by dryrunguy Well, we are about 1 month from the Eurovision Song Contest, so I figured it's time to post the songs for those who are interested.
I will start with the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom) and last year's winner, Sweden. All of these get automatic entry to the Grand Final on Saturday, May 11.
Eurovision is doing something a little different this year. Each of the Big 5 nations plus Sweden will perform in the semifinals--but no one will be able to vote for them.
Of the Big 5 plus Sweden, Germany, Sweden, and United Kingdom will perform in Semifinal 1. France, Italy, and Spain will perform in Semifinal 2.
So let's get started in the next post!
by dryrunguy First up is Germany. This is a live version from the national final.
by dryrunguy Here is the entry from the host nation and last year's winner, Sweden. These are twin brothers from Norway. This is live from the Swedish national selection.
by dryrunguy Here is the entry from United Kingdom. It's Olly Alexander.
by dryrunguy Here is the entry from France. It was the first song announced this year. This is a live version performed in Paris.
by dryrunguy Here is the entry from Italy. It has been a long time since Italy sent a woman to represent them. Fun fact: She fell while performing the song on the final night of the competition. No one cared. Sanremo, as always, is a brutally difficult contest to win. But Angelina Mango emerged the winner.
If you put any stock in the Eurovision Bubble, this song is the favorite to win.
by dryrunguy And last of the Big 5 + Sweden, we have Spain. FYI, "Zorra" is an extremely derogatory word for women in Spain. Nebulossa is reclaiming it. This is the final live performance from the Benidorm national selection.
by dryrunguy Next we have the participants in Semifinal 1 eligible for voting. I will present them in the order they will perform in Semifinal 1. Fifteen countries will perform in Semifinal 1. The top 10--determined exclusively by televote, no juries--will advance to the Grand Final.
by dryrunguy First in Semifinal 1 is Cyprus. Fun fact: The singer is 17 years old.
by dryrunguy Next in Semifinal 1 will be Serbia. It was a strong national selection. This is Teya Dora's performance live in the national final.
by dryrunguy Next is Lithuania. It is sung in Lithuanian. This is also live from the national final.
by dryrunguy Next, we have Ireland. The artist is Bambi Thug, and the pronoun is "they". This is a radical and risky departure for Ireland, and I'm here for it.
Fasten your seatbelt.
I'm not posting the live version from the national selection. The sound was awful for everyone. But they can definitely perform this well live.
by dryrunguy And here is Ukraine--an early favorite to win. It's currently fourth among the oddsmakers, which will continue to change. This is live from the national selection.
by dryrunguy This is the selection from Poland. This was NOT the fan favorite.
by dryrunguy This is the entry from Croatia. Until about a week ago, this was the favorite to win with oddsmakers. The artist, Baby Lasagna, was not even originally part of the national selection. He only got into the Dora selection because someone else withdrew. And he won Dora in a landslide. He won more televotes in the final than all other artists COMBINED.
There are good live versions of this, but the music video tells the story behind this song best.
by dryrunguy Next will be the entry from Iceland. Hera competed in Eurovision in 2011, I believe. This is live from the national final.
by dryrunguy Next will be the entry from Slovenia. It is in Slovenian. She's been killing the vocal in the pre-parties.
by dryrunguy Here is Finland. People either love it or hate it. No one is on the fence. It finished last with the Finnish juries but won the televote by a landslide.
by dryrunguy This is Moldova. The performance is live from the national final.
by dryrunguy Next will be Azerbaijan. No live versions of this yet.
by dryrunguy Next is Australia. Try not to be creeped out by the creepy music video. I'm pretty sure this is intentional, and that Australia has big plans for the staging and doesn't want to spill the beans.
This will be the first Eurovision song to include some aboriginal lyrics.
by dryrunguy Next will be Portugal. This is the performance from the national final.
by dryrunguy And last but not least, we have Luxembourg, which is finally returning to Eurovision after decades away.
