Spain: The candidates, the songs, the NF

It's been a couple of weeks since the songs were announced but this year I'm too busy with Melodifestivalen that I didn't have the time to blog about Spain's NF. However, I did listen to the songs the day they came out. So tomorrow at 22:00 CET is the final in Barcelona. Thank God it's after mello's semi!

So, the songs!

Brequette - Run (Más)
Spain, this is your entry! I love it! I just wish there was more Spanish instead of English in the song but either way it's amazing! And out of the 5 it's the only one that can bring Spain a place in the top 10. Even a top 5 place! Such a powerful ballad! Tony Sánchez and Thomas G:son did it again! Please Spain pick this one!

Jorge González - Aunque Se Acabe El Mundo
Classic Spanish summer hit! I get a Eurovision vibe but this would have worked 7-8 years ago. Definitely not in 2014. That doesn't mean I won't be listening to it!

La Dama - Estrella Fugaz

Yes I want Brequette to represent Spain but "Estrella Fugaz" is my favourite out of the 5! I adore it! It's all in Spanish, great beat, summer sound, Eurovision vibe! But once again, this should have come 7-8 years earlier. Now it's too late.

Raúl - Seguir Sin Ti
A nice ballad but I'm not crazy about it. And there's really not much to say here. It is such a familiar sound so I don't think it will work in ESC...

Ruth Lorenzo - Dancing In The Rain
I'm kinda disappointed... I was expecting something better from Ruth. More Spanish lyrics please (who am I kidding?)!! There are a few good moments in the song but other than that I find it boring. However I think this is the second best choice for Spain.

So this year Spain has the best final! Songwise. Yeah 3 kinda dated songs but I love 2 of them and the third is also nice. But there's only one right choice for Spain and that's Brequette!! So vote wisely mis amigos!

About tomorrow's final, THANK GOD Anne Igartiburu is back!! Love her! Once again, there will be a jury and this year the members are Monica Naranjo, David Bustamante and Merche! Looking good! Can't wait until tomorrow!

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 8

Day 8... It doesn't sound right. It's more like a Day 10 but on Monday and yesterday we had only dress rehearsals, the jury rehearsal and of course the semi. So I can't count them... Whatever. It doesn't really matter!

DAY 8

Spain - ESDM - "Contigo Hasta El Final" (2nd rehearsal) 
Raquel changed the dress and she's also barefoot. She walks down the catwalk near the end of the song, they play with those "flying lanterns" and then she goes back to finish the song. I like the song but the whole performance (along with the song) doesn't stand out. It's a bottom 5. Unfortunately.

France - Amandine Bourgeois - "L'Enfer Et Moi" (2nd rehearsal) 
I like the outfit but that's it. Ok and the music of the song. But the performance? No. Not at all! Amandine is overacting! I really don't like it!

Germany - Cascada - "Glorious" (2nd rehearsal)
What the hell are they doing?????? Where is the second half of the first verse????? Are you kidding me? You cut the best part of the song just to keep the instrumental part after the first chorus and istead of -AT LEAST- taking advantage of it, Natalie just stands there and claps her hands? PLEASE! For 2,5 minutes Natalie just stands there and they're only using the stairs for the "we are glo-glo-glo-glo-glo-glo" part! Wow right? Yeah I know it's the same as the NF performance but this is bad! Really bad! And with the first half draw, it's the right side of the scoreboard for Germany! :(

Sweden - Robin Stjernberg - "You" (2nd rehearsal)
That outfit... So bad... But I like the performance. They've done some changes but I think it looks really nice. Love the fireworks! Wish he could change that outfit though...

United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler - "Believe In Me" (2nd rehearsal)
Amazing Bonnie Tyler! Love that performance. Not a big fan of the song coz it's not my cup of tea but I really like what I see! And I totally love the outfit! Hope it goes well for the UK.

Italy - Marco Mengoni - "L'Essenziale" (2nd rehearsal)
That's not his stage outfit right? He looks like he's dressed to go for a walk. The performance is too static. And he's also using the catwalk in the end. I would like to see him sitting at the piano. I think it'd have been much better...

