Author: Phil

Are you ready to rise like a phoenix?

‘Citing!

Here we go then with the running order for the first semi-final, which you can see on BBC4 in the UK, Tuesday 10 May at 8pm…

There have been a few major pop hits over the last couple of years which have been deliciously retro. Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky were notable stellar hits. Then last year X-Factor alumna Fleur East released Sax, which itself sounded a lot like the Ronson track. I’ve said it before on this blog over the years, you will know a lot of the songs competing in Eurovision because you have heard them before. You know my principle is, “familiarity equals popularity”, and that is certainly the case once again this year. A handful of songs have a hint of something you’ve heard before – riffs, hooks, melodies – and they will have you thinking “where have I heard this before”.

01: FINLAND

Sandhja – Sing It Away

You have heard this song before! Sandhja’s song Sing It Away kicks-off the whole proceedings on the Eurovision stage this year. You might have thought that the producers might have started with a song that has a more modern style, but at least this sounds suitably retro and familiar…

… or a bit dated – I’ll let you decide!

02: GREECE

Argo – Utopian Land

This year Greece tread familiar ground, with a mix of verses sung/rapped in Greek, choruses song in English. Apparently, Greek band Argo’s song “is mainly inspired by hip hop sounds; at the same time, their music resonates with folklore (Pontian) tunes and traditional instruments such as the lyre, all elements of ancestral legacy for most of the band’s members.”  True story. Greece have an unblemished record of making it to the final, so I guess the familiar approach will ensure similar success.

03: MOLDOVA

Lidia Isac – Falling Stars

So early on in the first semi, *another* dated sounding song. Languishing to the bottom of the bookies list doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.  I’m not exactly bowled over by Moldova this year.

04: HUNGARY

Freddie – Pioneer

Next it’s the turn of Hungary to offer up some familiar sounding fodder, and rather cheesy staging. How many times in recent years have we seen these drums?!

We might be wooed by Freddie’s modelesque looks, and his gravelly vocals, but this is essentially a reworking of their entry from 2014.

05: Croatia

Nina Kralji? – Lighthouse

Well, Nina is certainly rocking her own style (easy on the eye shadow, love!). Quite a nice vocal, with a not entirely memorable melody. It’ll be interesting to see how the staging impacts on the song next week.

06: THE NETHERLANDS

Best of the bunch so far. And another strong song from The Netherlands, who have had a good run in 2013 and 2014, with great entries from Anouk and The Common Linnets. The familiar stylings and melody of this song, as well as the singalong chorus, should see it sail through to the final…

(but again – you know this song without having heard it before, right?)

07: ARMENIA

Iveta Mukuchyan – LoveWave

A bity cheeky of Iveta to mimic our very own Adele at the start of the track, whispering “Hey, it’s me”! Nevertheless this is well fancied by the bookies. I really don’t like that it sounds like an airplane talking off/landing 36 seconds in – all rather strange. Seems out of place to my ear. That said, Iveta will take her place in the battle of the divas with a strong vocal…

08: SAN MARINO

Serhat – I Didn’t Know

1978 called, and they want their song back! This is my first guilty pleasure of the night! Loving that the video isn’t for the song playing over it! All kinds of crazy going on here! You can currently get odds of 1000-1 on this. Not like San Marino are going to be the Leicester of Eurovision. Imagine if they were!

09: RUSSIA

Sergey Lazarev – You Are The Only One

1995 called, and they want their song back. Seriously, “thunder and lightning, it’s getting exciting”. That’s lyrics 101, isn’t it!

Deliciously dated, but this is a hot fave (they do keep flip-flopping at the top of the bookies list with France). A certainty to get to the final, and it will be top three for sure – might even win the whole thing. Russia are playing with the projections on stage, as in the music video, so we will get a spectacle for sure. Russia are going all out to win this year, and they have a very good chance. And in all fairness, it’s probably their turn…

10: CZECH REPUBLIC

Gabriela Gun?íková – I Stand

My advice is to play this, but don’t watch the music video (it’s distracting, and a bit of a hot mess). This feels like the first big ballad of the night, and should do well in the battle of the divas…

11: CYPRUS

Minus One – Alter Ego

Whilst their near neighbours Greece have opted to play it safe and familiar this year, Cyprus have a change of musical direction and sent an up-tempo rock number to Stockholm. Each year there is the battle of the divas, and there also tends to be a few “dad rocks” tracks to interest their eye and ear. A refreshing change from Cyprus this year, and should make it to the final…

12: AUSTRIA

ZOË – Loin d’ici

Our host country from 2015 return with a charming song (having got nul points last year). And how refreshing to hear a song sung in French – not even the French entry is sung entirely in their mother tongue this year. This is a bit of a tonic, but perhaps a little saccharin for some tastes?

