Eurovisionaries: Aistė Smilgevičiūtė

Well, the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is over, the winner has been chosen, and there's still a week or two before I have my Alaska Eurovision Song Contest party, where we will choose our own personal winner.

So it's time to add a new person to my list of Eurovisionaries:

Aistė  "Strazdas"  Lithuania 1999

Aistė Smilgevičiūtė is a very personal entry in my list of Eurovisionaries.  She is the only singer I've ever voted for in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Although I've lived in the United States for most of my life, I had an opportunity to study abroad for a year, and I went to school at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.  The last week I was in the country, I was invited to watch the Eurovision Song Contest at a friend's flat, where I ate paella for the first time and watched this amazing show.

First out of the gate was Aistė, singing a song in a Lithuanian dialect called Samogitian about a bird with cold feet.   It's an un-Eurovision song.   But I was in love, and nothing could convince me otherwise.  So I ran out to the phone box (they still existed then) and paid 50 pence to vote for her song.

She didn't do well, she came in 20th place with only 13 points, yet Aistė got me to spend money as a poor college student, then she's definitely a Eurovisionary in my book.

After the Final Impressions

Because my friends will be watching the Eurovision Song Contest after the fact, I've been asked not to post the winner on my blog.

Because of that, I'm not going to say who won or lost, but I will say the winner isn't one I particularly have quibbles about.  It's one of the better shows in recent years, and for that Azerbaijan should be proud.  They spent enough money on it.

However I am going to post up my personal picks for the best and worst song of the contest.  

The thing that surprises me more than anything else is the fact that the song I would have voted for was not the one I expected I would want to vote for.

Kaliopi   "Crno i Belo:  Macedonia

In my mind, Kaliopi had a great song, performed in flawlessly, and had the crowd on her side.  I wasn't crazy about the song at the beginning, butby the time of the final, she won me over.

I wasn't surprised by the song that I rated the worst.

Jedward  "Waterline"  Ireland

Unlike "Lipstick" the song from the previous year, which played off of their "talent", this song wasn't really written specifically for them, and it showed.  Pretty much all they had was their costumes, which the lovely Janet S. has summed up nicely with her appalled declaration "They're tin men!" combined with a stupid fountain that they get soaked in at the end.  

I'm all for gimmicks (the Buranovskiye Babushki charmed me as much as the last person), but really this song was a train wreck. 

And since I'm analyzing, I'm still sad that this song wasn't in the finals. 

Izabo  "Time"  Israel

They didn't give the best performance, but I'm going to go buy their CDs.  Which is what I'm sure Izabo was hoping to get out of their participation.

Impressions on the Eurovision Final

For once, I have no real idea how the final is going to pan out, and I have to admit I'm pretty happy about that. 

Songs I'm looking forward to:

1.  the United Kingdom    I'd like to see if Englebert Humperdinck actually is able to perform at the level that people seem to expect him to do.

3.  Albania   Rona Nishliu was the best part of semifinal two, and I hope she can perform up to that level tomorrow.

10.  Italy   It's my favorite song of the "Big Five".

17.  Sweden   Can Loreen live up to the hype that's been following the song all the way through.  Her performance in the second semi was rather lackluster.

21.  Malta   Let's hope he can perform as well as he did on Thursday.  He he can, he has a chance for a great showing.

22.  Macedonia   Kaliopi's performance has become one of my favorites in the final, and I hope she shows well

25.   Ukraine   It's my favorite of the songs in the final, and is a great colorful spectacle.  I hope it makes the top five...

Wish I had more to say, or wanted to get into deep analysis, but it's really not worth it.  Now it's time to sit back and enjoy.

Semifinal Two: The Results

Sadly, I'm not going to have much commentary on this one, since they haven't posted the full second semifinal online yet, so I'm pulling this together from clips on You Tube.

Again, I got seven out of ten

Goodbye Netherlands, Portugal, and Slovenia.  Hello Malta, Bosnia/Herzegovina, and Lithuania.

And my impressions of the second semifinal:

• The Maltese really brought their "A game"; it's no wonder they made it through.  I might have voted for it.
• What happened to the Belorussian entry between the national final and their performance in the semifinal.  It was like a completely different song, and not in a good way.
• Bulgaria's entry was actually hindered by the presentation.   She needed dancers and less cutting from the cameras.  It might have improved her chances, because she really performed the song well.  The opposite could be said for Croatia.
• Anri Jokhadze really put on a show...  I'm kind of sad it didn't make it to the final.
• Ott Lepland shouldn't have made it through.  He was majorly flat...
• Wow, the person with the most noticeable eye shadow was Max Jason Mai from Slovakia.
• Both Norway and Sweden's songs were more muted that I hoped they would be.
• Bosnia got lucky by the draw.  The quiet interlude after the two previous songs made this feel fresh.

