eurovision 2012 news: Austria

Showing posts with label Austria. Show all posts

Friday, May 18, 2012

Rehearsals: Day 6: Friday: Second Rehearsals

Once again we are cutting through songs at speed today so we'll keep this fairly brief. Today we have the second part of semi-final one and the songs from semi-final two that we heard on Tuesday.

Russia - Nothing huge has changed, but I've heard that they brought meat pies for the press today. Apparently one of the grannies was off key but all in all this is doing well. People (the press) really seem to love this.

Hungary - It hasn't changed much since the first rehearsal. It seems a little messy on stage but all in all this is shaping up to be a little mediocre.

Austria - After a very disappointing rehearsal on Monday, this is shaping up to be a great performance on account of today's rehearsal. According to those in Baku the camera work has greatly improved. As I have previously mentioned this really needs to be live with a crowd to make it stand out.

Moldova - This was a stand out entry in the first rehearsals and today they seem to have been able to hold that high standard. This is probably going to qualify but being sandwiched between the Trackshittaz and Jedward won't make that easy.

Ireland - Vocally today saw an improvement and more importantly the fountain is now going up to the full height. People are talking about Jedward jumping into it and I think that is definitely going to be the case, if you look at the rehearsal video Jedward's dancing does seem to get very disjointed towards the end. i.e. something is going to happen here and they're just filling in these spots with some dancing until they do it live.

Serbia - Somewhat better than the first rehearsal. No big changes to report though.

Macedonia - this song is dividing people but the performance is good enough to unite them again. This is an on the fence qualifier but today the performance was as good as ever.

Netherlands - This is a very joyful entry and has improved a lot since the first rehearsal, this is going to be a contender to qualify. The blue dress is not the most suitable particularly when she is wear the American Indian headdress.

Malta - Everything seems to be working well on stage but despite what the Eurovision press are saying I don't think of this as a qualifier. Once again the shadows in a background are really effective and should draw a few extra people into the performance.

Belarus - Belarus have got this performance down to a fine art and everything is now working well. The movements of the guitarists is really interesting and looks pretty cool even on the rehearsal tapes.

Portugal - This has really improved since the last rehearsal but it could still struggle to qualify. The dress that Filipa wore today might not be her one for the semi-final [I'd go back to the red one from the national final].

Ukraine - Since the first rehearsal Ukraine have done their best to change the performance and it does look a lot less messy. The dancers are being used less and I believe that the whole think looks well on stage, maybe with the exception of the way they use the four screens at the end.

Bulgaria - This has been a bit disappointing since the start. Without a doubt Sofia is going to be vocally very strong. But still this is all that is working in this entry. The backdrop is more likely to cause epileptic fits than votes at this stage.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Reaction To Rehearsals: Day 2: Part 2 Russia - Ireland

So unfortunately due to other commitments I missed most of the last ten hours meaning that I have missed a lot of rehearsal time. Anyhow here is a quick look at the last five rehearsals which I managed to miss.

Russia - Rehearsal Video
This has been flagged as one of the most interesting performances to watch in this years contest. Personally I never had put Russia down as a potential winner but after today's performance this has come roaring into the competition [albeit on a Zimmer frame]. This was vocally spot on and the performance is effective but still fairly simple relatively speaking.

Hungary - Rehearsal Video
Hungary today have produced a credible vocal performance which was a huge concern in the national final. The general staging is petty good but at the same time I think that this might be a bit dull to qualify.

Austria - Rehearsal Video
This was very much as expected. For me this is one of the strongest songs in the contest this year but many people are somewhat disappointed with the general the rehearsals today. They feel that the staging is too messy for the song. I really do not agree with them but I am disappointed with the lack of a tractor onstage. I think that one of Trackshittaz strengths is that they are not you common or garden rap duo and I think they should play that up a bit.

