ESC 2012 - Israel will be there (?)

Sooo. About a week ago I blogged about Israel's possible withdrawal. Today I saw this:

According to Amir gilat - head of our broadcasting channel - there is no reason for Israel to withdraw next year. It's due to the fact that this specific national holiday - Shavuot - is not like the other holidays which involve a big meal, not watching TV, etc. On the contrary - it's a holiday of happiness and music. He also said that as long as he's in charge, there'd be a big national preselecion every year with many participants. 

So it's almost sure that Israel will be there! I can't imagine Eurovision without Israel! I'd be really sad if Israel withdrew. They send great songs (almost) every year! Fingers crossed for Israel too!

ESC 2012 - "We want Armenia to participate in this contest"

Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov: "We want Armenia to participate in this contest. But if they strickly decide not to come here- it is their right." Mr. Rahimov also mentioned that armenian sportmen and politics came here several times and our country guaranted their safety at the highest level.

esctodayforum.com

That sounds great! It would be a shame if Armenia couldn't be able to enter Eurovision. But we still need to see their reply. We know that their relations aren't good. Fingers crossed to see Armenia next year!

ESC 2011 - Split televoting and jury results

EBU announced the split televoting and jury results today. Some really crazy things are going on there! Take a look!

Televote Results Final

1 Azerbaijan 223
2 Sweden 221
3 Greece 176
4 Ukraine 168
5 UK 166
6 Bosnia & Herzegovina 151
7 Georgia 138
8 Russia 138
9 Germany 113
10 Ireland 101
11 Italy 99
12 Moldova 98
13 Serbia 89
14 Romania 79
15 France 76
16 Spain 73
17 Hungary 64
18 Denmark 61
19 Iceland 60
20 Lithuania 55
21 Finland 47
22 Slovenia 39
23 Estonia 32
24 Austria 25
25 Switzerland 2

Ok so Azerbaijan would still be the winner. Sweden would be second and Greece third!?! Oh my God! Italy would be 11th. It should be lower if you ask me! Spain would be 16th... Still low! That was meant to be in top 12 (at least!). Hungary 17th. Another underrated. And here is the most criminally underrated song! Slovenia 22nd?!?! Are you fucking kidding me Europe?!

Jury Results Final

1 Italy 251
2 Azerbaijan 182
3 Denmark 168
4 Slovenia 160
5 Austria 145
6 Ireland 119
7 Ukraine 117
8 Serbia 111
9 Sweden 106
10 Germany 104
11 France 90
12 Bosnia 90
13 Romania 86
14 Greece 84
15 Moldova 82
16 Georgia 79
17 Finland 75
18 Estonia 74
19 Iceland 72
20 Lithuania 66
21 Hungary 60
22 UK 57
23 Switzerland 53
24 Spain 38
25 Russia 25

Kick the juries out! Check this out! Italy would be the winner? Why? To welcome them back and to lick their asses so that they stay in the contest for good! Some of you might like the song. Well I don't and it's definitely not a winner! There were much better songs than this! The only and I repeat the only positive thing from the jury's votes would be Slovenia's 4th place (that's where they should have ended on May 14th!) and Serbia's 8th place! And look at this! France! That was a favourite to win all these weeks prior to the contest. Many called this song a jury bait but even in the jury voting they were 11th! Not even in the top 10! I was also surprised by UK's 22nd place! Wow! And they fucked up with my Spain! Damn! And Russia last? Well I don't like the song, I don't like Alexej but there were worse songs than this.

Semi Final 1 Televote Results

1 Greece 154
2 Azerbaijan 124
3 Finland 111
4 Russia 93
5 Georgia 90
6 Iceland 79
7 Armenia 75
8 Hungary 73
9 Norway 56
10 Turkey 54
11 Lithuania 52
12 Switzerland 45
13 Albania 42
14 Serbia 42
15 Portugal 39
16 Croatia 32
17 Poland 25
18 Malta 24
19 San Marino 8

Well that's interesting. Armenia and Norway would be in but Serbia and Switzerland would be out! Poland 17th... Why?! :( Greece winning the semi. What the hell people? Seriously? (Yeah I know we won the actual semi anyway) Also, Turkey would be in and Lithuania would be out. I'd like that option. :P

