ESC 2013 - Final results

Photo: Sander Hesterman (EBU)

Yes it's one of "those" moments. Alright. I loved the opening! That artist-parade was awesome! Petra Mede is definitely the best ESC hostess ever! Lynda Woodruff! Love this character! The part with the ABBA-castle and their clothes was hilarious! Liked Loreen's interval and finally we got to listen to the original version of "Euphoria"! Then we had the "big" interval act. Totally loved it! Loved the way the Swedes joked about themselves. And apart from Krista's kiss on stage, we had another gay kiss. This time a male gay kiss. Way to go EBU! Oh and of course Carola!! Another hilarious moment! She was part of the interval act for a few seconds. And people kept saying that they let Loreen open the 1st semi and kept Carola for the final's interval act. But Loreen was in the final and Carola's "performance" was what? 5 seconds? Anyway...

Worst part of the night? Eric Saade. Why on earth did they use him in the green room? He was horrible. He looked at his manus many more times than Danny during all 6 nights of mello! And finally, we had Sarah Dawn Finer performing ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All". Amazing!

The voting part. There were a few problems there... Connection problems and not only. I really didn't like that they announced the winner before the voting was over. Yes it was obvious that Denmark won but we still had a few more countries to go. Seriously what was that? I hope they drop it next year!

So yeah, Denmark won! 3 things I correctly predicted this year. Azerbaijan finishing in the top 5, Greece finishing in the top 7 and Spain in bottom 5. My winner was Norway. Obviously. But I'm also fine with Denmark. Margaret did a great job and 4th place is great! Positively surprised by Malta and Hungary's places in the top 10! Kinda expected this result for Germany. But not that bad. And definitely I didn't see Finland finishing in the bottom 5. I didn't expect a top 10 but a top 15. Sweden's 14th place is ok I guess but I think they deserved a top 10. Also surprised by Ireland's last place! Really? UK 19th... oh well... Emmelie won! Congratulations Denmark!

It's Copenhagen 2014 and I'm going! Don't know how but I am! I experienced some of the ESC this year. Two days and I almost got depressed when I had to leave Malmö. Next year I'm going. Period.

ESC 2013 - Semi-final 1 Results

*Sigh...*

I didn't ask for much. I just wanted 4 countries in the final and I didn't really care about the rest. Only one made it. I got 8/10 (prediction) and 7/10 (wantlist). Those 3 that stayed out of the semi were my absolute favourites! Austria, sLOVEnia and Serbia. The 4th was Denmark. Well, in my overall top 10 Denmark is acutally higher than Serbia but whatever. Voted for Austria and sLOVEnia but... :/

Moldova
Lithuania
Ireland
Estonia
Belarus
Denmark
Russia
Belgium
Ukraine
The Netherlands

Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania and Moldova please thank each other! And Belgium making it? Wow.

Pff... poor Natália and Hannah... I'm sad but since the 2011 thing with Dana these things don't affect me that much anymore...

Let's forget about the results for a while. The opening was good. I've seen it live in Melodifestivalen's final. Petra Mede was awesome! Even though I felt like she's trying too much to have a good english accent. I don't think she needs to do that. But she was awesome! The best hostess! Loved the video with the old entries! Lynda Woodruff! Simply amAYzyiiing! The interval act was boring. I wasn't really paying attention. And the australian video was also nice. I think that was all right?

Austria... :( sLOVEnia... :(

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 1

The best period of the year! Rehearsals week and ESC week! I got my siblings here until Thursday so hopefully I will be able to blog every day. I have to. I want to. Then on Saturday I'm going to Malmö and I'm coming back on Sunday so I won't be able to blog about Saturday's rehearsals on Saturday but I will blog about them! 

Ok so the first rehearsals are closed for the press so the only videos are from eurovision.tv which are only 1,5' long and they show mostly backstage and mini interviews. It's not a lot to work with...

