What might have been - if there were no political tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Maruv would be gearing up to perform her first rehearsal in Tel Aviv today and show off "Siren Song" (or "Bang", as everyone would shout out) to its fullest, probably sitting in the ever growing group of potential winning entries of Eurovision 2019. As it is, she kicked off my final show before I head out to Tel Aviv, with a playlist that is totally self indulgent...
You have heard all my comments on all of the entries this year in my reviews of SF1 and SF2 - as you listen to the show today, you will hear what scores each of them got from me during my time on the SECHUK Jury this year, using the categories used by Eurovision jurors. I had less time to go through them this time as 14 songs an hour on my show is achievable but a snug fit! Hope you enjoy the listen in amongst the rehearsals that are going on in Tel Aviv:
As a sum up, here is the playlist together with those marks out of ten that saw them placed where they were played:
As you can see, even my lowest score was still 4.0 (I have seen some pundits give 0.5 if they 'hate' something) and my highest was 9.5. There are a lot of entries on the same scores (seven with 8.5, for example) and when that happened, it all went totally subjective and I went with my personal favourites! Here is a clearer picture of my top ten favourite entries for Eurovision 2019:
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This was my top ten pre-rehearsals and it is not going to change on the first ones that we see, as they are all technical set-ups, although it does show if some artists have gotten over any promo party issues (Srbuk being a prime example and I am so pleased for her). I have stopped predicting who is going to win as I very rarely get it right, bar those years when there is an absolute stand out and every other act is playing for second place! It has also been a unusual year for me in that I have not become emotionally attached to any of the songs in Tel Aviv. No Sanna Nielsen, Maraaya, Greta Salóme, Norma John or Laura Rizzotto to provide me with a song to totally fall in love with - only two artists would have held that status this year and they both missed out in their NFs:
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It has laid the path open for me to be totally dispassionate and objective about which acts get my top votes and I can truthfully say that from the moment I heard this lady sing, looked into her back catalogue and watched her storm her NF, there was only one choice for my number one this year:
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Judging by the sudden swing in opinion after her first rehearsal, it appears that most of the Eurovision fandom have eventually joined me in having the same opinion (admittedly three months later!).
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Show 40 will be (hopefully) coming to you from Tel Aviv! I have no idea as yet what will be in it - I am going to fly out on May 10th and therefore will be there for some of the second rehearsals, The Orange Carpet and Opening Ceremony, along with the live shows and jury rehearsals that I will be attending. Most of the live action will happen after next Tuesday, so that will all be included when I return. One thing is certain...
My preferred 41!
You have heard all my comments on all of the entries this year in my reviews of SF1 and SF2 - as you listen to the show today, you will hear what scores each of them got from me during my time on the SECHUK Jury this year, using the categories used by Eurovision jurors. I had less time to go through them this time as 14 songs an hour on my show is achievable but a snug fit! Hope you enjoy the listen in amongst the rehearsals that are going on in Tel Aviv:
As a sum up, here is the playlist together with those marks out of ten that saw them placed where they were played:
N/A "Siren Song" - Maruv
41 "Say Na Na Na" - Serhat (4.0)
40 "Heaven" - D mol (4.0)
39 "Stay" - Anna Odobescu (4.5)
38 "That Night" - Carousel (4.5)
37 "Home" - Kobi Marimi (5.0)
36 "Like It" - ZENA (5.0)
35 "Look Away" - Darude ft Sebstian Rejman (5.0)
34 "Keep On Going" - Oto Nemsadze (5.0)
33 "22" - Sarah McTernan (5.5)
32 "Sebi" - Zara Kralj & Gašper Šantl (5.5)
31 "The Dream" - Roko (5.5)
30 "Love Is Forever" - Leonora (6.0)
29 "Proud" - Tamara Todevska (6.0)
28 "Wake Up" - Eliot (6.5)
27 "Walking Out" - Srbuk (6.5)
26 "Friend Of A Friend" - Lake Malawi (6.5)
25 "Kruna" - Nevena Božović (6.5)
24 "Sister" - S!sters (6.5)
23 "La Venda" - Miki (7.0)
22 "Truth" - Chingiz (7.0)
21 "Telemóveis" - Conan Osíris (7.0)
20 "Bigger Than Us" - Michael Rice (7.0)
19 "Fire Of Love (Pali się)" - Tulia (7.5)
18 "Run With The Lions" - Jurij Veklenko (7.5)
17 "She Got Me" - Luca Hänni (7.5)
16 "Az én apám" - Joci Pápai (7.5)
15 "Storm" - Victor Crone (7.5)
14 "Replay" - Tamta (8.0)
13 "Scream" - Sergey Lazarev (8.0)
12 "On A Sunday" - Ester Peony (8.0)
11 "Arcade" - Duncan Laurence (8.5)
10 "Roi" - Bilal Hassani (8.5)
9 "Limits" - PAENDA (8.5)
8 "Ktheju Tokës" - Jonida Maliqi (8.5)
7 "Hatrið mun sigra" - Hatari (8.5)
6 "Soldi" - Mahmood (8.5)
5 "Spirit In The Sky" - KEiiNO (8.5)
4 "Chameleon" - Michela (9.0)
3 "Better Love" - Katerine Duska (9.0)
2 "Too Late For Love" - John Lundvik (9.0)
1 "Zero Gravity" - Kate Miller-Heidke (9.5)
As you can see, even my lowest score was still 4.0 (I have seen some pundits give 0.5 if they 'hate' something) and my highest was 9.5. There are a lot of entries on the same scores (seven with 8.5, for example) and when that happened, it all went totally subjective and I went with my personal favourites! Here is a clearer picture of my top ten favourite entries for Eurovision 2019:
It has laid the path open for me to be totally dispassionate and objective about which acts get my top votes and I can truthfully say that from the moment I heard this lady sing, looked into her back catalogue and watched her storm her NF, there was only one choice for my number one this year:
Eurovision 2019 is here and now!