NicM82

I really enjoy this one, I really like the fact that its modern and weird but not so weird that it becomes unpleasant. Her vocal is so unusual, particularly for an ESC entry. 'Rhythm Inside' has some elements in-common, it surprised you. Yes, you wonder what they will do with the staging, but Belgium have created two strong stages in a row now and there are lots of different technical options available - really, they have a blank canvas with this song and that could really be very freeing. Please everybody, don't write Blanche off yet. Remember, we're in Kyiv this year, not Moscow, all because a woman wailed at the top of her lungs in a frankly weird trouser-suit, they used their lighting and LED cleverly and a digital tree spouted from the ground. It's about a moment, just the moment on the stage, merging a unique song we sit up and take note of and a strong visual. Create a moment and whether it wins or not, it holds up and we will remember it. A lot of people looking at Jamala's NF performance did not say "omg winner!" - hell, a lot of people still do not think "winner" when they see the completed entry in Stockholm. I don't know whether this is going to do well, it's far too early to tell, maybe there will be a backlash and a yearning for simplicity that gives Sweden its seventh win or victory for one of the more straightforward songs. Maybe that's not even the point, it's a Song Contest and this is one of the most interesting songs in the competition for me this year, at the very least we'll get something visually compelling to go along with the song, just like we got with Australia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Austria or Georgia last year.

Semi 1 is full of female full-on ballads (Albania, Georgia, Finland, Poland plus AQ UK) and Semi 2 full of male pop-ballads (Austria, Bulgaria, Ireland, Israel) right? We could start by dropping the song from that list we don't like the most and assume they will cancel each other out in the voting. Just for fun, I thought I might consider matters based purely on geographical voting. It turns out that a random draw just shows up the regional voting patterns as much as a deliberately computer-generated draw would have. If this is largely driven by a lot of political voting, here's what might well happen - Semi 1 - a) Greece and Cyprus will vote for each other and could form a Med bloc with AQ Italy. b) assume that the AQ UK, Cyprus and Greece will rain points on Australia and vice versa (UK, Cyprus, Oz = Commonwealth, lot of Greeks in Oz) c) mini-Nordic bloc, Sweden, Finland and Iceland d) Azerbaijan and Armenia might deliberately try to knock each other out - both are so out there it seems less likely that they will both survive e) Central European bloc - Poland, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovenia f) AQ Spain will try to save Portugal g) some Balkans points exchanged h) Sweden, Australia, UK, possibly Finland, Iceland, possibly one Eurasian country will throw a bone to Belgium so long as she's good Likely Qualifiers = Greece, Cyprus, Australia, Sweden plus one other Nordic, one Eurasian country likely Azerbaijan, probably Poland and Latvia, one Balkans state either Moldova or Montenegro, Belgium Definitely out = Georgia, Albania, Slovenia Might be out = Czech Republic, Armenia, Belgium if she stuffs it and there's a lot of Eastern bloc voting, either Finland or Iceland and Portugal Semi 2 - (assuming absence of Russia) a) five Balkan countries, assume around three are safe b) mini-Nordic bloc Norway and Denmark c) AQ France will likely support Switzerland d) potential Mitteleuropa bloc AQ Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Hungary e) AQ Ukraine teams up with Belarus and backs Estonia and Lithuania f) Israel might find itself disadvantaged - no neighbours left unless it becomes a sixth Balkans state g) one country that wasn't getting through now is h) Ireland could struggle even more Likely Qualifiers = Netherlands, Austria (one other Mittel-state possible), one ex-Soviet country probably Estonia (probably between them and Belarus), Switzerland, Serbia, FYR Macedonia, Bulgaria, probably both Norway and Denmark because its the easier Semi and they are usually solid Might be out = Israel (no neighbours), Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus (depending on performance) Definitely out = San Marino Bit disturbing that's that easy to whittle-down based just on where places are on the map, isn't it?

