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[LMBTO] The Eurovision Final 2017...

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Yes, very regular readers of this blog, I had last year's trophy as the picture for last year's Final review - it does make for a decent shot though and it is the one thing that the winner does get...along with fan adoration if they come from the right country and a springboard to their career, again if they come from the right country...

As we got to the last moments before the Final itself, we now had two red hot favourites to win but for the first time since mid February, Italy weren't one of them and had even dropped to 4th in some bookies eyes:
There was really nothing in it between Bulgaria and Portugal but as we all know, it all comes down to the performances in the Final(s) - not having attended the Jury Final, I had no idea how everything was going to shake out and shape up.  It was quite a nice feeling to watch a Eurovision Final and not have a huge amount of emotional investment in it - my overall number one had long gone (I promise not to mention their name in this post) but I still had the other entries I really wanted to be there from SF2 (The Netherlands and Denmark) to follow.  I also was now able to fully put my backing behind the UK and Lucie Jones - I was praying for a decent result, at least a top half finish, maybe a top ten - you all know how that panned out...
Now I decided to revert back to watching the BBC footage of the Final, partly because SF2 did buffer a few times on the official stream for me but mainly because there was no risk of "Dumb and Dumber" (Scott Mills and Mel Giedroyc) being on - of course if you yet to watch the Final (where have you been, Mars?), here it is:



It all started with beads and an intro for all of our Finalists in a clean and minimal way - no models wearing paper mache this year, no procession of flags, just them under the stage arch showing off their flag colours.  A nice prelude to the main event, one that actually flowed really well and was entertaining in its own right.  Ukraine did not try and match Petra and Måns for spectacle or slickness - it would not have worked anyway, given that the hosts were the best English speakers available but still struggled with humour and presentation.  Not in a really bad way but they were there for just about the right amount of time:
There was one bonus this year - there was more focus on the acts themselves, most of whom brought their "A game" to the stage.  What did I think of them all on the night?  It's the same as last year - final placing, jury/televote plus number of 12s (if any).  Let's just put a spoiler out there and say that I was using the BBC scoring chart with three categories of ten marks - my top ten performances of the night all scored 26 and 27...


1. Israel



23rd place - 39 points (34/5)

In my opinion, this entry was one of the highlights of SF2 - a superb visual show combined with IMRI actually hitting all the notes and exuding lots of charisma.  In this Final performance, however, there was one of those things missing - the great vocals.

This sounded more like some of his promo Party material, where he struggled to hit the high notes and sometimes sounded slightly off key throughout. 

Whether it was being up first and having the adrenaline flowing or maybe nerves creeped into his singing but it was noticeable this time - this major component of any Eurovision entry being not spot on would have lead to this nation having a lot lower finish than perhaps many fans were expecting.  Given that the Israeli jury announcer flagged up that Israel may not be at Eurovision next year due to change of broadcaster, it would be a shame if the bottom five was the last result we see for this proud ESC nation.  All in all, a decent start to get the crowd up and rocking but I won't be watching this particular show too often in the future...


2. Poland



22nd place - 64 points (23/41)

Poor Kasia - not only given the 'death slot' by the EBU and the show's producers who decided to take the easy option here but from a reliable source I was informed that she was actually quite poorly on Final day, which might explain the lack of makeup and her almost disheveled look at the end of "Flashlight".  This lady still pumped out the power and passion in her vocals but as far as the look of this entry was concerned, it was all very minimalistic and not much of interest bar the singer herself and her brother on the violin.

We have already seen this year that power ballads by female soloists have not really gone down that well with juries and fans alike,

so combining that with singing from position number 2 and Kasia was always up against it as far as point gathering was concerned.  Getting to the Final was possibly the highlight of her Eurovision - I know that DWB Music Ltd who co-wrote this were delighted to be involved.  As an aside, Poland got 10 points from the UK televote...


3. Belarus



17th place - 83 points (50/33, 2x12)

A good and yet 'could have been better' year for Belarus.  Having their first Belarusian language entry gave this song a huge boost amongst Eurovision fans and you couldn't have wished for a nicer pair of artists to be on the Ukrainian stage but in a way this was a case of 'what might have been'.  The enthusiasm, positivity and sheer pleasure that you always got with this entry was still there in this performance but what also was present was

a level of sloppiness and OTT staging that had not been present up to now.

