Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Serbia

Back to the Balkan ballads.  It seems like every former Yugoslav republic has decided to enter a ballad instead of an uptempo number. 

Serbia's no exception.  And like Macedonia, they decided to go with a singer that has some Eurovision experience.  In this case the singer is Željko Joksimović, he represented Serbia and Montenegro in 2004 with the following song:

Željko Joksimović and The Ad Hoc Orchestra "Lane Moje"

He did a really good job too.  Coming in second to the Ukrainian dervish Ruslana, and followed it up with a third place result by writing the song "Leija" for Bosnian Representatives Hari Mata Hari (which seems to be a redux of his song with The Ad Hoc Orchestra).  Then he became one of the hosts of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, while the Serbian entrant performed another one of his songs, which came in sixth in that year's contest.

In other words, the guy has a history with the contest. 

And if you listen and watch the songs--you can make some assumptions about the song he'll perform.  It will be in Serbian, it will be heavily folk tinged, and everybody on stage will be wearing white.

So let's take a listen.

Željko Joksimović  "Nije ljubav stvar"

Well, he's wearing a white jacket, and the flute player from his last appearance as a performer is back and in the same place on stage.  The folk elements are there as well.  And he's singing in Serbian.  Pretty much called it.  And it's good--top ten placing in the final at least--and is probably the best of the Balkan ballads in this contest.

But Joksimović has attempted to prove his versatility as a singer,  the song has also been presented in English.

  

Željko Joksimović  "Synonym"

And I have to say the English version is pretty terrible. 

What may work in Serbian just doesn't work well in English.

Let's take some lines I've transcribed from Joksimović's English language performance:

• Sunshine every single day/Sunny day for sunny sorrow
• But you know the lifeless dream/That love and pain are only synonym 
• I must swim God knows why/It is my turn to cry/To live to die

The first two make no grammatical sense because he's not capable of pluralizing words that need to be plural.  It's "days" and "synonyms", not "day" and "synonym".  And the three lines, from different sections of the song make no sense--it's like the lyricist just chose a stack of breakup song cliches and strung them together.  The literal translation of the song makes more sense that the lyrics he performed.

It's painful for a native English speaker to hear and turns this interesting song unintentionally hilarious. 

So I hope he sticks with the Serbian.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Macedonia

Keeping up my walk through the former Yugoslavia, I'm taking a look at the Macedonia and their song.

Macedonia did the same thing a lot of other countries have done this year, they went with an internal selection and asked Kaliopi to be their representative.

I really don't blame them.  Kaliopi is a successful singer in the Balkans and has been a well known singer in that part of the world--winning awards since the mid 1980s.  Besides, she's been to Eurovision, sort of, before.  She attempted to represent the country back in 1996 with this song:

Kaliopi  "Samo Ti"  1996

It didn't make it past the preselection process that happened, so she didn't get a chance to perform on stage in Oslo.

And now, sixteen years later, she's back with this song:

Kaliopi "Crno i belo" 2012

I really have no opinion on this song, other than the fact that I love Kaliopi's voice, and the hard rock guitar makes the song stand out from the other Balkan ballads I've listened to, but that's about all I can say about it.


Who would have thought that I would be stymied by a Eurovision song?

Alaska's Choice 1960: London

Strangely, the 1960 contest didn't take place in the Netherlands.  It's an unwritten rule the the previous year's winner has the privilege of hosting the following year's contest.  But because the Dutch national broadcaster had hosted two years previously, they declined the honor.  Since the United Kingdom came in second,  The BBC picked up the slack and the contest went to London and the Royal Festival Hall.

Thirteen countries, entered the contest, with Luxembourg returning from a one year absence and Norway debuted with an interesting number about a Sami girl pining for her boyfriend.

Nora Brockstedt  "Voi Voi"  Norway

Sadly, Ms. Brockstedt didn't win the contest, she came in equal fourth place along with the German entry--with 11 points.

