They will be properly commented on come the Tuesday Eurovision Show, but lets do a hidden recap:
- One sings in French. The hint is that this country doesn't have French as a National Language.
- One is jazzy funky. They have two official languages but are singing not in French but in English.
- One is about vampires. The jackass who made the song said it would appeal to Eastern Europe. This land of mountains needs to hit him with a brick.
Who's done what
So I was bored and tried to figure out who's still got to decide songs (a lot) who has songs (plenty) and who forgot they were competing (2). So, for those not in the know, here's a rundown of the Eurovision contestant countries and whurr they stand.
Songs Known before Tuesday show: 14
- Finland
- Malta
- Romania
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Estonia
- Slovenia
- Albania
- Netherlands
- Moldova
- Norway
- Belarus
- Poland
- Ireland
Songs Found over 3 days: 3
- Switzerland
- Belgium
- Cyprus
Songs Discovered between now and Tuesday show: 7ish
- Macedonia
- Spain
- Latvia
- Bulgaria
- Montenegro
- Armenia
- Greece
Artists declared, songs not: 3ish
- Austria
- Bosnia & Herzegovenia
- Hungary*
*based on phone vote for BNA, could have song Saturday night
Artists, Songs known, song not released: 2
- Andorra
- Turkey
Finals by March 6 show: 5
- Israel
- Lithuania
- Georgia
- Croatia
- France
Finals by March 9 show: 3
- Germany
- Serbia
- Ukraine
Finals March 10: 3
- Czech Republic
- Sweden
- Portugal
NO. ****ING. IDEA.: 2
- UK (should have idea Feb 28)
- Russia
Seriously Russia, ya need to wake up.
NatFinals Weekend
6 finals over the weekend. One Tuesday, and one Wednesday. Here's an attempt to be psychic.
Bulgaria - seriously I have no clue. They did add three surprise songs from rilly famous people, so I suspect that with the mixed voting those three (and no, I don't recall who they are) might be the favorites.
Latvia - most have this narrowed down to a jazzy number about taking off your mask and a opera number done by six blokes in Italian. Sweden also in Melodifestivalen Semi 4 has a song in Italian. Did people forget Italy dropped out a while ago? Anyways, I doubt Latvia, after the failed experiment with a capella groups would go opera, so I think Lenii's main threat to takin' her mask off is the folksy number from Re: public.
Macedonia - does it matter? Regardless of what they pick it will make the Finals and spectacularly flame out. Oh, and they have the Belorussian guy performing there, which makes me want to harm him. Seriously, "Work Your Magic" is not that good and if you keep this up you won't get votes.
Spain - OK, so five singers sing five songs (well, half of the song), the people vote for any of the 25 combinations, the top 5 combinations then perform the whole song and they go all Eurovision to decide. Simple, no? I really love "Tu voz se aspagara" but expect NASH or Yasmina (or whatever her name is) as the major vote getters to head to Helsinkin with "I Love You Mi Vida" which isn't a bad song. Of course, I rilly wanna see the boyband have to do a version of "Busco un hombre." Yes, they be lookin' for a man!
Armenia - I don't get why they are having a program, since the decision on the song will be decided by jury. Hell, just say it was an internal selection. Apparently the fave is this nice German girl who was expected to rep for the nation last year, and she does have two songs in the Semis. Oh, and they have a song called "My Story" in, which bugs since my fave song from the Georgia selection is called "My Story." Tbilisi 2008!
Montenegro - Ya wanna hear some annoying-sounding songs? I dunno if it's cuz it's in Serbo-Montenegrin, but none of the songs sound nice to my ear. There is a fave due to the songwriters writing the Serbia & Montenegrin entry in 2005 and what would have been had the favoritism not led to the pullout in 2006 (that was hysterical, but). So who knows.
Greece - Finally, we have 3 songs that are really ****. Seriously, none are that good and I suspect that they will be hard pressed to get points (besides the traditional CYPRUS GIVES OUR GOOD FRIENDS GREECE 12 POINTS for even a track of farting) this time. The least crappy song - No Madonna - is being ignored by the Greeks like I suspected and the ballad is doing well on the charts. So maybe another ballad instead of Sarbell shakin his not-there titties and his unabrow, perhaps? Please?
On Tuesday, I'll predict how badly Israel's gonna do with their extremely random 4 track from Tipix (Teapacks?) and Friday will see hijinks galore as we head to the draw!
With the 42 songs unveiled by the 10th, what will then happen in my EuroBlog is a more thorough review of the songs submitted in order of performance, as well as projections on where their points will come from and who will make the Finals and how the 14 Finalists can defend from the Semi assault.
Updatin' the NatFinals
The UK reveals their finalists tomorrow. Bet on Liz from Atomic kitten, Big Brovaz and some Craig bloke being there, while rumors swirl that the Pippini Sisters could make the cut (they say their songs were rejected...so). Hopefully it will be decent enough to make a solid run at the top of the rather weak Eurovision chart.
Rating The Songs
(Green are for songs that must go through the semifinals on may 10 and Orange are for the automatic qualifiers to the Finals on May 12)
01 FYR Macedonia - "Mojot Svet"
This could easily change, but the beat and sense of singing style sells me on this number. Probably the strongest melody of them all. Plus, Macedonia always escapes the Semis and this year, just like last year, would be understandable and very acceptable.
02 Finland - "Leave Me Alone"
03 Malta - "Vertigo"
04 Romania - "Liubi Luibi I Love You"
05 Denmark - "Drama Queen"
06 Spain - "I Love You Mi Vida"
Well, it was inevitable this would make it. And it's a rather killer track that could...depending on how the others go...be a possible frontrunner to Helsinki. The problem is that NASH slowed the beat considerably and they all fell they have to sing lyrics in it, making it sound a lot messier than when it's done solo. Look at how Rebeca and Raul did it and go that way - pick a Timberlake and let him have lead vocals, make the others do hooks and dance.
