The Highs And Lows Of National Final Season 2012 Part 1

With another national final season over us and me being away from blogging and technology for a few nights, we turn our attention back to remember the highs and lows of the national final season that was. While it is almost over it will leave us with some great memories.

Lys Assia Fever

Being the first to hold it's national final (like the Iowa primary in America) the first national final of the year got a huge amount of attention from fans. This was helped by the return of Lys Assia to the contest. While she have gotten a lot publicity from it her song C'est Ma Vie received only came 8th in a show of 14 songs. I still think it would have been a great choice for Eurovision, considering this appears to be a year of oldies. Then there was also the accusations that she was unfairly treated by juries etc. (It was all great gossip).

DMGP
If national finals with semi-finals and heats are not your thing the best single one night national final probably is Denmark. Therefore they get some praise from ourselves. I loved a great number of songs in that final and am very pleased to see that the ultimately sent Soluna Samay to Eurovision.


Bobby Bare 
While any act can throw itself up in a national final Bobby Bare certainly was a surprise. I loved Things Change, even if it did have the huge irony of being a song about things changing but was from a place where things never change. But of all the people who came across as very nice Bobby came across as the true country gentleman. I also was impressed by how well he understood Eurovision and compared it to a guitar club. This is how Eurovision is meant to be.

Mad Show Boys
This does not need words

Juries Correcting mistakes in Iceland
Imagine if we had to watch Blar Opal on stage at Eurovision when a great song like Mundu Eftir Mer left at home. Well this would have been the case if the public had been allowed to vote on their own in Iceland. Thankfully Jonsi & Greta Sálome are going to Eurovision for Iceland.

Part 2 should be up around the same time tomorrow assuming that Blogger scheduler works.

A Surprisingly Entertaining Song. Denmark: The Review

I think it was a little surprising for fans to see that Soluna Samay is to go to Eurovision for Denmark. In my opinion this was a little more surprising given that she was 6/1 before DMGP but odds are not everything. When I first heard this song my reaction was to skip onto the next one. It was very anonymous and didn’t really stand out. However I did note in my initial review that it would all come down to the live performance and it worked. The song came to life on stage, from the various backing singers and that girl playing the drums the whole song just seems to come together as a whole and be the best it can be. The staging of the song is an integral part of its wonderfulness. The staging must be continued to Baku but I don’t know if they will be allowed to keep the falling leaves.

Overall the song is high quality, and has huge potential for Eurovision. Every year since about 2008 the Danes have sent a song which is very radio friendly. This has led to very strong placing in the last two years. In my view this is probably going to continue.

Fan reaction to this song is that it is good but there have been many comparisons to Anna Bergendahl. This reaction is justified. The songs style is similar. However in response I would argue that it is more mainstream than Anna’s song and the staging is will make it more memorable. I think Soluna is less likely to be nervous on the night and her passion for the song which she discussed with escXtra will carry her into the final. Anna’s song was different from what we normally would expect from Sweden while this is normal for Denmark.

Verdict: On a personal level I loved this song after about a week of listening to it. It is not a good thing that it is a grower rather than instant but I tend to be slow to recognise songs that I really like. While I don’t like saying this at this early stage I reckon that this could come as high as second place.

Grade: A

What the Danes Don't Want You To Know?

While the people behind the Eurovision Media and DR might like accept the results of MGP and march on towards Eurovision no one has provided detailed notes on the results. So I'm going to put an end to that, so as that they are on record.

The results of the jury vote: Venter came last with all 5 juries from Azerbaijan, Denmark, Norway, Germany and  Russia and scored 40 points (8 X 5). Should've Known Better scored 54 points (3 ten's and 2 twelve's) and Take Our Hearts came first with juries scoring 56 points (3 twelve's and 2 ten's).

The public vote was combined with jury votes to quickly to allow people to notice that the results were:

1.Should've Known Better - 56 points
2. Venter - 48 points
3. Take Our Hearts - 46 points


In a three way battle this actually rather close. Assuming that they received these points on the basis of the percentage of votes in the televote, then roughly speaking, that means the televote results were:

1.Should've Known Better - 37.3%
2. Venter - 32%
3. Take Our Hearts - 30.7%

UPD: Iceland, Norway and Denmark what could go wrong?

Today we have no less than 2 nordic songs and 1 national final which means that Denmark will be choosing their Eurovision Song tonight. Sadly due to the fact I am away I won't have coverage tonight (might have some but won't be watching live). So were doing a large item for today looking at what exactly we are expecting and what we are hoping for.

Iceland: Really this week is not up to much we hope that Gudrún Árny Karlsdóttir will make it through to the final with Simbi Og Hrútspungarnir. But really the fact is that you have to see the Icelandic final to actually know which songs lift off the studio version and have a great live performance. I really can't call who might get through.

