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[LMBTO] Eurovision Week 8 & a bit - HaKokhav HaBa is my 2018 Depi...

October 31, 2017, 4:06 pm
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Will Krista ever be absent from Eurovision again?  Not that I'm complaining - aside from the divine Helena Paparizou, "Mrs Grönroos" has become my favourite ESC artist/personality, however you want to title her.  Following on from her recent marriage, she will be heading up a press conference with the guy above, Mikko Silvennoinen, on November 7th at 12 noon CET that will reveal the competitors at UMK (that must mean that she won't be one of them) and the overall format.  After the Finns chose the sublime 'Blackbird' to go to Kyiv, I am really looking forward to the 2018 edition and what musical diversity will be fed us.  Finland definitely chose the right song for Ukraine - it's just that most of Europe didn't realise it:



So good it made it into my Eurovision takeover - it'll never be forgotten!

That is something to come in a week or so's time - what else caught my eye in week 8 (and a bit)?


Depi Evratesil is back (sort of)...
I tried to find out whether Armenia were going to use Depi Evratesil at the end of May, without response!  It seemed to me, as time passed, that we weren't going to have any sort of national final in that nation this year but a couple of days ago AMPTV, the Armenian broadcaster, announced that they WOULD be using what was a very entertaining show:


Of course this time last year we were already at the audition process stage - this year the application stage for Depi will not end until 15th December and it has been confirmed that the live shows will be in February 2018.  There is a noticeable change to it all this year too:

Each artist will be singing an original song penned for Eurovision

Last year Depi Evratesil really was an X Factor wannabe, with everyone singing covers all the way to the end - this year, it has become a bulk standard National Final process, with four live shows.  Who could we get applying?  You either have to have Armenian citizenship or be of Armenian heritage - could we see someone from previous years back on the Armenian stage?  From last year I'd love to see beaten finalist Marta and Hasmik Shiroyan, who in my opinion was eliminated far too soon in the process, whilst there is one lady from the supergroup Genealogy that I'd love to see again:
Tamar Kaprelian being involved too much to hope for?


Romania expands Selecția Națională...
Surely five SFs and a Final must be able to filter out another yodelling rap song, so that my ears are not tormented and I do not have to score a Eurovision entry as low as 1.5/10 in 2018?  The Romanian selection process, which to be fair has always picked entries that reach the Final at Eurovision and always produces distinctive songs, is expanding in 2018 to coincide with the 'Centenary Of The Great Union' of this nation.  Each SF and the Final will be in a separate city - is this the start of the Romanian delegation setting up their own version of Melodifestivalen?  I hope beyond hope that if we ever see Ilinca again, it will not be with her yodelling, but I suspect that it is unlikely she or Alex will be up for the challenge again this year - one singer who is primed for the gig already and has requested songwriters to send him material for the NF is...go on, have a guess:



IF he can get a song like "Tornero" then I'm all for him going all the way but I really wonder if Athens 2006 was his zenith - he did say at EuroStarz however that he will keep going until he gets to Eurovision again, so I suppose it was inevitable that he'd be looking for songs for 2018...


Could FYR Macedonia be reprising Romania 2016?
Might this be one of the last images of a FYR Macedonian artist we will see for a while at Eurovision?  Hopefully not but out of the blue a few days ago (27th October), there were reports that the Macedonian broadcaster MRT had debts of at least 500k euros, perhaps even as much as 21.8m euros.  It seemed as though the EBU were one of the creditors as it was announced by the organisation's Senior Communications Officer, Claire Rainford, that the broadcaster would "not have access to [EBU] services until [MRT] pay off their debt", this including Eurovision 2018.

It looks as though the EBU would not think twice about preventing another nation from entering Eurovision due to financial problems, much in the same way as they did controversially with Romania in 2016.  

It could be said that at least a statement made now might push FYR Macedonia to pay up immediately to keep their place in Lisbon clear or conversely allow them to pull out without incurring a fee or any extra costs relating to finding an artist and paying their way in 2018.  We shall know for certain what this nation intends to do in the next month or so...


Germany revamp their process
After yet another bottom two finish in Kyiv (unfortunately Levina having her worst vocals on Final night didn't help), Germany are sort of revamping their selection process with an international jury, an international panel and the German public all being involved.  Sounds really complicated but we only have the barest of details at this stage.  What might be a novel concept is the international panel which will feature 100 people, chosen from ten thousand people on social networks...
Who are these internet users?  
Music lovers?  
Eurovision fans?  
No connection to Germany or the Contest whatsoever?  

We will have to wait and see - I suppose it could even be me, it is that vague!  This panel sounds a bit like the OGAE UK one that will be sifting through the UK's public submissions, in Germany's case whittling down whatever number of submissions they have to 20, then to the five national finalists along with the international jury.  No applications are allowed for the panel - if you get on it, you will be one of the chosen ones!  Apparently this will all be 'a radical new beginning', according to ARD Entertainment Coordinator Thomas Schreiber.  Applications for entering continue this week and finish on Monday 6th November.  One thing appears to be a constant however - the hostess with those big blue eyes, Barbara Schöneberger, is likely to be holding the reins yet again...


More from the Danish-UK Eurovision Camp...



Now my reason for focussing on this was not to listen to a lot of Danes chat about their work or the camp itself (although it did provide confirmation that Greta was there and that this studio was involved with the Salena Mastroianni UK NF entry last year) but to focus on the fact that Hugh Goldsmith was interviewed here.  Now what he said is very interesting, especially about involving producers and songwriters who 'get Eurovision' and praising the UK delegation's efforts in Kyiv, but what really caught my attention was this:

What he looked like!

For some reason, I was expecting some sort of Alfred Hitchcock clone, a big guy in a suit smoking a huge cigar!  Not an unassuming figure in a checked shirt with glasses, someone who I'd possibly meet at a jazz club or a small club venue watching a new up and coming band with twenty others in the crowd.  Thinking about it again, I am now more impressed by this guy's passion for the Contest and his vision for how the UK will get better, especially after seeing him speak in this video...


And the new OGAE Logo winner was...
Well done to Facebook friend and OGAE UK member Andrew Dineley for designing the new OGAE International logo.  "Retro/Modern" was its name and this fresh look and colour combination won 46% of the vote and was the clear winner!  This will gradually be incorporated into all things OGAE - the most obvious place we fans will see it is on our membership card and on the materials used around and about Eurovision itself.  Hopefully some signs of this new logo will be in Lisbon...


A new Eurovision year, a new Hurts article...
They definitely look cool, far cooler than Engelbert ever could!  An interview with i newspaper revealed that they still want to do Eurovision, despite being prevented from performing their own song in 2012 (which might have been a blessing in disguise in hindsight, given the landslide win Loreen had) and that they are huge in many countries across Europe.  Maybe one day the BBC will go back to the internal selection method of finding our act - if so, why not chose a duo who are popular across Europe, have a solid fan base and who are current music-wise?  A bit like how we won Eurovision in the 1960s and 1970s - too easy?  I can't imagine Hurts would want to compete in a NF but then again...


Israel are this year's Armenia!
Hooray!  We DO have a selection process to watch this autumn - Israel will be providing the entertainment this time via "Hakokhav Haba" ('Rising Star'), their reality music show that was used to find the last three Israeli artists for Eurovision.  It seems as though this year will be no different and shows 1 & 2 of twenty has already been shown - those of you unfamiliar with the format should know that the singer starts their performance behind a screen, this only being lifted if they reach an approval rating from the audience and judges of 70%.  We are at only the early audition stages and the hosts have five 'get out of jail free' votes to save acts that don't make the magical score, so expect as long a ride as Depi Evratesil (hopefully not as long as the Lithuanian population have to endure)...

Best so far for me?  In amongst the beatboxing and the OTT use of voice sampling that would have made even JOWST's head explode, the first audition piece that we saw that only just scraped into the next round impressed me the most:



Adva Omer is this soloist's name and for me, she gave the most passionate performance of the two episodes (the song is translated as "I Wanted To Talk To You") and potentially has untapped vocal and staging talent in there too.  There were a couple of singers who were experienced pros and they obviously came across more confident and polished - Adva can really sing and I think could be one of those 'undiscovered gems'.  Singing in Hebrew is always a plus in my book and it doesn't hurt that she is easy on the eye too:
I'm not sure why I hadn't followed this process in previous years but I definitely will this season!


And we get to hear "Love" in full...



Yes, we were all tempted by a 20 second snippet of ever-hopeful Sasha Bognibov's latest offering and now we get to hear the full version!  He still has this composing style that can only be described as 'depressing' but compared to most of his previous entries, "Love" ain't half bad!  It hasn't even flagged up on Eurovision Apocalypse yet, which might suggest that this is his best bet yet for making it to the live stages of the Moldovan selection process.

Will it be 18th time lucky for Sasha?
That's even more than Sanna and Claudia...


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[LMBTO] Artist Two and Three for Eurovision 2018 - Saara and AISEL...

November 8, 2017, 1:21 pm
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If you are going to have promo pictures done, it looks as though Ruslan Nabiyev knows what he is doing!  The very visually pleasing Aysel Mammadova became artist number three for Lisbon 2018 today (Wednesday 8th November), representing Azerbaijan - 24 hours after Finland had totally wrong footed everyone, including sections of the UK tabloid press, by presenting their artist too, crushing the hopes of about 300 other singers who had provided Eurovision submissions for the NF that has traditionally been UMK.  A whirlwind of a couple of days for announcements, given that Belgium's Laura Groeseneken has been the one and only visitor to Lisbon for 41 days now!  Two more female soloists, two vastly different levels of Eurovision visibility - what are their stories?


Finland - Saara Aalto
Didn't YLE throw us all a curveball on Tuesday (7th November)?  There were all the Eurovision fans thinking that the very exuberant Krista Siegfrids in her luminous pink outfit and her co-host Mikko Silvennoinen were up for telling them during the press conference about how UMK 2018 would be staged this year - perhaps how many acts would be playing, how many submissions there had been, how the voting would be organised, all the mundane normal stuff.  What we actually got was a total surprise, in Finnish and English:


There was The Sun newspaper, claiming to know that Saara Aalto was being lined up to sing at Eurovision but for the UK - I suppose that they got at least part of the story right!  Whether the reporter got the wrong end of the stick or Saara used a little white lie to deflect from what was the REAL STORY may never really be known but when Krista started talking about UMK effectively being an artist internal selection and a NF for the song being sung, and then Saara's name was shouted out by her and Mikko, the Eurovision world went into meltdown.  Saara Aalto will be Finland's representative in Lisbon and their first ever internal selection - no more chances for those 300 other submissions, at least not for this nation (perhaps San Marino and other NF processes might suddenly see more Finnish songwriters spring up).  It seems as though Saara was chosen for her international exposure:

"We believe that a lucrative and international career was created by Saara as our trump card" 
- UMK producer Anssi Autio.

From looking through the Q&A section of the UMK18 site, it also appears that the standard of submission as far as artists were concerned was not at the level that YLE wanted.  That cemented the decision to discuss Finland's Eurovision selection process with Saara.

Fourth time lucky for Ms Aalto then - missing out on the online wild card round win in 2010, finishing second to Paradise Oscar in 2011 and then of course finishing runner-up to Sandja in 2016 with what many now consider to be her 'anthem':



At least there is no way for Saara to finish second this time, at least not in UMK 2018!  She IS Finland's representative in Lisbon - what the Finnish public will get to vote on at UMK 2018 on March 3rd next year is which of three songs she will be singing.
A Song For Saara, if you will!

Composed specifically for her, we could be looking at any genre for the songs although the songwriters employed will have plenty of material to look at from her yet again runner-up spots on The Voice Finland and the X Factor UK.  She has already joked with eurovision.tv that:

“I know that this journey is going to be fantastic regardless of the results of the actual competition. 
I’m of course jumping right in with the attitude that I can win the Eurovision Song Contest 
– or at least finish in second place! That’s something I’ve been great at, no doubt about it”

Saara has also committed herself for every song that is presented to her to have "every detail thoroughly thought out and delivered to the maximum".  Seeing that UMK 2017 had ten performances to show, Saara and her team should be able to stage each song superbly well in the same time - perhaps her attitude of trying to win Eurovision is well founded.  She can definitely put on a disco performance:



Will being runner-up on X Factor in the UK lead to some good points from Western Europe?  It has been a while since that 2016 series and memories are sometimes short when it comes to pop music - here's hoping that at least one of those three songs suit her perfectly and that leads to Finland's primary goal in 2018, that being a place in Saturday's Final.  If that or better happens, I suspect that Saara and Finland will be pleased - finishing in her traditional runners-up spot would send her ecstatic,,,


Azerbaijan - AISEL



2017 saw Azeri experimental electro pop and amazing theatrics, 2018 a straight jazz performance on a piano?  Not being an aficionado of Azerbaijani music, I had no idea before today that this lady existed (despite her apparently being a veteran of international jazz festivals) but now, after watching and listening to her back catalogue, I have to say that after hovering around Final mid-table for the last few years, this nation could make the jump back into the top ten.  The above show demonstrates her jazz leanings and improvisation for that genre - how many years is it since we saw a piano on stage in the hands of someone who could actually play it?

A post shared by Acid Piano 🎹💫 (@aisel.live) on


Okay, I know that there are restrictions on live instrument play at the Contest but this lady is a skilled musician, growing up with parents in the business too and playing this style throughout her life.  There is also the strong possibility that she might compose her own entry, despite her nation's love for all things Swedish as far as song writing goes over the last few years - do Swedes do jazz though?

The clip above does not show off Aysel Mammadova's vocal talents that well but this video does, perhaps shot in the knowledge that this might have been an audition for singing for Azerbaijan at Eurovision:



Sublime and it all seemed so easy, so fluid and flawless.  It doesn't appear as though she'll have any issues with singing live or with performing on stage - the main question will be what song she will be singing.  Will it be jazz?  It is hard to tell, as AISEL does also sing low key lounge gigs in her homeland and some of her instrumental work on YouTube and Soundcloud could best be described as progressive and experimental:



Will we be seeing a swathe of ballads and low tempo musical genres in Portugal after Salvador's triumph in Kyiv?  Could Azerbaijan be viewed as trying to mimic the mood with their selection of AISEL?  I have to say that I for one am not complaining - I appreciate superb vocals of any style and to have them coming from someone who is so self assured with their performing skills is always a plus.  I am looking forward to seeing more of this lady and the song that is eventually selected for her to sing.  Azerbaijan have always qualified for the Final at Eurovision - I will nail my colours to the mast and say that Lisbon will be no different for this nation!

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So we now have three artists selected for Lisbon - all female soloists, all from different geographical and cultural areas, all with superb live voices and who appear to be happy, confident and charismatic on stage.

Laura, Saara and AISEL...
it is already looking as though 2018 will be a superb Eurovision year!

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[LMBTO] Artist Number 4, our first Returnee - Waylon at Eurovision 2018...

November 11, 2017, 9:28 am
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Blue Steel?  Ferrari?  Le Tigre?  Magnum?  

None of them - this guy is far more savvy and intelligent than Derek Zoolander and possesses more charisma but he looks as good with a smouldering pose for his promo pictures.  Now why would we be interested in one half of The Common Linnets, more than three years after giving The Netherlands their best placing at Eurovision for decades?  On Thursday morning (9th November), Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS gave us a teaser video on Twitter unlike no other:



I love anything like this with comedy in it as long as it is subtle, thoughtful and relatable - this was all three!  Who hasn't woken up after the 'mother of all parties', perhaps as the person with the clearest head left in the house, apart from maybe any animals bounding about, looking at the mess and totally ignoring it to have whatever food is there and watching the tv.  The teaser part was also extremely well worked and to most Eurovision fans, all the clues were there - the rock star lifestyle, the distinctive tattoos, links with The Voice Holland, guitars and of course, THAT HAT!  Nice touch with the 'message' from Dolly P too...the only thing to freak me out slightly?  Black toilet paper - really?  I didn't even know that was a thing!

As the day wore on, it was obvious to all that the confirmation of Waylon being The Netherlands' representative had to come sooner rather than later and so it came to pass - eurovision.tv revealed the news in a fairly brief video, seeing that there really wasn't much to add:



So Waylon - Willem Bijkerk to his family - is going to Lisbon.  Those with memories that go back to Copenhagen will remember that his idol is C&W singer Waylon Jennings, hence his stage name.  The first Dutchman to be signed by Motown, he had a solid career in The Netherlands before linking up with Ilse DeLange to provide us with possibly THE staging of Eurovision 2014:



That look and style was only part of the package that secured the runner-up spot for Waylon and Ilse in Copenhagen - a big part of it was their superb vocals and their interaction with each other as the steadicam circled them throughout the song, supplying us viewers with an incredibly close and intimate performance.  Now most artists would be happy with second place at Eurovision, dine out on that for the rest of their lives and perhaps go to a few Eurovision gigs each year to top up the adulation of the fandom - contrary to that, Waylon supplied a quote in an Nu.nl article that sort of stunned me, probably more so than any comment in a Eurovision article had done so before...

For the singer, the Songfestival feels like the Olympic Games for an athlete.
 "You also do not stop if you have won gold, silver or bronze once, and within my branch of sport this is the only stage I can represent the Netherlands."

"Representing your country remains something beautiful," continues Waylon. 
"We are a beautiful country, so I'm just gonna be shining next year with a smile that just relaxes after May 12. Now get started to make the winning song!"

Maybe I have missed similar sentiments from other ESC competitors but I have never heard a singer who has 'competed' at the Contest compare it so closely to the Olympics, that it is the only place on a worldwide scale that a musician can come first, second or third and effectively get a gold, silver or bronze.  What he also is highlighting is that an athlete doesn't just compete once, get a medal and then give up - they would return to try again and get a better result.  It looks as though Waylon is confident, happy and looking for a win, not just to be there and quietly participate!



Waylon's YouTube contributions include a lot of covers, the one above being especially poignant given the recent passing of Tom Petty.  It does show however that this is yet another artist that we will see in Lisbon who can sing live, who is not afraid to produce new adaptations and variations of past material and who, from the evidence below, can compose his own material.  I would not be surprised to find out that his entry in 2018 will be self-penned - will that be Country & Western or maybe even a bit of soul and funk, as some of his latest material off his album "Seeds" demonstrates?



He might have to overcome some expectations by certain members of Eurovision fandom who will be looking forward to "Calm After The Storm 2" and being disappointed if that doesn't happen.  What he does have in abundance, looking at his stage and television performances, is stage presence and chutzpah - drawing the eye and keeping the viewer focussed on him for three minutes is as important as the right song.  Knowing no Dutch whatsoever, I have no idea what he was saying during the interview below last night (10th November) but the passion and assuredness that he exudes would suggest that this is a man who will give entertainment on and off stage next May:



I have already seen some comments in Eurovision Facebook groups about this confidence and passion being viewed as 'cockiness' and 'arrogance' - I have to say that if I was a Dutch Eurovision fan, I would prefer to have an artist showing those traits, especially if my goal was to see The Netherlands secure another podium finish in Lisbon.  It is certain that interviewing this guy will be an interesting experience in the run up to Eurovision 2018 - I can imagine that trotting out the same safe questions will not be the way to go!

In summary, The Netherlands have an artist going to Lisbon that is definitely high profile and potentially a media dream - all they need now is a song that is as top notch for him to sing, whether that be self-penned or not.

If that happens, Waylon could be winning a 'gold medal' at his second 'Olympics'...


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[LMBTO] Eurovision 2018 Weeks 9 & 10 - Everything Is On Time!

November 13, 2017, 3:02 pm
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Not only was Krista Siegfrids participating in a press conference where she wasn't the main attraction on Tuesday 7th November but the EBU and RTP were also proclaiming to the world (and more importantly Eurovision fans) how well things were going with the 63rd edition of Eurovision.  One slogan, one main logo, twelve other ones and 42 or maybe 43 countries were the announcements from the Oceanário de Lisboa (aptly enough, when the logos were revealed) in what has been a very busy week and a half since my last summary post.  The twelve minor logos (the 'douze points') are helpfully provided in a lovely gif, with my favourite one as the lead picture: 
As for the official logo, I thought that it would be boring to put that first like every other Eurovision website has done but it has to be shown for completeness.  I give you, the logo with the shell:
Nothing snazzy, nothing too busy, a plain pastel blue for the background and a smart pictorially accurate picture of a nautilus shell.  All the other logos are of anemones, underwater plants and animals such as the jellyfish that I prefer (or should that be a Portuguese Man Of War?) and they all link to the sea, something that our hosts in 2018 are surrounded by on two sides and that has been so important to their history - sounds a bit like the United Kingdom in that respect and our nations have been friends for centuries.  Of course there was the mandatory video for the reveal:



The slogan...now that is an interesting one.  A diversion from recent years of trying to be all inclusive in an obvious way, perhaps even a 'PC' way, "All Aboard!" does still do that but being a call connected to transportation for centuries means that it is a recognisable message for everyone, of any persuasion and any nation.  Admittedly the Portuguese use this with ships whereas most Brits will have heard the cry on the rail network and several songs came to mind, most them for some reason penned by The KLF (Tammy Wynette sings it during "Justified And Ancient" and there is the 'Last Train To Trancentral').  It does flow off the tongue easily but I am not sure if will be that exclusive as far as social media hashtags are concerned...
This is the site for Eurovillage between 4th and 13th May, 3-11pm.  Praça do Comércio overlooks the Tagus river, as the Altice Arena does, and will undoubtedly be a lot busier than this over those ten days!  A beautiful backdrop too - one thing us Eurovision fans are destined to have when we return home from Lisbon is amazing pictures and videos of the city itself.  Having a central point for the Eurovillage is standard - what isn't is the colour of the carpet for the Opening Ceremony next year...
It'll be BLUE, not red!

Keeping with the aquatic theme, there will be a Blue Carpet event at the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture & Technology) in Belém on May 6th, the day I arrive in Lisbon.  Now I should be available from midday onwards but it'll be tight!  Looks like a 20 minute taxi ride from my hotel...

What is with the 42 or 43 countries?  There is still uncertainty about FYR Macedonia - have they paid their debts off?  Was it in time to allow them to participate in Lisbon?  Have they decided to save some money and sit 2018 out anyway?  The EBU and MRT are still in discussions so we may have a record equalling attendance next year or 'just' 42.  Watch this space - and talking of 'Space'...


No English 'Space' for Montenegro...
The only good thing about the past two Montenegrin entries has not been their being sung in English, it was having this lady, Marija Lazić, up front to distract the viewers from the nondescript soft rock that was "The Real Thing" sung by Highway in 2016.  Of course the less said about this nation's entry in 2017 the better, although if Slavko's entry was up for consideration in 2018, it might have to be called "Космос".  Why is that?  Probably in the hope that a decent 'Balkan Ballad' might come to light, preferably from Knez or Sergej Ćetković, all Montevizija 2018 entries must be in the 'official language in Montenegro'.  This is Montenegrin but Serbian is spoken by 63% of the population - one thing is certain, their Lisbon entry won't be in English.  Hooray I say and I think it will give them a better chance of Final qualification too - as will sending an artist who can sing live...


Depi Evratesil have someone who can definitely sing live...


I suppose that an early Christmas present is always fun to have!  Two posts ago when I flagged up that Depi Evratesil was back, I listed three artists that I hoped would be returning - Marta, Hasmik Shiroyan and the third being accompanied by this wish:
Dreams do come true!