It's going to be an interesting show on Saturday.  Hopefully I'll be able to stream it live.

My Picks: Semifinal Two

One semifinal down, one more to go.

Watching the results of Semifinal One were highly disappointing for me, because the three songs that didn't make it through were my three favorites of that semifinal.

I suppose that's not unexpected; I'm looking at this as an American, and my tastes in music don't necessarily reflect the average Eurovision user, and I think my disappointment shows in the last post.

But onwards and upwards:

Here's my personal top ten of the second semifinal

1.  Ukraine  "Be My Guest"  Gaitana

OK Europe.  You didn't like Pernilla Karlsson (for good reason).  You didn't like Trackshittaz (also understandable).  You rejected Izabo (which confuses and depresses me).  But you had better not reject Gaitana.  I don't care if she comes out singing flat and her backup dancers fall all over each other.  She'd better get to the finals.  Denying her fabulousness is not acceptable.

2.  Sweden  "Euphoria"  Loreen

I know, this one is a no-brainer.  I think it's kind of generic, but if the performance is anything like it was in Melodifestivalen, this is a shoe-in.

3.  Macedonia  "Crno i belo"  Kaliopi

I like her voice, and she's got presence.  Need I say more?

4.  Norway  "Stay"  Tooji

He's got the performance down, and I have no doubt it's going to go through.

5.  Portugal  "Vida minha"  Filipa Sousa

On principle, I want Portugal to go through.  I love the fact they send a song that is distinctly Portuguese and that integrity would get my vote to go through.  Mind you, she's no Lucia Moniz, so Portugal's on the bubble at best, but I would still love to see this again on Saturday night.

6.  Serbia  "Nije ljubav stvar"  Željko Joksimović

I have to admit that this guy is a performer, and if he's as good as he was in the preview (Serbian language) clip, he's going to fly through the semifinal with flying colors, especially this semifinal.

7.  the Netherlands  "You and Me"  Joan Franka

I hate this song.  I hate the stupid Indian headdress.  But loads of people cream themselves over this song, so I'll put it in my top 10

8.  Estonia  "Kuula"  Ott Lepland

Cute boy soulfully singing = qualification.  Sadly, no zombies.

9.  Slovenia  "Verjamen"  Eva Boto

Of the three remainig Balkan ballads, Eva Boto has the strongest buzz of the three.

10.  Turkey  "Love Me Back"  Can Bonomo

This is purely on the diaspora vote, and instead of last year, they've got countries like Germany and the Netherlands where a large number of Turks live, so I expect a better result than last year.

The problem is with this semifinal a number of songs on this list can and will be easily replaced.  It all depends on the performance, and I'm looking forward to watching it tomorrow when I get home from work, hopefully being surprised by not taking a peek beforehand.

Semifinal One: The Results

Well, I got seven out of ten.

Finland, Austria, and Israel aren't in the final.

Cyprus, Ireland, and Hungary are.

I'm underwhelmed with the semifinal, but I do have a few things that I can say:

• Valentina Monetta from San Marino sold the song as best as she could, and she gets kudos from me.
• Mandinga gave a lackluster performance of "Zaleilah", and was highly disappointing.
• Ivi Adamou did a decent job, and I can understand why she made it through, although it seems like a cheat to have another singer sing with you to cover any flaws.
• Compact Disco gave a very polished and professional performance.
• I want the singers from Russia to bake cookies for me!

That is all.

My Picks: Semifinal One

Well, tomorrow is the day when Eurovision begins in earnest, with semifinal one.

Sadly, I'm going to be stuck at my office, crunching numbers while Europe votes for their favorite songs.  So between projects I'll be furiously refreshing my web browser to find out the ten songs that will move on to the final.

And like most people who blog on the Eurovision Song Contest, I'm choosing my ten songs and we'll see how they do.

1.  Finland  "När jag blundar"  Pernilla Karlsson

This song in my favorite of all the songs in the contest this year; I would have never thought that a Swedish language song would be that way.  I hope that Ms. Karlsson will get enough jury votes to make it through to the final, because where it's placed, I don't think the viewing audience will vote for it.

