J00prstar

Susan Boyle with an original song could be a shout. She has the vocal chops and big name recognition.

Right?? People on socials are really out here acting like straight people are always chaste and modest. I was reading what felt like some light homophobia in the tone of the comments but wanted to be sure I wasn't projecting.

What??

This was exactly what I thought too. Olly was like the B version of Nemo's performance in many ways unfortunately/coincidentally

Comments like 'it was too gay for voters' 'it was simulating sex' etc. I'm like... It wasn't even unless that minimal kind of two men dancing together is 'too sexual' for general straight audiences. Some of whom should be familiar with Olly as an actor from It's A Sin...

Social media seems to be going off with this angle and I'm not sure if I'm in a bubble (in which it's not) and these are a minority of people being oversensitive, or if it actually is. Shocking here in the sense of 'scandalous' etc. as opposed to 'shockingly bad' or 'deserving of low points'. Personally I didn't find it at all shocking. It was a performance with male dancers who did a bit of dancing together performed by a gay lead artist who was pretty fully clothed. But feel free to disagree, the point of this poll is 'ask the audience'.

Yeah Israel getting 15 12s is bullshit. The song was fine, nothing special. They have a cheek to say it's not political. And what's this about 100 countries being able to televote, did I hear that wrong?

They need to follow the formula and pick a lane. A successful Eurovision entry has at least one or more of: a) super-strong vocal with notable vocal moments within the performance (e.g. Sam Ryder, Marco Mengoni, Gjon's Tears, Slimane, Conchita, Nemo) b) super-strong dance including, usually, a dance break (e.g. Chanel, Eleni Foureira, Ruslana) c) super-strong staging or storytelling accompanying a catchy song (e.g. Alexander Rybak, Mans Zelmerlow, Ruslana, Go_A, Loreen with Tattoo) Olly this contest? The vocal was decent but couldn't compete with any of the powerhouses in the competition, even though Olly is a good singer and could possibly have with a different arrangement of the track had a vocal moment. The dancing was fine, but he and the dancers were caged off in a box that didn't allow much room to manouver for tv, and there wasn't really a dance break to speak of. And the staging, yes, it was fine, but the song was then a bit generic for it - make me dizzy from your kisses is just a bit of a generic love song lyric, it doesn't have much authenticity to it. I haven't followed this year's contest a huge amount but I'm also unsure if Olly did much of a press tour in Europe to promote the song which would also have helped if there was a decent push. For 2025? They should pick a strong vocalist and maybe actually try something emotive for a change. An unknown singer would be a shout. Or what's someone like Emeli Sande up to these days?

If anything I didn't think it was homoerotic enough! I thought that the choice to make the stage smaller was probably a mistake for the platform they had. They could have broken out of that cage thing earlier in the song and had a dance routine. Generally my take on it was that it didn't really show a lot of artistic merit and looked as if it had been choreographed in order to hide a weak dancer's shortcomings - which was a mistake because I think Olly could have a) handled a dance break if one was given, and b) could have brought in something like playing the piano to start it off or doing a transition or something. Put next to the likes of Nemo's performance it just didn't stack up and then compared to others on the night, it didn't have a particularly outstanding vocal OR dance performance OR gimmick apart from the stage.

As for Israel honestly their song was just ok and I thought in poor taste some elements of the performance. Imo the same track from another country wouldn't have been in contention. The UK giving it 12 is suspicious really because nothing about it stood out as particularly appealing to UK tastes the way some of the other tracks this year likely did. Sidenote, somebody on the scoresheet has been giving 12s out of 10 lol

Good contest! Shame for Croatia but I thought much like Kaarija it was unlikely to win. My biggest takeaway of the night was how creepy and unsettling AI Abba were. I'd thought about going to see the show in London, I don't think so now after that!

Anyway Ireland for me too. Though I win more if Ukraine takes it

Agree that allowing Israel to compete is political enough that it begs the question of the rules

Tbh I'm hoping some of the acts maybe revamp their performances to protest! I'm a bit excited. I hope it goes off still bc I really planned this night as a treat for myself after a really stressful recent time.

Well if Iz agrees I must be doing something right! Idk it just seems to me like misplaced energy in order to do something that sounds stancey but hasn't really been thought through.