The gorgeous and hugely talented Tamar is back!  Please let her have a great original song to sing - I really want to see this lady on a Eurovision stage again, this time alone and not held back by four others on stage (Inga Arshakyan was the only singer better than Tamar, in my opinion).  If only Armenia had sent this pared back version in 2015:



As I said in a previous article, I am convinced that sending this acoustic solo version of "Face The Shadow" would have been better than the six competing voices we had in Vienna but that wasn't the point of the entry...


Estonia also has a couple of returnees...
I'm not talking about the big tupperware container that was used to place all the record 258 submissions into, I mean the two ex-Eurovision artists back again for another go.  After that huge number of entries were examined by 15 music experts from at home and abroad (including Getter Jaani), twenty songs were selected by them and the Eesti Laul editorial team.  So who do we have?

Stig Rästa is back, two years after singing with Elina Born and a year after penning "In Or Out" for her, this time with a solo entry "Home".  Also back is Gerli Padar, a veteran from Estonia's 2007 entry "Partners In Crime", this time dueting with Eliis Pärna with a song called "Sky".  The only artist to return from last year is Karl Kristjan, this time without Whogaux and Maian but collaborating with Karl Killing and Wateva.  One of the Eesti Laul hosts from the 2017 SFs is now one of the 2018 semi finalists - Elina Netšajeva will be singing this year, rather than presenting!

To date there are only four tracks out of the twenty to listen to on the internet, all of them being released by 20th December - two in English, two in Estonian, hopefully hinting at the possibility of more native language entries this year.  Here's what they all look like - one of those acts will be going to Lisbon:



Being Greek gives you four times better odds of winning than Eesti Laul...
According to INFE Greece and most of the Greek media, these are the five acts destined for Ellinikos Telikos 2018, the Greek NF.  Areti Ketime, the lady out in front above, I have already flagged up in a previous article - all the runners and riders are:
Areti Ketime - Min Xechnas Ton Ilio
Duo Fina - Idio Tempo
Gianna Terzi - T'Oneiro Mou
Tony Vlachos - Baila Jazz
Xorostalites - Apo tin Thraki os tin Kriti

According to ERT, these are the candidates as long as they, or rather their record companies, can pay their way to and in Lisbon.  If that is confirmed, we will be seeing them at the Greek NF next year...


Out of 16 Latvian entries I liked, ten got to the next stage...
We are down to the last thirty in the Latvian selection process - 33 songs have been lost, possibly most of the submissions that the online community didn't like when we all had a go at being judges.  Of all the public votes cast, 72% were 'Nepatik' or DISLIKE - that could be viewed as a huge knock back for Latvian music in general until you realise that in any of these 'open to all' submission processes, there is always a lot of entries that have no chance of getting to the NF, let alone Eurovision!  Look at my likes and dislikes - I only gave a positive opinion on 16 out of 63 of them (25%)!  According to the jury, at the 63 song stage, there was one clear favourite song, which bodes well for the televised stage at least.  Live auditions for the thirty were held last weekend in a Riga Shopping Centre in front of a jury and interested shoppers, the plan being that about 18 of those would be selected for the live shows.  My ten that are still in the process?  Here's a playlist:



My thoughts on the audio haven't changed but we now know what some of the artists look like.  One of the 'standouts', partly due to having a song that really should be in the Spanish NF and partly due to how she looks, is Maija Stuge, who sung "Soledad":
A very nice picture there from the LTV Supernova FB page!  Definitely one to watch - this track will really give the NF a lift, assuming it is one of those selected and we'll only find that out in January...


Talking about the next stage, "Hakokhav Haba" gets to episode 3 and 4...
Out of the twelve qualifiers in these two episodes for the next stage in Israel, this lady was the star turn for me.  Ricky Ben-Ari absolutely blew me, the four judges and most of the studio audience away with her superb rendition of "Natural Woman" - a huge voice and yet so controlled, so enthralling, together with good stage presence and the ability to look right down the camera:


I am sure it is moments like this that makes a reality show judge's heart jump for joy and feel that all the hours of watching mediocrity was worthwhile, just so an artist like this can stand out like a real diamond.  And the real shocker about this lady?  Not a public singer at all, just sings in the office and at home!  I watch programs like X Factor and The Voice and you are sure that any decent singer out there must have already been found - then someone as talented as Ricky comes along.  Hopefully she's going to be in this process for a long while to come...


San Marino starts its reveal - but I'm not going to short change them...
San Marino have started the posting of the world's submissions to their selection process 1in360 and I could just brush it aside and flag up a view of my favourite tracks here but I have decided that this microstate deserves a lot more attention than that and so they will be getting a post all of their own, probably at the end of November when all the entries are in.  That could be a lot - Rtv estimate that there are about 600 already on 13th November...


Through Two Rounds and yet not a German...
Who else had a go at this?  When I heard about the EuroPanel to assist with the German selection process, the way I read it was that you got chosen, rather than had the chance to apply for the role.  I was then surprised to see the above linked to by several Eurovision websites about nine days ago - albeit to a page of German.  God bless Google Translate on Chrome and its amazing autotranslate!  It was all quite simple really - answer a few questions, watch six 30 second clips from Eurovision 2014 and 2016, give them a rating based on the overall package, the singer, the song itself and the staging in their individual bits and rank them in order of your preference.  At the end, I got this message:
To be honest, I was more interested in possibly winning an iPad, as I had read that the response to this was huge - 15000+ huge!  It was an interesting exercise - Sanna got my vote out of the six in 2014 and Sergey in 2016.  No idea how anything I had selected or picked was going to help Germany or me - I didn't expect to hear anything else...until November 8th via an email sent by simon-kucher.com :
As you can probably tell, the original was in German - for an international panel selection, keeping to that language was a little strange but as my browser was translating so well, I decided to go for the next stage.  Two more years of videos to watch and grade in the same way as before - 2015 and 2017, for reference Polina and Sunstroke Project were my top choices of those available for me.  There was a difference at the end though - what was my level of interest?
 Of course I was going to say yes!
And that is where I am at with the German selection of the European Panel.  Although there is a 'fly in the ointment' - no longer is this open for anyone in the world, it would appear that a salient point might have been missed from the initial form that would explain why everything was being issued in German.  At the NDR Roadshows that are currently touring Germany, with ARD Entertainment Director Thomas Schreiber and new Head of Delegation Christoph Pellander hosting them, it has been flagged up that the Europa-Panel Jury would consist of 100 people but:

Those 100 people would be 100 GERMANS!

Ah...never mind!

Apparently the German public and fans are representative of the rest of Europe and as the professional jury of 20-25 members are an international group, I can see their point with keeping it 'in house', so to speak.  Ho hum, I was liking the idea of being on a foreign panel - I am certain that when they saw what travelling expenses would be incurred getting me from Bristol in the UK to a city in Germany, they would work it out that I am not actually living in that nation and Auto Translate wouldn't help me in one to one dialogue!  It was an interesting exercise however...

Maybe I'll find my way onto the OGAE UK public submission jury
as a way of making up for that disappointment!

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[LMBTO] Eurovision: You Decide - 1974 and 2018 collide for the UK...

November 16, 2017, 2:53 pm
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Here we are - mid November and we already know when and where the next installment of the UK's improving fortunes at Eurovision will start for 2018!  The Brighton Dome is already linked to the Contest due to this:
And obviously this:



Which led to this:
It will now be linked to the UK process in another way - the venue for Eurovision: You Decide (EYD) 2018.  It was officially announced today (16th November) by BBC Eurovision that the UK will decide its representative for Lisbon at:

The Brighton Dome on 7th February 2018 on BBC2

Now that was probably a massive surprise for most Eurovision fans but there was a couple of rumours flying around for at least a week and I was surprised that none of the major Eurovision news websites seemed to follow up on this titbit of news.  This tweet had it almost spot on:

I then had a tip off that this was almost certainly correct about 48 hours beforehand from a fan in Brighton who had local contacts - at least it allowed me to put in for the annual leave I had been saving up for the National Final!

So what is the Brighton Dome like?  The place where, in 83 days time, six acts will be all vying for Lisbon.  For a start, it isn't this place:
Even though with a name like 'The...Dome' you'd think it was more apt!  The Royal Pavilion (above) is linked to The Dome by an underground tunnel - The Dome looks like this at the rear:
And this at the front:
It looks like this inside when all seated:
But for us Eurovision fans there's a standing area and as long as your legs hold up, you'll be down here:
It doesn't hold anywhere near as many people (1400-1800) as at the Eventim Apollo (3655-5300) but last year there was loads of room standing and apparently quite a bit of room upstairs.  Capacity wise it is more on a par with the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, used for the 2016 show (2300) - maybe this was a factor in the choice of venue.  Wednesday night is also a strange choice, it being a 'school night' and therefore restricting how many fans can attend the gig live.  There are a few reasons why a Wednesday night might have been chosen:
If EYD 2018 was shown this coming Wednesday, you can see that it wouldn't be up against much else on the Beeb's schedule - no soaps, no sport, no big comedies.  A quiet night where viewers who aren't into the European football that will probably be around on ITV can watch something else - it even sneaks in before the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics that 'opens' the day after.   I was sort of hoping that the UK NF might have been 'promoted' to BBC1 this year but tiny steps...

Another major reason for the midweek slot might be to avoid the other NFs that will be happening in February but on Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays.  This is not an issue for UK non-fans but it is for the Eurovision fandom and press, especially as BBC Eurovision have really upped the ante from 2016 and 2017 with who is hosting, or at least co-hosting:


Hooray, it is not just Mel this year!  It looks as though the powers that be want to show Eurovision-land that the UK is serious by at least having a seasoned Eurovision and MF presenter and winner alongside Ms Giedroyc - he just has to make sure he is not wearing leather this time:

The rumour earlier in the season that Måns wanted to be more involved with the UK process seems to have been true, although most fans thought it would be him composing a song.  Good to hear that the show's script will be written by another Swede, the one and only Edward af Sillén, the guy most responsible for the tour de force that was Stockholm 2016 - at least the presenting of the show has gone heavyweight...
As for the NF itself, it appears to be much the same as 2017 - six acts, a panel of 'experts' giving a critique (please some Eurovision links this year but not Bruno again!) and then the winner is announced at the end of the show after a televote/professional jury combined score.  As for those six acts, they will be revealed in January - will we get as good a performer and vocalist as the lady who won EYD 2017 at the Eventim Apollo?



There is one thing certain - I will be at The Brighton Dome on February 7th 2018 at 7.30pm to watch the start of the UK's road to (hopefully) glory in Lisbon...
Will You Be There Too?

If you haven't already bought a ticket at 10.15pm on 16th November however, approximately ten hours after they first went on sale, you are unfortunately too late to be there live:
They have all sold out!  Maybe there will be some returns - otherwise there is still the television or online.  A superb response by UK Eurovision fans after being given the chance to be at our third NF since its return in 2016...

Here's hoping that EYD 2018 at Brighton is a cracker of a show!


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[LMBTO] Eurovision 2018 week 11 and 12 - Another UK Milestone Ticked...

November 26, 2017, 12:28 pm
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The venue of yet another Eurovision event that I can tick off my list - the Spying Room in The Morpeth Arms, Westminster, so called because you can look across the River Thames in London and see the MI6 Building.  What on earth could have been going on here last weekend (18th November)?  Are British Intelligence Services interested in the ESC?  Or was it the venue for...
The OGAE UK AGM 2017?

That's the one - I have been a member of the UK branch of OGAE since March 2014 and have attended numerous Euro Bashes but never an AGM, so I thought that it was about time that I changed that.  Another of my mad '24 hours in London' trips ensued and I got to find out a fair deal about the inner workings of the club in the UK, along with meeting a lot of other members for the first, second, third or more times!
There was also the matter of the ticket ballot for Lisbon to be decided but before launching into that, I think that a summary of the plusses and minuses are in order:

Plusses:
  • A lovely venue, as can be seen above, although sitting under the picture to the right in the corner wasn't the best idea when it came to seeing what was going on during the AGM itself;
  • An extremely informative and readable AGM report all round - I've been a member of various organisations in the past where an AGM is part of the process, have seen varying standards of materials to refer to and the OGAE UK meet was definitely one of the better ones:
  • I realised that I already knew a lot of what was going on within the group already, what with the club's website and Facebook page/group but it was good to hear all of it from the people at the top and to realise what hard work that the Committee members put into it all.
  • There are now 1700 members - an amazing number but that does lead to issues when a lot of them want tickets.
  • The buffet was absolutely delicious, although you had to be quick to get your share!

Minuses:
  • Something that was briefly mentioned but I 'must have missed the memo' was that the 2018 OGAE UK panelists for sifting through the public submission phase had already been chosen.  When did that happen?  I know that there were only going to be 40-50 people selected but having a notice on the website or an email might have been nice!  So yet again...I am not on the OGAE panel!  I suppose it does mean that I can talk about any entry that might be flagged up with no risk of losing my membership...
  • Ellen and I missed out on the OGAE fan packages - the ballot was electronically generated this year and it was our first participation in it.  This process was part of the reason for turning up on the night but unfortunately due to the huge interest this year in going to a new nation that also happens to be a warm and sunny country, geared up for tourists, demand was always going to outstrip supply.  At the moment, 160-ish fans are basking in the glory of having a fan package all sewn up - Ellen and I?  331 and 332!  If we had been in those positions in Stockholm, we would have got one each but such is the popularity of Eurovision this year, it is obvious that we will miss out.  Looks like we'll be sitting on the internet on November 30th and later dates...

Having said all that, this was a fascinating insight into the club and it did flag up how much work, effort and time is spent by the Officers on the committee - all my spare time is spent watching the Eurovision year unfold and blogging about it, I'm not sure whether I'd be able to throw myself into the administration as much as these guys do.  All in all, it was a very worthwhile trip and experience - I would thoroughly recommend all members attending at least once...


I missed out on yet another judging panel...

I got an email in German on 23rd November that confirmed what I already knew - I was NOT going to be part of the 100 strong Europa-Panel for the German selection process for Eurovision this year.  It was a very nice email but I suspect that the organisation sorting it out probably realised that I didn't have a German email address or any links with Germany and so let me down gently.  I wouldn't have been able to get to Hamburg, Munich, Bonn or Cologne to watch the 211 short videos of the candidates this coming week anyway!  Never mind - maybe next year, they will have an International Panel...


But great news on the Party front...
As long as you don't mind it being on another 'school night', much in the same way as 'Eurovision: You Decide' is.

The date - Thursday 5th April 2018
Venue - Café de Paris, Leicester Square

As the tenth Eurovision In Concert is on Saturday 14th April in Amsterdam, perhaps more daylight was deemed to be necessary between the two events or perhaps having this on a weeknight is cheaper/easier to organise/get to?  Whatever the reason, the London Eurovision Party will be another major draw for artists and fans alike and I intend to be there yet again this year, hopefully as fan and press.  I'll have to keep an eye out for those all important tickets and make it three years in a row...


If you get a Eurovision ticket, there WILL be 43 to see...


The EBU and MRT have sorted all the finances out now and FYR Macedonia will be in Lisbon.  The 'shot across the bows' was enough for both sides to get an agreement in place and we now have a third ESC with 43 nations participating.  Those 43 nations will know which SF they will be singing/voting in when the Allocation Draw takes place on January 29th 2018, together with the traditional insignia exchange between 'old host and new':
He'll be there, as will those!  Vitaliy Klychko, as Mayor of Kyiv, will be passing on the 'giant keyring' to the Mayor of Lisbon Fernando Medina - let's hope the recipient has pockets as big.  As for the first wave of tickets, having missed out on an OGAE fan package (see above), I'll be looking out for Final tickets on November 30th at 11am CET, as will 99% of Eurovision fans.  Wish me luck...


Only three for Greece now?
Like the fancy crosses?  All my own work!  Both Tony Vlach (guy in glasses) and Duo Fina (the bearded duo) have been removed from the Greek NF process because although they were artistically good enough, ERT felt they had to discount the entries due to a lack of a Greek soundtrack.  So we are left with two female soloists and a six piece act - those fans closest to the process feel that Areti Ketme is now the one to beat, due to her previous high profile singing gigs.  I've flagged her up in a previous post - it is only fair that Gianna and Chorostalites get a boost too...



Now bear in mind that this is nine years ago but it is a live performance - Gianna definitely has the ethnic way of singing down to a tee and sounds great live.  She looks good too but EPT are after the Greek experience above everything else - will "To oneiro mou" win the day?  I am pretty confident that her record label Panik will be able to finance her as they are Demy's label too.  Onto Chorostalites:



You couldn't ask for a more authentic Greek sound and look, bar having dancers moving around them but if they were the Greek choice there would be no room for anyone else on stage in Lisbon!  If you like this sort of 'native vocals' from Southern Europe, this is probably right up your street - will "Apo ti Thraki os tin Kriti" be much the same?  We'll have to wait and see - mid January is the provisional NF date and it is supposedly going to be an intimate affair in an ERT studio, with just representatives of the Greek Eurovision fan clubs present.  December 5th is when it all gets revealed, maybe...


FiK is coming, Fik is coming...



The sub heading words fit that tune quite nicely, don't you think?  And it is a Christmas tradition that Albania pick their Eurovision artist (definitely) and song (sort of) at that 'most wonderful time of the year' - we know the 22 artists who will be performing at Fik 56 and by Saturday 23rd December, our first complete entry for Lisbon will be known (unless another nation selecting internally gatecrashes the gig).  Are there any stand-outs this year, based solely on those performing?  As FiK has become an integral part of my Eurovision year, the 52nd edition being the second ever NF that I reviewed on this blog, I am now becoming familiar with some of the names on the list:
I remember Bojken Lako coming second to Elhaida Dani at FiK 53...
I remember Xhesika Polo last year as being my third favourite for singing and my stand-out for the Albanian version of the Barbara Dex award...


And Rezarta, who was my favourite singer in FiK55 and is rapidly becoming Albania's 'Sanna/Claudia' as far as NF perseverance is concerned - will it be her turn in December?  There are others returning, including LYNX and NA - it seems that we'll have to wait until the live shows (first SF is on 21st December) before we will get to hear what they are all offering.  This FiK will be my fifth - I'm looking forward to 'Sanremo Lite' already...


Cyprus starts their auditions - no joy for Nelena though...


So these are the guys that are going to determine who will be in the Cypriot NF in 2018 - Charia Savras (Kyiv choreographer - nice job, sir), Alex P (Cypriot song composer) and some guy from Sweden...

The process only started three days ago (23rd November) and there is a long way to go before the NF in January.  There are believed to be 4-5 acts performing for the right to go to Lisbon - unfortunately one of them won't be London-based and former Cypriot national finalist Nelena Paparisva.  Five weeks ago I spoke to her about participating again for Cyprus - when I saw that the jury above was deliberating who to select, I contacted her again:
A real shame, especially as she has a great voice - perhaps the one option for her left this year is San Marino.  Compared to a lot of the acts on the public submission route, she'd stand a real chance of making it to the live shows, in my opinion:



It'll be interesting to see who does make to the Cypriot Final - will there be any familiar faces?  Time will tell...


Israel reaches week 5...
Could this be the face of a new Eurovision star?  Eden Newman Hyatt was the wow act of week five of HaKokhav HaBa with her rendition of "I'm Stuck":



A great voice, very watchable with oodles of stage charisma, a singer who could even get the toughest judge Assaf Amdursky to give her 10% and take her up to the highest score of the series so far (94%).  I assume that the other 6% of the audience were in the toilet or had forgotten to switch their hearing aids on - that was a superb watch and if she can perform like that all the time with that enthusiasm and volume, Israel might have found their artist for Lisbon.

There was another artist that I found highly entertaining from the same show, although I suspect he will not make it that far and that this might have been his '15 minutes of fame':


An excellent cover of "American Idiot", Tal Mizrahi fed off the hysteria of the audience and gave a great show - can he repeat that in the next round?  Will we see 'Basket Case'?  Who knows - it will be entertaining whatever happens...


And Finally...Could Ireland Go Punk?
😏😮😲😀😂😆

No, stop laughing, this really was a story that smashed onto Eurovision social media a few days ago - the emojis express quite convincingly what I thought of the news!  Someone, somewhere, had heard that John Lydon, lead singer of The Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd, might be up for Eurovision by representing Ireland - Paul McLoone, a DJ on Irish radio station Today FM, decided to ask him whether any of this could possibly be true.  Have a listen to the interview here at 3:15 and 8:02 - yes, he doesn't deny the rumour but then again John Lydon never, ever commits to anything in interviews and stretches the truth almost as much as the great actor Michael Gambon ever did when it pleased him.  To be honest, if John Lydon (probably in the guise of Public Image Limited) did appear at Eurovision, it would be a breath of fresh (?) air and be on a par with Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz's appearance on the Stockholm stage, rather than that of PKN on the Vienna one.  He's still got it, judging by PiL's 2013 Glastonbury performance:


Having said all that, it's never going to happen - it would just be a throwback to the memories of us 50 year olds whose first musical experiences included the new wave that was 1970s Punk, something to reminisce over, something that would never see the light of day on the Lisbon stage...could it?

Imagine John Lydon at Eurovision, in Lisbon...
You thought that the mainstream press weren't that bothered with the Contest?
Think again if he is there!

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[LMBTO] San Marino & Eurovision 2018 - 1000 entries need their own post!

December 3, 2017, 12:21 pm
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2014, Copenhagen.  San Marino's highpoint as far as the Eurovision Song Contest is concerned - 24th in the Final, 14 points.  Their low point?  Kyiv 2017 - bottom of their SF with only one televote point to show for an internal selection between Valentina Monetta and Jimmie Wilson.  Someone obviously felt that things had to change, to move away from this microstate being Ralph Siegel's 'plaything', and so we have ended up with 1 in 360, San Marino's 2018 selection process.  Now my initial thoughts six weeks ago have been set in stone and I was intrigued to see how many submissions there would be...
1000 submissions!  Well done San Marino - admittedly if you look at the 1 in 360 website, there were 549 songs to watch, listen to and rate with a like, these being the 'free' ones.  There were some entries that had been placed on the site without the performer's permission and removed - Margaret from Poland being one, for obvious reasons if you follow Melodifestivalen!  As for the others - if you have watched all of them or, like me, watched enough of them to know whether or not you were going to give them a positive mark then well done, you have audio stamina and the perseverance of a god!  What it has meant is that I now feel reasonably qualified to flag up which entries out of those 549 deserve the opportunity to be in those San Marinese live shows in 2018.

Remember how those all important ten slots will be picked?

Seven acts selected out of the 549 plus any paid ones, 
which may account for the missing 451 or more that would give the 1000
 that Rtv, the San Marinese broadcaster, claim to have...

One Wildcard selected by various European Fan Clubs 
across social media and the OGAE network...

One Wildcard selected by fans 'liking' the final public listing of 549 
between December 1st - 10th...

One Wildcard comprised of purely San Marinese entries.

A few clarifications before we get onto my likes - for a start, who are the jurors who get to select the main seven out of that huge list?  One we already know, someone who has been involved with the Contest as recently as two years ago, someone who got a little emotional when faced with the adulation of Eurovision fans:



Yes, it is Zoë Straub, Austria's singer in Stockholm, somebody totally au fait with the trials and tribulations of an artist putting themselves up for close scrutiny and seemingly enjoying the idea of watching all of these entries!  As she explained there, ten December days will determine who wins one of the wildcard positions, dependant on the likes bestowed by us fans.  There are to be three more judges, the second one is to be announced very soon - watch this video:



It is the silhouette of a woman and my best guess based on that alone was Ira Losco but I have always been rubbish at these sort of guesses!  We have a week to wait but at least we know there are four in total...

The San Marino wildcard is to be the last announced and it makes total sense that this nation should have at least one home grown artist in their NF.  Now it doesn't say how the artist will be selected - it could be someone we all recognise...

