ESC 2013 - Semi-final 2 results

Now this is a "I don't know where to start" moment! Just wow! Loved the opening act! And I wanted to comment that on the first semi's post but I forgot to do it. Love the graphics this year. And the "post cards". And for some reason I really like that sound right before the playback of each song begins. Also, the way they announce the results. No stupid buttons (2009), no stupid "are you excited? who's gonna be next?" and such stuff. Quick announcement without any unnecessary comments. Well done on that!

Now the results.

Hungary
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Romania
Norway
Iceland
Armenia
Finland
Malta
Greece

I predicted right 6/10 which is bad. Shocker of the night in a positive way, Hungary. Shockers of the night in a negative way, Armenia and Romania! What are these two doing in the final? Huge shock on non-qualification, Israel! I can't believe Israel is out! I got 7/10 from my wantlist and Israel and Switzerland were the 2 out of 4 that I really wanted in the final. Norway and Finland made it. But I have to admit I almost got a heart attack until Finlands announcement! 8th! But Krista made it! I'm also happy for Malta!

I was glad to see Lys Assia back and healthy! Petra was awesome as always! Lynda Woodruff too! What a character! Hahahaha That thing with Bonnie Tyler cracked me up! The interval act with Darin and Agnes was like watching Melodifestivalen. I only loved Agnes' "Release Me".

Finally, I wanna make a comment on the history that Krista wrote tonight! The kiss! She did it and not only we saw it, but it was also a close-up! I just couldn't believe it!

iltasanomat.fi

10 years ago EBU warned t.A.T.u. that they'll play the dress rehearsal video if they try to kiss during the live performance and today, Krista kissed her backing vocalist! Kudos to her for daring to do it. I've said before I'm not a big fan of the "use" of the kiss but I really don't mind seeing it. ;)


And I just saw that the running order for the final is revealed! Norway performs 24th! Between Italy and Georgia and Finland performs 4th between Moldova and Spain. So yay to both! Denmark's at 18 between Hungary and Iceland so it's good for them too. France will open the contest. huhu I won't comment the rest. I really need to go to bed!

ESC 2013 - Semi-final 2

Quick post with my predictions and wishes.

Second Semi-Final

1. Latvia
2. San Marino
3. FYROM
4. Azerbaijan
5. Finland
6. Malta
7. Bulgaria
8. Iceland
9. Greece
10. Israel
11. Armenia
12. Hungary
13. Norway
14. Albania
15. Georgia
16. Switzerland
17. Romania

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

Israel
Greece
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Norway
Finland
Switzerland
FYROM
San Marino
Malta

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

Norway
Finland
Israel
Switzerland
Hungary
Malta
San Marino
Azerbaijan
Iceland
Greece

Yeah I only care about 4. These are Norway, Finland, Israel and Switzerland. I hope I have better luck with my favourites this time.

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 6

Back from Malmö and Saturday's and yesterday's rehearsals are probably old news for you but I haven't watched anything yet. As I said I'm gonna comment on everything. So, Day 6, Day 7 and an extra blog post about my amazing weekend in Malmö!

DAY 6

Latvia - PeR - "Here We Go" (2nd rehearsal) 
Mmm ok... It's kind of a "mess". The same performance as in their NF but they walk down the catwalk, Ralfs does a fake stage dive and that's it. I see no final here.

San Marino - Valentina Monetta - "Crisalide (Vola)" (2nd rehearsal) 
Really good rehearsal! I like the staging and the outfit change isn't "too much". I think it's time for San Marino to make it to the final! But yeah, people will definitely go "no way she's the facebook song girl"! (social network song or whatever)

FYROM - Esma & Lozano - "Pred Da Se Razdeni" (2nd rehearsal)
Thank God they dropped the english version!!! But I will never like Esma. She ruins the song! The performance is simple just like their NF. Final? I don't know.

Azerbaijan - Farid Mammadov - "Hold Me" (2nd rehearsal)
Wow. Fokas Evangelinos! You want a top 5 spot? Hire him! I'm not a big fan of the song but that performance is amazing! The shadow man (kudos to him!!) is amazing. The way they made the entire performance is amazing! Azerbaijan is so in the final!

