ESC 2013 - Semi-final 1 Results

*Sigh...*

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

Moldova
Lithuania
Ireland
Estonia
Belarus
Denmark
Russia
Belgium
Ukraine
The Netherlands

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

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

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

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

ESC 2013 - Semi-final 1

Less than one hour before the first semi (yay!) and it's time to guess the 10 finalists! So it's just a quick post.

First Semi-Final

1. Austria
2. Estonia
3. Slovenia
4. Croatia
5. Denmark
6. Russia
7. Ukraine
8. The Netherlands
9. Montenegro
10. Lithuania
11. Belarus
12. Moldova
13. Ireland
14. Cyprus
15. Belgium
16. Serbia

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

Austria
Denmark
Russia
Ukraine
Belarus
Moldova
Ireland
Serbia
Estonia
Lithuania

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

Austria
sLOVEnia
Denmark
Moldova
Serbia
Ireland
The Netherlands
Russia
Ukraine
Belarus

Please people vote for AUSTRIA and SLOVENIA!!!

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 5

DAY 5

Austria - Natália Kelly - "Shine" (2nd rehearsal) 
The best way to open the ESC 2013 (the competing part, that is)! Love it! Everything about it! Simple but great! Natália's vocals are great. The backing vocals are great. The outfits are great. Yeah it stuck in my top 3 and there's absolutely no way that it will drop! Austria to win the semi and finish in final's top 3!

Estonia - Birgit - "Et Uus Saaks Alguse" (2nd rehearsal) 
And months later I kinda start to remember the melody but still, it's too forgettable. It just doesn't do anything to me. Another simple performance and this one is also good. The vocals are pretty good but I don't like the dress. At all.

Slovenia - Hannah Mancini - "Straight Into Love" (2nd rehearsal)
Aha. I liked what I saw. But I didn't really like what I heard. Hannah needs to improve her vocals when she's moving. And I don't like the sound in the arena. Of course it will be different on tv (thank God!) but now we can't really hear the playback. The bass. I have a problem with the dancers too. I want them to be more synchronized but that's easy to fix.

Croatia - Klapa s Mora - "Mižerja" (2nd rehearsal)
This feels like I've seen it so many times before. I don't like it. And I don't like their outfits. I know they said they're traditional outfits or whatever but I don't like them. The only good thing about this performance is their vocals.

Denmark - Emmelie de Forest - "Teardrops" (2nd rehearsal)
Identical to the DMGP performance. Even the backdrop. Nothing else to say. Go Denmark!

Russia - Dina Garipova - "What If" (2nd rehearsal)
The last 50 seconds are so cheesy! I don't like those big bulbs on stage but I like the "flying lanterns". They're cheesy too but I like them. Don't like Dina's outfit that much though.

Ukraine - Zlata Ognevich - "Gravity" (2nd rehearsal)
I'm sorry but that giant at the beginning will make everyone go "wtf?". What's the point really? And what's with the whole fairytale thing? I don't get it. Zlata's vocals were good. The outfit is ok I guess...

The Netherlands - Anouk - "Birds" (2nd rehearsal)
Love the outfit. I said it from the beginning. Simple and static performance. When we first heard the song many fans said that the Netherlands will make it to the final and finish in a good spot. I don't see this happening. Unfortunately. The song is too "bizarre" for the average viewer. Too dark and for some reason it feels like it lasts for too long. I kinda got bored in the first two minutes. And the whole performance doesn't really help the song...

Montenegro - Who See - "Igranka" (2nd rehearsal)
First of all, congrats for the Barbara Dex award! Secondly, I literally struggled to watch this until the end! Horrible! I seriously want to punch the screen when Nina sings the first lines. HORRIBLE!

Belgium - Roberto Bellarosa - "Love Kills" (2nd rehearsal)
What are you doing Belgium? Wrong outfits! Ridiculous choreo and in combination with those outfits it looks much much worse. And the worst part? The backing vocalists are also doing the dance routine! I think this ruins Belgium's chances. Such a shame because the song is much better than others in this semi. Poor Roberto.

Belarus - Alyona Lanskaya - "Solayo" (2nd rehearsal)
Alyona is too static. Yeah she does the choreo but she barely moves. A few steps to the left, then back at her original spot and that's it. Only the camera work can save it. Nothing special about the performance...

Moldova - Aliona Moon - "O Mie" (2nd rehearsal)
I couldn't stop thinking what the Azerbaijanis think about Aliona using the exact same gimmick as Sabina. Just one year later. Anyway, I really like the song but I think the performance is too much. Actually the length of the dress is too much. That's what bugs me. But generally, it's an ok performance. Really good vocals too.

Ireland - Ryan Dolan - "Only Love Survives" (2nd rehearsal)
I like it! Love Ryan's outfit (already said that) and I like the performance. It's good. Ireland is most likely in the final.

Cyprus - Despina Olympiou - "An Me Thimase" (2nd rehearsal)
Yeah now it's confirmed. Despina is alone on stage. Cyprus 2004 vibes anyone? Nah not a top 5 but why not make it to the final? Good draw, good vocals, ok song... You never know.

Lithuania - Andrius Pojavis - "Something" (2nd rehearsal)
He looks like he's bored to sing. And yes the performance and outfit are the same as in Lithuania's NF. No matter what, I don't like this.

