Oh, Monika's haircut is going to make me think of Agnes Varda every time now!  Very distinctive.  I don't know why I don't like the song that much.  It's a shame, because I think judging from the videos, she is my favourite performer!  I've gone on to listen to recordings of her singing other songs on youtube, and I love her voice.   Just wish it was a different song!

Yes, whenever I see a banana or think of one, I get the song in my head too!  There are quite a few catchy songs this year.  I had "Hola, mi bebe-be" stuck in my head today!  And I think the songs have grown on me more now, and I'm not missing last year so much.  There are a lot of songs that I like.  And even some of the ones that I don't like so much, I'm glad in they're in the competition, as they're often something a bit different.  I'm getting quite excited about it now!  Unfortunately, nobody else I know is, despite me trying to interest them!  So I really appreciate being able to talk about it here, thank you!

I've just seen this video of Greece's song, and really like this version.  Apparently she was studying medicine before taking a break to be a singer, and the choir are from her medical school. 





 

Oh, I didn't even think of that!  I wonder. I'm not even sure when she was last at medical school and how much she was involved in the pandemic.  I think Norway did a bit better than many countries, but she might have been thinking of Europe in general. 

I've been watching the videos from Israel Calling.  I won't make a big list this time, but what is frustrating is that some of the songs I love aren't so great live, and some of the ones I'm not so interested in are really good!  I thought there were some very good performances.  It will be interesting to see how the ones who didn't do so well do in the semi-finals.  I was thinking about how Ochman/Poland seems pretty consistently good, and I wonder if it's because he's classicly trained? I suppose classical singers often have to sing all night in operas, oratorios, etc., without ever going off, and not being a singer myself, I think I'm only just realising how hard this must be!   I just wish I liked the Poland song a little bit more. 


 

Yes, I hope so.  I was really impressed by her performance.  There are a whole lot of new Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam videos up now, so I'm watching those!  I do feel some of the performances have improved a lot.  I think you might be right about the venue, and also maybe some of them having more practice now. 

I wish I liked it more as I think Ronela Hajati is giving great performances, but the song has never made it into my favourites. I know nothing about Albanian folk music, so can't comment on the shouting: I like it the folk element though. I hadn't thought about it being unusual for a female performer, but you are right. 

Armenia has moved up a bit for me after seeing it live as I think the singer is very good and natural live, and the song has grown on me, but again, just not getting into my favourites.   Austria, which I loved, has had to go down a bit as the live performances haven't been great: although if this improves it will be back up again as I think it's the only song of its style!  Czech Republic also not quite as good live as I expected. 

I had made lists of what songs I wanted to go through from the semis, but I'm just not sure.  I should probably stop watching so I don't get bored with the songs before the actual event!  I think I've watched this year more than any other!  I had a Spotify playlist last year that I listened to a lot, but this time I've been more interested in watching live performances and it's really changing my view of some of the songs. 
 

I might watch some more interviews too!  I've watched a few and I think it does influence me a bit as if the artist is really likeable I'm more drawn to it!  I think it's a little bit harder for the ones who are not fluent in English.  I was watching an interview with Ukraine and of course they were using an interpreter, which I think makes it easier to lose nuances of meaning, humour, etc.  And of course, I can't imagine how they must feel with what is going on at home. 

I think it's a shame that if they do well, some people will put it down to the war and sympathy voting, when I think it's a good song that would have done well anyway, even if it didn't win, and it's quite unique in the competition.  Not as good as Shum, but I honestly thought that was phenomenal. 

It's also interesting to get a bit of background: of course, I could look it up, but I think it's nice to hear the people explaining why they wrote the song, for instance.  S10 from the Netherlands saying it was "a love song to my own sadness" was wonderful!  I really love De Diepte.  It's a very poignant, atmospheric song.  Possibly my second favourite at the moment.  There do seem to be a lot these more gentle, slightly sad songs this year and I love them.  Portugal and Iceland give me a similar feeling.  They are all in the first semi-final so I hope they all go through!  I think The Netherlands definitely will, but Iceland might miss out?  Greece is similar again, and I think that one will go through, but I don't think I like it as much as the others.  There's some sort of magic lacking.