Semi Final 1 Jury Results

1 Lithuania 113
2 Azerbaijan 109
3 Iceland 104
4 Serbia 102
5 Finland 86
6 Malta 84
7 Switzerland 76
8 San Marino 74
8 Greece 74
10 Hungary 65
11 Albania 61
12 Turkey 58
13 Georgia 51
14 Croatia 49
15 Armenia 33
16 Russia 31
17 Norway 29
18 Poland 13
19 Portugal 6

What the hell! Lithuania would be the winner? The juries are crazy! They are crazy! Serbia would be in but still Poland and Croatia would be out. Well those were out even in the televoting but still the juries mess up pretty badly with all the countries!

Semi Final 2 Televote Results

1 Sweden 159
2 Bosnia & Herzegovina 131
3 Romania 121
4 Denmark 115
5 Ukraine 91
6 Ireland 78
7 Slovenia 68
8 Moldova 61
9 Belarus 54
10 Austria 52
11 Israel 51
12 Belgium 50
13 Estonia 46
14 Bulgaria 43
15 Latvia 43
16 Slovakia 40
17 FYROM 33
18 Cyprus 23
19 Netherlands 17

Oh. My. God! Unbelievable! Dana would have missed the final for one fucking point! For a few seconds, I hate you Europe! One point and that boring ballad from Austria would be in. Jesus Christ! I can't get this! It's totally insane! Insane! And Bulgaria would be 14th?! What the hell Europe? Poli deserved that final more than anyone else in that semi. Well Slovenia too. And Belarus would be in? Seriously? Estonia would be out! Here you go! Flopped in the televoting. At least I am a bit vindicated! But Israel 11th?! Aaaargh!!!!

Semi Final 2 Jury Results

1 Slovenia 146
2 Denmark 129
3 Sweden 99
4 Austria 95
5 Romania 85
6 Estonia 83
7 Ukraine 76
8 Belgium 71
8 Slovakia 71
10 Ireland 66
11 Bosnia & Herzegovina 65
12 Bulgaria 59
13 Moldova 53
14 FYROM 47
15 Belarus 38
16 Israel 36
17 Cyprus 24
18 Netherlands 22
19 Latvia 11

Belgium would be in and Bosnia & Herzegovina out? Hello! Honestly do they really have experts in the juries? Sweden 3rd? Do they use their ears? Huh? Israel would be 16th. In both cases Dana would have missed the final but I still think juries should be kicked out! People might be thinking in a different way when they vote because they might say "oh what will the juries vote for?" and be affected. I still think that without the juries Dana would be in! Yeah yeah I know I always talk about her but she became my winner when the ESC week began. That would be on May 9th.

Ok I read what I wrote and I saw that I curse quite a lot. I apologise! xD So now I think that the ESC 2011 is officially over. Or is there anything else we're waiting for? I think the split results was the last thing we needed. No?

I'd like to thank Matt from esctodayforum.com for taking the time and writing the results the way I gave them to you because the results given by eurovision.tv were ranked according to the running order.

And after all that let's enjoy again the one and only! ;D

ESC 2012 - Possible withdrawal for Israel?

Israel might not take part in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, that will be held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, due to the preliminary dates of the contest: The final should be held on May 26th, when Shavou'ot, an Israeli holiday, takes places as well according to the Hebrew calendar.

According to the Israeli laws, the country can not take part in any international event during any holidays. IBA might ask to move the contest a week earlier, so Israel would take part in the contest. Changing the dates of the contest must be accepted by the EBU, the host country and the rest of the participants.

On June 20th, an EBU meeting will take place in Baku, where the contest's dates will be discussed. 

Read more at esctoday.com

I don't like this. Really. Israel is one of my favourite ESC countries. I love their entries almost every year! Eurovision without Israel won't be the same! And I doubt if any of the average viewers will know the actual reasons for withdrawing. They'll probably assume that after Dana International's flop Israel decided to stay away from the contest for a while. This maybe sounds like total nonsense but that's the way I see it. But it's not what people think about Dana and Israel. I don't want them to withdraw coz I will miss their language. Hebrew sounds so great! Especially in songs! I hope EBU will move the contest! Even if it might look like Israel is benefitted all the time (they asked EBU to compete in the 2nd semi this year because of the memorial and independence days). I really hope things will work well for Israel!

