ESC 2013 - Semi-final 1

Less than one hour before the first semi (yay!) and it's time to guess the 10 finalists! So it's just a quick post.

First Semi-Final

1. Austria
2. Estonia
3. Slovenia
4. Croatia
5. Denmark
6. Russia
7. Ukraine
8. The Netherlands
9. Montenegro
10. Lithuania
11. Belarus
12. Moldova
13. Ireland
14. Cyprus
15. Belgium
16. Serbia

So the 10 countries I think that will make it to the final are (random order):

Austria
Denmark
Russia
Ukraine
Belarus
Moldova
Ireland
Serbia
Estonia
Lithuania

The 10 countries I want to see in the final are (random order):

Austria
sLOVEnia
Denmark
Moldova
Serbia
Ireland
The Netherlands
Russia
Ukraine
Belarus

Please people vote for AUSTRIA and SLOVENIA!!!

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 5

DAY 5

Austria - Natália Kelly - "Shine" (2nd rehearsal) 
The best way to open the ESC 2013 (the competing part, that is)! Love it! Everything about it! Simple but great! Natália's vocals are great. The backing vocals are great. The outfits are great. Yeah it stuck in my top 3 and there's absolutely no way that it will drop! Austria to win the semi and finish in final's top 3!

Estonia - Birgit - "Et Uus Saaks Alguse" (2nd rehearsal) 
And months later I kinda start to remember the melody but still, it's too forgettable. It just doesn't do anything to me. Another simple performance and this one is also good. The vocals are pretty good but I don't like the dress. At all.

Slovenia - Hannah Mancini - "Straight Into Love" (2nd rehearsal)
Aha. I liked what I saw. But I didn't really like what I heard. Hannah needs to improve her vocals when she's moving. And I don't like the sound in the arena. Of course it will be different on tv (thank God!) but now we can't really hear the playback. The bass. I have a problem with the dancers too. I want them to be more synchronized but that's easy to fix.

Croatia - Klapa s Mora - "Mižerja" (2nd rehearsal)
This feels like I've seen it so many times before. I don't like it. And I don't like their outfits. I know they said they're traditional outfits or whatever but I don't like them. The only good thing about this performance is their vocals.

Denmark - Emmelie de Forest - "Teardrops" (2nd rehearsal)
Identical to the DMGP performance. Even the backdrop. Nothing else to say. Go Denmark!

Russia - Dina Garipova - "What If" (2nd rehearsal)
The last 50 seconds are so cheesy! I don't like those big bulbs on stage but I like the "flying lanterns". They're cheesy too but I like them. Don't like Dina's outfit that much though.

Ukraine - Zlata Ognevich - "Gravity" (2nd rehearsal)
I'm sorry but that giant at the beginning will make everyone go "wtf?". What's the point really? And what's with the whole fairytale thing? I don't get it. Zlata's vocals were good. The outfit is ok I guess...

The Netherlands - Anouk - "Birds" (2nd rehearsal)
Love the outfit. I said it from the beginning. Simple and static performance. When we first heard the song many fans said that the Netherlands will make it to the final and finish in a good spot. I don't see this happening. Unfortunately. The song is too "bizarre" for the average viewer. Too dark and for some reason it feels like it lasts for too long. I kinda got bored in the first two minutes. And the whole performance doesn't really help the song...

Montenegro - Who See - "Igranka" (2nd rehearsal)
First of all, congrats for the Barbara Dex award! Secondly, I literally struggled to watch this until the end! Horrible! I seriously want to punch the screen when Nina sings the first lines. HORRIBLE!

Belgium - Roberto Bellarosa - "Love Kills" (2nd rehearsal)
What are you doing Belgium? Wrong outfits! Ridiculous choreo and in combination with those outfits it looks much much worse. And the worst part? The backing vocalists are also doing the dance routine! I think this ruins Belgium's chances. Such a shame because the song is much better than others in this semi. Poor Roberto.

Belarus - Alyona Lanskaya - "Solayo" (2nd rehearsal)
Alyona is too static. Yeah she does the choreo but she barely moves. A few steps to the left, then back at her original spot and that's it. Only the camera work can save it. Nothing special about the performance...

Moldova - Aliona Moon - "O Mie" (2nd rehearsal)
I couldn't stop thinking what the Azerbaijanis think about Aliona using the exact same gimmick as Sabina. Just one year later. Anyway, I really like the song but I think the performance is too much. Actually the length of the dress is too much. That's what bugs me. But generally, it's an ok performance. Really good vocals too.

