ESC 2012 - Rehearsals Day 8

Back from Stockholm!! I'm late today! xD Ok!

Day 8!

Estonia - Ott Lepland - Kuula (2nd rehearsal) 
Same comments as the first rehearsal. I find it extremely boring!

Slovakia - Max Jason Mai - Don't Close Your Eyes (2nd rehearsal) 
Backdrop fits the song and I like Jason's clothes. But I don't like anything else. 

Norway - Tooji - Stay (2nd rehearsal) 
Nice second rehearsal for Tooji! And I have to say that I listened to the song a couple of times today. It grows extremely slowly on me...

Bosnia & Herzegovina - Maya Sar - Korake Ti Znam (2nd rehearsal)
Oh God I don't like the dress at all!!! Really bad choice! Love the performance in general though! Tough one for B&H. There are many ballads!

Lithuania - Donny Montell - Love Is Blind (2nd rehearsal) 
Damn this grows on me! But I find the presentation a bit silly... I like the backdrop. Great vocals by Donny! We might see this in the final!

United Kingdom - Engelbert Humperdinck - Love Will Set You Free (2nd rehearsal)
What was that in the end? :S Pff I am sooo bored! Bottom 5 for UK this year. He's first on stage, it's boring and after UK there will be 25 more songs. 80% of them will be amazing songs so everyone will forget about UK...

France - Anggun - Echo (You And I) (2nd rehearsal)
Vocally she was better than yesterday. But what's with the backdrop?! o.O Gymnastics? It looks really out of place! What does this have to do with the song?!

Italy - Nina Zilli - L'Amore È Femmina (2nd rehearsal)
Aah Nina! Big disappointment!! Really bad vocals! Shame... At least they fixed the backing vocalists.... lol

Azerbaijan - Sabina Babayeva - The Music Never Dies (2nd rehearsal)
Nice backdrop but the song is indifferent... And I don't like that male backing vocalist on the left... Sabina's vocals are good. Let's see if the hosting country will be in the top 10. Personally I don't see it happening.

Spain - Pastora Soler - Quédate Conmigo (2nd rehearsal)
Flawless!! Just flawless!! Love the backdrop! Love the "Carola-effect"! ;) And since yesterday, I've seen so many positive comments by people who didn't care about Spain! Vamos Pastora!

Germany - Roman Lob - Standing Still (2nd rehearsal)
Solid rehearsal for Germany. I don't have much to say here. I like the backdrop. Quite simple but ok...

ESC 2012 - Rehearsals Day 4

Day 4!

Slovenia - Eva Boto - Verjamem (1st rehearsal) 
Vocally it was a great rehearsal but Eva doesn't seem to enjoy it. I know there's no point saying that now but I wanted (and still want) "A Si Sanjal Me" for Slovenia. It fits more Eva and it would be in my top 10 (if not top 5!). Anyway back to the rehearsal. I don't like Eva's dress! I'm glad they got rid of those silly hats but I hope she changes her dress! Hope to see them in the final coz I like "Verjamen".

Croatia - Nina Badrić - Nebo (1st rehearsal)
Great vocal performance by Nina! Really nice! I liked what I saw. However I'm not a big fan of the dress but we don't know if that's the semi's dress. Croatia is right after Slovenia and I'm afraid one of these two countries won't make it to the final. I want to see them both there but I don't think I will...

Sweden - Loreen - Euphoria (1st rehearsal)
Ok what can we say here! I got serious goosebumps at 2:05. Of course I have some minor negative comments. What I don't like at all and I want her to fix is her utterance during the verses. She mumbles a lot and it doesn't sound good. She really needs to fix that! Plus, I find the backing vocals unnecessary. From what I hear she's using echo (or is it because we hear the sound in the arena?) so there's no need for backing vocals. The choreo is the same with Melodifestivalen minus the snow. I don't understand why they don't let her use the artificial snow. They let Eric Saade use the glass cage last year which was dangerous and they said no to some harmless plastic foam... Anyway, Loreen is the winner. Period.