The winner was the final song performed in the contest, the French entry, sung by the comely Jacqueline Boyer.

Jacqueline Boyer  "Tom Pillibi"

It's a pretty song, but I don't envy her.  Tom Pillibi is a con artist and he's got the girl under his spell--he tells her that he's got castles in different places in Europe, but she knows it's a complete lie, but forgets it all when he holds her.  Co-dependant anybody?  Or is she a gold digger?

So naturally, I sent the songs out to my Eurovision jury so we could determine who we think the winner should be, and neither Ms. Brockstedt or Ms. Boyer did well.  We put "Tom Pillibi" in third place, while "Voi Voi" came in eleventh.

Our choice for the best song of the year was the Monegasque entry.  Although on the night, the European juries placed it fairly high--it came in third, following the United Kingdom, it was the only song that rated highly with all of the Alaska judges.

François Deguelt  "Ce soir-là"  Monaco

You could read this one as a companion piece to "Tom Pillibi".  In "Ce soir-là", Deguelt is pining for the first night he held his lover in his "arms", and is disconsolate that she left him.  My guess is that Tom Pillibi promised her castles. and that was that...

And for those enough nerdy enough to want to know our results, just drop me a line, and I'll be glad to share our rankings.

And that's 1960 in a nutshell.  Stay tuned for 1961.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Croatia

As promised, here's the next of the Balkan songs--and it's another ballad from Croatia.

Nina Badrić  "Nebo"

"Nebo" is lovely as Balkan ballads go.  Badrić voice is powerful, and I'm all in with men wrapped up in nothing but a sheet.  In other words, it's heads and shoulders over last year's entrant and if Badrić's performance is as good as the video shows, it has a good chance to make it to the finals

Daria  "Celebrate"  Croatia 2011

However, "Celebrate" has something that "Nebo" doesn't.  A sense of fun.   Daria may have been off key and the quick changes may be cheesy, but the spirit of joy and fun can't be denied. 

I have a suspicion that the plethora of ballads comes from the fact that the European economy has been adversely effected by the current European economic crisis.  Belt tightening usually means everything has to be a bit more serious. 

But I'd much prefer happier, more upbeat numbers.  Hopefully next year.





Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Bosnia/Herzegovina

I've been rather lax listening to the entrants from the former Yugoslavia, so I'm hoping to tackle them over the next week or so.

MayaSar is representing Bosnia Herzegovina with a lovely little ballad.

MayaSar  "Korake ti znam"

It's a pretty song and they have a really good draw, coming second last and following the really uptempo Norwegian entry.  In other words it's a shoe-in for the final. 

But with the production values if feels like a ballad from a late 90s movie.  In other words, shades of Celine Dion. 

It's perfectly nice, but so not my cup of tea.

Eurovisionaries: Peter, Sue, & Marc

Sometimes, acts make it into my list of Eurovisionaries by their sheer tenacity.

My favorite of these is the Swiss group Peter, Sue, and Marc, who represented Switzerland four times--in 1971, 1976, 1979, and 1981.

Pete, Sue, and Marc formed in 1968 in Bern, Switzerland and seemed to make representing Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest a career objective. 

In 1971, they seemed to be infected by the "la-la" virus that seemed to be going around the contest, and is a lovely little number about telling old people to politely shut up.

Peter, Sue, and Marc  "Les illusions de nos vingt ans"  Switzerland 1971

And even though they were polite about it, rudeness really isn't rewarded in Eurovision, and the song came in 14th out of 18 songs. 

But they weren't done..  They tried to win the Swiss final in 1973, coming in third with "Es kommt ein tag". then tried again the following year with "Frei". 

But the third attempt to represent Switzerland was successful, and they were back in 1976.  And this time they brought a clown!

Peter, Sue, and Marc  "Djambo Djambo"  Switzerland 1976

And after chastising old people for not leaving them alone, they're memorializing an old clown whose only happy when he's feeding birds or playing a barrel organ for kids on the sidewalk.

