[LMBTO] What's My List? The Eurovision 2016 Placement Game...

It is Sunday May 1st - the day before the 'Eurovision fortnight' and the day before the first rehearsals.  It is also the day that, after watching as many National Finals as I could, attending one Pre-Party and a National Final myself and reviewing all the entries...

My rankings of all 42 entries (sorry Ovidiu, you would have been just inside my top 20) based on live performances primarily but before we know what they will look like in Sweden.  We won't have a clue how most of these are going to be choreographed, although there are a couple that were more intricate in their National Final and so will pass directly to the Stockholm stage (Iceland and Austria, for instance).  Having rated all these acts already as they were confirmed as part of my duties on the SECHUK Jury, I had a good idea where my rankings were headed and who my set of ten marks were going to - I decided to tweak this by using the excellent Mr Gerbear's Favourites Sorter (which is as good as ever, use it if you still don't know which are your 'bestest' entries).  After almost a couple of hundred battles, my list pre-Stockholm is as follows:
If you are a regular reader of my blog, you could probably have guessed the majority of my top ten plus the entries that would be holding up the rest of the table!  Numbers 31-42 have not impressed me at all, varying from the laughably comic 'Blue And Red', right up to the one 'fan favourite' (I'm being nice here, not using the W word) that I just don't get, Italy.  Anything above that I would not have an issue seeing in the Final or at least would feel that those entries would not be depriving a more worthy artist of a place singing on Saturday night.  My top acts have not changed since their first performances - Iceland has always been my favourite from the moment I saw Greta perform the Icelandic version of 'Hear Them Calling' in their SF, Sanja has THE best vocals of any artist at Eurovision this year and Barei has the 'party anthem' to carry this year's Final audience along.  Of the top ten, Poland has moved up in my estimation due to Michał having the best male singing voice this year, alongside a unique stage presence that I feel will make 'Colour Of Your Life' stand out a mile.  If my rankings match what happens in Stockholm, four of the Big 5 plus the hosts will take up five of the top thirteen places - unlikely to happen but it would be an amazing achievement if it did.

If we break down my placings into how the SFs would look based on the above, the Tuesday night would see these acts make it into the Final:
I have already said that Iceland is MY entry this year and if the interaction between Greta and her film are perfect, it will be an amazing show and hopefully a vote winning performance:
Ira Losco has played a blinder as far as promotion pre-Stockholm is concerned, probably covering as much ground as Conchita Wurst did before her win, not just with the Pre-Parties but also with television programmes around Europe.  Contemporary pop plus charismatic singer should equal qualification plus decent Final finish:
As for the delightful ZOË, her appearances during the Pre-Party season were a revelation - her shyness, beauty plus perfect vocals all add up to a very, very memorable act, especially as she has one of the few non-English songs this year.  A definite qualifier for me and momentum may grow over the week to push "Loin d'ici" into the running for the Eurovision crown:
As for SF2 on Thursday 12th May, here would be my placings at the moment:
Despite the OTT theatrical over-acting in the official video, all the live performances by Sanja during the Pre-Parties have been toned down enough to still keep this as one of my top entries but probably not alienate any voters who dislike OTT facial expressions.  I still seem to be the only person who thinks this is very Aguilera-esque (maybe I am showing my age):
I have stated above why I now have Mr Szpak so high in this table - not only the superb voice, the distinctive look but also the diaspora that will now come into play with the new voting system will surely see Poland into the Final and I believe get a very solid top ten finish at worst:
Dami Im would be the last of the semi-finalists to get a point from me - not as high as last year's Australian entry in my opinion but she has an amazing voice and there is something about her that is quite endearing.  This is an entry that could jump up my rankings if the staging in The Globen matches her vocals:
Jamie-Lee Kriewitz is the lowest of the direct finalists in my top ten but higher than Italy (#31), the UK (#13) and Sweden (#12).  "Ghost" transfixed me with wonder that a 17 year old (as she was at the German NF) girl, dressed in Manga gear, could have such a wonderfully distinctive voice that gave such deep and meaningful lyrics a life of their own.  If she sticks with a similar outfit, it will be a talking point and memorable - if she sings this song as she has done every time I have heard it live, this will stick in viewer's heads and it will be memorable.  This hasn't got the fan love that it deserves because Jamie-Lee hasn't done the same level of PR that most of the other artists have - to be honest, I think her personality, style and astounding voice do not need the Eurovision fanbase to be all over this song, she will do it herself in Stockholm:
Amir, on the other hand, has become the 'male darling' of Eurovision pre-season (ZOË being the female), wowing all the fans with his charm, his looks and his live performances.  What's not to like?  Even a straight guy like me can see that Amir appeals visually to both sexes and his onstage persona live is superb and infectious.  The song sticks in your head as the 'other French language song' and it is such a massive earworm that the song gets triggered immediately I see a picture of him!  The main reason that this song is not higher for me?  Amir on his own at the Pre-Parties showed off his charm and infectious smile - these attributes weren't as obvious during his other performances on television when accompanied by three girls dressed in denim jackets and tutus, waving tambourines.  I really, really hope that this is changed as naff choreography could scupper France's best chance of winning Eurovision since their last victory in 1977:
And so onto the last of the direct finalist in my top ten, my #3, Barei.  This year's 'party song' by a country mile, I still believe that this could win if Europe wants an up-tempo fun song to dance along to (probably not the dance she is doing, I've tried and my brain just can't cope with it).  Barei now sings "Say Yay!" with control and the right volume in her voice but still retains the same level of sassiness, sexiness and crowd interaction that she showed in Spain, Ukraine and all the Pre-Parties she attended.  If that all comes together in Stockholm and there is suitable staging to go with it, I could see this being sung again just before midnight on May 14th with lots of glitter and emotion.  Maybe I'm biased as she kindly took a couple of selfies with me in London:
And that, dear readers, is my rankings of the 42 and my hopes for the top tens in each SF and the Final.  To be honest, this is going to be the closest Eurovision since 2011 and I wouldn't be surprised if someone outside the current favourites (Russia and France) took the title.  Will it be someone new?  Someone who hasn't won for ages?  In a nutshell, here's my picks - of course, my thoughts and placings could well change once I've seen the rehearsals...