Update: We now know, thanks to our friends over on ESCNorge that there are 3 not 2 acts going through to the final of MGP in Norway. Another act will also be picked as a wildcard by an internal jury. The Norway section of this article has been updated to reflect that.

Norway: Well I hope I have made it quite clear that my favorite song is by REIDUN SAETHER but that does not garentee that she will get through. An interesting video appeared comparing to Sweden's (2008) Hero which you can see here. Of course we would also like to see Kim Andre Ryystad and Lisa Stokke  going to the final however we are not exactly sure how many are due to go through based on the new national final system. My guess is that 2 will get through as in previous years but I could be surprised. My guess is that The Carburentors and Reidun will get through but I could be proven wrong. Lisa Stokke and Nora Foss al-Jabri are also among the favorites. I going to call this one for Nora.

Denmark: OK so this is the most important country this weekend as it will pick its song. I think that the international juries will be an interesting new element in how the song is picked. AYA is my favorite and I think that she is the dark horse of the contest. I can see the international juries really rowing in behind it if Aya can prove that that she has a huge amount of Charisma. I think that if it was left up to the Danes they would pick Christian and Patrik. Why? Well there is just some strange room for a little on stage magic - an Olsen brothers moment. I also really like the song. It is such an obvious choice for the Danes that I think it has a very good chance. Jesper is also polling well but I just think it doesn't have the "X-Factor" that I was looking for. Nevertheless it could win tonight. Update: After sleeping on it I am far more impressed with Christian Brons & Patrik Issaksson. I am going to call it for them, but am sure I will be proved wrong.

So it is a fun night to look forward to. I hope you enjoy it. I will have reaction tonight/tomorrow on the Blog.

Danish National Final: Review

Denmark was earmarked by me and a number of fans to be a potential winner of ESC 2012. Having seen the singers and heard the songs I think that the world of Eurovision fandom is a little less certain of that now. However once again they have produced a national final that really stands out. So once again here we go:

Jesper Nohrstedt - This is a uniquely Danish song and a style that we tend to hear quite a bit in their national final. It is a song that builds very well. However the slow part in the song is just a bit tedious. However overall I really like this one. It could be a potential top 3. Grade: B+

Aya - Best Thing I Got starts rather in the style of Satellite. However it builds into something which is as orginal as Satellite was when it first appeared. I am a big fan of this song and I think that this song would deliver the best result to Denmark, which other entries here just wouldn't. The other major factor will be how charismatic Aya is on stage. The song has great potential to be sung by a charismatic singer. The Dark Horse of the competition. Grade: A

Kenneth Potempa - Reach for the sky does not start as well as it could but it builds into a song that actually is rather good, but does sound a little unusual and that is a good thing. I admire Kenneth for his great vocals but I think this is a song that may do ok and make the top 3 at the expense of Jesper's song but more than likely it will just not make it through. Grade: B-

Ditte Marie - I am more than aware that this is the lead singer from Le Freak last year (who I just loved). However I think that this sounds just a tad low and dull for Schlager. That's not to say that the song won't go on the MP3 player (that's right I don't have an i-Pod) the song is good but it does not have the edge that is required to win in Denmark. Grade: B+

Philip Halloun Og Emilia - This song takes so long to get going I had to write this sentence to try to delay myself a little. This is a standard (and a little predictable ballad) from Denmark that we have heard before. It really doesn't develop into a song that I think might capture the attenion of the audience. However when there are so many pop songs this could stand out, however in reality it is a rather average song. Grade: C-

Suriya - This is the favourite to come last and I couldn't agree more. It is a disjointed song that has few redeeming qualities and I really am not mad about it. There is too much going on in this song and it seems to stop and start in a new genre every 30 seconds. Grade: F

Karen Viuff - While I have nothing against the song I just think that this is below the quality that we are seeing in this year’s DMGP. I think the build in the song is just not building at the pace that it needs to for me to like it. Grade: C

Soluna Samay - One of the favourites this song is going to come down to how well it comes across to the audience. It is very difficult to say Hit from the studio version that this is going to work on the night. I like the studio version but it is a difficult call. Grade: B

Christian Brons Og Patrik Isakasson - This is a song that as appeared in DMGP many times however I think that the way this song progresses into the chorus will give it the edge. It should come across well on the night. The "Ay yeah Venter" in the chorus really adds to the song. A proper song for a national final and potential ESC song. Grade: A-

We will publish our predictions for National Finals tomorrow, Saturday.

UPD: Returning to the odds!

Since my last post there have been some changes to the odds. Ireland has gone from 33/1 to 25/1 which is odd given that we have the same amount of information as before.

Now that we have heard all the songs from Norway (stats based on four bookmakers):
Nora Foss Al-Jabri is the favorite to win the first semi with 3 bookies putting her on favorite. However there is huge differences in what is to come second. The Carburtores and Lise Stokke are favorites to take the second slot with Kim and Reidun coming in after as dark horses.