The ones who haven't had live performances are going off my radar a bit!  I'm not wild about the more "rock" songs this year, but I wasn't particularly into Maneskin last year. 

Anyway, my ranking for the songs keeps changing so I don't think I'll announce it, but I'm really looking forward to scoring them on the night!
 

Something that might be kind of fun to know. There's a weekly news program in the US called 60 Minutes, and they typically do profiles on people, issues, or places, with two or three segments per program about a specific topic. This week they did a segment on Iceland's participation in Eurovision. They talked about Songvakeppnin and the history of Iceland's participation (they talked about how different Hatari was from anything they've sent before, and how the whole country embraced their aesthetic and even kids dressed up like them!), as well as a quick discussion about what Eurovision is. It was interesting how they talked about Daughters of Reykjavik was a favourite to win, but how then Systur won, and how they are hoping that being more low-key will make them stand out and win this year. I don't know if they will, based on how other acts are being received online, but I still hope they do well.

Funnily enough, they didn't mention the Eurovision movie at all, even though I expected they probably would since it probably introduced a lot of Americans to Eurovision. I don't really know how they chose to focus on Iceland, but they talked about how they've never won and hope to win, so I think that might have been how they chose their focus. They did a feature on the volcano eruption last year, but I don't know if that's it. I think a lot of people are intrigued by Iceland in general because of how it's become a tourist destination.

I have been watching some of the rehearsal clips that they've been uploading to YouTube and some of the House Party ones. I thought it was cool that Alvan covered Think About Things, since it's a song I like. I haven't had time to watch everything (though I probably wouldn't literally watch everything anyway) because I've been working this week, so between 6-hour shifts and a somewhat lengthy commute each way, I haven't had that much energy to keep up with stuff, or very much time. I'm looking forward to relaxing Tuesday afternoon to watch the first semi-final.

Last edited by Yitzock (May 6, 2022 10:35 pm)

It's a short term contract position and I'm almost finished, but I had to work seven days in a row this week, which was tiring. I don't mind riding the subway (it's a chance to let my mind wander), but seven days in a row has taken its toll on my energy level. I've mostly enjoyed the job itself and the people I worked with were nice, so I think it's been worthwhile.

For the ones I have seen, it's been interesting to see the changes in costume and set design. I really like the new costumes and the big disco ball on stage that LPS has for their performance. Citi Zeni's rehearsal also made me look forward to theirs, since they seem to be just getting more and more high-energy. I'm not sure I like the flickering effects Ochman is using, but maybe it will have a different effect in the context of the entire performance. While I still have mixed feelings about Ronela's song, I'm kind of surprised by her costume change. I liked how she looked like a warrior in her national final performance, but it seems she's moved away from that and I don't think I like the new costume as much. But I do agree that overall, of the ones I've seen, the rehearsals look good. I'm still not finding the We Are Domi singer's voice very strong, but maybe she's saving herself for when it counts.

I guess we'll see! I'm getting pretty excited, too! I saw in the thumbnail of Sam Ryder's performance that he was playing a guitar, but they didn't show that in the video, so I'm wondering if the clip is only showing a little bit of what he will be doing, and maybe he will be moving around more at other points in the performance. I thought it looked good, though, even if a bit static in what we got to see.
I like the matador outfit, too.

I have been enjoying the videos of the contestants answering random questions from a bowl. They have all been pretty funny, which I like. I noticed Systur are wearing shirts supporting trans rights, which I think is really great of them, considering so many attacks on the trans community (and trans kids) lately. On the lighter side of things, Subwoolfer might not  be my favourite, but they had me laughing out loud!

Speaking of Subwoolfer, I just saw on Twitter a video of TIX in the Subwoolfer DJ's astronaut suit, so it seems he was involved that way after all... I thought it was going to be his brother, but I guess I was wrong! I'm thinking about the logistics of performing with them onstage at MGP and then performing as himself later on, it must have been busy. I'm curious if he was also involved in the songwriting, and if we'll see his name in the credits for the song tonight. Keith and Jim are still a mystery, but I don't think we'll find out who they are until after the competition, and even then I think there's a good chance I won't know who they are anyway.

