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ESC 2008
24 May 2008 - And the top 8 are:
1. Russia (272 points)
2. Ukraine (230 points)
3. Greece (218 points)
4. Armenia (199 points)
5. Norway (182 points)
6. Serbia (160 points)
7. Turkey (138 points)
8. Azerbaijan (132 points)
So 7 of the 8 countries I picked for the top spot were there. And in terms of the order, I was expecting Russia to come fourth and Armenia first, so that came in as a surprise. For the fifth spot, Europe chose Norway's entry instead of Poland's. But there you go; 87.5% success rate and it is all very simple.
BBC's commentator Terry Wogan once again sounded bemused at the results and blamed political voting for UK's position. When will he learn?
23 May 2008 - I'll give you some insight into my thinking and marking. Firstly, I group the songs.
- 9 countries have upbeat tunes. UK, Germany, Armenia, Iceland, Sweden, Ukraine, and Latvia 's songs are club/disco style, while Denmark and France participate with more poppy tunes.
- 7 countries ( Romania, Albania, Israel, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, and Russia ) are participating with ballads.
- Finland, Turkey and Azerbaijan are participating with Rock songs. Georgia 's song wants to rock but it can't.
- Bosnia & Herzegovinian and Croatian entries are suffering from MMD.
- Finally there is Greece, Norway and Spain, which don't fit into any of these categories.
For a ballad to win, it would have to be better than the 6 others. Similarly, if an upbeat song is going to win, it has to be better than 8 others. So the next step is to further sort these songs among themselves.
From the upbeat category, Armenia is my favourite, followed by Ukraine and Sweden. From the ballads, I like Serbia, Russia, and Poland and amongst the Rock tunes, Azerbaijan's entry. Ignore the MMDs; although Europe loves weirdoes, they shouldn't win! From the others, Greece definitely has a chance in the top 5 while Norway has a top-10 material.
Then I take away the typical Eurovision entries like Sweden and Norway, and for sentimental reasons add Turkey. So now we are left with 8 countries: Armenia, Ukraine, Greece, Serbia, Russia, Poland, Azerbaijan, Turkey.
Ukraine, Greece, Serbia, and Turkey have won within the last 10 years. That's why Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan and Poland would be good options to win. Now you know how I end up choosing unexpected entries among 40+ songs year after year.
22 May 2008 - Below are my comments for this year's finalists. But first, here is a legend for the chart:
- MMD - Multiple Musicality Disorder (The song doesn't have a persistent style)
- B - Ballad (Something slow)
- C - Club/Dance/Techno/Disco/etc (Something upbeat)
- Pop - Radio material (Still upbeat)
- R - Rock / Metal / etc (Individual or band)
- ? - Means I've no idea how to categorise the song in question
# |
|
Country |
Performer(s) |
Song title |
Ekin's Comments |
Cat |
01 |
 |
Romania |
Nico & Vlad |
Pe-o Margine De Lume |
Nico & Vlad are characters from Grand Theft Auto IV. What are they doing here, singing a duet at Eurovision? J Not bad though. |
B |
02 |
 |
United Kingdom |
Andy Abraham |
Even If |
Why does UK keep doing this? Another mediocre song. I don't think even all the sympathy points for Andy's past would be enough to get the UK out of the bottom half. |
C |
03 |
 |
Albania |
Olta Boka |
Zemrën E Lamë Peng |
Now this good old power ballad, sung by a cute little girl, is much better! Is she Avril's Albanian cousin? I wish I could understand what the lyrics said. |
B |
04 |
 |
Germany |
No Angels |
Disappear |
The refrain is too monotonous. Boring! |
C |
05 |
 |
Armenia |
Sirusho |
Qele, Qele |
