Oh my god, it's tomorrow!
Tomorrow night, we will be half way through the first semi final. Who's going to qualify? I've made my predictions, which I will release in the near future, but for now, it's time to rap up "the good, the bad, and the ugly". Today, it's the turn of the ugly.
The Ugly - Belarus
"Cheesecake" - TEO
Sorry TEO, just sorry. TEO also just missed out on my countdown of the hottest men at this year's ESC (let's be real, he is rocking this Robin Thicke type image) but in my opinion, the song is just ugly. What defines 'Cheesecake' as ugly? Well, when it came to selecting songs which made 'the bad' list, I thought long and hard about which songs are 'bad' and which songs aren't necessarily 'bad', they're just 'ugly'. Whereas the vocals of Lithuania, the wailing of Georgia, and the flat Iceland all offer something for the 'bad' category, I actually feel 'Cheesecake' isn't like that. As mentioned, TEO has some sex appeal, the song has some alright lyrics and the composition isn't all that bad - so what makes the song so absurd? My answer is I don't know. It's not good, but it has all the elements to be a 'good-ish' song. Hence, this is why Belarus made this year's ugly category. I have listened to this song 3 times; once for the first listen, once out of pure choice, and once when watching how they've decided to stage it. Compare that to 'Children of the Universe' which just became my most ever song played on iTunes and that tells you how I feel about 'Cheesecake'. Comments anyone? Even I'm struggling to waffle on about 'Cheesecake'. Well Good Luck Belarus, Good Luck TEO! I'm out.
Showing posts with label Molly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Molly. Show all posts
Monday, 5 May 2014
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Part V - United Kingdom
Time has been evaporating - Eurovision rehearsals start next week! I've been more emerged in Eurovision this year then any other year. I find that remotely strange in itself, but before divulging in my outlook of Eurovision 2014, I'll have a look at the UK's entry... which is uh-mazing!
The Good Part V - United Kingdom
'Children of the Universe' - Molly
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes! That's all I have to say about the UK entry for this year. Children of the Universe is a punchy ballad spawning the hastag #powertothepeople and getting Eurofanatics from the UK excited once again. Molly has raspy vocals, and sings over the steady beat of a big drum. The lyrics suggest an 'empowerment' in my opinion, for example the lines "fire in our bones" and "ours to own" indicate a voice to growing unpopularity with society and system, the fire leading to the idea that a passive aggressive movement has already started. The fact that Molly is "not giving in", "she'll never walk alone" bolster this position of a "dawn of change" in the UK and the rest of the Western world.
Or perhaps I've read too much into the lyrics. But c'mon, POWER TO THE PEOPLE?
Yes Molly - subliminal messages for the win!
Hidden symbolism aside, the song is very good. It's a quietly catchy little number which evokes a good feeling inside after listening. After all it really feels like an 'empowerment' song whether you listen to the lyrics or not. The BBC have really done us proud here! For people reading from outside the UK, I apologise. This is going to come across extremely biased, but I will try and criticise and be balanced as much as possible.
The BBC has finally done exactly what a lot of us have been calling for; it has chosen an artist based on the mass unsigned talent floating around the UK at the moment. Molly has won awards as an unsigned act for her music. I argued this last year and the year before, by using one of the many systems we currently have in place for recognising unsigned artists we can find a Eurovision gem. By giving Molly a platform to share her music on the European/World stage, the BBC has given her the start of what could be a fabulous music making career. If things don't take off for Molly for whatever reason, she is still a very credible artist with a fantastic singing voice and great song-writing capabilities. Molly is not only the UK Eurovision entrant - she is representing unsigned artists in the UK, an accolade which should not be forgotten!
The song presents some interesting options for Eurovision this year - if the juries and televoters go for it, we know which way the contest is leading. By this I am referring to how recent years have either been won by an old-fashioned number or a modern pop beat, for example the quirky song that was 'Satellite' to old-fashioned 'Running Scared', back to mega dance anthem 'Euphoria' and then last year's 'Only Teardrops' finding a good balance between the two. Children of the Universe for me provides a good basis for finding a balance between the two again, it has a slower beat with traditional styles, but yet the lyrical empowerment and raunchier vocals of Molly offer a more modern appeal to younger voters. Do you agree with me here? If you don't agree, please do comment because I am always interested to hear what others have to say, whether you agree or disagree.