Hurrah! Georgia is going to host - I know that their young champion Mariam Mamadashvili was eager that they not pass-up their opportunity and I did enjoy her entry. I hope they do a great job and showcase the best of what Georgia has to offer. It's a shame that the UK doesn't bother with this competition - I know, I know, zero chance of it happening, but it is a shame. I think it says that we can't be arsed with the adult version. The BBC picking some young teenage talent with an upbeat, fun song, say a kid spotted on Britain's Got Talent or BPI/Musician's Guild/Equity supported competition who we know can deliver on-camera and then letting somebody else stage it would be a nice way to demonstrate that we would actually like to try harder at the adult Contest too at relatively limited expense. It would be a good way to try out a few ideas for styles and staging without risking them in the adult competition and use JESC as a job interview for the adult ESC the way that some of the other countries do like Netherlands and Russia. As for the Contest itself, there were major issues with Malta's effort. I think maybe kids should be in-charge of deciding who wins - I am not convinced by the idea of adult juries on a kid's competition. I would far rather have a mix of adults and kids on the juries if they have to have adults at all. I also think that there ought to be more emphasis on interval and opening acts being keyed towards the participants and the kind of shows kids want to see, bands and singers who have tween and teenage fan-bases, young dance troupes and that kind of thing. Maybe even look at having teenage presenters who the target audience can relate to rather than people in their thirties. I know that Disney isn't a good label for it, but learning from how children's television works to increase the drama and excitement and make the design more interesting from a young point-of-view. The kid audience should be front and centre of absolutely everything that happens on the day. Also, viewing figures are not great - why watch if you can't vote at home? Given how kids are often early-adopters of new technologies now-a-days, the EBU could use JESC to test out new electronic and web-based voting systems for later use in the adult Contest. What about a Contest outreach program to the participating country's school systems and youth organisations to get more young people involved in music and performing arts projects as well as to watch and dirt cheap family tickets and family-friendly running times to encourage family's participation or cheap tickets for the host cities' schools? JESC is a great idea - done properly and right now, they aren't doing it very well at all and if JESC doesn't work, the long-term implications for adult ESC could be equally grim.

I hope very much that they can resolve this mess before May, however, if they can't, I hope Yulia rocks it next year with a totally awesome song. I will be keeping my fingers crossed and look forward to whatever they decide to do given that Russia always send a strong entry. I quite liked the song, though it wasn't my favourite and I don't think it was going to actually win, I was really intrigued to see what they would do with the staging and I admire her guts - given the state of relations between the two countries, volunteering to go is a big statement about how you feel and your hopes for the future which in this case have sadly not lived up to our dreams. I respect Yulia for wanting to go. I do totally feel sympathy with her, she's been given a raw deal out of what is really geopolitics - alas, I'm not in the least surprised. Ukraine is to put it mildly, traumatised by the last few years. They have gone through two revolutions in ten years, the political system is riven with corruption and there are thousands still internally displaced by conflict. Added to the fact that thousands of their civil servants and military personnel changed sides instantly and they lost a substantial amount of their Navy and other military and security assets in the annexation. The Ukrainian Government has been on a war-footing since about March 2014 with all that entails, it was simply not consistent with human nature to expect them to be particularly rational about this. I am sure that NTU sought a work-around - which is what that satellite performance idea was about even though it was a completely preposterous idea and I am delighted that Russia told them to stuff it given the onerous precedents it establishes for future Contests. I can understand both sides, in the end a country has the right to decide who it chooses to have within its borders - particularly given the fact that Russia is not particularly democratic and might actually constitute a threat to the state's continued existence. Given these facts and the artist who is at the centre of this, it certainly doesn't make it at all right, but it does make it sadly predictable. It just underlines how desperately the two countries need a deal on where their borders actually are they can live with and make peace even if it is what will surely be an unsatisfactory peace to both sides. Politics has always been a spectre in the Contest - it's absolutely wrong but it is human. I'll give a couple of examples, the Irish-UK bollocks through the '70s (look at the score-cards) and Armenia and Azerbaijan , their juries are permitted to blank each other every year no matter what is sent and it is very difficult to contend that Iveta was crap last year - unusual yes, crap no. Kicking Ukraine out of the Contest only rewards Russia and makes Ukraine feel more victimised and excluded than it already does - and it feels plenty victimised as it stands - and it is arguable how much Russia, at least at a state level, actually buys into the liberal values of the rest of Europe as a whole which are embodied by this Contest. Loosing chunks of your territory, fighting a war and getting kicked out of international cultural festivals is a heavy price to pay for simply wanting your state to run better, which is basically what Maidan was about. A solution would be a temporary wave of the visa rule for a fortnight for 'exceptional circumstances' so Yulia can enter Kyiv at lunchtime Friday 28th April, rehearse the song, perform and then leave at lunchtime on Sunday 14th so long as she doesn't leave the Kyiv city limits and has an escort, its not a good compromise, but its a compromise that I'm sure that both the organisers (rather than the Government and Russia's delegation are prepared to live with to get this thing done). Hell, make