Ok, we're winding down to the end of our country-by-country list of 2011's also-rans: the songs that should-have/would-have/could-have gone to Germany if the people had voted differently/if the juries had taken their bathroom breaks at a different time/if the networks had been bribed by a different record company (just kidding! I think...).
Sweden: As almost any self-respecting Eurovision Fan would know, Sweden's Melodifestivalen is considered one of the biggest events of the National Final calendar. Its position in recent years as the last of the national selections means that it's basically the final stop before the big event in May. It tends to get higher viewership numbers in its homeland than Eurovision itself does, and ESC fans the world over flock to the Globen each year in order to watch the final firsthand. This year's Melodifestivalen certainly did not disappoint, with 32 songs competing over four semifinals and an "Andra Chansen (Second Chance)" round for the chance to redeem Sweden's Eurovision hopes after a tough crash-and-burn last year. As we all know, Eric Saade not only came out on top this year with "Popular", but he gave the Swedes their highest placement on the ESC scoreboard since their victory back in 1999.
Eric faced some stiff competition, however. Danny Saucedo's runner-up "In the Club" got quite a bit of attention. The track ended up as #2 on the Swedish Singles Chart, and Danny even got to read out Sweden's votes this year at Eurovision. (Eric had that honor last year; maybe it's an omen of good things to come for Danny?):
In third place was the impossibly sunny "Oh My God!" by The Moniker (real name: Daniel Karlsson). It's like Daniel stepped off of the Magical Mystery Tour, into a Hare Krishna robe, and started hanging out with the backup singers from "Čaroban". I'll admit, I thought this song was absolutely ridiculous the first time I heard it, but it became an complete earworm, and I'd often randomly sing it with my friends in the Press Center, choreography and all. (I feel incredibly fortunate that no video footage of those moments exist, as far as I can tell...):
Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
New Videos from Ukraine, Turkey, Moldova and Macedonia
As is customary after the Semifinal Draws, many ESC nations are rolling out their entries' videos. Over the past few days, we've seen the official debuts of the Ukranian, Turkish, Moldovan, and Macedonian videos...let's check them out!
The Ukrainians, as per usual, have revamped their entry and officially submitted their song "Angel". Who knows if it will continue to evolve by the time it hits the stage in Germany? I'm half expecting an unfortunate flat tire to hit Mika's car on the way to the venue, with Zlata Ognevich or Jamala just serendipitously hanging out in the arena...
Regardless, I do prefer this edit a bit to the original, as it has a somewhat stronger beat and isn't quite as sleep-inducing as the ballad that we originally heard in Kiev. That being said, it's still not one of my absolute favorites; Mika's English is often tough to parse. I am, however, looking forward to the onstage presentation of "Angel"...with all of the circus themes in the video and the National Final performance, and considering Ukraine's history of over-the-top staging (Svetlana Loboda, anybody?), things could definitely get interesting.
Next up, the Turks have presented their video for Yüksek Sadakat's "Live it Up":
Not really sure what to say about this one...the song's fun, with a bit of an 80's Hair Band throwback feel (despite the lead singer's baldness) and a touch of an ethnic sound from the string section. It's Turkey, so chances are pretty good that it will qualify for the Finals, but there are other pretty good rock songs in this competition that might give Yüksek Sadakat a run for its money if more than one makes it to the show on the 14th. Turkey has made the Top Ten every year since 2007, and has never failed to qualify for the Finals...it's a lot for "Live it Up" to live up to!
The Ukrainians, as per usual, have revamped their entry and officially submitted their song "Angel". Who knows if it will continue to evolve by the time it hits the stage in Germany? I'm half expecting an unfortunate flat tire to hit Mika's car on the way to the venue, with Zlata Ognevich or Jamala just serendipitously hanging out in the arena...
Regardless, I do prefer this edit a bit to the original, as it has a somewhat stronger beat and isn't quite as sleep-inducing as the ballad that we originally heard in Kiev. That being said, it's still not one of my absolute favorites; Mika's English is often tough to parse. I am, however, looking forward to the onstage presentation of "Angel"...with all of the circus themes in the video and the National Final performance, and considering Ukraine's history of over-the-top staging (Svetlana Loboda, anybody?), things could definitely get interesting.
Next up, the Turks have presented their video for Yüksek Sadakat's "Live it Up":
Not really sure what to say about this one...the song's fun, with a bit of an 80's Hair Band throwback feel (despite the lead singer's baldness) and a touch of an ethnic sound from the string section. It's Turkey, so chances are pretty good that it will qualify for the Finals, but there are other pretty good rock songs in this competition that might give Yüksek Sadakat a run for its money if more than one makes it to the show on the 14th. Turkey has made the Top Ten every year since 2007, and has never failed to qualify for the Finals...it's a lot for "Live it Up" to live up to!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Major Monday Updates!
