#elitsa and stoyan

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #705:

Elitsa Todorova, who participated for Bulgaria in 2013 alongside Stoyan Yankulov, once worked for the State Dance and Music Ensemble in Varna. In the choirs she was a part of, she performed traditional Bulgarian folk songs and arrangements in Sanskrit and Yiddish.

[Source]

Participants of Malmö 2013: Elitsa Todorova, Stoyan Yankulov, Eurovision.tv.

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Good evening Europe!

It's that magical time of the year again when we all come together to trash each others' musical tastes!

The point system has changed many times over the years, and as various countries have come and gone, it is hard to determine who did "the best" based on the points they got alone as, since the maximum available points doubled with the jury and televote scores no longer being combined, post 2016 entries would have an obvious advantage and, likewise, the contests with 40+ participants would also have more maximum available points to give so a country getting 200 points in 2004 is not the same as another getting 200 points in 2009 or 2016.

But if we divide the points each entry got by the maximum available points for the respective year it competed, we get a percentage score that can easily be measured against entries from years with differing point systems.

So, for example, in 2009 42 countries participated. The maximum points each country can award is of course 12 and you can't vote for yourself. So 41 × 12 = 492. Let's then take Norway's total of 387 points and divide it by the 492 total of maximum available points. We get 78.6, meaning Norway and Alexander Rybak amassed 78.6% of the total points in 2009!

In the case of tie breaks the entry that placed higher in its respective year wins the tie break and if there's still a tie I used rules similar to the actual contest; the winner of a tie is the entry that received more points from televoting. If there are no split results available to the public, the entry that received points from more countries, then the country that received more 12 points, then 10 points all the way down to 1. If the tie cannot be broken in this way, the entry that performed earlier wins the tie break.

I've set 2004 as the "beginning of time", if you will, because that's when I started watching Eurovision and because there also had to be some sort of limit to how far back I would go with this 🤣

With that very long-winded explanation of my measuring tactics out of the way, shall we see our current Top 100 before new entries are added after the 2023 Grand Final is over?

100. Greece 🇬🇷 - 2010 - Giorgos Alkaios and Friends - Opa - 30.7%

99. Armenia 🇦🇲 - 2010 - Eva Rivas - Apricot Stone - 30.9%

98. Bulgaria 🇧🇬 - 2016 - Poli Genova - If Love Was a Crime - 31.1%

97. Belgium 🇧🇪 - 2010 - Tom Dice - Me and My Guitar - 31.3%

96. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 - 2019 - Chingiz - Truth - 31.4%

95. North Macedonia 🇲🇰 - 2019 - Tamara Todevska - Proud - 31.7%

94. Serbia 🇷🇸 - 2008 - Jelena Tomasevic feat. Bora Duguc - Oro - 31.7%

93. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 - 2010 - Safura - Drip Drop - 31.7%

92. Bulgaria 🇧🇬 - 2007 - Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov - Water - 31.7%

91. Moldova 🇲🇩 - 2005 - Zdob si Zdub - Boonika bate toba - 32.4%

90. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2006 - Tina Karol - Show Me Your Love - 32.6%

89. Denmark 🇩🇰 - 2010 - Chanée and N'evergreen - In a Moment like This - 32.6%

88. Finland 🇫🇮 - 2021 - Blind Channel - Dark Side - 33%

87. Hungary 🇭🇺 - 2014 - András Kállay-Saunders - Running - 33.1%

86. Turkey 🇹🇷 - 2007 - Kenan Dogulu - Shake It Up Sekerim - 33.1%

85 Greece 🇬🇷 - 2013 - Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol Is Free - 33.3%

84. Serbia 🇷🇸 - 2022 - Konstrakta - In corpore sano - 33.3%

83. Latvia 🇱🇻 - 2005 - Walters and Khaza - The War Is Not Over - 33.5%

82. Israel 🇮🇱 - 2005 - Shiri Maimon - HaSheket SheNish'ar - 33.7%

81. Germany 🇩🇪 - 2008 - Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone - 33.7%

80. Italy 🇮🇹 - 2017 - Francesco Gabbani - Occidentali's Karma - 33.9%

79. Austria 🇦🇹 - 2018 - Cesár Sampson - Nobody but You - 33.9%

78. Norway 🇳🇴 - 2019 - Keiino - Spirit in the Sky - 34.4%

77. Romania 🇷🇴 - 2007 - Luminita Anghel and Sistem - Let Me Try - 34.6%

76. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2019 - John Lundvik - Too Late for Love - 34.7%

75. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2011 - Mika Newton - Angel - 34.8%

74. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2017 - Robin Bengtsson - I Can't Go On - 34.9%

73. United Kingdom 🇬🇧 - 2009 - Jade Ewen - It's My Time - 35.1%

72. Romania 🇷🇴 - 2010 - Paula Seling and Ovi - Playing with Fire - 35.5%

71. Turkey 🇹🇷 - 2009 - Hadise - Düm Tek Tek - 35.9%

70. Norway 🇳🇴 - 2008 - Maria - Hold On Be Strong - 36.1%

69. Lithuania 🇱🇹 - 2006 - LT United - We Are the Winners - 36.4%

68. Belgium 🇧🇪 - 2017 - Blanche - City Lights - 36.8%

67. Turkey 🇹🇷 - 2010 - Manga - We Could Be the Same - 37.2%

66. Switzerland 🇨🇭 - 2019 - Luca Hänni - She Got Me - 37.9%

65. Moldova 🇲🇩 - 2017 - SunStroke Project - Hey Mamma - 38%

64. Russia 🇷🇺 - 2013 - Dina Garipova - What If - 38.1%

63. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2006 - Carola - Invincible - 38.2%