And so onto the two processes that we, as Eurovision fans, could be involved in - voting for our favourites on that huge 549 long list and also (if we are in an OGAE club or applicable FB group) for one of the 70 fan favourites on the Eurovision Fan Club Shortlist:
Now I put my choices for this wildcard into the OGAE UK group, as our president Alasdair had asked for votes for our favourites from those above.  Mine was submitted in good time and December 1st was the cut off point.  How did I vote, seeing that a lot of the submissions that I did like weren't there?

1) Vell Baria
2) Sara de Blue
3) Franklin Calleja
4) Gail Attard
5) Elisa Castells

Why did I select that order?  They were the five songs out of my top ten in the 70 to pick from and to be honest, there wasn't much between any of those entries for me...

This article will be published just before who won this wildcard is to be announced - it is all down to the votes of various OGAE clubs and social media groups.  A popular artist could orchestrate their fans to vote in all the clubs available but as I have no idea how many clubs have bothered to vote, this might all be very close indeed.


My ten favourites from the 549...

To be honest with you, this process has developed my ability to decide if a song is worth listening to until its climax within the first twenty seconds no end!  Probably in the region of 75-80% of the entries did not make it past that point with me and that did speed the process up a lot.  Most of those entries were either poorly recorded, poorly sung or a combination of both.  Some entries just didn't appeal to me and there is a possibility that a handful of those might end up in the mix with the jurors - what I was looking for was either a great vocalist and/or someone who kept my attention visually whilst singing and/or had something naturally distinctive (not autotuned) about their voice.  If there was one of those present, I kept going to the end of the song.  Want to know how many made it through the 'Let Me Be The One' sifting process?

Forty - about 7%

Not many, eh?  Of those, here are my top ten - there is not a lot between them and I could see any of them making it into the live shows of the San Marino NF.


10th Elisa Castells



The title for the video has changed from the first round but my thoughts about this haven't - as far as Italian songs of this type go, this is a goodie.  Elisa has a pretty voice that can cope with changes of lyrical and musical pace and she acts wonderfully on the video.  One of the better composed visuals of the submission process, Elisa connects with the viewer in every frame, even when she has to sing nineteen to the dozen!  If San Marino are looking for a beautiful singer who would wow the home nation audience and their immediate neighbour, they could do worse than picking Miss Castells for the live shows...


9th Sandy C



Often small session meetings bring out something special and this was obviously one of those occasions!  A very stripped down studio recording allows Sandy's power and passionate tones to come out to the fore here and demonstrates to any viewer that this lady can really sing absolutely effortlessly.  No gimmicks, no fancy videos, just Sandy showing total control and producing a four minute video that made me stop, sit back and listen.  Definitely a voice to grace a NF - it would be interesting to see how she connects with the camera and the audience but this was one of the vocal highlights in the 1 in 360 list...


8th Maurice De Greef



What is that old saying?  "Don't judge a book by its cover"?  Who else, like me, saw the thumbnail to this video and thought Michael Hutchence look-a-like, expecting to hear some sort of INXS cover or something soft rock?  Who was totally shocked but rather pleasantly surprised when he started singing to hear a very measured and yet vocally perfect version of "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell?  Lots of question marks there but no question about the quality and emotional delivery that Maurice has, vocally and visually.  Hopefully this performance won't get overlooked due to its understated nature as this guy can really emote and sing beautifully - something like this in the NF would offer a nice change of pace...


7th Nare Gevorgyan



Now this is one of the most highly charged and poignant performances I have watched for a long time.  I have no idea what the circumstances are for Nare being there and singing what for her and quite a lot of the audience is a very overwhelming experience - the only clue I have is that the song title translates as 'Mother Of The Soldier', so maybe this was a tribute to the Armenian military?  Whatever the reason, this is a superlative vocal delivery by her through all the tears and at times being choked up with the emotion of it all.  She has such a beautiful voice and nobody could argue that she can't relay her passion and feelings to an audience - this is one of those videos submitted that will stay in my memory for a long, long time...


6th Franklin Calleja



Now this guy and this performance will probably be familiar to many Eurovision fans, particularly those who follow MESC!  One of the numerous Callejas that sing across Malta, Franklin always provides a flawless vocal every times he opens his mouth and invariably is there or thereabouts when he has entered the Maltese NF, normally with a song much like this one.  You give him a beautiful and yet wordy love song to sing that covers a range of keys and notes, he will deliver!  If San Marino want one of the best voices yet to be heard on a Eurovision stage, they could do far worse than choose Franklin for the live shows as they would be guaranteed to have at least one singer who delivers every single time and who knows?  Maybe where Malta have ignored him, San Marino will be able to pick a winner...


5th Vell Baria



Now in the UK, we have what is called a 'Paul Potts Moment'.  It is where you are looking at someone who has just come on stage, someone totally unassuming and normal, someone who you initially think will have no talent whatsoever and then...

You get someone like Vell Baria!  Did you imagine THAT voice coming out of that mouth?  Did you imagine that vocal talent being unleashed from that obviously shy and restrained exterior?  That is why, at the time, I went for Vell as my top selection in the Fan Group vote - her voice totally blew me away and the video appeared quite early on in the submission process and therefore ended up being the yardstick to judge others by.  So much power, every word sung so clearly, every note hit spot on - all that combined with a superb emotional delivery whilst singing - and yet when she finished, Vell was back to being a normal Philippine lady again, no airs or graces, just loving singing.  I really hope that the jurors in San Marino still consider her for the live shows, despite needing to bring her halfway around the world to perform there!


4th Jonah Neuser



By far and away the best cover version amongst all 549 submitted entries, the biggest compliment I could pay is that this is almost indistinguishable to my ear from the original vocals of 'Teardrop' by Elizabeth Fraser (providing the words for Massive Attack).  The only difference is that Jonah gives this slightly more power as that matches her accompaniment of guitars and drums, rather than trip hop electronica.  What this song does provide for the singer is the ability to demonstrate their vocal prowess as far as volume and movement through scales are concerned - this is accomplished superbly well here and this performance is one that I could listen to on repeat over and over again.  A soft rock version of this song works particularly well with Jonah as the lead vocal - I hope that anything else she sings is as perfect...


3rd Gail Attard



There is always room amongst these submission lists for a distinctive and yet youthful voice, one mature beyond their years - Gail has this quality, despite being only 16 years old.  It sounds as though she has been singing for years - the lyrics of the song would suit an older woman too and yet the message sounds so right with Gail being the conveyor of the emotion and vocal imagery.  That is a major achievement for such a young singer but everything about Gail's delivery is effortless.  I suspect that her voice might divide opinion but personally I love it and I really hope that we can see her perform live in San Marino.  If that doesn't happen, I would predict that we will see this lady in the very near future singing at MESC and hopefully on a Eurovision stage too...


2nd Kim Shepherd



Now this lady just made it onto the list at the last minute, the reason for that?  I know the composer of this song via Facebook and he had shared that the uptempo version of this was submitted to the UK public submission process but didn't make the cut.  I cannot imagine that it had anything to do with Kim as her voice is pure gold and this acoustic version got more praise amongst those that heard it than the original one did.  I am certain that if she had been placed on the 1 in 360 list earlier then we would have seen her on the Eurovision Fan Vote and the number of likes that she would have gained would have been massive!  I hope that she has the opportunity to be seen by the jurors, as everything that comes out of her mouth is perfection, the words flow wonderfully, her pitch and range are superb and it is all so effortless - an absolute delight to listen to.  I just hope that this bodes well for the UK NF I am going to - if there are six better live singers than Kim out there, we will be in for a good night in Brighton.  If not, and San Marino go with her instead, it is a talent lost to my home nation and I won't be happy...


1st Sara de Blue



To be top of 549 entries takes some doing - as you all know now, I have to be impressed with their live vocals and emotional delivery at the very least.  What does help push a singer out there for me is if they have that wow factor, a look, a stage presence, experience of live performing and even a song that fits them perfectly.

All of that comes together with Sara de Blue.  An alumni of The Voice Germany (like a certain Iveta Mukuchyan, who performed there the year before), Sara obviously has the confidence and poise for live singing and added to that has her own material that suits her vocal style and range perfectly.  "Closer To The Sun" might be shorter than the average Eurovision entry but it demonstrates Miss de Blue's talents to the full - it is passionate, delivered to the ear superbly and it cannot be ignored that having a name and hair colour that matches is no accident!  I am also sure that her beauty will make her stand out at the sharp end when the final selection for the San Marino live shows are being made.  To be honest, if the jurors do NOT select this lady in order to show off the talent that applied for their NF, they will have missed a huge trick as she looks amazing, catches the eye immediately you see that electric blue hair and sounds absolutely divine.  Overall, Sara is the best artist in the 1 in 360 process, in my humble opinion, and I will be very disappointed if she does not grace my monitor with her presence when the first live shows appear next year...

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So there you go, my thoughts on the biggest task I have ever set myself since starting my blog - reviewing 549 entries and coming up with my favourite ten.  I have no idea what the jurors will think of all of those entries and if they have another 451+ to consider that we haven't seen yet.  As it stands, there is the San Marino wildcard, the Eurovision Fans Vote wildcard and the 'Like' Wildcard to be determined, in addition to the seven to be picked by the jurors - what this does mean for San Marino is...

Their NF process is continually in the public eye

When I say 'public', that will be literally true for San Marino itself and possibly for Italy - in a Eurovision sense, it means all of us fans who have little else to keep us entertained until FiK in late December.  Only Israel's talent show "Hakokhav Haba" is providing any sort of selection process and that is just getting going.  Compared to most years for San Marino, the 1 in 360 process is PR gold - it is generating interest not only across Europe but also in other parts of the world where the Contest isn't as strong and it has attracted some damn good singers to apply.  All of this must be better than what has happened in the past - the occasional reminder that they will be having an internal selection and then one day in late February or March, San Marino reveal their singers and song with little interest from Eurovision fans and none whatsoever outside of our fan bubble.  Do you know what I say?

Good for you, San Marino!

I'm watching out for every announcement, mainly to see if any of my tips for the top are going to be in the live shows but also to gauge if this tiny nation can make their second ever Final appearance at the Contest.  And to be honest, a quick message for the powers that be in San Marino, if you want your artist to stand out...
This lady is already laying the groundwork for you!


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[LMBTO] Cesár makes 5, whilst Emma gets another chance at Eurovision...

December 6, 2017, 12:05 pm
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ORF obviously felt that Nathan Trent did a solid enough job in Kyiv with "Walking On Air", as they have taken Austria down the same internal selection route for Lisbon...

Cesár Sampson will be singing for Österreich in 2018!

Who is this guy with the chiseled features and the impeccable dress sense?  If you have a look at all the Eurovision news websites that flashed up this information, this is what you will have learnt:

1)  The breakfast radio show on ÖRF radio station Ö3 is the place to release Austrian Eurovision exclusives...

2)  His first name will mean continual cutting and pasting with that accent over the 'a'...

3)  Cesár has been on the Eurovision stage before - he is part of Symphonix International who helped out Bulgaria in 2016 and 2017, getting him a backing singer gig for both entries and a supporting role with Poli:
So he has no fears of performing in front of 10000-ish fans in an arena and 180-200 million viewers at home!

4)  He is a baritone and the ORF team feel that he will stand out due to his experience with the electro music genre, especially with Electric Church, and gospel music:



This was a great summary video and really summed up the material that is out there on the net with this guy singing as lead - NOT A LOT!  Is that a risk for ORF?  We shall see in due course, although a source close to him when he was backing Kristian Kostov in Kyiv believes that this is a great choice for Austria and that he is ready to be out front...

5)  ORF are really bigging him up too - Kathrin Zechkner, their Television Director, is quoted as saying:

“Cesár is rhythm, he is a child of humanity, he is a voice! Cesár lives and breathes music and is an empathic artist! He understands how to use his voice, as a singer and as a human being. His musicality, devotion to his artistry and his holistic approach to his musicianship are contagious.  He is equally authentic and unique, just an outstanding Austrian artist, who is sure to make our country proud in Lisbon.”

So that is the PR spin on Mr Sampson's selection by ORF - how did last year's Austrian representative Nathan Trent react to the news?
“You're gonna do great bro!”

All we really need now is more live footage of him singing to really tell if ORF's faith in him is going to translate into reality - having said that, he did sing a thirty second snippet of "Rise Like A Phoenix" at the reveal interview and it sounded pretty good to me!

6)  Wiwibloggs have already used the obvious tagline of "Hail Cesár!" - hopefully that will be the only time...

So we have artist number five for Lisbon - a good looking chap, it has to be said, who we know can sing in 30 second bursts but does have the massive advantage over all bar one of the other four so far chosen in having sung and performed on a Eurovision stage before. I hope that being the whole focus of the Eurovision world this time is something that Cesár can handle - we'll get to hear the song he will be singing in 2018 itself, although we have been informed by the man himself, during an interview on ORF's "Daheim in Österreich", that it will be called "Nobody But You".  What he does appear to have is a sense of humour - he is already responding to calls of 'who is this guy?' in the following way on Facebook:


Love the response - I get this feeling that we are all going to be blown away by what this singer brings to Lisbon and that Austria are in safe hands this year...
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Just hours before Austria announced their artist for Lisbon, another singer reached the top of her 'rollercoaster' that has been 2017.  Austria's selection has the massive advantage over many in that it was an internal selection - most artists have to battle through audition stages, SFs and NFs to get to the Eurovision stage.  One lady who has been there, done that, had a major crisis of faith in her ability and come out the other side is Emma Sandström:
Known as just Emma in UMK 2017, she was the favourite to represent Finland in Kyiv with her entry "Circle Of Light" but as we all know, technical issues sunk her attempt there, leaving her to finish third on the night:


Despite what happened there, it was obvious to all that Emma had a great vocal ability and was willing to put on an intricate stage show.  Unbeknown to Eurovision fandom however, the failings on UMK Final night really devastated her and put huge doubts in her mind about her continuing to be a performer at all, so much so that it took months for her to summon up huge reserves of strength and courage to talk about it on her vlog:


Six months...and it was still obviously raw at that stage.  Now regular readers know that "Blackbird" was my favourite entry last year and I was majorly behind Norma John at UMK but nobody wanted Emma to have so many problems there.  It was only whilst watching this video that I understood that, for a perfectionist like her who had practised the routine so many times, what happened on that night was a major kick in the teeth.  It was also something that others, who were not able to work through their emotions as well as she did, might not have recovered from at all.  At the time (10th October), I stated on my FB timeline that I hoped that she got the opportunity to perform again and 'exorcise the pain and distress' suffered at UMK...

Now Emma did get a lot of support on her vlog and after receiving comments that were very supportive, she decided to take the plunge again and enter another NF process.  Not UMK, as that was closed off to everyone by Saara Aalto being chosen as the internally selected artist for Finland, but for the 1 in 360 process in San Marino!  Yes, that one with all those interested wannabes of varying degrees of expertise, experience and competence.  Good to her word, she produced a few vlogs that showed her process of making her entry come to life - the finished product was a marvellous piece of vocalisation, even though the location was, in my opinion, a little bit odd:


A stairwell of a school - Emma's voice sounded a little bit echoey there and I wondered if it gave better acoustics there than it did on the video.  It was still an amazing vocal rendition of 'Rise Up' with loads of passion in her delivery and got an 8.0/10 from me when I was going through the 40 entries that I had picked out of that huge list of submissions as being 'good enough for Eurovision'.  Not in my top ten admittedly but with what had happened in Emma's recent past, I hoped that she was still in the hunt for a place in the San Marino top ten slots in their live shows.  Would the first wildcard to be announced, the Eurovision Fan Vote, be where she would find some sort of reassurance, some validation of the decision to give Eurovision another go?


And the answer to that was a resounding YES!  One of my top five, Franklin Calleja, came a very close second in the end (the scores were adjusted due to an issue with the Belgian vote) but Emma still came out on top after the eleven club votes.  This was her reaction!


From despair to elation in nine months, Emma Sandström is back in with a shout of singing at the Eurovision Song Contest.  There is still a long way to go within the 1 in 360 process, two more wildcards to pick and seven others to be selected by the San Marino jurors and that is all before the SEVEN live shows in January!  Whatever happens there, it is clear that for once nice things do happen to nice people, that maybe winning UMK 2017 wasn't the destiny planned for this young singer and that being the most popular amongst Eurovision Fan Clubs is a big plus point, even at this Wildcard stage.  Emma could be singing for San Marino in Lisbon next May - that was certainly not in her thoughts earlier this year.  What this does demonstrate is that 1 in 360 is giving many singers the opportunity to get exposure to Eurovision fandom that ordinary selection processes don't allow - who knew that it could also coax a singer back into doing something they love, after such a traumatic previous experience?
Will there be more astonishing back stories to be revealed when we find out who the other nine artists are?  Who knows but at the moment, the San Marino spotlight is all on Miss Sandström...

Here's to Emma having every success during the live shows -
hopefully not in a stairwell!

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[LMBTO] Eurovision 2018 - Who is the best, pre-show FiK 56?

December 10, 2017, 10:13 am
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Well done to Eurovision Albania for doing what is normally such a tiresome job - making an attractive visual list of which artists are in a National Final process!  And well done to RTSH, the national broadcaster tasked with organising Festivali i Këngës (FiK) 56, as they have very helpfully released all 22 songs on YouTube within a helpful playlist.  Now as regular readers will be aware, I have always followed the Albanian Eurovision process, mainly because it always selects an artist so early in the season, long before the avalanche of NFs in February and March, and also because it allows me to cover it in some detail, not being superhuman enough to write up later NFs!

All of the artists appear to be performing within a recording area, seemingly studio based.  This backdrop may not give us many clues as to how they may perform at FiK but it does provide an audibly sound session for each of them.  Power ballads, soft rock, even some ethnic undercurrents are all present and of course I couldn't resist listening to them all and providing my point of view on them.  My initial opinions could change once I see them perform on that stage on 21/22/23 December but at least I could get an idea of how well they could sing and if I enjoyed the style of music and song.  Ten acts got a rating of 7.0/10 or above from me - either Good or Excellent, so I have decided at this stage to highlight who those artists were and why I went for their entries.  Buckle up for the FiK ride towards the live show!


1 Point (7.0/10) - Redon Makashi "Ekziston"



The stripped back musical accompaniment suits this guy's voice down to the ground - he is so laid back, he is almost on the floor.  There's a nice tone throughout and a decent story being told - almost folk pop, if truth be told.  The song is about four minutes long and chopping 60 seconds out of the end to get it to Eurovision length would improve it no end, as "You Exist" in its current form lost its charm for me in the final third with its pace dragging towards its finale.  It will be a good listen in its SF though, as I cannot imagine the staging being anything other than what we have above.


2 Points (7.0/10) - Ergi Bregu "Bum Bum"



Stop sniggering at the back, it means "Boom Boom" in English!  This is a nice light pop song that would be a decent floor filler in a club and gets the old head bobbing along with it.  It has a memorable chorus and it would fit the Eurovision world better than the orchestra/pop band format of FiK, especially with its Contest friendly length of 2.35.  The downside of this?  Very, very repetitive and I have this suspicion that there is a lot of electronic help going on in the background - the live shows will find that out one way or another.  I have to say that going by my experience of FiK, I suspect that this might fall at the SF hurdle but maybe, just maybe, Albania will accept something other than old men singing soft rock and female power ballads...


3 Points (7.5/10) - LYNX "Vonë"



Every country has their NF ever-presents and LYNX appear in most of the FiK years that I have been following at this Contest.  The main reason for this is that they produce superb music and decent songs but never quite make it to the top of FiK.  "Late" is another example of this - a slick piece of pop rock, the lead singer belting out the vocals and it sounds superb.  The band do have a tendency to provide too much musicianship if that is possible and here the main refrain gets repeated...A LOT.  This will be a great song to break up the typical fare of FiK but I am unsure how well this band will do this year - I don't see this as the breakthrough song to Eurovision for them, despite the spot on 2.59 song length...


4 Points (8.0/10) - Artemisa Mithi "E dua botën"



Now this sounds more like the FiK that I'm used to - an attractive female singer hammering out an emotional power ballad.  This is slightly different in that it does have a modern sound to it, unlike a lot of those that I've heard over the past few years.  Artemisa has a superb voice, looks great singing this and even during this promo slot she connects well with the camera.  There is lots of depth in "I Love The World" and I can see it doing well this year - it could even be easily trimmed of 15 seconds if it wins!  I suspect that what we see here is what we are likely to get in Albania late December and I feel that this will be one of those entries there or thereabouts at the end of voting...


5 Points (8.5/10) -  Mariza Ikonomi "Unë"



If ever there was an entry that crosses over between the orchestral and modern accompaniment that is FiK then "I" is it.  Playing the piano and getting some help from those in the hall suits this entry perfectly and that is all topped off by the wonderful vocals of Mariza.  During the quiet parts she has a breathless ethereal quality about her and then she can power up several gears to give a controlled 'rock chic' element to this performance, without any discernible effort.  I found lots to interest me here, despite the slow pace of the song and four minutes just flew by.  Her voice is exquisite and I could listen to it all day - it is just a pity that there is 60 seconds that would need removing for the ESC...


6 Points (8.5/10) - Lorela Sejdini "Pritem edhe pak"



It is obvious that there are two strains of songs this year at FiK - those that are written for the Albanian show with no time restraints and those that probably have one eye on possible Eurovision qualification, acceptance by a more pop orientated market and not having to trim their entry too much to fit it into three minutes.  "Wait For Me Some More" is definitely in the second group - Lorela's voice is amazing, it suits pop superbly well and she has an great range that allows her to easily hit those high notes.  Everything seems so effortless here and her look and 'smiley' personality makes you want to keep watching and listening.  It might be a bit twee as far as modern pop is concerned but for FiK this would be positively groundbreaking and of its time - it has a fresh feel to it and given the right staging, this could be a winning entry that would do well at Eurovision.  Unfortunately staging is something that FiK doesn't really do so Lorella would have to carry this with her physicality and personality alone - looking at this, she might well do that...


7 Points (8.5/10) - Evans Rama "Gjurmët"



Now I am not normally a fan of 'old guy singing' at FiK but Evans is not like 50% of the entries at most contests!  The music sounds as though there should be some sort of soft rock ballad going on but his vocal style is totally at odds to that, it is full of interest and I detect some sort of ethnic Albanian undercurrent feel too.  When it flows seamlessly into the synth-rock towards the end, with all of his threatening vocal power, I was totally sold on this entry.  The refrain in the chorus was another contrast, understated and yet transfixing at the same time.  As you can guess, I loved this - the old adage of 'never judging a book by its cover' springs to mind.  If 'an old guy from Albania' was to win FiK and go to Lisbon, Evans would be my strong preference...


8 Points (9.0/10) - Inis Neziri "Piedestal"



If you want an early fan favourite in the recent FiK mould of winners then "Pedestal" is what you are looking for.  A measured, passionate power ballad that is a common sound in Albania, Inis gives you everything you would be expecting - an absolutely superb voice, capable of incredible vocal gymnastics as per Christina Aguilera that her voice has a passing resemblance to, aided by a visually pleasing show where Inis provides an engaging emotional delivery of every word.  It won't hurt her chances of success at FiK that she is easy on the eye too - overall, it is not a surprise that this entry goes into the live shows as a likely winner.  The only downside for this song is history - Albania have had so many solo female singers with a strong power ballad that the FiK audience might decide that this year is time for a change to something more quirky or more pop or even more rock.  If the status quo is okay then Miss Neziri is likely to be singing this in Lisbon...