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 7

DAY 7

Spain - ESDM - "Contigo Hasta El Final" (1st rehearsal) 
Yellow dress... I'm sure after the results they'll put the blame on the dress. Last year Pastora said her outfit wouldn't be black or yellow. I don't know why she didn't wear a black one but the yellow is considered bad lack for the Spiniards. Don't remember the actual story behind this though. ESDM's performance looks similar to the NF one. Raquel is another artist who uses the catwalk. Really like the song but it's a bottom 5 for my Spain...

France - Amandine Bourgeois - "L'Enfer Et Moi" (1st rehearsal) 
Don't like it. At all. And I seriously don't like that she acts like lunatic when she sings... What was that in the soundcheck? :S

Germany - Cascada - "Glorious" (1st rehearsal)
Natalie!! So crazy! Love her! I'm so glad about the outfit she's wearing! That was my biggest concern! The performance is the same as the NF one but she's also using the catwalk and that's where she ends it. I need to hear the backing vocals though... I'm worried about them.

Sweden - Robin Stjernberg - "You" (1st rehearsal)
I must've been the only one who loved his mello outfit. Now everyone says that this outfit is worse. It is but you guys went crazy about him changing it. Sorry Robin but it's really bad. The performance has some minor changes. We already knew that. I really want to see the entire rehearsal though.

United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler - "Believe In Me" (1st rehearsal)
Another use of the catwalk but this time it's one step forward. It lifts Bonnie in the last seconds of the song. I couldn't clearly hear her vocals though... Some musicians on stage so I guess it's an ordinary performance...

Italy - Marco Mengoni - "L'Essenziale" (1st rehearsal)
Much hotter with the beard. But that's not the point. :P Looks like he's just standing there. I wonder if there's anything else during his performance... Not a fan of the song though...

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "S"

San Marino sends Valentina Monetta with the song "Crisalide" written by Ralph Siegel and Mauro Balestri.
Once again, Valentina. Once again, Ralph Siegel. But this time with a great song! Such a huge change! I bet most of the viewers won't be able to tell that Valentina is the same artist as last year! Big chance that San Marino makes it to the final this time!
San Marino competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #2.

7pts from me and good luck to San Marino!

Serbia sends Moje 3 with the song "Ljubav Je Svuda" written by  Saša Milošević Mare and Marina Tucaković.

Love it! :D They really need to work on a new choreo (I think they do). I don't really like the way it ends. It's too abrupt. Ah, tiny detail! They're so in the final!!!

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

10pts from me and good luck to Serbia!

Slovenia sends Hannah with the song "Straight Into Love" written by  Hannah Mancini, Gregor Zemljic, Erik Margan, Matija Rodic and Marko Primuzak.

When I listened to the song for the first time I wanted the first 15 seconds out! Now I don't mind them. So we had the first version then we got the final one and originally I liked the final more. But now I changed my mind. I prefer the first version! There are some new lyrics added in the final version but I miss some parts of the original. But ok, I love it no matter what! That's my sLOVEnia!

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

10pts from me and good luck to Slovenia!

Spain sends El Sueño de Morfeo with the song "Contigo Hasta El Final" written by  Raquel del Rosario, David Feito and Juan Suárez.

One thing was for sure this year. No matter what Spain sent, it would never top last year's entry. Unless it was Pastora with a better song (kinda difficult to do this though). I said from the beginning that I wasn't a fan of ESDM. I also said that despite this they might make it to my top 10. They did. For a while at least coz Finland kicked them out. Now I want to put this back to my top 10 but there's no place... And yes, I like the song but I predict a bottom 5 placing. It just screams last place... :/

Spain competes in the final. Running order TBA.

8pts from me and good luck to Spain!

Sweden sends Robin Stjernberg with the song "You" written by Robin Stjernberg, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb and Joakim Harestad Haukaas.

