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 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "I"

Iceland sends Greta Salóme and Jónsi with the song "Never Forget" written by Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir.
What can I say here? If you're a regular reader you know the story... :/ I so miss the icelandic version! I have to admit it though, the english chorus is addictive and easy to remember and sing along. But the song lost its magic the moment they translated it. Nothing more to say here. Just that Iceland has the best preview video of 2012. Oh yes! I gave 10pts to the original version.
Iceland competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #3.

7pts from me and good luck to Iceland!

Ireland sends Jedward with the song "Waterline" written by Nick Jarl and Sharon Vaughn.
"Lipstick" was my guilty pleasure last year. This year, I don't even see them in the final (yeah I wish!). Ok they'll make it to the final but they'll do worse than last year. Anyway to comment the song, I don't like it. I find it below the average and their choreography is almost identical to last year's. Can't they do anything else apart from jumping around?
Ireland competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #18.

1pt from me and good luck to Ireland!

Israel sends Izabo with the song "Time" written by Ran Shem Tov and Shiri Hadar.

I would give anything to send Maya Buskila's "Ahava Acheret"! Anything! Don't get me wrong. I like "Time" a lot! But this year Maya had a top 3 song! But we can't do anything now. As I said I like "Time". It's something totally different this year and I like that Israel sends Izabo. I love the music of the song! It's so great! Israel is my dark horse this year.

Israel competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #10.

8pts from me and good luck to Israel! 

Italy sends Nina Zilli with the song "L'Amore È Femmina (Out Of Love)" written by Kristoffer Sjokvist, Charlie Mason, Frida Molander, Nina Zilli and Christian Rabb.
Another song ruined by the english language! Imo anyway. English is my favourite language but when it comes to eurosongs I prefere the original versions. The plus here is that they keep some parts in italian and that's good. I love the song! (the original version) I'm probably one of the very few that prefer this over "Per Sempre". I find "Per Sempre" really forgettable and indifferent. 10pts to the original version of "L'Amore È Femmina"!
Italy competes in the final with running order #10.

7pts from me and good luck to Italy! 

EDIT: I feel quite embarrassed coz I forgot to review Italy's song! I'm sorry guys! I missed the flag!

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "G", "H"

Georgia sends Anri Jokhadze with the song "I'm A Joker" written by Rusudan Chkhaidze and Bibi Kvachadze.
Somebody please call Batman! Now I know why people made so many negative comments about this! It's horrible! I don't like it at all! There's no way Georgia will make it to the final. The only thing I like though are just a few parts of the music.
Georgia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #12.

0pts from me and good luck to Georgia!

Germany sends Roman Lob with the song "Standing Still" written by Steve Robson, Wayne Hector and Jamie Cullum.
A grower. Cute song but again, I don't know how to rank it... Definitely not a toilet break (oh wait! I never take a toilet break during a country's performance!). Really I don't know what to say. I like it, it's pleasant but I'm not crazy about it. Roman's handsome though. ;)
Germany competes in the final with running order #20.

6pts from me and good luck to Germany!

Greece sends Eleftheria Eleftheriou with the song "Aphrodisiac" written by Dimitri Stassos, Mikaela Stenström and Dajana Lööf.

I love it! Many call it a cheap pop song. My reply to them, Sweden 2011! Well I think we'll be once again in the top 10! Somewhere around 8-10 maybe. I'm glad we send an entry like this. I didn't like our 2010 and 2011 entries so that's a great comeback for me!

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

10pts from me and good luck to Greece!

Hungary sends Compact Disco with the song "Sound Of Our Hearts" written by Behnam Lotfi, Attila Sándor, Csaba Walkó and Gábor Pál.

I love the video! Just watched it for the first time. Really nice. I also like the song a lot! Even though it wasn't my winner in the hungarian NF. 

Hungary competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #15.

7pts from me and good luck to Hungary! 

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "F"

Finland sends Pernilla Karlsson with the song "När Jag Blundar" written by Jonas Karlsson.
This has grown so freakin' much on me! Such a beautiful song! And finally we'll hear some swedish in the ESC! Even if it comes from Finland and even if Pernilla has a finnish accent (that's a tiny minus for me...). I love the lyrics! I love the melody! I don't know if they will make it to the final but I will definitely enjoy it during the semi! Really really beautiful song!
Finland competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #9.

8pts from me and good luck to Finland!

