Amph Eurovision Song Contest 2015

It's time for this spectacle again. In an instance of bad timing I'm going to miss the main final on Saturday, but that means that I'm more hooked for the semi-finals. I actually like the semi-finals, since that is before the worst entries have been weeded out. My feeling about this year is that it's a ballad year, but does that mean that a ballad will win or will they just dominate the starting list?

Here are the entries for tonight's semi-final, 10 will go on to the final.

Albania - Albania elects its entry on a festival where the voice is very much the focus. This time it's once again a good singer, but after having listened to it I can't remember the song.
Armenia - This year's politically controversial entry. It's sung by a group of artists from the Armenian diaspora, and yes it's about the Armenian genocide. The original title "Don't deny" was deemed too political, so now it's called "Face the shadow"
Belgium - not too bad a bit tedious but could go through with a good live performance
Denmark - One of the better artist names "Anti-social media". It makes me want to sing a long and be happy. It definitely catches on while listening, which of course is important if you want to win votes.
Estonia - I like this one, definitely one of my favorites in this semi-final
Finland - The shortest entry (of all time?). It clocks in at 1:40. The group is actually a band of people with developmental disabilities and the lyrics mean "I have to". Will Europe think it's a brave move to send such a group to the ESC and vote them on to the final?
Georgia - Georgia almost always sends interesting entries. This one has potential, if the singer has a voice that can carry a live performance.
Greece - boring ballad
Macedonia (FYROM) - One of the entries that's been talked about ahead of the competitions. Starts off boring, but the chorus is really nice.
Moldova - I hope it's better if I don't have to watch the lousy video.
The Netherlands - it doesn't stick out, they will be happy if it goes through to the final.
Romania - doesn't make me the least interested.
Russia - Did Putin pick the song? Russia is more and more taking over Israel's role of singing about peace and love. The song isn't too bad, except for the obvious propaganda lyrics. Still Russia has enough supporters that it will go through.
Serbia - Serbia usually sends strong ballads, and this time they sing in English, but I'm not sure that's actually an advantage.
Hungary - It's a simple acoustic song. It can either stick out with it's focus on harmonies, or be forgotten among the more powerful songs.
Belarus - This year Lukashenko didn't elect the entry, as he has done previously. The song isn't anything particular, but the violin part isn't too bad. Still it will probably receive enough points from its neighbours to go through to the final.

So my picks to go through the final are: Armenia, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Finland, Moldova and Belarus.

 

Best comment from the Swedish commentator so far (about Armenia's entry): It's not common to sing about genocide in the Eurovision, at least not since the German sang about Genghis Khan in '79.

I was disappointed in the Armenian performance though, not very strong and the voices were definitely bettern in the video. Might have to regret that I didn't pick Belgium for the final, that was a good performance.

 

Yes, the interval act just referenced both Dschinghis Khan and Timedance!

 

And the finalists are:
Albania
Hungary
Romania
Russia
Armenia
Estonia
Greece
Georgia
Serbia
Belgium

So I was totally out this year, only 6 out of 10 right.

Well I'll be back tomorrow when I'll go through the entries that don't have to go through the semi-finals, but go directly into the final.

 

So I think tonight is a good night to go through the entries that are already qualified for the final, and this year they are seven. The host country, last year's winner, is always guaranteed a place in the final, so that gives Austria a place. Then there is the Big 5. Those are the five countries that give the most money to the EBU (European Broadcasting Union). The rule about the Big 5 came about when Germany didn't qualify for the final, and threatened to withdraw from the competition alltogether. For a long time it was the Big 4, since Italy didn't enter the contest, since Italy's return they have been 5. The seventh country already in the final is: Australia. One has to remember that the Eurovision isn't stricly about the normal geographical boundaries of the continent of Europe. The European Broadcasting Area also covers northern Africa, some countries in the Middle East (that's why Israel is taking part in the ESC) and some Asian countries (like Armenia and Azerbaijan and Georgia. That doesn't include Australia though. You can still be a member of the EBU if you are outside of the EBA, but part of the Council of Europe, for that reason Kazakhstan would be able to enter even if only 4% of its area is in Europe. That still doesn't include Australia though. No the reason for having Australia in the contest is simply that the ESC is really big in Australia, and it has been broadcast there since the 1980's. As special celebration for the ESC 60th anniversary this year Australia was invited on a wild card. There was one condition though. Australia had to partner up with a full EBU member that can host the final if Australia wins. So no, there is no chance of the next ESC taking place in Sydney, instead if Australia wins it will be held in Germany.

