Rehearsals Day 2: The Good, The Bad and Ireland

Today saw eight more countries taking to the Eurovision stage to begin rehearsing for the semi-final that takes place in just one weeks time.

The Good
Unlike yesterday where three of the top four on PaddyPower were rehearsing, so today did not bring quite so many shocks. In reality there is no real outstanding song within these eight though I have a soft spot for Serbia.

Serbia, Cyprus, Moldova and Montenegro all had very competent rehearsals today, the strength of Montenegro was probably the only real surprise, it looks like it will seriously challenge for qualification. Seriously though - do they really need the space helmets.

Serbia did try out a couple of different dresses but coming in the last slot in the first semi-final it is a certain qualifier. Personally I love their song and think they could do better than expected overall in the contest.

Moldova and Cyprus both have similar style ballads though Moldova's performance on stage is certainly more elaborate than Cyprus's. Either way they may still struggle to qualify as they are both fairly dull ballads.

The Bad
Bad is a rather strong word in the context of today's rehearsals. However Belarus, Lithuania and Belgium were all songs that may not be sure of a place in the final and today did them no favours. Belarus just does not have the stage presence, Belgium still had trouble with the vocals and Lithuania probably would be fine if it were not for the attempt to use sunglasses for the performance - like, seriously?

However none of the performances today screamed that there was a serious underlying issue to do with the song or singer. There's nothing that could not be improved on for the second round of rehearsals and I will be keeping a close eye on these and watching with anticipation.

Ireland
Finally we come to Ireland. Reaction to the Irish rehearsal today has been very mixed and has ranged from "fine but nothing special" to "dire" and having seen some of the videos online for the performance in my opinion it is a walking, singing disaster. Nothing is right about the performance, absolutely nothing. The background is uninspired throwing a pile of Celtic symbols in the background of what is meant to be a club song. Vocally there are many problems and the choice of dress for the occasion is brutal. Whoever advised them on dress for Eurovision clearly was having a laugh.

Suffice to say I don't think we've a hope of qualifying on this performance and Ireland really need to up their game if they want to stand a chance on Tuesday next.

More tomorrow as the Semi-final 2 rehearsals kick off.

JESC Reviews: Part 3

With less than 48 hours to go until the grand final in the Netherlands how do the last four songs on my list measure up?

Israel 
Kids.il - Let The Music Win
Israel make their debut at the contest with a song that combines many of the bizarre elements of so many songs. While it sounds like a group of primary school children at first it then strangely picks up, and makes for a nice listen, which, if pulled off well live could give Israel a good finish on the score, however being sixth in the running order may not help it greatly and Georgia have yet to sing.
Verdict: Reasonable debuting attempt
Grade: C+

Moldova
Denis Midone - Toate Vor Fi
This is reasonably boring JESC songs and coming after Georgia this just may not work on the night. However Moldova have had mixed results at JESC, so though this is predictable it could do well and the last verse could help it to leave some impression.

Verdict: Meh, middle of the road attempt not a challenger
Grade: D

Netherlands
Femke - Tik Tak Tik
This certainly is Netherlands showing that they believe people are gullable and just might fall for the same song again. Still I do like this one it does bounce along very nicely and the tik tak tik being sung in the back ground. I also like Femke, I think she is a charismatic singer. The problem for Netherlands is that they are just out shone in this competition.

Verdict: Could do very well but probably won't hit the highs of the last two years.
Grade: C



Russia
Lerika - Sensation
One way or another I think that this is one of the most promising songs in this years contest. Lerika has the experience of last year to build on, and she impressed when live last year despite virtually no support from Moldova itself. The song is polished and professional sounding and certainly will be a great cracker in the contest however it is very conceivable that this could go into a neck and neck race with either Azerbaijan or Georgia for the top place.

Verdict: Creditable winner with experience.
Grade: A

Reaction To Rehearsals: Day 2: Part 2 Russia - Ireland

So unfortunately due to other commitments I missed most of the last ten hours meaning that I have missed a lot of rehearsal time. Anyhow here is a quick look at the last five rehearsals which I managed to miss.

