(Almost) the last round-up, Part 2….

Mopping up the last few songs of the year, it looks like we’re set for an almighty battle of the ballad birds in Baku. Or at least between Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina that is. The host nation are fielding this effort, When The Music Dies, by Sabina Babayeva, which is OK in a sort of ‘we REALLY don’t want to win this again’ kind of way. We confidently predict a triumphant seventh place finish. Or something:

And here’s Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Maya Sar, weighing in on the big and dramatic front with Korake Ti Znam. It’s epic, it’s beautiful and….we wish we liked it more. If it’s any consolation, we do actually feel bad about not liking it more. And she will undoubtedly qualify for the final where Eurovision Blog estimates Slovenia will wipe the floor with all the other Balkan ballads:

Speaking of ballads, look here comes another one! It’s Belgium’s Iris, performing her entry Would You in a hall of mirrors which looks like a set nicked from Munich 1983:

But enough of all this balladeering, along come Greece now to pick up the tempo, with Eleftheria Eleftheriou (a name which we just know is going to give us no end of spelling problems in the run-up to the contest) and her song Aphrodisiac. Which sounds pretty much like every bit of Greek ethno-pop which has dominated their Eurovision track record since the dawn of time. We hereby predict Eleftheria will wear a short, sparkly skirt, probably be joined on stage by carefully co-ordinated dancers and sail through to the final for a slightly underwhelming mid-table finish. Yawn. Word to the Greeks: we realise you’re on a budget at the moment but seriously, originality costs NOTHING:

Merlin, you’re wizard…….!

And so to Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have come up with one of our favourite tunes so far this year, in the shape of Dino Merlin’s splendid Love In Rewind. Dino you and your quirky musician pals rock – although you might want to consider investing in a new jacket before making your inevitable passage through to the final:

Yaaaaaaaaaawn………..

Introducing this year’s  ‘actually it’s a bit meh’  entry, courtesy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nothing more to say about this really except it is called Thunder and Lightning. And is by Vukacin Brajic. Can you tell we’re struggling a bit here…..?

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…..