Release news South Africa: Andriette, Heinz Winckler, Patricia & The Hoff

Andriette
South African singer Andriette (Norman) has just released her new album Dink Aan My (Think of me).
Dink Aan My is her second album, after last years Diamant.
There's one Eurovision cover on it and that's Düm Tek Tek, this years Turkish entry by Hadise. (4th place in Moscow).
Hadise's Düm Tek Tek already enjoyed some success in Japanese charts and it's Andriettes turn to make the song a hit in South Africa. It will be the next radiosingle of the Dink Aan My CD.

The album is a joyous mix of rock and pop and there's a beautiful version of Fleetwood Mac's Songbird on the 13 track CD.

The album is available at many digital sources like Virginmedia and itunes and the CD is available in South African (web) shops.
Andriette homepage (in Afrikaans)

Heinz Winckler
Heinz Wincklers CD Ek Kan Weer In Liefde Glo is also out this week. You have already seen the video of his coverversion of Believe Again (Denmark 2009). There's another track of Eurovision interest, Jy Gee My Butterflies. This is an Afrikaans version of Butterflies by Tone Damli Aaberge, the #2in this years Norwegian selection and a #2 hit in the Nowegian charts (Kept off the #1 spot by eventual winner Fairytaile).
As expected, Ek Kan Weer In Liefde Glo is a collection of solid pop rock songs, mostly original compositions and a few coverversions thrown in for good measure. The songs are in English and in Afrikaans.
The 16 track CD closes with a coverversion of Alphaville's Forever Young.

You can hear a collage of the album at Heinz' Youtube channel, where you can also find the video to the albums title track / Eurocover.
Heinz Winckler Homepage - Heinz at Eurocovers


Patricia and The Hoff
The third much talked about coverversion of this years contest, German entry Miss Kiss Kiss Bang by Patricia Lewis and David Hasselhoff is also out now. The song, originally by Oscar Loya and Alex Christensen (Alex Swings Oscar Sings) ended 20th, but hey, it was on Oprah so they actually won anyway.

LISTEN HERE

The Afrikaans coverversion can be found on the re-issued Patricia Lewis CD Net Soos In Drome, which also includes the other song Lewis recorded with Hasselhoff: As I Am.

Charlotte Perelli's Hero (Sweden 2008) and Swedish preselection songs Cara Mia (Måns Zelmerlow), Empty Room (Sanna Nielsen) and Live Forever (Magnus Carlsson) complete the tracks of Eurocovers interest.
As a bonus there are three videoclips on the CD including Hero, Miss Kiss Kiss Bang and Gee My Nog 'n Kans. The CD is released on Sony and is available internationally through Kalahari.
The Hoffnews - This is where you read it first .

More to come: Keep checking Eurocovers for more news on South African releases like the long awaited return of Sunette Bridges, the even longer awaited debut album of Dominec and new releases by Jeandre Odendaal and Eurocovers favorite heartthrob Tobi Jooste.

Breaking News - David Hasselhoff records Miss Kiss Kiss Bang

Knight Rider and Bay Watch Beach Bum David Hasselhoff has recorded Miss Kiss Kiss Bang together with South African megastar Pamela...  Patricia Lewis.

It's all pictured a bit tragic and sensionalist in the South African press as they claim it's the last song national treasure Patricia Lewis will ever sing. She's diagnosed with tumors on her vocal chords and will have surgeory. And "it's possible she can never sing after the operation".
Let's all just hope all goes well so we can enjoy some more of Patricia's fabulous schlager-pop albums.

They recorded two songs together and one of them is Miss Kiss Kiss Bang (sung in Afrikaans), this years German Eurovision entry by Alex Swings Oscar Sings

LISTEN HERE
NEWS UPDATE HERE

David Hasselhoff is in South Africa to play around with some white sharks with big teeth to lively up his U.S. reality TV show that is currently being filmed. He re-scheduled his SA trip because of his close friend Patricia Lewis' impending operation.

Last friday they performed their new songs together at a special performance outside the Montecasino recording studio's near Johannesburg.

Patricia Lewis covered many Eurovision songs. On her last album Net Soos In Drome she recorded Swedish 2008 song Hero and two Melodifestivalen songs. (soundclips)
Also check Patricia Lewis at Eurocovers for older material.
For Hasselhoff it's his first Eurocover.
update: Miss Kiss Kiss Bang and As I Am the other songs Lewis recorded with Hasselhoff will be released on a repackaged issue of the Net Soos In Drome CD.

Original performers of Miss Kiss Kiss Bang, Alex Swings Oscar Sings, have already had their moment of worldwide superfamedom in the Oprah show - The Worlds Got Talent.

sources: News24.com, The Hoff News and thanks to Roy.
You can shop for most Patricia Lewis albums at Kalahari.