2.  Austria  "Wiki mit dein Popo"  Trackshittaz

Although I can see why this song can offend people, I like it and hope it makes it to the final.  It has a crazy energy that no other song has this year, and that energy makes it one of my favorites.

3.  Israel  "Time"  Izabo

Out of all the songs in the contest, this is the song that has the seal of approval of the lovely Janet S., which means that it's going to delight the other people at my Eurovision viewing party.  Any Eurovision song that is accessible to my Gen X friends is A-OK in my book.

4.  Moldova "Lăutar"  Pasha Parfeny

Who doesn't love a little bit of Moldovan fun?


5.  Albania "Suus"  Rona Nishlu

I have to say this song has grown on me, but I doubt that this will  appeal to enough people who hear it for the first time to make it through.  It's just so dramatically different than anything else, having it in the finals will


6.  Russia  "Party for Everybody"  Buranovskiye Babushki

I love the idea of them more than I like the song, but they're sure to make it through to the final, but there's still


7.  Denmark  "Should've Known Better"  Soluna Somay

This is the song that I still think could potentially make it were it released by a known American artist like Kelly Clarkson.

8.  Greece  "Aphrodesiac"  Eleftheria Eleftheriou

It's Greece by the numbers, but it's still peppy and you can tap your feet to it.  That's good enough to catch the ears of most people.

9.  Iceland  "Never Forget"  Greta Salóme and Jónsi

 There is something to be said for a really decent pop song presented by two seasoned performers.   I just hope he's not wearing that stupid string tie.

10.  Romania  "Zaleilah"  Mandinga

This is the catchiest song in the semifinal and probably my guilty secret song, because it's not the type of song I go for.

The sad thing is that I'm certain one or more of the songs on my list are going to be dropped, and I'm suspecting the two weakest songs on my list are Finland and/or Albania.     One of them is going to get replaced by the "dynamic" duo from Ireland for certain, and a number of other songs could take out the other without any problem.

But we'll see tomorrow night.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Romania

Finally, the last song in the contest to be reviewed, and it's Romania. 

Mandinga  "Zaleilah"

There really isn't much to say about this song other than this is a great little summer number.  It does exactly what it is supposed to do--make you want to get up and dance

The only way it could potentially fail is if the lead singer does one of two thing-lose her voice before the perfomance or wear something so tasteless that it puts off the voters, and I doubt that either would happen.

I suspect this will be a top five song, and it will also be top five at the Eurovision party I'm throwing in June.    However, I know that there will be comments on the band's name...

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Belarus

Just a few more days until the first semifinal and only two more songs to review.  And to begin the end of my reviews, Let's take a listen to the Belorussian entry.

Litesound  "We Are The Winners"

I have to say this is not the type of music I'm a fan of.  I like my rock to be a little more hardcore, not the pop rock that Litesound is performing.  But, if they performed the song this way, and thy got a good draw, I would think they had a chance to go through to the finals, since this sound is nowhere to be found elsewhere in the contest.

The funny thing is that this song wasn't the winner in the Belorussian national final.  When the voting was done at the national final, another song took the top spot.

Alyona Lanskaya  "All My Life"

But after accusations of vote fixing were bandied around, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, personally investigated, and discovered that the accusations were correct and "it had to be decided on the presidential level, but this was a matter of justice and it was his duty to stand up for justice".

I just find the fact that president of Belarus felt the need to step in and solve the problem of choosing a Eurovision winner...  It would be like Barack Obama determining the winner of America's Got Talent was the wrong one.  It seems a very trivial issues, and something that should be able to be solved without the head of government stepping in to solve the issue.

Yet who am I to judge on what's politically important?  I'm just a blogger living half a world away from Belarus...

 

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Spain

Well, rehearsals are taking place in Baku for the first and second semifinals, and I still haven't made my way through all of the songs. 

So here we go with Spain...

Pastora Soler  "Quédate Conmigo"

I don't particularly find this song compelling, and I can't quite put my finger on it.  It's a power ballad, and this is the only song that fills that place in this year's contest, and for that reason it ought to have legs. 

There is no denying that Ms. Soler is a good singer.  Her singing is technically amazing; she may be the best singer in the contest.   

Yet, I have to wonder if the song was the right choice for her to sing.  In her hands the song sounds rather soulless.  The song is about a woman begging her lover to come back, and there's absolutely none of that emotion in Ms. Soler's interpretation of the song.  And the lack of emotion is off-putting.