For a start, the propellers on the boat broke within seconds of the start, negating the imagery that they were flying through the air.  The duo's vocals were better than they were in their SF but there was more ad libbing, more playing to the crowd and some missed cues that had never been in previous shows - this reminded me of how Lithuania's "This Time" in 2015 went from an endearing yet tightly worked entry in their NF to a bit of a mess, with more playing to the crowd than the viewers at home.  Maybe Arciom and Ksienija had decided to go out all guns blazing and have fun, maybe they weren't fussed that they could have got their nation's best ever placing, rather than end up a place worse than TEO with "Cheesecake", maybe they wanted to show their love for each other with that kiss at the end - it was just a shame that this wasn't the show we had during the NFs or the promo Parties.  Perhaps keeping it simple was the way to go...


Austria



16th place - 93 points (93/0, 1x12)

So we get to song number 4 and I had yet to award any of my marks to any of them so far!  The reason for Nathan not getting any of my points?  For someone with normally a superb voice and loads of on-stage charisma, this was amongst one of the poorest shows of the night -

Nathan was verging on 'off key' throughout this, he avoided the notes that had caused him issues in the SF and he was another that could be accused of 'playing to the crowd' too much. 

As you will have read, I was never that impressed with the 'Dreamworks' staging and I always felt that Nathan had to be the star of the show, the pure mellow tones and the boyish charisma winning over the voters.  He must have had a far better Jury Final to have accumulated one jury 12 and 93 points - he unfortunately suffered the fate that befell Gabriella Gunčíková for Czechia last year, zero from the public but that was totally undeserved in her case.  For Nathan, this really was a bad day at the office and yet he still managed a mid table finish.  I am sure that Austria will look back on this year and think that it was a job well done - Nathan will potentially look back on this three minutes and cringe...


Armenia



18th place - 79 points (58/21)

Now this was a real shock for me - just as I 'got' what this entry was all about and proceeded to give it my 10 points this year, everyone else in Eurovision land goes the other way and leaves this marvellous song down in the right hand side of the leaderboard.  This really hadn't changed any from the SF showing where I thought it was superb, Artsvik actually convincing me that this was a better song to sing than the power ballad that I felt she would have blasted through the IEC roof.

Its ethnicity, her power and staged delivery, the subtle but yet effective visuals that accompanied this - I felt that "Fly With Me" would propel Armenia up to the heights attained by Iveta last year but it was not to be.

Ironically, like quite a few entries this year, my initial thoughts about this entry and where I placed it on my top 42 list was probably closer to the mark result-wise but this was a wonderful show - Artsvik will be a star now in that part of Europe and I would be keen to see her involved at Eurovision again in the future.  Depi Evratesil worked really well as a process of finding Armenia's best singer, maybe something similar could be used to get a brilliant song to go alongside...


The Netherlands



11th place - 150 points (135/15, 2x12)

Six songs in and we have our first top half finisher!  My overall number 3 act (8 points) managed to get a decent placing for the Dutch, similar to Anouk and Douwe Bob rather than The Common Linnets but it shows that this nation are now one of the Eurovision powerhouses again, after so many years of not making it into the Final.  Another model apart from Sweden for some nations to study?  There was still nothing out of place with their vocals - could there ever be?  What wasn't as good in this performance as compared to the SF was that there were some slip-ups visually, probably more to do with the production values than with them personally.  Some poses to camera weren't there and there were a couple of moments where marks weren't hit but that just took 'perfection' down to 'excellence'.

It was a wonderful thing to see the three Vol sisters hug each other at the end of the song and show that emotional release after a job well done, a performance for their mother in the Kyiv audience.

In the end it seemed that OG3NE weren't in Ukraine just to try to win Eurovision - they were there to sing a tribute to their mum and celebrate their dad's composing skills (along with Shelley's boyfriend).  They scored highly with the juries but not at all well with the public - maybe if they had gone all 'X Factor' and made more of their mother's illness then maybe more public votes could have been forthcoming but they showed great dignity in not playing that card.  "Lights And Shadows" still reverberates around my head even now and is one of only a few songs this year that will stay with me for life - congratulations OG3NE in staying true to your talents...Salvador would appreciate that!


Moldova



3rd place - 374 points (110/264)

Now this was the biggest POSITIVE surprise of the whole Contest in 2017, in my humble opinion.  Where did Sunstroke Project come from to grab overall third place and become the most successful Moldovan entry in Eurovision history?  Normally acts like this bring a lot of joys and smiles but do not secure huge voting numbers from juries or public but this year, not only were the Project 8th with the jury, their third placing in the televote brought them the bronze medal position.  This was top notch entertainment and the visual show of the night - all the dance moves worked, all the tricks worked, all the imagery was delightful to watch and the vocals were spot on.

