Jonathan
TS Member
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- Helix <3
Yup, we've got less than four weeks to go until my favourite event of the year - Gay Christmas Eurovision 2018! I know I've created this thread much later than usual, but I've just kept on forgetting. Plus I got prodded about it by @Craig last night. This year sees 43 countries taking part, the joint-highest number ever, alongside the 2008 and 2011 contests. Russia make their return following a year out over the whole issue with Julia Samoylova being banned from entering Ukraine.
This year, I actually watched Melodifestivalen, the Swedish selection show for Eurovision, for the first time, and - if I'm honest - I was a bit disappointed with the overall standard of songs, though I wasn't the only person to believe this to be the case. Trying to predict the Eurovision winner this year is a lot tougher than it has been for a while, but I feel that's a good thing. Makes it a lot more interesting and a lot more competitive. Even after listening to all the entries, I'm still struggling to decide which one I think will win. I'll try to review each one, but keeping it brief (wish me luck ). To make it slightly more readable, each semi-final will be in a separate post, with the automatic qualifiers having their own collective post. I was going to include links to the videos, but I can only embed five per post. Plus they're all on YouTube anyway. xD
Semi-Final 1
01 - Azerbaijan ('X My Heart' by Aisel)
It's catchy and radio-friendly. A decent way to open the semi-final, and should see Azerbaijan qualify for the final once again. Aisel is normally a jazz singer, but she proves she can do different genres quite well. I feel they should get a decent mid-table finish with this entry.
02 - Iceland ('Our Choice' by Ari Ólafsson)
Being given the second position in the running order isn't usually a good sign. Not many songs seem to have qualified from this position in the semis, and I fear this fate will befall Iceland this year. Ari's vocals are good, but sandwiched between Azerbaijan and Albania's arguably better entries, this is just going to be lost. The song is incredibly bland and has nothing really going for it.
03 - Albania ('Mall' by Eugent Bushpepa)
Easily the best entry Albania have sent for years. It's powerfully anthemic, and it worries me that I'm singing along to it whenever it's played, despite it being sung entirely in Albanian. When translated into English, the lyrics are beautifully poetic. I really, really hope that this makes it to the final and gives Albania its best result since 2012, though my sole concern is that it's on too early in the running order. It should still do well regardless, though.
04 - Belgium ('A Matter of Time' by Sennek)
I really like Sennek’s vocals, but the song just doesn’t really do much for me. I do like the chorus, but it just overall feels a bit on the bland side. Good staging will help them, but I have a nagging feeling that they may well miss out on the final, which is a shame, given they’ve had three top 10 finishes in a row.
05 - Czech Republic ('Lie to Me' by Mikolas Josef)
Easily the best entry the Czech Republic have sent to Eurovision. It’s a bit different to what is usually seen at Eurovision, it’s edgy, and Mikolas Josef is just really cute. The video does include Mikolas riding a camel, but this won’t be replicated in Lisbon. I’m confident that the Czech Republic will bring some good staging to this. This should go through to the final, and subsequently perform better than their 2016 entry did – the only time they’ve so far qualified for the grand final.
06 - Lithuania ('When We're Old' by Ieva Zasimauskaitė)
Ieva has a sweet and touching song for Lithuania, but given it’s between two entries with very good odds for the overall win, I just can’t see this qualifying.
07 - Israel ('Toy' by Netta)
It’s one of this year’s favourites. It was allegedly born as a result of the ‘#MeToo’ movement, so it’s very current. It even has chicken noises. Yes, really. Netta nails this live, which is so important. After a slow ballad from Lithuania, this will definitely perk people up due to it being so upbeat. I can’t see any scenario where this doesn’t go to the final. Almost certainly going to end up in the top 5, and I can see this winning. Here’s a funny thing, though. Israel first won Eurovision in 1978. They also won it 20 years later in 1998. 20 years on, they’re favourites once again. I’m not much of a believer in coincidences, but I’m just sayin’… They did also win it in 1979, but that’s beside the point.
08 - Belarus ('Forever' by Alekseev)
I don’t know what to make of Belarus’ entry this year. It’s gone through several different versions, but they’ve finally settled on one. It starts off quietly, but builds at the start of the second verse. Just a bit too slow of a build for my liking – I preferred the original versions. There are also some concerns about Alekseev’s abilities to perform this live. Could go either way.