13: ESTONIA

Jüri Pootsmann – Play

A bit of a cool dude, is our Jüri. Looks like he’s come straight from the office to the stage, with the cool stylings and vocals that remind me of The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon. Like last year, Estonia have sent an interesting song, although I’m not sure that being 13^th in the running order will help…

14: AZERBAIJAN

Samra – Miracle

Azerbaijan had a really strong showing at Eurovision between 2008 and 2013, and winning in 2011. Not as popular with the juries and televoters in the last couple of years, but this feels like a return to form. Yeah, another song we have heard before, but a good up-tempo number nonetheless…

(where’s my umbrella –ella –ella…)

15: MONTENEGRO

Highway – The Real Thing

Not rocking my world, and I can’t see it making the final. If I were at home it would be time to do you know what: refresh those drinks and nibbles!

16: ICELAND

Greta Salóme – Hear Them Calling

I *love* this song. Greta competed in ESC2012 with a similarly anthemic song, but she’s ditched her duet partner, Jonsi, to go it alone in Stockholm. As I said to readers last year, some of the more effective (and popular) entries are those which are designed for the television viewers, watching at home. Sweden have kinda got this covered in recent years, with winning performances for Loreen’s Euphoria in 2012, and Måns Zelmerlöw’s Heroes in 2015. Both used close camera work and visual effects with great success (obviously). Russia and Iceland are following a similar vein this year. And I just love the choreography and visuals with which Greta interacts…

Some may say it borrows a bit too much, visually, from Loreen and Måns, but I’d say to good effect. Not often we mention the visuals being mimicked. Now, pass me my coat with the fringe, and setup my wind machine… 😀

17: BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

Dalal & Deen feat. Ana Rucner and Jala – Ljubav Je

We can always rely on Bosnia and other Balkan countries to submit songs that are more indigenous and less aimed at the western mainstream of pop music. They have done similar this year. Good to see Deen back in the contest. You might remember him from 2004, when he sang In The Disco.  Not very popular with the bookies, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go through to the final…

18: MALTA

Ira Losco – Walk on Water

A finalist, for sure…

I don’t often agree with the late Terry Wogan’s conspiracy theory on bloc voting, but back in 2002 Ira Losco was *robbed* of winning the ESC, as Eastern Europe heavily backed Latvia’s Marie N for victory. Well, Ira is back in the picture with one of the hot faves for 2016, Walk On Water. It does feel like two or three songs in one, but overall the effect is good and a top ten, even top five finish in the final might be on the cards. It would be justice for Ira is she won it this time around!

So that’s the first semi-final, my friends. And by way of a reminder, here’s a recap…

Have we heard the winner yet?  Well, next up , my overview of the second semi-final, so let’s see…

It’s a Bank Holiday Monday at the beginning of May. This usually means two things in my life: it’s the start of the assessment period and there’s marking to be done, and it’s almost time for the Eurovision Song Contest!

Significantly for all the fans, and probably of way more importance for the all the competing artists, today (Monday 2 May) marks the start of the rehearsals for this year’s contest, which is being held in Stockholm, Sweden. Cue much giddiness and tumult on social media!

The much anticipated ‘Eurovision Week’ is almost upon us, but before then the extensive rehearsals begin. It’s no accident that the spectacle of the television broadcasts are so slick and professional, the rehearsals ensure that. This year SVT, the Swedish host broadcaster, is promising something a little different, so let’s hope they deliver that. Back in 2013, when they hosted in Malmö, SVT did a great job. And the stage this year looks amazing…

A week from today (9 May) I will arrive in Stockholm and enter the ‘Eurovision bubble’ once again. As usual I will be blogging from the rehearsals, as well as the activities in the press centre and around Stockholm. It’s always a privilege to be accredited by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to be at the heart of the event, and I am delighted that once again I will have the opportunity to share the build-up to the television broadcasts next week. You know the drill by now: two semi-finals (10 May, 12 May) and the Grand Final (14 May). This year (for the first time) the semi-finals are on BBC4.

You may have seen the entertaining (as well as rather cliché) launch trailer for the BBC coverage this year…

Almost time for us to get our Eurovision party started. Lot’s to see and do before then!

As a warm-up to what lies ahead, last Wednesday I attended a Eurovision masterclass held by the BBC at Media City. The session included a discussion with Eurovision Digital Executive Producer, Nora Ryan. Nora looked back on the BBC’s digital highlights from the Eurovision last year, as well as looking forward to Stockholm. Did you know that ESC2015 was the most tweeted programme across the BBC platforms last year?