Jamala escort her - she caused the mess, make her fix it. I do find '1944' a very moving entry and I do think its important to include songs which are of a variety of genres and reflect the experience of different groups, of whatever sort in the Contest. It is a tremendous shame that it happens to be a disabled woman who has come out the victim of this affair. There is good evidence to suggest that internet searches on forced deportations in the Soviet Union increased dramatically at the time of the Contest last year and it's worth mentioning that Russia did grant Ukraine 10-points in its public vote - clearly the Russian people understood what the song was about and accepted it on its own terms, as part of their history too, just as the UK would accept a song about the Potato Famine or the Easter Rising or Spain on the Reconquista. It would be uncomfortable but necessary listening. We learn and grow as a society and a continent by facing up to our failings as well as our triumphs and hopefully it got people talking - I know it did amongst some acquaintances of mine in the UK. This is in the hands of politicians ultimately - it is for politicians, not the artists themselves, to fix this mess before it becomes a permanent festering sore - which might be precisely the point, given that Yulia is the perfect potential victim if you wanted to claim Ukraine was full of fascists which pretty much sums up Putin's arguments since Maidan. Wave the bloody travel ban and pretend that this is not a problem for a fortnight, because let's face it, Ukraine is not going to back-down to threats, they are ex-Soviet and made of sterner stuff, much of the Second World War was fought over their territory, they endured some of the worst of the Civil War and Stalin, they are the heir to the Cossacks, to suggest they'd back down over a threat to exclude them is silly - they'll call that threat, they are just that pissed off. Both Governments are clearly exploiting this situation for their own game of petty point-scoring, at the expense firstly of Yulia which is inexcusable, which will then end up turning a further bucket of poo on Jamala's head, who had been bad-mouthed quite enough - she won under the rules, tough if you don't like it, I absolutely detest Rybak's winner, we invalidate or diminish one winner, we diminish them all and we have no Contest, we don't get to pick and choose which results count after a winner is announced. All of this screams slippery slopes to me. Given the divisions in the Continent, involving everybody becomes more important, not excluding countries. Looking at the thing quite calmly, probably without intending, Jamala has opened up a fascinating discussion on the role of free-speech in the Contest and just what constitutes 'politics', as well as acknowledging that reducing the song to just a statement would sell it short. We do not want a situation that we are sending bland and anodyne songs to the Contest just to avoid the risk of trouble - that only preferences countries that do IKEA pop particularly well. Conceivable the UK is allowed next year to sing a song about why we chose Brexit or Ireland about the Potato Famine, Armenia about their Genocide (presumably fine now Turkey is gone) and Israel about the Holocaust. This is a discussion we need to have if the Contest is to remain both viable without tit-for-tats between countries that don't like each other and to maintain artistic integrity. From the point of view of artistic merit, this might be good, the problem is whether it becomes about airing Europe's dirty laundry. We need to be honest and upfront with that problem and review the rules on free expression. It's also possible a total review of the rules might now be called for given that the competition is changing out of all recognition from the one originally conceived by Marcel Bezençon (I know that Poli Genova has suggested they look at the number of bodies on the stage rule). Weirdly, this whole nasty affair might have done us a favour by pushing the rules as far as they would go without buckling completely and showing just how elastic the structures are. Perhaps NTU assumed that The Hardkiss would win selection, I think most people probably did until Jamala opened her mouth and sang on Semi 1 of Ukraine's NF. The results issue is a non-sequitur really, EBU agreed to change the rules on how the points are generated and counted, they should be prepared for a situation where somebody wins on points total and not winning a category and I suspect that won't turn out to be a one-time event and frankly, I can't see given that the most of the Big Five are reliant on jury votes for points and they pay for the Contest, the Reference Group choosing to preference public votes or downgrade juries by some other way. In a weird way, though this does force us to ask a lot of difficult and delicate questions and though Yulia might be disadvantaged this time, we should at least, with a bit of luck, end up with a fairer system in the long-run and I'm sure that Russia would be keen on anything that ensures the Contest strengthens, not weakens. Additionally, it also opens out questions of financial contributions as Russia has become a major power in this competition and has influence. Is it now allowed to leverage that influence to have rules changed in its favour? We can assume that the next time Russia wins, which is only a matter of time given the calibre of entries they consistently send, that Ukraine will drop out? Sad, but probably for the best - these two countries don't even exchange Ambassadors anymore, Switzerland does a lot of diplomacy on their behalf which is just something they do. In the end, it all depends on Russia - does it believe in the concept of a Contest driven by a combination of hedged-bets - a jury system and public votes at all and how comfortable is it really with the idea of a competition where one of the main demographics is gay men? Leaving aside the lady and song in-question, Russia has a decision ahead of it, does it see itself as part of the Contest when the Contest's values are moving beyond how far it is prepared to go internally? I would say the same question is true of Belarus and to a lesser extent Azerbaijan which is also quite authoritarian. Decisions need to be made - the future of the Contest might rely on it, especially if the concept of the Big Five begins to recede into the past. All that we can be sure off is that there are absolutely no easy solutions in what is really just a symptom of a far bigger problem which desperately has to be solved - quickly....