62. Russia 🇷🇺 - 2019 - Sergey Lazarev - Scream - 38.5%

61. Romania 🇷🇴 - 2006 - Mihai Traistariu - Tornerò - 38.7%

60. Armenia 🇦🇲 - 2008 - Sirusho - Qélé, Qélé - 39.4%

59. Latvia 🇱🇻 - 2015 - Aminata - Love Injected - 39.7%

58. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2021 - Go_A - Shum - 39.9%

57. Armenia 🇦🇲 - 2014 - Aram Mp3 - Not Alone - 40.3%

56. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2004 - Lena Philipsson - It Hurts - 40.4%

55. Cyprus 🇨🇾 - 2004 - Lisa Andreas - Stronger Every Minute - 40.4%

54. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2011 - Eric Saade - Popular - 40.5%

53. Iceland 🇮🇸 - 2021 - Dathi og Gagnamagnith - 10 Years - 41.4%

52. Italy 🇮🇹 - 2011 - Raphael Gualazzi - Madness of Love - 41.4%

51. Australia 🇦🇺 - 2015 - Guy Sebastian - Tonight Again - 41.8%

50. Norway 🇳🇴 - 2013 - Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love - 41.8%

49. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 - 2009 - AySel and Arash - Always - 42%

48. Russia 🇷🇺 - 2007 - Serebro - Song #1 - 42%

47. Malta 🇲🇹 - 2005 - Chiara - Angel - 42.1%

46. Greece 🇬🇷 - 2008 - Kalomira - Secret Combination - 43.2%

45. Cyprus 🇨🇾 - 2018 - Eleni Foureira - Fuego - 43.2%

44. Serbia 🇷🇸 - 2012 - Zeljko Joksimovic - Nije ljubav stvar - 43.4%

43. Iceland 🇮🇸 - 2009 - Yohanna - Is It True? - 44.3%

42. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2008 - Ani Lorak - Shady Lady - 45.6%

41. Belgium 🇧🇪 - 2015 - Loïc Nottet - Rhythm Inside - 46.3%

40. Turkey 🇹🇷 - 2004 - Athena - For Real - 46.4%

39. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2022 - Cornelia Jakobs - Hold Me Closer - 46.7%

38. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2013 - Zlata Ognevich - Gravity - 46.9%

37. Switzerland 🇨🇭 - 2021 - Gjon's Tears - Tout l'univers - 47.3%

36. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2007 - Verka Serduchka - Dancing Lasha Tumbai - 47.7%

35. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 - 2011 - Ell and Nikki - Running Scared - 48.4%

34. Spain 🇪🇸 - 2022 - Chanel - SloMo - 49%

33. Italy 🇮🇹 - 2019 - Mahmood - Soldi - 49.1%

32. United Kingdom 🇬🇧 - 2022 - Sam Ryder - Space Man - 49.7%

31. Russia 🇷🇺 - 2016 Sergey Lazarev - You Are the Only One - 49.8%

30. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2014 - Sanna Nielsen - Undo 50.4%

29. Greece 🇬🇷 - 2005 - Helena Paparizou - My Number One - 50.4%

28. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 - 2013 - Farid Mammadov - Hold Me - 51.3%

27. Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 - 2006 - Hari Mata Hari - Lejla - 51.5%

26. Netherlands 🇳🇱 - 2019 - Duncan Lawrence - Arcade - 51.8%

25. Australia 🇦🇺 - 2016 - Dami Im - Sound of Silence - 51.9%

24. Israel 🇮🇱 - 2018 - Netta - Toy - 52.4%

23. Russia 🇷🇺 - 2012 - Buranovskiye Babushki - Party for Everybody - 52.6%

22. Germany 🇩🇪 - 2010 - Lena - Satellite - 53.9%

21. Russia 🇷🇺 - 2008 - Dima Bilan - Believe - 53.9%

20. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2016 - Jamala - 1944 - 54.2%

19. Serbia 🇷🇸 - 2007 - Marija Serifovic - Molitva - 54.4%

18. France 🇫🇷 - 2021 - Barbara Pravi - Voilà - 54.7%

17. Netherlands 🇳🇱 - 2014 - The Common Linnets - Calm After the Storm - 55%

Honourable Mention. Turkey 🇹🇷 - 2003 - Sertab Erener - Everyway That I Can - 55.6%

16. Russia 🇷🇺 - 2006 - Dima Bilan - Never Let You Go - 55.8%

15. Italy 🇮🇹 - 2021 - Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni - 57.4%

14. Greece 🇬🇷 - 2004 - Sakis Rouvas - Shake It - 60%

13. Denmark 🇩🇰 - 2013 - Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops - 61.6%

12. Italy 🇮🇹 - 2015 - Il Volo - Grande amore - 62.3%

11. Bulgaria 🇧🇬 - 2017 - Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess - 62.5%

10. Serbia and Montenegro 🇷🇸 - 2004 - Zeljko Joksimovic and Ad-Hoc Orchestra - Lane Moje - 62.6%

9. Russia 🇷🇺 - 2015 - Polina Gagarina - A Million Voices - 64.7%

8. Finland 🇫🇮 - 2006 - Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah - 65.7%

7. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2004 - Ruslana - Wild Dances - 66.6%

6. Austria 🇦🇹 - 2014 - Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix - 67.1%

5. Ukraine 🇺🇦 - 2022 - Kalush Orchestra - Stefania - 67.4%

4. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2012 - Loreen - Euphoria - 75.6%

3. Portugal 🇵🇹 - 2017 - Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dois - 77%

2. Sweden 🇸🇪 - 2015 - Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes - 77.9%

1. Norway 🇳🇴 - 2009 - Alexander Rybak - Fairytale - 78.6%

And there it is! The 100 most successful Eurovision entries from 2004 to 2022?

