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Russia has been booted from the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The decision reflects concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year’s Contest would bring the competition into disrepute,” the Executive Board of the European Broadcasting Union, which produces Eurovision, said in a statement issued Friday, Feb. 25. Eurovision 2022 is set to take place this May in Turin, Italy.

The Ebu has issued the statement below regarding Russia's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest...

Russia is officially prohibited from participating in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, the organization announced on Friday.

For the uninitiated, Eurovision is an annual televised songwriting competition presented by the European Broadcasting Union in which European countries are allowed to enter one original song apiece for consideration. (Perhaps you’re familiar with Netflix’s Will Ferrell–Rachel McAdams film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga? That’s basically it.)

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An insufferable love story set in St Petersburg pre-1917 and Paris today, this regressive, saccharine film may have made serious rubles, but it has no merit

So soaked with sentimentality, bogus emotion and cliche, to watch it is to feel as if one is being pelted by a spongiform romance novel soaked in alcopop, this St Petersburg-Paris set drama is the very embodiment of the Russian notion of “poshlost”, a kind of corny vulgarity that Nabokov dissected at length in his book on Gogol. It’s a depressing sign of the times, along with the election of Donald Trump and the vote for Brexit, that this rubbish was one of the highest-earning films in Russia recently. Former Eurovision contestant Dima Bilan plays with equal woodenness two different characters in two different time periods, who both fall in love with Svetlana Ivanova’s simpering blonde princess and her descendent.

During the 1917 Russian revolution,...

Russian actor-turned-director Vuriy Vasilev’s second project The Heritage of Love attempts to combine war-torn Russia during the Revolution and modern day Paris, but sadly misses the mark at every turn. As we are introduced to Andrey (Dima Bilan) and Vera (Svetlana Ivanova) two love stories emerge, separated by three generations and 100 years. Initially, such […]

The post The Heritage of Love Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Yash Raj Films’ production Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Yash Raj Films’ distributed film Piku won accolades and received immense praise at the recently concluded Indian Film Festival in Russia (Iffr). The festival saw Dum Laga Ke Haisha’s lead actor Ayushmann Khurrana, with industry personalities Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar in attendance along with Sarfaraz Alam – President of Iffr and Festival Director and Ashish Sharma- Director Indian Council For Cultural Relations, Indian Embassy.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha earned the ‘Best Actor award – Ayushmann Khurrana’ and Piku was awarded the ‘Best Film – Ronnie Lahiri’ & ‘Best Director – Shoojit Sircar’ titles at the festival which took place at Formula Kino Horizont and witnessed a strong audience of 2,000 plus, interestingly comprised of largely native Russians along with a very small Indian diaspora.

And that’s not all! The Russian viewers just couldn’t get enough of the Indian enterinatainment. Even the superstars of Russia,...

More acts have been added to the BBC's Eurovision Song Contest concert in London next month.

Dana International, Brotherhood of Man, Loreen and Dima Bilan will all perform at the 60th anniversary show in London on March 31.

Brotherhood of Man will perform 'Save Your Kisses for Me', the song that won the contest for the UK back in 1976.

Israel's Dana International will perform her 1998 winning entry 'Diva', while Loreen will sing her 2012 winner 'Euphoria'.

Dima Bilan will sing a medley of his 2006 runner-up track 'Never Let You Go', and his 2008 winning song 'Believe'.

The four acts join the previously announced list of performers, including Conchita Wurst, Johnny Logan and Lordi.

Graham Norton and Petra Mede will host the BBC's 60th Eurovision anniversary show at the Eventim Hammersmith Apollo on March 31.

Tickets are on sale now, and the event will be broadcast on BBC One and throughout Europe.

Watch Loreen's video...

Pop star Rihanna is releasing a special limited edition of her new album Unapologetic - for $250 (£156).

The 'Umbrella' hitmaker's seventh studio album is set to hit shelves next month, and the singer has unveiled a collector's version for her most loyal fans.

Is she worth it?

The Diamonds Executive Platinum Box edition features items including a T-shirt, seven art print lithographs, stickers and a 40-page custom Rihanna Notebook featuring handwritten notes.

Would you pay $250 for a Rihanna album? Have your say below...

The limited run of the collectable will be released in December.

Meanwhile, Rihanna has been included in the list of nominees for the Worldwide Act category at this year's MTV Ema Awards.

The Barbadian diva will be up against Dima Bilan, Restart, Han Geng and Ahmed Soultan for the coveted Ema prize. The Awards, hosted by Heidi Klum, will take place in Frankfurt on Sunday 11 November. Fans can...

