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Quite early to be sticking this up while it's still 2023, but we already have some songs out and the UK act has been announced very early!
I think this is giong to be a good one. I don't think it can top 2023 for me (because of Lord of the Lost), but looks like people are taking it seriously, and I like the entries I've heard so far. Olly Alexander is a very popular choice for the UK. It really depends on the song, but I think he's very charismatic.
Kind of curious about what Germany will do after sending a really good act who came last.
Waiting for all the drama and excitement to unfold!
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I have seen a couple of the artist announcements. I'm not familiar with Olly Alexander but I think I have seen his name somewhere before.
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He's best known to me as an actor from Russell T Davies' "It's a Sin" which I think we discussed here a couple of years back! He was very good in that. His band was Years and Years, but I think he's solo now. I can't say I ever got into them but they were popular and successful. He sang "It's a Sin" with Elton John, I can't remember what the occasion was, an award ceremony I think, but his performance was being acclaimed in the press the next day.
I really like the Czech song "Pedestal" but the singer was a bit amateurish live. I'm hoping Aiko improves, but suspect this is going to be my Austria 2022, where I love the song but it's not a great live performance!
Love the French entry, Mon Amour by Slimane. I was wondering today if this would sound a little bit formulaic if it was in English, but in French it's lovely! And he seems to be a really good singer who can sing live.
I'm probably getting overly enthusiastic as I remember last year tending to love the songs as they were released, then they'd go down in my rankings! But we just don't have much to go on yet!
Last edited by Liberty (January 28, 2024 12:44 pm)
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Ah, maybe that's where I've seen his name before. Still need to watch It's a Sin!
I hadn't realized there were this many songs out already, I thought there had only been artist announcements.
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I think there's only those two and Albania, unless I've missed one. Albania is quite catchy, at least it's stuck in my head at the moment!
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I just listened to Albania and Czech Republic. The Albanian singer's headpiece reminds me a bit of the Statue of Liberty. The song grew on me as it went along, though the national final performance has no subtitles so I'd have to look up what the lyrics mean. I like the feel of the Czech song, though I was surprised by the costumes of the national final performance after seeing the music video first. Not the look I was expecting, feels like a bit of a mismatch to me. I don't think the national final had the best audio quality either.
Last edited by Yitzock (January 7, 2024 4:01 pm)
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Yes, the Czech one needs a lot of work! It's such a shame when the song is good. I think they are taking a big risk, but I suppose it's a while till May so maybe there's time for it to improve? I love the energy!
I can see Statue of Liberty with Albania too! Besa is a very different kind of singer to Aiko and much more professional I think. I like it a lot better than last year's song, and that one did fairly well, didn't it? So although I don't think this will win, it should make the middle .... although what do I know?
There's been an interesting development with Norway. Keiino are competing in the national selection again, although I don't like this song nearly as much as Monument or Spirit in the Sky. However, one of other competiters is Gothminister who I saw supporting Lord of the Lost less than a month ago! They were very good, although, for me, not as good as Lord of the Lost. I think they would be a fun entry and they're my favourite for Norway, although I quite like the robot one that I can't remmber the name of as that's a lot of fun too.
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I knew The Roop were competing in the Lithuanian selection competition again, but I don't think I realized Keiino were for Norway. I just listened to the song, and I agree it's not as good as previous submissions. It sounds a bit like something you'd hear while playing Dance Dance Revolution. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't think it stands out as much as some of their other songs. Gothminister's song is kind of catchy, even if it's not a style of music I usually listen to.
Last edited by Yitzock (January 10, 2024 4:46 pm)
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There seem to be loads of people coming back this year, in the national finals at least! Maybe inspired by Loreen, or maybe I'm just noticing it this year! Yes, Gothminister's song is quite catchy and has a nice message, which they posted today.
"Dear friends, I have recieved a lot of questions about the meaning behind Gothminister’s song participating in MGP (Eurovision Norway) 2024. «We Come Alive» is about being different. And it is also about the fact that people are scared of those who are different. But the moral in the song is that in the end we shall all stand together as one, united. And together we can be stronger against any injustice we might experience in our lives. So never have fear of being different. Just believe in yourself and never give up on your dreams, and one day, they will come true. Being different makes it easier for you to accept others who are different and to treat everyone around you with respect.I hope you will become one of us all in the end, so that we all come alive instead of just being dead inside. "
I would really love it if an act I've already seen live were competing!
I don't know if I will follow all the national finals this year, but it's fun keeping an eye on things. I don't know if you watch ESC Tom, an Irish youtuber? I quite like his videos and analysis, although don't always agree with his taste! I think we both watch The Honest Vocal Coach, and I also watch The Charmed Voice and a couple of others. It's amazing how much entertainment you can get out of one show (Eurovision) if you follow all the leadup and commentary!
