##########################################################################
#                                                                        #
#  This should autowrap to fit the screen on Mozilla/Firefox, Opera,     #
#  IE, and anything claiming to be CSS3 compatible.                      #
#  If it does NOT work on your browser, this is mostly a plain text      #
#  file with some bits in CSS stuck at the top. Save it to your disc,    #
#  rename it .txt (instead of .html) and open it in the text editor of   #
#  your choice.                                                          #
#                                                                        #
##########################################################################



Hey guys!

Bet you never thought you'd see this! :-)

Well, I'm working days now, so I'm home by the time ESC comes on. I will be able to write about the semis.
As for the final - flip a coin - it seems something of a tradition for an epic thunderstorm to swamp reception with heavy rain right in the middle.

I'm going to have to find time to go back and review the missing years. I meant to do it before tonight, but this kind of crept up on me. I think that it crept up on everybody, because looking outside I could swear it was early March and not mid-May...



This is the rough with typos and missing photos and stuff.



ESC SEMI 1
==========

Opening with a sort of opera-rock number, the winning song form
last year, "Euphoria", performing with 68 children from local schools.
[pic]

Petra Mede is our host. Something of a sarcastic sense of humour there.
[pic]

An apparent change from previous, you cannot start to vote until the final song has been heard. This, to my mind, is much better than voting from the outset.


01 Austria "Shine" Natalia Kelly
A talent show winner, the performance is quite good though I get a sort of 80s vibe from the performance. The problem is that the song is not particularly exciting.
[need pic - too busy writing to grab it live - dammit!]


02 Estonia (new beginning)
Subtle fade to monochrome to give an old fashioned feel to this song. It is called "New beginning" so I feel there is a fade to colour... yup, there it is. Nice performance of a power ballady song. The huge dress, by the way, is because this girl is at five months.
Yeah, I liked this.


03 Slovenia "Hannah" Straight Into Love.
Warning - flashing images. Mmmm.
Three guys with masks and robotic movements. Can anybody say Kylie Minogue (Can't Get You Out Of My Head)? I think this sort of music is called electro-trance (I'm sure somebody will correct me). Hannah's vocals seem to consist mostly of shouting "straight into love".
As somebody who likes Springsteen-style songs-as-stories and Wagnerian rock, it stands to reason that I absolutely hate this.


04 Croatia
A traditional form of singing called "klapa" with a song that translates as "misery". It is like Gregorian Chant meets Il Divo. The six performers went all out. This one grew on me. Nice performance guys.


05 Denmark Emily de Forest  Only Teardrops
Apparently the favourite, she reminds me of Julie Zenatti. Interesting pronunciation and emphasis on usual syllables, but strangely enough it seems to work for this song. Falling glitter, sparkle effects, good god it's like she's already won! Nice song, but... am I catching something of a theme here? I mean, Europe is a mess right now, but Only Teardrops? Misery?


A short BBC insert with Ana Matronic (an American) being introduced to Eurovision. Her comment? "Explain how Israel is in Europe". Perhaps just as well Lebanon isn't in this competition.


06 Russia What If
Cute girl, nice voice, nice song. A positive message too. Interesting lyrics given the Putin government, perhaps a suggestion of the disparity between politics and reality?


07 Ukraine
Girl in white (there's a surprise) being brought on stage by a giant (no, really!). From whispery to shouty thirty seconds. The staging was pretty good, but the song kinda sucked. This ought to do alright as it is memorable.


08 The Netherlands "Birds" (Anouk)
Oh my God, let's hope the song picks up from the opening lines which make you want to go out and smash your head off something hard and rock-shaped.
Um.
"Birds fall down the rooftops; out of the sky like raindrops."
A competent performance but bloody hell, a depressing-as-hell song.


More flashing images, announced as something "completely different".


09 Montenegro
Rap doesn't tend to do well at Eurovision and every sort of mental gimmick has been tried, but I think rapping astronauts is scraping the barrel lower than 2002's {check that!} S.a.g.a.p.o.
Well, give it credit, the Birds song is now a distant memory.


10 Lithuania
Amusingly hammy performance of a not particularly memorable love song. That said, we'll probably see this guy hamming it up in the final. And, um, the lyrics...what the hell?


