Eurovision Song Contest 2009

[the_ditz]

Not sure how many of you follow the annual Eurovision Song Contest, but I thought I'd open up this thread to discuss the entries for the 2009 contest.

So far, 33 of 43 competing countries have selected their entries, and there are some very catchy tracks indeed. Check out some of my favourites so far below:

AZERBAIJAN: AySel ft. Arash - Always
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIuEc84t8xc
- Eastern melodies and European dance beats blend together with a vocal melody that will lodge itself firmly in your brain!

FINLAND: Waldo's People - Lose Control
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybbNQnSPseA
- Classic Eurodance. DJ Bobo and E-Type will surely sue!!

TURKEY: Hadise - Dum Tek Tek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFTRocjsfek
- Like a summer smash hit you would hear on your holiday to Marmaris, this track has more cliches than I can count. But it also has a pretty lady!

MONTENEGRO: Andrea Demirovic - Just Get Out Of My Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu0kGfldVvk
- Really catchy tune. You can really see the crowd lapping this one up!! [/sarcasm]

ANDORRA: Susanne Georgi - La Teva Decisio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfsHeLgJscg
- Really cute and bouncy retro pop track. Sounds like the Spanish group La oreja de van gogh. Oh, and this chick used to be one half of Me & My!

SPAIN: Soraya - La Noche Es Para Mi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wez-2n_6Zvk
- Absolutely blew the competition away in the Spanish pre-selection. This is the firm fan favourite at the moment.

And some possible entrants from the almighty Sweden (by far my favourite country when it comes to Eurovision...)

Alcazar - Stay The Night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahDobzgvuvs
- if this song doesn't win the Swedish national final, there's something far wrong! It's disco-tastic!!

Mans Zelmerlow - Hope & Glory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lvAgHnbiDk
- he has the female fan vote I'm thinking, but he had a better song in 2007 and never won the Eurovision place...

Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEvrknzJLc4
- a complete change of pace, but this is an amazing ballad and the European audience would lap it up!

So does anyone else watch Eurovision, or am I all alone??

[UFOPOLI]

So does anyone else watch Eurovision, or am I all alone??

Well of course It's a much more traditional passion that eurobeat (been a fan since I was five). Those two have actually been competing for my number one spot for the last two years, even though they're two totally different worlds.

Some very good picks you have there!

SPAIN: Soraya - La Noche Es Para Mi
- Absolutely blew the competition away in the Spanish pre-selection.

Well, if you consider the final voting ended up in a tie, I wouldn't call it "blowing away", but certainly, she's impressive. Melody would probably have stood out better, though. The Spanish preselection had loads of wonderful songs. My favorites were Arkaitz, Izan and Isi.

And some possible entrants from the almighty Sweden (by far my favourite country when it comes to Eurovision...)

Oh yes. Sweden has the best music in the world, along with Italy and Korea.

Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving On
- a complete change of pace, but this is an amazing ballad and the European audience would lap it up!

Like totally. This is the song Chiara should've had. Simply the best ESC candidate in the whole Europe this year Guess who's going to Stockholm this Saturday to cheer for Sarah? It's an amazing final and I wouldn't mind Malena, Alcazar, Måns or H.E.A.T. winning, either.

[the_ditz]

Great to have someone else as fanatical about the contest as me!

The only two people I hope don't win Melodifestivalen this Saturday are Malena and Caroline af Ugglas. Malena's song is an ugly miss-match of weak dance pop (with bad vocals) and then a very cliched and over-dramatic operatic chorus. The song just doesn't seem to work for me. As for Caroline af Uglies - well don't even start me on her! She's a complete waste of a final place, and I'm convinced she's high on something!

My top tracks for the final are definitely:

1) Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving On (I really hope her throat gets better before Saturday!)

2) Alcazar - Stay The Night (has been my favourite all the way through until Sarah appeared! Still, I can't get this song out of my head!)