They did better, coming in fourth out of eighteen entrants.

After attempting to represent another country, Germany in 1978 with the song "Charlie Chaplin", Peter, Sue and Marc were back in Switzerland the following year with one of the more interesting entrants to grace the Eurovision stage.



Peter, Sue and Marc + Pfuri, Gorps, and Kniri  "Trödler und Co"  1979

And three years later, Peter, Sue and Marc were back, this time with the jazz trio Pfuri, Gorps, and Kniri.  The song, "Trödler and Co", is about a band that made their instruments out of items that they found in their grandmother's garden.

I suppose they're lucky.  If I started playing music on my grandmother's gardening supplies, I wouldn't get to make music, I'd be put to work weeding the borders or mowing the lawn because I obviously had time on my hands.

And I suspect the juries' grandmothers were the same, the song came in tenth out of nineteen songs, but I have to admit I like it for the sheer kookiness.  And you're not likely to see a rake onstage at Eurovision again.

Peter, Sue, and Marc  "Io senza te"  1981

The last time Peter, Sue, and Marc graced the Eurovision stage was in 1981 with the number "Io senza te", a lovely little number about a breakup.  It's a lot more straightforward, and the juries responded to it.  The song came in fourth out of twenty songs.

After the 1981 contest, Peter Sue and Marc broke up--Peter bought a boat and ran away to Alaska for a while (as many people living here seem to have done) while releasing solo albums.  He's still touring, now with his daughter. 

Sue also went on to have a solo career, but had a religious epiphany and is a practicing Buddhist, while Marc retired from show business.

While competing in Eurovision, they did set a record for singing four different songs in four different languages.--French, English, German, and Italian--a feat one that's not likely to be repeated in the time of  English dominance.

Because of their tenacity and versatility, Peter, Sue and Marc are definitely Eurovisionaries.



Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Italy

Ah Italy.  After a successful return to the Eurovision Song Contest after a decade long absence, RAI has decided to send a singer for the second year in a row. 

Like last year, the singer Italy's is sending to Baku was chosen from the singers in the San Remo Song Festival, but instead of the sending the winner of the newcomer section of the contest, like they did last year with Raphael Gualazzi, Nina Zilli, who came in seventh in the professional section of San Remo, was chosen by a "special jury".

RAI announced that Nina would be performing the song she performed at San Remo in the contest

Nina Zilli  "Per Sempre"

but decided afterwords that the song wasn't appropriate, and they decided to send another song.

Nina Zilli  "L'Amore È Femmina"

The song is very professional and the new-soul sound a la Amy Winehouse will certainly go down well with my friends at the Eurovision party I always throw, which means that it will go down really well with the national juries.  Unless Zilli really chokes on the night of the finals, I can see this one doing pretty well...

And the song will be high on the rotation on my iPod very soon.





Eurovision 2012: Montenegro

Montenegro has come back the the Eurovision Song Contest after a two year absence, and I'm intrigued by their entrant, who has possibly the most entertaining name of a singer ever to grace the Eurovision stage.

Rambo Amadeus "Euro Neuro"

 

Montenegrin television internally selected Amadeus, who has been a performer in the Balkans since the 1980s, and he's, well, he's his own artist.

Although the song is a melange of quirky, almost unintelligible rhymes and techno beats, the song has a serious message about the current economic crisis in the Eurozone.

I have to tip my hat to Mr. Amadeus, he's taken two of the tropes of each Eurovision song contest and put them together.  Each year, there's a quirky song and there's a political song, and Rambo Amadeus has combined them together in "Euro Neuro". 

 

In other words, this song has a snowball's chance in hell of making it to the finals, just like almost every other quirky song and political song of the past ten or so years.

But I'm certain Amadeus will put on an entertaining performance.

Eurovision in Review: Armenia

Welcome back to Eurovision in Review, where I get to do some navel gazing and rate the quality of each Eurovision country's entrants.