Ireland - Ryan Dolan - "Only Love Survives" (2nd rehearsal)
I like it! Love Ryan's outfit (already said that) and I like the performance. It's good. Ireland is most likely in the final.

Cyprus - Despina Olympiou - "An Me Thimase" (2nd rehearsal)
Yeah now it's confirmed. Despina is alone on stage. Cyprus 2004 vibes anyone? Nah not a top 5 but why not make it to the final? Good draw, good vocals, ok song... You never know.

Lithuania - Andrius Pojavis - "Something" (2nd rehearsal)
He looks like he's bored to sing. And yes the performance and outfit are the same as in Lithuania's NF. No matter what, I don't like this.

Serbia - Moje 3 - "Ljubav Je Svuda" (2nd rehearsal)
Ok. I totally love the concept, the performance, call it however you want. I mean that Nevena is the ordinary girl, Mirna is the angel and Sara is the devil. Nevena is the confused girl and Mirna and Sara are trying to make her a good and a bad girl respectively. Love it! I still hate the outfits though! Bring back the NF ones! Yeah who am I kidding? Vocals were good, the draw is good. Final? Sure! Oh! Is it me or there was a lot of touching between Nevena and Mirna? Just saying... xD


Btw, I'm off to Malmö for the weekend (as I said in the first post) so no blogging tomorrow. I'll do it though sometime on Sunday when I get back. ALCAZAR and ESC tomorrow! :D

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 2

DAY 2

Montenegro - Who See - "Igranka" (1st rehearsal) 
Astronaut suits? Really? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Ok this is the worst gimmick ever! The song itself was in my bottom 3 this year. Now with this performance it definitely stuck there!

Belgium - Roberto Bellarosa - "Love Kills" (1st rehearsal)
I watched the backstage footage and I thought ok really nice outfits. Then I saw the rehearsal and oh my God! Did the female dancers really have to wear those dresses? The dance routine looks ridiculous.

Belarus - Alyona Lanskaya - "Solayo" (1st rehearsal)
It looks like Alyona didn't wear her stage outfit. We didn't get to see much of the rehearsal so I can't say a lot. I love disco balls (ain't it obvious?) but this one? I don't know...

Moldova - Aliona Moon - "O Mie" (1st rehearsal)
So they took Sabina's gimmick and took it a step forward. Ok... It looks nice and as I said I like Moldova's song this year. The dancers are a bit "off"...

Ireland - Ryan Dolan - "Only Love Survives" (1st rehearsal)
Could the dancers be more gay? No, it's not a bad thing. I'm just pointing it out. I love Ryan's outfit and the song is growing on me. I still find it a bit repetitive and in this case, this repetitiveness is a bit annoying.

Cyprus - Despina Olympiou - "An Me Thimase" (1st rehearsal)
I'm not a fan of this kind of dress. Pastora Soler wore a similar dress during her tour and I really disliked it but ok, Despina's is much better. She's alone on stage (at least it looks like it) and correct me if I'm wrong but the last time a Cypriot was alone on stage was in 2004... ;) Naah, the song isn't as good as "Stronger Every Minute".

Lithuania - Andrius Pojavis - "Something" (1st rehearsal)
First thing I noticed, the camera is following him! Oh God! Why do we have to see those close-ups? His facial expressions=irritating!! His outfit looks identical to the one he wore in the NF which is nothing wow. Oh and yeah, I still find nothing likeable in the song.

Serbia - Moje 3 - "Ljubav Je Svuda" (1st rehearsal)
Oh my God!! Please bring back the NF outfits!!!! These are horrible!! I love the song but these outfits? H O R R I B L E ! ! ! I liked the vocals but I'm still in shock!! Change the outfits! Just change them!!!

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "C", "D", "E"

Croatia sends Klapa s Mora with the song "Mižerja" written by Goran Topolovac.
I think the best word to describe the song is its title! Misery! But ok, it has a nice melody. I can say that. It's really not my cup of tea though. I like their voices as well but as a whole, the song doesn't do anything to me.
Croatia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #4.

4pts from me and good luck to Croatia!

Cyprus sends Despina Olympiou with the song "An Me Thimase" written by Andreas Giorgallis and Zenon Zintillis.