You would think that after a massive weekend like the one we just had, Eurovision nations would let a poor blogger have a break, right? But noooooo...
In the past half-day, we've had two official songs revealed (Cyprus and Belarus), one Preselection lineup released (Israel), rumors in Russia, and major shakeups in Georgia and Ukraine. I'll get to Cyprus and Belarus in depth as soon as I've written my pieces on Slovenia and Macedonia, who picked their entries on Sunday, but I can definitely give you the latest news on the Russian, Georgian, Ukrainian, and Israeli news.
Russia has been one of the major Eurovision players over the past decade, not only because of the quality of its songs, but also due to the fact that they are the absolute fulcrum of the Post-Soviet Voting Bloc. Votes from all over Eastern Europe often go to Moscow, due to a shared sociolinguistic history and culture (not to mention the omnipresent allegations of political voting). But despite the massive weight of the Russian Bear on Eurovision, we haven't heard much in the way of their Eurovision plans for this year...until yesterday. According to rumors, we'll hear about Russia's official plans sometime this week. It seems that it will either come down to an internal selection or a small-scale National Final, with certain artists having been approached to submit entries for consideration. One of those artists, much to my delight, are the Buranovskie Babushki! Some of you might remember these singing and dancing grandmas from last year's National Selection, where their performance (in Udmurt!) of "Dlinnaja-dlinnaja beresta i kak sdelat' iz nee aishon" made my list of favorite Preselection entries. If they end up going to Germany, I will definitely be making a beeline for the Russian delegation's cocktail party...instead of vodka and blinis, will they be serving cookies and milk? I just want to hug them all!
Anyway, from Russia, we jump over to Ukraine, who, as per usual, has decided to scrap their preselection after allegations of corruption. Some of you likely remember last year's fiasco, when an internally-selected singer and publicly-decided song was retracted after a political transition, and the winner of the subsequent preselection was rejected due to an early release. (It all turned out ok, though, as Alyosha's "Sweet People" ended up in 10th place in the Final.) Confused yet? Anyway, after a juror on this year's panel stated her dissatisfaction with the results, and Eurofans from all over the country have called, written, and petitioned in complaint, a second National Final will be held on March 3, with original winner Mika Newton, runner-up Zlata Ognevich, and fan favorite Jamala to compete against each other. Furthermore, the decision will be made only by a televote, and only one vote per phone number will be allowed. Let's hope that that puts an end to this madness, or else I will personally go to Ukraine, grab the Head of Delegation by the ear, and make him pick a random name out of the Kiev Telephone Directory. (UPDATE!: Jamala has suddenly withdrawn from the second National Final, citing her unwillingness to be associated with a possibly fraudulent selection. Excuse me while I bang my head against a wall.) (ANOTHER UPDATE!: And now Zlata Ognevich has withdrawn, too! So, by default, Mika Newton will represent Ukraine in Düsseldorf...it's still unknown if she'll sing "Angel" or a replacement entry, but I assume the news will come soon.)
Next, we've got a shake-up in Georgia! For reasons still unknown, winning band Eldrine has decided to change their line-up. Lead singer Tamar "Tako" Vadachkoria has been replaced by Sopho Toroshelidze, who sang backup for last year's entry, "Shine". According to my calculations, three quarters of all Georgian Eurovision participants have been named Sopho...is there some sort of regional law mandating this? Are little girls named Sopho magically imbued with musical ability? Do Georgian men even sing?! Anyway, they'll be filming the music video for "One More Day" next week in Tblisi.
Finally, we've got the official line-up and songs for Israel's 2011 preselection, "Kdam", scheduled for March 8. Ten artists will duke it out for the ticket to Düsseldorf, including Eurovision legend Dana International. The songs represent a number of genres, and almost all of them are bilingual (either in Hebrew/English or Hebrew/French). The candidates are:
Adi Cohen - "Al Ahava"
KNOB - "Ohev et ze"
Chen Aharoni - "Or"
Idit Halevi - "It's My Time"
Hatikva 6 - "Hakol Sababa"
Niki Goldstein - "Amri itach"
Sivan Bahnem - "Kach Oti"
Michael and Shimrit Greylsummer - "Tu Du Du"
Dana International - "Ding Dong"
Carmel Ekman - "El Gagoai"
More about Slovenia, (FYR) Macedonia, Belarus, and Cyprus shortly!
In the past half-day, we've had two official songs revealed (Cyprus and Belarus), one Preselection lineup released (Israel), rumors in Russia, and major shakeups in Georgia and Ukraine. I'll get to Cyprus and Belarus in depth as soon as I've written my pieces on Slovenia and Macedonia, who picked their entries on Sunday, but I can definitely give you the latest news on the Russian, Georgian, Ukrainian, and Israeli news.
