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The second half of semi 2 was much stronger than the first half. -
Semi 2 tonight. I'm away until Sunday.
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22 - Bulgaria 2010 Miro - Angel Si Ti Still baffled as to why this didn't qualify. It's easily my favourite song from 2010. While the chorus wasn't very compelling. the exciting, dramatic strings all over this and the melodic verses are pure class. Best bit: 2.02 the punchy orchestra hits.
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Disc 2 is solid gold. But the whole thing is a great listen with top quality sequencing (I am seeking professional help about my unhealthy obsession with good sequencing).
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23 - Italy 2018 Ermal Meta e Fabrizio Moro - Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente This is so good. The guitar. The double time vocals. The plaintive chorus. Italy were starting to bulldoze everyone else out of the way on their way to a well deserved victory in 2021 - this being the first of 3 consecutive contests where they were top 3 in the televote. Best bit: 2.43 - the first chorus after the bridge.
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24 - Spain 2019 Miki - La Venda I completely missed this at the end of the grand final in 2019. I think I just stopped watching after Australia were on and went to make a cup of tea thinking to myself "It's Spain, I'm not going to miss much if I take a break now." It's just absolutely joyful. The brass is magical. Best bit: 0:55 the first chorus.
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25 - Cyprus 2018 Eleni Foureira - Fuego It's no exaggeration to say that Eurovision time can roughly be divided into two eras - Before Fuego and After Fuego. Indeed, there are 2 entries yet to come in this list that would not exist if Fuego never happened. I'm not sure I fully appreciated the seismic change that Eurovision girly bops went through during these 3 minutes back in 2018. I do now. Best bit: 2:15. The beat that is missing makes the drop more impactful.
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I've been using Udio to make some tunes using loops that I uploaded.
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25 done. 25 to go 14 countries left Any top 10 predictions?
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26 - Italy 2024 Angelina Mango - La Noi This did nothing much for me last year, even during the contest. I just treated it like yet another fan favorite that I just didn't get. The video might have been part of why that was - hair pegged to a clothes line will do that. 😄. But in the intervening months this wormed its way into my brain through all those Eurovision 2025 reaction videos invariably made by astonished Americans that spring up in the weeks after the contest. It climbed its way from outside my top 15 up to my top 5. Best bit: 1.28 hmmm
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Spodic is quite an ugly name but I do like being an Empire.
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Yeah. It's gorgeous.
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Scotland 2.
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27 - Albania 2020 Arilena Ara - Shaj 2020 was the first year that I followed Eurovision from the national selection stage and Albania was the first country to decide their entry. The original version was in Albanian and reminds me of the cold January days when one of my oldest friends was very sick and had been sick for a few months. He passed away on January 22nd and this song brings me back to that strange time between his death and the pandemic. The English version is ok but it's a shame that they didn't just revamp the music and leave the vocals in Albanian. It was treated by reactors as a generic ballad that wasn't going to do much at Eurovision. It will never be that for me. Best bit: 0.13 the first verse holds so many memories for me.
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28 - Azerbaijan 2017 Dihaj - Skeletons 2017 was weak. Even some of the few songs I liked back then do nothing for me now. This just managed to grow in the intervening years. This is both my favourite Azerbaijani entry and my favourite entry from 2017. Gorgeous verses and dramatic chorus. Best bit: 2.45 the middle eight with the staccato vocals.