I'm afraid there won't be a place in final for Cyprus this year. Not a bad song (there are much worse this year) but it's kinda indifferent. With a good staging they might get some extra points but I don't see it going too far. Even though they have a good draw. Regarding the music video, I like it but seriously how ridiculous is the scene where she runs in the forest?

Cyprus competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #14.

3pts from me and good luck to Cyprus!

Denmark sends Emmelie de Forest with the song "Only Teardrops" written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen and Thomas Stengaard.

Love it, love it, love it! It was my 3rd favourite this year but now dropped to #4 and its place is taken by Austria but I still love it! I watched the video again and it all came back! I hope they keep their performance the way it was in DMGP. For many people this is the winner. No problem if it wins but I'm not sure about anything. Especially this year.

Denmark competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #5.

12pts from me and good luck to Denmark!

Estonia sends Birgit Õigemeel with the song "Et Uus Saaks Alguse" written by Mihkel Mattisen and Silvia Soro.
I think this is the most forgettable song of this year's edition. No matter how many times I listen to this I can't remember the melody or a single word! And I have it on repeat for quite a while! Sorry Estonia. It seems you're not "my" country in ESC.
Estonia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #2.

1pt from me and good luck to Estonia!

ESC 2012 - Semi-final 1 - Running order for the 10 finalists

Ok here is the list of the 10 finalists and their running order on Saturday!

Romania 14
Moldova 26
Iceland 7
Hungary 2
Denmark 15
Albania 3
Cyprus 8
Greece 16
Russia 6
Ireland 23

Lucky Moldova!!! So lucky! Ok draw for Romania. Good for Greece. That #6 for Russia I hope it's enough to stop them from placing high. I loved their performance tonight but they can't win! Hungary and Albania, bad draws. Iceland and Cyprus, not good. And damn Ireland! But you know what? Loreen will pick #24 muahahaha!

ESC 2012 - Rehearsals Day 5

Montenegro - Rambo Amadeus - Euro Neuro (2nd rehearsal)
No changes here! It's still horrible!

Iceland - Greta Salóme & Jónsi - Never Forget (2nd rehearsal)
Nice second rehearsal for Iceland but Jónsi didn't sound so good. Love the backdrop!

Greece - Eleftheria Eleftheriou - Aphrodisiac (2nd rehearsal)
Much better rehearsal than the first one. Check out the female dancers at 2:55! Now come on! xD I really wanna see Eleftheria's outfit now! Hahaha! Backdrop looks ok. Looking forward to the dress rehearsal!

Latvia - Anmary - Beautiful Song (2nd rehearsal)
Ok nice vocals by Anmary. I don't like their outfits and it seems like one of the backing vocalists didn't get her clothes in time! :P I know that's what she's supposed to wear (I guess at least) but it stands out! And I find those backing vocalists' "dance moves" ridiculous!

Albania - Rona Nishliu - Suus (2nd rehearsal)
Same comments as in her first rehearsal.

Romania - Mandinga - Zaleilah (2nd rehearsal)
Fantastic!! They are so freakin' entertaining! But I have a couple of comments... I don't like Elena's dress, I still miss the jumping and waving their hands and El Niño needs to put his RayBan on! Love him with these! Other than that, their rehearsal was great! Oh yes that small problem with El Niño's drum hehe. Finally let's wish happy happy birthday to Elena! She turns 24 today!

Switzerland - Sinplus - Unbreakable (2nd rehearsal)
To the final! To the finaaaaal!! It's time Switzerland made it to the final! Sinplus are great and "Unbreakable" is amazing! Both their rehearsals were great! Come on Europe! Vote for Switzerland!

Belgium - Iris - Would You? (2nd rehearsal)
Still boring... Her vocals are good but is it enough? Nah.

Finland - Pernilla Karlsson - När Jag Blundar (2nd rehearsal)
Ah Pernilla!! Same dress so I'm guessing this is the one! I really don't like it! And that black top? Not a match! I hope at least she gets rid of that top! Other than that, another great rehearsal and I love love love the song! Such a beautiful melody and lyrics! To the final please!

Israel - Izabo - Time (2nd rehearsal)
Nice second rehearsal for Israel! I like their outfits. They fit the song and I like the backdrop! Go Israel! Love it or hate it song! Let's see what Europe thinks!

San Marino - Valentina Monetta - The Social Network Song (2nd rehearsal)
And when I thought it can't get any worse here comes the second rehearsal with the stage outfits! Oh my God San Marino! You really wanna be last this year don't you?! Gee!