France sends Anggun with the song "Echo (You And I)" written by William Rousseau, Jean-Pierre Pilot and Anggun.
I really don't get the video of the song... :S Anyway. I'm a bit in the middle here. I don't like french so I always have a negative opinion about their entries evene before I listen to them. I'm not a big fan of "Echo (You And I)" but it's not bad. Anggun has a really nice and powerful voice. I also like the music of the song but it's not something I wanna hear on repeat for example.
France competes in the final with running order #9.

5pts from me and good luck to France! 

FYROM sends Kaliopi with the song "Crno I Belo" written by Romeo Grill and Kaliopi.
This one begins nicely but then we hit the chorus and I want to punch the screen! It's so annoying! So annoying! Well not the chorus itself. Kaliopi's voice when she sings the chorus! I really can't stand it. I would have liked the song without the chorus but now, no.
FYROM competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #2.

1pt from me and good luck to FYROM! 

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "C", "D", "E"

Croatia sends Nina Badrić with the song "Nebo" written by Nina Badrić.
Beautiful ballad from Croatia and Nina! I really like the instrumentation! There's a part around 2:09-2:14 that reminds me of this. I'm not talking about plagiarism or anything like that just to be clear. Anyway with a good presentation this can do well. Good job Croatia!
Croatia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #10.

7pts from me and good luck to Croatia!

Cyprus sends Ivi Adamou with the song "La La Love" written by Alex Papaconstantinou, Björn Djupström, Alexandra Zakka and Viktor Svensson.

Probably the best cypriot entry! I have to admit it though. I don't like Ivi. At all. But I love the song! It's so catchy! They need to find a good choreographer for Ivi and please don't let her improvise when it comes to dancing! I think it's gonna be a good year for Cyprus but then again, they were a favourite to win the whole contest in 2007...

Cyprus competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #12.

10pts from me and good luck to Cyprus!

Denmark sends Soluna Samay with the song "Should've Known Better" written by Isam Bachiri, Remee and Chief 1.

Love Denmark's song this year! More than their last year's entry! It wasn't my favourite in DMGP but it has grown on me a lot since then! Soluna is a good live singer but I really hope she gets rid of those "captain" clothes or whatever...

Denmark competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #13.

10pts from me and good luck to Denmark!

Estonia sends Ott Lepland with the song "Kuula" written by Ott Lepland and Aapo Ilves.
This is way too boring! I don't like it! Can't find a positive thing about this song. And I can't say I like Ott's voice. Sorry Estonia. Better luck next year! I think the last time I liked an estonian entry was in 2006!
Estonia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #14.

0pts from me and good luck to Estonia!

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "B"

Belarus sends Litesound with the song "We Are The Heroes" written by Dmitry Karyakin and Vladimir Karyakin.
What did you do Belarus?! :( The first version was fantastic and now you ruined it!!! :( You are supposed to make a song sound better not worse! I don't like the final version! On the plus side Dimitry sounds like a combination of Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) and Tyler Connolly (Theory of a Deadman) and he's quite handsome. But that's not the point! The song is what matters! And it doesn't sound good. Sorry Belarus! I will keep listening to the original version which for the record, I was planning to give 10pts to...
Belarus competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #5.

5pts from me and good luck to Belarus!

 

 

Belgium sends Iris with the song "Would You" written by Jean Bosco Safari, Walter Mannaerts and Nina Sampermans.

Ballad...snoozefest! I didn't like it from the first listening so no way it's gonna grow on me. I like Iris' voice but I don't like the song. I find it boring. It can be a good jury bait but it doesn't work for me and I don't know what else to say about it.

Belgium competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #8.

1pt from me and good luck to Belgium!

 

 

 

 

Bosnia & Herzegovina sends Maya Sar with the song "Korake Ti Znam" written by Maja Sarihodžić.

I listened to this for the first time and I sang along in the end "Korake ti znam"! Hahaha Quite obvious! I kinda like it. It belongs to a strange category for me. It's a ballad I like but a ballad that I'm not crazy about and that means that I will enjoy it in the semi (and in the final too if they make it) but it won't be in my ESC playlist. And because of that it's hard for me to give my points...

Bosnia & Herzegovina competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #17.

5pts from me and good luck to Bosnia & Herzegovina!

 

 

Bulgaria sends Sofi Marinova with the song "Love Unlimited" written by Krum Georgiev, Yasen Kozev and Doni Vasileva.