09 - Estonia ('La forza' by Elina Nechayeva)
Elina won the Estonian national selection by a landslide with her powerful operatic performance. If Eurovision were judged on vocal skill alone, she would be a very strong favourite for the win. Indeed, she was, but has slipped in the rankings recently, presumably due to issues surrounding a crucial part of the staging. In the national final, her dress was used for projection mapping to stunning effect. The problem is the massive cost of renting these projectors to take to Lisbon, with the Estonian broadcaster really struggling to obtain the funding required. This should still qualify on voice alone, but it needs that projection mapping in order for it to work properly.
10 - Bulgaria ('Bones' by Equinox)
As with Estonia, this is one of the favourites. Unlike Estonia, however, I’m struggling to work out why, though I guess it could partly be based on their performances over the past two years, with them finishing 4th and 2nd. The vocal performances from all of Equinox’s members are very good, but there’s just something about the song which I don’t really get. Regardless, I think this should still qualify and do well for Bulgaria.
11 - FYR Macedonia ('Lost and Found' by Eye Cue)
There’s a bit more hype surrounding Macedonia this year, and I can kinda see why. It’s a better song than some they’ve put forward since they last qualified in 2012, but it’s not as good as that entry. The different styles used in the song are decent, but I’m still unsure as to how the reggae section fits in. As for whether it’ll qualify or not, I think it stands a decent chance.
12 - Croatia ('Crazy' by Franka)
Croatia are rather hit-and-miss at Eurovision. Whilst I like Franka’s vocal performance, I just don’t feel as though the song has much variation between verse and chorus, which is quite a shame. I suspect another year of non-qualification beckons for them.
13 - Austria ('Nobody but You' by César Sampson)
Ever since Conchita won in 2014, Austria have – with the exception of their dire entry in 2015 – sent decent songs. This trend has continued with César Sampson and his smooth vocal performance. I like this song, don’t get me wrong, but it’s definitely not a winner. Should still qualify and give Austria a good result, though.
14 - Greece ('Oniro Mou' by Yianna Terzi)
This is the first time Greece have sent a song entirely in Greek since 1998. It’s got a wonderful ethereal quality to it, and it builds slowly, but in a good way. Yianna’s vocals really add to the feel of the song. This is a song that definitely deserves to qualify for the final, and even if it doesn’t, Greece should be proud of it.
15 - Finland ('Monsters' by Saara Aalto)
Saara Aalto was initially rumoured to have been internally selected to represent us this year, but she is instead representing her native Finland. Of the three songs that she could’ve performed, ‘Monsters’ was easily the most popular. I love it, but I was expecting more the drop at the end of the chorus, if I’m honest. The staging at the Finnish national final was a bit OTT, but this seems to have been calmed down for the preview parties, and now works better. I look forward to seeing what they come up with for Lisbon. It deserves to go through, but it’s a question of whether or not it will.
16 - Armenia ('Qami' by Sevak Khanagyan)
This is Armenia’s first song to be entirely performed in Armenian. It’s currently about mid-table in the overall betting odds, which I think is about right. I like it, and it builds quite well throughout, but it does seem to build a tad on the slow side for my liking. In that respect, it’s similar to Aram Mp3’s ‘Not Alone’ from 2014, which finished in 4th. I don’t expect the same result from Armenia this time around, but it should still qualify and do well.
17 - Switzerland ('Stones' by Zibbz)
A slower rock song isn’t what I was expecting from Switzerland, but it’s much better than what they’ve sent for the past few years, given they haven’t qualified for three years in a row now. The contrast between the constituent parts of the song works well overall, though the staging used in the national final could do with being tweaked a bit. I’m hopeful that Switzerland will qualify this year – they’ll deserve it with an entry like this.
18 - Ireland ('Together' by Ryan O'Shaugnessy)
Ireland have won Eurovision seven times, including four wins in the space of five years in the 1990s. Their recent performances, though, have been pretty bad. They finished last in 2013, and haven’t qualified for the final since then. Will this year’s entry help them out at all? Erm…No, not really. Whilst Ryan’s got a nice voice, the song just doesn’t seem to go anywhere or do much, and it just feels a bit too similar to Brendan Murray from last year. I do like the LGBT-themed video, though. Another year of non-qualification beckons.