07 Iceland - "Ég Les Í Lófa Þínu"
08 Slovenia - "Cvet z Juga"
09 Belgium - "Love Power"
Nice dated 70s funk song about love power. Not too shabby, but after the Kate Ryan fiasco we'd be wise not to project this into the Finals too quickly. As it stands, it should poll high enough in the West and North and score maybe some Czech love to sneak into the finals.
10 Albania - "Balada e Gurit"
11 Netherlands - "Nooit Meer Zonder Jou"
12 Moldova - "Fight"
13 Estonia - "Partners in Crime"
14 Montenegro - "Hajde Kroci"
Montenegrin rock! It's not too bad but I suspect that even if was horrible it'll get enough love from the other Yugoslav nations (but maybe not Serbia) to make the finals.
15 Israel - "Push The Button"
Considering the horrendus "12 Points" and "Voules-Vous" and the fact they hated their own "Salam Salami", I'll take it. It's not horrible, but it's sort of annoying. And it's one of those "Give Peace A Chance Cuz Getting Blown Up Sucks" songs, so I'm not sure how this will look on stage. Considering there sounds to be Hebrew rap involved...eh...
16 Ireland - "They Can't Stop The Spring"
*No, I don't know why I like it more now. But I do.
17 Cyprus - "Comme Ci Comme Ca"
So-so is right. Besides the fact that them singing French makes about as much sense as 6 Latvians singing in Italian, the beat seems a tad dated (and a tad too close to Kylie) and it lacks a workable hook. And she (Evirdiki) is screaming at me throughout. And the first perfomance on CyBC sucked balls. This needs a lot of work to manage more than a Greek and French 12 points.
18 Norway - "Ven A Bailar Conmigo"
19 Latvia - "Questa Notte"
Why send Il Divo, Latvia edition? To trick the Brits and the Irish into voting for them. Congrats on making the Finals with a ****** song in advance.
20 Belarus - "Work Your Magic"
21 Switzerland - "Vampires Are Alive"
The more I play it, the more I see them in the finals. Which sucks, cuz it's such an attempt to capture the fans of "Dracula My love" which is a much stronger song than this. However, we don't have much techno in the semis or finals and with a strong visual (of dancing alive vampires) it will probably place higher than it should.
22 Poland - "Time To Party"
23 Armenia - "Anytime You Need"
Not that the song is bad...per se. But it's more so mindnumbingly dull and instantly forgetable that Armenia will need a lot of former Soviet support to stay in the top ten this time.
24 Bulgaria - "Voda"
And for sheer zaniness...we have this! And no, I am not even sure WHAT this is. There's techno, drums, screeching, weird high notes, all sorts of nonsense. After sending a excellent ballad that got screwed with a bad start position, this is more obvious NIL zone material.
This week finals!
We start off tomorrow with Greece. Which I thought was today.
Andorra comes up Thursday with the official premier of their SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT punk song.
Then on Saturday we have an Eastern 3 Finals, with Lithaunia sending 4Fun 4 no reason, Croatia hopefully sending Femminem's "Navika" so we could have some 40s revival and GEORGIA BETTER SEND "My Story" OR I WILL BE VERY VERY SAD.
And then Tuesday mornin...afternoon...before I post this we have the French showdown!
Yes yes, I'd normally do this on Friday (and I will) but I had to comment on the UK nonsense cuz it makes no sense.
So we get a week extension, BBC? Maybe Russia wants one to pick a song. Hell, Spain and Sweden found an ability to hold 6/7 weeks worth of competition for their song and have it picked before the March 10 deadline and you couldn't just rearrange a couple things to free up a second hour next Saturday. And holing it on the 17th means ITV and Sky have plenty of time to counterschedule, so massive brownie points for you. Only not.
So how are the songs? Since the BBC forgot how the rest of Europe is doing this, they released 30 second snippets. And seriously, you can not judge based on 30 seconds. But this is my own personal why it should win/why it should fail/chances of Eurovision glory based on it.
Song 1 Brian Harvey - I Can Why It Can Win well it shouldn't but the first 30 seconds make it to be a traditional uptempo ballad that can do well at Eurovision when done right. Why it Can't Win Well, the EBU can dq it right away, as the song was SONG OF THE DAY LAST FEBRUARY ON BBC RADIO. And it's a schlocky as **** song. Chance of Eurovision Success If Switzerland couldn't sell this last year with 6, what makes the UK think that, should the EBU even let it in, Europe buys it. Bottom 4.
Song 2 Scooch - Flying The Flag (For You) Why it Can Win It's schlager, and we don't have any of it yet in the Finals. OK, there's Greece but that's song's ****. And Sweden could send ABBA Schlager with "The Worrying Kind" or traditional schlager with "Samba Sambero." But it's bright and cheery and could do wonders for the UK. Sometimes you just gonna say **** it and send something camp. Why It Can't Win Sweden can still send schlager. This is more of a performance song and if the perf struggles than the cuteness factor dies. And if it gets stuck around Spain and a good strong performance piece qual (like annoying Bulgaria or Norway or Denmark) it will get lost in the glitter. Chance of Eurovision Success If Sweden doesn't send the normal schlager, we could have a contender. it's so damn chipper and perky and schlager that it could easily please Eastern voters who have shunned dance for a more "original" feel. Probably safely midtable, top-ten push sans Swedish threat (like they send a ballad).
Song 3 Liz McClarnon - (Don't it make you) Happy! Why it Can Win The 30 seconds of chorus are happy and slightly bouncy. Why It Can't Win The chorus is lovely and it sounds upbeat, but what about the rest? I bet it's a breakup song. Chance of Eurovision Success A lot might depend on if France sends Estelle, since they have a similar melody. Also dependent on how popular Liz and the Kittens were with Europe. Probably second best chance to get Western nations backing, midtable finish.