DAY 1

Austria - Natália Kelly - "Shine" (1st rehearsal) 

I really like what I see and hear! The 5 backing vocalists are pretty good. That "shine" that we hear while Natália is singing sounds like her voice! It's like a playback which is positive! It looks like they're wearing their stage outfits and if that's the case I like them! Nothing "too much". Natália sounded really good (at least in those 30 seconds) as usual. I have a good feeling about this!

Estonia - Birgit - "Et Uus Saaks Alguse" (1st rehearsal)

Ehm, ok. Still so forgettable. The performance looks simple and I don't like the dress. It doesn't look good on her. 3 backing vocalists and that's all. They all sounded good though.

Slovenia - Hannah Mancini - "Straight Into Love" (1st rehearsal)

First things first. Hannah confirmed that this is her outfit and that they recommended them to wear their stage outfits for the first rehearsal which means that Natália and Birgit are also wearing their stage outfits (obviously the rest of the artists too). I was at the uni all day and I was reading comments on facebook but I hadn't seen anything until now. Everyone was telling me that Hannah's outfit is horrible. I'm fine with it! I find it far from being horrible! So it's a green light from me. Vocally Hannah sounded good to me but I had some trouble listening to the music. Probably because of the camera in the arena. 

Croatia - Klapa s Mora - "Mižerja" (1st rehearsal)

Dislike to the outfits. And I still don't like the song. Vocally they're great. But that's all.

Denmark - Emmelie de Forest - "Teardrops" (1st rehearsal)

Almost identical to their DMGP performance. Even Emmelie's outfit looks the same. I know it isn't. Not much to say here. But I didn't really like the backing vocals... Maybe it's the sound in the arena...

Russia - Dina Garipova - "What If" (1st rehearsal)

The backing vocals are a bit disturbing. Like a hubbub. Dina's vocals are good. Not a fan of her outfit though. And those "bulbs" on stage... Hm...

Ukraine - Zlata Ognevich - "Gravity" (1st rehearsal)

How to (possibly) destroy your performance? Add a couple of Ukranian giants to your act. I really don't like that... But from the 30 seconds we see, it looks nice. I'm just worried about the giants... Zlata's vocals are good. And I like her dress.

The Netherlands - Anouk - "Birds" (1st rehearsal)

Hm... I'm afraid the performance is too simple for such a song. Just Anouk standing there... The song itself isn't enough. It's too dark for the ESC and even though it's in my top 20 (it took some time for it to enter my top 20) it might not make it to the final... Her vocals are great and I love the outfit! Anything black! Well ok, not anything but I love hers.

That's all for Day 1. Such a shame we don't have footage of the entire rehearsal... :/

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!

Norway 2013 - With Margaret Berger to Malmö

Photo: Mattis Sandblad

Thank you thank you thank you Norway!!! Margaret won!! I am extatic! "I Feed You My Love" is my ESC winner right now! Denmark dropped to no2!

There's only one thing they need to do now.

Dear norwegian delegation,
I am begging you to keep the performance the way it is now! Send it to Malmö WITHOUT changing anything. Keep the same staging, same lighting, same camera work, same dress, same hairdo... EVERYTHING!
It's so unique the way it is now! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING!

We might even go back to Oslo next year! ;)

DMGP 2013 - With Emmelie de Forest to Malmö

Photo: Wouter van Vliet (EBU)

So Denmark decided and I welcome them in my top 10 this year! Even though there are a lot of countries who haven't picked their entry yet. The winner, Emmelie de Forest with "Only Teardrops"! My second favourite tonight, right after Frederikke and right before Simone who made it to the top 3 along with Mohamed.

Really nice choice Denmark! Thank you!

DMGP 2013 - The full songs

The full songs are out! Listen to them HERE. 

1. Frederikke Vedel - Jeg har hele tiden vidst det (Pernille Georgi, Thomas Reil, Jeppe Reil)
Love it! Adore it! Pure schlager in danish!!

