The European Broadcasting Union has fined Azerbaijan’s Ictimai TV for distorting the TV signal when Armenia’s Inga and Anush performed during last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, then blurring out their phone number during the voting. Despite this, Armenia still received five points from Azerbaijan.
Posts Tagged ‘Armenia’
When, Really, They Should Have Blacked Out Croatia’s Performance
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009Eurovision Final Recap
Monday, May 18th, 2009Let’s compare what I predicted and what actually happened:
Me:
Last: France |
Europe:
Last: Finland |
I put the predictions I got correct in bold, and I italicized correct calls in the top 10.
Obviously, I overvalued Finland and undervalued France. As it turns out, Finland was the jury pick in the first semi, leapfrogging over FYR Macedonia and Montenegro to get to the final.
Asides: As unbelievable as it sounds to me, Croatia actually was the jury pick in the second semi, knocking out Serbia and jumping over Ireland and Poland. Also, the Czech Republic finished with nil point. Ouch. Even Belgium got une point. Tragically, Latvia got seven points in its semi. Oof.
Anyway, as it turns out, Patricia Kaas has a pretty big following, which carried France to eighth place. Had I done research…
I don’t think I was the only one who was shocked that Greece did not finish second. I’d say that performing eighth might have hurt Sakis’ chances, except that Jóhanna went seventh, and Iceland finished second. I also neglected to put Bosnia and Herzegovina in the top 10, which was a foolish mistake on my part.
Eurovision Final Preview
Friday, May 15th, 2009So let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: can anyone beat Norway? No. Greece may come close, but Sakis shall have no cigar. There you go.
I’ve been trying for most of the day to figure out what my top 10 and last place predictions are going to be. Frankly, it’s difficult, because Croatia aside, this is a pretty strong year. It’s certainly the best one since I’ve started watching Eurovision religiously. About the only two things I can say with any certainty is that Norway is going to win and there will be no nil point this year.
In a fair and just world, Croatia would finish last place, but I really don’t see that happening. I’m going with France, because it’s third in the line-up and way too freaking French. Croatia will probably finish 15th.
For the top 10… well, I’m going with pure gut on this:
- Norway
- Greece
- Azerbaijan
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Malta
- Finland
- Armenia
- ESTONIA!!!!!
- Turkey
Now, I’m off to practice saying “I’m Gumby, dammit” in Albanian until our guests arrive for the big show.
Eurovision Semi-Final #1 Recap
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009Before I start the recap from last night’s semi-final, here were Jen’s predictions for the result, which she made right after the performances were over:
- Montenegro
- Czech Republic
- Sweden
- Armenia
- Turkey
- Israel
- Iceland
- Finland
- Malta
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
Jen wasn’t confident in her Czech pick, but thought it was gimmicky enough to go through. She picked Finland because “Lose Control” is already a dance hit in Europe, and honestly, if I had known that, I probably would have picked Finland over Andorra.
Jen also picked Iceland based on the quality of Jóhanna’s performance. I have to say, she was really good (as was the staging… except for the animated dolphin flying through the sky). The song had done nothing for me before, but, like Norway’s Maria Haukaas Storeng last year, Jóhanna won me over.
In the end, we both got eight out of 10 right. Here are the results of the first semi:
- Sweden
- Armenia
- Turkey
- Israel
- Iceland
- Romania
- Finland
- Portugal
- Malta
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
The really disappointing thing for both of us was that Montenegro didn’t go through. It’s a great song, and Andrea Demirović sang it well. Also, her backup dancer was fantastic in a completely campy way. Words can’t describe it, so just go watch it. It’s worth it.
Speaking of things that words can’t describe, the opening number for the show was this big fairy tale story about Russian kids who learn to fly from a phoenix that they later help defeat a dragon. The narration was done by an American, although I have no idea who. I’m pretending it was Sam Waterston.
The vote-tabulation entertainment was a Russian military choir singing traditional songs while Russian dancers did traditional dances. It was very Soviet, actually, but to Russia’s credit, the tank and the MIG that were on stage were painted in festive colors. The tank, for example, was pink with flowers on it. t.A.T.u. showed up at the end, and the best part of their performance was that the military choir sang back-up for them.
