#why did israel get so much of the jury vote???

[nettlestingsoup]

eurovision results were wrong and i'm mad about it

[gemsofgreece]

OK some things about Greece's Marina Satti results and we're done with this

JK I am not done with Marina I love her but we're done with the circus Marina was in, for another year

So, she is a perfectionist but I hope she will soon understand how much SHE SUCCEEDED. And it will look like a love delirium but no I am not being biased.

Marina Satti got 11th place. Missed Top 10 by one. She was basically killed by the juries.

In the televoting she won 8th place. So she was in the top 10 of all people's votes. She was also 8th in the votes from the Rest of the World, which is a big deal in my opinion.

I won't be mad at the juries because their voting overall made sense in many ways and we were aware that Zari was a not jury-friendly song in any way. It had zurna, it had rap, obviously juries don't go for this stuff. So, it's okay. We knew that.

BUT Marina Satti got 8th - 11th place:

By singing exclusively in the Greek language.

By singing in an entirely Balkan, eastern melody during a year that a lot of the Balkans and East Europe had withdrawn from the contest.

By kinda rapping / reggaetoning, which is generally hated in Eurovision.

By doing exactly her thing, despite knowing how much she would be fought by certain people.

By knowingly choosing the very risky song instead of a ballad and a typical dance song that she also had available as options.

By not trying to be "understood" and get sympathy votes.

By being given a tiny budget from the Greek delegation, much smaller than any previous years including to last year's NQ lame tycoon nephew entry. So GD gave a famous artist like Marina much less money than to those small unknown kids that had gone before her. WTF

By being hated for her song and her (genius) music video and a large percentage of the population writing in English and asking foreigners to not vote for her and blaming her for insulting Greece, Greek culture etc (HINT: No she did not insult it and a blog called gemsofgreece tells you that so relax) and insulting her, her morals, her family, her father's descent and her talent relentlessly for three months

By the unprecedented thing of the freaking SHOWBIZ of the country making openly insulting attacks against her and her song. Like, seriously, there were FAMOUS celebrities going on TV and calling her song "cat vomit", a fashion designer (before her dress choice lol) saying she should go to Eurovision naked because there's no other hope for her to get votes. I am serious. You might say, oh, she must have done something. NO. Guys, no. She has never said or done anything wrong to any celebrity in the country as far as I am aware. She was attacked by musicians, fashion designers, TV shows and honestly nobody knows why. It's a different thing to not like something than to get a polemic position openly as a celebrity against another famous person. This has never happened before, I don't remember anything like this. Celebrities shitting on another artist's effort out of nowhere, especially in advance. To put it simply, now that Marina will have to return to Greece (poor thing), she has good reasons to sue half the country.

By losing her father one month ago.

By getting pretty ill during the semi-final, losing her voice and being administrated medication every three hours.

By suffering chronically from severe anxiety, which is why she refused three prior propositions from the Greek delegation to represent the country.

Well, by receiving a new massive wave of hate from people from or supporting Israel and the Greek government controlled media and press, who all started a fierce campaign against her the last two days before the final. The reason was that she showed intentionally boredom / sleepiness during the time the Israeli contestant was speaking. Make of that what you will, I am only presenting the facts of how her placement was formed here. Many Jewish people wrote they had voted her in the semi but now they wouldn't. I believe because Israel is an eastern country, probably several people of Jewish descent voted for her and then all those votes were lost. It's no matter, I am just explaining that she would probably otherwise be 7th in the televoting, 10th overall. Here we analyze if Marina succeeded her goal, we don't nitpick for Eurovision's sake.

And as you see, she succeeded. With all the odds against her, with a LOT of people hating her and making her life harder and her effort impossible, with the loss of her father, she succeeded in her vision. Bring back Greek language, the eastern sound and having the world dance with it. Shoutout to Armenia who also succeeded in this and made top 10, the song was a little more conventional. Let's be real, Satti achieved all this with a VERY difficult song. The definition of a difficult song and in a little known language. Nothing else, just congratulations to her and I hope she realises all this and does not let her trademark anxiety and perfectionism get the better of her. Also, she really created an international fan community with this and I think there are good things coming for her in the future :)))))

PS1: Odds had her 8th-10th place but they underestimated the juries and the last day's hate she got. In general odds were not very successful this year.

PS2. No worries Greek and Cypriot televoting exchanged the 12 points again :D

PS3: to the ageist haters who wondered why she looks 20 though she is 38, kitties reach her age and you will be crying to look like her

PS4: Marina’s 8th place in televoting was the best placement since 2013, surpassing Amanda and Stefania with the English jury friendly songs 😃😃😃 Greek delegation take a bloody hint

[goodold-fashionedlovergirl]

The whole jury topic hasn’t left my head, so I thought I’ll put my notes down here.

I've also put down who the German and Austrian jury was (not names but jobs) so I'd be interested if anybody knows who was in your countries jury and if it's as imbalanced as the ones I found.

So my first opinion is that I am not against jurys overall, however, I think they need an overhaul.

Jurys exist because some time ago people said that Eastern European countries just give each other all the votes and this is unfair. That is obviously not true and also Juries don’t stop voting blocks (looking at you, Greece and Cyprus).

In my opinion, the role of the Jury should be an impartial judge of the music that is presented, and give votes to the countries that send songs that aren’t very accessible to a viewer when you hear it the first time.

Technical the jury has a set of things they should look out for when voting:

Vocal capacity of the artist(s)

Performance on stage

Composition and originality of the song

Overall impression of the act

For example, The Swiss song Watergun was memed because a Swiss guy sings about not wanting to be a soldier. He won’t be because he is lucky enough to live in a country that is historically neutral. As a viewer, you think this is silly and make jokes. You might get turned off from voting for him because you disagree with the message that he sends out. If you are in the Jury of a country this shouldn’t matter. You should have heard the song, and thought “This man has extremely good vocals, I’ll mark him up for that”.

(Also, not sure if everybody is aware of that: the jury doesn’t vote on the same show we saw on Saturday - there is a Jury Finale the day before. Apparently, Norway had some troubles with her vocals on that day which is why she got a lower score.)

I’m also gonna say this: the categories mentioned above absolutely do not warrant Loreens incredible lead in the Jury votes (as a reminder, she had 340 points. Israel the second placed only got 177 points) I don’t think a 163-point difference is that fair, what did Loreen do that was so much better compared to Noa Kirel? The stage show was impressive for both, I don’t think either of the songs was particularly original.

On the other hand, Blanca Paloma from Spain only got 95 points. Eaea is a song that I had to listen to about 6 times before it clicked for me, so it’s not a very accessible song. However, she has amazing vocals (I’d go so far to say she was the best female vocalist on that day), and the staging was great. To be honest I thought she would be in the top 3 of the jury vote just for that.

This is why I’m now thinking that the Jury didn’t do the job that I think they have. I did a quick google and found out about some of the juries of the evening:

Austria:

Editor of a radio channel (Alternative/ pop is mainly played there)

A music journalist

A journalist for the culture editorial office

A Schlager singer

a bass player for a pop band (that was a bit hard to find as the first thing you find of this guy is that he makes lamp)

Germany: 

an actress/singer who was in Eurovision in the 70s, 

a pop-singer and songwriter

a music agent who got started as the drummer in a pop band 

the singer of a pop band who was also in the talk of representing Germany this year

the head of music of a radio channel - from a quick google search the radio station mainly plays pop

5 people 4 of them are in pop music. Not quite diverse is it?

I have also looked if I can find who was in the Swiss jury this year but didn’t find anything yet. (I looked for the German-speaking countries, as I am German speaking)

However, just from the 2 juries, I think I know where one of the problems is: they are extremely pop music focused.

To get a meaningful jury vote, I would love to see some diversity. Get songwriters in there. Or maybe a theatre director? All countries have a national opera, I’m sure some staging driector could judge on the performance on stage. A vocal coach who isn’t just in pop music. I also think that 5 people isn’t big enough to get the diversity you need. Make it 10 people! And don’t add people who are on a radio station, they will vote for what they can play.

Also why I am not about to say that the jury needs to be abolished completely, this is the Televote only score:

Blanca Paloma is an incredible singer as already said - it’s just not a song you hear once and love immediately. Also, I may be biased but Austria doesn’t deserve only 16 points. 

Unfortunately, the running order has a big input into the Televote score. Example: maybe you are still out, come home late and decide to switch on Eurovision during song 10. Or you just forget what song #5 sounded like.

Some of you might take notes for every song and decide who you call for after careful consideration. I can say that I don’t do that, I have my favourite that I vote for and I’ve decided that a few days if not weeks before the show.

But I don’t think the jury should have so much power. I think a 75 % public vote and a 25 % jury vote would be fair. This way the public that pays for every vote is more powerful, while songs that could be overlooked by the general public can still get a shot.

[olympeline]

Now I’ve watched my first Eurovision, here are some thoughts and opinions on the results:

I don’t think Nemo deserved to win. His song was good, don’t get me wrong, but there were others that were better (Croatia, France, Israel). I’d put him in the top quarter but not at #1. I’m not on social media bar this little niche account but I’ve heard people are saying he won because he’s transgender. And because Switzerland is a traditionally neutral country. I don’t believe that, personally. It’s too tinfoil hat conspiracy theory for me. I think he won because the jury thought The Code was the best song for the radio. As in it’s the candidate likely to have mass appeal and sell the most singles. That’s my theory anyway 🇨🇭

And yeah, I agree with everyone else: Croatia was robbed. I don’t understand this result at all. Why was the jury so hard on him? My only theory is it’s a case of professional critics being snobby and deciding that because the public likes something it automatically becomes low brow and less artistic? That’s the only reason I can think of. Seriously two twelves out of thirty-seven? Whyyyy. I’m 100% on team #AbolishTheJury after this 🥲 🇭🇷

I didn’t like Ireland’s entry when I first listened to it and I still think the vocals are weak but the act as a whole? Strongest visuals in the competition. Just top tier costumes and staging. Is it right to do that well in a song contest if you’re carried by visuals? Hmmm. I don’t know. Like strip away all that flash and would you put Bambie Thug that high? Hmm. Uuhh? Mmmm? Not sure. It was like the opposite of France’s entry which had minimal effects and was carried solely by his song. So yeeaahh, IDK? Don’t know how I feel about Ireland’s high ranking. I could go either way 🇮🇪

Speaking of France, OMG, what a beautiful performance! Easily the strongest vocals in the contest. The emotion as he sang gave me shivers. Croatia is my #1 but if Baby Lasagna wasn’t there I would have voted for Slimane. I’ve heard he’s already huge in France and I can see why! Mon amour 🇫🇷