Tali's "Fighter" will close Semifinal 1. This is the revamp. She is very capable live.
by dryrunguy Next, I'll give you the songs eligible for voting in Semifinal 2. Get ready for some lady bops, because they are everywhere in this semifinal. There are 16 songs. Ten will qualify for the Grand Final. Again, it will be televote only.
by dryrunguy Opening Semifinal 2 will be Malta. It's Sara Bonnici with "Loop". This is the revamp. She has been capable live.
by dryrunguy Next will be Albania. This won the national selection in the Albanian language. They revamped the song and changed it to English.
by dryrunguy Next, we have Greece. This is another fan favorite.
by dryrunguy Next will be Switzerland. This is the current #1 choice of the oddsmakers.
by dryrunguy Next will be Czechia. I am posting the revamp. The winning national final performance was a disaster. She's getting a little better, though.
by dryrunguy Next up will be Austria. Let's just say she knows her Eurovision audience well.
by dryrunguy Here is Denmark. This is live from the national selection. Saba is the first woman of color to represent Denmark.
by dryrunguy Here is Armenia. Keep in mind that they still have another 35 seconds to add to the song if they choose to do so.
by dryrunguy Next will be Latvia. This is Dons live from the national final performance.
by dryrunguy This is San Marino. Megara is a Spanish band. This is live from the national final.
by dryrunguy Next is Georgia. Nutsa was apparently a contestant on American Idol. Very capable live, for sure. Georgia hasn't qualified for the Grand Final in 6 years. That will probably change this year. But this year is tough.
by dryrunguy Next is Belgium. Power ballad.
by dryrunguy Next is Estonia. This is live from the national final. They performed this a few nights ago, and it was MUCH better.
by dryrunguy Next will be the entry from Israel. Needless to say, Israel's participation in this year's contest has created lots of drama.
by dryrunguy This is the entry from Norway. Get ready for some Norwegian folk rock--in Norwegian! It is based on a 1,000-year-old folk ballad.
Fun fact: The artists participating in the Norwegian national selection had the option to use auto-tune. Gunnhild, lead singer for Gåte, declined.
by dryrunguy And finally, we have The Netherlands. Another fan favorite that is currently #5 in the odds, I believe.
1) Italy (but I think Greece and perhaps Armenia could cause Italy televote problems)
2) Switzerland (not sure how the broader public will react to a song that's all about being non-binary--or if they'll really get it)
3) Croatia
by Oploskoffie So, anyone watching? It's been quite the day over here, especially with "our" home hope, Joost Klein being disqualified for "making a threatening gesture towards a camera person". Nevermind all the controversy surrounding the participation of Israel. It's completely sucked the life/fun out of what usually is a festive evening. Well, for many in the Netherlands anyway. The Dutch broadcaster behind all things Eurovision has even pulled out of the live broadcast, so we're "mailing in our points".
I'm off to watch a bad horror movie with two cats on my lap and will read the result some time tomorrow morning. A real shame.
by ti-amie I've been missing the updates we usually get from dry.
I did see posts on social media about the controversy re Israel and the Dutch reaction. It is a shame.
by dryrunguy
Oploskoffie wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 7:17 pm
So, anyone watching? It's been quite the day over here, especially with "our" home hope, Joost Klein being disqualified for "making a threatening gesture towards a camera person". Nevermind all the controversy surrounding the participation of Israel. It's completely sucked the life/fun out of what usually is a festive evening. Well, for many in the Netherlands anyway. The Dutch broadcaster behind all things Eurovision has even pulled out of the live broadcast, so we're "mailing in our points".
I'm off to watch a bad horror movie with two cats on my lap and will read the result some time tomorrow morning. A real shame.
I still don't know for sure what Joost supposedly did. You mentioned a "threatening gesture". I saw one report that it was slightly physical and involved a broken camera. But I don't think that has been confirmed. In any case, heads will roll at the EBU. Or at least they SHOULD.
I'm still pretty crushed that Croatia came so close--but couldn't close the deal. The Swiss performance was just incredible. For those who weren't paying attention, Switzerland won the jury, and Croatia won the televote.
Israel finished fifth after getting tanked by the juries. Israel was second in the televote.
FUN FACT: Ireland finished 6th with the juries, 6th with the televote, and 6th overall. So fitting.
by Oploskoffie
dryrunguy wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2024 5:58 pm
I still don't know for sure what Joost supposedly did. You mentioned a "threatening gesture". I saw one report that it was slightly physical and involved a broken camera. But I don't think that has been confirmed. In any case, heads will roll at the EBU. Or at least they SHOULD.