If you want to know how to stage a fun pop act that doesn't involve the use of pyros or huge props but solely relies on the charisma and acting skills of six people on stage, you need to study this show!

The only 'glitch' in this almost flawless performance was that bride two unfurled her skirt to become a wedding dress at the same time as bride one but apart from that, the Running Man, the jump, the Dosey Doh, the Mannequin, the solo leg dance all worked.  There was so much packed into this that it deserves several viewings to see it all.  This grabbed the imagination of the public on Saturday night and its placing in the running order could not have been better - against the vocal harmonies of OG3NE and the ethnic Hungarian rap of Joci Papai, this was total contrast.  They would have got my 3 points on the night but maybe they were undermarked...


Hungary



8th place - 200 points (48/152, 1x12)

You go five songs who struggle and then all of a sudden you get three in a row in the top half!  This mix of ethnic charm and modern rap didn't have huge numbers of fans amongst the jurors but hit a chord with the voting public - was it to do with Joci's extravagent outfit, more gold braiding than before?  The use of the satellite stage by the violinist giving lots of contrast to this staging, along with the pyro towers all around him and Alexandra, his dancer?  She always looked so scared in her close-up, I was never quite sure what was going on at that point with the staging but the dancing and interaction between the two of them really worked well - this was always one of the more consistent acts in Ukraine this year, nothing really ever changing but that could be viewed as one of this entry's strengths.

Hungarian and Romani came together, along with non-English language rap, and really grabbed the audience on Saturday...

a very respectable position for Hungary and their third best finish.  A Dal may not produce winners but it does produce some very eclectic songs and a vast diversity of musical styles - one to watch next year, metinks...


Italy



6th place - 334 points (126/208, 2x12)

It seems that the old adage of 'life being a marathon rather than a sprint' applies to Eurovision as well - the biggest NEGATIVE surprise was that "Occidentali's Karma" fell away from being odds on favourite in mid-February and up to the second rehearsals in Kyiv, down to a sixth place finish where it did well but nowhere near the heights a lot of fans and pundits expected it to be.  No landslide victories, no 100 point wins, no 'this will win, who is going to be second?'...post Final, all those 'worshipping at the shrine of Francesco' suddenly melted away or proclaimed that their second favourite was the actual winner.  I liked this entry (it still got my 2 points) but more so the full Sanremo performance, with the additional 30 seconds, the second verse and the more highly polished performance of Francesco, the gorilla and the Italian orchestra.  By the time we saw the one off version in this Final, this was now too messy - too much going on behind the singer on the backdrop, the backing singers weren't top notch as far as their vocals were concerned, more additions to the performance with Francesco now having rainbow stripes on his jacket arms (a cynical ploy to secure LGBT votes?).

All the intimacy of Sanremo was lost and it appeared that the singer was tired with this piece, he even went a bit manic with the dancing.

This now appeared to be a novelty song and not the best one at the Contest.  Graham Norton was particularly scathing about the presence of the gorilla and how it looked - all of this meant that what was a certain winner during the promo Parties was now a decent fun song that was finishing second to Moldova in the entertainment stakes.  This was all a bit like Aram MP3 in 2014 - red hot favourite that gradually went off the boil as we travelled through Eurovision fortnight - maybe Francesco needed a race that was just 26 miles long, rather than having those extra 385 yards...


Denmark



20th place - 77 points (69/8)

It is a real shame that Anja Nissen was used as the 'meat' in the 'hot pre-show favourite' sandwich because I feel "Where I Am" deserved far better treatment than that.  As it was, this wasn't the amazing show and vocals that was provided to us in the SF - her passionate connection with the camera (and me) then was not as solid this time, she spent more time looking around the hall rather than repeating the focus she had.  This was sung well again and got my 6 points but not superbly and she did lose her key at the end - it was almost as if making the Final this year was the goal of everyone in the Danish delegation and that the drive to succeed had been deflated somewhat.

The start of this with the mobile lights also showed that this entry wasn't a strong favourite amongst fans in the venue, as it was all very patchy compared to DMGP.

