Eurovision 2013: Serbia

I've been heaping a lot of praise on winning songs lately, and I was looking forward to praising the winner of the Serbian national final, Beosong.

I had to call in help to review the winner, because I needed help coming to terms with the winning song, because all I could think is the women look slutty when I think they were going for sexy.

Moje 3   "Ljubav je svuda"

So I called in the help of my go to person on when I need a ruling on sexy--Kamala S.  Kamala is the founder of VivaVoom Brr-lesque, Alaska's premier burlesque troupe, and my go-to gal for all things fabulously feminine.

So take it away, Kamala:

"The devil suit is borderline, but since she doesn't do any serious stripper moves and because it looks like they are doing some sort of angel vs. devil concept, I would say that this is mostly sexy and only about 5% slutty.   Good thing they can sing.  And walk in those heels!"

Now that the question of sexiness has been settled, let's get to the song.  I think it was the most Eurovision friendly of the numbers presented in Beosong, and it was the vote winner in the semi-final.  Seeing it win here is unsurprising.   I just find it doesn't hold up when you compare it to prior years' entrants.  "Ljubav je svuda" is no "Nije Ljubav Stvar" or "Čaroban".

All in all Moje 3 is good enough to make the final, but I can't see this song getting in the top half of the table as is.  It feels amateurish, not professional or fun, and because of that I can't see the song getting high marks outside of the Balkans.

Maybe next year.

----

On the other end, there is a performance that was totally not Eurovision but completely blew me away.



Marija Mihajlović   "Halo"

This is pretty much the antithesis of a Eurovision Song Contest song--a blues tinged ballad only accompanied by a piano and a couple of backing singers. 

It is beyond fabulous.  And came in fourth.

Mihajlović has worked in Serbia as a backing singer, jingle singer, musical theater actress, and voice coach.  "Halo" is one of the songs from her new album, which, if I can find it for sale in the United States, I will be purchasing.

It's the best part of Eurovision, the discovery of new musicians.  (And if any Serbians read this and can recommend a place for me listen to more of her music, please let me know.)

Eurovision 2013: Cyprus

Cyprus is the most recent country to have been hit by the economic crisis that has been affecting much of the continent, but unlike Portugal or Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus' national broadcaster, CyBC, decided to send an established singer in the region to Malmö.

 

 

Despina Olympiou  "An Me Thimase"

 

 Olympiou is sending a very old school song, lyrically having more in common with the Greek singers who represented other countries back in prior decades:

 

 

 

Nana Mouskouri   "À force de prier"   1963   Luxembourg

 

It's a change of pace that I must confess I enjoy.  Olympiou is seasoned singer and that appeals to me, just like Anouk does.

 

I can foresee the same problem for Olympiou as I see for the Dutch entry.  I can't see countries giving high votes to the Cypriot entry, and this is compounded by the fact that Greece (who would give Olympiou twelve points) votes in the other semi-final.   

 

Because of this, I don't see the voting going Ms. Olympiou's way, even if she gives a performance that knocks it "out of the ballpark", because it's not a rip off of something that is more modern in the contest.   But hopefully with the small number of songs--16 in the semifinal--Olympiou will be able to perform on the night of the final.

 

 

 

 



Eurovision 2013: Latvia

I'll be the first to admit it.  I don't quite understand Latvian taste in pop music. 

I've just finished watching the Latvian national final, courtesy of www.eurovision.tv, and the twelve songs are very interesting.  None I would likely select to play on a regular basis.

The winner is a rap/pop duo called PeR with this song.



PeR   "Here We Go"

 



Like most Latvian entrants or recent years, I can't see this making it through the final, especially when it is starting out the contest.  (Although I must admit I enjoy the humor of making the first song in the first semi-final of 2013.  Nice job SVT.)

 

The closest analog to this is last year's Austrian entry, and "Woki mit deim Popo" sank to the bottom that year.  I can't see "Here We Go" doing much better.

 

I thought PeR was a joke act, but they seem to be real players in the Latvian music scene and were successful enough to have two songs to make it through the Latvian final Eirodziesma 2013.

 

PeR "Sad Trumpet"

 

I have to admit that they have some musical chops.  Their lead singer, Ralfs Eilands, has a great voice in this song but the beat boxing added absolutely nothing.  "Here We Go" is the better of the two entries, without question.

 

So who would have I gone with?

 

My personal favorite was the song that placed dead last:

 

 

 

Sabīne Berezina   "Upside Down"

 

Ms. Berezina's song was the one that seemed fun, but she was cursed with off key backup singers and some bad styling.  The dual curse is probably the reason that you can't easily find clips of her performance in the final, but had things been perfect, "Upside Down" would have been a wildly better choice.

 

But based on performance alone, the song that should have gone was the third place song:

 

  

 

Marta Ritova   "I Am Who I Am"

 

Latvia's answer to Regina Spektor would play better to the Eurovision audience than PeR is likely to do.  

 

But success at Eurovision doesn't seem to the the primary point of Eirodziesma.  The Latvian audience chooses the song that they like the best and that's what's sent, unlike countries who work their hardest to send the "winning" song. 

