Transparent Voting & The New Scandal

If you call for 100% televoting, be prepared to defend it when controversies leak and political arrests happen like they did for some hundred Azeri back in 2009. Don’t be so immature and naïve to think that televoting is the definite answer. You are just being blind to its problems because it is far easier to expose juries.

I am keeping this short because it’s very important that people acknowledge that however the voting is done, it is going to be controversial and unfortunately, corrupt.

Televoting and Juries Work as a Balance

Jury voting used to do Eurovision so well, and whilst we saw Greece and Cyprus exchange 12 points every year, there can be no denying that after the introduction of televoting in 1997, diaspora and shared cultures started to generate increasingly similar voting patterns. So jury voting was re-introduced to help balance that out. This is the first thing you have to remember: (1) TELEVOTING AND JURIES BALANCE EACH OTHER.

Independent Reviews for Adverse Events

In light of the recent escapades of a member of the Russian jury, people are complaining that the juries do not take it seriously enough, that there should be stricter rules enforced on them, or they should be taken away completely. However, this incident should not be reflective of all juries, this is simply foolish behaviour in broadcasting one individual’s couple of scores. And I agree, they shouldn't have publicly shared who they were scoring their points too.

I'm not going to attempt to come up with a solution to that problem, but taking away their phones and locking them in a room with exam conditions isn't the answer. A member of the jury should take it upon themselves to score privately, and I think what most fans are currently forgetting is that the majority of jury members do. In this instance someone hasn't, and (2) THIS IS WHY AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW WILL BE CARRIED OUT.

If jurors do act up, they are punished. For example, the removal of the jury vote for Georgia in 2014. Each member of the jury gave exactly the same score for 12 points down to 3 points. This is a statistical anomaly, the scores were removed and only full televoting was used. It’s as simple as that.

The Televote is neither Transparent nor Robust

I think this is the point which I want to stress the most. I can recall each controversy with the televote, even if other people can’t. Videos circulated after the 2013 contest, showing Lithuanian students being bribed by Azeri officials to vote for Azerbaijan. And Lithuania wasn't the only country where Azeri voting controversies emerged. All throughout the 00s we saw a wave of speculation regarding televoters being bribed, and I don’t mean to make this the Azeri problem, but there's also the case with Malta, and later San Marino.

Between 2010 and 2013, Malta gave Azerbaijan their 12 points. I am not stipulating further than despite being great songs which scored well, you can’t say that a country that small with no ties to the “Land of Fire” isn't a little bit suspicious. I'm not saying there is wrongdoing there, just that scoring in these ways was suspicious.

And then in 2014, Malta stopped giving Azerbaijan points, and perhaps out of the blue, San Marino gave Azerbaijan their 12. Again, I'm not calling out wrongdoing, just a raised eyebrow. Importantly however, this identifies how the televote is not transparent. We do not know the full breakdown of the televote – everything is hidden and we are to believe that no foul play has been going on. There has been an incident of transparent televoting though, and once again, enter Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan have also been held to account (hmm…) over their illegal action into arrests made for those that voted for Armenia back in 2009. Firstly, this was illicit behaviour as Azeri officials are not supposed to be allowed to find out who voted for Armenia, but they got the precise number and tracked those people down. It may have been seven years ago, but I would want to ensure the system is safe for voters rather than just falsely believing it is. It can be argued that the current televote is just not robust enough.

The Most Crucial Part…

JURY VOTING IS TRANSPARENT; THE TELEVOTE IS NOT. 

Transparency is key my friend. When you throw around opinions on scrapping the juries because they are scandalous, remember that the televote is not controversy-free. To emphasise this point you need to realise that it is far, far, far easier to scrutinise and find problems with the juries because we know everything about them. We know their exact scores now, we know who they are, and their scores cannot hide. But the scores for televoting are hidden! I do condemn the behaviour of one particular Russian jury member. I do agree that they should perhaps be taking things more seriously, but there is no way the televote is, could or should be, pure and reflective.