Priscilla Smith #1
Priscilla Smith is currently #1 on the Kingfisher FM Afrikaans top 10 with Klein Bietjie Liefde. It's an Afrikaans version of the Finnish 2000 entry A Little Bit (Nina Astrom).
The track is taken from the CD Net 'n Bietjie Liefde which also includes a cover version of the Hungarian 2008 entry.There's an excerpt of Klein Bietjie Liefde at reverbnation.
I hope to get some more details later.

Eurocovers South Africa: George Meiring Competition, Win His Latest CD!

EUROCOVERS SUPERSTAR
George Meiring shot to fame in South Africa with Supersterre, the TV talent show hosted by Patricia Lewis* and Brendan October. (Sort of Idols South Africa.)
He now has released his CD Onthou Die Tye (Remember the times) on Sony BMG and it's a great album for Eurocovers fans, as well as many others.
George recorded coverversions of two Eurovision Songs on this CD.
Track 4 is a quite straightforward version of Every Song Is A Cry For Love, the Irish entry that ended 10th in 2006 by Brian Kennedy. If one thing, it shows again how good that song actually is.
The other Eurovision song is a real treat, the song Liedjie Vir Danella (Song for Danella, track 2) is a coverversion of the Norway 1994 entry Duett, which ended 6th and was performed by originally by Bobbysock Elisabeth Andreasson and the late Jan Werner Danielsen. In this version, sung in Afrikaans, George is accompanied by Supersterre host and a favorite of Eurocovers Patricia Lewis*.
The Afrikaans lyrics were written by Mariska Laas.

YOU RAISE ME UPBoth Eurovision songs come together in George Meirings version of You Raise Me Up. That song, written by Duett composer Rolf Løvland ** and Brendan Graham *** was a big hit in the UK and Ireland for Brian Kennedy as a tribute to George Best. In the US the song was a #1 for Josh Groban and Westlife scored a European hit with the song in 2005.
You Raise Me Up , inspired by the Irish traditional Danny Boy, was first recorded by Eurovision winners Secret Garden (Løvlands band) on their CD Once In A Red Moon (2001) and it has been covered over a 125 times in just 6 years.
And now it's George Meirings turn.
There are more interesting covers on the CD. Another big tune is Jy (Du), a big hit in many European countries in the early 70's for Peter Maffay. The CD closes with a medley of Africa songs like Pata Pata and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
All in all Onthou Die Tye is a very good CD and George didn't fall into the trap of trying to show off he can do everything by recording a mish mash of songs. Onthou Die Tye is a well presented complete collection of songs, which makes the full CD very enjoyable in it's totality.


COMPETITION
And for the very first time in history there's a prize to win at Eurocovers. You can win the George Meiring CD Onthou Die Tye if you answer the following question (correctly) and send it to me in an e-mail. with your details.

What place did George Meiring finish in the South African Supersterre talent show (2006 edition)?.
Hint: You can find the answer is at George Meirings MySpace

Your name will go in the big hat with the ones of the of the other website running this competition and 2 lucky winners will be drawn and will get the CD at their doormat.
This competition is in co-operation with OGAE Rest Of The World, Roy van der Merwe and ESCkaz.com.
COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

LINKS and Stuff
- George Meirings MySpace, listen to four songs from Onthou Die Tye.
- Sony/BMG South Africa - Use the artists search to read more about George Meiring (in Afrikaans)
* Find more about Patricia Lewis and other Afrikaans Eurocovers in this Eurocovers Post.
** Rolf Løvland of course wrote also both Norwegian Eurovision winners to date. La det Swinge (1985) and Nocturne (1995 text Petter Skavlan) and the 1987 entry Mitt Liv (co written with the other Bobbysock Hanne Krogh)
Nocturne is the most covered Eurovision song since 1982's winner Ein Bisschen Frieden.
*** Brendan Graham also wrote two Eurovision winners: the Irish Eurovision entries of 1994 (Rock'n'Roll Kids) and 1996 (The Voice) plus the Irish entries of 1976 (When) and 1985 (Wait Until The Weekend Comes)
- It's the first coverversion for both Duett & Every Song Is A Cry For Love in the 10.000 coverversions project list.
- You Raise Me Up at Wiki. The song was also recorded by artists like Kenny G., Il Divo, Russell Watson, Daniel O'Donell, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Michael Ball (Eurovision 1992), Sanna Nielsen (MF regular), Samantha Mumba with the Celtic Tenors and Britain Got Talent sensation Paul Potts.
- The new series of Supersterre starts tonight (07-09-07) on SABC2

South Africa: Patricia Lewis, Jy's die één !!

Patricia Lewis is a Superstar from South Africa whose music ranges from Country to Pop and she has also proven she has a fine ear for a Eurovision tune.