What was, in my view, an "X Factor winner's song" did not connect with the public, probably because it faded into comparison with the next entry, the eventual runaway winner and was nowhere near as fun as the dancing Italian and his gorilla.  At least Anja can take being 13th with the jurors around Europe as some sort of consolation - she'll also be in Eurovision Beauty soon...


Portugal



1st place - 758 points (382/376, 18x12)

"The second favourite" of the "Francesco Gabbani fan club", this stormed Eurovision 2017 in a totally unexpected way.  Salvador became favourite to win the Contest about 24 hours before the Final and the momentum, built up since his sister Luísa Sobral arrived to set up for him with his rehearsals and press interviews due to his ill health, launched Portugal over the finishing line to give that nation their first top five finish and of course their first win in the Contest after 49 attempts.  All in all, I could not begrudge Portugal their success - I am sure that if you had asked any Eurovision fan who you would like to see get their first win before Kyiv, that nation would be at or near the top of the list.  As was mentioned by a Facebook friend Luke Fisher, this was Portugal's "Lordi moment" - I suspect that we might see the Portuguese return to their normal pattern of struggling to reach the Final after 2018 when they host but this was their big chance to shine and they took it with both hands.  Possibly the 'purest song' in the Contest, the emotion and delivery of all of the lyrics was perfect and yet it always appears that Salvador is totally surprised by his talents - he also enjoys the moment so much that he will play along with the music when there are no words to sing!

The only singer to be on the satellite stage this year, the intimacy was heightened a hundredfold and the lovely forest backdrop was almost forgotten - this was on a par with "Birds" by Anouk as far as solely focussing on the singer and nothing else.

All of this simplicity made this entry stand out amongst the pyros, the dancing, the massive backdrops - something Salvador alluded to in his winner's speech on stage, much to the disquiet of some artists/fans.  In the end, I succumbed to the charm of this performance and on the night, this got my top mark of 12 points.  It was a nice change to see the winning entry come top of the jury AND public vote - no arguments this year about which should take priority!  It was also great to see his recognition of the driving force behind the entry itself, his sister - she joined him again after a winning performance, at the end:



Luckily it wasn't this messy during the main show...


Azerbaijan



14th place - 120 points (78/42, 2x12)

This was another that captured the moment so much more on first viewing than second but the staging for "Skeletons" was still the most artistic piece of Eurovision 2017.  Perhaps not the best plan of attack to guarantee a win but it is definitely one of the most memorable things about Kyiv this year -

Dihaj actually sung this superbly and the focus on her interaction with 'horse head man' was spot on.

Some of the camerawork lost the interaction between Diana and 'man holding wall left' as there had been in the SF but this was a visual delight.  Azerbaijan are back on song this year with this combination of Swedish songwriting (who else) and their amazing staging - potentially during another year, this might have been a top five talking point but there was so much else going on that this sort of faded into the background.  Being on after Salvador wouldn't have helped matters as far as voting was concerned and the 'novelty' of this piece of musical theatre would be dampened by what came after - for me, it just crept into my Final top ten as my 1 pointer.  This WILL be in Eurovision shows and clip segments as 'that entry with the guy in the suit up the stepladder, wearing a horse head mask' - it will sound bizarre for evermore but the performance value of this is superb and this becomes one of my favourite Azerbaijan entries ever...


Croatia



13th place - 128 points (25/103)

Now you know that you have at least a pseudo-novelty song going on when the public outscore the jurors 4 to 1.  You also know you have one when you have Graham Norton setting this entry up by saying that he thought at first that it was a mismatched duet but that he was amazed that it was one guy and that this was a 'true Eurovision entry'.  Yep, even in 2017 we still have enough material for those Eurovision shows that includes those Moldovan "Devo on a unicycle" artists and of course "Papa Pingouin".

This entry is still the sheer madness that it always has been but at least it brought some pleasure and fun in a 'deliberate' way, perhaps.

Jacques was still 110% going for it, as was his manically smiling backing singers and pair of 'mad strings'.  We even had the 'Tommy Cooper' moment that I alluded to when I placed this as my number 41 out of this year's crop of songs - halfway through even Jacques puts the 'wrong side' towards camera before quickly correcting himself...our Tommy would have been saying "now I've mucked that up for a start"!  I am certain that we not see the like of Mr Houdek's jacket and gloved look for many a year - the start of this, focusing on what each half would look like was inspired and it is still a wondrous listen, with this singer being able to so easily switch musical styles.  I didn't watch through my fingers this time - I marvelled at the whole performance, bonkers though it was and accepted that this was deserving of a decent mid table finish.  It was way down the list as far as novelty entries went this year but it was a very good placing for Croatia, their best result since 2006.  Well done, Jacques, you mad man you!