19 - Cyprus ('Fuego' by Eleni Foureira)
And so we come to the end of semi-final 1, with Cyprus closing the show. I initially would’ve preferred for Switzerland to close, but on reflection, I think this is a suitable song to do this. It’s upbeat and cheery, and whilst it’s not my favourite song in this semi, it’s definitely not my least-favourite, either. The last song in a semi usually goes through, and I expect that Cyprus will do the same.
This year, I actually watched Melodifestivalen, the Swedish selection show for Eurovision, for the first time, and - if I'm honest - I was a bit disappointed with the overall standard of songs, though I wasn't the only person to believe this to be the case. Trying to predict the Eurovision winner this year is a lot tougher than it has been for a while, but I feel that's a good thing. Makes it a lot more interesting and a lot more competitive. Even after listening to all the entries, I'm still struggling to decide which one I think will win. I'll try to review each one, but keeping it brief (wish me luck ). To make it slightly more readable, each semi-final will be in a separate post, with the automatic qualifiers having their own collective post. I was going to include links to the videos, but I can only embed five per post. Plus they're all on YouTube anyway. xD
Semi-Final 1
01 - Azerbaijan ('X My Heart' by Aisel)
It's catchy and radio-friendly. A decent way to open the semi-final, and should see Azerbaijan qualify for the final once again. Aisel is normally a jazz singer, but she proves she can do different genres quite well. I feel they should get a decent mid-table finish with this entry.
02 - Iceland ('Our Choice' by Ari Ólafsson)
Being given the second position in the running order isn't usually a good sign. Not many songs seem to have qualified from this position in the semis, and I fear this fate will befall Iceland this year. Ari's vocals are good, but sandwiched between Azerbaijan and Albania's arguably better entries, this is just going to be lost. The song is incredibly bland and has nothing really going for it.
03 - Albania ('Mall' by Eugent Bushpepa)
Easily the best entry Albania have sent for years. It's powerfully anthemic, and it worries me that I'm singing along to it whenever it's played, despite it being sung entirely in Albanian. When translated into English, the lyrics are beautifully poetic. I really, really hope that this makes it to the final and gives Albania its best result since 2012, though my sole concern is that it's on too early in the running order. It should still do well regardless, though.
04 - Belgium ('A Matter of Time' by Sennek)
I really like Sennek’s vocals, but the song just doesn’t really do much for me. I do like the chorus, but it just overall feels a bit on the bland side. Good staging will help them, but I have a nagging feeling that they may well miss out on the final, which is a shame, given they’ve had three top 10 finishes in a row.
05 - Czech Republic ('Lie to Me' by Mikolas Josef)
Easily the best entry the Czech Republic have sent to Eurovision. It’s a bit different to what is usually seen at Eurovision, it’s edgy, and Mikolas Josef is just really cute. The video does include Mikolas riding a camel, but this won’t be replicated in Lisbon. I’m confident that the Czech Republic will bring some good staging to this. This should go through to the final, and subsequently perform better than their 2016 entry did – the only time they’ve so far qualified for the grand final.
06 - Lithuania ('When We're Old' by Ieva Zasimauskaitė)
Ieva has a sweet and touching song for Lithuania, but given it’s between two entries with very good odds for the overall win, I just can’t see this qualifying.
07 - Israel ('Toy' by Netta)
It’s one of this year’s favourites. It was allegedly born as a result of the ‘#MeToo’ movement, so it’s very current. It even has chicken noises. Yes, really. Netta nails this live, which is so important. After a slow ballad from Lithuania, this will definitely perk people up due to it being so upbeat. I can’t see any scenario where this doesn’t go to the final. Almost certainly going to end up in the top 5, and I can see this winning. Here’s a funny thing, though. Israel first won Eurovision in 1978. They also won it 20 years later in 1998. 20 years on, they’re favourites once again. I’m not much of a believer in coincidences, but I’m just sayin’… They did also win it in 1979, but that’s beside the point.
08 - Belarus ('Forever' by Alekseev)
I don’t know what to make of Belarus’ entry this year. It’s gone through several different versions, but they’ve finally settled on one. It starts off quietly, but builds at the start of the second verse. Just a bit too slow of a build for my liking – I preferred the original versions. There are also some concerns about Alekseev’s abilities to perform this live. Could go either way.