Cyprus - Ivi Adamou - La La Love (2nd rehearsal)
Great rehearsal for Cyprus! But I still think that the choreo in some parts is for the JESC! I like the outfits but I wanted something more colorful. Not a big fan of the backdrop and I guess the books are just books... Are they trying to conect this with the music video? I don't know. Cyprus should make it to the final!

Denmark - Soluna Samay - Should've Known Better (2nd rehearsal)
Was that couch there during the first rehearsal? Out of place. Like the backdrop, don't like Soluna's outfit! Vocally she was good again. She missed a note in the beginning but it's ok. Go Denmark!

ESC 2012 - Rehearsals Day 2

Day 2!!

Israel - Izabo - Time (1st rehearsal)
Simple performance for Israel. I like the backing vocalists! Hahaha  Izabo's vocals were good even though there was something wrong with Shiri's vocals. Or her mic sound I don't know. But ok it's the first rehearsal. Hope to see them in the final!

San Marino - Valentina Monetta - The Social Network Song (1st rehearsal)
I'm sorry! Really! I'm sitting here watching San Marino's rehearsal and all I can say is "SERIOUSLY?". Seriously San Marino? Cameras, iPads, laptops... Seriously? This is horrible. Just horrible! No way you're gonna see the final! Thank God!

Cyprus - Ivi Adamou - La La Love (1st rehearsal)
Ok the choreo is kinda silly in some parts. But I love the song and overall it's gonna look great on tv. But what's with the table made of books? I have some thoughts on that but I will wait for the second rehearsal. Just now it seems out of place. Ivi was ok vocally. I said it before, I don't like her. At all. But I see Cyprus in the final and I want Cyprus in the final and they deserve a place in the final! So, Cyprus is in the final! :P

Denmark - Soluna Samay - Should've Known Better (1st rehearsal)
First negative point, the clothes! Come on Soluna? Why on earth did you wear the same outfit? I've got nothing against wearing the same clothes as in the NF. For example I would love Pastora Soler to wear the dress of the 1st performance of "Quédate Conmigo". But Soluna's outfit is really bad! I hope they find something better even though I doubt it. Vocally she was good. I love the song and I want Denmark in the final! They deserve it!

Russia - Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody (1st rehearsal)
Ahahahaha that made me happy! Yay for the cute granny! For the last few weeks I got tired of the song but watching the grannies at the same time is totally fine! The same performance as in NF but it's gonna work! I'm sure they will make it to the final but that's it! No top 10 please. There are much better songs.

Hungary - Compact Disco - Sound Of Our Hearts (1st rehearsal)
Solid rehearsal and really good vocals for Hungary! But it's simple and I don't know if they're gonna make it. I want them in the final but I think it will be hard...

Austria - Trackshittaz - Woki Mit Deim Popo (1st rehearsal)
Hm.. ok... I don't know... I'm not that bored watching this. It's not the worst song but it's not my cup of tea. And I definitely don't see them in the final.

Moldova - Pasha Parfeny - Lăutar (1st rehearsal)
Pff the same ridiculous choreography! It's really bad! And I don't like the song. Pasha was good vocally but that's not enough. No final for Moldova this year.

Ireland - Jedward - Waterline (1st rehearsal)
Wait did I watch 2011's rehearsal? Oh yes yes. It's 2012! Sorry it's just that they're almost identical. Seriously they can't do anything else other than jumping around! And that makes the viewers stressed! Vocally they were ok. Nothing much there. But the song is worse than "Lipstick" so my guess is that they will make it to the final but they will end up around 15th or something and they should! There are so many better songs than "Waterline"!

ESC 2012 - My top 10

eurovision.tv

This is harder than I expected! I ranked all 42 songs from 12 to 0. It turns out that I like some songs that I gave for example 7 to, more than some songs that I gave 10 or 8 to! I am not gonna go back and edit the posts but my top 10 won't be based on the points I gave to each song individually. It might sound kinda silly and unfair but as I said to the previous post, my top 10 will be constantly changing so it doesn't really matter. I mean don't tell me that you don't change your top 10 all the time! It's just impossible!

And the other thing is that I don't know if I should rank the songs based on the original versions or the ESC versions. For example I adore the original version of Belarus. It's in my top 10. The second version is not! Yes, I said the second version coz apparently this is the latest version! They're going back to a more rock-ish one which I love!