Did your all time fave make the cut?

[residentraccoon]

Updated list of my ESC winners

1956: Franca Raimondi - Aprite le finestre (Italy)

1957: Margot Hielscher - Telefon, Telefon (Germany)

1958: Domenico Modugno - Nel blu dipinto di blu (Italy)

1959: Teddy Scholten - Een beetje (Netherlands)

1960: Nora Brockstedt - Voi voi (Norway)

1961: Jean Claude Pascal - Nous les amoureux (Luxembourg)

1962: Marion Rung - Tipi Tii (Finland)

1963: Grethe & Jorgen Ingmann - Dansevise (Denmark)

1964: Gigliola Cinquetti - Non ho l'eta (Italy)

1965: France Gall - Poupee de cire, poupee de son (Luxembourg)

1966: Udo Jurgens - Merci, cherie (Austria)

1967: Sandie Shaw - Puppet on a string (United Kingdom)

1968: Cliff Richard - Congratulations (United Kingdom)

1969: Salome - Vivo cantando (Spain)

1970: Mary Hopkin - Knock knock who's there (United Kingdom)

1971: Severine - Un banc, un arbre, une rue (Monaco)

1972: Vicky Leandros - Apres Toi (Luxembourg)

1973: Anne Marie David - Tu te reconnaitras (Luxembourg)

1974: ABBA - Waterloo (Sweden)

1975: Teach-in - Ding a dong (Netherlands)

1976: Brotherhood of man - Save your kisses for me (United Kingdom)

1977: Monica Aspelund - Lapponia (Finland)

1978: Izhar Cohen - A-Ba-Ni-Bi (Israel)

1979: Milk & Honey - Hallelujah (Israel)

1980: Katja Ebstein - Theater (Germany)

1981: Lena Valaitis - Johnny Blue (Germany)

1982: Anna Vissi - Mono i agapi (Cyprus)

1983: Danijel - Dzuli (Yugoslavia)

1984: Alice & Battiato - I treni di tozeur (Italy)

1985: Bobbysocks - La det swinge (Norway)

1986: Sandra Kim - J'aime la vie (Belgium)

1987: Lilliane Saint Pierre - Soldiers of love (Belgium)

1988: Celine Dion - Ne partez pas sans moi (Switzerland)

1989: Birthe Kjaer - Vi maler byen rod (Denmark)

1990: Toto Cutugno - Insieme 1992 (Italy)

1991: Carola - Fangad av en stormvind (Sweden)

1992: Evridiki - Teriazoume (Cyprus)

1993: Ruth Jacott - Vrede (Netherlands)

1994: CatCat - Bye bye baby (Finland)

1995: Secret Garden - Nocturne (Norway)

1996: Eimear Quinn - The voice (Ireland)

1997: Jalisse - Fiumi di Parole (Italy)

1998: Edsilia Rombley - Hemel en aarde (Netherlands)

1999: Selma - All out of luck (Iceland)

2000: Brainstorm - My star (Latvia)

2001: Nusa Derenda - Energy (Slovenia)

2002: Malene - Tell me who you are (Denmark)

2003: Urban Trad - Sanomi (Belgium)

2004: Ruslana - Wild dances (Ukraine)

2005: Zdob si Zdub - Bunica bate doba (Moldova)

2006: Hari Mata Hari - Lejla (Bosnia & Herzegovina)

2007: Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov - Water (Bulgaria)

2008: Mor ve otesi - Deli (Turkey)

2009: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (Norway)

2010: Paula Seling & Ovi - Playing with fire (Romania)

2011: Eldrine - One more day (Georgia)

2012: Kaliopi - Crno i belo (North Macedonia)

2013: Zlata Ognevich - Gravity (Ukraine)

2014: Sebalter - Hunter of stars (Switzerland)

2015: Mans Zelmerlow - Heroes (Sweden)

2016: Iveta Mukuchyan - Lovewave (Armenia)

2017: Joci Papai - Origo (Hungary)

2018: Yianna Terzi - Oniro Mou (Greece)

2019: Keiino - Spirit in the sky (Norway)

2020: The Roop - On fire (Lithuania)

2021: Maneskin - Zitti e buoni (Italy)

2022: Zdob si Zdub & Fratii Advahov - Trenuletul (Moldova)

[deep-hearts-core]

2013 - semifinal 2

originally posted 5/31/20

Latvia This here, this, is my true guilty pleasure of the 2013 contest. Like I know it's a pair of Latvian dudes in sparkly clothes rapping and beatboxing and being not overwhelmingly great at either of those things, but it's really lighthearted and pure. It endears itself to me through its sheer enthusiasm. In short: it's fun. San Marino Okay, I can actually see how this one didn't qualify. It's really slow at the beginning, and I had forgotten how it really went before the tempo and meter change that kicks the song into the high gear that it's actually known for. Staging was pretty good, though. I don't actually like this as much as I used to, it might not be a qualifier for me anymore (of course, who knows) because of how little happens for the first 2/3 of the song.

