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.

♪♫♪

 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.

♪♫♪

 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.

♪♫♪

 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 2012 Countdown: The "Divine" France

 Hello! Bonjour et bienvenue à mon blog!

 I will have to try to avoid getting carried away and doing this whole entry in French! I love the French language so much... It is so incredibly beautiful. And today I am blogging about France, and their Eurovision exploits.

 I was all ready to write about France Gall on here; she is a French singer whose song, "Ella Elle L'a" is one of my favourite French songs. I had known she won Eurovision; however on researching it I discovered she actually won the contest representing Luxembourg, and not France.

 However, this is my blog and if I say France Gall can be in it, France Gall can be in it! Here is Ella Elle L'a - not what she won Eurovision with, but such an incredible song. And she is a French Eurovision winner... she just didn't win it for France. Hmm. Don't know whether she should be in this blog entry, but here she is.

 Now, onto people who represented France itself. First up, Les Fatals Picards. If you are wondering what a picard is, it is someone from the Picardy region in the north of France. 

 They represented France in Eurovision 2007 in Helsinki - the year of Krisse, as I shall forever know it. Their song was called, "L'amour à la française," although I only found that out the other day, having always known it as, "that French song with that guy who looks like Richard O'Brien running round the stage with a stuffed cat on his shoulder."

 Here it is:

 I hadn't remembered it being in a mix of English and French; I had remembered it being completely in French. At first the "Franglais" was a bit off-putting, but then I came to quite like it. It's certainly something different, and the fact that they can jump straight from one language to the other in the same sentence is quite impressive and I don't know if I'd be able to do it without a lot of practice.

 It's a really catchy song, and you just have to smile when he's doing his, "Je cours, je cours..." ("I run, I run...") thing around the stage. There's something very likeable about this lot, and I may have a listen to some more of their music.

 The next year in 2008 France was represented by Jarvis Cocker, sorry, Sébastien Tellier, with "Divine," which in France caused controversy for being largely in English. I would have preferred it to have been in French because I love the language. But it still sounds amazing as it is.

 There are so many things that are great about this performance: his backing singers all disguised as him; his arrival in a golf buggy; his performance, his voice, the song, the eclipse. I love it all. It came joint eighteenth in the competition, and I think it should have been a lot higher - top five at least. It's a classic Eurovision song.

 The final French Eurovision song I wanted to share with you is their 2010 entry, "Allez Ola Olé!" by Jessy Matador.

 I love this: bouncy, happy, and you can totally dance to it. I love the energy of all the performers, and the way they are clearly really enjoying singing the song. There were many brilliant songs in Oslo 2010, but this was one of the very best. This came twelfth in the competition and I think it should have finished a bit higher. 

 I also wish the female singer was credited alongside Jessy Matador as I think she adds a lot to the song.

 I feel that France have a good track record at Eurovison, and I'm sure they're going to enjoy a lot more success dans l'avenir (in the future).

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Songs: Ella Elle L'a - France Gall - 1987

L'amour à la française - Les Fatals Picards - 2007

Divine - Sébastien Tellier - 2008

Allez Ola Olé - Jessy Matador - 2010

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: A short history of Spain (in Eurovision)

 ¡Hola!

 Spain has certainly had a colourful Eurovision history, from their stage invasion in 2010, to the unforgettable "Baila el Chiki-chiki" in 2008, to their 2011 entry "Que me quiten lo bailao," by Lucía Pérez which I love and which has to be one of the happiest, bounciest Eurovision songs ever ♥

 I personally think that in the last few years they have been one of the more consistent nations when it comes to entering if not amazing then certainly very good songs - songs that have potential, either to win or to become Eurovision legend - as in the case of Baile el Chiki-chike.

 When I think of Spain in Eurovision, one of the first songs that come to mind - after Lucía Pérez - is "I Love You Mi Vida," by D'NASH.

 When I first saw this and my Spanish wasn't as good as it is now, I genuinely thought they were saying they loved their life. In actually fact, "mi vida" is a term of endearment and means, "my dear" or "my darling." I kind of like it more now that I know it is a love song than I did when I thought it was just one of those typical shouty Eurovision party anthems (although it still isn't that far from being the latter!)

