I love the Montenegrin Eurovision entries. Montenegro is a country that has always been experimental when it comes to Eurovision and this year is no exception.
Slavko Kalezić "Space"
We have a track that might have been played at the local gay bar back in 2009!
Kalezić's attempts to be sexy while singing this single entendre in music form is absolutely hilarious and I look forward to the "spectacle" that will be his live performance. We haven't had a song that has pandered to the gay audience in this way in ages.
I don't think it will make it out of the semifinal, but it will be a fun three minutes.
And here are the ten songs who made it through to the final on Saturday
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Croatia
Czech Republic
Cyprus
Hungary
Malta
the Netherlands
Russia
Seven out of ten isn't particularly bad, and after watching the final,
I can't really say that I disagree. After watching the show, nine out of ten of these are ones that were obvious finalists.
The Biggest Surprise
Nina Kraljić "Lighthouse" Croatia
I had thought an early place in the running order combined with an over-the-top costume would prevent Croatia from qualifying. The Croatian broadcaster hasn't always been the best at staging songs, so I'm glad to see this overcame the visual deficiency.
The Biggest Disappointment
Samra "Miracle" Azerbaijan
In my opinion, "Miracle" was the song that didn't deserve to qualify in the top ten. The staging was tacky and the vocals were weak. And the gold plated American football uniform? Don't get me started.
The Song I Would Have Voted For
Highway "The Real Thing" Montenegro
Although the Czech Republic would have gotten my first vote, Montenegro came in a close second. While the somewhat experimental hard rock was something that would have never qualified, I really responded to the music and staging. In a semifinal of things that were polished to an inch of their life, "The Real Thing" was interesting because it was deliberately unpolished.
The Can't Miss Song
Serhat "I Didn't Know" San Marino
I could have gone with the Armenian or Russian entries here, but really you'll see them elsewhere. San Marino's utter weirdness deserves to be highlighted here. It's trying so hard to be kitschy camp and it fails. It's worth a watch.
Montenegro made it to the finals for the first time last year and they're hoping lightning strikes twice with their entry sung by Knez.
Knez "Adio"
"Adio" is a traditional Balkan ballad sung by Knez, a performer who has had a 20 year career in the region. The song has a golden pedigree, with both music and lyrics by one of the most successful participants in Eurovision, Željko Joksimović. This should give "Adio" a chance to make it to the finals.
However, I don't think as it is now, "Adio" will make it to Saturday night.
If you take a look at the successful male Balkan ballads at Eurovision, there's an aura of polished quality behind them:
Sergej Ćetković "Moj svijet" Montenegro 2014
Željko Joksimović "Lane moje" Serbia and Montenegro 2004
Dino Merlin "Love in Rewind" Bosnia/Herzegovina 2011
Unfortunately, in the form it is in now, Knez and "Adio" don't have that quality. In the video, Knez is squeezed into clothing that would look stupid on someone 20 years younger than he is and he's backed up by a group of Kardashian clones. It's trashy attempting with all of its might to be classy.
Of course, my opinion can change once I see the performance come the night of the first semifinal, but as of right now, Montenegro's song is a big disappointment.
After a two year absence, Poland has decided to enter Eurovision again. Happily, they've brought a song that I like quite a bit.
Donatan and Cleo "My Słowianie"
This rap/folk hybrid is really infectious and entertaining as hell. I look forward to blasting this from my car radio while driving around town--which gives it bonus points in my book.
Yet for all of my personal cheer-leading, I can see this suffering from the same fate the coolest song from last year's contest.
Who See "Ingranka" Montenegro 2013
Who See's rapping was on point and the stage show was fantastic, but it was just a little too "out there" for many of the viewers and went nowhere--coming in twelfth in the semifinal.
I predict that the same thing will happen with "My Słowianie". It doesn't deserve that fate, but it's just the nature of Eurovision. It's supposedly looking for something modern but tends to go for safe and recognizable.
Here's hoping that coolness will prevail and Poland makes the finals.
I would love to be able to stay impartial, but I can't help it. My favorite song made it to the final this year!
Anouk "Birds" The Netherlands
Absolute perfection as far as I'm concerned--the shots of her with the crowd waving along to the song with the stage behind her completely sold it.
Mind you I about had a heart attack watching the results. The results are random. Yeah, right. They were specifically calibrated to give me a freaking heart attack.
But the real shock of the first semifinal was the absolute lock out of any countries from the former Yugoslavia. None of the four countries from the former Yugoslavia made it through to Saturday night.
It could be because of the new ranking of songs, where all are ranked instead of the top ten. But when you look back at the songs from Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia, none of them were true contenders this year, because they were either poorly performed or inaccessible to Europe as a whole.
For example:
Who See "Ingranka" Montenegro
This is a pretty amazing performance, and perhaps the most "in your face" performance in the semifinal. It feels fresh and modern, but outside the Balkans nobody would vote for it.
But the shock qualifier for me was another Benelux country:
Roberto Bellarosa "Loff Keels" Belgium
Bellarosa looked like a scared chicken when he was performing and his English pronunciation of phrases like "Love Kills" and "bitter pill" (excuse me "beater peel") make me wonder what was in the water to put Belgium's number over something like this.
Klapa s Moro "Mižerja" Croatia
When something like this happens, I have to remind myself it's not always about the quality of the performance, it's what sounds more popular. So the amazing Klapa s Moro are going home while the Belgian chicken clucks another day. (I'm not bitter. Not one bit.)
I am looking forward to Thursday and the second semifinal. If the production is half as good as the production for this semifinal, it's going to be the best Eurovision Song Contest in years.
Any country who can put a fresh spin on last year's winning song
Loreen and Children of Malmö "Euphoria"
and provide comedic relief that is actually funny gets my vote.
Lynda Woodruff (Sarah Dawn Finer)
(Sadly they don't have her first part of her tour of Sweden isn't available online yet. Enjoy this clip from this year's Melodifestivalen.)
If you have the time, you really should watch the entire contest--it's easily streamed from the official Eurovision website.
Now back to listening to the songs. Maybe after another six or seven listens I can actually figure out what's going on with the Serbian entry...
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.