Georgia - Anri Jokhadze - I'm A Joker (1st rehearsal)
Wanna bet this will end last in the semi? God that was painful to watch and hear. Horrible! Just horrible! No final for Georgia! I'll kill myself it makes it to the final!

Turkey - Can Bonomo - Love Me Back (1st rehearsal)
That was boring. Maybe because I really dislike the song. Can acts like crazy at some parts. Vocally he was ok. Nothing else to say here. I think they will make it to the final. Unfortunately...

Estonia - Ott Lepland - Kuula (1st rehearsal)
I must be the only one who finds this song extremely boring! It's a big snoozefest for me! Simple performance for Estonia. Well what could they do with a song like this. Everyone's so crazy about it and I don't know why. :S Well since everyone likes it I guess we'll see it in the final.

Slovakia - Max Jason Mai - Don't Close Your Eyes (1st rehearsal)
So so so not my cup of tea. I didn't like what I saw and what I heard! I'm sorry I just don't like it. And I don't see it in the final but who knows?

Norway - Tooji - Stay (1st rehearsal)
I liked what I saw! I am still not a fan of "Stay" but it kinda grows on me. I know I like Tooji! And God all those comments under the video about him being gay! You know what? I hope he is! I'm actually 99% sure that he is and that makes me like him even more! But back to the rehearsal! Same choreo as in MGP and vocally he was really good! Hope he makes it! He's entertaining!

Bosnia & Herzegovina - Maya Sar - Korake Ti Znam (1st rehearsal)
Solid rehearsal for Maya. Really simple but sometimes less is more. ;) Maya was good vocally but I wasn't so satisfied with what I heard. Maybe it was the sound in the arena I don't know. But I want Bosnia & Herzegovina in the final!

Lithuania - Donny Montell - Love Is Blind (1st rehearsal)
Great vocals! Really great! I still don't like that blindfold! And generally that staging/choreo. I like the song when we hit the first chorus. I find it boring at the beginning. Lithuania is lucky with this draw. They might have a chance for the final.

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "B"

Belarus sends Litesound with the song "We Are The Heroes" written by Dmitry Karyakin and Vladimir Karyakin.
What did you do Belarus?! :( The first version was fantastic and now you ruined it!!! :( You are supposed to make a song sound better not worse! I don't like the final version! On the plus side Dimitry sounds like a combination of Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) and Tyler Connolly (Theory of a Deadman) and he's quite handsome. But that's not the point! The song is what matters! And it doesn't sound good. Sorry Belarus! I will keep listening to the original version which for the record, I was planning to give 10pts to...
Belarus competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #5.

5pts from me and good luck to Belarus!

 

 

Belgium sends Iris with the song "Would You" written by Jean Bosco Safari, Walter Mannaerts and Nina Sampermans.

Ballad...snoozefest! I didn't like it from the first listening so no way it's gonna grow on me. I like Iris' voice but I don't like the song. I find it boring. It can be a good jury bait but it doesn't work for me and I don't know what else to say about it.

Belgium competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #8.

1pt from me and good luck to Belgium!

 

 

 

 

Bosnia & Herzegovina sends Maya Sar with the song "Korake Ti Znam" written by Maja Sarihodžić.

I listened to this for the first time and I sang along in the end "Korake ti znam"! Hahaha Quite obvious! I kinda like it. It belongs to a strange category for me. It's a ballad I like but a ballad that I'm not crazy about and that means that I will enjoy it in the semi (and in the final too if they make it) but it won't be in my ESC playlist. And because of that it's hard for me to give my points...

Bosnia & Herzegovina competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #17.

5pts from me and good luck to Bosnia & Herzegovina!

 

 

Bulgaria sends Sofi Marinova with the song "Love Unlimited" written by Krum Georgiev, Yasen Kozev and Doni Vasileva.