Israel’s song was also just beautiful. So sad and heartfelt too. I heard Eden (sorry, forgot her surname) is only twenty? If so, wow! Was she the youngest in the whole contest? Either way that’s super young and yet she did an amazing job! I can’t imagine that much pressure at that age. She should be very proud 🇮🇱

Such a bummer that Joost got canned. I bet he kicked himself all the way home. Europapa was one of my favourite entries and I think it would have done really well if he was allowed to perform. Like I said, a real bummer but then you can’t go around punching people behind the scenes. They were right to disqualify him for that. Hopefully he apologises and his career can move on from this sad incident 🇳🇱

I’m surprised Spain scored so low. I thought Zorra would have done better. It was catchy and had a good message. Maybe it just got lost in the shuffle? Or was it because it wasn’t in English? I don’t know. Oh well. I still enjoyed it 🇪🇸

I don’t think Olly Alexander deserved zero points from the public. His song wasn’t that bad! IDK but I would have thought that for an entry to get zero, they’d have to be genuinely awful. As in nothing redeemable whatsoever. Dizzy wasn’t that. Don’t misunderstand, I don’t think Dizzy deserved anything higher than mid, but no points at all? Too harsh. At least Olly already has a career to go back to. Still must have been crushing when the points were read out. Though he took it like a champ. Poor guy 🇬🇧

Finland was so much fun! What an absolute madlad. I unironically love No Rules! and the staging was so clever too. I wish he got more points though I’m not really surprised he didn’t. Still. We all need more Windows95Man in our lives 🇫🇮

I’m surprised Portugal did so well. Sorry to all my portubros but I found her song pretty boring. I couldn’t even remember it when the results were being read out. I think I get why the jury loved Switzerland so much but their love for Portugal confuses me. I guess they saw something in the song I didn’t? Different strokes 🇵🇹

Did Norway deserve to come last? It’s another one I have trouble remembering so ehhh, mayyybeee? It’s hard because I don’t think any of the entries were outright bad. Just some were a bit dull and didn’t leave much of an impression on me. I suppose last place has to go to someone. Hopefully next year will be better for them 🇳🇴

[hystericwaterbender]

I'm honestly starting to feel bad for Loreen because she's actually a great artist and the song wasn't bad per se but.... yeah this wasn't her year, finland definetly deserved the win. She's gonna get so much hate she doesen't deserve just because of the jury votes.

On a related note fuck Israel why are you still here and why did you get more points than Italy how aushvsjsywbshs

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Okay, a few thoughts on the Semi Final 1 acts

1. Norway 🇳🇴 - Alessandra was kind of a let down. Maybe it's because she was opening the entire Contest and the show got to her but her performance at her national final remains superior. More energy, more passion and you could tell she was actually enjoying it. The crowd went crazy when they still hadn't announced her as a qualifier though so, obviously, she's still gonna do okay. But I saw a tweet that next year's Contest would definitely be held in one of the three Nordics of Semi 1. Not in Norway, I don't think.

2. Malta 🇲🇹 - Such a shame honestly. I can't see why this song never got the hype it deserved. It's peak Eurovision, it's fun and The Busker gave their everything on that stage. It's made even more frustrating because y'all know this would have qualified in the second Semi 🙂

3. Serbia 🇷🇸 - Wow. The crowd went absolutely crazy during Luke's performance. They even chanted the "secret" 'bitch' part 🤣 He really was great. I expect perhaps a bit more in the final now that's he's secured his place in it.

4. Latvia 🇱🇻 - I said it last night too, the last few seconds were they all sing / mouth the Latvian part were haunting. I almost teared up. But, yeah, ultimately I can also see why they didn't make it. Maybe a jury would have saved them but I don't think they would have gotten an overwhelming amount of points from them either because Remo would have syphoned them up, and as we saw he was still able to qualify on televoting alone so yeah.

5. Portugal 🇵🇹 - WOW. Miss girl. Miss mother. She brought her A+ game alright! Everyone has been hyping up her performance style since Festival da Canção and the pre parties. Because the song is only ok but her performance really elevates it to new heights. I only started feeling really good about this after her rehearsal footage but wow. It was even better! Mimicat really ate that stage up. I don't wanna say she was a pleasant surprise because we knew she would qualify, but she did even better than expected is all in saying.

6. Ireland 🇮🇪 - I liked the song but yeah the performance was not on par with everyone else's. I felt he may have been kinda nervous? Idk.

7. Croatia 🇭🇷 - I have been watching them perform this song ever since their national final and I was still not ready for... that. I can't imagine people's reactions seeing them for the first time 😂 Amazing. This is how you do a political song. Zoran's vocals were also better live this time.

8. Switzerland 🇨🇭 - Remo's vocals were really good. We were pretty much guaranteed to have that but even I was pleasantly surprised. Out of all the sad slow songs his was definitely the best and the juries are gonna eat him up. I gotta say his message is a tiny bit tone deaf though like, he keeps saying that he's in an age that usually Swiss guys get drafted in the army and that he couldn't imagine being in an actual war like... Sweetie, what are you saying 🤣 I doubt comically neutral Switzerland is gonna send you to war anytime soon, and if the Swiss army is anything like the Greek one, you're just gonna do lots of chores, maybe some desk work and a couple of patrols. You're gonna be okay trust me! But then again, Europe is pretty tone deaf on most issues so this is ultimately a good fit.

9. Israel 🇮🇱 - The second disappointment of the night 😬 Like, you don't understand, every day at the gym, her and Alessandra usually come back to back on the playlist and they literally give me so much energy boost 😂 I didn't get that last night. The song is still messy, it's like BLACKPINK and she, apparently has the questionable vocals to match. Yay 😬 She killed the dance break of course so at least she's got that on BLACKPINK but she's no Eleni Foureira, no Chanel. They both danced throughout their performances as well but were still able to give good vocals, Chanel even hit a high note after her dance break. If she doesn't fix her vocals by the final the juries are gonna vote her down. Hard.

10. Moldova 🇲🇩 - Like Mimicat, Pasha also did better than expected. I honestly don't remember his 2012 entry, other than it's title, but this will stay for years! Yes it's this year's Shum, just like Fulenn was last year's, but Europe clearly enjoys pagan rituals in the forest so I hope someone continues to perform them each year. Maybe it's a secret EBU rule; someone has to do the ritual to appease Martin Osterhdal otherwise he'll invite America or sth.

11. Sweden 🇸🇪 - Miss Queen killed it ok. When I saw her Melodifestivalen performance I wasn't sure about the weird LED sandwich thing and I honestly couldn't understand what the fuck she was saying, and when I saw rehearsal footage of the smaller Liverpool LED I felt her staging got fucked a bit but they actually found the proper camera angles to make it work. Loreen sounded amazing, probably the best female vocals of last night, so yeah I can honestly see this winning again.

12. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 - They were cute. Wholesome. But that's about it. This was such an inoffensive performance but I feel like it was ultimately not memorable at all too.

13. Czechia 🇨🇿 - Oh my god, the Vesna ladies KILLEDT itt!! So happy and proud of them. They became my favourites during rehearsals not only because Austria didn't bring it as much as I wanted but also because their act itself is amazing. Nothing more to add. Very happy.

14. Netherlands 🇳🇱 - Wow. I feel so sad for them, because they got a lot of shit in the last few months about their vocals and I guess it was kind of justified based on this performance, Dion's at least because Mia kind of kept it consistent but... Yeah 😬 I hope they still had fun though because they look like genuinely nice people, all of them this year. I honestly don't think there's any annoying contestants this year so losing any of them genuinely feels crushing this year, but I feel extra sad for Mia and Dion because, after Blanka, I feel like they might have been trashed the most this year.

15. Finland 🇫🇮 - He's bringing it alright. The performance is really nice and it's basically what I expected of him. The dances are also very much into this. They're giving a lot of drama and I love that. At times I was actually focusing on them instead of Kääri. The crowd went absolutely crazy too. Probably the loudest response. However... The vocals during the end 😬 Oof. If he doesn't fix that by the final the juries are gonna go after him hard.

[cheapsweets]

Eurovision 2023

Trying to process my thoughts about last night in the form of a tumblr post...

Firstly, which songs are stuck in my head today? Well, Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä (Finland), natch, but also Promise by Voyager (Australia), and Who the hell is Edgar? by Teya and Selena (Austria)

Positives

Croatia's Let 3 made it to the left of the board! Yesss!

I'd normally be the first person to criticise the BBC, but I actually feel they did a good job considering. Admittedly my expectations going into this were kinda low, but they didn't make it too, erm, BBC 😅

Also, Hannah Waddingham. New favourite Eurovision presenter. Clearly feeling very protective of Julia Sanina. Presence, crowd control ("We don't boo in this house"). Queen.

Abolishing the jury vote from the semi-finals was a big success. Not all of my favourites got through (sorry Iceland 😢 ), but we had some amazing performers reach the finals that I'm not convinced would have in previous years.

Negatives

There were a number of artists whos performances in the final were not as good as in the semis... I'm thinking particularly Serbia and Australia, which were two of my favourites coming into the final.

Why did Germany and Spain score so badly? I keep telling myself that part of the answer to that is the old thing about the way the points work, if a song is everyone's 11th favourate out of the 26 entries, it'll get zero points, but still... I feel these were objectively two of the best performances of the night, both technically and in terms of everything else. Still very annoyed by this, they were two of my favourites. At least no-one got nil points this year.

On a related note, who was voting for Israel and Poland?! I know that musical taste is a personal thing (believe me, I know :D ) but Poland's song had no energy to it, and the highlight picked for Iceland was the dance break, with no singing...

?????

I'm not sure what else I can add about the winner/second place that hasn't already been said. We love out green cha cha cha-ing blorbo. Europe loves him. The legend of Käärijä will live on!

Related, I felt that Loreen's performance in the reprise was much better than during the main part of the competition... what happened?

Norway put in a very technical performance, and I really want to like it, but as I've been saying all week, there wasn't enough texture, not enough light and shade to the song as it was peformed. We were also missing the growl in Alessandra's vocals from the semi.

Where was the audience interaction? I get that the focus is always going to be getting votes from home, so a lot of the staging will focus on that, but it's still a live music event, and it was disappointing to only notice Belgium and Germany playing to the crowd.

I've yet to listen to the recorded versions of the songs yet (that's my lunch time listening this week), but from what I hear from @itseverydaybear some of the songs that didn't make a great impression in the semis sound much better. I suspect there will be some sleeper hits in there...