 I was surprised to see this was from 2007 - in my memory it was an earlier competition. But hey, I must be wrong. It is up there with Krisse Salminen as one of the things that made the 2007 competition great (although I still think Krisse MADE that Eurovision!).

 The next year, however, we were subjected to... Baile el Chike-chike. It was, let's say, an unusual song. But it kind of had its place in the competition, I felt. Sometimes you need something a bit different. (WARNING - strobe lighting in the video below)

 I do think the dancing arrangement is somewhat sexist, with the man ordering the women to do his dance moves, and then him seeming to inspect their performance, and the general lack of clothes on the women. That's one side of this song that I do not approve of.

 Otherwise... I think there's room for a few novelty songs each year; in fact I'd be disappointed if there weren't any.

 In 2010 - one of my favourite Eurovision years - there was the famous stage invasion during the performance of "Algo pequeñito" - "Something tiny."

 The first video is the performance uninterrupted; the second includes the stage invasion.

 The song was performed by Daniel Diges, with support from an array of toys/circus characters, I'm not sure which. Whatever they are, I personally find the song and performance a bit weird and almost scary... no me gusta mucho.

 I have to admit, disrespectful as it was to the performers, I did enjoy the stage invasion - especially as it looks at first as though he's supposed to be there! I didn't realise he was an intruder until security chased him off!

 Last year, in Düsseldorf, Spain's Eurovision offering was Lucía Pérez with what is quite possibly my favourite Eurovision song ever and certainly one of the happiest and most upbeat songs I have ever heard. This is "Que me quiten lo bailao." I will warn you that this version of the video - the only decent version Blogger will let me embed - has some rather psychedelic stuff going on with the graphics from about 0.08 to 0.14.

 I love her voice, her joyful, bubbly persona in the video and the song itself, as well as the chance to get a glimpse of the Carnival celebrations in Sitges, Catalonia. It looks like an amazing fiesta!

 Whenever I hear this song, I just want to dance. It's brilliant ♥

 ¡Gracias por una canción maravillosa!

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Songs: I Love You Mi Vida - D'NASH - 2007

Baila el Chike-chike - Rodolfo Chikilicuatre - 2008

Algo pequeñito - Daniel Diges - 2010

Que me quiten lo bailao - Lucía Pérez - 2011

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: In A Moment Like This

 Hello! Hej! Velkommen!

 Today I thought I would share with you the Danish entry in the 2010 contest; In A Moment Like This by Chanée and N'evergreen. I think it is a lovely, upbeat song - although admittedly, it does sound very like Every Breath You Take!

 He even looks like Sting! (In my humble opinion anyway.)

 I think that both of these artists are very talented, and they perform the song so well, and they work brilliantly as a duo. I also think Chanée is very beautiful, and she reminds me so much of somebody, but I just can't place who it is! 

 This was one of my favourite songs that year, along with It's For You and Butterflies - however, I felt that there were many great songs that year. I believe that without doubt Eurovision 2010 in Oslo was one of the best contests we've had in recent years.

 This song should have been last in the running order; however Spain's song suffered a stage invasion, so they got the chance to perform again at the end so theirs became the last song. I didn't mind Spain's song, but I would have preferred for In A Moment Like This to have been last - it would have been the perfect note to end on; bouncy and positive and upbeat.

 I am very grateful to Chanée and N'evergreen for this lovely song ♥

 I will be back with more Eurovision moments tomorrow.

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Song: In A Moment Like This - Chanée and N'evergreen - 2010

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: The butterflies of Belarus

Hello!

This will be a short blog, I'm afraid, because I am really busy today. I just wanted to share with you one of my all-time favourite Eurovision songs: Butterflies, by 3+2, which was the entry for Belarus in Eurovision 2010 in Norway.

 This was the same year that It's For You by Niamh Kavanagh was the Irish entry, and for me these two songs were far and away the two most beautiful in the competition. 

 Both the video for Butterflies and its performance at the competition are lovely to watch, and I want wings like that!

 All the band are good but I especially love the guy who sings the second verse and then finishes the song. He has a lovely voice and sings with real passion and emotion.

 It turns out the two blonde singers are twins - I hadn't even realised this until I read it recently and looked properly! I feel a bit silly now that I didn't realise before.

 Anyway, I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Song: Butterflies - 3+2 - 2010

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