Finland - Krista Siegfrids - "Marry Me" (2nd rehearsal)
What a show! I think the Vegas backdrop fits perfectly but in EUROvision? Oh well, soft spot coz I adore the song. However, I don't like the new version. I wish she sang the first one. Now about the kiss. Well Krista you dare to do it, at least keep it for a few more seconds. :P Question. How far will the camera be when they'll kiss? ;) Or even better (worse?), will we see it on tv?

Malta - Gianluca - "Tomorrow" (2nd rehearsal)
I love so much the ending. All going and sitting on the bench. That's what I like the most in the music video and now they're doing it on stage. Apart from that, Gianluca walks down the catwalk before he goes back and sit with the others. During the entire song he just sways on stage. Simple performance but good. It's a cute song sung by a cute guy.

Bulgaria - Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov - "Samo Shampioni" (2nd rehearsal)
I don't like it. The song is similar to "Voda" and at the same time nowhere near it. This is bad. The performance is nothing new. Elitsa is barefoot, they're walkind down the catwalk and they finish there. Aah I don't like the song so I can't really comment on the performance. Nothing interesting about it.

Iceland - Eythor Ingi - "Ég Á Líf" (2nd rehearsal)
Too simple but I like it near the end when the backing vocalists are coming on stage. And thank God he changed his outfit. Much better now.

Greece - Koza Mostra feat Agathon Iakovidis - "Alcohol Is Free" (2nd rehearsal)
I don't know what's their problem with the rehearsals. I saw them live at the Eurovillage and they were so much better. I hope it will be fixed by Thursday. I totally hated it when we picked it and today I caught myself singing it. Seeing them live made me like the song. We're definitely in final's top 10. It's too uplifting and there aren't any other songs like it. If only Agathonas wasn't there...

Israel - Moran Mazor - "Rak Bishvilo" (2nd rehearsal)
That outfit... :( Why? WHY? And the hairdo... She looks so much better in the music video. Why couldn't they make her look like that in the ESC? That's my only problem coz the rest are perfect. Love the song and she's great live!

Armenia - Dorians - "Lonely Planet" (2nd rehearsal)
I got so bored watching this. I really dislike the song. The performance is nothing much. The entire group on stage and some flames. No final dear Armenia.

Hungary - ByeAlex - "Kedvesem (Zoohacker Remix)" (2nd rehearsal)
I will be positively surprised if Hungary makes it to the final. I don't see it happening though... :/ ByeAlex, a guitarist and a female backing vocalist on stage. Nothing wow, no gimmicks but I like it. I think having a female backing vocalist was a great idea. She adds so much to the chorus. It sounds great!

Norway - Margaret Berger - "I Feed You My Love" (2nd rehearsal) 
Great great great! The camera work seems to be identical to the MGP performance! Hopefully they won't show the backing vocalists. This is perfect! Oslo 2014! Or Bergen or whatever! Norway 2014!

Albania - Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko - "Identitet" (2nd rehearsal)
I only like the intro. But I think they'll make it to the final. It's a good performance. Quite powerful for such a song...

Georgia - Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani - "Waterfall" (2nd rehearsal)
Ok now I think that this has chances for the final. I'm almost sure actually that they'll make it. I still find nothing special about the song but the performance is good!

Switzerland - Takasa - "You And Me" (2nd rehearsal)
I like that Sarah takes the lead in the second verse. In the studio version it's only Christoph who sings. Love their outfits but the performance is too static. I hope it won't cost them the final.

Romania - Cezar - "It's My Life" (2nd rehearsal) 
So many candidates for the Barbara Dex award this year! I like the fireworks at 2:24 but generally I can't stand the song and Cezars voice. His voice actually. Anyway, no final (I hope!).

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 4

DAY 4

Greece - Koza Mostra ft Agathonas Iakovidis - "Alcohol Is Free" (1st rehearsal) 
I don't like what I hear. The vocals are really bad and I hope Ilias drops that "savage" voice. It's annoying. The performance looks identical to the NF one but they added some lights to their musical instruments.

Israel - Moran Mazor - "Rak Bishvilo" (1st rehearsal)
Why oh why are you wearing the NF dress Moran? Don't they read the negative comments about the styling? What are they thinking? Really! I'll try to overlook that even though it's impossible. Her vocals were great as always. Fix the styling PLEASE!

Armenia - Dorians - "Lonely Planet" (1st rehearsal)
Yeah definitely in my bottom 5. Why is he jumping like that? The outfits (if these are the stage ones) are ok. Nothing else to say here. Really.