3) Mans Zelmerlow - Hope & Glory (a very catchy tune and he puts on a very good show - there are a lot of people that seem to hate him though...)

4) Sofia - Alla (a very "eurovision" song, and this would be sure to gain some votes from Greece & Cyprus)

5) H.E.A.T. - 1000 Miles (Is it wrong to like 80's power rock so bad? haha)

I'm soooo jealous that you are going to see the show. I'll be watching the webcast online and cheering for Sarah or Alcazar. Sadly, judging from the hype in the Swedish press and media, I think Malena may run away with it. Unless she doesn't get the jury support she needs....

I love Melodifestivalen - it's like a mini-Eurovision Song Contest!

[UFOPOLI]

My top tracks for the final are definitely:

Your list is almost identical with mine There's only one major difference. The scores on the same Finnish school grade scale Bore uses in his reviews and the ordinals signify positions among all 32 MF entries this year.

• 1. Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving on 10
  2. Alcazar - Stay the night 10
  3. Måns Zelmerlöw - Hope & glory 10
  4. H.E.A.T. - 1000 miles 10-
  6. Malena Ernman - La voix 10-
  8. Sofia – Alla 9½
  10. Agnes - Love Love Love 9+
  12. Emilia - You're my world 9
  20. E.M.D. - Baby Goodbye 8-
  25. Molly Sandén - Så vill stjärnorna 7-
  31. Caroline af Ugglas - Snälla, snälla 6-

4) Sofia - Alla (a very "eurovision" song, and this would be sure to gain some votes from Greece & Cyprus)

It would. However, there's little hope of Sofia getting any points from the public, judging by the fact that she only placed 7th in her own semi.

Sadly, judging from the hype in the Swedish press and media, I think Malena may run away with it. Unless she doesn't get the jury support she needs....

I think it's very likely the juries like her. They tend to go for the "classy" acts.

I love Melodifestivalen - it's like a mini-Eurovision Song Contest!

In some respects, it's even better. I've said many times that in a typical year, half of the international final entries could be replaced by MF candidates to improve the overall quality

[Bore]

I've been a huge fan of eurovision eversince I was like 6-years-old. Secured holidays for the days when the competition itself takes place. I'm actually quite pleased with our entry this year around, I generally don't try to give any sort of early insight on other entries though. Enjoy hearing the live thing fully and then decide my favorites.

[the_ditz]

Oh definitely - there have been so many MF tracks over the years that would have raised the quality of the Eurovision finals significantly. It's a shame that the country cannot have multiple entries!

Malena looks pretty certain to win the contest, but I can't help but feel that they would be voting more for the "classy" performance rather than for any really catchy tune. Stay The Night and Moving On have the full package - amazingly catchy tunes, fantastic performances and charismatic performers.

What other MF songs did you enjoy that you wish had progressed? I really liked Never Been Hear Before by Jennifer Brown and also The Queen by Velvet (she always seems to be unappreciated in these contests!)

[UFOPOLI]

I'm actually quite pleased with our entry this year around

Me too. I think it was the best wholeness we had to choose from, even though as compositions, I liked Kirkas kipinä and Surrender better.

I generally don't try to give any sort of early insight on other entries though. Enjoy hearing the live thing fully and then decide my favorites.

That's one way to do it, but once you've started following the preselections around Europe, there's no way back Okay well, I've never watched everything but all interesting countries definitely.

What other MF songs did you enjoy that you wish had progressed? I really liked Never Been Here Before by Jennifer Brown and also The Queen by Velvet (she always seems to be unappreciated in these contests!)

Those two, yes, plus Tick Tock and It's My Life. However, I have this philosophy according to which it doesn't really matter which songs get to the final as long as the best one is there because if the rest of the field is crap, the best one has better chances of winning, and that's what counts in the end.


Going back to the original subject, I'm yet to list the rest of my favorites in the international final, in addition to your original list.