Not only do Armenians take Eurovision seriously, they take their chess seriously, as evidenced by their win at the 2011 World Chess Team Championships.

I have to admit that one of the most disappointing things about this year's contest is the fact that Armenia isn't participating this year.

It's understandable, since the two countries have been at a very uneasy peace after the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War.  The war was over the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, withic lasted from 1991 to 1994.  The region is internationally considered part of Azerbaijan, but with an Armenian-backed de facto state in control of the region and the conflict has kept the region unstable since and has consistently spilled over into the Eurovision Song Contest.

But you're not here to get a history lesson, you're here for the music.

Armenia started participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2006, when APMTV, the Armenian national broadcaster, became a full member of the European Broadcasting Union.  And like many of the former Soviet Republics, Armenia has taken the Eurovision Song Contest very seriously, with all but one of their entrants making the finals.  That's not something to be sneezed at.

the Worst

Good grief.  Even "the worst" for Armenia is pretty darn good.

Emmy "Boom Boom"  2011

I don't dislike this song one bit--it was my guilty pleasure song of last year's contest, but no matter how much charm and stage presence Emmy had or how entertaining the dancers were, the vocals are tantamount.  Emmy didn't have the voice to pull it off and by the end of the song, all the singers were off key. 

Although I have all the goodwill towards this song, it sadly didn't succeed and it's the reason I had to rank it the worst.

the Best

This one is a no-brainer.

Inga and Anush  "Jan Jan"  2009

Why yes, Inga and Anush, I am "dancing nor par".  I've been "dancing nor par" ever since I listened to this song last because I can't get the darn thing out of my head.

The eastern exoticism with the costumes of the singers and dancers, the fun lighting on the stage in Moscow and their near pitch perfect performance, well, this stands out of the six really good performances by Armenian entrants.

And for those who are really interested in my full rankings:

1.  Inga and Anush  "Jan Jan"  2009

2.  Sirusho  "Qélé Qélé"  2008  Great singer, not enough charisma to take it over the top.

3.  Hayko  "Anytime You Need"  2007  Another good singer, he just needs to learn where to hold the mike.

4.  Eva Rivas  "Apricot Stone"  2010  They started with a close-up of her boobs.  Enough said.

5.  André "Without Your Love"   2006  A pastiche of prior years winners, but still entertaining.

6.  Emmy  "Boom Boom"  2011

The difference between the six are very small; Armenia sends quality acts.  I wish they were going to send a song to Baku.  But there's always next year...

And click here if you want to listen to the songs yourself  and let me know who you think is best and worst.

Next up, Austria. 



Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Slovakia

Slovakia has been a rather hesitant entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest, and this year is no exception.

The country has had little success with the contest, and RTV decided to make an internal selection.

Max Jason Mai  " Don't Close Your Eyes"



Um.  Eighties hair band?

It's so not my thing. 

I'm not sure it's Europe's thing either.

I will say he's easy on the eyes, and he'll put on a good show.

Do I think he can make it to the finals?  Not really.

Will the performance be fun.  Hell yes.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Lithuania

After a little break, I'm back,and now I'm taking a listen to Lithuania's entry.

Donny Montell "Love Is Blind"

I have a feeling that I'm going to be going out on a limb, but I like how the song is structured--it builds and builds and builds, which will always suck me in, just like my favorite dance song ever.

Kylie Minogue  "Love At First Sight"

I agree, it's like comparing filet mignon to pink slime, but there is building in both songs.  (And I do love an excuse to put up my favorite dance song ever.  If they played this at Mad Myrna's, I'd be there most Friday nights.)

But Donny really should be compared to another Eurovision entrant, the 2005 entrant from Sweden.

Martin Stenmarck  "Las Vegas"  Sweden 2005

What started out as interesting and kind of unique to me turned into a sound-alike to a former Eurovision song that didn't do so well.  (Stenmarck came in 19th out of 25 in the final that year.)