ESC 2011 - The winner of Barbara Dex Award

We have a winner! Eldrine from Georgia are the winners of the Barbara Dex Award. Eldrine got 133 out of 810 casted votes.

Here is the top 10:

1. Eldrine (Georgia), 133 votes
2. Jedward (Ireland), 81
3. Zdob si Zdub (Moldova), 66
4. Yüksek Sadakat (Turkey), 61
5. Homens da Luta (Portugal), 59
6. Kati Wolf (Hungary), 56
7. Aurela Gaçe (Albania), 45
8. Daria Kinzer (Croatia), 31
9. Maja Keuc (Slovenia), 28
10. Dana International (Israel), 21

If you think that 810 votes are not a lot please click here and see why they are only 810.

Anyway. To be honest I am surprised that Mika Newton from Ukraine isn't in the top 10! And I think I agree with all of those being in the top 10 except for Jedward, Aurela Gaçe and perhaps Kati Wolf. 

So a top 10 in the final and the Barbara Dex for Georgia! Congrats! xD 


See you next year people! Ah I love this award! :P

ESC 2012 - The venue

Three possible options for the venue of the 57th Eurovision Song Contest are being considered, as reported from the press conference of Azerbaijani minister of Sports and Youth, Azad Rahimov. 

As told by the minister, one of the options is connected with the Sport Concert Complex named after Heydar Aliyev, which has been reconstructed recently. It has 7,800 seats and 1,000 more can also be added.

Another option is to hold the contest at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium. "It will be possible by closing the stadium’s roof and conducting reconstruction work so it will be possible to hold the contest at this stadium", Mr Rahimov added.

And finally the most debated project is the construction of a new concert complex to hold the contest in one of the most interesting places of Baku, on the boulevard of the National Flag Square.

Source: esctoday.com

Ok... The Sport Concert Complex has 7,800 seats. If we add 1,000 more we'll have 8,800. Ehm do you really think these seats are enough? And how are they gonna keep all 7,800 of them when they're gonna have to build the stage and the green room. Too many seats will be lost because of that. Or did I miss something?

Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium has 32,000 seats so is a good choice. They'll have to construct a new roof within a year though but it sounds easier than building a new concert complex. However the location of the new complex is just perfect. Right next to the sea and given the fact that Eurovision will start at 00.00 local time, it will be a perfect place to party until morning. With the sun rising and all that. Shit I don't wanna miss that. Here are two photos of the National Flag Square, day and night:

How great is this? And I've seen so many photos of Baku and I never had in mind such a thing. Baku is magnificent! I really wanna go!  

ESC 2012 - Jedward to make a comeback?

The duo’s manager Louis Walsh said that he would strongly consider re-entering the twins into the 2012 Eurovision in Azerbaijan, the Irish Independent reports. “Ireland could definitely win Eurovision again and we might do it next year with Jedward. I think after what happened this year, Jedward would do incredibly well in Eurovision 2012,” Walsh told the newspaper.

Source thedailyedge.thejournal.ie

Oh God please no! Not them again!! Ok I told you before I enjoyed their performance but not again! They'll be even more annoying! Duh! Ireland did good after many years and because the Jedward recipe worked they wanna go with it again. Well find someone else! I'm sure you got better artists than Jedward!

I hope at least they get some tips from Dana before they come back! *shifty*

 

ESC 2012 - The dates & confirmed participating countries

The dates set for the two semi-finals are 22 May and 24 May 2012, with the final planned for the evening of 26 May 2012.

The countries that have confirmed their participation for next year's edition are:

Austria
Azerbaijan (of course)
Belgium
Estonia
Finland
Germany
The Netherlands
Switzerland

Glad to see The Netherlands and Switzerland. They don't give up.

ESC 2011 - The grand final, results and semis' results

It. Is. Over. OVER! Give me some minutes to realize this...

During those minutes I saw the semi results. I got a second shock. Nowhere near the shock I got with Dana's disqualification but still...

