#Greta Salome

[salome-c]

Barbie (2023) dir. Greta Gerwig

[darklinaforever]

Never forget

What I did, what I said

When I gave you all

My heart and soul

Morning will come

And I Know we'll be one

Cause I still believe

That you'll remember me.

Never forget by Greta Salome & Jonsi.

[paty0831]

Hongice week 2024 || Day 5

Chapter 5: Figure skating

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Human AU

-------------------------

It was a year and five months since Li and Emil last saw each other, both of them were sophomores in high school, but in different schools. As months passed since they last spoke, Emil felt embarrassed to talk to Li again, wondering if he was no longer interested in continuing their relationship.

It was Friday night; Lukas wanted to see his brother before bed, but was surprised to find him sad.

“What's the matter?” Lukas asked, “You should be happy, the winter holidays have started”

“Do you think Li still wants to talk to me? Do you think he still remembers me?”

“Don't torment yourself thinking about it, try to sleep”

“I don't think I'll be able to sleep until I know if Li still remembers me”

“...boyfriends come and go, but your family will always be by your side," Lukas said as he hugged Emil, who was crying.

“I miss him so much”

To calm his brother down, Lukas sang Alvedansen by Christine Guldbrandsen, a song both brothers liked very much. With that, Emil fell asleep and Lukas put him to bed.

*******************

Emil opened his eyes and realised that he was at a skating rink, wearing an extravagant purple shirt and black trousers, which surprised him as he doesn't normally wear fancy clothes, he always preferred to wear lopapeysas. He noticed that his family was by his side, and decided to ask:

“Why did we come here, weren't we supposed to stay at home today?”

“We are in the qualifiers of the World Ice Skating Championship, don't you remember?” said Lukas.

“Get ready son, it's your turn after the next one” said his father.

“What? Am I going to skate?”

His parents and brother looked at him strangely, until they heard a voice calling the next skater who was Li, to Emil's surprise.

“What is Li doing here?”

Suddenly Keung To's 黑月 started playing and Li started skating. Emil was surprised that Li can do figure skating.

“When did Li learned to do figure skating?”

“You’ve have been rivals since you were kids, don't be afraid," said Lukas.

“How?" Emil was surprised.

“Just don't let him take away your chance to get into the championship.

At the conclusion of his routine, the jury revealed Li’s scores, and they were quite good, so he secured a place in the championship.

“Remember Emil, you have to score equal or better to qualify for the Winter Olympics," said his mother.

“You'll do well, we've been practising the routine for months," said his father.

Emil was about to run away, but his name was called, it was his turn, so his family pushed him out to the rink. Emil was nervous because he didn't remember his routine, until his song, Hear them calling by Greta Salome, started playing. As the song started, Emil moved fluidly, as if he knew the routine. He himself was surprised to notice that he could perform pirouettes such as a twizzle or a triple Axel.

At the end of his routine, his scores were revealed, which were similar to Li's, securing him a place in the Winter Olympics with Li.

……………………………………………….

During the preparation time for the championship, Emil realised the reality he was now:

He and Lukas are figure skaters and both are representing Iceland in the World Ice Skating Championship.

His parents were also figure skaters but are now retired and are their coaches.

Li's family are their strongest rivals.

This time they will compete against Li and Yong Soo who are representing Hong Kong in the championship.

The good side was that his parents were fair to him, they didn't over-exploit him, let him choose the song and let him have a voice in the routine. The bad side was that there was a lot of pressure to win and do better than Li's family. Emil still loved Li and didn't want to compete with him, but he wondered if Li loved him back. Unfortunately, the thought distracted Emil while training so he fell more than once.

“Emil, maybe you should rest," said his mother.

“OK”

“Lukas, let's practice your routine”

“Yes dad," said Lukas as he walked out to the rink.

………………………………………………

The day came; the World Ice Skating Championship were taking place. There was a big turnout, which made Emil feel even more nervous.

“You'll do well," said Lukas trying to encourage his brother.

Normally Emil tries to look confident in front of his brother, but at that moment he was scared and sad, so he hugged him tightly. Lukas hugged him back.

Suddenly, a voice rang out calling Lukas because it was his turn. Gate's Ulveham started playing and Lukas started his routine. To Emil, Lukas skated with great agility and finesse. Emil asked himself "Why am I competing? Lukas is very good; I even feel he is better than me".