Anyhow, catch you later, just going to listen to The HARDKISS and Jann (Poland televoter's choice to represent them this year - once again for those at the back, time to abolish juries...!)

As a bonus, here's Lord of the Lost covering Queen of Kings (they have even more covers on their youtube chanel, it's worth a look!)

[peensstuff]

eurovision 2023 was a MESS

ok, since everyone is raving about kaarija shouldve won (and rightfully so), im gonna try and get a bit of appreciation for some of the acts this year who DID NOT deserve how little points they got 

First of all: WILD YOUTH!

ok so i really dont understand how wild youth didnt pass through the grand final and end up with a top 10 finish? because they did SO WELL ON STAGE!! their golden shower on stage looked PHENOMENAL (hint hint) and their pre-recorded backing vocals were FLAWLESSSS, especially when backstage autotune conor sang for on-stage conor when his hands got too tired to hold the mic up to his mouth! 

i loved how conor was serving ‘child lost in the mall and cant find mummy’ realness with his captivating gaze and IMMENSE stage presence.. and while most acts this year stuck to serving metaphorical cunt, wild youth pulled themselves together to serve literal cunt too?!?!?! like tell me how that isnt deserving of a top 10 finish

lets take the time to mourn wild youth’s tragic deaths and move on to the next robbed act: CYPRUS

someone please tell me how he got 126 points in the final??? like i didnt even realise until the results were finished that he got to where he was on the scoreboard?? and then i was hit with such deep and profound waves of sadness because HOW. HOW DID CYPRUS GET THERE?

you know what, im going to be appreciative instead of bitter because you cant break a broken heart (rip ireland), and im going to say that im so glad that this beautiful song appealed to so many voters all across europe and the rest of the world because, frankly, i was terrified for andy’s chances in the final, and i didnt grasp how many people could appreciate the niche of love-island-shirtless-man-kisses-bikini-lady-as-they-make-up-from-a-5-second-fight-with-BOOM-wiwibloggs-eque-sound-effects (as opposed to the more popular genres like latvia’s)

im so happy for you, andrew lambrou, and even though i know that you and your grippers were robbed, i just want to say i that i wish you (and your grippers) a lifetime of success, and i hope that you (and, you guessed it, your grippers) receive many more 12 points from the greek jury in the future. 

moving on to another robbed act.. POLAND

first of all, let me just mention how much hate blanka got, especially during the preparty season? come on guys, eurofans arent meant to be like this - we can’t just go and send so much unfounded hate on someone because what did blanca even do wrong?

im gonna try and be more positive for this one too... blancka went out there and did ONE OF THE BEST dance breaks ever in EUROVISION HISTORY - like, shes rivaling the likes of chanel and eleni

ok for those of you that dont understand, let me analyse a bit... 

Blanka dances with a certain stiffness, and her movements may even be described as slightly robotic, which may, at first glance, seem like a bad thing to the untrained eye. But, the lack of fluidity is far from a lack of skill, its an act of storytelling. Blanca is nervous, she’s afraid to express herself to the fullest. She’s scared of going solo. Even though the lyrics of the song are filled with positivity and a sense of freedom, Blanka expertly reveals that she is terrified of being independent again, and I think that showing such vulnerability through her inflexible and reserved dancing to Eurovision’s immeasurably large audience is so, so beautiful.

AHEM. cough.

and after all of that, she still got paid DUST by the juries (like 12 points? really?). this here is the sole reason why the jury should be abolished, or at least reformed in eurovision. the juries are meant to vote for the objective best song and the best overall package but hello? where are blanka’s votes? 

disgusting. 

ok, next up is.. unfortunately, QUEEN NOA KIREL FROM ISRAEL

i can’t believe she only got third place

[eurovision-revisited]

The Best National Final of 1999

Before I get into why Şarkı Yarışması 1999 is the best national final of 1999, let's talk about what the hell is going on with national finals generally in 1999.

The rules shake up with televoting coming in has spooked many delegations. After Greece's experiment with a selection final last year, this time round France goes for it. But half-heartedly. They still have 50% jury voting, and they have also included an orchestra when Eurovision doesn't have one. Others carry on in the same vein as before to see what happens. Weirdly it feels as if no country wants to take a big risk, with a couple of honourable exceptions.

One of those is Türkiye. Their set up is the same as before, but after their good results in the mid-1990s their confidence is growing. The production values of Şarkı Yarışması 1999 are a big step forward. The selection of songs they have to chose from is also great, with few poor entries and many stand-out numbers. They many not have selected what, in my opinion, is the best song they could have done, but it was great showing nonetheless.

Equal with Şarkı Yarışması 1999 in terms of song selection was The Great British Song Contest 1999. In fact it probably had a better set of songs to choose from. However the BBC's lack of investment in it led to the two best songs never making it to TV. The whole of the TV section of the competition once again feels like a special episode of Top of the Pops - itself becoming a faded star in 1999.

The French final is fun and generally more varied than others. A good live experience, but not quite suited to the Eurovision final as it had become.

Given that the final in Jerusalem in 1999 and there's still wars going on in the Balkans and in Africa, there's a lot of peace and love type entries. There are fewer jokes entries in 1999, national finals. Even those that are there seem to have some actual intent about them other than just making a fool of themselves and the whole concept of Eurovision. There are several countries which explicitly include a song that directly address Israel and Jerusalem in a positive way. The most notable of these is Germany.

The Countdown Grand Prix 1999 in Germany is a weird final. Not only did the winner get disqualified for a song that had been released two years prior to the final, the whole enterprise has become rowdier with an excitable and reactionary crowd. There's loud booing of some acts, and I don't know if this is wholly booing against favoured songs or if in each case, like with Patrick Lindner, there's specific reasons.

Of course Sanremo is great, but again RAI, Italy's not in Eurovision so I can't select it as the best national final of 1999.

So much indecision and tiptoeing around in 1999 - it's not clear where all of this heading, but at least some countries are having fun. Thank you Türkiye and the UK for this year.

[totaldramafan-lauri]

Thoughts on the second semifinal’s non-qualifiers

Cyprus: This is one I actually didn’t see coming! I thought this would qualify! This is a really good song, and it’s not like Cyprus to be overlooked like that! I’m not SUPER upset - it wasn’t one of my absolute favorites, but it was still in my top ten, and this did throw me off a bit. If I had to guess, this was probably 11th, and Czech Republic was probably 10th.

Georgia: Yyyyyyyeah, they had no chance. XD A very love-it-or-hate-it, weird little song. I personally kinda liked it, but purely cuz it’s one of the catchiest things I’ve ever heard in my life. Catchiness alone doesn’t make qualifier material.

Ireland: I feel so BAD for Ireland! I want them to be thrown a flipping bone! Their past three to four entries have all been good songs that got unlucky. Including this one! This was such a fun song, and the staging was pretty cool! But it got screwed over by having such strong competition. I knew this was gonna happen, and it wasn’t one of my favorites, so I’m not upset. At least they had fun, but still...

Israel: The first time Israel failed to qualify in eight seven years! This is another one I thought had a good chance at qualifying, but wasn’t super sure. Turns out, my suspicions about being screwed over by performing second were true. This was a fun song with fun staging, but it wasn’t the ONLY fun song with fun staging, and being so early on did it in. Also, this is the kinda thing that WILL be divisive - some people HATE this level of camp. I personally like the song (mainly cuz of....reasons I won’t get into here), but for those reasons, I’m not super surprised it didn’t qualify. He doesn’t need votes to know he’s stunning, cuz he knows he is!

Malta: Underrated favorite number one. I love this song and its message so flipping much, and she sounded great live!.....But yeah I called it. There was no way this was qualifying. Not many people were in the mood for something that’s been done before, when so much of this semi was full of fun, well-staged, and cool songs. When you get right down to it, this was just a self-love ballad. A GOOD self-love ballad, but nowhere near good enough to stand out to anyone....but me. I still love it. I still like being reminded I’m fine the way I am....

Montenegro: Underrated favorite number two. Called this one, too. I ADORE this song, but it was never a popular pick. I couldn’t tell you WHY I love it so much other than “it pretty”, but yeah! I even already loved it before learning what it’s about! But this was definitely a case where yeah, it was just me. I didn’t expect people to agree with me. And I’m not upset at all. At least underrated favorite number three (Romania) actually managed to qualify, which was more than I expected outta this powerful semifinal!

North Macedonia: Called this one. It’s just a ballad. There were better ballads. I do like this song a fair bit, but I don’t love it. It’s just....a nice ballad with a nice chorus. That’s all! And it’s from North Macedonia. Let’s face it, they’re probably never qualifying again unless the juries love them again like in 2019. Their luck is just THAT bad. XD

San Marino: Proof that you can’t reach the final on attitude alone! This kinda reminded me of “Space” (Montenegro 2017) in that it was a REALLY fun performance that the audience got super into, but the actual song - y’know, the thing we’re actually supposed to vote for - is mid. Definitely not good enough to help San Marino qualify. I still had a blast watching this, though. The outfit! The BULL! I was so confused! XD As Graham Norton once said about this kinda situation: “Why? Because it’s Eurovision”

[crystal-methionine]

The Post-Eurovision ranking and comments from an American that nobody asked for:

1. Switzerland 🇨🇭 Gjon’s Tears - Tout l’univers: I absolutely was enamored by this song, its artistry, and the artist. He can really sing and one of my early favorites from this year. So happy for him to get in the top 3 bc it was well deserved. 100/10

2. Italy 🇮🇹 Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni: Deserved winners. As queer as you can get and I am here for it. Another early favorite of mine constantly fighting with Switzerland for the top spot. 100/10

3. Iceland 🇮🇸 Dadi og Gagnamagnid - 10 Years: A beautiful song dedicated to his wife and deserved Top 5 for sure. Last year’s song would have won hands down so I’m bummed he couldn’t win the first one for Iceland but brilliant song and I hope the group stays together to produce more music. 99/10

4. Bulgaria 🇧🇬 Victoria - Growing Up Is Getting Old: Eurovision fandom will forever say Imaginary Friend or Ugly Cry was the better song to send, but I don’t think they would have won the contest either. This year was strong, and I personally think Growing Up was a perfect choice from Victoria. It deserved top 10 so I was pissed that it came 11th on the night and received so few televotes. 97/10

5. Ukraine 🇺🇦 Go_A - SHUM: To all y’all who said this wouldn’t qualify when the new version came out, eat those words hun. This was a masterpiece, and the live performances just elevated it further. Honestly, Kateryna could step on me, and I would let her. Who doesn’t love an ethnic modern fusion rave? 95/10

