Posh of Eurovision

New home for Posh

2011-01-29T20:59:00.002+01:00

Posh of Eurovision doesn't live here anymore. She is now speaking Swedish and you can follow her HERE. Please do!

MF 1 according to Posh

2010-02-07T18:57:00.005+01:00

Holy cow, Melodifestivalen is back, back, BACK!
The first semi must be the most modern sounding one yet and I love it! Was very excited last night to sit down with schlager-friends and see what SVT would treat us. Here is a short review...

Nanne, Sonja and Charlotte made a luxurious opening number of "Holding out for a hero" to welcome the presenters on stage.

Måns Zelmerlöw is a natural at presenting. Christine Meltzer showed her nerves from time to time and became a little bit over-excited but did fine all in all. Dolph Lundgren is king! Enough said. Brilliant move to make him part of Melodifestivalen.
Ola - "Unstoppable": Good popsong. Liked the piano tinkle taken from Petula Clark's old "Couldn't live without your love".
Jenny Silver - "A place to stay": Kylie-electropop. Wohoo! Too weird for the general MF-viewer but I will have the studio version in my iPod for a long time to come.
Linda Pritchard - "You're making me hot, hot, hot": Tries to be Ani Lorak but will have to do with Marie Sernholt. Or less. Nothing warm, happy or sexy about the performance and the song is not good enough.
Pain of Salvation - "Road salt": Hypnotic! Beautiful voice!
Anders Ekborg - "The Saviour": Pompous and pretentious. Nice for a musical (Evita/Chess) but not to represent Sweden 2010.
Jessica Andersson - "I did it for love": Moving ballad. Grower. As if Agnetha Fältskog, Dolly Parton and Dusty Springfield melted together into a classical MF-ballad.
Frispråkarn - "Singel": Ok for its' genre but I'm always suspicious to hiphop in Swedish.
Salem Al Fakir - "Keep on walking": Salem is such a musical guy! I feel pure happiness hearing all those harmonies. Fantastic chorus. A real song. Reminds of "Wonderchild" by Christian Waltz.

No use putting youtube clips of the songs that went through on here since SVT removes them as soon as they have a chance. Instead you'll get Dolph "the Superhero" Lundgren singing Elvis.

Final: Salem Al Fakir
Final: Ola
Andra Chansen: Jessica Andersson
Andra Chansen: Pain of Salvation
5. Linda Pritchard
-----------------
6. Anders Ekborg
7. Frispråkarn
8. Jenny Silver

Posh would have voted Salem & Jessica directly to the final. PoS & Silver to Andra Chansen. 5. Ola 6. Linda 7. Ekborg 8. Frispråkarn.

Draw for the semi finals

2010-02-07T18:04:00.003+01:00

Today the draw for which country will be in which semi final in Oslo was made by the EBU. The starting positions however will be decided in March.

Semi 1 (Tuesday 25 May)

Serbia

Finland

Russia

Greece

Slovakia

Bosnia-Hercegovina

Iceland

Moldova

Malta

Portugal

FYR Macedonia

Latvia

Belarus

Belgium

Poland

Albania

Estonia

Semi 2 (Thursday 27 May)

Switzerland

Lithuania

Georgia

Turkey

Ireland

Slovenia

Sweden

Ukraina

Netherlands

Bulgaria

Croatia

Denmark

Azerbaijan

Cyprus

Romania

Israel

Armenia

Spain and Germany will be voting in the first semi whereas UK, France and Norway will vote in the second semi.

A double win for Norway?

2010-02-07T16:39:00.004+01:00

Norway is a wealthy country. They are not afraid of arranging Eurovision two years in a row. Why else would they pick another song that will to VERY well? I was never a fan of Alexander Rybak but at the same time I could understand what other people were raving about. "My heart is yours" sung by young, handsome opera-boy Didrik Solli-Tangen is a much better song with a bombastic ending including a fireworks-wall on stage. Quite impressive!

Norway 2010 - "My heart is yours"

Norway will end up no lower than 5th place in May. I assure you. This is why:

- Most people in Europe have heard "You raise me up" over the years.
- This sound is doing well with all the Josh Groban look-a-likes and Susan Boyle at the moment.
- Don't forget that there's a jury in ESC that reward musicality as from last year.
- Didrik is a hearthrob, girls of all ages will televote.
- He is singing on homeground with the support of the whole audience in Telenor Arena.
- Statistically, Norway always do well when there's a Swede involved - this time Fredrik Kempe as the composer. (Kempe is in ESC for the third year in a row now and could compete against himself if Peter Jöback wins in Sweden... What a track record!)

Get my point?!

On a whole, NRK put together a national final of high standard. Kudos!
Click these links below to watch my other favourites from Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2010.

Alexander Stenerud - Give it to me
Venke Knutson - Jelous cause I love you
Maria Haukaas Storeng - Make my day

Denmark's moment

2010-02-07T15:54:00.003+01:00

The Danes selected a standard eurosong on Saturday in the style of a duet between Chanée and N'evergreen called "In a moment like this". I haven't decided yet what I think of the choice as I've only heard the song once and none of the other entries in Dansk MGP. Perhaps it was the best song on offer? Perhaps it's even better than that dire Ronan-song from last year? Still not sure if it's good enough. I only know one thing - we won't be going to Copenhagen next year.

Denmark 2010 - "In a moment like this"

Oh, I just found a recap of the Danish songs on youtube. Quite bland but they might be better in their full 3 minutes?!

Finland is VERY Finnish

2010-02-07T15:20:00.003+01:00

Finland selected their entry last weekend in Tampere. It was a bland affair to be honest but there were two songs I kind of liked. Of course none of them even made it to the final 3... Your standards are slipping dear old Suomi!

The winning song is called "Työlki ellää" sung in a Finnish dialect by two blondes who call themselves Kuunkuiskaajat. (Try saying that out loud several times in a row..!) They remind me of 70s sisters Koivistolaiset who sang for Finland in 1971 together with Markku Aro. The sound is extremely Finnish ready to go with an accordion and violins. But really, violins are SO 2009 and the accordion has NEVER been in fashion. Not my cuppa and I think they will struggle in the semi final in May but at the same time I know that it could have been even worse. That horrid humppa song could have won.

Good luck Finland - you'll need it!

Finland 2010 - "Työlki ellää"

These two songs are the ones I would have preferred...

Sister Twister - "Love at the first sight" (Euroviisut 2010)

Heli Kajo - "Annankadun kulmassa" (Euroviisut 2010)

I don't know Iceland?

2010-02-07T14:43:00.002+01:00

Last night was all about the Nordic countries with Iceland, Norway and Denmark having their national finals and Sweden kicking off Melodifestivalen. Let's start with Iceland...

Hera Björk sang backups for Eurobandit two years ago in Belgrade and this year she'll be fronting Iceland on stage in Oslo with the song "Je ne sais quoi" (I don't know what). She does indeed have a strong voice but to tell the truth the song in itself isn't all that. Unfortunately. She deserves something much better, but Hera has been involved with writing the song herself so there's nobody to blame really.

Iceland 2010 - "Je ne sais quoi"

Last year Hera came 2nd in the Danish Melodi Grand Prix with this super-schlager. Which one do you prefer?

"Someday" - 2nd in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2009

Gold for the Swiss?!

2010-01-26T15:17:00.002+01:00

The second country to reveal their entry was Switzerland. I remember how hyped I was last year after I found out that Lovebugs were going to represent them. It only took me a short search on youtube to understand that I'd like the song based on their previous material. "The highest heights" got a full 5 from me and I am still a annoyed they never got an envelope in the semi final.

The Swiss hopeful this year is Michael Von Der Heide with the French "Il pleut de l'or" (It's raining gold). The song is quite pleasant and it grows on you but who will have time to listen to the song when all you see are two big ears on that stage? I'm not trying to be bitchy here as I do believe that anyone with a good enough voice should be successful no matter their visual appearance. But come on! I'm only saying what all you lot are thinking. Those ears are making Michael a living target for harsh comments.

Switzerland 2010. "Il pleut de l'or".

Early bird Albania

2010-01-26T14:52:00.003+01:00

Albania kicked off the Eurovision season already back in the last decade as they always choose entry in December. That leaves them lots of time to produce the track so it will be tip top for Eurovision. Remember "The image of you" back in 2004 that nobody believed in until they saw and heard the final arrangement. And by all means their entry last year "Carry me in your dreams" that improved a great deal despite the green phantom and the two dwarfs on stage...

Albania is represented by Juliana Pasha in 2010 with the song "Nuk mundem pa ty" and I say they have a good start there. This sounds ok already from the beginning so good job! I have no idea if they'll switch language for English in May as they usually do but it won't be necessary if you ask me. The chorus has a feel of French in it for all of us who neither speak Albanian nor French and it works. What do you think?

Albania 2010. "Nuk mundem pa ty".

Best of the decade

2010-01-26T14:25:00.003+01:00

Greetings! The season is coming on again after a slow autumn and winter. Roll on the blogging!

I'll start by giving you Posh's favourite MF-songs of the last decade. Please let me know if you agree with me or if there's a song I'm a fool for having missed!

Part 1 (20-11th):

Part 2 (10-1st):

Good taste, eh?! :)

UK jury + televote

2009-06-02T19:51:00.003+02:00

BBC published their jury + televote and they are as follows...

