Desperately trying to juggle a million things at once with more surprises on the way... but in the meantime, here's the latest from Eurovision 2009 and our Icelandic entry -- if it's true, it's bound to appear right here for your eyes only!
First things first - the new weekly poll from ESC Today:
Please note: These charts are in no way supposed to predict the outcome of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, they are just supposed to show which songs have the most fans among the readers.
Charts for 2nd March 2009
The results are based on the votes cast until 20:00 CET.
Pl. Country Song Score Last week Change Poll
1 Spain La noche es para mí 121.9 NEW here
2 Norway Fairytale 121.4 118.9 (1st) down here
3 Turkey Düm tek tek 89.1 94.6 (3rd) = here
4 Iceland Is it true? 86.2 86.5 (5th) up here
5 Finland Lose control 81.6 90.8 (4th) down here
6 Switzerland The highest heights 72.3 85.5 (6th) = here
7 United Kingdom It's my time 72.2 96.2 (2nd) down here
8 Bosnia & Herzegovina Bistra voda 62.0 NEW here
9 Portugal Todas as ruas do amor 52.7 NEW here
10 Denmark Believe again 50.9 53.5 (7th) down here
11 France Et s'il fallait le faire 40.8 41.0 (8th) down here
12 Montenegro Just get out of my life 32.5 31.4 (12th) = here
13 Greece This is our night 31.3 35.4 (10th) down here
14 Hungary Dance with me 28.3 35.2 (11th) down here
15 Albania Në merr në ëndërr 26.5 29.5 (13th) down here
16 Poland I don't wanna leave 24.3 4.8 (18th) up here
17 Slovenia Love symphony 24.1 38.6 (9th) down here
18 Andorra La teva decisió 22.2 21.1 (15th) down here
19 Malta What if we 22.1 22.4 (14th) down here
20 Germany Miss kiss kiss bang 20.4 13.6 (17th) down here
21 Moldova Hora din Moldova 14.3 15.9 (16th) down here
22 Lithuania Love 8.6 1.5 (19th) down here
23 Ireland Et cetera -3.1 -3.4 (20th) down here
24 Croatia Lijepa Tena -4.7 NEW here
25 Romania The Balkan girls -6.3 -11.4 (21st) down here
26 Georgia We don't wanna put in -18.6 -42.4 (23rd) down here
27 Netherlands Shine -19.1 -14.5 (22nd) down here
28 Bulgaria Illusion -79.5 -88.9 (24th) down here
29 Cyprus Firefly -94.2 -101.1 (25th) down here
30 FYR Macedonia Nešto što kje ostane -107.8 -105.0 (26th) down here
31 Armenia No par -140.1 -132.9 (27th) down here
32 Latvia Probka -154.5 NEW here
33 Belarus Eyes that never lie -169.0 -179.9 (28th) down here
One of the many opinion blogs about the upcoming semifinals and the grand finale in Moscow, here's an excerpt from 12Points.tv:
Edwin's 12points IV
Edwin, our 12points blogger, is very busy these days, watching all national finals, semi finals and other eurovision related tv shows, as they are programmed, allmost dayly, the last few weeks. Today we learn what he thinks about the latest selected songs. You can of course listen to all the songs on 12points too, as they are listed under this blog.
writen by Edwin Peeters [26.02.2009]
13 more songs and again I give my opinion. Some ballads, some controversial songs, some songs with traditional influences, some rock songs and this year's winner (I'm quite sure!) are chosen.
Armenia – Jan Jan - Inga & Anush
It reminds me in some way of Ofra Haza songs. It is a pop tune with traditional influences. The two sisters have a good energy together. The song is original and doesn't get boring. This could take Armenia into the final once more and might be the next succes in Armenian Eurovision history. Or is it too traditional for the audience?
Iceland - Is It True? - Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir A beautiful blonde on stage in a white dress. She will get lots of votes because of her looks. A good ballad. It misses out on not having a bridge, but she will make it to the final in Moscow.
Lithuania - Pasiklydes Zmogus – Sasha Son
Another ballad, but not in a traditional Eurovision way. It is more of a pop song. This song is very original, just like the singer. A good perfomer who carries the song. I'm not quite sure about the electric guitar solo (hope it will be ditched before Eurovision), but, hey, it can't be perfect. Don't know if the average Eurovison watching European will vote for this song. If they like quality they will. But I think Sasha will barely make it to the final. I'm keeping my finger crossed that he will.