I think this is the grower of the year for me. It started by being really annoying, not so annoying, bearable, ok, great! It turned out to be the best choice for Sweden! A great entry for the hosts. Decent and really nice! A top 10 isn't impossible.

Sweden competes in the final. Running order TBA.

10pts from me and good luck to Sweden!

Switzerland sends Takasa with the song "You And Me" written by Georg Schlunegger, Roman Camenzind and Fred Herrmann.

Another one that I really really like!! Especially the chorus! That "aaaaah aaah ah"! I really hope they make it to the final! They deserved it last year and they stayed out. I don't want the history to be repeated!

Switzerland competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #16.

10pts from me and good luck to Switzerland!

Spain 2013 - With "Contigo Hasta El Final" to Malmö!

Photo: TVE

Yeah I know it's old news by now but I was too busy with the uni. I watched the final though. How could I miss it? Pastora Soler performed! Twice! Spain picked my favourite song. "Contigo Hasta El Final". However I don't think they will do well in Malmö! I even predict a bottom 7! :/ I wasn't so optimistic from the beginning about ESDM... I liked CHEF from the snippet and I was expecting it to be really good but no. It has no climax. It's quite forgettable and finally, it's Spain!

Lo siento mis amigos... Best of luck in May!

Spain 2013 - The 4 songs of El Sueño de Morfeo

Photo: rtve.es

So after a two-hour delay, RTVE released the 4 songs. Unfortunately only the two of them are in full length. The ones that are in the voting to take the ticket for the final. I didn't blog about this year's process coz as I said before, I don't use the blog to inform you. Just to comment. It's impossible to keep up with everything. I'm alone here. I don't have a team like the big websites.

Anyway, they're using the same format as last year. Two songs are already in the final and the 3rd one will be chosen via online voting.

Contigo Hasta El Final
I think this is my favourite. For now at least. I might change my mind. Who knows? But as I said when I first blogged about ESDM, they're not my cup of tea. This song starts slowly which is something I need from them in order to like the song. Here, if you click on the video you'll listen some other parts of the song in the background and in the end you can hear a small part of the chorus.

Dame Tu Voz
Uhm... no. I don't like this one. And I don't think I'll change my mind when I hear the full version.

Revolución
A good beginning, something bugs me when we hit the chorus, then it gets good in the second verse and I totally love the guitar part at 1:58. Overall I like it. Actually what bugs me is Raquel's voice in combination with the celtic music. Maybe if they used someone else's backing vocals I'd like it more... hm...

Atrévete
I kinda like the chorus of this one but it sounds like a never-ending song. It reached at 2:07 and I thought "ok it's ending" (I didn't know it was at 2:00+) but we had another 50 seconds and for me it was too much. So I guess it's a no for this one.

Well I can't say I'm impressed but I wasn't expecting to be impressed since I don't like this music. It's between "Contigo Hasta El Final" and "Revolución" for me. But unfortunately I don't see them doing well in ESC. Of course I need to listen to all the ESC entries before I draw such a conclusion at this point. Maybe I'm wrong...

The good thing is that they stuck to their sound. Even if I don't like it. :)

Pablo Alborán to ESC!

Yeah I know that Spain sends El Sueño de Morfeo to Malmö but the title worked for Pastora Soler so let's hope it will work for Pablo as well! In 2014... Let's say he's my new Pastora! I'm having a Pastora déjà vu with Pablo! The same obsession I had (well still have!) with Pastora I have now with Pablo! Yeah you got it (I hope!)! 

Pablo Alborán (the album) is on repeat since last Sunday! Ever since we got the news that Spain will choose their artist internally Pablo's name kept popping up in almost every eurosite! So I got interested in him. All I needed was one song. "Solamente Tú". To help you get the picture, I was listening to the song and it was around 12:20am (I remember that coz I also posted it on facebook) and I went to bed at 2:30am because I kept saying "ok one more time and then I'm going to bed". And then I listened to his first album "Pablo Alborán" (released in 2011). That was it! 