Song 4 Big Brovas - Big Bro Thang Why it Can Win Along with Brian, this song has play. Mostly cuz it's the current single. Why It Can't Win It's traditional r&b/rap stuff which doesn't work on Eurovision stage. And it may be too dependent on a bunch of drunk chavs keeping their Pay As Ya Go minutes up to win. Chance of Eurovision Success The UK ran screaming with their tails between their legs with "Love City Groove" but this is a decade later. Low teens at worst, maybe a top-ten finish with the right performance.
Song 5 Cyndi - I'll Leave My Heart Why it Can Win Without knowing Russia or Bosnia's entry, only Armenia has a ballad in the final. Which would work wonderfully in the UK's favor, since theirs is so forgettable you forget it in the middle of the song. It's rebellion against the GimmickVision this is sorta becomming (at least for the 2007 edition) and with a strong vocal could steal a win. Why It Can't Win Latvia. If Latvia make it, there's a problem cuz which do mums want, a female Josh Groban or an uglier Il Divo. Her ballad by itself sorta drags and really needs a STRONG vocal to sell it, and as she is newish it could be a problem. Chance of Eurovision Success Well, they got joint 3rd last time they sent a ballad and hell, Lativa is sending a Il Divo knock-off, why not see what a female Groban can do. Probably the safest best for a top ten finish, especially if no ballads make it out of the Finals.
Song 6 Justin Hawkins and Beverlei Brown -They don't Make'm Like They Used To Why it Can Win The Darkness. The novelty. The fact that this could be miraculously brill or an amazing trainwreck. Why It Can't Win Will Justin stay sober enough to make it to Kent? Or Helsinki should they make it. The song does sound slightly dated so that could hurt it. Chance of Eurovision Success Personally this is joint-fave with Scooch with me. But this could shine and steal victory or flop miserably in Hartwaal. I'd say a top-ten finish could be acheived but not surprised at a major decent.
OK UK, next year ask the Puppini Sisters, Morrisey and Xenomania to make a bunch of songs well in advance (like November) so you can have high qual stuff for rock, traditional or the schlager route. And maybe convince Girls Aloud to rep the nation? Or get a desperate American to...I bet Paris would love to sing at Tbilisi's extremely small stadium.
In other news
Greece went with the evil dancy Ricky Martin-if-he-was-gayer/Sakis' "Shake It" do-over song. And his live perf is....um...well, it's hysterically bad. And since I hate it, watch them make top 5 again.
Seriously EBU, how about tinkering with the draw again.
So Israel's now-rather-awesome-after-7-plays "Push The Button" is under threat of disqualification because the EBU says it's too political. How? The song is about how there are crazy mofos who'd be willing to nuke everyone out of existence and how peace is more awesome.
Note that at no point is any one nation (Iran) or leader (Alma...ja...****, I forget his name) mentioned in the song, which is basically Israel's argument. And unlike Ukraine, who had to overhaul their Kyiv entry cuz IT WAS POLITICAL and about the Orange Revolution this political message isn't as noticable.
But it's Israel, so they'll have to break a 3-way tie at 0 points to pick a replacement. I guess Voules-Vouz it is!
After hearing the full UK songs...
Mikal's rating:
(1) They Don't Make 'em Like They Used To
(2) Flying The Flag (For You)
(3) I'll Leave My Heart
(4) Big Bro Thang
(5) (Don't It Make Ya) Happy
(6) I Can
if they go with Hawkins & Brown (1) probably bottom 10 finish - although Ryan and TC both found the song to be "insane". Sending Scooch (2) could get them a top 10 or a bottom 4 placing. So they'll probably send the Irish/Scottish sounding ballad from Cyndi (3) as their best finish since Dublin '97 was 3rd with a ballad in Tallinn.
Andorra ^_^
So they finally presented their pop-punk envronmental song and ya know what? It's a rather impressive Blink impression. Not so much on the Simple Plan like I thought it would be. I'll show the ranks for it Tuesday (along with Greece's veddy Ricky number) but expect this one to be rather high.
I Hate Spain
After finally seeing all 25 minute-and-a-half perfs from Mision Eurovision's general final AND all the SuperFinal performances, it's obvious 13 year old girls made up the bulk of votes. There's no damn reason NASH is going with "I Love You Mi Vida." Hell, Nazaret did that better. Or send Mirela with "La Reina De La Noche" which kicked ass. Or Nazaret with "Tu Voz Se Apagara" or Yanira with "Busco Un Hombre." Meche sucked so not so much. The fans did pick the better NASH performance, since they sucked ass on Busco Una Chica, but they shouldn't be repping the nation in Helsinki.
NatFinals Update
The UK's late presentation was actually ok'd by the EBU last year, as the BBC was unsure of it's ability to get everything handled for it and had also assumed the date for entries would remain similar to last year's deadline. Still stupid since they HAVE A DAM,N HOUR OPEN AND ITV IS ALREADY MOVING **** TO GO AGAINST IT AND IT'S SAINT PATRICK'S DAY TO BOOT but at least it's not as ******** as I thought.
Russia, the last entrant that we know anything about, is expected to reveal their entry this weekend. Expect it to be a girlgroup that's bound to sound out of key. They could do a duet with Spain!
This Weekend's Action
By Tuesday we'll be down to 12 songs left to hear. And we could finally be looking at a contender or two to win.
Georgia goes first tommorow, mostly due to fact it's closer to our time zone than to the rest of Europe. If they get this right, "My Story" will become the one to beat in Helsinki or "On Adjarian Motives" will easily get past the Russian blockade of votes (more on that after the draw) and score a top 10 finish. Anything else and they're going to the Semis in 2008.
Lithuania's ****ed up run to a song for Helsinki FINALLY finishes this week. 4Fun is expected to win with their dull ballad so of course I want an upset because I am mean. And I don't like the song so much.
Croatia's Dora finishes up with their 16-strong Final tomorrow as well. My faves Femminem are still in but not expected to win, as three very boring rock songs won the two semis today and yesterday. Expect one of the boring rock songs to rival Montenegro in uselessness.
