But I don't feel it deep inside for this year's final.
I have to say that watching the Eurovision national finals have been a slog. After the disappointment of Belgium, I was hoping for a more exciting final from Belarus.
It didn't happen.
Belarus's national final took place over a month ago, on January 22nd, where ten acts took competed to represent their country in Stockholm, and they selected this:
Ivan "Help You Fly"
There's nothing about this song or performer that is particularly memorable, and that's kind of the kiss of death for a country like Belarus. This type of music is somewhat popular in their part of the world, but in a semifinal without most of their neighbors, Belarus needed to send a song that would appeal to the rest of Europe.
A song cut from the sequel to Top Gun is not that song.
But this entry is just as good as any in the contest. There was nothing that stood out and really nothing worth mentioning, save the song I would have voted for:
NAVI "Heta ziamlia"
I'm a sucker for peppy songs and songs in national languages, so I would have voted for this. It would have had the same chance as "Help You Fly" will.
Finally, Eurovision season has started, and I get to take a look at the songs that are trying to win the 2016 contest.
Can Belgium match last year's success?
First up this year is Belgium, who have two broadcasters who share the duties of sending a song, and this year it's the Flemish broadcaster VRT's turn.
VRT's track record in recent years hasn't been particularly stellar, and they decided to change things up by featuring "five young musical talents" who were vetted by "music experts" associated with the broadcaster.
I admire the broadcaster for wanting to discover a new singer. Yet when watching the final, the contest felt more like it felt like talent night at an magnet school for the arts. It's evident that there was talent among the contestants, but nothing fully formed.
That showed in the staging of all of the songs.
There was blatant stealing from previous successful Eurovision contestants:
Adil Aarab "In Our Nature"
We know that Mans Zelmerlöw won last year, but doing the exact same things doesn't equal a winning formula. It just looks lazy.
And then some extremely confusing props
Amaryllis Uitterlinden "Kick The Habit"
I'm still trying to figure out what the spiderweb and bouncing lanterns actually has to do with the song.
Not even the winning entry felt fully formed.
Laura Tesoro "What's The Pressure"
I am a big fan of disco, but the weakest part of the song is Tesoro herself. The song is fun, but the girl was so awkward and low energy during the final, it made me wish that they would get rid of her and remix the song for her backing singers. It's not a good sign.
Luckily, they have a few months to rehearse, and hopefully the girl will get enough confidence to actually connect with the audience. For Belgium to make the finals, they have to bring a great song with a great performance. Laura Tesoro and "What's The Pressure" aren't great right now.
I love writing about my favorite songs for any country, because these are songs I want you to take a listen to and my favorite five Croatian songs are definitely ones that you should take a listen to.
Let's get started!
5. Magazin & Lidija Horvat-Dunjko “Nostalgija” 1995
You take one of the biggest bands from Croatia and put them together with an opera singer and you get this song. It is undeniably weird and I find it absolutely entrancing. It wasn't accessible enough to win the contest, but it placed a respectable sixth in 1995. It also grabbed "douze points" from Malta, Spain, and Slovenia.
4. E.N.I. “Probudi me” 1997
Girl power was big in 1997 and E.N.I. was the Croatian response to it. Yes, this performance isn't the greatest and they are obviously a knockoff of the Spice Girls. But it's good bubblegum pop and these ladies are able to pull of some dance moves in cantilevered shoes.
3. Danijela Martinović "Neka mi ne svane" 1998
Yep, Martinović was the singer in Magazin. She came back as a soloist with this dramatic number three years later and landed in fifth place. She has a clear voice with a beautiful tone that really pulls you into the song. Just not crazy about the costumes change and the sexy arms...
2. Nina Badrić “Nebo” 2012
I love this song. I love her performance. But the staging and camera angles ruined the song and sabotaged the chances for "Nebo" to make the finals. There was no need for the dancers. The backup singers needed to be hidden and in a darker color and Badrić needed to not wear a sheet. Had they kept the shots on Badrić and allowed people to connect with the song, this would have made the finals.
1. Goran Karan "Kad zaspu anđeli" 2000
This is how a Balkan ballad needs to be performed. Straightforward staging. Flawless vocals. Karan is attractive and knows how to work the stage and camera. Wish they had gotten rid of the girl in a bag. But it's 2000--everybody had a gimmick.