UK jury voted (1-12p): Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bosnia, France, Ukraine, Turkey, Malta, Norway, Iceland and Germany.

I'm sorry but I just can't take this jury seriously. 12 points to Germany?! And you are supposed to be professional? I bet they didn't even like the song one bit but only voted for Dita von Teese. And come on, Ukraine ahead of France and Bosnia? You got to be kidding me! Don't even get me started on 7 points to Malta. The BBC should be ashamed of themselves putting those 5 people together to vote. Having said that the televote was not much better but at least it is understandable...

UK televote
1p Portugal
2p Germany
3p Denmark
4p Azerbaijan
5p Iceland
6p Malta
7p Norway
8p Lithuania
10p Greece
12p Turkey

Ralph Siegel is the real Copycat

2009-05-25T23:20:00.004+02:00

This is a song from the Maltese semi finals 2009 called "Innocent heart" sung by Ruth Portelli. Written by uncle Ralph Siegel. Does it sound familiar in any way?

The answer can be found HERE!

British rumors

2009-05-25T23:08:00.003+02:00

After the British success with Andrew Lloyd Webber writing their entry the rumor about next year's "Your country needs you" is in full bloom. Some are saying that the natural step would be to involve old Take That member Gary Barlow who is supposed to be in charge of a similar talent show on BBC in the near future. Others are saying that we might have Elton John as a composer next year. These are of course only rumors but I would love the idea of Elton writing something classy and timeless for preferably someone already known to the public. Sugababes anyone?!?

Twitter-like updates from EBU

2009-05-25T22:51:00.003+02:00

Eurovision Song Contest 2009 had over 122 million viewers. That is 17 million more than last year. Yay!
Norway only used their jury in the final due to a technical problem with the local phone operator. That is why they voted last of all countries as they were trying to solve the problem but did not succeed in time.
There was a similar problem in Hungary where only the SMS votes could be used in the televote. Not sure how big the difference in the end was but I suspect that more people call than text, or is it just me who is old fashioned?
One country in semi 2 did not get enough callers for the televote to be valid so only the jury was used. No mention of what country this could be. Maybe Slovakia?
Spain only used jury in semi 2 since the local TV broadcaster did not show the event live - something which is not allowed. EBU promised consequences but what they might be nobody knows...

More juries + Finland televotes

2009-05-25T22:04:00.003+02:00

Danish jury (1-12p): UK, Portugal, Russia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, France, Germany, Estonia, Norway and Iceland.

Spanish jury (1-12p): Germany, Israel, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey, Portugal, France, Norway and UK.

Israeli jury (1-12p): Bosnia, Malta, Croatia, Moldova, UK, Armenia, Turkey, France, Norway and Iceland.

Slovenian jury (1-12p): Armenia, Sweden, Moldova, Iceland, Greece, Denmark, UK, Bosnia, France and Norway.

Slovenian TELEVOTE (1-12p): UK, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Denmark, Azerbaijan, Albania, Croatia, Norway and Bosnia.

Finnish TELEVOTE with total numbers in the semi final:
1. Iceland 9.846 votes, 2. Sweden 5.949, 3. Bosnia 4.237, 4. Turkey 2.693, 5. Israel 2.430, 6. Switzerland 2.219, 7. Belarus 2.103, 8. Malta 1.828, 9. Portugal 1.651, 10. Armenia 1.147, 11. Macedonia 787, 12. Andorra 703, 13. Romania 654, 14. Montenegro 549, 15. Belgium 469, 16. Bulgaria 404, 17. Czech Republic 241. (Total 37.910 votes.)

Finnish TELEVOTE with total numbers in the final:
1. Estonia 16.225 votes
2. Norway 15.560
3. Iceland 9.865
4. Sweden 7.517
5. Bosnia-Herzegovina 5.358
6. Azerbaijan 4.441
7. Turkey 3.909
8. France 3.467
9. Russia 3.180
10. Greece 2.757
11. Israel 2.292
12. Portugal 2.203
13. Albania 2.191
14. Malta 1.986
15. Denmark 1.692
16. UK 1.659
17. Germany 1.650
18. Lithuania 1.531
19. Armenia 1.409
20. Ukraine 1.242
21. Moldova 1.187
22. Romania 1.079
23. Croatia 947
24. Spain 672
(Totalt 94.019 röster.)

Jury result (Final)

2009-05-20T23:23:00.003+02:00

If only the juries had voted on Saturday without the televoters we would still have ended up with the same winner. And the same runner-up. The Brits and French would have moved up a few steps, as would the Danish (eh..why?) but Sweden would still be in the bottom.

Jury result

1. Norway (312 points)
2. Iceland (260 points)
3. United Kingdom (223 points)
4. France (164 points)
5. Estonia (124 points)
6. Denmark (120 points)
7. Turkey (114 points)
8. Azerbaijan (112 points)
9. Israel (107 points)
10. Greece (93 points)
11. Moldova (93 points)
12. Bosnia & Herzegovina (90 points)
13. Malta (87 points)
14. Germany (73 points)
15. Armenia (71 points)
16. Ukraine (68 points)
17. Russia (67 points)
18. Portugal (64 points)
19. Croatia (58 points)
20. Lithuania (31 points)
21. Romania (31 points)
22. Sweden (27 points)
23. Albania (26 points)
24. Finland (12 points)
25. Spain (9 points)

Thanks to Diarmuid for this information and the Belgian jury votes (see comment on "Swedish jury and more").

iTunes Store Top 10 Songs

2009-05-18T22:58:00.001+02:00

Very interesting! The whole continent has gone Eurovision crazy!

iTunes Top 10

Yay!!!

Eurovision goes Opera

2009-05-18T21:15:00.005+02:00

One of the things said in Swedish papers after Malena finished 21st on Saturday was that "perhaps Eurovision isn't ready for opera yet". Well, I hate to let you down but "La Voix" was not the first entry with an opera connection in this little contest. Far from it. You decide who did it best though...

Sweden 2009. Malena Ernman - "La Voix"

Only 2 years ago we heard opera with a disco-beat from Balkan. 15th place.

Slovenia 2007. Alenka Gotar - "Cvet z Juga"

Cheesy fake-opera á la Malta. 12th place.

Malta 2004. Julie & Ludwig - "On Again...Off Again"

More Balkan opera. I really like this one. 6th place.

Croatia 1995. Magazin & Lidija - "Nostalgija"

3 opera singers were flown in only to sing for 10 seconds in the end of this song. 5th place.

Italy 1984. Alice & Franco Battiato - "I Treni di Tozeur"

Hilarious novelty act about the opera world. A classic. 19th place (joint last with nil points).

Turkey 1983. Cetin Alp & The Short Waves - "Opera"

Even Sweden has sent an opera singer before. 44 years ago. 10th place out of 18.

Sweden 1965 . Ingvar Wixell - "Absent Friends" (Annorstädes vals)

Melodifestivalen has seen opera before too. I am still in love with this song 20 years on. Joint 5th place with Lili & Sussie.

MF 1989. Haakon Pedersen & Elisabeth Berg - "Nattens drottning"

Which operatic entry would you vote for?

Swedish jury and more

2009-05-18T19:30:00.006+02:00

So it's been revealed who the "music-experts" in the Swedish jury were...

Sarah Dawn Finer, singer
Magnus Carlsson, singer (+ schlager fan)
Anna Charlotta Gunnarsson, TV/radio presenter (+ schlager fan)
Michael Cederberg, radio producer (+ schlager fan)
L-G Alsenius, radio producer

Eh, ok... Who was in charge of finding suitable people for the jury? Christer Björkman? I thought the jury was supposed to consist of trendy musicians and producers who knows what is quality and freshness anno 2009. Not just a bunch of ESC-fans. I can live with Sarah D Finer as she was one of the MF-jury's favourites this year, but the rest? Producing Svensktoppen isn't that hot!

I would much rather have seen Alexander Bard, Mr & Mrs Bagge or Andreas Carlsson (judges in Swedish Idols), Robyn, Marit Bergman etc. Did they all say no, SVT???

I am still awaiting the separate votes from the jury only. I hope they will be made public!

This is how Sweden (jury + televoters) voted in the semi:
1p Belarus
2p Switzerland
3p Portugal
4p Malta (what the fuck?!? Chiara was vile in the semi!)
5p Armenia
6p Israel (another question mark...)
7p Turkey
8p Bosnia-Herzegovina
10p Finland
12p Iceland

And in the final:
1p Albania
2p Greece
3p Armenia
4p Finland
5p Bosnia-Herzegovina
6p Turkey
7p Estonia
8p Azerbaijan
10p Iceland
12p Norway

The Finnish and Romanian jury results have been made public. Any readers knowing about other countries?

Finnish jury in the final (1-12p): Israel, Sweden, Bosnia, Armenia, Turkey, France, Malta, Norway, Estonia and Iceland.

Romanian jury in the final (1-12p): Azerbaijan, Israel, UK, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Armenia, Malta, Moldova, Iceland.

UPDATE!

Estonian jury in the final (1-12p): Azerbaijan, Germany, Sweden, Turkey, Albania, Portugal, Israel, Norway, Russia and Iceland.

Estonian televotes (1-12p): UK, Denmark, France, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Russia and Norway.