Russia has been one of the major Eurovision players over the past decade, not only because of the quality of its songs, but also due to the fact that they are the absolute fulcrum of the Post-Soviet Voting Bloc. Votes from all over Eastern Europe often go to Moscow, due to a shared sociolinguistic history and culture (not to mention the omnipresent allegations of political voting). But despite the massive weight of the Russian Bear on Eurovision, we haven't heard much in the way of their Eurovision plans for this year...until yesterday. According to rumors, we'll hear about Russia's official plans sometime this week. It seems that it will either come down to an internal selection or a small-scale National Final, with certain artists having been approached to submit entries for consideration. One of those artists, much to my delight, are the Buranovskie Babushki! Some of you might remember these singing and dancing grandmas from last year's National Selection, where their performance (in Udmurt!) of "Dlinnaja-dlinnaja beresta i kak sdelat' iz nee aishon" made my list of favorite Preselection entries. If they end up going to Germany, I will definitely be making a beeline for the Russian delegation's cocktail party...instead of vodka and blinis, will they be serving cookies and milk? I just want to hug them all!
Anyway, from Russia, we jump over to Ukraine, who, as per usual, has decided to scrap their preselection after allegations of corruption. Some of you likely remember last year's fiasco, when an internally-selected singer and publicly-decided song was retracted after a political transition, and the winner of the subsequent preselection was rejected due to an early release. (It all turned out ok, though, as Alyosha's "Sweet People" ended up in 10th place in the Final.) Confused yet? Anyway, after a juror on this year's panel stated her dissatisfaction with the results, and Eurofans from all over the country have called, written, and petitioned in complaint, a second National Final will be held on March 3, with original winner Mika Newton, runner-up Zlata Ognevich, and fan favorite Jamala to compete against each other. Furthermore, the decision will be made only by a televote, and only one vote per phone number will be allowed. Let's hope that that puts an end to this madness, or else I will personally go to Ukraine, grab the Head of Delegation by the ear, and make him pick a random name out of the Kiev Telephone Directory. (UPDATE!: Jamala has suddenly withdrawn from the second National Final, citing her unwillingness to be associated with a possibly fraudulent selection. Excuse me while I bang my head against a wall.) (ANOTHER UPDATE!: And now Zlata Ognevich has withdrawn, too! So, by default, Mika Newton will represent Ukraine in Düsseldorf...it's still unknown if she'll sing "Angel" or a replacement entry, but I assume the news will come soon.)
Next, we've got a shake-up in Georgia! For reasons still unknown, winning band Eldrine has decided to change their line-up. Lead singer Tamar "Tako" Vadachkoria has been replaced by Sopho Toroshelidze, who sang backup for last year's entry, "Shine". According to my calculations, three quarters of all Georgian Eurovision participants have been named Sopho...is there some sort of regional law mandating this? Are little girls named Sopho magically imbued with musical ability? Do Georgian men even sing?! Anyway, they'll be filming the music video for "One More Day" next week in Tblisi.
Finally, we've got the official line-up and songs for Israel's 2011 preselection, "Kdam", scheduled for March 8. Ten artists will duke it out for the ticket to Düsseldorf, including Eurovision legend Dana International. The songs represent a number of genres, and almost all of them are bilingual (either in Hebrew/English or Hebrew/French). The candidates are:
Adi Cohen - "Al Ahava"
KNOB - "Ohev et ze"
Chen Aharoni - "Or"
Idit Halevi - "It's My Time"
Hatikva 6 - "Hakol Sababa"
Niki Goldstein - "Amri itach"
Sivan Bahnem - "Kach Oti"
Michael and Shimrit Greylsummer - "Tu Du Du"
Dana International - "Ding Dong"
Carmel Ekman - "El Gagoai"
More about Slovenia, (FYR) Macedonia, Belarus, and Cyprus shortly!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Mika Newton: An Unlikely "Angel" for Ukraine
The next song selected for Düsseldorf was the Ukrainian entry. After months of preselections, heats, semifinals, rumors, and innuendo, most observant Eurofans had assumed that the golden ticket would fall into the hands of one of three women: Zlata Ognevich, Jamala, or Anastasiya Prikhodko. Zlata's upbeat "The Kukushka" was a perfect dance-pop number that fit in nicely with Ukraine's Eurovision history (think "Shady Lady", "Be My Valentine", "Show Me Your Love", etc). Jamala's quirky "Smile" was an imaginative and unique offering unlike any other song in the National Selection (or any other, for that matter). And the lure of bringing in Anastasiya, who had represented Russia back in 2009, was a pretty big temptation, as well, even if her song "Action" didn't show off very much of her vocals.
So, did the victory go to Zlata, Jamala, or Anastasiya?