Here are the entries now:
Australia - One would think that when they can finally enter, then Australia would send some over the top, camp ESC thing. Instead they actually send a pretty good song. This one has gone up as one of the favorites to win the whole competition. The song is good enough, and one shouldn't underestimate the novelty factor for Europeans to be able to vote for Australia.
France - Oh, France. You used to be superpower in the ESC, the favorite of francophone Europeans and now you send this boring ballad. I think it's sad that good entries are eliminated at the semi-finals, and then we will have to listen to this in the final. The best thing about it is that you can do a toilet break without a bad conscience.
Italy - I'm so torn about this. It has so many things I like: a powerful chorus, a beautiful language, opera schooled voices, handsome Italians, but is it too melodramatic? Opera-influenced entries have not had a good history at the ESC, but this one has also gone up as a favorite, so maybe it's time for some opera to win? I at least trust that they will sing just as gone live as in the video.
Spain - It's strange. I would probably have liked this song a lot better in any other language, I just don't think the Spanish sounds good with the song. It's a strong ballad, but it will be very dependent on a good stage show, or else I think it might feel repetitive. Still if they keep the fantasy theme from the video, then she will feel at home on stage, since it looked like it had the Eye of Sauron in the background yesterday.
UK - I like this fun 1960's inspired entry. Will it do better than the Danish 1960's flavored entry, that didn't reach the final? I'm predicting quite a lot of points from the Nordic block and Germany, enough for a respectable placement, but not enough to reach the top.
Austria - Did the singer borrow Conchita's beard for good luck this year? It makes me sway when listening to it, it's a nice background song.
Germany - The first time I heard it I thought it was Lena who returned, but with a much worse song than Satellite. No it's not Lena, they just have the same strange pronunciation. This actually didn't win the German qualification, but the when the winner was announced he simply renounced the win and gave the victory to this artist. It's trying hard to be edgy and cool, but she doesn't have the voice, the manners or anything really, I just want it to end as soon as possible.

So what do you think of these finalists? Australia and Italy are among the favorites and I think both the UK and Spain can get some good placements.

 

Too bad about the Eurovision party, as I said in the first post I'm going to miss it too.

Well today it's semi-final 2 and time to find the last 10 entries for the final.