It makes me wish she had gone with something more uptempo.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Azerbaijan

As you know, since you're reading my blog, Azerbaijan won last year's contest and they have the hard task of following up their winning song.

In recent years, countries have had a hard time repeating the success of their previous year's winner.  A good case in point is Norway in 2010.

Oslo had the honor of hosting the contest after winning the previous year with this song:

 Alexander Rybak  "Fairytale"  Norway  2009

"Fairytale" was the runaway winner of that year's contest, getting 169 more points that the second place finisher. 

The next year, they sent this song:

Didrik Solli-Tangen  "My Heart Is Yours"  Norway  2010

It's a completely different song, and it came in twentieth in the final that year.

With that in mind, take a listen to this year's Azerbaijani entry:

Sabina Babayeva  "When The Music Dies"

I have a suspicion that his is going to fall to the same fate that Solli-Tangen did a few years ago, and get nowhere near the top ohalf of the board at the end of the contest.

But unlike Solli-Tangen, whose issues was really a voice that was burned out, Ms. Babayeva has an even bigger issue--an inability to actually interpret the song.

"When the Music Dies" is a ballad, and you must be able to not only sing the song tunefully, but be able to interpret them in a way that shows you understand the feeling behind the song, and Ms. Babayeva can only do the first.  Since English isn't her first language, Ms. Babayeva comes off sounding like an automaton, not a real live human being.   

It's very difficult to be able to find the emotion when singing in another language--I would have the same difficulty singing in German--a language I have a tenuous grasp on.  Unfortunately, she's trying to appeal to a pan-European audience and I don't think this was the song for her to do that.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Greece

I have to admire the Greeks.  Even though their economy is in free fall, they are still willing to enter Eurovision. 

Eleftheria Eleftheriou  "Aprhodisiac"

It's a catchy little number, Ms. Eleftheriou is in complete control of the stage, and it's certain to do well enough to make the top half of the board in the finals.

The thing is, I don't expect the song to win, and that's another smart move on the Greek's part.  They've sent this basic song twice before.

Helena Paparizou  "My Number One"  2005

Kalomira  "Secret Combination"  2008

They came in first and second respectively, which means this type of song is very popular among Eurovision watchers.  But, in my opinion, it's just a little too generic to make it to the top.

However, come the night, I may be forced to eat my words on this one.



Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Moldova

I have to say I always look forward to Moldova's entry to Eurovision.  The have always set the standard for upbeat, slightly manic songs that are insanely catchy and a big hit with my friends.  A walk through Moldova's resent history will bring a smile to most Alaska Eurovision watchers.

So naturally, Moldova is one of those countries that I look forward to, because fun will be brought.

Pasha Parfeny  "Lautar"

It's fun, but a more subdued fun than previous years.  Parfeny doesn't have a fairy princess on a unicycle and he's not dressed up as a warrior princess and there's no Epic Sax Guy. 

 

But compared to the earnestness that seems to be a theme in most of the other songs this year, the bouncy beat is a breath of fresh air, and I'm looking forward to it making the finals and making my friends very happy.

(And on a fashion note, I love his pants a lot.  Were I younger and hipper, I think I'd attempt the look.) 

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Belgium

Well, I'm trying to make my way through the last of the Eurovision songs for this year before the first semifinals, and then next country on my list is Belgium. 

Iris  "Would You"

I'm usually a fan of retro numbers.  If done right, they're catchy and a breath of fresh air between songs that have a more modern touch. 

But the Belgian entry is a throwback to something that really didn't need a comeback--the 1990 Eurovision ballad.   I think this is best exemplified by Poland's entry in 1994. 



Edyta Górniak  "To nie ja"  Poland  1994

Ms. Górniak was very successful in the 1994 contest, coming in second.  However, to a modern ear, the song is definitely from the 1990s

I think the Belgians were trying for something that would sound timeless, but wound up coming up with a song that sounds immediately dated.  And that's the main reason that the song is not going to go anywhere in this year's contest.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Estonia

Estonia has been one of my favorite countries at the Eurovision Song Contest, in the past few years, they've sent songs that have gone onto my favorites playlist on my iPod, so I was kind of looking forward to the Estonian entry.