And there's my top five Croatian entries.
Rumors are circulating that Croatia will return to Eurovision in 2016, and like many people I hope those rumors are true. The more I watch Eurovision, the more I love the music from the former Yugoslavia. Having Croatia back means more music from a region I love.
Back to my "Countries in Review" and back to the Balkans with Croatia.
Croatia used the TV show "Dora" to select their entrant for a number of years.
Croatia has entered Eurovision 21 times, starting in the first growth of the contest eastward in 1993. After a rough couple of years, Croatia did quite well in the contest. Croatians were perennially in the top ten in the early in the 1990s and early 2000s. But poor finishes in recent years (combined with the European financial crisis) have made them sit out for the past two years.
In this entry I'm going to be looking at the songs I ranked from 6 to 21. Watch for my next post for my favorite Croatian entries
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Croatia's sent two types of songs to Eurovision. The first is the Balkan ballad, a dramatic song usually about love. This type is exemplified by this interesting, technically difficult song from the 1996 contest.
"Sveta ljubav" Maja Blagadan 1996
This song didn't crack my top five for one reason only--the high note that really doesn't need to be there. I'm impressed Blagadan is able to hit B Flat 5, but the song doesn't need it. (It did work in the voting, though. Croatia came in fourth in 1996 garnering them one of their best results.)
The other type is the the female pop ballad.
Vesna Pisarović "Everything I Want" 2002
Every country sends these sort of songs, and Croatia's entries were no better or worse than other countries' offerings. Because of this, most of them fall in the middle of my list.
On occasion, Croatia would send something a little different--like this quirky little entry from 2008--
Kraljevi ulice & 75 Cents "Romanca" 2008
but you could really depend on Croatia to stick to those two types of songs.
That said, I have to highlight perhaps one of the worst songs ever presented at a Eurovision Song Contest.
Daria Kinzer "Celebrate" 2011
Unlike a lot of other songs that come across horribly, this one is special because I feel nothing but pity for the singer. "Celebrate" is a terrible song with staging ten years out of date and completely intimidated by the audience. It's like the Croatian broadcasted spent the bare minimum to get Kinzer to Düsseldorf and it's not suprising Croatia stepped away from the contest a couple of years later.
For those of you who are curious where the other Croatian entries fall, here's my full ranking of the songs from 6 to 21.
6. "Sveta ljubav" Maja Blagadan 1996
7. "Mižerja" Klapa s Mora 2013 Cool but not a Eurovision song.
8. "Romanca" Kraljevi ulice & 75 Cents 2008
9. "Marija Magdalena" Doris Dragović 1999 It’s the most successful Croatian song in Eurovision, but the performance leaves me cold.
10. "Lako je sve" Feminem 2010 They are competent singers wearing bridesmaid dresses.
11. "Lijepa Tena" Igor Cukrov featuring Andrea 2009 He looks so smarmy and doesn’t have the charm to pull off the Balkan ballad the way other singers can.
12. "Vukovi umiru sami" Boris Novković feat. Lado 2005 A standard male Balkan ballad but, Novković does have a bit of charm. Too much crap on stage, though.
13. "Everything I Want" Vesna Pisarović 2002
14. "Vjerujem u ljubav" Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić 2007 I like his voice, but she’s off key and it pulls the song down in my ranking.
15. "Moja štikla" Severina 2006 Highly ethnic in the ethnic period. Lots of effort for no real result.
16. "Strings of My Heart" Vanna 2001 She has no stage presence. That’s what knocks this song, when this is my favorite song on the CD.
17. "Više nisam tvoja" Claudia Beni 2003 I am sleeping. The lack of enthusiasm and stage presence is making me cry.
18. "Don’t Ever Cry" Put 1993 I have no idea what they’re singing, but taken all together it feels like a Christmas song.
19. "Nek' ti bude ljubav sva" Tony Cetinski 1994 Did Chuck Mangione butt in for a trumpet solo?
20. "You Are The Only One" Ivan Mikulić 2004 Both dull and off key.
Although Eurovision has been over for a couple of weeks, I'm typing about it now because I've finally had my yearly Eurovision party.
Congrats to Sweden. We ranked your fourth.