Australia



9th place - 173 points (171/2)

Now this was the absolute opposite of Croatia - loved by the juries, hated by the public.  This was a bit of a surprise to me because this sounded so, SO much better than his SF effort (for which he should have been knocked out then) - he still couldn't hit that top note though but hid that a lot better on Final night.  Isaiah looked a lot more confident here and had far better engagement with the camera.  I personally liked his staging, a relatively simple concept compared to most this year although there was possibly too much focus on the 'giant' versions of him on the backdrop -

all in all though this was a decent comeback from the horror show of the SF.

It is possible that performing after the madness of "My Friend" and before the Greek Euroclub anthem of "This Is Love" may have dented any impression this might have made on the public vote or maybe there was an Aussie backlash this year?  It appeared that only Anja's fans may have given a reciprocal vote for the nation of her birth - Australia could have been looking at another top five if the public vote had been anywhere near the same as the professional voters.  It's still a top ten and I suspect that after his showing in SF1, their delegation would be pleased with their placing this year...


Greece



19th place -  77 points (48/29, 2x12)

Another artist who had a bit of a mare in their SF but were most likely saved by their close friends and neighbours, Demy redeemed herself in much the same way as Isaiah did for Australia.  A passable vocal this time, still on the edge as far going off key was concerned but the energy and contemporary nature of this part love song, part Euroclub anthem got the points flowing for the Greeks.  Back to being in the Final and around about where they finish with an okay entry, this would have been a reasonable result for Demy, especially as she looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown all the way through " This Is Love".

The main thing in her favour is her true beauty, one of the most glorious visions on the Eurovision screen this year - the half naked male dancers would have helped with a huge swathe of Eurovision fans too! 

The main issue with this entry has always been that she, and in truth her male dancers, were always quite static and therefore the visual show wasn't really there to cover up the borderline vocal performance.  As I suspect the main goal this year for Greece was to get back into the Final, it was job done but it could be viewed as an opportunity wasted, given Demy's visual appeal and the type of song in her possession.  Maybe we could have Helena back...


Spain



26th place - 5 points (0/5)

It is a good thing that we are going to Portugal next year as the Spanish delegation can thank the Portuguese public for giving them all their points this year!  Some might say that this was five points too many, given that Manel supplied us with the biggest vocal faux pas of the night, that high note totally eluding him.

I have to say that I wished that he had at least had a decent performance in the Final, given the nightmare that his Eurovision journey has been from start to finish. 

Unfortunately what with the poor vocals, the already discredited song, the bewildering staging that had the rocking camper van and the premise that he and his mates were standing somewhere else in the universe looking down on planet Earth, this was always destined to be bottom in the Final but the Portuguese almost changed the script!  There really isn't much more to say apart from RTVE getting their act together, looking at what their next door neighbours did this year and maybe praying for the Spanish equivalent of the Sobral siblings turning up at the Spanish NF in 2018...


Norway



10th place - 158 points (129/29, 1x12)

A victory for progressive music?  Tenth place was not where I expected "Grab The Moment" to be placed at the end of the scoring, especially as it was before the UK powerhouse of Lucie Jones - then again, JOWST were after the joke that was "Do It For Your Lover", so I suppose it evened itself out!  This was yet another entry where one side of the voting equation went mad for the song and the other not at all - this time the juries showed a lot of love for JOWST and I think I know why.
Pushing musical boundaries is what fellow music professionals appreciate from any artist and the use of sampled vocals as music (or backing vocals, depending on your side of the argument), approved for use here in Kyiv by the EBU, actually moves Eurovision into the 2010s (or even earlier, if you side with me in thinking that Yello were doing this sort of thing three decades ago). 

The sampled vocals, the use of drum machines and Ableton Pushes on stage, the intricate lyrical structure about a law that penalises musical success - all of that screams "Love Me" to the juries and they lapped it up.  The public, less so - this was always a performance that appears visually static, an electronica gig performance is something to stand and appreciate, not bop around the room to.  An interesting watch for the uninitiated but not one that would have got voters spending their money on.  I am sure that however they got the points, JOWST and the Norwegian delegation would be delighted with a top ten finish, especially after last year's DNQ with Agnete -  this was one of the positives this year...


