On the one hand, Russia’s done a clever “let’s get a producer from another country to do our song” bit and it’s RED ONE…
but on the other hand, my not-so-inner feminist haaatteesssss that video (and some of the lyrics). Who doesn’t love a sex-in-a-stall in a music video? (me?) But then again, this is Eurovision, so it’s best to lighten up.
Verdict: the song is ok, and I might like it more when I’m NOT watching the video (which, in addition to being a little icky, is rather one note)
Buy the album here: http://eurovision11.shop2download.com/
It’s so great to see Israel’s Dana International back in Eurovision! Dana won back in 1998 with the song Diva, and is one of the most famous transsexuals in the world.
The song this year is Ding Dong, and I’m already a huge fan. Catchy, with a nice balance of English & Hebrew — the English chorus is super simple (I mean, come on, Ding Dong!) and fun to tap your toes along with.
Verdict: I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Top Ten.
Another “used to be my favorite” faceplant. Georgia, for the first year, you disappoint me! Like Ukraine, your lead singer seems to think warbling quietly off-pitch and shouting constitutes a good performance. Bad rock song w/ awkward rap + flashy fire-spark explosions = fail. Oh, yeah, it’s Eldrine “One More Day.”
Verdict: srsly, never want to hear again
Ugh, Ukraine, NO. You used to be my favorite (2008-2009!), but this is just sad. Angel by Mika Newton is drippy, generic and screechy. I’d ask you to tone down the echo effect on that mike, but if you did, it would become horribly clear that your singer doesn’t have a strong voice.
Verdict: never want to listen again.
Iceland’s song this year has a sad backstory — one of the national selection finalists died, so his friends decided to sing his song in his honor. So that’s how Iceland ended with Sigurjón’s Friends singing Coming Home.
It’s a sweet, jaunty tune that really hits home once you know the backstory. Without the emotional punch, it’s just an ok song. Will the average Eurovision viewer hear the meaning behind the entry? I think the song will rank better with it, rather than without it.
What do you think?
Lena’s Eurovision song “Taken By a Stranger” just doesn’t *feel* like a Eurovision song — it’s jazzy, down-tempo but not a ballad, and has a slightly complicated lyrical message (in English). Great radio singles don’t always work for the ESC. Would NOT have been my choice for Lena.
Here it is live (even odder than the polished version!):
The ESC has just announced the running order for both semi-finals, plus the positions of the Big Five for the final. [source]
Interesting how the automatic finalists are all performing into the middle & end of the show. Might give another country the opportunity to come in with a big bang early on.
In each half of one respective Semi-Final, one country received a wildcard to choose its starting position. The remaining positions were drawn afterwards.
The draw for the first Semi-Final:
The commercial breaks are scheduled to be after the 5th and 14th song.
The draw for the second Semi-Final brought the following result:
The commercial breaks are scheduled after the 5th and 14th song.
For the Grand Final, the starting positions of the Big 5 countries (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and The United Kingdom) were also drawn, with one of them, again, getting a wildcard to freely choose their starting position:
11. France
12. Italy
14. United Kingdom
16. Germany
22. Spain (wildcard)
Official Blue video for I Can. Four blokes belting out a tune on a roof. Meh.
Look! It’s Sweden’s Taylor Lautner! And he’s singing a song about on par with Lautner’s demographic. Popular has inane lyrics and Eric Saade is pitchy, but the electropop backing track is a winner — LOVE the minor chord progression between the first chorus and the second verse. And who doesn’t love a vaguely homoerotic dance crew & an overly dramatic “mirror/glass breaking” breakdown?
Verdict: begrudging thumbs up.
One month “late,” but not too late, right?
This is “Haba Haba,” Norway’s entry. At first I was appalled — there was no melody! She was talk-singing! But as the song developed, so did the tune and the flavor. The “Haba Haba” chorus is toe-tappingly catchy, easy to learn and had me singing along quickly.
It’s lovely to see Norway celebrating diverse culture — singer Stella Mwangi is Norwegian-Kenyan (her family moved to Norway in 1991, when she was 5). The African-vibe of the song will bring something fresh and different to the Eurovision precedings, and I can see the song being a real crowd pleaser.
Verdict: thumbs up!
Blue debuted their Eurovision song “I Can” on Graham Norton this weekend.
General reaction: a super “Eurovisiony” tune, but I find the singing leaving a bit to be desired. Then again, I was never into Blue.
Not a null-punkter, though. So that’s something.
(I realize I’ve not been Tumbling — other blogging project had me distracted, but with most songs being chosen w/in the last two weeks, I intend to get up to speed!)
Blast from the past! Kind of sad we won’t get Your Country Needs You this year!
Less then a week since TRT announced that Yüksek Sadakat would represent Turkey at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and the Turkish fans across Europe have expressed their anger by creating a campaign with over 1,200 followers to encourage the broadcaster to change their choice.
However, it…
Interesting. Has anyone seen the “anti” campaign? I actually prefer Turkey’s entries in Turkish, usually, so it will be interesting to see what they produce.
Last post creating waves, with my European-knowledge street-cred challenged. Whoopsies. I’m no expert, but my observations are based on living in Western Europe & working with people from Europe in the professional sphere. Read tl;dr comment, or the “About Me” on the side of this blog for background info.
