Good news for faithful travelling companion!

Did a bit of detective work today :)

Checked the iTunes Store and they've got Aydilge's CDs. As for Aslı Güngör, it's an EP rather than a full album.  Lots of Turkish music on there, all available to buy in this country!!

The big night is almost here!

Just back from a fabulous 4 night break in Turkey...now catching up with all the Eurovision news before getting ready for the big night.  So, how many of my foolish predictions from my previous post from last Sunday came true?  By the way, I have not yet watched the semi-finals and won't watch them till after the contest, so I don't really know how deserved these results were...!

Well I didn't do too badly, got Israel, Netherlands, Slovenia, Belarus wrong - particularly sad about "Time" and "We Are The Heroes" as they're two of my big faves this year.

On the plus side though, well done to Compact Disco - fantastic!  Kurt for Malta was a very surprising but quite welcome qualifier too.

However...
Bosnia-H?  Macedonia?  Would these songs have qualified if they'd come from, say, Finland or Switzerland?

I am far from being one of those people who reach for the sour grapes and blame bloc voting whenever certain results occur at ESC - a particularly British trait perhaps.

But in my own view, I feel there's been a particularly drastic change notably since the introduction of the semi-final in 2004.  On the one hand, it's a good thing that everyone gets a chance to compete on Europe's biggest musical level playing field for at least one night; but it has to be said that since 2004 the focus has shifted so far to the extent that you find yourself sitting on the Saturday night yelling out the 8s, 10s and 12s before the jury spokesperson does.   Whether or not you agree, bloc voting and the so-called "diaspora" vote do exist, and you will see more evidence of that tonight.  Rant over.

Regardless of all that, the Eurovision Song Contest is still the greatest TV show in the world, and I wouldn't miss it for anything.  I have always had my reservations about Azerbaijan staging the contest, but I hope that Baku gives us a sparkling and worthy final tonight, with all the performers giving their very best.  

Happy Eurovision night!

Eurovision 2012: It's the final countdown!

Once upon a time, the Eurovision Song Contest happened for one night a year, you'd get a couple of preview shows (and even these were scrapped) and that was it.

Now, Eurovision is an all-year round, truly interactive experience.  And aren't we glad about that!!  Months of national finals, song selections and speculation, rehearsals week, the two semi-finals, the grand final and then months of post-match analysis before it all rolls round again :)

This week I've been enjoying watching all the rehearsal clips, both official and unofficial, posted on the internet almost as they happen.  As I'll be on holiday in the coming week I'll miss the two semi-finals but should be back home in time for the final.  However, I don't really feel that I've missed anything, because of all the wonderful people who are blogging, posting videos, tweeting links, recording podcasts etc....thanks to each and every one of you for bringing the Eurovision experience alive. 

So it's foolish predictions time.  Here's who I think will qualify out of the semi-finals.  As ever, I will probably be completely wrong, but here goes:

Qualifying from Semi-Final 1:
Iceland
Greece
Albania
Romania
Israel
Cyprus
Denmark
Russia
Moldova
Ireland

Hope to be wrong here, as I'd love Hungary to make it through - it may not be a "fan-fave" but "Sound of Our Hearts" is one of my particular favourites this year. And he is great :)

You always get a shock qualifier/non-qualifier of course so don't write off Austria due to the draw and just the sheer ridiculousness of it.... and then of course there is also uh oh, uh oh oh, which is awful but catchy. Maybe take Cyprus out of the equation too despite the 12 points from Greece?  Greece will probs qualify because they are Greece of course, even though I can't really stand their song this year.  I just wonder if the current economic situation will affect their points total in the final...or could they be punished at the semi-final stage?

Qualifying from Semi-Final 2:
Serbia
Netherlands
Belarus
Ukraine
Slovenia
Sweden
Turkey
Estonia
Norway
Lithuania

Again I'm having some doubts as Belarus could drop out of the running with either Croatia or Bosnia-Herzegovina sneaking through although both of their songs are, for me, substandard this year.  I've got a feeling Slovenia is going to do very well though. 

Georgia could be the possible shock qualifier in this one but I don't know who could drop out - maybe Lithuania, although they have a terrific draw, and if Donny sings out of his skin the way he did in the 2nd rehearsal then he's definitely a tip for the final. 

You'll have noticed I've got the Netherlands in there.  I have a feeling that "You and Me" could give them their best result in years, due to its simplicity.  And everyone will remember the headgear which is totally unnecessary.  But at Eurovision, you gotta have a gimmick, so...

The Big 5+1

My views on this, as with the rest of the entries, change from day to day, from hour to hour. 
UK: will be top 10 at least, possible top 5 but won't win.
France: will get the poorest result out of all the big 5+1
Italy: definite top 5, possible winner - there was a lot of goodwill towards Italy last year and I think this could appeal to both juries and televoters.
Azerbaijan: just outside the top 10.
Spain: definite top 10 placing.  She can really sing this song.
Germany: definite top 10 placing, if he loses the silly headgear.  Great draw and a song with wide appeal, even if the hardcore fans seem to hate it.

I am not going to predict the winner.  If Loreen does win, as she seems to be getting a pre-contest Rybak/Lena buzz going, then it will be the latest in a long line of predetermined wins, which seems to be becoming the norm in the internet age. 

Then there are the grannies.  Have you ever been to a kids’ school concert or a dancing display, and there is always the little attention seeking one at the end who is about three steps behind the rest at all times, and yet they are so damn cute that you can’t stop watching them. Just like that little one in the Buranovskiye Babushki. The "awwww" factor is alive and well here, and Europe could totally fall for it. However, what Eurovision really needs is an international hit song as a winner, not a novelty entry.

So if Loreen or the grannies don't win, I think it's going to be a really close contest with the lead changing after every couple of voting results are announced.  Yep, I am sitting on the fence.  So instead I am going to predict the top 10, middle 10, and bottom 6, based on the above predictions.  Which, I reiterate, will be completely wrong.  But that's the fun of Eurovision!

In no particular order, the top 10:
Sweden
Romania
Italy
United Kingdom
Russia
Spain
Serbia
Ukraine
Iceland
Germany


The next 10:

Norway
Estonia
Azerbaijan
Slovenia
Ireland
Denmark
Netherlands
Albania
Israel
Turkey

The bottom 6:
Moldova
Lithuania
France
Greece*
Cyprus*
Belarus*
*possibly substituting shock/surprise qualifiers!

Next Saturday I'll be in front of the telly (watching in HD for the first time!) with wine and nibbles and the statutory potato wedges break .  As usual mum will be on hand to provide the odd quip, and I'll have pen in hand writing down all the thoughts of the EuropeCrazy HQ jury to turn it into a blog post which should be posted on here next Sunday.  In the meantime....enjoy Eurovision week!

Eurovision Memories Part 4: 1998

Another week goes by, another Eurovision anniversary.  Three days ago - Europe Day 1998 - marked the 14th anniversary of the last time the United Kingdom hosted the Eurovision party, in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.  The Beeb, in traditionally cash-strapped style, had Sir Terence of Wogan in the dual roles of presenter and commentator that year, whilst co-presenter Ulrika Jonsson could definitely have done with better styling not to mention tact and diplomacy.  A long time ago, was it???

The set was simple and stylish with its 'fishtail' backdrop.  Excellent job by Geoff Posner that year.

Eurovision 1998 was "of its time" - and I particularly loved the postcards devoted to various British cities.  Glasgow was featured in the postcard which preceded that nice Polish entry by the way :)  "Cool Britannia" was at its height, and I particularly enjoyed the various British hits which accompanied the postcards.  M People, Supergrass, Duran Duran, Everything But The Girl, Pet Shop Boys, Pulp, Catatonia, Duran Duran, Manic Street Preachers, Lighthouse Family, The Verve, Suede, Rod Stewart, Simply Red, Kula Shaker, Underworld, The Beautiful South, James, Mansun, Lightning Seeds...an impressive roll of honour which is even more impressive these days in the depressing, disappointing era of bad music :(

Of course, 1998 was all about the attention seekers.  Israel's Dana International looked fab in her glittery frock, complete with regulation Israeli sideways-strutting choreography, but if I'm honest "Diva" was not my favourite song that year...but you can't underestimate the significance of it all: and soon afterwards the arrival of the internet was to have a phenomenal effect on the development of the modern Eurovision song contest, which would never be the same again.

