All-time Top 5

Day 33 is now really enticing, my top 5 entries of all time. All have featured in rankings and lists at some point along my epic journey to count down the days till semi-final number one. And with 34 days to go, it seemed like an eternity away. Now it's just a single day and we'll know the first ten acts to join the big 5 and hosts in the final.

#5 United Kingdom 1997 - 'Love Shine A Light' by Katrina & the Waves (1st/227 points)
This is such a jam. Don't be hating on such a classy written song. I have thousands of childhood memories singing this song at school - our headteacher thought it was fantastic - and then many years later I actually found out that it won Eurovision! You can imagine my delight. But this didn't just win Eurovision, it stormed the scoreboards (for the 90s), is the United Kingdom's highest scoring entry, undoubtedly holds a case for the UK's best ever entry, and is lyrically genius. Katrina herself is a star and I am so proud of this record.

#4 United Kingdom 1996 - "Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit" by Gina G (8th/77 points)

But Love Shine A Light isn't my favourite of all time. Oh no no no. That place belongs to Gina G's Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit. I have distant memories of this, hazy yet existent, of singing this, dancing to this and loving this. I was 3 when the UK entered with Gina G to give that some perspective. It's my family who have such wonderful memories of me camping it up to such an iconic camp number. And the crowd were deranged when this didn't win (and let's be honest, while I may be a big fan of 'The Voice', this should have won hands down). And for these reasons alone, it has to be in my all-time top 5.

#3 Sweden 2012 - Euphoria by Loreen (1st/372 points)

Does this need any explanation or introduction? Euphoria may be the Ooh Aah of this century, but it goes past an exaggerated glitz by one of the best performances seen on the Eurovision stage. The choreography is mastermind in portraying a simplicity, and powerfully reflecting an intensity. And the song? Well it's pure class. Pure phenomena. Pure Euphoria.

(I may have ranked Carola higher when ranking the Swedish winners, but I see that as a different category ;)

#2 Bulgaria 2007 - Water by Elitsa & Stoyan (5th/157 points)

I mentioned this the other day (here: Top 10 from the 00s) but it's highly worthy of an all-time top 5 placing. As I mentioned, it's the pinnacle of alternative, has a cunningly structured and yet frivolous delivery of folk-inspired ethno-funk, while brilliantly holding a unambiguous authenticity which enraptures or derides. I will never not praise this entry enough.

#1 Serbia 2007 - Molitva by Marija Serifovic (1st/268 points)

Where superlatives fail, just play Molitva. I honestly struggle to see what other's don't get nowadays about the song because I have simply fallen way beyond smitten with it. I could say that I speak Serbian, but I mean, I speak Molitvilian. This song and staging coupled with a unconquerable vocal are everything. Some say there is no absolute, I say there is Molitva. 

Something on Wogan...

When the 2007 contest came around, I was a wide-eyed and easily swayed 14 year old. When me and my parents watched the contest, we watched with Terry Wogan's commentary and it wasn't a lack of appreciation he had for Molitva, it was actually a devaluation and utter bewilderment to it's fans. And I was heavily influenced by such a strong opinion. Especially because Dancing Lasha Tumbai performed after, and I was a fan from the moment the strobes were going, and then Flying The Flag, which is still to this day one of my all-time favourites as well (I will shamelessly admit!). "How could this unattractive chick trying to look like Harry Potter win with a dreary, non-English ballad?" - and that my friends is why Wogan had to go. Whilst I enjoy(ed) 90% of his Eurovision commentary, his inability to see what others could always made him that kind of person to actually attempt disrespect, which especially with hindsight, is just bittersweet. However, in a post which is to come later, fans outside the UK need to understand the UK doesn't care about it's position within the contest, not truly, and the BBC really don't give a damn about winning because they don't need to try to in order to still destroy ITV in ratings. As soon as the BBC give the ESC up, ITV will swoop it up faster than you can say Boom-Bang-A-Bang. Wogan's early retirement from Eurovision came from an inadequate understanding of the modernisation of the contest, disengaging with the mega fan and deliberating the decrease in popularity among viewers. If the contest was to lose a watcher, lose a house party, or lose the international viewer seeking highly-respected commentary, then the BBC was losing the battle and it's cheapest (by far) Saturday night television programming would lose out. Ultimately the show is about making money, and the BBC needed to hold on to that. More to come.