United Kingdom



15th place - 111 points (99/12, 1x12)

Call me biased but I think that this deserved a lot better than 15th place - 10th with the jurors, one maximum (thank you, Australia) but then severe disappointment as we came a lowly 20th with the public, all votes coming from the normal sources (Australia, Ireland, Malta and some expats in Spain).  I'm not sure why this didn't hit more of a chord with the television watching public - Lucie gave the vocal performance of her life and the staging was simply amazing.  The only thing I would say is that she was still 'acting as though in a theatre' - her emotional and facial delivery was perhaps a bit OTT, good for getting your message across to the back row of the Circle but totally unnecessary when you have a camera pointed at you a few feet away.

At times she looked a bit manic and that could have put off people voting for her but that is really nit-picking.

I have to say that the pyros actually spoilt one of the best pieces of the colour pulsing out but lessons would be learnt for next year.  I would have had this as my top scorer if I hadn't been a UK resident but as I said, maybe I was watching this through 'rose tinted glasses'.  Nevertheless, 15th is 'onwards and upwards' and our best placing since Blue in 2011 - ironically 111 points got Jessica Garlick 3rd in 2002 - how times have changed!  I am really looking forward to what happens in 2018 for my nation...


Cyprus



21st place - 68 points (36/32, 1x12)

For me this was a disappointment as far as the final placement was concerned - I am always a fan of novel visual concepts at Eurovision and I thought that the interaction of singer and floor graphics looked quite basic but really worked well.  Unfortunately it appeared that I was the only one that was impressed (apart from the Greek jurors and public) and maybe everyone else felt that they had seen it all before -

the backdrop did remind me of "Rhythm Inside", whereas the floor falling away was quite reminiscent of "You Are The Only One".

Okay so maybe I should have been less impressed!  The vocals were solid, the interaction between Hovig and his dancers were superb and the graphics were excellent in my eyes and I gave this my 4 points.  It is possible that the rest of Eurovision land were impressed but perhaps being after Lucie vocally didn't appear to be as strong and the gimmickry of the next entry made the staging here look like a load of geometric shapes!  At least Hovig continued Cyprus' recent record of getting to the Final and finished in roughly the same placing as the previous two entries - maybe this island nation should look around Europe for someone of Cypriot descent to try to break into the top ten again - Lisa Andreas in 2004 seems such a long time ago...


Romania



7th place - 282 points (58/224, 1x12)

Another one of those 'novelty songs that the public love and the jurors hate' scenarios here - "Yodel It!" was always likely to be a Eurovision hit with the public.  Okay, let me rephrase that, a hit amongst some of the viewing public as I am sure that a lot of televoters would really dislike rap and yodelling.  Then again, lots would have loved this entry enough to vote for it, an admirable quality and one that took Romania to its first top ten since 2010's "Playing With Fire" and that nation's third highest placing.  Even though I despised this entry, I recognise that as a gimmick, "yap" has its place and it really helped Ilinca and Alex in Ukraine.

She was truly amazing, possessor of this method of vocal witchcraft together with a very powerful and soulful voice in the bits where she wasn't trying to burst my eardrums.

His rap was decent stuff but he still managed to have the second worst vocal blip after Manel's off note - the chemistry between the two of them and the sheer ridiculousness of the staging (cannons and backdrop) helped gloss over that.  Unfortunately Alex's attempt at a passionate kiss at the end that became more of a homage to 'Alien', where the creature attempts to envelope the face of its victim, may remain in many fan's memories more than this entry itself.  I have to say that I want to hear more of Ilinca singing non-yodel stuff, Alex not so much.  This will always be a song that I skip over when listening to the class of 2017 but even I recognise that this was 'job done' for Romania - I just thank god that it didn't win!


Germany



25th place - 6 points (3/3)

Giving your worst vocal performance of your song is never at a good time but during the Eurovision Final itself?  It almost secured Eurovision history for Germany as the only nation to have finished last three times in a row - thank goodness for Manel doing it for his lover!  Ever since I had seen Levina win the German NF, the one thing that I felt you could guarantee about "Perfect Life", if nothing else, was that Levina would sing this perfectly, flawlessly and that not getting the points would be down to the song itself or maybe the staging.