A New Voting System?

The fan community, or more exact, the young Twitter fan community, seem unable to process change in Eurovision. I say grow up. If we never had change then like the first contest it would be entirely jury voting behind closed doors with only the winner announced. Change helps the contest grow and evolve! People have such distaste at how the new system is a just making the contest a bigger Melodifestivalen, and hilariously, I have seen so many calls for countries like the UK to hold a Melodifestivalen-esque national final themselves.

Melodifestivalen is the biggest national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. Why on earth should we not look at making things similar? If the new system is a disaster and things don’t work out, then please by all means scrap it and try again. But don’t resist change because it might not work. Where would that attitude leave us with say, rights for citizens?

The new voting system is great in the aspect of television though! We will not know the winner until the final few votes are included. How can you say that is making the voting bad? It makes it more fun! Much more fun!

There are negatives to the new voting system, but live in the fucking moment people. We can deal with problems after they occur.

If you call for 100% televoting, be prepared to defend it when controversies leak and political arrests happen like they did for some hundred Azeri back in 2009. Don’t be so immature and naïve to think that televoting is the definite answer. You are just being blind to its problems because it is far easier to expose juries.

With Love.

What can we learn from Conchita?

Well it's time to procrastinate once again. You know the Eurovision season stops and I go back into hibernation. Not this year, this year seems bigger, there seems to be more interest and if you're not playing QuizUp then download and we can all start quizzing each other on their new topic of questions: Eurovision (duh?).

So today's blogpost looks at what we can learn from Conchita. Well I say Conchita, I really mean the 2014 season. And I apologise for any readers from outside the UK, as I may predominantly focus on that disappointing 17th place.

IF YOU HAVEN'T GOT MUCH TIME, I'VE DONE A PERFECT SUMMARY DOWN THE BOTTOM. IF NOT, READ ON...

To begin with, 2014 was a good year. In fact, it was a very good year. Like a lot of other fans, I was originally disappointed when I heard all the songs from this year. Then I grew to love Children of the Universe, Freaky Fortune are my new favourite Euroboyband (I guess I could call them that?), Firelight and The Common Linnets have re-excited my love for country music, and dubstep seems to be oozing into the far corners of Europe.
But where was 'Euphoria'? Fairytale? Only Teardrops? Satellite? The recent years have thrown up some true greats, and even when we couldn't decide the winner of the 2011 edition, it is undeniably one of my favourite years as I LOVE so many songs that year. This year we had no clear cut winner, no runaway favourite. Every fan site indicated different answers, you'd go to ESC Stats where they'd be bigging up Sweden...ESC Nation fans voted in their thousands for the UK...the bookmakers were so keen on Armenia taking the victory...WiWiBloggs really buggered it up, rating and voting Ireland so highly...even on this blog (where you can still vote for your favourite, I should definitely remove that poll!) Hungary were the hot favourite. Everywhere you looked though, noone was denying that Conchita was going to do well, even with most predicting a conservative backlash about our famous bearded lady. But that was also the case for Israel, and looked what happened to poor old Mei Finegold. What I'm saying is Sweden and Denmark were so obviously going to win in 2012 and 2013, everyone knew Germany probably had it in the bag in 2010, Norway looked a cert to win in 2009 and when the draw was released, Azerbaijan rocketed to the top of the odds in 2011. This year was different on every level, sure Austria climbed after that magnificent semi final performance, but they weren't the hot favourites even with a couple of hours to go. And they had 11th in the draw. Basically, this year collected all the recent stats since the 2009 rule change and threw them out the window. Are we entering a new era for Eurovision?

(by the way I left out the OGAE poll for a number of reasons; in summary, don't read anything into that bloody poll!)

