.........................................
23. Estonia:
Liked this a lot on the first hearing and I think
it's the most instant of all the ballads. And
performing last will do very well. However, after
several listens it's getting boring. Evelin needs
to work on her English as it is at times very
unclear, but the lyrics are kind of nonsense
anyway, so maybe it's just as well you can't
understand! Had to look up "reveries"
in my dictionary.
22. Bosnia: Didn't like the original (or
not!!) song, and haven't heard the new one. The
rap/singing combination and the use of French
give me high hopes.
21. Germany: Shouldn't like this, but I
do. Leaves me feeling happy!! However, the
preview video is a cheat as they've dubbed the
recorded sound over the live performance. Naughty
naughty.
20. Malta: Shock! Horror! Scandal! Aaargh!
You can understand what the Maltese are singing!!
Gasp! Really, we've come to expect much worse.
This song is growing on me fast, but the live
performance stinks. And change that stupid title
back to how it should be.
19. Israel: Totally pathetic video, but at
least they have tried to make one, which is
something. This song just irritates me but I'm
not sure why.
18. Austria: This is great. It's been
compared to all sorts, of which a Vanessa
Paradis-Alisha's Attic hybrid is probably the
closest. Maybe with a touch of Cathy Dennis.
Let's hope Bobbie can do the business live. More
of this please in years to come.
17. Ireland: This is dreary beyond belief,
but will apparently be revamped. It needs
something radical to give it any chance of
success. By the way, in these days of free
language, and me being ready to criticise dodgy
English given the slightest opportunity, I have
to say that I couldn't quite understand all of
this one!!
16. Portugal: Well I liked this on first
listening. It had me tapping my foot and thinking
"this is a jolly pleasant little
ditty". May well get more votes than people
are expecting, although in the long term it is a
bit dull. And doesn't the intro sound like a
rocked up Ella no es ella?
15. Sweden: F*****g j*vla k*k-låt. To
coin a phrase. As it were. Now, don't get me
wrong, I still WANT to hate this song. And I do
hate the fact that I now like this song and can't
stop humming it. For this I apologise sincerely
and last night I ate my words of February 28 for
dinner. Yum yum. Really, I kind of knew all along
that I'd end up liking it. My biggest grudge was
that there were much better songs in the Swedish
final, not that the song is bad per se.
But I hope for the sake of Eurovision in the 21st
century that this doesn't win. In fact I hope it
does extremely badly so that Swedes think again
when choosing their song next year. Enough
said.
14. Cyprus: Now, could someone tell me
what all the fuss is about. This is just so
unmemorable. On one listening it's impossible to
work out what's verse and what's chorus and what
kind of song it's trying to be at all. Having now
discovered the chorus, I think the first couple
of lines of it sound like Nothing On This
Earth from ASFE91. They came 11th last year
so will of course finish 9th this year. Am I the
only one who realises this?
13. Iceland: Ah! This is great. Was my
fave from the start and still is just about. May
lose something live, but a few dancers in wacky
costumes should do the trick. Actually reminds me
a lot of Sonia. Here's hoping Selma is gonna put
a spell on Europe's televoters.
12. Poland: Zzzzzzzzzzzz. And what's the
video about? Looks like a combined advert for
Hovis and All Bran!
11. Netherlands: I like this a lot, but it
did take a few listens before I 'got' it. Might
just be a wee bit anonymous on one hearing. This
also reminds me of something, but I haven't put
my finger on it yet.
10. France: I like this for two reasons.
Firstly, whenever I hear it I laugh a lot, and
laughter is good for one's health. Secondly,
there's hope for me yet. Anyway, this is a good
song with nice lyrics. If she manages to at least
hold the tune I can easily see this in the top
10.
9. Denmark: This is a "nice"
song. I like the English lyrics, and want this
song to do well so that we see the Danes in
Reykjavík next year. But I'm not sure it has the
oomph to get the televoters' attention. Looks
will help, and if Trine has her like in the MGP
it will help people remember :o) One thing does
irritate me though. It would be better as a
proper duet - give Trine a few more lines. As it
is she does seem a bit out of place. If anyone is
interested, I preferred To Hjerter (which
came last!) in the Danish final.
8. Norway: Well, I'm still upset that
Mette Hartmann didn't get to Jerusalem, as I
think hers was the only really good song in MGP.
Whatever, this was next best and is very catchy.