6. Serbia 🇷🇸 Hurricane - Loco Loco: I honestly have to say when it came out, it was never breaking my top 20, but here we are. This group of gals is amazing. The choreo, hairography, and the still great vocals won my gay ass over. They served and deserved top 10 in my eye. 90/10

7. Greece 🇬🇷 Stefania - Last Dance: Much like Serbia, I kinda dismissed this as a top 10 song at first, but after many listens and then the live shows, it was one of the best songs this year. Last year’s song was nowhere near a qualifier for me, and then I thought they had a good chance of being top 5 this year. Amazing improvement and can’t wait to see what comes next from Stefania. 80/10

8. Malta 🇲🇹 Destiny - Je me casse: Not going to lie, the studio definitely did more for me. It was up with Italy and Switzerland for winner contention until the live shows. Don’t get me wrong, Destiny is still amazing live, and the song is a deserved top 5 song. However, the costume and staging just really didn’t add to the song and I think detracted a bit. Her song last year was also much better in my opinion. 75/10

9. San Marino 🇸🇲 Senhit ft Flo Rida - Adrenalina: Oh boy this was a party, and the fact Flo Rida actually was there made it even better. The staging and costuming was absolutely camp, and I was here for it. This was definitely not underrated by fans beforehand, but the jury and televote were beyond robberies in my opinion. Granted I know the backing vocals were carrying the chorus a lot so in terms of vocals, I can see where this song got dinged, but this should have been San Marino’s best ever result at Eurovision, and it wasn’t so I’m mad. 60/10

10. France 🇫🇷 Barbara Pravi - Voila: The new Edith Piaf and probably one of the most representative of the country’s culture for a song. A definite deserved runner up on the night but for me 10th place. I loved the staging, the costume, the emotions. It was all right for Eurovision and me. 50/10

11. Cyprus 🇨🇾 Elena Tsingarou - El Diablo: Come through Cyprus with another female pop banger. I’d say if the formula ain’t broke don’t fix it, but wasn’t really enough to crack top 10 this year. Another early favorite of mine this year but soon got eclipsed. Still going to be listening to El Diablo for a while. 49/10

12. Russia 🇷🇺 Manizha - Russian Woman: I can’t lie that at first, this song was absolutely trash to me but quickly rose the ranks and became one of my faves. Same thing happened last year with Uno. We also always love a good female empowerment moment with the native language thrown in. Manizha is a girlboss without the gaslighting and a true queen. Deserved top 10 the night of. 40/10

13. Lithuania 🇱🇹 The Roop - Discoteque: An earworm for first listen and was top 10 for a while for me but like Cyprus, lost out to some others. No doubt this is a deserved top 10 the night of. 35/10

14. Croatia 🇭🇷 Albina - Tick Tock: The first song to get me pressed on it’s placement. Deserved to be in the final over both Israel and Norway (please come for me I don’t care). They freakin rocked that stage during the semis and the song is absolutely a bop. Albina deserved better. 30/10

15. Sweden 🇸🇪 Tusse - Voices: A beautiful song by an amazing artist. Sure the lyrics were a bit cliche Eurovision but guess what...it’s Eurovision. I can hear the voices. Keep carrying on Tusse. 25/10

16. Albania 🇦🇱 Anxehla Peristeri - Karma: This song grew on me a lot. I liked it but wasn’t a don’t skip for a while on my playlist. The live performance changed it for me. She slayed and the staging was everything for Miss Thing. Also native language brownie points. 24/10

17. Finland 🇫🇮 Blind Channel - Darkside: Before you come for me for having this at 17th, keep reading. I’m not a big fan of the lyrics but the song is absolutely fantastic. This style of music isn’t something I pull out on a playlist often, but I had my middle fingers up for this one (and pointed at Germany but we’ll discuss later). Deserved top 10 as they rocked it on stage. 20/10

18. The Netherlands 🇳🇱 Jeangu Macrooy - Birth of a New Age: I absolutely do not understand the hate for this song. I was also a huge fan of Grow last year so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised for being generally alone again. The fact it got 0 points in the televote and only 11 in the jury is not surprising but extremely disappointing to me. This song is a masterpiece much like the ones ranked above it. Jeangu, you are amazing and deserved so much better than this. 20/10

19. Belgium 🇧🇪 Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place: Fantastic song but fantastic artists. Always here for a dark pop moment. Gonna go get my own Johnny Cash T-shirt. 15/10

20. Spain 🇪🇸 Blas Cantó - Voy a Quedarme: Such a heartfelt ballad. I enjoyed it quite a bit and don’t understand the hate it has. Didn’t deserve 0 points in the televote. 14/10

21. Denmark 🇩🇰 Fyr og Flamme - Øve Os På Hinanden: Look we all know this song is cheesy but it’s the cheesiest Velveeta queso loco so it’s ranked so high in my opinion. This is a nod to the whacky and weird Eurovision I love. It’s always in my head and I always find myself dancing along. Deserved to be in the final over two of the songs in Semi 2. 13/10

22. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Efendi - Mata Hari: As far as the song goes, it’s enjoyable, but the stage show was a hot mess in my opinion. The choreo looked a mess and the different sheer legging configurations on the backup dancers was not the correct fashion choice in my opinion as I was distracted by the thought of why are they all different. Did deserve their spot in the final though. 12/10

23. Moldova 🇲🇩 Natalia Gordienko - Sugar: The studio version of this song is a heavily replayed one on my playlist bc of the drop and dance-ability of the song. However the downfall of the song was it’s live performance. The staging was fine and the choreo was great but those attempted sexy whisper vocals were not the choice to go with. I don’t want to sugar-coat this 😝 so they were terrible. Glad she made it but I felt her position in the final was one of just pure luck. 11/10

24. UK 🇬🇧 James Newman - Embers: The nul points was a huge ass oof. This song isn’t bad but I can see where people didn’t vote for it bc it’s not super memorable in terms of who all was participating this year. I like the song and always sing and dance along. 10/10

25. Israel 🇮🇱 Eden Alene - Set Me Free: This is how to do a revamp and be successful. Eden is a fantastic artist who can clearly sing, but the live performance was not all that sans the whistle tones. Yet the whistle tones aside, the song is lacking a lot. When looking back at the songs available, this one should not have been the selected one. I was always on the fence with this one and still am. 9.5/10

26. Czechia 🇨🇿 Benny Cristo - Omaga: The live definitely hurt this song in the first minute and a half. The second half was absolutely what should have happened in terms of vocals. Still like the song and listen to it often. 9.25/10

27. Ireland 🇮🇪 Leslie Roy - Maps: This song was a victim of a super strong bloodbath and shoddy staging ideas. The song is arresting and a bop. Leslie’s gruff voice mixed with the modernized Irish sounds is a match made. The staging of this song that required Leslie to run along with the beat and the distracting and constantly changing bits of the performance we’re definitely it’s downfall. It didn’t deserve last place in Semi 1 though. 9.25/10

28. Portugal 🇵🇹 The Black Mamba - Love Is On My Side: I am the first to admit that while I don’t like the song, it deserved the final. The staging and atmosphere elevated the song. 9/10

29. Austria 🇦🇹 Vincent Bueno - Amen: In the battle of the Amens, this one wins solely based on the classy and amazing staging. Don’t get me wrong, Slovenia’s was also elevating but this one did it better. 8.5/10

30. Australia 🇦🇺 Montaigne - Technicolor: This song is a fantastic one for studio. The live since the Sydney Mardi Gras performance has been rough and didn’t necessarily improve. I feel bad bc I do really love this song but it definitely didn’t deserve to qualify. This being said, I love Montaigne, and Don’t Break Me was my runner up last year, and I still listen to it as my anthem when I’m feeling down. I wish I could rank this higher but I can’t. 8.5/10

31. Romania 🇷🇴 Roxen - Amnesia: This song is great in the studio but it got old real fast for me and I don’t know why. This mixed with the poor vocals and the bizarre costume:stage combo was really what did this in and got this low in my ranking. 8.25/10

32. Slovenia 🇸🇮 Ana Soklic - Amen: The loser of the Amen battle, but just barely. The song and vocals are better in my opinion but the whole package was just barely edged out in the end. 8/10

33. Latvia 🇱🇻 Samanta Tīna - Moon Is Rising: Look, this song is nowhere near as good as last years. The queeeeeen sashayed away with that annoying trap beat. 8/10

34. North Macedonia 🇲🇰 Vasil - Here I Stand: Leave it to the gays for bringing musical theatre to Eurovision. The song honestly isn’t that special or memorable but he’s higher up bc his stage and voice are amazing. 7/10

35. Norway 🇳🇴 Tix - Fallen Angel: A great message on mental health outside of the song and Tix seems like a quality fella but I do not like the song. I preferred it in Norwegian. And this low ranking is not at all influenced over him beating out Keiino (but maybe a slight bit tho). 5/10

36. Estonia 🇪🇪 Uku Suviste - The Lucky One: While this was 1000% better than last years entry, it still was relatively boring. The stage was equally as boring so sorry Estonia, but you didn’t make the mark. 4.5/10

37. Poland 🇵🇱 Rafael - The Ride: This throwback to the 80s was a bad one. The attempt at a one hit wonder vibe really hurt it along with the artist’s terrible vocals. Also half the time, he was behind the pyro and relying on backup vocals. 4/10

38. Georgia 🇬🇪 Tornike Kipiani - You: You really should not have to wait so long for the more upbeat rock ending of this. If it was that last 30 seconds for 3 minutes, it would be much better. A definite step back from last year. 1/10

39. Germany 🇩🇪 Jendrick - I Don’t Feel Hate: Jendrick might not feel hate but I do bc that is all I feel when this song comes on. 0.5/10

[nyaheum]

My yearly list of Eurovision songs after the first impression (I mean, for like, half of them. I heard snippets of some songs.). Judged on music videos, because...if I only listen to the songs on Spotify, my eyes get bored. :’)

(oh, and don’t talk to me about iceland’s placement, I know this might be unpopular)

X. Belarus

Fuck Belarus, all my homies hate Belarus. Not even going to grace them with a rating.

Norway (TIX – Fallen Angel)

...no. :( And it’s not even because Keiino didn’t win, I just wholeheartetly hate this song. And I’m kinda sorry to TIX, because he seems like a cool dude and his stage outfit is absolutely hilarious, but oh my god do I hate this song with an absolute burning passion.

Poland (RAFAL – The Ride)

eye emoji mouth emoji eye emoji – well, this is a non-qualifier if I’ve ever seen one. Can we just...skip this?

