Urgh, guess what I've just sat for the last 2 hours doing… trailing through all of this year's Eurovison entries. Wooo. I thought it was important to do so, since people at school keep asking me 'Have you heard this country? Have you heard that country?' And most of the time it was a no, since nobody ever asked me about Norway or Sweden. But for the last 2 hours I've sat and religiously done my Eurovision duty, and this post is a little about what I think of them all.
I agree with a lot of people in that all of the entries as a whole make up a very strong year. Whilst there are a lot of ballads, of which I can't stand, I do think they are decent ballads with a chance of doing well in Europe. Not saying I like them, and secretly I am a little disappointed in the lack of the crazy ones. Remember Moldova last year?! Quality.
Practically all the way through, I looked a little like this:
But, from the 42 songs, I have a top ten. Here they are:
10. GERMANY
Roman Lob - Standing Still
As much as I really don't like German at the moment (trust me, learning the Konjunktiv II is enough to blow anyones brains out) this song restores my hope in German culture. Roman is quite a handsome little guy and his song is a nice laidback acoustic song and he has a good voice to sing it with. I actually hope that this song does well, because although it's not very Eurovision-y, I reckon places like the UK and Ireland will quite like this.
9. BELARUS
Litesound - We Are The Heroes
Don't let the flat note at the start put you off. This has a lot more beat to it than Germany does and although not a massively memorable tune, their suits make up for it! Those signers who think they're power rangers. It's also 100 times better than last years 'We Love Belarus' propaganda plea. Although I don't think they'll be on the left list, I'm pretty sure (infact, 100% sure) they won't come last!
8. TURKEY
Can Bonomo - Love Me Back
This reminds me a little of Norway's song this year. It's also a little creepy which is always a good thing in Eurovision. Again, it's not likely to win but the slightly eastern (I think) feel to it will certainly make all those eastern European neighbours of Turkey give it some high points. Memorable? Yes, although I've only heard the studio version so I don't know if his live version will live up to studio vocals.
7. RUSSIA
Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everyone
Slight guilty pleasure here. The little granny is SO CUTE!! This is one of the songs everyone kept asking me if I'd heard. After I listened to it for the first time about a week ago, I've been singing the chours all the time. I hope they sort something out with the beginning of the song because at the minute, it's frankly a bit of a wailing mess. But the chorus is completely unexpected, so anyone who hasn't heard the song previously will have a nice surprise after they find out what these Russian grannies have in store. I think they'll get votes on the cute factor to be honest, not quality of their song (although I really like it!).
6. FRANCE
Anggun - Echo (You and I)
First of all, I like how she sings (most of it) in French. Amongst English, Swedish and Serbian, it is one of the languages that can actually sound good sang. It's also slightly unusual with that upward shift after the chorus, which sounds as if it is a key change, but I'm not sure if it is or not. But it adds an extra dimention to what would have been an otherwise slightly bog-standard pop song. It might not rank as highly as I'd like it too, but it's definitely right up there in my favourites, with that slurred slide stuck in my head!
5. IRELAND
Jedward - Waterline
Thiiiis is more like it! Proper cheesy pop. I know a lot of people in the UK are like, 'urgh, Jedward, they're awful!' but I know in the rest of Europe they have a MASSIVE fanbase, partly due to their success last year in the competiton. The song borders on dance music if you're just listening to it, but if you watch Jedward whilst listening to it, they just seem to be constantly loving it! Plus, they each got a 'Eurovision' tattoo to show their 'dedication' to the competition. Surely that deserves just one vote! I also heard that Eric Saade was the demo voice for this track - I'd like to hear that! I reckon all their existing fans will vote for them several times this year, and with such an upbeat song, I'm almost sure they'll get even more fans. Songwriter Nick Jarl is also Swedish.
4. MALTA
Kurt Calleja - This Is The Night
Again with the upbeat songs. Malta has taken a very modern approach to it's song this year and has a catchy little 'eh eh eh eh eh' part in the chorus. Everybody likes a good non-lexical vocable in a pop song. I also quite like the little attempt of a dubstep drop in the bridge, it's quite cute but it's sounds like they weren't brave enough to fully intergrate it (like Danny's Amazing for example - that's a drop and a half). Kurt also looks a little like Nino from Rob & Nino, just sayin'. Songwriters Johan Jämtberg and Mikael Gunnerås are also Swedish.
3. ROMANIA
Mandinga - Zaleilah
Romania has also taken a very strange, non-European approach to it's song this year. I don't know enough about Mandinga herself to know her background, so perhaps she's North Africa, I'm not sure, but it would explain why she's leading a camel over a sand dune. The song itself has a bit of a Mr. Saxobeat feel, what with the brass instruments and accordion. It's very summery too, which is a little optemistic if she's wanting to appeal to 61 million misserable Brits if the weather is going to be as bad as it is now in a months time. Still, I really like this one and it's super catchy too.