I am no great expert in musicology but I am usually pretty good with ESC and I like this one a lot. We knew they were good with harmonies and they show this off well whilst being modern enough without being too EDM or too American. I really like this one, I like how it builds steadily to a strong conclusion, I almost really like the atmosphere, the sound palate and the conclusion and think it should do well, especially as it is in the weaker Semi. It also grows on you which is a definite positive. As long as the staging is good - I will be a happy lady. Also, I really like that the Netherlands is doing what they should be doing, selecting talent and then throwing some resource at them - sure the video is simple, but stylishly simple. The first Lucie Jones video looked like it was shot in a broom cupboard. They have learned from past failures and are developing a reputation for being professionalism, baring the odd hick-up. Between them and Belgium, I don't know who I am more happy with this year. I can just imagine how happy Denise on Wiwiblogs is with this entry. O'G3NE - you have a fan here.

This is my breakdown for how I rank things – please note that there are some cases when I really can’t pick or because we haven’t seen this year’s completed, staged entries but I like the song so I have allowed for a Tie-break, as a result this inflates the points a bit here and there. Ask me again in June – Albania // 2015: Elhaida Dani [3] ~ 2016: Eneda Tarifa [1]2017: Lindita [2] Armenia // 2015: Genealogy [1] ~ 2016: Iveta Mukuchyan [3] ~ 2017: Artsvik [2] Australia // 2015: Guy Sebastian [2] ~ 2016: Dami Im [3] ~ 2017: Isaiah [1] Austria // 2015: The Makemakes [1] ~ 2016: ZOË [2] ~ 2017: Nathan Trent [3] Azerbaijan // 2015: Elnur Huseynov [2] ~ 2016: Samra [1] ~ 2017: Dihaj [3] Belarus // 2015: Uzari & Maimuna [2] ~ 2016: IVAN [1] ~ 2017: Naviband [3] Belgium // 2015: Loïc Nottet [3] ~ 2016: Laura Tesoro [2] ~ 2017: Blanche [2] NB – basically a tie-break based on staging and Laura’s performance – we shall know more when Blanche performs but I like the song quite a bit Cyprus // 2015: John Karayiannis [1] ~ 2016: Minus One [3] ~ 2017: Hovig [2] Czech Republic // 2015: Marta Jandová & Václav Noid Bárta [3] ~ 2016: Gabriela Gunčíková [3] ~ 2017: Martina Bárta [2] NB – I know it’s a cheat, but I really do like both 2015 and 2016 about the same, for totally different reasons Denmark // 2015 Anti Social Media [2] ~ 2016: Lighthouse X [1] ~ 2017: Anja [3] Estonia // 2015: Elina Born & Stig Rästa [3] ~ 2016: Jüri Pootsmann [1] ~ 2017: Koit Toome and Laura [2] Finland // 2015: Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät [1] ~ 2016: Sandhja [2] ~ 2017: Norma John [3] France // 2015: Lisa Angell [2] ~ 2016: Amir [3] ~ 2017: Alma [2] NB – tie-break here for me, I thought Lisa Angel’s song quite meaningful, well staged and unlucky in its slot in the running-order F.Y.R. Macedonia // 2015: Daniel Kajmakoski [2] ~ 2016: Kaliopi [1] ~ 2017: Jana Burčeska [3] Georgia // 2015: Nina Sublatti [3] ~ 2016: Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz [2] ~ 2017: Tamara Gachechiladze [2] NB – tie-break, I find it impossible to compared YGL and much else and they are all such completely different songs Germany // 2015: Ann Sophie [3] ~ 2016: Jamie-Lee [2] ~ 2017: Levina [2] NB – ask me again at the end of May which of the two 2016 and 2017 I prefer, right now I can’t choose Greece // 2015: Maria Elena Kyriakou [2] ~ 2016: Argo [1] ~ 2017: Demy [3] Hungary // 2015: Boggie [2] ~ 2016: Freddie [3] ~ 2017: Joci Pápai [1] HB – I’m part Hungarian, it pains me not to really connect with a song in Magyar, but I’m not sure what it is about this one Iceland // 2015: Maria Olafs [1] ~ 2016: Greta Salóme [3] ~ 2017: Svala [2] Ireland // 2015: Molly Sterling [3] ~ 2016: Nicky Byrne [1] ~ 2017: Brendan Murray [2] Israel // 2015: Nadav Guedj [1] ~ 2016: Hovi Star [3] ~ 2017: IMRI [3] NB – tie-break, Hovi brought a lot to his song and sorry guys, but ‘Golden Boy’ just isn’t my bag Italy // 2015: Il Volo [3] ~ 2016: Francesca Michielin [2] ~ 2017: Francesco Gabbani [1] NB – I know, I just don’t enjoy this year’s song as much as I did the other two and I wanted Il Volo to win in 