Eurovision 2011: The Best of the Rest (Part 4)

Ireland: Like them or not, you simply can not deny that Jedward were an unstoppable force at Eurovision.  Even if they didn't take top honors this year with "Lipstick", they were really the talk of the Press Center.  From their knee-high Converses to their now-iconic hair, you couldn't resist this year's Irish entry.  Even I fell victim to their charms:

But despite the Grimes Brothers' popularity and infectious energy, they only made it to Düsseldorf by the slimmest of margins; only two points separated them from runner-up Nikki Kavanagh's R&B ballad "Falling":

Nikki sang backup for last year's Irish entry, and "Falling" was written by a team that included Jonas Gladnikoff, who was the composer of "Et Cetera" and "It's For You", Ireland's 2009 and 2010 Eurovision submissions.  Sadly, Jonas and Co. were unable to pull off the three-peat, but who knows what 2012 will bring?

New Videos from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Latvia (plus, new versions for France and Croatia!)

Over the past week, a number of new videos have been released for this year's Eurovision hopefuls.  Let's have a look, shall we?

First up, Armenia has revealed the official clip for Emmy's "Boom Boom", featuring German-Armenian boxer Arthur Abraham:

Well, at least the Armenians are probably realizing just how kitschy their song is...having Emmy and her pals dance around in a ring, wearing bedazzled boxing gloves and randomly turning into comic book characters is a pretty decent sign that they're taking "Boom Boom" with a grain of salt (and I, for one, could use a margarita after watching it.  Oy...)

Next up, we've got Armenia's cross-Caucasus neighbors (and perpetual rivals) Azerbaijan, who released a second clip for Eldar and Nigar's "Running Scared":

Compared to previous years' entries from Baku, "Running Scared" is elegant, subtle, and sweet.  The video is visually beautiful (not only because of the landscapes, but also for the copious shots of Eldar and Nigar!).  I'm not quite sure why Azerbaijan insisted on recording a second video for "Running Scared", as their first version was definitely not unpleasant, but considering the country's penchant for Eurovision excess, they probably just figured that any money spent was money well spent.

Latvia sends Musiqq - "Angel in Disguise"

Continuing on with the theme set by Ukraine's "Angel" and Cyprus's "San Aggelos S'agapisa (I Loved You Like an Angel)", Latvia also chose a heavenly theme for their representative to Germany this year: "Angel in Disguise" by Musiqq. 


Musiqq, formed by Marats Ogļezņevs and Emīls Balceris, formed back in 2009 and had a hit album last year back in Latvia.  They beat ten other songs to get the ticket to Düsseldorf, including "Banjo Laura" by Eurovision alum Lauris Reiniks and the disco-tinged "You Are" by Pieneņu Vīns (Dandelion Wine).

Compared to Latvia's offerings from 2009 and 2010, "Angel in Disguise" is a marked improvement.  For the past two years, the nation's come in last place in their respective semifinal, and they haven't made it into the Top Ten since 2005.  Will Musiqq make it out of the Semis?  It's tough to tell at this point, but it's entirely within the realm of possibility.  At the very least, they can likely leave their last-place days behind them, as there are definitely weaker entries in their division. 

The Weekend Preview, 2/10

We've got another busy weekend ahead of us, so let's dive right into what we can expect from all over the Eurovision world over the next few days!

On Friday, Azerbaijan will finally make their decision on who they'll send to Germany this year.  Their preselection process started back in mid-November with 77 candidates, and they've finally been narrowed down to five final performers: Aynishan Qulieva, Ilgara Ibrahimova, Eldar Gasimov, Ilhama Gasimova, and Nigar Camal.  It's still a bit unclear how the song will be selected; last year, the top three candidates sang three different songs, and while the winning performer was selected the night of the finals, the winning song wasn't confirmed until over two weeks later.  Considering Azerbaijan's penchant for flexibility on their preselection processes (their dates have been moved around many times, for example), who knows what answers we may find tomorrow night, or what questions will remain!

Also on Friday, Ireland will pick the artist and song that they hope will bring the nation to the top of the Eurovision heap for an eight year.  Brief snippets of the songs were released last week, but they were heard in their entirety for the first time just today.