Sweden has their Second Chance Bracketology Showdown tomorrow too. Hopefully Nanne's very stompy perf on some scaffolding equipment makes it to Stockholm next week. Anyways, they have four heats of two songs and the fans speed vote for a winner. After the four heats they are redrawn into two final heats with speed voting and the winning songs from that heading to The Globen.
And on Tuesday (before the lovely Recap Blog) France will hold what many expect to be the BEST final of the year. And really, pretty much any song (besides Valerie's) could win it. Yes, the "VOTE FOR US" number from les Wampas is the fave, but is expected to be challenge by the franglish number from Les fatals Picards, the majorette from Les Verdettes, the reggaton stylings of Medhi-T, the ethno rap from MAP or the cheery pop number from Hilary Duff...er...I mean Estelle Lemee. Add in a ****** ballad from Jennifer Chevalier and the weird sorta Pink rock ballad from Charlotte Bequin AS WELL as the ethno dance number from Cheb Hamid & BZR and we got a weird set. The winner will probably be the best finisher of the Big 4 and a vote for Les fatals, les Verdette or Medhi T (or even MAP) could see the Frenchies storm into the Top 10 at Helsinki.
I hate NASH's version of I Love You Mi Vida. Rebeca sings better that
Mirela rocks with La Reina de la Noche.
My Top 5 up to day is
01. Moldova
02. Malta
03. Belarus
04. Slovenia
05. Poland
I am seriously the only person that doesn't like Belarus, aren't I? And yeah, Rebeca's vocal on ILYMV kicks ass. Too bad she sorta sucks live.
Of course, apparently Bulgaria is topping the online polls. I pray that that's just a cracked out vocal minority and they get placed smack at the bottom of the Semis. Cuz it would be deserved.
Look, a non-eurovision blog (and trust me, I have enough things to discuss come Tuesday)
Anyways, we have some b-ball to discuss. Mostly how my beloved Air Force Falcons HAVE TO beat my alma mater University of Wyoming to solidify their invite to the NCAAs. Yes yes, they've been ranked most of the year but LOOSING TO TEXAS CHRISTIAN MAKES YOU LOOK STUPID. And they slid all the way to a 4 seed and really need to make sure to stave off a San Diego State steal of their bid.
Of course, Mizzou State's loss to Creighton could help them stay in. As well as help good ole Drexel in their cause to give the Colonial 3 slots. But Air Force needs a win to be certain, and considering they are 0-for-21 (or 22) in conference tourney games since the WAC...I'm concerned.
In other news...big ups to Winthrop, who should FINALLY make it to the second round this year. I was sorta wanting VMI to win, if only to see them do their 50 3-point attempt stunt against a major team and see how confused they would be. Also, to see if the NCAA board could ignore the Winthropers. Of course, with Mizzou and Bradley loosing today, they probably would have locked a bid in.
Firstly, you keep having Dmitry Koldun sing that damn blasted "Work Your Magic" at any and all national finals so you can apparently pull a Kate Ryan or something, and then for the video for the song you co-op Aerosmith and Gwen Stefani?!
I mean, props for the hot chick and for apparently tricking Angelica Agurbash into playing the evil horned woman. And making the fetish maids dance. But at the very least, could you have made the rip-off less blatent? Dancing Harajuku-style while running through a damn hallway...
And when did you become Ashlee Simpson?
Still no idea on Israel
The EBU says no decision on it will be made until the HoD meeting on Monday. But when the Eurovision website refuses to acknowledge that Teapacks has a song already picked AND the New York Times finds it scandalous enough to report, just saying "no comment til Monday" won't cut it.
Eurovision Rank'em
As I said last week, starting with next Friday's EurovisionBlog I'mma do a proper review on every country's chances in winning this damn thing. Pros/Cons on the song, as well as projecting who's voting for it, who's ignoring it and which country/countries/blocs the song needs support from in order to take home the kaleidoscope in Helsinki.
01 Georgia - "My Story"
HURRAY! I DON'T CARE THAT SHE WAS DRESSED LIKE A PIECE OF COTTON CANDY WITH A SHOWER CAP ON HER HEAD! I LOVE THE CREATURES COMING OUT OF HER SKIRT LIKE THEY ARE ALIENS!
Ahem, the fave for me and I would say a serious dark horse to win Western love and send the contest to the Caucases. All it has to do is get a couple of the Soviet Republics to vote for it. Brill song, INSANE melody and she can sell the song live. We have a winner right here.
02 Andorra - "Salvem el món"
After 3 straight years of women singing ballads and finishing on their asses, the little micro-state looks like they want to try and host the thing. Punk-pop in Catalan and English works well for the "save the world, ya'll" song and if they keep the energy going as they did in the live presentation this should easily make it to the Final. And score enough British/Irish love to make this a threat to the Top 10.
03 France - "L'amour a la Francaise"
Hee! Franglish! Apparently France is tired of finishing 23rd so they held what is called by a LOT of people the best National Final this year. And having streamed it, I can say i agree. All the songs were great but this winner from Les fatals Picards (along with my other fave "On & On") were worthy super-finalists. This should easily finish the highest of the Big 4 and could easily put France in contention for a win. Paris '08?
04 FYR Macedonia - "Mojot Svet"
05 Finland - "Leave Me Alone"
06 Malta - "Vertigo"
07 Romania - "Liubi Luibi I Love You"
08 Denmark - "Drama Queen"
09 Spain - "I Love You Mi Vida"
10 Iceland - "Ég Les Í Lófa Þínu"
The guy who sings it...and who's name I forgot...is calling the English version "To Be Or Not To Be." I think. expect this to falter when compared to the ballads in set languages.
