The Results: Second Semifinal 2013

Well, again I got seven out of the ten songs correct in my predictions.

Goodbye Albania, San Marino, and Israel.   Hello Iceland, Armenia, and Romania.

I must admit I found this semifinal much less exciting that the first semifinal.  You would have thought otherwise, since there were fewer obvious songs that were going to the final.  But I suppose since my favorite song wasn't in this semi, I didn't feel the personal connection.

But I did get a couple of surprises.  I wound up loving a song that I hated when I first heard it.

Krista Sigfrieds   "Marry Me"  Finland

Congratulations, Ms. Sigfrieds.  I get the song now.  I'm no longer offended; I'm completely on board.

I'm going to be perfectly honest.  I don't understand how Armenia made it through.  It wasn't a good performance and unlike the Belgian entry that I'm not particularly fond of it didn't even feel modern and fun.  In fact the lead singer went off key a bit at the end.

Dorians   "Lonely Planet"  Armenia

Block voting?  Probably.  Did it keep out better songs.  Hell yes.  But good for Armenia.  You're back in the final even with a lousy song and a lackluster performance.

Would I have preferred to see another song in?  Yes.  I loved Israel's ballad, Valentina Monetta's redemption song from San Marino, or this:

Adrian Lulgjuraj and Bledar Sejko   "Identitet"   Albania

It was so disappointing to see how poorly it looked on stage.  Had it been shot differently, the energy level would have been higher and it could have qualified.   Maybe.

But that's just the nature of Eurovision, songs you love don't make it through while songs that don't rate do.

Tomorrow, the fun begins!  The build up to Saturday's final!

Eurovision 2013: Armenia

I've been spending the past couple of weeks watching the finals from Northern Europe, so when I say Armenia's national final posted up online, I couln't resist watching the show online.

Armenia has returned to the contest after a one year absence from the contest, due to an ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan, where Eurovision was hosted last year.  The show, Եվրատեսիլ 2013-ի երգի ընտրություն, was held on March 2nd, where the singer Gor Sujyan, supported by the band Dorians, performed four chosen by the national broadcaster as possible songs sent to Malmö.

Out of the four songs presented, this one was chosen:

Gor Sujyan and Dorians   "Lonely Planet"

 

I'm not a fan of the song; it's a mediocre metal song.  Sujyan has a strong, clear, compelling voice, yet he seems under served by the song he's singing.  But it's the right song for Armenia to send to Malmö because it's the best of the four songs that Sujyan performed.

Trust me on this one, listen to one of the other four songs performed and you'll understand why.

 

 

 

Gor Sujyan and Dorians  "Toy Planet"

 

"Lonely Planet" was the only song whose English lyrics actually made sense when you listen to them; the other three seem to be written by lyricists whose first language was not English, and it shows.  (And if I'm wrong about this, please feel free to correct me in the comments.)

 

It's also kind of sad for me to report that the most compelling performance in the Armenian national final was not done by the artist representing Armenia this year, but a collection of teenagers who have represented the country in other Eurovision related contests.

 

 

 

Dalita, Compass Band, and Narek Kazazyan  "Sweetie Baby"

 

When the lip synced song performed by a group of teenagers is more interesting and accessible than the song representing you in the "adult" Eurovision, it's not a good thing.