I know things are not at their normal levels yet but we will be back soon (before JESC)

And The Winner Of Eurovision 2012 Is.....?: Part 15

Denmark

Of all the countries in this piece Denmark looks the most likely to win next year. They hold one of the strongest national finals in terms of the music quality and have been in the top 5 twice in the last 2 years – the only country to do so. They choose a song that usually would not sound out of place in their charts or European charts and can be quite popular in general. [New Tomorrow was not only a favourite of my brother and my mother, but my grandmother also]. But their poor performance in the televote this year was a surprise, but they had a poor draw. Their National Final DMGP is improving each year and this year was just about as good as it gets in terms of a National Final, nearly all of them could be good enough to go Top 10 at Eurovision. They have a great voting base and don’t rely heavily on Scandinavian block votes [but they help]. Recent trends also show direct support from Ireland and UK for the Scandinavian block They have done well in recent years with support from across Europe. They are clearly a country to be taken seriously.

Copenhagen 2013? Seems the most likely to win next year, but it would be down to the song. However each year their national final has improved as has their Eurovision entry. 

And The Winner Of Eurovision 2012 Is.....?: Part 14

Italy

Well, they came back with a bang. After one of the best comebacks in ESC history Italy are able to get points. This year The Madness of Love managed to take second place, even though it was written off by fans as soon as they heard it. However, it was very good jazz. At the moment it is not possible to make a graph from a dot, but Italy showed it could do well at Eurovision, even if they are the laziest of all ESC countries.

Rome 2013? It’s near impossible to discuss them as we only have one entry in many years but they have the ability to win.

Netherlands to host JESC 2012!!!!

It has been annonuced that Netherlands will host JESC 2012 next year in Amsterdam. This is a big step for Netherlands and shows their commitment to Eurovision both Junior and Senior. I am delighted for them and have big expectations for them. So we will see how that progresses.

Sticking with JESC the running order was done today and the running order is here: http://escxtra.com/articles/23131 Interestingly Georgia has got the best slot. 12th and today they launched a new video clip today with revamped music and that is the video of the day, I think this version is a bit stronger and could stand a great chance at JESC this year.

 Also just to mention the new Eurovision website ESC Buzz www.escbuzz.com. I believe this could be one of the greatest innovations for Eurovision fans in a few years. It is run by the highly innovative team at ESC Insight. Well Done.

Slovakia changes their mind again

Sorry I meant to post this yesterday:

So Slovakia have decided they have not actually withindraw but at this stage who knows?

Iceland won the OGAE Second Chance 2011 - No surprises there. Hardcore fans tend to dominate the OGAE anyway.

Thats the main news but one story have not mentioned is the one about Lys Assia entering the Swiss selection this year with a French song penned by Raphal Sigel

Continuing on with our series these parts are dedicated to Turkey and Ukraine:

Turkey

After coming second in 2010 not qualifying this year was the shock of the night for Turkey and very much helped Azerbaijan to win. However I think Turkey may split votes with Azerbaijan and thus cancel each other out if each makes it to the final. Should one fail then the other ought to do very well. Turkey’s internal selection has done well for them until this year and it still could produce a good song. They have a strong diaspora vote and are in the Outer Balkan Block, which does give them a lot of points but may not be there for them in the Semi Final when the votes are split up.

Istanbul 2013? Interestingly many fans seem to think that Turkey could win next year but I still think they have a slightly lower chance than Russia.

Ukraine

In 2009 they sent one of the most male geared songs ever seen and only coming 11^th and then this year they come 4^th with an average ballad [one of the great injustices of ESC]. For me even Ukraine qualifying this year was a long shot, and then when they were in the lead I near fainted. Since 2010 they have had the “Rigged” national final format, and got two top 10 places for their troubles. They are very capable of winning but when they leave potential winners at home (Jamala), they could hardly expect to win. Each year Ukraine throws something to Eurovision and each time it is something new.

Kiev 2013? Depends on what they choose from their National Final and the EBU may step in if they continue to rig their National Final. They may do well in the coming years but a win is out of the question.

There will be some news tomorrow.

After Show Thoughts X Factor Show 1

As part of my new venture to do some coverage of the X Factor UK 2011.

My first thoughts after live show 1 are available on The Best X Factor Blog.