Conchita is the new Queen of Eurovision!

Well anyone reading this certainly watched it all unravel last night, so why bother mentioning individual scores? All we need to care about is CONCHITA WURST - THE NEW QUEEN OF EUROVISION! Huge Congratulations to Conchita and to Austria, and a big fuck you to the haters. Nuff said...

Conchita Wurst celebrating after winning the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. She managed a grand total 290 points and stole the show with her image, her song and her message. The juries and televoters have fallen in love with a new star. Roll on Vienna 2015!

But I'm sure you're sick of reading about Conchita already? I'm not, but there are some other items on this agenda. We'll get the big one out the way first... WHY DID YOU NOT ALL VOTE FOR MOLLY? Ha ha ha ha ha, I'm gutted the UK didn't do better! But I said it before the contest and I'll say it again now, first or last, Molly has done an incredible job for her country and should hold her head high. So what if they didn't all fall in love with it? The mass Eurovision fan community did, and you cannot deny that Children of the Universe is a stunning song. She should have done better, but then, in my opinion, Greece and Malta should have done much better too. And that's all it is at the end of the day - opinions. The BBC need to keep doing this: give unsigned acts a chance, use the wide spread talent we have! You also have to feel for Italy, who just had their worst ever showing at a Eurovision, as well as Azerbaijan flopping BIG time. Any UK fans need to remember that Austria have just waited 48 years for victory. Spain haven't won since '69, Netherlands '75 (oh big Congrats to the Dutch! Cracking show, best result in years and thoroughly deserved. First Anouk and now the Common Linnets, keep 'em coming!), and although the list could go on, Portugal keep trying and have never finished higher than 6th. "Everybody hates us" - oh shut up! Nobody hates us. Next!

The next thing we need to all think about is how we want the voting to take place. Yet again, the day after is the day of CONTROVERSY! And what controversy we have this year! First off, the Armenian jury marked Azerbaijan 25th out of 25, and vice versa. It looks like Montenegro have done something shifty as well...especially when looking at Montenegro/Armenia results. Georgia's jury vote wasn't even used because of some sort of breach in jury rules, so just their televote was used. And thank god it did, it gave the UK points! But looking at it seriously, something isn't right and it needs investigating. Oh and you have to feel for Poland (and Switzerland). Poland would have finished 6th if it was 100% televoting with countries like UK and Ireland giving them top points from televoting. However the juries certainly did not love it. Malta had the same thing happen but the other way round - 6th with juries but not the best with televoters. If we're all honest though, a 50/50 split is going to result in one or two countries at least dividing televoters and juries like Marmite. I say investigate the controversy, but ignore the calls for changes. Keep it 50/50 for a few years.

Let's also mention the booing, and the politics. Russia giving Austria 5 points!? Well Done! Obviously Russian people are not happy about the situation in their country, and the LGBT community responded with televotes for Conchita. Say what you think about that, but that to me is a marvellous thing. I was shocked Russia and Ukraine did not exchange 12 points, but it just goes to show that Politics is not as big in Eurovision this year as we all dreaded it might be. It's socio-political to vote for a bearded lady even if she screamed blue murder for 3 minutes, but Conchita had a sensual James Bond ballad and a stunning voice. She won for the song just as much as for the image. 

And how can it be ALL political when Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden finished 1, 2, 3? 3 Western countries completing the top 3 tells me the exact obvious. 

There has to be a big mention to our hosts from last night! Denmark I think put on one of the best Eurovision contests I've ever seen. In my personal opinion, Baku, Moscow and Dusseldorf have all put on spectaculars in the last few years, but Copenhagen really had something special. The staging was aesthetically brilliant, the postcards all required originality and some of them were incredible, the hosts were quick witted and provided some of that great Scandinavian humour, the interval acts were very good, and I just really, really appreciated the whole thing. So much to say that it might be favourite host city so far. Debate ensuing... However, the most magical part of everything which makes me argue it's my favourite is 'Rainmaker'. Emmelie de Forest singing with all the finalists, and by the looks of it, the entire arena as well, was "magic". I can't describe it better than that! That will be one of the performances I'll remember for some time.