When the show began, the first thing we noticed (because it was hard to miss) was that the stage was enormous. While the performers are closer to the audience than they have been the past few years, they are also dwarfed by the width of the stage. Moreover, the video screens behind them are as long as the stage, with additional ones that tower over the performers. If the graphics behind flashed on the screen are too busy, as they often were, performers can easily get lost.
In fact, some of the performances that stood out were ones that made minimal use of the video screens. As mentioned, Iceland did well with just clouds and the occasional dolphin as a backdrop. Malta’s Chiara had nothing but a starfield. In fact, she didn’t have back-up singers, which was a brave, but effective choice.
On the other hand, Turkey’s Hadise and her female back-up singers and dancers were dressed in red (the males were in olive), and they performed in front of a red video, so they all got completely lost. That Hadise sucks at belly dancing didn’t help. On the other hand, she made it through, because, well, she’s from Turkey. Only Dustin the Turkey as an entrant would keep Turkey from getting out of the semis. And even then I’m not sure.
Both the semis are being hosted by model Natalia Vodyanova and TV host Andrey Malakhov, and they of course were charmingly cheesy. Unlike the backstage reporter, whose name I didn’t catch, who was so skeezy that at one point, he actually made one of the Belgian back-up singers visibly uncomfortable.
Anyway, Natalia and particularly Andrey had the gregarious enthusiasm you’d expect from someone at a karaoke bar with a belly full of vodka. They had a lot of jokes, but because English is not their first language, their timing on the jokes was just terrible.
They were more funny with their off-the-cuff banter during the announcement of the finalists. The best part: when Israel got through, Andrey said, “The most political-correct song of the Eurovision 2009 goes to THE FINAL!” Brilliant.
Former Eurovision contestant Alsou and “media personality” Ivan Urgant are the hosts of the finals, so I’m going to miss Natalia and Andrey when they’re done hosting. Fortunately, we’ve got one more night with them tomorrow.
Eurovision Semi-Final #1 Preview
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009Tonight is the first semi-final for the Eurovision Song Contest, or as I like to call it, “The Weak-ass Semi-Final.” Let’s be honest, with a couple of exceptions, this is not a strong line-up, particularly compared with the second semi on Thursday.
In fact, two of my three least favorite songs are here: the Czech entry “Aven Romale” and the Belgium entry “Copycat“, which I think is one of the worst Eurovision songs ever. (Which, when you think about it, is really saying something.) Fortunately, these two songs are second and third on the night respectively, and I at least have hopes that Gipsy.cz will offer an amusing performance.
Ten songs go through, and I could try to explain the arcane rules behind the voting, but you might just want to visit the Wikipedia page on this year’s contest for that. Instead, here are my picks to go on to the final. We’ll see tomorrow how inaccurate these turn out to be.
- Turkey - Hadise: “Düm Tek Tek” (No doubt at all on this one)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Regina: “Bistra voda” (My fave on the night)
- Israel - Noa and Mira Awad: “There Must Be Another Way“
- Montenegro - Andrea Demirović: “Just Get Out of My Life“
- Malta - Chiara: “What If We” (If this doesn’t get voted through, I’d bet it’d be the wild card)
- Sweden - Malena Ernman: “La Voix“
- Armenia - Inga and Anush Arshakyan: “Jan Jan” (A weak entry, but Armenia is as solid as Turkey in getting out of the semis, I think)
- Portugal - Flor-De-Lis: “Todas as ruas do amor“
- Romania - Elena Gheorghe: “The Balkan Girls” (Not confident in this pick)
- Andorra - Susanne Georgi: “La teva decisió (Get a Life)” (Even less confident in this pick than the Romanian entry)
You can watch the big show live at at the Eurovision website at 9:00p CET/3:00p EDT, or on-demand after the show (probably around 1:00a CET/7:00p EDT).
Armenia’s Eurovision 2009 Entry
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009Armenia has voted for Inga and Anush Arshakyan’s “Nor Par” as their Eurovision entry this year, and right off the bat, I’m seeing a trend: performers ripping through scrims. The Arshakyans do it here, just as Quartissimo did in their performance at the Slovenian finals.