Turns out, it went to none of the above! In a shock win, Mika Newton's ballad "Angel" took the maximum points from the jury, audience text voting, and the online vote. I'm still not sure what to think of this turn of events...I had been rooting for Zlata, in all honesty. The Ukrainians had a number of unique, catchy, and creative songs that might have landed them at the top of the leaderboard in Germany, but they went for a slow ballad with little standalone personality. It's still unclear whether Mika will sing in English or Ukrainian (she's recorded the song in both, although she performed the English version at the Preselection yesterday). I personally hope she goes for the Ukrainian, as her English isn't quite intelligible, and keeping it in her native language might give the song some measure of authenticity. Regardless, she looks lovely and sings well, it's just that the song doesn't make it up to par.
(UPDATE!: Continuing with the longstanding tradition of confusion and possible corruption in Ukrainian Eurovision proceedings, the validity of Mika's victory as been thrown into question. Allegations of power-voting from the televote and online poll have arisen, and even one of the jurors wants an in-depth investigation of the weekend's proceedings. Complicating matters even further, Mika herself has said that she wants to switch her song "Angel" out for a new one, written by "My Heart Will Go On" producer Walter Afanasieff. So, will the ticket go to Zlata or Jamala after all? Everything's still very much up in the air in Kiev, and I'll try to keep you all as informed as possible as quickly as possible!)
So, did the victory go to Zlata, Jamala, or Anastasiya?
Turns out, it went to none of the above! In a shock win, Mika Newton's ballad "Angel" took the maximum points from the jury, audience text voting, and the online vote. I'm still not sure what to think of this turn of events...I had been rooting for Zlata, in all honesty. The Ukrainians had a number of unique, catchy, and creative songs that might have landed them at the top of the leaderboard in Germany, but they went for a slow ballad with little standalone personality. It's still unclear whether Mika will sing in English or Ukrainian (she's recorded the song in both, although she performed the English version at the Preselection yesterday). I personally hope she goes for the Ukrainian, as her English isn't quite intelligible, and keeping it in her native language might give the song some measure of authenticity. Regardless, she looks lovely and sings well, it's just that the song doesn't make it up to par.
(UPDATE!: Continuing with the longstanding tradition of confusion and possible corruption in Ukrainian Eurovision proceedings, the validity of Mika's victory as been thrown into question. Allegations of power-voting from the televote and online poll have arisen, and even one of the jurors wants an in-depth investigation of the weekend's proceedings. Complicating matters even further, Mika herself has said that she wants to switch her song "Angel" out for a new one, written by "My Heart Will Go On" producer Walter Afanasieff. So, will the ticket go to Zlata or Jamala after all? Everything's still very much up in the air in Kiev, and I'll try to keep you all as informed as possible as quickly as possible!)
Monday, February 14, 2011
A Quick Holiday Message from the ESC Insider...
To all of the lovers out there, here's a sweet little holiday message from Svetlana Loboda:
If you're in a relationship, Happy Valentine's Day! If not, Happy Singles Awareness Day! ;-)
If you're in a relationship, Happy Valentine's Day! If not, Happy Singles Awareness Day! ;-)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Best of the 2010 Preselection (Part One)
I don't know about all of you, but all of this talk recently about the 2011 ESC season has really kicked my Eurovision appetite into high gear. It's sort of like how a person might say that they're not hungry when dinnertime is coming up, but once they walk past a kitchen and detect the tiniest wafting scents of meals cooking, they realize that they're absolutely famished.
Yep, that's me. Now that we know where Eurovision 2011 will be held, and we're getting a better picture of which nations will be participating and how their entries will be chosen, I'm getting really excited to see how Düsseldorf will compare to Oslo (and Moscow, Belgrade, Helsinki, etcetera, before it). But since it will be another few months before we get to hear the lion's share of candidate songs, I thought I'd give you all a blast from the not-so-distant past, and serve up a list of a few of my favorite Preselection songs from last year. These are the ones who didn't quite make it to Oslo, but they made a bit of an impression on me, at the very least. (By the way, I'm specifically skipping mention of the fantastic Albanian and Estonian preselections, as I had made pretty heavy mention of them in their nation's individual postings...but feel free to backtrack and check them out! Estonia, in particular, put on a fabulous National Selection this year, and there are about a half-dozen songs from Eestilaul 2010 on my iTunes right now.)
Anyway, in no particular order:
From Greece: "Enjoy the Day" by Katherine Avgoustakis.
Katherine, who is actually a Belgian citizen born to a Greek father, was strongly favored to go to Oslo with this danceable summer song, but a clause in the national preselection banned any of the candidate songs from being released to the public before a specified date, or else risk disqualification. A remix of "Enjoy the Day" was leaked to YouTube early, and Katherine was left out in the cold. There are rumors that she's going to try to represent Greece again, and if she can duplicate the popularity of her 2010 song, I wouldn't count her out of the running to go to Düsseldorf.
Fom Denmark: "Breathing" by Bryan Rice.
