eurovision 2012 news: Bulgaria

Showing posts with label Bulgaria. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Reaction to Rehearsals: Day 3: Part 2

So this afternoon 4 more entries took to the stage. Belarus, Portugal, Ukraine and Bulgaria. There has been a lot of discussion around these so once again here we go:

Belarus - Rehearsal Video
I never got a chance to review Belarus's entry to Eurovision (It would have graded as a B-) but I was uncertain about which version of the song that they would sing. They've gone with the disco version which unlike many people online I think that this is a very good interpretation of the song. The yellow and black background really helps this song and this looks set to have some very dramatic staging. I still believe that the song is lacking something and I'm on the fence about this qualifying.

Portugal - Rehearsal Video
Say what you like about the Portuguese entry this year I think that they have hit the nail on the head with this one. This is working as well as it could at the moment on the stage. Vocally this was good. The background is really fantastic and the whole performance makes for a lovely break between Belarus and Ukraine. This may not qualify but I will look forward to this.

Ukraine - Rehearsal Video
Vocally this was a joy to watch and to listen to. The song might not be the best we've had from Ukraine and the performance might have looked better if you never heard of Shady Lady but overall it looks and sounds really good and should qualify with ease.

Bulgaria - Rehearsal Video
This rehearsal was fine bar her often missing her cue. Some people have mentioned that as a result of having nothing else on stage with her the visual on the screens is really dull as a result of a lack of variety on stage. Vocally it was good. I cannot see this as a qualifier though.

More tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Maybe Just Leave It For The CD

After what was one of the longest and drawn out selection procedures there were so raised eyebrows when the national final was won by Sofi Marinova and her song Love Unlimited. Having not really come through in the earlier two rounds of the national final this was a surprise

.

When I first heard this song I thought that it was a bit generic and excessively "hard" pop music which I never really was that mad about. The notes hit by Sofia seemed a bit high for my likely too. That said this could be a nice one in a club. There can be little doubt that this actually is a great studio song. It ticks all of the right boxes. The problem is that live this just does work and stinks of a semi-finalist who will be going home earlier than they hoped.

This really is a shame as I never know what to make of Bulgaria at Eurovision, they somehow seem not to try hard enough. They are in the second semi-final and are after Ukraine. Ukraines entry might be a bit more accessible than Bulgarias but that is debatable.

Verdict: This song should never have been let leave the CD. I can't see this qualifing but it is possible that juries might like it as it is technically a good song. Personally, I am not a massive fan of the song but I can fully understand how you might like this.

Grade: D+

Monday, February 27, 2012

The Bulgarian Saga Continues

Back in January Bulgaria held a semi-final bring 22 songs down to 12, now it is time to assess what remains and what might be going to Baku.

Steliyana Hristova's – Rap song. It’s what I'd expect but at this stage but I really think as rap goes this is good. Grade: C

Simona Sivano - While this is nice, it feels like I've heard this song before just because with so many similar ballads it is very difficult to differencate it from all the other songs. Grade: C

Rene Ranev - Nice to hear a rock style song in this contest. However this just doesn't go anywhere. Grade: D.

Ivaylo Kolev - Very nice start. Chorus is good enough. Great confidence and strength in the vocals. I like this. But it needs a bigger kick at the end. Grade: C+

Vyara Pantaleeva - Russia style ballad. Reviting. Not. Grade: B

Monika Kirovska - LOVING the almost Irish feel to this. Very gentle and nice song. Nice background music not ESC material. Grade: D

Svetozar Hristov - The video of the song does not exactly inspire enjoyment. Neither does the song. Grade: G

Todor Gadjalov - His voice reminds me a lot of Tom Dice's. As does the song. Needs a little something though. Good, but far from my favorite. Grade: D

Sofi Marinova - Bit generic given what I have heard so far. Still not bad but it just doesn't come up to the mark. Strange ending. Grade: C-

Ceco Elvisa & Daniela - Love this kind of song…. I'm enjoying this. Grade: A (I know an A - I feel faint)

Desi Slava - This starts the way that any Eurovision Song should. As you realise this is a step up from the songs that went before, you also realise that the song might be a little too big for DESS. Still like this. A lot. This has Bulgarian enty written all over it. Grade: B+

Ivaylo Kolev - Gentle and comfortable start. Confident Vocals. The verse leaves lots of room to build to a great anthemic song. It only bearly does this. So much room for improvement. Grade: C.