I'm talking about the people boycotting and not watching it in the first place. I haven't yet seen a good argument for that. "The viewing figures will be less" aye great, real blow you're striking to Israel there if they win anyway.

But if the way of Israel not winning is for people to vote for someone else then why is the campaign not for that, mobilising around another entry, instead of withdrawing altogether and clearing the road for an Israel victory which will only ultimately increase their sphere of influence? I don't understand how this is different from when a dangerous electoral candidate is standing, deciding to not vote, even knowing that then damnsyou to live under that person's rule.

Why should the UK and Ireland withdraw for Israel? I don't follow any of this and to be honest its annoying me.

I'm hoping Ireland or Ukraine can squeak it if not Croatia. (Which I stll think could be a false flag fave like Kaarija last year) Also hoping nobody protest-interrupts Israels performance because that will only help their televote in sympathy.

S Club 9 Bring It All Back 9 You're My Number One 10 Two in a Million 9 S Club Party 8 Everybody Wants Ya 9 Viva La Fiesta 7 Gonna Change the World 7.5 I Really Miss You 6 Friday Night 11 It's a Feel Good Thing 5 Hope for the Future xx.x So Right xx.x Hello Friend xx.x Our Time Has Come xx.x We Can Work It Out xx.x Down At Club S '7' 9.5 Reach 10 Natural 9 I'll Keep Waiting 8.5 Bring the House Down 5 Best Friend 7 All in Love Is Fair 8 Love Train 6 Cross My Heart 8 The Colour of Blue 8.5 I'll Be There 10 Stand By You xx.x Spiritual Love xx.x Lately 11 Never Had a Dream Come True xx.x Someday, Someway xx.x If It's Love xx.x Perfect Christmas Sunshine 8 Don't Stop Movin' xx.x Show Me Your Colours 9 You 10 Have You Ever xx.x Good Times xx.x Boy Like You xx.x Sunshine xx.x Dance Dance Dance xx.x It's Alright xx.x Stronger xx.x Right Guy xx.x Summertime Feeling xx.x I Will Find You xx.x Dangerous xx.x The Long & Winding Road Seeing Double 6.5 Alive xx.x Whole Lotta Nothin' 9 Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You xx.x Bittersweet xx.x Straight from the Heart xx.x Gangsta Love xx.x Who Do You Think You Are? xx.x Do It Till We Drop xx.x Hey Kitty Kitty xx.x Dance xx.x Secret Love xx.x The Greatest xx.x In Too Deep xx.x Let Me Sleep xx.x Every Kinda People xx.x Discotek Best + Rarities 10 Say Goodbye xx.x Everybody Get Pumped xx.x Rain xx.x Special Kind of Something xx.x Dancing Queen xx.x The Two of Us xx.x Anytime, Anywhere xx.x Can You Feel the Love Tonight xx.x Family xx.x These Are the Days xx.x Good Times (Bradley & Jon) I need to listen to some of the others so I can come back to it. If someone could DM remind me that would be super

Ugh Israel has an amazing slot. I can't believe it's in contention to win, I thought the world was against them right now or at least ashamed of them! Unfortunately Ukraine, my winner pick, is going to struggle from #2. Ireland has a good slot but can they actually pick up momentum so late? It should do well with juries though for the technical difficulty.

Thanks for closing these out Calum <3 When Sasha achieved a perfect 10 I was shocked but can't say it wasn't deserved!

The Cascada version is so much better!

Placeholder for now in case I forget this!

I don't mean this to be hugely shady but there will be a little bit; in terms of their career moves it kinda shows arguably that Jesy and Leigh didn't really put 'learning the industry' or educating themselves later in life high on their priority list after they got their first success in Little Mix. It's a trap that a lot of musicians fall into, speaking from the experience of some of my friends and an ex. Both of them have fallen into the traps of a) overpromising something that might never happen, which then makes them look foolish and out of control and like they couldn't be successful enough to even get a first era, which then becomes kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, and b) what looks like blowing a lot of their own money on things that might not see a return, or generally making unwise financial moves and I guess just trusting it would all work out. I think Leigh's personal discord is also a really strange career move because it blurs the line between what should be an artist and a fan's relationship into what seems to almost be therapy which again comes across as kind of unprofessional and also is how you get people turning into stalkers etc.