Eurovision Song Contest 2008

2008-05-12 [Hedda]: Please comment as much as you want! You are also welcome to add some information or pictures on the song entry page, but I'm trying to keep them as short as possible because it's your comments that is the important thing.

2008-05-12 [Yncke]: I'm looking forward to it again. Normally, with the Belgian entry, there's the blissful certainty that it will not get beyond the preselections, but this time it's difficult to predict.

2008-05-12 [Hedda]: I don't think they will make it to the final, but I've heard someone loving it, so it will not get at the absolute bottom.

But what about all that singing in invented languages in Belgium? You have 3 languages spoken in the country, but apparently they aren't good enough...

2008-05-13 [Yncke]: Dunno. Three languages is actually two, the German speaking part never gets to chose someone to enter Eurosong (don't ask me why). And I think Urban Trad was the first time there was a Belgian entry, not a Walloon/Flemish turn at entering. And while Belgium usually has a season ticket for one of the last five places, Urban Trad got second. (Which is the best place, lots of media exposure and not having to organise the contest next year.) So I think people voting for Ishtar thought we could pull a second Urban Trad. (Yeah, right)

I think the main reason why it got chosen, though, was that the preselections contained two other rather strong entries that were alike as in being more main stream. Ishtar was the third dog running away with the bone.

2008-05-13 [Hedda]: But no other country uses invented languages and Belgium has done it like 3 times or so in the last years. It's just silly, in my not so humble opinion...

2008-05-13 [Hedda]: Mainstream stuff never win, by the way. Having 5 songs to select from is a very bad way to select a good song. Making a random selection from them is actually better.

The reason is that there are 24 songs in the ESC final, so it's very important to have a song that's different and it can win even though only 10% vote for it. But if there are 5 or 10 songs in a final, you'll get a song that most people like a little and it will be totally forgotten in the big ESC final.

Unfortunately no countries seem to understand this simple math, except maybe those who select an artist on a gut-feeling.

2008-05-13 [Yncke]: 3 times? I remember Urban Trad. Are you sure the rest wasn't just terrible accent? ;)

It sometimes does. That's the fun of Eurosong, there are no certainties.

In that perspective, Ishtar does make a chance if it gets past the preselections. :)

The problem is that it's not even not understanding simple math, since the selection here is done by *shudder* televoting.

2008-05-13 [Hedda]: It's nothing wrong with televoting, but the viewers should have 20-24 songs to select from. In Sweden they have a system with semifinals and God knows what in a huge system that guaranties that Sweden will send a great artist that sings a good, but awfully mainstream, song. It's so boring! It's turning the contest in Sweden into a pop-music club for internal admiring as no one else thinks it's fun. 

In the ESC final it's quite different with almost all kinds of styles. We haven't seen any industrial synth as far as I know, but Tatu did some rave, we've seen blues, jazz, folk music, way too much rock, pop, disco and ballads, and some hard rock and metal.

2008-05-14 [Yncke]: Well, the alternative is the long Belgian tradition of assembling lots of people who can move a little bit to compensate for the fact that they can't sing but hope that somehow, getting a selection for Eurosong will launch them for a brilliant career, putting them one after another on a podium for several Sundays, and expecting the public to select the least embarrassing one. ;) (Although this year was an exception.)

I disagree. Yes, last year was incredibly diverse in genres (I thought it was a rather good year), and it was a terribly cliché and incredibly boring song that won. (Granted, appealing to the holebi communities will have helped getting votes too.) And the year before most was quite mainstream, and it was the non-Eurosong song that won.
If there's only one ballad in the contest, it will end up high, regardless of how lousy it is, because there's lots of people voting on the song contest who like ballads. A song just has to make sure there's no too similar song so that the votes get divided between them. Genre and to some lesser extent even quality are irrelevant.
In that view, televoting doesn't work if you want to select a winning song for Eurosong. What should happen is that someone who really knows Eurosong looks at what the other countries are sending, and selects the song that fills an promising gap.

2008-05-14 [Hedda]: What should happen is that someone who really knows Eurosong looks at what the other countries are sending, and selects the song that fills an promising gap.

Well, yes. But it's almost impossible to find such a song that's good enough.

2008-05-16 [Yncke]: It doesn't have to be good. Acceptable will do, as long as it is the only one in a genre/type that pleases a large amount of voters. Look at the one that won last year.

2008-05-16 [Hedda]: Well, you didn't like it, but it was a great song. It's not like people bother to vote on a song that they think is so-so. But people do have strange tastes.

2008-05-16 [Yncke]: Yeah, well that's de gustibus and so forth. :) But still, I think last year contained far better songs than the winning one, both technical and in being less eurosongclichéish.