Dana was swiftly followed by the equally shy and retiring Guildo Horn for Germany, in his crushed velvet suit, complete with his Orthopaedic Stockings and a young Stefan Raab as conductor.  Admit it, peeps, there are more classic Eurovision moments in this performance than in many of the years which were to follow.

Watching the contest again, there are a few songs which I'd forgotten about....Ireland, for example - I thought "Is Always Over Now" was very underrated at the time.  By the way, I used to work with a girl who looked a bit like Dawn Martin, whilst my current boss resembles Charlotte Perrelli in her blonde days :)

And so to Royaume-Uni.  The crowd going wild for Imaani.  The hitherto unknown singer was charged with the responsibility of defending the title and she did an incredible job.  She looked great, sang brilliantly and the whole thing was a very professional effort.  Little did we know at that time that the UK's prestige at the contest was about to plummet in the years to come....:(

On to my favourite song of the night, and one of my most favourite ESC songs ever.  I refer to Mr Wogan's particular favourite too: "Hemel en Aarde" sung by Edsilia for the Netherlands, written by the Fluitsma/van Tijn songwriting partnership which was responsible for some of my mid-90s favourite songs.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this performance: this is one of the reasons why I am so proud to call myself a Eurovision fan. 

Oh look, it's Anders Berglund! Which means only one thing: Sverige.  A fine, assured vocal performance by Jill Johnson even if I never really rated her song.  Subtle intervention by the wind machine too.  I probably like this more now than I did back then.

We are in a very good section of the contest at this point: just when you'd given up on a decent French-language ESC entry by Belgium, along came the song which was known as "Seaweed" at EuropeCrazy HQ. 

Fast-forward a little more to another of our major favourites HQ that year: "Alltid Sommer" a.k.a. "All I Ever Wanted Was You" sung by the jumper-wearing seriously cute Norwegian Lars A. Fredriksen.  Actually there is nothing wrong with this either.  Total perfection.  "That boy is going to get a few girly votes" declared Sir Terence; ab-so-lutely!! The girls at EuropeCrazy HQ headed straight to the phones....

Then there was Koit Toome, the Estonian Gary Barlow-meets-Bruce Hornsby, who was reasonably cute too, but the song didn't really do much for us.  At that point, Estonia were solely flying the Baltic flag with no sign of Latvia: we had to wait two years for arguably the most amazing debut song ever in Eurovision.  Fact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1y9xhmMSDk

The interval act, showcasing the various musical cultures of the UK, was maybe a little too old-fashioned, but its heart was in the right place anyway.  And someone even managed to sneak Vanessa-Mae and Lesley Garrett in there. 

Then there was some voting.  Katrina, in a long red glittery frock, handed the trophy to a defiantly unpunctual Dana Int who reappeared in her victory outfit topped with those feathers.  Viva la diva indeed :)

So that was 1998, which was a very significant year, for two reasons. Firstly, it was the final year of the orchestra accompanying all the entries; it was also the final year before free language was reintroduced. Eurovision was in transition, and this was probably the last of the "old" contests: Eurovision was about to evolve into the mega-event of the modern era, the "party for everybody" which we know it as today - a very sprightly 56 year old which has no intention of slowing down, and which has a lot of life left in it!!!

I've enjoyed taking a trip back in time for this short series of Eurovision memories.  There is so much more to come, so the series will return later this year for another look back at the world's greatest TV show :)

Eurovision Memories Part 3 - 1997

I got the inspiration for the third part of this occasional series just a couple of nights ago, as various top bloggers/tweeters - notably Birmingham's finest, Melodimen - were commemorating the 15th anniversary of the last time the United Kingdom won the Eurovision Song Contest, on 3rd May 1997.

That was a pretty significant night for me, as it would be the first time since the early 1970s that I hadn't been at home on the evening of the contest due to a prior engagement.  On the way home by taxi, the driver had the radio news on, and I heard the announcement that the UK had won Eurovision.  My first thought was, for goodness sake, I really must be drunk!!  Did they just say what I thought they said?

But yes, they did.  On that evening, Eurovision was once again back in its spiritual '90s home, Ireland, after yet another win the previous year.  1996 had, for me, been one of the worst contests I'd ever had the misfortune to witness, and fittingly it was won by one of the weakest winners ever (IMHO) "The Voice" sung by Eimear Quinn. A strangely old-fashioned winner, yet the set design and production values of 1997 gave a message of modernity, what with all those digital screens etc, the introduction of limited televoting - giving power to the people - and then of course the interval act performance by the top pop band of the day, Boyzone.  (Between presenting and performing, RTE was definitely trying to get its money's worth out of Ronan Keating that night!).

Despite the push for modernity, many of the songs were still 'old Eurovision' and very little stood out that year for me.  Ireland defended its title well with top quality ballad "Mysterious Woman" sung by Marc Roberts, a song spookily reminiscent of that early 90s classic "Jessie" by Joshua Kadison (anyone else spot the resemblance or is it just me?).  Scoff if you must but I still have a soft spot for the Netherlands' great lost Bond theme, "Niemand Heeft Nog Tijd" by Mrs Einstein, whilst Italy's temporarily return with "Fiumi di Parole" brought a bit of welcome Italian style and class from the duo Jalisse.  Good to see Estonia getting a respectable result too with "Keelatud Maa" by Maarja-Liis Ilus.

It may have been a little cheesy, but I liked Hungary's answer to Boyzone-on-stools - VIP - and even now I still find their mid-tempo boyband song quite pleasant indeed.

My favourite entry of 1997 was a song with, ahem, a very memorable performance which probably had Sir Terence of Wogan choking on his Bailey's.  "Minn Hinsti Dans" is one of my most favourite Eurovision songs, ever.  It's Páll Óskar's PVC Party, and everyone's invited. 

Sweden, Sweden, Sweden.  Sorry, but I really did not like Blond or their song in 1997, and I still don't have much time for it today.  Let's not forget the nil-points brigade: Portugal's Celia Lawson and her finger-clicking backing-talkers shared last place with Norway's Tor Endresen.  Oh, and there was Alla Pugacheva.  That woman really did give it some of "that".  Then there was Kolig Kaj, rapping away in Danish, with a couple of backing dancers who had obviously graduated from the early 90s Melodifestivalen school-of-backing dancers (!), the off-key Croatian Spice Girls ENI, need I go on?

Looking at the contest now, it's understandable why "Love Shine A Light" won.  And what a runaway winner it was too.  Katrina (and her Waves) went out and gave an in it to win it, anthemic performance.  There was also the recognition factor: everyone remembers "Walking On Sunshine". Let's not forget the late draw either: and also the small matter of a positive change of government a couple of days earlier.  It was the days of Cool Britannia, of Things Can Only Get Better.  For the UK at Eurovision, it was still a time when respectable results were the rule, rather than the exception.  But those days were numbered.

For Eurovision, change was also in the air.  Limited televoting had been introduced in 1997 and this would eventually be extended to every country, replacing the increasingly unpopular jury system.  Whatever next?  The abolition of the orchestra and singers singing along to backing tapes?  People singing in whatever language they wanted?  But for the moment, there was the small matter of the United Kingdom hosting Eurovision the following year.  To be continued....

Drum roll...........

.......we've finally sorted out our spring holiday and.......

.......we are going back to Icmeler, Turkey in three weeks time :)))

Both faithful travelling companion and myself are very, very happy about this and of course you can expect the third instalment of the Turkish Diaries once we're back home!

Eurovision 2012: Semi-Final 2, Part 2

Portugal: "Vida Minha" - Filipa Sousa.
Question: is this better than last year's abomination? Yes actually it is.  Gotta hand it to Portugal, they mainly stick to the fado style and to hell with everything else.  Although this year it has a bit of a Balkan-Schlager-Fado style, which maybe has something to do with the fact that one of the writers is Andrej Babic, who's been putting it about for the past few years in various national finals and has also previously written ESC entries.

Ukraine: "Be My Guest" - Gaitana.
As I said before, this is like Anastacia singing "When Love Takes Over" and Gaitana is definitely the Ukrainian Kelly Rowland.  This will sail through to the final, although it's not much of a song IMHO.   The football stuff in the video got me thinking and I wondered if this is one of the official Euro 2012 songs?

