^as Dutch's 2006 Amanbanda or whatever is the name of Treble. My top is:
01 Switzerland - Paolo Meneguzzi, "Era Stupendo"
02 Slovenia - Rebeka Dremelj, "Vrag naj vzame"
03 Germany - No Angels, "Disappear"
04 Norway - Maria Haukaas Storeng, "Hold On Be Strong"
05 Albania - Olta Boka, "Zemrën e lamë peng"
06 Georgia - Diana Gurtskaya, "Peace Will Come"
07 Portugal - Vânia Fernandes, "Senhora Do Mar"
08 Israel - Boaz Mauda, "Ke'ilo Kan"
09 Russia - Dima Bilan, "Believe"
10 Andorra - Gisela, "Casanova"
11 Iceland - Eurobandið, "This Is My Life"
12 France - Sebastien Tellier, "Divine"
13 Armenia - Sirusho, "Qele Qele"
14 Poland - Isis Gee, "For Life"
15 Romania - Nico & Vlad Miriţă, "Pe-o margine de lume"
16 Czech Republic - Tereza Kerndlová, "Have Some Fun"
17 Belarus - Ruslan Alekhno - "Hasta la Vista"
18 Bosnia & Herzegovina - Laka, "Pokusaj"
19 Turkey - Mor ve Ötesi, "Deli"
20 Ukraine - Ani Lorak, "Shady Lady"
21 Malta - Morena, "Vodka"
22 Finland - Teräsbetoni, "Missä Miehet Ratsastaa"
23 Greece - Kalomoira, "Secret Combination"
24 Bulgaria - Deep Zone f. Balthazar, "DJ Take Me Away"
25 Hungary - Csézy, "Candelight"
26 Denmark - Simon Matthew, "All Night Long"
27 Lithuania - Jeronimas Milius, "Nomads in the night"
28 Azerbaijan - Elnur Huseynov f. Samir Javadzadeh, "Day After Day"
29 United Kingdom - Andy Abraham, "Even If"
30 Latvia - Pirates Of The Sea, "Wolves Of The Sea"
31 Ireland - Dustin The Turkey, "Irlande Douze Points"
32 Macedonia FYR - Tamara feat. Vrcak & Adrian Gaxha, "Vo ime na ljubovta"
33 Belgium - Ishtar, "O Julissi Na Jalini"
34 Cyprus - Evdokia Kadi, "Femme fatale"
35 Netherlands - Hind, "Your Heart Belongs To Me"
36 Moldova - Geta Burlacu, "A Century of Love"
37 Spain - Rodolfo Chikilicuatre, "Baila el Chiki-Chiki"
38 Croatia - Kraljevi Ulice en 75 Cents, "Romanca"
39 Montenegro - Stefan Filipovic, "Zauvijek volim te"
40 Estonia - Kreisiraadio, "Leto svet"
If any other Eurovision fans would like to post their top ten of the songs so far (or, like me, change it when Serbia & San Marino come out. Since if anyone puts Sweden in their top ten I will hunt them down and stab you with a Melodifestivalen cd) to move the list around, please do ^_^
Serbia chose to send The Other Bolyen Girl to the Beograd Arena with "Oro." Hopefully she and No Angels team up to find the missing keys.
As such, i now can show you The Most Amazering Perfomance At A National Final Not Counting The Chiki Chiki Dancers or a Puppet. Or anything Ani Lorak has done, for she and her fantastic hair and big smile have pretty much already won the contest for the Ukraine. Anyways, my personal pick for Serbia was "Beli Jablan" by Aleksa Jelić & Ana Štajdohar. And here's their performance from Beovizija.
No, I don't know why Aleska was wearing a lace blouse with white tight pants nor do I know why he's prancing around. I assume it makes the song better.
San Marino picked a rock act ^.^. Named Mi Odio...or Mio Dio...or Miodio (works for me, it's either My God or I Hate Myself). The song has not leaked but based on their MySpace selection of material, they will be entering the top 5 for me from the 43 posted tracks.
