D’Nash a success for Spain?

The semi final is over and it’s time to have a look at the 14 songs already qualified for the final. Let’s start with Spain and the Boyband D’Nash with their song I love you mi vida composed by Swedish Thomas G:son.

After Spains first rehersal the Spanish delegation decided to make quite a few changes in D’Nash performance and stage settings. A complete new stage light solution was selected. The stage will be in yellow and red squares with a big red heart trying to create a passionate atmosphere for the boys.

The boys has done ok vocally they are perhaps not the best singers but hey it’s a boyband. Two of Spains best backingsingers has been hired to give the guys a hand on stage. D’Nash looks hot on stage, having a perfect choreography, this could give Spain their best ranking in years.

The song is very catchy boyband pop with all necessary ingredients to make young girls and boys scream at once when they come on stage.

My grade: 3

Is this the best songs?

Well a couple of big big surprises in the results of the semi-final have just been announced from Helsinki. Many of the big favourties didn’t make it to the final on saturday night instead some less nice songs got the European votes, but I think that this year will prove that there is a very big difference on how the western part of Europe has voted compared to the eastern part of this continent. Many countries are very very disappointed about tonights results like Switzerland, Malta, Austria, Andorra and Denmark.

Of the 10  songs I predicted earlier today I did get 5 in the final. The biggest surprise most be Moldova and Hungary. None of them has been in any discussion, but I can understand Hungary since Magdi did a brilliant performance of her song and was one the best singers tonight. Moldova I can’t understand at all. I cry over Latvia, Georgia and Bulgaria since none of them really deserved to be in the final on saturday.

Once again Norway, Denmark and Iceland are out and need to go home and think about what kind of songs they select for this contest. I have never believed in Norway since it was to oldfashioned and boring and I proved right there and the same goes for Portugal. Two countries that really deserved to be in the final were Austria and Andorra but I think that those two did very well in western Europe but scored nothing in the eastern parts of Europe.

The 10 selected songs for the final on saturday is:

1. Belarus – Koldun – Work you magic

2. Macedonia – Karolina – Mojot svet

3.  Slovenia – Alenka Gotar – Cvet z juga

4. Hungary – Magdi Ruzsa – Unsubstantial blues

5. Georgia – Sopho – Visionary dreams

6. Latvia – Bonaparte.lv - Questa Notte

7. Serbia – Marija Serifovic – Molitva

8. Bulgaria – Elitsa & Stoyan – Water

9. Turkey – Kenan Dogulu – Shake it up Shekerim

10. Moldova – Natalia Barbu – Fight

Time to sleep on this result and start thinking about saturdays final, who will be in and who will be out of the 24 songs. I’ll be back with more stuff tomorrow.

Good Night Europe

Let the battle begin

 

The rehersals are over for the 28 competing countries in tonights semifinal of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. Who are in and who are out is now the big question with us all. Time to wrap things up and make a little prediction.

How the people of Europe will vote is always a tricky thing to guess but I will make my best try to predict the results of tonights televoting. There are some really good songs and a couple of really bad ones to select from.

My guess is that these 10 songs will make it to the final on saturday night.

1. Belarus – Koldun – Work your magic

2. Switzerland – DJ Bobo – Vampires are alive

3. Serbia – Marija Serifovic – Molitva

4. Turkey – Kenan Dogulu – Shake it up Shekerim

5. Austria – Eric Papilaya – Get a life Get alive

6. Latvia – Bonaparte.lv – Questa Notte

7. Poland – The Jet Set – Time to party

8. Macedonia – Karolina – Mojot svet

9. Andorra – Anonymous – Salvem al món

10. Denmark – DQ - Drama Queen

Well now I leave everything in the hands of the European tv-viewers and hope that I have guessed it right.

My the best songs win! Long Live Eurovision! 

Austria in glitter and feathers

Eric Papilaya will represent Austria in this years Eurovision Song Contest with the song Get a life – Get alive. Erics outfit on stage tonight is designed by worldfamous english designer Vivienne Westwood and it contains 16000 !!!!! Swarowski crystals and 700 meters of feathers, so be ware of an absolutely stunning, spectacular and glamourous performance. I have just one thing to say I LOVE EUROVISION!!!

Eric is being backed up by a huge red ribbon which is the world symbol for the fight against HIV and AIDS, the ribbon is infact made out of dancers which will become clear to you when they leave the formation.

All the money of the CD-single sales og the song will be donated to the Life Ball organisation which is Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event, so there are no excuses not to vote for Austria and not to buy the single.

If we now talk a little abot the song itself, it’s a singer & songwriter rock ‘n roll with a lyrics that has something to say to us all. Eric looks as if he was taken from the tv-series Prison Break so don’t get to excited when you watch his performance. The song is very well performed by Eric and I like this.

My grade: 5 

Slovenia goes opera

 

This year opera is getting it’s breakthroug in the contest. Latvia and Slovenia are the two countries with opera songs. The Slovenian song Cvet z juga performed by Alenka Gotar is the better of the two.

The first rehersal for Slovenia proved to be a dramatic affair with a dark blue stage set and Alenka alone on stage at first, then joined by her backing singers. Then Alenka takes into the world of Eurovision opera pop and we love it, bombastic and dramatic all the we love to see in this contest.