Russia - Rehearsal Video
This has been flagged as one of the most interesting performances to watch in this years contest. Personally I never had put Russia down as a potential winner but after today's performance this has come roaring into the competition [albeit on a Zimmer frame]. This was vocally spot on and the performance is effective but still fairly simple relatively speaking.

Hungary - Rehearsal Video
Hungary today have produced a credible vocal performance which was a huge concern in the national final. The general staging is petty good but at the same time I think that this might be a bit dull to qualify.

Austria - Rehearsal Video
This was very much as expected. For me this is one of the strongest songs in the contest this year but many people are somewhat disappointed with the general the rehearsals today. They feel that the staging is too messy for the song. I really do not agree with them but I am disappointed with the lack of a tractor onstage. I think that one of Trackshittaz strengths is that they are not you common or garden rap duo and I think they should play that up a bit.

Moldova - Rehearsal Video
Moldova had been in doubt in up until today's rehearsal as being unfortunately sandwiched between Austria and Ireland in what would have to be the maddest end to a semi-final yet. But today Moldova really is standing up vocally and in general the song is looking like a very strong one in this semi-final.

Ireland - Rehearsal Video 
Ireland, well their is less to talk about than I had hoped but all the same this is still working really well onstage but I am going to join many other bloggers in saying that this needs something extra onstage to really lift it. Jedward are about as good as they can be vocally, however there appear to have been some mixing problems with the backing vocals. All the same though Ireland look like near certain qualifiers at this point in time.

Pasha Parfeny Brings Some Fun - We Just Won't Remember It

Without a doubt there was some surprise when Moldova selected Pasha Parfeny to go to Eurovision.  There was no clear winner in the Moldovan national final but usually when this occurs it means that one of the last songs in the running order will win the national final.

Without a doubt Pasha is keeping with the trend of Moldova of Moldovan entries. It is no doubt a fun song, it encompasses some bizarre costumes and general strange sounding music. The rhythms of the song have appealed to the Eurovision audience before .

So the song has a lot going for it. But has it actually? Judging by past Moldovan entries, which I have thoroughly enjoyed so far this is not as great as they were. Moldova has a great position in the running order. No. 17. However it is sandwiched between two other fun songs. Trackshittaz and Jedward are certainly going to put on a show. Whether Pasha and Moldova are able to keep up with them I’m not sure of.

As I have previously said, the song is not as good as previous entries from Moldova. It’s not one that I personally love. I can understand why you could love this but there is much better in this genre at the contest.

Verdict: This gives me the vibes of Cyprus in 1999. They had a strong song, but were sandwiched between the marginal stronger entry of Iceland and the amazing entry from Sweden and Charlotte Nilsson. The song is not one of my favourites but I recognise it as a reasonable entry.

Grade: C-

The Highs And Lows Of National Final Season 2012 Part 2

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. Part 2 continues our series.

Ireland holding a national final
That was a joke wasn't it. Since around October people were pretty sure that Ireland would be sending Jedward to the contest. It actually was slightly surprising to hear that there still would be a Late Late Show special. Anyhow to no ones surprise they won.

And the award for longest interval act goes to....Moldova.
After an huge national final of 22 (roughly, I can't remember) you'd think that they'd wrap it up quickly and get it over with. Oh no, instead Moldova went on the rampage with a 40 minute interval act. I'm not going to put a video of here. It seems pointless. Go and learn how to make an origami swan instead it would seem more useful.

Trackshittaz vs. Conchita Wurst
What a showdown that was in Austria between two guys (with a great song) shouting at people to shake their bottoms and well, Conchita. It really was the most unorthodox showdown of the year and Trackshittaz won by 51% which is really really close.


Loreen's Melodifestivalen Final Performance
Anyone who likes Loreen will understand just how good this amazing performance was. For me it was Melodifestivalen moment of the year.

Cringe performance in Romania.
We wouldn't have spotted this only for Eurovision Apolcalypse. (One of the best Eurovision blogs around). Anyhow I just loved Bianca Purcarea's studio version. However the vocals in her live performance could have been drowned out my rubbing nails on a chalkboard.

 We'll continue the series shortly.