And so we move to Vienna 2015. The English are going crazy... the last time Austria won the Eurovision Song Contest was 1966, incidentally the same year that England last won the FIFA World Cup. I won't bore you with the other coincidental football statistics, but as a fan of football too, there is a brightside to only finishing 17th last night! Thankyou to all countries who gave us points, to all readers who voted for the UK, and a huge Good Luck to Austria for hosting the 2015 and 60th edition of the contest. Next year is going to be big everybody! Thankyou for reading my blog and following the posts. I hope they have been interesting and summarative. I throw in my opinions because so many blogs try to stay neutral in my opinion. I'm not. I hope you join me to look forward to no. 60 and are revelling in a victory for freedom today! Well Done Conchita Wurst.

Rise Like a Phoenix - Conchita Wurst - your winner!

Who will use as a toilet break tonight?

In one of my favourite posts of the Eurovision season, I will draw everyone's attention back to the running order - you need to decide your toilet break song!

Okay, so there is a interval or two, and you don't really need to watch all 37 countries release their votes...but after a few too many beers are you really gonna be able to hold it in for more than a couple of songs? And what happens when you need to refresh your drink? Too many possibilities not to plan your evening.

This year the producers have made it extremely hard to select an ideal toilet break/refreshment top up whatever you want to call it. So what you have pause on your tv? That doesn't count.
I was really tempted by breaking during Azerbaijan in 3rd slot...but Azerbaijan are one of my favourite nations in the contest, I'm a big fan of Dilara and 'Start a fire' and plus, they're only 3rd. Therefore I say hold tight till Germany in 12th. Sorry fans of Elaiza, but really, it isn't right! The bland performance from the Germans runs into a commercial break for the rest of Europe so this is a chance for a mega break - go to toilet, grab another 3 cans, refill the peanuts, straighten up your country's flag and get back to your hot seat. A blip in the show will provide lots of space for talking; especially when Russia take to the stage. I will put money on it that my housemates will discuss Russian politics when the twins take stage. After letting them continue through Italy and Slovenia (excellent chances to break if you've forgotten anything), shit will start to get better around Finland in 18 (no pun intended there!). And if you're really desperate, I'm sure many won't mind you skipping Switzerland in 20 or Valentina's final performance for San Marino in slot 25. Then UK fans better be ready for Molly to take the roof off!

The EBU have released the running order for the votes following last night's jury rehearsal...there's whisper on the web that this indicates a western country has won the jury vote...are we heading Austria, Netherlands, UK, Sweden? Even Hungary could have won it to be fair. Let's not speculate about the voting order, because the jury and televoters will not necessarily vote in unison.

5 hours to go now, this shit is getting exciting!

Who will the UK give their 'douze' points to in SF2?

Okay so I am procrastinating again... Well Done Eurovision!

This blog post takes a different look...who will the United Kingdom give their points to in tomorrow night's semi final? This seems a slightly odd blog post, but keep reading folks and you'll see why...

So in tomorrow's semi final, we have:
Malta, Israel, Norway, Georgia, Poland, Austria, Lithuania, Finland, Ireland, Belarus, FYR Macedonia, Switzerland, Greece, Slovenia, and Romania.

NOW the UK's closest neighbour is Ireland, but will the UK give Ireland 12 points tomorrow night? I'd say that this year it really won't be as simple as that.
Other countries that the UK will give points to is: Malta, Lithuania, and Greece. I could guarantee you that the UK will also give something to Romania and probably Poland as well. Now I've already listed 7 countries with a high chance of getting points from the UK. In the past few years, the UK has also given points to those countries with a comical element for Brits: for example, Romania 2013, Moldova 2011 and so on. In this semi final, I'm convinced the UK will respond to Austria and Conchita Wurst - some finding it hilarious that there is a bearded lady representing us, some voting for who Conchita represents, and finally some because of the actual song (and let us not forget that she is singing a James Bond-esque ballad, a British icon). So that takes us to 8. Belarus also stand a good chance of a few comical votes, and Euro fanatics voting in the semi final will try to push Israel through. But then I look back to the list of competing countries and can see the UK also giving points to Norway, Finland and Switzerland. We tend to give points to the Swiss, so them too? And lest we forget the UK jury who could throw it all.

So have I sold the argument to you? Do you agree that the UK's votes are very hard to predict in this year's semi finals? Below is a prediction of where I see the United Kingdom's votes going this year:

UK votes for SF2?
12 - Ireland
10 - Lithuania
8 - Romania
7 - Malta
6 - Greece
5 - Austria
4 - Israel
3 - Poland
2 - Norway
1 - Switzerland

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Part VIII - Belarus

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.

