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

Eurovision 2012 - The final! My thoughts.

 Hello Eurovision fans!

 Well, last night was the grand final; what we've all been waiting for. And it didn't disappoint. There were some amazing songs, and Baku did a great job of hosting a brilliant show.

 I wasn't so keen on the ridiculous political voting - I had kind of been hoping that it had become less of a problem in recent years; however it seems to have re-emerged in force.

 Luckily, I think the winner won on the strength of the song and the performance, because Sweden were receiving douze points from countries that are nowhere near it geographically. So that's nice. With regards to the winner, talent won over daft block voting.

 I personally enjoyed Loreen's winning song, Euphoria, though I felt she performed it better in her semi-final. Other songs I enjoyed were Echo (You and I) by Anggun for France, which I voted for, Be My Guest by Gaitana for Ukraine, and Quédate Conmigo by Pastora Soler for Spain.

 As usual we had our family Eurovision party; we watched the show together and ate cakes and brownies we had baked earlier that featured the flags of the participating countries. We had a great night and really enjoyed the spectacle.

 So, thank you to Baku for a great show, and thank you to all the performers for making this year's Eurovision amazing!

 Here's looking forward to next year in Sweden!

 Please keep coming back to my blog; Eurovision may be over for the year but I will still be blogging regularly about music and artists of all genres, past and present, that I love.

 Also, maybe check out some of my earlier, pre-Eurovision posts which feature artists and bands such as Roxette, Gloria Estefan, Céline Dion, R.E.M., Paul Young, ABBA, Martika and Dire Straits, among many others!

 I will be sure to keep posting on this blog, so come back and visit when you can.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: My thoughts on the second semi-final 2012

 Hello Eurovision fans!

 Last night was the second semi-final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest. I wasn't able to watch it live, but I will watch it now and share my thoughts with you on each act as they perform.

 Of the countries that I know are competing in this semi-final, the one I am most looking forward to seeing is "Euphoria," by Loreen, the much raved about Swedish entry in this year's Eurovision. I have seen the music video and her performance is very impressive, and I'm keen to see how it translates to the Eurovision stage; whether she still has the same charisma and the song can still fill the arena. 

 I am looking forward to all of the songs, particularly those I haven't heard before. I love Eurovision! It means that provided that each country does what it's supposed to do and picks the best song it can; we should have the joy of listening to forty-two - or however many countries enter - brilliant songs each year.

 Let us begin!

 I am impressed with the hosts making the effort to do the welcome message in French and German; I'm not so sure about the banter afterwards. But I am very glad to see one of last year's winners, Eldar, back to host! He is too gorgeous not to, really!

1) Serbia - I got excited hearing that this guy is somewhat of a Eurovision veteran, in the hope that with the help of his experience he may have perfected the winning formula for a Eurovision song. And the song is quite beautiful - not a winner, I don't think; not unforgettable. But it is a nice song.

2) F. Y. R. Macedonia - I like this. It took a while for the beat to kick in, and whilst I have nothing against slow songs, in fact there are many that I love, I feel this particular song sounds a lot better upbeat than downbeat. Overall I like this song, but for me it's not a winner.

3) The Netherlands - I quite like this. She has a nice voice; quite unusual. 

4) Malta - Again, I wasn't expecting much, because they looked like one of these arrogant boybands. But I was pleasantly surprised - they're really good! I really like this song. Very Eurovision! 

5) Belarus - Typical shouty pop-rock song. Not really my thing, but I accept that they're good at what they do. It's not the worst song I've heard so far, not by a long shot. And the guitarists' falling-backwards thing is a bit odd... But overall these guys are okay.

6) Portugal - I LOVE the Portuguese language. And I quite like this song. It's not one of the stand-out songs so far, but it's pretty.

7) Ukraine - My first thought was, how much does this sound like the French song this year (Echo by Anggun)? It seriously does. But I love both songs. In this song from Ukraine, I love Gaitana's energy and passion during her performance; you can tell she's really enjoying it and the song is very bouncy and dance to-able.

8) Bulgaria - This is very generic and Eurovision-y, but I do like it. She looks confident and has very good stage presence - she can hold the whole stage completely alone, and that is no mean feat.

9) Slovenia - I love her dress! The song is unusual; it sounds quite dark and chilling in places. On the whole I quite like it, but I don't think it's quite good enough to win.

10) Croatia - I like this! I like the tune, and the beat, and the bell/chime sounds in the chorus, which I think just add so much to the song; it's incredible how one such little touch has the power to transform a song.

11) Sweden - Well, here she is, and she's just as captivating as ever! Truly charismatic. When I first saw her performance of this song I thought she was emulating Björk a bit too much, but now I think she has found her own style and persona. She certainly is very different to other artists I have seen. But is there really need for all the strobing? I could barely watch during the chorus, it was so heavy. This song can stand on its own without the nonsense.

12) Georgia - I hate things that are this degrading to women. And the song's not great either. Which is a shame because I've tended to dislike past Georgian Eurovision entries for various reasons, and I had been hoping this song might change that. It hasn't.

13) Turkey - I loved the men turning into a ship! Otherwise, an average song in my opinion.

14) Estonia - Quite pretty; not amazing.

15) Slovakia - Here we go, there's always one of these, isn't there... big, shouty, stroby rock song. This one is actually pretty good. Again, the strobing is ridiculous; how are you even meant to look at the screen?

16) Norway - What a swarmy-looking fellow... But you never know, appearances can be deceiving. Anyway, I didn't think a lot of the song.

17) Bosnia and Herzegovina - Well, this is pretty. A nice, peaceful change from the previous two shouty songs! I really like this one.

18) Lithuania - Quite a good song, but not fantastic.