When the scores were revealed, Lukas rejoiced, as his score was the highest so far. Emil came over and congratulated him:

“Congratulations Lukas, you did very well”

“You will do well too”

Then it was the turn of Yong Soo, who was doing his routine with IDOL by BTS. Emil was surprised to see Yong Soo skating. As far as Emil knew, Yong Soo was not very disciplined, but watching him skate showed the effort and dedication he had put into his routine.

Emil panicked and ran to the restroom before Yong Soo's routine was over. He was washing his face until he heard a familiar voice.

“Hello Emil”

“Li?” Emil was surprised that Li was talking to him, as the tension between the two families was palpable from the moment they entered the rink.

“Yeah, how are you?”

“Sad, I don't feel like competing”

“Me neither”

“Really?”

“If I have to compete against you I don't want to”

“...” Emil was surprised to hear that, “I think the same”.

“Why compete with each other, it's our parents' rivalry, not ours”

“Right, that's what I thought... Li, there's something I want to ask you...” said Emil nervously, “do you love me?”

“How did you notice? Is it because of the way I look at you?”

“No, it's just that... I love you too”

“You don't know how glad I am to hear that," Li hugged Emil tightly.

After being silent for a while, Emil spoke:

“Don't you think that being separated because of our parents is unfair?”

“Yes, and I can't stand it anymore... What would you think if we retired?”

“What? We can't do that”

“Sure we can, to give a message to our parents”

“Right, they shouldn't separate us, it's not like we're a bad influence on each other”

“That's the spirit... by the way Emil, would you like to be my boyfriend?”

“More than anything in the world”

Saying this, they hugged and kissed each other. Afterwards, they approached Li's parents, holding hands to tell them:

“Mum, Dad, Emil and I have decided to leave”

“You can't leave!” said Li's dad, "Was it his idea?”

“No! It was my idea. I don't want to compete if it's against Emil”

“But Li..." said his mother, upset.

Ignoring their parents' claims, Li and Emil walked away, heading to where Emil's parents were.

“Dad, Mom. I don't want to keep competing if it's against Li”

“But Emil, we worked so hard," said his father.

“It's not right that we have to compete with each other just because you and Li's parents have a rivalry. Besides, Li and I love each other”

“Emil..." said his mother, "wake up”

“What? I don't understand”

“Wake up son” now his father is the one who spoke.

“What?”

**********************

Emil opened his eyes and found himself in his bed and his parents were talking to him to wake him up.

“Get up son, it's 8:00 and breakfast is ready," said his mother.

“What? Was it all a dream?”

“Come on son, Lukas is waiting for us in the kitchen”

……………………………………….

During breakfast, Emil pondered about the end of his dream and wondered if questioning Li's parents would be okay, while his family noticed that he was distracted.

“Emil, Mathias and I are meeting some friends, would you like to come?” Lukas said, trying to cheer his brother up.

“I'm not in the mood to go out”

“You should go,” his mother intervened in the conversation, “it would be good for you to go for a walk”

“I don't know, I don't think I'd enjoy it, plus I think I'd be in the way”

“Mathias and his friends don't mind your presence, you know that”

“...fine, but only if you buy me liquorice on the way”

“...OK”

To be continued...

Note: The World Ice Skating Championship isn't real, it was invented by me

@hongiceweek

[maryrouille]

About women's versatility

Naive, but gives the best advice. Weak, but takes on anything. A screw loose and tough as nails. Curls up with Jasper or Ladies'Home Journal. Can't figure out this bolt and builds a bridge.

This is a fragment of a poem by the Polish Nobel Prize winner Wisława Szyborska, called Portrait of a Woman, and I think it is good to recall it on the occasion of International Women's Day.

When examining images of women, I deeply believe that it is impossible to talk about one coherent image or archetype. There are as many of them as there are representatives of the female gender. One woman can have many faces. Depending on the situation or person, she can be a femme fatale, sexy kitten, it girl, tradwife, good mother, naive bird, serious expert, little girl or a businesswoman. Sometimes everything at once and that's beautiful!