09 - Estonia ('La forza' by Elina Nechayeva)
Elina won the Estonian national selection by a landslide with her powerful operatic performance. If Eurovision were judged on vocal skill alone, she would be a very strong favourite for the win. Indeed, she was, but has slipped in the rankings recently, presumably due to issues surrounding a crucial part of the staging. In the national final, her dress was used for projection mapping to stunning effect. The problem is the massive cost of renting these projectors to take to Lisbon, with the Estonian broadcaster really struggling to obtain the funding required. This should still qualify on voice alone, but it needs that projection mapping in order for it to work properly.
10 - Bulgaria ('Bones' by Equinox)
As with Estonia, this is one of the favourites. Unlike Estonia, however, I’m struggling to work out why, though I guess it could partly be based on their performances over the past two years, with them finishing 4th and 2nd. The vocal performances from all of Equinox’s members are very good, but there’s just something about the song which I don’t really get. Regardless, I think this should still qualify and do well for Bulgaria.
11 - FYR Macedonia ('Lost and Found' by Eye Cue)
There’s a bit more hype surrounding Macedonia this year, and I can kinda see why. It’s a better song than some they’ve put forward since they last qualified in 2012, but it’s not as good as that entry. The different styles used in the song are decent, but I’m still unsure as to how the reggae section fits in. As for whether it’ll qualify or not, I think it stands a decent chance.
12 - Croatia ('Crazy' by Franka)
Croatia are rather hit-and-miss at Eurovision. Whilst I like Franka’s vocal performance, I just don’t feel as though the song has much variation between verse and chorus, which is quite a shame. I suspect another year of non-qualification beckons for them.
13 - Austria ('Nobody but You' by César Sampson)
Ever since Conchita won in 2014, Austria have – with the exception of their dire entry in 2015 – sent decent songs. This trend has continued with César Sampson and his smooth vocal performance. I like this song, don’t get me wrong, but it’s definitely not a winner. Should still qualify and give Austria a good result, though.
14 - Greece ('Oniro Mou' by Yianna Terzi)
This is the first time Greece have sent a song entirely in Greek since 1998. It’s got a wonderful ethereal quality to it, and it builds slowly, but in a good way. Yianna’s vocals really add to the feel of the song. This is a song that definitely deserves to qualify for the final, and even if it doesn’t, Greece should be proud of it.
15 - Finland ('Monsters' by Saara Aalto)
Saara Aalto was initially rumoured to have been internally selected to represent us this year, but she is instead representing her native Finland. Of the three songs that she could’ve performed, ‘Monsters’ was easily the most popular. I love it, but I was expecting more the drop at the end of the chorus, if I’m honest. The staging at the Finnish national final was a bit OTT, but this seems to have been calmed down for the preview parties, and now works better. I look forward to seeing what they come up with for Lisbon. It deserves to go through, but it’s a question of whether or not it will.
16 - Armenia ('Qami' by Sevak Khanagyan)
This is Armenia’s first song to be entirely performed in Armenian. It’s currently about mid-table in the overall betting odds, which I think is about right. I like it, and it builds quite well throughout, but it does seem to build a tad on the slow side for my liking. In that respect, it’s similar to Aram Mp3’s ‘Not Alone’ from 2014, which finished in 4th. I don’t expect the same result from Armenia this time around, but it should still qualify and do well.
17 - Switzerland ('Stones' by Zibbz)
A slower rock song isn’t what I was expecting from Switzerland, but it’s much better than what they’ve sent for the past few years, given they haven’t qualified for three years in a row now. The contrast between the constituent parts of the song works well overall, though the staging used in the national final could do with being tweaked a bit. I’m hopeful that Switzerland will qualify this year – they’ll deserve it with an entry like this.
18 - Ireland ('Together' by Ryan O'Shaugnessy)
Ireland have won Eurovision seven times, including four wins in the space of five years in the 1990s. Their recent performances, though, have been pretty bad. They finished last in 2013, and haven’t qualified for the final since then. Will this year’s entry help them out at all? Erm…No, not really. Whilst Ryan’s got a nice voice, the song just doesn’t seem to go anywhere or do much, and it just feels a bit too similar to Brendan Murray from last year. I do like the LGBT-themed video, though. Another year of non-qualification beckons.
19 - Cyprus ('Fuego' by Eleni Foureira)
And so we come to the end of semi-final 1, with Cyprus closing the show. I initially would’ve preferred for Switzerland to close, but on reflection, I think this is a suitable song to do this. It’s upbeat and cheery, and whilst it’s not my favourite song in this semi, it’s definitely not my least-favourite, either. The last song in a semi usually goes through, and I expect that Cyprus will do the same.