More the look that this lady had when singing 'Whole Lotta Love' on New Year's Eve 2014 in Imperia when she was really rocking and impressed me big time, rather than how I feel about 'No Degree Of Separation', as I pointed out in my last set of reviews. I suppose she has two and a half weeks to convince me otherwise...
Just four entries to look at now, four entries that I have yet to cover individually or as part of one of the Pre-Parties. Those countries are:
Yes, I know it's not the original abominable slow version that some fans (weirdly) prefer, yes I know that the disco version that is now going to Stockholm has just been synced over this footage of Serhat singing a different song - lots of seemingly amateurish failings on the part of the San Marinese delegation but of the two versions (I am not even going to play the other, it was that bad and only got a 2.0 from me), the disco version isn't great but at least it is bearable. This no longer sounds like a very creepy, turgid, monotone speech that was destined to be met with stunned silence in Stockholm but now we have the 'Turkish Leonard Cohen' spliced with a track from Studio 54! The lyrics are still 'stalkerish and obsessive' but now are tempered by female backing singers, together with the light and breezy disco beat that somehow pulls this into listenable territory. We have even seen Serhat 'sing' this on Greek TV, where the staging, as it was, could suggest that Serhat plus some dancers might be what we are going to see:
Once the disco rhythm kicked in, the crowd here (and in Malta, where he appeared on Xarabank) loved this song and were clapping and applauding - if San Marino get the staging right, this could, shockingly enough, be one of the 'party tunes' in Stockholm and would stick out like a sore thumb. I can't imagine that the jurors around Eurovision will go for this at all but it might pick up some public support if it appears fun enough. It shouldn't reach the Final as it is in SF1 but stranger things have happened...the disco beat doubled Serhat's score from me and pushed it from bottom to 41st (remember there are now only 42 songs). 4.0
Now this is a first for me - rap in a Eurovision entry that Ican tolerate actually like! And it's not in English! I have no idea why this has happened as I feel that the other entry this year with 'ethnic rap' in it is totally ruined by its presence (Bosnia & Herzegovina). At least the torch of ethnic musicality is being kept alive by the Greeks this year and the combination of anthemic chorus and rap works perfectly and sounds superb in the studio version. It sounds pretty good at a very small venue live too:
The staging not so and there are already six of them on stage, so no 'running man', unless the guy who apparently did nothing here gets his shirt off and uses ZOË's treadmill to mimic the video. Greece are normally so reliable at Eurovision and have always qualified for the Final - some fans believe that this is the year that run will be broken but I am not so sure. I will hang fire on my predictions for this reaching the Final until I have some idea of how this will look in Stockholm. There are no clues here apart from having a solid enough vocal. I like it, more so than some Greek entries in the past (no trampolines this year please) and I hope it keeps its nation's hopes alive. 7.0
Czech Republic
As official videos go, it is a stunner - beautiful panning shot across a lake to a mysterious building and a nod to the beginning and end of Forrest Gump, using a book instead of a feather. The rest of the shoot just focusses on the beautiful Gabriela with jewels and flowers - if only this could be used for the staging of her entry, then we could definitely say that the Czech Republic were going to be in their first ever Final. As this obviously can't be used, I would have to say that at the moment 'I Stand' MIGHT get to the Final. Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderfully classic ballad, the song has really meaningful lyrics, Gabriela has an amazing voice that can cope with any musical genre and she is very attractive too but it is quite melancholic and also drifts along on one level - I just hope that this doesn't get ignored by jurors and fans alike. She has sung this live once, at the Maltese Eurovision Party:
Same output live as in the studio which is very encouraging but I feel that out of all the ballads this year, this might suffer the most from memorability as it is, especially as it has been stuck between Russia and Cyprus in SF1. This will need some decent staging to help Gabriela get to Saturday's Final. 6.5
Australia
And so onto the last entry, Dami Im from Australia. The official video is a gorgeous piece of pop promotion, showing off Dami's looks, her style and most importantly her vocals. She can definitely sing there, having an amazing range and the song itself tells a great story and for visual quality, it parallels anything shown this season. My main issue with 'Sound Of Silence' is that it really lacks that spark, that OMG moment, to ordinarily push Australia into the lead and win in Stockholm. Dami has shown that she can belt this one out live too:
First live performance nerves meant that some of it got a bit lost but I would imagine she's been practicing like mad since this gig so everything should be word perfect in Stockholm. A possible winner? In this year of no-one soaring away from the pack, it is a distinct possibility that the Aussies could win Eurovision at their second attempt - this will sail through the SF stage easily and I think that a top 5 placing is well within Dami's grasp. The win might be dependent on her four performances and the associated staging - someone is going to have the 'best fortnight of their lives' and there is no reason why it can't be Dami. It might be the only way that some European nations might get to stage Eurovision anytime soon... 7.5
Well, there you go, all this year's songs reviewed within this blog, in one form or another! I had already given reviews on all the 43 songs (including poor Ovidiu) as each entry was announced via the SECHUK Jury, my first year of doing so:
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If you want to see my Bio and individual scores, you'll have to click on the link above and have a trawl through the list. Let's just say that one of the top three was in my top three and it was the UK's top placing!
So close now to Eurovision - I count it as a 'fortnight' as I have two weeks off, I plan to watch the rehearsals online and listen to as much in the way of podcasts as possible, a bit like last year. I almost 'burned out' last year so I do not plan to post every day, especially as I may be on a local radio station as their Eurovision expert twice in the next couple of weeks and I will need to prepare! I only plan to post one more article before next Monday and the start of rehearsals...
