Why Did You Send This: Ukraine 2011

Usually, I'm all aboard on the Ukraine's entry.  Ruslana's winning song back in 2004 is one of my guilty pleasure winners of the song contest and the campy delights of Verka Seduchka really should not be missed.  Even Ukrainian entrants that aren't as successful are still pretty decent in my book, like the protest song by GreenJolly.

With that said, let's take a listen to Ukraine's entrant from last year.

Mika Newton  "Angel"

Yep, it's the one with the awesome sand animation.    I have to hand it to the Ukrainian Eurovision producers.  They took a pretty singer with middling talent and no stage presence singing an uninspired ballad about angels while wearing a dress with chicken feathers glued to the shoulders and turned it into something memorable enough to place fourth. 

But honestly, would you have paid attention to the song had it not been for Kseniya Simonova's artistry?  Doubtful.

But imagine my chagrin when I discovered one of my favorite Eurovision songs of 2011 was passed over for Brzezinski Olivia.

Jamala  "Smile"

I admit I'm a fan of quirk, so Jamala's "Smile" is definitely up my alley.  But just based on stage presence and vocal ability, Jamala should have won the contest. 

But the final was marred by voter irregularities, so I shouldn't really be surprised that a less worthy song happened to be sent to Düsseldorf.  And it's a shame, because Jamala would have gone down very well among my group of Eurovision fans...

Why did you send this?: Sweden 2009

Sometimes you have to wonder what's going through the minds of countries when they select their entrants to the Eurovision Song Contest.  The voters in Melodifestavalen, Sweden's contest to determine their entrant to the ESC, decided that Malena Ernman, a Swedish opera singer with Harlow blonde hair warbling over a disco beat straight out of the 1990s.

Malena Ernman  "La Voix"

The song came in 21st out of 25 entries in the final and rightly so.

What's even more frustrating it that the first runner up in the contest that year has become one of my favorite Eurovision songs, even though it didn't make it to the finals.

Caroline af Ugglas  "Snälla, snälla"

Yes instead of techno-opera, Sweden could have sent a bluesy song about a woman begging her lover not to leave her for another woman.  And a song sung with more emotion than Ms. Ernman, an opera singer, could muster.

It probably wouldn't have won, but my god, it could have been the classiest song in the contest.  And considering France sent chanteuse Patricia Kaas, that's saying something.