Of course, I dunno if that can get them to the Finals but lets hope so anyways.
Sweden and their boring schlager is all that's left!
eta: All Kinds Of Everything has a 30 second clip up for the song. It's a heavy piano ballad for the first 30 seconds, rather striking arrangement, very depressing sound. This could do rather well in Belgrade and they are in a Western-friendly semi.
Eurovision Musings...Sweden, Videos, Best Not Going To Beograd
The End. Finally!
In what has felt like an exceptionally long NF season, we are finally at the apex; Melodifestival Grand Final in Stockholm. And I could give two and a half ***** who wins for I suspect I already know what it is and I just plain don't like it.
So, I forced myself to listen to at least a minute of each of the Final Ten and, honestly, I am thinking Sweden might be in for a rude awakening in Belgrade as I suspect the schlagerry goodness will fall on bored ears waiting for Anne Boleyn to put Europe to sleep.
Anyways, here is my ranking of the finalists:
1 Frida f Headline - Upp o Hoppa
2 Rongedal - Just A Minute
3 Nordman - I Lagornas Sken
4 Linda Bengtzing - Hur Svar Kan Det Va
5 Sibel - That's Where I'll Go
6 Amy Diamond - Thank You
7 Sanna Nielsen - Empty Room
8 BWO - Lay Your Love On Me
9 Charlotte Perelli - Hero
10 Christer Sjoegren - I Love Europe
However...I doubt my top 4 will even be in contention
Should Win: Frida f. Headline (it's a stupid Carribean-sounding song. Maybe better for Juniorvision but me no care)
Will Win: Charlotte Perelli (which is concerning, since Europe as a whole has been rejecting schlager this year. Two nations voted for it - Belarus and Malta, and Belarus switched it into an Enrique Iglesias style rock pop song. Andorra is also schlager which makes me suspect they will be waiting another year for a final)
Dark Horse: Amy Diamond (while I prefer Rongedal and Linda in terms of schlager, Amy's precocious act might work better on the juries although the song seems way to old for a 15 year old)
Video News
We have some clips! Just click the country name to see it.
*note...trying to use the official videos, so be prepared to fall asleep to Poland*
A while ago, Andorra sent theirs out. Gisela looks plastic and out of place and I have no idea what the **** is supposed to be happening, unless it's a random tourist video.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria reminds everyone why 90s rave music is awesome. Poland made videos for the previews and no, Isis' song is not interesting in video form either. But she is available for Polish weddings ^.^ Also, is it me or does she look like Katie Price/Jordan, Queen of the Chavs and Mother of and normal named son, Junior and Princess Tiammii? Armenia apparently just got word that "Wild Dances" won Eurovision and that kettle drums are the big thing going to Kyiv. Not noticing we're going to Belgrade, they pack up their purple glitter and about 12 drummers and hit the road!
In Slovenia, Rebeka is in Slovene. Now, she's been all over the place in English so will it hybrid or not should be announced Monday. Belarus sent Ruslan to a fancy-pants party and sent him through the style machine, making him from nerdy to hottie. If Belarus makes the finals it ain't gonna be due to the song. Greece...well, what's Greek for Beyonceitis? Kalomoira's video is a rather blatant rip-off of Green Light (the dancing, the big ass letters spelling her name and the song title, her pretending she can jam a guitar, the color blocs randomly appearing) and the song is now more modernized. Which, considering it already reeks of Americanisms galore, might not go off so well in Belgrade. *note: the one posted is so damn light and white you can't see the lettering. It's only 2 minutes but here's a darker version of it so you can see her spell!* Spain stayed lo-fi with the old hookers. And...er...I sorta like the song now. Spain might really be the sleeper to make the top 5 =-o
And the Ukraine...well, it's sexy and hawt and Ani's hawt and I don't care it's wubley! UKRAINE OR ISRAEL OR BULGARIA FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Um. Ahem.