This was followed by a Q&A with UK entrants, Joe and Jake …

They are really natural and at ease with all the attention. To close the event the boys took to the stage and performed their entry for Stockholm “You’re Not Alone”. If you haven’t yet heard the song, here it is…

I attended the BBC event with our very own ambassador, Carol Poole. Not that she’s desperate to geg-in on proceedings, but this is the *best-picture-ever* … 😀

I had a little chat with ‘our boys’, J&J. Really nice blokes. I told them I’d ask them a question in one of their press conferences in Stockholm, and asked what they would like me to ask. Their suggestion: anything as long as it’s a bit of banter. Top blokes indeed!

As you have heard, our UK entry isn’t a national embarrassment this year. No, we won’t win, but hopefully J&J will do well enough so that they can build a career off the back of their participation. As the late Terry Wogan would say, ‘let’s cheer them on with word and gesture’.

More on the runners and riders in my next post, as we preview the first semi-final…

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t panic, Eurovision hasn’t moved! You haven’t slept through Easter!

I thought I would start the Eurovision blog a little bit early this year. For the last couple of months the 43 participating countries have slowly revealed their songs to compete in May in Stockholm. Some via internal selection, others by varying degrees of a television spectacle.

You might have seen the BBC made a bit more of an effort this year to select our entry? Gone was the internal selection used since 2011, and back was a six-song selection that threw to the television audience to select our entry. Well, tucked away on BBC4 on a Friday night against Corrie wasn’t exactly going to pull in prime-time viewing, but as you can imagine, amongst the ‘eurofans’, this was a big deal. Gone were the moans that we played no part, quickly followed by the speculation of which performers and song writers might be in the mix.

Of the six songs available, three were reasonable standard, three were meagre quality. Sadly none of the songs are/were ever going to challenge at the ESC final on May 14. That said, the British public probably got it right in choosing Joe and Jake. You might have seen these two young guys take part in The Voice last year? The song is suitably One Direction meets Coldplay, and it’s the best thing we have sent since Blue back in 2011. I think it was a missed opportunity that Leona Lewis wasn’t performing the song that she co-wrote with Biff Stannard (of Spice Girls, etc. fame). It would probably have got the ticket. See what you think of ‘our lads’ if you haven’t already seen/heard it:

My gut feeling is that we will still languish on the left side of the scoreboard once again this year, but higher up. But hey, it’s early days, and the boys are quite charming. Their teen-idol styling’s might translate well to the female teenage fans across Europe and beyond.

Beyond you say? Yep, Australia are back in the mix this year, although they have to qualify for the final this time around. Their top ten finish last year was well deserved, but I think the novelty of their taking part for the occasion of the 60^th ESC was probably what propelled it that high.

This weekend marks the peak of Eurovision selection season for me. Why? Well, because I’m in Stockholm, Sweden (with my besties Brain, Rachel and Ellen), for the final of the Melodifestivalen: the process through which they select a song for Europe. Over the five previous weeks twelve songs have been selected, and all that is left is to crown a winner on Saturday night.

This is the fourth year that I’ve made the pilgrimage to the land of schlager, and the country that have had an exemplary record in the Eurovision since 2011: four top five finishes, winning it twice. They are now tied with Ireland with six wins apiece. I wouldn’t bet against Sweden winning once again this year. The quality of the songs in their Melodifestivalan final this weekend is awesome. Of the twelve songs, four could win, and four could win the Eurovision.

The top tip to win is Frans, with his melodic and effectively simple song “If I Was Sorry”. It will win Melodifestivalen and then win Eurovision. I’ll put it out there, and he hasn’t even won Melodifestivalen yet! Check it out…

Not bad, eh? Of the other faves, the infectious pop of Wictoria (not a typo – that’s how we style it out in Sverges), Ace Wilder, and the eye-smouldering Robin are all highly impressive…

 

Kinda makes you realise how rubbish our UK effort are, right?

For a lot of eurofans, Melodifestivalen is a key date in the Eurovision calendar. It’s great telly. I would imagine if Simon Cowell could get his hands on the UK selection process, we would see something similar to this television spectacular. It ain’t ever gonna happen, as he’d have to defect to BBC. Mind you, X-Factor is a tired format now, isn’t it. Stranger things have happened?!

Within the next week or so all the participating countries will have selected their songs for Europe. I’m not particularly impressed with what I’ve heard so far (I bet I say that every year!) . Iceland sounds good, with an interesting performance concept. You might remember that Sweden’s winner from last year, Måns Zelmerlöw, had an awesome performance, interacting with his animated backdrop. It was hugely effective, and actually made the song sound better! I’m a little bored of it now without the little animated men popping up! You can expect to see a load of countries jump on a similar band wagon (so far both Iceland and Russia are doing similar tricks with their staging).