Bulgaria: "Love Unlimited" - Sofi Marinova.
No, it's not a cover of the Fun Lovin' Criminals' legendary tribute to the great Barry White, but rather yet another one of those Inna/Alexandra Stan-type numbers which their Romanian neighbours seem to churn out with regularity.  It's a bit grating on first listen but could be one of those songs which sneaks a qualifying place at the expense of a more deserving entry and has us wondering..."why?!?!"

Slovenia: "Verjamem" - Eva Boto.
This is like "Euphoria" on sleeping pills.  It's a big Balkan ballad and where would ESC be without them?  Those women with the bath scrunchies on their heads are beginning to freak me out.  As usual, they probably won't qualify for the final because it's Slovenia.  But then they did last year with "No One" and I actually like this better, so....it probably won't qualify.

Croatia: "Nebo" - Nina Badric.
You wait ages for a Balkan ballad sung by a dark-haired woman and two come along at once.  So they will probably cancel each other out, and then Loreen will completely destroy them.  Croatia haven't really covered themselves in glory in recent years and I doubt if this one will do any better.  It's not bad, it's just not that great.  She really needs those blokes from the video on stage with her :)

Sweden: "Euphoria" - Loreen.
In these days of internet sensations and pre-determined winners, it appears that it could be Sweden's year.  An everlasting piece of art?  Not quite, but her unique, distinctive performance will propel Sweden out of the semi-final although the novelty may have worn off by the final.  Or maybe not.  Will she bring the title back to Eurovision's spiritual home?  I'm still not 100% sure.  Although it would be nice if she did.  And now for something completely different: this is my favourite version of the song....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6zel_2lJPs

Georgia: "I'm A Joker" - Anri Jokhadze.
I hadn't heard this one until tonight. After one listen I really don't know what to make of it.  It's all over the place.  The song starts all Nessun Dorma and then goes into cheesy cabaret and goes off on little Eastern tangents.  The main problem is that for a song claiming 'I'm a joker' it's not actually that funny.

Turkey: "Love Me Back" - Can Bonomo.
Unlike this song which never fails to bring a smile to my face. It's bonkers o'clock.  "I'm a lonely sailor drinking the night away" declares Can.  He's a cheeky chappie, and this is a totally mental song which is terribly addictive.  It's not up there with the classic Turkish entries though, but will get enough attention to make the final and could sneak a top 10 place on the Saturday night.

Estonia: "Kuula" - Ott Lepland.
The ballad of the contest (The Hump excepted of course) and there are so many reasons to love this - he's got a great voice, he looks like Kasper Juul off Borgen, it's in Estonian, and Ott's versatility knows no bounds - anyone who can sing Snoop Doggy Dogg's "What's My Name" in Estonian Idol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFL_rKD9dvM deserves major respect.  Bow wow wow yippee oh yippee ay indeed.

Slovakia: "Don't Close Your Eyes" - Max Jason Mai. 
I always have a soft spot for Slovakia, purely based on the fact that I went to Bratislava 2 years ago and loved it.  At least this song dares to be different, just a straightforward unpretentious rock song.  He's got big hair.  She hasn't seen him yet, but my mum's going to love him.

Norway: "Stay" - Tooji.
A few weeks ago, I had a dream where this song was playing when the the final ESC credits were going up on the screen.  Premonition? Wishful thinking?  I still have a very good feeling about this song, and wouldn't be surprised if it goes at least top 10 if he can deliver a decent vocal performance.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: "Korake Ti Znam" - Maya Sar.
I would always want them to do well but sadly this year this doesn't really cut it for me. "Love In Rewind" was so much better.

Lithuania: "Love Is Blind" - Donny Montell.
Maybe a little too gimmicky with the blindfold and all, but it's a good old fashioned uptempo ESC number.  I'm not sure how it will do though in this 21st century contest which tends to reject that kind of thing though. Good draw position but in the semi-final of death it may not be enough to survive.

The Big 5


Onwards to the final, and the 'big 5' who get automatic passage to the big night, just over 4 weeks away!

United Kingdom: "Love Will Set You Free" - Engelbert Humperdinck.
This is probably the best Royaume-Uni entry in years, because it's such a simple song performed by a music legend.  So what if he's 75 years old?  Who cares?  It's a song contest, remember!  The down side of the big 5 is that they only get one shot, and this is drawn in that horrible first position, but I remembered this after just one listen and Europe may hopefully do the same.  A top 5 placing would be very very nice indeed.  I'm no patriotic flag waving Brit but this is an entry we can really be proud of, for a change!

France: "Echo (You and I)" - Anggun.
Drawn in 9th spot in the final, France have gone for a real proper star this year - Anggun, who came to my attention a few years ago.  She has a great, distinctive voice but I feel it's not used to its full advantage on this quite frankly messy song.  Multiple key changes which Fredrik Kempe would envy, and gratuitous whistling throughout.  It's not bad, but it could and should have been better.  And a French entry with some English lyrics? Sacrilege, if you ask me.

Italy: "L'amore E Femmina (Out of Love)" - Nina Zilli.
Singing 10th in the final, this is a serious contender for the win and absolute top 5 placing at least.  Boom boom boom.  Very catchy song and her retro style is a refreshing change and reminiscent of Amy Winehouse.  However my major gripe with this song is the same as with the French song - why the English lyrics?  Italian is such a fantastic musical language so let's leave it at that eh?

Azerbaijan: "When The Music Dies" - Sabina Babayeva.
Singing in 13th position in the final, this is separated at birth from "Drip Drop" although hopefully without the histrionics and stupid running in heels.  It's not bad though, as this type of dramatic ballad goes.  A little reminiscent of Sam Brown's "Stop" for people of a certain age.  And on a fashion note, I hope she wears a pretty stunning dress too!

Spain: "Quedate Conmigo" - Pastora Soler.
19th position in the final is a pretty good place to be.  This is written by Thomas G:son and is yet another strong ballad.  Not sure how it will go votes-wise but it's not the worst.  Big key change of course.  Anyone think she looks a bit like Kate Garraway off breakfast telly though?

Germany:  "Standing Still" - Roman Lob.
The most favourable draw of all of the big 5: 20th out of 25.  This is one of my favourites this year, a strong mid-tempo contemporary number, co-written by Jamie Cullum no less!  He's quite cute too, although I hope he leaves the headgear at home.  Not a winner, but a strong performance on the night could push him up the results table.

After having heard all the songs I'm no closer to predicting a winner than I was before!

Anything you can sing, I can sing louder - I can sing anything louder than you

Tonight on The Voice UK it was time for the Battles: basically an elimination duet to establish who's staying and who's going.

First up: Team Will's Joelle vs Jenny.  The show has hardly started and there's a diva-off already.  I can sing/shout loud!  So what, I can sing/shout even louder!  It's a belter-fest and we're not really fussed on that kind of thing here at EuropeCrazy HQ.  We decide that Joelle's our fave out of these two, she's not perfect but the raw material is there, and she has a cool hairstyle too.  Will chooses Joelle: good choice.  

Team Danny's Max vs Bill are up next.  Max went to stage school and Bill didn't.  We liked Bill in the blind auditions and he's got lots of potential so we cheer him on, but Danny chooses Max, the guy in the hat who is far too cocky.  Mum declares that Danny will regret this decision.  And the hat is annoying her.  

Time for Team Tom's Aundrea vs Sam.  A little less conversation?  A little less screaming more like!  Our ears are very tired by the end of this one.  Aundrea's yet another one who falls into the oversinging trap and Tom punishes her for this by choosing Sam.  

On to Team Jessie's Kirsten vs Toni, and it's another squeal-fest on "Think" a song which we really don't like at all.  Admittedly they are both pretty good at what they do if you like that sort of thing.  Toni, the one with the alopecia, gets Jessie's vote.  

Back to Team Danny next: Bo vs Vince (Freeman): a most mismatched pairing, both in gender and vocal style.  Bo, who could probably make a decent living as a Dido/Dolores O'Riordan/Diana Vickers tribute act, has already had a lot of media coverage in recent weeks so it was no surprise really that she was chosen over barefoot rocker Vince.  She really needs to get her own vocal style though. Word of advice, Vince - go over to Sweden and enter The Voice Sverige, they will probably love you.  

I was looking forward to the next part of the Tyler James adventure and he was paired with Heshima for Team Will's next vocal battle.  "Yeah 3x"?  Que?  Bizarre song choice, but Mr i.am. knows what he's doing.  Ty's quiff is reaching Jedward proportions.  We spend the rest of the song talking about Eurovision (!) Yay! Will picks Tyler and is rapidly becoming my favourite judge.  

