Considering the city of Anchorage, Alaska is more than three times as big as the country of Andorra, I was shocked to find that the Caldera Spa in Andorra is the continent's largest.
Andorra has entered the contest only six times, from 2004 to 2009, without any success in making it to the finals, and has not competed since, for financial reasons and is not likely to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest again.
Had the country had more success in the contest, I suspect that that they would still be participating, but in their six years, they never made it out of the semifinals.
The reason is pure and simple--a small country new to broadcasting and on a very tight budget is not likely to be capable of putting on the quality of performance that other countries--like Sweden or Azerbaijan are capable of putting on. So they're at a disadvantage in getting votes, and having a small talent pool to draw from, you're not likely to be able to pull the quality of singers you could get from countries like Russia or Greece.
That means these songs have to be graded on a curve much lower than the Albainian songs.
Jenny "Sense Tu" 2006
But poor Niki Francesca was absolutely terrified. His vocals were flat and he appears to he hiding behind the microphone. Lead singers should have charisma, and considering the rest of the staging was so strong
So, to cut the difference, my best is this one.
Had the country had more success in the contest, I suspect that that they would still be participating, but in their six years, they never made it out of the semifinals.
The reason is pure and simple--a small country new to broadcasting and on a very tight budget is not likely to be capable of putting on the quality of performance that other countries--like Sweden or Azerbaijan are capable of putting on. So they're at a disadvantage in getting votes, and having a small talent pool to draw from, you're not likely to be able to pull the quality of singers you could get from countries like Russia or Greece.
That means these songs have to be graded on a curve much lower than the Albainian songs.
The Worst
After listening to this song more times than I care to admit, I have to say that the worst song in my mind is this one:
Marian van der Wal "La Mirada Interior" 2005
It's not because of the singing. Ms. van der Wal is able to stay on key, which can't be said by other entrants. What this song suffers from is "let's throw a lot of crap on stage and see if it works" syndrome.
That's not to be said that it's a bad thing. In fact, two recent winners--"Believe" and "Fairytale" could be said to have "thrown a lot of crap on stage", but unfortunately in this case, it worked against the song. The Grecian outfits on the women, the half naked men in velour bell bottoms, and the fans. They just didn't go together, and distract from the singer, not enhance the performance.
The Best
How I desperately want to say that this song is the best:
Jenny "Sense Tu" 2006
If I were judging the best on the quality of singing, Jenny is head and shoulders above any of the other Andorran songs. And it's the only Andorran Eurovision song that I don't skip over when it comes on the stereo in my car.
But the staging is completely wrong. It's absolutely atrocious, and I can understand why it came in last in the semifinal that year. I'm certain the choreography and costuming was going for sexy, but it just comes across as sleazy and makes poor Jenny look dumpy. She's an attractive woman, but in the overlong lace housecoat over a black negligee, she just looks kind of sad.
But the staging is completely wrong. It's absolutely atrocious, and I can understand why it came in last in the semifinal that year. I'm certain the choreography and costuming was going for sexy, but it just comes across as sleazy and makes poor Jenny look dumpy. She's an attractive woman, but in the overlong lace housecoat over a black negligee, she just looks kind of sad.
I'd also like to say this was the best song:
Anonymous "Salvem el món" 2007
But poor Niki Francesca was absolutely terrified. His vocals were flat and he appears to he hiding behind the microphone. Lead singers should have charisma, and considering the rest of the staging was so strong
So, to cut the difference, my best is this one.
Susanne Georgi "La teva decisió (Get A Life)" 2009
The singing is gruff, not up to par with Jenny and the staging isn't as good as Anonymous, but as a whole it's the most pulled together entrant Andorra ever entered. Besides, Ms. Georgi is pretty darn cute when she's holding her guitar.
So I'll summarize--from best to worst
1. Susanne Georgi "La teva decisió (Get A Life)" 2009
2. Anonymous "Salvem el món" 2007
3. Jenny "Sense Tu" 2006
4. Marta Roure "Jugarem a estimar-nos" 2004 The dancing was great, sadly the singing wasn't.
5. Gisela "Casanova" 2008 My god, what is she wearing?
6. Marian van der Wal "La Mirada Interior" 2005
And as always, if you're interested, you can listed to all of the songs by following this link.
Next up, Armenia.
So I'll summarize--from best to worst
1. Susanne Georgi "La teva decisió (Get A Life)" 2009
2. Anonymous "Salvem el món" 2007
3. Jenny "Sense Tu" 2006
4. Marta Roure "Jugarem a estimar-nos" 2004 The dancing was great, sadly the singing wasn't.
5. Gisela "Casanova" 2008 My god, what is she wearing?
6. Marian van der Wal "La Mirada Interior" 2005
And as always, if you're interested, you can listed to all of the songs by following this link.
Next up, Armenia.
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