North Macedonia This sure was something. I always feel obligated to like entries performed by a minority group, but this song was kind of a mess. There were two totally different songs going on here - Esma's and Lozano's - and while they're both pretty decent on their own, together they just don't mix. (Also, Lozano's parts are lowkey a Love Is Blind ripoff. There. I said it.) Azerbaijan Excellent staging here, by which I mean both the man in the box and the literal actual stage. That first verse had such amazing staging, and you know what, I'm not even as put off by the comphet girl in the red dress as I used to be. This is a firmly good song, but if I'm honest it doesn't really hold up for me when compared to the sheer amount of girl power going on here, between Denmark, Israel, Norway, Ukraine, Russia, etc etc. While the staging is impressive the song is only just good. Finland When I was younger, I specifically remember calling Krista's aesthetic here "trashy Vegas bride". I still think that's true. Finland went all out on the camp here, and it's deliciously good. It's active, and while the song is really cheesy the staging leans right into it and Krista sells it entirely. Marry Me is pure, good fun. Malta This is a really sweet song. Don't get why everyone's so crazy about it, but it's definitely cute and fun. It just really has a family vibe going to it, with the general sunshine-ness of Gianluca and everyone onstage with him - either they all really genuinely like each other and are glad to be there, or they're really good at acting.

Bulgaria There's a lot that's all over the place about this one, in the staging and the songwriting, but it's a refreshing song that's entirely different from the other songs in the semi. While I think this could have been done quite well, the stage here didn't quite lend to the success that Elitsa and Stoyan's previous entry had had. I really like the song though - I love super rhythmic stuff so this was fun to watch and to bop around to. Iceland The staging for this entry is pretty boring, but there's some good composition going on here. When I was younger, I used to make a cappella covers of Eurovision songs, and so as we get into the years where I know the songs well sometimes my judgement of the composition will come from how nice that arrangement was to make. Let me say that I hated this entry, until I covered it, and through doing that I realized that the composition here has a lot of room to be moving and beautiful. It's redeemed the song a lot for me.

Greece I seriously don't think this song would have worked without both the old guy and the band. In prior watches I know I thought the song would be better off without the folksy section at the beginning, but now I acknowledge that it serves a purpose, and it's actually kinda nice to listen to. This is another of those wild, fun ones that, while it's difficult to take seriously, is so lighthearted that I can't help liking it. It's not trying to be performance art or overly campy, it's just... fun. Israel This really was robbed. As a song, it's fantastic, and Moran has a great voice and amazing control over it. Sadly, though, these types of songs work best with something interesting happening in the background, and here there was nothing, so while I really, truly love this song, I understand why it didn't get through. Armenia Everyone always hates on this song, and for why? Like guys it's a soft rock song about climate change. It is in no way bad. I mean, it's nothing polarizing, but it's definitely enjoyable. I really like this style of music and I think that Gor, the lead singer here, is really dynamic and fun to watch. Hungary Firstly I just want to call attention to the fact that Hungary, apparently, only has one female backup singer, because I swear this exact same woman was backup for the 2012 entry. Anyway, Kedvesem is a song that polarizes a lot of people; I think it's just okay. Like, it's nice to listen to, Eurovision goes indie, whatever, but it's not a standout, especially in this year, and if I'm honest the dolls in the background were kinda creepy.

Norway [frantically googles to see if Frozen came out before this performance] Yeah, so this is clearly the success Norway was trying to emanate when they sent Agnete three years later. This song is really weird, but also really good. Lyrically, this song is absolutely fucking hilarious, it goes in so many different directions, but the instrumental is really really good and Margaret has a great voice for this song in particular that really distracts from the absurdity of the lyrics and lets you just watch and listen without thinking too hard. Albania Oh this one goes so fucking hard. The melodic themes in this are just SO GOOD and the main singer here has an awesome voice. Why everyone is jumping around onstage I don't know, but what I do know is that this song totally deserved to qualify. Everyone always complains about the FiK revamps every year but they forget that in years like this and 2011 when Albania didn't revamp their song they still didn't qualify, so like, forgive them for trying something new. Thankfully they've kept their songs the same and have had success with their 2018 and 2019 entries, but Identitet definitely merited that same qualification.

Georgia This song is totally jury bait, but I really like it. Those harmonies. It's not a super standout, but I think Nodi and Sophie's voices go great together and that the staging was inoffensive, dare I even say pretty. Like, it's typical G:son, but it's alright. Switzerland Not totally sure what Switzerland is trying to achieve here. This song sure is catchy, but a better performance certainly was possible, and I don't know how I feel about their matching Salvation Army polos. I mean, it's like sending the Mormons to Eurovision, and not the ones from the musical either. Romania Um, so this is not what I like to see at Eurovision. It drives the camp factor way up and that's not my thing, and neither is falsetto dubstep. Those dancers were also lowkey horrifying. Like they did not need to contort their bodies like that and they did not need to be mostly naked either. I do find it funny, though, that Moldova and Romania used the same "elevate the stage during the bridge" trick in the same year. Heh.

My personal qualifiers Norway Albania Azerbaijan Israel Georgia Armenia Greece Iceland Latvia Finland Miscellaneous thoughts One of the difficult things about this year is that there are a lot of songs that are really campy or otherwise just fun (the Babushki's influence, no doubt). While very wholesome, it does make it difficult to separate songs out from each other.

[betweenthetimeandsound]

My ESC 250 (#190-181), featuring three of the most powerful vocalists in the Balkans, the Spanish Evita, and Bulgaria's only qualifier for almost a decade.

[arandomeurovisionblog]

BULGARIA

Bulgaria debuted at 2005 and has brought us some of the best songs of recent years. Indeed, they have qualified four times for the final, and in three of them they have placed between the top 5.

-Beautiful Mess, Kristian Kostov (2017)

The best Bulgarian entry. Kristian was wonderful at stage and everybody was very moved by this beautiful ballad. The production was also impeccable. Top 2. He deserved to win that year imo.