This sounds like something Greeks would do. Fits in perfectly with this year's formula: beautiful female singer, male dancers, and ethnic touches in the song. |
C |
06 |
 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Laka |
Pokusaj |
Simply weird! Not a chance! Also suffering from major MMD! |
MMD |
07 |
 |
Israel |
Boaz |
The Fire In Your Eyes |
The throat sounds make Israeli ballads hard to listen to; they could have been better of with English lyrics. |
B |
08 |
 |
Finland |
Teräsbetoni |
Missä Miehet Ratsastaa |
Nice metal song but the Finnish should understand that Lordi won the contest because they were different! This song is even Eurovisionised with a key change! Weak. |
R |
09 |
 |
Croatia |
Kraljevi Ulice & 75 Cents |
Romanca |
Does Romanca mean I will Survive in Croatian? Gosh, so many pieces of this song is ripped off from others that my head hurts thinking about where I heard them all! |
MMD |
10 |
 |
Poland |
Isis Gee |
For Life |
Cute blond, strong voice, excellent performance, nice song. What else do we need? Will Europe have a new Celine Dion? |
B |
11 |
 |
Iceland |
Euroband |
This Is My Life |
This could have been a club anthem in early 90s if the chorus was catchier. It's not for the Eurovision though. |
C |
12 |
 |
Turkey |
Mor ve Ötesi |
Deli |
This song has one of the best refrains I heard this year! But the broken rhythm of the 2 long verses and the Turkish lyrics may be off-putting. Still top 10 material. |
R |
13 |
 |
Portugal |
Vânia Fernandes |
Senhora Do Mar (Negras Águas) |
It ain't over until the fat lady sings. And how wonderful she is at that. Take away the key change and the song is great! |
B |
14 |
 |
Latvia |
Pirates Of The Sea |
Wolves Of The Sea |
The lyrics say "pirates are all [they] can be" but if I were them I would also consider a career in entertaining 8 year olds during the day on a cruise ship (their costumes are ready) and 80 year-old rich businessmen at nights (we wouldn't want the implants to go to waste now, would we). Watch out for the key change! |
C |
15 |
 |
Sweden |
Charlotte Perrelli |
Hero |
Nice effort by 1999's Eurovision winner, but I wonder if I'll remember this song in half an hour. |
C |
16 |
 |
Denmark |
Simon Mathew |
All Night Long |
I would listen to this song in my car if the lyrics weren't so tacky! Simple, easy to digest, but if a solo male singer will win ESC after 17 years, Simon has strong competition in the form of Russia 's Dima. |
Pop |
17 |
 |
Georgia |
Diana Gurtskaya |
Peace Will Come |
First 10 seconds, I thought this could have been another Love Shine A Light. It isn't - in fact far from it. If only they hadn't commissioned a 10 year old to write the chorus! Piss will come. Especially if you drink lot's of beer! Anyway, I hope Georgia didn't play the blind card in their PR. |
R |
18 |
 |
Ukraine |
Ani Lorak |
Shady Lady |
Kylie wannabe puts on an excellent show! By no means it's unique but at least it's much better than Iceland and Sweden. |
C |
19 |
 |
France |
Sébastien Tellier |
Divine |
80s pop. Not a chance. |
Pop |
20 |
 |
Azerbaijan |
Elnur & Samir |
Day After Day |
Elnur and Samir must have read this web site - they've got the rock elements, ethnic elements, etc without suffering from MMD. Now this is what I'm talking about! |
R |
21 |
 |
Greece |
Kalomira |
Secret Combination |
Following in the footsteps of Helena Paparizou with the song and Beyonce with the dancing. Nice! |
? |
22 |
 |
Spain |
Rodolfo Chikilicuatre |
Baila El Chiki Chiki |
It's a rip off from Daddy Yankee's Gasolina! How the hell did they get away with this? |
? |
23 |
 |
Serbia |
Jelena Tomasevic feat. Bora Dugic |
Oro |
It's one of the best ballads this year! Ethnic touches make the song perfect. If only we could understand the lyrics! (I haven't missed the Vangelis claps in the chorus.) |
B |
24 |
 |
Russia |
