Eurovision 2013: My overall verdict

 Hello! Hallå!

 On Saturday 18th May 2013, the Eurovision final came to us from Malmo, Sweden, following the two semi-finals earlier in the week. As someone who'd had exams and various duties that week and the weekend before, Eurovision was something relaxing to look forward to.

 And the show itself didn't disappoint. Petra Mede was a brilliant and funny host - she coped absolutely fine with hosting the contest alone, something that I had anticipated being a challenge for anyone. But she turned out to be just the woman for the job.

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 In the UK the semi-finals were commentated by DJ Scott Mills and Ana Matronic from the Scissor Sisters. I like the idea of getting an American in so we could see what someone from outside of Europe thinks of Eurovision. She seemed to enjoy it, as did Scott, and their commentary was quite listenable.

 I enjoyed the first semi-final more than the second one - I felt that the quality of the songs was higher. My favourites were Ukraine and Belgium.

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 I also liked Latvia's song in the second semi final and was surprised and disappointed that they didn't make it through to the final.

 I was also surprised Serbia didn't get to the final - I didn't really like the song but it was pure Eurovision!

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 Then the day of the final came! My family had a party, as always! We love Eurovision!

 Graham Norton did the commentary for the UK and did a good job at it.

 Petra was great again as host and I loved her short history of Sweden, even if it was a bit odd:

 I love the dancing meatballs!

 I didn't think a lot of the green room host, Eric Saade, and I wish we could have had Krisse again! But I did quite like Lynda Woodruff, who gave a comical view of Sweden. I think it's cool that she's known for being both a singer (as Sarah Dawn Finer) and a comedienne.

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 I also liked the butterfly theme; I had anticipated this being a bit boring and monotonous but the way they had the flag of each country on its butterfly was nice and looked really arty. 

 The sequence with the caterpillar travelling from Baku to Malmo where it became the Eurovision butterfly was sweet; I especially loved the bit where the caterpillar curled up to sleep like a cat on someone's dashboard.

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 I was sad that yet again, people generally seemed to be voting for their neighbours. However, Denmark still seemed to be the runaway favourite, getting lots of high numbers of points from countries that are geographically nowhere near it. 

 As I don't think a lot of the song, all I can assume is that its sound managed to appeal to a diverse range of people across Europe. You can't deny that it really was the generic Eurovision song. I just don't personally get why it was so popular; for me it was good but not mind-blowing by any standard.

 Still, congratulations to Emmelie de Forest and I look forward to another Scandinavian Eurovision!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs:

Gravity - Zlata Ognevich - 2013

Love Kills - Roberto Bellarosa -2013

Here We Go - PeR - 2013

Ljubav je svuda (Love is Everywhere) - Moje 3 - 2013

Swedish Smorgasbord - Petra Mede - 2013

Only Teardrops - Emmelie de Forest - 2013

I am what I am ♥

 Hello!

 This blog post will be part music, part update of my life.

 What's happened in my life recently?

 I've nearly finished my first year of university. That went quick! I remember when I was blogging after hearing I had got a place at the University of Manchester - I was so happy.

 And Uni didn't disappoint: I've had an amazing year including a trip to China, meeting some wonderful people, completing my Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award, organising an exhibition and learning German, among many other brilliant experiences.

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 Now all my lectures and lessons have finished for the year; all I have left are exams. In fact, today I did my level one HSK exam, the internationally recognised Mandarin Chinese examination. I felt like it went well, touch wood, and I hope to progress through the different levels of HSK over the next couple of years.

 We also had our Hall photos taken today, and it reminded me how proud I am to be a member of my wonderful Hall of Residence, where I have made some friends for life.

 On Friday I went out for a German meal with my German class and it was lovely, and on the radio I heard I am what I am; I believe it was the Gloria Gaynor version, which I've been listening to a lot since.

 I find it a really empowering song which reminds me that I can be whoever I want to be without worrying about what anybody thinks.

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 In June I am going to see The Kennedys in concert, which should be a really nice treat - by then I'll have done the majority of my exams so it's something to look forward to at the end of all the hard work and revising!

Here is their song, "Listen."

 I love this song, which I only discovered quite recently. They've produced some truly amazing music over the years. If you want to know more about The Kennedys you can check out my recent interview with them - another thing that I've done this year about which I'm really happy and proud.

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 I mentioned in my last post on this blog that for me the next big excitement is the Eurovision Song Contest, which this year will be on 18th May in Malmö. As always I will be celebrating with my family; we will watch it together and have a Eurovision party. I'm really looking forward to it ♥

 I think that's all I have to report for now so I'll leave you with a really lovely Eurovision song from Niamh Kavanagh: It's For You.

 Beautiful song ♥

 Thanks for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed this post.

 Liz x

Songs: I am what I am - Gloria Gaynor - 1983

Listen - The Kennedys - 2005

It's For You - Niamh Kavanagh - 2010

Eurovision 2013: My first thoughts

 Hello!

 As you may know, Eurovision 2013 is almost upon us: the semi finals are on 14th and 16th May and the final is on the 18th.

 I am a huge Eurovision fan - it occurred to me recently that Eurovision is probably my favourite yearly event. I love the way it unites so many people and the fact that for a few hours people all over the world are watching the same thing. It's amazing; a real feeling of the numinous, which is perfectly summed up in this clip:

 Last year I did a Eurovision countdown, posting about Eurovision past and present in the run-up to the competition in Baku.

 This year I will be posting some Eurovision-y things, including my commentary on the two semi-finals and the final, and maybe some Eurovision history beforehand. In the meantime, if you are a Eurovision fan and you haven't seen my countdown from last year I recommend it.

 Here are my initial thoughts on this year's contest:

 The host county/city: Sweden is a country I have wanted for a long time to visit, and I don't know a lot about the city of Malmö, so this year's Eurovision is a good opportunity to see and learn more about both.

 The Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo in 2010 was probably my favourite that I've seen so I'm hoping that having it in another Scandinavian country might bring about similar success.

 The venue: Malmö Arena seems to be smaller than some recent Eurovision venues, which I think is meant to give the show a more intimate feel - although to be honest I don't personally mind the bigger venues and if you're watching on TV it doesn't make much difference anyway.

 The host: There is only going to be one main host this year, Petra Mede. This is a bold step after there being two or three hosts the last few years, but having looked her up I see she seems very feisty and has a lot of presence so hopefully she can pull it off.

 Eric Saade will be the green room host; this Swedish pop star represented his country at Eurovision 2011 in Düsseldorf with the song "Popular" of which I am not a fan. However, I won't judge his hosting abilities until I see them.

 I am convinced, however, that he cannot better Krisse in Helsinki in 2007: there was an amazing green room host.

 Participating countries: Most of Europe seems to be taking part in this year's competition; notable exceptions being Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey (among others). 

 I am particularly sad about the absence of Portugal as I love Portuguese-language music. Bosnia and Herzegovina also produced one of my all-time favourite Eurovision songs:

 However, we still have plenty of countries taking part, and hopefully those who can't this year will be able to return in the future.

 The UK entry: Being from the UK, I have heard a lot about our entry for this year; namely Bonnie Tyler with her song Believe in Me. 

 I like Bonnie Tyler's older songs such as Total Eclipse of the Heart, and although Believe in Me isn't quite up to that standard in my humble opinion, I do think it is a nice song.

 I'm really looking forward to Eurovision 2013 and I hope you are too, let the competition begin!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs: 

Glow - Madcon - 2010

Pokusaj - Laka - 2008

Believe in Me - Bonnie Tyler - 2013