Yes, I have seen a lot about UK media doing that lately. It's upsetting and frustrating. I think it was really cool to see Systur with a trans flag live in the show!

Now that the show is over, here are my comments on the performances.

Albania - I think there were some interesting moments. The interaction with the female dancer gave the song and performance a sapphic angle that I wasn't expecting, but I overall didn't really enjoy it. I can't help but feel like it's a song made up of disparate parts that don't completely connect with each other.
Latvia - I went in thinking they would for sure qualify because of their silliness and energy, but when I was watching their performance I felt that they weren't going to make it. I showed my mom their performance when she got home from an outing, and when I told her they didn't make it she said she didn't think they would. I think the song is funny, but I'm not sure it was enough. I enjoyed their colourful outfits, though they kind of reminded me of The Wiggles.
Lithuania - I thought this performance got better as it went along. Even though I have sometimes enjoyed the song in the past, I wasn't enjoying it right from the beginning. But I think it's nice she made it. Maybe she was nervous for this performance and that's why I thought she got more into it as it went along. I really wasn't sure if she was going to make it or not.
Switzerland - I wasn't a fan of all the lighting choices for this performance. While I think he has a good voice, I found this performance made me  feel a little bored. When I heard the recap before the votes I liked it better, though, so maybe the fact that it came right after a less upbeat song, which was following an upbeat song, was why I felt that way.
Slovenia - After this performance I really thought they were going to pull off a qualification. I've gone on and off their song over the course of the leadup to the competition, but I really liked the staging of this performance (even if some of the camera movements were repetitive) and I thought they had more energy than in previous versions. I was bouncing in my seat and felt like I was waking up again with their upbeat song. Apparently not enough people felt the same way. Oh, well, they are still very young.
Ukraine - The audience applauded just seeing their names onscreen! I'm not surprised at all that they qualified. The backdrop with the crying eyes was moving, knowing what these guys and other Ukrainians are going through right now. I don't think it's my favourite of all the songs, but I think emotionally it fits with the moment. I think it's great that this song has been so unifying for the people of Ukraine and that Europe is giving it recognition.
Bulgaria - I didn't like the beginning of the song. I liked it a bit by the end, but even though there are other acts using a retro style, this one in particular felt dated to me.
Netherlands - I can kind of see why this one made it to the final even if it's not my favourite, I still kind of liked it.
Moldova - These guys have an effect on me, I don't know what it is, their song is just so catchy! I was sitting down for the first few seconds but then I had to get up from the couch and dance for the rest of the song. They were very fun. My mom was glad they made it to the final and she only saw the recap at the end of the show. She could tell they were fun. I'm looking forward to watching them again.
Portugal - As I was listening, I realized I had never heard this song all the way through. I thought it was really nice, though, quite soothing. I'm looking forward to hearing it again at the final.
Croatia - My mom got home during this one so I missed part of it because she was telling me about her outing and so I wasn't paying attention. From what I heard her voice sounded pretty good, but that's about all I can say. I wasn't really expecting the song to go through to the final.
Denmark - I missed most of this one as well. I might watch it over again just to see it all the way through. I wasn't crazy about the beginning of the song, but I kind of like the rest of it. I thought their costumes were cool.
Iceland - My mom and I watched this one together. Another nice and soothing one, nice melody (my mom said "It's very melodic."). I wasn't sure they would make it, but I'm glad they did.
Greece - I thought this one could go either way. I wasn't sure it would stand out enough, but I wasn't that surprised it made it. I thought it was OK. This is another one I'm not sure I had heard in full before. Maybe once, but I can't remember.
Norway - They are nuts, but I was laughing during their postcard and performance. I wasn't surprised they made it because of how creative they have been with their online videos and posts, and just their concept, and the song is catchy even if it is maybe slightly annoying. I had fun watching it, and I'm not surprised other people did, too.
Armenia - I don't like everything in the set that she uncovers while taking the pieces of paper off the walls, but I thought her voice sounded good. My mom was talking to me during this one, so I wasn't fully paying attention. But I will get to hear it again.