Coming in second place in this year's Dansk Melodi Grand Prix was this modern ballad, which always seems to remind me a bit of Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love". I personally preferred this entry over Denmark's eventual winner, Chanée and N'evergreen's "In a Moment Like This", but since I can't vote, I can't complain! In a way, it's almost a good thing that Bryan missed out in 2010, as Denmark's 2008 and 2009 entry, Simon Mathew's "All Night Long" and Brinck's "Believe Again", respectively were both male-driven, mid-tempo numbers, and maybe it was time to switch things up a bit.
From Malta: "Save a Life" by Wayne Micallef.
Although I know that Malta is more or less obsessed with Eurovision, I am generally not a massive fan of many of the songs that the island nation submits (Sorry! Nothing personal, I promise!). However, I really liked Micallef's entry this year. It has the hopeful, positive message that many Maltese ESC songs tend to have, without sounding like a track ripped from a 1995 Disney film. His voice is strong, and "Save a Life" kind of reminds me of something that Snow Patrol or The Fray would come out with, and it might have stacked up pretty well against Tom Dice or Jon Lilygreen this year. He also gets points from me for performing his own song, as only three self-penned tunes made it to the Maltese final this year, out of 20 songs. Wayne came in 6th place in the 2010 preselection, and 7th the year before that. If he keeps writing songs like this one, we might see him on the big stage sometime soon.
From Moldova: "Amintirele Dor (The Memories Hurt)" by Leylla
When I first introduce Eurovision to my friends who aren't quite familiar with the contest, many imagine imagine a contest full of ethno-techno-disco pop like this. The Moldovan preselection this past year was packed, with over 80 songs vying for a shot at Oslo. Those 80-some-odd songs were all released to the public, but only 30 made it to the semifinal level (25 picked by a jury, and 5 by local SMS voting). When the dust settled, Eurofans from all over were stunned to see that Leylla had missed out, especially considering that crap like this went through.
But, on the bright side, if Leylla had gone to Oslo, the would never would have gotten to know the glory of the saxroll. Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?
From the Ukraine: "Emotional Lady" by Dazzle Dreams.
Ok, this one is a total guilty pleasure. I love it when songs in other languages randomly slip in a line or two in English, and combining that with Depeche Mode-inspired synthpop makes me a happy Samantha. Granted, though..."Dazzle Dreams"? The band name sounds a bit like something that a five-year-old girl would come up with while trying to name her pink My Little Pony. Great song, though...
From Russia: "Dlinnaya-dlinnaya beresta i kak sdelat' iz nee aishon (Long-Long Birch Bark and How to Make a Headdress From It)" by Buranovskiye Babushki (whew!)
This song is an obvious departure from any other tune in this year's contest (or almost any year's contest, for that matter). It's sung in Udmurt, which is a minority language more closely related to Finnish and Estonian than Russian, and was performed by the Buranovskiye Babushki (literally, "The Grannies from Buranovo). Believe it or not, this was a serious contender to go to Oslo, coming in third place in the Russian national final!
And I don't care what anybody says. This song makes me happy. Just try to listen to it and not smile! I dare you!
...Yeah, that's what I thought.
(More coming up in the next entry!)
Yep, that's me. Now that we know where Eurovision 2011 will be held, and we're getting a better picture of which nations will be participating and how their entries will be chosen, I'm getting really excited to see how Düsseldorf will compare to Oslo (and Moscow, Belgrade, Helsinki, etcetera, before it). But since it will be another few months before we get to hear the lion's share of candidate songs, I thought I'd give you all a blast from the not-so-distant past, and serve up a list of a few of my favorite Preselection songs from last year. These are the ones who didn't quite make it to Oslo, but they made a bit of an impression on me, at the very least. (By the way, I'm specifically skipping mention of the fantastic Albanian and Estonian preselections, as I had made pretty heavy mention of them in their nation's individual postings...but feel free to backtrack and check them out! Estonia, in particular, put on a fabulous National Selection this year, and there are about a half-dozen songs from Eestilaul 2010 on my iTunes right now.)
Anyway, in no particular order:
From Greece: "Enjoy the Day" by Katherine Avgoustakis.
Katherine, who is actually a Belgian citizen born to a Greek father, was strongly favored to go to Oslo with this danceable summer song, but a clause in the national preselection banned any of the candidate songs from being released to the public before a specified date, or else risk disqualification. A remix of "Enjoy the Day" was leaked to YouTube early, and Katherine was left out in the cold. There are rumors that she's going to try to represent Greece again, and if she can duplicate the popularity of her 2010 song, I wouldn't count her out of the running to go to Düsseldorf.
Fom Denmark: "Breathing" by Bryan Rice.