Listen to the album and see for yourselves! I don't think I ever suggested and album before. I usually don't do that coz taste differs but seriously, give this a shot! After all this album reached 6x platinum in Spain! In 2011! During the economic crisis! 'Nuff said! 

And to go back to Eurovision, yes, he can bring another great result for Spain! And he has more chances for a better result than Pastora simply because he's a guy. A really handsome guy which means more votes form the televoting. So to sum it up, Pablo is an excellent live performer (just like Pastora), he's an amazing musician, he has the looks and he can definitely get the right song for the ESC (judging by his music). Yeah his music is too spanish but that's what I, personally, like! It's not traditional music but it's spanish music! That's the point of Eurovision. Showing to the rest of Europe your music, your language, your culture! 

I'm all for Pablo Alborán to represent Spain in 2014! I believe in him the same way I believed in Pastora and I was right about the latter one. ;) Yes, I know Pastora scored extremely low on televoting but Pablo can get both the juries' and televoters' points! Spain sent a female artist in 2011, 2012 and now a group with a female vocalist so in 2014 a male artist would be the perfect choice!

ESC 2013 - El Sueño de Morfeo for Spain

Yeah I know Lithuania picked their song last night. I'll get to it. I just take the "old" news first.

So we knew about the internal selection but I was hoping for Malú or Pablo Alborán (Pablo will get his own blog post, btw) but we got El Sueño de Morfeo instead. Never heard of them before but I did my homework. "Wikied" them, "youtubed" them and now I have a better view.

Unfortunately they're not my cup of tea. :/ Raquel's voice... I don't know how to put this. After listening to a few songs her voice starts to annoy me. No, "annoy" isn't the right word. "Irritate" maybe? Well it's her high pitched voice that bugs me. It's fine for a song or two but then I can't stand it. It's the combination of their music style and Raquel's voice. Maybe if she sang a ballad, things would be different.

Anyway, the thing is that they're not my style. But then again, it's all about the song. Who knows? Maybe in a few months I'll be here, giving them 12 points! Well, I doubt that but you never know. It's Spain. I always have a soft spot for Spain!

ESC 2013: Portugal withdraws

At this point this is the worst news of the ESC 2013 I've heard! I don't even care about the organization or the new rules anymore! Portugal withdraws! The country that kicked out of my all time top 10 ESC countries the Netherlands! (Although I should really revise that top 10 sometime) I'm sad. And I really mean it! :( Very sad! And I know that Poland is also out and that there are rumors for Slovakia's withdrawal but I don't really care. Ok I care for Poland but not as much as Portugal!

During the last few weeks Portugal became a real favourite! Very close to Spain and Israel! I can't blame them though. They've been in the contest for 46 years and their best result so far is the 6th place in 1996 which also happens to be my favourite portuguese entry! Add to that the new stupid rules and their problems with economy and you have the reason why they're out!

I've been checking groups on facebook, friends' statuses, euroforums... Every single eurofan is shocked and sad by this decision! No surprise there...

Volta, Portugal! :'( Hope to see you back in 2014!

ESC 2012 - Pastora Soler in the final

Photo: Thomas Hanses (EBU)

Ok, when I wrote the blog entry about the final I said I'd write a new blog post just for Pastora. Well here it is.

First of all, I'd like to say that for the first (and probably the last!) time I was right about one thing regarding the ESC. Well two things. The first one was Loreen. I've been saying that she's the one who can win the whole thing since we found out she'd be in Mello 2012. The second one was of course Pastora Soler! And I know I said this a few times but I'm vindicated and it feels so great! Remember September's post? Well I wrote she's the only one who can bring the contest to Madrid. I still believe that. She didn't win but she did bring Spain the best result since 2004! A place in the top 10! She didn't deserve that! She should have been at least in the top 5! Top 3 if you ask me! She should have been the runner up!!