11 Slovenia - "Cvet z Juga"
12 Belgium - "Love Power"
13 Israel - "Push The Button"
14 Bosnia & Herzegovenia - "Rijeka Bez Imena"
Look BiH, we know you loved the fact you placed well with "Lelja" and all that but could you stop with the ballads? Yes yes, you sent "Call Me" and the bubblegum pop popped on stage, but boring the other nations into submission is bad and wrong. The ballad is better than pretty much everyone else's and it's in the final, so it will still do strong.
15 Albania - "Balada e Gurit"
16 Netherlands - "Nooit Meer Zonder Jou"
"On Top Of The World" is what the English version will be called, so the title will change when she gets around to releasing the new version.
17 Ireland - "They Can't Stop The Spring"
18 Moldova - "Fight"
19 Estonia - "Partners in Crime"
20 Croatia - "Ja Vjerujem U Ljubav"
I....look, I know Lordi won last year and everyone expected Helsinki 2007 to become a Lord of the Rings pageant. And I'm thilled that no latex appears to be glued to people's faces this year. But if you plan to send a rock song, why not...oh, I dunno, send a good one? Croatia has a rather good set of songs and sends a boring rock ballad that will be obviously compared to Montenegro and Iceland. They at 100% in making the Finals since the Istanbul, so I figure they will still get enough Balkan love to make it but I'm thinking that it's too droll to have any lasting impression.
21 Montenegro - "Hajde Kroci"
22 Cyprus - "Comme Ci Comme Ca"
23 Norway - "Ven A Bailar Conmigo"
24 Lithuania - "Love Or Leave"
It's not that I hate this song per se, since I like it more than Croatia's pick but they are higher. It's more that I forget what the hell I heard. Considering Armenia is in the same situation, they need to hope and get a Wild Card slot to pick where they go to avoid being surrounded by semi-qualifiers or France.
25 Latvia - "Questa Notte"
26 Belarus - "Work Your Magic"
27 Switzerland - "Vampires Are Alive"
28 Poland - "Time To Party"
29 Armenia - "Anytime You Need"
30 Greece - "Yassou Maria"
This was sitting dead last, but I replayed Bulgaria and thought better. Seriously, the lyrics suck, the melody is a rip on all previous Greek AND Turkish entries and the guy thinks he has titties and dresses like Ricky Martin. If they stay in the top 10 I'll cry.
If they hold off Bulgaria, however, I don't give a ****.
31 Bulgaria - "Voda"
Final Finals Week (Techincally)
Alright, tommorow Serbia holds a semi and Austria releases their selection.
On Thursday Germany and Serbia hold their finals - Germany is expected to regress from the brilliance of Texas Lightning and send a ****** r&b ballad from their Popstars winners while Serbia will send something loud and annoying.
On Friday the Ukraine holds their 9-song final, with bets ranging from drag queens to bands to guys with ****ed up facial hair taking the Finals slot. Switzerland presents their Vampires at the national lottery and Turkey finally releases their Shake It Up song, which should gladly trounce Greece's Shake It Up song.
On Saturday debutants Czech Republic hold their own 9-song final and looking like the could rival Croatia and Montenegro in the ****** rock song section. Sweden's Melodifestivalen happens as well, with ABBA Rock, Schlager, and 60s moronic pop competing to hold off the ballad invasion. I'm expecting a semi return for the Swedes come next year. Portugal also holds their final, going soley off televotes and not letting anyone know what their songs are. As they now sit on the clock for nation waiting the longest for a win, expectations of some sort of challenger are high.
Sometime this week Russia should formally announce they are sending a bunch of 16 year old girls who look like 25 year old guys to Helsinki, while Hungary will finally roll out their song. The UK will wait till after the official draw to send Hawkins & Brown (pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease) to Finland.
01. Natalia Barbu "Fight" [Moldova]
02. Dmitry Koldun "Work Your Magic" [Belarus]
03. Hanna Pakarinen "Leave Me Alone" [Finland]
04. Olivia Lewis "Vertigo" [Malta]
05. Anonymous "Salven El Món" [Andorra]
06. NASH "I Love You Mi Vida" [Spain]
07. Sopho Khalvashi "My story" [Georgia]
08. Alenka Gotar "Cvet Z Juga" [Slovenia]
09. Eiríkur Hauksson "Eg Les I Lofa Pinum" [Iceland]
10. DQ "Drama Queen" [Denmark]
11. Les Fatals Picards "L'amour À La Française" [France]
12. Dervish "They Can't Stop The Spring" [Ireland]
13. Guri Schanke "Ven A Bailar Conmigo" [Norway]
14. Edsilia Rombley "Nooit Meer Zonder Jou" [Netherlands]
15. The Jet Set "Time To Party" [Poland]
16. Gerli Padar "Partners In Crime" [Estonia]
17. Stevan Faddy "Ajde, Kroči" [Montenegro]
18. Karolina Goceva "Mojot Svet" [FYR Macedonia]
19. Evridiki "Comme Ci Comme Ca" [Cyprus]
20. Kenan Dogulu "Shake It Up Sekerim" [Turkey]
21. The KMG's "Love Power" [Belgium]
22. Hayko "Anytime You Need" [Armenia]
23. Teapacks "Push The Button" [Israel]
24. Dragonfly & Dado Topic "Vjerujem U Ljubav" [Croatia]
25. Bonaparti.lv "Questa Notte" [Latvia]
26. DJ Bobo "Vampires Are Alive" [Switzerland]
27. Marija Sestic "Rijeka Bez Imena" [Bosnia & Herzegoniva]
28. 4Fun "Love Or Leave" [Lithuania]
29. Frederik Ndoci & Aida "Balada E Gurit" [Albania]
30. Todomondo "Liubi Liubi, I Love You" [Romania]
31. Sarbel "Yassou Maria" [Greece]
32. Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov "Voda" [Bulgaria]
I pick up for the rest this songs:
United Kingdom: Hawkins & Brown "They Don't Make 'Em Like They Use"
Germany: Monrose "Even Heaven Cries"
Serbia: Negativ "Prava stvar"
Czech Republic: Marketa Poulickova L.B.P. - Story of Life / Kabát "Malá dáma"
Sweden: Måns Zelmerlöw "Cara mia" / Sonja Aldén "För att du finns" / Sarah Dawn Finer "I Remember Love"
I don't know about Russia, Ukraine, Portugal
Hungary has singer but no song and I didn't listen Austria's selection because I can't find mp3 or something to listen it
Austria's number isn't terrible and it's a charity song (for their Life Ball, which works with Elton John's AIDS Foundation) but I don't see them moving out of the semis.