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!

"What's worth doing is worth doing for money"

"What's worth doing is worth doing for money" - Michael Douglas in 'Wall Street' (1987).


Ever noticed how the odds offered for Eurovision reflect the polls? Years like 2011 offer a headache to bookmakers but they somehow still manage to pull it right out of the bag - about an hour before the final kicked off, the odds for 'Running Scared' from Azerbaijan shortened enough to make them hot favourites. I re-blogged an article from ESC Nation (http://www.escnation.com) last year about where the best odds could be found to really win some decent money. With some countries still left to release their songs, and the online polls yet to take off, perhaps it is times like this to have a look at the odds...

By using the site 'Odds Checker' (http://www.oddschecker.com/tv/eurovision/winner) it is possible to see which countries are currently pre-Eurovision favourites.
At the time of posting (roughly 12pm GMT) Norway are current favourites. They have odds as low as 7/4 without even confirming their winner. Azerbaijan, the undisputed strongest nation in the contest from the last 5 years, have given us their artist, but you can still find them sitting 3rd in the list with odds ranging from 7/1 to 9/1. We all know that Azerbaijan will come out with a stormer and the fact that they have friends across the whole of Europe means even if they come out with utter dribble, they are likely to find themselves in the final whatever. Long-time friends like Malta and the cluster that sit around the black sea will always ensure their continued success as long as it's something good. That's not to say I'm against diaspora voting, it's been happening in the contest for decades - there's a reason why the UK and Ireland have always shared the points, while the same remains for the Scandinavian block, the ex-Yugoslavs, the former Soviet countries, and so on and so on. They share culture!

So what about pre-contest poll favourites?
Well the polls are still in the early stages. Without all the songs yet entered this year some sites won't even bother allowing for polls as they mean little without everyone. One of my favourite sites for polls and statistics is the one carried out by ESC Stats (www.escstats.com). Current leaders are Hungary, and it cannot be denied that 'Running' is a very good track. Perhaps the best offer of 14/1 at current are cracking odds. And what about Paula Selling & Ovi, who when they last competed for Romania came 3rd. They're back again with 'Miracle' and again, it's a good track. You can find them at 11/1 if you fancy it. How about the UK? 'Children of the Universe' has so far thrown everyone by surprise - the UK might really have something going this year. At 14/1 to take the crown - are these bad odds for a country with a recent history boasting quite a few bottom 5 finishings? Greece rounded up their final last night by selecting 'Rise Up' by Freaky Fortune ft. RiskyKidd. Greece are renowned for storming the top 10, and undoubtedly are one of the best nations of the 00s. At the bottom of the pile is Belarus with 'Cheesecake' - which you can currently get for 150/1. Belarus don't have the best record in Eurovision - and 'Cheesecake' certainly isn't great either. But hey ho, could be worth a crack.

Keep an eye on the odds. Have a look at what different things you can bet on. San Marino or Montenegro to qualify will probably be worth a bet or 2, and how about who to make the top 10? It sounds quite an obvious one, but Malta were offered very nice offers last year to make the top 10 with Gianluca's 'Tomorrow', and those who predicted Anouk's 'Birds' for the Netherlands to make the top 10 quite early on in the Eurovision season also saw a nice return on the money.

It won't be surprising to hear that the odds change all the time. Once all the countries have released their songs, and the polls take off, and semi final places are decided, the odds will change, potentially dramatically. I think the overall theme of the contest this year is that there isn't one song setting the world on fire. If we have another year like 2011 then the odds could be quite fun!

Remember folks; take gambling seriously!

And on one final note... the odds don't really make up that much part of Eurovision. If you like a bet then have a crack, but don't take them too seriously. I always feel too much attention is placed on what the bookmakers are doing, but in reality it's a never-ending cycle. Some Eurofans argue that the odds have ruined previous years contest and have made the final result inevitable. I say bollocks. It's the super keen fans like ourselves which define the odds by obsessing over the polls. And to that I say "whoops". But hey, what would the Eurovision season be without a bit of friendly debate, endless stats, and the opinions of a nobody like myself?


Catch me on Twitter: @escunofficial

Who's your toilet break?

So in the modern era we tend to just pause the TV...

BUT that's boring. There is always one country we "accidentally" miss by going to "toilet".