Bulgaria did it again! 3rd time in a row that they're in my top 5! Even though last year I think they dropped to my no6 but it doesn't matter! Love love love the song! When I first listened to the song I laughed a bit with Sofi's high notes in the chorus but now it's totally fine. She will definitely need a good stylist! They need to find one or they can be screwed by this! Details are important in ESC! 

Bulgaria competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #8.

10pts from me and good luck to Bulgaria!

 

 

Now...shall we get back to ESC?

I was so absorbed by Stockholm Pride and going from Stockholm to Norrköping and back again all these days that I didn't have time to blog about the latest ESC news. Well it's probably old news for you now...

What we know is that Cyprus has chosen their representative for Baku. Ivi Adamou will try to send Cyprus to the final in May 2012. I see quite a few positive comments about Ivi. With a good song she can do really well. The NF will be held on December 31st.

Let's go to Israel. I am really really happy because Israel confirmed their participation!!! Yay!! :D

Also Bosnia & Herzegovina confirmed their participation for next year.

That's it for now. Short blog entry but I'll get my pace back. (if I find a way to have access to an internet connection...)

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 6

Got my laptop back! They installed new windows in swedish and I'm a bit lost here. That's why I'm so late! Let's get to work!

So today rehearsed the rest of the countries of the 1st semi and these were Iceland, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Greece.
Also some countries of the 2nd semi. These were Bosnia & Herzegovina, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova.

Iceland's 2nd rehearsal: Again, great rehearsal from Iceland. The song is growing on me day after day. I want them in the final!

Hungary's 2nd rehearsal: Kati's answer to all who said she can't pull it off live! Got your answer guys! She rocked the stage! She ain't gonna be Kate Ryan of 2011! The second rehearsal was much better than the first! Way to go Kati! Of course I would like her to dance a bit but then she would have problem with the vocals. Well, we can't have everything in life right?

Portugal's 2nd rehearsal: Seriously Portugal! What were you thinking when you voted for this? Ok it's not a joke entry but it's so weird! Sorry I don't like it. Their vocal performance is ok though...

Lithuania's 2nd rehearsal: Great vocals but boring song! Nothing more to say...

Azerbaijan's 2nd rehearsal: Much much better than the 1st rehearsal! Their chances of seeing the final are back! I liked their clothes. Good job!

Greece's 2nd rehearsal: Stereo Mike is so annoying! Loukas was great once again. I still hate our entry though!

Bosnia & Herzegovina's 2nd rehearsal: They said that they didn't need to rehearse coz their are fully pleased with their first rehearsal. Last time we heard something like that was from the serbian entry in 2007. You know what happened next! You don't?! Then why on earth are you reading this blog? They won!

Austria's 2nd rehearsal: Nice vocals, boring song.

The Netherlands' 2nd rehearsal: I don't like his clothes... I was expecting something else... Vocally he was good. I like it.

Belgium's 2nd rehearsal: I can't believe I'm enjoying this! I hated that entry and I start liking it. But not the studio version! Just their live performance.

Slovakia's 2nd rehearsal: I like their clothes. And their vocals... But I still think that song is mediocre. So american in a bad way...

Ukraine's 2nd rehearsal: Oh why Mika? What kind of dress is this? You really want that Barbara Dex don't you? But I really like the song! Yes, it's a ballad which means it won't be on my repeat list but I like it!

Moldova's 2nd rehearsal: Annoying! Just annoying! Sorry Moldova!

That was it for today. I didn't make so many comments... I'm quite tired and I have to take care of my laptop. Re-installing programs and stuff. Looking forward to tomorrow's rehearsals! Especially Israel's, Bulgaria's, Sweden's and of course the 1st rehearsals for the Big 5!

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 3

Really not in the mood to blog about the rehearsals today and I won't be in the mood until I get my laptop back and until I hear the good news that my files are recovered... Anyway I have to do this...

So Day 3 and the countries that rehearsed today are: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Austria, The Netherlands, Blegium, Slovakia, Ukraine, Moldova, Sweden and Cyrpus.