I'm still pretty crushed that Croatia came so close--but couldn't close the deal. The Swiss performance was just incredible. For those who weren't paying attention, Switzerland won the jury, and Croatia won the televote.
Israel finished fifth after getting tanked by the juries. Israel was second in the televote.
FUN FACT: Ireland finished 6th with the juries, 6th with the televote, and 6th overall. So fitting.
The story, as it is known at this point in time, is that Klein (and/or the Dutch delegation) had requested more than once that he not be filmed/photographed immediately after a performance because of him being in an emotionally vulnerable state in those moments. A camerawoman working for the festival apparently ignored this request more than once, prompting the "threatening gesture" at some point. However...
There are also an increasing number of stories coming out about the atmosphere behind the scenes, with more than one country calling it "uncomfortable", unprofessional, too intense and "not in the best interest of the artists". That, in turn, can also be split up into at least two storylines, with one being about festival personnel/the organization and the other coming the shape of everything going on with the Israeli delegation, including their behaviour. A Norwegian tabloid just published a story about six (!) countries threatening to quit the final because of this, Switzerland included.
In short, it was a mess. Also, several stories have since surfaced about conditions at previous festivals, with the EBU apparently repeatedly not giving a crap about many concerns raised by participating countries. So yeah, heads (starting with Martin Österdahl's) SHOULD roll, but I somehow doubt they will unless one or more of the countries big five (UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy) withdraw their financial contribution.
by Oploskoffie
dryrunguy wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2024 5:58 pm
I'm still pretty crushed that Croatia came so close--but couldn't close the deal. The Swiss performance was just incredible. For those who weren't paying attention, Switzerland won the jury, and Croatia won the televote.
Israel finished fifth after getting tanked by the juries. Israel was second in the televote.
FUN FACT: Ireland finished 6th with the juries, 6th with the televote, and 6th overall. So fitting.
What do we think about the repeated glaring differences between jury and the public? I mean... It's a bit like movie crititcs versus moviegoers where the first, understandably , wipe the floor with, say, the latest Michael Bay product and then the latter assures the movie turns a profit anyway. Is it part of the fun/tradition and does it perhaps ensure smaller countries/more artistic songs stand half a chance, or should it simply be left to the televote, the political and regional favouritism be damned?
dryrunguy wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2024 5:58 pm
I'm still pretty crushed that Croatia came so close--but couldn't close the deal. The Swiss performance was just incredible. For those who weren't paying attention, Switzerland won the jury, and Croatia won the televote.
Israel finished fifth after getting tanked by the juries. Israel was second in the televote.
FUN FACT: Ireland finished 6th with the juries, 6th with the televote, and 6th overall. So fitting.
What do we think about the repeated glaring differences between jury and the public? I mean... It's a bit like movie crititcs versus moviegoers where the first, understandably , wipe the floor with, say, the latest Michael Bay product and then the latter assures the movie turns a profit anyway. Is it part of the fun/tradition and does it perhaps ensure smaller countries/more artistic songs stand half a chance, or should it simply be left to the televote, the political and regional favouritism be damned?
I missed the demonic Irish result. That's
There's always this love/hate relationship with the juries. When the juries go my way, I love them. When the juries don't go my way, I hate them. All in all, I thought they did a pretty decent job. Without them, Portugal, for example, would never have ended up on the left side of the board.
That said, how did those same juries not "get" Norway's entry? That was an astounding performance--both vocally and visually. I know that's a song people watch rather than listen to (I know I'm guilty of this). And the sad part is it will probably be another decade or two before Norway sends a song in Norwegian.
Israel was the outlier this year, IMHO. The juries definitely tanked it for political reasons, and the televote was skewed in Israel's favor due to a massive marketing campaign orchestrated by the Israeli government in ally countries. And it worked beautifully.
Meanwhile, if you rely too heavily on the public vote, you end up with an entry like No Rules (Finland).
, wipe the floor with, say, the latest Michael Bay product and then the latter assures the movie turns a profit anyway. Is it part of the fun/tradition and does it perhaps ensure smaller countries/more artistic songs stand half a chance, or should it simply be left to the televote, the political and regional favouritism be damned?