Hungary - ByeAlex - "Kedvesem (Zoohacker Remix)" (1st rehearsal)
I like that they're using the music video of the song as backdrop. The performance is really simple but they sound really good. I like it!

Norway - Margaret Berger - "I Feed You My Love" (1st rehearsal)
I love that she kept the dress from MGP. However there are some minor changes on it. I have to say I don't really like the cut below the knee. I wanted the "caterpillar" dress! Hahaha Anyway this is great. I also don't like the backing vocalists. Sure they need them but I hope they hide them somehow. The focus should be Margaret and only Margaret! And I don't like that the backing vocalists are doing the same gestures as Margaret... Her vocals were ok-ish... At least that's what I heard but I'm not worried about that. I'm sure she'll sound great during the live performance.

Albania - Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko - "Identitet" (1st rehearsal)
Another staging similar to the NF one. I don't like what I see and hear. Well probably because I don't like the song. Next!

Georgia - Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani - "Waterfall" (1st rehearsal)
I don't like the song but I like the stage effects. And their outfits. But that's all...

Switzerland - Takasa - "You And Me" (1st rehearsal)
Simple outfits but for some reason I really like them! The staging is the one I was expecting. What else could they do? Yeah, I like it!

Romania - Cezar - "It's My Life" (1st rehearsal)
That was painful. Sorry but that's how it is. I don't like it. I will never like this one no matter how they present it. And Cezar's outfit is horrible.

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "G", "H"

Georgia sends Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani with the song "Waterfall" written by Thomas G:son and Erik Bernholm.
Very indifferent even if it is written by G:son. There's not much to tell here. I find it really boring and I'm gonna take a guess and say that this will stay in the semi.
Georgia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #15.

1pt from me and good luck to Georgia!

Germany sends Cascada with the song "Glorious" written by Yann Peifer, Manuel Reuter, Andres Ballinas and Tony Cornelissen.
My #2 this year! Do I need to say more? LOVE the full version but I'm totally fine with this version even though it sounds like something is missing after the chorus. It's too abrupt. But I can accept anything as long as I have my favourite part there! That is, "crash and burn and lose my mind". In the version they performed at Echo the second part of the first verse is missing! At least it's back in the ESC version!
Germany competes in the final. Running order TBA.

12pts from me and good luck to Germany!

Greece sends Koza Mostra ft Agathonas Iakovidis with the song "Alcohol Is Free" written by Stathis Pachidis and Ilias Kozas.

I totally hated this when we picked it. I gave us zero points just like I did back in 2010. I ended up supporting and loving our entry in 2010. I will definitely not love "Alcohol Is Free" but I don't mind listening to it now. If only Agathonas wasn't there... The song would have been so much better without him! I'm still against the title even though we'll get many points from the nordic (and not only) countries... xD

Greece competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #9.

4pts from me and good luck to Greece!

Hungary sends ByeAlex with the song "Kedvesem" written by  Alex Márta and Zoltán Palásti Kovács.

First of all, I give them some extra points for sending this in hungarian! Such a lovely melody. I don't know if they'll make it in the final but I like this! Very relaxing and I love listening to such music at night!

Hungary competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #12.

7pts from me and good luck to Hungary! 

ESC 2012 - Rehearsals Day 7

Day 7!!! Today's Spain's rehearsal!!! I watched it! It was the first rehearsal I watched! And I have so much to say!!! But let's take them one by one!

Slovenia - Eva Boto - Verjamem (2nd rehearsal)
Solid second rehearsal for Slovenia! But I said it last time as well, I don't like Eva's dress. At all! I find it too "heavy"... There's no need for those flowers to be there...

Croatia - Nina Badrić - Nebo (2nd rehearsal) 
Vocally Nina was great once again. I like her dress but I don't like the dancers' outfits. Especially the male dancers'. Backdrop looks nice... And I don't get that white sheet...

Sweden - Loreen - Euphoria (2nd rehearsal)
First comment! There's the snow! When I commented the first rehearsal I said that there wouldn't be any snow. I was wrong and it makes sense. Why deny some harmless plastic foam? ;) Loreen's vocals! Perfect once again! Last night we saw Loreen's outfit. Seeing her performing with it feels kinda weird. Well not weird. It seems "heavy" but it works. What seems weird are the backing vocalists' outfits. Those hats? Hm I hope the camera work will focus on Loreen! Stockholm 2013.