Onwards and upwards then, what can we expect in 2015?
Well for a start, I'm sure Austria will put on a lavish show for ESC numero 60. It's gonna be special. Jon Ola Sand promised. What about the songs though? Sweden have got quite a reputation to uphold, with 3rd in 2011, 1st in 2012, let's not mention 2013, and 3rd this year. Without doubt Melodifestivalen has turned up a notch since that non-qualification incident in 2010 and so naturally, the Swedes will produce someone popular once more. Fingers crossed Danny Saucedo finally gets his chance! What is going to happen with Azerbaijan? Dilara is probably fuming, and the country probably doesn't like her, or Malta for that matter (no douze points from their "famous" neighbours?). Will Azerbaijan come back stronger and louder? Yes. I predict something resonant of 2009. Other powerhouses Russia and Ukraine can sit comfortably, and we'll probably get something out of them neither terrible nor amazing next year. Greece will give us more whacky selections too, looking at 20th as a blip rather than a trend.
Recent favourites Italy also scored their worst ever performance at a Eurovision. After only coming back in 2011, is this going to be instrumental? Viewing figures still haven't set the world alight, and they are not going to do anything for interest next year. I expect they'll return without caring about this result, and they'll be back to that top 10 next year.
I move on to the rest of the former Soviet bloc now. Belarus look like they are on the up with 2013 and 2014 results. Alexander Rybak has shown interest in selecting Belarus' participant in 2015 and so could we be heading to Minsk? Proven winner... (although that has meant nothing recently, Niamh Kivanagh, Charlotte Perelli, Dana International etc...). Then we have the Baltic states. Well Latvia haven't upped their games, so I think we can expect another non-qualifier from them. Lithuania won't send anything popular and so people will question whether they will qualify...and then they bloody will...and as for Estonia, well, we will probably get a dull ballad next year. Not that Ott and Brigit were dull, but c'mon, more ballads? Oh and I almost forgot Moldova. I am optimistic that Pasha will make a triumphant return. CHISINAU 2015 BITCHES.
Let's move on to the former Yugoslav bloc. Anyone predicting returns from Serbia, Bosnia & H, Croatia, and so on? Well Montenegro will definitely be back with a boring ballad, hoping that is the recipe for success now. I hope the others return, but it really is up in the air. The last time Serbia took a break was after the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro...they returned with Molitva. If Serbia do return, I reckon there will be Zelijko intervention of some sort. Could we be going back to Belgrade?
I'll stay near the area and mention the other Southern states. Israel? Well I'd give a year off if I were them, but we'll see. Probably won't qualify though. Albania? More of the same no doubt. Bulgaria? Unless you've got Elista & Stoyan, give it another year. Romania? Could be interesting, Paula & Ovi were supposed to do better. Georgia? More bizzare internal selections. Armenia? Back to basics I reckon. More Sirusho, less Lonely Planets and MP3s hopefully. And then there is TURKEY. Well we all know why they quit in the first place, and things will have to change for them to return. I'm doubtful a bearded lady from Austria will inspire their comeback.
Well I'm moving quite quickly through...there's the middle of Europe to think about. Hungary seemed to have enjoy success the last two years, they'll probably stick to the same and produce qualifiers. Poland might just be that country with the Eurovision gems for the next few years. Moldova and Montenegro have treated us with some rare and unusual songs recently, maybe Poland will continue to bring the butter churners? Czech Republic and Slovakia may look at recent results and consider coming back. If Austria can lift the crown, then they can definitely qualify with the right approach. A bearded lady from a neighbouring country may just set alight enough interest. Oh and let's hope Liechtenstein finally get the funding to make their debut. They could be the new San Marino...keep trying and you'll make it. Valentina once said that this will be her last Eurovision whether she qualifies or not. I think San Marino might be represented by someone else next year. And I have a feeling they are going to be really good. Instinctual, don't ask why. Oooh I suppose Switzerland count as the middle. Well, I expect no change from them, it'll be middle of the road, and will either qualify or won't.
Moving on to the west now...and well, not considering the big 5, what on earth is happening? The Netherlands look on course to become the new Eurovision powerhouse with fantastic entries in the last 2 years...Belgium may be taking a leaf out of their book. Malta have been enjoying much success over the last couple, they'll give us something similar to Kurt and Gianluca next year. Unless Chiara comes back again, which no fan should ever rule out. Portugal might take another year out, it's hard to say. In my opinion, they should look to Brazil and should have played off the World Cup this year. That's easy to say with hindsight, but Brazil speak Portugese and are not short of a few stars. Introduce Michel Telo to Europe. Ai Se Eu Te Pego (think I've spelled that correctly) or something similar would storm Eurovision!! Ireland are probably well pissed they didn't qualify and will send a ballad about peace or love (similar to what we heard in the 90s) next year...unless Jedward come back. They promised to give Eurovision another go if they penned their own song. Well if someone teaches them to sit still and write we could be in for something magically brilliant...or magically hilarious.
Little mention to the Nordic countries...continue doing what you're doing. 2 of the 5 Scandinavians will finish in the top 10 at least, I'm once more going to hope Iceland win.