2. Brinck - Human (Niels Brinck)
Yeah I stick to the opinion I had a few days ago when I reviewed the teasers. I don't like this. Sorry Brinck!

3. Kate Hall - I'm not alone (Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Larsson, Michelle Bell, Oscar Holter, Jakke Erixson, Simon Hermansen)
Like like like! Another schlager track! I get a mello vibe from this! Oh well! Scandinavia! ;)

4. Louise Dubiel - Rejs dig op (Casper Lindstad, Rune Braager, Louise Dubiel)
Listening to the full song didn't change my first impression. Don't.like.it.

5. Daze - We own the universe (Thomas G:son, Peter Boström)
It's still a no. I get a mello vibe from this one as well but not a good one...

6. Simone Egeriis - Stay awake (Lars Halvor Jensen, Carsten Lindberg)
Damn! This was my favourite teaser. Now that I've heard the full version it's not anymore. I still like it. Especially the chorus but I'm a bit disappointed by the verses...

7. Jack Rowan ft. Sam Gray - Invincible (Achmad Darwich, Jack Rowan, Sam Gray)
I just listened to the entire song but nothing changed. It's still really meh.

8. Emmelie de Forest - Only teardrops (Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, Thomas Stengaard)
Ok now that's good. And I like Emmelie's voice! In the previous post I said the chorus is too repetitive. Well it wasn't the entire chorus on that teaser they made public last week! So this gets a green light from me!

9. Albin - Beautiful to me (Brian Risberg Clausen, Mads Haugaard)
Cheese! But I like the chorus! The melody...

10. Mohamed Ali - Unbreakable (Morten Friis, Michael Parsberg, Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing)
Another mello vibe! Good vibe! Like!


Ok we have some really nice songs! For my taste, they are great. For Europe's taste, I don't know...
Well my winner is Frederikke! She got those extra points by singing in danish and made it to the top! Schlagertastic song! Kate, Simone, Emmelie and Mohamed complete my top 5.

Just keep the song in danish please! If it's the winner!

DMPG 2013 - The songs and artists

Well to be honest I wasn't planning to write about DMPG's line-up but we have teasers of the songs so I wanna comment them. The thing is that I don't have much free time so I can't blog about everything and especially about countries that are not my favourite in the contest and therefore I don't know any of their artists. Blogging about the rest of the countries would be just to inform you about them and nothing more since I can't make any comments. And you know there are hundreds of eurosites out there which are closely follow everything so you can find any info you want there. :)

Back to DMPG now. Listen to the songs HERE.

1. Frederikke Vedel - Jeg har hele tiden vidst det (Pernille Georgi, Thomas Reil, Jeppe Reil)
Like! Schlager! Good start Denmark! An extra point for the danish.

2. Brinck - Human (Niels Brinck)
Brinck is back! But I'm not that impressed... I totally prefer his 2009 attempt in ESC.

3. Kate Hall - I'm not alone (Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Larsson, Michelle Bell, Oscar Holter, Jakke Erixson, Simon Hermansen)
Another up-tempo! Nice! I can't tell a lot just from those 30 seconds though... It's not bad...

4. Louise Dubiel - Rejs dig op (Casper Lindstad, Rune Braager, Louise Dubiel)
Nah. I don't like this one...

5. Daze - We own the universe (Thomas G:son, Peter Boström)
The winning writing team of the ESC 2012... However I can't say I like this... Maybe if I listen to the entire song but from what I hear it's a no...

6. Simone Egeriis - Stay awake (Lars Halvor Jensen, Carsten Lindberg)
Right. I like this a lot! So far it's my favourite!

7. Jack Rowan ft. Sam Gray - Invincible (Achmad Darwich, Jack Rowan, Sam Gray)
Uhm yeah. I prefer this one...

8. Emmelie de Forest - Only teardrops (Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, Thomas Stengaard)
I need to hear the verses... Chorus is too repetitive...