-Let me cry, Mariana Popova (2006)

Ok, a couple of things happened with this one. It’s a dramatic ballad with folk sounds that sounds very well imo. But 1) The official video is a mess and 2) the staging too. Having to deal with these big issues and paying attention to the song itself is difficult, so I can understand the no qualification after that disaster. But I actually enjoy the song, I think it deserved a better treatment.

-If love was a crime, Poli Genova (2016)

I think this was the moment when people started to think of Bulgaria as a serious candidate to victory. The song is modern, dance and catchy. I think the staging and production were too simple for this act, but in the end it worked and got top 4.

-Water, Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov (2007)

This song is alternative, folkloric, rhythmic and catchy. Elitza’s voice is amazing and I couldn’t get it off of my mind for months. The lyrics are in Bulgarian and everything is a strange mix that works amazingly. Top 5.

-Equinox, Bones (2018)

This is one of my favourite Eurovision songs in general, and objectively I think it is pretty good. Sadly, the live performance and the production were very complicated and over-elaborated, and for some reason they changed the way the five voices mixed during the song. The group already had sang in a couple of live concerts, proving they were able to replicate the official version and making it more amazing, but someone thought that it was a good idea to change all that for the Eurovision act. I’m never going to understand it :S

Other interesting entries: 2008 Dj, take me away by Deep Zone & Balthazar, 2011 Na inat by Poli Genova (Poli’s first attempt, better than If love was a crime for some people), 2020 Tears getting sober by Victoria.

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2010: 35 - 31

35. KEiiNO - “Spirit in the sky” Norway 2019

During the preshow I posited that "Spearwhil”  would be the Rasmussen but as it turned out-

I HEAR YOU CALLING ME AT NIGHT

No, Tom NOT NOW!!! I’m in the middle of my sentence. 🙄 Wait your turn Anyway, it turned out that ‘the Rasmussen’ really ought to be called ‘the KEiiNO’. Observe this Michal-esque rise up the scoreboard:

OutSzpak’ing Spzak. 😍 Let’s be honest though, it was-

I HEAR YOU CALLING ME AT NI-

- COMPLETELY DESERVED TOO.  Fred was especially great, who delivered EPIC yoik solo that I am sure won KEiiNO the televote on the spot. 😍

This particularly pleases me because I was worried Tom & Alexandra (who are both very good performers) would take the spotlight away from Fred, but no did the weakest link pre-show turned not only turn out to be the strongest one, but he was arguable the single strongest performer of finale night. SO PROUD OF THEM ANGELS. 😍 Let us all sing along

*cough* I said, “let us all sing along”

... 

(k Tom, now is ur cue)

I HEAR YOU CALLING ME AT NIIIIIGHT

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ARE DANCING

HÅ LA HEI LOI LÅ

A lot of the criticism from KEiiNO comes from your typical value-seekers who can only enjoy themselves in public if their shallow trash comes coated in a thick layer of novelty gimmicks and Deep Meaning, so they don’t have to admit to others and themselves than they tune in to have fun, like everyone else. There’s nothing wrong with novelty gimmicks & the like, but applying that standard to everything is taking it a tad too far. Sometimes, simplicity is key and that’s exactly what KEiiNO were: unpretentious, highly-addictive EDM adorned with epic yoiking. 😍 

_______________________________________________________________

34. Gianluca - “Tomorrow” Malta 2013

"Tomorrow” is, to use Gianluca’s own words, a curious delight: I always, always, always forget about it. Then I rewatch 2013 as I do at least once per year, and each time it’s like a Céline Dion song IT’S ALL COMING BACK TO ME and I’m in love again. 😍 “Tomorrow” is such a clever twist of the typical love song by telling the story from the THIRD PERSON PERSPECTIVE by an all-knowing narrator. It’s world’s merriest audiobook. 😍

Naturally, this works because Gianluca has TONS of charisma. He’s one of the most magnetic humans ever on a Eurovision Stage? 

It’s hard to believe that he ages like the rest of us, I’d assume he was birthed fully formed and clothed, at age thirteen, in whatever rests at the end of a Neverlandian rainbow. 

“Tomorrow” could’ve so easily been one of those “Annoyingly Positive songs”, but because he’s so relentlessly jolly, Gianluca injects “Tomorrow” with limitless happy energy, enough to melt the polar icecaps. I am happy that I don’t revisit Gianluca between watches, as I do with others, because each time I rediscover him it’s like finding a four-leaf-clover. 🍀

________________________________________________________________

33. Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulov - “Samo shampioni” Bulgaria 2013

IMA LI MLADI? IMA LI LYUDI? TSYALO SELO DOIDE PEITE NE SE BOITE

Let us continue with one of the most glorious trainwrecks EVER in Eurovision. 😍 Of course, this being the GOD-tier the severity of wreckage (aka the Sennek Factor) is even higher than normal. In the case of “Samo shampioni” the messiness began DURING THE PRESELECTIONS. 😍 Okay you may not remember or know this backstory, so allow me to enlighten you:

Okay, so *initially* BNT selected Elitsa & Stoyan and for some reason decided to hold an NF: They introduced: first a terrible rapbomination, second a boring ethnoballad (think Iriao + percussion) and then pulled out an experimental fusion of ethnic bagpipes, polyphonic singing and dubstep, which Elitsa openly pointed as her favourite. 😍 Obviously, the audience had to choose for the latter? NOPE The audience chose the iriao-esque ballad 😍 and in one of the most hilariously open displays of riggage, LESS THAN A DAY AFTER THE NF (and after Elitsa allegedly threw a huge backstage temper tantrum threatening to withdraw LMFAO), BNT produced a statement that was all like “well. we can’t send “Kismet”. 🤓 You see... it has come under our attention that... the songwriter from Argentina (lmao) can’t agree to the copyright terms we demanded of him 🤓but that’s fine because it means we can send “SAMO SHAMPIONI” instead 😊‘ <3333333333333333333333456789 who the fuck is Christer Björkman, fucking NOBODY that’s who. And of course, once “Samo Shampioni” finally got to Malmö it was an utter disaster. 😍 I say "disaster” in the best meaning of the word though. I LOVE when countries showcase their musical traditions, but Elitsa and Stoyan do it so aggressively, BLASTING the unassuming viewer with loud af bagpipe noises, following it up with a menuet of polyphony, a clarion of “AAAAAAAAAAAA-YUUUU” and a finale of dubstep and mayumaniacal percussion. “Samo Sampioni” was loud, abrasive, a clamour of ethnic noise but by the same token such a catchy, infectuous, delightful fucking BOP. No surprise it got jurypwned but it was well worth the effort. 😍

________________________________________________________________

32. Nadav Guedj - “Golden boy” Israel 2015

Welcome to the Dicedrome, ladies and gentlemen: Introducing the man who put Israel back on the map after four straight NQs. But Nadav is more than just a Hebrew Tom Dice. 

For starters, “Golden boy” is also the first time we were ever subjected to Doron Medalie (and also Imri Ziv but lol Imri), who is at his BEST here (apart from that moment when he brusquely shoved Cesár out of the way as if he were Krisse Salminen lmfao 😍): “Golden boy” has everything I could want in an uptempo party song: Drama, catchy rhythm, limitless fun, chanting, dancing and an absolutely ridiculous premise: sixteen year old boy gets wasted after fruitlessly flirting with all sorts of femfolk on his first night out. Yes, THIS

is sixteen years old. 😍 But what I mostly love about “Golden boy” is the humour. Intentional humour is really hard to get right and “Golden boy” NAILS it for me. From self-deprecating one-liners, to that choreography to b-roll material like the sound effect of beer being pourn as Nadav gets further into the song, to of course the epic finale of “THREE MINUTES! BYE :selfie”. 😍

A wild ride which, as serendipity demands, is topped off by Nadav kicking off a strong Israeli streak that indeed ENDS up with Israel winning the contest (with a worse Doron composition :-/) and him showing us around in Tel Aviv. Funny how life works sometimes, huh? 

OKAY GOTTA GO  THREE PARAGRAPHS BYEBYE

_______________________________________________________________

31. Jessy Matador - “Allez ola olé” France 2010

Did you know “Matador” is Eurospeak for “SLAYER”?  😉

Speaking of EPIC party songs, I was looking “Allez Ola Olé” up for my usual ranking purposes and this song.. is one of the most successful Eurovision songs EVER? I am not surprised, because “Allez olla olé” OWNS, but at the same time random 12th placers becoming massive off-season hits <3

(yes I am aware it’s because it was the French “Waka Waka” but that’s even more hilar, actually. What on earth is it doing in Eurovision <3)

Anyway, “Allez ola olé” definitely DESERVES all praise it can get. ETERNAL THORN IN THE SIDE OF THE EUROVISION ELITISTS <3 it is of course the anti-Proud, being all rhythm and no story, literally having no purpose other than making people dance (which I LOVE doing to “Allez Ola Olé”... within the confines of my bedroom, with the curtains closed because I have the dancing skills of drunk JarJar Binks) and honestly, what a spectacle. 😍

It features, in order of ascending awesomeness, male twerking (gender equality <3)

witty references to sex (which I don’t mind here because it’s clearly consentual, and therefore, healthy, ICKOLAS)

“Je sens le truc monter/..😏 ALLEEEEZ 😱”. 

DAM BA DAM BA DAM BA DAM DAM

A fucking HAKA????? (btw, the female backing doing a salute is also lowkey great <3)

Actually, TWO HAKA’S????

This song may not have relevant meaning but my weave flew all the way to French Polynesia. “Allez, ola, olé” is nothing less than fucking AWESOME. 

In this update, we pay our final respects to Norway, Malta and France: Read more about them below:

NORWAY

I don’t feel like this chart reflects my true feelings on Norway, because I like them a LOT more than what their average implies. They’re largely just dragged down by a few bad entries in the first half of the decade. Norway in the second half of this decade has shown a lot of promise and they are on my list of countries that I expect to win in the upcoming decade. 

MALTA

Malta are a very average Eurovision country imo. As you can see, they very often select songs that are not worth giving a fuck about, but conversely the few times that they do, they’re usually excellent happy-go-lucky gems. I could see them winning if they find that rare 1-in-50 entry (by one of their jesc winners preferably), but only if they keep internally selecting their entrant because lmao MES(s)C <3

FRANCE

This is a really good chart for France and roughly what I expected. Not my favourite country but solidly upper tier. France really have reinvented themselves post 2016 and are reaping the rewards with generally higher results. I hope it gets topped off with another win soon. They deserve it. 

[eurovisionsongaday]

A big welcome back to Elitsa & Stoyan!

[eurovisionopinions]

[mildmagician]

Bulgaria 🇧🇬

Fantastiiiic! A lot of fire with the Intelligent Music Project and their song ‘Intention’!🔥🔊

This Progressive Rock song is a fresh choice coming from the BNT, as Bulgaria tended to send more commercial songs in the past years. Though it is interesting to know, that one of the Intelligent Music Project’s band members might be familiar to some, as Stoyan Yankoulov had participated in the contest before in a duet with Elitsa Todorova performing their Eurodance Pop songs with elements of Folk back in the 2007 and 2013.