This year, looking at the draw, I'm probably gonna find something much more interesting to do for the 3 minutes that Armenia are on. Not that its the worst song, just it fits in nicely - around about halfway, situated between two mega houses (Germany and Netherlands) and it'll probably be quite boring!

That being said, the voting is a long procedure...I'll probably need someone else towards the end to "accidentally" miss, and so guess what? I've chosen my absolute favourite Norway. I mean I've been going on for so long about how much I love that song!

That was British humour by the way. I detest the song from Norway and so will definitely use this as my second "toilet" break.

Hope we have our plans sorted for tonight! The only flag I own is an American flag so that'll have to be waved in replace of a British flag - we did own America at one point so there is a slight connection? Hahaha. Trust a British person to remind everyone of how great we used to be. ANYWAY...

Less than 3 hours to go!!

ESC Nation in Malmö: ESC final: Where's the value?

ESC Nation in Malmö: ESC final: Where's the value?

Fantastic aritcle! Definitely worth checking out! Good Luck!

AAAAH! There are too many contenders...

I've been trying to predict the winner all day! Talking about it with people and hearing their thoughts, putting the songs in order of the final. It is soo difficult this year!

In 2011, the winner was so hard to predict, and in the hours leading up to the final, the odds were changing left right and centre. I think an hour before the final, Azerbaijan shot straight into a comfortable pole position in the odds...

Keep an eye out... http://www.oddschecker.com/tv/eurovision/winner

Just heard them in order and Georgia really stood out. Was I wrong about placing them so far low earlier? It is becoming very hard. Denmark probably still have it in the bag though... how boring!

POST SEMI FINAL 2 EXCITEMENT

So revision has taken a complete backfoot this evening...but for good reasons.

Wasn't the second semi final fantastic? I thought it was so much better than the first! Sorry for being so overly critical of Petra Mede. She seemed to relax a lot more this evening and I thought she was pretty hilarious. Not as hilarious as Scott Mills getting caught in a lift though!!

What do we make of our qualifiers first of all? Were you shocked? People on twitter and facebook seem to be shocked about Armenia and Hungary making it through...really!? It's Armenia and Hungary for goodness sakes. I'll admit, I thought Hungary's performance got completely lost and it didn't stand out, but the song is really really nice and if Malta can do it, why can't the Hungarians? Admittedly Armenia don't have the same in the sense that the song isn't really as good, but come on, you can never be shocked to see Armenia in the finals of the modern era.

Latvia are the only country from the ex-Soviets not to make it through...I'll bet they're feeling pretty embarrassed right now. Lovely entry though, great enthusiasm and energy, and they sold it for me. Better opener than the song we all seemed to have forgotten about (cough Austria cough) but that's probably why they weren't able to qualify...opening spot and all.

Performance of the night? For me it was undoubtedly Iceland! Eg A Lif is a song I never really got. It wasn't bad but I never rated it. Iceland have a strong qualifying record so I saw this in the final, but never really appreciated it until tonight. It was the first real hair raising moment for me and Eythor Igni (is that right? Icelandics help me!) was just fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
Is anyone thinking back to 2007 and Molitva? I really feel this has the same energy. Molitva is in a league of its own - without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest songs in the entire history of the contest - but Eg A Lif does remind me of it in a funny way. A beautiful hair raising key change, an absolutely phenomenal vocal, a chorus to sing to yourself later (even if you don't understand what is being sung!) and a performance that doesn't have anything silly going on. I look back at Molitva and don't understand the walking that goes on halfway through, but the whole staging is all about the vocal, and that can definitely be said for Eg A Lif. I'm really impressed by it and really want it to do well. You never know, it could now do a Molitva and be the first win for Iceland like Molitva was for Serbia (and Serbia & Montenegro).

Other brilliant performances for me where Azerbaijan, Greece, and FYR Macedonia (absolutely gutted for Esma & Lozano!)

Disappointing performances? Well apart from Hungary getting lost, the fact I hate the Norwegian entry, I have to say the most disappointing performance for me was Switzerland. It just seemed really boring and dull. It wasn't that I was excited for Romania (believe me I wasn't), it was just something of nothing in the end. It's a real shame cos they did have so many selling points. For example, the oldest man in the contest. Why did they stand in a line? Where was the fun? Nothing ever really happened. 

So can we speculate now?

NO!

