Here we go. Azerbaijan’s stock has fallen a bit after the semi, and because it’s got the opening slot on the night. Adorable magic pixie German girl benefits!
1. Germany
2. Azerbaijan
3. Turkey
4. Belgium
5. Armenia
6. Israel
7. Denmark
8. Georgia
9. Ireland
10. Romania
Last place: United Kingdom
No nul points this year.
If I had a vote, I would vote for Serbia, because I am so cheeky.
Ok, here’s my top 10, plus last place. Given an erratic draw and new voting rules, I am not confident in this order.
1. Denmark
2. Germany
3. Azerbaijan
4. Israel
5. Ireland
6. Turkey
7. Armenia
8. Belgium
9. Greece
10. Iceland
…
25. United Kingdom
The numbers in this year’s song contest are really hit or miss, and most of the misses are in the first semi-final. I would have bet Belarus would not have gotten out of the semis if it weren’t for the fact that it is in this semi. Here are my picks, in the order they appear on the show tomorrow night:
Moldova
Slovakia
Finland
Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgium
Albania
Greece
Belarus
Iceland
The first semifinal is the weaker of the two and harder to call. Without a strong group of songs to qualify on merit, songs that qualify may be more influenced by neighborly and diaspora voting. At least that’s the logic I’ve got going for some of the picks.
Jen’s Semifinal 1 picks, in order of appearance:
Moldova
Russia
Slovakia
Finland
Serbia
Belgium
Albania
Greece
Belarus
Iceland
Let’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.
Paul MacInnes has a preview of the Eurovision Song Contest up at The Guardian called “Eurovision: 2009′s silliest entries“:
“From a man in a superman outfit to Macedonian cock rock, this year’s Eurovision contenders are more ridiculous than ever. Paul MacInnes picks his favourites.”
Which is funny, actually, because aside from the man in a superman outfit and the Belgian Elvis impersonator, I didn’t think the contenders were as silly as they have been in the past. Honestly, is anything here besides the Belgian Elvis impersonator more ridiculous than Scooch?
Still, the article is worth it for the description De Toppers: “Resembling a boy band crossed with the cast of Last of the Summer Wine...”
We’ve updated our Eurovision 2009 page to reflect the running orders for the two semi-finals and the final, as per esctoday.com.
A couple of notes:
So here’s Patrick Ouchène’s “Copycat“, Belgium’s entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. It really sucks:
Apparently, the animated cat in the video will be appearing on stage with Ouchène during the semi-finals. (Note the phrasing.)
We almost have a complete slate for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Right now, only three countries remain undecided:
Of course, there is also the possibility that Georgia will have to pick another song, too.
The first semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest were held in Belgrade, Serbia earlier tonight. Here is the first part of my notes about the show. By the way, unless I mention that the dancing was good, assume, as always, that the dancing sucked.
After the opening festivities, with the first klezmer version of “Waterloo” I’ve ever heard, we jump in with…
1. Montenegro
Thanks for playing.
2. Israel
I hate the sound of Boaz’ voice in his upper register. The song itself is good, but his voice is a bit nasal. Still, he’s a good enough singer, and certainly dreamy, so he might just be memorable enough to make it to the finals.
3. ESTONIA!!!!!
“Leto Svet” is just… odd. The song has grown on me, actually, the way Verka did last year, but the staging is so… odd. I mean, I know it’s a jokey song and all, but still… odd. There’s a bit of booing after the song is over.
4. Moldova
Ah, the Bacharach song. Geta is performing on a couch with a teddy bear and a trumpet player. The performance is competent, although I think she goes flat a bit in the end. Not bad, but I don’t know what her chances are to escape the semi-final.
5. San Marino
I forgot about this song while I was watching it.
6. Belgium
This is frigging adorable. Pitchy, but adorable. Also, the lead singer is wearing a costume made from old White Stripes backdrops. The crowd is clapping along, but I’ll be honest: a little of this song goes a long way, and it went further than that.
7. Azerbaijan
High concept: Elnur is dressed in white as an angel, and Samir is dressed in black as an evil guy, but the twist at the end is that Samir has a face turn and changes into a white outfit. This is so very silly, and so very shrill. In other words, it is everything that’s right about Eurovision and wrong about Eurovision all in one over-the-top package.
8. Slovenia
S&M! Rebeka starts off in chains, surrounded by gimps (well, just two, but they move around a lot). Then she breaks her chains and changes her costume all at the same time. This is serviceable Euro-dance-pop, competent, but hardly memorable. Still, it could go through.
9. Norway
A little tip for anyone who stages Eurovision numbers: don’t have back-up dancers who are all a foot taller than the lead singer. This is another song that has grown on me, but still, you can’t get past those lyrics: “Love can be hard sometimes/Yes, it can catch you off-guard like bad crimes.”
10. Poland
Apparently, Poland is still behind in tanning booth technology. Isis Gee is so tan she’s almost leathery. I mean, seriously, she looks like Barbie hitting middle age like a divorced Beverly Hills socialite. The song is a grand power ballad in the Celine Dion vein, and it’s not bad at all.
More in the next post…