Moldova - Rehearsal Video
Moldova had been in doubt in up until today's rehearsal as being unfortunately sandwiched between Austria and Ireland in what would have to be the maddest end to a semi-final yet. But today Moldova really is standing up vocally and in general the song is looking like a very strong one in this semi-final.

Ireland - Rehearsal Video
Ireland, well their is less to talk about than I had hoped but all the same this is still working really well onstage but I am going to join many other bloggers in saying that this needs something extra onstage to really lift it. Jedward are about as good as they can be vocally, however there appear to have been some mixing problems with the backing vocals. All the same though Ireland look like near certain qualifiers at this point in time.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Tractors, Noodle Soup and Woki Mit Deim Popo!

Without a doubt one of the most interesting national finals this year was Austria. The big battle between Conchita Wurst and Trackshittaz was well flagged and also well watched. Ultimately the Trackshittaz were victorious. Personally I would have accepted either, and I think they both would have been great songs.

Before I launch into praising this song I'd like to say that I completely understand those of you who do not like this. More for this song than any other. But despite my general disliking of rap I really like Trackshittaz. Perhaps it may be because of the tractors or maybe it is the fact unlike most rappers they don't aim to "keep it real". The song is really good. It is aggressive enough that rap fans should like it and it should also appeal to the wider Eurovision audience, maybe not the fan network but certainly the people who watch Eurovision but are not one of the diehard fans. Trackshittaz have a great likability factor and this, combined with a strong stage show will really stand out in Baku.

Moving away from the song and Austria are still really well positioned this year. Third last in their semi-final they stand to do really well, particularly as they appear after Hungary. In a ballad heavy year it is likely that this will stand out in the final. I think could do really well. Maybe not so much with the juries though.

Verdict: This is a favorite of mine but I love a good number of semi-final 1 songs but overall this is great ad could do better than expected in Baku on the Saturday.

Grade: A-

Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Highs And Lows Of National Final Season 2012 Part 2

With another national final season over us and me being away from blogging and technology for a few nights, we turn our attention back to remember the highs and lows of the national final season that was. While it is almost over it will leave us with some great memories. Part 2 continues our series.

Ireland holding a national final
That was a joke wasn't it. Since around October people were pretty sure that Ireland would be sending Jedward to the contest. It actually was slightly surprising to hear that there still would be a Late Late Show special. Anyhow to no ones surprise they won.

And the award for longest interval act goes to....Moldova.
After an huge national final of 22 (roughly, I can't remember) you'd think that they'd wrap it up quickly and get it over with. Oh no, instead Moldova went on the rampage with a 40 minute interval act. I'm not going to put a video of here. It seems pointless. Go and learn how to make an origami swan instead it would seem more useful.

Trackshittaz vs. Conchita Wurst
What a showdown that was in Austria between two guys (with a great song) shouting at people to shake their bottoms and well, Conchita. It really was the most unorthodox showdown of the year and Trackshittaz won by 51% which is really really close.

Loreen's Melodifestivalen Final Performance
Anyone who likes Loreen will understand just how good this amazing performance was. For me it was Melodifestivalen moment of the year.

Cringe performance in Romania.
We wouldn't have spotted this only for Eurovision Apolcalypse. (One of the best Eurovision blogs around). Anyhow I just loved Bianca Purcarea's studio version. However the vocals in her live performance could have been drowned out my rubbing nails on a chalkboard.

We'll continue the series shortly.

Friday, February 24, 2012

A Night Where Two Show Songs Were Picked

For those who think that Eurovision has more to do with the song than the entertainment factor.

In Austria Trackshittaz won and I was delighted. It is a great song and was more entertaining than the bearded lady.

In Ireland JEWARD WON. As I'm sure your aware we are huge fans of Jedward for two reasons: 1. I suspect they could win Eurovision 2. Jedward fans give us a lot of hits. If another artists fans did this we'd also support them, if I liked the song enough - we're fickle like that. Sadly RTÉ now

This really was excellent performance and I really liked the mixing. The big surprise was Donna's rather poor performance and Andrew Mann's very good performance which sort of changed peoples expectations of the outcome.