Coming in second place in this year's Dansk Melodi Grand Prix was this modern ballad, which always seems to remind me a bit of Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love". I personally preferred this entry over Denmark's eventual winner, Chanée and N'evergreen's "In a Moment Like This", but since I can't vote, I can't complain! In a way, it's almost a good thing that Bryan missed out in 2010, as Denmark's 2008 and 2009 entry, Simon Mathew's "All Night Long" and Brinck's "Believe Again", respectively were both male-driven, mid-tempo numbers, and maybe it was time to switch things up a bit.
From Malta: "Save a Life" by Wayne Micallef.
Although I know that Malta is more or less obsessed with Eurovision, I am generally not a massive fan of many of the songs that the island nation submits (Sorry! Nothing personal, I promise!). However, I really liked Micallef's entry this year. It has the hopeful, positive message that many Maltese ESC songs tend to have, without sounding like a track ripped from a 1995 Disney film. His voice is strong, and "Save a Life" kind of reminds me of something that Snow Patrol or The Fray would come out with, and it might have stacked up pretty well against Tom Dice or Jon Lilygreen this year. He also gets points from me for performing his own song, as only three self-penned tunes made it to the Maltese final this year, out of 20 songs. Wayne came in 6th place in the 2010 preselection, and 7th the year before that. If he keeps writing songs like this one, we might see him on the big stage sometime soon.
From Moldova: "Amintirele Dor (The Memories Hurt)" by Leylla
When I first introduce Eurovision to my friends who aren't quite familiar with the contest, many imagine imagine a contest full of ethno-techno-disco pop like this. The Moldovan preselection this past year was packed, with over 80 songs vying for a shot at Oslo. Those 80-some-odd songs were all released to the public, but only 30 made it to the semifinal level (25 picked by a jury, and 5 by local SMS voting). When the dust settled, Eurofans from all over were stunned to see that Leylla had missed out, especially considering that crap like this went through.
But, on the bright side, if Leylla had gone to Oslo, the would never would have gotten to know the glory of the saxroll. Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?
From the Ukraine: "Emotional Lady" by Dazzle Dreams.
Ok, this one is a total guilty pleasure. I love it when songs in other languages randomly slip in a line or two in English, and combining that with Depeche Mode-inspired synthpop makes me a happy Samantha. Granted, though..."Dazzle Dreams"? The band name sounds a bit like something that a five-year-old girl would come up with while trying to name her pink My Little Pony. Great song, though...
From Russia: "Dlinnaya-dlinnaya beresta i kak sdelat' iz nee aishon (Long-Long Birch Bark and How to Make a Headdress From It)" by Buranovskiye Babushki (whew!)
This song is an obvious departure from any other tune in this year's contest (or almost any year's contest, for that matter). It's sung in Udmurt, which is a minority language more closely related to Finnish and Estonian than Russian, and was performed by the Buranovskiye Babushki (literally, "The Grannies from Buranovo). Believe it or not, this was a serious contender to go to Oslo, coming in third place in the Russian national final!
And I don't care what anybody says. This song makes me happy. Just try to listen to it and not smile! I dare you!
...Yeah, that's what I thought.
(More coming up in the next entry!)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
ESC 2010 Reviews: Ukraine
Like many of the newer entrants into Eurovision, Ukraine tends to take the competition very seriously, bringing their biggest stars to the stage year after year. However, more than any other nation, they tend to go for the full-on spectacle, complete with leather bikinis, insane choreography, controversy, shirtless Trojan warriors and the occasional drag queen. They've never missed a Final since the system began, and despite the fact that they've only performed in seven ESCs before 2010, they've come away with a victory and two silvers.
Their debut entry, 2003's "Hasta La Vista", was somewhat forgettable, and only made it to 14th place, but it didn't take Kyiv long to get back on its feet. With only their second entry, Ruslana's "Wild Dances", Ukraine stomped and spun its way into Eurovision history, claiming the nation's first victory. (Sharp-eared readers might recognize the song from the soundtrack to "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City", from the "Radio Vladivostok" setting!) Since her win, Ruslana's continued her success, having recorded a total of seven albums in both English and Ukrainian, and has even collaborated with Missy Elliott. In Ukraine, she's an icon, spokeswoman, and UNICEF Ambassador, campaigning against human trafficking and for the environment. Just as her Eurovision performance shows, Ruslana's a force of nature.
Kyiv hosted the ESC the next year, 2004, just as the Orange Revolution was in full swing. Despite Eurovision's general ban on political songs, the home team sent rap artists GreenJolly with "Razom Nas Bahato, Nas Ne Podolaty (Together We Are Many; We Cannot Be Defeated)". The main theme of the song was a send-off of the old Chilean saying "El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido", and the original lyrics name-checked President Viktor Yuschenko. However, not even their favorable position as host nation could keep them exempt from the rules, and despite a passionate performance (and slightly modified lyrics), they scored a disappointing 19th place.