So, if I’ve peaked your interest, you can join me in the arena (via t’internet) and watch a highly entertaining two-hours of Swedish telly (their highest programme of the year, fyi). Swing by svt.se/melodifestivalen from 7.00pm UK time. Sort the drinks and nibbles beforehand, as always!

I’ll be back with more build-up on all thing Eurovish, ahead of my return trip to Stockholm in May.

Tak, my eurochums! 😀

And so we’re off to Sweden next year! What a great result for them, and for the rather charming Måns Zelmerlöw. Sweden have finished in the top three four times in the last five years, and won it twice in that time. Their victory last night means that Sweden is now outright the second most successful country at the Eurovision Song Contest, with six wins. They also overtake the UK, France and Luxembourg, each of whom have five wins. I wouldn’t think it would be that long until Sweden overtake Ireland’s current record of seven.

Much of the Swedes success at Eurovision is due to their selection process – the highly popular Melodifestivalen. At home it is the biggest television show of the year (even beating Eurovision), and streamed around the world it has a huge following. Each year, over the course of six weeks, 28 songs compete to make it to the final in Stockholm. I have been a fan of the contest for over a decade now, and for the past three years I have travelled to Stockholm for the weekend of the Melodifestivalen final, with my good friends Rachel and Brian. By then the songs are well known to us, and it was rather easy for us to predict that Måns would win with “Heroes” this year, and also Eurovision. What was good about it is that is was a familiar sounding song, with awesome presentation for you guys watching at home (close-up shots of him interacting with the anmation), and also wide shots of everyone going bonkers in the arena. Genius!

The fact that the Swedes continue to send highly competitive and highly popular songs is due to their quality, and appeal. The Melodifestivalen producers are very good at quality control, and what’s great is that there is always a musical style to complement the varied tastes of the Swedish public (in the first instance). Quality control of the music, and a great television spectacle ensures that the songs are good and presented well. Also, the winner is determined via an international sweep of 12 countries and also the Swedish televote, which ensures that the winning song is almost guaranteed international appeal.

That’s how you select a winner, and surely the BBC at some point needs to change their failed formula. It really is becoming a national embarrassment. Sure, Electro Velvet got a great reaction in the arena, and they seem like nice people, but clearly the music is not good enough and that’s a major disappointment for us all. Something needs to change, but please god that Simon Cowell doesn’t ever get his hands on it!

Here’s how things finished last night after what I thought was an overly long programme (four hours?!)…

Did you know that the EBU use an algorithm to determine in which order the results are called? This ensures that votes can be reported by the national juries in a way which builds momentum for the audience, and also tension for us too! It sure worked! Only after twenty something countries did Sweden leapfrog Russia to take an unassailable lead. I’m not sure what the audio levels for the live sound were like at home, but the roar from the arena when Måns took the lead was incredible – as much of a roar as I have ever heard (and on a par with Conchita’s performance in the semi-finals last year). I would also be interested to see (hear) how the rather loud booing, aimed at the neighbourly votes for Russia, was heard?

Let me be clear, there had been no booing throughout the week for any performance of “A Million Voices”, so it was highly distasteful and ignorant really for it to be the case last night. I was a bit embarrassed to be in a venue and guilty by association. The interventions by the presenters to remind us of that we were supposed to be ‘building bridges’, twice, showed their indignation for the boos (did you see how peeved Conchita looked!). That said, the simmering hostilities about neighbourly voting seemed heightened last night. You might say how else could Sweden have won, but their points came from a wider pool than just their neighbours – they got points from every single country. And actually, in a quite shocking departure from neighbourly voting, neither Cyprus nor Greece gave each other the douze points for the first time in years.

Booing and voting algorithm’s aside, we have a winner, and we’re done for another year. The jury and public votes how now been made available by the EBU, but I’m not concerning myself with that level of detail today. I am at Vienna airport as I type this, and waiting to board my connecting flight via Munich to Manchester. I can’t wait to get back home and have a curry! 😀

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog this week, and tracking my moves in Vienna. I’ve had a lot of fun, not least with trying to think of blog post titles that either directly draw from, or allude to, songs from The Sound of Music. Not by chance, it’s also my favourite film! Any excuse!

So, whilst the hills really have been alive with the sound of music this week, I will sign off for now.

