And last but not least…..

……it’s Sweden,  finally producing an entrant in the shape of Malena Ernman after what seems likes months of Melodifestivalen. As tempted as we are to stay on the fence about this one, since the operatic chorus has stuck firmly in our heads since we first heard it, there is also a side of us which can’t help saying, “Gosh, such a long selection process and this is the best they could come up with? How about biting the bullet and sending The Hives next year……??”

Good grief…….!

It’s the entry from the Czech Republic, courtesy of gypsy rappers Gypsy.cz, and to be honest we’re speechless. Leaving aside the video for a moment, which looks rather like a micro-budgeted Central European homage to the Beastie Boys, we can’t decide if this is a) a work of genius or b) a dreadful load of old crock, nor can we decide if a) this will ‘do a Bunica Bate Toba’ and soar into the top ten of the final, or b) get no points whatsoever thus sending the wacky lads back to Prague with their collective tails between their legs. Er, decide for yourself. The words acquired taste spring to mind……

Elvis Lives? In, er, Belgium??

After an uncomfortably lengthy silence,  the Belgians have finally come up with their entry for Moscow 2009 – in the shape of, er, Elvis impersonator Patrick Ouchene. Well there’s a first for Eurovision. Belgium, of course, never cease to surprise us (although usually it’s by singing in a made-up language) and this year is no exception – and it’s certainly a fun song which brings a little bit of rock n’roll to the fray, even if Team Eurovision is convinced it will finish absolutely nowhere. Meanwhile, rumours that Shakin’ Stevens is being lined up to sing backing vocals for Jade Ewen have been staunchly denied (STOP making stuff up already – Ed)

We Don’t Want To Put In We Don’t Wanna Put In. Or something…

Why does nobody ever tell us anything? Such as the fact that Georgia have withdrawn from this year’s contest? First we heard of it was when we came across the story on ESC Today the other day, saying that they had decided to pull out of the contest rather than alter their disco-tastic song We Don’t Wanna Put In, after the EBU decided the track broke the rules of the contest which state no political lyrics are allowed.

We can’t say we’re surprised, quite frankly, since it might have been tough finding a new song at this stage, and clearly the Georgians would rather make a stand for a song they believe in, which is fair enough. But we must add that we hope it’s only a temporary withdrawal. Georgia have only been in the contest for a couple of years but they’re already shaping up to be one of the more promising new participants and we would hate to think they have flounced off in a permanent huff. See you in 2010?

Another Great Big Round-Up!

There’s been such a recent flurry of activity on the national finals front that we just can’t keep up with it all. So let’s just round up some more of the entries into one handy, easy to manage post – beginning with Israel’s effort from renowned chanteuse Noa and Israeli Arab singer Mira Awad:

‘Pleasant’ is the word which springs immediately to mind, and we’re not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but the partnership is certainly an interesting one. Whether or not this gets lost in the mix on the night is another matter entirely.

We doubt, however, that the Ukrainian entry from Svetlana Loboda is likely to be forgotten in a hurry…..

Now it could be just us but we’re trying to decide whether this is a complete work of genius or a total crime against Eurovision. Either way there is so much to enjoy about it – the comedy moustaches, the seemingly spontaneous drum solo, Svetlana’s ridiculously OTT outfit, the way in which one of the backing dancers is holding her upside down over his shoulders like some latter day caveman – that we’re prepared to overlook the fact that for all intents and purposes it is a tuneless wail of a song. We are, however convinced that only a Eurovision country as popular and successful as Ukraine could possibly get away with something like this – in other words Andrew Lloyd Webber, don’t even think about doing something similar in 2010…..

And onwards to host nation Russia, this year represented by, er, a Ukrainian, Anastasia Prohodko:

Now a friend of Team Eurovision reliably informs us that this is “very Russian” – which is all very well except it will have a hard time appealing to anybody west of Kiev. Are the Russians trying really hard to ensure that they don’t have to host again next year or are we beng a tad cynical?

And so, onwards, to the first Slovakian entry in years, a duet sung by Kamil Miculcik and Nela Pociskova:

And the less said about that one the better. Except possibly that Kamil looks scarily like the kind of actor you used to see in,er,special 1970s movies for the single gentleman. On that note, let us move swiftly on to Estonia’s Urban Symphony:

Now we quite like this, and think it could even be the song to drag Estonia kicking and screaming out of semi-final doldrums for the first time ever. Our only reservation is, that since we already have Norway and Slovenia strutting their stuff with fiddles, could this be one violin too many? Hope not, because we actually think this deserves to qualify.

And finally, we have recent winners Serbia, this year fielding twosome Marko Kon and Milan Nikolic:

And, er, frankly we’re speechless.Yes, it’s certainly nice to see the Serbs letting their hair down a bit after a run of very serious songs, but there are ways of lightening the tone and, er, ways of lightening the tone. And we’re not convinced that entering a gruff-voiced Michael Moore lookalike (albeit one who appears to have stuck his finger in a live socket before coming on stage) accompanied by some random bloke playing the accordion is how to do it. Let’s just say it’s “catchy” and leave it at that, shall we……..?

Not so scary this year….

……it’s the sophomore effort from Azerbaijan, courtesy of Aysel and Arush. We liiiiike……

And one more for good luck….

Presenting an audio clip, minus any actual footage, of Switzerland’s entry by Lovebugs. Some say this is waaaaaay too good for Eurovision, others simply think it sounds curiously like Then Jerico…..

Does Chris Martin know about this?

Are Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entrants Regina channelling Coldplay in any way? The military-inspired outfits, perhaps? The Viva La Vida-esque look of their stage? No matter, since we are loving their song. Croatia, take note, this is how you do an ethnic sounding ballad and still appear effortlessly cool…..

Phew, what a scorcher!

Finally from the weekend, we bring you Soraya singing – let’s put it this way – Spain’s best entry in years. Further proof, if any were needed, that the Big Four really are upping their game this year……

It’s Ireland! No, it’s Portugal! No, it’s…..help?????

Is it just us or is there a growing tide of fan support for Portugal on the Eurovision stage? Frankly we’re not surprised – now that Finland have scored a victory they are the longest serving country never to actually win the contest – and their entry last year was so good that we almost thought it was going to be their year. Sadly we don’t think 2009 will be, either, although Flor de Lis’ song is certainly easy on the ear. Even if it does seem to be incorporating a few too many Irish-sounding folk twiddles for comfort. Dervish, anyone??