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

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

0pts from me and good luck to Latvia!

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

2pts from me and good luck to Lithuania!

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

5pts from me and good luck to Malta!

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

7pts from me and good luck to Moldova!

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

0pts from me and good luck to Montenegro!
 

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "I"

Iceland sends Eythor Ingi with the song "Ég Á Líf" written by Örlygur Smári and Pétur Örn Gudmundsson.
Once again, Iceland has the best preview video. A beautiful song but unfortunately it's not one of my favourites. It's somewhere in my top 20 I guess. Kudos though for keeping it in icelandic. This is a huge bonus! I just wish they were wise enough to send "Mundu Eftir Mér" in icelandic last year...
Iceland competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #8.

5pts from me and good luck to Iceland!

Ireland sends Ryan Dolan with the song "Only Love Survives" written by Wez Devine and Ryan Dolan.
I don't know when was the last time Ireland sent such a good entry. It's not amazing. I'm just comparing it with their previous entries so yeah. This is great! Too much "love" though...
Ireland competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #13.

5pts from me and good luck to Ireland!

Israel sends Moran Mazor with the song "Rak Bishvilo" written by Han Harari and Gal Sarig.

Love it! Classic israeli ballad. They're the masters on such songs! Yeah Moran wasn't my winner. Kathleen was but she withdrew. However I don't see this going as expected. Moran's styling is horrible! They seriously need to get rid of her stylists! She's only 22 and they make her look like 40+! And not only in KDAM! We all know that the styling and performance have an impact on the song's final placing!

Israel competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #10.

10pts from me and good luck to Israel! 

Italy sends Marco Mengoni with the song "L'Essenziale" written by Francesco De Benedittis, Roberto Casalino and Marco Mengoni.
My first impression was good. After that it started growing out of me and now I just find it ok. I've listened to better songs by Marco...
Italy competes in the final. Running order TBA.

5pts from me and good luck to Italy! 

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "G", "H"

Georgia sends Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani with the song "Waterfall" written by Thomas G:son and Erik Bernholm.
Very indifferent even if it is written by G:son. There's not much to tell here. I find it really boring and I'm gonna take a guess and say that this will stay in the semi.
Georgia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #15.

1pt from me and good luck to Georgia!

Germany sends Cascada with the song "Glorious" written by Yann Peifer, Manuel Reuter, Andres Ballinas and Tony Cornelissen.
My #2 this year! Do I need to say more? LOVE the full version but I'm totally fine with this version even though it sounds like something is missing after the chorus. It's too abrupt. But I can accept anything as long as I have my favourite part there! That is, "crash and burn and lose my mind". In the version they performed at Echo the second part of the first verse is missing! At least it's back in the ESC version!
Germany competes in the final. Running order TBA.

12pts from me and good luck to Germany!

Greece sends Koza Mostra ft Agathonas Iakovidis with the song "Alcohol Is Free" written by Stathis Pachidis and Ilias Kozas.

I totally hated this when we picked it. I gave us zero points just like I did back in 2010. I ended up supporting and loving our entry in 2010. I will definitely not love "Alcohol Is Free" but I don't mind listening to it now. If only Agathonas wasn't there... The song would have been so much better without him! I'm still against the title even though we'll get many points from the nordic (and not only) countries... xD

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

4pts from me and good luck to Greece!

Hungary sends ByeAlex with the song "Kedvesem" written by  Alex Márta and Zoltán Palásti Kovács.

First of all, I give them some extra points for sending this in hungarian! Such a lovely melody. I don't know if they'll make it in the final but I like this! Very relaxing and I love listening to such music at night!

Hungary competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #12.

7pts from me and good luck to Hungary! 

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "F"

Finland sends Krista Siegfrids with the song "Marry Me" written by Krista Siegfrids, Erik Nyholm, Kristoffer Karlsson and Jessica Lundström.
The dark horse of the year if you ask me! It has grown on me a lot, it kicked Spain out of my top 10 and I think it just entered my top 5!! Extremely catchy tune and the "oh oh, oh oh oh ding dong" sticks on your mind from the first listening! I'm a bit worried though. I really hope Krista won't sing the new version! It feels so "empty"... Like something is missing. It also sounds kinda "agressive" (maybe poor choice of words but I was never good at describing songs) and I totally miss the way she sings the "oh oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh ding dong" after the second chorus in the original version. So, please Krista, sing the original version!! I'm also a bit concerned about the performance. The clothes actually. I assume she'll wear the wedding dress. It's part of the song after all. I have no problem with it since I do get it's a funny song but some eurofans find it kitsch...
Finland competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #5.

12pts from me and good luck to Finland!

France sends Amandine Bourgeois with the song "L'Enfer Et Moi" written by David Salkin and Boris Bergman.
Meh... Ok. Not my cup of tea. For the gazillionth time, I don't like french! So it's hard to actually like a french entry. But I do like the music of the song! And Amandine has a nice voice but no. I don't like the song. And I'm pretty sure I won't... Good bye French readers... xD
France competes in the final. Running order TBA.

3pts from me and good luck to France! 