This is totally insane but that's why I LOVE this contest! I don't know where to start. (I think I've said that before...) I don't know where to start! I forgot everything I wanted to comment! Next year I'll be keeping notes! :P But I know what I'll do! I'll just check my facebook! I commented quite a few things there. Ha! :P Ok... that's not working! Let's go to the results and we'll see how this goes.

1. Azerbaijan - Ell & Nikki - "Running Scared" - 221pts
Don't like it, don't dislike it. Ok winner but not the best song for me. But you know what. Sweden won. It's just the flag that changes. Swedish writers, Swedish backing vocalists... Got it? ;)

2. Italy - Raphael Gualazzi - "Madness Of Love" - 189pts
What exactly is this doing here? This is unbelievable! They did everything to show Italy that their comeback was so important! They put them 2nd to keep them around! I really don't like the song! Awful!

3. Sweden - Eric Saade - "Popular" - 185pts
Now this is a surprise. I'm happy because it's Sweden and stuff but I don't think Eric or the song deserved to be so high. The only good thing about the swedish entry this year was the melody and the choreography. Crappy lyrics, horrble live vocals from Eric, horrible live backing vocals and we didn't even take a good look at the glass breaking. Plus, this 3rd position means that Fredrik Kempe will keep coming back to Mello after this. Not to mention that next year's ESC will be full of Saades! Oh God...

4. Ukraine - Mika Newton - "Angel" - 159pts

Hmm no... I like the song, I loved the sand thing, I like Mika but no way 4th place for this. There were much better songs. All I know is that Mika is the strongest candidate for the Barbara Dex award.

5. Denmark - A Friend In London - "New Tomorrow" - 134pts

Unexpected. Really. I like the song but ok not 5th place for me. Maaaybe a top 10 after my favourites' elimination. Anyway good job Denmark! You're in my all time top 10 after all! :P

6. Bosnia & Herzegovina - Dino Merlin - "Love In Rewind" - 125pts

I was expecting them to finish high and I have no problem with that position! The song is not one of my favourites and I don't think I'll be listening to the studio version but I really enjoyed their performance tonight.

7. Greece - Loukas Yiorkas feat. Stero Mike - "Watch My Dance" - 120pts

Wow! Just wow! I mean seriously? 7th? And I got a bigger shock with the semi results! Don't worry we'll get there too. But...seriously? The only thing that makes me happy with this 7th place is that we keep our record of being in the top 10 since 2004!

8. Ireland - Jedward - "Lipstick" - 119pts

I would love to see them lower. OK I admit it. This song is my guilty pleasure. I enjoyed their performance a lot! But I can't stand them! For 100th time, they're annoying!

9. Georgia - Eldrine - "One More Day" - 110pts

This is a big surprise! I wasn't surprised when they made it to the final but I definitely didn't expect them to finish in the top 10. Wow! Congrats Georgia!

10. Germany - Lena - "Taken By A Stranger" - 107pts

Ok decent spot for Lena. In the top 10. Whoever expected her to win...well the Johnny Logan era has ended. Many many years ago! Love the choreography and to my surprise Lena sounded quite good vocally compared to her rehearsals. At least the ones I watched.

11. United Kingdom - Blue - "I Can" - 100pts

Hmm oookay... That's not bad but I'm sure the UK will be upset. They send one of their biggest "weapons" (do they say that in english? coz we do say that in greek) and they didn't even make it in the top 10. 11th place is far from bad but Blue were a favourite to win the whole thing. Well their performance wasn't a winner's performance but neither was Lena's last year so...

12. Moldova - Zdob şi Zdub - "So Lucky" - 97pts

Oh for God's sake! 12th?! Seriously? I don't like this. At all. For me it didn't even deserve to be in the final!

13. Slovenia - Maja Keuc - "No One" - 96pts

Moldova finished higher than Maja. Seriously? (yeah I know I say that a lot!) Slovenia deserved a top 5 in this final. 13 is ok for some other songs but not for Maja's. She gave a great performance! OK at least top 10 if you don't want a top 5!

14. Serbia - Nina - "Čaroban" - 85pts

Another top 5 for me ended quite low! Nina doesn't deserve this! She had one of the best songs tonight! At least a top 10 for her too!