2015. Maybe I will with time. Latvia // 2015: Aminata [2] ~ 2016: Justs [3] ~ 2017: Triana Park [2] NB – I admire Aminata greatly as a songwriter, I just don’t like her voice as much – Justs was great, wasn’t he? You can dance to Line – bound to do well in Euroclub, not my favourite in selection, but there you go Lithuania // 2015: Monika Linkytė & Vaidas Baumila [3] ~ 2016: Donny Montell [2] ~ 2017: Fusedmarc [1] Malta // 2015: Amber [2] ~ 2016: Ira Losco [3] ~ 2017: Claudia Faniello [2] NB – almost nothing in this for me, basically a dead tie-break Moldova // 2015: Eduard Romanyuta [1] ~ 2016: Lidia Isac [2] ~ 2017: Sunstroke Project [3] Montenegro // 2015: Knez [3] ~ 2016: Highway [1] ~ 2017: Slavko Kalezić [2] NB – Knez might be a tamer song but its more authentic and sung in their own language which is so rare Norway // 2015: Mørland & Debrah Scarlett [3] ~ 2016: Agnete [1] ~ 2017: JOWST [2] Poland // 2015: Monika Kuszyńska [1] ~ 2016: Michał Szpak [2] ~ 2017: Kasia Moś [3] Russia // 2015: Polina Gagarina [3] ~ 2016: Sergey Lazarev [2] ~ 2017: Julia Samoylova [1] San Marino // 2015: Michele Perniola & Anita Simoncini [2] ~ 2016: Serhat [1] ~ 2017: Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson [3] NB – where do you even start? Points for Valentina alone. I will say that last year’s staging saved them which is why I scored it that way Serbia // 2015: Bojana Stamenov [2] ~ 2016: Sanja Vučić ZAA [3] ~ 2017: Tijana Bogićević [2] NB – tie-break, love Bojana’s message and her general fab-ness Slovenia // 2015: Maraaya [3] ~ 2016: ManuElla [2] ~ 2017: Omar Naber [1] Spain // 2015: Edurne [2] ~ 2016: Barei [3] ~ 2017: Manel Navarro [1] NB – like Manel’s song as a song, even if it is a little repetitive. I just don’t think its ESC and not sure what the hell they’ll do on the stage Sweden // 2015: Måns Zelmerlöw [3] ~ 2016: Frans [1] ~ 2017: Robin Bengtsson [2] NB – liked Frans more on the night than I ever did other-wise, still not a huge fan of the song, saying that, I have doubts about Robin’s song as well, the use of the word “frickin’” annoys me and I’m not sure about the attitude behind the song. I know this is sacrilege, but I rather wish Italy, Belgium or even Russia had won 2015, as strong an entry as ‘Heroes’ is and as fab as Måns in Stockholm, he was in my Top 4, but apart from staging, he wasn’t my winner – his song wasn’t the best song and this is still supposed to be a Song Contest Switzerland // 2015: Mélanie René [1] ~ 2016: Rykka [2] ~ 2017: Timebelle [3] The Netherlands // 2015: Trijntje Oosterhuis [2] ~ 2016: Douwe Bob [2] ~ 2017: OG3NE [3] NB – tie-break, ‘Walk Along’ as a song I like, what they did on the stage was dire United Kingdom // 2015: Electro Velvet [1] ~ 2016: Joe and Jake [2] ~ 2017: Lucie Jones [3] NB – I like the concept of trying a jazz song in at ESC, Italy came second in 2011 with a light-jazz song. If the BBC had hired people who know about jazz or swing we could have put together something which was musically solid as well as potentially quite entertaining and memorable given that this a genre not often seen at ESC. We have a thriving jazz scene in this country, there are a lot of acts in Edinburgh and Manchester as well as London and other scenes all over the country. If the BBC had got a good singer and say Hidden Orchestra, Polar Bear or somebody who actually knows what they were doing, pairing perhaps a traditional vocal with a really interesting backing track, the concept would have worked well. Instead they cheated and got inexperienced and inadequate people to do the job paired with weak lyrics and questionable staging – that’s why it didn’t work. Not the concept, the execution. 2015: 80 Points 2016: 76 Points 2017: 83 Points Countries with two or less years of entries – Bosnia & Herzegovina // 2016: Dalal & Deen ft. Ana Rucner & Jala [2] NB – technically this is cheating, I rated it a two because I liked a lot of it but I thought the rap unnecessary Bulgaria // 2016: Poli Genova [3] ~ 2017: Kristian Kostov [2] Croatia // 2016: Nina Kraljić [3] ~ 2017: Jacques Houdek [2] Portugal // 2015: Leonor Andrade [2] ~ 2017: Salvador Sobral [2] NB – there’s a lot less in this than you might think. 