Being the first man (he's 18 by the way) on stage
will also help.
7. Turkey: The chorus is great, but the
verses are on the dull side. It's growing on me
though.
6. Slovenia: It must be very uncomfortable
to have a tram bell in both your palms and your
arms. For a long period of time anyway. Thought I
liked it to start with, but find it boring now,
and Darja must do something with her
English.
5. UK: Worringly, for the second year in
succession I find the UK song among my
favourites. However, the remix is a total
disaster and should be promptly discarded. I'm
curious which three words he whispered lying next
to her. "How was it?" or maybe
"Got a light?".
4. Croatia: This is pretty good, but the
verse is too difficult for the casual viewer and
the chorus isn't difficult enough. After three
ballads will probably do well, especially if
Doris emotes to the full.
3. Spain: Spanish is possibly my favourite
language and so I do tend to like Hispanic
offerings. This one is of a particularly good
vintage with very nice lyrics. But a bad draw
means it will need a whopper of a performance to
do that well.
2. Belgium: Ah yes. The House of The
Rising Wind. Thought it was a bit dull to start
with, but is really growing on me now. More than
a bit reminiscent of One More Time. But
Nessa must work on the old English. I believe she
is having lessons. Maybe her teacher has some
time over for Darja and Evelin.
1. Lithuania: Ugh! This is not my cup of
cocoa. But it is gradually getting better. The
first five seconds had me expecting Sti Fotia!
I have a feeling feisty Aiste will perform
shoeless in something long and flowing.
Roger Fly
1. Lithuania
- An interesting start to the competition. This
is quite different, perhaps a little too
different to score well but should get points.
(70)
2. Belgium - My favourite song. I like the
lyrics and the arrangement. I am worried that it
might get lost in the middle of three slow songs.
(90)
3. Spain - Not bad. A bit slow but a
catchy chorus. Again after two slow songs I would
think it might just get lost in the memory. (45)
4. Croatia - Well this will wake the
audience up after three slow songs. I like this a
lot. Perhaps a touch repetitive but what a strong
voice. (80)
5. UK - Bouncy and upbeat. I believe it
has been slightly altered (hopefully for the
better). I think it lacks something but can't
decide what. (55)
6. Slovenia - Reminds me of Cro98 in some
ways. Good build on this song and is better in
English but I think too slow to score very well.
(45)
7. Turkey - The Dinle inspiration
is there but this is good and catchy. Maybe a bit
too ethnic to be really up there but should score
some points. (60)
8. Norway - Sometimes you just don't like
a song. I can't put my finger on anything but
this leaves me cold. It should score well though.
(50)
9. Denmark - I tried hard to like this but
I can't. His voice is nice but hers is a bit
sharp. The song itself is unmemorable. This could
sink badly. (40)
10. France - Oh dear! It starts alright
but goes downhill and the end is awful. Her voice
is extremely harsh at times. Once more France
near the bottom. (25)
11. Netherlands - This is a good song. It
reminds me of some other female singer, but a
nice voice. This should score well and be up near
the top. (65)
12. Poland - A good voice but the song
lacks something. There's nothing to get hold of
and keep you interested. I think this will be
near the end. (40)
13. Iceland - Good upbeat song. A bit
old-fashioned but this will score well I reckon.
It's over 3 minutes at the moment and will have
to be cut. (65)
14. Cyprus - I'm warming to this song. A
good voice and in the version on Euroactive she
holds the high notes well. Hard to say how this
will do. (60)
15. Sweden - Very old-fashioned but great
fun. As it's the third of three fast songs in a
row it might lose a bit but it could really do
the business (60)
16. Portugal - Another of the few males in
this contest. This is not bad but I think it's a
bit weak and coming where it does may just
disappear (45)
17. Ireland - Hard to be truly objective
about your own country's entry. I didn't like it
but it's growing on me. After four fast song it
may stand out as a change of pace. The voices are
unusual but I think this is middle standard (60).
18. Austria - I like this one. I believe
the end of the song has been strengthened to
remove some of the repetition (which is good).
Deserves to do well. (75)
19. Israel - A decidedly average song.
They all sing well but the song lacks punch. I
think it's just too weak to stand out. (55)
20. Malta - The sample isn't great so I'll
reserve final judgement. However the interim
decision is harsh. This is quite poor and I
dislike it. (35)
21. Germany - I believe the live
performance left something to be desired but if
it improves then this could be a strong
contender. (65) *Interesting that both times the
contest has been in Jerusalem, the city's name
has been in a the title of a song. Well I found
it interesting.*
22. Bosnia-Herzegovina - (Starac i
more) A cross between Tur98 and FYR98 for me.