ALL YOU ****ING HAD TO DO WAS BEAT WYOMING. THAT WAS IT! YOU HAD THE RECORD, THE WINS, THE RPI TO GO OFF TO THE BIG DANCE BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOU GO AND LOOK LIKE ****ING MORONS AGAINST WYOMING.
MWC drops to two bids and the good ole AFA gets a road date in the NIT. How ****ing lovely.
I'm just stunned that both UCLA and Tennessee lost in the same day. On the other hand, i'm ECSTATIC that Duke lost. Maybe they'll actually be on the bubble.
Now that Xavier fell down went boom, as did Stanford, I'm thinking mah beloved Falcons will sneak into the tourney. With Vandy and Dooke faltering they could sneak something not in the double digits as well.
Xavier's going to make it in. You're delusional if you think otherwise. But I do think Air Force could sneak in before Stanford slumbers its way over. It's possible.
In other news, Kentucky loses. What a ****ing surprise.
**tommorow, I shall update this to at least 39 songs, although Russia and Hungary might finally confirm something
**Sunday is Selection Talk. I shall do my fearless predicting and explain why its fine that Florida State and Michigan were ignored for Drexel and Old Dominion.
**Monday (I think) is Draw Day for Eurovision - as well as the ruling on Israel's song. Who gets the dreaded 2 spot? Who got a blessing? Will Israel be withdrawing? All Monday
**Tuesday starts the madcap reviews, with the first 3 semifinalists. What their song is, their best performance clip, what it sounds like, why it will win, why it will falter, who it's gonna get votes from, who's ignoring it and who they need to get in order to snatch a win.
Eurovision Rank'em
Normally I wait but Turkey, Austria and the Ukraine released, so I add.
01 Georgia - "My Story"
02 Andorra - "Salvem el món"
03 Turkey - "Shake It Up Serekim"
It's such an insanely dorky song with an amazing beat. it makes Greece look like morons. It should enter as a strong contender to win. Istanbul '08 to match with their '04 win? Why not!
04 France - "L'amour a la Francaise"
05 FYR Macedonia - "Mojot Svet"
06 Finland - "Leave Me Alone"
07 Malta - "Vertigo"
WHY DID YOU LET G:SON MESS WITH YOUR SONG? THE MUSIC SOUNDS HORRIBLE! DID YOU NOT LISTEN TO VEN A BAILAR CONMIGO OR WHAT HE DID TO I LOVE YOU MI VIDA BEFORE THIS?!?!?!?! And the video makes you look huge and like you escaped from The Ring 3. You need to shoot the director.
Seriously. Play the flamenco up.
08 Romania - "Liubi Luibi I Love You"
09 Slovenia - "Cvet z Juga"
10 Ukraine - "Danzing"
So the Ukraine sends their scary looking drag queen who sings half the song in German. But it's the most fun number I've heard this year and fun works on the Eurovision stage. It ain't winnin - Ukraine goes in ups/downs and probably going to mid-table but it should be a blast to watch.
11 Israel - "Push The Button"
12 Belgium - "Love Power"
13 Spain - "I Love You Mi Vida"
14 Germany - "Frauen regier'n die Welt"
15 Denmark - "Drama Queen"
16 Iceland - "Ég Les Í Lófa Þínu" (To Be Or Not To Be or something like that)
17 Bosnia & Herzegovenia - "Rijeka Bez Imena"
18 Ireland - "They Can't Stop The Spring"
19 Netherlands - "Nooit Meer Zonder Jou" (On Top Of The World)
20 Serbia - "Molitva"
21 Albania - "Balada e Gurit"
22 Moldova - "Fight"
23 Estonia - "Partners in Crime"
24 Croatia - "Ja Vjerujem U Ljubav"
25 Montenegro - "Hajde Kroci"
26 Cyprus - "Comme Ci Comme Ca"
27 Austria - "Get A Life, Get Alive"
It's not that I hate the song (watch it be in the top 20 tomorrow) but you end up forgetting the song after its done. Which aint so good. It's for charity and should raise a lot of money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation but it's not going to the Finals.
28 Lithuania - "Love Or Leave"
29 Norway - "Ven A Bailar Conmigo"
30 Latvia - "Questa Notte"
31 Switzerland - "Vampires Are Alive"
32 Belarus - "Work Your Magic"
33 Poland - "Time To Party"
34 Greece - "Yassou Maria"
35 Armenia - "Anytime You Need"
36 Bulgaria - "Voda"
Predicting the National Finals
Sweden ends Melodifestivalen. And Lord only knows if anyone can hold off The Ark. I mean, it's ABBA Rock lite and that's nifty but at the same time it sounds rather too dated and compared to the other Finalists known it could falter. Not unlike Anna Book or Sarah Dawn Fine or Sonja Alden or that god-****ing-awful Andreas Johnson number. I'm pulling for Måns Zelmerlöw, who's song "Cara Mia" is rather nifty schlager without going too overboard.
So watch Marie and her snoozer ballad win. Semis in 2008!
Anyways, the Czechs have a final as well and with someone's Samba out, the fave is ferpunk's preferred choice, "Story of Life." I honestly haven't payed enough attention to their EuroSong, but a lot of their songs sound a lot like the Balkan picks, which could keep Bosnia as the lone one (and mean they get 6 12ers right there) if everyone thinks the Czechs are better.
