May 5, 200916 yr Top 20 Update: 01 03 Ireland 02 09 Romania 03 04 Iceland 04 08 Switzerland 05 06 Greece 06 07 Azerbaijan 07 01 Finland 08 12 Portugal 09 02 Spain 10 05 Albania 11 10 Netherlands 12 11 Cyprus 13 14 Andorra 14 13 Turkey 15 15 Norway 16 17 Sweden 17 16 Denmark 18 18 Armenia 19 21 Germany 20 19 France
May 5, 200916 yr i dont see the appeal of the greek song at all its a pure copy of his previous entry it sounds more like a 'Sakis does Swedish Schlager' than it does 'Shake It'
May 5, 200916 yr i dont see the appeal of the greek song at all its a pure copy of his previous entry What are you on about? :blink: It's far more Shady Lady than Shake It...it's NOTHING like the normal type of Greek entry! :lol:
May 5, 200916 yr Final rank from me! 1. Norway 2. Finland 3. Andorra 4. Ireland 5. Iceland 6. Denmark 7. Malta 8. Greece 9. Portugal 10. Switzerland 11. United Kingdom 12. Bosnia & Herzegovina 13. Israel 14. Turkey 15. Germany 16. Romania 17. Montenegro 18. Armenia 19. Ukraine 20. Spain 21. France 22. FYR Macedonia 23. Estonia 24. Poland 25. Russia 26. Sweden 27. Slovenia 28. Netherlands 29. Cyprus 30. Bulgaria 31. Moldova 32. Hungary 33. Belgium 34. Azerbaijan 35. Slovakia 36. Lithuania 37. Albania 38. Belarus 39. Latvia 40. Croatia 41. Serbia 42. Czech Republic
May 5, 200916 yr I just realized my final list is wrong coz all of them can't qualify so new list soon :lol:
May 5, 200916 yr THIS is the final rank from me, this is posible, the ranking in the post above was not possible as only 10 countries from each semi can qualify! So Montenegro, Armenia and FYR Macedonia is changed with Slovenia, Netherlands and Cyprus. Russia 25th - 22nd Poland 24th - 21st Estonia 23rd - 20th FYR Macedonia 22nd - DNQ France 21st - 19th Spain 20th - 18th Ukraine 19th - 17th Armenia 18th - DNQ Montenegro 17th - DNQ 1. Norway 2. Finland 3. Andorra 4. Ireland 5. Iceland 6. Denmark 7. Malta 8. Greece 9. Portugal 10. Switzerland 11. United Kingdom 12. Bosnia & Herzegovina 13. Israel 14. Turkey 15. Germany 16. Romania 17. Ukraine 18. Spain 19. France 20. Estonia 21. Poland 22. Russia 23. Slovenia 24. Netherlands 25. Cyprus 26. Montenegro 27. Armenia 28. FYR Macedonia 29. Sweden 30. Bulgaria 31. Moldova 32. Hungary 33. Belgium 34. Azerbaijan 35. Slovakia 36. Lithuania 37. Albania 38. Belarus 39. Latvia 40. Croatia 41. Serbia 42. Czech Republic
May 5, 200916 yr OK: Rather than create a new thread, I'm going through reviewing & rating (out of 10) the ESC entries in national alphabetical order: Albania: Kejsi Tola - Më mërr në ëndërr: A quite good, if unoriginal ethnic Euro dance track. Decent vocals and a melody. But nothing earth shattering. 6.5 Andorra: Susanne Georgi - La teva decisió: A quite good melodic rocking tune, but the main vocalist puts me off. She sounds as if autotune has been used to keep her on key. 7 Armenia: Anush & Inga - Jan Jan: The opposite of the Andorra entry. Good vocals let down by a mediocre ethnic tune that is too clunky for its own good. However it might work better live, but on record it sounds like a mess and arrghh at the crow barred key change at the end. 5.5 Azerbaijan: AySel & Arash - Always: Another ethnic start soon descends into a catchy sub Ricky Martin meets Shakira track. I personally don't like this at all as it is too cliched for my liking. (The temptation to sing Hips Don't Lie over the top is enormous). But my goodness it has a catchy chorus. A definite Top 10 contender IMHO. 5 Belarus: Petr Elfimov - Eyes That Never Lie: Oh dear. An eighties throwback bloke (with that mullet - very Def Leppard); over emotes in a sub Jon Bon Jovi manner on this monstrosity. I can imagine David Hasselhoff covering this. 4 Belgium: Patrick Ouchene - Copycat: Oh dear, oh dear. A dire Elvis impersonator does his worst Tom Jones meets Adam Ant impression over a Jive Bunny backing track. Hopeless. 1 Please feel free to comment on my critique of the tracks/acts.