Too slow and unmemorable to do well. Nice voice
though. (35)
23. Estonia - A gem (excuse the pun). I
really want this to do well. Being last will help
and if her voice is this good on the night it
should score well. (75)
Jim Walsh
1. Lithuania:
In terms of points from televoters this is a
complete no-hoper, but for sheer entertainment
value it's a brilliant opening song, and in many
ways Eurovision needs stuff like this if it is to
keep up its eccentric reputation! This really
reminds me of French and Saunders' infamous
"Bjork talks to a fax machine" sketch.
4/10
2. Belgium: This is pretty overrated in my
opinion. It's a pleasant enough song but nothing
special, and having the "draw from
hell" won't help its chances either.
4/10
3. Spain: This is undeniably one of the
classier ballads in this year's contest, which
could score reasonably well with a strong
performance. However, Lydia will have a tough job
making viewers remember this entry 20 songs later
when it comes to the voting. 7/10
4. Croatia: Maybe I'm not as hard-core a
fan as I ought to be, but after the gorgeous Neka
mi ne svane, this is a real disappointment in
my opinion. Really just makes me want to turn the
volume down. 3/10
5. UK: Alberta will bring the house down
with her cheeky smile, quirky little ditty and
sheer enthusiasm. OH NO, I forgot, the evil
Precious Fan Club have put a stop to any hopes of
that happening, haven't they? Okay, so instead
we'll have "Girlz Unlimited" doing some
really innovative sideways choreography whilst
one of them does a reasonably pleasant job of
singing a bland little ditty. Actually, I must
admit I haven't heard the updated version of Say
It Again yet, so maybe I'm being unduly
harsh, but so far this is probably the dullest UK
entry since Emma. 4/10
6. Slovenia: Now here is an example of how
the quality of a soundfile can influence one's
decision. When I heard the original RA files of
this I dismissed it as a complete no-hoper, and
despite several further attempts at listening to
it, I couldn't find anything to like about it at
all. Then this morning I downloaded Alan's new RA
of the English version, and suddenly it's become
the most gorgeous ballad in this year's contest
by a long stretch. This could suffer the same
fate as last year's Slovakian entry, which if I
remember had the same draw, but with a good
performance this should hopefully go Top 5. 9/10
7. Turkey: This is quite good in a Dinle
sort-of-way, but won't score anywhere near as
well this year. Still, at least it's better than
the German entry, if only because it's at least
authentic. 4/10
8. Norway: This is trying to be very
"now", but it really doesn't do
anything for me. Is it just me or does this
remind anyone else of Milli Vanilli? 2/10
9. Denmark: This is very pretty, but a tad
dull and so inoffensive that it may get
completely lost and forgotten amidst the other 22
songs. I haven't heard the English version yet,
but reading the lyrics on the IBA website I
wouldn't be surprised if the lyricist had grown
up in Malta. 5/10
10. France: I actually really like this
song - at least up until that point after the
second chorus when the singer decides to kill it
by screaming her head off. Shame. Still, if they
tell her to keep it down a bit on the night, this
could work quite well. 7/10
11. Netherlands: This is very
Vonda-that-woman-from-Ally-McBeal-Shepherd-meets-Shania-Twain,
which means that while it's by no means cutting
edge, it's certainly a lot more up-to-date that
the previously much-hyped Positivity,
which was more like
The-Village-People-meets-The-Kids-from-Fame. It's
a good, simple but catchy tune with a
contemporary guitar-led arrangement and as such
will appeal to a wide range of voters from all
ages. Definitely has to be one of the favourites
to win. 9/10
12. Poland: Nice but bland, and not a
patch on last year's To Takie Proste.
