{"id":184,"date":"2009-05-07T12:16:42","date_gmt":"2009-05-07T11:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/eurovision\/?p=184"},"modified":"2009-05-07T12:35:44","modified_gmt":"2009-05-07T11:35:44","slug":"greece-is-the-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/eurovision\/2009\/05\/07\/greece-is-the-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece is the word…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"greece2\"<\/p>\n

Here is the hot, hot, hot second favourite this year (at the time of writing) \u2013 Sakis Rouvas. When he first represented Greece in 2004 he had an infectious song (8\/10) and weak vocals (4\/10). That was only good enough for 3rd place. There have been concerns about his vocals this time around \u2013 so let\u2019s see how he did in his first rehearsal\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Personally, I would put this way ahead of Norway at this stage – it has great stage presence and the choreography is as dynamic as the song.<\/span><\/p>\n

Estonia<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"estonia2\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019m thinking of my good friend Paul Jordan at this point \u2013 who is an expert on all things Ukrainian and Estonian \u2013 he\u2019s in the process of completing his PhD in that area. I think this is in contention\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

(warning \u2013 this footage contains a Lilly Allen copycat fringe, in the absence of any strobe lighting)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Paul has arrived in Moscow and was gushing about the magnitude of the stage \u2013 I can’t wait to see it on Monday. Paul also said that this performance is strong \u2013 and so he\u2019ll be waving his Estonian flag with pride. One to watch, and surely it will make it to the final.<\/span><\/p>\n

Azerbaijan <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"azer2\"<\/p>\n

I quite like this (\u201cwhen I listen to it on my iPod\u201d \u00a9), but I think I have listened to it too many times over the last few months and so I\u2019m a little bored with it now. My eurofan friends have warned me that the performers can\u2019t deliver us a quality live vocal, so lets see\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

I think that they can deliver \u2013 it\u2019s just a shame that they have removed the crucial middle eight into the key change. Eurovision songs are well renowned for a key change, so it is more than noticeable that they have removed it. This song does remind me of the Greek entry from 2001\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Quartissimo & Martina’s first rehearsal for Slovenia<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Poor Martina \u2013 trapped in a sleeping beauty\u2019s glass coffin for half of the song\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

And no vocal until half way through the song? You might think that’s rather odd for a song contest, but no \u2013 in 1995 Norway won the grand prix with a largely instrumental song\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

\u00a0Is this ‘Love’ at first sight for Lithuania?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"sasha2\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0Lithuania have sent the love child of Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake to the Eurovision this year\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

The piano refrain sounds like \u201cFalling\u201d by Alicia Keys, and Sasha Son is styled like JT. Is it me or can you start singing \u201cwe are the champions my friend\u201d at some point in the melody \u2013 see if you can pick up that thread in the song.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally for now – from the bottom to The Toppers<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what The Netherlands are offering this year…<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Like a group of dads at the family disco, anyone? They\u2019re massive stars in The Netherlands, apparently\u2026 but why is that backing singer selling cornettos on stage?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is the hot, hot, hot second favourite this year (at the time of writing) \u2013 Sakis Rouvas. When he first represented Greece in 2004 he had an infectious song (8\/10) and weak vocals (4\/10). That was only good enough for 3rd place. There have been concerns about his vocals this time around \u2013 so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":367,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGreece is the word... - Phil Jackson's Eurovision Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/eurovision\/2009\/05\/07\/greece-is-the-word\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Greece is the word... - Phil Jackson's Eurovision Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here is the hot, hot, hot second favourite this year (at the time of writing) \u2013 Sakis Rouvas. 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