Dima Bilan |
Believe |
Dima finished Eurovision second in 2006 and because of his experience, this song is everybody's favourite. Not mine! Yes it is top-5 material, but can Dima be a solo male winner after 17 years? Probably not. By the way, the bridge is a rip off from "You are everything, everything is you". |
B |
25 |
 |
Norway |
Maria |
Hold On Be Strong |
A good old Eurovision tune. "There's always someone out there" line is quite catchy. Is the song unique enough to win? |
? |
Second Semifinal (22 May 2008)
# |
|
Country |
Performer(s) |
Song title |
Ekin's Comments |
01 |
|
Iceland |
Euroband |
This Is My Life |
This could have been a club anthem in early 90s if the chorus was catchier. It's not for the Eurovision. |
02 |
|
Sweden |
Charlotte Perrelli |
Hero |
Nice but I wonder if I'll remember this song in half an hour… |
03 |
|
Turkey |
Mor ve Ötesi |
Deli |
This song has one of the best refrains I heard this year! But the broken rhythm of the 2 long verses and the Turkish lyrics may be off-putting. Still top 10 material… |
04 |
|
Ukraine |
Ani Lorak |
Shady Lady |
Kylie wannabe puts on an excellent! By no means it's unique but at least it's much better than Iceland and Sweden … |
05 |
|
Lithuania |
Jeronimas Milius |
Nomads In The Night |
This chap is in dire need of some vocal coaching and a decent haircut! Simple slow song. Too simple… |
06 |
|
Albania |
Olta Boka |
Zemrën E Lamë Peng |
Now this good old power ballad by a cute little girl is much better! Is she Avril's Albanian cousin? I wish I could understand what the lyrics said… |
07 |
|
Switzerland |
Paolo Meneguzzi
|
Era Stupendo |
It's a very sweet ballad and its remix all in 3 minutes! It's got MMD (multiple musicality disorder)! Sorry Switzerland , not this year… |
08 |
|
Czech Republic |
Tereza Kerndlová |
Have Some Fun |
So close!!!!!! If the girls were in tune, the melody was less predictable, and the style was persistent throughout the production, we could have had an early winner! |
09 |
|
Belarus |
Ruslan Alehno |
Hasta La Vista |
Hasta la vista baby, I'm gonna miss you. Not! Dancers with big hooters will certainly score some points but that's as far as it goes… |
10 |
|
Latvia |
Pirates Of The Sea |
Wolves Of The Sea |
As their own lyrics say “pirates are all they can be”. I'd also consider a career on a cruise ship entertaining 8 year olds during the day (the costumes are ready) and 80 year-old rich businessmen at nights (we wouldn't want the implants to go to waste now, would we). Watch out for the key change! |
11 |
|
Croatia |
Kraljevi Ulice & 75 Cents |
Romanca |
Does Romanca mean I will Survive in Croatian? Gosh, so many pieces of this song is ripped off from others that my head hurts thinking about where I heard them all! |
12 |
|
Bulgaria |
Deep Zone & Balthazar |
DJ, Take Me Away |
Bulgarians do this every year. It's upbeat yet still unique – again! Well done to them. But where did I hear this tune? Where???? Burning turntables are a great idea by the way. |
13 |
|
Denmark |
Simon Mathew |
All Night Long |
I would listen to this song in my car if the lyrics weren't so tacky! Simple, easy to digest, but remember that a solo male singer didn't win ESC for 17 years. |
14 |
|
Georgia |
Diana Gurtskaya |
Peace Will Come |
First 10 seconds, I thought this could have been another Love Shine A Light. It isn't – in fact far from it. If only they hadn't commissioned a 10 year old to write the chorus! Piss will come… Especially if you drink lot's of beer! |
15 |
|
Hungary |
Csézy |
Candlelight |
“A bold pianist and a flat-chested singer is bound to deliver something good” I thought. At least a song without a key change… Slightly disappointing, yet it's the most elegant song of the night so far. Not top 5 material though. |
16 |
|
