The Hangover Weekend

Picture the scene: You wake up after a night out. It's the afternoon, you don't remember what happened last night. You look on Facebook.......there's pictures. Lots of pictures. You stare at your computer screen and think "Oh God!"

Well that's how I feel about this Eurovision weekend. Left, Right and Centre - what did Europe do this weekend? There have been some very suspect song selections by any accounts.

Serbia just about got it right but they had five very strong songs in their final; so they don't really deserve a clap for that. They sent Moje 3 to Eurovision with the song Ljubav Je Svuda - I really like the performance. You can watch the video here.

Estonia made the very strange choice of sending Birgit Oigemeel to Eurovision with the song Et Uus Saaks Alguse. I though there were some much better entries in this year's Eesti Laul, so there certainly has been some missed opportunities there. You can watch the winning song here.

Bulgaria have really lost the plot. After having the brains to send Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulou back to Eurovision they made a very unsmart song selection of Kismet. It is like Water only not nearly as good. It really is not a strong song selection by any one's judgement and should continue to keep Bulgaria in the semi-finals. Listen to the song here.

Armenia had already chosen their singer so Gor Sujyan was already going to Eurovision. Now we know he will go with the song Lonely Planet, which in my opinion is a fairly poor song from Armenia, they are capable of much better. Listen to the song here.

Hungary choose ByeAlex and the song Kedvesem to represent them at Eurovision a surprising (but awful) choice and, well ByeAlex just says it all. Watch the performance here.

Other Song Choices

I haven't had the chance to really dig into some of the other songs that have been presented lately and am trying to catch up on them, however I really am impressed by Georgia's song Waterfall - well done Thomas G:sson.

Who Will Estonia Send To Malmo?

Estonia a country of just 1.2 million people is certainly a country that punches way above it's weight in terms of quality of national final. So though I will be glued to Andra Chansen tonight others will be watching Essti.This morning I look at Estonia briefly, so let's see what's happening there:

Rolf Roosalu – With U

A remarkably unusual Eesti Laul song given that there is nothing remarkable to make this Estonian which is normally a theme of the songs in the Estonian national final. This song probably is pitched at the fans of Kuula last year, it bears many similar characteristics of last year’s entry though it just is not as outstanding and doesn’t jump out at me as much as Kuula did, nevertheless it is an impressive song which is well sung. Grade: A-

Liisi Koilson Ja Sooromoo – Ule Vee

Sorry I could not get all the dots above her name. This is a gentle bouncy song which patters along. It’s nice to have in the background but I fear that it just will not stand out enough to make an impression in the national final. It’s a bit forgettable. Grade: C

Facelift Deer – Dance

Tries to be old school boom town rats or similar – fails miserably. Grade: F

Elina Born – Enough

Elina has a good song but when I watched a preview video she was singing it live and this was not good as I imagine the studio version is. All the other songs have been judged based on their studio version so it seems not right to judge this based on the live version. Grade: B-

Pohja Tallinn – Meil On Aega Veel

Here it is – The Estonian choir song, sadly with added rap in Estonian which makes the overall song feel like a scratched CD. Can’t understand how Estonia would convince the EBU to take a large enough crowd onstage to let them produce the sound of the chorus of this song. Grade: D

Korsikud – Suuda Oelda Ei

I should like this but I don’t like it as much as I should. However it does build into a more substantial song as it goes on but I fear it is taking too long to do this. It reminds me a lot of Christmas, but do I want to think about this in May? Grade: B

Birgit Oigemeel – Et Uus Saaks Alguse

Another gentle song still I don't think that it will go to far tonight but it is difficult to say, this is a little forgettable though. Far from outstanding but makes a soft impact. Grade: C

Teele & Tuuli & Ula – Ring The Alarm

There’s a certain amount of Amy Winehouse in this song. The verses are somewhat weak but at the same time I quite like the chorus – It grows on you. Grade: B

Winny Puhh – Meiecundimees Uks Korsakov Laks Eile Latte

No – seriously Estonia? I’ve heard pigs dying who have made better sounds.Grade: NG

Grete Paia – Paastke Noored Hinged

This is why I listen to Eesti Laul, for all the overly strong pop songs sometimes it all just works and for this I solute you Estonia. This is the first song I have actually wanted to listen to a bit more, this is simply excellent. Grade: A