Belgium (Hooverphonic – The Wrong Place)

Nap time! This song annoys me. I cannot explain it, but it gives me a headache and my whole body is revolting against this song. I am not kidding. Objectively, I don’t even hate it, but there’s just something about it...that makes me go...hnghgng…

North Macedonia (Vasil – Here I Stand)

eye emoji mouth emoji eye emoji ver. 2 – I am not trying to sound mean, but does North Macedonia do any music that is not dramatic power ballads? I’m serious. (And I don’t like it, sorry. :((...except for the high notes, I like them. When he can hit them live.)

Estonia (Uku Suviste – The Lucky One)

This (the music video)...is soft porn. I am slightly scared of Uku. I don’t know why. But, uh...this is better than last year’s song? Still, it wouldn’t qualify under my watch, whoops.

Georgia (Tornike Kipiani – You)

He stopped yelling angrily at the microphone. :((( Nah, but this isn’t my thing. It’s great that they are doing their own thing, it’s just not really my thing...it also reminds me of a song I know, damn.

Austria (Vincent Bueno - Amen)

He looks like a german youtuber. I don’t know hich one, but he looks like one. I also canot tell if he’s 18 or 38, lol. (For some reason he also reminds me of Alex Albon, which is even weirder.)...oh, uh, the song? Idk, I don’t care for I. It’s fine.

Spain (Blas Cantó – Voy A Querdarme)

Confession: I’m probably the only person who actually doesn’t like the sound of Spanish all that much. Whoops. Apart from that though, I’m not the biggest fan of this song. Can’t really say more about that. Meh.

The Netherlands (Jeangu Macrooy – Birth Of A New Age)

Listen: I really like the tone of this voice. It’s great. I am not a fan of the song. There’s something just very off about the loud percussions (?) in the background that make me go absolutely crazy when listening to this. My sensory-overload-prone ears hate it, and I’m sorry...the part before the last chorus on the other hand I love. The whole song could have sounded like that and I would have loved it. (...and I can’t unhear “You are my broccoli – You know my broccoli!” ;-;)

Azerbaijan (Efendi – Mata Hari) Whenever I see Efendi, my brain still goes “Cleopatrrrrra!”, oof. This song sounds like a song I know. Which...is super unprecice, but I genuinely don’t know which one. I do like that they kept the weird pre-chorus thing from Cleopatra (and reference the song later on), but I must say that I liked Cleopatra more...but it’s a party song, so I think it will be fun on stage!

Romania (ROXEN - Amnesia)

I didn’t like her song last year, I don’t enjoy this all too much and I’m kinda sorry but also...I don’t want to apologize for my taste in music, lmao. I want her hair though. Give me her hair.

Denkmark (Fyr & Flamme – Ove Os Pa Hinanden)

Ring ding ding, native language bonus. This is also way more fun than I thought it would be, hah. VERY retro, but I don’t hate that? :D (this and sweden really aren’t any different in terms of how much I like them)

Portugal (The Black Mama – Love Is On My Side)

I can appreciate this. I just wish it was in Portuguese, honestly. I don’t really know if I like the English for this song. That being said, I don’t know if you can make these very specific tones (you know what I mean) in portuguese without it sounding super off, so…

Ireland (Lesley Roy – Maps)

Okay, you do you Ireland. :D

Israel (Eden Alene – Set Me Free)

This exists. :D

Cyprus (Elena Tsagrinou – El Diablo)

Cyprus came to party, and I can’t be mad at that. I just don’t know why everybody in the YouTube comments loves this SO MUCH that they are sure that it will win if it gets the jury votes. I don’t think it’s as good as Fuego or She Got Me were, but maybe I just have no taste in party music. I don’t party. (Only if you got a 2000s playlist and some iced tea.)

France (Barbara Pravi – Voilà)

FRANCE sending a BALLAD? In MY Eurovision? It’s more likely than you think. It’s good, objectively. Personally, I don’t really care for it all that much and feel like I already know it.

United Kingdom (Embers – James Newman)

A good, modern song? In my british eurovision song? What happened on the Isles over quarantine? Are you guys okay? Did you find yourself? Have you taken your last breath (breath!) and looked at your past results? I’m impressed enough to put this relatively high, wow.

Serbia (Hurricane – LOCO LOCO)

*adore delano voice* party! Oh, and native language bonus...for a party song! I’m...impressed, actually. I cannot decide wheter I prefer this or Hasta La Vista, but I think it’s this one? The flows smoother, if that means literally anything.

Bulgaria (VICTORIA – Growing Up Is Getting Old)

*shrugs* I think a lot of people will like this. And I get that. I think I even understand it...yeah. I didn’t like her song last year either. It’s just personal preference, I think. I just want to have fun during Eurovision, hah.

Finland (Blind Channel – Dark Side)

Finland: FUCK YOU!!! Germany: Fuck you. <3

That’s all I’ll say, we know how the Finnish are, this is not surprising, lmao. (And I’m one of those children that grew up on Rammstein, so I legally cannot dislike this.)

Croatia (Albina - Tick-Tock)

Tick-tock, can you hear me go tick-tock? My heart is like a clock, I'm steady like a rock-...oh wait, wrong tick-tock! Still, really enjoy this song’s chorus – I actually enjoy it so much that it makes up for the utter loss of interest I experience once it’s over, chrm.

Sweden (Tusse – Voices)

I mean...let’s be honest, it’s a generic swedish pop song. It sounds like every other Swedish entry, and I think that bothers me. I know, that sounds kind of...weird, looking at my choices higher up in the list, but...meh. I think this will easily qualify for the Final and place high, and I am totally okay with that. It’s just not...what I wanted, I guess? :D (and i’m sorry but as a german-speaker I cannot get over the name “tusse”) (oh, and tusse seems to be super cool)

Albania (Anxhela Peristeri - Karma)

Oh, we’re going to war in 130 A.D.? Fine, let me just pack my spear and- oh, Albania has already sent a singer? Ah, well, might as well give up and just vibe.

Czech Republic (Benny Cristo - omaga)

This sounds fun. Not a winner or anything, but fun. I’ll probably still be on Twitter when he’s performing, whoops.

Slovenia (Ana Sklic - Amen)

Wait, there’s TWO songs called Amen? And why do I actually kinda like this? Oh well, might as well just accept it. (Her voice though...mhmmhmhm…yes please)

Iceland (Dadi og Gagnamagnid – 10 Years)

We just vibin’. I liked Think About Things more, but I’m very much biased here...because I’ve known that song for a year now. But this is still very good, and very on brand. (And I understand like...half of the lyrics, but I am okay with that.)

Australia (Montaigne - Technicolour)

not australia flexing at all of europe that they can hold big gatherings! D: oh, but I like this way more than last years song. I feel like Montaigne can show her GREAT voice way better in this song. (Even though her outfit and the sound of the song reminds me of the UK song that had...a dude run on the stage. I can’t think of the word for it right now.)

Malta (Destiny – Je Me Casse)

Destiny’s voice is just….wow. This is very different than All My Love, but it’s fun. The topic of the lyrics kinda remind me of Toy, and I like that…..I don’t really like the music video (especially the dancers in the colorful dresses? idk), but I’ll just ignore that.

Germany (I Don’t Feel Hate - Germany)

Confession time: I actually actively enjoy this song. Everybod is shitting on it, but it’s FUN and it has a good message, and Jendrik seems like the nicest dude ever and...it doesn’t deserve all the hate it’s getting? It’s completely self-produced and just fun. Stop being mean. :(

(...also someone on youtube said “pewdiepie” and I can’t unsee that now so fuck you >:((...no, no I don’t feel hate, just rethink your life choices)

Moldova (Natalia Gordienko - SUGAR)

What in the “Eis.de ist in der Kiste” is this music video? And I thought I would absolutely hate this song, but I actually don’t mind it all that much. It’s actually fun. Oh no, I’m splipping, someone catch me, aaaaaahhhhh….(and that poor cake dude. Is this song about cannibalism? Does she want to eat him?)

San Marino (Senhit – Adrenalina)

Catch me hum the chorus of this song at least once a day...but honestly, without any malicious intent: what the actual FUCK san marino? This is so much better than Freaky, and even though I do not believe for one second that this will win, the simple outragiousness of bringing Flo Rida to Eurovision deserves attention. (Bringing someone like Flo Rida to ESC sounds more like Scandinavia/Bulgaria, doesn’t it?)

Russia (Manizha – Russian Woman)

Not gonna lie, I miss Little Big, but at least they are sending something that’s at least as weird. I love that. Russian Rap is cool as fuck anyway, so I’m fully here for this...but I’m glas this song doesn’t have a music video, this just has to be a live performance. (Oh, and another strong woman!)

Ukraine (Go_A – SHUM)

I’m SO glad Go_A are back. But, let me be completely honest: I know why they had to change the lyrics, but I still liked the first version better. BUT I feel like the new one will grow and me and it will climb one or two places, because the Instrumental just slaps SO HARD. (Makes me feel like putting on a Cybergoth outfit and start dancing at a German industrial park, lmao.)

Latvia (Samanta Tina – The Moon Is Rising)

Does this count as my guilty pleasure this year? I loved her song last year, and this sounds similar, so...I like this too. It sounds modern as fuck (well, for Europe, you know) and I can definitely...”vibe” with that. I genuinely really enjoy this, and I don’t know why. (Even though I prefer last years drop.) A lot of “strong, independent women”-songs this year, and I’m not complaining.

Switzerland (Gjon’s Tears – Tout l’Univers)

Just so we’re clear, this and Italy share the exact same spot. I just cannot compare them at all. Gjon’s voice just takes me hostage throughout this whole song and won’t let me go. And everything that isn’t english/is in the countries offical language immediately gets plus points from me. As if this song needed them anyway.

Lithuania (The Roop – Discoteque)

Aaaaaand...dance break! Good, I just love them so much, it’s not even funny anymore. And I’ve been singing this song randomly since it came out. I can’t stop. It has burned itself into my brain. Let’s dis-co-teque right at my home! *waves arms around with no sign of coordination*

(and does anyone else feel like he’s serhat, just with a different alignment? Like, they are both chaotic, but serhat is chaotic neutral and he’s either chaotic good or chaotic bad, it really depends on the way he looks at the camera)

Italy (Maneskin – Zitti E Buoni)

Italy delivers, as they do every year. Not only do I really like this song (it is very much my genre), THIS is an aesthetic I can get behind! Knowing Eurovision, I doubt it will win, but damn if it won’t be super fun! (I am so glad this won Sanremo, hah.)