One of the backing singers is Andrej Babic who is the composer of the song and if that wasn’t enough he also wrote the Croatian entry in 2003 and the Bosnia entry in 2005, let’s see if third time will do the trick for him.

Alenka will be wearing an elegant black and white robe in tonights semi final. And I must say I love this song it’s not the best song this year but enough bombastic and dramatic for gay guy to fall in love.

My grade: 4

Second time around for Karolina

If some of you thinks you have seen Karolina before then you are absolutely right. Karolina participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002 and now she will give it another try for Macedonia. The song is called Mojot svet.

Karolina is a very attractive young woman who has performed her song very convincingly during the rehersals. The song will be sung in Macedonia except for the last chours which will be in English. The stage set will be darkish with a starry sky behind. Karolina will be wearing a blue short dress and will be accompanied on stage with a ballerina and a male dancer. And ofcourse the windmachine and fireworks will be used during the song, this is Eurovision remember.

Mojot svet is a ethno-pop song with balkan passion mixed into it. The song is very happy and warm and strongly performed by Karolina, as Macedonia always take a ticket to the final, they will probably do so this year again.

My grade: 4

Olivia going exotic

Malta has a wet dream on winning the Eurovision Song Contest one day. This year they are paying their hopes to Olivia Lewis and the song Vertigo.

Olivia has tried several times in the Maltese selection for the Eurovision and finally she has reached the Eurovision stage. She will be performing the song wearing an asian styled dress in yellow and blue which matches the exotic flavour of Olivias song according to the Maltese delegation.

Olivia is not the best singer in this years contest but she has delivered the song quite well during the rehersals, and seems very pleased with her self, the Maltese delegation burst into loud cheers every time Olivia performed on stage the rest were perhaps not that enthusiastic.

The song is more spanish than exotic I would say, it has a lot of passion and fire in it. This is perhaps a bit to complicated song for most people and therefore I guess that Malta will have to stay in the semifinal for another year.

My grade: 3

Fabulous Four?

Sorry to say this but these for songs are not any of the four most fabulous this year. Here we have another four songs that we could live without.

First we have the newcomer The Czech Republic that are making their debut with some hardrock hallelujah but the problem is that Malá Dáma isn’t any fun. Lordi was the monster from hell but this is just plain hardrock with no gimmick. The group Kabát has no trouble performing the song and the singer has a good voice, but who will remeber this one after they have had their 3 minutes?

My grade: 2

Belgium last success in this contest was in 2003 when they came 2nd with a song in an imaginary language, Sanomi. Couldn’t they have used that creativity this year instead? The Belgium entry is called Love Power a title that promises more then it delivers. A boring 70’s pastiche ok performed but is this really what we want to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2007? 

My grade: 1

Estonia has had some really good songs in this contest but not for the last couple of years. Gerli Padar will sing the song Partners in crime and this composition is really  a Eurovision crime, how can they expect someone to vote for this crap? Gerli’s brother won the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 and he will continue to be only one having done that in this family.

My grade: 1

Last we have Latvia with the song Questa Notte performed by the group Bonaparte.lv, this year the Latvians are going opera and trying to be Il Divo and the result is terrible, two of the guys can sing but the others well I can have a say or two about that. Latvia is performing last of the 28 songs on thursday night and therfore they probably will go on to Saturdays final, poor Europe.

My grade: 2

Some punk-rock from Andorra perhaps?

Andorra is participating for the 4th time in the Eurovision Song Contest and so far no major results. This year however they are trying a new concept with a modern popband consisting of 3 guys who call themselves Anonymous. The song they will sing is Salvem el món and it will be performed both in Catalan and in English.

At the rehersals the band was reckless on stage, and their four takes were perfect. The stage goes in black and pink with flying arrows and numbers. They recieved huge applause from the present delegations and press after their rehersals.  At the pressconference the band told that they want to deliver an ecological message throug their song because their is still time to save the world and that is just what Salvem el món means, to save the world.

This is a very god song that I didn’t like from the start. It has a Six Pistols flavour over it and I get happy when listening to the song. The band performs very well and it’s nice to see a young punk band in the Eurovision and ofcourse they hope to take Andorra to the final for the very first time.

My grade: 4

Latino for Norway

Norway is going latino this year with the spanish titled Ven a bailar conmigo. It will be performed by one of Norway’s most successful actress and singers Guri Schanke.

The Norwegian rehersals has been a bit boring, nothing special just exact the same choreography as she did in the preselection. She has two male dancers in white performing with her. The stage are showing musical notes changing colors all the time, if this really lifts the song Im not so sure about.

During the pressconference she told us that she had taken some advice from Carola who has participated for Sweden three times so far and won the Eurovision in 1991. Carola had said the Guri just should go and get them at once, and that she really have to love the song since she will be performing it so often.

Norway’s results in this contest is like a rollercoaster and this year I belive we are going downhill. This is a dull traditional Eurovision style song, I don’t like it and I don’t hate it. The song doesn’t get to me at all, Guri is very professional performer but that is not enough. Sorry Norway this will not be a pleasant moment for you.

My grade: 2