Bosnia & Herzegovina's rehearsal: Wow actually! That was really nice!! And the song starts growing on me! Dino's vocals were amazing! And the performance in general looks nice. Simple but nice. Good job B&H even though you are not a winner for me.

Austria's rehearsal: Fantastic backing vocals!!! Finally! So far Austria and Bosnia & Herzegovina have the best backing vocals! Nadine sounded really nice but I still find the song boring! Not a qualifier. At least not for me...

The Netherlands' rehearsal: Backing vocals were too loud I think but overall it was a solid performance. I don't think they will have problems when it comes to their performance at the big night.

Belgium's rehearsal: I can't believe I'm gonna say this for a song I gave 0 points to but I enjoyed their performance! :O And that break down they do about 45 seconds before the end of the song is really great! I loved it! But still I don't enjoy listening to the studio version. I need to see them so I can listen to the song.

Slovakia's rehearsal: Another solid performance but I don't like the song so much. It's a bit boring for my taste... But the TWiiNS are quite nice.

Ukraine's rehearsal: I liked it a lot!!! And they have on stage Kseniya Simonova who does those incredible things with sand! She presented Ukraine's entire history by drawing it with the sand. I thought they just put the video in the backdrop but she was actually on the stage! I noticed her in the last few seconds of the video! So to those who said that the greek backdrop is the best, just watch Ukraine's!!

Moldova's rehearsal: What did my poor eyes and ears watch and hear? That was awful! And couldn't they find taller hats? I could barely see them! I don't want them to the final!

Sweden's rehearsal: I read somewhere that Eric was sick but still he can't pull this off live. The backing vocals are also pretty bad and the dancers aren't as good as the original ones (only one dancer is from Melodifestivalen). I'm afraid it's all down to the show Sweden. Can we please bring back Loreen? Please?

Cyprus' rehearsal: Unbelievable! The second song that I gave 0 pts and I enjoyed watching it! What's wrong with me? Great vocals by Christos and really great backing vocals! Especially from the girl. But I really don't know what she's doing with that ball... And I know (and hope!) she won't be wearing these shoes in the semi but I had to commend them! xD

ESC 2011 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "B"

Belarus sends Anastasiya Vinnikova with the song "I Love Belarus" written by Evgeniy Oleynikov and Svetlana Geras'kova.

I like the rhythm in the chorus and generally I think it's a good song. But it won't grow on me. On the contrary, I think I will lose that little excitement I have for it. I don't see something "wow". Smart title though. If people like the song but they don't remember which country was all they have to do is look at the title. :P Haha aah alright.
Belarus competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #16.

6pts from me and good luck to Belarus!

Belgium sends Witloof Bay with the song "With Love Baby" written by RoxorLoops and Benoît Giaux.

Ehm did Cosmos make a comeback or what? Horrible!! I remember disliking the latvian entry back in 2006 but this is much worse! Do they seriously expect to do well? Well good luck with that! Oh my God!! Just horrible!
Belgium competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #4.

0pts from me and good luck to Belgium!

Bosnia & Herzegovina sends Dino Merlin with the song "Love In Rewind" written by Dino Merlin.

Pretty decend song but really not my thing. Not a song that I will listen again and again. It will be a nice moment during the semi and the final - if he makes it - but that's all. But for some reason I think he will actually do well. But I said I won't make any guesses... hehe
Bosnia & Herzegovina compete in the 2nd semi final with running order #1.

4pts from me and good luck to Bosnia & Herzegovina!

Bulgaria sends Poli Genova with the song "Na Inat" written by Poli Genova, Sebastian Arman, Boris Milanov and David Bronner.

I am dying!! I love this! Finally a great song! Bulgaria did it again! For second year in a row they send a song that I totally like! And this year they keep it entirely in bulgarian! Thank God! They deserve a top 10 this year! If not top 5! The only thing that I slightly dislike is Poli's high vocals on the chorus ("Kolko možem da dostignem") but that's all. The music is freaking fantastic!
Bulgaria competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #10.

10pts from me and good luck to Bulgaria!