About the pictures above:

Bunny Yeager Self Portrait (1950's)

Marilyn Monroe by George Barris (1962)

Greta Garbo in movie The Mysterious Lady (1928)

Simonetta Gianfelici by Helmut Newton (1993)

Jessica Chastain in movie Salome (2013)

Clara Bow by George Hommel (1930)

[munkustance]

Grizabella?

Headcanons, Backstory, Family, Pairings, Personality, Plotbunnies? Literally anything you want to add🥰

Favorite and least favorite foods?

If they had a human home, what would it be like?

What song(s) that aren’t canon do you think would fit their character?

What kind of cat do you think they would be if they weren’t an Anthropomorphic cat? (Example: I think Tugger would be a Russet Marble Tabby Maine Coone Cat and Cassandra would be a Dark Mink or Solid Burmese Cat)

Grizabella headcanons under the cut!

Just wanna say thank you for sending a ask for EVERY character, it´s gonna take me a while to get through them all but I´ll will do it!

As always spelling and grammar might be wrong since english is not my first language.

Backstory/family:

Grizabella was born into the tribe, she had a litter brother but he didn't make it. Her father was never there since he was a street cat and didn´t belong in a tribe. Grizabellas mother however was a beautiful grey queen adored by the other Jellicles.

Grizabella and her mother seemed to have a wonderful relationship but behind closed doors her mother would get mad at Grizabella if she ever did anything to ruin her glamorous reputaion. She would make sure Grizabella was always the most beautiful in the room.

Her mother left suddenly when her human family moved and took Grizabellas mother with them.

Later in life she mated with Old Deutoronomy and they had 3 kittens, the oldest Macavity, then Munkustrap and last Rum Tum Tugger.

Grizabellas favorite was Macavity by a long shot, his magic made him special and that in turn made her special, because well, she birthed him. However both Munkustrap and Tugger were severly neglected by her since "they had nothing to bring compared to magic".

This put a strain on her and Deutoronomys relationship and it all came ahead the day Macavity was banished. She ultimetly desided to go with him. Leaving the rest of her family and tribe betrayed and sadden.

Years later Macavity was established as the notorious criminal "The Hidden Paw". But Grizabella refused to see that part of him, delution kicking in real bad.

During her time with Macavity she would meet the two sisters Demeter and Bombalurina. They were the ones who opened Grizabellas eyes too how horrible her son really was when he started abusing them both right in front of her.

But instead of helping them, she escaped by herself and became the street cat we later see in the musical.

Pairings:

Of course Deuteronomy and Grizabella is my main pairing but the idea of Grizabella and Bustopher being together before Grizabella became the street cat is just *chefs kiss*

Personality:

Don't really know what to say here as I've never really thought about just that. I'll just write her 3 words since that's basically how I see her.

Proud, hurt, indomitable.

Though I will add that before she left Macavity she was definitely delusional.

Plotbunnies:

Definitely what happened when Macavity left and why Grizabella came with him. Another one is a fanfic with her, Demeter and Bombalurina while with Macavity. I just feel the angst flow through me.

Food:

She loves being spoiled with fancy food, so anything from humans is always a win. She however hates dry catfood and animals she needs to hunt for herself.

If they had a human home:

She would live in a villa with a rich woman who would spoil her at every turn. "Yes, my cat has her own room? So what? Don't yours?"

What song(s) would fit their character:

This one took me a while to figure out since I would say a song for her would be a more sad song... and I don't really listen to that. But one song that I found I feel like fits well with Grizabella and Deut during the musical.

I present to you: Never Forget (by Greta Salome & Jonsi). The lyrics just ✨️works✨️

What kind of cat would they be irl:

Somewhere between a Chartreux, british shorthair and selkirk rex.

[aijamisespava]

One Final ESC 2023 Thought: Favorite Songs From Each Country (participating AND non-participating)!

AAAAA I'M SO SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH FOR A WHILE! I just...never got around to my finale before we get to some fun Junior Eurovision 2023/Eurovision 2024 stuff! So here is my finale: Where I share my favorite songs from each country in Eurovision from 2009 to the present.

So, how is this going to work? I'm going alphabetically because it's easier to do it like that. I'm giving you my top 2 from each country, but not the placements. If you want those, they're on the Eurovision website (I will put the year down though). Now, let's get to it!

