Monday, May 20, 2013

Eurovision 2013: The Aftermath (part three)

Now that I've been through the "sacrificial lambs" I'm going to write about the "high hitters", songs that did much better that I thought they would.

Nineteenth place normally wouldn't be considered a high hitting place, but for this song it is definitely better than I thought it would.

 
Bonnie Tyler   "Believe In Me"   United Kingdom

I love Bonnie Tyler.  Seriously, who doesn't?  But the BBC shouldn't have sent her with this light country number.  I wanted the 21st Century "Total Eclipse of the Heart", but I got a K.T. Oslin number. 

However, Bonnie got more respect than her predecessor--Englebert Humperdinck, picking up points from a number of countries from around the continent from Belarus to Ireland.

It's a good result.  I just hope that the BBC can attract a younger performer to Eurovision next year.  As a former resident of the UK, I have an affection for the UK's entrant every year (no matter how good or bad they are).

And though I hate to say it, another "High Hitter" was the character I dubbed the Belgian chicken.

 
Roberto Bellarosa   "Love Kills"   Belgium

Before the contest, I would have never thought that this song would have come in twelfth, but each performance he became more and more assured.   So congratulations to him.  I still don't care for the performance--his inability to get the handle over English vowels is particularly grating to a native English speaker--but Western and Northern Europeans liked it.   Belgium has to be pleased by the fact they placed so well--the second highest in ten years..

But the real winner of the "High Hitter" award is the Hungarian entry:
 

 
ByeAlex   "Kedvesem"   Hungary
 
In the second semifinal, "Kedvesem" placed eighth, which usually means a placement in the bottom half of the final, but with love from countries all over Europe, Hungary came in tenth--gaining top marks from Germany in the process.   The pundits didn't expect the song to do so well but hit a chord and placed will above those expectation, which makes it the highest of the high hitters.

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