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 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 6

Day 6!

Russia - Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody (2nd rehearsal)
Ok seriously 12 points to the cute granny!!! :D And check the camera work at 2:10! Close up on the cute granny for a few seconds! Oh that's gonna get them lots of votes! Lol at the oven! Hahaha They're "baking" cookies or something for the party? Hahahahaha This is so fun to watch!!

Hungary - Compact Disco - Sound Of Our Hearts (2nd rehearsal)
I start to believe that this is not enough to send them to the final. Personally I like the song but there's nothing special on stage so it will be really hard for Hungary this year...

Austria - Trackshittaz - Woki Mit Deim Popo (2nd rehearsal)
Ah can you imagine Sweden sending Danny? How many light effects would we have? Those guys are entertaining. I don't listen to the song at all but if I'm watching the performance at the same time it's ok. I don't see a place in the final for them though.

Moldova - Pasha Parfeny - Lăutar (2nd rehearsal)
Ridiculous! Just ridiculous choreo! And Pasha is wearing the same pants as in the first rehearsal... hm... I wonder why... Anyway, I don't see this in the final but who knows.

Ireland - Jedward - Waterline (2nd rehearsal)
I'll say it again! Same as last year! No changes! Their singing is still below average, they still jump around like crazy and that's all. Ah yes! We have the water! Too bad Eric Saade already used it two years ago! And it's obvious they will take a shower but that will happen in the dress rehearsal. I hope I won't see you in the final Jedward!

Serbia - Željko Joksimović - Nije Ljubav Stvar (2nd rehearsal)
Great rehearsal for Serbia! I don't have a lot to say here. Željko is an amazing artist! He'll do great! Totally in the final despite the running order.

FYROM - Kaliopi - Crno I Belo (1st rehearsal)
Annoying once again. Sorry I guess it's my taste. It was a solid performance but I can't stand it. 

The Netherlands - Joan Franka You And Me (2nd rehearsal) 
The wild west... Why didn't they light the fire today? Ok vocals but no final for the Netherlands. 

Malta - Kurt Calleja - This Is The Night (2nd rehearsal) 
Nice second reheasal for Malta! I like the backdrop, Kurt sounded nice but I still don't like the DJ/dancer back there. It's a tough one for Malta.

Belarus - Litesound - We Are The Heroes (2nd rehearsal) 
I like the gravity trick! We've seen it already but it doesn't matter. I like their clothes but in an interview they said they will wear the same outfits as in the belarussian NF. Please don't do it! You're singing the electro pop version and you'll wear those outfits? Stop ruining your chances Belarus! :(

Portugal - Filipa Sousa - Vida Minha (2nd rehearsal) 
Hm she's barefoot... Is this how she'll perform on Tuesday? Is this the dress? I don't think so and I hope it's not. I don't like it. I like the backdrop and Filipa's voice. But the song is not my cup of tea. The positive thing is that Portugal sends traditional music and I love that in ESC! :)

Ukraine - Gaitana - Be My Guest (2nd rehearsal) 
This looks like a circus at times. Dancers' clothes are horrible. And I don't like the live performance of Gaitana. She has a strong voice but I don't like what I hear. However this version of the song is a bit better...

Bulgaria - Sofi Marinova - Love Unlimited (2nd rehearsal) 
Why Sofi? Why are you alone on stage with a song like this? It's gonna cost you the final! My fourth favourite song of the contest won't make it to the final! :( Vocally she was great! But damn that one woman show!  


That's it for today! Tomorrow's the big day!!! It's Spain's first rehearsal!!!!! :D Yay! Finally!! Go Pastora!! 

ESC 2012 - Rehearsals Day 2

Day 2!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "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 3

Really not in the mood to blog about the rehearsals today and I won't be in the mood until I get my laptop back and until I hear the good news that my files are recovered... Anyway I have to do this...

So Day 3 and the countries that rehearsed today are: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Austria, The Netherlands, Blegium, Slovakia, Ukraine, Moldova, Sweden and Cyrpus.

Bosnia & Herzegovina's rehearsal: Wow actually! That was really nice!! And the song starts growing on me! Dino's vocals were amazing! And the performance in general looks nice. Simple but nice. Good job B&H even though you are not a winner for me.

Austria's rehearsal: Fantastic backing vocals!!! Finally! So far Austria and Bosnia & Herzegovina have the best backing vocals! Nadine sounded really nice but I still find the song boring! Not a qualifier. At least not for me...

The Netherlands' rehearsal: Backing vocals were too loud I think but overall it was a solid performance. I don't think they will have problems when it comes to their performance at the big night.

Belgium's rehearsal: I can't believe I'm gonna say this for a song I gave 0 points to but I enjoyed their performance! :O And that break down they do about 45 seconds before the end of the song is really great! I loved it! But still I don't enjoy listening to the studio version. I need to see them so I can listen to the song.

Slovakia's rehearsal: Another solid performance but I don't like the song so much. It's a bit boring for my taste... But the TWiiNS are quite nice.

Ukraine's rehearsal: I liked it a lot!!! And they have on stage Kseniya Simonova who does those incredible things with sand! She presented Ukraine's entire history by drawing it with the sand. I thought they just put the video in the backdrop but she was actually on the stage! I noticed her in the last few seconds of the video! So to those who said that the greek backdrop is the best, just watch Ukraine's!!

Moldova's rehearsal: What did my poor eyes and ears watch and hear? That was awful! And couldn't they find taller hats? I could barely see them! I don't want them to the final!

Sweden's rehearsal: I read somewhere that Eric was sick but still he can't pull this off live. The backing vocals are also pretty bad and the dancers aren't as good as the original ones (only one dancer is from Melodifestivalen). I'm afraid it's all down to the show Sweden. Can we please bring back Loreen? Please?

Cyprus' rehearsal: Unbelievable! The second song that I gave 0 pts and I enjoyed watching it! What's wrong with me? Great vocals by Christos and really great backing vocals! Especially from the girl. But I really don't know what she's doing with that ball... And I know (and hope!) she won't be wearing these shoes in the semi but I had to commend them! xD

ESC 2011 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "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!