Don Mescall - Talking with Jennifer (written by Ronan Hardiman, Don Mescall)
Nikki Kavanaugh - Falling (written by Christina Schilling, Camilla Gottschalck, Jonas Gladnikoff, and Hanif Sabzevari)
Bling - Shine On (written by Patrick Mahoney)
The Vard Sisters - Send Me an Angel (written by Liam Lawton)
Jedward - Lipstick (written by Dan Priddy, Lars Jensen, and Martin Larson)

Ironically, "Lipstick" is the only song that has been removed from YouTube for copyright reasons.  Why ironically?  Well, first, as its considered the frontrunner in tomorrow's competition, and second, as a portion of the song was "accidentally" released on Amazon.com too early, prompting RTÉ to make the decision only one third in the hands of the audience's vote, rather than fifty percent.  The remaining part of the decision will be in the hands of regional juries throughout Ireland.

The Weekend Update, 2/6

Another weekend has come and gone, with tons of Eurovision news to report!

Norway:
The Second Chance round, or "Siste Sjansen", has wrapped up, with eight songs battling against each other in a series of tournament-style knockout rounds.  After all of the carnage subsided, we were left with two songs standing, and going to the finals next week.  And they are...
Sie Gubba - "Alt Du Vil Ha" and
The Lucky Bullets - "Fire Below"
Next week is the Norwegian Final...who are your favorites?

Croatia:
Yesterday, the top twelve contestants (including Daria Kinzer, selected as last week's Wild Card) returned to the stage, fighting for six places in the next round.  Five of those placements were decided last night, while the sixth will be announced on next week's show. Daria Kinzer, Mirko Švenda, Jacques Houdek, Katica Marinović, and Ana Eškinja.  Next week, those Top 6 performers will try to make it to the Top 4.

Lithuania:
The first round of Eurovizija 2011 kicked off this weekend in Lithuania.  A total of fourteen songs vied for only three spots in the final, and here are the victors:
Monika - Days go By
The Independent - 7th Bus
Sasha Song - The Slogan of Our Nation  (Eurofans might recognize Sasha from his beautiful, yet undervalued 2009 ESC entry, "Love")

ESC 2010 Reviews: Latvia

So the next stop on our whirlwind tour of the 2010 participants in the Eurovision Song Contest is Latvia.  They were the last of the Baltic States to join the ESC (in 2000), and they debuted with a bit of a splash.  Riga band Brainstorm (also known by their Latvian name, Prāta Vētra) performed "My Star", a sweet and melodic Brit-rock-influenced song, kicked into high gear by lead singer Renārs Kaupers's insane dance moves.  (Latvia must be on the forefront of some major medical research...Kaupers had the bottom half of his body surgically replaced with pipe cleaners and bendy straws!)  Renārs and his crazy legs took Latvia to a bronze-medal finish in their debut entry, and the nation claimed victory in the contest only two years later, with Marie M's "I Wanna", a completely standard Latin-inflected number that was honestly only memorable for its fantastic costume change.  (My apologies to all Latvian fans out there...but I preferred Brainstorm!)

Since Marie's victory, Latvia's kind of wandered through the Eurovision woods, with a string of generally less-than-memorable performances.  They've tried rock, popera, acapella (the first instrument-free song in Eurovision history), and, in a possible moment of pure desperation, piracy.



This year, Latvia's asking for help from a higher power to get them out of the semifinals, sending Aisha with "What For (Only Mr. God Knows Why)".  Now, Aisha's voice isn't bad by any stretch, and she's definitely cute enough to garner a few votes from some of the 13-year-old boys watching the contest, but this song just kind of mystifies me.  It's kind of depressing at times, and confusing at others.  Who the heck is Uncle Joe?  Why can't he speak?  Does Mr. God have a first name?  Does he need an upgrade in his cellular service?  What the heck is going on here?  I don't know if I should be taking this song seriously or not, and I doubt it will break through to the finals.  If God's phone is out of range, can Aisha expect Eurovison voters to have any better luck?