Three countries are out of my top 10 just because they either changed the instrumentation of the song or they translated it to english. These are Iceland, Italy and Belarus. I still listen to the original versions of these three and they all were very close to the top 5! So I really don't know what to do...

*after about 15 minutes of just looking at the excel ranking*

Ok let's have it!

12pts - Spain
10pts - Sweden
8pts - Romania
7pts - Bulgaria
6pts - Israel
5pts - Italy
4pts - Belarus
3pts - Cyprus
2pts - Greece
1pt - Iceland

This is it! And I say it once again, it will be changing all the time!

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "C", "D", "E"

Croatia sends Nina Badrić with the song "Nebo" written by Nina Badrić.
Beautiful ballad from Croatia and Nina! I really like the instrumentation! There's a part around 2:09-2:14 that reminds me of this. I'm not talking about plagiarism or anything like that just to be clear. Anyway with a good presentation this can do well. Good job Croatia!
Croatia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #10.

7pts from me and good luck to Croatia!

Cyprus sends Ivi Adamou with the song "La La Love" written by Alex Papaconstantinou, Björn Djupström, Alexandra Zakka and Viktor Svensson.

Probably the best cypriot entry! I have to admit it though. I don't like Ivi. At all. But I love the song! It's so catchy! They need to find a good choreographer for Ivi and please don't let her improvise when it comes to dancing! I think it's gonna be a good year for Cyprus but then again, they were a favourite to win the whole contest in 2007...

Cyprus competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #12.

10pts from me and good luck to Cyprus!

Denmark sends Soluna Samay with the song "Should've Known Better" written by Isam Bachiri, Remee and Chief 1.

Love Denmark's song this year! More than their last year's entry! It wasn't my favourite in DMGP but it has grown on me a lot since then! Soluna is a good live singer but I really hope she gets rid of those "captain" clothes or whatever...

Denmark competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #13.

10pts from me and good luck to Denmark!

Estonia sends Ott Lepland with the song "Kuula" written by Ott Lepland and Aapo Ilves.
This is way too boring! I don't like it! Can't find a positive thing about this song. And I can't say I like Ott's voice. Sorry Estonia. Better luck next year! I think the last time I liked an estonian entry was in 2006!
Estonia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #14.

0pts from me and good luck to Estonia!

ESC 2012 - Cyprus with La La Love to Baku!

And it's official "La La Love" to Baku! I think we just wasted our time watching this. It was too obvious! Cyprus will be in top 10 this year and might do much better depending on the other songs of course.

Cyprus is competing in the first semi with running order #12. The fact that they're in the same semi as Greece will get them those 12pts for sure. Totally in the final! ;)

ESC 2012 - The cypriot NF - tonight

Ok I said this many times and I will keep saying it. I have no time to blog... But tonight is the cypriot NF...

Honestly I never liked the cypriot entries. There are very few exceptions but the thing is they always let me down. This year is different. Everyone knows the winner so I really wonder why they will actually have the final. :P "La La Love" is the cypriot entry people! But I'm sure you know it (at least if you're that kind of eurofan that they always listen to the songs before the NF). And maybe for the first time in....I don't know...ehm forever(?) I will give Cyprus 10 or 12pts! I love "La La Love"!! Really catchy! And finally Cyprus will make it to the final again after 7 years! Ok they made it in 2010 but before that they did pretty badly. And they will finally get the 12pts from Greece no matter what! lol It's the only year that I will be fine by giving them the 12pts.

But hey! We have two more songs! "You Don't Belong Here" and "Call The Police". I don't really like these.

It's almost 100% sure that Ivi will sing playback tonight which means we won't get to see how she performs each song live. Many are questioning her live vocals. On the other hand she won't be able to "favour" any of the songs if she performs them live... Well we're gonna have to wait for about 7 hours before we find out.

The thing is that Cyprus has a top 10 song or even a top 5. BUT in 2007 they were a favourite to win the entire contest and they didn't even make it to the final!

Anyway, I believe they will do great this year!

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 7

Day 7 and the countries that rehearsed are Sweden, Cyprus, Bulgaria, FYROM and Israel. 

Also the Big 5: France, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.

Sweden’s 2nd rehearsal: Hm same clothes as in Mello? Well who cares right now? Second rehearsal was better than the first but still Eric sounds horrible! He's getting tired of all the dancing and by the end of the song he can barely sing... That's not good Sweden!