11 Belarus
Mom (who listens to Radio Four) said this was rasted to be a potential winner. Blonde chick? Check. Glittery dress? Check. Energetic guys in white? Check. Cheesy stage prop? Check. Summer-beach-hit-song? Check. This ticks all the cliches, but I hope Europe picks a song with more, you know, talent.


12 Moldova
Big dress and freaky hair. I have a feeling this might be the first clothing refit of the night. Another power ballad, this one with some feeling and overly energetic backing dancers. Pretty cool effect to shine lights on the dress to animate it.
Oookay... The dress grows up with a ridiculously epic fire effect. Well, damn, I wasn't expecting THAT.


13 Ireland "Only Love Survives"
Ireland, near constant winners back in the '90s, need to atone for TWO years of Jedward.
Okay, now the staging is okay, the song has possibilities, but I absolutely hate this voice. Yet more serious drum action. So, will the next act drag a Taiko on stage?


Another BBC cut-out. An interview with Sweden's Loren (sp?).


14 Cyprus 
A one-woman... you guessed it, a power ballad in Greek. Though this one is less power and more ballad. Competently performed, she can hold a note. Nicely done.


15 Belgium "Love Kills"
The serious dancers behind him are his bodyguards, believe it or not. Shades of Robert Palmer? A pop number, but at 18 isn't he too young to sing about "Love kills, over and over"?


16 Serbia
I'm not sure if this is cute or scary, but I'm thinking there's an undertone going on here. Well done Serbia for making a traditionally crazy entry. I am informed by the commentators that the lyrics are equally insane.


Oh my God, a Eurovision app. And lots of comments that people in the UK cannot use the app to vote.


Lines open, and a recap, so here's my vote:


12 Estonia
10 Denmark
8 Russia
7 Croatia
6 Ukraine
5 Cyprus
---------
4 Belarus
3 Lithuania
2 Moldova
1 Austria

Please don't pass:
The Netherlands (what were they thinking?)


I put a line between Cyprus and Belarus because it was a hard call for my top three songs. The others were, well, let's say they are the ones I didn't dislike the most.



A Bonnie Tyler insert. It's nice to have somebody like Bonnie representing the UK, but I have doubts about the song. It isn't "Holding Out For A Hero".


Another recap as voting comes to an end. Oh god, do I have to listen to that Dutch song again? As a person who likes Sarah McLachlan, I can do sad music, but there's a way to do sad correctly. That isn't it.


The lines are now closed. As there are only 16 songs, and ten of which will get through, I figure we can see that the rejection of the six that sucked the most. But, you know, sometimes Eurovision can surprise.


Well, now another cut-out. There might have been an interval performance but instead we have a bunch of people giving their opinions on the songs. It seems the majority vote was for Anouk. Say what?


What's this weird insert. It's like the Swedish version of Mrs Merton.


A look at the big five's entries. Cascada for Germany.


Okay then. The moment of truth. But first, a brief word from a guy that ust doesn't have the charisma of Svante. Oh well...


First in - Moldova.
Second - Lithuania. I figured it.
Third - Ireland. Well, good luck, hope your vocals improve!
Fourth - Estonia. Nice.
Fifth - Belarus. Yup, ticked all the boxes and progressed.
Sixth - Denmark. Great stuff.
Seventh - Russia. Good.
Eighth - Belgium. Okay...
Ninth - Ukraine. Giant Guy.
And finally - The Netherlands. Aaaaaaaargh!

Sadly the guys from Croatia don't pass muster.



Recap:
Moldova - epic dress.
Lithuania - comical lyrics and hammy mugging at the camera.
Ireland - Ireland in the final. It isn't the Anuna girl, that's for sure.
Estonia - this deserved to pass.
Belarus - no surprise here.
Denmark - this song is growing on me.
Russia - so is this one.
Belgium - hey, I just noticed the lyrics on the backdrop.
Ukraine - not bad.
The Netherlands - oh crap.


It is worth noting that we have all of the ex-Russian countries; and NO ex-Yugoslavic countries. It's a shame Wogan isn't around for this, I'm sure he'd have comments to say.


What's with the new Eurovision logo? What happened to the EBU circle-ticks thing?