4/10
13. Iceland: I like this a lot. Granted,
it's cheesy, but it's a very catchy and pretty
little tune, that works well with the chosen
dance-style arrangement but would sound equally
good if presented in a completely different
manner (what I'm trying to say is that - unlike
Malta and Israel - it's not just a mediocre ditty
that's been livened up by a disco beat, but a
good tune in its own right). I think the lyrics
are quite fun too, and according to eye-witnesses
Selma can sing live, so I think this one will be
battling it out with the Netherlands for the
Grand Prix. 9.5/10
14. Cyprus: I do like this, but don't
expect this to be the winner - and I'm not going
to say any more than that as I really don't wish
to get drawn into the debate that's been raging
on here for the past two weeks. 7/10
15. Sweden: I don't think this should be
underestimated. When I first heard the real audio
file I couldn't believe that the country that has
given us Roxette, Ace of Base, The Cardigans and
Emilia should come up with something so utterly
naff, but scarily enough the song has grown on me
since then (even though I think they should have
stuck with singing it in Swedish, as Charlotte's
English pronunciation is pretty dodgy, and the
lyrics would have been much better if we hadn't
been able to understand them!). Old-fashioned it
certainly is, but it is equally catchy and
memorable, and whilst we all consider it
frightfully dated, a lot of casual Eurovision
viewers will think that it's just what a
Eurovision song should sound like. And of course,
there will be the ABBA jubilee effect, as 23
national commentators will simultaneously remind
their audiences during the Swedish postcard that
it is exactly 25 years since ABBA won in Brighton
and can they do it again etc etc... 6/10
16. Portugal: I like this and it's nice to
hear a few more guitars in the Eurovision, but I
guess it really isn't distinctive enough to get
the points Portugal needs to avoid relegation.
Pity, in my opinion the country is still owed a
few dozen points that should have gone to Antes
do Adeus in 1997. 7/10
17. Ireland: Knowing Ireland they will do
something to improve this, and really the basic
tune is not that bad. But with the current
arrangement, it does unfortunately sound like a
complete, wrist-slashing dirge. 2/10
18. Austria: In the past, Austria has
either tried to go "cool" but missed
the mark by about a mile (e.g. One Step, Die
ganze Welt dreht sich verkehrt) or simply
settled for unspeakably naff (e.g. Fur den
Frieden der Welt). This year, however, they
have entered one of the most credible pop songs
the Eurovision has ever seen. This was one of the
first songs available on the Internet, and I
liked it instantly, and 20-odd songs later, it's
still my favourite without any doubt. I don't
expect it will get anywhere near enough televotes
to win, which is a shame, because it could
certainly have been an airplay hit in the UK
(interesting to note actually, that in the
Euroactive chart this has currently got 12 points
from the UK jury, and hardly any from anyone
else). Anyway, it's fresh, it's cool, and it'll
get my televote. 10/10
19. Israel: Mediocre and mildly
irritating. 1/10
20. Malta: This sounds somewhat unfinished
to me, which is a shame, because it would have
had the potential to be a decent song, if only a
little more thought and effort had gone into it.
The verse is pretty good, but the chorus is
really predictable and the song as a whole
doesn't go anywhere. Still, as the self-styled
international peace anthem, this will probably
pick up its fair share of votes in these troubled
times. 5/10
21. Germany: Well I'm sorry but if this is
Turkish delight, it's certainly not the
delicately scented stuff that comes in a thousand
different flavours and colours from one of those
tempting shops in Turkey, but more like the
mass-produced, sickly sweet stuff coated in milk
chocolate that you buy in Woolworth! Like with
the Maltese entry, someone suggested that this
could become some sort of international peace
anthem, but in my opinion the use of three
different languages can't disguise the fact that
the lyrics are just the usual, banal Bernd
Meinunger crap. Naff and embarrassing at best,
manipulative and calculating at worst. If this
should win (and I really don't think so), it
would be another nail in the coffin of
Eurovision. OK, so maybe I'm having a complete
sense-of-humour failure here, but I just wish
that for once Germany would enter a decent song
without any gimmicks. 3/10
22. Bosnia: (Starac i more) I don't
think this is quite as bad as a lot of people
have said. Granted, it's very old-fashioned, but
at least it sounds deliberately so, unlike some
other songs which sound like they're desperately
trying to be modern, but end up sounding
old-fashioned anyway (does this make sense?). It
is, of course, extremely unlikely to set the
scoreboards alight, so I guess at this rate we'll
only see Bosnia in the contest every other year.
3/10
23. Estonia: God this is boring! Rather
like Aava last year, this almost makes me
wish they changed the 3-minute-rule to a
1-minute-rule. I sincerely hope that this year's
interval act will be noisy, because otherwise
viewers may well miss the voting, having been
sent to sleep by this truly tedious entry. 1/10
Thorsten
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