Lithuania - The lyrics are standard Eurovision, but the melody isn't too bad. The guitar is driving the song, in fact I think it would probably be better as just an instrumental version.
Ireland - One of the better ballads, and it's not an over the top power ballad. If it had been the '90s it could have been another of Ireland's winners, but time has marched on.
San Marino - San Marino sends the youngest contestants this year, they have a combined age of 32!. The song is nice, they are nice, well everything about it is nice, but is that enough to reach the final?
Montenegro - This year's Balkan ballad, and Balkan ballads have a special power in the Eurovision, this is no exception.
Malta - Georgia went to the final with a song titled "Warrior", will Malta do the same, or can it be just one "Warrior" in the final? My guestugas is that it will only be the Georgian version on stage on Saturday.
Norway - I wait for the song to start, 3 minutes later it's over. In a choice of two simple ballads I much prefer Ireland tonight.
Portugal - The ESC perpetual underdog will always have a place in my heart. One day they must win, but I don't think they will even reach the final this year. I prefer when they send songs that at least stick out from the rest.
Czech Republic - The Czechs return after 6 years. From what I remember they have sent quite a few rock inspired pieces, and this entry seems to have a quite hard rock vibe as well. Their best placement is second to last. I think this one deserves a place in the final, but not more.
Israel - This year's big mystery: How can this guy be only 16? This is going to be this year's summer disco hit in Europe, I'm looking forward to be on the dancefloor with this. After a number of ballads this one sticks out.
Latvia - This is the artsy entry of the year, a song for those who are too cool to like power ballads and it's an intriguing song. I can't decide if I like it or not.
Azerbaijan - This is a country that takes the ESC really serious, and this year is no exception. A well produced song with a lot of power. I definitely understand why it's one of the favorites of the year.
Iceland - My favorite among the Nordic countries. Iceland is known for a good music scene, and it translates into the ESC as well. One of my favorite ballads.
Sweden - I'm partial, so I don't know if it's because I know the singer, if it's because I've heard the song since the winter, or if it's just because I'm Swedish that I like this song. It is one of the favorites, but at the same time people might not like to vote for Sweden so soon after our last victory. The stage performance is something to look forward to for those of you who haven't seen it.
Switzerland - The song is quite good, but I think it would need a better voice to carry well.
Cyprus - The third fairly simple ballad of the night, meaning no extra drums or anything. He will probably charm enough of girls to go through to the final, but will it be on the expense of Ireland?
Slovenia - Some funky violins and a voice that stands out. I hope this one will go through.
Poland - It's interesting to see the first artist in a wheel chair, but will she get points from her disability or the quality of the song? I think it's a risk that the viewers won't be able to tell all the ballads apart at this stage.

Overall I think this semi-final is better than the first one, the only problem is that most of the songs are well produced ballads. I didn't do well when trying to pick the finalists on Tuesday but here are my picks for tonight: Ireland, San Marino, Montenegro, Israel, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Sweden, Cyprus, Poland

 

And I'm sorry that I thought San Marino was going to make it to final. It was terrible. I do wonder if there are any problems with the artists not hearing the sound though, since I've been surprised by how bad they are singing on general.

 

I felt that there was a big difference between the videos and the performances, so I don't think I have picked the right songs to go through. Anyway these ones are in:
Lithuania
Poland
Slovenia
Sweden
Norway
Montenegro
Cyprus
Azerbaijan
Latvia
Israel

So I actually got 7 out of 10 right, better than on Tuesday when I thought it was easier to pick the winner.

 

I'm home, so I'll be able to see the ESC.

Now I don't think there is a clear favorite this year. The top contenders for me are Estonia, Sweden, Israel, Russia and Italy. Now both Israel and Russia come with a lot of political baggage that does influence if people vote for them or not, I would personally not vote for Russia no matter the quality of the song. My favorite is Estonia, but I think it will fall on the finish line, because it's not ESC enough. That would leave Sweden or Italy. But then there are a lot of fairly similar sounding songs this year, and even if it's not my cup of tea there might be a ballad that wins this year.

edit/ I forgot Australia. It's a good song, and there is a novelty factor about being able to vote for Australia, so maybe that will be the winner.

 

This is my first time watching. It's so hilariously awkward.

 

I'm hoping that we will bring back some Scandinavian humour for next year.

 

We are the heroes!



Welcome back to Sweden for the 6th time, one more time and we will equal Ireland's 7 wins.

 

I had a great time watching it, especially the voting patterns. Lithuania shutting out Russia was the best.

Also Germany and Austria finishing at zero. I think Europe has a long memory.

 

Oh yes.

When it comes to neighbor voting, and yes nobody can deny that the Nordic block is even worse than the Balkan block, it seems as if the 12 points go to your neighbor, but the 8s and 10s are more important. Also nowadays you can't win unless you get support from all countries, or at least almost all countries.