MTV has announced the shortlist for the 'Worldwide Act' category at the 2012 Europe Music Awards. Rihanna will represent North America among the five artists. Russian Eurovision winner Dima Bilan has been nominated for Europe, with South Korean singer Han Geng representing Asia Pacific. Afro-Arabian artist Ahmed Soultan was chosen from Africa/India/Middle East and Brazilian band Restart round off the shortlist for Latin America. The five have been whittled down from the (more)...

Moscow -- A Russian group known as the Buranovo Grannies has swept aside glamorous opposition to represent the country at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

The eight women beat 24 competitors, including a double act comprising 2008 Eurovision winner Dima Bilan, in a televised show late Wednesday.

An outfit from a village in Russia's Udmurtia Republic, the women blend modern pop sounds with their own traditional choral singing style.

The refrain of the Buranovo Grannies "Party for Everybody" is in English, but the remainder of the song is in Udmurt, a distant relation of Finnish spoken by some 325,000 people.

The 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in May in Baku, Azerbaijan.

While some countries compete for the Eurovision title in earnest, the contest has for many become an object of mockery.

But the Buranovo Grannies, who performed in customary peasant garb, say they want to be taken seriously.

One group member,...

Eric Dane is still McSteamy!The "Grey's Anatomy" hunk goes shirtless in a brand new music video for Ariana Savalas, the 25-year-old daughter of late "Kojak" star Telly Savalas.In the video, Dane appears to be the boyfriend of Salavas ... who may harbor some homicidal tendencies.The Big plus here: Eric spends more than half the video without his shirt on!Dane is the latest TV star to appear in a random music video. Just last month, Ian Somerhalder made a surprise appearance in Russian pop star Dima Bilan's video for "Blind Love." Watch that below: Read more...

Vampire Diaries Ian Somerhalder romances new chick in new 'Blind Love' music video. Recently, Vampire Diaries,Damon Salvatore star Ian Somerhalder shot a new,Russian, music video (below) for Dima Bilan’s "Blind Love" song,and it features him romancing up a dirty,hot,blonde chick,who is apparently two-timing Ian's character and another gentleman. Throughout the video, she's flirting with Ian,and then cozying up to some other dude as well. Then,finally,towards the end, all this crap comes to a head. Ian's character gets in a major fight with the other guy,and it almost looked like a Vampire Diaries scene. It didn't show how the fight ended,but it looks like Ian was kicking his butt. Yay,for Ian. As for the song,the beat was ok,but I couldn't understand any of the lyrics since I don't speak Russian. Check it out,below.

Vampire Diaries...

Hopefully this video will help curb your 'Vampire Diaries' cravings... for one more week. By now, it's common knowledge that Ian Somerhalder knows how to wear a tuxedo. He proved it on The Vampire Diaries, he reminded us at the 2011 Emmy Awards, and now he's letting the whole world know with a starring role in Russian artist Dima Bilan's music video for "Blind Love." Check out the video below: [flv width="600" height="350"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi2bpWie3k4/flv] — Andy Swift Follow Andy on Twitter for more Vampire Diaries updates...

Mickey Rourke has got engaged to a Russian model, according to a report. Rourke, 57, recently asked Elena Kuletskaya, 24, to marry him and a wedding ceremony in Russia is planned for next year. A source said: 'They haven't booked a venue or made any solid plans. He just knows he wants to do it in April, and he's been asking what is involved in a traditional Russian wedding ceremony.' Rourke has been twice married and earlier this year met the tiny Kuletskaya who had dropped Russian pop star Dima Bilan for him. He has been taking Russian lessons from her in preparation for a movie role in the upcoming Iron Man 2. Rourke said earlier:...

The former hellraiser, 57, reportedly proposed to 24-year-old Russian model Elena Kuletskaya last week and the smitten couple plan to marry next year in her home country. A source said: "They haven't booked a venue or made any solid plans. He just knows he wants to do it in April, and he's been asking what is involved in a traditional Russian wedding ceremony." Mickey – who has been married twice before – met Elena earlier this year and sources claim the stunning blonde dumped Russian pop star Dima Bilan for the actor. Elena has been teaching Mickey Russian for his role as Whiplash in the upcoming ‘Iron Man 2’ and the couple have also been shopping for puppies together after Mickey’s beloved dog Loki died in February. Mickey recently revealed how he felt he had been given a second chance at life and wants to embrace it. He said: "The first act of my life was crazy,...