I seem to always forget that I view the songs with a Western lens. I know for a fact that they way I hear and listen to music is very different to that of even close neighbours, but none more so than countries in Eastern Europe. Please, if any readers from Eastern Europe are reading, share your opinions on previous winners and how you see Children of the Universe. Ultimately, like all other fans, we are trying to find/predict the winner of the contest by polling our own favourites and checking the odds and so on. However we can never truly do this because we are all limited in that our own view will mostly follow cultural trends of the countries we live in. Therefore, I would love to hear the opinions of the UK entrant from other Europeans to see how underrated or overrated I see it.
I could continue to comment about the UK entrant, I mean there is staging and music vidoes and online polls to be talking about, but I won't make this blog post too long. Thanks for reading though!
Good Luck Molly! Good Luck United Kingdom! Bring the contest home to Birmingham (or London) for the 60th edition!
The Good Part V - United Kingdom
'Children of the Universe' - Molly
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes! That's all I have to say about the UK entry for this year. Children of the Universe is a punchy ballad spawning the hastag #powertothepeople and getting Eurofanatics from the UK excited once again. Molly has raspy vocals, and sings over the steady beat of a big drum. The lyrics suggest an 'empowerment' in my opinion, for example the lines "fire in our bones" and "ours to own" indicate a voice to growing unpopularity with society and system, the fire leading to the idea that a passive aggressive movement has already started. The fact that Molly is "not giving in", "she'll never walk alone" bolster this position of a "dawn of change" in the UK and the rest of the Western world.
Or perhaps I've read too much into the lyrics. But c'mon, POWER TO THE PEOPLE?
Yes Molly - subliminal messages for the win!
Hidden symbolism aside, the song is very good. It's a quietly catchy little number which evokes a good feeling inside after listening. After all it really feels like an 'empowerment' song whether you listen to the lyrics or not. The BBC have really done us proud here! For people reading from outside the UK, I apologise. This is going to come across extremely biased, but I will try and criticise and be balanced as much as possible.
The BBC has finally done exactly what a lot of us have been calling for; it has chosen an artist based on the mass unsigned talent floating around the UK at the moment. Molly has won awards as an unsigned act for her music. I argued this last year and the year before, by using one of the many systems we currently have in place for recognising unsigned artists we can find a Eurovision gem. By giving Molly a platform to share her music on the European/World stage, the BBC has given her the start of what could be a fabulous music making career. If things don't take off for Molly for whatever reason, she is still a very credible artist with a fantastic singing voice and great song-writing capabilities. Molly is not only the UK Eurovision entrant - she is representing unsigned artists in the UK, an accolade which should not be forgotten!
The song presents some interesting options for Eurovision this year - if the juries and televoters go for it, we know which way the contest is leading. By this I am referring to how recent years have either been won by an old-fashioned number or a modern pop beat, for example the quirky song that was 'Satellite' to old-fashioned 'Running Scared', back to mega dance anthem 'Euphoria' and then last year's 'Only Teardrops' finding a good balance between the two. Children of the Universe for me provides a good basis for finding a balance between the two again, it has a slower beat with traditional styles, but yet the lyrical empowerment and raunchier vocals of Molly offer a more modern appeal to younger voters. Do you agree with me here? If you don't agree, please do comment because I am always interested to hear what others have to say, whether you agree or disagree.
I seem to always forget that I view the songs with a Western lens. I know for a fact that they way I hear and listen to music is very different to that of even close neighbours, but none more so than countries in Eastern Europe. Please, if any readers from Eastern Europe are reading, share your opinions on previous winners and how you see Children of the Universe. Ultimately, like all other fans, we are trying to find/predict the winner of the contest by polling our own favourites and checking the odds and so on. However we can never truly do this because we are all limited in that our own view will mostly follow cultural trends of the countries we live in. Therefore, I would love to hear the opinions of the UK entrant from other Europeans to see how underrated or overrated I see it.
I could continue to comment about the UK entrant, I mean there is staging and music vidoes and online polls to be talking about, but I won't make this blog post too long. Thanks for reading though!
Good Luck Molly! Good Luck United Kingdom! Bring the contest home to Birmingham (or London) for the 60th edition!