Auf Wiedersehen, friends… 😀 x

Well, today is a historic day for the Eurovision Song Contest. Firstly, it will be the 60^th Grand Final. This has been celebrated far and wide, and is a marker of how important it has become for popular culture in Europe since 1956. Secondly, it marks the first (and hopefully only) time that Australia will participate (although we are led to believe that is may become a permanent invitation) to mark the 60^th anniversary. Thirdly, this will be the biggest final ever – with (wait for it) 27 countries ready to entertain us this evening. Climb every mountain, indeed! 😀

Watching the dress rehearsal of the final yesterday afternoon did become something of an endurance test. I had walked around Vienna for a couple of hours before going to the press centre, and ultimately the arena. Once again we were watching from the standing area in front of the stage, which was great fun. The only thing is, after watching the performances for a couple of hours I was feeling a little fatigued! Yeah, I’d been on my feet for about six hours, but also getting through 27 songs is a test of resilience! For those watching at home tonight, at least you can refresh your drinks/nibbles/put the bins out during the songs which may not exactly float you boat. For us there is that sense of having to endure songs which you find a bit bland/boring/cringe.

I will be quite happy to never hear some of these songs again after tonight, but let’s stay on the positive side of things (or as Graham Norton would say, the left hand side of the scoreboard). As Europe decides tonight it is clear that there are a clutch of songs that will do well: Sweden, Russia, Italy, Australia, Estonia, Belgium, Norway amongst them. It might be a really close race, and what I like about the Grand Final in recent years is that most of the songs are really, really good. Yeah, some are a bit naff and a bit cringe, and yep, this might be how the UK’s entry might be seen, but all in all, we all have a thoroughly entertaining evening ahead of us.

There are a few things to look out for tonight: a wonderful opening sequence, with pre-recorded orchestra doing a “hooked on classics” kinda medley. Throw in some school kids, singing presenters and a flying Conchita, and you know that you’re in for an excellent evening!

No really, a flying Conchita, here filmed by me yesterday…

In this 60^th year, there can perhaps be no higher honour, or marker of pop culture, than to be immortalised in Lego. You know you’re special when this happens…

Finally from me for now, I want to give you a sense of the final few minutes before the live broadcasts start for you at home. For us in the venue there is a well planned warm-up of the audience. It’s much better than some we have seen over the years (the interminable Abba medley by various singers in Moscow, for example). For the final 15 minutes of the countdown to “going live” there is a fabulous montage on the big screens of Eurovision classics from across the decades. It is really effective, and gets the crowds singing, swaying and dancing along. And then, in the final sixty seconds we see this genius countdown of the previous winners (again filmed by moi)…

If that doesn’t stir your ardour for all things Eurovision, what will!? After that countdown tonight the arena, Europe and beyond, will get their Eurovision party started once again.

By the way, I found my red men yesterday…

… we are all hoping that Ireland gets the green light today…

Enjoy yourselves tonight! 😀 xx

Last night (Thursday) the line-up for the Grand Final on Saturday was completed, with the addition of the final ten qualifiers. I hope your favourite songs made it through. I forgot to post our predictions, but both Brian and I got 8/10. We had seats up in the gods of the arena, but the atmosphere was amazing and people were as enthusiastic in our not so cheap seats (100 euro, btw) as they were in the standing area…

With a clear view of the huge screens we were able to enjoy Måns Zelmerlöw’s performance as you see it at home. And boy, did it raise the roof! It is still the clear favourite to win on Saturday, and regular readers of this blog over the years will know that my default is basically that I am team Sverige every year, so it should come as no surprise that I want this song to win! Hopefully Måns is the man…

I was really disappointed that Malta didn’t make it into the final – but as I said in my review yesterday, it looked a bit too similar to Conchita’s staging last year. I was sitting next to a Maltese woman, and she looked in shock at their departure, poor thing.

I am gutted that Ireland didn’t make it through to the Grand Final on Saturday. That said, there is a far more important vote for Ireland today (Friday). Let’s hope that this time they get all the votes necessary to make some history…

With that in mind, you know that we are all about inclusivity here in the euro-bubble. And it goes without saying that all you reading are too. Something special happened when Conchita won the ESC last year, and it did bring to the forefront some interesting and much needed dialogues about tolerance and acceptance within Europe – particularly in relation to LGBT issues and human rights. As I said in a post recently, clearly the significance of her victory last year still resonates, in terms of human rights and LGBT issues. Indeed, at a meeting with Ban Ki-moon last year, he commented that her Eurovision victory really does send a “powerful message” for the promotion of respect for diversity.

Some gestures matter more than words, and one of the most ingenious ways of reflecting tolerance and acceptance is on the streets of Vienna this week. Literally – on the streets.