Unfortunately, her vocals were pretty rough and off key at times, leading to her having the weakest female vocals  in the Final this year 

and combined with the grey and silver styling throughout and the lack of anything really that interesting to watch apart from her (which is a pleasant sight but still) meant that there really wasn't that much to vote for here.  The lady herself is a delight to talk and listen to, a very beautiful woman and someone who brightens up the room as she enters it - she just had to deal with a very bland average song and had a 'bad day at the office'.  Back to the drawing board, Germany - maybe make your NF a bit less confusing in 2018, eh?


Ukraine



24th place - 36 points (12/24)

So Ukraine didn't want to host Eurovision again in 2018, who knew?  Where was the impact of the gunshot from the Ukrainian SF?  Where was the timer from the Ukrainian NF?  Where was the apocalyptic message, the hi energy band performance, the grunge look for the fans of rock?  It was as if everything of any value had been removed from this entry and replaced by a big giant head that shone lights from its eyes - big whoopy do!

The band didn't really look that interested either and to be quite honest, coming 24th was only deserved because O.Torvald had two of the worst vocals beneath them.

There is playing it safe so as to not risk winning and then not being bothered because that is what this performance was - if the band had any aspirations about getting an international audience, this showing would have killed those off.  All that this entry succeeded in doing was making the last four acts afterwards seem phenomenal - this three minutes of "Time" was quick enough to sell this entry, the band and its nation short too...


Belgium



4th place - 363 points (108/255, 1x12)

Now I should have kept faith with my second placed entry overall this year - the most contemporary song this year which caught the imagination of every Eurovision fan when they heard the studio version now had a live version that was ALMOST on a par with it.  All of the live promo Parties, the rehearsals, Jury and public SF1 and the Jury Final had given Blanche a lot of experience of singing in front of a crowd and the tv cameras - something that almost came together on public Final night, Blanche giving a flawlessly vulnerable and yet solid vocal showing.  I would have personally gone with the trendier black trouser suit that she wore as she walked on the stage at the introduction stage of the Final but the black prom dress was a far better choice than the lighter one she wore in rehearsals.  What she was wearing may have suggested 'young girl who is scared and afraid of her love disappearing' as per the song, which is probably what non-fan viewers saw here - a vulnerable young woman whose voice trembled with emotion due to the lyrical content of the song.
Her arm movements were slightly odd but what Blanche did do in the Final was 'own her space' - her version of how Liam Gallagher is watchable and charismatic without moving an inch whilst performing.

The staging came into play here too - lights were all around her, keeping all eyes on Blanche, the floor effects pulsed circles away from her, keeping attention centre stage where she was.  The fizzing lines and shapes on the backdrop provided interest, contrast even, but not enough to detract from the singer.  Of course the actual star of this entry is the music itself - modern pop synth which would be eminently listenable as an instrumental piece and was probably the main reason for this entry ending up in fourth place.  The public put this song up there, perhaps their 'heart' overruling the jury's 'head'.  After years in the Eurovision doldrums, three top tens in a row demonstrate that Belgium are now major contenders for every Contest from now on...


Sweden



5th place - 344 points (218/126, 3x12)

And so the mighty Sweden's impressive Eurovision form continues - a SIXTH top five placing in SEVEN Contests and job well done by Robin with his best performance in Kyiv.  It wasn't quite up to the standards of Melodifestivalen but that was really down to the loss of some of the camera angles, some of the little visual touches being missed (where was the polka dots, guys?) and most importantly not playing in front of a home audience who provided the roar as he walked onto the stage in Sweden.

A very solid and confident performance which gathered lots of viewers points, probably due to his stage charisma and the treadmill show - things that might not have appealed as much to the jurors around Eurovision.

To a fan, this routine either had got totally boring or was still an exercise in staging excellence - you decide which, I will always go for the latter!  Each year since 2010, Sweden have brought something new to the table and you have to wonder what next year will bring but I am sure that SVT are more than happy to have yet another high finish under their belt.  "I Can't Go On" would never compare with the top two entries this year for audibility but visually only Moldova's bridal party outdid 'Mr Smooth and his stockbroker pals'.  This will always be known as "the one with the treadmills" across the history of Eurovision and this got my 7 points...


Bulgaria



2nd place - 615 points (278/337, 4x12)

If the producer's idea for the running order was to have a powerful run-in with three of the top five performing towards the end of the show, voila!  It helped matters that they had the runner-up for 2017 placed at song 25 - Bulgaria have finally got their act together and produced two top five finishes in two years, after only one such placing in their previous nine attempts.  This was second favourite before the Final and the bookies got it spot on,

Kristian's combination of sensitivity, vulnerability, vocal excellence and relatively minimal visuals coming together wonderfully to supply us with one of the most gentle entries of the night.