Finally, Portugal will look to pull a Finland. Of course, they don't appear to have picked Lordi just yet, but now that they have waited the longest to win the damn thing, here's hoping their silence on the songs competing (which isn't annoying in the slightest...) helps send a number that can get them out of the Finals.
I expect Hungary to confirm their Idol winner's song (from her debut album) tomorrow and for Russia to send "translate silver in Russian for the name" and what bizarre balladly number they'll be sending as well.
01 Georgia - "My Story"
02 Andorra - "Salvem el món"
03 Turkey - "Shake It Up Serekim"
04 France - "L'amour a la Francaise"
05 FYR Macedonia - "Mojot Svet"
06 Finland - "Leave Me Alone"
07 Malta - "Vertigo"
08 Romania - "Liubi Luibi I Love You"
09 Slovenia - "Cvet z Juga"
10 Ukraine - "Danzing"
11 Israel - "Push The Button"
12 Belgium - "Love Power"
13 Spain - "I Love You Mi Vida"
14 Sweden - "The Worrying Kind"
15 Germany - "Frauen regier'n die Welt"
16 Bosnia & Herzegovenia - "Rijeka Bez Imena"
17 Czech Republic - "Malá Dáma"
18 Ireland - "They Can't Stop The Spring"
19 Iceland - "Ég Les Í Lófa Þínu" (To Be Or Not To Be or something like that)
20 Netherlands - "Nooit Meer Zonder Jou" (On Top Of The World)
21 Denmark - "Drama Queen"
22 Serbia - "Molitva"
23 Albania - "Balada e Gurit"
24 Moldova - "Fight"
25 Estonia - "Partners in Crime"
26 Croatia - "Ja Vjerujem U Ljubav"
27 Montenegro - "Hajde Kroci"
30 Cyprus - "Comme Ci Comme Ca"
28 Austria - "Get A Life, Get Alive"
29 Lithuania - "Love Or Leave"
31 Norway - "Ven A Bailar Conmigo"
32 Latvia - "Questa Notte"
33 Switzerland - "Vampires Are Alive"
34 Belarus - "Work Your Magic"
35 Poland - "Time To Party"
36 Greece - "Yassou Maria"
37 Portugal - "Dança Comigo (Vem Ser Feliz)"
38 Armenia - "Anytime You Need"
39 Bulgaria - "Voda"
Currently, I am wanting the final 10 qualifiers (without having heard Hungary's song. Although the rumored song is utter ****) to come out like so:
Georgia
Andorra
Turkey
FYR Macedonia
Malta
Slovenia
Israel (provided they stay in)
Belgium
Iceland
Czech Rep
But I am currently thinking the final 10 in (without having started my score projections just yet) to be
Switzerland
Belarus
Latvia
FYR Macedonia
Turley
Malta
Norway
Georgia
Andorra
Serbia
However...I think that Belarus, along with Cyprus and Bulgaria, will be surprised come the semi night by not actually making it. As these three are the most popular songs (apparently...and I must be in a land of make believe) I think the internet buzz won't make the votes happen. Latvia, Andorra, Georgia and Norway are also questionable for varying reasons.
In the case of style of song entered, who have:
Pop - 8 (BLR, GRE, TUR, ROM, EST, AUT, NED, BEL)
Schlager Pop - 5 (SWE, NOR, ESP, POR, DEN)
Dance - 4 (SUI, BUL, CYP, UKR)
Rock where it's what Americans call rock - 1 (CZE)
"Rock" where it's pop but in the terms of Eurovision since a guitar is actually on stage it's rock - 6 (MNT, FIN, AND, CRO, FRA, MDA)
Jazz - 1 (GER)
Opera - 2 (LAT, SLO)
Big Evil Ballads - 7 (ISL, BIH, SCG, IRE, LTH, ALB, ARM)
Ethnic numbers that could be in any musical style - 3 (FYM, ISR, MAL, GEO)
"Rap" in the sense that Paris Hilton "sings" - 1 (POL)
Hungary will probably be "rock" or "ballad" while Russia will more than likely be "pop". The UK can go "pop," "rap," "ballad" or "schlager."
And my early guess to who wins this...um...I seriously do not know. I mean, I think Georgia should win based on the fact that the song and the melody are the best but I suspect Bosnia and Sweden to probably start as the faves going into campaign season before Helsinki.
The fact that STANFORD, ARKANSAS, ILLINOIS AND PURDUE got in over Air Force, Drexel, Syracuse and Florida State bugs. K-State to an extent's ignore in favor also sucks.
I mean, AIR FORCE BEAT STANFORD AT STANFORD people! Syracuse was the #5 team out of the Gigantic East and got passed for a slot (as did #7 West Virginia) by Villanova - and I love Villanova but seriously people, they finished 8th in the league. Drexel were the road warriors and got snubbed cuz the 'Hogs had a decent run against MissyState?!?! Hell, Florida State ended Clemson's season and knocked the overall #1 seed off AS WELL AS BEAT DOOKE AT DOOKE.
K-State getting passed doesn't bug too bad.
And seriously, the seeding was horrible this year. Does anyone really think Tennessee should be a 5? That Maryland is a 4? That SoIll's loss to Creighton should drop them to a 4? That UNLV plunged to a 7 seed, as did Nevada? Memphis at a 2?!?!?!
Anyways, a pissant Niagra (they did get royally screwed on the seeding), is going to thrash FAMU and then make Kansas the first #1 to lose in the opening round (for good measure I really think Memphis is gonna get bounced by NoTexas...but haven't notched that one yet). Butler gets upset by Old Dominion, Albany scores an upset, VCU to the Elite 8, a couple 12/13 second rounder matches and...as of right now....Florida beats Southern Illinois to face Nevada, who will beat NoCarolina, for the title.
This will change over the week before Thursday happens ^_^
Arkansas robbed Drexel of a pick that they CLEARLY deserved. As for VCU, I have them in the Sweet 16(Pittsburgh, my ass), but they are not beating UCLA in California. I'd love to see it happen, but come on.