Just adding to this post: I've just listened to the Luxembourg songs and they are great! My favourite, I think is Krick "Drowining in the Rain" which gives me Bond and 60s/70s vibes! I love it! And also Angy and Raf Ela "Drop". Naomi Aye "Paumee sur Terre" (sorry, I can't do the accents!) is my third favourite, and might be nice to have a French language entry.
Last edited by Liberty (January 10, 2024 9:02 pm)
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Well, I watched the Luxembourg national final, and sadly my favourite "Drowning in the Rain" did not get through. The winner is good, though, and it's mostly in French. Luxembourg is taking it very seriously. High quality acts, and a big star studded show with lots of previous Eurovision winners appearing! It
I also watched the Irish national final and my favourite, Bambie Thug, won! It's quite an interesting song and artist, and they are a really good singer and performer. I think the right choice for Ireland to send something different. I'll be surprised if they don't qualify this year.
I watched the Norwegian semi-final with Gothminister and they are through to the final, so quite exciting!
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I think I'm still behind on listening to the entries that have been released so far, but I did listen to Latvia and Finland's a few days ago.
Latvia seems heartfelt and I liked the theme, but I'm not sure how well it will stand out.
Finland... I'm having mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I like for there to be weird entries, because the weird songs are something in Eurovision that you don't really get anywhere else. That said, while "No Rules" made me laugh, it also made me a little uncomfortable. It kind of reminded me of some of the ridiculous and terrible acts you would see on America's Got Talent, back when I used to watch that show, that would get all four buzzers within a minute (or less) of beginning their performance.
Last edited by Yitzock (February 14, 2024 4:41 pm)
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I have a friend from Latvia. I think she said the singer is an established artist over there and was expected to win. I've only listened once and it hasn't really grabbed me yet, although he's a good singer. I agree that it might not stand out much.
I have the same mixed feelings about Finland. I thought their entry last year was brilliant, but although that had humour it had a serious side too, and it was in Finnish. However, I have to say I watched the Finnish national selection live and this act really did stand out. I remember it was the same with Käärijä last year: I loved the song, but it was the staging that really struck me. You can't think of the song without thinking of his green bolero thing, and the human centipede dance move! It's the same with Windows 95 Man: it was the one act where I really felt engaged with it, and was laughing out loud! And the tune is quite catchy.
I also watched the Norwegian final, with Gothminister who I was rooting for. However, again on the night, I thought the winner's performance was the most striking and memorable. And Gåte's Ulveham has really grown on me, to the extent that this might be another band I continue to follow after Eurovision. I don't think I've heard anything quite like that in Eurovision before. It's really interesting. Apparently the words are from a 19th century telling of a much older folk tale. I really like the sound of the language (even though I don't understand) and the folk/metal influence. Definitely in my top five so far but maybe even my top one, this week at least (subject to change!).
Spain and Italy have chosen their entries too. Both of them are really good, fun entries! I listened to a few entries from both countries, but hadn't really chosen a favourite so quite happy with those choices. I spotted a couple of returners from Italy :Diodato and Mahmood, and maybe somebody else! Lots of people coming back for another go. Oh, Konstrakta is trying for Serbia! And Let 3 for Croatia again too.
Ukraine have chosen as well, and it wasn't my favourite act of the night, but very good and different to anything else in the competition so far (also different to previous Ukraine entries, I think). It feels quite downbeat to me, compared to all the fun coming out of other countries but that might make it stand out.
It's the German national final tomorrow. I'm not invested in any of them, to be honest: there are three that I quite like listening to but nothing blowing me away like last year. And then Moldova on Saturday. Sadly Zdob și Zdub don't seem to be entering this time! And Denmark on Saturday too, I think. I haven't really checked their songs yet. I had the idea this year of listening to everything, but there are hundreds and hundreds of songs and I don't think I can do them justice, so just picking out a few national finals to follow and watch!
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You've been keeping up with a lot!
There's even more returning acts that I realized. I'd be curious to see what Konstrakta's performance is like for her new song once that selection competition happens.
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Wow, things move on quickly! All the acts are confirmed now. Konstrakta didn't make it through for Serbia. I've watched a few of the national finals, and hopefully will see some of the acts lives soon, rail strikes permitting!
The video with clips of all the songs is out. It feels a bit overwhelming now there's 37 but I've got them all ranked! I have a few favourites, I think I've already mentioned Norway which is often at the top of my list. Switzerland is really interesting this year. One song that always makes me smile is Spain, and it's fun seeing an older performer. Australia makes me smile too, so although those ones are lower in odds, I'm kind of rooting for them. Spain's stage performance was great, and Australia tend to put on a good show!
The Croatian national final was great and Baby Lasagne won by a massive landslide, over 50% of the total votes! It was fun seeing Let 3 dancing and cheering him on, even though they were competing against him! It's a really good song and performance and is another one that creeps into my number one.
I also like the UK entry. It's not blowing me away but it's nice to listen to. Netherlands isn't high on my list at the moment, but it's very popular, and has a moving story behind it. It might move up my list.