The traffic lights in the city have been modified, with the usual red and green lights now symbolising tolerance and love for same-sex couples. Deputy mayor Maria Vassilakou commented recently that “the city of Vienna is setting a signal for openness and tolerance” What a terrific idea! Quirky and fun, and yet underlying the point that, these days, these issues are as pedestrian as crossing the road…

(I need to find the red men! – I will try and find them today! :D)

Today I am finally going to explore this lovely city more widely. There will be a trip to the arena this afternoon to watch the first full run through of the Grand Final, but today is more about Vienna than Eurovision for me. As always, I have been invited to do some media. You might have heard me on BBC Radio Lancashire this morning? Also, I was approached to go on The One Show, but I can’t be in London and Vienna at the same time! Well done to Dr Eurovision on all that he has achieved here in Vienna. He is heading back to the UK today, and I know that he will be popping up on shows like BBC Breakfast and others over the course of the weekend. Me, I obviously have a face for radio! 😀

 

 

On Tuesday night we saw sixteen songs compete to get through to the grand final of ESC2015. Tonight seventeen will battle it out to be one of the ten songs making it to Saturday night. Yesterday I sat through the dress rehearsal in the arena, ahead of the second semi-final tonight on BBC3 at 8pm. And, ever the glutton for punishment, I watched it again today in the press centre, to see it on the big screen!

01 Lithuania

A bright and lively start from Lithuania. Remember there are eight couples/pairs in the contest, with more to follow tonight. Perhaps they will start to cancel each other out? Similarly cheery to recent entries from Malta (Gianluca, 2013) and Switzerland (Sebalter, 2014) that made it to the final, and I think this will. Or I am I going to be the kiss of death again tonight?! 😀

02 Ireland

Last year we sent a Molly to Eurovision, and this year Ireland have! I like this song. I get shades of Tori Amos, and it’s a very accomplished song from seventeen year old singer-songwriter Molly. She seems to have grown in confidence on camera, and I really hope that it goes through.

03 San Marino

Anita and Michele are representing San Marino this year. This pair are youthful and happy performers. You might find them a little ‘stage school’. The song is bonkers! The visual is stunning, but something doesn’t connect for me. Although they will do their mum’s proud…

04 Montenegro

You might get distracted by Knez’s rather sculpted eyebrows! This is a performance with vim and vigor. My bessie Rachel Rolfe has put money on this – does she know something we don’t? 😀

05 Malta

One of my pre-contest favourites. It keeps getting a great reaction from the audience, and again it is visually very strong. You might find the backdrop a little too similar to Conchita’s last year, but flames aside I hope it doesn’t crash and burn tonight.

06 Norway

This song is amazing. Nuff said! The presentation works better on your TV screen/tablet/computer than it does in the arena. Fantastic tone and harmonies from Mørland & Debrah. Stick with the song, it’s slow two-thirds before you get the big finish. Awesome. If I was a betting man…

07 Portugal

Poor thing. Leonor Andrade is the bookies favourite to come last, in a tussle with San Marino. You can kinda see why. Seems to lack a good hook, but Claudia Winkleman fans will be happy!

08 Czech Republic

If you like a bit of scruff (man with a beard) then this is probably your winner. Yet another duet, this time from Marta and Václav. There is poll here for “Eurovision’s next top male model” and you’ve guessed it – Václav is in the mix! There’s good chemistry from this pair, with tempestuous Marta throwing her shoes aside as the track reaches its peak. It certainly is a case of the battle for Eurovision’s top duet in this semi-final – will this make it through?

09 Israel

Back in 1984 Sweden won the Eurovision with the classic “ Diggiloo Diggiley”. One of the memorable things about the song (perhaps the most memorable!) was that the group, Herreys, wore golden boots. This year, sixteen year old Nadav does the same. It’s a fun song, and an enthusiastic performance. The song is a bit of a mash-up, with shades of old-school Justin Timberlake. I hope it goes though, or our boy will be less than golden…

10 Latvia

Aminata has one of the best vision-mixed songs on the screen tonight. Her song is contemporary, with another powerful vocal. You might find it a bit shouty. That said, great mix of visuals and vocals.

11 Azerbaijan

A bit like Spain, Azerbaijan seem to have found their niche by sending ballads each year. They also have a tendency to distract the eye and ear with some kind of sideshow that doesn’t necessarily add to the impact of the song. You might disagree with me, but that’s my view. Probably going through…

12 Iceland

Another youthful looking performer. Maria looks like Hannah Montana, and delivers a song very much in keeping with Miley Cyrus’ early career. Some of my students really like it, and that’s good as it’s probably aimed at them…

13 Sweden

My winner! The bookies current favourite. Excellent staging, great visuals, and one of those songs that you have heard before (shades of Avicci thrown in for good measure). I predicted this will win both the Swedish Melodifestivalen and Eurovision, back in March. Pity I didn’t put a bet on it doing the double – I wish I was a betting man now! 😀

14 Switzerland

It’s always a bit tricky when a song title is a bit prophetic. Remember, the UK sent Nicki French to ESC 2000 with ”Don’t Play That Song Again”. Guess what – Europe didn’t! The Swiss entry this year is “Time To Shine”, but will it shine brightly enough tonight?