Oh, check this **** out. This bozo is making picks that would make Mike look like an expert in bracketology. He also thinks Wisconsin will make it to the elite eight, which is crazy talk and, AND, he has Memphis in the Sweet 16. They won't even make it THAT far!
My final four, as of right now, consists of Florida, UCLA, Georgetown and Nevada, with Florida beating Georgetown in the final, but that might change.
Just as important as the NCAA's? Who's performing where at Helsinki!
And it's gonna be rather interesting, to say the least.
Semifinal Draw
01 Bulgaria
02 Israel
03 Cyprus
04 Belarus
05 Iceland
06 Georgia
07 Montenegro
08 Switzerland
09 Moldova
10 Netherlands
11 Albania
12 Denmark
13 Croatia
14 Poland
15 Serbia
16 Czech Republic
17 Portugal
18 F.Y.R. Macedonia
19 Norway
20 Malta
21 Andorra *
22 Hungary
23 Estonia
24 Belgium
25 Slovenia *
26 Turkey *
27 Austria *
28 Latvia *
* denotes wild card slot, which meant they picked their performing slot.
As everyone and their grandmama expected the first four drawn picked later slots. Of course, since the best position to win Qualification to the finals are 13-15, this helps expected qualifier Serbia, 100% Qualifier in the past Croatia and near-hit kings Poland in trying to make it.
Latvia does benefit a lot with the later draw, thanks to the sorta rock-pop song before it, the Turkish dance number before that as well. It also seperates them from the other opera number from Slovenia.
Andorra has a goodish slot, but could be overlooked by whatever Olivia wears for Malta and the rock blues of Hungary - but which should squeeze out Estonia's rock-pop number. Belgium's funk is perfectly drawn and could get in thanks to it's ability to stand out.
In the front end we can nix Israel's advancement from the semi's due to them getting the dreaded number 2 slot. Here's hoping the political chatter keeps them in the news. Georgia got hammered with a rock ballad (that was retitled) and a rock pop number from a fellow newbie. Oh, and Georgia changed the title of the song, and considering they are ditching the circus tent outfit I am more concerned they won't make it to the big show. Bulgaria will annoy people at the start of the show, so that should kill their qualifying dreams.
The 8-to-12 slots are of differing styles each so there could be a qual for Switzerland in the cards there. But poor Portugal is not far enough away from their number done in English by Norway to give them any shot at the finals.
Finals Draw
01 Bosnia Herzegovina
02 Spain
03 Qualifier from semi
04 Ireland
05 Finland
06 Qualifier from semi
07 Qualifier from semi
08 Qualifier from semi
09 Lithuania
10 Greece
11 Qualifier from semi
12 Sweden
13 France
14 Qualifier from semi
15 Russia
16 Germany*
17 Qualifier from semi
18 Ukraine*
19 United Kingdom
20 Romania
21 Qualifier from semi
22 Qualifier from semi
23 Armenia*
24 Qualifier from semi
Sorry Spanish boyband, you drew unlucky #2! Anyways, the front end is currently frontloaded with ballads, which kills Ireland's chance of doing well at the expense of Lithuania, who's slight soundalikeness should kill it. A #1 performed song ain't won in 24 years, so Bosnia has it's work cut out for them. Finland's rock ballad should do well out of the 5 slot, provided that they don't end up with a flashy qualifier behind it.
In the second ten, Sweden should look good with Greece and Lithuania in front of it but it's ***** ABBA schlager rock should be kicked in the pants by France. Russia's unknown dance number by some novices could do wonders for the German entry, since it's about how women rule the world. Russia's song is also called "Song #1"....which means if it's not a prelude to Blur I shall hate it forever.
The Ukraine could NOT have asked for a better slot if it had won a wild card - a qualifier before it who will have to do a huge stage show in order to detract from the scary drag queen with the accoridon, an unknown from the Uk that will more than likely be a dumb pop ballad, and then Romania's sing along in many languages. Since Romania and Ukraine are grouped together as "funny" songs, the Ukrainians should easily show theirs is funny and a possible winning number.
The last 4 has that damn ballad from Armenia and hopefully a spot for Georgia, Israel and the Czech Republic to drown it out.
Changes in who I think will come out of the semis
Based on the draw alone, it's safe to move:
Croatia
Poland
Serbia
on due to the high frequency of slots 13-15 for moving on.
Malta
looks good as well, as the 20 slot has seen advancement since the semis inception too. 8, 11 and 22 also have a high frequency of advancement, but i only think one will make it out this time - song #8
Switzerland
2,3,6,9 and 12 have yet to see a song make it through from the semis - bad news for Georgia and Denmark. However, since I expect Belarus and Georgia's perfs to be a great contrast to Iceland or Montenegro, I'm moving them on from the front end. Plus, Georgia is new and a debutant always makes the finals
Georgia
Belarus
The final 3 slots? Well, one is to
Turkey
thanks to the diaspora and the fact that the song is killer.
Andorra
as there will be at least one rock song on the finals and theirs is more accessable than the Czechs (although the Czech number is much better) and finally...
Latvia
will edge Slovenia out due to it's final position in song order. of course, it helps to be second-to-last but Austria's song is nowhere near strong enough to stand out.
So my early and revised final ten expected are:
Croatia
Poland
Serbia
Malta
Switzerland
Georgia
Belarus
Turkey
Andorra
Latvia
Wild cards will be Belgium with their funk number (it will stand out compared to the rest of the last songs), Iceland (but needs a strong perf to hold off fellow rock from the Czechs and Montenegro), Czech Republic (n00bs usually advance), Norway and FY Macedonia.
For the winner...I don't see it coming from the semis this year. Ukraine & France are in prime position to snatch victory, Bosnia will be a favorite although it going first it will be an uphill fight, and Sweden needs a huger perf and a misstep from the French to stay up.