Albania: "World" by Lindita (2017)/"Ktheju Tokës" by Jonida Maliqi (2019)

Andorra: "La Teva Decisió (Get A Life)" by Susanne Georgi (2009)

Armenia: "Future Lover" by Brunette (2023)/"Not Alone" by Aram MP3 (2014)

Australia: "Promise" by Voyager (2023)/"Sound Of Silence" by Dami Im (2016)

Austria: "Who The Hell Is Edgar?" by Teya & Salena (2023)/"I Am Yours" by The MakeMakes (2015)

Azerbaijan: "Hold Me" by Farid Mammadov (2013)/"Fade To Black" by Nadir Rustalmi (2022)

Belarus: "Forever" by Alekseev (2018)/"Eyes That Never Lie" by Petr Elfimov (2009)

Belgium: "Rhythm Inside" by Loïc Nottet (2015)/"The Wrong Place" by Hooverphonic (2021)

Bosnia & Herzegovina: "Korake Ti Znam" by Maya Sar (2012)/"Ljubav Je" by Jalal & Deen/Ana Rucner/Jala (2016)

Bulgaria: "If Love Was A Crime"/"Na Inat" both by Poli Genova (2016 & 2011 respectively)

Croatia: "Guilty Pleasure" by Mia Dimsic (2022)/"Tick Tock" by Albina (2021)

Cyprus: "Alter Ego" by Minus-One (2016)/"El Diablo" by Elena Tsagrinou (2021)

Czechia: "Lights Off" by Domi (2022)/"My Sister's Crown" by Vesna (2023)

Denmark: Øve Os På Hinanden" by Fyr og Flamme (2021)/"Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest (2013)

Estonia: "Goodbye To Yesterday" by Elina Born & Stig Rastä (2015)/"Rändajad" by Urban Symphony (2009)

Finland: "Something Better" by Softengine (2014)/"Jezebel" by The Rasmus (2022)

France: "L'enfer et moi" by Amandine Bourgeois (2013)/"Évidemment" by La Zarra (2023)

Georgia: "Warrior" by Nina Sublatti (2015)/"Echo" by Iru (2023)

Germany: "Taken By A Stranger" by Lena (2011)/"Ghost" by Jamie-Lee (2016)

Greece: "Die Together" by Amanda Tenfjord (2022)/"Aphrodisiac" by Eleftheria Eleftheriou (2012)

Hungary: "What About My Dreams?" by Kati Wolf (2011)/"Running" by Andra Kallay-Saunders (2014)

Iceland: "Hear Them Calling" by Greta Salome (2016)/"10 Years" by Daði Freyr (2021)

Ireland: "Playing With Numbers" by Molly Sterling (2015)/"That's Rich" by Brooke (2022)

Israel: "Same Heart" by Mei Finegold (2014)/"Rak Bishvilo" by Moran Mazor (2013)

Italy: "La Mia Città" by Emma (2014)/"ZITTI E BUONI" by Måneskin (2021)

Latvia: "Aijā" by Sudden Lights (2023)/"Love Injected" by Aminata (2015)

Lithuania: "Stay" by Monika Linkyte (2023)/"Discoteque" by The Roop (2021)

*can't wait to see Luxembourg next year!!!*

Malta: "This Is The Night" by Kurt Calleja (2012)/"Je Me Casse" by Destiny (2021)

Moldova: "O Mie" by Aliona Moon (2013)/"Run Away" by Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira (2010)

Montenegro: "Adio" by Knez (2015)/"Breathe" by Vladana (2022)

Netherlands: "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence (2019) *CONGRATS ON 1B SPOTIFY STREAMS!*/"De Diepte" by S10 (2022)

North Macedonia: "Crno I Belo" by Kaliopi (2012)/"Jas Ja Imam Silata" by Gjoko Taneski (2010)

Norway: "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak (2009)/"Queen Of Kings" by Alessandra (2023)

Poland: "Flashlight" by Kasia Moś (2017)/"River" by Ochman (2022)

Portugal: "Amar Pelos Dois" by Salvador Sobral (2017)/"Vida Minha" by Filipa Sousa (2012)

Romania: "Playing With Fire" by Paula Seling & Ovi (2010)/"Amnesia" by Roxen (2021)

*I would like to look into which artists do NOT support the war before sharing my favorites for Russia*

