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! 

Greece 2013 - With Koza Mostra & Agathonas Iakovidis to Malmö!

Ok my home country picked its entry tonight. It's Koza Mostra & Agathonas Iakovidis with "Alcohol Is Free". God I don't like it! 0 points! My favourite was Thomai Apergi with "One Last Kiss". Yeah I know it's too Nina Zilli but it was the only song I liked out of these 4 we had. Alex Leon ft Giorgina with "Angel" and Aggeliki Iliadi with "Hilies Ke Mia Nyhtes" were the other two.

Apart from the results I loved the entire show! It was amazing! Ruslana, Marija Šerifović, Dima Bilan and Alexander Rybak were there and performed their winning entries along with other Greek artists. (the videos should be on YouTube soon) However the highlight of the night was totally Vicky Leandros who sang "Apre Tois" with Helena Paparizou! Helena sang also a new remixed version of "My Number One" Vegas. (thanks to helenapaparizouclub.gr for the videos!) 

We also had Despina Olympiou, the Cypriot entrant with "An Me Thimase" and Eleftheria Eleftheriou with Ivi Adamou singing a mash-up of their 2012 entries. Really nice! 

So yeah, great night, horrible result!

Greece 2013 - The songs

All day at the uni, then at work, now I'm back and it's time to comment my country's candidates.

Aggeliki Iliadi - "Hilies Ke Mia Nihtes"
Ok that's not greek music. It's more a mixture of arabic and turkish music but it's not uncommon to hear such songs in Greece. I totally dislike that genre. Really really not my cup of tea.

Alex Leon ft Giorgina - "Angel"
What the hell is this? I have one word to describe the music of this song. Hubbub (thanks to google translator coz I never wanted to use that greek word in english before). The rest of it is just too bland. Nothing special and very forgettable.

Thomai Apergi - "One Last Kiss"
Well hello there Nina Zilli! But I actually like this. I think it's my favourite! Totally not greek but it's closer to what I like!

Koza Mostra & Agathonas Iakovidis - "Alcohol Is Free"
Ok that's just horrible! I listened to this once. I can't do this again.

So I obviously have a clear winner. Compared to last year, this NF has more diversity which is a good thing. Yeah it's not the music I like but I'm not Europe... ;)

ESC 2013 - The logo and the semi-final allocation draw

eurovision.tv

Let's start with the logo and slogan... (click on the photo to enlarge it). I have to say that the first impression wasn't so good... It's beautiful but it looks random. It has nothing to do with Sweden and SVT said there won't be any slogan this year. On the other hand, after all those press releases about this year's concept, the randomness kinda makes sense. Add to that the story behind it and ok! I like it!

The slogan... Well as a member on escforums.com said, do we actually need it? I don't know. The logo does look better without the slogan right there. "We are one"... yeah I don't really like the slogan...

Let's go to the semi-final allocation draw...

I'm glad for Greece and Israel for now... Sad for Slovenia and Iceland (if they pick Erna's song). Right now I can't say much! I need to listen to the songs and then I will see which countries will be benefitted and which not...

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 1

Well I spent the entire weekend in Stockholm but now I'm back. I wasn't planning to blog about today's rehearsals today but here I am! I couldn't resist! :P Let's do this! 

Montenegro - Rambo Amadeus - Euro Neuro (1st rehearsal)

It's quite obvious that there were a few problems but that's what the rehearsals are for. And that wooden donkey? More like the Torjan Horse really. Meh. I still hate the song. Montenegro is so not in the final!

Iceland - Greta Salóme & Jónsi - Never Forget (1st rehearsal)

Ok I have to say I got some serious goosebumps in the first chorus but that was all. I still prefer and believe that the icelandic version is miles better! About the staging, it's almost the same with the NF and I think that would be all. No surprises and stuff... Vocally they were good. Some sound problems maybe... From that first rehearsal I say Iceland is in the final.

Greece - Eleftheria Eleftheriou - Aphrodisiac (1st rehearsal)

I like what I saw. However the choreography doesn't seem complete. It feels like they're "hiding" something. Eleftheria was good vocally. To my ears at least... I'm kinda biased here but I say we are in the final.

Latvia - Anmary - Beautiful Song (1st rehearsal)

First of all I love the last 30 seconds. But until that moment everything is quite bland. The choreo is boring. They just walk around on stage. Anmary was ok vocally and she must have worked on her face expressions but there is a moment or two where she made those faces... Anyway, I don't see Latvia in the final...

Albania - Rona Nishliu - Suus (1st rehearsal)

I don't know what the camera work will be but they need to be careful a bit. Rona seems scary in those close-ups. Vocals! Those vocals! Personally I don't like the song and I find her really screamy but vocally she was great. She pulled it off in the best possible way! Now this is tricky. I don't know if we will see it in the final. If it was up to me I'd leave Albania in the semi...

Romania - Mandinga - Zaleilah (1st rehearsal)

Ok... I guess we will never hear Elena singing Zaleilah like in the studio version. It's quite obvious they "did something" in the studio. Anyway, vocally she was good. Not in the same tone as in the studio version but she was good. I like the choreography even though it's not so crazy... I miss that jumping while waving their hands at the same time! It needs more energy! I see them in the final. Or at least I want them in the final!

Switzerland - Sinplus - Unbreakable (1st rehearsal) 

I still have a thing with his english. It sounds ok and kinda unique in the studio version but kinda bad live. It doesn't matter though. I love the song! And I want them so much in the final!! From what I saw I think they can make it!

Belgium - Iris - Would You? (1st rehearsal) 

Come on this is boring. Everything is boring! Just everything. Belgium is not in the final!