[anotherescsite]

The Eurovision Song Contest we had to have

The journey from Tel Aviv to Rotterdam was an unexpectedly long one. Who knew that when Duncan Lawrence raised the trophy in May 2019 that another Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final would not take place for another 736 days? Having to wait such a long time between two Eurovision (excluding 2 x Junior contests) was excruciating, soul destroying and plainly depressing. And just like that, Eurovision 2021 has come and has now gone.

As the title says, it is The Eurovision Song Contest we had to have. It is a bold statement and I considered it for a day before putting it there. In reflection the song contest in Rotterdam was a wonderful event for many reasons which I’d like to discuss a bit. So this may take a while, but bear with me and hopefully, I’ll make it worth your while.

THE HOSTS

Four hosts was two too many, but let’s talk about them. Chantal is beautiful and the most professional of the foursome. Jan was the token male and while his performance was contained to a very small potion, it was nevertheless, fine. Edsilia was much more chilled than I expected and provided a warm presence amongst these people. Nikkie was probably the most down to earth of them all, possibly the most personable, but also somehow cold.

In actually effect, while there were four of them, they worked. No one took a lite load but they each had an equal presence in the show. As many other people have mentioned, everyone would have preferred more Edsilia and Nikkie to Jan and Chantal, but I’m not terribly fussed. They were all well practiced and very on point for the event and as a viewer I was pleased by this.

THE STAGE 

Like most Eurovision stages, they do not look like anything unless you turn on the lights. That was definitely the case for this one. The lights were on, the stage sparkled, and the stage was alive in every way that it was asked. The screens provided everything that were needed for each of the songs and other performances. The transparent screen in the middle of the venue added so much to some of the performances and was the masterstroke that made some of them visually exciting.

There was one thing about the stage that felt like they were reminiscing stages of the Dutch past. I felt a hint of the Amsterdam 1970 stage on the sides. I don’t think it was a co-incidence, but I liked the fact that the paid homage like that. Everything else was state of the art.

POSTCARDS

The postcard films were well put together to present a place in the Netherlands, a tiny house structure with items that belong or relate to the act coming up and then a green screen appearance of the act in the tiny house. 

While the postcard as a whole were well put together and cleverly created, I felt I missed out on seeing more of the Netherlands because they were focused more on what was coming and less with the airport, the canal, the lighthouse, the field, the tulips and whatever else was presented. So it’s only a small thing in a small film, but I wanted more of a Netherlands tourism experience in the films.

THE INTERVAL ACTS

It’s a funny thing about this year’s interval acts, and to be completely honest, I happy about it. If you asked a fan about Eurovision 2014, people will say that they remember ‘Love love peace peace’ and Justin Timberlake. In 1994, people remember ‘Riverdance’. In Tel Aviv, there was Madonna. I like that the intervals this year did not overshadow the entrants to the song contest. They were a time filler, a light refreshment and then it was over. For the most part well performed, entertaining and gone before you know it

I recall there was something about water in the first semi final, there was a dancer and a bike in the second, the former winners sang on Rotterdam buildings and some unifying song and dance. Nikkie did some little films about losing, and behaviour in the green room during voting. All were quality performances that were well constructed, organised and presented. They held the viewers attention while we waited for the votes to commence/announcement of the qualifiers and because they were each engaging, they seemed to go quickly.

THE OUTCOME

In most cases, things went as expected in the semi finals. Fans were disappointed with Croatia not qualifying, but I don’t think the betting had them qualifying. Romania was expected to qualify, but Roxen could not sing the song and move at the same time. Ireland suffered the same fate with an impressive staging. Semi final 2 went as expected as well; maybe Austria was expected to get through in place of Albania; i disagree.

The results/placings in the final were a bit of a surprise to me, but there was one certainty for me and that was that Italy deserved their win. There is a very simple reason for it’s success too. It’s not that it was a loud song or that the song was outlandish, or the way they were dressed. The reason that Italy won was that the performance of the song was a natural performance. I’m sure there was choreography of movement, but they were not outside of what they usually do. There was no gimmick, no dance routine, no green screen to worry about, no spinning diamond or large gimmick hanging from the roof of the stadium. It is also why the French entry was such a success and for a lesser part Iceland and Ukraine. Finland and Portugal also presented an entry that was in essence what was expected for that type of song.

Switzerland was a vast success in my eyes. They rolled the dice and they came up on top with the juries. Switzerland have rolled out a prop in the past to highlight a song, but this year they added lighting and camera work to add to the tension of the entry and it worked. Gjon looked a bit clumsy at times, but it was  excellent captivating three minutes.

There were some countries that were dependent on a large prop. Some were there to attract votes as they went with the song while others to distract from it. Russia and Cyprus had several well placed props that worked well and were relevant to the song. Greece had a large invisible prop that made what was a good song appear like a joke entry. Malta had a prop that didn’t make sense to the entry being performed. Bulgaria’s rock was both inspirational and strange to me. Moldova’s revolving diamond worked for her also, but it was just a surface to perform choreography on. 

I want to spend a moment of praise on Serbia and Belgium that had very different performances, but appropriately performed. Serbia took their sexy manic, hair choreographed selves all over the stage gyrating and moving like they had drunk 15 cups of coffee. Belgium, on the other hand, was very intense and sedate in their presentation mainly because most of them were playing instruments that were unmovable. 

Of the countries that retained their choreography from a national final, other than Iceland, was Lithuania. They had varied it only very little from the national final and in their case, the performance was crazy perfection to match the theme of the song.  I was disappointed with Norway, Azerbaijan and Sweden for retaining almost identical choreography to their songs from the film clip/national final, but I wasn’t a big fan of either song in the final. They seemed tired in appearance and in formatting. Azerbaijan needs a further slap for submitting their 2020 song with a new name.

I feel some disappointment for a few of the entrants. I’m going to start with the United Kingdom. Poor James Newman. He had a thumping good song that fans liked. There was enthusiasm from the fans that the UK would do better this year and they did worse. What I find astounding is he does not appear to be a shy person, yet he allowed someone in the United Kingdom delegation to produce that choreography, that outfit and those props for that song. To my ear, James sounded sad and dejected in the final and I was unbelievably disappointed that they didn’t score something from somewhere.

I’m disappointed for San Marino too. Senhit has showed she is a class act and has spent the last year enthusiastically covering Eurovision songs. But at the song contest, she appeared to be a forgotten entrant. Even with the addition of Flo Rida did not give the song some cred. I have a recurring image of Senhit’s shoulders slump and physically shrink on hearing that her efforts accounted for 50 points.

I’m also disappointed for the Netherlands. They most likely did not want to host again and it is a sad curse that countries that host usually end near the bottom of the scoreboard (excluding Super Sweden). But to score so terribly for what was a gloriously performed entry was unconscionable. I praise the Netherlands for choosing such a wonderful cultural performance for the stage.

At the bottom end, Spain and Germany had very different entries, performed with contrasting enthusiasm and it got them both a very low level of support. Spain had the most tired song that was boring as all hell and the presentation of the entry gave the audience nothing in return but a large grey beach ball in the sky. Back to the drawing board?  Germany was destined to fail in March. The charisma and fun of their film was completely missing from the staging and it was never going to go well.

Albania had the misfortune of being ignored, given a terribly bad draw for the second year straight and not given anywhere near the appropriate amount of votes required. Anxhela gave a good stylish and appropriate performance. She was on-point vocally and in her performance on stage.

Israel, on the other hand, was a spectacle. The song was kind of meh, performed with a lot of choreography to distract from it. She did a whistle note; so? I’m sure she had to get noticed somehow with her t-shirt dress, her nude illusion reveal and the headdress she stole from reigning RuPaul Drag race winner, Symone. (Did she not no know where she was coming and who would be watching? Picked that up immediately)

IN CONCLUSION

There is one other things that I have not mentioned so far and it only occurred to me after re-reading some of the above comments. The Dutch were very time conscious. They said they were keeping the final under four hours and they pulled it in and got it done. In my opinion, it was a Eurovision that was very breezy, and very light experience because while the experience of Eurovision was 8 hours of your week watching the shows, this year did not seem like an ordeal. I felt that the shows progressed quickly without fuss or propaganda. As a package it came together well across the board.  

It was a good Eurovision year and had something to cater for the taste of everyone. Some songs were not suited to everyone, but that happens. Below is how I saw this years song’s after the three shows and believe me I have changed it a few times before settling on this list. Looking at it, I want to move them around again.

So that’s it. Next year it will be somewhere in Italy; maybe Turin, maybe Rome, Milan or Bologna. It won’t matter. Feel free to comment, complain, debate. I’m happy to back myself and for you to convince me otherwise. I haven’t got anything else to do. : )

[unibrowzz]

My Personal Eurovision Winners (and then some) Part VI: 2000-2009

So I had a lot of shit to speak when I was actually watching the 2000s contests, but truth be told I actually don't mind the 2000s winners. Sure there's a few duds here and there, but for the most part they're actually pretty solid, and under normal rules I’d probably keep at LEAST four of them.

But I made a pact to have no real winners in this list so let's go.

2000- Sweden- Roger Pontare- “When Spirits are Calling my Name”

Insert unoriginal comment about Sweden being better back before they started whoring themselves out to the jury vote every year here. But also remove equally unoriginal comment about tHe SwEdiSh vErSiOn iS bEtTer because guess what the song shreds in both English and Swedish. It shreds both ways. I guess you could say it’s... bishredsual. ... I’ll see myself out.

2001- Israel- Tal Sondak- “En Davar”

En or ein? YouTube and Diggiloo Thrush can’t seem to decide. Hey, I can’t pick Estonia and I didn’t want to be a basic bitch and pick Denmark so fuck it you’re getting Israel. And yeah I probably would succumb and pick Estonia for this because 2001 really wasn’t all that great of a year and hardly anything stood out to me after watching it.

2002- United Kingdom- Jessica Garlick- “Come Back”

Ah yes the UKs last hurrah before they unceremoniously bellyflopped from grace. If they ever had grace to begin with.  But it was between this and France, I ended up tossing a coin to decide which one. I kind of like both of them. Emphasis on “kind of” because that basically means “the winner sucks, let me pick something I marginally prefer.”

2003- Poland- Ich Troje- “Keine Grenzen-Żadnych granic”

Me picking an idealistic rock ballad performed by a guy with the dulcet voice of a five-pack-a-day chainsmoker? There's a fuckin’ surprise. But I daresay this is one of Poland’s best. I flipflop on whether I prefer this or Pali Sie from last year, and I usually go with Pali Sie on the grounds that this is a little too idealistic and John Lennon-y for my tastes, but with that aside... I still really genuinely like this song. If I wasn’t doing my “no real winners” run of this, I’d have a genuine hard time deciding between this and Turkey, and Turkey ‘03 is one of my top ten favourite winners.  So yeah, go check this one out.