10 Points (9.0/10) - Orgesa Zaimi "Ngrije zërin"



If Orgesa is dressed like this at FiK then she will stand out from the crowd.  I'm loving the beatnik look and the whole mood and attitude that she brings to the studio with her - this is a whole staged show on its own and it also demonstrates a seasoned professional who knows how to connect with a camera, even though there is only one there.  She has a voice that copes extremely well with all the chops and changes in this song, volume and beat, there being that superb electro beat to the accompanying music too.  The chorus of "Raise Your Voice" stuck in my head and all the changes of pace are really balanced well - a very good pop song that could be heard on any modern chart show or YouTube channel and one that stuck with me long after the song finished playing.  I loved this entry but the extra minute means that any changes for Eurovision might detract from the whole joyful event - a definite one for the win though...


12 Points (9.5/10) - Eugent Bushpepa "Mall"



When I heard a playlist of all this year's FiK entries where each only lasted twenty seconds long, this was the one that stuck in my head out of all of them.  After watching the full 4.30 version of "Yearning", I knew that this was to be my favourite track of the Albanian list by far, despite it being likely that if it won that it would not be going to Eurovision at all or in any recognisable form.  This is a journey, a rite of passage, an amazing vocal story - the lead singer has a beautiful tone, great range and wonderful high note control and the music produced by the band fits perfectly around him.  The first few notes grabbed my attention and held it throughout with loads of interest in the music and voice - it is one of those songs that it finishes and you realise that four minutes 30 seconds have just flown by.  And that is the major problem with this song as far as Eurovision is concerned, not FiK - those extra ninety seconds.  I cannot see where any cuts can be made to this song - if Eugent Bushpepa won FiK, would they go the whole 'Sanremo' and decline their offered place, letting whoever was second or third go instead?  This is a masterpiece of soft rock and shouldn't be tampered with but it does mean that I have a potential winner for FiK but not for Eurovision...



So there you have it - my top ten for FiK.  When I heard the first playthrough with all of the 22 having a twenty second snippet each, I wasn't that enthused and it did feel that Albania might be heading for yet another Eurovision disappointment, only performing once on the Lisbon stage.  Now that I have heard all of them in their full glory, I would be confident that six or seven of these could at least give this nation a Final slot, although that would be heavily dependent on the staging, a probable change of language and how much tinkering was made with their look.

There are two issues for me this year - four out of my top ten, including my top two, appear to have been composed as 'FiK only' songs, with four minute or more run times.  They are also some of the more interesting non-formulaic entries, giving some added texture to the entertainment show that is FiK but not pandering to any possible idea of Eurovision qualification.  The 'three minute wonders' are led by Inis and Lorela and appear to be ideal for the ESC but they are like most Albanian entries over the past few years, which doesn't bode well for this nation.  Of course, some of these entries may fall away or push themselves into the front of our consciousness when performed live later this month - until then, my top three would be:
And I would be more than happy to see any of them make it to Lisbon!

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[LMBTO] Yet another Eurovision returnee of sorts - Jessica is back for Oz...

December 12, 2017, 2:07 pm
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Eurovision 2018 is already full of recognisable established artists despite there only being six announced.  Three of those have already trod the boards of the Contest in one guise or another...
  • We have someone who has been involved at the ESC the past two years with the Bulgarian delegation, one year being up front with Poli;
  • We have 50% of the Common Linnets from Copenhagen, willing to come back and take 'a gold medal' this time;
  • and then we have the lady whose place in Lisbon was announced on Monday 11th December, someone also linked to the 2014 Contest.  It didn't really need much guesswork to realise who that might be but it all made for yet another slick and humorous reveal video (much the same as Waylon's did):


In all honesty, for Aussies that was quite low key!  It did however, in the space of 79 seconds, set out that Australia are yet again deadly serious about Eurovision, that they are up for sending yet another artist at the top of their game and in the public eye down under, and that most of the general information about Jessica Mauboy that every single Eurovision news website seemed to repeat ad nauseum in their 'breaking news' segments does not need to be repeated here...much!  Ever since the announcement, there has been a real buzz amongst the fandom and it has even touched the mainstream news in the UK (albeit the BBC Entertainment News Online but that is more than any nation, other than the UK, would do).  For completeness, here is the quick guide to this wonderfully coiffed and elegantly photogenic lady:
  • She's 28, has eleven years experience of singing and acting, made her name in Australian Idol and has sold 2 million music units;
  • Her dad is Timorese, her mum is from the indigenous KuKu Yalanji tribe;
  • Paul Clarke, Head of the Australian Delegation is quoted as saying “Jessica Mauboy’s performance at ESC Copenhagen 2014 opened the door for Australia to compete at Eurovision”, thereby being the trailblazer for Guy, Dami and Isaiah.  So let's return to Eurovision 2014, SF2:


To be honest, if I had to start my performance after a 'Jon Ola does comedy' segment and one of the naffest dancing routines ever seen on a Eurovision stage, I might take thirty seconds to get up to speed with my live vocals too!  The main thing about it all was that Jessica led the way for Australia to participate at the Contest.  It needed someone with guts and the determination to be up there and 'be shot at', to show that her nation was ready to be there amongst the 'regulars' and to then allow three other Australian stars to take the flag from her in 2015, 2016 and 2017.  Perhaps it might be viewed as being contrived by the Australian delegation to have someone with indigenous Australian roots to show off the 'true country' but this was a great performance, Jessica gave it her all despite her nerves and might well have expected the call to do it all for real before now...so she could at least wear a new outlandish dress!
But the call didn't happen, at least not in Vienna, Stockholm or Kyiv.  Jessica has said in her main interview with news.com.au that she 'felt that she had missed her chance', that she felt 'pangs of professional jealousy' when watching Guy, Dami and Isaiah perform and that she has unfinished business at Eurovision.  Paul Clarke has indicated that the 'stars have aligned' this year and that the delegation hope to 'develop a great song and stage production with Jessica and her team, and recreate her Eurovision style as a galactic soul diva'.  Not sure what one of those is - I suppose if she comes across as another Chaka Khan, Donna Summer or even Whitney Houston then Australia would have Eurovision 2018 in the bag already!  Let's wait and see, shall we Paul?  All her interviews that she gave to Eurovision press in the first few hours after the announcement indicated that she is keen to co-write the entry and that there is a strong chance that there will be some aboriginal dialect within it.  Interesting if it happens and definitely the first time that will be heard at Eurovision.  One of them also highlighted that the conversation between SBS and Jessica only started about a week ago - this sounds similar to Guy Sebastian's experience in Vienna, where he had two weeks to compose "Tonight Again"!  I'm sure that Australia will be hoping for a similar result in Lisbon, especially as Jessica has more time to brainstorm and compose her entry...

The big question for most Eurovision fans is

"Jessica sounded very nervous in Copenhagen - was that a one-off?"

Has three more years helped with that?  The only way to tell is to listen and watch some live material from this year - first up is this powerful performance of "Flame Trees" from her lead role as "The Secret Daughter":



Now that is what you call stage presence, the ability to totally hold the attention of anyone watching and listening for the whole song.  Superbly measured vocals too and loads of passionate delivery to the audience - this performance shows that Jessica can deliver a slow song and is absolutely comfortable with being the centre of attention but still using the excellence of the backing behind to good effect.  So if she went for a power ballad in Lisbon, I'd be confident that she could deliver and hold all in thrall - of course we may be treated to something poppy, something in the same vein as "Sea Of Flags".  Can she now produce the goods with an up-tempo number?  Have a look at Jessica's slot at a major awards ceremony earlier this year:



Now THAT was an assured performance!  A superb interactive show, bags of energy, no issues with pitch or volume whilst strutting her stuff and shaking her thang - this confirms in my mind that with the right song, choreography and staging, Australia have made the right decision in choosing Jessica Mauboy as their artist for Lisbon.  At this stage we have no idea what she will be singing but as will be the case with most composers of their own entries, she should at least have the lyrics and music set perfectly for her vocal style.  As for any likely staging, it looks as though she can turn her hand to anything visually, almost certainly helped by her recent acting experiences in Australia with "The Sapphires" and "The Secret Daughter":
So we have our sixth artist for Lisbon - another 'veteran' as far as singing and performing are concerned and also, in a unique way, of the Eurovision stage.  I know that Australian Eurovision fans are delighted to see this talented artist representing them next May in Lisbon - I am too, as I think we could end up with one of THE entries of 2018 and a definite favourite for the Eurovision crown.  Can it be fourth time lucky for Australia?

Jessica Mauboy has the voice, the moves, the looks and the charisma
to 'close the circle' she started in 2014 with an Australian Eurovision win next May



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[LMBTO] Eurovision weeks 13 through 15 - it is definitely getting busier...

December 14, 2017, 2:49 pm
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Looks stunning, doesn't it?  Florian Wieder does it again although it is, at this point, merely an imaginative drawing.  These 'visions' do tend to make it to reality though, so it looks like the sea theme of blue, waves and bridges will continue to be big features of the Lisbon stage.  No LED screens though apparently - some fans think that this means no backdrops and therefore all the acts will just have to sing and have no technical assitance.  I think it will just mean that if the delegation can afford it and it is easy to push on a stage in 45 seconds, they can have whatever staging they like there - it appears that the stage might have a connected semi circle walkway:

What this does mean is that Portugal and RTP are taking this all very seriously and are totally on the ball as far as getting things done are concerned.  There's almost a Swedish ruthless efficiency about it all and this pleases Jon Ola:



As the 'top man', I suspect that the less organising and sorting out he has to do, the easier his job is!  One of the areas that might be ahead of schedule is merchandising - my Facebook friend of Eurovision Radio International David Mann got this spot on when the 13 different logos were announced, that this would be a marketing man's dream and so it seems to be:
One thing to say - thirteen does not a nice configuration make!  19 colours and five different sizes of t shirts and hoodies, loads of money for RTP and the EBU.  Good job, whoever came up with this idea - I suspect that we will all have at least one of these come Lisbon...

We have even had the first round of ticket sales for the Final - standing only, Golden Circle and others.  As expected, they all sold very quickly, the queues online were horrendous and lots of people were disappointed.  Do some things never change?  Luckily, I'm only looking for seated which means that I'll join the madness on December 20th!

So that's all the housekeeping for Lisbon done - what else happened that piqued my interest in weeks 13, 14 and 15 of the 2018 Eurovision season?


"Hakokhav Haba" continues to provide some damn good singers...

Howie Dunno - 81%...


Stav Vankin - 81%...


And one of the best so far - May Thor with 89%...


It's definitely going to be a tough call when we move away from the audition stages as there are some excellent singers in Israel.  I wonder if we have seen the best so far or are there some more stars to come?


28 for Melodifestivalen - Margaret and Mariette the stand-outs?


There you go, just in case you didn't see all the contestants for MF - the highlights for me in this list were the following:
  • Mariette is one of the most recognisable artists and therefore must start off as favourite to go to Lisbon
  • Margaret from Poland and "Cool Me Down" fame is in SF2 - if she can sing "In My Cabana" live, she will be in with a chance of representing her new hosts
  • Jessica Andersson is back again - will she be this year's 'Sanna Nielsen' and get to Eurovision through sheer persistence?
  • DWB Music Ltd have composed "All The Feels" for Renaida in SF1, so there is UK involvement this year...
It is all still a long way away until the first notes are sung (3rd February) so there is plenty of time for all the acts to hone their performance skills and in some cases live vocals!  Will I watch it this year?  We'll see, all the NFs tend to clash by the time MF starts though...


San Marino announce Judge 2 and the 'Heart' wildcard choice...



Okay, when you saw the silhouette in the teaser video, did it have a curly perm?  No it didn't, so I am convinced that San Marino are playing with us fans and have brought the announcement of Vince Bugg forward!  I have no issue with the choice as it is a big plus for the microstate to have a renowned musical choreographer as part of the judging line-up, especially one with experience of working on the West End and Broadway.  It will also be nice to hear positivity amongst critique but that will make two judges who are nice - can you imagine Zoë Straub being nasty?  As for the smooth haired silhouette, I'm still betting that Ira Losco is going to be involved somehow...



The other item sorted was the winner of the 'Heart Wildcard', that is the video with the most likes in ten days on the 1 in 360 website.  Now this is where the dark arts of the internet can come into play and where previous internet submission processes have seen contestants have their scores reset to zero (remember Ukraine last year?).  The winner this time has been the target of complaints across social media, mainly because it came from nowhere to win in the matter of 24 hours, finishing with 388,000 votes!  I have to say that I didn't have this in my top 40 of those songs that I thought could do well at Eurovision but it isn't a bad tune.  The 1 in 360 organisers have let the result stand, despite the potential issues of manipulation of the vote, as it was the internet candidate and they didn't want to interfere with a free vote.  What they have said, in full knowledge that if this was not due to his talent or support during the process but somehow fabricated, then Giovanni will be found out...

"If any of you objects to the results, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to do so during the live shows"

If he doesn't have 388,000 fans out there in reality, he won't get many votes in the live shows, will he?


The marathon that is Eurovizijos starts on January 6th...
We have our hosts for the Lithuanian Eurovision selection process that seemingly gives employment to numerous television people for many, many months!  Above are the hosts, Ugnė and Mantas - we also know three of the artists who have put forward entries, all of whom have been in the process before so know of the gruelling path ahead:
  • Greta Zazza - 6th in 2017
  • Paula Valentaite - 7th in 2017
  • Erica Jennings - second to Donny Montell in 2016 with "Leading Me Home", my overall favourite that year:

It's already looking good artist-wise for Lithuania...let's hope they don't all get ground down by this seemingly endless process!


Another of my wishes granted by Depi Evratesil...
First Tamar and now Asmik Shiroyan - I said about six weeks ago that I'd love to see Asmik participate again at Depi as I felt that her time last season was cut far too short.  This performance of "Sweet Lovin'" was probably her highlight and pushed her up front with the leading pack, until she was given a Michael Jackson song to cover which totally sunk her:



I'm sure you'll agree that this lady has a superb voice and she'll be one of the favourites for taking the Depi crown in 2018.  Now if Marta, last year's runner up, decides to participate as well, I really DO have a genie that I didn't know about!

Tamar has been active too in advance of the Armenian selection process - Wiwibloggs are on the ball yet again and found out from her that her song will be called "Touyn Arink" ("Poisoned") and plays on "Romeo & Juliet".   She even revealed some of the lyrics:

Yet another selection process that I am really looking forward to - let battle between these two amazing vocalists commence!


A familiar face returns to EMA 2018...
The lady on the left of course, not the right - although as far as look-alikes go, ManuElla's similarity to Taylor Swift has always been uncanny!  ManuElla is one of the sixteen artists hoping to represent Slovenia in Lisbon, the process being Evrovizijska Melodija yet again.  It will be interesting to hear what she has to offer as RTVSLO, the Slovenian national broadcaster, stipulated that all entries must be in Slovenian or another official minority language, not English.  Maybe I'll be kind and give ManuElla another chance at redemption, seeing that her 2016 entry "Blue and Red" was my number 42, dead last in my rankings, even below Serhat!  I could do with a good laugh - let's watch 'Phoebe Buffay does Eurovision' again:



Never ceases to be ridiculously amusing - her entry this year can't be anywhere near as bad, surely!  Other returning artists include 1997 Eurovision representative Tanja Ribic, BQL, King Foo, Nika Zorjan, Lea Sirk and Nuska Drascek - here are all 16:



It looks as though EMA 2018 might be one NF to keep a close eye on...


Czechia has six sets of legs competing in their NF...

Now there are no absolute confirmations about who will be appearing in Czechia's national selection process in 2018, although the names of Jakub Ondra and Mikolas Josef have been closely linked with being two of the six artists there.  All that can be confirmed is that it looks like there are four men and two women there (one of which is wearing a very nice pair of boots).  We have to wait until January 8th for the reveal of their top halves - only then will we start to have an idea of who might be favorite to go to Lisbon and try to secure Czechia's second Final appearance...


Ukraine - the lady in the mac is back and wants a song chosen for her...
Possibly one of the most iconic pictures from any of last year's National Final previews, Tayanna Reshetnyak, or simply Tayanna to us Eurovision fans, just missed out on defending her home nation's honour earlier this year in Kyiv but has vowed to return to Vidbir, the Ukrainian selection process, this time.  Will that red mac/dress appear yet again?  It definitely left an impression on me but her outfit at this stage is not the issue - her song is and she has quite the novel concept of how to have it selected.  In what is a mini-selection process all of its own, Tayanna is using four songs from her new upcoming album and asking online fans to vote for their favourite out of the four.  Of course, providing me with the opportunity to rank a series of songs is like 'waving a red rag to a bull' where I am concerned, so here we go:


First thing to be said, I am loving the artistic pose on the thumbnail - the framing is delightful and Tayanna looks so vulnerable and innocent there.  As for the four song choices - Квітка ("Flower"), Млію ("Mile"), Сила ("Power") and Тримай мене ("Hold Me") - there was a clear favourite in my eyes.  One of these songs stood out more for me - it was the most uptempo of the four, was timed spot on for Eurovision and sounded fresher, more contemporary and even though it didn't show off the whole of Tayanna's vocal range, I felt it had the best balance of vocal and musical enjoyment:

The one I ended up voting for?  Квітка ("Flower")!

When I voted (14th December, 10pm GMT), this was the position:
Not much in it - there is more of an emotional connection for the artist with Сила ("Power"), as it is dedicated to her son.  The vote ends on 15th December - if you are quick, you might still be able to influence which song this beautiful and amazing vocalist might sing at Vidbir in 2018, and maybe even in Lisbon...


And Sandra will love life at Eurovision In Concert...

The organisers of EiC 2018 announced that Sandra Kim, Belgium's one and only winner in 1983, will be the first special guest appearing at the AFAS Live on April 14th.  At least I know there'll be one act waiting for me when I attend my first EiC...
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Phew!  Not sure how many more of these summary posts I'll be able to do as the season builds up with more and more artists revealed, songs outlined and NFs to cover.  What I can tell you is that I'll only be picking the most interesting items and continuing to put my own slant on them...

But I will have to 'get my backside into gear' to cover them a week at a time!

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[LMBTO] Eurovision 2018 - Supernova and Me don't seem to agree...

December 19, 2017, 2:32 pm
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Is it only in Latvia that National Final audition stages are in public places, in particular a shopping arcade?  Katrine Lukins is the singer above with her designer torn jeans and one of the better songs in Supernova this year.  Now we are down to the last 21, from 30 that performed live in front of a professional jury and the original 63 audio only tracks - my preferences have decreased over time too.  I liked 16 of the initial 63 (25%), 10 of the 30 (33%) - so how many tracks do I rate out of those last 21?
SEVEN

Still not an amazing strike rate (33%) but at least it hasn't got any worse!  Apparently the judges feel that ten of the 21 were so good that they got a ticket to the live shows immediately - I wonder if any of my favourites are amongst those?  There is a chance that I am totally out of sync with Latvian professional music opinion but I'm getting my blows in first, flagging those tracks I like, all of them getting a LMBTO rating of 7.0/10 and above.  As there are only seven entries that I really love, my Eurovision scoring starts from 4 points - I'm not fussed who gets the 1/2/3 points!  

So here we go - my thoughts and reasons on the best that Latvia has to offer (in my humble opinion)...


4 Points (7.0/10) - Hypnotic "Pray"
Now this is not a bad image to have of the group Hypnotic but out of my seven choices, they are the ones that have caused me more hassles than any of the others.  Why?  Because the video for their song at Supernova, "Pray", keeps appearing on YouTube and then disappearing just as quickly, which means that I don't have one for this article at the moment.  The closest to hand is a twenty second segment here at 4.00:



I have listened to the whole song and (you'll have to take my word for it) it has loads of emotion lyrically and musically.  The chorus and sentiment of the song stuck in my head from first listen, mainly due to the wonderful interaction of all three singers - the reason for this trailing behind the other choices here for me is this song's lyrical superficiality about love and peace.  The visual spectacle of these ladies performing may add to this entry but having a full video presentation would help keep them in the public eye...


5 Points (7.5/10) - Jenny May "Soledad"



Now why isn't this in the Spanish National Final?  I suppose the answer to that is that it is being sung by Jenny May, an established artist in Latvia, whose voice really suits the need to sing in another language.  Of course I may find out that she is fluent in Spanish and singing this was a breeze!  "Soledad" has a great pulse and beat, something that would get the audience dancing at the beach or on a dance floor.  The masterstroke here is the rhythm that absolutely sticks in your head ages after the song has finished and that will be a massive plus for this track in the live shows.  If this is staged right, this entry could become unstoppable as it is fun and fresh as far as Eurovision goes (perhaps not pop-wise) and this could make it to next summer in the Mediterranean, 2018's "Despacito"?


6 Points (8.0/10) - Katrine Lukins "Running Red Lights"



"Running Red Lights" is very traditional club fare and I was in a quandary as to whether this would end up in the chill or main section of a set.  There's a different mix to this compared to a lot of the other Supernova entries - Katrine has a great voice and copes with what is quite a complex range and set of lyrics compared to most tracks of this genre.  The song has a very memorable chorus, a nice build from intro into the bulk of the song and it is definitely a head nodder.  Overall the music gives "Running" a real listenable quality that compliments her voice wonderfully - she looks great too and this will be there or thereabouts in the Final...


7 Points (8.0/10) - Monta "1000 Roses"



Now this entry stood out the most on first listen during the initial 63 review for me - vocally alone, I love Monta's tone and ability to so easily move up and down her range.  I loved the lyrics too which told me a story right from the off and the interaction of piano, drums (bongos?) and her voice makes "1000 Roses" come alive as an amazing listen.  The only downside to this song?  THAT title - it sounds so clumsy to my ear and yet there is no way around it, the words are absolutely necessary to describe her love for her partner and how the smell of that "florist's shop" of flowers makes her feel!  It is a pretty pop song with so many levels and even the late addition of a harp to it adds to its almost perfection.  Will that 'wow on first listen' make this stand out in Supernova?


8 Points (8.0/10) : In My Head "Sunset"



Of all of the tracks that I have flagged up here, this is the one that would have the biggest potential to be a chart hit.  I love the guitar riffs and drums in the background and that is the strength behind this entry, so much so that this would be a decent instrumental.  As for the vocals by Evija Smagare, there is a strange low key quality about them that they are almost overcome by the music but not quite - the music is the dominant feature, whilst the singing is never lost and is an integral part of the track, working perfectly as an earworm, demanding repeated listens.  Harking back to my past, this is almost set up like a KLF track, which is apt as the band's prefered style is electronic dance - the music is the primary point of contact but the vocals are vital to the whole and provide the final hook.  This was a definite grower on me, which is never a great sign for a competition like Eurovision but it has cemented 'third favourite' status with me...


10 Points (8.5/10) : MADARA "Esamība"



Now this is a real departure from the National Final norm, perhaps only "Rändajad" springing into my mind as an example of classical instrumentation and wonderful singing as a package.  The other similarities would be singing in their native tongue and playing an instrument from the string section of an orchestra - the cello potentially restricts staging but from watching a video of MADARA's performance in that Riga shopping mall, this 'vision with red hair' was absolutely enchanting with her show and singing.  There may be some folk influences in this track that make this otherworldly but the strength is that amazing voice that compliments her cello playing - voice high, strings low.  I have to say that listening to this makes time stand still - it is truly hypnotic and singing in Latvian actually adds to the mystery and beauty of this piece.  She held everyone's attention with the hustle and bustle of shoppers around - what will having a rapt studio audience and tv camera focussing on her add to this?