May 5, 200916 yr Bosnia & Herzegovina: Regina - Bistra voda: 4 blokes who are clearly fans of Coldplay's Viva La Vida era image wise do a decent power ballad effort with a quite catchy hook. The vocalist reminds me soundwise of Enrique Iglesias. Another Top 10 contender IMHO. 8 Bulgaria: Krasimir Avramov - Illusion: I thought Bulgaria were robbed last year of a final place. However this years entry is gimmicky nonsense. The sub Morten Harket (a-ha) vocallist over this epic lightweight gothic track does not work as there is no obvious sign of a tune or melody. 3.5 Croatia: Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea - Lijepa Tena: A nice flamenco type guitar quickly descends into three minutes of nothing to listen to other than some ugly heart-throb over emoting. Very poor. 2 Cyprus: Christina Metaxa - Firefly: Another unforgettable track. So so female vocallist over sub U2 ballad backing music that takes forever to get going. Nice but bland. 5 Czech Republic: Gipsy.cz - Aven Romale: Oh jeez. :rolleyes: Terrible novelty tat. Bonkers bloke in a red superman type suit does something resembling a bad Breecht Three Penny Opera. 1.5 Denmark: Niels Brinck - Believe Again: Mmmm. A Ronan Keating soundalike sings something that sounds like it was left out Ronan Keating's last original studio album. Competent but unremarkable. 6 I hope things get better than this so far .....
May 5, 200916 yr Estonia: Urban Symphony - Randajad: Thank goodness a song I like. A good symphonic hook, with an equally strong tune & melody. The uncluttered musical track & the well suited slightly haunting female vocals help. I don't think this will go Top 10, but I really like it. 8.5 Finland: Waldo's People - Lose Control: Now this is very Buzzjack friendly. A bouncy electro-disco track with female vocals, even if the tune is unmemorable in the verse before the Steps/Alcazar like chorus. A potential Top 10 finisher. 7 France: Patricia Kaas - S'il fallait le faire: Well this is very .... French with it's jazz like sound. I like it a fair amount, but I'm not sure this will go down great at Eurovision. A well constructed tune, but I don't think the song hook is sharp enough. 7.5 Germany: Alex Swings, Oscar Sings - Miss Kiss Kiss Bang: Oh dear. This male jazzy nonsense is the sort of thing Simon Cowell loves. He might be better looking in a US boyband sort of way, but vocally he is no Jamie Cullum. 3.5 Greece: Sakis Rouvas - This Is Our Night: A male heart throb with a decent voice sings over the top of a very catchy tune with a strong melody. I'm not mad on this late 1990s Euro Dance type track, but I can very easily see this has a potential top 5 finisher. 7 Hungary: Ádokzoli - Dance With Me: A cliched modern dance track. Pleasant enough, but too formulaic without a strong enough hook. 5
May 5, 200916 yr Iceland: Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir - Is It True?: Ooh I like this. Attractive blonde singing over a lovely arrangement ..... only let down by the tune & melody not being strong enough, especially on the chorus. 7.5 Ireland: Sinead Mulvey & Black Daisy - Et Cetera Mmmm. This track is very Avril Lavigne meets Hilary Duff. The vocallist is too clean to make this track work. It's OK, but that is it. 6 Israel: Noa; Mira Awad - There Must Be Another Way: Mmmm. This track is quite nice in a Gloria Estefan sort of way. I hope this make the final as the two girls harmonies work really well. But the tune is not good enough. 6.5 Latvia: Intars Busulis - Sastrēgums: Oh dear. Over earnest male vocals, over a cluttered track. It's different, just that I don't think it is that good as their is too much going on. 4 Lithuania: Sasha Son - Love: This male vocallist starts over a piano motif, that gradually gets more louder as more instruments come in. Again it sounds quite nice in a sub Alicia Keys sort of way, but the tune is not good enough IMHO. 6 Macedonia: Next Time - Nesto Sto Ke Ostane: Make it stop. An awful poodle rocking soundalike track from the 1980s. 2.5 I'll complete my reviews tomorrow evening.