New 5 - If you can stomach the chessyness it is actually quite good. Needs something small to lift it. (If you think you’re a Eurovision Fan and you can't take the strongest of cheese you are not a fan). Grade: B.

What is most hilarious is that despite all this process we are going to be left with a rather average sounding song from Bulgaria.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Reaction to tonight's semi finals.

Latvia: We have had reasonable success in dumping a lot of the crap songs in the semi finals. We are happy to see Mad Show Boys made it to the final as did Robert Petersons (our second favorite).

Bulgaria: Our three favorites made it through the marathon show. Ceco Elvisa & Daniela, Desislava and New 5 (in that order). As with Latvia many boring ballads were dumped - Thankfully.

Iceland: Sadly Íris Hólm didn't make it but we were very impressed with Greta Salome & Jonsi.

Iceland will hold their next semi-final on 21 January with a Final on February 11th

Latvia will hold their final on February 18th. Bulgaria will hold theirs on the 29th February

Friday, January 13, 2012

Bulgaria Reviews Part 2

We conclude reviews of the Bulgarian National Final now with the second half of the songs in their national final.

Better Than Grey - What could be better than grey? Well this song. And what's better than this song? Everything else. Grade: E

Svetozar Hristov - The video of the song does not exactly inspire enjoyment. Neither does the song. Grade: G

Viktoriya Dimitrova - Shows potential, could do better. Grade: E

Todor Gadjalov - His voice reminds me a lot of Tom Dice's. As does the song. Needs a little something though. Good, but far from my favorite. Grade: D

Margarita Hranova - Doesn't seem to go anywhere but given the high pace of the semi-final could this stand out? To me it is just a little Disney. Grade: E+

Alex & 4give - Don’t like the start very much.Overall: Boring. Grade: F

Sofi Marinova - Bit generic given what I have heard so far. Still not bad but it just doesn't come up to the mark. Strange ending. Grade: C-

Ceco Elvisa & Daniela - Love this kind of song…. I'm enjoying this. Grade: A (I know an A - I feel faint)

Ivaylo Kolev - Gentle and comfortable start. Confident Vocals. The verse leaves lots of room to build to a great anthemic song. It only bearly does this. So much room for improvement. Grade: C.

So we will be cheering on Ceco Elvisa & Daniela tomorrow evening. But we also do like Desi Slava.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bulgaria Reviews

Ahead of the Bulgarian semi-final tomorrow we preview the songs in it in two parts here is the first part:

Sunnie - Strangest title of a song I ever heard, particularly when it is a women singing it. I don't really think this song is by any means amazing but it ok. Grade: D.

Sonya Ivanova - Very Average sounding. Might be better live. Grade: D+

Steliyana Hristova's – Rap song. It’s what I'd expect but at this stage but I really think as rap goes this is good. Grade: C

Rene Ranev - Nice to hear a rock style song in this contest. However this just doesn't go anywhere. Grade: D.

Simona Sivano - While this is nice, it feels like I've heard this song before just because with so many similar ballads it is very difficult to differencate it from all the other songs. Grade: C

Georgi Vurbanov's - No, just no. Grade: NG.

Ivaylo Kolev - Very nice start. Chorus is good enough. Great confidence and strength in the vocals. I like this. But it needs a bigger kick at the end. Grade: C+

Vyara Pantaleeva - Russia style ballad. Reviting. Not. Grade: B

Monika Kirovska - LOVING the almost Irish feel to this. Very gentle and nice song. Nice background music not ESC material. Grade: D

Go Week - Not bad. Don't like the lead singers voice. Shame. Grade: E+

Currently unable to find Bee In The Bonnet's song. If you have a link for this please post it in the comments.

The second half of this will be up this afternoon.