FYROM sends Esma & Lozano with the song "Pred Da Se Razdeni" written by Darko Dimitrov, Lazar Cvetkovski, Simeon Atanasov and Magdalena Cvetkovska.
Did they really need Esma? With a different chorus sung only by Lozano that would be really good. That "le le le le" is really annoying! But ok generally it's not bad.
FYROM competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #3.

4pt from me and good luck to FYROM!

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

Croatia sends Klapa s Mora with the song "Mižerja" written by Goran Topolovac.
I think the best word to describe the song is its title! Misery! But ok, it has a nice melody. I can say that. It's really not my cup of tea though. I like their voices as well but as a whole, the song doesn't do anything to me.
Croatia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #4.

4pts from me and good luck to Croatia!

Cyprus sends Despina Olympiou with the song "An Me Thimase" written by Andreas Giorgallis and Zenon Zintillis.

I'm afraid there won't be a place in final for Cyprus this year. Not a bad song (there are much worse this year) but it's kinda indifferent. With a good staging they might get some extra points but I don't see it going too far. Even though they have a good draw. Regarding the music video, I like it but seriously how ridiculous is the scene where she runs in the forest?

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

3pts from me and good luck to Cyprus!

Denmark sends Emmelie de Forest with the song "Only Teardrops" written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen and Thomas Stengaard.

Love it, love it, love it! It was my 3rd favourite this year but now dropped to #4 and its place is taken by Austria but I still love it! I watched the video again and it all came back! I hope they keep their performance the way it was in DMGP. For many people this is the winner. No problem if it wins but I'm not sure about anything. Especially this year.

Denmark competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #5.

12pts from me and good luck to Denmark!

Estonia sends Birgit Õigemeel with the song "Et Uus Saaks Alguse" written by Mihkel Mattisen and Silvia Soro.
I think this is the most forgettable song of this year's edition. No matter how many times I listen to this I can't remember the melody or a single word! And I have it on repeat for quite a while! Sorry Estonia. It seems you're not "my" country in ESC.
Estonia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #2.

1pt from me and good luck to Estonia!

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "B"

Belarus sends Alyona Lanskaya with the song "Solayo" written by Marc Paelinck and Martin King.
I listened to the song a few weeks ago and until a couple of hours ago I couldn't remember what it reminds me of. I hate it when this happens. But now I know! The chorus really reminds me of this! Anyway, I like the song but I'm not crazy about it. And I like Alyona too.
Belarus competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #11.

 5pts from me and good luck to Belarus!

Belgium sends Roberto Bellarosa with the song "Love Kills" written by Iain James and Jukka Immonen.
The final version is so much better! I tried to watch Belgium selection but it was too boring. The first time I listened to the song I said "no final for Belgium". Now they might have a chance... They also have a good draw.
Belgium competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #15.

5pts from me and good luck to Belgium!

Bulgaria sends Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov with the song "Samo Shampioni" written by Elitsa Todorova and Christian Talev.
I'm sorry Bulgaria but this is nowhere near "Voda". I don't like it and I have a feeling it won't do good. Plus the fact that Bulgaria chose another song (sorry don't remember the title. they all kinda sounded the same to me) but Elitsa didn't like it so they changed to "Samo Shampioni". Of course the average viewer won't have a clue about this...
Bulgaria competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #7.

3pts from me and good luck to Bulgaria!

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "A"

It's April and it's time for the annual review.

Albania sends Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko with the song "Identitet" written by Bledar Sejko and Eda Sejko.
I like the intro and the music in general. But that's all. It's not a song that will make it to my playlist. Albania had the chance to enter my top 5 this year but they totally blew it. Kejsi would have got my 12 points! But not Adrian and Bledar...
Albania competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #14.

3pts from me and good luck to Albania! 

Armenia sends Dorians with the song "Lonely Planet" written by  Tony Iommi and Vardan Zadoyan.
First impression when I listened to this, boring! Second time, "oh my God! he's singing in english?". I thought the only english words in the song were "lonely" and "planet". But the language won't save it. I don't like it. At all! Bad comeback for Armenia!
Armenia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #11.

0pts from me and good luck to Armenia!

Austria sends Natália Kelly with the song "Shine" written by Andreas Grass, Nikola Paryla, Alexander Kahr and Natália Kelly.
Austria... Weird thing happened with Austria this year. I followed their NF (well, not so difficult since they only had 5 songs). 4 of the songs were pretty bad. I liked only "Shine" so I was really happy when it won. On escunited.com's poll I gave it a 6 or a 7 right after it won. A few weeks later this 6 (or 7) became 8. I made my preliminary top 10 at some point and Austria was 7th. For the first time....EVER. A few weeks ago that 8 became 10. That 10 is now a 12 and Austria is currently in my top 3! Totally love it!
Austria competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #1.

12pts from me and good luck to Austria!

Azerbaijan sends Farid Mammadov with the song "Hold Me" written by Dimitrios Kontopoulos, John Ballard and Ralph Charlie Al Fahel.
A Greek composer there but yeah. I'm not a fan of the song. I only like the chorus. Not his accent though. It won't be a bad moment in the semi but yeah, it won't make it to any of my playlists.
Azerbaijan competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #4.

4pts from me and good luck to Azerbaijan!