9. Albin - Beautiful to me (Brian Risberg Clausen, Mads Haugaard)
A bit cheesy... And it's just the chorus so...

10. Mohamed Ali - Unbreakable (Morten Friis, Michael Parsberg, Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing)
 I like this. It has a nice beat but that's all I can say now.

Overall it's a good final with many up-tempo songs and I like that. Unfortunately I don't see any winning material here. Not for my taste at least.

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 - 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 - Denmark decided

Denmark sends Soluna Samay with "Should've Known Better"! I like it a lot! Nice choice Denmark! That was my second favourite. First favourite was "Overflow". Ok I know it's totally "Let It Rain Over Me" but I love it!

Anyway! Good luck Danmark! ;)

ESC 2012 - Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2012

The 2012 Danish Eurovision national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2012 will be held at the Gigantium in Aalborg on the 21st of January 2012. Well known Danish television presenter and host Felix Smith will be back on the scene again, hosting the show next year, for the 4th time in a row. The Gigantium is no newcover to the Danish national final as it as hosted the 2006 and 2010 Melodi Grand Prix editions. 

Read more at esctoday.com

Well I never followed DMGP all these years but there's always a first time. And 21st of January is a great date. Melodifestivalen begins in February (it's my no1 NF priority). Now we wait...

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 8

The 2nd rehearsal of Slovenia, Romania, Estonia, Belarus, Latvia, Denmark and Ireland.
Also the 2nd rehearsal for the Big 5: France, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.

Slovenia’s 2nd rehearsal: Serisously what can I say about Maja? She's fantastic! One of the best voices this year and she knows how to sing live. And she said she would wear the dress from the 1st rehearsal in the semi... I don't really like it. I would prefer something like the one she wore in the NF. It would fit the song better.

Romania’s 2nd rehearsal: Really nice rehearsal for Romania. I still don't like the girls with the trumpets but I like the song. And I like their clothes.

Estonia’s 2nd rehearsal: Nah that wasn't a good rehearsal. Getter and the backing vocalists sounded bad... The choreo is kinda messy and the song is nothing special. I love the rhythm of the chorus but that's all.

Belarus’ 2nd rehearsal: Good rehearsal but I don't really like the song. I liked their clothes though.

Latvia’s 2nd rehearsal: OK one more listening and it enters my top 10 kicking out Sweden or UK! This grew on me a lot! And I really like their performance. It's not something special but I like it!

Denmark’s 2nd rehearsal: I like the song, I like the performance I hate the shirt! Come on! This is really bad! Vocally was great.

Ireland’s 2nd rehearsal: They are annoying! So annoying! But damn I like watching their performance! Guilty pleasure! Hahaha And the song stucks on your mind... I am almost sure we will see them in the final. Well ok I can (almost) live with that but they ain't gonna win!

France’s 2nd rehearsal: He's got a great voice but as I said I don't like the song. Why such a hype? Why? And please someone cut his hair! And I noticed that he's sweating a lot... That won't look good on tv...

Italy’s 2nd rehearsal: I dislike Raphael. This will sound so crazy but I dislike him because he reminds me of a classmate I had in school and he was a jerk! Anyway, his rehearsal was fine but I don't like the song. And the music hurts my ears... Sorry Italy!

United Kingdom’s 2nd rehearsal: Much better rehearsal for Blue! And couldn't they wear these clothes in the final? At least this style? It's better. The 4 screens behind them are really distracting and I still don't like this version of the song. There aren't many differences but I prefer the first one.

Germany’s 2nd rehearsal: Better than yesterday but I still thing she can't sing live. She's not bad but she doesn't sound good to my ears. And I like that outfit too.

 

Spain’s 2nd rehearsal: Oh I so love this!!! Go Lucía! Great rehearsal! And I like her dress. But I'd like the dancers wearing only the shirts... Anyway Spain has to finish in top 10 this year!