Tomorrow: The Best Not In Belgrade!
Out of boredom, I'm going to give alls of ya'll a taste of Europe by showing what I consider the 20 best songs not going to the contest itself. Obviously Blouse Man will be appearing, but shall also feature Russian Swedes, Belgian Dance-Rockers, Belgian Jailbait, Bulgarian Broadway, Norwegian wind machines, Finnish Daughtry, British Birds, Irish Strippers and so much more
So, Saturday the 43 Songs will be known and ranked. Sunday will have me bitching about March Madness while secretly loving the underdogs AND a special comment over the overarching themes coming from Eurovision as well as the second predicition of the Finalists. Monday is Draw day, with the third predictions based on their draw and pointing out some interesting notes. Tuesday Songs 1-4 get the full Mikal treatment, beginning Eurovision Review.
So my fellow ATRLers of Europe, best time to take notes on what to vote for, since I cannot
We have a winner in Sweden. And I can't pretend to care. Sure, Sweden will enter (again. some more) as a favorite and make the Finals but I suspect that Europe may just roll their eyes this year. I hope. Yes yes the rock try failed but it's not cuz it was rock. It's because The Ark is crap. So Sweden panics and tries schlager again and damn it, Sweden needs to move to at least the late 80s at some point.
The Final Stretch! March 17th - Official Draw for the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest March 18th - Start of Eurovision 2008 Review by Mikal ^.^
Ranking The Songs!
01 Israel - Boaz Mauda, "Ke'ilo Kan"
02 Bulgaria - Deep Zone f. Balthazar, "DJ Take Me Away"
03 Ukraine - Ani Lorak, "Shady Lady"
04 France - Sebastien Tellier, "Divine"
05 Portugal - Vânia Fernandes, "Senhora Do Mar"
06 Albania - Olta Boka, "Zemrën e lamë peng"
07 Ireland - Dustin The Turkey, "Irlande Douze Points"
08 San Marino - Miodio, "Complice" A creative rocky twist to the ballad invasion that people seem to be ignoring in lieu of dissing Dustin The Turkey. Should stand out from the Finnish loud entry and might stand a better chance to make the Finals in it's first try than I previously though.
09 Turkey - Mor ve Ötesi, "Deli"
10 Finland - Teräsbetoni, "Missä Miehet Ratsastaa"
11 Bosnia & Herzegovina - Laka, "Pokusaj"
12 Slovenia - Rebeka Dremelj, "Vrag naj vzame"
13 Belarus - Ruslan Alekhno - "Hasta la Vista"
14 Greece - Kalomoira, "Secret Combination"
15 Azerbaijan - Elnur Huseynov f. Samir Javadzadeh, "Day After Day"
16 Armenia - Sirusho, "Qele Qele"
17 Iceland - Eurobandið, "This Is My Life"
18 Switzerland - Paolo Meneguzzi, "Era Stupendo"
19 Malta - Morena, "Vodka"
20 Serbia - Jelena Tomasevic, "Oro" Anne Boleyn came back to life with her head and sang a song about being headless, if Beovizija is any indicator. The song is fine, if a rather dull compared to their last entry or the amazingly stupid wonderfulness of "Beli Jablan." Yes yes it'll get all the 12s of the Yugoslav Districts but I'm not sure if anyone outside of it's gonna like it, especially since Jelena's voice was either shot or the wind machine in Germany sucked it away. She was waaaaaaay out of key.
21 Germany - No Angels, "Disappear"
22 Latvia - Pirates Of The Sea, "Wolves Of The Sea"
23 United Kingdom - Andy Abraham, "Even If"
24 Netherlands - Hind, "Your Heart Belongs To Me"
25 Czech Republic - Tereza Kerndlová, "Have Some Fun"
26 Andorra - Gisela, "Casanova" Why do I like this over Sweden's soundalike? It sounds warmer and friendlier and really doesn't make me want to kill.