She gave one of the best performances that night. Amazing performance! What went wrong? Probably the running order... Željko performed 24th. Then we had FYROM as well (yes I hate it but apparently Europe likes it). Then I blame Europe for not voting for Spain. Spain doesn't have friends. Plus the fact that several commentators in many countries tried (and probably succeeded) to "manipulate" the viewers by telling them NOT to vote for Spain coz they don't want to win. Because they won't be able to host the contest. I wonder if the EBU will do something about this. I know the results can't change but this is unacceptable! The commentators are supposed to be impartial. They're supposed to be neutral. Just giving the information about the song and the performer. They're not supposed to try to affect people's choices!

You might think I'm trying to find excuses, put the blame on someone about Spain's result. Well no. I'm just trying to figure out why a performance and a song like this ended up only 10th while other songs which were in the top 10 shouldn't even be in the final! Of course that's my personal opinion. You might agree, you might disagree, but at the end of the day everything is subjective!

About Pastora's appearance... I liked it and I didn't like it. I wasn't a big fan of the dress. I still wish she had worn the one from the spanish NF. But I also wanted to see the second one. I've seen so many videos on YouTube so I know she could have looked better (or worse! xD) with different make-up and hairstyle. The entire look made her look like a Greek goddess. It was ok I guess but I don't think it fitted the song...

Well nothing can change now but you know I'm trying to stay away from the PESD/PEB which will soon kick in no matter what. But I still have things to say about this year's ESC so the PESD/PEB can wait a bit longer... ;)

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 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ESC 2012 - 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 "S"

San Marino sends Valentina Monetta with the song "The Social Network Song (Oh Oh - Uh - Oh Oh)" written by Ralph Siegel, Timothy Touchton and José Juan Santana Rodriguez.
What is this San Marino? Seriously? It's just horrible and meaningless! I absolutely have nothing to say here. Just that they won't make it to the final. For sure.
San Marino competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #11.

0pts from me and good luck to San Marino!

Serbia sends Željko Joksimović with the song "Nije Ljubav Stvar" written by Željko Joksimović, Marina Tucaković and Miloš Roganović.

Such a beautiful song by Željko once again. To be honest I wasn't so excited the first time I listened to this but now I really like it! And I think it's a great opening for the second semi!

Serbia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #1.

8pts from me and good luck to Serbia!

Slovakia sends Max Jason Mai with the song "Don't Close Your Eyes" written by Miroslav Šmajda.

Oh God! So not my cup of tea. I don't like this at all! Metal/rock fans probably will love it but not me. It's good to see different genres in ESC but those will be three minutes I won't enjoy.

Slovakia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #15.

0pts from me and good luck to Slovakia!

Slovenia sends Eva Boto with the song "Verjamen" written by Vladimir Graić and Igor Pirković.

Lovely sLOVEnia! Great and beautiful song! Even though it was my second favourite! I wanted "A Si Sanjal Me" for Slovenia! It's soooo slovenian and I adore it! But as I said I also love Verjamen. Eva is a good live performer so I expect Slovenia to make it to the final once again!

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

8pts from me and good luck to Slovenia!

Spain sends Pastora Soler with the song "Quédate Conmigo" written by Thomas G:son, Erik Bernholm and Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson.

Hahahaha! What do you want me to say here? THIS IS MY WINNER!!! Yeah it was (and sometimes still is) between Sweden and Spain this year but aah no! It's Spain! It is SPAIN! I won't say the Pastora story again. Just read all the posts about her and you'll understand... Just make sure you vote for Spain this year! This deserves at least a top 5 if not a top 3!

Spain competes in the final with running order #19.

12pts from me and good luck to Spain!

Sweden sends Loreen with the song "Euphoria" written by Peter Boström and Thomas G:son.

And here I present you the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012! Again, what do you want me to say here? The regular readers I'm sure remember that 99% of all posts regarding Melodifestivalen 2012 ended with the phrase "LOREEN TO BAKU!!"! So that's it! Loreen is going to Baku and will return with the 1st prize! Oh yes, and she will break Rybak's record! Word. ;)

Sweden competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #11.

12pts from me and good luck to Sweden!

Switzerland sends Sinplus with the song "Unbreakable" written by Gabriel Broggini and Ivan Broggini.