And I expect Montell to fall in the same place.  He'll make it to the final, but the song will get lost win the shuffle.

 

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Portugal

Ah, Portugal.
Being my favorite country in Eurovision, I await your entrant each year.

I love the fact that you refuse to send songs in English.

I love the fact that you maintain true to local musical traditions.

I'm always disappointed when your songs don't do as well as I feel they should.

But, Portugal, why did you send this?

Philipa Sousa "Vida Minha"  2012

 

I know why.  It's a reaction to this.

Homens da Luta "A luta é alegria"  2011

Last year, the Portuguese entrant was really the joke entrant of the contest.  Although the song is a comment on the current Portuguese economic crisis and the costumes are supposed to represent Portugal at the time of the Carnation Revolution, when the Portuguese Army overthrew the dictatorship of António Salazar with the peaceful support of the Portuguese citizenship.

The problem is that the song didn't translate well to the rest of Europe.  If you don't know the background of the song, it seems like a shouty song sung by a bunch of refugees from a tacky costume party.  It came in at the 18th in the first semifinal last year, nowhere near qualifying for the final.

So this year, the Portuguese have sent a song that's the polar opposite, a slight fado-tinged number--a song that just has "juries vote for me" written all over it.  The problem is that it's so weak it's not likely to do much better than last year's entrant.

Portugal, next year send something fantastic again.  I need another brilliant song.

But until then, I'll just replay this over and over again.

Magdelena Iglésias  "Ele e ela"  1966

Alaska's Winner 1959: Cannes

The fourth Eurovision Song Contest took place in Cannes, France on March 11th, 1959. Twelve countries participated in the fourth Eurovision Song Contest, with Luxembourg opting out, the United Kingdom returning, and Monaco debuting.

I'd love to be able to say that there was some sort of exciting scandal that took place during the fourth Eurovision Song Contest, but it seems that this contest took off without any hitches or scandals.  (Although there is an unconfirmed rumor that France and Italy didn't vote fore each other to prevent the rival song from winning.)

After the songs were performed (on a troika of rotating backdrops with pictures of scenery from each participating country), the juries, made up of 10 people each selected their favorite song.  After the voting, the winner was the Dutch entrant, making the Netherlands the first country to win the contest more than once.

Teddy Scholten "Een Beetje"  the Netherlands

But the Alaska jury, as usual, came up with a different result. and we did the same thing as the original jury--this is the first time a country won our contest more than once.

Freddy Quinn from Germany was our choice as the winner for the 1959 contest, and we gave the title to Germany again:

Alice and Ellen Kessler  "Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n"  Germany

We were suckers for singing and dancing German twins.  They did dance moves on the rickety set and sounded good.  Can you blame us for choosing them?

And be grateful it wasn't this entry. 

Ferry Graf  "Der K und K Calypso aus Wein"  Austria

A place checking song in a calypso beat that blends in waltzes and yodels.  Yep, it's one of the more bizarre entrants, and there was no way I could leave it out...even though we placed it in ninth place.

And for those of you who are interested, here's our breakdown of the songs.

1.  "Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n"  Alice and Ellen Kessler  Germany
2.  "Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig"  Birthe Wilke  Denmark
3.  "Een beetje"  Teddy Scholten  the Netherlands
4.  "Piove (Ciao, ciao banbina)"  Domenico Modugno  Italy
5.  "Irgenwoher"  Christa Williams  Switzerland
6.  "Sing Little Birdie"  Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson  the United Kingdom
7.  "Oui, oui, oui, oui"  Jean Phillippe  France
8.  "Augustin"  Brita Borg  Sweden
9.  "Der K und K Kalypso aus Wien"  Ferry Graf  Austria
10.  "Hour toch van mij"  Bob Benny  Belgium
11.  "Mon ami Peirrot"  Jacques Pills  Monaco