I don’t know what to make of this one, if I’m being honest. It is a very traditional sounding number, but it’s performed in English and it has the patented Eurovision Key Change (EKC). Also, there’s a very Western-sounding bridge. It’s catchy, but the Arshakyans oversing it a bit. It’s kinda like Siouxsie and the Banshee’s recording a version of Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoukov’s “Water” at Peter Murphy’s house.
I think… I think I like it. But I’m not sure. They’ll have to work on their performance for the big show, though. That much I do know.
Updated: No. No I don’t like it. They sound like Charming Hostess, now that I listen again. Only… you know… sucky.
Chris’ Eurovision Finals Recap, Part One
Friday, May 30th, 2008It’s Eurovision time again, and why not kick off the show in Belgrade with last year’s winner, Marija Šerifović? She does “Molitva,” which for tonight’s show has a more Euro-dance feel to it, not to mention gender-bending back-up dancers. She also does a second song that features the lyric, “They will find one day/Love DNA.”
After a little introductory spiel from hosts Jovana Janković and Željko Joksimović, we get underway.
1. Romania
Bad first note from Nico. In fact, she’s pretty awful tonight. It’s like Vlad is the Steve Lawrence of Romania and Nico is the Eydie Gorme.
2. United Kingdom
It really sucks Andy Abraham is going second. I do love this song, and he does a great job. Slick, polished fun.
3. Albania
Olta Boka just cannot carry that chorus. Her voice lacks the richness to sing it over the orchestration by herself. I kinda like the song, but her performance doesn’t do it for me.
4. Germany
Die alle Heiligen! No, wait, No Angels are nowhere near as good as All Saints. The chorus is actively annoying, and the blonde singer is so far out of tune that she might as well be singing “I’m a Little Teapot.” Horrible.
5. Armenia
Love the song, but Sirusho was a bit flat throughout. Better than her performance in the semis, but still not as good as it could be.
6. Bosnia & Herzegovina
The staging of “Pokušaj” strikes me as a window into how Bosnians interpret French comedies. Regardless, it brings a tear to my eye. I love this song so much. (Sir Terry Wogan appeared to have liked it too, until it got more votes than the U.K.)
7. Israel
Man, I really can’t stand Boaz’ upper register. I wish Dana International did this song, seeing as she wrote it and all.
8. Finland
Bathroom break.
9. Croatia
If it weren’t for 75 Cent yelling at me, I’d completely forget about this number.
10. Poland
Sayeth Sir Terry: “The brightest teeth outside of the Osmond family.” The fake tan brings out the whiteness.
11. Iceland
The orchestration is terrific, the performance is fantastic. A Euro-dance classic.
12. Turkey
The more I hear Mor ve Ötesi’s live performance of this song, the more I like it. I wasn’t sure about Turkey deviating from the Mediterranean pop, but this is a really good song.
13. Portugal
Vânia Fernandes is far and away the best singer at Eurovision. Terrific performance. Maybe a little block voting from Andorra, Spain, and France will help. Romance languages gots ta stick together.
14. Latvia
God, this is so dumb.
Chris’ Eurovision Semi-Finals One Recap, Part Two
Tuesday, May 20th, 200811. Ireland
A lot of people in the crowd are already booing. The song wouldn’t be half-bad if the fucking turkey puppet could sing in tune. I realize that Ireland isn’t even trying this year, but this is an absolute mess even as a joke tune. Irelande, nil pointe!
12. Andorra
Try following Dustin the Turkey, Gisela. Her outfit is horrible, and I think she’s wearing a plate on her head. Also, what did she do to her hair? What the hell? Man. I like the song, but she’s not doing it any it any favors tonight.
13. Bosnia and Herzegovina
This is staged like a joke song, and for all I know, the Bosnian lyrics are probably jokey too, but I gotta tell you: I love this song. I really do. Laka’s voice is a bit nasal, but I really don’t care. I’m rooting for block voting tonight.
14. Armenia
Sirusho oversang this by a mile, but “Qele Qele” a great song. I suspect it’ll do well, although that’s in part because Armenia always does well. If she goes through, I hope she dials it back a bit.