It's Vince (Kidd) vs Jessica in Team Jessie's next duel: a rather messy take on "We Found Love".  Jessica's veering too far from the melody so we choose Vince.  So does Jessie.  We're agreeing with most of the choices so far....

Back to Team Will for the Jay vs Jaz duel.  Jaz of course was the guy who got all the attention at the end of the show last week singing "Ordinary People" (which soared into the iTunes chart afterwards) - and he's also managed by Andrew "Starman" Stone don't you know :)  Anyway this was the toughest duel of the night, and it's a shame that someone has to go.  Why did Will put them together?  Jay has that Will Young quality to his voice and we'd have liked to see him go further.  Will said Jay's better than Justin Timberlake - but he puts Jaz through.  

And finally to Team Tom's Deniece vs Ruth duet.  We could have done without Ruth's sob story - the X Factor is that way, love - but we really can't stand Deniece purely for the reason that we always hated Five Star, therefore we're supporting Ruth.  A bit too much oversinging of "No One" - I'd have appreciated a more understated approach in the style of Alicia Keys, and some vocal control would be nice, but hey ho.  Ruth wins the duel and we're happy with that.  

So that's it for part 1 of the Battles.

More of the same in part 2:

Team Jessie: Cassius v David: "Beat It".  I missed most of this but it seemed OK.  Cassius through.

Team Tom: the battle of the big belters, Barbara vs Leanne.  Mum: "Someone should push the two of them over the edge of glory".  The younger woman wins out, and not for the first time...

Team Will: Frances vs Kate: "Ironic": in the midst of all these belters there's the 'aren't I so quirky?' brigade. Frances with her please-please-please-pick-me face won, although we preferred Kate.

Team Danny: Aleks vs Emmy.  He's far too nervous, she's singing over the top of him, but Aleks gets the vote.  Is it the 'raw talent who needs development' argument?  Or is it just cause the show probably needs a cute teenage guy in the line-up?

Team Jessie: Ben vs Ruth Ann:  They sing Whitney.  Ready to combust.  Ruth Ann wins.  Hmm.

Team Tom: Matt & Sueleen vs Lindsey.  As in the blind auditions, I declared that Lindsey is Shirley Clamp's sister, separated at birth, and we wanted to keep her in, because we don't get Matt & Sueleen.  Tom did.  We did not take this well.

Team Danny: Murray vs Hannah, doing "Kids" which was never one of my favourites and I didn't really care who went through.  Danny picked Hannah.

When all those chairs swung round in the blind auditions for Indie and Pixie, I wondered if the judges had lost their minds, as this pairing stood out from the rest of the contestants for all the wrong reasons.  Jessie paired them with the infinitely better Becky.  Of all the vocal 'belters' Becky particularly impressed and has genuine potential - thankfully Jessie made the right decision here.  

Team Tom paired Adam with Denise on a pretty awful version of "Use Somebody".  Adam won, and it will be interesting to see how he progresses.

Back to Team Will and one of the most controversial choices of the evening.  Sophie was up against J Marie, the latter was very impressive in the blind auditions.  Oh no, not "Firework".  I hate "Firework" with a passion - why no more subtle songs?  This was overcooked beyond description, although both did pretty well if you like that kind of thing.  Fine so far, but for a programme called "The Voice" which is all about, um, the voice as it were, apparently it's all about the age too.  Although we thought J Marie was clearly better, the criteria for not choosing her was....that she was 27.  Does singing talent have an upper age limit then? Or is this a really stupid question when you consider the age of the oldest judge on the show?

Finally, David vs John James, tearing up "Dakota" by the Stereophonics.  Of course we like our curly haired boys on this blog but I'm still not sure if I like David, the winner of this battle, all that much.

So that's it.  The live shows begin on Saturday 28th April. Hoping for a better variety of song choices otherwise we'll need to turn the volume down.

At the moment we haven't picked a favourite team yet.  But there will always be a place on this blog for a gratuitous picture of a certain Mr O'Donoghue....

Eurovision 2012: Semi-Final 2, Part 1

Serbia: "Nije Ljubav Svar" - Zeljko Joksimovic.  One of the big ballads of this year, and although as you know I'm not a ballad fan, this has grown on me after a few listens although it gets terribly overcooked towards the end.  An absolute qualifier from the 'semi-final of death' and a guaranteed top 5 place in the final. 

FYR Macedonia: "Crno i Belo" - Kaliopi.  It's all a bit too tortured for me to be honest, but they drop the beat in halfway through and it makes it remotely interesting but nothing more.  Might pick up a few Balkan stray votes but can't see it qualifying.

Netherlands: "You and Me" - Joan Franka.  Dare I say, be very afraid?  For some bizarre reason it reminds me of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHhyyRByuJ0
feel free to agree or disagree with me :)  In a very tight semi-final this could be a surprise qualifier.

Malta: "This Is The Night" - Kurt Calleja.  This is in the style of the Swedish dance-pop-boys, and the middle 8 even recalls that of "Amazing" - although it doesn't really explode, on first listen it is rather nice and listenable and probably better than most of the (by now forgettable) songs in semi-final 1.

Belarus: "We Are The Heroes" - Litesound.  Someone should really do a mash-up of this and Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger" :)  Another song which appealed to me on first listen, he is very cute but I wonder if they will wear those awful outfits in Baku?  It wouldn't be the first time at ESC that bad styling killed a good act/good song.

The final part of my Eurovision preview will be published here on Saturday 21st April.

Eurovision 2012: Semi-Final 1, Part 2

Israel: "Time" - Izabo. This is another one of those entries which I hadn't heard until very recently, yet over the past few days it has become one of my favourites and a very certain contender for my year-end chart. It's probably one of those songs which Eurovision fans will hate, and it probably won't do so well, but do you know what? I don't care, because I like it.

San Marino: "The Social Network Song" - Valentina Monetta. A.K.A "Facebook uh-oh-oh". She is on the "Glee"-scale of annoying, this song has horrific lyrics and worryingly,it popped into my head the other day, for all of about three seconds but really it shouldn't have. They missed a trick here as they should have inserted "tweet tweet" into the lyrics and would therefore have covered the whole spectrum of social networking.  Please do not "like" this one. Is this Eurovision's answer to Rebecca Black?

Cyprus: "La La Love" - Ivi Adamou. By this point I'm actually past caring whether or not I miss the semi-finals if the likes of this are anything to go by.  Disposable heard-it-all-before dance-pop which may scrape its way to a final place if it's lucky.

Denmark: "Should've Known Better" - Soluna Samay.  Inserts bad pun at this point that the Danish voters 'should've known better' and voted for the infinitely better "Take Our Hearts" or "Venter" instead.  Her styling in the national final was atrocious and as for the lyrics, EBTG should really be calling their legal team on hearing "I miss you, like Sahara missed the rain". It's American TV drama background music (I should know, I watch enough of them!) however its popularity still escapes me, even now.

Russia: "Party For Everybody" - Buranovskiye Babushki.  The novelty of this year's contest however the problem with novelties is that they go stale very quickly.  This may wow televoters in the semi-final but when it comes to the final I doubt if it will be so successful there.  The Russian grannies may be aww-cute but right now, ESC needs a major international hit to come out of the contest, and a win for them would not be such a good idea.

Hungary: "Sound of Our Hearts" - Compact Disco.  I was immediately impressed with this when it won the Hungarian selection so it will be no surprise when I tell you that I still feel the same.  It almost has a Hurts vibe to it, and they are very popular in parts of Europe, yet for some reason I can't see this song doing so well.  Which is a pity as it's one of the best this year. 

Austria: "Woki Mit Dein Popo" - Trackshittaz.  Do you really think the top dogs at the EBU will let an act with a name like that into the contest?  One of them (Lukas) has hair like the wannabe 3rd member of Jedward.  They're like an Austrian version of LMFAO.  This 'song' is pretty worthless though, and more than likely will continue the great tradition of rap songs not performing well at Eurovision. 

Moldova: "Lautar" - Pasha Parfeny.  "This trumpet makes you mine girl" is probably not the best chat-up line we've ever heard.  The Moldovan Colin Farrell gets down with the trumpets on this rather catchy number which doesn't measure up to the bonkers brilliance of "So Lucky" but could be a surprise qualifier in an otherwise dull semi-final.