2007 brought on possibly the most insane performance in Eurovision history, blending comedy, dance...and tinfoil. Ladies and Gentlemen...may I present to you the incomparable, the unforgettable, the...inexplicable...Verka Serduchka:
The lovely Verka is a mix of Dame Edna, Mrs. Doubtfire, and that crazy modern dance teacher you had in college. She's also actually a he. Verka's the alter ego of Ukrainian comedian Andriy Danilko, and is a celebrity in her own right, having recorded ten hit albums. Her second-place finish was marked by a bit of controversy (but what good ESC is without it?), as the song's title, "Dancing Lasha Tumbai", was misheard by some viewers as "Dancing Russia Goodbye" (although Verka insisted that she was singing the Mongolian words for "whipped cream", in reality they were just nonsensical syllables).
In 2008, Ukraine scored its second consecutive silver medal with Ani Lorak's "Shady Lady", which to me is the epitome of Eurovision Pop: take a gorgeous girl with a huge voice, put her in a tiny dress, plop her in front of four strapping backup dancers, and have her belt out a disco number that you can hear echoing all the way to Minneapolis. At the time, my alt-rock sensibilities prevented me from admitting it, but now, two full years after Ani Lorak stormed the stage in Serbia, I can say it: I LOVE this song! I still listen to it pretty often, and it's my go-to song for dancing around my apartment like a maniac when I'm sure nobody's watching. If you liked "Shady Lady", I recommend that you check out her album "Solntse", especially the tracks "Ptitsa" and "A Dalshe..."
Lucky for me, Ukraine's 2009 song, Svetlana Loboda's "Be My Valentine (Anti-Crisis Girl)" was a perfect continuation of the high-energy path that Ani Lorak set upon in 2008. Svetlana's another well-known entity in her homeland, and after her insane performance on the stage in Moscow, she was the talk of Europe, as well. Eventual winner Alexander Rybak claimed that he only feared losing to Loboda, and with her bevy of Trojan soldiers backing her up while she pole danced and spun on her self-described "Hell Machine" (which she supposedly had to mortgage her home to pay for), I can understand how he could be intimidated. The song was hypersexualized, manic, over-the-top...and a total blast. Sadly, it ended up in 12th place, Ukraine's lowest score since 2005.
Despite the recent model for slick and spectacular Eurovision songs from Ukraine over the past few years, 2010's national selection was a complete and utter mess. Back in December, it was announced that Vasyl Lazarovych was the singer chosen by the Ukranian broadcaster, NTU. However, it was soon discovered that Lazarovych and the head of the network were close personal friends, and accusations of back-room deals started flying. Soon after Vasyl's song, the sleepy "I Love You" had been chosen, a new national government took over, and the head of the network was replaced. It was announced the previous result had been scrapped, and that an entirely new National Preselection would take place (including Vasyl, to be fair). After all of that, 24-year-old Alyosha was selected to represent Ukraine with her rock ballad "To Be Free".
You'd think it would be over by that point, right? Wrong. It turns out that "To Be Free" had been briefly released to the public over MySpace and Amazon since 2008, rendering the song invalid for Eurovision competition. Sadly, this was figured out after the EBU's deadline for song submission had passed, so NTU had two choices: cobble together another entry, and be held to a significant fine for each day that passed without a song, or withdraw from the competition. Lucky for us, Alyosha had another song stuck in her back pocket, so this year we'll hear "Sweet People" in Oslo.
Alyosha is coming to Eurovision with a message, probably more so than any other song this year. In interviews, she notes how she was born less than two weeks before the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in her home country, and that she has grown up with a keen interest in environmental issues. The promotional video for "Sweet People" was filmed in Prypiat, a ghost town destroyed by the meltdown, and Alyosha has started what she calls the Ecovision 2010 initiative, lobbying world leaders to take stronger stances on environmental topics such as conservation and nuclear safety.
It took me a long time to appreciate "Sweet People", especially because I'm still coming down from the high of "Shady Lady" and "Be My Valentine". But Alyosha has a strong voice made for a hard ballad like this, and her heart's definitely in it to win it. But the Second Semifinal is incredibly challenging, and there are an inordinately high number of ballads. But, as the results from the First Semifinal show, anything can happen. I wish her well in all of her endeavors, and I wish her well in Eurovision.
Their debut entry, 2003's "Hasta La Vista", was somewhat forgettable, and only made it to 14th place, but it didn't take Kyiv long to get back on its feet. With only their second entry, Ruslana's "Wild Dances", Ukraine stomped and spun its way into Eurovision history, claiming the nation's first victory. (Sharp-eared readers might recognize the song from the soundtrack to "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City", from the "Radio Vladivostok" setting!) Since her win, Ruslana's continued her success, having recorded a total of seven albums in both English and Ukrainian, and has even collaborated with Missy Elliott. In Ukraine, she's an icon, spokeswoman, and UNICEF Ambassador, campaigning against human trafficking and for the environment. Just as her Eurovision performance shows, Ruslana's a force of nature.
