Joci Pápai can show himself to the Eurovision fans for the second time this year, as he was the first artist to win Hungary’s national selection show two times. In 2017, he brought “Origo” to the grandiose stage, which was a huge success, earning him the 8th place in the Grand Final, but now, he is returning with a passionate ballad “Az én apám”. Joci also earns the crown as one of the very few representatives of the nation revamping their entry.
Joci has announced earlier he would bring a revamped version of “Az Én Apám” to the contest, because, according to him, he felt that something was missing. That is why he joined the likes of Magdi Rúzsa, Kati Wolf and ByeAlex, who have revamped their songs before flying Hungary’s flag to the Eurovision stage. However, the singer did not want to switch the language, as he is proud to sing his most important number in Hungarian.
Now, the new version of “Az Én Apám” is finally here with a new music video – containing footage from Joci’s “A Dal 2019” performances and clips from the previous original video, that you can watch below:
We listened to it, and we loved it, though, we sincerely must state that we miss the whistling parts, which were literally stuck in our head – they have been swapped for a violin line, making Joci’s entry perhaps a little bit more emotional. It’s still Joci’s honest feelings that won our hearts in this song.
Joci arrived to Tel Aviv last Sunday to rehearse for the big day, and seems to be more than happy to get the chance to represent Hungary again.
I’m here in Israel for the first time, and I’m so grateful to fate for that. It’s a fantastic place!
All acts of the acts have now been announced, they are Srbuk for Armenia, Tamta for Cyprus, Jonida Maliqi for Albania, Eliot for Belgium, Miki for Spain, Serhat for San Marino, Duncan Laurence for The Netherlands, Tamara Todevska for North Macedonia, Michela Pace for Malta, Bilal Hassani for France, Lake Malawi for the Czech Republic, PÆNDA for Austria, Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman for Finland. Michael Rice for the United Kingdom, Sergey Lazarev for Russia, Mahmood for Italy, Kate Miller-Heidke for Australia, D-Moll for Montenegro, Kobi Marimi for Israel, Katerine Duska for Greece, Joci Pápai for Hungary, Jurijus for Lithuania, Leonora for Denmark, S!sters for Germany, Ester Peony for Romania, Victor Crone for Estonia, Roko for Croatia, Carousel for Latvia, Tulia for Poland, Hatari for Iceland, Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl for Slovenia, KEiiNO for Norway, Nevena Bozovic for Serbia, Conan Osíris for Portugal, Oto Nemsadze for Georgia, Anna Odobescu for Moldova, Luca Hänni for Switzerland, John Lundvik for Sweden, Zena for Belarus, Sarah McTernan for Ireland, and Chingiz for Azerbaijan.
The 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted at the Expo Tel Aviv in Israel after Netta won last year with the song “Toy”. The two Semi-Finals will take place on 14 May and 16 May with the Grand Final taking place on 18 May. A total of 41 countries will compete in the contest.