All very soothing and yet still with a powerful punch, as line graphics were used to good effect on the screen to give at least a little bit of visuals to look at (although given that Salvador had none to speak of, maybe even the minimal effects of "Beautiful Mess" were too much).  There was never any issue with Kristian's vocals or his on stage presence, so much for such a young artist - he sold this amazingly well and if his had been the only ballad at the top of the placings, Bulgaria might have celebrating their first win instead of Portugal - maybe next year?  This came together on the night so much that this was yet another song that finished in my top ten for the first time...5 points.


France



12th place - 135 points (45/90)

In the big scheme of things, considering how badly France had done at Eurovision for years before Amir came along in 2016, this was a good finish for France but based on the material that this nation had out at Kyiv, missing out on the top ten might be a disappointment for this nation.  Alma did absolutely nothing wrong on the night - she looked amazing, she hit all her marks, she moved as seductively as you can do on a massive Eurovision stage, the backdrop of Paris looked stunning and this sounded as good as it always has done.  Perhaps the main difference this time was the running order and who she followed - having finishers 4, 5 and 2 before her meant that Alma had some pretty big acts to be better than, in all aspects of her show.

"Requiem" was never going to be as contemporary as "City Light", as visually slick as "I Can't Go On" or as emotive and vocally superb as "Beautiful Mess". 

It has also been demonstrated in recent years that singing in position 26 is not the pimp slot that it used to be - voter fatigue is quite the thing now, especially when you've reached the two hour mark of any show!  With weaker acts before her, Alma might have been able to push a bit higher but I suspect that the French delegation would have been pleased with their placing, definitely when compared to most of the Big 5.  A decent end to the show nonetheless...


So that was it - Eurovision 2017 all over bar the shouting and the voting.  And the interval acts, the best of which was this one - maybe Ukraine might consider them for 2018:



This beat Ruslana and Jamala into a cocked hat, in my opinion!

I did vote this year but as I didn't have a clear favourite act (no "Blackbird" in the Final, was there? Okay, so I went most of this article without mentioning my 2017 favourite), I spread my votes amongst my top ten which meant that I did actually vote for the winner - as did most of Eurovision land to be fair.  No real surprises amongst the jury votes, once the 12s started only being given in one direction (it was nice to see Zlata again, by the way):



And there really wasn't that much tension once we got to the last four public totals to be announced and I realised that there was little chance of Portugal being caught:



The main issue I have with this method of presenting the scores is the instant deflation that is felt when your nation's scores are announced early on, as the UK's were!  This takes away any excitement felt immediately and really does leave you thinking more of any potential injustices about not getting a higher mark, than keeping track of what is happening with the rest of the results.  Maybe just a small quibble and I suppose if you are one of the acts still in the hunt for the prize as the last four scores are read, the tension is high although it wasn't as great a televisual moment this year, purely due to the overwhelming victory that Salvador had in the end:
A clear victory for simplicity and purity of song this year in Kyiv and even the runner-up was on a par in those stakes, just more graphics being used but the genre was much the same.  The main shocks this year were Moldova's podium place totally out of the blue and Italy tailing off over the course of a matter of days from potential runaway winner to a solid but (for them) poor 6th.  The potential for Blanche to finish high with the most current pop sounding song of 2017 did materialise as she gave her best ever live performance and the 'yap' of Romania caught the public's imagination to finish highest amongst the 'novelty acts'.  For us in the UK, it is a steady improvement year on year - Lucie Jones gave us our best finish since Blue in 2011 and showed that with a great singer and a wonderful stage we can at least impress the jurors - now just to crack the public's view...

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All in all, this was a Eurovision that really went back to its traditional roots - more about the acts on stage that perhaps the overall package of the Final as a whole.  It was enjoyable and also time efficient for a change and we have a new country as a winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.  As a long term fan, I do not begrudge Portugal its moment in the sun - the perfect storm happened for them, with a wonderful singer, an amazing song, the perfect staging and a receptive audience.  Are we now likely to see some new green shoots coming out of the bare Portuguese Eurovision soil?  Will this trigger a movement for this nation to be a major contender at future Contests?  Who knows - what it does mean is that:

We are all off to Portugal in 2018!

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