Reaction To Rehearsals: Day 2: Part 1 Israel-Denmark

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. 

The Unconventional Eurovision Song

Fans feathers were very much ruffled when it was announced that Izabo would be going to Baku in May to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. Izabo are a very orginal indie group and this starkly contrasts from the normal entry that we would expect from Israel [well maybe we won't discuss Dana International] but normally this is a seriously conservative country.

Izabo are an indie pop band. This automatically highlighted a change in stance from the previous years. Without a doubt though when we heard their song "Time" we were all pleasantly surprised.

This is a good song. It has very few of the normal hallmarks of a Eurovision entry. This could go either way as we have no real precedent to this song before. But it does bounce along very well and could get a lot of votes. It's in a very interesting semi-final, one of the stranger ones that we have seen in living memory. This might just stand out enough. This will depend on how good the stage show is, but given how randomly wonderful Izabo have done so far I'm expecting something big.

Israel is performing 10th in this semi-final which  is a fairly strong position. Really though there are far to many variables still with this song to actually call on how well it will do.
Personally, it's not my favourite in semi-final 1 but it is still a strong song. I'm looking forward to seeing it.#

Verdict: It could do very well but it is to difficult to say at this stage. But I would guess that it should do well.

Grade: B

Pay Attention The News Is On

If your wonder where the title comes from it is from Bill Bailey's Guide To The Orchestra, If you have a few minutes to spare do watch it.

Moving to other matters to do with the contest; of course in the usual bullet point from.

• Israel's song has somehow appeared on YouTube and even the band seem a little surprised as to how this was leaked. They say that they are working on a final arrangement. You can listen to it here.
• Turkey will present their song tomorrow, we're not really sure what to expect from it but, sure, we shall see tomorrow.
• Apparently Charlotte Perrielli's song was release in part online. Sadly we didn't get to hear it and if you should have a way please email us - we'ed be ever so grateful. I am unhappy with SVT's poor handling of the leak. They should release all the songs at this point.
• Maya Saar has revealed to escXtra Bosnia and Herzegovina will present their song on March 15th.
• Nearly forgot to put in the delightful piece of inaccuracies on an LA times website have a look here. But seriously "European Idol" where do these gobdaws get their information from. 
• Finally, Feminnem have finally come to an end after many years of great music. However I will always remember their great song in 2005.

Israeli Song Leaked!

Israel's Eurovision entry "Time" by Izabo has been leaked online. Even the band seem unsure how this happened and state that they are not finished the arrangement yet but for the moment here it is: - I'm really liking this.