It's a shame that this year, the Eurovision final is on the same day as Doctor Who!
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Just adding that there are some major changes this year. The big five and Sweden will be performing in the semi-finals (which is good, I think. It's nice to see them properly before the final). And the Rest Of The World can vote in advance, and the others can vote from the beginning of the contest. I'm not sure at all that I'm happy with that change!
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That's weird. They're opening the voting for the rest of the world before the show even starts? Or do they mean you can vote before everyone has finished performing? If it's the latter, that could potentially privilege who ever performs in the first half.
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Yes, here's the news here, unless I'm reading it wrong
So it looks like people can vote before as soon as the first performance starts, so yes before they've finished performing. And the ROTW can actually vote before the performance starts. (I'm not clear if they can continue to vote after the performance starts, I presume so).
I don't see how you can vote before seeing the performances. What if, god forbid, a performer gets taken ill and the performance never even happens? Or somebody ends up just being phenomenal on the night, unexpectedly?
At least with the changes with the big five, we'll have seen all the performances before the final if we want to, so will have something to base the votes on. And I suppose the juries vote on a different performance anyway (i.e. the jury show, not the actual Eurovision final show), so maybe this isn't so different and we are really being invited to vote on the semi-final performances again?
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Yeah, I agree with you. I know a lot of people are already fans of a given act before the actual live performance, but there are always surprises that can affect who you think should win. I'd be curious to see if there's data available later about the proportion of votes that were early vs after all the performances are over. Because I'm sure there are others who would still vote after all the performances anyway.
Last edited by Yitzock (March 29, 2024 10:13 pm)
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I have now had the chance to see most of the acts live, at the London pre-party! It was a bit of an expensive shambles (long story, but I am now warned for next time!) but I'm glad I went. Most of the acts performed, and there were also guest acts including Keiino, Conchita Wurst, Rosa Linn, Gustaph (who were all excellent).
I could go through them all, but would probably be a massive post, so I'm going to do another post with just a few brief highlights and lowlights! But if there's any you want to ask about, please do! I was at the front so had a really good view.
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So just some comments on some that were maybe, stand out, better than expected, worse than expected, something happened, etc.
Ireland Bambie Thug Doomsday Blues
I'm mentioning this first as I think this was the standout for me. I already liked the song, but their performance was so good. Out of all of the artists this was the one I felt was connecting with the audience the most. They also had the best outfit, I think: a kind of Lovecraftian tentacle thing.
Norway Gate Ulveham
Another song that I love, and this was a great, exciting performance. However, the singer does not move about on the stage as much as Bambie does and I didn't feel she was looking in my direction. Not that that will matter at Eurovision. The rest of the band were also good, energetic performers.
Finland Windows 95 Man No Rules
I wondered how this would go down without the stage set, but it was great. Henri in particular seemed to be having the time of his life, and his singing seemed better than the national final performance.
Croatia Baby Lasagna Rim Tim Tagi Dim
An audience favourite and I think he is more used to performing it now, his voice was good.
San Marino Megara 11:11
This song was close to bottom for me, but has moved up quite a lot after this performance: very energetic, lots of movement around the stage, lots of fun!
France Slimane Mon Amour
I loved this performance! He sang some in English and I was a bit disappointed (I like the French) but it turns out he has been singing some in the language of the country he is visiting, so had been singing in Spanish the night before! At one point he stepped away from the mic and kept singing without it: what a powerful voice!
Georgia Nutsa Firefighter
She was really good and this went down very well, so I'm mentioning it but I still don't like the song that much.
Austria Kaleen We Will Rave
I liked this song, it's highish in the odds, but I wasn't so impressed with it live. Kaleen's bikini fastening broke during the performance so she had to sing and dance holding it in place which can't have been easy!
UK Olly Alexander Dizzy
This had grown on me and Olly was obviously the star of the night, having the last slot and being the home act as well as famous. There had been comments about whether he could sing well live. He sounded fine to me, but the performance wasn't what I expected. He didn't look like his heart was in it, and didn't really move much at all. I think there were some extenuating circumstances and he could be much better at Eurovision. But a bit of a disappointment on the night.
Poland Luna The Tower
I like this song, she can sing, looked great and posed very well, but I felt was a bit lost amongst a lot of very good, dramatic singers. Apparently she had a cold which may have been why.
Belgium Mustii Before the Party is Over
Very enthusiastic performance but it sounded to me as if his voice was off at times. The live lacked the sensuality of the video too, and I noticed how repetitive the song is.
Others were good, there was nobody here like the Netherlands or Poland last year where they really didn't perform well at all. Lithuania, Italy and Sweden were towards the end of the night and we were all flagging but they were good. Slovenia: fantastic singer, very beautiful. Latvia, sang really well, very serious, static on the stage, would be great if it was a bit better song. Estonia: good fun, went down well.
Last edited by Liberty (April 12, 2024 4:27 pm)