15 Cyprus

There are a few songs which give me that ‘euro-tingle’, and this is one of them. A beautiful song, with a beautiful visual – all enhanced with audience participation and a sea of mobile phone torches. Should be popular with the juries, and I really hope with the public too – deserves to go through.

16 Slovenia

Another one of my early favourites. Trouble is I have now over-played it and I’m a bit bored of it now! It is a cool song, performed by another cool couple (in real life too, not just as performers). It will go through, but the staging doesn’t really do the song justice. BTW: the headphones are Maraaya and Raay’s trademark – because they always want to hear the music as it was recorded in the studio…

17 Poland

A nice effort from Poland, and for those in the mood for a gentle ballad it will be of interest. Not as full-throttle as many of the ballads, so it might do well.

 

So, that’s tonight’s line-up. Do we have winner in this semi-final?. I would like to think so. I want to go to Stockholm next year! Let me know what you think! 😀

Well we were up and at ‘em first thing today, arriving at the arena for the second rehearsal of the ‘big seven’ – expanded this year to include guest country Australia. I haven’t seen any of the previous rehearsals, so it was good to finally be in the arena in the standing area at the front, to see the artists do their thing.

Like I mentioned yesterday, the press centre is much busier this year (this was 10.00am!)…

The stage looks great in its various settings…

Entering the arena towards the end of Italy’s rehearsal, it sounded very good, the backdrop looks stunning, and Il Volo are suitably suited and booted. It’s currently second favourite with the bookies. I like the “popera” sound, and if you like a pop-opera crossover, like the similarly named (but ever so slightly older) Il Divo, then you will like this. I do, very much. The only issue I have with it is that full track (at 3 mins 40 seconds) has had to be cut back to three minutes, and some of the magic of the full version is lost. That said, if you’re hearing it for the first time then it’s all good, I guess. Back in 2011 France were the hot favourites with a similarly popera entry, and it didn’t do well. That was mainly because the male vocalist hit the wrong pitch from the start, and never really recovered (you could see the fear in his eyes!). Luckily, Il Volo will have no such worries – strength in numbers! Musketeers and all that…

Next up, Edurne for Spain. So much more than a frock and a wind machine for their staging of “Amanecer”. The song has flourishes of Madonna’s “Frozen” throughout, and is suitably epic. In the final this and Russia may count each other out slightly, but Edurne’s not giving up without a fight! Indeed, there is a rather interesting frock which will be discarded at some point in the proceedings, as will the male backing dancer’s top! It’s all very passionate, and there is an impressive section where Edurne is flung around by the backing dancer, and yet somehow her vocal remains impeccable! She’s got a strong core for sure! I hope it does well. Spain have found their niche in previous years, and songs and performances such as this have proved popular.

France is increasingly fancied in the press centre, and with the bookies. I think a bit of it is the effect of the euro-bubble. I’m not sure it will do as well as some expect. That said, the staging is visually very strong and Lisa Angell has a great set of pipes. What was great about her time on stage today was that, a) she only did a run-through twice (with most other countries doing three or four during their twenty minute slot), and b) she thanked all the technical staff for making her feel wonderful. Such generosity of spirit in a field of divas was probably very well received by the technical team.

Ann Sophie, representing Germany, was the surprise ticket for her home country. The original artist who was selected by the German public changed his mind on hearing that he had won, and so a slightly bemused Ann Sophie took his place. This was a very slick rehearsal, and she does a cracking vocal and confidently sashaying on stage. The backing singers are supporting her with great harmonies, and “Black Smoke” is a catchy pop song. I hope that Ann Sophie’s confident performance wins over the viewing public and national juries.

Australia have been invited to take part this year, as part of the 60^th anniversary celebrations. As you might know, the ESC is hugely popular down under, and every year it is broadcast ‘as live’ the following evening in Australia – they even televote for their own amusement! This year they are active participants, and popular with the bookies. It’s a good song, and Guy Sebastian is another fine vocalist. Reminiscent for me of Denmark’s Bruno Marrs sound-alike, Basim. It’ll do well, but I really hope it doesn’t win, as I don’t really like the gimmick. In the event that they do win, originally I was led to believe that the country that finishes as runner-up would host next year. Now I understand that it will be held in Germany.

(we had retired to the press centre, as there was a break in rehearsals, so I only watched this on the big screen :D)

Host country Austria have a familiar sounding song to represent them this year – and the hometown advantage should buoy The Makemakes. There was a brilliant moment this morning on Austrian breakfast television, where the presenters, one by one, gathered around a piano to sing the song, and were later joined by lead singer, Dodo. All such fun for that time in the morning! I can’t imagine BBC Breakfast doing something similar! Great stuff from Austria this year. Where’s my hat and my hipster hair…

And, finally the United Kingdom were also on stage today. Electro Velvet did four performances, and got more polished with each turn. I gotta say that I don’t think that it’s our worst ever UK entry, as some have suggested. I think Josh Dubovie in 2010 was much worse, and Daz Sampson in 2006 was total cringe, and don’t get me started on Scooch in 2007! I do like listening to the song in the car, in the office, etc. It’s got as few good hooks, for me – if somewhat bizarre lyrics.

