Monday 26 May 2008

WYM Eurovision final review

So...now my computer's back and fixed (£94 later,I nearly cried) and I have lots of time to do whatever I want,I can finally write about last weeks goings on in Belgrade.

I was pleasantly surprised by the final actually.After watching Thursday's semi especially,there seemed to be a lot of mediocre songs going through.Maybe I was just bitter about Ruslan and Paolo not getting through.Well,I was.I can't believe Ruslan came 3rd from last in the semi,with only 27 points- I just don't get what he did wrong.I wasn't quite so surprised about Paolo actually,it wasn't his greatest performance- for whatever reason,his vocals weren't quite up to scratch.Other surprises (for me anyway) from Thursday's semi were of course Sweden being saved by the jury,and Albania and Denmark getting through- 2 of the most boring songs in history.Tuesday went pretty much to plan- I would have really liked to see Montenegro and San Marino go through,but I think even they probably knew that was never going to happen.

Saturday then...It was only when Euroband came on that I finally realised who I was supporting.My dad had put some never-disclosed amount of money on the Ukraine for me,and I do really like Shady Lady still,but it had to be Iceland for me.Euroband have always struck me as just having fun and not taking it all too seriously,and This Is My Life is such an anthem- this year's Tornerò perhaps.So it was a bit disappointing when they finished 14th.It was quite sad to see Andy finish last as well- I think Even If is the best song we've sent for years,and he performed it really well,so he deserved more than 14 points.Same for Poland really- For Life is the best Polish song I've ever heard,and Isis Gee has an amazing voice.I thought she would have done better.Of course,Germany finished joint last too,but come on- Disappear was hardly Work Your Magic quality was it?

It was really good to see Maria do so well for Norway- a good,simple performance that was about nothing but the song.Like everyone else,I thought out of all the Scandinavian countries,Charlotte would have finished highest,but maybe Europe's just getting a bit bored of the same old schlager every year...Just an idea.I was also really happy that Azerbaijan finished in the top 10.Yes it was a very over the top performance etc etc,but it worked so well.Apparantly there's been a bit of Eurovision fever in Azerbaijan- I hope they'll send good stuff every year and not go down the boring ethnic route that they could so easily do.Speaking of the boring ethnic route,my Eurovision taste seems to be changing a bit.Any other year and I would have absolutely hated Serbia and Israel's entries,but they were actually 2 of my favourites this year.Oro was lovely,dramatic but wonderful- Željko did a good job there.

To my (almost) horror,I really liked Turkey as well.Me,liking rock?In Eurovision? *Shudder*. Actually,I never normally like Turkey's songs full stop but it was really refreshing to see something different from them.I've heard some of Mor Ve Ötesi's other stuff too,and they're pretty good.

Anyway,I feel bad now for slagging Dima off over the past few months.Right up until he came on,I was still very anti-Believe,but in the end,even the naff Michael Jackson style note in the middle and the awfully cheesy "and we believe in you" at the end couldn't put me off.The performance was really good,although like the rest of Europe,I still couldn't see the point of Evgeniy.Still,looking forward to Moscow/St Petersburg/Vladivostock/wherever 2009.

Oh,and by the way,here's the Russian version of Believe (Vsyo v tvoih rukah- It's all in your hands).

8 comments:

Jake said...

Hi Rachel, Euroband were really slick with a great song. Their album is really good too.

Schlager Queen said...

i agree Rachel Euroband would have been fantastic winners and didnt deserve 14th they looked great on stage

Raquelita said...

Well I don't get why they weren't amongst the favourites to start with really- at all the betting odds I looked at,they were right down the bottom at 100/1 or something.Madness.I must find their album from somewhere though :)

Anonymous said...

hi umm i am the girl with the episods of chelsi .... the episodes when i open them they dont work

Laura (EuropeCrazy) said...

No offence to Dima, but I still think Euroband were robbed, big time. I'm not going to moan about political/neighbour voting etc, there are enough people doing that this week, but when some tripe songs do so well you just wonder if there's any point in carrying on with the whole circus. Still, one person's tripe is another's musical excellence, and each to their own I suppose :)

I see the Swedish media's in mourning this week! Quite ironic that there's a Swede in charge of ESC yet even he can't bend the rules to get them a decent placing. There's only one solution left - send Måns. Or Marie. Or for that matter, Måns and Marie together!!

Raquelita said...

Yes,that should so happen!Måns and Marie doing a lovely cheesy schlager duet :) Or maybe they should do a big ethnic ballad,that would probably go down better.

See I quite liked the top 10 this year (with the big exception of Greece- I don't get why songs like that do so well year after year),but it was very disappointing to see Iceland do so badly,and to see Paolo and Ruslan stuck in the semis.

As for Dima,I don't think it was necessarily anything to do with political voting as such,more just to do with the fact that he's Dima Bilan.If it had been anyone else singing that song,I don't think Russia would have won.

Raquelita said...

As for the FZ episodes on the Chelsi site- I think when you open them,a little box should appear over Windows Media Player asking you to download a plug-in of some sort if I remember rightly.If not,I'm not really sure what to suggest :/

Anonymous said...

0k thanks do u know any others sites that have fabrika 6 episodes