Kyiv hosted the ESC the next year, 2004, just as the Orange Revolution was in full swing. Despite Eurovision's general ban on political songs, the home team sent rap artists GreenJolly with "Razom Nas Bahato, Nas Ne Podolaty (Together We Are Many; We Cannot Be Defeated)". The main theme of the song was a send-off of the old Chilean saying "El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido", and the original lyrics name-checked President Viktor Yuschenko. However, not even their favorable position as host nation could keep them exempt from the rules, and despite a passionate performance (and slightly modified lyrics), they scored a disappointing 19th place.
2007 brought on possibly the most insane performance in Eurovision history, blending comedy, dance...and tinfoil. Ladies and Gentlemen...may I present to you the incomparable, the unforgettable, the...inexplicable...Verka Serduchka:
The lovely Verka is a mix of Dame Edna, Mrs. Doubtfire, and that crazy modern dance teacher you had in college. She's also actually a he. Verka's the alter ego of Ukrainian comedian Andriy Danilko, and is a celebrity in her own right, having recorded ten hit albums. Her second-place finish was marked by a bit of controversy (but what good ESC is without it?), as the song's title, "Dancing Lasha Tumbai", was misheard by some viewers as "Dancing Russia Goodbye" (although Verka insisted that she was singing the Mongolian words for "whipped cream", in reality they were just nonsensical syllables).
In 2008, Ukraine scored its second consecutive silver medal with Ani Lorak's "Shady Lady", which to me is the epitome of Eurovision Pop: take a gorgeous girl with a huge voice, put her in a tiny dress, plop her in front of four strapping backup dancers, and have her belt out a disco number that you can hear echoing all the way to Minneapolis. At the time, my alt-rock sensibilities prevented me from admitting it, but now, two full years after Ani Lorak stormed the stage in Serbia, I can say it: I LOVE this song! I still listen to it pretty often, and it's my go-to song for dancing around my apartment like a maniac when I'm sure nobody's watching. If you liked "Shady Lady", I recommend that you check out her album "Solntse", especially the tracks "Ptitsa" and "A Dalshe..."
Lucky for me, Ukraine's 2009 song, Svetlana Loboda's "Be My Valentine (Anti-Crisis Girl)" was a perfect continuation of the high-energy path that Ani Lorak set upon in 2008. Svetlana's another well-known entity in her homeland, and after her insane performance on the stage in Moscow, she was the talk of Europe, as well. Eventual winner Alexander Rybak claimed that he only feared losing to Loboda, and with her bevy of Trojan soldiers backing her up while she pole danced and spun on her self-described "Hell Machine" (which she supposedly had to mortgage her home to pay for), I can understand how he could be intimidated. The song was hypersexualized, manic, over-the-top...and a total blast. Sadly, it ended up in 12th place, Ukraine's lowest score since 2005.
Despite the recent model for slick and spectacular Eurovision songs from Ukraine over the past few years, 2010's national selection was a complete and utter mess. Back in December, it was announced that Vasyl Lazarovych was the singer chosen by the Ukranian broadcaster, NTU. However, it was soon discovered that Lazarovych and the head of the network were close personal friends, and accusations of back-room deals started flying. Soon after Vasyl's song, the sleepy "I Love You" had been chosen, a new national government took over, and the head of the network was replaced. It was announced the previous result had been scrapped, and that an entirely new National Preselection would take place (including Vasyl, to be fair). After all of that, 24-year-old Alyosha was selected to represent Ukraine with her rock ballad "To Be Free".
You'd think it would be over by that point, right? Wrong. It turns out that "To Be Free" had been briefly released to the public over MySpace and Amazon since 2008, rendering the song invalid for Eurovision competition. Sadly, this was figured out after the EBU's deadline for song submission had passed, so NTU had two choices: cobble together another entry, and be held to a significant fine for each day that passed without a song, or withdraw from the competition. Lucky for us, Alyosha had another song stuck in her back pocket, so this year we'll hear "Sweet People" in Oslo.
Alyosha is coming to Eurovision with a message, probably more so than any other song this year. In interviews, she notes how she was born less than two weeks before the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in her home country, and that she has grown up with a keen interest in environmental issues. The promotional video for "Sweet People" was filmed in Prypiat, a ghost town destroyed by the meltdown, and Alyosha has started what she calls the Ecovision 2010 initiative, lobbying world leaders to take stronger stances on environmental topics such as conservation and nuclear safety.
It took me a long time to appreciate "Sweet People", especially because I'm still coming down from the high of "Shady Lady" and "Be My Valentine". But Alyosha has a strong voice made for a hard ballad like this, and her heart's definitely in it to win it. But the Second Semifinal is incredibly challenging, and there are an inordinately high number of ballads. But, as the results from the First Semifinal show, anything can happen. I wish her well in all of her endeavors, and I wish her well in Eurovision.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