 

I like that ethos, and I'll be happy if PeR has a good ride in Malmö.



Eurovision 2013: Georgia

I cannot believe that I'm going to say this.  I really like the Georgian entry.

Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani   "Waterfall"

I'll be the first to admit that this is a very calculated choice by the Georgian broadcaster, GPB.   They got the composer of the winning entry from last year, Thomas G:son, and looked at the staging of the winner from two years ago and came up with this song.

Usually I would deride this sort of thing, but the choice of Tatishvili & Gelovani have something that Eurovision duets in previous years tend not to have--chemistry.

If you take a look back a prior years' duets, the singers feel like they're singing in different worlds. 

 

Chanée and N'evergreen   "In A Moment Like This"   Denmark   2010

 

 

Ell and Nikki   "Running Scared"   Azerbaijan   2011

 

 

Greta Salóme & Jónsi   "Never Forget"   Iceland   2012

You may feel differently, but I feel that there was no connection between the singers in the three songs I've posted above, while the Georgian entry has that connection.  It looks like the two actually like each other.  For me, that goes a long way to sell the song, since my idea of a good duet is set up by this song.

 

 

Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers   "Islands in the Stream"

 

Tatishvili and Gelovani are the singers who come closest to that level of chemistry that Parton and Rogers have.  That means I'm flying the flag for the Georgian entry, even though I tend to hate duets in Eurovision.

Eurovision 2013: Hungary

My ongoing tour through the national finals continues with the Hungarian national final "A Dal".

To be honest, it was a rather lackluster affair with eight artists competing to with this song winning the entire thing:

 

ByeAlex   "Kedvasem"

 

It's not particularly surprising, considering the selection for the entire portion of the contest. 

 

To make it into the final, there was a 50/50 split between the group of judges--five people who have a direct connection to the Eurovision Song Contest--and televoting.  Half the songs were selected by the jury, while the other half were selected by the public. 

 

In the final, this was changed, with the five judges ranking the songs.  Then the top four were placed to the public vote.

 

Three of the four songs were jury choices from the very beginning, and they favored this number:

 

 

András Kállay-Saunders  "My Baby"

 

However, those three were outvoted by ByeAlex, who was ranked fourth at the end of the jury process, but was the only one the general public actually liked.

 

There isn't particularly anything substantial to "Kedvasem".  It's perfectly nice and would be great as a background song in an iPod or a Levis commercial.  But as a winning song it's got no real chance.  It's got a good chance to make it into the final--with a nice placing at twelfth--but I can't see it storming the charts anywhere, much less storming to the top of at the finals.

Honestly, I couldn't see any of their songs storm anywhere.  It's sad, because "A Dal" was a well put together, enteretaining little show.  It makes me wonder what sort of show the Hungarian national broadcaster would put on if they won the contest.




 

 

Eurovision 2013: The Netherlands

Yet again I'm writing up a song that was chosen internally by a national broadcaster.  TROS chose to send the singer Anouk and the song "Birds".

Anouk makes a great deal of sense to send to Eurovision.  Within the Netherlands, Anouk is quite successful, with both popular and critical appeal.  A quick search of her name show multiple Saturn and TMF awards--Dutch music awards.  And for American readers, she might be best described as the Dutch Alanis Morissette.  Her albums are made up of self penned, personal songs backed by a guitar heavy band.



Anouk   "Three Days In A Row"

Her entry into Eurovision is much different than her previous work

Anouk   "Birds"

 

Instead of rock guitar and an up front stage presence, we have a song that sounds very much like a throwback to the Eurovision songs of old--a Dutch take on the French chanson that won in the very early years of the song contest.

 

It's an interesting change in her work, and this song, from her soon to be released Sad Singalong Songs, is in my wheelhouse.  She's gone from the Dutch Alanis Morissette to the Dutch Aimee Mann.  And I love Aimee Mann, so I'm going to be grabbing this album if and when it's released here in the States.

 

As for its chances at Eurovision, I can't really decide.    It's one of those songs that is either going to sink to the bottom or rise to the top.

 

Anouk is an established singer that has one awards for being the "Best Live Act", so she has the ability to command a stage and connect with an audience.   But the song is very quiet and mournful, quite different that the upbeat power ballands and dance numbers that pepper the semifinal the Netherlands is in.

 

I'm expecting it to unfairly sink beneath the dance tunes and power ballads from the rest of Europe, but I'll be delighted if it makes it into the final.

 

 

 

 



Eurovision 2013: Greece

Even under an economic crisis, Greece is very much a Eurovision powerhouse, and they're still willing to put on a show.

And because of budget constraints, the Greek national broadcaster partnered with the oldest Greek music channel  MAD TV to put on a 2 and a half hour Eurovision extravaganza--where many former Eurovision winners came and performed duets with current Greek singers and bands.

The usual suspects--Dima Bilan, Marija Šerifović, and Alexander Rybak--showed up, but the highlight was this duet.