Usually I have it a little while after the live broadcast, it's an excuse to have people over, make some interesting food, and have a little bit of fun by ranking the songs.
It's always very interesting on where we agree and disagree with the voters from Europe.
Our Favorite:
Aminata "Love Injected" Latvia
Latvia's first final qualifier in eight years won us over with the exceptional vocals from Aminata and the extremely modern, almost avant garde, staging.
It was ranked in the top five of everybody at the party and would recieve our "douze points".
Other Winners:
Lisa Angell "N'oubliez pas" France
Even though Angell was placed in the "slot of death", performing second on the night of the final, Angell's passionate hit us in the sweet spot, coming in second our voting and would have received ten pomts from us. Angell receiving only four points was one of the biggest shocks of this year's voting.
Ann Sophie "Black Smoke" Germany
Ann Sophie wouldn't have gone away with "nul points" if our little group of voters were considered. "Black Smoke" came in sixth in our voting and picked up five points from us. The sexy staging and the powerhouse vocals worked for this little group of Americans.
The Biggest Loser:
Elhaida Dani "I'm Alive" Albania
I'm always happy when Albania makes it to the finals, but I have to agree with almost everybody else at our party and put Dani dead last. There's no hiding off key, screechy vocals.
Other Losers:
Polina Gagarina "A Million Voices" Russia
Although Russia came in seventh in our voting, the little group I had over was made up of members of the LBGT community and their allies. Politics caused us to vote the song down our list, even though we all admitted she hit this song out of the park.
However, the booking of Gagarina by the crowd was extremely tasteless. She's just a singer, not a politician.
Nadav Gued "Golden Boy" Israel
Israel may have hit the top ten in European voting, but the ethnopop from a guy attempting to be Justin Timberlake attempting to be Michael Jackson got more jeers than kudos.
The fake selfie at the end of the song was a particular groan worthy moment...
And that's Eurovision 2015. Now it's time to focus on a move and look forward to 2016 and the contest in Sweden.
The second semifinal is harder to predict because the songs in this final are much better and there isn't a real voting bloc of countries (save the Nordics) that make choosing songs obvious.
I really doubt I have more than six right, but this semifinal has a lot of songs that are all worthy of qualification and I've selected a couple that a true long shots.
And here's where I make my pitch to any European reader:
If you are willing to spare one of your votes for an American blogger, please send one in for Slovenia.
Maraaya "Here For You"
I've been a fan of Maraaya when I first heard "Here For You" and my love is still unabated. I want Slovenia in the final and since I have no choice in the matter, all I can do is ask.
Well, I just shocked myself. I took a look at the list of songs I selected to make it through to the final, and I got nine out of ten correct.
Here are the ten finalists:
Armenia
Belgium
Greece
Estonia
Serbia
Hungary
Russia
Albania
Romania
Georgia
The only one I missed was Albania. I had the Netherlands in instead.
But for those of you who aren't interested in watching the whole thing, here's some of the highlights of the contest.
The Biggest Surprise:
Elhaida Dani "I'm Alive" Albania
I'm happy that Albania has made it into the final. But Dani got really lucky because her final performance was off key and rather stilted.
My guess is that she had a superb performance last night and she scored well with the juries. It's the only explanation for the qualification.
The Biggest Disappointment:
Trijntje Oosterhuis "Walk Along" the Netherlands
I'm certain that Oosterhuis and the Dutch team wanted to make the final, and the vocals were superb. But everything else chosen was chosen to make people not vote for it. The clothes, the camera shots, and the lighting all were weird for no good reason.
Had she performed the song as she had on The Voice Holland this would have been in the final.
The Song I Would Have Voted For:
Boggie "Wars For Nothing" Hungary
I enjoy watching the semifinals without knowing much about the final performances. That means a song that I didn't necessarily rate will get my vote. Like last year's San Marinese entry, I didn't rate Hungary's song highly. But when seeing this live, this was the song I would have voted for. A simple song performed perfectly will get my vote.
The Can't-Miss Song
Eduard Romanyuta "I Want Your Love" Moldova
It's a rare song that makes you feel like you could get a STD by watching it. Good job Mr. Romanyuta. You made me feel like taking a course of antibiotics. And now you need to watch it too.