And finally we have the big 5 countries. Spain will send another female ballad if they realise what's good for them...Germany will send up and coming talent, which will probably be quite good...already mentioned Italy...goodness knows how Austria are going to come up with an act to follow Conchita. Unless Conchita performs again, which I doubt very much...France really don't care and will send another fun act...and though the citizens of the UK bemoan once more that "everybody hates us", I beg, beg, beg the BBC to repeat the same procedure. Pick up and coming talent, get them to write the song, give them a shot on the biggest stage in Europe. They'll get fans whoever they are, and with a bit of luck, we might finally do it. Do not send a has-been, do not let the public choose, do not invite Jedward to perform for us, just use BBC Introducing. Or plead to Simon Cowell to use one of his artists. If One Direction enter, we have this. I have just written paragraphs upon paragraphs about the UK selection process, but I deleted it. I wanna keep this short and sweet: the UK is one of the best music exporting countries in the world, with some of the biggest names in music British. There are extremely talented performers up and down the country trying to squeeze into this industry. Most are going to bed at night praying for that opportunity. Those who have decided that music is their passion and that's what they want to do will snap up the chance to get some attention to their talents. Molly Smitten-Downes received exposure to her music and has a steady growing fan base...and she has a record contract now too. Her finishing 17th hasn't lost fans to her music. Give unsigned artists a chance, a platform and ignore the pessimists. The BBC once again dominated Saturday Night Ratings with one of the cheapest shows filling the hot 20:00 to 23:30 slots. They are not withdrawing any time soon.

Well rant over, what about anyone I've forgotten? Shout out for Cyprus to make a return! Will we see any new participants? I think our best hope is Liechtenstein. The Vatican could always send some dancing nuns (guaranteed top 3) but it's more likely I discover a sexual attraction to cows over the next year than the Vatican City even debating entering the contest. Kazakhstan should enter...and Australia should be given a 60th celebration entry, and that chapter is definitely not closed. With no diaspora voting, it would be so interesting to see how the Ozzies vote. As a UK citizen, I'm praying that our English speaking friends give us a nod for at least a couple of points!

Predictions for next year's winner: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Belarus or Serbia (if they come back).
It could be another similar year, wide open and hotly contested, and we could end up with an unprecedented winner. If that's the case, let's hope Iceland or Portugal do it.

Prediction for the big 5: well, they will be automatic qualifiers, I don't see that changing for at least a few more years yet. The UK will finish on the right hand side, as will France and Spain. Germany will finish on the left hand side, and Italy will finish in the top 10.

Prediction Surprises: San Marino will have a good track, and Israel will qualify with a hot male singing a ballad. Lithuania will enter more tripe and qualify, and to their disgust, fan favourite Estonia will miss out again. Ireland will turn fortunes around, as will Moldova, but one of the Nordics will suffer from an early semi final draw and not qualify.

Prediction about the rules: More weighting will be applied to televoting. The countries which finish top 3 in the televote will be guaranteed points even if they are hated by the juries (circa Poland '14).