Vicky Leandros and Elena Paparizou   "Apres Toi" 

 

I always love it when a winner from more than 10 years ago comes back and performs their song, and I enjoyed the two Greek winners of the Eurovision Song Contest (even though Leandros represented Luxembourg) singing on one of the more memorable French language winners of the Eurovision Song Contest.



The winner, however, was a complete contrast to "Apres Toi":

Koza Mostra and Agathonas Iakovidas    "Alcohol is Free"

Greece has decided to send the quirkiest song to Eurovision this year, taking the mantle up from perennial favorite Moldova.

"Alcohol is Free" takes ska and mashes it with Greek folk music into a hybrid that is going to immediately appeal to appeal to all of my friends here in Alaska.   I fully suspect that this song will be in the top three when I have my Eurovision viewing party in May or June.

I also have to confess I'm kind of taken with it as well.  You've got to love an upbeat number that makes some interesting allusions to the current economic crisis that is overtaking Europe and to ancient history.  It reminds me of a song that faded away back a few years ago.

 

InCulto   "East European Funk"   Lithuania   2010

 



The difference is that the Greek song is much more "serious"--the shtick of InCulto sank their chances back in 2010, while I expect "Alcohol is Free" to make the top ten if not make a run for the top.

Way to go Greece!  I'm rooting for you to win the whole thing.

Eurovisionaries: Vice Vukov

The "Alaska's Choice" part of my blog has finished up the first ten years of the contest, and for fun (which only a true Eurovision nerd would do) I've been looking back over the results, and I have to admit I feel sorry for Vice Vukov.

Vice Vukov represented Yugoslavia twice in the 1960s--in London in 1963 and in Naples in 1965.  We gave him no respect in either year; Vukov came in dead last in our voting.

Vice Vukov  "Brodovi"  1963

 



The fact the he came in last made me want to learn more about him, and after doing a little bit of reading on him, I have to say that he's worthy of induction into my list of Eurovisionaries.

Vice Vukov was born in the Croatian city of Šibenik in 1934, and was a Croatian nationalist.  He chose a singing career because he wanted to be able to make money and not have to compromise he his personal political beliefs.

His first musical success was in 1959, when he won the Opatija Music Festival, and had a very successful career throughout the 1960s.

However, he was never able to hide his own personal political beliefs and in 1971 he became the target of Josef Tito.  1971 was the year of the "Croatian Spring", where linguists, politicians, and students fought for more autonomy from Yugoslavia.  Vukov upset the leadership of Yugoslavia by making statements about the Communist government at a national festival.  Vukov found himself on a governmental black list--forcing him into exile in France for three years and effectively ending his career for more than 15 years.

Vice Vukov  "Čežnja"   1965

 

 

However, with political change in Yugoslavia, Vukov was allowed to record and release a record in 1989, bringing him back to national prominence.  However, Vukov decided to focus on politics, supporting the centrist Democratic Party of Croatia.  His political ability won him and ambassadorship as the Croatian ambassador to Switzerland in 2001 then a seat in the Croatian parliament in 2003.

 

Unfortunately, after the fruition of his political ambitions, he slipped and fell in the Croatian parliament building, suffered massive head trauma, and lived in a vegetative state until his death in 2008.  It's a tragic end to a fascinating individual; and he is most assuredly Eurovisionary.



Eurovision 2013: Croatia

Croatia did what a number of other countries that decided to select their song internally for the 2013 contest, and they chose to highlight a local variety of folk music--klapa.

 

Klapa s Moro  "Mižerja"



 

Klapa s Moro is a supergroup, bringing together singers from a number of klapa groups in the company, and "Mižerja" appears to be a good example--with tight harmonies, passionate lyrics, and little musical accompaniment--hallmarks of a classic klapa.

 

I must admit I am mesmerized by the song--I am a sucker for tight harmonies and impeccable musicianship--but this has almost no chance of getting out of the semifinal.

 

I don't think that's a bad thing though.  I believe that the Croatian broadcaster entered this song in 2013 not to win the contest, but to highlight a local style of music and promote it to a worldwide audience.  At that purpose, they've succeeded.  I have been listening to klapa since I've heard this song, and I look forward to seeing it staged in May.

Eurovision 2013: Russia

Sometimes you hear a song for the first time and just know immediately it's going to be in contention to win the contest.

Russia has decided to send that song this year.

Dina Garipova  "What If"

 

Russia has sent a "by the books" Eurovision song--a lovely young woman singing a sweeping song that has a very catchy melody.  (And calls of plagiarism.  But that's a discussion for another time.)

I would always put Russia through to the final of any Eurovision Song Contest, but there is one reason I think it's a contender--and that's the choice of the singer.

Ms. Garipova was the winner of Soros Goros, the Russian version of the American TV show The Voice.  She has ample experience in front of cameras in high pressure situations.  I can see her hitting the stage in Malmö, presenting the song perfectly, and picking up medium to high marks from across Europe.  In this year, where the field of songs is wide open, that level of performance could win the entire contest.

Is it to my personal taste?  No.  Could it win?  Hell yes.