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 2

DAY 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "L", "M"

Latvia sends PeR with the song "Here We Go" written by  Ralfs Eilands and Arturas Burke.
Sorry Latvia but this is bad. Really really bad! I seriously can't listen to this more than once. Seriously I don't have anything else to say, other than I completely dislike it!
Latvia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #1.

0pts from me and good luck to Latvia!

Lithuania sends Andrius Pojavis with the song "Something" written by Andrius Pojavis.
Ok song but I hate that "yeeeeeeeah". And his facial expressions are so disturbing! I really can't look at Andrius while he sings. When I don't like a song I just don't know what else to comment so I stop here... 
Lithuania competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #10.

2pts from me and good luck to Lithuania!

Malta sends Gianluca with the song "Tomorrow" written by Boris Cezek and Dean Muscat.
Cute song. I don't see Malta in the final but this is nice... Quite cheesy lyrics but ok... I wanna see how they're gonna present this. I think it's gonna be something like their NF. Gianluca and a band...
Malta competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #6.

5pts from me and good luck to Malta!

Moldova sends Aliona Moon with the song "O Mie" written by Pasha Parfeny and Yuliana Scutaru.
I like it! Really beautiful melody! And it's written by Pasha! I disliked his entry but this one is great! And I like Aliona's voice! I think this will do really well! Or at least I hope so!
Moldova competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #12.

7pts from me and good luck to Moldova!

Montenegro sends Who See with the song "Igranka" written by Dejan Dedovic (Dedduh), Mario Djordjevic (Noyz) and Djordje Miljenovic (Wikluh Sky).
I wanna copy-paste the comments on Montenegro that I made last year! This is horrible! I gave 0 points to last year's entry and I give 0 to this one too! But if I had to compare these two I'd give 0,5 to "Igranka" but still, it's horrible!!! Oh dear Montenegro! Please send a decent entry someday!
Montenegro competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #9.

0pts from me and good luck to Montenegro!
 

ESC 2013 - Lithuania picked its song

Yup, more "old" news but I'm trying to comment all the songs that are being chosen for the ESC and so far I think I've done it. And I will try to keep up.

So, Andrius Pojavis will represent Lithuania with "Something". The chorus sounds very familiar. Once again, I don't know which song it reminds me. And once again, whenever I say "it sounds familiar" I'm not talking about plagiarism! It's an ok song. It lacks that "something"... ;)

Well, it's too early to form a full opinion about the songs...

ESC 2012 - Rehearsals Day 8

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

Day 8!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2012 - Rehearsals Day 4

Day 4!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "L", "M"

Latvia sends Anmary with the song "Beautiful Song" written by Ivars Makstnieks and Rolans Ūdris.
Beautiful song... But the thing is that I'm not a big fan. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't wanna hear it. It depends on my mood. Anmary needs to be a bit careful with her facial expressions. She needs to control them. She looks quite scary at times and maybe you don't see it in the music video but if you watch her live performance you'll know what I'm talking about.
Latvia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #4.

3pts from me and good luck to Latvia!

Lithuania sends Donny Montell with the song "Love Is Blind" written by Brandon Stone.
This was akward to watch... He was blindfolded for about 1,5 minutes, until that time the song was a ballad and suddenly it turned into an uptempo song, he made a flip in the air and kept singing, then we had a small pause and then back to the uptempo. Wow. I don't really like the song. The chorus for some reasons sounds like a Cher-song. I don't know if it reminds me of a specific Cher-song or if it's just a Cher-feeling... I just don't like it. Sorry.
Lithuania competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #18.

1pt from me and good luck to Lithuania!

Malta sends Kurt Calleja with the song "This Is The Night" written by Johan Jämtberg, Kurt Calleja and Mikael Gunnerås.
I like it! When was the last time I liked a maltese entry? Nah ok I kinda liked their entry last year too. But this one's better! I like Kurt! Hope they make it to the final for once! xD
Malta competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #4.

6pts from me and good luck to Malta!

Moldova sends Pasha Parfeny with the song "Lăutar" written by Pavel Parfeni and Alex Brașoveanu.
I'm not a fan of balkan reggae... This is not bad but it's not my cup of tea either. And I don't like the performance of the NF. It makes the song look like a joke entry! Anyway...

Moldova competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #17.

2pts from me and good luck to Moldova!

Montenegro sends Rambo Amadeus with the song "Euro Neuro" written by Magnifico and Rambo Amadeus.
This is just horrible! And I hate his accent even though I know he sings like that on purpose! At least I hope so coz if that's his english accent then oh my God! Horrible!
Montenegro competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #1.

0pts from me and good luck to Montenegro!
 

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 "L", "M", "N"

Latvia sends Musiqq with the song "Angel In Disguise" written by Marats Ogļezņevs.

I like it! I just wish they had a bit better accent. Not that it's the worst but...yeah whatever. Point is I like the song quite a lot. This is one of the few good songs this yearl Their voices remind me of Chad Kroeger's voice. Not a bad thing. I think Latvia will have a good result this year.
Latvia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #17.

7pts from me and good luck to Latvia!

Lithuania sends Evelina Sašenko with the song "C’est Ma Vie" written by Paulius Zdanavičius and Andrius Kairys.

Extremely boring for my taste! I don't like ballads! OK Evelina has a really nice voice but this is so boring! I really don't know what else to say.
Lithuania competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #17.

1pt from me and good luck to Lithuania!

Malta sends Glen Vella with the song "One Life" written by Fleur Balzan and Paul Giordimania.

Oh my God!! I listened to the song once when Malta chose it and I put it on now to comment it and first thing that came to mind was "oh she sounds like Anastacia"! I scroll down to Malta's topic at esctodayforum.com to get the composers' names and I see Glen's photo! (no I didn't pay any attention to his name at first! I just looked at Vella) Oh God! OK! Ehm not a terrible song but not a great one. It has its ups and downs.
Malta competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #11.

4pts from me and good luck to Malta!

Moldova sends Zdob şi Zdub with the song "So Lucky" written by Andy Shuman, Marc Elsner, Yagupov Roman and Mihai Gincu.

Comeback for Zdob şi Zdub. They did good in 2005 but this one sucks big time! Whenever they sing "so lucky" I hate it! It's so annoying! Especially with that accent! And generally I don't like the song!
Moldova competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #7.

0pts from me and good luck to Moldova!

Norway sends Stella Mwangi with the song "Haba Haba" written by Stella Mwangi, Beyond51 and Big City.

Alright this is a fun song but I really don't get why people want this to win! Seriously? Originally I gave it 3pts but it grew on me. However there's absilutely no way this will become my winner! It's gonna be just 3 fun minutes. Maybe 6 if she makes it to the final. Overall it's a summerish song with african elements like France's song last year. That's all my friends. Why such a hype about it?
Norway competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #2.

5pts from me and good luck to Norway!