12 Points (9.0/10) : Laura Rizzotto "Funny Girl"



And so we arrive at my number one entry from Supernova this year.  Why does this one get the nod over all the others?  In one word...
COMPLETENESS

One thing this entry has that my other favourites don't is a narrative, a story, a link that connects many listeners with Laura as she relates her tale.  Unrequited love, infatuation in one direction only never to be returned by the other, the dreaded 'Friend Zone'.  I love "Funny Girl" - it is a great story and shows the real pain and sadness of a beautiful woman, whose best bud is someone that she wants to have for her own but she is just his witty and reliable friend.  Aside from the lyrics, I loved this jazz/pop arrangement with the instrumentation adding so much to the song under the surface, allowing her voice to take full control and add layer on layer of emotion.  The other plus that Ms Rizzotto has on her competition at the moment is that this video demonstrates her performance skills - how she connects with the camera, the sadness in her eyes, her gorgeous pout, together with the ability to convey that this story could be a real one for her.  For such a slow paced song with minimal changes in vocal volume, this entry is totally engaging - voice, music and lyrics all come together to give us a song with a story, quite the rarity in modern day pop.  As you can tell, I absolutely adored this entry and I hope that the staging helps to take this through to the Final and beyond...

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So some time in February 2018, three semi finals and then the Supernova Final will be staged.  Two songs from each of the three SFs will make it through, which means that even in a LMBTO dreamland, one of these songs will fail to progress to the Final and that is assuming that they are evenly spread throughout!   What my preferences do provide you with is a huge variation in musical styles and spectacle...

Cello playing and a Spanish beach song...
A Club anthem and a story of Unrequited Love...

The one similarity that all these songs have is that all of the vocalists are female - make of that what you will!

My final word on how Supernova may play out must focus on my douze point entry - Laura Rizzotto, 50% Latvian, 50% Brazilian, 100% singer-songwriter with a song that is already one of the bonuses of this 2018 Eurovision season.  "Funny Girl" is my tip for the win in Latvia, based on what we have seen and heard so far - I am definitely looking forward to the Latvian selection process and plan to pay much more attention to Supernova than usual.  If Laura does win and get to sing in Lisbon, she'll have the advantage of her Brazilian heritage lending itself to fluency in Portuguese.  She's also already proved that she is true to her 'other 50%' - she's already bought the t-shirt...

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[LMBTO] And Albania Makes Seven? FiK56 blends into Eurovision 2018...

December 24, 2017, 1:36 pm
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The moment when we all knew that it was going to be Lindita's year - the Fik55 winner showing off her amazing vocal talents when singing "BOTË", the highpoint of Albania's 2017 Eurovision.  "World" was how it was composed originally so the revamp wasn't as harsh as previous years but it still lost all of the Albanian charm that it had in December 2016, when converted back to English.  So another year, another FiK - my fifth since I started this blog.  It always helps that it is the first of the season, that most other selection processes have barely decide what format they are using and that I do have a love of this 'National Final that isn't a National Final'...
So what did we have in store for this year?  RTSH had already been kind enough to give us full previews and that had allowed me to put up who may and may not succeed in Tirana - now it was time to see whether those studio performances could be enhanced/ruined by live singing on the stage of the Pallati i Kongreseve.  SF1 was on Thursday 21st December - the whole thing shown for posterity on Facebook Live:


Eleven acts up - the running order suggested that we may have some surprise performances in store:

1. Elton Deda
2. Mariza Ikonomi
3. Endri & Stefi Prifti
4. Evans Rama
5. David & Genc Tukici
6. Voltan Prodani
7. Eugent Bushpepa
8. Rezarta Smaja and Luis Ejlli
9. Bojken Lako
10. Manjola Nallbani
11. Redon Makashi

My attention was immediately drawn to positions 2, 4, 7 and 11 - all in my top ten acts pre-live.  Now I missed the first hour of the show as it happened but in the end missed none of the competitors for the FiK crown!  I had forgotten how slow this 'jewel' of Albania could be - that 60 minutes was mainly spent watching Elhaida Dani and Albania's version of Leo Sayer (Riccardo Cocciante):
Eventually we reached the entries, each being introduced by our host for the evening Adi Krasta, plus some random person with varying abilities to chat with him and read an autocue.  Listening and watching each act perform highlighted that some artists are more suited to a studio environment than live, that sometimes nerves take hold or conversely some artists actually thrive and come alive on stage.  SF1 was full of what I call 'Albanian Old Men' acts - mainly those trying to be old rockers or opera singers and succeeding/failing to varying degrees.  During the first show, we had winners and losers:

Winners:
  • Elton Deda - a massive improvement on his studio preview, a superb vocal showing, music and song balance spot on and a very creditable soft rock entry now.  The FiK producers found a decent show opener here and I was impressed now with "Fjalët" - 7.5
  • Mariza Ikonomi - a big no to the massive fairy dress she was wearing that almost kept her stuck at the top of the stairs
    but a big yes to her amazingly unique vocal style that wasn't quite up to the studio version but still made this a stand out amongst the female singers in this show.  "Unë" was still one of my favourites after this showing - 8.0
  • Eugent Bushpepa - this was the 'real deal'!  As good as the studio preview, which was superlative, Eugent provided that vocal excellence from the first strum of the guitar all the way through to the last orchestral note.  His range was perfect, every note sung with a passion that enthralled the arena and me too and it had the added bonus of the female backing singers that added to the first version I heard.  The crowd loved "Mall" too - 9.5
  • Redon Makashi - now I was witness to something that I have never seen at a Contest like this before, perhaps only once or twice at gigs I have been to, and that is the singer telling the musicians to stop and reset because something wasn't right.  Respect due to Redon for having the balls to do that and not just plough on with a substandard set - I'm sure that he would have to think twice about doing that at the ESC though!  Once we got the full uninterrupted song, this lifted from average in the studio to 'wow' on stage.  His voice, the backing choir, the backdrop, the solo wind instrument and guitar interaction all came together to provide the star turn of the evening - Redon commanded the stage and "Egziston" was truly wonderful.  I could see why this got the 'pimp slot' and it was a great way to end SF1 - 9.0
Loser:
  • Evans Rama - "Gjurmët" was an entry that really caught my attention during the studio previews and I was looking forward to hearing this and seeing how Evans would perform this live.  Unfortunately there was not the same power, emotion or interest on the stage and his vocals weren't the best.  Powering it out too much made this entry suffer and I could see why this didn't make the Final - 5.0

As soon as closing act Redon finished his entry, FiK closed down for the night and the qualifiers from SF1 weren't known until the night after, SF2, Friday 22nd December, again shown on FB Live, a system that works remarkably well:


Even though timewise this was roughly the same length as the first SF, we were into the acts far quicker, so I need to give you a quicker recap of the running order...

1. Orgesa Zaimi
2. Denisa Gjezo
3. NA and Festina Mezini
4. Lorela Sejdini
5. Artemisa Mithi
6. Ergi Bregu
7. Akullthyesit
8. Xhesika Polo
9. Inis Neziri
10. Tiri Gjoci
11. Lynx

Six out my ten pre-show live favourites were up this time, at positions 1, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 11.  Less old men and more female soloists, the other traditional fare of FiK.  Again, there were winners and losers here too, mainly associated with their live vocals:

Winners:
  • Orgesa Zaimi - my standout entry for SF2, she brought the wow factor this night much the same way that Eugent did the night before.  The quirky look of jacket, frilly blouse, necklace and sunglasses added wonderfully to what was an amazing show
    her vocals as per usual were faultless and the band/orchestra complimented her staging to provide possibly the most chart friendly entry this FiK.  You know you are onto a winner when the backing singers show great delight in singing your entry and everyone in the audience appreciated that there were no duff notes and Orgesa gave a very assured performance with lots of emotional punch.  “Ngrije zërin” was a shoe-in for the Final - 9.0
  • Inis Neziri - if the jurors at FiK this year, sole arbiters at the 56th edition after a brief dalliance with 1/13th of the vote being the public in the 55th, were going to go for a solo female artist singing a power ballad, Inis was going to be the one to supply it.  After a run in this SF of artists who hadn't sung as well live as in the studio, "Piedestal" was a welcome relief.  Inis had a superb voice, lots of control despite the power she was putting into every note and there was lots of emotion in this song.  If Christina Aguilera had been watching, she'd have recognised some of the vocal techniques that Miss Neziri was using - she gave one of the best performances of SF2, only second to Orgesa - 8.5
  • LYNX - now this was Bushpepa-lite but still a solid job done on “Vonë”, the lead singer supplying a great sound, the lead guitar giving a superb solo and this being a decent way to end the show.  Loads of energy and what I believed would be Albanian jury bait - a superb pop/rock song - should have led to a Final place for this band but surprisingly they didn't make it, despite my 8.0.
Losers:
  • Lorela Sejdini - now this lady provided one of the most chart friendly songs of FiK this year and I was impressed with how she presented "Pritem edhe pak" during the previews.  It was a fun pop song and Lorela started off with a great vocal but she lost her power and direction as time went on - she looked the part but I felt that her lack of live stage experience came into play and what could have been an outside chance of a win petered out as the song ended - 6.0
  • Ergi Bregu - now this was probably the worst vocal performance at FiK56 and possibly even at any NF I have watched.  Whether nerves got hold of her or she couldn't hear her monitors, I don't know, but she sounded off key all the way through "Bum Bum" and her staging didn't involve much interaction with audience or camera either.  I think that she will be mortified when she sees the playback of her performance - 2.0
  • Xhesika Polo - if “Përjetë” had been 30 seconds shorter, I would have had this as an outside chance for the win.  Up until then, Xhesika had a striking look, a superb performance and connection and a vocal that was far more impressive live than in the studio.  She gave beauty and poignancy to this entry that I had yet to see at FiK this year but then we got to the last half minute and it went all horribly wrong - her high notes in the chorus at that point went off and she ended up screaming, taking a huge amount of shine off the song.  I think that was the point at which she lost a chance of being in the Final - 5.5

So we had come to the end of the SFs and we knew the fourteen Finalists, helpfully displayed by Eurovision Albania:


At least the jurors seemed to have sent home those that weren't up to the task live vocally but I was very surprised that LYNX hadn't made it through.  My three top tips of Eugent Bushpepa, Orgesa Zaimi and Inis Neziri were still in with a chance of taking home the FiK crown and we were to be 'treated' to 3.75 hours of Albania's big night in:


 So apart from having an extra host in a flamboyant dress:
and models wandering on who were just as bad at reading autocues as the people in SF1 & 2, we had some interestingly different interval acts but nothing was going to distract from the main business of the evening, that of finding the winner of FiK56.  There were some big improvers on their SF performances, namely NA & Festina Mezini along with Denisa Gjezo, but neither of those were in the same league as my top five:


Elton Deda continued to amaze and astound me with his purest of soft rock and the way that with every step during this process he had been ramping up his vocal prowess.  I loved the way he ripped into the song and snarled out parts of it that turned his song into a great entry, producing a borderline head banger.  This was a superb way to end FiK in the Final, much in the same way that it was the perfect way to begin it all in SF1 - he was loving performing this song and I loved watching it - 8.0.




Mariza Ikonomi was still wearing that very awkward dress but still produced that incredibly transfixing vocal quality that made this one of my favourites from when I first heard it.  The music in the Final was reined back a bit volume wise and that brought back that ethereal quality that I loved so much with this track - Mariza's wonderful tones that provided so much light and dark in the studio preview had returned.  This was so much better than SF1 as she had so much more confidence and provided a more dynamic performance here - I always knew that her voice was 'Marmite' to many fans but as a lover of that foodstuff, I am on the side of LOVE here also!  This kept me hooked throughout the song and it is still resonating in my head as I write this now... 8.5




Inis Neziri provided us with the best power ballad here by far - such passion and control from such a young singer is commendable.  Her voice is sublime, even if there is still touches of Christina in there that she has obviously modelled her vocal talents on.  She totally nailed this song, the music fitted so well with her voice and she sung the hell out of this track.  The change of pace towards the end was a treat and the backing worked so well with her throughout - if there was to be a critique, it would be that she spent 75% of the song with her eyes closed so the interaction with the audience was minimal.  Even so, I felt that this would be there or thereabouts, depending on whether the judges wanted to play safe and pick what they have done for the past four seasons, a young attractive female soloist singing a power ballad.  I wouldn't have been disappointed to see this in Lisbon - 9.0




Orgesa Zaimi would have won FiK most years, in my opinion, but what I viewed as the most chart-worthy entry this year wasn't the standout this year.  She still looked amazingly different to anyone else, had the most vibrant performance of anyone in Tirana and was arguably the artist that held your attention more than any other in the Final.  She owned the stage and filled it with her presence, her actions and her voice.  The song was superb, the vocals were better than SF2 if that was at all possible and I felt that this would go down a storm at Eurovision, with a more receptive audience in front of her.  This sounded like a concert of her own, as though she was performing her latest number one single and really playing to the audience and the cameras, probably more so than anyone else did.  I loved the interest she gave with the change of pace of the song from verse to chorus and, all bar one act, she was the best in the Final.  If only she had not been up against my absolute favourite at FiK56 - 9.5



Eugent Bushpepa - was there really any doubt?  From the moment I heard the first bars of this performance, I knew that there could be only one result of this nation's selection process.  There was an immediate cheer when his name was announced, bigger than anyone else in the hall and on the third time of hearing I was now starting to get chills in anticipation of hearing "Mall" once more.  The Final was the first time that I noticed the backdrop, probably because I knew subconsciously that this was going to be such a tour de force that I could look at things about the staging that I hadn't looked for before.  Eugent still had that incredible voice, that amazing range, that ability not to miss a note or a beat and had that wonderful musical composition to accompany him.  He has such power in his vocals that all eyes are on him irrespective of what he chooses to do on stage - the backing and guitarwork all came together as it had done in the SF too.  This was still by far the best entry at FiK56 - I was praying that it would win by the end - 10.0

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For those of you who didn't watch the show or have been on social media for the past 24 hours, the envelope came out and the winner was announced:

Winner of FiK56 : Eugent Bushpepa – "Mall"
2nd : Redon Makashi – "Ekzistoj"
3rd : Inis Neziri – "Piedestal"

Possibly a surprising runner-up (although his live show performances were amongst the best) but my third and top places finished where I predicted.  The jurors had resisted going for their usual pick which would have been Inis, avoided selecting what many Albanians like to see at FiK (Redon) and gone for the best artist - Eugent Bushpepa.  Thanks must be given to these people:

Adrian Hila, Limoz Dizdari, Zana Çela, Ilirian Zhupa, and Markelian Kapedani.

Thank you, FiK judges, for taking a chance on something different and yet recognising that this guy has amazing talent, charisma and the presence to entrance audiences outside of Albania.  He also shows humility, demonstrated in this interview after the show:



So my pick, "Mall" by Eugent Bushpepa, has won FiK56 and therefore will be Albania's entry at Eurovision 2018 in Lisbon...

What now for one of the most famous rock singers in that nation?  The most obvious thing to note, something that I pointed out right at the beginning of my journey with this wonderful song, is that it is currently 90 seconds too long for Eurovision - if nothing else happens to this entry, that time needs to be cut out and skillfully - Albania can't afford to have what happened to "Occidentali's Karma" with its 30 second cut happening to this masterpiece.  I suspect that the old chestnut that plagues every Albanian entry will come to light - that of Albanian or English?  Eugent has already indicated that his song will stay in Albanian and I am certain that every die-hard Eurovision fan would love that to happen but in the world of economics and competition, that might not be an option.
Of course, we have just reached the starting point of 'active Eurovision', where the artist reveals, new songs and NFs all begin to snowball until we reach the second week of March, when all entries have to be declared.  Albania, like most years, are the first to have their artist with (probably) their song and therefore have a couple of months to decide how to comply with the Eurovision T&Cs.  Maybe he'll have to return to the studio to best work out how to revamp "Mall" without losing that superlative power and intensity that it possesses at 4 minutes 30 seconds long...


There is one thing that is certain -
Eugent Bushpepa is Albania's representative in Lisbon...

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[LMBTO] Eurovision 2018 week 16/17 - San Marino's 'fav' rapper goes live

December 27, 2017, 2:21 pm
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So we now know who the eleven singers (one extra than planned, as the judges just couldn't lose another artist, apparently) will be in the San Marino selection process for Lisbon 2018.  We already knew that Emma Sandström was the Eurovision Club wildcard pick, that Giovanni Montalbano was the 'heart' wildcard winner and we know that Irol (the guy in the picture), the self proclaimed 'favourite rapper in San Marino' was the 'host nation' selection choice.  We found this out from a very familiar source, the very loud Valentina Monetta, who pronounced that Mr MC was to be singing in the live shows in the New Year.  As for the other eight, SMTV and 1in360 revealed them via Twitter:

And here is a suitable playlist of those artist's entries:



Sara and Franklin are still my standouts at the moment, my number one and six out of those 550, but it is all to play for when we get to the live shows.  I had Emma, Sebastian, Judah and Jenifer down on my list of 40 that realistically could make Eurovision, so seeing all these sing live will really sort out who is good enough to get to Lisbon.  One of these artists will be San Marino's representative this year:
The Head of Delegation even popped up on social media to help keep 1 in 360 in the public eye in the run up to Christmas:



My tip for the seat on the flight to Portugal would still be Sara de Blue - hopefully I'll have tickets to see if she makes it to sing in the Altice Arena but I had an issue like tens of thousands of other fans...


Anyone get a ticket?
I wasn't going to get a ticket on the 20th when randomly assigned a number like that, was I?  It appeared that only those assigned numbers 2000 and below has any chance of getting a Final, Jury Final or Family Show ticket last Wednesday - I put my email details in, just in case but at 18.10 GMT, I knew that I had not succeeded getting a ticket during this wave of the sale:
Now I am not going to fork out huge amounts of money on the 'resale market' and so will wait until January until the next wave becomes available after the SF draws are known.  We do at least know more of the designated seating areas now:
There were a lot of fans disappointed - I suspect that there will be a lot of press accreditation applications made this year.  I'm hoping for another route in - a certain Russian may be there too...


Is AISEL part of the Philip Kirkorov 'Dream Team'?


A picture from the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, no less.  There were reports at the beginning of the month that Philip Kirkorov and a team of experts in composing and choreography were going to be assisting a 'friendly country' (to Russia) in Lisbon with their production.  Now it could all be a great coincidence but the picturing together of AISEL from Azerbaijan and Mr Kirkorov in Russia, with her thanking him 'for everything' and 'for your valuable advice and your support', might suggest that there is a link there.  Nothing confirmed officially but seeing that the 'Dream Team' helped Sergey Lazarev to third in Stockholm, could there be more of a chance of Baku 2019 happening than there was before?  According to a local interview with AISEL, we won't know anything about the song she will sing until March, when there will be the big reveal - perhaps only then will we know if there is this link.  Keep 'em peeled, people...


Erica and Greta have songs for Lithuania...



We have two of my favourite Lithuanian singers of recent years revealing their entries for „Eurovizijos“, that marathon selection process that has yet to entice me to watch it to any great degree, purely because of its length.  The last time I watched their Final was the "Monika Linkyte, Vaidas Baumila and Mia" battle of 2015 - Erica was deprived of going to Eurovision in 2016 by Donny Montell but she might stand a decent chance of going all the way with her entry "The Truth".  She has always been one of the best singers that I have heard competing within the Lithuanian selection process and this entry will hopefully keep her in the hunt to go to Lisbon - what you hear above is exactly how it will sound in the live shows and she has always connected wonderfully with the jurors and public.  If Lithuania wants to send an inspirational ballad to Eurovision for a change, they could do far worse.

If instead they want to send a lady who made last year's NF, who catches the eye and sings an entry that is a melodic pop song then Greta Zazza has revealed her entry:



Personally I'd be rooting for Erica but who knows how staging and live singing might affect both of these artists...


Jenny did it for me in Israel - Zohar's way through to round two was a bit strange...



Jenny Polotsky dresses like a classically trained musician, fitting the bill as she plays violin in a military orchestra and she demonstrated this skill superbly well during her performance.  Not only that, she has a wonderful tone to her voice that is quite beguiling and she fully deserved her 'wall lift', getting three judge's votes - of the final four shows, she was my favourite audition.  In these final shows, there were a lot of DNQs - one that almost joined them was this lady, Zohar Raziel:



She actually created a unique situation - the three 'nice judges' (Keren, Harel, Static and Ben-El) all wrote her off within the first 60 seconds, which happened to be when Zohar turned her performance around and showed that she actually could sing, brilliantly in fact, something that the 'nasty judge' (Asaf) who typically waits until the end of the audition to give his vote was able to take advantage of and vote on.  52% was obviously not enough to raise the wall and for every other singer that would have been it, unless the hosts used their 'save' option - this time however, for whatever reason, it was decided to let her have another go with a different song (to be fair to the jurors, I have seen other auditionees be able to sing an extra song to convince a judge to vote for them).  This time, mainly because she showed that the second half of the initial song was the 'real her' and possibly because the three 'no' judges didn't want to be seen to be idiots, she stormed this song and got the highest rating so far this series, 97%.  Personally, I don't think that Zohar singing Amy Winehouse was THAT good but she deserved to at least be considered for the next round.  Maybe that was a lesson to all the judges - don't jump in too quickly...



Michael Kobrin was the only other artist who stood out for me in those final auditions, mainly because of his guitar craft and THAT voice.  His enunciation wasn't that brilliant but how he sounded made him stand out a mile - can he do that again with a different song though?



These three joined the other 67 who had been voted through this audition stage - twenty of those will be chosen for the next round of "Hakokhav Haba"...


Oh Czechia, you are so teasing us all...


I suspect that if you are Czech or a follower of their music, you now have enough information to identify who the six artists are that will participate in their NF.  I don't, to be honest, but this confirms that there are 4 men and 2 women - it also shows that at least one of the men can fix an office chair...


And we have the final 20 for Depi Evratesil...
Today, 27th December 2017, was the day that Armenia revealed the twenty acts that will be participating in Depi Evratesil 2018.  We knew that Tamar and Asmik were there in that list and potentially would be viewed as favourites by Eurovision fans - who else is there that I might recognise?

Alternative (band)
Amaliya Margaryan
Angel

Arman Mesropyan
Asmik Shiroyan
Hayk Kasparov
Gata Band
Gevorg Harutyunyan
Kamil
Lusine Mardanyan
Maria’s Secret
Mariam
Mher Armenia
Nemra (band)
Robert Koloyan
Sevak Khanagyan
Suren Poghosyan
Tamar Kaprelian
Tyom
Zhanna Davtyan

Unfortunately my third wish wasn't granted in that Marta, runner-up in last year's series, wasn't there but Amaliya Margaryan and Gevorg Harutyunyan were from season one.  Amaliya has a bit of a head start on everyone bar Tamar in that she was one of Artsvik's backing singers in Kyiv whereas Gevorg gave us one of the most interesting and innovative staged shows last year:


I think that this will be one of the highlights of the Eurovision 2018 calendar and Armenia's selection process has joined Albania, Belarus, Estonia and of course the UK as my must-sees each year...

Tamar? Asmik? Someone else?
I'll have a better idea when the songs are revealed on January 15th...
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[LMBTO] It's New Year - here is the latest Eurovision Top 250...

January 1, 2018, 7:29 am
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2017 comes to an end in a typically Eurovision way with the playing of the ESC250 chart - this has been an ever present part of my blogging life since LMBTO began in July 2013 and so it continues with my fifth set of votes.  Now I am sure that you all know the score - put forward your top ten Eurovision hits, scored 1 up to 12, help them get into the chart or as high as possible, listen to the countdown and then find out that this lady has won yet again:
Loreen has been number one for the last FIVE years now - I have known no other artist have that coveted top slot since my blogging days began!  Part of that is the reason why I do what I do with the ESC Top 250...