Prediction for withdrawals: FYR Macedonia might give it a break, Georgia could give it a year, and Albania might call it a day.

Predictions about controversy: Azerbaijan and Armenia will give us more problems. Russia will send something political but still be allowed to enter it, as the Ukraine have done on countless occasions.

Other Predictions: Geri Halliwell will not compete for the UK. Although don't rule out Katrina teaming up with Mike Nolan for a super entry, criticised by Sandie Shaw, and finishing last. Unless Kimberly Rew decides to write it. France will beg Anne-Marie David to give it another crack, but settle for someone similar to Sebastian Tellier. Ireland will send a drag queen, and there'll be jokes amongst fans that it is actually Linda Martin. Johnny Logan will be considered.

So the predictions got a bit silly...but you never know...

Part II - Sweden

The Good Part II: Sweden

Welcome to the second edition of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Today's post is another "good" and this time it's Sweden!

'Undo' by Sanna Nielsen

Sweden have one of the best records in the Eurovision Song Contest, and rightfully so. Last year I blogged a history of Swedish winners in the contest following Loreen's euphoric triumph in 2012. If you missed that, you can read it here. Sweden have won at pivotal points of the Eurovision Song Contest, could they be on for win number 6? Polls and odds indicate that Sweden 2015 is very possible - and with 2015 being the 60th edition of the contest, the winner of this year's contest is 'pivotal'. It seems to all point in Sweden's favour.

So what of the song? Well 'Undo' is a classy ballad. A beautiful melody starts the song before Sanna's soft lyrics ease into the song. The first verse builds to a gentle first chorus, juxtaposing the tragedy for which Sanna sings about. By the time the beat kicks in on the second verse, Sanna's voice begins to strengthen and leads to a big second chorus. All the while, the song is just beautiful: the composition, lyrics, everything, just works. Sanna Nielsen adds that necessary elegance, and you feel the emotion channelled through her voice. As well as that, if her Eurovision performance is anything like her Melodifestivalen performance then the choreography will be perfect; no cheap gimmicks, just the right lighting - a cold, yet soulful blue. It's a recipe for success.

But there's just one thing hanging over me - in my opinion, something is missing. I think this song is very, very good, I've almost played it too much over the last 2 months, and I just think there's not a "winning factor" about it. I could easily see this song finishing in the top 10, potentially top 3, but not winning. I speak brutally honest, and I appreciate the fact that many will disagree with me. Over on ESC Stats, Sweden dominate the current poll, and they come a very close second on ESC Nation - I don't deny its a good song, I just can't see this winning. I have this horrible feeling that if this was to win, people would vote for it in polls such as "worst winner", for which it just doesn't deserve (in my opinion that crown could rightfully go to many countries: Latvia's win in 2002 still baffles me for example).

Additionally, it's another ballad, for which we are not short of this year. Being female does help, since 2004, 6 of the last 10 winners have been solo females, and in fact there have been more solo female winners than males or groups who have won the contest since Lys Assia's win for Switzerland at the first contest in 1956. But because of the ballad pile up this year, although not admittedly on the same scale as the fiasco that was 2012, we can pretty much guess that the draw for the final will play a strategic role in who wins the contest. For example, another popular female ballad is the UK's 'Children of the Universe' by Molly, which probably won't finish higher than Sweden if the Swedes perform last and the UK performs first. Therefore, it's all to play for. Sanna has been dealt position 4 in the hot first semi-final. Not ideal, but recent patterns suggest that performing 4th makes you at no great a disadvantage than performing last.

Could Sanna Nielsen do it? Could we be going back to Sweden once more? Let's be honest, it would be nice to go somewhere hot for Eurovision once again, but we all miss Petra Mede's hosting so it wouldn't be so bad. And plus, Sweden is a fantastic country.

Good Luck Sanna! Good Luck Sweden!