2015 was quite weak – I think most of their efforts a bit naff, saying that, I actually like the throw-back qualities of this year’s effort rather than trying to do something that doesn’t quite work just because it fits the formula. I also like the fact that this year they are not afraid to send something that sounds vintage so I'm treating this as a functional tie-break. Romania // 2015: Voltaj [3] ~ 2017: Ilinca ft. Alex Florea [1] NB – not really a fair fight between an overtly silly song and one with a lot of meaning. Also, I prefer ‘Moment of Silence’ if I’m honest. Ukraine // 2016: Jamala [3] ~ 2017: O.Torvald [2] NB – another one where the songs are so different that its almost impossible to compare the two but then I suspected Jamala would win last year from selection and I appreciate what she did and there’s no way they will this year, so that’s how I’m voting here 2015: 5 Points 2016: 11 Points 2017: 7 Points

Semi 1 – I would wholeheartedly agree with Sweden being an excellent opener. I had Semi 1 being a bit tougher to guess than Semi 2 this year, again like last year. We knew that Dihaj was gonna be interesting, we knew that Demy has the team, Iceland is out for redemption and Czech Republic would want to prove that their qualification last year was not a fluke. Is it not the case that they’ll have the ad-break in the middle between 9th and 10th slots? Would you put a slower, older-style song there like Portugal rather than close the half with something more of a party number? I go the safe route if I were NTU and schedule it with a strong opener, and intersperse the upbeat/quirky songs running say 1st, 5th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 18th just to keep the flow going? Belgium’s position is going to be very interesting given that this is probably the quirkiest song of the Semi, contemporary sounding, interesting vocal and thematically quite interesting – this either grows into a big club hit or becomes monotonous as hell but hats off to them for going for it, they certainly are prepared to switch it up and given what they did with ‘What’s the Pressure?’ last year, they know how to stage the hell out of a song. Also, Finland, Albania and Portugal are all ballads – I think it imperative given that they be kept away from the UK which is another torch song as it’s unfair given that we’re through anyway. I confess, I like jazz music and was raised on the Great American Songbook so I quite like the old school, 1950s vibe of Portugal, and was intrigued by Martina Bárta’s participation. Portugal could actually benefit from an odd running order given that it’s so low-key and throwback-y that it that there is literally nothing that sounds like it anywhere. As a rule, getting the transitions right is going to be the hardest part, particularly given that the occasional odd change of mood or tempo is unavoidable, but you want to try very hard to make sure that – particularly if its an AQ country who don’t have to worry about qualification but have every right to get a fair go at showing their song off properly given that we (and the other Big Five) now really got to justify our AQ status. I’m totally for Lucie going out and treating it like she’s got to qualify and win everybody over at Semi stage – it’s the only way we’re going to prove we have any business being in the Final. Semi 2 – Ireland will be made or broken with their place in the run. The lack of UK in their Semi makes them vulnerable and he’s competing with Bulgaria for the same voters. Given the Russia situation, which given their history in ESC since Semis came in and their natural wish to send something special to Ukraine – an absent Russia blows this Semi wide-open. Eastern European countries might find it harder without their votes and Switzerland is probably breathing a sigh of relief. San Marino could go second because it’s a throw-back without the charm of Portugal and barring a miracle a non-qualifier as well as hurt by the absence of Italy from their Semi. Shame ‘cos I’m still pissed at ‘Vola’ not qualifying in 2013. NTU might recognise that they are the underdogs and Valentina has a lot of love from fans and help her out a bit, but even with extraordinary staging, God bless them