2. NORWAY
Tooji - Stay
Usually, nothing good comes out of Norway. But Tooji is just completely AMAZING. To start with, he has a completely normal job working with refugee children coming into Norway and he actually has a heart of gold. I was really torn between this being placed first or second, and every time I listen to this song, I think it should be first, but whenever I listen to Sweden's song, I think that should be first! It's so hard to choose, and I thought placing them both joint first would be a complete waste of doing this whole blog post. It's like a primary school sports day when all the children win the race because they all competed in it… But anyway, I quite like the traditional sound of those tabla drums (or whatever the correct equivilent is) and the completely computerised sounds, it works strangely well. He also tries really hard to encorporate the audience into the song, and I've already seen two dance tutorials by him so that we can do the Stay dance along side him. I'd totally fulfill my lifelong dream to attend Eurovision if he won and it was held in Norway. He's also gorgeous. Songwriters Figge Boström and Peter Boström are also Swedish.
1. SWEDEN
Loreen - Euphoria
Look, I'm honestly not being biased. I really do like this song, and out of all of them I truely believe that Sweden actually has the best song in Eurovision 2012. And actually, the betting odds are backing me up here, with odds I've seen of 9/4 and 55/43 or something stupid like that. They're really high - she's tipped to win. The song is really well written and despite starting of a little ballad-y, and admittedly the first time I heard it I didn't even contemplate liking it because it was a little slow. But the second chours (which is technically just the first chorus repeated with a stronger drum beat) absolutely brings the song together and makes is unexpectedly upbeat and dance-worthy. Despite the choreography being a little 'interpretive dance' looking and her costume not being the most flattering, it doesn't really matter because Loreen has a phenomenal voice which is extremely well suited to large arenas. You know when you hit a ride cymbal really softly but quickly and the sound builts up? It's exactly like that with Loreen's voice, and when I went to watch the live Melodifestivalen final, her voice consumed Globen. I'm not sure if she'll keep that creepy man who just appears from nowhere to throw her round, or if she'll maybe get two or three backing dancers to just add a little something, but that little jump over the man works really well if she times it right! Honestly, I want this to win Eurovision, despite wanting Danny to win Melodifestivalen. I believe Loreen can actually win Eurovision and take it to Sweden next year, and I'll be there when she does! Obviously this song has Swedish songwriters, this time Peter Boström again (he also wrote Danny's Amazing) and Thomas G:son.
There are also many other songs in Eurovision this year that have Swedish songwriters! I can't find a definitive list, but I know strong favourite Cyprus also has Swedish songwriters, Spain's song was also written by Thomas G:son, and also the UK's song, which was written by Swedish Martin Terefe! Hoping it does a little better than last place now!
Also, here's a nice little article I found whilst looking around:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/mar/08/behind-music-eurovision
Jordanavia :)
I agree with a lot of people in that all of the entries as a whole make up a very strong year. Whilst there are a lot of ballads, of which I can't stand, I do think they are decent ballads with a chance of doing well in Europe. Not saying I like them, and secretly I am a little disappointed in the lack of the crazy ones. Remember Moldova last year?! Quality.
Practically all the way through, I looked a little like this:
But, from the 42 songs, I have a top ten. Here they are:
10. GERMANY
Roman Lob - Standing Still
As much as I really don't like German at the moment (trust me, learning the Konjunktiv II is enough to blow anyones brains out) this song restores my hope in German culture. Roman is quite a handsome little guy and his song is a nice laidback acoustic song and he has a good voice to sing it with. I actually hope that this song does well, because although it's not very Eurovision-y, I reckon places like the UK and Ireland will quite like this.
9. BELARUS
Litesound - We Are The Heroes
Don't let the flat note at the start put you off. This has a lot more beat to it than Germany does and although not a massively memorable tune, their suits make up for it! Those signers who think they're power rangers. It's also 100 times better than last years 'We Love Belarus' propaganda plea. Although I don't think they'll be on the left list, I'm pretty sure (infact, 100% sure) they won't come last!
8. TURKEY
Can Bonomo - Love Me Back
This reminds me a little of Norway's song this year. It's also a little creepy which is always a good thing in Eurovision. Again, it's not likely to win but the slightly eastern (I think) feel to it will certainly make all those eastern European neighbours of Turkey give it some high points. Memorable? Yes, although I've only heard the studio version so I don't know if his live version will live up to studio vocals.
7. RUSSIA
Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everyone
Slight guilty pleasure here. The little granny is SO CUTE!! This is one of the songs everyone kept asking me if I'd heard. After I listened to it for the first time about a week ago, I've been singing the chours all the time. I hope they sort something out with the beginning of the song because at the minute, it's frankly a bit of a wailing mess. But the chorus is completely unexpected, so anyone who hasn't heard the song previously will have a nice surprise after they find out what these Russian grannies have in store. I think they'll get votes on the cute factor to be honest, not quality of their song (although I really like it!).