Gratulerer med dagen Norge!

2009-05-17T23:55:00.003+02:00

Watch the welcoming Alexander Rybak got as he arrived back in Norway at the airport a few hours ago - on 17 May! Over 1000 people greeted him. Bless.

NRK video

A few words about the show

2009-05-17T22:45:00.003+02:00

Last night I saw the contest with a bunch of fans on SVT HD. We actually saw Alexander Ryback spitting during his performance, that's how good HD-TV is. Haha. Edward af Sillén and Shirley Clamp were very good as commentators and I hope they (or Ed at least) get to do it again next year. We laughed about Dima Bilan's jacket in the otherwise spectacular opening act, praised the high quality of songs and specially singing voices compared to the semi finals and had our own voting procedure. If I remember correctly Armenia was our winner. My points changed slightly from what I posted here earlier yesterday.

Posh votes after seeing the acts live: 1p UK, 2p Moldova, 3p Albania, 4p Azerbaijan, 5p Sweden, 6p Armenia, 7p Estonia, 8p Bosnia, 10p Iceland and 12p France.

On to the songs...

LIT: Stop wailing!!! It ruined the whole song, even if it was dull to begin with.
ISR: Mira is quite a stunner! Would like to hear more Arabic in Eurovision.
FRA: Goosebumps! The intensity. The voice. The eyes. Gorgeous performance. My number 1. So glad it got into the top 10.
SWE: Malena looked beautiful, smiled and flirted with the camera. Sang well. I was proud. Less good camera work. Such a shame it only came 21st in the voting. Was it the juries that didn't like it (like in Melodifestivalen)? Because in semi 1 she came 4th with televoting only... That's a rather big drop.
CRO: Competent but dull. Looked good on stage though.
POR: Nice and cosy but would go nowhere. The singer herself got touched by the moment in the end. Sweet.
ICE: Good camera work - it worked well with the song. Mild, haunting ballad. Made a very good impact.
GRE: First one that didn't sing too well. Great act but Sakis was OTT. Stop showing your tummy! Stop ripping your shirt open! Embarrassing. We weren't allowed to see Dita's nipple but Sakis dito is ok?
ARM: Happy. Oriental. Exotic. Better performance than on Thursday. I just wanna get up and dance!
RUS: Stop screaming girl! Boring song. The LED screens looked good though.
AZE: AySel was so much better than on Thursday. Good voice. Flirty. Beautiful.
BOS: Stunning Balkan-ballad with drums but lost votes by not once looking into the cameras. Difficult to connect with the singer then. Shame as it deserved better than finishing 9th.
MOL: Full of energy and joy which went through the TV-screen. This grew for me.
MAL: Boooooring. Sang better than in the semi. Just stop winking into the camera!
EST: Wonderful! Classy and sophisticated. Beautiful singer with perfect skin.
DEN: Completely dull. Nothing new or original. 13th?! I really don't get it...
GER: Oscar was OTT. Glittery pants - a good idea? Really? Dita von Teese got lost on stage with the camera work. Much a-do about nothing.
TUR: The singing was so-so but a good number. Maybe not top 4 material but I can live with that.
ALB: Kejsi was cute in a girl-next-door kinda way. Happiness in her eyes. Not the best mover but much is forgiven when it comes from Albania.
NOR: Much better performance than in the Thursday semi. You could hear the crowd cheering from the start. Had winner written all over it with that late draw.
UKR: Energetic stage show but weak voice from Svetlana. Better than in the semi.
ROM: Ok pop song but not interesting enough in this line-up.
UK: What's up with the vibrato? Was it always there? Looked good. Classical ballad. Jade got knocked by a violin. Nice to see the UK 5th. As soon as Wogan was out of the picture they were back in the game. I wonder what's next?! An established singer in Oslo?!
FIN: Karoliina's voice was not as strong due to a cold. Shame. But last? Poor Finland.
SPA: Why darkness on stage in the beginning? The camera work didn't help either. The performance looked too busy and Soraya's voice wasn't on top.

Semi 1 + 2 result

2009-05-17T12:53:00.003+02:00

Semi 1
1. Iceland
2. Turkey
3. Bosnia
4. Sweden
5. Armenia
6. Malta
7. Israel
8. Portugal
9. Romania
10. FYR Macedonia
------------------
11. Montenegro
12. Finland
13. Belarus
14. Switzerland
15. Andorra
16. Bulgaria
17. Belgium
18. Czech Republic

Semi 2
1. Norway
2. Azerbaijan
3. Estonia
4. Greece
5. Moldova
6. Ukraine
7. Albania
8. Denmark
9. Lithuania
10. Serbia
----------------
11. Ireland
12. Poland
13. Croatia
14. Cyprus
15. Hungary
16. Slovenia
17. The Netherlands
18. Slovakia
19. Latvia

- Finland and Croatia made it to the final thanks to the jury.
- Macedonia and Serbia would have been through otherwise.
- Poor Macedonia being kicked out by the jury for the second year running in favour for a Nordic country.
- Czech Republic came last with nil points in semi 1. Latvia got 7p but was still last in semi 2.
- Fan-favourite Switzerland weren't even close. Shame!
- I feel sorry for Ireland as it was a close call for them.

ESC 2009 Final Result

2009-05-17T12:40:00.003+02:00

1. Norway
2. Iceland
3. Azerbaijan
4. Turkey
5. UK
6. Estonia
7. Greece
8. France
9. Bosnia-Herzegovina
10. Armenia
11. Russia
12. Ukraine
13. Denmark
14. Moldova
15. Portugal
16. Israel
17. Albania
18. Croatia
19. Romania
20. Germany
21. Sweden
22. Malta
23. Lithuania
24. Spain
25. Finland

Congratulations to Norway! Although it wasn't my personal favourite (heck, it wasn't even in my top 10) I am very happy for Norway and I will immensly enjoy Oslo for a week in the middle of May next year. YES, I am returning to euroland in 2010 for sure!

I predicted 9/10 countries that came top 10 (only missed Estonia) but as I suspected the order was a bit different. Only had 3 countries on the exact right number (Nor, Aze, Gre).

More on the songs and the result later.

Final 10 Prediction

2009-05-16T17:08:00.003+02:00

This is more difficult than ever now when it is 50% jury/50% televoting. If I am fairly sure on the countries that will make a top 10 finish then I am rather clueless as to predict the actual result, point by point. But let's make a shot at this just for fun.

Posh's PREDICTION (not my personal faves) for top 10
1. Norway
2. Bosnia
3. Azerbaijan
4. Iceland
5. Ukraine
6. Armenia
7. Greece
8. Turkey
9. France
10. UK

Prediction time

2009-05-16T16:31:00.002+02:00

Lituania: bottom
Israel: middle/bottom
France: 8-12
Sweden: 10-15
Croatia: bottom
Portugal: middle/bottom
Iceland: top 10
Greece: top 10
Armenia: top 10
Russia: middle
Azerbaijan: top 10
Bosnia: top 10
Moldova: middle
Malta: middle/bottom
Estonia: middle
Denmark: bottom
Germany: middle
Turkey: 7-13
Albania: middle/bottom
Norway: top 10
Ukraine: top 10
Romania: bottom
UK: 6-13
Finland: middle
Spain: middle

A more specific prediction for top 10 in a little while...

May I have your votes please...

2009-05-16T16:18:00.004+02:00

Good evening Europe! Thank you for a fantastic show and let me tell you Alsou, you look absolutely stunning tonight. It's been a tough decision but the jury has reached a verdict... This is the result from the Posh of Eurovision jury.

1 point goes to Finland.
2p Greece
3p Albania
4p La Malena, La Voix, La Suède
5p Armenia
6p Iceland
7p Always on my mind Azerbaijan
8p Estonia
10p Bosnia-Herzegovina
and finally....
12 points to.....
La France!!!!!

Posh on Spain

2009-05-16T15:30:00.000+02:00

Soraya - La Noche Es Para Mí 3/5
Originally sent in to the Greek final last year. Energetic performance that feels a bit “Dime”-esque, but is only a cardboard copy of that great song from 6 (!) years ago. Soraya looks like a mix between Laura Voutilainen and the blonde one from Steps. Perform last of all countries (25) which could mean a few extra points in the bag but no victory. The Big 4 are stepping up the game this year. I think it will pay off and hopefully none of them will be in the bottom for once.

Posh on UK

2009-05-16T15:14:00.000+02:00

Jade Ewen – My Time 4/5
A classical Eurovision-ballad penned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren. But the song would be nothing without Jade who is such a good soloist – it gets even more obvious with that draw next to Ukraine, Romania and Finland. All is not forgiven, Ms Warren, for the dodgy lyrics but I’ll see through my fingers this once. Welcome back in the game UK! Long time no see!

Posh on Germany

2009-05-16T14:43:00.000+02:00

Alex swings! Oscar sings! - Miss Kiss Kiss Bang 2½/5
The setting is nice but too much is going on at the same time. I’m looking forward to seeing Dita von Teese riding that electric kiss-sofa in the end though. Personally I preferred Roger Cicero in 2007 who also sang swing but I guess this will end up higher, pretty much thanks to burlesque-Dita.