As mentioned by the band’s frontman Ronnie Romero – there will be a lot of fire! And by that we mean – A LOT! The band’s smart way of using the spherical style of the stage background to stand out from other contestants was a great decision as the semi-circular construction made from speakers looks very dramatic and attracts a lot of attention.

Късмет!🍀

[everyeurovisionsong]

Bulgaria 2013

'Samo Shampioni' (Only Champions), performed by Elitsa & Stoyan. Composition: Elitsa Todorova, Kristian Talev. Lyrics: Elitsa Todorova, Kristian Talev.

As Malmö 2013 dawned, Bulgaria had made only one appearance on Saturday night since debuting at Eurovision in 2005. So the smart thing to do was to call back the singers of 'Water' in the form of Elitsa and Stoyan.

Unfortunately Elitsa and Stoyan decide to carry the 'same again please' attitude. They managed to navigate 'Samo Shampioni' through the 3-song national selection... complete with all its echoes of 'Water'. Mixing in a ridiculous number of drums, and the occasional skril of bagpipes, it feels more like a greatest hits medley from the duo rather than a new track.

'Samo Shampioni' lacks the coherence that 'Water' had. The various elements work against each other and it's a curious feeling to describe.. .the song doesn't feel comfortable to me, and I suspect that the jurors and televoters agreed.

Following the non-qualification, Bulgaria would withdraw from Eurovision until it decided to call up another former champion.

Semi Final - Points: 45. Placing: 12th. Grand Final - Did not qualify.

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #523:

Bulgaria has historically not done well at the Eurovision Song Contest, only making it to the Grand Final five times in their 15-participation career.

However, when they make it to the Grand Final, they usually do fairly well:

The first time Bulgaria made it to the Grand Final in 2007, they placed 5th thanks to Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov's "Water."

Next, in 2016, Poli Genova's "If Love Was A Crime" placed 4th. The following year, Bulgaria got it's best result from "Beautiful Mess" by Kristian Kostov, which placed second.

Unfortunately, in the final two times Bulgaria made it to the final, they did not do as well, placing sub-tenth:

In 2018, EQUINOX's "Bones" placed 14th, and in 2021 VICTORIA's "Growing Up Is Getting Old" placed a respectable 11th.

[Sources]

Bulgaria, Eurovision.tv.

[kyniathewhovian]

ban Elitsa Todorova from Eurovision

[residentraccoon]

Also Bulgaria just announced their artist for esc 2022 and apparently Stoyan Yankulov is one of the artists?

[deep-hearts-core]

2007 - semifinal

originally posted 7/16/20

We've officially reached the point where I haven't watched the actual shows anymore. I've seen videos of a number of the songs from 2007 and earlier, but I've never watched the full shows. We're also reaching the era of only one semi, which means... well... rankings for me are gonna be a little harder, especially in the semi, because there are twenty-eight songs in this semi, holy shit. Only one semi with more autoqualifiers also means that there's a much larger percentage of songs I only hear once, and as I mentioned in my 2008 ranking sometimes hearing a song again makes a big difference. Bulgaria This song has ascended to epic status in ESC fandom, and for good reason. I've never seen the whole performance before, and... god. Elitsa's chain mail shirt and leather pants actually look good. The instrumental and background staging for this song are so cool. Elitsa's voice works against that instrumental. And, of course, the drums. Stoyan and Elitsa are fucking monsters on the drums, it's so incredibly cool to watch. Israel A weird take on a peace song, but this entry is endearingly quirky in a way. I think each individual section of the song is good, especially the prechorus and the Hebrew rap, and I enjoyed the sort of comedic camerawork and slapstick staging. However, the song seemed to have been stitched together weird, with shaky, unpredictable transitions between sections.

Cyprus I'm really enjoying Evridiki's take on... what is this, synth-rock? This is a pretty good song... like, this is good. This semi really started off strong. I think the staging worked really well with the stage itself here, too. I guess the only part that's questionable is, like, her outfit. Even her vocals are good! I was genuinely thinking the vocals would be bad when this started but I was pleasantly surprised by most of this. Belarus I appreciate the Bond-like feel at the beginning. This is a cool song - definitely typical for 2000s Eurovision, but not in a bad way. I love the guitar here. The staging is also really cool, Dmitry and his dancers are both doing a good job keeping the energy up. My only issue is with his vocals. They're not bad, they're just kinda nasal and I'm not a huge fan.

Iceland Bruh how have all five of these songs been good. Wtf. Strong vocals here and pretty competent staging, but honestly I like this one the least so far because it leans a little too far into the rock genre for my personal taste. You have to admit the vocal line is cool-sounding, though. And that one lyric about the tiger trapped inside his cage makes me think of Nael, Age 6 - yknow, "The tiger. He destroyed his cage". Lol. Georgia A strong debut! The composition of this song goes hard. I think maybe there was some trouble with the sound mixing at the beginning though, Sopho sounded really faint; parts of the staging were also messy. She's a good singer and performer though. I enjoy the sort of enticing feeling the music gives, especially towards the beginning.

