A very good morning to everyone! (Or Afternoon if your in Baku). It is time to start viewing the tapes again and go back to the rehearsals in Baku and see what is coming out of the Crystal Hall. This post will be updated as the day goes on.
Israel - Rehearsal Video
There has been a definite lift in support over the last month for Izabo, who have gone from being a marginal qualifier to a likely qualifier on some peoples lists. While the song might be good I think that the performance might just be lacking the killer blow to push this into the final. It remains a very strong song but there is something more that the performance needs. That said the staging is still good with lots of strange clocks in the background and the backing singers are very strangely positioned which might aid the entry.
San Marino - Rehearsal Video
No one is expecting San Marino to really improve their odds of qualifying drastically. The song is still pretty poor, but the general reaction to her first rehearsal is that it was rather strong, it still was not quite to the standard that we've seen from Iceland and Romania yesterday but overall I think that this vocally good. This song is 7/1 to qualify to the final - surely those odds will shorten just a little today. The problem I felt that was there today was I wondered would people really "get" the song if they are not told explicitly that it's about Facebook?
Cyprus - Rehearsal Video
Vocally I think that this has certainly proved us wrong. Vocals are still a bit lat but it is certainly not the car crash that was expected. The backdrop does have echos of their 2007 entry. I don't fully understand why people are so into this entry and I think that it is one of the weaker entries in this semi-final however there does seem to be a broad expectation that this will qualify. I'm unconvinced though. I haven't seen the camera angles and when there is so much choreography involved you really need to see how it looks on camera. I'm going to sit on the fence for a bit on this entry.
Denmark - Rehearsal Video
There is a very interesting choice of background here and it is a good improvement on the national final. Vocally I think that this is great. The whole package has come together really, really well and I suspect Denmark are most likely going to win this semi-final at this point in the rehearsals. Some have complained that there is too much going on onstage but I think that this is a spectacular performance. Anna Bergendahl comparisons might be on the rise but I think that they are totally out of place here.
Showing posts with label Ivi Adamou. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ivi Adamou. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Review: Cyprus
After quite a lot of procrastination I finally sat down to write my review of the Cypriot song La La Love sung by Ivi Adamou. They will perform in the second half of the first semi-final.
Cyprus this year provided great excitement when they released the three songs in their National Final. When they did this we really had not heard any real high quality songs. Now that we have I really am bored by the Cypriot entry. The song feels very false and generic even when it is performed live. I think that it is the standard Fanwank, it lacks any notes that could be hard to sing or anything that would give this song a competitive advantage in Eurovision. I can't see anything in the song that would make a large enough proportion of Europe for it to make it through to the final. Ivi doesn't have a vast amount of charisma to add to the song and I felt that she was to focused on the audience than she was on the cameras.
The next problem is a production one: Why did Ivi not sing live? Whoever decided that it was best that Ivi should not sing live in the National Final was sadly unaware of how that would impact on how she would be perceived by fans. This decision does not fill me with confidence in her ability to sing well on the stage in Baku. Aside for these factors she ought to practice singing this song live. The only thing I would recommend is that she should keep the silver dress, it is far more interesting than the black one.
Verdict: A cheap and cheerful pop song that really has little hope of qualifying even in comparison to the other ESC entries already picked this is just not at the standard that is required to do well. I am not saying that I steer well clear of it. It is nice but just is too simple for Eurovision.
Grade: D
Cyprus this year provided great excitement when they released the three songs in their National Final. When they did this we really had not heard any real high quality songs. Now that we have I really am bored by the Cypriot entry. The song feels very false and generic even when it is performed live. I think that it is the standard Fanwank, it lacks any notes that could be hard to sing or anything that would give this song a competitive advantage in Eurovision. I can't see anything in the song that would make a large enough proportion of Europe for it to make it through to the final. Ivi doesn't have a vast amount of charisma to add to the song and I felt that she was to focused on the audience than she was on the cameras.
The next problem is a production one: Why did Ivi not sing live? Whoever decided that it was best that Ivi should not sing live in the National Final was sadly unaware of how that would impact on how she would be perceived by fans. This decision does not fill me with confidence in her ability to sing well on the stage in Baku. Aside for these factors she ought to practice singing this song live. The only thing I would recommend is that she should keep the silver dress, it is far more interesting than the black one.
Verdict: A cheap and cheerful pop song that really has little hope of qualifying even in comparison to the other ESC entries already picked this is just not at the standard that is required to do well. I am not saying that I steer well clear of it. It is nice but just is too simple for Eurovision.
Grade: D
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Review: Cyprus national final
Today there is not a vast amount of news coming in other than Tine Lyagraard's participation in DMGP 2012 is once again under scrutiny after fresh information appeared. (We'll keep you posted)
So in the meantime we have a review of the Cyprus songs and before I begin I would like to congratulate Cyprus on coming up with three really impressive songs. They were so good that I have to use a different marking scale to the last time. (The Higher Scale). As was already known Ivi Adamou is to sing all songs.
Call The Police - Finally a song that is worthy of Eurovision. There really is so much poor stuff at the moment this is developed and refreshing. However can Ivi pull it off. I think she should, but once we hear all the ESC songs this may not be strong enough. Grade: C+
I Don't Belong Here - This is good but it needs a stronger ending chorus just to lift it and make it a little anthemic. Otherwise a strong song. Grade: C
So in the meantime we have a review of the Cyprus songs and before I begin I would like to congratulate Cyprus on coming up with three really impressive songs. They were so good that I have to use a different marking scale to the last time. (The Higher Scale). As was already known Ivi Adamou is to sing all songs.
Call The Police - Finally a song that is worthy of Eurovision. There really is so much poor stuff at the moment this is developed and refreshing. However can Ivi pull it off. I think she should, but once we hear all the ESC songs this may not be strong enough. Grade: C+
I Don't Belong Here - This is good but it needs a stronger ending chorus just to lift it and make it a little anthemic. Otherwise a strong song. Grade: C
La La Love - I think that this song is the song we will see at Eurovision. It has the right disco sound to do well at Eurovision. This is just so balanced it is wonderful. The chorus is strong. However if it was not for the juries I would say that we are going to see Cyprus in the top 5. However they will only respect a song if the vocal performance is not just acceptable but goes above and beyond the call of duty. Grade: B+
I think what we are looking for from Ivi is very good vocals to match her strong songs. I expect if she delivers this then we are looking at Cyprus beating it’s previous highest placing.
La La Love has emerged as the fan favorite (Poll, ESCDaily) After 816 votes: La La Love (71%); You Don't Belong Here (15%); Call The Police (14%). [Figures rounded]
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