Ott Lepland  "Kuula"

Although he gets major brownie points for singing in Estonian, his performance leaves me flat.  It's just a guy standing at a microphone, holding the stand like he's on a merry-go-round.  No matter how gorgeous the voice or how handsome the man singing the song, just standing there just isn't good enough.

Well, unless you're this person

Patricia Kaas  "Et s'il fallait le faire"  France  2009

All bow down to the greatness that is Patricia Kaas.

Sorry.  Got distracted for a minute...

However, I know a way that this dull staging can be changed, and Estonia can put some more people on the stage.  Just adapt this video and it's sure to be in the final.

"Kuula", interpreted by HOFF - the Haapsalu Horror And Fantasy Film Festival

A Eurovision song and zombies.  Yep.  I'm in.  And so would all my friends, the least of which is the lovely Janet S., who is a zombie fanatic. 

Zombies and Eurovision, two things that go surprisingly great together...

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Israel

I can't review the Israeli entrant without telling you a story about the first person in the US that I started telling about my interest in the Eurovision Song Contest.

My passion for the Eurovision Song Contest began in the late 1990s, when I lived in the Emerald Isle as an exchange student, but I kept my passion to myself until the 2007 contest, when I finally decided to share my passion with my friends, starting with my best friend here in the Last Frontier to the joys of Eurovision.

My friend, who for anonymity's sake, will be referred to Janet S., was unimpressed with tangoing Norwegians, crooning Germans, or Turks bribing women with candy.  But she was all in when I showed her this song

Teapacks  "Push The Button"  2007

Yep, this little ditty about global thermonuclear war made the mysterious Janet S. a Eurovision fan.  Or at least yelling "Push The Button" on a regular basis...

So I had to send the Israeli song to her and get her opinion.

Izabo  "Time"

And she likes it.  She is grateful that she's not scared of clowns, but other than that its good.  But then she said, "If I like it, it has no chance to do well."

And I can't disagree with her.  I personally love the song, and I've listened to it numerous times, which is rare for me, a Eurovision fan.  But I wonder if Europeans will like the indie/college rock vibe of Izabo.  I hope they do, because I'd like it to get to the final and do well.  

 

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: San Marino

Do you wanna be more than just a friend?

Do you wanna play cybersex again?

If you wanna come to my house

Then click me with your mouse OK.  I realize I'm beating a dead horse with my review of the San Marinese entry, because pretty much everybody has had the same reaction the "The Social Network Song" and it's really the easiest song to criticize.  I mean, all you really need to do is read the lyrics at the beginning of the post to understand why.  I do not condone any song that uses the word "cybersex". And with an introduction like that, you're probably dying to hear the full song: Valentina Monetta  "The Social Network Song" Although the song's lyrics are really smutty, I have to say the music is catchy and that's because the music was written by Ralph Siegel, who is Germany's Mr. Eurovision,   Siegel is famous for composing nineteen songs that were performed at Eurovision, most famously this winner: Nicole  "Ein Bißchen Frieden"  Germany 1982 Yep, Nicole's song about peace is a long, long distance away from hooking up online. But vulgar lyrics aren't my big issue with the song, there have been some songs with vulgar lyrics before, and I can overlook it. Serebro  "Song #1"  Russia 2007 It's pretty awful, but I'm willing to forgive this.  And that's because the girls singing it are barely out of their teens.   It is sexist and ageist, but teenaged girls singing songs that are barely covered come ons are more acceptable than a more mature woman--especally a woman who has been tarted up to look like a teenager.  It's a shame really, because Monetta has a decent voice and is very attractive.  Had she been given a song that would fit with her image, she could have sold the song into the finals, but this song is definately not going there.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Slovenia

Well, this is the last of my reviews for the former Yugoslav republic, and Slovenia is sending another woman singing a Balkan ballad.

Eva Boto  "Verjamen"

It's, well, a knockoff of this song.

Marija Šerifović  "Molitva"  Serbia 2007

I suppose it makes sense, since the composer of the winner of the 2007 was the same composer on the Slovene entry this year.  Problem is in comparison to Šerifović, Boto seems like an elementary school teacher at a talent night., and no matter how good this song is and how well Boto performs the song, it's going to get lost with all the other Balkan female singers...

It's a shame, because Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Slovenia have sent really competent singers with songs that are, on their own, really lovely.  But they're all the same.  Dramatic ballads sung by a woman.    They're likely to cancel each other out, and that's a shame because in a different year with different types of songs coming from the neighboring countries, each one of the four songs could do quite well.