Hungary: Kállay-Saunders leads strong field of 30 participants

Hungarian broadcaster MTVA has just revealed the 30 participants for its preselection A Dal, which will take place in January/February. András Kállay-Saunders and his band return to the competition, along with several other big names.

Snippets of the 30 songs can be listened to through THIS link. However, some songs are already available in 3-minute-versions. To find those, click on their names in the list at the bottom of this article.

Kállay-Saunders won the A Dal competition in 2014 and went on to finish 5th at the Eurovision Song Contest that year in Copenhagen. Two years later, he returned to the Hungarian preselection with his band, but due to technical problems his performance in the A Dal final turned into a nightmare. After that night, Kállay-Saunders told ESC Daily that “my dream is to win the Eurovision Song Contest, and I am not going to stop until that actually happens.”

However, Kállay-Saunders is not the only familiar name in the list. Oláh Gergö, who reached the final four last year, returns as part of the group Roma Soul. Olivér Berkes & Andi Tóth reached the final of A Dal as a duet last year; this year, they take part separately.

Ádám Szabó, Mujahid Zoltán as well as boyband Spoon were all in the super final round in 2015, losing out to Boggie in the end. Gigi Radics was a fan favorite in 2014 but just missed out on a ticket for the grand final. Benji was a semi-finalist in last year’s edition.

This is the full list of participants:

  • Benji – Karcok
  • Berkes Olivér – Ecstasy
  • Calidora – Glory
  • Csondor Kata – Create
  • Fedor KYRA – Got To Be A Day
  • Garay Anna feat Kása Júlia – Jártam
  • Henderson Dávid – White Shadows
  • Jetlag – Keresem a bajt
  • Kállay Saunders Band – 17
  • Kanizsa Georgina – Fall Like Rain
  • Leander Kills – Élet
  • Mrs Columbo – Frozen King
  • Mujahid Zoltán – On My Own
  • Muri Enikő – Jericho
  • Pál Benjámin – Father’s Eyes
  • Pápai Joci – Be kell csuknod a szemed
  • Peet Project – Kill Your Monster
  • Peter Kovary & The Royal Rebels – It’s A Riot
  • Radics Gigi – See It Through
  • Roma Soul – Nyitva a ház
  • Sapszon Orsi – Hunyd le a szemed
  • Singh Viki – Rain
  • Soulwave – Kalandor
  • Spoon 21 – Deák
  • Szabó Ádám – Together
  • Szabyest – Szerelem kell
  • The Couple – Vége van
  • The Wings – Mint a hurrikán
  • Tóth Andi – I’ve Got A Fire
  • Totova and Freddie Shuman feat Lotfi Begi – Hosszú idők

Successful Format

This will be the 6th edition of A Dal. Ever since the preselection was introduced, Hungary managed to reach the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Our mini-documentary about the success story of A Dal can be found HERE.