2004- Cyprus- Lisa Andreas- “Stronger Every Minute”

To be honest, I don’t actually like this song all that much. It’s just the only one I remember from 2004. Like I genuinely couldn’t name a single other entry from that year aside Wild Dances, that’s the level of awful we’re talking about. And this song isn’t bad per se, but there’s just like... a moment, about 30 seconds in which I thought initially was a flubbed line, since the contest is live and shit happens, but no, the song is just... written like that. Like it’s written to sound flatter than a glass of Coke left out all night after a party. And it sounds horrible. ... I got sidetracked.

2005- Hungary- NOX- “Forogj, világ”

Tap shoe noises in songs automatically make it 10x better, and that’s a proven fact. The 2019 Cats movie was made at least 5x less terrible by putting tap sounds in the Railway Cat song. Which is the best song in the musical, don’t @ me. But this isn’t about the mod’s hot takes on Cats, this is about the mod’s hot takes on Eurovision, and I honestly don’t know why I subjected myself to the entirety of 2005 when this song won the moment the tap shoes started.  And this was the first song, go figure. 

2006- Croatia- Severina- “Moja štikla”

I swear Croatia is just one of those countries where I barely notice their presence half the time, but when they send something I like it ends up being my favourite song of that year.  Anyways, 2006 was actually a pretty decent year. Not one of my favourites, but I remember a few songs I liked from it. But this one stood out overall because it sounds cool.

2007- Sweden- The Ark- “The Worrying Kind”

Now I knew I would like this song going in, like I’d seen pictures of the singer and people describing the song as glam rock and I just knew “Hell yeah, I bet that guy would have a killer song”.  And guess what, he totally did. How about that.

2008- Latvia- Pirates- “Wolves of the Sea”

Ah yes, my beloved trash fave. And I would say I have a good reason to pick this song out the murky insanity that was ESC2008 but honestly the only reason I like this song is because it appeals to my inner seven year old who just wants to charge around a disco at a holiday camp somewhere on England’s south coast. What I’m saying is, this song makes me very nostalgic. I just wish the live version was actually, yanno, in tune. But then again this is Eurovision in the mid-2000s, singing horribly off key was just part of the spectacle.

2009- Germany- Alex Sings, Oscar Swings- “Miss Kiss Kiss Bang”

Everyone told me 2009 was amazing and guess what it fucking wasn’t. But this song is. I feel like this is one of those Marmite entries, in that people either really love it or will refuse point blank to even listen to it. I for one love it, it appeals to lots of my barely-laid-out criteria for me liking a song, plus it livened up the whole ass year because like I said... 2009 sucked.

[tvwriteups]

ESC 2021 GF

Opening was okay. Think that's the largest the stage has looked.

Watching on PeacockTV. No commentary. This time I'm watching through my speakers and not through headphones. Not gonna do a rundown since a lot of the songs are familiar.

I did not watch any of the big 5 or the Dutch rehearsal/jury videos so I'll be watching those whole for the first time. (I probably should have watched them. Oops. Too late now!)

I really have no idea who will win. Kind of makes it exciting!

What's a little weird with my setup is how much "sharper" the music sounds on my speakers.

Let the Grand Final of the ESC begin!

1. Cyprus

2. Albania

3. Israel

4. Belgium

What's funny for me here is that the Belgian song is growing on me on this third listen. I like it more each time. (This might actually make my Eurovision AND Hooverphonic playlist!) With the other songs I was... like I didn't feel the level of "excitement" I felt when I watched them earlier this week.

5. Russia

Oh yeah! This is another one I'm liking more on a second viewing. I like her expressiveness. This is never not interesting. And an enthusiastic response there.

6. Malta

Maltese Lizzo. I know this is very popular with the ESC crowd and I get it but it doesn't personally register with me. I think it's the speed. It's like the same fast speed and mostly same level of "noise." Crowd really loooooves it though. Might just be my own autistic sound processing issues.

7. Portugal

I still am impressed with how well-structured this is. I'll probably forget the song next week but when it was being performed I never lost interest.

8. Serbia

They seem so wholesome in their postcard. Hmm, singing doesn't sound as good on my speakers. This is like the first 3 songs for me.

And now a break.

Kind of sucks performing early because it hurts you with the vote but at least you get to sit back easy and watch the rest of the show.

I still feel very conflicted about how to feel about Junior ESC. Lots of pressure to put on children.

Jamala, Emmelie de Forest, Duncan Laurence on where they keep their awards... nope, Nikkie, I'm not gonna check out the live blog. I like the ESC but even I have to draw a line somewhere.

9. United Kingdom

First time watching. I don't understand these British songwriters who perform their own songs and yet... like, it doesn't sound ideally suited to their own voices. It was okay but it's another one I'll forget in a week.

10. Greece

Well, I didn't get to watch this properly the first time so here goes: I don't like the huge reliance on effects but it's BEHIND her so it's completely acceptable to me. I think this would've worked better for me if the dancing was "more [active?]" since it's a fast song about dancing.

The hosts briefly have to tell us something for some reason.

Hmm, apparently a lot of my sound issue is that the rear speakers are coming through louder.

11. Switzerland

This is playing much better for me today than it did the other day. The overall performance is better. I don't like the epilepsy-inducing light though. That's my only complaint. Well done!

12. Iceland

Well, literally the same exact performance we watched the other day but it was fun so... and my viewing experience is slightly different so... Hmm.. what I'm really feeling right now is a song placement thing. We went from intense to chill and that energy change is a bit much for me.

13. Spain

This song does not have a strong hook. I ... can't remember the song and it only just finished.

14. Moldova

I honestly don't think this song would've made it through the first SF. I just don't care for it. I think I spent most of the performance looking at the dancers when that was an option.

15. Germany

This feels like a cross between a Moldovan and a San Marino entry. I dunno, I enjoyed it. I wouldn't watch it again though.

I do also understand that part of watching this as an American is that I don't ever have to feel embarrassment that I'm being represented through any of these performances.

16. Finland

Now that I know that this is like this I'm totally not interested. I'd probably feel very differently if I was in the same space as these guys because it's a SHOW!

And another break. Oh, the broadcaster boxes. I always assume that they're going to harass Graham Norton but they're actually visiting the Danes right now. And the Russians.

Hosts talking about orchestras now.

17. Bulgaria

I remember this postcard from the other day because of the menagerie this girl has. This song is also growing on me. I was confused about the lyrics the other day but now am experiencing them as playful. Feeling the "production" of this one.

18. Lithuania

It's hard for me because I really liked "On Fire." I'm really enjoying this the second time and a really great, entertaining performance. And maybe it's in a better place during the night.

Hosts talking about the app. They're really hammering this whole "clap along" thing (which I haven't found on the app because I'm probably too old to care).

19. Ukraine

This song is a trip. Bangy-est banger of the night. You just never know.

20. France

You know, this comes off as something the juries would love to award. Damn, girl! You know, I wasn't impressed when they showed the short clip at the end of the SF. You really have to watch the whole thing.

21. Azerbaijan

Seems more appropriate to sing about Mata Hari than Cleopatra in the Netherlands when you think about it. It could be because I've already seen this before but I'm still processing France. There's also something about this staging that makes them look small on the stage to me.

22. Norway

I don't know why I find him adorable but I do. This song feels like a hug. (Or it's the "feathers." LOL)

Mini-break about what's upcoming.

23. The Netherlands

I was into it until the last 30 when it got really repetitive but that's still an overall like.

24. Italy

I really can't predict anything. I dig this but we've sort of filled a quota for intensity for the night.

25. Sweden

I'm just kind of like....of course Sweden has the Rijksmuseum postcard. It's like the most recognizable place in all of these postcards. And be near the end of the show. I'll be honest: I'm just predisposed to be against Sweden. Ugh, epilepsy light. I can't even look at the screen. Also, I liked Russia's "A Million Voices" in 2015. I'm guessing this song did not look like this at Melodifestivalen because it's really looking terrible on my tv. This is the worst visual presentation of the night.

26. San Marino

Honestly wondering how well San Marino is gonna finish this year. This felt more awesome the first time. Well, also Flo Rida delightfully surprised me the first time.

And how our hosts telling us about the importance of voting. I have no idea how these are going to pan out. I just know that if I was voting I think I'd throw my votes at Ukraine and France...while feeling bad that I'm not throwing some at Bulgaria, Iceland, Lithuania or Switzerland. (I also liked Russia but I wouldn't vote for them.) I mean, I liked Italy but... I don't know. I think I ran out of energy by then.

Really think it's that Ukraine and France just zapped my energy for energetic songs. The only one I felt after those was the hug of Norway. Or maybe Norway lulled me. LOL.

Would be interested in the televotes for some of these countries.

Recap. Ooof. France doesn't work in short recap clip.

"Music Binds Us"....because we've heard of Afrojack here. I swear every other major city has one of those bridges. I'd otherwise dig this but we've had so much intense music tonight.

I'm guessing we're listening to "Titanium" because Afrojack wrote and produced it.

I'm sitting here wondering if ANYONE is going to vote for the UK at all. Or, really, how many of the Big 5 are going to be in the Bottom 5.

Another recap.

Another Nikkie ESC Tutorial segment. This is actually kind of annoying.

And now a behind-the-scenes montage while the voting numbers are displayed at the bottom.

Catching up with past winners now.

ESC honoring itself again. Enjoying how much they're not overemphasizing the whole "in front of a live audience" stuff like they were doing the other nights.

Another recap.

Oddly, I think Moldova annoys me the most. It feels like the emptiest song in the final.

How quickly are they going to burn through the votes. It's already feeling like this show is long.

65th anniversary stuff. Rock the Roof. Måns again. I don't like this song. I think 2015 was a great overall year (even if I was able to predict the top 10 (except for Latvia) but I still listen to a lot of songs from that year... just not "Heroes." I resent that I have to hear it every year now.

Teach-In....because Dutch and because we need a song with 'Ding" and "Dong" in it.

SANDRA KIM!!!!!!!! Forever the youngest winner of this contest.

Lenny Kuhr.

Helena Paparizou. LOL, totally sticking to the choreo.

Lordi. Probably had to choose their roof first to get the permission to shoot the pyro off it.

So are they saving Duncan Laurence for when they calculate the votes? It feels like the voting window has been open forever now. I keep looking for a countdown clock.

This sounds like a way of saying Duncan Laurence has tested positive for COVID without saying that he tested positive for COVID.

Are they emphasizing that the Netherlands is below sea level?