May 6, 200916 yr I'm not particularly surprised - Rich always ends up (rather justifiably, let's be honest here :P) hating at least a quarter of the songs - given that the quality's gone down this year, it's no surprise he doesn't have much good to say so far :lol: He also changes his mind on most of his favourites, or ends up liking them more if he already did - so I expect to see a poor review for Norway which turns into a good one come next week :kink: Also thought he'd like Iceland more tbh :o
May 6, 200916 yr I'm not particularly surprised - Rich always ends up (rather justifiably, let's be honest here :P) hating at least a quarter of the songs - given that the quality's gone down this year, it's no surprise he doesn't have much good to say so far :lol: He also changes his mind on most of his favourites, or ends up liking them more if he already did - so I expect to see a poor review for Norway which turns into a good one come next week :kink: Also thought he'd like Iceland more tbh :o Yes, that's me in a nutshell. That why I like to hear them now for the first time and let them grow (or not) on me in time for the ESC Final week. :D
May 6, 200916 yr Malta: Chiara - What If We: I wondered where Michelle McManus had got do? Only joking, the Maltese entry is a much better singer than that. Whilst the tune is rather splendid in a Celine Dion on a good day mode. The best thing I've heard so far (or am I in a better mood this evening). 9 Moldova: Nelly Ciobanu - Hora Din Moldova: ... and back to reality. An odd ethnic wailing atmospheric dance track soon descends into something less imaginative and annoying. 4 Montenegro: Andrea Demirović - Just get out of my life: A superior Euro dance pop track. Memorable chorus, good Steps esque female vocals. A camp video. Slightly 21st century Abba backing. If the vocals can be nailed Live then this sounds like a Top 10 finisher. 8 The Netherlands: De Toppers - Shine: This Man Band trio look awful, and their singing is not much better. In short this entry is everything Eurovision sceptics assume the average ESC entry is like. 3 Norway: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale: Babyfaced looking male who can play violin over a Russian waltz sort of track. Whilst singing something that sounds like it could have been written by a-ha. But the tune is top notch stuff and very memorable. This is so different, it surely will stand out from the crowd. To my ears this is the first song I've listened to that cries potential winner. I love it. 10 Poland: Lidia Kopania - I Don't Wanna Leave: A nice looking female singing a very pleasant tune. But alas I fear there is nothing special enough about this track to make it stand out from the crowd. 6
May 6, 200916 yr Norway: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale: Babyfaced looking male who can play violin over a Russian waltz sort of track. Whilst singing something that sounds like it could have been written by a-ha. But the tune is top notch stuff and very memorable. This is so different, it surely will stand out from the crowd. To my ears this is the first song I've listened to that cries potential winner. I love it. 10 hoorah :cheer: I haven't been hyping this up for months for no good reason :w00t: a 9 for Malta surprised me more though, I find the new mix of the track (which is what I assume you listened to) to be very amateur sounding and as I said before, the backing track sounds like news bulletin music...obviously there's no denying that she has a very powerful voice though ^_^
May 6, 200916 yr Portugal: Flor-De-Lis - Todas As Ruas De Amor: A nice traditional acoustic guitar & folky sound and decent vocals, sadly cannot help improve an unforgettable tune & melody that does not really go anywhere. 5 Romania: Elena Gheorghe - The Balkan Girls: Another so so ethnic Euro Dance track with plenty of percussion. The verse & chorus sound as if they were taken from two entirely different songs. 5.5 Russia: Anastasiya Prihodko - Mamo: To be honest this song reminds me of that Father Ted Eurovision episode. It sounds to me as if they have selected a song that does not stand a chance of winning, as they don't want the cost of hosting two years running. 4.5 Serbia: Marko Kon & Milan Nikolić - Cipela: Dup consisting of a bloke with an accordian and his rotund mate with a voice full of razorblades. Horrible. 2.5 Slovakia: Kamil Mikulčík & Nela Pocisková - Leť Tmou: Nice female slightly shouty vocalist. Dreadful piano player/male singer = Awful song / track. 1.5 Slovenia: Quartissimo - Love Symphony: Well at least this is different. String quartet plays for a minute before the female vocallist kicks in with the interludes. However, unlike the Norwegian entry I don't think this is memorable enough to go all the way. 6
May 6, 200916 yr Spain: Soraya - La Noche Es Para Mí: Another track with an ethnic Eastern European (Byzantium was the word I was looking for) sound over a rhythmic dance track. This is a quite good tune too. 7 Sweden: Malena Ernmann - La Voix: I loved the operatic intro before it changed into a Pet Shop Boys type of track with her more mediocre lower range vocals. I'd be very surprised if this is not a Top 10 finisher. As the melody is very memorable. 8.5 Switzerland: Lovebugs - The Heighest Height: A really good (think The Killers but not as good obviously) intro let down by some mediocre vocals. A great bouncy guitar synth motif is not enough to carry this track with this mediocre tune. 5.5 Turkey: Hadise - Düm Tek Tek Another Byzantium sounding track. An infectiously catchy melody that Shakira would kill for. I think this sound like a potential Top 3 finisher. 9.5 Ukraine: Svetlana Loboda - Be my Valentine: Probably the most contemporary sounding song in the whole contest. A great chorus, but something just does not feel right about this track that stops it being brilliant. But I think this could easily finish in the Top 10. 8 United Kingdom: Jade - My Time: Britain's first non awful entry in over half a decade. This is very old school musical sounding thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber's melody with Diane Warren's cliched lyrics. Jade vocals suit this song beautifully. Bottom 10 would be a travesty. 9
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