I leave you with this gem from the Greek entrant Freaky Fortune & RiskyKidd - it's a medley of the last few winners, although the seem to missed out 'Molitva'. Perhaps singing in Serbian was a bit too much for them, but nevermind, this still is pretty good. Could 'Undo' be mixed into another medley next year?

Welcome to the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Can you believe the Eurovision season is here again?

I look outside my window to 17degrees and bright, sunny weather. Time is going much too quick! I'm now in my second year at university, and another new setting in which to blog about the Eurovision season from. This is now my third year as a blogger, and I think I'm starting to get the hang of things.

There couldn't be a better day to start blogging - the day after Melodifestivalen. Once more, the Swedish National Final delivered a grande evening of entertainment. The winner for Sweden was Sanna Nielsen and the ballad "Undo". Good Luck to Sanna! Once more, it looks as if Sweden will be in the mix on the poll sites and feature come voting time on Saturday 10th May in Denmark.

Denmark also held their national final yesterday; Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. The winner was Basim and the song Cliche Love Song. I'm likely to be doing a review of the best and the worst songs, but in my very first post of the season, I'm tipping Denmark for top 3 with this disco gem.

So what of our hosts? Denmark are one of the oldest competing nations, having come 3rd back on their debut in 1957 (the second ever contest). The first win for Denmark came in 1963 with the ever-so popular 'Dansevise' by Grethe and Jorgen Ingmann. They saw off stiff competition from Switzerland to win the contest. They have had varied success since then, and after taking a 10 year hiatus from the competition between 1967 and 1977, they didn't reach the top 3 again until 1988 with Eurovision regulars Hot Eyes. The turn of the millennium has provided varied success for Denmark still, but that has included two wins. Denmark won the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time in the year 2000 with "Fly On The Wings of Love" by the Olsen Brothers. Another very deserved winner, who some in the UK (and mainland Europe) might remember by the XTM dance remix. The last few years have seen personal favourites of mine, including 'Believe Again' in 2009 and 'All Night Long' in 2008, however Europe's personal favourite last year, 'Only Teardrops' by Emmelie de Forest has resulted in Copenhagen once more hosting the competition.

The 2014 contest sees no big changes to the rules. Turkey's boycott of the competition due to dissatisfaction of the big 5 and mixed jury/televoting has continued. They even held their own Turkvizyon Song Contest last year, with countries and regions who speak Turkish or have Turkish ethnicity eligible to participate. Azerbaijan took home the crown, and the contest will potentially return again this December. There have been reports that Turkey will return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015, but that's a year away, and a lot can happen in between now and then.

Serbia, Croatia, Cyprus and Bulgaria have all withdrawn from the 2014 contest, citing financial concerns for their non-participation. It has been sad to see them go, especially the likes of long time competitors Cyprus and the ever-so successful Serbia, producing some of the best songs since their participation in 2004. The absence of Bosnia & Herzegovina and the fact that Kosovo is still yet to be recognized as a country means the former Yugoslavs are quite under represented this year, with just FYR Macedonia and Montenegro flying their flags.

And what about the rest? The minnows of Andorra, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Monaco don't look like returning any time soon, especially with the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis still lingering. The Czech Republic and Slovakia announced their continued absence from the contest, little to the surprise of most, and one time competitors Morocco still don't look like competing either.

But welcome back Portugal and Poland! Fingers crossed for Portugal - 46 entries and not a winner (best place 6th) so hopefully it can finally happen for them! I very much look forward to hearing their song for the contest. They are 1 of 11 countries yet to release their song, but it appears the next week or so will rap up all the songs for this year's contest, and then the season will well and truly have begun.