San Marino: "Adrenalina" by Senhit & Flo Rida (2021)/"Stand By" by Senhit (2011) *yes...same artist 10 years apart*

Serbia: "Samo Mi Se Spava" by Luke Black (2023)/"Goodbye (Shelter)" by Sanja Vučić ZAA (2016)

Slovakia: "Horehronie" by Kristina Pelakova (2010)/"Don't Close Your Eyes" by Max Jason Mai (2012)

Slovenia: "Carpe Diem" by Joker Out (2023)/"No One" by Maja Keuc (2011)

Spain: "Quedate Conmigo" by Pastora Soler (2012)/"Dancing In The Rain" by Ruth Lorenzo (2014)

Sweden: "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw (2015)/"Popular" by Eric Saade (2011)

Switzerland: "Tout l'univers"/"Répondez-moi" both by Gjon's Tears (2021 & 2020 respectively)

Turkey: "We Could Be The Same" by maNga (2010)/"Dum Tek Tek" by Hadise (2009)

Ukraine: "Under The Ladder" by Mélovin (2018)/"Time" by O. Torvald (2017)

United Kingdom: "I Wrote A Song" by Mae Muller (2023)/"Never Give Up On You" by Lucie Jones (2017)

Thank you so much for joining me this year! Looking forward to the new year of Eurovision stuff!

[pacificwaternymph]

Hear Them Calling by Greta Salome For listener Martyn

Is someone taking notes of this?

[escmemesandstuff]

Song Review: Iceland

A cute girl with a cute hairstyle.

Diljá - Power

Personal opinion: A sweet, harmless song. Sounds like a non-winning Melodifestivalen entry, also reminds me a bit of Paper by Svala. The girl is a good performer and the song is elevated on stage but I fear it’s not quite enough to sway me on its side. Not that I dislike the song, either. For me, it’s just there. 

Prediction: This contest hasn’t been really kind to Icelandic female soloists, and Greta Salome didn’t qualify with a way stronger song. Neither did Svala, whose song I already said this reminds me of. This will struggle to stand out even in the weaker semifinal. Either a NQ or a bottom five in the final.

Thoughts on selection: I so badly wish Iceland could snatch a eurovision victory soon, as it’s the only Nordic country that hasn’t done so even once. But this selection just wasn’t it. It was simply weak. The only song that stood out for me was Kristin’s lovely ballad, and after it didn’t make it to the final, I just lost interest. In the end, the winning song was one of the best choices, but that doesn’t say much.

[pomegranate-belle]

Tag Game

Rules: make a new post and spell out your URL with song titles, then tag as many people as there are letters in your URL.

@stripeyzebra you did this to me, so you can witness my mile long post 💖

P - Paperdoll - Married With Sea Monsters

O - Old Souls - Jessica Harper

M - Memories - Thutmose

E - Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon

G - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme - Amanda Seyfried, Ashley Lilley, & Rachel McDowall (sorry, ABBA, the movie version won out)

R - Remember To Breathe - Sturgill Simpson

A - All I’ve Ever Known - Anaïs Mitchell

N - Never Forget - Greta Salome & Jónsi

A - All That I Am - Parachute

T - Tightrope - Michelle Williams

E - Eric’s Song - Vienna Teng

B - Broken - Amy Lee & Seether

E - End of the World - Christon

L - Let the Flames Begin - Paramore

L - Line Without a Hook - Ricky Montgomery

E - Eurydice - Sleepthief

And since there’s no way I’m tagging 16 people lmao, let’s go with @zevri, @kiichu, and @under-the-yoshino-tree if she wants to accept the curse XD

[salome-c]

And my heels are on the ground.

+Bonus

[darklinaforever]

She mourns beneath the moonlit sky

Remembering when they said goodbye

Where's the one he used to know

It seems so long ago

And when the golden sun arises

Far across the sea

The dawn will break

As the darkness fades

Forever we'll be free.

Never forget by Greta Salome & Jonsi.