Mickey Rourke is engaged. The former hell-raiser, 57, reportedly proposed to 24-year-old Russian model Elena Kuletskaya last week and the smitten couple plan to marry next year in her home country. A source said: "They haven't booked a venue or made any solid plans. He just knows he wants to do it in April, and he's been asking what is involved in a traditional Russian wedding ceremony." Rourke - who has been married twice before — met his bride-to-be earlier this year and sources claim the stunning blond dumped Russian pop star Dima Bilan for the actor. Kuletskaya has been teaching Rourke Russian for his role as Whiplash in the upcoming "Iron Man 2," and the couple have also been shopping for puppies together after Rourke's beloved dog Loki died in February. Rourke recently revealed how he felt he had been given a second chance at life and wants to embrace it.

Mickey Rourke has got engaged. The former hellraiser, 57, reportedly proposed to 24-year-old Russian model Elena Kuletskaya last week and the smitten couple plan to marry next year in her home country. A source said: "They haven't booked a venue or made any solid plans. He just knows he wants to do it in April, and he's been asking what is involved in a traditional Russian wedding ceremony." Mickey - who has been married twice before - met Elena earlier this year and sources claim the stunning blonde dumped Russian pop star Dima Bilan for the actor. Elena has been teaching Mickey Russian for his role as Whiplash in the upcoming ?Iron Man 2? and the couple have...

Digital Spy presents the full list of winners at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards, which were held tonight in Berlin, Germany. Best Song

Beyoncé - 'Halo' - Winner!

Black Eyed Peas - 'I Got A Feeling'

David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland - 'When Love Takes Over'

Kings Of Leon - 'Use Somebody'

Lady Gaga - 'Poker Face' Best Live Act

Beyoncé

Green Day

Kings of Leon

Lady GaGa

U2 - Winner! Best Group

Black Eyed Peas

Green Day

Jonas Brothers

Kings of Leon

Tokio Hotel - Winner! Best New Act

Daniel Merriweather

La Roux

Lady GaGa - Winner!

Pixie Lott

Taylor Swift Best Female

Beyoncé - Winner!

Katy Perry

Lady GaGa

Leona Lewis

Shakira Best European Act

Deep Insight

Lost

Doda

Dima Bilan

maNga - Winner! (more)...

The MTV Europe Music Awards has unveiled the acts nominated for the Best European Act category. Finnish rock band Deep Insight, Russian pop star Dima Bilan, Polish singer Doda, Italian pop rockers Lost, and Turkish rap rock group MaNga all made it to the shortlist voted by fans.

The EMAs is set to air live on MTV from the 02 World, Berlin on November 5, with "Waking Up in Vegas" hitmaker Katy Perry hosting the show.

Other category nominees include Lady Gaga and Kings of Leon, who lead the shortlist with 5 nods each. Beyonce follows with 4 nominations.

Foo Fighters, Green Day, Jay-z, Leona Lewis, Tokio Hotel, and Shakira are all set to perform, while Irish mega band U2's Brandenburg Gate show will be aired into the awards show.

Mickey Rourke's dalliance with model Lena Kuletskaya has ended in tears - her fiance has called off their engagement.

The Wrestler actor has been snapped enjoying several nights out with the beauty recently, including at a London nightclub, and he even took her with him to the GQ Men of the Year Awards earlier this month.

Kuletskaya insists the pair is just friends, saying, "Mickey is my neighbour in New York" - but her fiance, Dima Bilan, has reportedly ended their union after photos of her cavorting with Rourke left him reeling.

The Hollywood star failed to end speculation of a romance link with the model, after joking he had picked her out for his date: "Lena is a unique beauty. I'll tell you a secret, I cancelled Kate Moss for her."...

Terry Wogan has confirmed that he will no longer be presenting the Eurovision Song Contest. The Radio 2 DJ, who has fronted the BBC's coverage for 37 years, said it was "time for someone else to take over". "I was considering giving up before Belgrade, and now I have to say I'm very doubtful about ever wanting to do Eurovision again," Wogan told the Radio Times. In this year's contest, Britain's Andy Abraham only earned 14 points, while the Russian winner Dima Bilan bagged 272. Commenting on the 2008 (more)...

Russia triumphed in the Eurovision Song Contest last night, topping the scoreboard with 272 points. Dima Bilan's ballad 'Believe' clinched his country's first ever victory in the competition. The track had been produced by Us R&B star Timbaland. Ukraine, represented by Ani Lorak, came second with 230 points. Greek entrant Kalomira, who had performed her song 'Secret Combination', finished in third place with 218 points. The UK's entrant Andy Abraham finished joint last, scoring just 14 points. His disappointing position was shared by both Germany and Poland. After the result was announced, Sir (more)...