Eurovision Song Contest - Semi Final 2 (Thursday 22nd May 2008)

[Corki]

Well, after Tuesday's first semi-final, we are back to Belgrade for the 2nd semi-final. Tonight is being billed as the Battle of the Divas, with former winner Charlotte Nilsson of Sweden against the entries from Malta and Ukraine.

 

Again, 10 places are up fro grabs. And again, I will be here to give my views. Of course, let's hope DM doesn't decide otherwise...

[Majsju]

Popcorn - Check

Beer - Check

 

So, now it can start :D

[Corki]

I must say it is an extremely interesting opening...

 

It is meant to be an introduction to Serbia...it seems more like a circus act, especially with the half man/half horse on stage.

 

Now, we can get onto preceedings...

[Corki]

1. ICELAND

- a tribute band

- crowd seemed to love it --> lots of clapping --> good beat --> catchy

- wouldn't be surprised to hear it in the clubs in the future

- he has a good voice

- she had a good voice as well

- a good lively opening --> thoroughly enjoyed

 

2. SWEDEN

- a firm favourite --> a previous winner

- I thought it started off sounding very un-ABBA like --> not so sure later on

- in places she could do with a stronger voice, but overall, it was good

- can see it doing well

- good synchronism

- lively, upbeat

- very confident

 

3. TURKEY

- Turkish rock

- no belly dancing for once!

- wasn't that bad

- crowd loved it

 

4. UKRAINE

- another favourite (part deux of the Battle of the Divas)

- thought she had a great voice

- catchy beat --> was nodding along to it

- lively

- good use of the stage

- not quite a Ruslana but will do well

- loud cheer

[goldeneys]

Maan, I'm on a ferry from the Faroes to Denmark via Norway atm...There is no friggin channel on the boat that has Eurovision (I did ask...) and apparently the internet connection I get here has some restrictions...maybe like no streaming videos..or maybe they just hate eurovision so they blocked Eurovision.tv...I've been trying to get it to work for about 25 mins...

[Graendals favourite]

A good opening. Perhaps it was just a good moment to hear music, but thusfar I liked Iceland best. Theirs was less refined a song than the Swede's, but it was more exciting I found, and sometimes it's nice to hear trancy stuff. The Turkey's rock song was also very nice, they had a good style I found, i could imagine listening to them normally. Of course the format of three-minute songs does not yield an answer to that for any of these. The Ukrainian I liked less, the show was alright and the performer very nice, but the song was not very interesting. I thought the Lithuanian song was terrible, the singing was tasteless. The Albanian was a nice song, if rather plain, though I could imagine that growing on you, at the moment I rate it on par with the Ukrainian one. The Swiss one was well produced but not very interesting in my opinion, though this kind of music, which i associate with idols competitions, does not really appeal to me. The czech show is very good, but unfortunately the music is messy and a little boring, i cannot rate it higher than Ukraine who had a better song.

 

So at the moment it would go approximately

iceland 12

turkey 10

sweden 8

albania 7

switzerland 6

ukraine 5

czech 4

 

Well, so thusfar  ;)

[Corki]

5. LITHUNIA

- didn't think much of his voice

- didn't appear to hit the right notes

- voice and music don't go well together

- didn't get me

 

6. ALBANIA

- she is only 16 --> showed no signs of nerves

- I think she has a really good voice

- good expressions and passion

- crowd seemed to love it

 

7. SWITZERLAND

- casual appearance at the start

- crowd liked the whole performance

- nice smooth move from ballad to more of a pop tune

- has a good stage prescense

- liked his voice, but I think it could be stronger

 

8. CZECH REPUBLIC

- voice needs to be stronger to get above music

- has a fairly catchy tune

- has been a lot of leg on show so far tonight (see Sweden and Ukraine)

- I think it is growing on me...

[Corki]

9. BELARUS

- not sure on his voice --> doesn't seem to fit the tune of the song and off tune in places

- that aside, it is quite a good song

- good effort

 

10. LATVIA

- Pirates --> Manny, make sure you listen!

- comic factor

- nice and lively --> lots of energy

- catchy chorus! --> can't get it out of my head now

- will pirates be in fashion this summer now?

- thoroughly enjoyable

[Corki]

11. CROATIA

- includes 75 cents --> a 75 year old rapper

- interesting mix of music --> jazz meets rap

- more interest in dancing woman, who appears quite good

- song doesn't ispire but crowd liked it

- a real hotchpotch of music

 

12. BULGARIA

- lots of flashy lights at the start

- like her voice

- interesting mix of music

- don't know if music and voice go together

- club-like anthem

- jury is still out...

 

13. DENMARK

- a feel good song

- am I right in saying it is a cover? --> a lack of originality

- like his voice --> has good power

- doesn't do much for me though

[Mayleigh Aes Sedai]

OMG the pirates rocked!!!! yoho,toho, a pirates life for me!

 

They SO have to win the hole thing!!!

 

 

 

 

P.S off topic but corki get your arse over to the taarrad clan and sign in!!