Ireland: "Waterline" - Jedward.  Not as instant as "Lipstick" (whether you loved it or not, admit it, it was catchy) but if this taps into the Twitterverse's ongoing (inexplicable) obsession with the likes of One Direction then they could have it in the bag.  Presumably they will be relying on a lot of assistance from the backing singers as usual :)

Are you going? Are you going?

So...the Blind Auditions are over, the Battle Rounds are on the way, but the best thing of all is that "The Voice UK" has been a resounding success. Whether or not you agree with the need for yet another TV talent show, the success of The Voice UK is very significant indeed - it's sending out a message that we are sick of your manipulative 'let's all laugh at the poor deluded individual who can't sing' TV formats.

That's not to say The Voice UK is perfect, because it isn't.  It's a 21st century TV talent show, with all the knowing ingredients.  Despite their insistence that there are no sob stories, well...there are, and they will probably be revisited as the series goes on.  And as for the judges/mentors, they've probably got an eye towards boosting their own careers and we wouldn't be too surprised if this series generates a British equivalent of "Moves Like Jagger" - we can only hope for something as good as that!

Here at EuropeCrazy HQ we agreed that the biggest annoyance during the Blind Auditions was that Will.i.am, Jessie J, Tom Jones and Danny O'Donoghue took far too long to push the button, worst offenders clearly being Jessie and Danny, miming along with the singers and mock-goading each other ("are you going? are you going?"), and screaming 'me-me-me!'.

Yet despite all that...we love The Voice UK and can't wait till the next instalment.

Not laying down any conspiracy theories here, but IMHO I thought it was pretty suspicious that some articles appeared in the press last weekend which appeared to discredit the show by suggesting that some of the contestants weren't the 'undiscovered talent' which the show was supposed to uncover.  Big deal!  Do I remember rightly that over the past 8 years of a certain talent show which runs in the lead-up to Christmas, that some contestants have had previous recording contracts?  People in glass houses.....

Anyway I don't care.  I just want to hear some decent singers for a change, preferably without any bickering-judges media circus around them.  I couldn't care less if they've had 'previous' or not.  In the case of Tyler James, who's on Will's team, I'm just glad to see him get a second chance.  Back in the day, he was a big favourite in blogland, and I remember chatting to Acer Ben about him in my early blogging days...."Foolish" was a great pop single too.  He may be better known in recent times for being the late Amy Winehouse's ex, so it will be nice to see him hitting the headlines for his vocal ability.

(Tyler James picture courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk)

Eurovision 2012: Semi-Final 1, Part 1

I thought it was about time to give my views on this year's Eurovision semi-final songs.  Up till now I'd only heard a few of them, but on listening to most of the entries in Semi-Final 1, I reckon I hadn't missed much.  As usual, feel free to agree or disagree!  

SEMI-FINAL 1

Montenegro: "Euro Neuro" - Rambo Amadeus.  This guy firstly came to my attention in that fab series "Michael Palin's New Europe", however on first listen this has no redeeming features whatsoever.  A load of words put together, but in a 'song contest' this is most definitely not a 'song' but it's maybe different enough to get a few televotes.

Iceland: "Never Forget" - Gréta Salóme & Jónsi.  Now this is more like it.  Drama!  Knitwear!  Even though I'd have preferred it in its native Icelandic, it still rules.  On the down side, second position is the 'draw of death' but I would really, really, hope that it overcomes all the odds against it. 

Greece: "Aphrodisiac" - Eleftheria Eleftheriou.  One of the many Swedish-co-written songs in this year's contest.  Of course I would want to love it, but it's just not happening and the whole thing comes across like a trashy 14th-rate version of "My Number One" which was never a particular favourite of mine, but compared to this it actually seems so much better.  But it will qualify "because it's Greece". 

Latvia: "Beautiful Song" - Anmary. Once again, because it's Latvia, I want to love it, but on first listen it just disappoints me in so many ways.  Stupid lyrics about being born in the year that Johnny Logan won, and yet more lyrical references to Mick Jagger.  It's a long way from being a 'song that everybody hums and everybody loves'....however in a weak semi-final it could maybe grab a qualifying place.

Albania: "Suus" - Rona Nishliu.  Despite this not particularly appealing to me, extra points for the use of (a) native language and (b) clackers in the official video.  The director was obviously a child of the 70s!

Romania: "Zaleilah" - Mandinga.  This sounds a little Spanish, with the kind of summer-dancey-pop-hit vibe to it.  Without any doubt, a qualifier.

Switzerland: "Unbreakable" - Sinplus.  One of the first 2012 entries to be chosen, yet I haven't heard this till today. Even though it's a bit incomprehensible I'll probably end up liking it as I like a lot of the pop/rock stuff at ESC.  In typical Swiss style though, it will probably not qualify.  

Belgium: "Would You?" - Iris.  So far it's all been pretty underwhelming, so 'would you' vote for this year's Belgian entry?   Well you never know: she's got a slightly unusual vocal style, but on the down side (a) it's not Tom Dice and (b) they went for an internal selection and denied us Eurosong yet again, so I'm not feeling so charitable after all. 

Finland: "Nar Jag Blundar" - Pernilla Karlsson.  Finland in Finlandsvenska-language ESC entry shock!  I get the feeling they don't particularly care any more, although this is actually OK in a kind of swaying, folksy way.  

Eurovision Memories Part 2: 1974 - I was defeated, you won the war

Eurovision Song Contest 1974.  Abba. Brighton. Katie Boyle.

Despite it being almost 38 years ago, I remember that evening as if it was yesterday.  6th April 1974 had not been an ordinary day.  My beloved grandad had died earlier that week, and that was the day of his funeral.  He may not have been an obvious Eurovision fan, not really: but as my mum reminds me every year at Eurovision time, he had predicted Dana's win in 1970.  I wonder what he'd have made of Abba?  

At 8.00 pm we all gathered round the TV for the Eurovision Song Contest, which "came home" to Brighton that year.  Eurovision was a part of my life as long as I can remember but I can honestly say that 1974 was the first contest I could remember from beginning to end.  

So many of the entries scream "easy listening" such as the opener “Keep Me Warm” from Finland however I strangely like this...however I can't say the same for the Sally-Army-anthem "Long Live Love" and the divine Olivia singing for Royaume-Uni in her nightgown. A good performance of an embarrassing song.  

I distinctly remember the Israel entry being one of my favourites that year.  “Natati La Khayay” by Poogy (Kaveret) still sounds OK today, and they’ve got a co-ordinated tank tops thing going on too  

By this time we were into a rather good section of the contest.  “Generacija 42” a.k.a. “Moja Generacija” by Korni represented Yugoslavia, and as befits the time they were all multicoloured satin and facial hair, yet even as a child I was struck by the seriousness and intensity of this song amid all the 1974 jollity.  I had kept a book where I wrote down all the entries and noted this as one of my favourites. 

What came next was to change everything forever.  On that night I will never forget the first time I saw the Swedish group Abba - two women and two men in striking costumes with a conductor dressed as Napoleon. It was like nothing we’d ever seen before, and we completely loved them.  This song, "Waterloo" must surely win!  

It was a very significant year as it wasn't just the eventual winning song which became a hit.  The Dutch entry "I See A Star" by Mouth & MacNeal and Italy's "Go" (Si) by Gigliola Cinquetti also made our charts: pretty unthinkable these days, but a significant sign of how Eurovision mattered more back in the less cynical 70s.  

There wasn't much more to mention about ESC 1974 except for one more significant entry from Portugal - "E Depois du Adeus" sung by Paulo de Carvalho was the signal for the country's 'Carnation Revolution', a military coup which delivered Portugal from dictatorship to democracy.  

That year's interval act was, believe it or not, the British musical phenomenon of the time - The Wombles :)  

After the voting - which didn't last as long as today's hour long marathons - Abba secured Sweden's first ESC victory.  A very satisfactory one...but we didn't know at that time just how fantastic and influential they would become!

Eurovision Memories Part 1 - 1977: My bedroom wall's covered with glamour

On Saturday nights - particularly at this time of year - I keep returning to long-lost (but never forgotten) Eurovision favourites of mine.  So in the absence of Retro Saturday, I thought it would be a good idea to start a new occasional series on my Eurovision memories.

I'm starting with a trip back in time, 35 years ago, to the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest which took place here in the United Kingdom on 7th May, following Brotherhood of Man's historic win in 1976 with "Save Your Kisses for Me".   Earlier that year I got my first cassette recorder and this was the first contest which I can remember taping the preview show when it was on the BBC (oh how we miss those days).  

