My Thoughts On Our Own Entry

We have just a small number of entries left to review for Eurovision 2012. This means though that we have come  my own country, home to green hills and leprechauns and Jedward. I might say though that despite all I say here I am not a real Jedward fan, I'm the bog standard hetrosexual Irish male (think farming type). But I do love it when Jedward come to Eurovision.....

Once again Ireland has decided to send the dynamic duo/the Haribo boys to Eurovision. Having been one of the most successful acts that Ireland has sent to the contest in the past ten years as well as the extra revenue that it  brought in for RTÉ it was decided that Jedward should return to the contest. Surprisingly Ireland held a national final which in retrospect seemed completely unnecessary, as many serious Irish acts declared from the outset that they were not going to go up against Jedward.

Jedward's song Waterline, is a very interesting one. More because it is not exactly the style that we have come to expect from Jedward. This is a far cry from Lipstick. Equally though I have argued for them since well before January and I have no interest in stopping now. The song Waterline may not have played as well with Eurovision fans as may be expected. I think this song is far more what we would expect from something like One Direction or those other Boybands that I know absolutely nothing about. (I really mean that). I think though that Jedwards song last year did require a little listening and may have been a bit to hard to get into on the first go. Waterline is much better at catering for this. It probably will attract votes from non-Jedward fans too.

I really cannot tell how this will play with the juries. Last year Jedward bet off stiff competition to come 6th with the juries. It is difficult to fully understand what it is about Jedward that got them such a score and though it is impressive, I'm not entirely sure as to how they will repeat that. The other problem is that I'm slightly unnerved by the fact both of my parents saw it on the Late Late Show last Friday and they both thought that it was a good song. While this may sound like a good thing my parents are both getting on in their lives and really the music that they are into is not Jedwards music.

Having said all that all I am saying is I don't think that this is my absolute favourite in the contest this year and I also do not think that it is a perfect entry. Like entries it has faults. However these faults should be somewhat offset by the great running position that Ireland got in this years contest. Last is a great place to be singing from.

Verdict: I could go on and on but I am sure that I will have a lot more to say about Jedward this evening after they have their rehearsals and I see how they are going on stage. Personally speaking Jedward at Eurovision are a guilty pleasure for me. They are almost disestablishmentratrian in the way they roll through Eurovision and I think they are excellent ambassadors for Ireland. The very best of luck to them.

Grade:  As it is my own country I will not given them a grade.

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+

Fan Favourites?

Before any of the OGAE results come in, before everyone completes their reviews we take a look at who might be doing well across the amazing world of Eurovision Fandom.

This year there is no shortage of songs for die hard fans. I think that there is quite a number of strong songs in Eurovision this year and recently EscToday launched their polls of fans. This a good gauge because the readership of the website is so huge that they give a fairly accurate view of fans thoughts on the songs. So I took a look at the results coming through, and then twisted them around in a simple but bizarre formula to get the fan favourite.

So aside from the limitations of the model so lets have a look at the bottom two on the list.

10 Cyprus

11 Netherlands

12 Romania

So this is a interesting batch of songs. Romania are probably correctly gauged and Netherlands look about right in 11th but as you will see as we go up the list there are surprises. Netherlands don't hold a commanding number of 12's in the poll but as we look at 10's they have quite a few. For me Netherlands song as gotten a surprising reaction from fans. Cyrus being in tenth is a surprise as I had assumed that it would come out in the top 5 of this. I firstly thought that the mathematical model might be wrong but no, it only has around 26% 12's.
We now move on to the next couple of songs.

7 Norway

8 UK

9 Germany

I guess the only surprise here Germany, whose song is slightly too inoffensive, in my opinion. I was surprised to see it do so well as it is not being heavily talked about. Norway and the UK is expected, the UK has been gaining as a fan favourite country over the last number of years. Norway, well, is Norway.

4 Spain

5 Italy 

6 Serbia 

On these figures Serbia might seem a little low but it got more 12's than Italy but a lot less 10's therefore Italy is a bit higher. Spain is a bit surprising to see up that far, with no disrespect to Pastora I still think that it isn't a strong enough song to do as well on the night.

1 Sweden

2 Iceland

3 Slovenia

Sweden is certainly no surprise, the only surprise is the amount of 12's they have received. Sweden scored about 56% of the 12's. Iceland also surprised me by scoring just over 50% of 12's, while I had expected them to do well and indeed in second, but the scale of the 12's really surprised me. Really and truly Slovenia is a shock to see it do so well.

In comparison to last year fans appear to be a lot happier with the songs. Last year in EscToday's polls few songs broke 25% of 12's. This year many songs are breaking 25% (about 12 of them). Last year France and Estonia both were touching 40% however this year the top 2 are breaking 50%.  

So this might not be the OGAE, but this is a first look at fan votes. The OGAE usually delivers a highly conservative vote, so it will be interesting to see how it shapes up. Of course I will be keeping a close eye on how these countries vote. Until then we will keep the reviews flowing.