[Majsju]

I first thought Ukraine would be the most dangerous act from this semi, but after hearing Albania, I am not so sure. I have an itching feeling that it might be a year for ballads again (before Serbia won last year, it had been a long time since a ballad did win, and (Finland excluded), Eurovision is a place for trends. And her age will certainly be a bonus for many voters.

 

 

[Majsju]

And kudos to Macedonia for that generous display... ;D

[Graendals favourite]

Belarus I thought was a little flat, it was not interesting. Latvia's song was to be funny but didn't carry the three minutes. The Croatian one is pleasant if not the most exciting, i would have preferred the music without the circus. Bulgaria progressive dance... I was surprised to like it. The Danish christmas song is a little boring in my opinion. The Georgian one also resembles some other songs, it is not bad but it doesn't completely get me. It is getting difficult to remember how good the early songs were, but perhaps this one was better than the Ukrainian song. The Hungarian song is not really my sort of music, but it is still fairly good an interpretation of this style. I think the Maltan one is idiotic and terrible, and though catchy not catchy enough. The Cyprian I like better, and it is a little different, actually it is quite nice. I think the Macedonian one is terrible and boring. One to go, and the fate of georgia is on the line. The Portuguese one develops very nicely, and i like the march-like rhythm (some kind of bolero?), the song is more interesting than many.

 

So here my list, I'm not sure the ordering is correct. Anyway, since I don't get to vote, it will do.  ;):

iceland 12

turkey 10

portugal 8

bulgaria 7

sweden 6

cyprus 5

hungary 4

albania 3

croatia 2

ukraine 1

 

 

[Corki]

14. GEORGIA

- she is blind --> good pedigree --> sang with Ray Charles

- music and singing go well together

- like the edgyness to her voice

- really like her song

 

15. HUNGARY

- wasn't sure of her voice to begin with, but it grew on me

- become more powerful and commanding after a soft start

- nice, easy ballad to listen to

- don't think it will set Europe alight

 

16. MALTA

- back to the divas

- lively and upbeat tune --> lots of energy --> I swear I can hear hints of rifts from Ukraine's winning song, Wild Dances

- I think she has a better voice than Sweden and Ukraine

- has a deep and commanding voice --> reminds me of Amy Winehouses in places

- worked the crowd

- large cheer!

 

17. CYPRUS

- It's Mystic Meg --> grey cloak is obviously hiding something underneath

- traditiona; "greek" dancing , clapping and music

- nice, rounded voice

- lots of stage action

- very Greek feel to music --> quickening of tempo in music

 

18. F.Y.R. OF MACEDONIA

- wasn't expecting that --> was expecting a ballady song

- a nice catchy beat

- another commanding voice

- moves from soft to R&Bish smoothly --> suits the song

- crowd liked it --> I wonder why...nothing to do with being neighbours to Serbia

 

19. PORTUGAL

- a fantastic soft voice with a rounded sound

- simple song

- similar to Serbia's winning song from last year

- crowd loved it

- commanding voice

[Corki]

I think tonight's competition was better than Tuesday's by a long way. A huge difference. I'm finding it hard to pick my 10, as i would put a lot through. And it is even harder trying to decide whether to have a heavier ballad influence, or a Euro pop/techno feel.

 

Anyway, here are my ten to go forward:

 

1. Iceland

2. Sweden

3. Ukraine

4. Malta

5. Latvia

6. Albania

7. Georgia

8. Switzerland

9. Bulgaria

10. F.Y.R. of Macedonia

 

Let's see how many I get right. Can I beat my 6 from Tuesday?

[Majsju]

Ukraine 12

Albania 10

Portugal 8

Georgia 7

Iceland 6

Latvia 5

Suisse 4

Cyprus 3

Bulgaria 2

Sweden 1

 

[Corki]

Let's see whether the new voting system works this time, and there may be a few more Western European countries (but there will be at least 4 anyway) in instead of the usual Baltic, Balkan and Nordic feel. But I doubt it...

[Corki]

And out of the five countries already through, I like the UK, Germany and Serbian entry. I didn't like France or Spain at all!

[Corki]

Well, here are the final 10:

 

1. Ukraine

2. Croatia

3. Albania

4. Iceland

5. Georgia

6. Denamrk (why o why?)

7. Sweden

8. Latvia

9. Turkey

10. Portuagl

 

Managed to get another 6. But how did Denmark get through with a copy? At least 1 other western european country went through.

[Majsju]

7/10, and my top 6 all made it. Quite ok.

 

I was very surprised at Germanys song. They actually sent a normal pop song, wtf?

Serbias song was good, but seemed a little bit like trying to copy last years winner, which might punish them.

Frances song was quite poor, but bonus point for coolest singer in the competition.

Spain was horrible.

 

[Graendals favourite]

7/10 here as well. Both the georgian and danish songs resembled some others, the georgian had some Bad Girl from Madonna's Erotica in the chorus i think, the danish one I think two songs which I can't recall yet. Perhaps this distracted me more than some voters.

 

At least there's not so big balkan and eastern european blocks as last time, as far as i can remember. I haven't heard the five others save for spain, though the german and serbian ones seemed ok from the snippets. Not sure of the brittish one, i want to hear more before deciding. The french doesn't seem terrible though not to my taste really, while the spanish one is terrible. It looks like a good competition on saturday.