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Women Talking

How far should forgiveness go? When does forgiveness become permission? These are the questions at the heart of Sarah Polley’s WOMEN TALKING (2022, Prime). The film is based on an actual case in Bolivia in which men in a Mennonite community gassed and raped 151 women between the ages of 3 and 65. Miriam Toews’ novel transports the action to the U.S., which is important in terms of the women’s options, and has the community’s elders, some of whom were complicit in the assaults and their cover-up, order the women to forgive their attackers or face ostracism. When the women are split between staying to fight or leaving on their own, members of the key families debate the issues. This could make for a very dry film, but Polley wisely breaks up the action visually with images, some from the past, some simply showing the children going about their lives in the community. She has the wisdom to get inside the women’s heads so you can understand people whose positions might be very far from your own. She also captures the power of an approaching utopian moment as women raised to see themselves as objects struggle to figure out how to become the subjects of their own stories. And she’s cast an amazing ensemble — Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Frances McDormand, Sheila McCarthy, Ben Whishaw (as the sympathetic teacher taking notes at the meeting) and August Winter — to bring the issues to life. The script is filled with tantalizing details about their lives. Mara is pregnant after her rape and will be forced to give her child to a married couple, possibly even her rapist. Winter has lived as a man since their rape (some critics have questioned the religious community’s accepting a trans man). McCarthy deals with problems by talking about her horses. It’s hard to single out a single cast member for praise, which may be why the highly regarded film didn’t score acting nominations in any of the major industry awards. But I was particularly impressed with Foy’s complete transformation into the angry Salome who tries to kill one of the rapists at the film’s start. And McCarthy has held a special place in my heart ever since I first saw her in I’VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING (1987). Her Greta is a masterpiece of understatement. Polley’s direction is clean and totally at the service of the material. It may seem sparse at first compared to the more frenetic films that tend to rule the box office. But if you can adjust to it, you’ll be well-rewarded for your openness of heart.

[georgehandmusic]

George Hand covers Hear Them Calling by Greta Salome

[malenkaya-glosoli]

The two most annoying things in the world

1. Whenever anyone mispronounces Jónsi's name (with the hard J sound)

2. Whenever anyone confuses him with THE OTHER Jónsi (a.k.a. the one who sang the "Lazytown" theme song and also represented Iceland with Greta Salome for Eurovision that one time)

[icelandshouldhavequalified]

I genuinely cannot believe that the last time we saw Iceland in the final was *2014*

And how things have changed

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2010s: 75 - 71

75. Valentina Monetta - “Crisalide (Vola)” San Marino 2013

The middle chapter of one of Eurovision’s most epic saga’s. God, I may be an insane book nerd for looking for ~THE BEST STORY~ every year, but Valentina had one forreal and it was legit a great one. While the first chapter established Valentina as a universally beloved backstage darling, and the third rewarded her previous struggles with a spot in the finale, it’s the second that I hold dear the most: It put Valentina on the mark as an artist who mattered. Like a butterfly emerging from chrysalis, if you will? 🦋

Needless to say, it comes down to Valentina’s song, which is again, one of the better Siegel compositions: “Crisalide” has all I need in my Eurovision anthems: emotional imput, a great beat (made to resemble an irl heartbeat), a eurofriendly message about spreading wings and flying away, topped off with a KILLER KEY CHANGE. Like, this moment:

is one of spine-shivers. What a great entry. My 2013 self was DEVASTATED when she NQd, but my 2019 self is thrilled Valentina got to return and write history as Stan Marino’s first qualifier.  🦋 ALL HAIL THE LEGEND THAT IS VALENTINA MONETTA! 🦋 VOLA! INSIEME A MEEEEEEEEE 🦋

And that concludes San Marino! It’s pretty weird that I’m usually into “STANNING SHIT FOR THE SHITTINESS” movement, because San Marino is a country formed AROUND being deliberately bad. However, intentional humour is very often less funny than unintentional humour and because of this I find it very hard to get into the San Marinese shitfests. They’re capable of greatness though, and hopefully can capitalize on Serhat’s qualification to serve us some delicious campness in the future. 

________________________________________________________________

74. Greta Salóme - “Hear them calling” Iceland 2016

ANOTHER gut-twisting NQ. 😭 To be fair, I can sort of understand why Greta 2.0 flopped? The act is very similar to Sergey’s, but not as eye-catching, and the lighting is a bit too dark, making it dificult to connect with her.