The draw goes up at 03:00 CET. That's 2am for me. However, you know it won't be until at least half 3 that it goes up. I won't be wasting my time waiting for it!

Saying all of that, we could possibly speculate. One of the songs that has been chosen to perform in the first half will do well - yes at least one will. That's not because of the songs in it, it's just because it would be highly unlikely that the top 10, or even the top 5 will ALL be from the first half. You've got the likes of Germany, Russia, the Netherlands all performing in the first half. But watch out for Moldova. Aliona Moon has a very rhythmic song which will stand out because of the amazing dress. I know that I am biased for Moldova, but I wouldn't rule them out of doing fairly well.

But I think we can all agree the second half will be where the winner is. Barring Hungary and Romania (and probably Ireland although I don't like to say it) have a chance. That is 10 countries which have the possibility of doing very well; Azerbaijan, Greece, Georgia, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Ukraine, the UK, and then the fan favourite Denmark. How will SVT position them? Half of them are ballads, the other half are upbeat. That should make it easier for SVT to place, but how will this decision ever be easy? And with Romania having such a different song with a staging that really stands out, can they be this year's shock and upset the party? I think two of those ten will be disappointed, and there will be one country I've forgotten who go on to cause a big upset. Lithuania in the top 10 would just be hilarious!

Where will the former Yugoslavs vote for? They have no cultural companions so perhaps the likes of Italy, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, and even to an extent Greece, will pick up more points than before? Or will FYR Macedonia give their points randomly to the UK like they did in a scoreboard simulator I did earlier today (it completely threw me I won't lie!).

The draw at the end of the day doesn't mean the be all and end all. We have to go back almost 10 years to find a song that won from the first half (2004 - Ukraine - Ruslana - Wild Dances - performed 10th) but it still doesn't really matter. I mean Albania and Russia both had first half performances last year and still made top 5. They weren't even first half - they were early! I mean the only position you don't want is the death position at the end of the day. And in case there are any eurovision phobes out there, the reason 2nd is the death position is because noone has ever won from that position in the entire history of the contest. We've had people who have performed first and won - the Herreys in 1984, Brotherhood of Man in 1976 for example - but never from second position. Whoever gets it, I give you the biggest Good Luck!

And on that note I'm off. GET READY FOR SATURDAY PEOPLE!

POST SEMI FINAL 1 EXCITEMENT

SO wasn't last night just BRILLIANT!?

So glad to have Eurovision back on the screen! And wasn't it amazing? I don't know who commentates for your country, but you should really listen to Scott Mills and the girl from the Scissor Sisters who did the commentary for BBC (United Kingdom). They were hilarious. And of course we have Graham Norton for the final which is just excellent!!

First of all, wasn't Lynda Woodruff absolutely hilarious? Shame I can't say the same for Petra Mede - personally I found parts of her hosting just cringe-worthy nonsense. I thought Loreen was fantastic though. Those children were adorable and apart from when Loreen seemed to descend into a pit of over-excited Euro fanboys (although if I was in Malmo, I'm pretty sure I would have done exactly the same), I really enjoyed the opener to the show. The performances went without hiccough as far as I noticed, but I have to admit there were 2 absolute stand outs for me. They were (without bias) Moldova and Ireland! They worked perfectly going one after the other, but the best bit was that I wasn't expecting them to be so good. Wasn't Aliona Moon's dress just sheer brilliance!? Oh and of course, Pasha was on the piano. Splendid!

Let downs? Denmark. I knew that I would get extremely bored of the song by now, but still her performance wasn't just disappointing, it was embarrassing. No emotion at all, and her voice just came across generic without anything special. If it wasn't for the strength in the song and the tin whistle then I would even go as far as ruling Denmark out of contention. Don't get me wrong, I still reckon Emmelie will be top 5 at least, but will she win? Definitely needs to up her game.

Surprises? Belgium. Undoubtedly, Roberto Bellarosa has come a long way since being chosen to represent the Belgians this year. The re-mastering of the song never really changed much for me, but some how it really came across on the stage and the sounds and everything were just fantastic. AND HE CAN SING! After hearing that he won "The Voice" I was very sceptical of the amount of talent, but it turns out that Roberto can sing, so Congrats to him!