It's a long long way from the contest we know and love today: a "rattle your jewellery" audience, one solo presenter (Angela Rippon), an intro-postcard of some national stereotyping, and no messing about - straight into the first song after 7 minutes.  I still have fond memories of Ireland's entry that year: "It's Nice To Be In Love Again" by the Swarbriggs Plus 2.  Yes of course it's ridiculously cheesy and old-fashioned, but who cares?  

Unfortunately the contest was also responsible for a clip-show regular - Austria's "Boom Boom Boomerang" which probably signified the worst type of Eurovision entry, and not for the first time did it try that old trick of putting a lot of English words together to equal a load of nonsense.  The Spanish entry also makes it to the clip shows, purely for that jumper worn by singer Micky :)

Back in those days however there were still some countries singing in English, and two of them produced a couple of the best entries of that year, and indeed two enduring favourites of mine - both of them discotastic!  Belgium's "A Million In One, Two, Three" sung by Dream Express and Germany's "Telegram" by Silver Convention - the latter were already known in this country thanks to their big hit "Get Up and Boogie".  I'd have been happy with either of them winning - particularly "Telegram" which still stands up today as a great entry and one which I could still, in my fantasy world, imagine the credits rolling as the girls reprised their winning song.

One major disappointment for me that year was the Swedish entry.  After sitting it out in 1976 I'd expected them to come back with something worth waiting for - but "Beatles" by Forbes was, and remains, one of Sweden's weakest and poorest performing Eurovision entries.  Of course in those days there was no Denmark (who rejoined in 1978) and Iceland (we had to wait till 1986)!  

What about the host nation?  Unfortunately, and I know some of you might disagree, but "Rock Bottom" sung by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran remains one of my most-loathed home country representatives.  

"Promises Promises" by Rags - a three-person group which numbered a co-founder, manager and songwriter for later ESC winners Bucks Fizz - would have been a much better UK entry in 1977.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzGy09Zimvc

Even in those days it was all about the draw position.  France were drawn to sing in final position, 18th to be precise.  Marie Myriam, in a mustard-coloured dress, belted out "L'Oiseau et L'Enfant" which is a typical French-language 70s ESC entry, but even after all this time it remains a mystery to me why it won the contest that year.   

The Square-Eyed Couch Potato: March 2012

Best show of the month? No doubt about it - "THE HAIRY BIKERS BAKEATION" (BBC2, Tuesdays). Si "Kingy" King and Dave Myers are back on the road, heading across Europe to sample some of the best baking around. Now isn't that a dream job - combining two of my obsessions, food and travel? So far they've been to Norway and the Low Countries, next stop Germany - catch it on BBC iPlayer if you haven't already done so, it's an absolute treat. They're two of the most likeable people on TV, with a warm and funny sense of humour. Here at EuropeCrazy HQ, we love them!



Biggest hype of the month? The (yawn) 'ratings battle' between the returning dancers-and-performing pets-fest that is "Britain's Got Talent", and the British version of that new global talent show phenomenon - "THE VOICE UK". I wouldn't waste a second of my life watching anything with Cowell on it so needless to say...it's all about "The Voice", which finally started last night with the 'blind auditions'. The format is fresh and original, we know it well from seeing clips of various foreign versions, and you're guaranteed nothing but good singers. Even Jessie J and Will.i.am, neither of whom are particular faves of mine, came across as quite likeable, and Mum fancies Danny O'Donoghue (although I wasted no time in reminding her that Bressie is hotter). There's competitive namedropping between the coaches, but there's a warmth about the show which is lacking in certain other talent shows I won't mention. On the down side, do they really need to feature the back-stories, the sob-stories, the family members sobbing backstage - all staple fare of those other talent shows? And please, no more of this "this is all I've ever wanted" crap. Just get on with it and sing. On the whole though, we enjoyed week 1 and will be watching again. Perfect timing too, as we're both suffering from a post-Melodifestivalen Saturday night void.



Stupidest concept of the month? The 'alternate reality' episode of "GREY'S ANATOMY" (Sky Living, Wednesdays). This is one of those jump-the-shark scenarios, almost as ridiculous as last season's musical episode. The funniest thing about the 'what if?' episode was undoubtedly Alex's glasses :)

Poorest decision of the month: OK so who decided to drop "PARENTHOOD" (5*, Thursdays) from the 5* schedule? I tuned in last week and it wasn't there, replaced by The Mentalist. No sign of it this week either. What's going on 5*? We want answers. You can't do this to us.



Social experiment of the month: Whether documentaries are 'dumbing down' or just becoming more 'populist' the TV channels are constantly looking for ways to adapt existing TV formats. So, imagine Big Brother mixed with a non-gender-specific Wife Swap = "MAKE BRADFORD BRITISH" (Channel 4) in which a group of racially diverse British people who all failed the UK citizenship test were all put together to try to understand each other's cultures better. The result was more than predictable in an "I'm not going to do this/act like this anymore" way. At least at two episodes it didn't overstay its welcome.



You wait for one documentary about racial extremism and two come along at once of the month: Regular readers will know that I'm no fan of BBC3 but occasionally I'll catch a documentary on there. This time it was "MY HOMETOWN FANATICS" where Stacey Dooley took a very personal look at two sides of extremism in her home town, Luton. As befits the BBC3 demographic it wasn't too heavy, and slightly simplistic at times, but young Ms Dooley has a down to earth appeal which may appeal to some of that demographic who would probably not watch something with a more serious, dry approach. Coincidentally, Channel 4 also screened a very similar documentary about the same theme and the same town, within about a week of the BBC3 show.



Celeb-fronted lightweight documentary of the month: I'm no fan of this type of show but don't really mind Gok Wan though, so quite enjoyed "MADE IN CHINA" in which the fashion guru went back to his father's roots and explored modern China. Gok came face to face with his Chinese doppelganger, and shops full of fakes including something called an "Eye Phone" which I thought was quite amusing. Like most of the other populist-docs of the moment it was pretty superficial and not too deep, but a nice way to pass an hour nonetheless.

Glitterball of the month: BBC4 celebrated its 10th anniversary with a disco night! We've all seen the disco stories over and over again, but who cares when you get programmes like "THE JOY OF DISCO" which focused on the birth of the music phenomenon, and the underlying racism and anti-gay prejudice of the time.

Scottish documentary series of the month: "HIGH SCHOOL" (BBC1, Mondays) is a very enjoyable short series about life at Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow, which is Europe's biggest high school. When we learned that the show was made by the same production team which brought us the by now legendary shock-doc "The Scheme", we feared the worst. But don't worry - this one's all good, with not a Marvin in sight. Holyrood is a high-achieving school with a racially diverse group of pupils and very supportive teaching staff. Can we have another series please, BBC?



Big new US TV import of the month: I'm still watching "HOMELAND" (Channel 4, Sundays) although for some reason, it's as annoying as it is gripping. The is-he-or-isn't-he-a-terrorist main plotline is quite original, yet there is something about it which really, really annoys me. My friend at work who also watches the show answered my question - "it's her!" (leading lady Carrie, played by Claire Danes). I think there's going to be a massive plot twist. Or maybe I'm just trying to get excited about the show again, as it's gone a little off the boil over the past couple of weeks.

Melodifestivalen 2012: The Final - 10.03.2012

Here, finally, is my Melodifestivalen final review which I'm finally getting rounf to publishing after my blogging-break of the last couple of weeks!

10.03.2012: time for the Melodifestivalen final, as ever coming live from Globen in Stockholm. One major change, as the pre-contest onscreen announcers who we've come to know and love over the years were just this week banished to history: SVT decided to remove them from our screens which is really sad. But progress and all that....

Anyway the computer was wired up to the TV (ah, the joys of an HDMI port!) in time for the final 2 hour extravaganza of this year's Melodifestivalen season, with yours truly and mum gathered in front of the TV at EuropeCrazy HQ for the final showdown. It kicked off with the hosts in a "Baku Baku" tribute to this year's ESC host city (to the tune of New York New York) followed by last year's MF winner Eric Saade dancing to a medley of his own songs, and only making the effort to mime when he could be bothered.



The three hosts, Helena, Gina and Sarah sparkled in their party dresses (or in Gina's case, a catsuit). I'm really impressed with the job they've done over the past six weeks - great choice SVT!