Posh on Russia

2009-05-16T14:31:00.000+02:00

Anastasia Prihodko – Mamo 1½/5
LED screens of a suffering Anastasia who ages into an old woman while the uninspiring songstress is screaming her heart out live on stage. A very dull song designed not to let Russia win again. We’re looking at Mother Russia’s worst result in many, many years here. Not even the neighbours can save this one.

Posh on France

2009-05-16T13:50:00.000+02:00

Patricia Kaas – S'il Fallait Le Faire 5/5
Haunting, classy traditional French chanson worthy a star like Patricia Kaas. Goosebumps alert! Intense. Vulnerable. Melancholic. It’s all the things I love in a song and together with a flawless performance sung by an extraordinary voice the French entry goes straight to my heart. You don’t even have to guess where my vote will go tonight. Nice touch with the song title in different languages on the LEDs too. Could be a jury favourite (well it should) but will televoters remember it with such an early starting position? Sadly no, plus the fact that it is not instant enough after just one listening. Anyway, I’m in love and will play this track for years.

Eurovision 2009 - complete line up

2009-05-16T11:26:00.003+02:00

Happy Eurovision Day to all readers of Posh & Becks!

1. Lithuania - Sasha Son - Love
2. Israel - Noa & Mira Awad - There must be another way
3. France - Patricia Kaas - S'il fallait le faire
4. Sweden - Malena Ernman - La Voix
5. Croatia - Igor Cukrov - Lijepa Tena
6. Portugal - Flor-De-Lis - Todas as Ruas do Amor
7. Iceland - Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir - Is it true
8. Greece - Sakis Rouvas - This is our night
9. Armenia - Inga & Anush Arshakyans - Nor Par (Jan Jan)
10. Russia - Anastasiya Prikhodko - Mama
11. Azerbaijan - Arash & Aysel - Always
12. Bosnia Herzegovina - Regina - Bistra Voda
13. Moldova - Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova
14. Malta - Chiara - What if we
15. Estonia - Urban Symphony - Rändajad
16. Denmark - Brinck - Believe Again
17. Germany - Alex C. feat. Oscar Loya - Miss Kiss Kiss Bang
18. Turkey - Hadise - Düm Tek Tek
19. Albania - Kejsi Tola - Carry Mee In Your Dreams
20. Norway - Alexander Rybak - Fairytale
21. Ukraine - Svetlana Loboda - Be my Valentine
22. Romania - Elena Gheorghe - The Balkan Girls
23. UK - Jade - My Time
24. Finland - Waldo's People - Lose Control
25. Spain - Soraya - La noche es para mi

YouTube clips from the semi finals and preview videos for France, Germany, UK, Spain and Russia.

Semi 2 result

2009-05-16T10:50:00.004+02:00

I will have a word with the Swedish government about ditching Easter holiday in favour for a Eurovision holiday. I can't cope with working full time AND follow Eurovision at the same time. I am so tired. More than during a regular ESC-week on location, but without all the fun parties and people.

I didn't even have time to publish my predictions for the second semi, but I did put them on Facebook so there is proof of the countries I picked before the show. My prediction for the 10 envelopes were: Estonia, Ukraine, Albania, Moldova, Greece, Azerbaijan, Denmark, Norway, Croatia and Ireland. Adding "or possibly Lithuania on jury vote" instead of Ireland. So 9/10 or a shining 10/10 depending on how strict you are... I have never been THIS successful in my predictions in previous years. There are usually a few surprises.

The only surprise in the 2nd semi was the amount of bad singing. Gosh, it was painful at times. But I'm pleased that the Dutch fell out on their ears. Serves them right! Albania was the nice surprise. Kejsi was great despite the weird stage act. The 7 of us who watched the show together had a voting procedure of our own which was won by Albania.

Posh voted: Denmark 1p, Slovenia 2p, Ireland 3p, Ukraine 4p, Norway 5p, Moldova 6p, Greece 7p, Albania 8p, Azerbaijan 10p and Estonia 12 points.

Winners in semi 2:
Croatia
Norway
Denmark
Azerbaijan
Greece
Lithuania
Moldova
Albania
Ukraine
Estonia

Posh on The Netherlands

2009-05-14T00:58:00.001+02:00

De Toppers – Shine 0/5
Brace yourself, here it comes: Cheesy, awful peace-crap by three old queens in glowing suits. The most embarrassing 3 minutes of the year (including Bulgaria). I get physically ill from this. Could possibly have kind of worked 15 years ago but in this day and age songs like this one only give Eurovision a bad reputation. The bloody shining palms weren’t even your own idea – it’s all a theft from Slovenia 07. Eat cheese and die you dancing morons and give me my 3 minutes back dank je wel! Was that blunt enough?

Posh on Estonia

2009-05-14T00:41:00.000+02:00

Urban Symphony – Rändajad 5/5
Simplicity. Yes, less is more. Fantastic voice too. One of my personal favourites of all songs in Moscow. Like an Enya song for the year 2009 and still very Estonian. What a turnaround from last year’s vomitizer. See you on Saturday (finally) my adoptive country!

Posh on Ukraine

2009-05-14T00:25:00.000+02:00

Svetlana Loboda - Be My Valentine 2½/5
Absolutely hated the song when it won in Ukraine but this country has an ability to always improve their entries afterwards and on top of that put on a spectacular show on stage in Eurovision. Makes it easy to just look and be wooed and not listen enough. The song is still nothing special and the singer is very average but with the whole package it will sure enough end up high in the final.

Posh on Albania

2009-05-14T00:12:00.001+02:00

Kejsi Tola - Carry Me In Your Dreams 3/5
Another grower for me. Strong voice and a catchy tune. We’ve heard it many times before but it’s extra charming when it comes from Albania for some reason. A definite qualifier only based on sound. The visual on the other hand is a completely different story that could harm their chances. Listen to this: Two dancing dwarfs and a turquoise Spiderman. Eh?

Posh on Moldova

2009-05-14T00:01:00.001+02:00

Nelly Ciobanu - Hora Din Moldova 3½/5
Talk about energy on stage! This will get far! My mind instantly starts wandering back in time to “Moja stickla” (Croatia) in 2006. That went fairly well back then and now Moldova will score very well indeed with the Eastern countries while West won’t get it at all. As usual.

Posh on Lithuania

2009-05-13T23:41:00.000+02:00

Sasha Son – Love 2/5
Nice but boring. Good voice yes but it’s bugging me that the production feels like something every music student in the world who wants to be clever composes in order to impress his teacher. Like if chart music is beneath him. Maybe the juries will fall for it? Televoters won’t.

Posh on Greece

2009-05-13T23:26:00.001+02:00

Sakis Rouvas – This is my night 4/5
Is it just me or is Sakis starting to feel a bit too old for all that jumping and dancing? And don’t even get me started on the fact that he is showing his tummy under that short T-shirt. No matter how fit you are you do not show your tummy on television like that. End of story. When it comes to the song I’ve changed my mind a great deal since I first heard it. Much better than “Shake it” with a clever melody line in the chorus. The catwalk on stage is efficient too. Top 10 in the final for sure!

Posh on Azerbaijan

2009-05-13T23:15:00.000+02:00

AySel & Arash – Always 5/5
Top 3 on Saturday! Will appeal to both East and West. I just hope that Arash will keep in the background and let AySel shine as she is the true star between them. Flawless voice and stunningly beautiful. Arash looks misplaced, clumsy and old enough to be her father. The song is a mix of last year’s entries from Armenia and Greece. Will be the big hit to come out of the contest this summer!

Posh on Hungary

2009-05-13T22:46:00.000+02:00

Zoli Adok - Dance With Me 3/5
A male wannabe-Kylie. You’re not there yet daaahlink but a nice try. The contest needs at least one gay disco stomper every year and it worked for Deen in 2004. (“In the disco” was more direct though.) Over choreographed on stage which makes Zoli sound out of breath and a bit all over the place. Shame.

Posh on Slovenia

2009-05-13T22:36:00.000+02:00

Quartissimo - Love Symphony 4/5
Symphonic Bond-theme, sadly with a screeching singer, but I really like the melody and the effort of trying something different. If the singer had had a fuller voice in the style of good old Shirley Bassey then this would have been tiptop. Looks like I am the only one liking the symphony so it may well bomb.

Posh on Denmark

2009-05-13T22:13:00.001+02:00

Brinck – Believe Again 2½/5
How far apart can two legs be on a stage? Come on. It looks weird. In this weak semi Denmark will qualify but only because the competition is so shite. The song is probably ok but I grew out of this style in 2001 at the same time as Ronan Keating became boring. He is of course the composer here and personally I feel sickened by Brinck’s Ronan-complex.

Posh on Slovakia

2009-05-13T21:56:00.000+02:00

Kamil Mikulčík & Nela Pocisková - Leť tmou 2/5
A dramatic duet that would benefit from other singers - with more personalities and passion - and possibly by using English instead. The dramatic feeling appeals to me but the moment the song is over I forget its whole existence. Not a terribly good sign…

Posh on Cyprus

2009-05-13T21:43:00.001+02:00

Christina Metaxa – Firefly 2/5
The setting on stage looks nice, the song in itself is not too bad and with a better singer it would be much higher on the scoreboard. Such a shame then that Christina's voice is, well, bad - specially when she starts wailing in the end. Poor thing! Nice frock though...