When Switzerland chose this back in December I never thought it would become one of my favourites! A bit bad accent in english but I think that "adds" to the song for some strange reason. I really like Switzerland this year!!

Switzerland competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #9.

10pts from me and good luck to Switzerland!

ESC 2012 - Spain: Music video and final version of "Quédate Conmigo" released

And we have the final version and the video clip of "Quédate Conmigo"! Watch it here. The video is really nice but I won't focus on that.

So in the final version there's instrumentation added to the verses. Especially to the second one. I was excited at the beginning about these changes but I listened to the new version a few times and I think I miss the first one. Or at least the one she performed in the final. Yes, I think I prefer the one in the spanish final. But that won't stop me from giving 12 points to Spain.

Moreover I noticed a more dramatic performance by Pastora in this version. The only thing I don't like on this version is the part at 2:23. That "ooooh". But ok. It's nothing big. And because I know Pastora, her live performance will be much better. I always watch her live performances on youtube. They are epic!

So that's all about Spain! Now we wait until May. Unless of course something else comes up.

ESC 2012 - Spain: With Quédate Conmigo to Baku

Photo: RTVE

And here is my winner of the ESC 2012!!! Thank you Spain!!! Thank you!!! I am so gonna vote for it! And it was too obvious that "Quédate Conmigo" would be the winning song! All these weeks, in every single poll, "Quédate Conmigo" was first!

That was the best final so far! It lasted for quite a long time but I didn't mind! It's Pastora Soler we're talking about! All her performances were amazing! I'm so glad she sang live! In most of these cases they sing playback. You know when there's only one artist and they have to pick a song...

Anyway, Pastora was amazing tonight! She looked fantastic, vocally was perfect (as always) and I loved the duets with Sergio Dalma, David Bustamante, Malú and Vanesa Martin. (some of the vids are already on youtube) Oh and I love the dress she wears during the performance of  "Quédate Conmigo"!

Well, only one thing left to say.

MADRID 2013!

Melodifestivalen 2012 - Andra chansen - Results

Photo: Olle Kirchmeier/SVT

The worst andra chansen EVER! And I'm talking about all the songs! With the exception of Timoteij who didn't even make it to Globen! -.- Thorsten Flinck and Revolutionsorkestern and Top Cats are the two finalists. I really don't know what to say about the whole evening. Horrible!

Whatever! The spanish NF begins in 30 minutes! Time for some QUALITY! Go Pastora!

ESC 2012 - Spain: Final

FINALLY!! March 3rd!! Tonight Spain will choose a song that's gonna be one of my all time favourite spanish -and at the same time ESC- entries! That's "Quédate Conmigo"! It's the winner in every single poll out there and the Spaniards love it so I'm sure they're gonna vote for it. I'm 99,9% sure that this will be the spanish entry of 2012! But even if they vote for "Tu Vida Es Tu Vida" or "Ahora O Nunca" I'll be fine coz it's Pastora!

During the show, to be hosted by Anne Igartiburu, Pastora will sing duets with Sergio Dalma (Spain 1991), David Bustamante (Spanish national final 2002) and Malú before the performances of the three competing entries.

Source: esctoday.com

3 duets and the 3 competing songs? The best NF so far!! :D Full of Pastora Soler! :D

Watch here at 22:30 CET. Fingers crossed (well no need to actually do that ;) ) for "Quédate Conmigo"!! 

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 2012 - Spain: These are the 3 songs of the spanish final

The voting ended today at 12:00 CET and the 3rd song of the spanish final is "Ahora O Nunca" which means "Me Despido De Ti" is out.

So the 3 songs of the spanish final that will be held on March 3rd are:

"Quédate Conmigo"
"Tu Vida Es Tu Vida"
and "Ahora O Nunca"

And as all polls show, "Quédate Conmigo" will be the one that will travel to Baku! And I'm extremely happy about this! It's gonna be one of my all time favourite ESC entries! I love all of them and I think you know that if you've read my previous posts about Pastora. ;)

Good luck Spain! It's time you came back to the top 5!