Georgia - Anri Jokhadze - I'm A Joker (2nd rehearsal)
That was once again painful! And it comes right after Loreen! Zero chances! Hahaha! And what are those backing vocalists' outfits! :S Sorry Georgia!

Turkey - Can Bonomo - Love Me Back (2nd rehearsal)
First thing I don't like: the backdrop. And of course I don't like the song, Can, the staging. Sorry I just don't like this! But for some reason I think Turkey will make it.

Germany - Roman Lob - Standing Still (1st rehearsal)
Solid first rehearsal for Germany. Really simple staging though. Roman just stands there. Well he's standing still. :P Vocally he was good.

France - Anggun - Echo (You And I) (1st rehearsal)
Not pleased at all by Anggun's vocals!!! That wasn't good girl! I like the staging however and the choreo. I wanna see her outfit too. But no1 priority for her is to improve her vocals.

Italy - Nina Zilli - L'Amore È Femmina (1st rehearsal)
Disappointment! Vocally she was bad. But I kinda knew that. I watched quite a few of her live performances of "L'Amore È Femmina" and in all of them she wasn't that good. The song is still one of my favourite (though the italian version) but what I saw was not good. And those backing vocalists! They put the shorter in the middle and it looks really bad! The two female vocalists need to swap spots!

Azerbaijan - Sabina Babayeva - The Music Never Dies (1st rehearsal)
Did I just watch Mika Newton? Oh that was Sabina! Sorry the dress confused me. Ok good rehearsal. I don't really like the dress though. When I commented the songs I gave it a 5. Now it's lower...

Spain - Pastora Soler - Quédate Conmigo (1st rehearsal)
A flawless performance!!! But I was sure of that! One of my two fears is gone. I was worried about two things. The staging and the dress. The staging is simple and that's what we needed! Now I'm worried about the dress! I just wish she wore the one from the spanish NF! It's amazing! Pastora said it won't be yellow and it won't be black. I just hope it's elegant and classy. Backing vocals were also really good! Oh Spain! Top 3!! Vamos Pastora!!!! Oh and I love that face in the end of the video! hahahaha xD

United Kingdom - Engelbert Humperdinck - Love Will Set You Free (1st rehearsal)
Ok Engelbert! Keep that mic close to your mouth please! That was a bit boring. And vocally he wasn't so good. Or was it the mic? Ah I'm sorry but after Pastora's performance that was totally indifferent. And he will be first on stage. I seriously doubt if anyone will remember this. I say bottom 5 for UK!

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 "G", "H"

Georgia sends Anri Jokhadze with the song "I'm A Joker" written by Rusudan Chkhaidze and Bibi Kvachadze.
Somebody please call Batman! Now I know why people made so many negative comments about this! It's horrible! I don't like it at all! There's no way Georgia will make it to the final. The only thing I like though are just a few parts of the music.
Georgia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #12.

0pts from me and good luck to Georgia!

Germany sends Roman Lob with the song "Standing Still" written by Steve Robson, Wayne Hector and Jamie Cullum.
A grower. Cute song but again, I don't know how to rank it... Definitely not a toilet break (oh wait! I never take a toilet break during a country's performance!). Really I don't know what to say. I like it, it's pleasant but I'm not crazy about it. Roman's handsome though. ;)
Germany competes in the final with running order #20.

6pts from me and good luck to Germany!

Greece sends Eleftheria Eleftheriou with the song "Aphrodisiac" written by Dimitri Stassos, Mikaela Stenström and Dajana Lööf.

I love it! Many call it a cheap pop song. My reply to them, Sweden 2011! Well I think we'll be once again in the top 10! Somewhere around 8-10 maybe. I'm glad we send an entry like this. I didn't like our 2010 and 2011 entries so that's a great comeback for me!

Greece competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #3.

10pts from me and good luck to Greece!

Hungary sends Compact Disco with the song "Sound Of Our Hearts" written by Behnam Lotfi, Attila Sándor, Csaba Walkó and Gábor Pál.

I love the video! Just watched it for the first time. Really nice. I also like the song a lot! Even though it wasn't my winner in the hungarian NF. 

Hungary competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #15.

7pts from me and good luck to Hungary! 

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 5

Day 5 and the first 13 countries of the 1st semi-final had their second rehearsal. These were Poland, Norway, Albania, Armenia, Turkey, Serbia, Russia, Switzerland, Georgia, Finland, Malta, San Marino and Croatia.