for trying though…. Cyprus, Israel and even Moldova have somewhat similar songs, male, EDM influenced and Estonia is a bit like the duet version, so they’ll have to be kept apart. The Netherlands might be a big winner in this Semi – good song and they sing so well. Given that there are a lot less ballads in this Semi so it’s going to require very different scheduling, France, Ukraine’s pop rock nonsense, Ireland’s pop ballad, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and even the cheese-tastic silliness that is Romania are going to be used to break-up the dancier tracks. And people Epic Sax Guy and Valentina Monetta and ESG in one Semi – I can scarcely wait!

Hi everybody, feeling reasonably but pragmatically positive (hello – United Kingdom) anyway – Firstly, Lucie’s day job is live singing eight times a week for much of a show. She’s used to looking after her voice and rehearsing at a full-on tempo as well as delivering a first-class live performance and having to sell a song, communicating above staging in a way that other recent UK entries just haven’t been. At the National Final, she added an extra emotional dimension to the song, the words seem to resonate for her and she certainly sold the song in a way the other entrants couldn’t which gave her an edge over more conventionally Eurovision songs, which is not a surprise, musicals are all about telling a story through song. In a lot of ways there are cross-over skills here and given the UK is so good at live events and musical theatre as well as pop music, it puzzles me why we’re so rubbish at ESC now. Secondly, it is a ballad, but the very fact that it’s overtly emotional and romantic might actually work in our favour. We are not making any statements and keeping it simple. Finland is probably approaching this in the same way, simple and elegant rather than say Georgia who are trying to say something. It’ll be interesting to see how well Finland does given we’re in the same Semi. It seems likely given last year’s result and Russia, people might back-away from message songs this year and this could play to our advantage, especially if quite a few songs in the Final are either up-tempo, pop-py or quirky. It might also resonate well with certain demographics just because it is so romantic – a nice slow-dance moment in Euroclub. Thirdly, there are tonnes of staging possibilities – stark and minimalist like a softer ‘Sweet People’, dark stage with gradual light increase and an slow-change LED background, go a bit ‘Gravity’ or just go for it and pretend she’s Sarah Brightman. That’s just four ideas. It’s really quite the torch song. I watched a film of the London revival production of Miss Saigon soon after it was picked and I kept thinking how this feels like its like one of those big ballads musicals use to tell the story and wondered whether Emmelie de Forest had noticed this and whether she’d done it by accident looking for a big vocal show-stopper. Perhaps going all Nancy from Oliver! during ‘As Long as He Needs Me’ on a windswept stage is the way they are going to go, but in a much nicer gown? Fourthly, the revamp shows you can tweak and adjust the sound and it still holds together, you couldn’t do much with ‘You’re Not Alone’ really. You could do interesting remixes – or just have her sing it with no backing track and let her voice do the talking. We have done quite well whenever we’ve gone musical theatre and I don’t think a lot of people were thrilled with the idea of Lloyd Webber before he bagged us 5th place back in 2009 with a staging ripped from a Fred and Ginger movie and the same kind of old school song. I feel reasonably positive 15th to 20th is possible this time – and we were 19th with Bonnie Tyler. Look, as long as they stage it half decently and she does a good turn on the stage, the message of love and perseverance is universal, she will resonate, regardless of whether people vote for it or not and right now, that’s all we can hope for. We are in rebuilding mode and we ought not to be afraid of trying other styles, it would be a step-back to go for another IKEA pop song that other countries like Sweden do a lot better just because its safe - we have to earn our AQ status now.