Bulgaria did it again! 3rd time in a row that they're in my top 5! Even though last year I think they dropped to my no6 but it doesn't matter! Love love love the song! When I first listened to the song I laughed a bit with Sofi's high notes in the chorus but now it's totally fine. She will definitely need a good stylist! They need to find one or they can be screwed by this! Details are important in ESC! 

Bulgaria competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #8.

10pts from me and good luck to Bulgaria!

 

 

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "A"

Ok back to work! Sooo busy with uni stuff but I have to do this. I want to do this! And finally I need to make my official top 10! I know my top 4 so far haha. 'Kay! Let's do this!

Albania sends Rona Nishliu with the song "Suus" written by Florent Boshnjaku and Rona Nishliu.
I couldn't listen to the entire song (I'm talking about the NF version). Now the final version sounds better. She has a nice voice, quite screamy for my taste (please no comparisons to Pastora Soler!). As far as I can remember she didn't quite perform it in the NF. I remember several forum members saying she was out of tune. As I said I didn't watch the entire performance. Anyway the song has a nice melody but I'm not a big fan. Nice video by the way.
Albania competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #5.

3pts from me and good luck to Albania!

Austria sends Trackshittaz with the song "Woki Mit Deim Popo" written by Lukas Plöchl and Manuel Hoffelner.

I've listened to this 3 times in a row. Still forgettable and totally not my cup of tea! For some reason I don't think this is the worst song of this year's edition. But I don't like it. About their NF performance, ehm rappers with suits? Really? Aah. No.

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

1pt from me and good luck to Austria!

Azerbaijan sends Sabina Babayeva with the song "When The Music Dies" written by Anders Bagge, Stefan Örn, Johan Kronlund and Sandra Bjurman.

Another swedish entry for Azerbaijan hehe. Hm...average song for me. Don't like it, don't dislike it. It's not something I will hear over and over again. It will be a nice moment in the final and that's all. I also don't see it as a grower (for me!) coz you know I'm not a ballad lover. Ballads don't grow on me. If I don't like it from then first listening then that's it! Another nice video though.

Azerbaijan competes in the final with running order #13.

5pts from me and good luck to Azerbaijan!

Ok that didn't take a lot of time which means I will try to blog about the "B" countries in the afternoon. Don't worry I'm not taking them one letter at a time. 3 to 5 countries per post. But the "S" countries are 7 so I will review them all in one post. Anyway, that's it for now. :)

ESC 2012 - Iceland: Let's bitch!

Some title right? Great way to come back to blogging after two weeks! Well sorry guys, got caught up with uni stuff and Helena Paparizou in the swedish Let's Dance and since I'm the only one in her official fan club that speaks swedish (and lives in Sweden), I have a lot of work to do! Anyway enough with the off topic introduction.

Back to the title and the actual blog post! As you can see the post is about Iceland 2012. Well not the country itself. More about their entry. Well more about the singers and not the song. Well more about one of the singers. Well more about Greta! (that "well more about" got really annoying right? *oops*)

Well the regular readers (hope there are some out there!) of this blog know how much I wanted "Mundu Eftir Mér" to be performed in icelandic! If not check this out. As you can see from these blog posts me and Greta exchanged some comments on facebook regarding the language. You know what happened. They're gonna send it in english. Even after the final decision was made me and Katy (check her blog out!) kept supporting the icelandic version and arguing about it. A couple of days ago I wondered why I don't see any activity from Greta's profile so I checked it out and surprise surprise! She deleted me! And Katy! Now I guess this is the definition of accepting other people's opinions right? Because we never fought with anyone. We were expressing our opinion in the best possible way without insulting anyone! And all we got was a "delete friend" from Greta! What a great and mature attitude don't you think? I guess she doesn't want us around to say "we told you so" when this will all be over... ;) xD

Honestly, I wasn't planning to blog about this but hey! I have the right to talk about whatever I want! Especially since I'm not insulting anyone. I'm just telling you what happened. Hard feelings for Greta? Well not really. Honest. I actually don't care. She did get some "minus points" for that attitude but other than that I don't care. I wasn't gonna vote for Iceland the moment they decided to send their entry in english so me not voting for them isn't because of Greta. (well to a greater extend it is since she decided to go for the english version but still...)

The fun part? I still love "Mundu Eftir Mér"! Even though it's no longer in my top 3 and perhaps not even in my top 5. Aah I really need to make my top 10! I keep saying "tomorrow", "tomorrow", "definitely tomorrow"...