Mum was getting irritable by this point - "OK, enough of these presenters, when is this thing actually starting??"



It did start eventually, and first on stage was David Lindgren to sing the Danny-reject "Shout It Out".Of all this year's performers, David is probably the one who will benefit from this high-profile career launchpad. This song has grown on me over recent weeks and it's an energetic opening number.

Mum: "He looks like a bank clerk....although he's wearing trainers, so he's trying to be trendy".
Laura: "Good vocals, good song and dance man - this will be a good springboard for him, but he's still lacking in charisma".
Mum: "He's a very good singer though".



Melodi nummer två: "Jag Reser Mig Igen" by Thorsten Flinck and his Revolutionsorkester.

You know the score: another barefoot and intense performance of a (non) song which we've never managed to connect with at any time we've heard it during the contest.
Laura: "Apparently you need to be Swedish to get him".

Mum: "By the neck, preferably....he's like some drunk uncle at a wedding who'll grab the microphone off you and won't let it go for the rest of the night".
Mum: "You know some Swedish - what's he singing about?"
Laura: "Think it's about picking himself up again.. or something".



"Mystery" - Dead By April. It's not been a classic year, but this year's final has certainly given us a diverse line-up. We've had the breakdancing bank clerk, the tortured actor and now the death metal boyband. There is potentially a decent song somewhere in there, but then it gets ruined with all that growling.

Mum: I don't remember this.
Laura: This was in the first week, when you weren't really watching it.
Mum: Do the audience get these pink cowboy hats thrown in for free with their tickets?
Laura: Don't know. Back to the song...it's too stop-start/disjointed for me.



"Why Start A Fire" - Lisa Miskovsky.

When we first heard this it failed to start a fire at EuropeCrazy HQ, yet between then and now I listened a few more times and it ended up becoming one of my favourite songs of this year and may even figure in my year-end chart. Its subtlety is its strength, and that made it particularly stand out during the final.

Laura: This has probably grown on me more than many of the other songs in the final.
Mum: I quite like this.
Laura: Quality song, written by Norwegian songwriters including the lovely Alexander With (who looked particularly hot in the pre-song announcement).



"Baby Doll" - Top Cats.

Fulfilling what's become an annual rockabilly-quota, Top Cats milk the moment and enjoy what will probably be the peak of their career.

Mum: Oh yes, I remember them. I feel as if I've heard this song a million times.
Laura: And as I say at this point every week, 'it's not as good as The King, by the Playtones last year'.
Mum: the singer reminds me of the bank clerk guy from earlier on.
Laura: David Lindgren?
Mum: yes, him.
Laura: this should get the Dansbandskampen-vote. The novelty's worn off by now.



"Euphoria" - Loreen.

You can't even hear Sarah announcing this one because it's drowned out by the audience's cheers. The dark and mystical staging and choreography - and Loreen herself - is crucial to the song's success. Without that, I doubt if it would have been so successful.

Mum: this is too repetitive. Euphoria, euphoria, euphoria.
Laura: it's all about her performance which lifts this song out of the ordinary, as I said before. It's got that 90s dance vibe to it, which I love, but I only like this song rather than love it. She is better than the song though.



"Soldiers" - Ulrik Munther.

Ulrik walks onstage to "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve, which automatically earns him extra poäng at EuropeCrazy HQ. Everyone is waving lights in the stadium, and I'm very impressed. Globen looks majestic.

Laura: I think this is one of the most underrated songs this year.
Mum: not often that you see two drummers!
Laura: I like this.

By this stage we both agree that our favourite of the evening so far is....Lisa.





"Mirakel" - Bjorn Ranelid and Sara Li.

The now-bearded Mr Ranelid threatened to quit the contest because of all the abuse from internet trolls, but he changed his mind and decided to stay. The tanned one and his dancey sidekick take the stage to "Conquest of Paradise" setting the scene for another epic performance....however I get the feeling that whereas the buzz for Flinck has grown over the past week, the momentum for this one has been lost.

Laura: Herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrregud. Kärleken, kärleken, kärleken, oj oj oj oj!
Mum: ??????????????????????????????????????



"Why Am I Crying" - Molly Sandén.

The only "big ballad" this year. However I'd rather have had Sonja Aldén's subtle non-qualifier than this big shouty-screamy number. Molly is a very good singer though, but I'd like to see her back at MF in the coming years with an Agnes-style dance-pop stomper.

Laura: This is the ex-girlfriend of the guy who was on at the start of the show...
Mum: Oh...right.
Laura: Time for potato wedges!



And finally..."Amazing" - Danny Saucedo.

The man in the glow in the dark suit takes the stage to E.M.D. bandmate Mattias Andréasson's "Forlåt Mig" which I find quite amusing. He's managed to recover well from the sickness of the past week. I'm not so sure how much is live and how much is Memorex, but we're both much more impressed than we were a couple of weeks ago.

Mum: good gimmick, these lighted suits.
Laura: he's got the vocals right. Although the song itself is still a bit of a letdown, he's definitely my favourite tonight.
Mum: mine too. Best tonight.

The EuropeCrazy HQ Jury Top 5:

1st - Amazing
2nd - Why Start A Fire
3rd - Shout It Out
4th - Soldiers
5th - Euphoria

So you're probably shocked that "Euphoria" finished so low in our voting. Loreen is such a strong artist, a one-off, with a fantastic voice and an incredible stage presence - but I just can't explain why I don't like the song as much as I probably should, and I wonder if it would have been so popular if another artist had sung it?



Songs over, and time for the best moment of the final - a sketch which will go down in Melodifestivalen legend. Sarah Dawn Finer as the clueless EBU lady Lynda Woodruff, complete with impeccable English accent - a classic comedy creation!



On to the international jury votes, where Loreen gets most of the top marks, Danny gets a few 12s too, the UK jury spokesman Simon Proctor's as good at pronouncing Azerbaijan as Lynda Woodruff is (!), Malta buck the trend as usual and give their 12 to David, oh and hello Tooji in Norway!!

After the international jury votes, the tan man and the barefoot guy are propping up the scoreboard. "Euphoria" is a runaway winner even before the televote is added. The song's success with the international juries is a very good sign. I have mixed feelings about the song as even though it's wasn't my favourite in Melodifestivalen, it's a great choice to represent Sweden and I can see it achieving a very high position in ESC. And having heard some of the rubbish from other countries masquerading as entries this year, I'd have to say that "Euphoria" is one of the best.

And so to the interval act. The tradition of the previous year's winning song being re-interpreted in a different way is now a regular feature of the final, and it was certainly a major coup to get a previous ESC winner to sing it. I refer to Helena Paparizou, reinterpreting "Popular" in "Chicago" style. It was OK, she looked amazing, but it strangely left me cold like most of this year's "Tredje Chansen" efforts.

Now time for the televote. By this point the camera focused on Danny, whose disappointed expression clearly showed that he was resigned to losing. In any other year he would have triumphed, but this year he was up against something very special indeed. As for the televote results, the most "Amazing" thing about the televote was that third place for Thorsten Flinck, and fourth place for Top Cats! Oh well, each to their own.

When all the votes were added together the final result was:

1st - Euphoria
2nd - Amazing
3rd - Soldiers
4th - Shout It Out
5th - Why Am I Crying
6th - Baby Doll
7th - Mystery
8th - Jag Reser Mig Igen
9th - Why Start a Fire
10th - Mirakel

So Loreen carries the hopes of Sweden to Baku with "Euphoria".



Big congratulations to Loreen! However well Loreen does in Baku, she's already a record breaker, receiving the highest televote figure ever in Melodifestivalen - 670551 to be precise.

Since it was selected, "Euphoria" is picking up a lot of international buzz and is probably the strongest favourite for a Swedish win in many years. Stockholm 2013, anyone?

Hello....

...just to let you know that I've had a very busy and tiring week and literally haven't had a minute to blog. Hoping to resolve the situation over the next few days when I'll eventually post my Melodifestivalen final review and some other stuff too.

EuropeCrazy is 5 years old today!!

Sunday 11th March, the day after the Melodifestivalen final, and a new blogger takes her first steps into blogland.

Fast forward five years on, to Sunday 11th March, the day after the Melodifestivalen final, and I’m celebrating five years of blogging!

So how do I sum up the first five years of EuropeCrazy? With a list of course, being the compulsive list maker that I am. So here goes....