Just a mention to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest! Congratulations to Malta for winning the JESC 2013 last November! However, the version of the contest looks like it's soon to reach an end. With only 6 countries confirmed to participate and many nations withdrawing, the contest potentially could well be in it's final year. As a UK fan, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest only ever appealed to me twice, when the UK came 2nd and 3rd (or something like that) about 10 years ago-ish (need to do my homework!). I was 10 years younger, and so as a child the JESC was more exciting than the actual contest. Maybe the UK not competing means I have no interest, or perhaps it was the fact I was child 10 years ago and now I'm an adult (just about). Whatever the case, it seems a lack of interest across Europe has been the reason for the downfall of the competition. A very sad day if it does go, but perhaps something new and better will come out of it! I'm still hoping for a Worldvision Song Contest to occur, even just as a one off. The likes of China, USA and Brazil taking on the Eurovision powerhouses like Azerbaijan would be one exciting battle!

Good Luck to all the participants in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Let the season commence!

Who will your Nan vote for? Sweden of course.

Sweden are this years hosts, and they are represented by Robin Stjernberg and the song "You".

This is a brilliant song! Robin has a song that is just "adorable", and he has a personality to match! A definite sweetie of this year's competition and someone I'm sure all the Nan's will vote for. But he took a very interesting route to get to the final. He wasn't a favourite during the Swedish selection process...Melodifestivalen (I hope I spelled that correct!). He went into the "second chance" round for the event - the people that qualify for this to reach the Swedish national final are usually just filling up the numbers. But this guy not only won the second chance round, he went on to win the actual competition to represent his country on home soil. It came down to the juries - the televoters didn't choose this as their favourite. Will this be the same on the night? Will Robin steal the votes from the juries only? Surely not. As explained, your Nan will vote for this one.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how he got there, he's in Malmo. After seeing the first rehearsal, there is definite room for improvement - but then that is the case for most of the artists. Maybe not a winner, but he'll definitely be up there. And the host country usually do well (forget Norway 2010, Ukraine 2005...).

Sweden - 2012

Well, here it is... the HOT favourite. Sweden are represented by Loreen and the song "Euphoria". Everyone is loving it: the bookies, the critics, the fans and so on. This is the first year in a while that we have had a favourite like this, who is destroying all the others. Euphoria will either challenge that "Fairytale" record, OR will do something similar to Popular from last year... be a favourite, but not quite win.

So wow. What a song. To be fair, you can see why this song is so popular, because it is brilliant. It does have that unbelievably catchy "uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh", and not in the way San Marino has. This doesn't feel like a cheap euordance song, this is a classy, well written and well composed dance song. Loreen has some amazing vocals which are really shown off in Euphoria, and this is a cross-cultural powerhouse anthem. But enough of me bigging it up. I think its now getting so popular that people are starting to not notice the bad parts of the song. One, it's bland. It's bland in the tune, as it is really competitive, and the lyrics are quite boring. It couldn't be a good acoustic song, let's say that, whereas Running Scared, Satellite, and Fairytale could. Two, Euphoria is way too "commercial" to win. Not commerical in the way that "Believe" and "Satellite" were because they broke away from the traditional commercialism in Eurovision, but this is too fitting to be a winner. Sounds crazy and a bit stupid for me to suggest, but I can't see people voting for this because it seems too perfect for Europe. If none of that makes any sense, then ask me questions on expanding what I mean, but for those that do know what I'm getting at, I'm sure you can agree. There is no doubt that this will qualify and challenge the top 5 places even if it does perform 2nd. Who knows, if it gets drawn 2nd in the final, this could be the first ever winner of Eurovision to have performed 2nd.

Personally, there is nothing more dull than having 5 countries left to vote and it's pretty obvious who the winner is, apart from when there is a complete runaway from the off. I enjoyed the 2009 voting, even though Norway completely stole the show. But voting such as in 2007, 2008 and 2010 was incredibly boring. It would be amazing if we could have a similar voting pattern to that of 1988 or 2003 please? I really don't want to have known that Sweden were going to win Eurovision, even before all the countries had chosen their representative. In fact, I think ever since Loreen first performed Euphoria on Melodifestivalen, Sweden have been hot favourite. How boring if it actually did go on to become a winner.

Song Rating: 8/10
Liklihood to win: 10/10

Current odds: 7-4                          (oddschecker.com) (on average)