New song... I'll take anything as long as it's not "Nana Banana."

The voting still isn't closed!

Oh, they have a special countdown dance is why. How very Paparizou of them.

Oh, that weird part where they banter with the delegations.

Malta. Just Malta?

Martin Österdahl. Because Swedes. Jury time. I forgot that revealing votes this way eliminates the performances during the vote calculation. They calculate the televote during the jury stuff.

Jury Votes

Israel, the least popular child in the room right now gives their 12 points to Switzerland.

Poland goes to San Marino.

San Marino goes to France.

Albania to Switzerland.

Malta to Albania.

These are going all over the place. But then it's juries.

Estonia's 12 to Switzerland.

Switzerland and France popular with juries so far.

North Macedonia to Serbia.

Recap. Switzerland, France and Italy in the Top 3.

Els and Nikki or however you spell their names. Azerbaijan throws their points at Russia of course.

Norway to....Malta.

Spain to France.

Austria to Iceland.

Ooof, UK, Spain and Norway totally blanked right now.

The UK....with Amanda Holden...and 12 points for France.

Italy gives its 12 points to Lithuania. No points for Switzerland from them!

Now it's just the UK blank.

Slovenia to Italy.

Juries don't like Ukraine. :-(

Greece...making us try not to boo by having a child tell us that the points are going to Cyprus.

Latvia with Aminata of course. 12 points go to Switzerland.

Ireland to France.

Moldova epic saxing us. Epic saxing Bulgaria too.

Serbia to France.

Bulgaria to Moldova. Ugh.

Cyprus ...should've used a child. Even the crowd is all "Greece, duh."

Belgium to Switzerland. It's almost like they have something against France, LOL.

Banter with Switzerland. Banter with France. No cringe. Practically no cringe in these interviews. They're adorable.

On a side note, my HVAC is dying on a 90 degree day.

Germany to France.

UK still sitting on a jury egg.

Australia to Malta.

Finland to Switzerland.

Portugal to Bulgaria.

Ukraine to Italy. Love the 0 points to Russia there.

Iceland. LOL. LOL. LOL. Of course a "Jaja Ding Dong" reference. Switzerland for them.

Romania to Malta.

Without televotes this stuff is almost meaningless. I can't imagine France getting the televotes.

Croatia to Italy.

Czech Republic to...like who would they.. oh Portugal. Of course. LOL.

Georgia to Italy.

Lithuania to Ukraine.

Denmark to Switzerland.

Top 5: Switzerland, France, Malta, Italy and Iceland.

"A Million Voices" Polina telling us Russia is giving their points to Moldova. Lots of side-eye from me.

France can't give points to themself so.... Greece. I... I... don't know.

Sweden with Carola. OMG Carola....why so much talking? Did she take something? Or drink something? She's on something. Gives their points to Malta.

Switzerland gives point to France. Most anticlimatic points reveal.

The Netherlands gives its points to France.

UK with ZERO points from juries.

Switzerland, France, Malta, Italy, Iceland.

We don't see the jury performances so...like... I dunno.

Gonna waste time in the Green Room again before the televote reveal. Talking with Switzerland... meaning that Gjon gets to replace John Lundvik as the face of losing if they don't get enough votes.

TELEVOTE TIME!

I hope this goes fast. And they're revealing these in the order of jury votes, least to most. So maybe a different face of losing.

UK with 0 points. OUCH! And they didn't genocide anyone this year! James Newman being a sport.

Germany with 0 points.

Spain with 0 points.

Netherlands with 0 points.

LMAO. I don't think I've ever seen this.

Norway with 60 points.

Serbia with 82 points.

Albania with 35 points.

Azerbaijan with 33 points.

San Marino with 13 points...even with Flo Rida!!!

Sweden with 63 points?

Cyprus with 44 points.

Moldova with 62 points.

Lithuania with 165 points!!!

Belgium with 3 points. Hooverphonic with only 3 points. Better than zero. But totally a jury thing their SF result was.

20 points to Israel.

Finland with 218. Shocker that. For me. Not the public, of course. Now in first.

Greece with 79 points.

Ukraine with 267. Into the lead.

Russia with 100 points.

Portugal with 27.

Bulgaria with 30 points.

Iceland with 180 points...and in 1st.

Italy with 318 points.

Malta with 47 points.

France with 251 points. Into 2nd.

Switzerland with 160 points.

Winner is Italy. So Switzerland is the new face of losing.

Televote alone it's Italy, Ukraine, France, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Switzerland, and Russia with 100 or more points. Serbia and Greece rounding out the top 10 in televote.

Surprised and delighted that the public gave all those votes to France. I was not expecting that at all.

In the breakdowns I really would like to see if their are any public correlations between folks who votes Italy/Finland or France/Switzerland.

[oberlincollegelibraries]

Weekend Edition: US Presidents

It is 2:30 PM on Friday and we are all still waiting on the edge of our seats for the results of the 2020 presidential election. We might have a declared winner by the time you are reading this, or perhaps the world is still waiting. Either way, here are four recent biographies of past US presidents!

For more POTUS reads, subject search “Presidents -- United States -- Biography” in OBIS.

President Carter: The White House Years by Stuart E. Eizenstat; foreword by Madeleine Albright

"The Carter presidency is the most underappreciated of the last century. Often considered just a smiling but ineffectual Southerner in a sweater, Jimmy Carter deserves to be remembered instead as a risk taker who did what he felt was right, not what would be politically expedient, whose legacy led to presidential successes long after his term, and whose list of lasting achievements reshaped the country. Stuart Eizenstat saw everything firsthand. As Carter's Chief Domestic Policy Adviser, he was directly involved in all domestic and economic decisions as well as in many involving foreign policy. Famous for the legal pads on which he recorded every meeting and call, he draws on more than 5,000 pages of contemporaneous notes, as well as declassified documents and more than 350 interviews he conducted with the era's key players from both parties, to write this comprehensive yet intimate history. Eizenstat takes you inside Camp David during the grueling negotiations for peace between Israel and Egypt; shows how Carter transformed our transportation, environment, and energy policies and supported a tough monetary policy that finally defeated stagflation; and lays out how Carter made human rights the centerpiece of American foreign policy. This book is no apologia, however. Eizenstat analyzes Carter's triumphs and failures honestly so that we can understand how he dealt with some of the most intractable challenges any president has faced. He reveals the story behind the "malaise" speech and how the cabinet firing that followed nearly cost Carter his vice president. He describes the Iranian hostage crisis from both inside the White House and Ayatollah Khomeini's camp. And he puts you in the war room during Carter's 1980 presidential campaign against Ted Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. In the end, Eizenstat's definitive chronicle of Carter's consequential term in office shows that this good man from Georgia was a far better president than history has so far recognized."--Dust jacket

Eisenhower: Becoming the Leader of the Free World by Louis Galambos

In this engaging, fast-paced biography, Louis Galambos follows the career of Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, offering new insight into this singular man who guided America toward consensus at home and a peaceful victory in the Cold War. The longtime editor of the Eisenhower papers, Galambos may know more about this president than anyone alive. In this compelling book, he explores the shifts in Eisenhower's identity and reputation over his lifetime and explains how he developed his distinctive leadership skills. As a career military officer, Eisenhower's progress was uneven. Galambos shows how Ike, with the help of Brigadier General Fox Conner, his mentor and patron, learned how to profit from his mistakes, pivot quickly, and grow as a military and civilian leader. On D-Day, Eisenhower guided the largest amphibious force in history to a successful invasion of France and a decisive victory. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, he turned to politics and was elected president in 1952. While today's fiercely partisan political climate makes it difficult to imagine a president forging consensus in Washington, that's exactly what Eisenhower did. As America's leader in an era of profound postwar changes at home and abroad, President Eisenhower sought a middle way with compromise and coalition building. He provided his country with firm-handed leadership, bringing prosperity and peace to the American people in the dangerous years of the Cold War--an accomplishment that made him one of the most influential men of the twentieth century. Destined to be the best short biography of the thirty-fourth president of the United States, Eisenhower conclusively demonstrates how and why this master of the middle way became the successful leader of the free world. 

Fan in Chief: Richard Nixon and American Sports, 1969-1974 by Nicholas Evan Sarantakes  

"Both sport and Richard Nixon fascinate the nation, but they are not usually seen as connected. Many people have forgotten that Nixon loved athletic events and let his guard down in sports settings. As president he invented the practice of calling teams after winning the Super Bowl, World Series, or other important contests. He held a White House reception for the players in the 1969 Major League All-Star Game that many found strange and surreal, and in 1972 he selected a historical all-star baseball team that received heavy media coverage. He forced the National Football League to change its policy for televising home games to the one currently in use. Nixon attended a Washington Redskins practice session to help boost the spirits of his team after a devastating loss to their archrivals the Dallas Cowboys, and he even called the coach of the Miami Dolphins to suggest plays to use in the Super Bowl against the Cowboys. One Powerful Fan is a study of Richard Nixon and his political use of sport. In addition to being an avid fan, he used sport to garner publicity without having to take any political action. Although he had a number of chances to use his position to influence events in the sporting world, Nixon rarely took action to shape national sport issues unless there was a political upside to the matter in which he would win votes or garner political support. As a result, this book is part biography, part political history, and part policy history"-- Provided by publisher

The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Month That Changed the World by A.J. Baime

The dramatic, pulse-pounding story of Harry Truman's first four months in office, when this unlikely president had to take on Germany, Japan, Stalin, and the atomic bomb, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Heroes are often defined as ordinary characters who get thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and through courage and a dash of luck, cement their place in history. Chosen as FDR's fourth term Vice President for his well-praised work ethic, good judgment, and lack of enemies, Harry S. Truman--a Midwesterner who had no college degree and had never had the money to buy his own home--was the prototypical ordinary man. That is, until he was shockingly thrust in over his head after FDR's sudden death. During the climactic months of the Second World War, Truman had to play judge and jury, pulling America to the forefront of the global stage. The first four months of Truman's administration saw the founding of the United Nations, the fall of Berlin, victory at Okinawa, firebombings of Tokyo, the first atomic explosion, the Nazi surrender, the liberation of concentration camps, the mass starvation of Europe, the Potsdam Conference, the controversial decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the surrender of Imperial Japan, and finally, the end of World War II and the rise of the Cold War. No other president had ever faced so much in such a short period of time. Tightly focused, meticulously researched, rendered with vivid detail and narrative verve, THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT escorts readers into the situation room with Truman during this tumultuous, history-making 120 days, when the stakes were high and the challenge even higher. The result is narrative history of the highest order and a compelling look at a presidency with great relevance to our times.