Melodifestivalen, Eurovision, Rachel, Keira, Damian, Kippers, Mick, Poster Girl, Acer Ben, Retro Saturdays from the 70s, 80s, 90s and now, Lee Mead, Kent, The C’mons, Star Academy, Swedish Idol, MGP, Euro charts updates, Snook/Oskar Linnros/Daniel Adams-Ray, Harry Hill, Strictly Come Dancing, Chromeo, Mika, E.M.D., Måns, Sebastian, Danny, Ola, Vincent Pontare, Christophe Willem, Ali Love, D’Nash, Calvin Harris, Swedish telly, One Tree Hill, Grey's Anatomy, The Ark, September, Bressie, Tomas Ledin, Alcazar, The Killing, Wallander, Naeturvaktin, Jönsi, Christian Walz, Alexander Stenerud, Adam Lambert, Christopher Hiding, Jamiroquai, Mor ve Ötesi, Flight of the Conchords, Prison Break, Robyn, Darin, Gabriella Cilmi, Eddie Razaz, Olle Hedberg, iPods big and small, B.W.O., Tour de France, Renars Kaupers, Tingsek, Osmo Ikonen, Paul Steel, Bryn Christopher, Empire of the Sun, Moneybrother, Fibes Oh Fibes, Clouseau, Erik Hassle, Lady Gaga, Swedish music, French music, attempting to get food photos into Blogs of Note (or not), good times, bad times, happy times, sad times, hyperactivity, depression, love, obsession, Stockholm, Berlin, Riga, Nice, Gothenburg, Dusseldorf, Icmeler, Dublin, Gothenburg (again), Bratislava, Bodrum, Pisa, Dublin (again), spin-off blogs, Salem Al Fakir....

...and that's what it's all about.

If you've ever passed this way and read a post or left a comment, then I just want to thank you for all your support - it means so much...and as for all my blogging pals, well what can I say? It's such a pleasure to have got to know you all, and here's to many happy times ahead!

Of course, things have changed since those early days. The "blogging with a vengeance" which was once a feature of this blog is no longer possible, as I'm not allowed to blog from work whilst on teabreak/lunchtime, which has had a significant impact on my blogging activity as I don't always have the time/energy/inclination in the evenings to blog as frequently as I used to. However, I will continue to maintain my "first born" blog which will always be special to me, so all things being well, you can look forward to at least five more years of EuropeCrazy :)))))

"Euphoria"-euphoria = foregone conclusion?

"I'm feeling great, I'm feeling awesome".

Well that's not the case if you're either Danny Saucedo or Loreen, as this year's Melodifestivalen front-runners have both been struck down with throat/voice problems. But don't worry, because even if the vocal fortunes are against them, the gods of Memorex will make it all ok :) Only joking of course and I hope both of them recover in time to give their best vocal performances 24 hours from now.

Yes, it's exactly one day left till the Melodifestivalen final and it appears that the people of Sweden have spoken. If the popularity polls and the download charts are anything to go by, it's a foregone conclusion that "Euphoria" performed by Loreen will win Melodifestivalen on Saturday night.

But Sweden will only have it's say in 50% of the voting with the other 50% being decided by a group of international juries, initially introduced to provide a barometer of international taste with a view to how well a winner will do at Eurovision. They got it pretty accurate last year with "Popular" so here's hoping that whatever song they choose, it will get at least a top 5 result again, in Baku.

What do I think? Well, on the whole I've been disappointed by the quality of the songs this year in comparison to, say, the last 4 years - every year there's been at least 5 or 6 songs which I'd continue to listen to after the contest was over, but I can't say the same for 2012. The question I asked after hearing all this year's songs was...where's the Melodi gone? Where are the enduring songs? "Amazing" is very modern and contemporary, as is "Euphoria", but neither of them could be described as a classic, memorable song. Although having said that, "Euphoria" is better than "Amazing".

In any other year Danny would have been a very obvious winner, but two things are stopping him this year: "Amazing" just isn't a good enough song, and he's met his match against such a commanding, compelling performer as Loreen.

Whatever happens tomorrow night, I hope Sweden (and the international juries) make the right choice - and I don't mean Thorsten Flinck!!

New Order: the continuing saga

Back in 2007 I wrote a post here about the continuing acrimony which was destroying my all-time favourite band, New Order. At that time I thought it would have been the best idea to just end the band once and for all.

Over recent months, however, it was announced that New Order would be reforming, including the return of Gillian Gilbert, but without Peter Hook in the line-up. Needless to say Hooky wasn't too happy at that time, for example he told Rolling Stone that he was "saddened and upset" by the reunion news.

More recently, the new-New Order announced that they would be touring this year with their new line-up. Seconds out, round 2....

Peter Hook has now alleged in this NME article that replacement bassist Tom Chapman is "miming his bass parts" from a backing tape. Hooky, always one for a quotable quip, described it as "the Milli Vanilli of bass"!

Meanwhile New Order denied that Hooky's bass parts are used in the "Round and Round" backing track and in their statement they went on to retort "...People living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones or their recent fake DJing YouTube hit might need to be recalled. Keep watching."

This may all be amusingly bitchy, but I also find it more than sad that the legacy of Joy Division and New Order has disintegrated into such an embarrassing slanging match.

Please release me, let me go....to Baku!

It was announced on Thursday night that Engelbert Humperdinck will represent the United Kingdom at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Baku.

Not Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins, John Barrowman, Pixie Lott, Katie Melua, Steps, Right Said Fred, Atomic Kitten....all of whom were rumoured at one point or another to be doing it this year. No, the BBC surprised us all by going for the legendary singer who at 75 years old, he will be the oldest singer to appear on the Eurovision stage. So he's already made history without even singing a note. As publicity coups go, this one's already been a cracker and there's certainly been a lot of reaction following the announcement.

It's certainly an unusual choice, but it's an inspired one. Apart from the novelty value, he's got a great voice and with the right song he will certainly get the viewers of Europe to sit up and take notice.

Ah yes, the song - I'm guessing it will be a contemporary big ballad, maybe something in the style of Adele's "Someone Like You" which continues to take Europe by storm. The UK has done better in recent years with ballads - think "Come Back" and "It's My Time" - so this would be a good choice I think. The songwriters are Martin Terefe and Sacha Skarbek, and we should get to hear the song in the coming weeks.

I read somewhere that Engelbert continues to play 200 concerts a year, so one more night in Baku should be a doddle. We wish him all the best and in the words of the wonderful Melodimen, we will be #humperdincking on the 26th of May!

Congratulations Bret!

As a long-time Flight of the Conchords fan I was delighted to see the lovely Bret McKenzie win an Oscar last night for his song "Man Or Muppet" from the latest Muppets movie.

Now that would definitely impress Murray at the band meeting :)))

The Playlist: January-February 2012

"The Boy Can Dance" - Afro-Dite: one of the very few songs in this year's Melodifestivalen which I'll continue to listen to after the contest.

"Stay" - Tooji: an absolute cracker representing Norway this year. Modern beats blended with eastern rhythms = success! (hopefully).

"Shapeshifter" - Rikke Normann: I really enjoyed following the Norwegian national finals his year and even though I didn't really enjoy the performance on the night, this works very well indeed on record.

"You and I" - Minnie-Oh: a cracking wee song from the MGP. She's charming and captivating and very different, and I hope we see her again in the contest in the future.

"Take Our Hearts" - Jesper Nohrstedt: I'm probably calling it this year's "Yes Man" with a considerable post-(D)MGP life on my playlist.

"Remedy" - J-Son featuring Salem Al Fakir: these are exciting times for our main man: recently married, baby on the way and soundtracking it all is this joy-filled rap/pop crossover collaboration with rapper J-Son.

"Live Tomorrow" - Lena Philipsson: I'm not really a fan of Laleh but I'm enjoying Lena's version of this song, the sentiment of which is very appropriate at this point in time.

"Hugarro" - Magni Asgeirsson: he gave his typical passionate performance of this rock ballad in the Icelandic final, but of course it was Jonsi and Greta's year.

"Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye featuring Kimbra: yes I know it's pretty ubiquitous by now but on the plus side, it's not Someone Like You or Jessie J :)

"America" - Le Kid: for some reason I've got right into this song again. Just a pure pop song, nothing more and nothing less.

"My Own Worst Enemy" - Robert Pettersson featuring Helena Josefsson: It's very James Bond-ish and dramatic so it's very appropriate that it's a Swedish movie theme, with distinctive vocals from the Takida frontman.