On other points my brother was watching the Late Late Show with me and he took some interest in the songs that other countries have picked. He normally is good to pick up on songs that do well in ESC. He thought that Denmark had picked a rather good song. He drew parallels between Soluna's song and Adele. He also was rather critical of the backing track behind Tooji's song but that may have been the poor sound on our TV. We will be hearing more from him at a later stage - once he owes me enough.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Here We Go Again: The Odds Check

The good people over at Nicerodds have been good enough to try to tap into the Eurovision fan market by putting together the odds from many Irish, UK and Nordic bookmakers. Many of the countries that have not even detailed about their national final yet are given odds but we are not going to consider most of them yet as it just reflects a countries historic strength at Eurovision.

Going first to Austria where unsurprisingly Conchita Wurst the favorite to win, with (surprisingly) 3 punkt 5 and Trackshittaz lagging behind. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a surprise winner in Austria but Conchita and Trackshittaz would be good in Baku.
Moving North to Germany where we see Roman Lob is the Hot favourite to win, given that he seems to be winning the qualifiers so far this is not surprising. It will most likely be him in Baku, and I do actually need to see him as I have not seen him performing yet.
Moving further north again to Sweden where Youngblood and Molly Sandén are favourites to progress from semi-final 3 but after yesterday it is clear we need to see the songs first. In terms of the winner of Melodifestivalen 2012
So what about ESC? Sweden somewhat surprisingly are riding upfront possibly reflecting the strength of Melodifestivalen 2012. Serbia follows probably because of Zelio Zehomsomethingorother. We will have to hear his song first though. Otherwise the usual suspects are there, Azerbaijan, Armenia etc. Interestingly Ireland is quite high - 14/1 (reflecting Jedward being in our national final). Of the songs picked Norway is 14/1 to win with Denmark behind on 18/1 however one bookie is only offering 7/1 on Denmark making them the clear favorites at this early stage. Cyprus is 25/1. France, despite being well up on fan lists (not mine) is 50/1. The longest odds of a currently picked song is Malta on 130/1.

Friday, February 3, 2012

The National Final With The Rappers And......The Bearded Woman?

Even though most of the Austrian songs have been online for quite some time we decided to wait before we reviewed them. Now that they are all online here we go:

James Cottriall - Stand up is quiet a catchy but dated song. The datedness may compromise the song at national final level. I still like it for its old style. Grade: C+

!Deladap - Simple, old-style, this is actually quite nice piece of swing-ish music. I like this. Grade: C+

Mary Broadcast Band - The simple and gentle start is good but it doesn't develop enough to stand out. The vocals are nice but I just cannot imagine this at ESC. It is to gentle for Eurovision. However a little push in the song would help it greatly while maintaining the overall spirit of the song. Grade: D

Papermoon - The song works much more than Mary Broadcast Band. It is gentle but at the same time grows into something that you can enjoy. It shouldn't be too difficult to get the vocals right. Really like this other than the too many languages. A possible contender? Grade: C-

Norbert Schinder - A little old style once again. Getting bored of these. Grade: E+

Trackshittaz - This is a song I was looking forward to. Trackshittaz were worthy of Eurovision last year. This, like last year is all about staging in the right way. The energy that Trackshittaz will be able to bring on stage should make this a contender. Grade: B-

Valerie - At the start sound could be a remix of Cyprus 2007. However there is something in this song I just don't like. The constant stopping is annoying. Don't like this. Grade: F

Conchita Wurst - The Schlagerboys are going to love this. It just needs to be strengthened a little and this may happen by being performed live. This was the first song that I stopped to replay once it had stopped. Really like this. Notice that I got around this song without mentioning the beard! Grade: B+

Krautschadl - I think that this is very average. It just does not have the kind of edge that I was looking for. Grade: D-

3Punkt5- Frankly I can't see what I was waiting for. This lacks any real interesting features that other songs in this National Final are going to deliver. Grade: F