Posh on Norway

2009-05-13T21:31:00.001+02:00

Alexander Rybak – Fairytale 3/5
I know this entry should push all my buttons but it only leaves me cold. It will probably win the whole thing anyway but I would prefer to see the big fan-favourite come in 2nd. The lyrics are nothing special, the melody is too old fashioned, the LEDs are totally over the top with Christmas scenery full of fireworks and the performance seems calculating to appeal to the Eastern countries. The boy isn’t even cute. So what do people see that I am missing? Though I’m prepared to be disappointed in the same way as in 2000 when Denmark won and I was clueless. Norway was my favourite last year. Now THAT was quality!

Posh on Poland

2009-05-13T21:14:00.000+02:00

Lidia Kopania - I Don't Wanna Leave 1½/5
Oh my f***ing God! I had this song down as 3/5 before seeing the rehearsals since it is a good enough American sounding ballad. Nothing more or less. The draw should be an advantage too after that drivel. But. The woman is so badly tone-deaf it hurts my soul.

Posh on Serbia

2009-05-13T20:59:00.000+02:00

Marko Kon & Milaan – Cipela 1½/5
Again I like the LEDs. But the rest? Eh…no. The only joke song in this semi – unless De Toppers should fall under the same category?! Big hair and booty shaking by a male is indeed thinking outside the box but it doesn’t turn anybody on. I hope.

Posh on Latvia

2009-05-13T20:28:00.000+02:00

Intars Busulis – Probka 1/5
The best thing about this song (and I use the word “song” loosely here) is the picture of a rotating signpost on the LED screens. That’s about as nice as I can be to Latvia. The absolute worst part is that there is no song to be found in this entry plus the strangling attempt to falsetto at one point.

Posh on Ireland

2009-05-13T20:06:00.000+02:00

Sinead Mulvey & Black Daisy - Et Cetera 3/5
It feels fresh and welcomed after the opening from Croatia but there’s no spark in Sinead’s eyes (yet). Okay rock/pop sound by a girlband similar to Vanilla Ninja (Swi05) only they were better. No matter what I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the songwriters Jonas and Christina who happens to be my friends.

Posh on Croatia

2009-05-13T20:05:00.001+02:00

Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea - Lijepa Tena 1½/5
What can I say; I strongly dislike the guy’s vibrato. I dislike it so much that I can’t even focus on the big Balkan feelings that I normally quite like. Nah, it all comes down to dullness in a pretty nice package on stage. Next!

Final draw

2009-05-13T19:35:00.002+02:00

During the press conference late last night the 10 countries from semi 1 drew their new starting positions for the final. This is the line-up so far:

1. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
2. Israel
3. France
4. Sweden
5. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
6. Portugal
7. Iceland
8. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
9. Armenia
10. Russia
11. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
12. Bosnia and Herzegovina
13. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
14. Malta
15. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
16. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
17. Germany
18. Turkey
19. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
20. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
21. Participant of the Second Semi-Final
22. Romania
23. United Kingdom
24. Finland
25. Spain

Bad luck for Sweden but it bodes well for Finland at least.

Semi 1 result

2009-05-12T23:54:00.003+02:00

Yay! Sweden got through! Lucky thing we were in the 2nd envelope as my poor nerves would have given up if it had been the last one. I wouldn't be surprised though if Sweden got saved by the jury yet again... After the final on Saturday we'll know the complete score from each country.

Iceland was very, very good tonight! Gave up hope on Switzerland even though I voted for it. Feared it would get lost and I was right. Bosnia must have won the semi. Chiara was boring and I didn't even have her in my personal top 10 tonight. Elena from Romania sang really well and lifted the song. Bulgaria was awful as always. Almost as bad as the presenters. Who was in charge of the camera and lightning crew? Felt like they were more interested in showing off the big stage than focusing on the singers and the mood of the songs. During some of the performances there were not enough light on stage either. Maybe they put everything on Malena...

I will miss Switzerland in the final but am happy to have picked 9 out of 10 entries yesterday. Tonight when we all made our own top 10 after seeing the show my votes were as follows. Macedonia 1p, Romania 2p, Portugal 3 points, Turkey 4p, Armenia 5p, Sweden 6p, Finland 7p, Iceland 8p, Switzerland 10p, Bosnia 12p.

The actual 10 countries were
Sweden
Armenia
Turkey
Israel
Iceland
Romania
Finland
Portugal
Malta
Bosnia

Bring on the 2nd semi!!!

My Dream 10 Envelopes - Semi 1

2009-05-11T23:28:00.003+02:00

I will save my predictions for what 10 countries we'll see on display in envelopes from the 1st semi until I've seen and heard them on TV tomorrow. But if I were to choose these are the ones going through to the final...

My Dream 10 Envelopes
1. Bosnia-Herzegovina
2. Switzerland
3. Sweden
4. Finland
5. Armenia
6. Iceland
7. Turkey
8. Malta
9. Portugal
10 Romania or Belgium

I'm sure on Bos, Tur, Mal, Arm. Almost sure on Fin, Ice, Por. Unsure but hopeful on Swe. Fear that Swi will be out and Belarus in.

It will be so exciting tomorrow!!!

Posh on Bosnia-Herzegovina

2009-05-11T23:23:00.000+02:00

Regina – Bistra voda 5/5
I love everything about this song. Specially the drums. And the voice. And the melody. And… I could go on and on really. Top marks from me and probably televoters across Europe too. Will be surprised if this is not the semi final winner. Good chance of winning the whole thing on Saturday as well. Fingers crossed!

Posh on Malta

2009-05-11T23:03:00.000+02:00

Chiara – What if we 3/5
I was never a fan of “Angel” or “The one that I love” so for me this is Chiara’s best attempt. The voice doesn’t seem to be quite as nasal as before even if it’s still cold and sharp. No matter what she’ll sail through the semi – maybe based on her previous record in the contest (2nd and 3rd). Oh, and I understand why the Maltese changed the LEDs from the first rehearsal… Aquarium = made Chiara look like Ursula after stealing Ariel’s voice. Not a flattering sight!

Posh on Portugal

2009-05-11T22:39:00.000+02:00

Flor da Lis - Todas As Ruas Do Amor 3/5
What’s going on? I, Posh of Eurovision, like a song from Portugal! The song is cosy, a little corny and a tad naïve (much thanks to the LED screens). Nothing more or less. Could actually work on a Tuesday evening like this for televoters.

Posh on Finland

2009-05-11T22:15:00.001+02:00

Waldo’s People – Lose Control 4/5
I’m so happy that the Finns stepped out of their comfort zone and are treating us with something else than rock for a change. Kiitos my lovely Suomi! It sounds flatter live than on record but it’s still a good song and it stands out from the crowd. Karoliina both sings well and looks gorgeous so hopefully Finland will scrap through.

Posh on Romania

2009-05-11T21:53:00.000+02:00

Elena - The Balkan Girls 3/5
Another hooky chorus with a song + performance that go together and feel young and fresh. It has grown a lot since I first heard it in the Romanian final. The big question will be if Elena pulls it off live? From the two rehearsals I’ve seen on youtube she sang well in one and quite bad in the other. If she’s too nervous Romania will be out.

Posh on FYR Macedonia

2009-05-11T21:41:00.001+02:00

Next Time - Nesto Shto Ke Ostane 2/5
Okay rock song shaped in the old Europe/Bon Jovi-school which Swedish rockers H.E.A.T also used for a mid-table placing in Melodifestivalen. The song sticks around because of the hooky chorus but absolutely nothing happens on stage. Likable but not vote-able. 9th country in or 1st to miss out on the final – as always for Macedonia…

Posh on Iceland

2009-05-11T21:26:00.001+02:00

Yohanna – Is it true? 4/5
Ah, a simple, naked and effective ballad well sung by a beautiful girl without acrobats, clowns or hysterical dancers behind her on stage. Only 3 very good backing singers and a big 18th century ship on the LED screens to set the mood. How very convenient for Iceland coming right after the mishmash of bad taste from Bulgaria. Will rocket itself into the final for sure!

Posh on Bulgaria

2009-05-11T18:35:00.001+02:00

Krassimir Abramov – Illusion 0/5
Chaos! Or inferno rather. Is this what they play in torture chambers? They should. My poor ears are bleeding and I’m ready to cut my wrists just to get out of this horrible nightmare of awful voices - with bad English on top of that. What were you thinking you silly, silly Bulgarians? And the stilts on stage… Why? If there’s ANY justice Krassimir will be last with 0 points. Awful!

Posh on Israel

2009-05-11T18:16:00.001+02:00

Noa & Mira Awad - There Must Be Another Way 2½/5
Good voices and I like the Arabic bits. Overall are the verses much stronger than the chorus which then gives a dull impression of the song and the performance on stage is just plain and a lot of walking around from side to side and back and forth. Shame as it was a good idea on paper for once pulling the peace-card when sung in both Hebrew and Arabic.

Posh on Turkey

2009-05-11T17:57:00.002+02:00

Hadise - Dum Tek Tek 3½/5
Professional. Recognisable. Repetitive. Average. Think Elena Paparizou/Sertab/Shakira. Definitely through to the final and a top 10 placing there but not a winner. It's not original enough and nothing new whatsoever. Hadise should do more singing and less swaying the hips to get a higher mark from me.