Poland - I Don't Wanna Leave - Lidia Kopania
And again, a ballad. The beginning of the song sounds mysterious, but the chorus doesn't. The singer is gonna get some votes with her looks, but I would like to see her in a classy dress in stead of the short one she wore at the national final... or she should borrow Edyta Górniak's (ESC 1994) dress, also short, but more stylish. She is gonna make it to the final in Moscow. After that is difficult to predict wich ballad will do best.
Moldova - Hora Din Moldova - Nelly Ciobanu
Another song with a Balkan influence, like the Romanian song. Although this contribution from Moldova (the Romanian neighbours) sounds more traditional and authentic than the more poppy Romanian one. I also have to think about gipsy music. To me it sounds good, but gipsy music generally doesn't do well at Eurovision. This will struggle to get into the final, I fear, although it makes me feel really happy: hey hey!
Georgia – We Don't Wanna Put In - Stefane & 3G
Oh no, a disco tune, with a rap in the middle. This is one of the controversial songs. Not because of the music, but because of the lyrics. 'We Don't Wanna Put In'... get it?: PUTIN! The difficult relationship with the Russians makes this title sound like a political statement. And that is forbidden at Eurovision. So they probably have to change the lyrics or Georgia will have to send their number two from the national final. I don't know about this. It could go either way.
Greece - This Is Our Night – Sakis Rouvas
He's back, how great is that! The three songs that were selected for (or by) him to compete in the national final were not as strong as 'Shake Shake Shake', but at least the best (last) song was chosen. It doesn't sound typically Greek, but it definitely suits Sakis' oevre. Great dancetune! Of course his energy and appearance will make the song go straight into the final and top 10.
Ireland - Et Cetera - Sinead Mulvey & Black Daisy
Good pop song. It sounds a little bit northern American. Could have been a song from Avril Lavigne. Very commercial and it could do well in Eurovision, even if it doesn't sound very Irish (I'm used to ballads or traditional songs from Ireland), she will make it to the final in Moscow. At least her name is Irish!
Bulgaria – Ilussion – Krasimir Avramov
Another controversial song. This time it's about the voting (he got many more votes than number two in the national final and some people didn't trust it) and the performance (he didn't do well at the national final). Hearing the studio version of the song it is one of my favourites, but live... well, let's say he needs to get some singing lessons or a group of superb backing vocals. But still there is the deal with is high notes. I find it weird to watch and listen to a man singing such high notes and then switch to a more manly sound. If the act and performance is alright and his voice is put into the background (just a little bit), then this could be top 10 in the final. But with a poor presentation and a weak performance it will end up at the bottom of its semi final.
Norway – Fairytale - Alexander Rybak
Like I wrote before (Edwin's 12 points III)... Wow, that guy is hot and sweet! He knows how to play the camera, he is energetic, he can sing, he plays the violin (for real), he wrote this song himself and did I mention his looks? Watch out Moscow, here is the winner of Eurovision 2009! And how great would it be that a guy of Russian descent (or almost... Belarussian actually) would win in Moscow with this song that combines eastern and western European music, dance and looks. I don't know what to say anymore. Oh yes: the dancers are supporting Alexander wonderfully, as well as the backing vocals! This act is so complete and blew me away and according to the standing ovation of the audience at the national final, there is no competition.
Macedonia - Nesto sto ke ostane - Next Time
A rock song, wich doesn't impress me at all. I guess this will be the second year in a row that Macedonia doesn't make it to the final. Popular as they may be in Macedonia, they look like a young version of Bon Jovi, with eighties looks. I don't like it, I'm very sorry. I miss the Macedonian soul or sound in this song. Not to the final... please!
Switzerland - The Highest Heights – Lovebugs
The best Swiss entry since (Estonian) Vanilla Ninja's 'Cool Vibes' in 2005. When I hear this song I think I'm listening to the radio. It could be a big hit. It's not a typical Eurovision song, but it is oh so good! Very good! This deserves to be in the top 10 in the final
Hungary - Dance With Me - Ádok Zoli
Interesting entry from Hungary. A handsome guy sings and dances to a pop tune. Light and bright are words that come to mind when I hear this song. A little bit of disco (but better than the Georgians) without a big message. It's just a feel good song. It could do very well, even into the final's top 10. And that for a song that was Hungarian's third choice! There was a controversy concerning the first choice. That song had been performed years ago in a Swedish reality show. Second choice, a Hungarian actress, decided not to participate because of her busy schedule (well, why did she enter her entry in the first place?). So I'm glad that this song (the best of the three) was finally chosen to represent Hungary! I'm sure he's gonna melt some people with his eyes.
And finally we've discovered a proper "lyrics, credits + additional info" page.
For those of you interested in the little bits and pieces, check out the Icelandic homepage
And one more thing... how could we possibly spend a week without yet another confusion in one of the Eurovision Forums....?
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