Monday, 14 April 2014
Part IV - Armenia
Ah I cannot believe my last blog post was 11 days ago! Time has been going by mega quickly, and we are now only 22 days away from the first semi final. Eurovision Season goes much too quickly for my liking! I've been listening to loads of classics recently, as well as my new favourite song 'Rainmaker'. If you haven't heard, it's Emmelie de Forest's new song and it's amazing. I have planned a blog post dedicated to out hosts for closer to the first semi final, but tonight the attention is on Armenia!
The Good Part IV: Armenia
Armenia have a very good record at Eurovision! Up until 2010 the Armenians could be compared to how we see the Azeri now - not just a certainty for the final, but a top 10 finish as well. And they surely deserved that reputation! Many fans argue that Qele Qele should have taken home the crown in 2008, Apricot Stone deserved higher than 7th in 2010, and one of my favourite ever songs in the contest, Nor Par (Jan Jan) scraped 10th in the 2009 contest. Inga & Anush are two of my favourite Eurovision artists and I absolutely love them - and their performance was brilliant. Truly Eurovision. Since then things have gone a little downhill. Emmy and 'Boom Boom' embarrassingly didn't even make the final in 2011 (even though we're all still going 'chaka chaka'), and following a boycott of Baku 2012, they sent a fan dividing song in 2013, 'Lonely Planet', which still somehow managed to accumulate 41 points when many thought it wouldn't even make the final. BUT many, many fans argue that Armenia are back to their best this year! And rightfully so, the artist is Aram MP3 and the song is 'Not Alone' - scoring top 5 in many pre-charts and for a long time, being the red hot favourite by the bookmakers (check out ESC Webs 'here' for a bookies update). So what makes Aram MP3 and 'Not Alone' so great?
To begin with, 'Not Alone' is one of those defining era songs - by this, I don't mean it's a classic, but I mean that from the first listen, you know it's around a 2013/14 song without hearing the other songs entered. I think it's very good because the composition is simple, the lyrics are direct and it breaks away in the middle to become more upbeat. Usually this results in disaster; fans don't like two songs in one, but it works in 'Not Alone' because the upbeat section still fits in with the lyrics and the early melody. I almost feel the first half of the song has a Zelijko Joksimovic feel about it, and we all know how well Serbia (& Montenegro) have done under him. How the song does at Eurovision will be extremely interesting - fans like this song across Europe - it's not necessarily their favourite song, but it's in many people's top 10's. I argue that the result of this will be interesting because it could easily divide your less dedicated audience: people who have never heard of this before may be put off by the sudden change in direction, and an older audience may be put off when the beat drops. Additionally, many first-time listeners often decide whether they like a song within the first minute or two; if they enjoy the ballad section then good, but if not, then very bad because what would rescue those voters is a fantastic staging, and in my opinion, Aram MP3 won't provide the best choreographed performance. How this is staged will pose problems; it could be quite boring if it's just Aram MP3 on stage, but tacky dancers, I feel, would ruin any magic created in the lyrics when the beat drops.
And then there's what happened at 'Eurovision In Concert' - if you missed that, where have you been!? If you missed that, then here's a quick summary: some potentially homophobic puns were made by Aram MP3 to Conchita Wurst, the infamous bearded lady representing Austria this year. Wiwi blogs covered the basics in this article. In my opinion everything got taken out of context, but then again, Aram should not have made a possibly homophobic remark to a contest with an extremely large LGBT fanbase, especially in the year we go back to Denmark, the first country in the world to legalise gay marriage. Will any of this matter come May? It's hard to say because a lot of voters will not be aware of what happened, but to get booed at Eurovision In Concert (incidentally the same day as Aram's birthday!) speaks volumes in his current fan status - and this is only an estimate, but aren't a lot of semi-final voters mostly the mega fans? In the UK they are anyway, and so alongside being drawn 1st in the hotly contested first semi final could prove to be problematic. However, friends Ukraine and Russia also compete in semi 1, being drawn 1st in the semi final hasn't stopped popular songs from reaching the final before, and at the end of the day, it's still a very good song! People questioning whether this will qualify is crazy - of course it will! But where this finishes in the final is impossible to tell...
My prediction is top 10. As a UK fan that may be optimistic - for Armenia are definitely big rivals for the top crown, and so it will probably challenge 1st. BUT... will I get in trouble for saying that if the Azeri's do bribe voters and jurors like some argue, then will Armenia even do top 10? Azerbaijan and Armenia aren't friends. Or is that a ludicrous thing to say? Please do share your opinions on the matter!