Posh on Switzerland

2009-05-11T17:39:00.001+02:00

Lovebugs - The Highest Heights 5/5
A real rockband with a career in parts of Europe. What a facelift from previous years Switzerland. One of my favourites but I fear they may not even qualify. I was dead cert on Anonymous (Andorra07) and look what happened there. Is this too cool for Eurovision? The LEDs are very slick showing us skylines, Alps and space. I’ll be seriously depressed when we’ll find Belarus in one envelope and no Swiss rock. Please vote!

Posh on Andorra

2009-05-11T00:16:00.001+02:00

Susanne Georgi - La Teva Decisio 2/5
A very traditional performance of a very ordinary pop song. There’s nothing new or exciting in this number whatsoever which leaves me bored halfway through. Danish Susanne (I still think she looks too old for the song) is strutting up and down the stage smiling away but the smile will turn into tears before the evening ends. If not even Anonymous (2007) qualified then this dullness is indeed chanceless.

Posh on Armenia

2009-05-11T00:01:00.001+02:00

Inga & Anush – Nor Par (Jan Jan) 4/5
Where’s the Nor-Par-dance? Where is it? I demand it back! The first rehearsal was disappointing, the sisters didn’t show any sign of energy but the second one when they wore their oriental costumes they were back on the right track again. Thank God, as I have a weak spot for this weird entry. Armenia always does well and with the recent success of Bollywood music following “Slumdog Millionaire” this is definitely a contender for top 10 come Saturday.

Posh on Sweden

2009-05-10T23:45:00.001+02:00

Malena Ernman – La Voix 4/5
I’m still glad the Swedes dared to send a “hit or miss”-entry for once and hopefully it will pay off but I’m not convinced. Malena will struggle in the semi with the early starting position but if the Slovene opera in 2007 got through it would be a disgrace if Sweden didn’t – with a much better song and performance. The dress is now white while the backing singers are now females with masks. White, green and black LEDs similar to the MF-lightning. Felt something in the act lacking during rehearsals but as the pro she is Malena will connect once Europe is watching. Fingers crossed!

Posh on Belarus

2009-05-10T23:11:00.001+02:00

Petr Elfimov - Eyes That Never Lie 2½/5
Oh, Petr got himself a new hairstyle and not a day too late. Strong vocals but horrid English. Simple prop on stage featuring a woman behind a blowing sheet. The song grows on you but the first time I heard it my comments were not kind at all. If it were the only rock entry in the semi I’d say Belarus would qualify but with Switzerland, Macedonia and to a degree Bosnia doing the same style with better songs it’s hopefully bye, bye to the man with the golden hair.

Posh on Belgium

2009-05-10T22:56:00.001+02:00

Copycat – Copycat 3/5
Elvis has left the building. Instead we’ll get his copycat (from Elvis’ less flattering period) doing a Vegas show with a golden jacket, greasy hair and pretty much everything you’d expect. I just wish he’d articulate more so people would hear the pretty funny lyrics.

Posh on Czech Republic

2009-05-10T22:46:00.001+02:00

Gipsy.cz - Aven Romale 1/5
I like the comics on the LED screens but the song is still bad and another never ending story. It won’t come last though as some people will giggle at his superhero outfit and give a few points for comical value. But there is no way in hell this will qualify.

Posh on Montenegro

2009-05-10T22:43:00.001+02:00

Andrea Demirovic - Just Get Out Of My Life 2/5
Very effective chorus but it’s just annoying when it gets stuck in your head. Andrea is not the most inspirational singer either and it feels like the song never ends. She’ll be alone on stage with a male dancer in white doing silly Saturday Night Fever moves. Penned by Ralph Siegel. Prepare for failure!

Back in business at last

2009-05-10T01:35:00.003+02:00

A week from now we'll know who won Eurovision 2009. So it's about bloody time I kick some life back into Posh (& Becks) of Eurovision. As from tomorrow I will start reviewing all songs based on youtube clips from rehearsals in Moscow. Unfortunately I'm not there to witness it all live but next year might see the return of Posh in eurovisionland where she belongs.
Be sure to check back tomorrow, ok!

ESC goes Bollywood

2009-03-28T17:57:00.004+01:00

It has been pretty busy a casa Posh since after the Globen weekend. I finally saw Melodifestivalen on TV four days ago. I even saw the voting again and loved Måns look when Petra Mede read the televotes. Classic tv. Alcazar's number looked very good but I was disappointed that you couldn't hear how everybody in the hall cheered and clapped the whole song through. In Caroline's number on the other hand the spontanious clapping was very much there and it gave me goosebumps. Again. Just a shame she got so taken that she forgot the lyrics in the end...

On Monday night Posh was reunited with old Becks and our pal Thomas for dinner and eurovision-gossip. We agreed on most songs in 2009 but as always my taste is the most exquisite! Wednesday I had a little marathon watching the preview videos of all Eurovision songs. I now own them on a dvd. Hurrah!

One of the songs that surprised me the most was Armenia. I didn't like it very much when I saw the performance from their final with shaky sound quality on youtube. This is why one should really wait for the previews and listen to all songs in good quality the first time instead. Most songs grew for me. Specially this one.

Armenia. Inga & Anush - "Nor Par"

Thanks to the success of Slumdog Millionaire I am sure that Armenia will score more than well. I wouldn't be surprised or particularly unhappy if the sisters gave the young Norwegian a run for his money. Start betting now!

Not going solo anymore

2009-03-17T20:46:00.002+01:00

The presenters for the two semi finals in Moscow have been made public. The name Andrey Malahov doesn't say me much but apparently he is a TV-presenter in Russia. His co-host on the other hand is a well-known name in Eurovision circles - Alsou - who came 2nd in Globen 2000 singing Solo. She is as gorgeous as ever and knowing that she has spent a lot of time in London over the years would mean that her English is fluent. If I remember correctly her English was good already 9 years ago when she was only 17. I'm sure they will make a good team and make their mother country proud.

The draw has been made

2009-03-16T20:31:00.003+01:00

Earlier today the running order in the semi finals was made. It's not the best possible draw for Sweden but I still think that Malena will sail through since the average standard of songs is quite low. I will be as bold as to predict the 10 from each semi that will get to the final already at this stage. Remember this and then scroll down to this piece in May and we'll see if I was right or not. The qualifyers are marked with a star (*).

The first semi-final
Tuesday 12 May
1. Montenegro *
2. Czech Republic
3. Belgium
4. Belarus
5. Sweden *
6. Armenia *
7. Andorra
8. Switzerland *
9. Turkey *
10. Israel
11. Bulgaria (chosen with a wildcard)
12. Iceland *
13. FYR Macedonia
14. Romania
15. Finland *
16. Portugal (chosen with a wildcard) *
17. Malta (chosen with a wildcard) *
18. Bosnia & Herzegovina *

The second semi-final
Thursday 14 May
1. Croatia
2. Ireland
3. Latvia
4. Serbia
5. Poland
6. Norway *
7. Cyprus
8. Slovakia
9. Denmark *
10. Slovenia *
11. Hungary *
12. Azerbaijan *
13. Greece *
14. Lithuania *
15. Moldova *
16. Albania *
17. Ukraine (chosen with a wilcard)
18. Estonia (chosen with a wildcard) *
19. The Netherlands (chosen with a wildcard)

Only 5 countries are already in the final (the big four + the host country) out of the 25 entries we will see on stage Saturday 16 May. They were drawn to sing in this order:
3. France
10. Russia
17. Germany
23. UK
25. Spain (chosen with a wildcard)

The voting almost killed me

2009-03-15T16:21:00.005+01:00

Winner of Melodifestivalen 2009 is Malena Ernman with "La voix". Congratulations to her and composer Fredrik Kempe. But it was a close race with my big favourite Caroline af Ugglas who came second, only 11 points behind. And more interesting - less than 4.000 televotes differed between the two women. It has never been that tight in the top ever before. Also, never before have the jury and the people had such different taste. I was well disappointed when Måns was in the lead and questioned what the members of the jury actually listened to. Fine, the voting sequence was TOO exciting for words and pretty darn good television but why, why, why would the juries vote for a song so similar to what we sent last year that fell flat in Eurovision? Aren't they supposed to have guide lines on how to think? (Fresh sound etc.)

It was amazing to be in the audience inside Globen to witness the whole shebang. Alcazar was clearly the favourite among the schlagerfans there but EMD had heaps of fans of their own in the seats too. I was sitting on the right side of the stage, just above the greenroom. Great seats and fun to follow the performers after they had been on stage. Caroline was dancing with hands and legs like crazy just like during the dress rehearsal to the other songs and became totally wild when "Tingeling" was performed. All singers stood up and danced to that. I haven't seen the broadcast yet but the camera must have caught them. I want to go out partying with that Owl-woman at some point during my lifetime. Such energy and devotion. Petra Mede and Malena Ernman could tag along too. Now, that would be a night to remember!

The final result looked pretty much like what I predicted yesterday. Except that Malena got far less love from the jury than I thought and Måns got more. I had been extremely disappointed if Måns or EMD would have gone to Moscow. Malena wasn't my first choice but I am pleased with the result and I think she will land Sweden a top 10 placing in Eurovision for sure. The Moscow line up is not the strongest of years so perhaps she'll do even better. Måns and EMD would have disappeard in the middle. I am not bitter about Caroline's second place as I never dared to believe all the hype. It was just too good to be true and I know that Caroline is more than overwhelmed with the result. Although now that I know how close it really was I can't help but think the "what if"-game.