Malta |
Morena |
Vodka |
How many times did I see this formula tonight; a good looking girl singing techno with 4 male dancers? Her good voice can't save the bad composition. |
17 |
|
Cyprus |
Evdokia Kadi |
Femme Fatale |
Another song with MMD but at least the Broadway musical quality makes it fun to watch. |
18 |
|
F.Y.R. Macedonia |
Tamara, Vrcak & Adrijan |
Let Me Love You |
If the guys didn't distract the cameramen from zooming in to the cleavage, which Tamara was obviously so desperate to show, by repeating “let's go, let's go”, they could have a chance. |
19 |
|
Portugal |
Vânia Fernandes |
Senhora Do Mar (Negras Águas) |
It ain't over until the fat lady sings. And how wonderful she is at that… Take away the key change and the song is great! |
First Semifinal (20 May 2008)
# |
|
Country |
Performer(s) |
Song title |
Comments |
01 |
|
Montenegro |
Stefan Filipovic |
Zauvijek Volim Te |
Mediocre. Sorry Montenegro , not this year. |
02 |
|
Israel |
Boaz |
The Fire In Your Eyes |
The throat sounds make Israeli ballads hard to listen to; they could have been better of with English lyrics. The song is suffering from minor MMD. |
03 |
|
Estonia |
Kreisiraadio |
Leto Svet |
Who thought 3 fat men in colourful suits supported by 3 women in bikinis would be interesting? Horrible song – Novelty songs don't go through in Semifinals!!! |
04 |
|
Moldova |
Geta Burlacu |
A Century Of Love |
Slow jazz, ethnic pop, hmm, interesting… |
05 |
|
San Marino |
Miodio |
Complice |
Nice ballad but the minute you're flat, you're out. The singer was flat at least 2-3 times. |
06 |
|
Belgium |
Ishtar |
O Julissi |
Hahahaha, what were they thinking??? No way! |
07 |
|
Azerbaijan |
Elnur & Samir |
Day After Day |
Elnur and Samir must have read this web site – they've got the rock elements, ethnic elements, etc without suffering from MMD. Now this is what I'm talking about! |
08 |
|
Slovenia |
Rebeka Dremelj |
Vrag Naj Vzame |
Cute girl, poor production! |
09 |
|
Norway |
Maria |
Hold On Be Strong |
A good old Eurovision tune. “There's always someone out there” line is quite catchy… Is the song unique enough to win? I don't know yet. |
10 |
|
Poland |
Isis Gee |
For Life |
Cute blond, strong voice, excellent performance, nice song. What else do we need? |
11 |
|
Ireland |
Dustin the Turkey |
Irelande Douze Pointe |
No! Irlanda null points! |
12 |
|
Andorra |
Gisela |
Casanova |
Cheap dance track from an Abba-wannabe. Not a chance. |
13 |
|
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Laka |
Pokušaj |
Simply weird! Not a chance! Also suffering from major MMD! |
14 |
|
Armenia |
Sirusho |
Qele, Qele |
This sounds like something Greeks would do. Fits in perfectly with this year's formula: beautiful girl, 4 male dancers, and ethnic touches in the song. |
15 |
|
The Netherlands |
Hind |
Your Heart Belongs To Me |
Arabic strings from the Dutch? I'm impressed! Unfortunately for them there are much better upbeat songs this year. |
16 |
|
Finland |
Teräsbetoni |
Missä Miehet Ratsastaa |
Nice metal song but the Finnish should understand that Lordi won the contest because they were different! This song is even Eurovisionised with a key change! Week… |
17 |
|
Romania |
Nico & Vlad |
Pe-o Margine De Lume |
Nico & Vlad are characters from Grand Theft Auto IV. What are they doing here, singing a duet at Eurovision? J Not bad… |
18 |
|
Russia |
Dima Bilan |
Believe |
Top 5 material but the bridge is a rip off from “You are everything, everything is you”. Would Europe let ballads win twice in a row? Can Dima be a solo male winner after 17 years? |
19 |
|
Greece |
Kalomira |
Secret Combination |
Following in the footsteps of Helena Paparizou with the song and Beyonce with the dancing. Nice! |
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