Montenegro You have to understand that this is not a bad entry. It's just that all the other songs so far have been so good that this one doesn't make a strong impression. The verses are good, but the staging and camerawork is messy and I'm not a huge fan of the chorus; also Stevan's hairstyle here makes him look like a second-gen Kpop boy. Switzerland This entry is just stupid. Like lyrically it's just... like, what? Okay, vampires, sure. I like the dance routine that goes to this and I think the instrumental is good but the Black guy was the only one with really impressive vocals and the costumes also made it hard for me to like this. Also, the mannequins on stage kept throwing me off - they looked weirdly realistic and my brain kept going "oh shit they have like 12 performers onstage". Moldova The beginning to this is absolutely mesmerizing. Then the singing starts. I don't have anything super against this song - Natalia actually has an amazing voice especially on her more sustained notes and I think aspects of the staging were really cool - but a lot of this just feels clumsy. The outfit, the vocal line, the way Natalia sounds on the verses. Idk. Netherlands It took me a while to get into this one, but I was jamming along to it by the end. The chorus here is especially good. I'm not a huge fan of Edsilia's styling, though. Maybe it was just the 2007 fashion, but I really didn't like her dress. Albania Finally, something that I actually dislike... that sounds bad, but it's hard for me to really categorize the songs when all of them are so good. And there's nothing so objectively bad about Hear My Plea either, it's just boring and not my style. Denmark Not bad, just kind of tacky? Idk. The verses here are nice I guess. I don't have strong feelings about this entry. Croatia Another one that just bores me. It's not bad it just doesn't super draw me in - I also don't super love the male singer's voice. Poland This is another song that's good in two separate pieces, but they don't work put together. The verses are really fun to listen to, and while I don't like the chorus as much it's still good, but the transition between the two just doesn't work. Which is a shame, because the staging and vocals are pretty fun here. Serbia A deserved winner. I think maybe I'm desensitized to this song because it's the one from this year that I've seen performed in full so many times, so I can't really appreciate it the same way I might have in, say, 2016, but this is a great song, and Marija has a very strong voice that really conveys all the feelings she's having while she performs. Czechia I just don't like harder rock music. This is alright and honestly Czechia could have done a lot worse for their debut. Portugal This is one of the better Portuguese entries - which, let me be clear, that is not exactly a high bar. The song is good and Sabrina has a lot of energy and stage presence even if her vocals are kind of shaky. I liked the styling here. I do think the staging could have been a little more cohesive though. North Macedonia Styling here is great, and Karolina's one high note was really well executed. I'm not crazy about the rest of this, though. The vocals for most of the song didn't sound very supported and I'm just not jazzed about the composition here. Norway I personally am of the opinion that Norway has no business sending a Latin dance number, but this is solid - maybe more so than some of the things Spain and Portugal have sent. Guri has a nice enough voice and she and her backing people are good dancers. Malta The CA here aside this song is BAD. Olivia doesn't have a voice that I like and frankly Vertigo as a song is quite boring. That's a no from me, Malta.

Andorra Pop punk is usually something I like at least a little bit. I don't hate this entry - it just could have been better. The English lyrics were clumsy (I would have much preferred this entirely in Catalan) and the singer didn't have a voice I liked and also seemed to be flat a lot. Hungary Not usually a blues fan but I think this is done well... although, like with Norway's entry, this is a genre that I think is weird for a White Hungarian woman to sing. Magdi does have a great voice, though, and while I'm not usually a fan of ubercasual clothes on the Eurovision stage somehow that choice made the song seem more honest here. Estonia Thanks, Estonia, I hate it. Everything about this song is really awkward. Gerli does not have the stage presence she thinks she does, and the song is shouty and hectic and overall just bad.

Belgium The lead singer here has a lot of stage presence, but that can't change the fact that disco is one of my least favorite genres of music. Disco in 2007 played completely straight... I just can't like it. Slovenia I enjoy the stage aesthetics here, but this is another case of the performer not really having the charisma to pull this off. Also, classical vocals in Eurovision are one of those things where I either really love them or really hate them, and in this instance it just doesn't work. Turkey This placed fourth? I honestly can't believe it. Yes, this song is catchy in places, but Turkish Troy Bolton onstage singing about "sweet things" is not my idea of top five material. Not to mention that his vocals were also not so solid.

Austria This is the song that Austria got so pressed over its NQ that they withdrew for three years? Unbelievable. The song itself is actually good, and Eric's a strong singer, but the staging for this is terrible. The silver and red costumes are hard on the eyes, and the ultra-white background gave this entire performance an unfinished quality. Latvia THIS HERE? This is how classical-style vocals in Eurovision can work. The song just makes me feel very warm, idk. All six singers are incredibly good and the song is really well done - it doesn't feel dated, but it's true to genre.

My personal qualifiers Cyprus Bulgaria Serbia Hungary Latvia Netherlands Georgia Iceland Belarus Norway Miscellaneous thoughts Both the opening and interval acts were really cool to watch! I especially liked the choral performance in the interval. Having the hosts draw for the starting number in the final is... fascinating. I don't think it's a bad idea, in the era of the random draw... Mikko is getting so excited during the draw, I love that for him. TBH I really am enjoying Mikko and Jaana as hosts! They're really funny, have a great platonic chemistry with each other, and they're working with a great script.

[beagledeers]

Basically i’m making a eurovision au where everyone has powers,,,,and the contest is basically a turnament and the winner of every year’s contest wins a place in the “peace council” or something like that.

But something oqqured in 2013 and since then the competition has completely changed

Now the winner gets imprisoned and has their powers stollen because apparently they are “too powerful”

Kristian is the main character, a boy who came second and once he stsrted to learn the truth from elitsa and stoyan, former bulgarian representatives, he decides to reqruite a team so that they can make the contest to what it used to be

The au is still WIP and more drawings are coming soon

It’ll be in short comics or maybe longer ones if i have time

Here’s a drawing of kris

If you have suggestions for the name of this au please tell me