GREECE: Sakis Rouvas - This Is Our Night
My number one this year. This powerful electro-dance number is like the male version of Shady Lady. A potential winner, too, considering the amount of friends Greece has. The only drawback is that this will eat a portion of the Finnish points.

ICELAND: Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir - Is it true?
Easily the best ballad of the year (though hopefully to be topped by Sarah Dawn Finer ). Confidently performed by a beautiful Nordic lady.

BULGARIA: Krassimir Avramov - Illusion
Soaring operatic dance with a high-pitched male voice - something I have a definite thing for

SLOVENIA: Quartissimo - Love Symphony
Something even more different from the composer with the most different countries in his ESC history, Andrej Babić: a predominantly instrumental piece with a string quartet and a mysteriously appearing woman.

HUNGARY: Ádok Zoltán - Dance With Me
Irresistible contemporary dance with an equally irresistible performer, who can not only sing but dance, too.

[Bore]

Avoided clicking on all of the links you've posted so far... but Sakis... Remember his previous performance from some years back, was something so solid and hot that I just had to listen to that clip as well spoiled me, but damn he sounds great again and the song works too!

Thumbs up from me at least :p~

[#Infinity]

I just saw all of the videos posted by the_ditz, and I've got to say I'm really impressed by the originality and solid delivery of the performances. I really liked Azerbaijan, Finland, and Spain's entries especially.

[the_ditz]

Johanna for Iceland is a very sweet song, but I don't really know if she will make as big of an impression as what the amazing Sarah Dawn Finer would make.

I definitely think this year is shaping up to be a really good one. Last year, it was really all about Iceland and Euroband for me, but there are honestly about 5 or 6 songs that I can honestly say I would happily cheer for in the final so far.

I can't wait to see the Melodifestivalen final this Saturday. For anyone interested in watching it, you can click here - http://svt.se/melodifestivalen - and watch it live on the web (although some people have complained about this webcast freezing over the weeks, I've been able to watch all 5 rounds without a hitch). The show should start at 20:00CET, which is 19:00GMT (or 14:00 NYC time and 11:00 Pacific Coast time). It's sure to be a fantastic show and I'll be cheering for Sarah, Alcazar & Mans!!

[aXu]

Eurovision is bit too GAY for me, too much glitter and glamour . But anyways some of the songs are good, but usually they sound pretty much the same every year.

Thou i'm glad that Finland decided to send Waldo to Eurovision, decent song but not the best one. Alcazar's song has winner written on it.

[the_ditz]

Eurovision is bit too GAY for me, too much glitter and glamour . But anyways some of the songs are good, but usually they sound pretty much the same every year.

Thou i'm glad that Finland decided to send Waldo to Eurovision, decent song but not the best one. Alcazar's song has winner written on it.

To be honest, that's an opinion I have to put up with all the time anytime someone finds out that I love Eurovision. As far as I'm concerned, it's a fun piece of escapism that celebrates the different musical styles of the many diverse European countries.

I've just read an article that said the readers of Aftonbladet (one of the popular newspapers in Sweden) have stated that the awful Snalla Snalla by the weird Caroline af Uglyass is their favourite to win the final. I can only hope that this isn't indicative of the population as a whole...if anyone lives in Sweden, please vote multiple times for Alcazar and Sarah!

[the_ditz]

Well, the Melodifestivalen results are just in and my favourites finished 5th (Alcazar) and 6th (Sarah Dawn Finer).

The mega-hyped dance-pop opera of Malena Ernman has won and will represent Sweden. Oh well, at least she saved us from the awful Caroline af Ugglas!

[Bore]

After the results for melodifestivalen were revealed I took a listen to some of the names I recognized early on. Gotta say the Alcazar song sounds amazing, I can't remember hearing gay disco as good as this.. probably ever. Totally my thing all the way, looped it for a few hours already The rest wasn't exactly too pleasing though.

[Mikaeru]

Pirates were ROBBED last year. How ironic.

/liked Vodka, too.

Hope there's more of that this year.