15. France - Amaury Vassili - "Sognu" - 82pts

Hahahahahahahaha! OK I'm sorry. Well ok, I'm not. I'm actually happy with this result! I really never understood why people put this as a winner. It sucks IMO. If you guys like opera why didn't you vote for Slovenia in 2007? That was miles better!

16. Russia - Alex Vorobjov - "Get You" - 77pts

Hahahahaaha part II. There you go homophobe jerk! I might get an attack from Russian fans but my problem is Alex and not Russians in general. But to make you (Russians) feel good I have to say that Saade turned out to be a jerk as well. I didn't like any of their attitude. They both behave like morons! And as I said Eric didn't even deserve a top 10. And to comment the song and the performance I have to say I never liked the song and there were too many gimmicks but I kinda liked the performance as a whole. (Better now? xD)

17. Romania - Hotel FM - "Change" - 77pts

I think it's an ok spot for a song like this. Vocally he was good but really nothing "wow".

18. Austria - Nadine Beiler - "The Secret Is Love" - 64pts

Well they should be more than happy with this place coz they didn't deserve to be in the final IMO. Totally boring!

19. Lithuania - Evelina Sašenko - "C'est Ma Vie" - 63pts

Boring vol 2! Another song that didn't deserve to be in the final IMO again. Vocally she was great (so was Nadine) but that's not enough in ESC. Besides you don't even have to sing great live. Remember Lena last year? Remember Saade a few hours ago? ;)

20. Iceland - Sjonni's Friends - "Coming Home" - 61pts

I was right. I didn't predict their place but I was right when Iceland voted for this. It was a sympathy vote and just because Iceland and the hardcore eurofans know they story behind the song doesn't mean that the average viewer knows it as well. Really Iceland. I just wish you send Yohanna!

21. Finland - Paradise Oskar - "Da Da Dam" - 57pts

A little surprised. I expected him in the top 15. And it grew on me a lot... Shame...

22. Hungary - Kati Wolf - "What About My Dreams?" - 53pts

Oh wow! I didn't expect Kati in the top 5. Not even in top 10. But this is way too low! She did a great job tonight and her vocals were really really good! Only 22nd? Well Hungary doesn't have good neighbours I guess. :( 

23. Spain - Lucía Pérez - "Que Me Quiten Lo Bailao" - 50pts

I knew it. Ok? I knew it! I knew Lucía had zero chances of scoring a top 10 but 23rd? :( I love this! And it was one of the best performances tonight. That's what Eurovision is about. Having a great time! This was the performance I enjoyed the most! But you know... No matter what Spain sends they will always finish that low just because it's Spain! :(

24. Estonia - Getter Jaani - "Rockefeller Street" - 44pts

Well I was 50% correct! I predicted Estonia's flop but I didn't expect them to make it to the final. Howerver I like the song. Well not the entire song. I love the chorus and I don't like those voices when the song begins. And especially that "let's go, let's gooo" after the first chorus because it reminds me of Dora the Explorer! Dora is annoying! 

25. Switzerland - Anna Rossinelli - "In Love For A While" - 19pts

I definitely didn't expect Switzerland to finish last! But not in the top 15 either. It was a pleasant and sweet performance. At least they competed in the final.

Ok that's it! What else to comment? Booooring interval act! Nothing will move from my top the interval act in Oslo! Flash mob dance! The best interval act in Eurovision's history! 

But we had the best ESC stage so far! I totally loved it! Not too big as in Moscow 2009 and not too small. The LED wall, and the fact that the wall opened and we got to see the green room was great! 

The hosts were a bit boring and Raab was a really bad choice.

I think that's all. Oh about the voting... Actually about the spokespeople... Will they ever learn that we say for example "12 points go to" and not "goes to"? Simple grammar! I'm making mistakes. Especially when it comes to prepositions but this is ridiculous! Anyway...

Let's go to the semis...

