Buranovskiye Babushki Start Eurovision Rehearsals
IZHEVSK.March 14. KAZINFORM. Buranovskiye Babushki, a sextet of Russian grannies who won the national Eurovision-2012 selection contest, have started rehearsals in their home village of Buranovo, their producer, Ksenia Rubtsova, said on Monday, according to RIA Novosti.
"It's easier, better and more convenient for the grannies to rehearse at home. The group has spent ten days in Moscow and its participants miss their relatives and homes. Of course, there will be rehearsals in Moscow, but Buranovskiye Babushki will sing at home for the moment," Rubtsova said.
A crew of Russia's state Rossiya TV channel will arrive to Buranovo in the Urals republic of Udmurtia on Tuesday to stage their show at Eurovision.
The sextet of babushkas faced a tough competition in the final selection from 24 other Russian contenders, including 2008 Eurovision winner Dima Bilan, but in the end they won the hearts of jurors and TV viewers by performing "Party for Everybody" in the Udmurt language.
The colorful grannies, with some of them over 70 years old, do not speak English and their folk style performance includes their own songs and covers of many international music hits. They mostly sing in Russian and Udmurt.
The band first tried for the Eurovision contest in 2010, but lost in the selection round.