She recorded several Eurovision songs since 1999 and especially the later choices look a bit further than just the big hits and winners.

Currently in the South African Trefferlyste, the top 20 for Afrikaans songs compiled by Daantjie Dinamiet, there's a duet Patricia Lewis sings with 14 year old Shaun Tait.
Shaun Tait is the winner of Supersterre 2006, a TV talent show hosted by Patricia Lewis.
The song, Sing 'n liedjie, is a cover version of the Danish Eurovision entry from 2004 Shame on you, the song that failed miserably in the semi-final despite some cool shoes with wheels (it must have been the red suit then). (sorry no audio found yet)

Après toi, the luxembourg 1972 winner, was the first Eurovision song covered by Lewis, but it already had a few lives in South Africa, most famously by legendary singers Gé Korsten and Bles Bridges.
-
-
-
LUXEMBOURG 1972 APRÈS TOI
Coverversions from South Africa

Bles Bridges - Glo in die lewe (Afrikaans)
------ Released on 1997 CD 'Die hart van myn moeder' (Vat 5 Musik, BMG) Bles Bridges & syn dogter Sunette * - Glo in die lewe (Afrikaans)
------ On Sunette Bridges CD 'Vrou alleen' & 2003 CD 'Opskop treffers en ander' Janita Claassen - Wie sal weet (Afrikaans)
------ On CD 'Wie sal weet'(1991) Patricia Lewis - Jy's die een (Lyrics Patricia Lewis)
------ On 1999 CD 'Jy's die één' (BMG)
Gé Korsten - Glo in die lewe (Afrikaans)
------ On CD 'Naby my / Sailing' & 3CD 'Afrikaanse Goue oues' Estee Strauss (French)
------ On CD 'Ritme van hoop'
Ons Eie 3 Soprane - Come what may (English)
'Ons eie drie soprane' are/were: Janita Claassen, Rina Hugo & Ella Kotze
------ On CD 'Ons eie drie soprane' (Select Music SELBCD 335) Bianca & Friends - Come what may (English)
Bianca & Friends are a gospel group who perform as a puppet show. ------ On CD 'Bianca And Friends' - (Brettian Productions, 2002)
Karlien Husselman - Come what may (English)
------ On CD 'Wees vir my'

PATRICIA LEWIS EUROCOVERS Après toi - Luxembourg 1972 winner - Vicky Leandros
= Jy's die een (You're the one) - sung in Afrikaans ------ On 1999 CD 'Jy's die één' (BMG)
------ Video clip is on DVD 'Patricia Lewis- Die DVD (BMG 2005)
ABBA Keurspel (medley incl. Waterloo & Ring Ring. (in English) ------ On CD 'Vir ewig en altyd' (2001, BMG)
Take me to your heaven - Sweden 1999 winner - Charlotte Nilsson (in English) ------ On CD 'Vir ewig en altyd' (2001, BMG)
My heart goes boom - Norway 2000 - Charmed (in English) ------ On CD 'Vir ewig en altyd' (2001, BMG)
Dans le jardin de mon âme - Switzerland 2002 - Francine Jordy
= Tuine van my siel (Gardens of my soul) - sung in Afrikaans
------ On CD 'N nuwe lewe' (BMG)
------ Video clip is on DVD 'Patricia Lewis- Die DVD -(BMG 2005)
Il faut du temps - France 2002 - Sandrine François = 'N nuwe lewe (A new life) - in Afrikaans
------ On CD 'N nuwe lewe' (BMG)
Never let it go - Sweden 2002 - Afro-Dite (in English) ------ On CD 'N nuwe lewe' (BMG)
Shame on you - Denmark 2004 - Thomas Thordarsson = Sing 'n liedjie (Sing a song) - Shaun tate & Patricia Lewis (in Afrikaans)
------ On Shaun Tait CD Shaun Tait (Sony BMG)


Kalahari is a South African music shop that sells worldwide. Postage costs are high though, but you can't buy too much CDs at one time as you will get a hefty import tax bill. They stock the Shaun Tait CD, and various albums by Patricia Lewis, Bles Bridges and Gé Korsten.

Patricia's own website is currently not available but you can find some info at the Supersterre site. She's a busy woman as she's also currently dancing with Marcel Vilonel in the South African version of Strictly Come Dancing With The Stars and the next season of Supersterre is underway.



HELP WANTED - I'm looking for a particular single from South Africa, either the record or the audio files in any form. It's a version of the 1973 Dutch entry by Ben Cramer - De oude muzikant and it's original b-side Kom Sylvia dans met mij from the preselection.
Marnie - Die oue musikant / Kom Sylvia dans met my - 7" single (Philips TOS 1010)