Cyprus’ 2nd rehearsal: Are these the clothes they're gonna wear in the semi? Hmm Well another great rehearsal for Cyprus. I liked it again! :O

Bulgaria’s 2nd rehearsal: Apparently she's keeping that dress. I'm sorry I don't like it... But the rest of the performance is just fantastic! Bulgaria is all the way to the final and for me, in the top 10!

FYROM’s 2nd rehearsal: Wow Vlatko's clothes are in such an harmony with the dancers' clothes! Of course I'm kidding! I'm not crazy. Yet. That was a mess once again. Vocally he's good but the rest of it is really bad. And I don't like the song.

Israel’s 2nd rehearsal: Now that's the Dana I wanted to see! OK she doesn't have a big show so she has to please us with what she got. And I am pleased! Vocally was much much better than the first rehearsal and finally! Someone who knows how to use that catwalk! All the entries that have used it so far, went a few steps and then back to the stage. Dana finished her song in the second part of the stage which is great! Imagine her walking among the eurofans with the flags waving and screaming! That's gonna look great on tv! Not so crazy about the dress but she said she has 8! But they're not letting her try them all. Let's hope she finds one she likes. All I know is that this dress is really Dana. And as a good friend says, Dana knows what she's doing! ;) hahahahaha

France’s 1st rehearsal: First of all he needs a haircut! OK he can sing. He's got a great voice but how can people like a song like this? Alright, I'm fine with liking it coz it's all about taste but putting it as a winner? Oh please! No way! Liked his clothes... :P

Italy’s 1st rehearsal: That's so Italy! Jazz is not my style. Sorry! Give me something like Fiumi Di Parole! Come on Italy you left us with this fantastic song and you return with a really bad one! Vocally Raphael was fine but I didn't like the backdrop...

United Kingdom’s 1st rehearsal: What on earth did they do to the song? I don't really like this version. Vocally they were pretty bad. Especially Lee! Didn't like the clothes so much. I would love to see them with something like this. Well not exactly like this but Duncan should definitely keep this style...

Germany’s 1st rehearsal: Love the choreography and the atmosphere! Fits this dark song! But I didn't like Lena. Her vocals weren't good. But they weren't in last year's final either and she won so... 

Spain’s 1st rehearsal: My Spain!! The feel-good song! I just love it! And the performance is great! Fits the song and in ESC we need performances and songs like this one! Eurovision is all about having fun! Lucia was really nice vocally! I really liked what I saw! ¡Viva España!

 

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 "C", "D", "E"

Croatia sends Daria Kinzer with the song "Celebrate" written by Andrea Čubrić and Boris Đurđević.

I like it! A lot! Great intro, great music, nice lyrics. A favourite song for many people and I am one of them. And there's clapping in it!! I just love clapping in the songs! Haha! "Put your *clap* *clap* hands up!" However, I think that the verses are better than the chorus. With a bit better chorus the song would be in the top 5! I think they deserve a top 10!
Croatia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #13.

8pts from me and good luck to Croatia!

Cyprus sends Christos Mylordou with the song "San Aggelos S’agapisa" written by Mixalis Antoniou and Andreas Anastasiou.

I don't know what's wrong with Cyprus all these years! I don't even remember when was the last time I liked their song! I don't like this. At all! Not my cup of tea really. This year they send a song in greek. I guess that's because Greece last year got a good result with a song in greek but with this song, I don't see it happening for Cyprus.
Cyprus competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #9.

0pts from me and good luck to Cyprus!

Denmark sends A Friend In London with the song "New Tomorrow" written by Lise Cabble and Jakob Glæsner.

This is the first out of the 3 songs competing this year with a message to save the planet and I think this is my favourite. It's an ok song. I don't see anything more than that. Nice message but we've seen that before. Denmark had some really really nice songs this year and they chose this one... What can I say? I would have given them 12 points if they'd sent Jenny Berggren with "Let Your Heart Be Mine" but now...
Denmark competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #18.

5pts from me and good luck to Denmark!

Estonia sends Getter Jaani with the song "Rockefeller Street" written by Sven Lõhmus.

Big fuss about this song. Ok I like it but come on. It's not a winner. Personally I don't like the intro. I am that close to skip the song every time I hear that intro but I don't coz I know I like the chorus - a lot! But I guess that's pretty much the only think I like in this song. It has a really great beat in the chorus and the lyrics are ok. "1, 2, 7, 3 down the Rockefeller Street" the melody in that part is just awesome!
Estonia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #15.

6pts from me and good luck to Estonia!