Hello everybody - newbie. You live in hope that Switzerland makes it - I live in hope that Portugal somehow cracks the Top 5 like one time ever. Would be beyond cool! For the record, I like the quirky songs and I wish there were more songs in languages other than English. You can do really interesting bilingual things and had Bosnia and H dropped the rap they'd have had a good solid entry with Zero English in it (I kinda liked it in a guilty pleasure kind of way). I am still furious with Albania for destroying their song. I literally did a dance around my living room when Czech Republic finally got through last year. As for underdogs, unfortunately, as delighted as I am to see Queen Valentina back amongst her subjects, I don't see her making it through. I admire San Marino's pluck for trying though - it would be fascinating to see what they'd do if they actually won, can you imagine it? I enjoy most things they send, usually for its car crash qualities I concede, but I was impressed that they managed to come up with a staging that made 'I Didn't Know' surprisingly entertaining. I'm disappointed by Slovenia - I did not have hate for ManuElla, it was fine for what it was, adequately entertaining cheese staged insanely. This time I'm underwhelmed because I enjoyed Omar Naber back in 2005 and was expecting more from him this turn around. Perhaps he's fallen to the curse of diminishing returns? I was wondering about those people who have equalled or improved upon a past performance, these are the names I can get so far (Udo Jürgens, Johnny Logan, Vicki Leandros, Elisabeth Andreassen, Carola, Wind, Poli Genova, Valentina Monetta, Danny Montell and Cheryl Baker from Buzz's Fizz; anybody get anymore?) Out of 62 Contests (counting this one) and you've only maybe got no more than twenty people tops whose ranking stayed solid or improved between appearance. The odds are not in his favour I shouldn't think. Alas, as much as I like that Czech Republic are trying things and throwing interesting people at it - and there's usually nothing more unusual than a jazz singer at Eurovision, I agree with those who think they might well be in trouble. Albania, Finland, Georgia, Portugal and UK all have ballads/slower numbers, anything that's unusual or upbeat is going to be in with a shot in Semi 1. But it Czech Republic are to stand a real chance, they are going to have to make big strides in their staging, particularly as we know that this although Ukraine at ABSOLUTELY NOT going to win, they will inevitably stage the hell out of what is probably going to be another Marmite entry from them (I was a '1944' early adopter, so to speak, largely because I knew something of the history so I had the context and because I tend to like quirky entries but I am not a fan of this one. It might improve for me, but I don't think it will.) I too am intrigued by Belgium - contemporary without being hideously EDM, quite cool. Interesting, if they can bring some awesome staging, we have ourselves a proper dark horse here. I also love the happiness of NAVIband and appreciate that they will be singing in Belarussian - hurrah! Semi 2 suddenly got much more open now Russia are gone baring some kind of miracle. It's a terrific shame really, but given the state of relations between those two countries I am not in the least surprised, the whys and where-fors are unfortunately irrelevant, the two countries are in such a weird place vis a vis each other rationality has nothing to do with it. The consequence of course opens up a spot for one of the entries in the 'Maybe' pile to sneak through and its not Ovidiu levels of unlucky, I am given to understand that Channel One have pre-selected Yuliya Samoylova for 2018 if she's DQ-ed this time, so we shall see her rock the stage and being totally awesome next year and she'll no doubt have a lot of support behind her. It'd be fascinating to see how they manage to present the song, whatever it is, especially when compared to Poland in 2015. I will file it under 'something to look forward to' and 'you go girl' when it comes. And anybody else loving the transition from O'G3NE to 'Yodel It'? That's gonna be delightfully random. Can't hardly wait!