27 Georgia - Diana Gurtskaya, "Peace Will Come"
28 Cyprus - Evdokia Kadi, "Femme fatale"
29 Spain - Rodolfo Chikilicuatre, "Baila el Chiki-Chiki"
30 Estonia - Kreisiraadio, "Leto svet"
31 Romania - Nico & Vlad Miriţă, "Pe-o margine de lume"
32 Belgium - Ishtar, "O Julissi Na Jalini"
33 Russia - Dima Bilan, "Believing"
34 Moldova - Geta Burlacu, "A Century of Love"
35 Poland - Isis Gee, "For Life"
36 Sweden - Charlotte Perelli, "Hero" It's schlager and it will get votes. But I can't even fake enthusiasm for it. From the three entries I've seen, it's far and away the worst they have sent and I want Europe to send it crashing in Belgrade.
37 Croatia - Kraljevi Ulice en 75 Cents, "Romanca"
38 Hungary - Csézy, "Candelight"
39 Denmark - Simon Matthew, "All Night Long"
40 Norway - Maria Haukaas Storeng, "Hold On Be Strong"
41 Lithuania - Jeronimas Milius, "Nomads in the night"
42 Macedonia FYR - Tamara feat. Vrcak & Adrian Gaxha, "Let Me Love You" Ya know...they actually sound worse in English. And more stupid, and the lyrics make no sense. If this does make the finals then clearly everyone outside (and inside) the Balkans needs help.
43 Montenegro - Stefan Filipovic, "Zauvijek volim te"
Semi 1: (1) Israel (2) Ireland (3) San Marino (4) Greece (5) Finland (6) Bosnia & Herzegovina (7) Slovenia (8) Azerbaijan (9) Armenia (Jury) Netherlands
Semi 2: (1) Bulgaria (2) Ukraine (3) Portugal (4) Albania (5) Turkey (6) Belarus (7) Iceland (8) Switzerland (9) Malta (Jury) Georgia
TOP 5 TO WIN Ukraine, Ireland, Israel, Russia, Sweden TOP 5 TO NIL POINTS Ireland, Norway, Spain, Croatia, Montenegro TOP 5 ALREADY INTO THE FINALS Ukraine, Sweden, Greece, Romania, Russia TOP 5 STARING AT A LAST PLACE IN SEMI Lithuania, Norway, Estonia, Montenegro, San Marino
So, I'm not doing the 20 Best Not In, as I figured I'd just include that into the Reviews of the Selections. So, instead, is:
What to note about the contest
Musical Genre
* Comedy/Gimmick (5): Ireland, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium, Spain
* Rock (3): San Marino, Turkey, Finland
* Schlager Pop (3): Malta, Andorra, Sweden
* Urban...ish (2): Czech Republic, FYR Macedonia
* Soul...ish (2): United Kingdom, "Norway"
* Ethno-pop (4): Croatia, Cyprus, Armenia, Netherlands
* Dance Pop (3): Ukraine, Slovenia, Greece
* "Rock" Pop (3): Belarus, Montenegro, Azerbaijan
* "Adult Contemporary" Pop (2): Romania, Denmark
* "Indie" Sound (2): France, Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Techno (2): Bulgaria, Iceland
* Ballad (12): Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Germany, Portugal, Moldova, Georgia, Russia, Israel, Albania, Switzerland
My current speaking voice (well, when i can speak. damn ****ing 7 week old cold/bug/devolution of speaking voice into it's teenage years) attempting to sing "Hero" without stabbing myself is better than Charlotte's. Sanna, although Semi 2 is ballad - heavy, would have had a better shot making the finals. I still think Sweden is gonna get a rude awakening come the 22nd.
er...is Morena getting vodka from a state fair? It's become very bouncy for some reason.
And, as expected by everyone in existence, FYR Macedonia will be butchering music in English in Belgrade. To make matters even stupider, they will be releasing an Albania, Serbian Russia AND Turkish version of the song. As if that will help.