NOT pick the same ten every year

I am sure that almost every other voter will have their same list year after year, consider whether any entries from that season's Contest are good enough to displace any and then submit it all again, much the same as before.  Now I find that admirable but that would mean that I wouldn't be able to blog about it year after year, would it?  My four years of listed entries have been quite varied, with only four songs being duplicated over that time - two because they are in the same nation, one because of the entry's staging and audio prowess and one because the lady concerned is one of my favourite artists and my top Eurovision Beauty too - any guesses?

Go on then - I'll summarise my choices for you and the themes:


2013 - All about THE SONG
1 Point: "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu" - Domenico Modugno (Italy 1958)
2 Points: "La Det Swinge" - BobbySocks! (Norway 1985)
3 Points: "Tu Te Reconnaîtras" - Anne-Marie David (Luxembourg 1973)
4 Points: "Hold Me Now" - Johnny Logan (Ireland 1987)
5 Points: "Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue" - Séverine (Monaco 1971)
6 Points: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009)
7 Points: "Beg, Steal Or Borrow" - The New Seekers (UK 1972)
8 Points: "Satellite" - Lena (Germany 2010)
10 Points: "Waterloo" - ABBA (Sweden 1974)
12 Points: "L'oiseau et l'enfant" - Marie Myriam (France 1977)

To be honest, this might be the closest to a pure 'best of' list I have ever produced but this was only about the vocals so my next list might influence any 'absolute list' in future...


1 Point: "Love Me Back" - Can Bonomo (Turkey 2012)
2 Points: "Calm After The Storm" - The Common Linnets (The Netherlands 2014)
3 Points: "Believe" - Dima Bilan (Russia 2008)
4 Points: "Save All Your Kisses For Me" - Brotherhood Of Man (UK 1976)
5 Points: "Hard Rock Hallelujah" - Lordi (Finland 2006)
6 Points: "Making Your Mind Up" - Bucks Fizz (UK 1981)
7 Points: "Hold Me" - Farid Mammadov (Azerbaijan 2013)
8 Points: "Wild Dances" - Ruslana (Ukraine 2004)
10 Points: "My Number One" - Helena Paparizou (Greece 2005)
12 Points: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009)

Alexander back again, this time as my 'Greatest Showman' and I felt no guilt in choosing an almost totally different list to the previous year!  I decided to take a major diversion for 2015...


2015 - My Eurovision Beauties
1 Point: Paula Seling (& Ovi) - "Playing With Fire" (Romania 2010)
2 Points: Elena Ionescu (Mandinga) - "Zaleilah" (Romania 2012)
3 Points: Maja Keuc - No One (Slovenia 2011)
4 Points: Margaret Berger - "I Feed You My Love" (Norway 2013)
5 Points: Ani Lorak - "Shady Lady" (Ukraine 2008)
6 Points: Natasha St-Pier - "Je n'ai que mon âme" (France 2001)
7 Points: Tina Karol - "Show Me Your Love" (Ukraine 2006)
8 Points: Edurne - "Amanecer" (Spain 2015)
10 Points: Zlata Ognevich - "Gravity" (Ukraine 2013)
12 Points: Helena Paparizou - "My Number One" (Greece 2005)

Never really any doubt, was there?  My 'not so secret' crush, Helena Paparizou, topping my 2015 chart after being second in my staging list.  My next list picked up the other two acts within the previous three years, mainly because I chose my home nation for last year's top ten...


1 Point : "Boom Bang A Bang" - Lulu (UK 1969)
2 Points : "Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit" - Gina G (UK 1996)
3 Points : "Love Enough For Two" - Prima Donna (UK 1980)
4 Points :  "Puppet On A String" - Sandie Shaw (UK 1967)
5 Points : "Come Back" - Jessica Garlick (UK 2002) 
6 Points : "Are You Sure?" - The Allisons (UK  1961)
7 Points : "Congratulations" - Cliff Richard (UK 1968)
8 Points : "Save All Your Kisses For Me" - Brotherhood Of Man (UK 1976)
10 Points : "Love Shine A Light" - Katrina And The Waves (UK 1997)
12 Points : "Beg, Steal Or Borrow" - The New Seekers (UK 1972)

Maybe everyone should have a go at their UK top ten and then we might get an ESC250 chart that isn't 80% from 2010 onwards!  So onto the 2017 offerings - I voted by the closing date, 10th December and waited for the chart to play on New Year's Eve.  The big question I am sure that you all want answering is what criteria did I use this year?  I toyed with a couple of ideas and it was only when I was putting together my Eurovision Takeover playlist for Tommy's Eurovision Retro Show that I realised that several of the entries gave me chills, made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up...

EUREKA!  2017 is the year for 'Goosebump' songs!

Why not, I thought?  None of these entries have appeared before in my ESC Top 250 selections and it shows off ten more Eurovision entries that I love listening to.  The downside is that only one entry this time is from the 20th Century but what an entry that is!  To be fair, if you look at the previous four years, there is a wide spread of decades picked from so I am due a list that is more recent...

So here we go - who did I select for the 2017 chart?


1 Point :"Visionary Dream" - Sopho (Georgia 2007)


If your nation was debuting at the Eurovision Song Contest and you wanted to show off not only your current musical talent but also your cultural heritage, do you think that, as a Georgian, this performance would fit the bill and stamp your presence in the competition?  Of course you would!  "Visionary Dream" sure impressed the hell out of me when I saw and heard this for the first time - there were so many conflicts within the singing, the lyrics and the performance and yet it worked so beautifully.

Sopho looking as though she was off to a royal garden party, 
her four male 'dancers' dicing with their deaths (and Sopho's) as they twirled around with short swords 
and the music that screamed '21st Century' was entrancing. 

The chills for me start first from the first few bars, as the drums and bass rise in volume alongside the vocals which are delivered with such punch and delight throughout, providing one of the best debut songs for any nation that I have seen.  Every time I watch this show, the knowledge that "Visionary Dream" was ten years ago and yet wouldn't sound out of place in 2017 just gives me those shivers!  A superb song, in my eyes Georgia's most memorable entry and my one point this time around - this also sneaked into the final chart at number 234...


2 Points : "Kuula" - Ott Lepland (Estonia 2012)



The 'odd one out' this year in my list but only for being the sole man, not for any difference in quality in Ott's entry, because "Kuula" is an absolutely beautiful song of love for his country.  Ott's passionate delivery all the way through kept me watching from start to finish, no need for ERR to put an elaborate backdrop up or have pyros, as any distractions would have been totally pointless.

The camerawork meant that the focus was on him and his emotional and yet minimalistic movements added just enough subtlety to make this a masterclass in delivering a quiet and yet enthralling ballad.

The goosebumps came as his voice powered up to bring the wow moment two thirds of the way through, arms outstretched and full volume.  One of Estonia's best entries of recent years - a real pity it was in Baku, as it was never going to win.  A wonderful song that was ninth on my list and an impressive 80 on the 2017 chart...


3 Points :"Birds" - Anouk (The Netherlands 2013)



The beginning of the Dutch revival, Anouk made Eurovision cool again in The Netherlands with this amazing entry.  It really shouldn't work - a beautiful singer who is better known for rock music, singing a really sad ballad when you look at the lyrics, performing alone on the satellite stage with three backing singers far from her and minimal backdrop assistance with a brief show of animated bird shapes and stars.  The thing was - it did work and it succeeded in a big way.  "Birds" was so memorable due to all of those parts coming together in synergy...

Anouk carrying the day with her assured stage charisma, her slight smile to the audience, her wonderful tone and emotional delivery taking the song from what could have been so morbid to an almost heavenly level, along with her raising her game as she sees that the crowd are transfixed and willing her on.

There isn't just one spine tingling moment here for me - it is the whole song, the complete experience of this entry that exists from 0:15 to 3:10, the entry that lots of fans didn't get before Malmö but sure did after Anouk performed in her SF.  So many wow moments in Eurovision history means that this gets only 3 points from me but "Birds" did end up 62nd on the chart...


4 Points : "Molitva" - Marija Šerifović (Serbia 2007)



2007 was a great year for debutantes - Georgia having a storming start with "Visionary Dream" whereas Serbia lived the dream with a victory as a solo nation.  That win was due to yet another 'whole song' goosebumps trigger in the form of 'Molitva' - this could have worked with Marija alone on stage and her backing singers, The Beauty Queens, just singing out of sight but whoever choreographed this magical piece of theatre hopefully was called upon by the highest bidder to help out other delegations in future years.

Marija's impassioned interpretation of the beautiful words of 'Molitva', combined with the stylised movements of the 'Charlie's Angels' about her in direct contrast to her 'Brat Pack' attire, finished off with that iconic hand held heart tattoo, provided us with one of the best staged ballads in Eurovision history.

From beginning to end, the whole show is totally beguiling and it was no wonder that those neck hairs stand up right from the first note - good enough for four points in this list and 14th on the chart...


5 Points : "Rändajad" - Urban Symphony (Estonia 2009)



Right from the first guttural sound issued forth from Sandra's mouth, up to the point where she averts her gaze to the floor as the song closes, "Rändajad" is a pure delight and will always be so, due to its perfect combination of classical instrumentation and pop, along with contemporary and ethnic strands interlacing throughout.  

The wonder of having a group on the Eurovision stage dressed as though they have all been lifted from one of the world's top symphony orchestras and seeing that the only special effects to hand is the smoke effect around Sandra at the start of the song meant that everything stood or fell on the singing and 'musicianship'.

To be honest, there was never any doubt that this song was ever going to be anything other than an amazing success - it was a shame that one of Estonia's best entries was in a year where only one song was ever going to win.  The delivery of the lyrics in Estonian made this ethereal entry appear even more so to an outsider and the ability that this entry had to almost take you out of your body to another place whilst listening to it is why it is in my list this year, albeit at five points but staying steady in the chart at 38th...


6 Points : "Non ho l'età" - Gigliola Cinquetti (Italy 1964)



This is my only 20th Century entry this year, which is unusual for me, especially considering my 2016 list of UK entries (okay, maybe not that surprising!).  The reason that this makes my list of "spine tinglers" is simple really - purity of voice and musical intricacy.  Uniquely perhaps, it couldn't be anything else, seeing that this entry came from one of only two that we have none or minimal visuals for, this video including the only snatches of the 1964 Contest left to see.  To be fair, Eurovision wasn't really into anything other than artists standing at the mic and singing at this stage but even so, "Non ho l'età" needed nothing else.  

Gigliola had a voice and range that belied her 16 years and the deep twangs of the bass guitar that so expertly accompany her at the start of this song just hook me in every time - everything about this is totally transfixing and I can't drag myself away from the imagery of the small snippets of history supplied by this video.

This story of 'the love that cannot happen' provides potentially THE most intriguing Eurovision entry from the black and white era and the overall backstory that maybe one day the whole recorded show may be found, places this entry here with six points and at 138th place in the chart...


7 Points : "A Million Voices" - Polina Gagarina (Russia 2013)



MY winner of 2013, Polina Gagarina is one of those singers that makes me go 'wow' whenever a single note comes out of her mouth.  "A Million Voices" was a vocal masterclass for anyone wanting to hear how a Eurovision entry should be presented live - Polina's vocals were sublime, the backing singers added their part 100% and the song itself, albeit a little self-indulgent and worldly cynical, was spot on lyrically and emotionally.  

The simple 'band on stage' approach to the look was the icing on the cake, as it provided a visual 'horseshoe' around this stunning artist in her amazing pure white dress and provided all the focus on her, if any more was needed without listening to her voice.

Another song that grabs you at the start as though you've been caught by the tide and pulled along with it, until the very end where it dumps you on the beach.  Russia's 2013 entry would have undoubtedly won for any other nation but it at least stays in this fan's memory as a truly astounding song and one to stop what you are doing and spend the next three minutes in awe, irrespective of how many times I have listened to it before.  It stays about the same on the chart - 24th this year...


8 Points : "Stronger Every Minute" - Lisa Andreas (Cyprus 2004)



Forty years on from when one 16 year old sung about 'a love that could never be' and crushed all the opposition in 1964, another 16 year old girl from North Kent, singing for the nation where she was christened, gave Cyprus their arguably best result with this most basic of all staged entries in 2004.  The fact that it is all about Lisa Andreas, how she looks (like a teenage girl who appears older to get into a club), how she presents this song (with all the passion of someone in love for the first time, getting to grips with emotions never felt before) and how she sounds (her voice and method of singing this with dramatic pauses making this almost an acting masterclass too).  For an era where every other entry literally threw 'the kitchen sink' at their performances, this initially confused the audience in Turkey with the silence that was meant to draw gasps but instead drew one member to shout "Boring".  If whoever shouted that out is reading this, I hope that you were ridiculed immediately by those around you and that the Turkish security in the Abdi İpekçi Arena took you outside, teaching you some manners as they did so...idiot!

This song is so measured and sung as though it is Lisa reading a love letter out loud that gives me those goosebumps - "Stronger Every Minute" is totally believable and for this powerful and passionate performance to be given by someone so young? Wow!

This is an entry that makes me sigh, that makes me think about times past in my life where I realised that I was falling head over heels in love and that I was gripped by a power that made me just focus on that one person, much in the same way that Lisa portrayed in Istanbul.  The Chatham girl did good - my third place this year and eight points...unfortunately not enough to get Lisa into the Top 250...


10 Points : "Blackbird" - Norma John (Finland 2017)



Now here is an anomaly - I have NEVER put an entry from the year just gone into one of these lists before and maybe I chose this year's category knowing subconsciously that I would select this entry, my number one for Kyiv, and the second year in a row where my top track was a fan favourite that bombed out in the SF.  Okay, so maybe you have a point but it is my blog, my top ten for ESC Top 250 and therefore what I want in it goes!  Having said that, it is an entry that will be there or thereabouts for my top Eurovision songs of all time and I knew that from the moment that I heard it at UMK 2017.  "Blackbird" is absolutely sublime, a song of amazing quality, a composition lyrically and musically rarely bettered over the decades during my time of listening to the Contest.  

The lyrics are fairly minimal and yet so profound and powerful, the memory of someone's finished relationship being triggered every time that they see or hear something in particular, in this case a simple blackbird, just makes this three minutes of despair and yet pleasure at the same time.

Despair for Leena but pleasure for me in that this reads so magnificently as poetry and the musicianship that accompanies the vocals adds to the power of the depressive emotion that this entry emits.  That might explain why this didn't make it to the Final but this is still one of my favourite ever entries now and it almost took the 'goosebump title' in my list - second place is fully deserved though, as is its 66th placing on the chart...


12 Points :  "Quédate Conmigo" - Pastora Soler (Spain 2012)



And so we arrive at my number one this year, the ultimate song to give me chills, to make me pause and listen to the emotional delivery and passion of one of the most underrated Eurovision entries ever, probably because Spain committed the cardinal sin of sending their best entry of the 21st Century up against what has become the winner of this chart for the last five years!  "Quédate Conmigo" is just outside my top ten Eurovision entries ever, however you define it, but safely in my top twenty.  

This performance highlights what Spain does best, a song written in their native tongue, sung by a confident note-perfect female soloist who just sings the entry out loud and proud, no gimmicks, no dancing, looking straight down the camera and emoting her feelings that are expertly portrayed in the song itself.

Pastora is trying to convince her love that he must return to her soon and that they can't split up as that would break her in two - if the alternative is reality, she just wants to be lied to.  That is the premise of the lyrics - the simplicity of the musical accompaniment of strings and piano allows Pastora's powerful voice to take command of the stage, the Baku crowd and those three minutes where the focus of Eurovision was on her and to a lesser degree to her backing singers and wind machine!  How this only finished tenth on the night, I have no idea - not that she was going to win anyway as Sweden had her year all sewn up.  There are many fans who now appreciate this as much as I do and "Quédate Conmigo" has gradually moved up the ESC Top 250 lists.  Where did it finish this year?  8th place and deservedly so...

My votes overall?  It all looked rather smarter with this new version of voting...
And this is how I spread the word:
And so the chart rundown began on 31st December - I ended up with NINE out of my ten in the Top 250 which, to be honest, is unheard of!  Only my third placed song from Lisa Andreas didn't make it, something that is to be expected in a way - maybe if she returned to the Eurovision music scene, "Stronger Every Minute" might make it back into the chart...

