For whatever reason I’m not really feeling this this year, but please use this space to have a chat about it.
You can’t actually vote in this one if you’re in the UK. Lyrics on the red button. We can vote on Thursday’s one.
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I’m on a new lappy, so my typing is sucky from where I’ll be watching.
If anyone else is on and willing, it might be best if they compile votes this year, otherwise I guess I’ll endure both MS Office 07 and a laptop keyboard to do so…
I have a laptop keyboard, Open Office Spreadsheet, and a lot of spare time.
I’m actually going to propose we both do the scoring then, since that way we can cover for each others typos. Basically gives us double checking.
I don’t think I’ve actually ever been here for a live Eurovision commentary, so it’s very exciting.
I’ll be voting. Also watching out for shinies, obviously (and not just for me, but for an epileptic friend who’ll be watching the final).
Speaking of which; generic flashing light warning right away. Hurrah.
Red button translation doesn’t seem available via Freeview for the semis this year.
I can EXCLUSIVELY reveal that Oslo isn’t actually full of Malteser bubbles.
“These are spheres of Eurovision Glee” apparently.
Three hosts this year.
Christ, Matt Smith off of Doctor Who is hosting!
SPHERES OF GLEE! Sponsored by FOX.
THREE hosts? I thought this was the age of austerity in Europe.
Own language gets a cheer from the audience.
Can they possibly top last year’s set?
RADICAL CHANGE! VOTING OPENED AT THE START OF THE SHOW!
…Don’t have to wait until end of the show for voting, though we’re not voting tonight.
Paddy thinks they’re not numbers. Zen or something.
Well, that’s Weaver’s analysis for this year planned.
Surely the diaspora votes will be even stronger now?!?
Results out of ten as per usual, averaged throughout, and please put your scores in bold to make them easier to pickup.
Very, very nice graphics to lead in.
MOLDOVA:
“Run Away” (SunStroke Project)
ELECTRIC VIOLIN WITH LED LIGHTING! WIN!
It’s generic Eurodance for the most part other than that. Aside from some… weird instrumentation. And a brief pause a lá the Neptunes.
Surely an ice hockey arena would have been the better choice for Norway? Probably big enough and certainly more intimate than this. That said, the use of a football stadium provides – as it did last year – room for enormous scale lighting-wise.
Phone numbers showing up at the end of the song, seeing as you can insta-vote now. I suspect this is actually a budgetary ploy to increase phone revenue, which is fair enough. If they ever needed it, it’s now.
MOLDOVA 7.5
Moldova – The pyrotechnics are out already.
Hot guys, a woman and a slightly scary saxician to open us, it seems.
Light saber violin stem?
Pleasantly sung, albeit not really to my taste – 7/10
Moldova: Violinist on a turntable! Weird female singer’s costume! Singing’s noticeably off (especially from the guy), and it looks like the dancer from Iceland 2008 has found work again.
Odd, yet I don’t hate it. 7/10.
MOLDOVA
Hello! The early 90s want their music back. 5/10
Those shots just as the performance is about to start is great.
RUSSIA
“Lost And Forgotten” – Peter Nalitch & Friends
Ballads won’t work this early in the show. It’ll get through anyway though, and might get a better draw in the final.
RUSSIA
Oh My God it’s Love Is a Catastrophy by The Pet Shop Boys. Oh, it’s changed.
Sad Eurovision entries from Eastern Europe are usually very impressive indeed.
This isn’t – in fact, this is embarrassing. Badly sung, and what on earth is that with the ‘photo’ (actually a line drawing)?
I’m glad I gave Moldova more than they deserved, because it allows me to display in marks just how bad this is without giving zero just yet.
RUSSIA 1
Russia: The moment he started singing I had to laugh. I’m sorry, the music is…OK, but the singer? No, absolutely not. Nice hand-drawn ‘photo’.
4/10.
Sod that, I’m being kind for the sake of being kind. 3.
