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

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