A Song For Those Who Listen. Estonia: The Review

I never fully understood why so many people love Eesti Laul however each year I always have a great respect for the winner. While the winner might not exactly always be a potential winner each year Estonia very often offers us something quite different from the rest of the pack. Eurovision 2012 so far appears to be shaping up to be one of many different songs however Estonia’s choice of Kuula by Ott Lepland was a good one [regardless of what I may have said earlier].

Ott certainly appears to be able to pull off the song really well. His convincing vocal performance gives the complex song real credibility. I understand that Ott is rather popular in Estonia. This all helps Estonia’s entry so far. The performance is quite simple and reminds me of Eddie Friel’s performance for Ireland in 1995 [Except the song is much better]. The decision to keep it in Estonian is a great one as it adds huge depth to the song. Ott performs this really well and emotionally. The big problem with the song is that it looks like it will deliver a big crescendo ending but then falls flat. This is probably the only thing I have against the song.  [Trivia fact: Kuula meaning listen is also the same as the word Chuala in Irish, which is the past tense of to listen].

The biggest problem that this song faces is being in semi-final 2. That semi-final looks to be shaping up to be one which will have fierce competition for jury votes with many Balkan ballads, a piano ballad for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Portuguese entry. If the song was in semi-final 1 I’d say it would have a good qualification chance.

Verdict: This is a really great choice from Estonia but will probably be overlooked in a ballad oriented semi-final. Personally I am a fan of it but I am unconvinced it has all the ingredients to overcome the competition. However as Tobias over on Tobson In Euroland pointed out it offers something to those who listen, I’m just unconvinced that people will actually listen.

Grade: B

Reviews: Hungary

Anyone who has spent as much of the day writing for college as I have will understand that I cannot look at the blog without feeling unwell. So I wrote this up a couple of days ago, sorry if it is not fully updated. 

Hungary

Hungary had a huge overall of their selection process this year moving from last years’ internal selection to a three show, 20 song process. I’m not sold on the whole idea that the bigger show the better the song ultimately picked. I think that has more to do with the country.

Ultimately to my surprise they selected Compact Disco to represent Hungary in Baku. The song The Sound Of Our Hearts, is quite a good one. It has a great piano intro and develops into a strong anthemic rock(ish) song. Lyrically this could do with changes in a few spots and maybe even a little Hungarian in spots to cover up some rather strange English lyrics. This would not be an unusual for a Hungarian entry. The song could be better helped by a better arrangement that would take the monotone sound out of the song and involve the audience a bit more. Vocally this is pretty poor and they have not had a good vocal throughout the selection process. This does not fill me with confidence that they will have it together in Baku but a lot can change in three months. As a performance this is reminds me a lot of Greece in 2002 (the robots, remember).

One of the biggest issues with assessing this song is there is very little like it that has been in Eurovision before. My gut would normally tell me that if it is unusual to Eurovision, and is rockish then it probably would be unlikely to qualify. However there is something in this song that I think would make it stand out in a huge stadium it hardly would win but qualifying might be made a little easier.  Personally I like this song even if it is not good enough vocally. I think overall the poor vocal performance may stop it from doing well with the juries who might actually like it otherwise.

Verdict: Qualification rests Compact Disco’s ability to improve their vocal performance, which I suspect will be unlikely. It is a nice song though. Unlikely qualifier.

Grade: C

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.

The Exciting Weekend Ahead - And I'm Not Around

So from the top this weekend:

Finland hold their first show of UMK - can't pronounce what it stands for. I never was big into talent shows of this nature when it comes to Eurovision, so I'm not put out that I'm missing it.

Norway - Semi Final 2 tomorrow evening. While I may not be watching I will be supporting PLUMBO who I think are simply excellent. Minne-Oh and Malin are also favourites of mine. I think there is a good chance that they will all get through but I would be prepared to bet that Rikke Nordmann may get in over Malin. You can read our review of Semi 2 here.

Iceland - Iceland's third and final semi-final is on Saturday, we are hoping to see GRETA SALOME go through to the final with a second song. I can't call the second finalist but we are sure the later will make it  through. Our review of the show is here.

Hungary holds Semi 1 tomorrow also. We are unimpressed with their songs so far and don't particularly look forward to it. Our review of their songs is here.

Finally France will present their song on Sunday (16:00) from the bit that we heard of the song we are largely unimpressed with it.

While I may not be at home I hope to be on Twitter a little bit over the weekend and will try my best to see the results and have a full piece of reaction by Sunday evening.

The Funnies

You know the way many newspapers (maybe not the FT) publish a couple of funny stories each week just because they are funny. But this is arguably the funniest and strangest story about the Croatian Eurovision Participant Nina Badric. You can read the article here.


All I shall say is that I'd love to see the luck on the husbands face!


Anyone know has any done this before?