15. The Netherlands
The Greeks called. They want their entry back.
16. Finland
Sludgy Judas Priest-style metal. This sticks out of the competition like a swollen eyeball. Oh, Lordi, what hath thou wrought?
17. Romania
Here is your operatic entry for the night (ignoring Elnur’s little operatic vamp at the start of “Day After Day”). It reminds me a lot of Bonaparti.lv from last year’s show, only… you know… good. I figure if Bonaparti.lv makes it to the final, this will too.
18. Russia
Honestly, this year’s Eurovision is Dima Bilan’s to lose. I really can’t imagine him not winning. And to show he’s serious about the competition, he’s got Evgeni Plushenko ice skating to his song. Take that, Europe! Dima’s way pitchy, but I doubt that will affect the voting. Hopefully, he’ll have a better night on Saturday.
19. Greece
I love Kalomira olives! Actually, Kalomira is one of two Americans performing tonight (Isis Gee is the other). This is a fantastic number. I know Timbaland has worked with Dima Bilan, but this song reminds me of his production style a lot. (I am convinced, by the way, that Timbaland is a massive Eurovision fan.)
Now that the performances are done, Novak Djokovic comes out to kick off the voting. Here are my picks, in order of appearance:
- Israel
- Belgium (What King Kaufman calls the What the Heck Pick)
- Slovenia
- Norway
- Poland
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Armenia
- Romania
- Russia
- Greece
After the voting stops and the vote counting begins, we get a long performance by an act that apparently is shown on Serbian public television during pledge drives. Finally, we get to the results, and they’re a bit surprising:
- Greece
- Romania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Finland… FINLAND?!!?
- Russia
- Israel
- Azerbaijan…!?
- Armenia
- Poland
- Norway
Well, there you go. As usual, I should never make picks on whims. Otherwise, I guess this was a pretty predictable finish, Finland notwithstanding. Even Azerbaijan I can understand a bit, but Finland? I wonder if Scandinavian block voting is going to start battling Eastern European block voting.
Anyway, that’s all for tonight. The second round is on Thursday, and I’ll be back then.
Eurovision 2008: Semi-Final 1
Monday, March 24th, 2008Eurovision is doing things a little differently this year, because the number of countries participating is ever-increasing (especially since new countries keep popping up; Kosovo, we’re looking at you). The organizers have divided the semi-finals into two groups. The top nine vote-getters from the two semi-finals will make the finals, along with the host country and the Big Four. In addition, a special jury will select one wild card each from the two semi-final groups.
Here are the countries participating in the first semi-final, in order of appearance:
- Montenegro: Stefan Filipović – “Zauvijek volim te”
- Israel: Bo’az Ma’uda – “Ke’ilo Kan”
- ESTONIA!!!!!: Kreisiraadio – “Leto Svet”
- Moldova: Geta Burlacu – “A Century of Love”
- San Marino: Miodio – “Complice”
- Belgium: Ishtar – “O Julissi Na Jalini”
- Azerbaijan: Elnur Hüseynov & Samir Javadzadeh – “Day After Day”
- Slovenia: Rebeka Dremelj – “Vrag naj vzame”
- Norway: Maria Haukaas Storeng – “Hold On, Be Strong”
- Poland: Isis Gee – “For Life”
- Ireland: Dustin the Turkey – “Irelande Douze Pointe”
- Andorra: Gisela – “Casanova”
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: Elvir Lakovic Laka – “Pokusaj”
- Armenia: Sirusho – “Qele Qele”
- The Netherlands: Hind – “Your Heart Belongs to Me”
- Finland: Teräsbetoni – “Missä Miehet Ratsastaa”
- Romania: Vlad Miriţă & Nico – “Pe o margine de lume”
- Russia: Dima Bilan – “Believe”
- Greece: Kalomira – “Secret Combination”
Armenia’s Eurovision 2008 Entry
Monday, March 10th, 2008Sirusho’s “Qele Qele” is perfectly serviceable generic pseudo-traditional Eurovision pop. I thought it went on a bit too long, but it should do fine. I predict an eighth place finish, because Armenia always finishes eighth.