Here is the result!

1. Malena Ernman - La voix 182p
2. Caroline af Ugglas - Snälla snälla 171p
3. EMD - Baby goodbye 145p
4. Måns Zelmerlöw - Hope & Glory 144p
5. Alcazar - Stay the night 139p
6. Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving on 87p
7. HEAT - 1000 miles 82p
8. Agnes - Love love love 40p
9. Emilia - You're my world 28p
10. Sofia - Alla 12p
11. Molly Sandén - Så vill stjärnorna 2p

The Swedish televotes:
1. Malena Ernman 322.657
2. Caroline af Ugglas 318.952
3. EMD 231.098
4. Alcazar 199.014
5. Måns Zelmerlöw 182.651
6. HEAT 178.283
7. Sarah Dawn Finer 146.300
8. Molly Sandén 51.467
9. Agnes 49.819
10. Emilia 48.844
11. Sofia 19.885
A total of 1.748.970 televotes were registered.

The jury voted:
1. Måns 96
2. Sarah 75
3. Alcazar 67
4. HEAT 58
5. Caroline 51
6. EMD 49
7. Agnes 40
8. Malena 38
9. Emilia 28
10. Sofia 12
11. Molly 2

I'm off to a MF-dinner now with friends but when I come back I will sit down and watch Melodifestivalen on TV and then probably come up with more things I want to say about the show.

Melodifestivalen 2009 á la Posh

2009-03-14T15:40:00.005+01:00

There is no way that I can predict the outcome of tonight's final but I'll give you my own opinions and a few pointers to how I think the jury and the Swedes might vote.

1. Måns Zelmerlöw - Hope & Glory 3/5
A good MF-song and could have worked in ESC a few years ago. Not one year after Hero though. The song will be played to death on radio and in schlager bars but that is enough thank you. 1-4th place.

2. Caroline af Ugglas - Snälla, snälla 5/5
Go back to my comment on the first semi final and see what I wrote. I knew quality from the beginning. I love the song and I love that Caroline is so different from all the other singers. I would be honored to have Snälla, snälla represent Sweden.

3. Agnes - Love love love 3½/5
While I hear the song I like it a lot but then I kind of forget about it. Agnes is gorgeous in her golden outfit but will her voice cut it tonight? Not too sure. I fear that she'll end up in the bottom and she deserves better than that. Think that many people could have the song as their second or third choice but not enough will actually vote for it.

4. HEAT - 1000 Miles 2/5
Good voice. Good schlager-rock. Boring performance. Would go nowhere in Eurovision this year. It used to be Finland that sent songs 2-3 years after everybody else had the same style but in this case it would be the other way around. Mid-table.

5. Emilia - You're my world 3/5
Cute and nice. Sounds positive but those words never leads anywhere in this competition. You need to stand out more to earn votes. I enjoy the song but same as with Agnes I forget about it when the song is over. Bottom half.

6. Alcazar - Stay the night 4/5
Professional number and a very effective chorus. Clubs will play it after MF. Could work in Eurovision but it won't get that far because since when did Alcazar get higher than 3rd place? Mid-table.

7. Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving on 5/5
A bombastic rock ballad sung by a voice strong as Koskenkorva. I still don't understand why people don't rate the song higher? I got goosebumps when I heard it live yesterday and it just grows and grows on me. Top 4 would be fair!

8. EMD - Baby, Goodbye 2/5
I am so bored with this group. So, so bored. Danny should just ditch the other two and come back next year with a cracker song instead. That would work for me. At the same time I know how effective the chorus is and it will score well. Keeping my fingers crossed that they won't be our first choice.

9. Sofia - Alla 1/5
Not up to standard with the rest of the songs tonight. The song is ok but Sofia ain't no Anna Vissi as I've said before. Just think if the international jury had picked BWO for this spot instead! Bottom half for sure.

10. Molly Sandén - Så vill stjärnorna 1½/5
Molly is a good singer. Very good. But she deserved a much better song than this old fashioned standard ballad. With another song I would happily have showed her off for the rest of Europe to see. Oh well, maybe next year...

11. Malena Ernman - La voix 4/5
I did not like anything about the song when I heard the 1 minute clip online. I was annoyed with Malena's low voice in the verses too. Then I saw the performance and thought it was ok. Then I listened to the song some more in full and liked it better for each time. Now I see what the fuzz was about and I could very well send opera to Moscow. Never thought I'd say that but there you go.

Funny how my two favourites are from Andra Chansen.

Alright, so I think that the juries will give high marks to Sarah, Alcazar, Malena and Caroline. Low marks to EMD, Molly and Sofia (except the international jury perhaps).

The Swedes will give high marks to EMD, Måns, Caroline and Malena. A bit less to Alcazar, Sarah, HEAT and Agnes. That leaves Sofia, Molly and Emilia without points on the scoreboard from the televoting.

In this scenario the overall winner would then be one of the following: Malena, Caroline, EMD, Måns or Sarah. That is as much as I am willing to put on print. If you blackmail me I'd say that Malena will win...

Are you ready Globen?

2009-03-14T11:43:00.007+01:00

I scribbled down a few notes during the dress rehearsal in Globen last night so everybody will know what to expect tonight...

- The opening is a clip of Petra Mede together with the singers in a board room. Then comes Christer Björkman driving into Globen in a golf cart with Petra as the queen of schlager singing a battle song to the music of Kylie's Your disco needs you. I couldn't hear much of the lyrics except the words Moscow, Hallelujah and Fight. After the golf cart the singers walk together in a troop up on stage. Petra then has a stand-up before the first song. She was witty all the way through the show.

- The audience were supportive of Måns throughout the song but I was getting bored half way through.

- Caroline got a spontanious applaud after the first "Snälla, snälla" and on one more occation. Oh, I am so in love with that song!

- Between song 2 and 3 Petra Mede is at it again. For me one of the funniest jokes of the night. Quite subtile but worked wonders. Exactly my kind of humour.

- Agnes did not get a heavy response before the song but when it explodes into disco after the first few lines people started clapping. The number is well placed after Caroline's naked performance. But what is wrong with her voice? Wonders if she was just saving it for today or if she's not well? She let the backing singers do the heavy work most of the time.

- The audince start clapping to HEAT from the beginning. The lead singer's voice is really very good. I couldn't sit still myself but the staging is boring. Little fires of pyro don't help much but the respons in the hall for 1000 Miles was good.

- A comedy postcard from Shirley Clamp is next. Perfect! Loved it and the line "Ett kycklinglår, åh så gott" will stay in my heart forever.

- What a joyful little number and Emilia is adorable. I couldn't sit still. Cute and with an addition of a pyro in the last chorus.

- Alcazar got a huge response before their presentation and before they even got up on stage. Talk about clapping along for support once the song started. And holy cow how good the number looks! The LED-screens works wonders when you are in the hall. The group saved their voices but still had heaps of energy and danced like crazy. Most applauds afterwards so far in the show.

- Sarah gave me schlagertastic goosebumps as soon as she opened her mouth. Whistles and applauds every now and then from the crowd. Her voice is increadably strong live. Almost lifted the roof. Wow!

- People with seats on the floor stood up throughout EMD:s performace clapping their little hands as hard as they possibly could. And the number IS a crowd-pleaser. The change of clothes was a smart move. Now you can actually see who is singing and who is just dancing. However, I could only hear Danny and not the other two guys. Loud applauds in the end. Me on the other hand just got Martin Stenmarck vibes. I don't believe in this in Moscow. At all.

- Poor Sofia coming after a big favourite. She recieved a few polite applauds in the beginning but they quickly faded away. It's an ok song but it doesn't touch people or speak to them whatsoever. The audience were suspicous and the applauds in the end stopped before Sofia got off stage.

- How sugary and innocent the stage show and Molly looks. The song is nowhere near as good as she is. Shame. But what's with the vibrato? Was something wrong with the microphone? Was she nervous? Or was it there back in the semi final as well?

- What luck Malena has coming straight after a Disney ballad and ending the whole thing. Handclapping as soon as the disco starts pumping in the first verse. Her voice is even stronger than Sarah's. My God, she doesn't even need a microphone to fill Globen. Amazing!

- At this point it felt rather obvious that the winner is going to be Malena. She blew the others away completely. But if people already decided before the show who they would vote for then they will probably stick with that choice as nobody made a fool out of themselves. (Except maybe Mathias in EMD but that's just my personal view...)

- During the reprise of the songs Caroline was gesticulating with great feeling in the greenroom. She seemed to like all the songs and was very supportive. Was fun to see. She reminded me of Siw Malmkvist in 1996 when she was singing and dancing during the songs when she was a presenter, standing on the side of the stage.

- Next is the international jury supposed to give their points while the viewers can still vote. A special guest who has been in this jury will come on stage to give the votes. Who it is is a secret until tonight but it appears to be someone people will recognise. A safe bet is Dana International.

- While SVT collects the voting from the regular juries we get to hear "Tingeling tingeling" on stage with a touch of Russia. Tacky dancers and the lot. I wonder what SVT was thinking? They will get in so much trouble over this when angry Russians take actions. It's not very flattering to the country and full of prejudice.