Finland - Pernilla Karlsson - När Jag Blundar (1st rehearsal)

Solid performance. What's with the dress though? I hope they're just testing (I'm almost sure about it since it's the first rehearsal) it!! Unfortunately I don't see Finland in the final either but I do want them in the final!!

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 "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 2012 - The greek entry

I was too tired to blog about this on Monday and I forgot to blog about it yesterday! Wow, I really don't care that much about Greece this year! And our song is nice! lol

Well I didn't watch the entire final. I watched the songs and then I turned it off coz I found it extremely boring! Not to mention the fact that they sang playback! Seriously? Now we don't know how it's gonna sound live! We have to wait until the rehearsals!

Anyway! Our representative this year is Eleftheria Eleftheriou with "Aphrodisiac" written by Dimitri Stassos, Mikaela Stenström and Dajana Lööf.

And as I said when I first listened to the songs, this was my winner so I'm glad about it! Good luck to us!

ESC 2012 - Greece: the 4 competing songs

Again, this is old news. The songs are out since Tuesday but as I said I don't really care about Greece this year in spite of being my country. The writers, composers and artists are still unknown. But if we combine the rumors that were going on all these weeks we actually know the artists... I've listened to all the songs and overall I like them all. They're good. No winning material but seriously, we really don't need an ESC victory right now. Just to keep our top 10 record! :P

"Killer Bee" - Cassiopeia
I like this one. Quite catchy but a kinda weird title.

"Baby I'm Yours" - Dora Katsikogianni
A lot of people say that this reminds them of Antique's "Die For You"... Well yeah, maybe the bouzouki but that's all. I like the greek elements anyway.

"No Parking" - Velvet Fire
Another weird title... I like the chorus but the verses...naah not so much. 

"Aphrodisiac" - Eleftheria Eleftheriou
And here we have our winner. At least according to the polls and I think it's my winner too.

My ranking for now is

"Aphrodisiac"
"Killer Bee"
"Baby I'm Yours"
"No Parking"

I want to see the live performances as well... Now we wait for the final date which will be around 10th-15th March... (I guess)

ESC 2012 - Greece: songs to be presented on February 28th

Finally! After all these rumors we got some official info! The songs of the greek NF will be presented on February 28th at 10:00 CET. The artists and composers are not known yet. And for some reason I don't care about Greece this year. It's all about Spain, Iceland (if they keep it in icelandic!) and Sweden (if they send Loreen!) for me!

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 2

Today rehearsed the last 9 countries of the 1st semi-final and these were: Malta, San Marino, Croatia, Iceland, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Greece. Let's take a closer look.

Malta’s rehearsal: I'm not so impressed. I think vocally he sounded ok but I don't see Malta in the final. They don't have the support they need from their neighbours and the song isn't strong enough. OK choreography, even though it seemed a bit strange to me having two guys making some moves that they would normally make if the singer was female. I think it would be better with two female dancers... Anyway...

San Marino’s rehearsal: I really start enjoying San Marino!! Really solid performance and nice live vocals. Still not a song that I will play over and over again but I will definitely enjoy it during the semi-final. I really like the verses but something in the chorus bugs me. Overall good job!

Croatia’s rehearsal: I have some objections here... Don't like the DJ/magician and changing the dresses in that way isn't needed imo. They could have found better tricks. No one can beat Marie N (Latvia 2002) on that trick. That was the ultimate changing-clothes trick. From a "man" she became a woman. Just changing from a dress to another dress is pointless. It's not the best magician contest! Changing one dress aaah fine. But two? I really hope it's not gonna be Belarus 2005 all over again! Loved that song but I like Croatia's song more. Anyway, her vocals sounded good in my ears but I think the artists don't give their 100% and that's normal. It's the first rehearsal. They get to know the stage, checking any sound problems etc. I really hope those tricks won't work against Daria! She deserves a top 10!

Iceland’s rehearsal: Looking good! Really enjoyable and pleasant performance by Sjonni's Friends. He should be proud up there. The song started growing on me and I don't mind seeing them in the final but I still think Yohanna was a better choice. It was just a sympathy vote for Sjonni's sake...

Hungary’s rehearsal: She pulled it off!! :D Our biggest concern was her live singing and she sounded good! GO KATI!! Some minor problems for the backing vocalists but it was the 1st rehearsal! They can improve that!! They'd better fix that! I really don't get why so many negative comments about Hungary's rehearsal. And especially about Kati's vocals. I loved it! I know the 2nd rehearsal will be better! 

Portugal’s rehearsal: What was that? I'm sorry Portugal but I can't do anything but laugh! OK I appreciate the fact that you wrote your song's title in greek and other languages but that won't make me vote for you. This was a mess. Almost a joke entry. I love the 5 first seconds of the song until they start singing. And generally I like this traditional music that Portugal sends from time to time. I love 2009’s entry but this one, I'm sorry!

Lithuania’s rehearsal: Is it just me or her vocals were perfect? Still not enough to impress me coz I found the song extremely boring for my taste. And she uses the sign language which seemed a bit awkward but nice move at the same time.

Azerbaijan’s rehearsal: Wow what a weak performance! Their vocals sounded quite bad! If they don't improve them they might have trouble making it to the final. I gave 6pts to the song but now I give it 4. Not because of the rehearsal but I'm not as excited as I was from the first listening. 

Greece’s rehearsal: OK the sound is really bad. I really can't understand what Stereo Mike sings but Loukas sounds great. I had no doubt that he can sing live but I still don't like our song. Too greek backdrop hahaha but it fits the song. Well not the rap part. I still wonder why they mixed zeimpekiko with rap! Awful combo!

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!