Serbia - Moje 3 - "Ljubav Je Svuda" (2nd rehearsal)
Ok. I totally love the concept, the performance, call it however you want. I mean that Nevena is the ordinary girl, Mirna is the angel and Sara is the devil. Nevena is the confused girl and Mirna and Sara are trying to make her a good and a bad girl respectively. Love it! I still hate the outfits though! Bring back the NF ones! Yeah who am I kidding? Vocals were good, the draw is good. Final? Sure! Oh! Is it me or there was a lot of touching between Nevena and Mirna? Just saying... xD


Btw, I'm off to Malmö for the weekend (as I said in the first post) so no blogging tomorrow. I'll do it though sometime on Sunday when I get back. ALCAZAR and ESC tomorrow! :D

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 1

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

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

DAY 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "N", "R"

The Netherlands send Anouk with the song "Birds" written by Tore Johansson, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk Teeuwe.
Much much better than last year. Obviously. Anouk is a big name but the song is quite dark for the average viewer. I like it. It's not in my top 10 but I like it. I'm not so sure about making it to the final though...
The Netherlands competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #8.

7pts from me and good luck to the Netherlands!

 
Norway sends Margaret Berger with the song "I Feed You My Love" written by  Karin Park, Robin Lynch and Niklas Olovson.
My ultimate 12 pointer this year! WINNER!!! I think I said everything about Margaret's song. I don't know how well it will do because it's something completely new for the average ESC viewer. I'm hoping for the best!
Norway competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #13.

12pts from me and good luck to Norway!

Romania sends Cezar with the song "It's My Life" written by Cristian Faur.
Oh God! Why Romania? Why? 12 points last year, zero points this year! This is horrible! Just horrible! There were quite a few good songs in their NF this year and they picked this. So disappointed!
Romania competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #17.

0pts from me and good luck to Romania!

Russia sends Dina Garipova with the song "What If" written by Gabriel Alares, Joakim Björnberg and Leonid Gutkin.

This sounds so not russian! And it's positive actually. I like it! I'm not crazy about it but I like it! And Dina's accent is great! Really nice song! Maybe the lyrics are a bit cheesy but whatever. They deserve a spot in the final. I mean it will be such a shame if she stays out while the grannies made it last year!

Russia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #6.

7pts from me and good luck to Romania!

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 "N", "P", "R"

The Netherlands send Joan Franka with the song "You And Me" written by Joan Franka and Jessica Hogeboom.
What ruins the song for me is Joan's voice. I don't like her voice. And because of that I don't listen to the song even though it has a nice melody. What's wrong with the Netherlands lately? I hope next year they will be wise enough to send Miss Brandi Russell! She sent 4 great songs and they rejected all of them. Shame...
The Netherlands competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #3.

1pt from me and good luck to the Netherlands!

 
Norway sends Tooji with the song "Stay" written by Tooji, Peter Boström and Figge Boström.
I don't like this. I don't like the music of "Stay". And I guess I'm one of the few that don't like it. Plus, it reminds me a bit of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" (just a part). And I have a feeling that this will end up like "Haba Haba" but I hope it won't...
Norway competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #16.

3pts from me and good luck to Norway!

Portugal sends Filipa Sousa with the song "Vida Minha" written by Andrej Babić and Carlos Coelho.
I kinda like the chorus but the song as a whole is indifferent. But I'm glad that Portugal once again sends an entry in portugese! I like Filipa's voice and she can sing live so that's a good thing but I don't see this going well for them this year either...
Portugal competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #6.

3pts from me and good luck to Portugal!

Romania sends Mandinga with the song "Zaleilah" written by Costi Ioniţă, Secada Dihigo Omar and Ionescu Elena.
In my top 3!!! :D This makes me so happy! Love it, love it, love it, LOOOOOVE IT!!! And it's in spanish!!! <3<3<3 Needless to say that this became my all time favourite romanian entry! Also needless to say that I listen to the 3:40-minute version (but they need to fix the intro in this one :P). LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!! And I love MANDINGA!!!!! They are amazing!!!
Romania competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #6.

12pts from me and good luck to Romania!

Russia sends Buranovskiye Babushki with the song "Party For Everybody" written by Viktor Drobych and Olga Tuktaryova.

12pts to the cute granny! But she's not enough to make me give 12pts to the song! I don't know if I like it or not! I think I like it but lately I skip it when it comes to the playlist... Pff I don't know...

Russia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #14.

5pts from me and good luck to Romania!

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2011 - Rehearsals Day 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2011 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "P", "R"

Poland sends Magdalena Tul with the song "Jestem" written by Magdalena Tul.

Finally Poland! Finally!! A fantastic song! I love it and it's in polish! Love it when people sing in their language. To many of you this will probably sound like typical-eurovision song but that's why I love it! Hehe

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

12pts from me and good luck to Poland!

Portugal sends Homens da Luta with the song "Luta É Alegria" written by Jel and Vasco Duarte.

During the first ten seconds I said "oh this is gonna be amazing" but then they started singing and I was like "what the fuck is this?". Generally I like the traditional music Portugal sends almost every year but not this one! Sorry!

Portugal competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #16.

1pt from me and good luck to Portugal!

Romania sends Hotel FM with the song "Change" written by Gabriel Băruţă and Alexandra Ivan.

The third song with the message "save the world". OK song, nothing much. Another 3 pleasant minutes but that's all. I'd like to listen to this twice so I hope they make it to the final. I like it.

Romania competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #14.

6pts from me and good luck to Romania!

Russia sends Alexej Vorobjov with the song "Get You" written by RedOne and Jack Lucien.

So Russia competes with RedOne. Sorry but RedOne’s song that competed in Sweden's Melodifestivalen was miles better! This is so mediocre! Not a bad song but not a great one either... But I'm afraid Russia will do well because well, it's Russia! If you know what I mean. ;)

Russia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #7.

5pts from me and good luck to Russia!