However, having said that... what a STUPID reason to NQ one of the best songs in 2016 o__O. “Hear them calling” is a great song: It has a truly haunting atmosphere, a visually stunning act and infectuous melody. The only wish I have is that Greta had stuck to the Icelandic version though because that one is even more epic. 

Another thing I really like about “Hear them calling” is, well, Greta herself. I think she’s one of the most talented Eurovision songwriters, consistently churning out magical music, but at the same time is held back as a performer by her stagefright. Seeing her overcome it and ~blossom~ into a murder of crows the confident woman she deserves to be makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. BRING HER BACK (as a songwriter lol).

And with Greta’s elimination, HATARI are now the sole Icelandic rep standing. Love has won!

________________________________________________________________

73. Miki - “La venda” Spain 2019

LMFAO it truly was a crazy ride with Miki. When “La Venda” was first selected, it was a massive burst of uncoordinated positive energy, in desperate need of taming. A revamp polished off all the raw edges, pre-packaging it for greatness. “So it happens” BorisBubbles thought, taking an indifferent sip of cold coffee from a bone china mug. “Spain are going to break their flop streak :slurp:” 

Silly me, I had completely forgotten that, oh hello, this is fucking SPAIN and Spain doesn’t *do* competent whoops. Thank fuck they went all out with “La venda’s” staging because the results were fucking GLORIOUS. From the giant manikin rocking the dollhouse

over the go-pro,

to the technicolour explosions,

"La venda” sent a pyroclastic flow of party energy all over Europe, covering our faces with celebratory soot when we didn’t expect it. This... was fucking AWESOME though, because the eruption of Mount-St.-Nuñez was one of unbridled fun, but it also overloaded the maximum capacity of ownage energy, which short-circuited the jurors.😭 May next year’s jurors grow themselves a stronger tolerance for kickassness.😭 Nevertheless, Miki and his friends capped this decent Grand Final off in great style, turning what was a fun competent reggaeton into an EXPERIENCE. 

That leaves RUTH as highest ranked Spanish entry:

“SOY YO? SOY YO??” -“RUTH!” -“AAAAAAA!!!!!”

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72.  András Kállay-Saunders - “Running” Hungary 2014

SHE CALLS PHARRELL, SHE CALLS PHARRELL, BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE.

I will just plunge into this write-up in medias res because “Running” is one of those songs that feels like the “perfect” Eurovision entry on many levels. It’s a great example of a dark, contemporary hit single that would hit the charts on its own. 

It also tackles the issue of child abuse with grace and elegance, addressing the topic head-on, but NEVER trivializing it. This PSA is supported by András who makes for a very convincing narrator and a sublime dance act portrayed where the pain and terror is portrayed with harrowing accuracy.

Which brings me to why I’m booting it now, and not like, in the top 20. “Running” suffers from the fact that it is *too effective*. I think that, on an academic level, "Running” is probably one of the ten best entries in this decade. On a practical level however, “Running” is still an entry that gut-punches me into contemplative silence, but... it’s also very serious, distubring and saddening at the same time. It does not have the same level of replayability or likability that the upper tier Eurovision entries do. Ergo, I have to boot it now. bye. 

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71.  Sofia Nizharadze - “Shine” Georgia 2010

“Shine” was one of my intensely random faves back in 2010, so there is a lot of nostalgia resonating in dragging it this high. With that caveat out of the way though, I will say the deal is very similar to that of “Running”. Like, “Running”, “Shine” feels like a ‘perfect’ entry on an academic level. Like “Running”, it is kind of lacking on a connection level despite getting everything right. However, unlike “Running” it has a lot of heart seeping through the performance. Yes, Sopho is a notorious “slrrer vf wrds” 😍 which is just the endearment I needed.

You see, “Shine” may be a generic love ballad, pleasant and little else, but I actually think the act is the real showstopper. I could watch Sopho getting flung around for hours and never get bored. LK THE TDS GNA TRN YO ANOW

NNNNNNNNN BT ITS CLLLLLLD. 

YR LL N YR WN BT YR NVR UH-LNNNNNNNNNNNN!!

SHYNNN SHYNNN LK D STRZ N D SKYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

100% deserving of being the best scoring Georgian act in Eurovision!!! But not this ranking because “Midnight Gold” is not of this fucking planet. Congratulations Nikangel Kocharov!!