Russia give us fake snow and a slow paced folk/pop number. Actually quite pleasant if you don’t mind downer songs in Eurovision. Traditional wind machine.
I don’t. 8/10
RUSSIA 6/10
Oh here comes a pretty-boy tenor.
ESTONIA
“Siren” – Malcolm Lincoln
Stage name taken from an incorrect tier-1 answer on their Millionaire!!
ESTONIA
Good dancing from Neil Hannon. Not much song here though. Christ, the UK might win this yet.
4/10
…with the acrylic circular platform and blue lights, it’s almost like this set is inspired by Walmsley’s famous amphitheatre for Millionaire… wonder if the lighting for this number is a deliberate reference?
Generic but not awful ballad. Gorgeous lighting, and a hilarious backstory, are enough for me to want this to go through. Not so sure on the song’s merits, though.
ESTONIA 6.5
Lighting Director is Al Gurden – he was the first LD on the Big Breakfast house, you know..
He now does big pop concert/event lighting, hence why NRK have thrown a bunch of fivers his way to light the stage for this (as he did last year in Moscow – although the LED backdrop screens they had last year pretty much did the job for him)
Estonia give us a generic boyband. Though the lead has a slightly eccentric facial expressions going.
I think I’d consider picking this one up, if I wasn’t currently boycotting mainstream labels.
9/10
Well, mid-tempo pop rather than ballad really. But not Eurodance. Definitely not Eurodance.
Here come the Slovakians.
The computer graphics are very nice.
SLOVAKIA
“Horehronie” – Kristine
A YouTube cult favourite.
Ooh, me likey the lighting. What’s up with the outfits though?
Estonia: Personally, I loved this in the promo video. And the live one isn’t that different. 8.5 I reckon. Could be a sleeper hit like Estonia last year.
OK that was a strange change of vocalist. Facilitating an even stranger bit of choreography.
I guarantee you most good musical theatre singers could have carried on singing through that lift though.
Song is forgettable. SLOVAKIA 5.5
SLOVAKIA
Dancers dressed as trees, it’s the first folk-pop song of the evening. Pleasant enough.
7.5/10
Slovakia give us an enchanted forest and the first own language song of the night.
This is quite good, actually. Good beat to it. And the guys playing the trees aren’t bad looking either. (Is that an erection pun?)
Sort of that pop/traditional hybrid that tends to work at Eurovision.
8.5/10
Slovakia 5. Not feeling.
FINLAND
Oh I’m not even going to try and type the name.
It’s modern folk! I expected it to have techno elements, but no.
How blatantly is this channelling “Fairytale”? None the worse for it, though…
Finland
Accordian, Violin, Original language, and a fairly old Eurovision styling to it.
Not really to my tastes, but can’t help smile at it.
…Old Eurovision with street dancing, kay then.
7/10
Second best song of the night, so I have no choice:
FINLAND 8
And I begin to regret my Moldovan vote.
FINLAND don’t want to win this year. Very much chuck lots at the wall and see what sticks. Needs more clapping, really.
4/10
I like that it’s like Eurovision through a Countryfile filter this year.
Finland: You used to be cool. 3.5/10
And here is Josh Not-very-goodie. YEAH, I WENT THERE
And the ad break for non BBC viewers, and the… Uhh… Our entry is subjecting us to his singing, I think. Can we have the commercials?
We follow the footsteps of Josh, this year’s last-placed entrant. What, you mean any of the finalists will be lumbered with a song as bad as his?
LATVIA – missing notes rather.
LATVIA – increasingly strong though. How can I find this Mr God?
7/10
Latvia
…Not keen. Not sure why this doesn’t work for me, mind, so we’ll go with… Oh that’s over repetitive too, lets lower it by one
4/10
LATVIA
“What For?” – Aisha
Stereotypically bluesy female vocal. Pulsing blue lights – not rapid flashing, possibly a risk for a very few viewers?
Adequate. No more or less
LATVIA 6.5