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You're my lover, undercover - We would like to share this newest 12points.tv CD review: Helena Paprizou's compilation album. 

Helena Paparizou - Greatest Hits & More (2011) ****

It´s December, so it is litterally raining compilation albums, and when it comes to Eurovision artists this is an excellent oportunity to take notice of the essentials.

I cannot say it anyway else: Helena Paparizou's work is quite something! For her early work, when she was still part of Antique, you'd have to get your hands on another compilation CD, the Very Best (2004), that is quite pleasant too. Greatest Hits & More, that was released recently, comes as a very nice follow up to complete your La Paparizou collection!

Let's start with the More-CD. The first track, Baby It's Over, impresses. What a delightful song with such a lot of European hit potential, that it might even compensate for the Greek deficits. Play the song once and it will be in your head for at least three days. And if this for any reason wouldn't work for you (impossible if you ask me), then there still is Love Me Crazy, which is so eey-eey-eey great and just as easily gets stuck in your head.

The compilation part of this album presents us 40 of Helena's hits. Well, there was some cheating going on there, as not all songs really made it to the charts. Where Antique was a bit predictable now and then, Solo-Helena sounds grown-up like a pop diva should: always dramatical (she is Greek after all), sometimes luciously bombastic, sometimes rocky, sometimes in English, sometimes in Greek and sometimes just a sweet little nothing inbetween. It seems rock is very popular in Greece though, in my ears that part seems a bit empty and dated. My advise: Helena, more europop, less rock, please!

But anyway, Helena offers quite some variation on these three discs, showing she is the real pop diva from Greece with still quite some potential for the rest of Europe. As far as I'm concerned she should do a Carola or a Charlotte and just make a comeback on the Eurovision stage. She also has her roots in Sweden too after all. Just get some advice from the other two ladies...

Helena, come back!!!

Nuša coming to the Netherlands.

For the first time OGAE Netherlands is organising a big Eurovision party. The party will take place in Rotterdam and will be the kick off of the 2012 Eurovision season for the Dutch (and international) Eurovision fans. Nuša Derenda is the first confirmed guest, but more names will follow. Following the performances 12points' dj Louis will keep everyone dancing on Eurovision tunes until the early hours. More information can be found in our events section and will be added when available.

News Round-up of the day. Israel will be in the contest next year.

Organising the Eurovision Song Contest is a race against the clock, Azerbaijan seems to still be doubting between two possible locations for the contest next year. No reason for looking out for an alternative country to organise the contest yet, says Sietse Bakker (EBU).

News Round-up of the day. Fabrizio comes back for the ninth time. 

As the new year approaches, participating countries in ESC 2012 are getting ready for their song selections. In the news today, we have two countries ready to pick in a few weeks.