The full list?  The Facebook group "Eurovision Song Contest - Fans Club" had a very dedicated member who transcribed all of the info:
01. LOREEN – EUPHORIA – SWEDEN (2012) = (SAME)
02. Salvador Sobral - Amar Pelos Dois - Portugal (2017) NEW
03. Jamala – 1944 – Ukraine (2016) +1
04. Il Volo - Grande Amore - Italy (2015) (-2)
05. Blanche - City Lights - Belgium (2017) NEW
06. Sertab Erener - Everyway That I Can - Turkey (2003) (-1)
07. Mans Zelmerlow - Heroes - Sweden (2015) (+1)
08. Pastora Soler - Quedate Conmigo - Spain (2012) (-1)
09. Francesco Gabbani - Occidentali's Karma - Italy (2017) NEW
10. Loic Notet - Rhythm Inside - Belgium (2015) (+3)
11. Sergey Lazarev - You Are The Only One - Russia (2016) (-8)
12. The Common Linnets - Calm After The Storm - The Netherlands (2014) (-1)
13. Conchita Wurst - Rise Like A Phoenix - Austria (2014) (-3)
14. Marija Šerifović - Molitva - Serbia (2007) (-5)
15. Alexander Rybak - Fairytale - Norway (2009) (+3)
16. maNga - We Could Be The Same - Turkey (2010) (-2)
17. Poli Genova - If Love Was A Crime - Bulgaria (2016) (-11)
18. Elina Born & Stig Rasta - Goodbye To Yesterday - Estonia (2015) (+11)
19. ABBA - Waterloo - Sweden (1974) = (SAME)
20. Helena Paparizou - My Number One - Greece (2005) = (SAME)
21. Sanna Nielsen - Undo - Sweden (2014) = (SAME)
22. Michal Szpak - Colour Of Your Life - Poland (2016) (+5)
23. Hadise - Crazy For You (Dum Tek Tek) - Turkey (2009) (-6)
24. Polina Gagarina - A Million Voices - Russia (2015) (-1)
25. Aminata - Love Injected - Latvia (2015) (+36)
26. Secret Garden - Nocturne - Norway (1995) (-1)
27. Kristian Kostov - Beautifull Mess - Bulgaria (2017) NEW
28. Emmelie De Forest - Only Teardrops - Denmark (2013) (+9)
29. Iveta Mukuchyan - LoveWave - Armenia (2016) (+2)
30. Dami Im - Sound Of Silence - Australia (2016) (-15)
31. Sebnem Paker - Dinle - Turkey (1997) (+21)
32. Željko Joksimović - Lane Moje - Serbia & Montenegro (2004) (-16)
33. Morland & Debrah Scarlett - A Monster Like Me - Norway (2015) (-1)
34. Amir - J'ai Cherche - France (2016) (-22)
35. Lena - Satellite - Germany (2010) (-7)
36. Vania Fernandes - Senhora Do Mar - Portugal (2008) (+24)
37. Yohanna - Is It True - Iceland (2009) (+10)
38. Urban Symphony - Randajad - Estonia (2009) (-2)
39. Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love - Norway (2013) (+35)
40. Hari Mata Hari - Lejla - BiH (2006) = (SAME)
41. Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah - Finland (2006) (+41)
42. Katrina & The Waves - Love Shine A Light - UK (1997) (+4)
43. Ani Lorak - Shady Lady - Ukraine (2008) (+50)
44. Elhaida Dani - I'm Alive - Albania (2015) (+19)
45. Ruslana - Wild Dances - Ukraine (2004) (+41)
46. Rona Nishliu - Suus - Albania (2012) (-22)
47. Anne Marie David - Tu Te Reconnaitras - Luxembourg (1973) (+7)
48. Marco Mengoni - L'Essenziale - Italy (2013) (+65)
49. Edyta Gorniak - To Nie Ja! - Poland (1994) (+74)
50. Dihaj - Skeletons - Azerbaijan (2017) NEW
51. Ruth Lorenzo - Dancing In The Rain - Spain (2014) (-12)
52. Zlata Ognevich - Gravity - Ukraine (2013) (+35)
53. Željko Joksimović - Nije Ljubav Stvar - Serbia (2012) (+22)
54. Ivi Adamou - La La Love - Cyprus (2012) (-13)
55. Koit Toome & Laura - Verona - Estonia (2017) NEW
56. Antique - (I Would) Die For You - Greece (2001) (-22)
57. Mocedades - Eres Tu - Spain (1973) (+13)
58. Eric Saade - Popular - Sweden (2011) (+7)
59. Naviband - Story Of My Live - Belarus (2017) NEW
60. Mor Ve Otesi - Deli - Turkey (2008) (+105)
61. Celine Dion - Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi - Switzerland (1988) (+27)
62. Anouk Birds - The Netherlands (2013) (+48)
63. AySel & Arash - Always - Azerbaijan (2009) (-4)
64. France Gall - Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son - Luxembourg (1965) (-7)
65. Sirusho - Qele, Qele - Armenia (2008) (+59)
66. Norma John - Blackbird - Finland (2017) NEW
67. Lucie Jones - Never Give Up On You - UK (2017) NEW
68. SunStroke Project - Hey, Mamma - Moldova (2017) NEW
69. Jelena Tomašević - Oro - Serbia (2008) (+42)
70. Lena - Taken By A Stranger - Germany (2011) (+59)
71. Verka Serduchka - Dancing Lasha Tumbai - Ukraine (2007) (+175)
72. Kaliopi - Crno I Belo - FYROM (2012) (-37)
73. Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now - Ireland (1987) (+11)
74. Sabina Babayeva - When The Music Dies - Azerbaijan (2012) (-6)
75. Francesca Michielin - No Degree Of Separation - Italy (2016) (+101)
76. Alma - Requiem - France (2017) NEW
77. Dana International - Diva - Israel (1998) (-5)
78. Joci Papai - Origo - Hungary (2017) NEW
79. Shiri Maimon - Hasheket Shenish'ar - Israel (2005) (-15)
80. Ott Lepland - Kuula - Estonia (2012) (-11)
81. Alyosha - Sweet People - Ukraine (2010) (+17)
82. Marie Myriam - L'oiseau Et L'enfant - France (1977) (+14)
83. Kalomira - Secret Combination - Greece (2008) (+102)
84. Patricia Kaas - Et S'il Fallait Le Faire - France (2009) (-20)
85. Kojo - Nuku pommiin - Finland (1982) NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
86. Doris Dragović - Marija Magdalena - Croatia (1999) (+138)
87. Barei - Say Yay! - Spain (2016) (-54)
88. Carl Espen - Silent Storm - Norway (2014) (+162)
89. Harel Skaat - Milim - Israel (2010) (+26)
90. Jana Burčeska - Dance Alone - FYROM (2017) NEW
91. Kasia Mos - Flashlight - Poland (2017) NEW
92. Brainstorm - My Star - Latvia (2000) (+80)
93. Kristina Pelakova - Horehronie - Slovakia (2010) (+83)
94. Zoe - Loin D'Ici - Austria (2016) (-45)
95. Softengine - Something Better - Finland (2014) (-3)
96. Athena - For Real - Turkey (2004) (+31)
97. Danijela - Neka Mi Ne Svane - Croatia (1998) (-46)
98. Robin Bengtsson - I Can't Go On - Sweden (2017) NEW
99. Eimear Quinn - The Voice - Ireland (1996) (+76)
100. Paula Seling & Ovi - Playing With Fire - Romania (2010) (+21)
101. Safura - Drip Drop - Azerbaijan (2010) (-6)
102. Anabel Conde - Vuelve Conmigo - Spain (1995) (-64)
103. Aram Mp3 - Not Alone - Armenia (2014) = (SAME)
104. Amina - Le Dernier Qui A Parle... - France (1991) (-4)
105. Dima Bilan - Believe - Russia (2008) (-63)
106. Vicky Leandros - Apres Toi - Luxembourg (1972) (+13)
107 Nina Sublatti - Warrior - Georgia (2015) (-49)
108. Jalisse - Fiumi Di Parole - Italy (1997) (+45)
109. OG3NE - Lights And Shadows - The Netherlands (2017)
110. Gabriela Gunčikova - I Stand - Czech Republic (2016) (-32)
111. Charlotte Perelli - Hero - Sweden (2008) (+15)
112. Natasha St-Pier - Je N'ai Que Mon Ame - France (2001) (-7)
113. Anja Nissen - Where I Am - Denmark (2017) NEW
114. Valentina Monetta - Crisalide (Vola) - San Marino (2013) (-29)
115. Carola - Invincible - Sweden (2006) (+5)
116. Knez - Adio - Montenegro (2015) (-7)
117. Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan - Rock'n'roll Kids - Ireland (1994) (+93)
118. Alice & Battiato - I Treni Di Tozeur - Italy (1984) (+44)
119. Douwe Bob - Slow Down - The Netherlands (2016) (-66)
120. Donatan & Cleo - My Slowianie - We Are Slavic - Poland (2014) (+34)
121. Ilinca feat. Alex Florea - Yodel It - Romania (2017) NEW
122. Urban Trad - Sanomi - Belgium (2003) NEW
123. Anna Vissi - Everything - Greece (2006) (+7)
124. Mia Martini - Rapsodia - Italy (1992) (+56)
125. Inga & Anush - Jan Jan - Armenia (2009) (-54)
126. Nadav Guedj - Golden Boy - Israel (2015) (-29)
127. Loukas Giorkas feat. Stereo Mike - Watch My Dance - Greece (2011) NEW
128. Nina Zilli - L'Amore E Femmina (Out Of Love) - Italy (2012) (+117)
129. Timebelle - Apollo - Switzerland (2017) NEW
130. Greta Salome & Jonsi - Never Forget - Iceland (2012) (-51)
131. Maja Keuc - No One - Slovenia (2011) (-69)
132. Greta Salome - Hear Them Calling - Iceland (2016) (-84)
133. Moje 3 - Ljubav Je Svuda - Serbia (2013) NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
134. Nicole - Ein Bisschen Frieden - Germany (1982) NEW
135. Farid Mammadov - Hold Me - Azerbaijan (2013) (-62)
136. Sebalter - Hunter Of Stars - Switzerland (2014) (-56)
137. Justs - Heartbeat - Latvia (2016) (-81)
138. Gigliola Cinquetti - Non Ho L'Eta - Italy (1964) (+75)
139. Jasmine - Niin Kaunis On Taivas - Finland (1996) NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
140. Agnete - Icebreaker - Norway (2016) NEW
141. Gigliola Cinquetti - Si - Italy (1974) (-16)
142. Freddie - Pioneer - Hungary (2016) (-48)
143. Grethe & Jorgen Ingmann - Dansevise - Denmark (1963) (+35)
144. Frans - If I Were Sorry - Sweden (2016) (-94)
145. JOWST - Grab The Moment - Norway (2017) NEW
146. Sanja Vučić ZAA - Goodbye (Shelter) - Serbia (2016) (+25)
147. Domenico Modugno - Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu - Italy (1958) (-5)
148. Charlotte Nilsson (Perreli) - Take Me To Your Heaven - Sweden (1999) (+74)
149. Kasia Kowalska - Chce znac swoj grzech - Poland (1996) (-94)
150. Mei Finegold - Same Heart - Israel (2014) (-60)
151. A Friend In London - A New Tomorrow - Denmark (2011) (-6)
152. One More Time - Den Vilda - Sweden (1996) (-21)
153. Toto Cutugno - Insieme 1992 - Italy (1990) (+65)
154. Laura Tesoro - What's The Pressure - Belgium (2016) (-55)
155. Dima Bilan - Never Let You Go - Russia (2006) (+52)
156. Dino Merlin - Love In Rewind - BiH (2011) (+13)
157. Aliona Moon - O Mie - Moldova (2013) (-16)
158. Edsilia Rombley - Hemel & Aarde - The Netherlands (1998) (+75)
159. Regina - Bistra Voda - BiH (2009) (+88)
160. Carola - Fangad Av En Stormvind - Sweden (1991) (+59)
161. Raphael Gualazzi - Madness Of Love - Italy (2011) NEW
162. Semiha Yanki - Seninle Bir Dakika - Turkey (1975) NEW
163. Edurne - Amanecer - Spain (2015) (-86)
164. Hovi Star - Made Of Stars - Israel (2016) (-24)
165. Ell & Nikki - Running Scared - Azerbaijan (2011) (-135)
166. T.A.T.U. - Ne Ver', Ne Bojsia - Russia (2003) NEW
167. XXL - Sto Posto Te Ljubam - FYROM (2000) NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
168. Moran Mazor - Rak Bishvilo - Israel (2013) (-7)
169. Beth - Dime - Spain (2003) NEW
170. Milk & Honey feat. Gali Atari - Hallelujah - Israel (1979) (+67)
171. Azucar Moreno - Bandido - Spain (1990) (-4)
172. Sandra Kim - J'aime La Vie - Belgium (1986) (+33)
173. Kaliopi - Dona - FYROM (2016) NEW
174. Elnur & Samir - Day After Day - Azerbaijan (2008) (-68)
175. Juri Pootsmann - Play - Estonia (2016) (-132)
176. Vanilla Ninja - Cool Vibes - Switzerland (2005) (-110)
177. Brotherhood Of Man - Save Your Kisses For Me - UK (1976) (+57)
178. Guy Sebastian - Tonight Again - Australia (2015) (-77)
179. Olsen Brothers - Fly On The Wings Of Love - Denmark (2000) (+64)
180. Anna Maria Jopek - Ale Jestem - Poland (1997) (+58)
181. Lucia Moniz - O Meu Coracao Nao Tem Cor - Portugal (1996) (-12)
182. Gina G. - Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit - UK (1996) (-35)
183. Euroband - This Is My Life - Iceland (2008) (-67)
184. Tajči - Hajde Da Ludujemo - Yugoslavia (1990) (-93)
185. Molly - Children Of The Universe - UK (2014) (+9)
186. Maria Olafs - Unbroken - Iceland (2015) (-74)
187. Simone De Oliveira - Desfolhada Portuguesa - Portugal (1969) (+48)
188. Hera Bjork - Je Ne Sais Quoi - Iceland (2010) (+41)
189. Nina Kraljić - Lighthouse - Croatia (2016) (-113)
190. Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol Is Free - Greece (2013) (+26)
191. Artsvik -Fly With Me - Armenia (2017) NEW
192. Marcha - Rechtop In De Wind - The Netherlands (1987) NEW
193. Tom Dice - Me And My Guitar - Belgium (2010) NEW
194. Novi Fosili - Ja Sam Za Ples - Yugoslavia (1987) NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
195. Roman Lob - Standing Still - Germany (2012) (+41)
196. Ofra Haza - Hi - Israel (1983) (-78)
197. Joy Fleming - Ein Lied Kann Eine Brucke Sein - Germany (1975) (-80)
198. Frida Boccara - Un Jour, Un Enfant - France (1969) (-10)
199. Jacques Houdek - My Friend - Croatia (2017) NEW
200. Svala - Paper - Iceland (2017) NEW
201. TWiiNS - I'm Still Alive - Slovakia (2011) NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
202. Kenan Dogulu - Shake It Up Sekerim - Turkey (2007) NEW
203. Lilianne St-Pierre - Soldiers Of Love - Belgium (1987) NEW
204. Lindita - World - Albania (2017) NEW
205. Robin Stjernberg - You - Sweden (2013) (-23)
206. Andras Kallay-Saunders - Running - Hungary (2014) (-36)
207. Nathan Trent - Running On Air - Austria (2017) NEW
208. Can Bonomo - Love Me Back - Turkey (2012) (-51)
209. Maarja-Liis Ilus & Ivo Linna - Kaelakee Haal - Estonia (1996) (-77)
210. Ami Aspelund - Fantasiaa - Finland (1983) NEW
211. Severine Ferrer - La Coco-Dance - Monaco (2006) NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
212. Elnur Huseynov - Hour Of The Wolf - Azerbaijan (2015) (-38)
213. Eldrine - One More Day - Georgia (2011) NEW
214. Maraaya - Here For You - Slovenia (2015) (-19)
215. ESDM - Contigo Hasta El Final - Spain (2013) - NEW (FIRST TIME EVER)
216. Boaz - The Fire In Your Eyes - Israel (2008) NEW
217. Shiru Group - Shiru - Israel (1993) NEW
218. Imri - I Feel Alive - Israel (2017) NEW
219. Cascada - Glorious - Germany (2013) (-80)
220. Ruth Jacott - Vrede - The Netherlands (1993) (+1)
221. Koldun - Work Your Magic - Belarus (2007) NEW
222. ByeAlex - Kedvesem - Hungary (2013) (-64)
223. Dulce Pontes - Lusitana Paixao - Portugal (1991) NEW
224. Triana Park - Line - Latvia (2017) NEW
225. Teach-In - Ding-A-Dong - The Netherlands (1975) (-52)
226. Sergio & Estibaliz - Tu Volveras - Spain (1975) NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
227. Mihai Traistariu - Tornero - Romania (2006) NEW
228. Luminita Anghel & Sistem - Let Me Try - Romania (2005) NEW
229. Niamh Kavanagh - In Your Eyes - Ireland (1993) (-77)
230. Ira Losco - Walk On Water - Malta (2016) (-26)
231. Elisabeth Andreassen - I Evighet - Norway (1996) NEW
232. Kati Wolf - What About My Dreams - Hungary (2011) (-125)
233. Umberto Tozzi & Raff - Gente Di Mare - Italy (1987) (-7)
234. Sopho Khalvashi - Visionary Dream - Georgia (2007) (-112)
235. Wind - Lass Die Sonne In Dein Herz - Germany (1987) - NEW (FIRST TIME EVER!)
236. Chiara - Angel - Malta (2005) (-36)
237. Severine - Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue - Monaco (1971) (-133)
238. Kate Ryan - Je T'adore - Belgium (2006) NEW 
239. Eva Boto - Verjamem - Slovenia (2012) NEW 
240. Demy - This Is Love - Greece (2017) NEW
241. Alenka Gotar - Cvet Z Juga - Slovenia (2007) (-152)
242. Monika Kuszynska - In The Name Of Love - Poland (2015) (-87)
243. Minus One - Alter Ego - Cyprus (2016) NEW
244. Who See - Igranka - Montenegro (2013) NEW
245. Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up - UK (1981) NEW
246. Bojana Stamenov - Beauty Never Lies - Serbia (2015) NEW
247. Imaani - Where Are You - UK (1998) (-7)
248. Corinne Hermes - Si La Vie Est Cadeau - Luxembourg (1983) (-17)
249. Donny Montell - I've Been Waiting For This Night - Lithuania (2016) (-106)
250. Filipa Azevedo Ha Dias Assim Portugal (2010) NEW

Eurovision Belgium even provided a video of the top ten, along with the above list and the points that each accumulated:



Despite the thirteen hour marathon that I dipped in and out of over the day, we have yet again the same winner from over 3000 fan's votes - not even Salvador can topple 'Euphoria' and her win was pretty emphatic.  Another year at the top for Loreen:
I've just thought of something - in all of my five years of voting in the ESC Top 250, I have NEVER picked Sweden's entry in 2012, despite it being a great song and performance...

I wonder if my "Eurovision favourite" jinx that scuppered Greta 
and Norma John's chances might help displace Loreen in 2018...

Now that would just be mischievous, wouldn't it?  Remind me of that thought in eleven months time!

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[LMBTO] Eurovision 2018 is 8 - Georgia's IRIAO adds ethno-jazz to the mix

January 1, 2018, 1:05 pm
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Get used to this picture over the next few days as these guys don't appear to have much in the way of promotional material to hand!  Who are they?  That was probably the question most of us were asking when the news first broke late on New Year's Eve in the UK, admittedly that being the early hours of 1st January 2018 in Tbilisi, that the group above was going to be the Georgian representatives in Lisbon at Eurovision 2018...

IRIAO

The first question will be - who is 'Mandinga Tony' here?  No seventh person on that Lisbon stage, one has to be on the bench!  The second question is - who are these guys?  I had to do what every other Eurovision writer on the planet was doing, use Google and the source of the news, 1TV from Armenia, came to the rescue.  The words 'JAZZ' and 'ETHNIC FOLK' spring out of every page written about them and they are a collective brought together by Davit Malazonia, the music director of the band who is also a composer of theatre and television projects in Germany as well as in Georgia.  And...
That's really about it!  I am sure that we will learn more as time goes on - there is still just over four months until Lisbon and we don't even know if Georgia are going the 'total' route, where IRIAO come up with their own composition to take to the Contest or whether we have a 2016 scenario, where the public get the chance to pick the song.  If it is left to the collective themselves to decide, we do have some back catalogue material to watch and listen to:


Full-on Georgian folk...



Full-on Georgian jazz...



And a bit of both!

Now I will freely admit that, like Romania's mix of yodel and rap in Kyiv, folk and jazz would come way down my preferences for regular pleasurable listening but I have decided to change tack somewhat.  In 2018 I am determined to be as open minded as possible and not prejudge an act or nation's entry based on their previous material.  Who knows what these guys will come up with?  They are obviously talented musicians and skilled singers - whatever they provide for our audio and visual delight in Lisbon, it will always be in tune, that's for sure.  Whether I like their output is another matter - based on previous Georgian internal selections however, it is highly unlikely that they will have the swagger of these guys:
But hopefully they will leave any ideas of weird gimmicky props at home:
To me, it sounds as though it'll be all about the music and singing with this group, a great platform for any Eurovision act...

Whatever happens to Georgia and IRIAO at Eurovision 2018,
it is likely to be an interesting experience!


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[LMBTO] Eesti Laul - Quality over Quantity for Eurovision 2018...

January 3, 2018, 1:54 pm
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Unlike the vast majority of Eurovision fandom in 2017, this lady was my 'winner' of Eesti Laul 2017.  I think that she would have at least got Estonia into the Final in Kyiv and probably based on her staging would have secured at least a top half finish.  Irrespective of what I thought, the Estonian public voted for Koit and Laura all the way through as their favourites - you can't argue with democracy but this picture really summed up their relationship for me...
None of them are participating in Eesti Laul 2018 - only Karl Kristjan returns as an artist this year, although Stig Rästa has decided to sing one of his own compositions solo, rather than leaving it to Elina Born.  There are returnees from previous years but most of the field are new to my ears.  Twenty artists and their songs were revealed on 19th and 20th December, split into two SFs:

SF1 - 10th February 2018
1Vajé- "Laura (Walk with Me)"
2Iiris & Agoh - "Drop That Boogie"
3Etnopatsy - "Külm"
4Sibyl Vane - "Thousand Words"
5Aden Ray - "Everybody's Dressed"
6Tiiu x Okym x Semy - "Näita oma energiat"
7Stig Rästa - "Home"
8Miljardid - "Pseudoprobleem"
9Desiree - "On My Mind"
10Elina Netšajeva - "La Forza"

SF2 - 17th February 2018
1Marju Länik - "Täna otsuseid ei tee"
2Rolf Roosalu - "Show a Little Love"
3Frankie Animal - "(Can’t Keep Calling) Misty"
4Eliis Pärna & Gerli Padar - "Sky"
5Indrek Ventmann - "Tempel"
6Evestus - "Welcome to My World"
7Karl Kristjan & Karl Killing ft. Wateva - "Young"
8Metsakutsu -"Koplifornia"
9Girls in Pearls - "Spellbound"
10Nika - "Knock Knock"

I have 'changed tack' for my reviews in 2018 - I have decided to only flag up the best of each selection process when there are huge numbers of entries to review, partly to save time and partly to focus on the positive, rather than the negative, of each country's batch of possible winners!  For instance, here in Estonia one of the songs out of the twenty was so repellent to my ears that it earned a rating of 2.0/10 - which one that was will stay between 'me and my god'.  As for the others, I listened to them all and have gone for five from each SF, selecting my ten that I feel should get to the Final on 3rd March 2018.
In my opinion, each SF has only two standouts that would get an very good or excellent rating from me - I feel that there would have been at least five songs from the 2017 batch that could easily have taken the title this year, based on my initial impressions of audio only for the 2018 selection.  Staging will be key for quite a few of these entries, potentially raising them from also-rans to possible Finalists.  That is for February, when the SFs take place, probably in the studios of ERR - for now, here are my choices...


SF1

5th (6.5/10) : Vajé - "Laura (Walk with Me)"


First thing to say, that is a beautifully shot promotional video, great acting by "Laura" and a lovely narrative.  If only that could be recreated on a small stage in the ERR studios in Estonia and hopefully in the Saku Suurhall on March 3rd - this would stand a far better chance of success than what it realistically will have, based purely on how it sounds.  I love the metal guitar sound and clapping throughout but the main issue I have with this is the vocals, which aren't the easiest to decipher and listen to, a real shame.  For me, this grows as you listen more frequently and as you pick up more of the lyrics but we all know that 'growing' is fatal to an entry's chances - "Laura (Walk With Me)" is a nice, middle of the road song but its memorability is low.  I have this as a bare pass into the Final but it is just as likely to miss out...


4th (7.0/10) : Aden Ray - "Everybody's Dressed"



One thing I realised from being so involved with Eesti Laul 2017 was that there is a wide range of musical genres and vocal styles that turn up for the selection process and so it seems this year.  Aden has a very unusual softness and high pitch to his voice and this goes well with this entry, which I find almost gospel in tone, probably due to the choir backing.  I think that "Everybody's Dressed" is potentially more interesting because of Aden himself, rather than the song which is a bit sparse lyrically.  I wonder how this will sound live and whether his volume will be enough to carry this into the Final - intriguing rather than amazing for me...


3rd (7.5/10) : Stig Rästa - "Home"



We all know that Stig is a superb songwriter in his own right and that he does give it everything - I also have to say that this is the best I have heard him sing.  This is an inspiring and engaging song, the lyrics are easy to understand, listen to and even relate to for most fans - I loved the reference to one of the most popular shows on the planet, which scanned very nicely!  This is Eesti Laul's 'Ed Sheeran ballad', a slightly unfair comparison to have to make as Stig puts this over really well but non-fans might go with that similarity and vote for this beautiful song.  The only downside that "Home" has is that it is so quiet, gentle and unassuming - that makes it stand out in one way but might not make it memorable by the recap.  Will Stig's history and prestige in Estonia carry him through?   


2nd (8.5/10) : Iiris & Agoh - "Drop That Boogie"



Now this is such a quirky song that it is the quintessential Marmite entry - do you love or hate it?  You can tell from my rating what I thought of it, Iiris's voice is just the right fit for the beat and pulse of Agoh's music, the lyrics are so listenable and funny in parts that it kept me smiling from the first note to the very end.  This is 'totally 2018' soundwise and visually (just look at the still on the video) and therefore should allow this to ease into the Final, where "Drop That Boogie" will possibly get the assistance of the international jurors.  I have this feeling that this entry's unique sound will either bomb it out of SF1 or send it to the Final, in with a shout of the win on Saturday 3rd March - hopefully the latter...


1st (9.0/10) : Elina Netšajeva - "La Forza"



Such are the variables with a selection process like Eesti Laul, that entries that are nailed-on certainties to get a country through the Eurovision SF into the Final might fall by the wayside before we've even left their home nation.  ERR will be looking primarily this year to get heard twice in Lisbon and THIS entry would have been my choice to guarantee that.  A former host of last year's Eesti Laul SFs and a well known Estonian opera singer, Elina has obviously the best voice this year.  Just listen to "La Forza" - is there any doubt that music professionals will not just love this entry?  It is classic opera, I grant you, but there is no doubt that at the end of Elina's three minutes, there will be a huge rapturous round of applause and anyone listening will be standing/sitting there, open mouthed.  Opera at Eurovision never hurt Il Volo, did it?  And Elina is more photogenic than them (personal opinion!).  If Estonia has any sense, this will be their entry, this will blast its way through its SF in Lisbon and secure a safe top ten finish on Saturday night.  Job done, ERR and Elina are happy - but WILL this win Eesti Laul 2018?  I'm not so sure...


SF2

5th (6.0/10) : Marju Länik - "Täna otsuseid ei tee"

Yep, it is the 21st Century and we have contestants in a NF who have not put a video on YouTube!  Click the link to hear this one - I get the feeling that Marju will be this year's Ivo Linna, the singer from yesteryear, held in high regard by every Estonian and therefore will secure a Final place based mainly due to that.  It is not that this song is a bad one - it has a nice Country sound to it, a defined melody and almost a trotting pace to it that sticks in your head.  Marju also has a very nice voice, very pleasant but I'm not convinced if this is the right song for her, especially as there seems to be a weird splicing issue in the middle of this entry.  It is a nice song but for me no more than a gentle warm-up for SF2 - it was still better than five other entries though...


4th (6.5/10) : Rolf Roosalu - "Show A Little Love"



Now there is another song later in my choices from SF2 that WAS written for musical theatre but this one wasn't, even though it sounds as though it has been lifted from one!  "Show A Little Love" sounds like a 'discovery' song, very light and quite superficial, although it does redeem itself by having that musical hook of the beat pumping out throughout the song.  I like Rolf's voice and everything he sings is very clear but it is a very 'inspirational by numbers' entry and therefore totally forgettable.  This might struggle to qualify normally but in comparison to all bar three other songs in this SF, this is a strong entry...


3rd (7.0/10) : Frankie Animal - "(Can't Keep Calling) Misty"



The lead singer Marie holds the key here - her vocals are the real interest within this laidback pleasant indie pop song.  Her spoken-sung style of delivering the lyrics works really well and the somewhat mysterious message of the song is imparted in an expert fashion - the music accompanying her though is all fairly nondescript and really doesn't help out at all.  The only instrumentation of note is the guitar solo but even that sounds like filler for the last minute of this entry - I know that this is a real favourite amongst a lot of fans but I have yet to get the hype.  Perhaps their live gigs are the 'real deal'...


2nd (8.0/10) : Eliis Pärna & Gerli Padar - "Sky"

Okay, we have another entry where the only footage is the ERR introductory one but this is a delightful event.  Eliis gives a spot on vocal performance of "Sky", providing us with a pitch perfect first verse and demonstrating to me at least that maybe she should have sung the whole song.  It is not that Gerli is bad, far from it - it is just her vocals aren't as good as her duet partner.  The first minute is a vocal masterclass and I could see this being the highpoint of a musical love song.  Perhaps having two female voices is the issue but that might tie in with this particular song, rather than having the typical female-male duet scenario.  All in all, this is beautifully sung entry and ironically the 'weaker' vocalist is another Estonian veteran who might garner more votes to take this into the Final - it is all about the voices with this one...