2008-05-16 [Hedda]: I just liked ESC Ukraine with Verka.

They came in second (ESC final score 2007), and then the following songs tended to have some problem that couldn't make them a winner. Too boring, too strange, or just a too small group that likes that music (blues, ESC Hungary).

2008-05-17 [Yncke]: Me too, to a certain extent. If it wasn't for France getting away with some of the gimmick/funny voters, they may have won.

(Rats, I'm stuck with that song now... :s)

And I agree fully, ESC Hungary was just too good for Eurosong. Don't know what it was doing there.
Same thing for ESC Bulgaria.

2008-05-17 [Hedda]: ESC Bulgaria was nice in the beginning, but got boring after just a few times. People who care enough to actually vote, have often listened to their favorites a couple of times, so a song has to last.

2008-05-17 [Hedda]: I even tried to learn Slovenian last year to sing along... But few others liked that (both me singing along and the song...)

2008-05-18 [treact]: SWAAAAAAAHILI

2008-05-18 [Yncke]: I never watch any of the entrants on before hand because I think that spoils the fun. (Except Belgium, of course, because you can't get around it.) I think on the contrary that a lot of people see those songs the first time that evening. So a song that is boring the second time is good enough as long as it keeps your attention the first time. The song has to appeal the first time you hear it, no time for getting to like it after a couple of times. I think that's why Eurosong songs seem to be some special breed of songs: the long run of the song's career is of secondary importance.

lol! That's what showers are for. Nobody's supposed to complain if you sing in the shower. ;)

2008-05-18 [Hedda]: Eh, not hearing the songs spoils the fun?!? I think you're pretty unique with that view.

2008-05-18 [Yncke]: Well, I know at least four other people who think so too. :P I prefer to hear them all in the atmosphere of Eurosong, with all the nerves they have on Eurosong and the little things that go wrong to bring them in confusion.

2008-05-18 [Hedda]: But one wants to hear that too!

2008-05-18 [Yncke]: Errr.... I think there's a misunderstanding here. Of course I listen and watch the songs during the live Eurosong show. I don't listen to them before the show though, as in looking them up on youtube or anything. Next Saturday will be the first time I hear them.

2008-05-18 [Hedda]: You misunderstand me. I so don't get the point of only listening once. That's like going to a football match without knowing who are playing.

2008-05-18 [Hedda]: A sudden comment from the Swedish TV:
"On Tuesday we'll be following Finland in the semifinal and on Thursday Sweden."

Denmark and Norway are apparently no longer part of Northern... But their jury did give Norway the highest points. No way that Norway will win though. It's too mainstream and boring.

2008-05-18 [Hedda]: Hm... Maybe a guess the winner contest? Seems like only me and [Yncke] is active, and she hasn't heard the songs so it will be quite empty though... I guess Serbia though.

2008-05-18 [Yncke]: I think your football match comparison would be better like this:
It's like going to a football match without having studied all possible tactics both teams could roll out. To me, Eursong is a sit back and enjoy the ride. Song, please me from the first time, I don't need explanations about what you could have done if you weren't so nervous or how good it is if you get used to it.

But yes, if you want a winner guess, you shouldn't look at me. :)

2008-05-20 [Nevermore.]: 0o serbia? but its held in serbia this year..they cant win again...(i know they can its just very unlikely)..I think it will be another eastern country...obviously

2008-05-20 [Nevermore.]: my mum wants latvia to win...its her bday the same nite so were having a euro-b-day bash for her..she ish dressing as a pirate lol i should be a good night

2008-05-20 [Hedda]: With a hay hay hoo and a hay hay hey!!!

2008-05-20 [Hedda]: Both Israel and Ireland have won when the contest was held in their country, so it isn't that unlikely. Not as unlikely as if Portugal would win, for example... (It's the country that has competed the most and never won.)

2008-05-20 [Hedda]: First semi is on the way now. Moldavia singing...

2008-05-20 [Hedda]: No Ireland in the final I really hated that song, but it kind of grew on me. I like to want to shoot the turkey!

And no final for Andorra and their love to Casanova. Well, she can send me a message and merry me instead of that dead corpse! I love that hair and metallic thing on her head. It's a quite boring song, but I love the fact that it's totally braindead so that I can relax a little.

2008-05-20 [Hedda]: I'll update the final later, but everyone interested already know.

I would just love to see the next ESC in Azerbaijan! To send the entire "tjottaballong" there. ( "tjottaballong" is Eurovision Swedish for "the entire bunch/gang/everything").

2008-05-21 [Hedda]: I thought it was really strange that 10 song got into the final now. Apparently the 1 jury song was also added to this selection.