But let's be honest - the biggest shock was LITHUANIA QUALIFYING FOR THE FINAL. HOW!? I think Andrius Pojavis has tons of charisma, and naturally, his eyebrows can make for an interesting performance. But please, the song!? He sings about shoes for goodness sake! In all fairness, I was very critical of Donny Montell last year and he ended up doing very well for himself. There is always one shock, but I was maybe thinking Slovenia or Montenegro would provide the shock...not Lithuania and some dodgy lyrcis.

Interestingly, all the ex-Soviets made it through, but none of the ex-Yugoslavs made it through. If you've been reading all the blogs around they probably have reported how much of a shock it is blah blah blah. But is it that much of a shock!? Let's take a look at the facts. Slovenia was first up and Straight Into Love has never been popular, let's face it. Hannah and the dancers may have been great, but the song just wasn't good enough. It was the first real up beat song, but there were plenty of better upbeat songs coming later. Slovenia would have been forgotten...

Then we have Croatia. Now I found this interesting - it's not been a big favourite with fans but the vocals are very strong and the composition of the song works really well. The message comes across and I thought the juries would support that. Plus, its sung in national language. I think perhaps Croatia may have just missed out because they didn't receive enough televotes. And they were 4th after all...and they did proceed big favourite Denmark.

Coming up next is Montenegro. Igranka did provided a huge contrast to Birds before it and Something after it. But to vote for this, you have to appreciate it's absolute bonkers-ness and the song does require an acquired taste. I believe the juries didn't like this and it was the televoting that may have made this just miss out. Montenegro have never qualified independently though so they are always punching above their weight.

Finally we had Serbia. Not only do they have a strong qualifying record in Eurovision, they also performed last which usually makes you fresh for both juries and televoters. Yes there was some dodgy acting of the song, and the dresses looked like an explosion in the sweet factory but they had something going on. There was something to watch on screen, but perhaps everyone just saw this as a bit of mess following the slickness of Love Kills (let's be honest, that performance was rehearsed to the core - it was slick!). It'll be interesting to see if Serbia did finish 11th.

Every year there is diaspora voting (and it has been going for year's people!) so you'd of thought that one of the ex-Yugoslav countries would have benefitted from this. Evidently not (even if I did happen to vote for Ireland several times myself last night - but I did vote for Moldova just as many times, and I might have snuck one or two votes in for the Netherlands as well). If there was strong diaspora voting from the ex-Soviets that would explain why Lithuania made it but still, it just goes to show that we don't just vote for our neighbours anymore! And plus, there were 4 of the top favourites in last night's semi - Denmark, Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands.

That brings me to my favourite part of last night - the Netherlands qualified for the final! Birds was such a contrast to Gravity and Igranka that Anouk really stood out. The song was very deep and emotional, and so unique that I think it may have put televoters off. But rest assure, I believe the juries rate this. I don't care how the Dutch do in the final, I'm just thrilled they shook off that horrible curse of not making it through!

And the draw for the final? WELL, this year we don't have one. You draw whether you perform in the first or the second half of the final. Maybe not as exciting in the press conference, but there were many countries who drew the first half. Denmark managed to sneak a second half performance though, so it'll be interesting to see where SVT places them. Ireland got second half - yes! Moldova sadly drew first half though :(
NO! I won't speculate...Russia and Albania proved top 5 can still happen from poor positions (although what would have happened if you had swapped Sweden and Azerbaijan in 2011? I'm still convinced Eric Saade would have snatched that victory and Sweden would have done the double).

Now I promise I won't speculate until I've seen the full draw, but I've just found out that Bonnie Tyler will perform for the UK in the second half of the final. Yes Yes Yes! This news does delight me. If Bonnie performs in the last 3 or 4, I reckon we stand a good chance of contending for the grand prize. She has that lift after all! (it's not a giant - but Bonnie Tyler brought on stage by a Giant? Only Ukraine could pull that off - which incidentally they very much did!).

SO then I look forward to tomorrow's semi final! Will FYR Macedonia be the only ex-Yugoslav country? Will Latvia join their friends in the final? Will we have ALL Scandinavian countries in the final? Will San Marino finally qualify?

My bets on the BIG shock (cos you know there will be one)...Malta (hopefully).

Who will win the 58th Eurovision Song Contest?

So it all starts tonight then!

In this blog post, I outline my predictions as to who will qualify, who will win and blah blah blah.

This year, I took information from various online polls, credible guesses at winners, the odds (as of an hour ago), my own favourite songs, the draw, rehearsals, and just extra points for anything special an artist might have!