6. FRANCE
Anggun - Echo (You and I)
First of all, I like how she sings (most of it) in French. Amongst English, Swedish and Serbian, it is one of the languages that can actually sound good sang. It's also slightly unusual with that upward shift after the chorus, which sounds as if it is a key change, but I'm not sure if it is or not. But it adds an extra dimention to what would have been an otherwise slightly bog-standard pop song. It might not rank as highly as I'd like it too, but it's definitely right up there in my favourites, with that slurred slide stuck in my head!
5. IRELAND
Jedward - Waterline
Thiiiis is more like it! Proper cheesy pop. I know a lot of people in the UK are like, 'urgh, Jedward, they're awful!' but I know in the rest of Europe they have a MASSIVE fanbase, partly due to their success last year in the competiton. The song borders on dance music if you're just listening to it, but if you watch Jedward whilst listening to it, they just seem to be constantly loving it! Plus, they each got a 'Eurovision' tattoo to show their 'dedication' to the competition. Surely that deserves just one vote! I also heard that Eric Saade was the demo voice for this track - I'd like to hear that! I reckon all their existing fans will vote for them several times this year, and with such an upbeat song, I'm almost sure they'll get even more fans. Songwriter Nick Jarl is also Swedish.
4. MALTA
Kurt Calleja - This Is The Night
Again with the upbeat songs. Malta has taken a very modern approach to it's song this year and has a catchy little 'eh eh eh eh eh' part in the chorus. Everybody likes a good non-lexical vocable in a pop song. I also quite like the little attempt of a dubstep drop in the bridge, it's quite cute but it's sounds like they weren't brave enough to fully intergrate it (like Danny's Amazing for example - that's a drop and a half). Kurt also looks a little like Nino from Rob & Nino, just sayin'. Songwriters Johan Jämtberg and Mikael Gunnerås are also Swedish.
3. ROMANIA
Mandinga - Zaleilah
Romania has also taken a very strange, non-European approach to it's song this year. I don't know enough about Mandinga herself to know her background, so perhaps she's North Africa, I'm not sure, but it would explain why she's leading a camel over a sand dune. The song itself has a bit of a Mr. Saxobeat feel, what with the brass instruments and accordion. It's very summery too, which is a little optemistic if she's wanting to appeal to 61 million misserable Brits if the weather is going to be as bad as it is now in a months time. Still, I really like this one and it's super catchy too.
2. NORWAY
Tooji - Stay
Usually, nothing good comes out of Norway. But Tooji is just completely AMAZING. To start with, he has a completely normal job working with refugee children coming into Norway and he actually has a heart of gold. I was really torn between this being placed first or second, and every time I listen to this song, I think it should be first, but whenever I listen to Sweden's song, I think that should be first! It's so hard to choose, and I thought placing them both joint first would be a complete waste of doing this whole blog post. It's like a primary school sports day when all the children win the race because they all competed in it… But anyway, I quite like the traditional sound of those tabla drums (or whatever the correct equivilent is) and the completely computerised sounds, it works strangely well. He also tries really hard to encorporate the audience into the song, and I've already seen two dance tutorials by him so that we can do the Stay dance along side him. I'd totally fulfill my lifelong dream to attend Eurovision if he won and it was held in Norway. He's also gorgeous. Songwriters Figge Boström and Peter Boström are also Swedish.
1. SWEDEN
Loreen - Euphoria
Look, I'm honestly not being biased. I really do like this song, and out of all of them I truely believe that Sweden actually has the best song in Eurovision 2012. And actually, the betting odds are backing me up here, with odds I've seen of 9/4 and 55/43 or something stupid like that. They're really high - she's tipped to win. The song is really well written and despite starting of a little ballad-y, and admittedly the first time I heard it I didn't even contemplate liking it because it was a little slow. But the second chours (which is technically just the first chorus repeated with a stronger drum beat) absolutely brings the song together and makes is unexpectedly upbeat and dance-worthy. Despite the choreography being a little 'interpretive dance' looking and her costume not being the most flattering, it doesn't really matter because Loreen has a phenomenal voice which is extremely well suited to large arenas. You know when you hit a ride cymbal really softly but quickly and the sound builts up? It's exactly like that with Loreen's voice, and when I went to watch the live Melodifestivalen final, her voice consumed Globen. I'm not sure if she'll keep that creepy man who just appears from nowhere to throw her round, or if she'll maybe get two or three backing dancers to just add a little something, but that little jump over the man works really well if she times it right! Honestly, I want this to win Eurovision, despite wanting Danny to win Melodifestivalen. I believe Loreen can actually win Eurovision and take it to Sweden next year, and I'll be there when she does! Obviously this song has Swedish songwriters, this time Peter Boström again (he also wrote Danny's Amazing) and Thomas G:son.
There are also many other songs in Eurovision this year that have Swedish songwriters! I can't find a definitive list, but I know strong favourite Cyprus also has Swedish songwriters, Spain's song was also written by Thomas G:son, and also the UK's song, which was written by Swedish Martin Terefe! Hoping it does a little better than last place now!
Also, here's a nice little article I found whilst looking around:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/mar/08/behind-music-eurovision
Jordanavia :)
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