2008-05-21 [Hedda]: But that's just strange... What about the other semi-final? I must have misunderstood something!

2008-05-21 [Hedda]: You know it! You want it! Send it to Azerbaijan!
You know it! You want it! Send it to Azerbaijan!
The angel! The devil! Send it to Azerbaijan!
You know it! You want it! Send it to Azerbaijan!
You know it! You want it! Send it to Azerbaijan!
We want it in Azerbaijan!

2008-05-21 [Hedda]: Norwegians are known in Sweden for not being so smart. I hope they generally are smarter than the ones on Avis2:
http://www.avis2.no/bildeserie/1061&start=0#bilde

They correctly expected Norway, Poland, Armenia, Romania and Russia to go to the final, and wrongly San Marino (they have no one to vote for them and it was an unremarkable song), Belgium (No, it never works to send the same song again), Andorra (Too small country to get enough votes), Netherlands (Same song as Turkey won with, doesn't work!).

If they had rolled a die, it would have worked better. And they of course knew that Russia would go on, because they always get so many free votes regardless of what they send.

2008-05-21 [Hedda]: My guess for the second semi-final is:
ESC Iceland 2008 This Is My Life (Yea, it's your disco life?)
ESC Sweden 2008 Hero (Little lady singing Abba yet again.)
ESC Turkey 2008 Deli (Slow rock in Gibberish)
ESC Ukraine 2008 Shady Lady (Hard beat sexy song.)
ESC Albania 2008 Zemrën E Lamë Peng (Confused girl singing boring ballad.)
ESC Switzerland 2008 Era Stupendo (Guy singing yet another boring ballad.)
ESC Latvia 2008 Wolves Of The Sea (Pirates rule the dance floor!)
ESC Croatia 2008 Romanca (Old man rapping.) 
ESC Bulgaria 2008 DJ, Take Me Away (The title says it all.)
ESC Georgia 2008 Peace Will Come (An odd interesting song again.)

These might make it:
ESC Hungary 2008 Candlelight (Boring ballad)
ESC Malta 2008 Vodka (Vodka!)

2008-05-22 [Hedda]: OK, I was close:
Iceland, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, Albania, Latvia, Croatia and Georgia were right.

Switzerland and Bulgaria didn't make it, and the horrible crap shit please kill it from Denmark and Portugal made it.

OK, nothing was bad with the Danish entry and I guess there hasn't been a song from the 50s in the ESC before, but... Come on!

Portugal had a great song and a great fat lady singing it, but how can anyone possible stay awake to this tune? Boring++!

2008-05-23 [Hedda]: The odds from www.svenskaspel.se
Russia: 3.5
Ukraine: 5
Sweden: 7
Greece: 7.5
Serbia: 8
Armenia: 9
Finland: 17
Bosnia: 18
Spain: 25
Norway: 25
Latvia: 30
Turkey: 30
Romania: 50
France: 50
Croatia: 50
Azerbaijan: 50
Iceland: 60
Albania: 75
Israel: 75
Denmark: 75
Georgia: 75
Portugal: 75
Germany: 100
Polen: 100
UK: 150

2008-05-24 [Yncke]: And now's the boring part of Eurovision, so I can cast my vote here. :) I voted for Bosnia-Herzegovina, but France was my close second.

2008-05-25 [Hedda]: Russia was 3rd in the semifinal, but won in the final. Portugal was 2nd in the semin, but came 13th in the final. Denmark came 3rd in the semi, but came 15th in the final.

2008-05-25 [Yncke]: There've been better years of Eurosong, that's for sure...

What was it with that guy giving the points for Sweden, hit his head on the door just before coming in or something? :)

2008-05-25 [Hedda]: He's a national hero... He's always like that.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bj%C3%B6rn+gustafsson&search_type=

I think you have to be Swedish to get it.

2008-06-01 [Yncke]: That explains one or two things about Swedes, I suppose.

2008-06-02 [kittykittykitty]: Eurovisionnn <3 This year with the addition of pirates! No win for Latvia... they should have got it! :) Televoters... pssh xD Maybe next year they'll send ninjas or something!! :) We can always hope

2008-06-02 [Hedda]: UK will probably send 4 17-year old boys dressed up as Conan singing "Hoo Uff Hey!" horribly... No, wait, that would be entertaining, so I guess they have to come up with something that's both horrible and boring.

2008-06-02 [Hedda]: (In the response to the out-cries from UK about why no one is voting for them. They have all sorts of theories from neighbouring voting to the world politics problems, but no British theory involves the fact that they are sending crap.)

2008-06-02 [itweetinHEELS]: Wow, Hedda, you were talking to yourself a while lol