 Overall I have really enjoyed this semi-final, and the Waterloo in the interval! It was great seeing the past five Eurovision winners brought together, and I commend whoever had that idea, and everyone who made it possible. And I would LOVE to see Alexander Rybak and Lena fall in love... they look great together and they would be the perfect Eurovision couple!

 I wasn't too surprised at who got through to the final, except I don't really get why the ship people of Turkey seem to have been some huge favourite. But I must say, seeing the Norwegian guy's emotion at getting through, he seems a bit less swarmy now. So I will give him a chance.

 Tomorrow night's final looks set to be amazing. Bring it on!

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: My views on the first semi-final 2012

 Hello! Tonight I have spent an enjoyable two hours watching the first Eurovision semi-final, with the commentary in my country being delivered very pleasantly by a pair of radio DJs whom I like; Scott Mills and Sara Cox.

 I kept a live record of my thoughts on the songs as I heard them. So.. here are my humble opinions. I have tried to be completely honest, so I hope I don't offend anyone. Read and enjoy.

1) Montenegro - Hmm… it's unusual, and actually quite refreshing as a result. A strange one to open with though… not your typical Eurovision song. But who says it has to be typical? This is okay but… not a winner.

2) Iceland - Technically quite impressive, but not really my thing. But I acknowledge that they're good at what they do.

3) Greece - a bit generic, but not bad at all. Eurovision wouldn't be Eurovision without the big pop anthems, and this had been the first of them this evening.

4) Latvia - I… I like this. In fact, I really like this. It's growing on me. They're quite sweet.

5) Albania - It's tempting to think, this is slow and dull and I don't understand it, but… if you listen to the tune, it's actually quite pretty. I wish I spoke her language so I could understand the lyrics, because the song as a whole seems quite nice. 

6) Romania - What a lovely, happy song! Probably my favourite so far.

7) Switzerland - Scott Mills got it right when he said these guys were like the Killers. Sounds very like Mr. Bright Side, especially at the beginning. Nice song, and adds to the variety of the competition with a bit of rock!

8) Belgium - She has a lovely voice and she's only seventeen - I wish I could have entered Eurovision when I was seventeen! Hopefully one day I may get my chance. Anyway, this song is quite pretty; not groundbreaking, but pretty and one of the better songs so far this evening.

9) Finland - At first I was disappointed to hear that this song wouldn't be in Finnish as I love the Finnish language. However, Swedish is also a nice language to listen to, and I quite like this song.

10) Israel - Quite jolly, bit odd but overall not that memorable.

11) San Marino - I love this. Such shrewd observations on what is an inescapable aspect of our society. And I love how she has a laptop, and a sailor and a doctor dancing in the background. Random, but amazing. We need more Eurovision songs like this.

12) Cyprus - The commentators in my country love this, but I personally am not that keen on it. A bit dull and very generic.

13) Denmark - Started off a bit dull, but improved.

14) Russia - It was okay… I didn't think it lived up to all the hype, to be honest. But that's just my humble opinion. I can see why some people love it; it's unique and they're doing it for a good cause.

15) Hungary - A bit dull, but not the worst.

16) Austria - Sexist nonsense. Surely there are millions of better bands and singers in Austria… Why do we have to listen to this lot? They're rubbish! I won't be happy if this gets through to the final.

17) Moldova - Not bad. Not a winner, I don't think. But listen to-able.

18) Ireland  - They're out of tune, but who cares - this is such a bouncy, happy song. I've never been a massive Jedward fan, but I love this song. And I love how when many acts use fire and pyrotechnics to impress, Jedward use water - it's different, and it works. I love this!

 So, there are my humble views on all eighteen acts in tonight's semi-final. 

 Overall I think it was a great show, and I'm really looking forward to the second semi-final on Thursday - which I'll be able to vote in! (Viewers in the UK couldn't vote in tonight's semi-final) But whether or not I vote depends on whether or not there are any really stand-out songs that I think truly deserve a place in the final. We shall see.

 Thanks for reading!

 Liz x

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: Intro - and Flashmob from Norway 2010

 Hello, bonjour, hola, olá, ciao, hallo!

 It's two weeks until the grand finals of Eurovision 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan and, as I have always been a huge Eurovision fan, I have decided to do a series of daily blogs in the run-up to the big event. I will highlight some of my favourite Eurovision songs past and present, and we can share some Eurovision nostalgia for classic acts such as ABBA, Johnny Logan and Katrina and the Waves, among others.

 Eurovision is quite a big deal in my house; we always have a Eurovision party and vote for our favourites. I just think it is amazing how they manage to unite so many people in so many different countries with one event. When you watch the contest, you have this wonderful warm feeling knowing that so many other people all over the world are watching the same thing as you. I love Eurovision ♥

 In the vein of uniting Europe, I thought the first thing I would share should be this, quite possibly my favourite Eurovision moment ever: the flashmob during Eurovision 2010 in Norway. It is simply breathtaking, and usually brings tears to my eyes. I think this is what people mean when they talk about the "numinous".

 This is just sensational - certainly the best interval act I have ever seen and, as I said, possibly the best moment of Eurovision I have ever seen. 

 You can tell from the beginning that it is going to be something special - and when the host Haddy announces, "Europe, it's time to dance!" she looks so regal, like a queen... she commands respect. If she asked me to dance I would dance!

 Madcon are brilliant and the whole seven and a half minutes of the song, and the dance, and the bringing together of all these people... just mesmerising. We should do this more often! I personally think they should do a flashmob like this one every year at Eurovision.

 Eurovision 2012 is on its way, and I am greatly looking forward to it! Bring on Baku! I will be back tomorrow with more Eurovision moments. 

 Liz x

Song: Glow - Madcon - 2010