However, (repeating a phrase I have used all week), the staging is a bit of a hot mess. Yes, do the flapping and retro stuff, but don’t wrap it up with sparkly, flashing neon frocks. It’s all a bit too fussy. To repeat, I really like the song – my Dad even thinks that it’s going to win – but my hunch is that this package (song and performance) might cause it to fall flat, and unfortunately struggle out of the bottom five in the final. I am ever the optimist, as you know, but I haven’t emailed John Cater this week to set a bet that it will get into the top ten. And I’m not even going to do a Paddy Ashdown either way (top or bottom). Still, time for some tweaks, so let’s see, and remain ever hopeful that the performers are not made to feel like a national embarrassment – because they do deserve better than that.

So, even with a few doubts about the UK presentation, I really think that the Big 7 have a great set of songs. I have confidence in them all, but alas that’s not enough for these artists on Saturday night!  I will see these guys again on Friday afternoon for the first run-through of the grand final line-up – and then we’ll know how they shape-up next to those entries that made it through the semi-finals… ‘citing! 😀

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have spent most of the last two days in the arena and press centre. I haven’t really had a chance to explore this lovely city yet. That will come in the days ahead, and I know that there has been a lot going on in the euro-bubble. I know that I feel like I’ve been making up for arriving slighly late on Monday – and that I’m all caught-up now (literally!).

I hope you enjoyed the show last night – and that your favourite songs got through. My ‘napkin of death’ predictions were a bit out, but I’ve figured my mistake this year is that I’m selecting songs that I like, rather than to progress at this stage. I will try and do a little better for tomorrow night’s second semi-final (of which I have just seen the first dress rehearsal – but more of that on Thursday morning). A few pics from my point of view last night…

Entry to the venue was quick and easy…

Inside the auditorium there was a fantastic buzz. It is the smallest I can remember, but that somehow added to the excitement – and probably why it was so hard to get tickets this year. Inside the view was good, from the main stage to the green room at the back of the arena (which as you can see is elevated this year above the audience, and with only the commentators booths behind them)…

I thought the whole visual design and effects, as well as the stage was stunning – I know it will have looked good on the telly. Two weeks of rehearsals, and about six weeks setting it up in Vienna results in a highly accomplished set of shows. We are all particularly taken by the amazing ball sculpture floating above the audience – it’s just stunning! I thought it was a visual effect when I saw it on screen! 😀

It was a quick two hour show – although I felt that the presenters were a little dull. C’mon ladies – more energy on Thursday night! My good friend Paul (Dr Eurovision) Jordan was once again doing his thang on BBC3 – and I know some of you thought he did a great job, so well done Paul! We could just see him from our seats doing the wrap-up interview as we left…

(yeah I know – not a great photie!)

It took less than twenty minutes to get back to our hotel, which was a relief as it would be an early start for us on Wednesday morning, as the ‘Big 7″ take to the stage for their second rehearsal slots. Like I said, at this point I really am von-trapped with all the cool stuff happening in and around the arena… and I’m loving it!

More soon…

 

 

 

(see what we did there?)

Once again your English/Irish posse have put their heads together to determine our choices for who is going through, and who is going home. Here are the results of the ‘all kinds of everything’ commentators from here in downtown Vienna. See if you agree, because, in a departure this year, Brian and I do not!

Phil says…	Brian says…
01 Moldova Going home 02 Armenia Going home 03 Belgium Going through 04 The Netherlands Going through 05 Finland Going home 06 Greece Going through 07 Estonia Going through 08 Macedonia Going through 09 Serbia Going home 10 Hungary Going home 11 Belarus Going through 12 Russia Going through 13 Denmark Going through 14 Albania Going home 15 Romania Going through 16 Georgia Going through	01 Moldova Going through 02 Armenia Going through 03 Belgium Going through 04 The Netherlands Going home 05 Finland Going home 06 Greece Going through 07 Estonia Going through 08 Macedonia Going home 09 Serbia Going through 10 Hungary Going home 11 Belarus Going home 12 Russia Going through 13 Denmark Going through 14 Albania Going home 15 Romania Going through 16 Georgia Going through

Time will tell, my friends.  Enjoy the show and have a wonderful evening, wherever you are watching tonight, at home or abroad, in the arena, or on the telly. 😀 x