Just four entries to look at now, four entries that I have yet to cover individually or as part of one of the Pre-Parties. Those countries are:
Australia
Czech Republic
Greece
San Marino
It is obvious to me (and you, hopefully) why Dami Im was not at any of the Pre-Parties (geography guys, geography) but the other three had decided to avoid the official gigs, each doing their own thing to differing degrees. Even so, this won't stop me finishing off having a listen and giving my opinion, oh no! I will be doing so in reverse alphabetical order - I would rather not finish this year off on a downer (oops, spoiler)!
San Marino
Yes, I know it's not the original abominable slow version that some fans (weirdly) prefer, yes I know that the disco version that is now going to Stockholm has just been synced over this footage of Serhat singing a different song - lots of seemingly amateurish failings on the part of the San Marinese delegation but of the two versions (I am not even going to play the other, it was that bad and only got a 2.0 from me), the disco version isn't great but at least it is bearable. This no longer sounds like a very creepy, turgid, monotone speech that was destined to be met with stunned silence in Stockholm but now we have the 'Turkish Leonard Cohen' spliced with a track from Studio 54! The lyrics are still 'stalkerish and obsessive' but now are tempered by female backing singers, together with the light and breezy disco beat that somehow pulls this into listenable territory. We have even seen Serhat 'sing' this on Greek TV, where the staging, as it was, could suggest that Serhat plus some dancers might be what we are going to see:
Once the disco rhythm kicked in, the crowd here (and in Malta, where he appeared on Xarabank) loved this song and were clapping and applauding - if San Marino get the staging right, this could, shockingly enough, be one of the 'party tunes' in Stockholm and would stick out like a sore thumb. I can't imagine that the jurors around Eurovision will go for this at all but it might pick up some public support if it appears fun enough. It shouldn't reach the Final as it is in SF1 but stranger things have happened...the disco beat doubled Serhat's score from me and pushed it from bottom to 41st (remember there are now only 42 songs). 4.0
Greece
Now this is a first for me - rap in a Eurovision entry that I
The staging not so and there are already six of them on stage, so no 'running man', unless the guy who apparently did nothing here gets his shirt off and uses ZOË's treadmill to mimic the video. Greece are normally so reliable at Eurovision and have always qualified for the Final - some fans believe that this is the year that run will be broken but I am not so sure. I will hang fire on my predictions for this reaching the Final until I have some idea of how this will look in Stockholm. There are no clues here apart from having a solid enough vocal. I like it, more so than some Greek entries in the past (no trampolines this year please) and I hope it keeps its nation's hopes alive. 7.0
Czech Republic
As official videos go, it is a stunner - beautiful panning shot across a lake to a mysterious building and a nod to the beginning and end of Forrest Gump, using a book instead of a feather. The rest of the shoot just focusses on the beautiful Gabriela with jewels and flowers - if only this could be used for the staging of her entry, then we could definitely say that the Czech Republic were going to be in their first ever Final. As this obviously can't be used, I would have to say that at the moment 'I Stand' MIGHT get to the Final. Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderfully classic ballad, the song has really meaningful lyrics, Gabriela has an amazing voice that can cope with any musical genre and she is very attractive too but it is quite melancholic and also drifts along on one level - I just hope that this doesn't get ignored by jurors and fans alike. She has sung this live once, at the Maltese Eurovision Party:
Same output live as in the studio which is very encouraging but I feel that out of all the ballads this year, this might suffer the most from memorability as it is, especially as it has been stuck between Russia and Cyprus in SF1. This will need some decent staging to help Gabriela get to Saturday's Final. 6.5
Australia
And so onto the last entry, Dami Im from Australia. The official video is a gorgeous piece of pop promotion, showing off Dami's looks, her style and most importantly her vocals. She can definitely sing there, having an amazing range and the song itself tells a great story and for visual quality, it parallels anything shown this season. My main issue with 'Sound Of Silence' is that it really lacks that spark, that OMG moment, to ordinarily push Australia into the lead and win in Stockholm. Dami has shown that she can belt this one out live too:
First live performance nerves meant that some of it got a bit lost but I would imagine she's been practicing like mad since this gig so everything should be word perfect in Stockholm. A possible winner? In this year of no-one soaring away from the pack, it is a distinct possibility that the Aussies could win Eurovision at their second attempt - this will sail through the SF stage easily and I think that a top 5 placing is well within Dami's grasp. The win might be dependent on her four performances and the associated staging - someone is going to have the 'best fortnight of their lives' and there is no reason why it can't be Dami. It might be the only way that some European nations might get to stage Eurovision anytime soon... 7.5
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Well, there you go, all this year's songs reviewed within this blog, in one form or another! I had already given reviews on all the 43 songs (including poor Ovidiu) as each entry was announced via the SECHUK Jury, my first year of doing so:
So close now to Eurovision - I count it as a 'fortnight' as I have two weeks off, I plan to watch the rehearsals online and listen to as much in the way of podcasts as possible, a bit like last year. I almost 'burned out' last year so I do not plan to post every day, especially as I may be on a local radio station as their Eurovision expert twice in the next couple of weeks and I will need to prepare! I only plan to post one more article before next Monday and the start of rehearsals...
You'll find out the following -
My Semi-Final Qualifiers and
My Final Scoreboard Positions