via LexisNexis Wirtschaft )
- ↑ Riverfront 'Summer Sessions' set to sizzle . In: South Wales Argus, July 17, 2009 (accessed via LexisNexis Wirtschaft )
- ↑ Profile on MySpace (English; accessed on May 27, 2010)
- ^ Dewhurst, Patrick: Life looks better for Eurovision hopefuls . In: Cyprus Mail, February 9, 2010 (accessed via LexisNexis Wirtschaft )
- ^ A b Bevan, Nathan: Why a couple from a Valleys terraced house will be representing Cyprus in this year's Eurovision . In: The Western Mail, April 14, 2010, p. 12
- ^ A b McLeod, Keith: And Now For The Scottish, Cypriot, Welsh, Norwegian Eurovision Song . In: Daily Record, February 12, 2010, p. 45
- ^ A b Peacock, Steve: Katherine bids for eurovision glory . In: Western Morning News (Plymouth, UK), February 11, 2010, p. 22
- ^ Gwent's Eurovision hopeful prepares for Oslo showdown . In: South Wales Argus, 10 May 2010 (accessed via LexisNexis Wirtschaft )
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Lilygreen, Jon |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | welsh singer |
DATE OF BIRTH | 4th August 1987 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Wales |