The results are fairly interesting.

Qualifiers from Semi-Final 1

Estonia, Belarus, Netherlands, Ukraine, Moldova, Denmark, Austria, Serbia, Russia, Ireland


Qualifiers from Semi-Final 2

Iceland, Greece, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Switzerland, Israel, Norway, Georgia, San Marino, Finland


Final Results: (score out of 54)

RANK	COUNTRY	TOTAL!
			Total
1st	Denmark		47.5
2nd	Germany		44.0
3rd	Ukraine		43.5
4th	Sweden		42.0
5th	Norway		41.5
6th	Netherlands		38.5
7th	Russia		38.5
8th	Italy		37.5
9th	San Marino		36.5
10th	Azerbaijan		36.5
11th	Greece		33.5
12th	Ireland		33.5
13th	United Kingdom		33.0
14th	Finland		33.0
15th	Georgia		31.0
16th	Moldova		29.0
17th	Austria		27.0
18th	Hungary		26.5
19th	Switzlerand		26.5
20th	Belarus		26.5
21st	Estonia		26.0
22nd	Serbia		24.0
23rd	Israel		23.5
24th	Iceland		23.0
25th	France		23.0
26th	Spain		21.5

SO! Will DENMARK and Emmelie's forest (or teardrops or something) win on Saturday? Interestingly I have her on top, but she is closely followed by Germany, who are closely followed by Ukraine and so on and so on. What I notice about this is that they are all female singers!? Now I have my doubts over an all female top 3. Give me a minute though feminists. Just look at the top 3 in recent times. Going all the way back to the year 2005 when one gender dominated the top 3, but even then Romania who finished 3rd had male drummers as apart of her act. It doesn't seem likely therefore that Denmark, Germany and Ukraine will finish as 1, 2, and 3. This is where the door opens for Sweden, Italy and Azerbaijan - and so I think one of these will end up being top contender when the points start coming in.

I've heard many commentators, bloggers, fans, trolls, whoever, mention that Only Teardrops has nothing on Eurphoria. Yes we can all agree the song has credentials and it has a unique aspect in the use of a tin whistle (yes I finally found out what that instrument was). BUT this does not translate to winning. I mean, come on, if Verka Serduchka can't pull a win out the bag with something as unique as Dancing Lasha Tumbai then I feel Emmelie wont be able to pull it off either. Sorry Denmark. I think we all partied a bit too earlier on your entrant. Norway have always been in and around the mix...and Margaret Berger (even if I am now at the point of detesting I Feed You My Love garbage) is causing a bit of a storm in Malmo, and she does bring a very strong performance to the stage. Could Norway snatch victory from their neighbours hands?

How silly of me. Ralph Siegel is back and ready to strike again. But could San Marino actually win the biggest singing competition in the world? I hope you've done your geography. I asked many of my housemates if they knew where San Marino was. Some didn't even know it was a country.

And then there is Bonnie. Oh Bonnie Bonnie Bonnie. Believe In Me is...well you'll see how much I like this later, but she is ridiculously FAMOUS. I Need A...Bonnie!! It's been 16 years now. That's a long time for the UK. A long, long, long time. I don't care if Andrew Lloyd Weber and his puppet bored us into 5th back in 2009 (that's very harsh, I do actually very much enjoy It's My Time), I want douze points!

United Kingdom - 2012

Being English, the first country I had to start reviewing was the United Kingdom!

So the UK entry this year? Old crooner Engelbert Humperdinck with love ballad "Love Will Set You Free"

And what to make of the Hump? Well there is no doubt about it, this entry is smooth, classy and packed with emotion. After hearing him belt out those notes, especially towards the end, it is fair to say the Hump definitely still "has it". In my opinion, this song has really got something great about it, but there's something quite not there. Difficult to put you're finger on, but the song is missing something. As well as that, is this song not a little bit too serious? It feels as if the UK is trying too hard with this song, which certainly is a change from say 5 years ago when the UK entered Scooch. Add that to draw of songs for the final, and with the UK performing first, a win for the UK seems unlikey. Nevertheless, you can't take away the fact that this song is a good, strong song. And on the night, there is nothing to say that the Hump will not do better than Blue last year.

Song rating: 8/10
Liklihood to win: 4/10

Current odds: 10-1    (oddschecker.co.uk)