Sweden will be sending Charlotte (who, as expected, is already considered the main favorite against Ani Lorak and Dima Bilan (and Serbia) and for some crack-addled reason Maria of Norway to win) out to the east to see if maybe they can trick nations into thinking the song is anything other than substandard schlager from a nation that should learn by now.
Oh, the Swiss video makes zero sense and Croatia's is so mind-numbingly dull it makes me want to see their live video more. Iceland apparently has a video but it has cartoons that look so vile I refuse to believe it's legit until I see for certain.
Really quickly...why I did not post anything about March Madness.
Because with 7 mid-major associates we still have all the major dark horses - Butler, Drake, Gonzaga, Temple, Davidson, South Alabama, St. Mary's, St. Joe's - playing against each other. Sure, George Mason and Winthrop got gimme upset games but still, c'mon committee. Also, Why is Memphis looking at a probable Sweet 16 game against Michigan State IN ****ING DETROIT?!?!?! While Tennessee gets to play in Charlotte possible (they won't but still) even though they are considered the best of the 2 seeds?
Stupid ****ing committee.
Anyways, we has a draw. Surprisingly, they still had the Wildcard selections in both semifinal draw - I assumed that would be killed. However, it has made things far more interesting in Semifinal 2 and hurt plenty in both of them.
Semifinal 1 Selection
01 Montenegro
02 Israel
03 Estonia
04 Moldova
05 San Marino
06 Belgium
07 Azerbaijan*
08 Slovenia
09 Norway
10 Poland
11 Ireland
12 Andorra
13 Bosnia & Herzegovina
14 Armenia
15 Netherlands
16 Finland
17 Romania
18 Russia*
19 Greece*
Azerbaijan was pulled first, Greece second, Russia third.
Notes: Ireland got a plum draw between a snoring ballad and schlager, so they move closer to a lock. Armenia also closes in on a lock between some crazy and the Netherlands, who still look like they could slip in at least as a jury pick. The Fins should be in as they will look really good compared to the boring that is Romania and Russia. Azerbaijan going 7th makes little sense. Israel gets #2 again and may be more dependent on the jury than they should be, while San Marino goes in a far better 5th slot, far away from the Fins. Poland being next to Norway might kill off both while Bosnia really needed a back slot to make their crazy look good rather than between two sparkly perfs.
Based on Draw projections: (1) Greece, (2) Armenia, (3) Ireland, (4) Russia, (5) Finland, (6) San Marino, (7) Slovenia, (8) Romania, (9) Israel, (Jury) Netherlands
Notes: So it's favorites, then ballads, then loudness, then Croatia, then sleepers, then ballads, then more loudness then Portugal. Move Portugal to a lock and move Sweden into desperation - going second would normally hurt but being inbetween a rival dance number in Iceland (which is better) and a favorite in Turkey and having the Ukraine after them might just finish them off. The two clusters of Ballads should send two on along with Portugal while hurting the Czechs and Danes. FYRoM can move around all they want but still see this struggling to make it. Malta's chances just improved a lot.
Based on Draw Projections: (1) Ukraine, (2) Turkey, (3) Portugal, (4) Switzerland, (5) Georgia, (6) Iceland, (7) Bulgaria, (8) Latvia, (9) Malta (Jury) Albania
Yep, I am saying Sweden is now out.
Finals
Everyone has a 1/25 shot of the dreaded #2 slot. And guess who got it anyways!
02 United Kingdom
04 Germany
19 France
22 Spain
23 Serbia
UK and Germany are pretty much screwed (UK was also 2nd in Kyiv) while France, even with the UK slot from last year, looks better. Spain and Serbia are sitting pretty and could easily be top ten regardless of who is around them.
Montenegro, Israel, Estonia & Moldova are on the clock for presentation of their info tomorrow night as I try and figure out if (a) I should do a Eurovision vote off game and (b) how exactly I will do it.
Good news to Norway and Lithuania fans! FYR Macedonia released the official English version and gawd damn it sucks asshole. It's almost worse than Montenegro now!