There is huge spread in the final. Plumbo are the hot favorites to win with Reidun, Rikke Normann and The Canoes lagging behind.

Today we got the odds from Lativa, they confirm what I expected from the start: Mad Show Boys are the favorites (the hot favorites at that) and PeR are just behind, followed by Paula Dukure (all are under 3/1). After that there is a gap starting with Anmary (5/1) to Ruta Dudama (19/1).

Over in Denmark the song Venter (Christian and Patrik) is leading the odds with Jesper Nohrstedt is in second. Sonuna and Aya are in joint third (roughly). Forever I B Young is in last place.

Super Monday!

Keen watchers of the contest national final calender will notice that really there is no "Super" day. Traditionally this would be a day that 4 or 5 songs would be picked for ESC. This year that is less visible. This year we are seeing a huge spread of the days that countries are picking on. However while I am sure that we will see more dates come through and we will have a Super Saturday (or Friday) today is what matters.

Today is Super Monday as during the night many countries (Scandinavian) released their songs.
Iceland, Denmark and Norway have all released some songs and we have started reviewing already!

A Quick Look At The Odds

Just to break from the mundane day-to-day reaction and reviews today we're going to look at the odds around Eurovision.

Currently the odds cannot be properly trusted because not enough countries have chosen. Notwithstanding this fact looking at the odds currently Greece and Russia are the favorites at 7/1. (Which is still very high). Other high counties: Italy is only 9/1 which, given their selection process seems a little strange, nevertheless, I would not expect an Italian win this year. Cyprus are 11/1 which reflects the strength of their national final songs this year. Denmark who I think has a good chance at winning this year is still back on 16/1, which could be a good bet.

Moving further down the list Spain and Ireland are 33/1 which doesn't reflect their possibilities. Of the two songs picked so far Albania is 41/1 and Switzerland is 25/1.

Looking at Melodifestivalen 2012 according to the odds (without hearing the songs): The Moniker is the favorite to win the first semi-final. Timoteij are favorites to win the second semi-final, Youngblood in the third and Danny Saucedo is the favorite for the fourth semi-final and favorite to win the whole competition. Strangely Ulrik Munther is second favorite to win outright (11/2)  and Charlotte Perrelli is 11/1.

Looking at DMGP 2012, Christian Bons and Patrick Isakson are favorites to win outright, with Aya (singing a song by the writers of Satellite) is second favorite.

News Flash

We're very happy with how our "Why Ireland Needs Jedward" post was received. In the future we will try to publish a little more on Jedward (just wait until RTÉ gives the full list of who is participating)

Turkey have announced that Can Bonomo will represent them in Baku. I don't personally go for him but many people will think he is good. (It's Turkey afterall)

Tine Lynggaard has been disqualified from DMGP 2012 due to her song being published to early. (Must not own a calender).

Nina Badric will represent Croatia in ESC 2012. Seems like a good choice.

Melodifestivalen running order has been revealed. The best slot in the semi finals has gone to Danny (sigh) Timoteij are singing fifth in their semi-final (Another sigh).

Review: Cyprus national final

Today there is not a vast amount of news coming in other than Tine Lyagraard's participation in DMGP 2012 is once again under scrutiny after fresh information appeared. (We'll keep you posted)

So in the meantime we have a review of the Cyprus songs and before I begin I would like to congratulate Cyprus on coming up with three really impressive songs. They were so good that I have to use a different marking scale to the last time. (The Higher Scale). As was already known Ivi Adamou is to sing all songs.

Call The Police - Finally a song that is worthy of Eurovision. There really is so much poor stuff at the moment this is developed and refreshing. However can Ivi pull it off. I think she should, but once we hear all the ESC songs this may not be strong enough. Grade: C+


I Don't Belong Here - This is good but it needs a stronger ending chorus just to lift it and make it a little anthemic. Otherwise a strong song. Grade: C

La La Love - I think that this song is the song we will see at Eurovision. It has the right disco sound to do well at Eurovision. This is just so balanced it is wonderful. The chorus is strong. However if it was not for the juries I would say that we are going to see Cyprus in the top 5. However they will only respect a song if the vocal performance is not just acceptable but goes above and beyond the call of duty. Grade: B+

I think what we are looking for from Ivi is very good vocals to match her strong songs. I expect if she delivers this then we are looking at Cyprus beating it’s previous highest placing. 

La La Love has emerged as the fan favorite (Poll, ESCDaily) After 816 votes: La La Love (71%); You Don't Belong Here (15%); Call The Police (14%). [Figures rounded]

Interesting reaction from Denmark

Tine Lynggaard has not been disqualified from DMGP despite allegations about the song being released before the EBU deadline. This is a surprise because I thought the Danes would disqualify it.