Good Luck Armenia! I'm glad to see your back to entering good records and back on track to taking the contest to Yerevan! Good Luck Aram MP3!
The Good Part IV: Armenia
Armenia have a very good record at Eurovision! Up until 2010 the Armenians could be compared to how we see the Azeri now - not just a certainty for the final, but a top 10 finish as well. And they surely deserved that reputation! Many fans argue that Qele Qele should have taken home the crown in 2008, Apricot Stone deserved higher than 7th in 2010, and one of my favourite ever songs in the contest, Nor Par (Jan Jan) scraped 10th in the 2009 contest. Inga & Anush are two of my favourite Eurovision artists and I absolutely love them - and their performance was brilliant. Truly Eurovision. Since then things have gone a little downhill. Emmy and 'Boom Boom' embarrassingly didn't even make the final in 2011 (even though we're all still going 'chaka chaka'), and following a boycott of Baku 2012, they sent a fan dividing song in 2013, 'Lonely Planet', which still somehow managed to accumulate 41 points when many thought it wouldn't even make the final. BUT many, many fans argue that Armenia are back to their best this year! And rightfully so, the artist is Aram MP3 and the song is 'Not Alone' - scoring top 5 in many pre-charts and for a long time, being the red hot favourite by the bookmakers (check out ESC Webs 'here' for a bookies update). So what makes Aram MP3 and 'Not Alone' so great?
To begin with, 'Not Alone' is one of those defining era songs - by this, I don't mean it's a classic, but I mean that from the first listen, you know it's around a 2013/14 song without hearing the other songs entered. I think it's very good because the composition is simple, the lyrics are direct and it breaks away in the middle to become more upbeat. Usually this results in disaster; fans don't like two songs in one, but it works in 'Not Alone' because the upbeat section still fits in with the lyrics and the early melody. I almost feel the first half of the song has a Zelijko Joksimovic feel about it, and we all know how well Serbia (& Montenegro) have done under him. How the song does at Eurovision will be extremely interesting - fans like this song across Europe - it's not necessarily their favourite song, but it's in many people's top 10's. I argue that the result of this will be interesting because it could easily divide your less dedicated audience: people who have never heard of this before may be put off by the sudden change in direction, and an older audience may be put off when the beat drops. Additionally, many first-time listeners often decide whether they like a song within the first minute or two; if they enjoy the ballad section then good, but if not, then very bad because what would rescue those voters is a fantastic staging, and in my opinion, Aram MP3 won't provide the best choreographed performance. How this is staged will pose problems; it could be quite boring if it's just Aram MP3 on stage, but tacky dancers, I feel, would ruin any magic created in the lyrics when the beat drops.
And then there's what happened at 'Eurovision In Concert' - if you missed that, where have you been!? If you missed that, then here's a quick summary: some potentially homophobic puns were made by Aram MP3 to Conchita Wurst, the infamous bearded lady representing Austria this year. Wiwi blogs covered the basics in this article. In my opinion everything got taken out of context, but then again, Aram should not have made a possibly homophobic remark to a contest with an extremely large LGBT fanbase, especially in the year we go back to Denmark, the first country in the world to legalise gay marriage. Will any of this matter come May? It's hard to say because a lot of voters will not be aware of what happened, but to get booed at Eurovision In Concert (incidentally the same day as Aram's birthday!) speaks volumes in his current fan status - and this is only an estimate, but aren't a lot of semi-final voters mostly the mega fans? In the UK they are anyway, and so alongside being drawn 1st in the hotly contested first semi final could prove to be problematic. However, friends Ukraine and Russia also compete in semi 1, being drawn 1st in the semi final hasn't stopped popular songs from reaching the final before, and at the end of the day, it's still a very good song! People questioning whether this will qualify is crazy - of course it will! But where this finishes in the final is impossible to tell...
My prediction is top 10. As a UK fan that may be optimistic - for Armenia are definitely big rivals for the top crown, and so it will probably challenge 1st. BUT... will I get in trouble for saying that if the Azeri's do bribe voters and jurors like some argue, then will Armenia even do top 10? Azerbaijan and Armenia aren't friends. Or is that a ludicrous thing to say? Please do share your opinions on the matter!
Good Luck Armenia! I'm glad to see your back to entering good records and back on track to taking the contest to Yerevan! Good Luck Aram MP3!
Monday, 31 March 2014
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 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?
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