Today begins the review process of the 43 songs. Ya get a youtubing of the official performance (in case of melody changes, you get to see them lip it in, say, Russia), what is good & bad and how it's chances of a Finals shot will be.
01 Montenegro - Stefan Filipovic, "Zauvijek Volim Te"
How we got to this: Winner of Montenegrosong 2008. Song selected from internal jury. What it sounds like: Stupid ass. A poor cover translation of a Bryan Adams song by Apollo Anton Ohno? Why it will win: It's not even coming close, but it could pull a stunning upset as it's...um...**** it, it's not. Why it will falter: Play the clip. Then play it again, since I know you stopped it tice already. It sounds way old, his voice doesn't match his look, the backing dancers add nothing, he has no stage presence. Benefit of draw: He's done quickly Problem: He's already forgotten after Israel What can fix this?: A striptease? Fireworks? Everyone else forgets to show up? What SHOULD have gone instead: Montenegrosong didn't make the net, so how about resending Stevan Faddy? Finals?: Oh hells no. They'd be lucky to get out of the bottom 4.
02 Israel - Boaz Mauda, "Ke'ilo Kan"
How we got to this: Won K'damn Eurovision 2008. Boaz won the Israeli Idol contest on Channel 2. What it sounds like: A pretty ballad in Hebrew. With drums, cuz apparently we've been in a time warp and returning to Kyiv. Why it will win: Strongest of the ballads outside of Portugal, complete reversal from last season, one of the best chances for the West to win. Why it will falter: There are, like, 57 ballads in the contest and 3 other ones in this semifinal - with another one two tracks away. Can they all make it or shall none do it? Benefit of draw: First of the ballads, first of the faves, will stick out well amongst the crap the front holds. Problem: They did this last year and bombed. #2 usually sucks on toes in the contest so can this escape? What can fix this?: Better costumes. Not so much with the waiter outfits. What SHOULD have gone instead: I still think Butterflies with Osharat should have went, but this still works well. Finals?: By the skin of it's teeth - either 8th or Jury vote. But will shock all with a top 5 finish on Saturday.
03 Estonia - Kreisiraadio, "Leto Svet"
How we got to this: Won Eurolaul 2008. What it sounds like: Three drunk uncles perform at your cousin's wedding. Why it will win: It's in Finnish, German and Serbian. Plenty of stoopids voting cuz of language ahdoi! Why it will falter: It's insane. It's random. It's not as clever as Ireland or Belgium and it's not quite as fun as them either. Benefit of draw: It's before the gibberish and the Turkey and squeezed between two ballads. Problem: It's sqeezed between two ballads. What can fix this?: Pull a Dustin and hide the guys in a box and have the girls mouth along. What SHOULD have gone instead: Rolf Junior's "One On One." Cuz it's more interesting and it's very Mika. Finals?: Maybe...obviously a comedy entry is in and Belgium, Ireland and Estonia are probably only fighting for one slot. But the Estonians need the others to fly right over the audiences heads to make it. I'm saying no for now.
04 Moldova - Geta Burlacu, "A Century of Love"
How we got to this: Won Moldovan National Final What it sounds like: Whatever is on Dancing With The Stars Why it will win: It's pleasant enough, harmless a chick playing with yarn and a bubble girl. Why it will falter: It's mind-numbingly droll and the bubbles won't be seen from the stage. Benefit of draw: Far away from main boring ballad competition and the more aggressive material should help its case and give it a fighting chance. Problem: Between Estonia and a rockin' ballad from San Marino What can fix this?: Get a bigger bubble machine. What SHOULD have gone instead: While I'd say Scrrom' "Jane," I think Dana Marchitan's "Your Name" is far more aggressive to maintain the audience's attention. Finals?: Stranger things have happened and it might by by Jury but they could slip in. I still say no as of right now, however.
Songs 5-8 (San Marino, Belgium, Azerbaijain & Slovenia) are up come Friday
I love this song and it's the catchier song of all.