Semi-final 1 - results

1. Greece - 133pts
2. Azerbaijan - 122pts
3. Finland - 103pts
4. Iceland - 100pts
5. Lithuania - 81pts
6. Georgia - 74pts
7. Hungary - 72pts
8. Serbia - 67pts
9. Russia - 64pts
10. Switzerland - 55pts
11. Malta - 54pts
12. Armenia - 54pts
13. Turkey - 47pts
14. Albania - 47pts
15. Croatia - 41pts
16. San Marino - 34pts
17. Norway - 30pts
18. Portugal - 22pts
19. Poland - 18pts

Here's the shock! Greece finished first?!?! Are you fucking kidding me?! Poland is last?! Are you fucking kidding me vol 2! Lithuania 5th?! Finland 3rd?! Just wow! And Malta and Armenia missed the final for 1 point?! This is insane! Really insane!

Semi-final 2 - results

1. Sweden - 155pts
2. Denmark - 135pts
3. Slovenia - 112pts
4. Romania - 111pts
5. Bosnia & Herzegovina - 109pts
6. Ukraine - 81pts
7. Austria - 69pts
8. Ireland - 68pts
9. Estonia - 60pts
10. Moldova - 54pts
11. Belgium - 53pts
12. Bulgaria - 48pts
13. Slovakia - 48pts
14. Belarus - 45pts
15. Israel - 38pts
16. FYROM - 36pts
17. Latvia - 25pts
18. Cyprus - 16pts
19. The Netherlands - 13pts

Eric won the semi?! Are you sure you got experts in juries? This is ridiculous! Really! Belgium 11th? And missed the final for 1 point! If it was Dana there I would have D I E D ! ! Literally! If Dana had missed the final for only one point I don't know what I'd have done! She finished 15th! :O And Cyprus 18th? The Netherlands last? I really need to see the split votes! I wanna see how much the juries screwed Dana's and Poli's results! Israel and Bulgaria should both have been in the final. Especially Bulgaria!

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 has come to end. So freaking fast! I can't wait a whole year! I just can't! For the next few days I'll be blogging about ESC and checking the forums and all that but then... PED will hit me! :(

So this is it! Baku 2012! Some people say they can't host the contest. Not because of the money but because Azerbaijan is just a hole! So will they give the contest to Italy? To lick their asses a bit more? To make them stay for good? Whatever! I'll start saving money! I want to go to my first ESC! I'm so jealous of all of you that made it this year and the previous years! I missed a chance to meet Dana! :( I really want to go to an ESC. Not only one! To every ESC from now on. But we have a year ahead of us. Who knows what will happen until then...

ESC 2011 - The voting order is revealed!

One of the best kept secrets of this year's Eurovision Song Contest has been made public a few moments before the grand final. The Icelandic broadcaster RÚV publishes on their website the voting order for tonight's show! 

 

Russia will open the voting of the 2011 Eurovision, while Latvia will be the last country to vote. Check out the full list below:

1. Russia	12. Slovakia	23. Switzerland	34. Hungary
2. Bulgaria	13. United Kingdom	24. Greece	35. Lithuania
3. The Netherlands	14. Denmark	25. Georgia	36. Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Italy	15. Austria	26. France	37. Ireland
5. Cyprus	16. Poland	27. Serbia	38. Spain
6. Ukraine	17. Sweden	28. Croatia	39. Israel
7. Finland	18. San Marino	29. Belarus	40. Estonia
8. Norway	19. Germany	30. Romania	41. Moldova
9. Armenia	20. Azerbaijan	31. Albania	42. Belgium
10. FYR Macedonia	21. Slovenia	32. Malta	43. Latvia
11. Iceland	22. Turkey	33. Portugal

Remember that this year, the European Broadcaster Union did not hold a draw to determine the voting order in the Eurovision final. A new system has been intruduced in order to make the whole show more exciting and unpredictable. This is how the Executive Supervisor of the contest, Jan Ola Sand, explained it: "This year we are doing the voting sequence a little differently. For the viewers at home it will look the same, but we are actually calculating, how, based on the juries votes given the day before the Final. We are calculating the order of the spokespersons and this is done to create more suspense."

There's little time before the show starts. You can have your say on how this voting order might influence the actual outcome of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.

esctoday wants to thank our member elinka xx for providing the source.

Source: esctoday.com

This is really interesting... I wonder how the voting will go...