1st (9.0/10) : Nika - "Knock Knock"



This is the most fascinating entry from SF2 and it is such a mish-mash of musical styles!  Nika's voice has an Eastern European quality to it - a bit hard edged at times and yet she produces some really beautiful soft passages in there too.  That introductory gentle piano solo crashes into the chorus where the music then mixes in strong percussion and almost a rap section too, working well here because it is understandable.  The complexity here is immense - there is so much packed into the three minutes and yet it doesn't sound wrong and neither does it drag.  "Knock Knock" moves along at a pace that is easy for my ear to cope with and this is the standout entry in SF2.  My only worry is that a lot of these intricacies are only picked up on repeated listens - hopefully the Estonian public will ensure a second listen in the Final...

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What would be my current rankings if these ten entries made it to the Eesti Laul Final on March 3rd?

1.  Elina Netšajeva - "La Forza"
2.  Nika - "Knock Knock"
3.  Iiris & Agoh - "Drop That Boogie"
4.  Eliis Pärna & Gerli Padar - "Sky"
5.  Stig Rästa - "Home"

To be honest with you, only "La Forza" strikes me as an entry that Estonia could send confident in the knowledge that Eurovision jurors and fans would vote for it to take Elina through to the Final.  I love "Knock Knock" and "Drop That Boogie" but they would both be risky entries - just as likely to stumble at the SF hurdle rather than be the distinctive contemporary 2018 hit of the Contest and give Estonia an outside chance of the title.  My fifth ranked entry is the obvious favourite this year - Stig's pedigree might see him get to the ESC yet again, this time as a soloist, but will May 2018 be too late to have a 'Sheeran sound-a-like' song?
All of these thoughts and views might change when we reach those Eesti Laul SFs in February, although I cannot imagine that Elina Netšajeva will suddenly go out of tune.  I am looking forward to seeing how Nika and Iiris/Agoh stage their entries and if the unique nature of their songs comes across as well as they do online.  Unlike last year, I am not planning (as yet) to attend Eesti Laul in 2018, mainly because I am going to Brighton, Amsterdam and Lisbon, with possibly some London thrown in...

I'm still intrigued to see who Estonia will choose 
to follow Koit and Laura to Eurovision -
I'll definitely be watching the first SF on 10th February!

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[LMBTO] When Pop Took Over Eurovision - France Gall RIP...

January 7, 2018, 9:41 am
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Today is a sad day for Eurovision, France and Luxembourg as news emerged that the 1965 Contest winner, France Gall, had passed away at the age of 70.  She had been in hospital since December, fighting an infection that was complicating her cancer treatment but lost the battle on Sunday 7th January 2018.  For me, this is very sad news as this lady wasn't only a previous Eurovision winner - her presence, performance and singing on March 20th 1965 changed the nature and course of the Contest forever...
Up until that year, almost all Eurovision entries were ballads of one sort or another, mainly of the chanson type.  If you were lucky, there might have been the occasional uptempo 'variety hall' song or the odd jazz number that broke up the traditional line-up of 'singer at the microphone, pouring out their heart and emoting through their face'.  Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall changed all that with her entry for Luxembourg, "Poupée de cire, poupée de son":



Pop music had really arrived at Eurovision!

Or rather “Yé-Yé” pop music had, a version popular in France, Spain and Italy, something that still gave this song an extra bonus when the 1965 Contest was being held in Italy and the strongest nation as far as competitive results were concerned was France.  Irrespective of the geography, this entry really had it all:
  • an attractive 17 year old French woman, a timeless beauty, “une jolie femme”...
  • a sense of realness with her singing, not sounding theatrical or classically trained, the vocals of someone her age and matching the popmarket of the mid 1960s, something that even the most ancient of Eurovision jurors must have recognised.  France's vocals were probably considered 'rough and ready' in comparison with those of some of the other singers in Naples but her tone and style were obviously 'of their time';
  • the orchestra giving it their all, making this as 'current' as possible, a big achievement when this song would ordinarily have been accompanied by regular pop instruments elsewhere;
  • a relatively short and punchy 2:12 timeline for this, even allowing for the orchestral solo!
  • for the time, a very different visual performance from her, showing lots of fun and humour as she delivered "Poupée de cire, poupée de son";
  • Serge Gainsbourg's lyrics flowed throughout this seamlessly, despite France later despising the song because of their meaning:
Je suis une poupée de cire
Une poupée de son
Mon cœur est gravé dans mes chansons
Poupée de cire poupée de son

Suis-je meilleure suis-je pire
Qu'une poupée de salon
Je vois la vie en rose bonbon
Poupée de cire poupée de son

Mes disques sont un miroir
Dans lequel chacun peut me voir
Je suis partout à la fois
Brisée en mille éclats de voix

Autour de moi j'entends rire
Les poupées de chiffon
Celles qui dansent sur mes chansons
Poupée de cire poupée de son

Elles se laissent séduire
Pour un oui pour un non
L'amour n'est pas que dans les chansons
Poupée de cire poupée de son

Mes disques sont un miroir
Dans lequel chacun peut me voir
Je suis partout à la fois
Brisée en mille éclats de voix

Seule parfois je soupire
Je me dis à quoi bon
Chanter ainsi l'amour sans raison
Sans rien connaître des garçons

Je ne suis qu'une poupée de cire
Qu'une poupée de son
Sous le soleil de mes cheveux blonds
Poupée de cire poupée de son

Je ne suis qu'une poupée de cire
Qu'une poupée de son
Sous le soleil de mes cheveux blonds
Poupée de cire poupée de son

Mais un jour je vivrai mes chansons
Poupée de cire poupée de son
Sans craindre la chaleur des garçons
Poupée de cire poupée de son.

It has been well documented that the lyrics are full of double meanings and puns (difficult to translate out of French), with Gall herself being the target of some of them, Gainsbourg more or less saying that she was a 'singing doll controlled by him'.  Like a lot of the female winners of Eurovision in the mid to late 1960s, France distanced herself from this song and her Eurovision win but the importance of the song, its popular style and the musical 'tectonic shift' that it caused within this Contest that we all love are the reasons that it has remained a classic for all these years.  "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" is still in the ESC Top 250 chart even now, being found at number 64 a matter of a week ago, the highest 1960s Eurovision entry in that list...
So France Gall helped Luxembourg get their second victory at the Contest and with the 'assistance' of Serge propelled Eurovision out of the 'wartime era' and into the pop chart market.  The duo had a massive hit on their hands, reaching the top five all over Europe and in Japan too - a moment in Eurovision history had been created and France would be forever linked to her 1965 winning song, no matter how much she liked it.  This footage from 1972 might be one of the last recordings of her singing it live, which was a shame for all ESC fans everywhere:



As we reach the end of the 2010s, it is understandable that Eurovision legends will leave us due to the rigours of time but this star will always have a permanent spot in the ESC 'Hall of Fame'.  Isabelle 'France' Gall will always be remembered throughout the annals of Contest history as the performer who won Eurovision with a pop song and who opened up the possibility of chart stars across the continent performing there, safe in the knowledge that jurors would be receptive to the 'music of the day' - if the entry was good enough, it would do well.  A lot of sadness and outpourings of grief have been apparent, particularly in the French media today - that heartbreak is matched by Eurovision fans around the world...

RIP France Gall
May your Naples performance forever stand you out
as the 'standard bearer' for pop music at Eurovision... 

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[LMBTO] Who'll be "Advert King or Queen"? Malta's Eurovision Choices...

January 7, 2018, 4:01 pm
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Possibly not the image that this lady would want the pinnacle of her Eurovision journey to be remembered by but for me this was far more interesting that Isaiah's face!  Claudia Faniello was, of course, Malta's artist in Kyiv and although she gave it everything with an amazing vocal, the song and music themselves took me back to the 1990s, to a time where the juries ruled and this sort of gentle power ballad ruled supreme.  Good for lighter sales back then and mobile phone flashlights draining power now but not interesting enough to get this island back in the Eurovision Final:



You may be asking yourself why I have chosen to show a lyrics video of "Breathlessly".  Well, those of you on the ball with the MESC process will have guessed why - all 16 songs for 2018 have been released by TVM, the Maltese broadcaster, in lyric form, admittedly with the artists singing behind the words.  Now before we look at those entries, I want to demonstrate what they are up against - this are the words that Claudia provided with her wonderful tones:

I walk the street
Leaving footprints in your heart
My feet are worn
But they can handle the cold

I know the game, I take the blame
I wave my white flag unashamed
So here I am, right at your door
Catching my breath before the storm

Breathlessly
I’ll be watching you breathlessly
Knowing there’s a vacancy within your heart

Breathlessly
I’ll be holding you endlessly
Knowing that the storm is just about to die
Climbing over walls that always felt too high
Breathlessly

I’m stepping out
Yet I feel I’m locked inside
I’ve got the will, I learned the skill
Of a true acrobat for love

Breathlessly
I’ll be watching you breathlessly
Knowing there’s a vacancy within your heart

Breathlessly
I’ll be holding you endlessly
Knowing that the storm is just about to die
Climbing over walls that always felt too high
Breathlessly

Beautiful, absolutely marvelous poetry - it all seems so simple and yet brings out such powerful emotions.  If this song and Claudia's voice had got together in the mid-1990s, this would be vying with Ireland for one of their titles.  In 2017, this entry got totally lost in amongst the staging masterclasses we saw and some of the higher tempo or more interesting ballads.  What we have in 2018 in Malta is another 16 acts with their entries, all having their lyrics up for show and do you know what I think after listening to them all?

If "Breathlessly" had been in the MESC line-up this year,
it is more than likely that it would win again!

A controversial statement?  Maybe, especially as we have only heard them all sing BUT, and it is a big but, MESC rarely has a lot of scope for massive staging extravaganzas and the vocals and lyrics become very, VERY important.  And to be honest with you, there are only two entries that I heard that, based on those videos alone, would make it to Lisbon and stand a chance of taking Malta into the Final...

Have a look at all the songs via this helpful playlist but be careful, you might want to top up your pension or get life assurance by the end of it:



Now I will be continuing my 'best only' review process as I did for Albania, Latvia and Estonia but I wanted to flag up the entries that surprised me by how disappointing they were...

Brooke - "Heart Of Gold" : I never thought that I'd have the 'pre-song reveal' favourite as an also-ran but this song is absolutely dire.  It is as if a PC program has randomly selected lines of lyrics to put into a song:

"You're a pack of wolves with a heart of gold"...
"Yeah you pack a punch like a wrecking ball"...
"And that shirt won't get you laid tonight'...

Who on earth wrote this?  This lady is an amazing singer and she has been given this to sing?  I'm not keen on how she has to sing this either, as the musical synth arrangements actually hinder her vocalisation.  If by some miracle Brooke manages to force this 'mess' over the finishing line as the winner, expect a new song ASAP as per Ira Losco's change from 'Chameleon' to 'Walk On Water'...

Christabelle - "Taboo" : a stereotypical club anthem that works well on the level of intelligent lyrics but really has no climax or major wow moment within it.  I could see the song lending itself to crowd interaction but this is all very underpowered and never grabbed me enough to keep my attention all the way through.  I know that Christabelle is worth so much more and deserves a better song - another artist who will be relying on her previous fame to get her near the top...

Danica Muscat - "One Step at a Time" : another club anthem that is a real throwback to years ago and despite the rousing chorus that sticks in your head, that shear repetitive nature that would work well in filling a dance floor won't allow this entry to do the business in MESC.  This has vague similarities to most Cascada output from ten years ago...

Jasmine - "Supernovas" : another superb singer from past MESCs and another one with a poor song.  The lyrics sound like they've been lifted out of a musical like Les Mis, all very worthy and yet it makes Jasmine sound very nasal, her vocal not able to match the thumping beats of the music, a real shame.

Lawrence Gray - "Love Renegade" : if Lawrence does enough of these shows, maybe he'll make it to Eurovision based on being a 'worthy trier' but this entry won't be the one.  He's got such a great voice and yet the annoying vocal effects and the general naffness of the lyrics just kill this as a contender.

The rest of the selection?  I'm afraid that I rated them average at best and not standing a hope of getting to Lisbon.  The five artists above MIGHT get there, based solely on their Maltese popularity and standing in the past - as you can see, I don't rate their 2018 entries.  Onto my top three then - to be honest, only my number one gives me any confidence of taking Malta to the Eurovision Final but that, plus the other two entries to make up my podium places, were the only songs that I felt could challenge for the MESC crown, based on the song itself...


8 points (7.0/10) : Deborah C - "Turn It Up"



Now this only creeps into my 'good' rating by the skin of its teeth and in any other selection process to date (Albania, Latvia, Estonia), this would have not made it into the NF, in my opinion.  As the offerings in Malta are so average this year, Deborah C, another artist who has had a lot better material to work with at previous MESC, is in my third place.  It's fun, it's joyful, it is the current vogue of Mediterranean beach music and the lyrics are memorable.  Deborah sings this well and I'm sure that she will perform it well too but it isn't anything outstanding - the only plus for this is that the chorus and that annoying 'zigha' will stick in your head for the rest of the show after she has performed.  Better hope that she is on towards the end...


10 Points (8.0/10) : Miriana Conte - "Rocket"



This is the only other entry, apart from my number one, that I could possibly see doing a job at Eurovision.  The reason why?  Radio friendly and relatable - the song is very 'now', the lyrics are fun and relevant but not complicated and Miriana seems to have a suitably sassy attitude to accompany the words to this entry.  I really like this one and I love her voice, very soulful that suits this style of song, and she has a decent vocal range too.  If the jurors and public want something that might appear on a chart radio station now, this would be the one to go for...


12 Points (8.5/10) : Eleanor Cassar - "Back To Life"



"Back To Life" is my favourite song from Malta this year, an almost clear standout choice.  It was the only one on first listen that I thought "now that could win MESC and do a job for Malta".  It was also only one of two ("Rocket" was the other) where I sat back and listened all the way through the song, really taking on board the lyrics WITHOUT reading them.  I love everything about this song - Eleanor has an amazing voice with a superb range, she gives this entry loads of power and emotional delivery and the music synergises her efforts.  The whole song is well constructed from start to finish, there's a memorable chorus and it has life, an element that at least half the field don't have.  The pounding bass beats hooked me in from the beginning and to my ears and eyes "Back To Life" is the only song that has a story (about emotional abuse and how the subject finds the strength to move on) going on throughout:

I took every word you said
Like a bullet to the head (Oh, oh)
Don’t pretend you didn’t know
That I couldn’t take the blow (Oh, oh)

You’ve been working on my mind for years
Feeding me with lies and fears
Even when it felt so wrong
I’d always carry on

We’ve been here before
But I can’t, no I can’t, won’t take it anymore
No more, you got me, you cut me up alright

Aim, shoot, try to keep me down
But my heart isn’t yours for another round
No more, you got me

It’s never coming back
We’re never coming back to life

Oh, oh I’ll start breathing
Oh, oh no grieving
It’s never coming back
We’re never coming back to life

No revival, give me up
No survival without love

You’ve been working on my mind for years
Feeding me with lies and fears
Even when it felt so wrong
I knew I was strong

We’ve been here before
But I can’t, no I can’t, won’t take it anymore
No more, you got me, you cut me up alright

Aim, shoot, try to keep me down
But my heart isn’t yours for another round
No more, you got me

It’s never coming back
We’re never coming back to life

Oh, oh I’ll start breathing (Back to life)
Oh, oh no grieving
It’s never coming back
We’re never coming back to life

You wounded me
It hit so hard
But now
I’m rising from the dark

(We’ve been here before)
(But I can’t, no I can’t, won’t take it anymore)
No more, you got me, you cut me up alright
It’s never coming back
We’re never coming back to life

Oh, oh I’ll start breathing (Back to life)
Oh, oh no grieving
It’s never coming back
We’re never coming back to life

Oh, oh I’ll start breathing (Back to life)
Oh, oh no grieving
It’s never coming back
We’re never coming back to life

I know that the video has these words but it was well worth putting them here to read - they round off what is a blooming good entry and by far, in my opinion, the best entry at MESC 2018...

So will Eleanor, or at a push Miriana, take the MESC title?  That will all depend on the voters - this year professional jurors get a 50% say, instead of 100% televoting that got Claudia to Kyiv.  Only an MESC Final to watch on 3rd February too at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC):
Maybe that stage can give some of the artists from previous editions, who have less than inspiring songs to sing, the chance to blow me away with amazing choreography and staging under that arch - I'm thinking of Brooke, Christabelle and Jasmine primarily.  The voting in Malta always seems to veer towards those artists who have been in the public eye for a long time which might benefit those three too...

#jointhemagic

That's the logo for MESC 2018 - I think that the vast majority of the entries in Malta need the assistance of Harry Potter, Dynamo and Ali Bongo to give themselves any sort of chance of making Lisbon this year.  My tip for Queen in amongst all those Maltese adverts?

Eleanor Cassar with "Back To Life"

For me, this entry is the only logical choice - but when has logic ever prevailed at a Eurovision selection process?

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[LMBTO] Which Greek God will help Switzerland at Eurovision 2018?

January 11, 2018, 1:48 pm
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There's Samuel, Miruna and Emanuel all looking as happy as they were ever going to be in 2017, having just won "ESC 2017 – Die Entscheidung Show" quite comfortably with "Apollo".  Timebelle never hit those hits again with their song, the title of which gave a nod to the Greek god of the arts and music, and the threesome didn't look as classy or sophisticated in Kyi...but enough of my disgust with the candy pink and yellows, and the ability of the staging director to perform the impossible, by giving Miruna Mănescu something to wear that made her look awful.  In memory of when this entry was at its best, let us return to 5th February 2017, with all those red petals and a plunging red cocktail dress:



We move onto 2018's selection - there are six entries that were revealed a few days ago (out of an original 670), using the process that I summarised all the way back in mid July.  Will they be looking to Caerus, Greek God of opportunity and luck to get them through not only the Swiss NF but also the Eurovision SF, something that only Sebalter has managed in the last six Contests?  It has to be said that all six are quite varied in sound and perception as far as these studio videos are concerned but of course the 'proof of the pudding' will be when they all perform live on Sunday 4th February in Zurich.  Only then will the Swiss public and international jury get their say - my impressions so far?

I've got three out of the running and then perm any one from the remaining three, all of which sound as though they could do a job in Lisbon, assuming that SRF only want Final Qualification as their goal...

So in traditional Eurovision fashion, here's my ratings for all entries - there are only six after all!


5 Points (6.0/10) : Alejandro Reyes - "Compass"



Odd what you notice when you look at these videos a second time - Alejandro only has one hand!  How on earth I didn't realise, I don't know - that will be a talking point on the live show straight away.  Kudos to him as you wouldn't tell from his musicianship on the audio and that is the best bit of this entry, yet another 'beach song' that we seem destined to hear various versions of throughout this National Final season (along with jazz).  The music is listenable, as is his voice but for me the lyrics are all very naff - compasses, war zones, zoos?  All this serious content sung along to the gentle strumming of his guitar?  None of it makes much sense or have any real context - the best section of this entry sung are the "Whoas", which sums it all up for me.  Don't be surprised to hear that this is up second in the live line-up as NF filler...


6 Points (6.5/10) : Angie Ott - "A Thousand Times"



"A Thousand Times" isn't inherently bad but neither is it that brilliant.  Angie has a very nice voice but it gets rather overpowered by the strength of the music, which seems to pound on her words like a massive wave crashing onto the shore.  There is definite lyrical and musical progression with this ballad but if it wasn't for the words flashed up on the screen, I would struggle to understand most of it.  This entry reminds me a little of "Lighthouse", Croatia's 2016 entry, but Angie has nowhere near the vocal intensity or emotional connection of Nina Kraljic.  The break two thirds of the way through that leads onto the key change adds something to this entry, mainly that I could actually hear what was being sung, but it was all too late by then - all very bland and I can see this being more filler in the six entry run...


7 Points (6.5/10) : Naeman - "Kiss Me"



Out of my three 'lower half' entries, this would be the one that could surprise me, mainly because of how he looks and his style of singing.  A stereotypical solo male heartthrob here perhaps, who may garner votes from a certain female demographic and that might have benefited more from a 100% televote.  "Kiss Me" is a decent pop song and Naeman has a nice tone to his voice - the other bonus for him is that this song has a chorus that will stick right in your brain.  The downside for me is all that electronic vocaliser material - it never seems to come across well on a live show as it looks so fake when performed, along with the repetitive loop of the lyrics that seem to go round and round and round.  There isn't really much substance to this at all and I can't see this being a winning song but it might be a shock runner-up...


8 Points (8.0/10) : Vanessa Iraci - "Redlights"



Now we are into the three that I think could win and as far as my ratings go, there isn't much between Vanessa here in third and the two songs ahead of her.  There isn't a lot wrong with "Redlights" at all - Vanessa has a superb voice with lots of texture to it, the song builds nicely into the chorus which is spot on and there is a nice story going on here, with Ms Iraci having a traffic light analogy to work with, equating to her feeling that life will be over if her lover leaves her.  The only reason this is at third is how the song title is incorporated into the song - we almost have another "Walk Along" with the chorus ending "Why ai ai".  It sounds so messy and this clumsy attempt to put those words in might cost this a Lisbon place - a shame as the rest of it sounds so good and I suspect that Vanessa will be one to watch, especially as she is backed by the songwriting team responsible for Bulgaria's last two top five placings...


10 Points (8.5/10) : Chiara Dubey - "Secrets And Lies"



Now this is absolutely beautiful, a wonderful vocal masterclass - Chiara sings the first 25 seconds with no musical accompaniment and that is always the sign of a classically trained singer who has perfect diction, pitch and tone.  "Secret and Lies" is so soft, so soothing, a beautiful ballad that sounds as though it was lifted out of a musical theatre production or even a fantasy film score, its ethereal sound at times mimicking a gently flowing stream.  She has amazing control over all the lyrics and how this reaches the listener - this would be perfect on a relaxation course, allowing the listener to unwind from a bad day.  This song could go on for hours in the background and it would not annoy me but that is the main reason that I feel that this might not win the Swiss NF - "Secret And Lies" will get lots of jury plaudits but it won't have the instant appeal and punch needed to get the public voting for it.  Maybe I might be wrong - who guessed that Salvador Sobral would get such a response when watching him in his NF.  If this entry is to succeed, having Chiara singing alone as the focal point, and getting all viewers to be amazed by her voice and the beauty emanating from the stage, has to be the way to go...


12 Points (8.5/10) : Zibbz - "Stones"



"Stones" was first up on the playlist produced by SRF that I listened to initially to get an impression of these entries and it turned out to be the one that I got an instant 'wow' with.  Straight in with the deep humming from Stee Gfeller and his sister Co singing, you are hooked long enough with those continual thumping drum beats until that chorus kicks in and you have reached 'catchy song heaven'.  She has such a distinctive voice with lots of power and listenability, together with plenty of control - I also love how the song is so complex with its variability in volume and tone.  If this works on stage, "Stones" will stick in everyone's head, especially as it finishes with the same humm that it started with.  Based on my initial reaction on first listen, Zibbz got my attention and it never waivered, even compared with the majestic beauty of "Secrets And Lies" in mind.
So who will Sven Epiney, Switzerland's "Dorian Gray", be revealing out of the 'magical envelope' as the winner of ‘Die Entscheidungsshow’?  I am really torn between my top three of Zibbz, Chiara and Vanessa and I have a gut feeling that how it all pans out will all depend on the live performances on February 4th....

Will Vanessa bring mainstream pop realness to the Zurich stage?
Can Chiara take the voters to another plane with her angelic singing?
Do Zibbz have the live show visuals to match their power pop audio?
I'll still be plumping for "Stones" to finish first and take that Lisbon place at the moment but it will be very close, one of the closest NFs this season if my powers of prediction hold true...


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