Poland's 2nd rehearsal: Well not so crazy about the clothes but ok. Another nice rehearsal for Poland. And I love the choreo. I just wanted Magda to sing the chorus in the end and not just some phrases and stuff. 

Norway's 2nd rehearsal: So Stella is keeping the same clothes she had in the norwegian NF but in different color. Well I like this! I like watching this performance coz it's a feel-good song. Not better than Spain's but I like it. And I like Stella too. The rehearsal was solid. No problem seeing them in the final!

Albania's 2nd rehearsal: Aurela is vocally great! All the times! No doubt she can sing. I like her dress but I was expecting something different. Oh and I so love the last chorus! When she switches to albanian! Great! Reminds me of Nilsson's (now Perrelli) reprise in 1999!

Armenia's 2nd rehearsal: Why is she skipping a part of the chorus? The first time she did it I thought ok she lost her breath but she did it 2 more times! Strange... I have a bad feeling that she will make it... Aaah "boom boom chaka chaka your kiss is like a like a"!!! Annoying, I'm making fun of it and as I said many times, I end up liking what I'm making fun of! :O And the clothes are fine after removing the boxing robes!

Turkey's 2nd rehearsal: I still don't get what the girl in the cage does on stage... And if these are the clothes they're gonna wear in the semi, well they are too simple I think. Vocally it was a really good performance.

Serbia's 2nd rehearsal: Love it! Love it! Love it!!! Nina is amazing! Her vocals are great! I got a bit dizzy with that backdrop but I hope it will look better with the camera work.

Russia's 2nd rehearsal: Vocally he was fine. I still think he has too many gimmicks. And I hate how he made fun of the serbian entry and Nina!! How professional! Well done Alexej! A homophobe and an ass!

Switzerland's 2nd rehearsal: Solid performance once again. I like it! 

Georgia's 2nd rehearsal: The vocals were much better than the first rehearsal! Something still bugs me in the chorus but I love the music and the verses.

Finland's 2nd rehearsal: I like the idea of his recycled shirt and now I understand why he's using that old guitar but come on. This is so Tom Dice! Everyone will say this! Vocally he is great. Well so was Tom!

Malta's 2nd rehearsal: The song grew on me a lot! But I don't like Glen... However he was good in the second rehearsal and the performance is nice.

San Marino's 2nd rehearsal: OK vocally she wasn't as good as she was in the first rehearsal but she explained why. The backing vocals were too loud I think and I don't like her dress. Are we looking to the Barbara Dex award here? Anyway, I like Senit! She's funny! :P

Croatia's 2nd rehearsal: No, no, no! Why Croatia? That was not good! Average performance as a whole. I still don't like the clothes trick even though the last change has become better. They all throw some glitter in the air and not only that DJ/magician. I really hope they can make it to the final because I adore the song... Fingers crossed!

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 1

May 1st! Eurovision's rehearsals kicked off today. I am not able to follow them all day long so I will be blogging at the end of the day. I will try to blog every day but I can't promise anything.

10 countries rehearsed today and these were Poland, Norway, Albania, Armenia, Turkey, Serbia, Russia, Switzerland, Georgia and Finland.

I'll be using the videos from eurovision.tv youtube channel. 

Poland’s rehearsal: That was a solid performance. Magdalena's vocals are quite powerful and she sounded nice. I had a problem with the backing vocalists. They sounded a bit like they were bored. Especially the guy... Love the choreography too! So Poland's team have all the time they need to make their performance perfect until the big night!

Norway’s rehearsal: Well Stella sounded ok I guess and I like Norway's choreography too. It's a fun song but I don't understand how they put it as a winner... Backing vocals weren't so good... And can someone tell me if Stella will be wearing similar clothes as the ones she had in Norway's NF? Because she was wearing exactly the same in the rehearsal - just the color was different. Anyway...

Albania’s rehearsal: Really powerful vocals for Albania! Aurela sounded great! There's nothing much going on stage. Just a few flames for "wow-factor". I think Albania will make it to the final again. As I said I'm not into so screamy songs but Aurela can sing. I think they deserve a spot in the final.

Armenia’s rehearsal: I'm sorry but I laughed... The choreography is a bit ridiculous! And the choreographer is Emmy Zarian. She was responsible for Greece's choreo last year (I was surprised when I saw our dancers there at first but now I know!). And that boxing ring? Oh God! Hahaha but ok Emmy can sing. I would like the song if the chorus wasn't there. All I can do now is just laugh at the chorus which isn't a good thing since whatever I laugh at I end up liking it! :O :O :P

Turkey’s rehearsal: That was ok. I said I only like the chorus. Now I start liking the music as well. And what was that woman in that cage-ball. Like last year's robot? Nah she was out of place. Really no idea what she's doing there. The vocals were good though.

Serbia’s rehearsal: Loved it even more! That was great great great!!! Go Serbia!! I still wish they could have a live band and the 3 girls in the backing vocals but that would be above the limit (maximum 6 people on stage). But it's a playful choreo! And I think it fits the song. I also liked Nina's vocals so, so far so good!

Russia’s rehearsal: Jesus Christ! And then people keep nagging about Eric Saade's gimmick! This guy couldn't have more gimmicks than all these! Led walls, neon shoes, flashing jackets and the backflip a la Sakis Rouvas (Greece 2004). Oh please! Average song for me and he obviously had a problem with the sound. It was awful. Is this going to be a Russia-Sweden battle? ;)

Switzerland’s rehearsal: Pleasant performance. Time for Switzerland to make it to the final? There's nothing much going on stage. Anna and two musicians but I liked it. Her vocals were great. Nice... I don't think I have anything else to say. 

Georgia’s rehearsal: I love the music and the first verse but when we reach to the chorus it sounds so wrong. I wish they had a different chorus. Quite weak vocals and strange clothes... I don't know. Overall I'm in the middle... I don't like but I don't dislike it either...

Finland’s rehearsal: This is so Tom Dice... Bad sound for this one too... This is not one of my favourites but it's ok. For some reason I think he will qualify. Let's keep this just between us ok? I think it will be too unfair if a song like this qualifies! I really can't compare this to last year's "Työlki Ellää"!

So that was it for today! We're on people! :D

ESC 2011 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "G", "H"

Georgia sends Eldrine with the song "One More Day" written DJ Rock & Mikheil Chelidze and DJ BE$$.

I started listening to this I thought "oh great!" until I reached the chorus! What is this? Totally out of place! This could be a really great song if the chorus was different. It's not a bad song but to me it's not "Eurovision". And I know nowadays people don't want "Eurovision" songs but I love them! So this one is not a favourite but definitely not in my bottom!
Georgia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #9.

4pts from me and good luck to Georgia!

Germany sends Lena Meyer-Landrut with the song "Taken By A Stranger" written by Gus Seyffert, Nicole Morier and Monica Birkenes.

This is one of the darkest songs I've ever heard! Normally I don't comment the videos but they couldn't have made a better video for the song. Period. And I like the fact that they send a totally different song than "Satellite". I wathced the german NF and "TBAS" was my favourite. There's absolutely no way that Lena -or anyone in her shoes- can win ESC twice in a row (and don't get me started with Johnny Logan!) but I believe Germany will make a decent appearance. Maybe a top 10. I think that'll do.
Germany competes in the final with running order #16.

7pts from me and good luck to Germany!

Greece sends Loukas Yorkas feat. Stereo Mike with the song "Watch My Dance" written by Eleana Vrahali and Giannis Christodoulopoulos.

Do I have to do this? I am so embarassed! What the hell did you vote for Greeks? This is probably the first time I hate my country's entry so much! This is awful! Yeah yeah "we" decided to send a song with much more greek elements than last year but really? How greek is the rap part? JESUS! Total disaster! And even without the rap part I wouldn't like the song. I just hate greek music! Especially the traditional one! Eew! I really hope we don't make it to the final this year but I know we will! We have some really nice neighbours. Duh!
Greece competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #19.

0pts from me and good luck to Greece!

Hungary sends Kati Wolf  with the song "What About My Dreams?" written by Péter Geszti, Viktor Rakonczay and Gergő Rácz.

ADORE it! The only thing that I don't like is that it is too short! Hahaha. No really. It sounds like there's only one verse and then we go to the bridge... But I can't help it. I love this song! I would love it to be Budapest 2012! But the thought of Kati being a Kate Ryan of 2011 terrifies me! She has to give us a solid performance. It's a song with pretty difficult vocals. If this fails to make it to the final it will be a total disaster for me! So Europe watch out!
Hungary competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #15.

12pts from me and good luck to Hungary!