- Petra Mede is always hilarious in the greenroom chatting to the singers. She was saving the real jokes for today so she was just chit-chatting with them about nothing and still managed to be funny. Looking forward to this part tonight!

- The 11 juries cast their votes before the last reprise of the songs since the viewers can vote a few more minutes. This time Emilia was dancing away to all the songs in the greenroom and the members of HEAT went crazy when La Voix came on.

- While people are voting there's a clip of MF-songs in the last ten years ending with the obligatory performance of last year's winning song. This time MotoBoy interprets Hero. He does a decent job but wasn't as good as when I saw him do Dusty Springfield covers a few months ago.

- The televotes will be in at this point and the result will be ready to announce. During the rehearsal Therese Löf sang Hero as the show ended instead of a mockup winner from the competing songs. Caroline and Emilia were at it again dancing like crazy. On a personal level I would prefer if Caroline sing instead of dance at the end of the program tonight.

I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky

2009-03-14T11:16:00.004+01:00

Tonight is the night! It's all very exciting because about half of the songs have a good shot at winning. It's been years since it was such an open field. So please vote tonight!

My dreams last night were full of schlager references. Petra Mede and I became best friends for instance. We were tipsy and giggly and had lots of fun. At some point Malena Ernman showed up as well together with a bunch of children. (My daytime job is in a pre-school. They were extremely envious of me going to the dress rehearsal. When asked who they'd vote for the answer was Malena and Alcazar.)

Then I woke up with Moving on playing in my ears. A few years ago that was a sure tip for what song would win on the night but lately I've lost my ability. In a few hours we'll know. Well actually I woke up to a text message from a Finnish friend asking if I would want a ticket for the live show as he had a spare one. I said yes please. So now I'm off to Globen again! Two nights in a row! That sort of thing has happened to me before. A ticket falling into my lap in the last minute. Eurovision 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. Lucky me!!

Posh's Dream Final

2009-03-12T23:02:00.004+01:00

As promised, my dream 11 out of the 32 songs in Melodifestivalen 2009. In no particular order.

1. Caroline af Ugglas - Snälla, snälla
2. Alcazar - Stay the night
3. Måns Zelmerlöw - Hope & Glory
4. Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving on
5. Agnes - Love love love
6. Malena Ernman - La voix
7. BWO - You're not alone
8. Anna Sahlene & Maria Haukaas Storeng - Killing me tenderly
9. Velvet - The Queen
10. Cookies n Beans - What if
11. Jennifer Brown - Never been here before

All in all the Swedes chose good songs to go to Globen but I would have skipped five of them in order to save some gems I will listen to for a long time to come. Admit that my personal top 11 looks much better than the actual result?!

BWO so deserved a place in the final. This will bug me forever.

Easily one of my top 3 songs of the year. Anna & Maria.

Tomorrow night will be spent in Globen with the real finalists singing their little hearts out during the dress rehearsal. Will be back with comments. But I doubt I'll change my mind on who will get my vote on Saturday. Caroline is the one and only for me. My crush on her song keeps growing and growing.

Sweet Schlager Hallelujah!

2009-03-10T22:13:00.004+01:00

Just to let everybody outside Sweden know exactly how big Melodifestivalen is in my country... Today I found out that the Swedish church in London will be showing the final of Melodifestivalen on big screens. Imagine that. It won't be inside the actual church though but still on their premises. Yes, schlager is as close to a Swedish religion you can come. Thumbs up to the Swedish church in London! (Once upon a time when I lived in London I used to go there for movie nights and to read Swedish gossip magazines. Very friendly place.)

The Balkan Alcazar

2009-03-10T21:57:00.004+01:00

The Montenegrins go all copycats on us too. They don't want to be worse than the Belgians of course. But instead of Elvis they have cloned Alcazar and Deen for their video clip.

But when you think about it, it's much more Ralph Siegel than Alcazar after all. Siegel on a somewhat good day I might add. No Corinna May in sight, thank God!

Elvis has left the building

2009-03-10T21:19:00.003+01:00

The Belgians are going all Elvis on us! In a year without many novelty acts this Copycat stands out. I kind of enjoy the song and think it could work better live on stage than in the video clip.

Belgium 2009. Patrick Ouchène - "Copycat"

MF 2009 Running order

2009-03-08T12:59:00.021+01:00

The running order in Globen has been decided. Who gets your vote on Saturday? Vote in the poll on the left side and comment below.

1. Måns Zelmerlöw - "Hope & Glory"

2. Caroline af Ugglas - "Snälla, snälla"

3. Agnes - "Love Love Love"

4. H.E.A.T - "1000 Miles"

5. Emilia - "You're My World"

6. Alcazar - "Stay The Night"

7. Sarah Dawn Finer - "Moving On"

8. EMD - "Baby, Goodbye"

9. Sofia - "Alla"

10. Molly Sandén - "Så vill stjärnorna"

11. Malena Ernman - "La Voix"

Looks like SVT has made up their minds about what songs they want to see fight it off in the top. Statistically starting position number 1, 6, 7 and the last one (here 11 instead of 10) are the ones they put the songs with the biggest potential.

That leaves Caroline af Ugglas with number 2 - the worst spot of them all. How cowardly of Björkman to do that. But if anybody is going to re-write history it is Ugglas. Fingers crossed. And I am basically just happy that Caroline will sing "Snälla, snälla" live to me in a crowded Globen Friday night during the dress rehearsal. It will be pure magic in the air!

Listening to all entries one after another like this make me realise what a strong line up we have. Still I would have preferred a few adjustments if I were in charge. Posh's dream 10 (or 11 rather) will be presented later during the week.

And over in the eastern parts

2009-03-08T12:13:00.003+01:00

Russia and Estonia chose entries last night.

Russia 2009. Anastasia Prihodko - "Mamo"

Not as spectacular and modern as I had expected from Russia but it could grow if the performance changes for the better during the weeks to come.

Estonia 2009. Urban Symphony - "Rändajad"

I feel sorry for my favourite Laura and her Destiny which only reached 3rd place. But Rändajad was probably my second favourite with the Enya inspired sound. Could work quite well in Eurovision. I wonder what the other fiddle-country this year, Slovenia, think of this?

No surprises in Andra Chansen

2009-03-08T10:52:00.004+01:00

Yes! Yes! Yes! The two songs I wanted to win last night actually did. I am so, so, so happy for Caroline af Ugglas. I voted 3 times for her. According to polls in tabloids and blogs she was the true star of Andra Chansen and I'm ecstatic that people fell for quality. Same goes for Sarah Dawn Finer. Powerful. My only loss is that BWO didn't beat Lili & Susie but I saw that coming. My predictions from last weekend were pretty accurate.

Scotts vs Sarah Dawn Finer
Jag tror på oss is dull as ditch water even though they shaped up the performance. Nothing could stand in the way of the Finest. Not even a bad cold.

Lili & Susie vs BWO
I love You're not alone but I was prepared for failure. Some Swedes just don't like that Alexander Bard speaks his mind and was, I guess, fed up with him and seeing BWO in the final every year. Shame. Show me heaven is a real stomper and people felt nostalgic but I thought the sisters had a bit too much fun on stage and forgot to sing in tune. It WAS a bit shouty.

Amy Diamond vs Star pilots
This duel was not exciting at all as I didn't care. Amy wasn't on top for some reason and Star pilots has a very effective chorus. Plus they were still in people's memory from last Saturday. But Becker was more screaming than singing in my opinion.

Rigo vs Caroline af Ugglas
I got u is fun while the song is on and it will no doubt become a hit on radio but I'm glad people realised that they will grow tired of the repetitive yoyoyoyoyoyooo and instead favoured the genuin and odd Snälla, snälla.

In the second round where SDF and L&S battled I weren't 100 percent sure but had my suspicions. Had L&S won then SDF had still got through with help of the international jury for sure. Now she got there without their help.

Between Carro and the pilots my hopes where sky high but underneath I was shaking. But I didn't have to worry as my fellow Swedes took to their senses and rewarded the best song and performance.

The International jury chose Sofia and her Alla to become the 11th entry in the final. With Sarah and Caroline already there the choice was just between Sofia and Amy.

Dress rehearsal Friday 13th

2009-03-02T07:31:00.003+01:00

In all my anger yesterday over the stupid voting I went online to ticnet.se and bought myself 3 tickets for the Globen dress rehearsal. Wohoo! I thought everything would be sold out by now, even rehearsal tickets, but I was lucky. So now I can write a real review and publish it on here for the final. I won't be able to take any photos as we are faaaar, faaaar away (just under the roof in section C24-25 somewhere) but I'll listen good at Petra's jokes and response in the hall for the songs etc. etc. Really looking forward to this now! See you there?!?

And the winner is...

2009-03-01T16:20:00.002+01:00

During the week you can vote for your 2 favourites in Andra Chansen in the new poll here on the left side. Please do! If you need to freshen up your memory of the songs then look and listen over at SVT Play or buy the CD. You don't need to think about what songs are competing against each other, just focus on what two songs you like the best and would want to see in Globen. On a personal level I have trouble leaving 1 out of this bunch: Moving on, You're not alone and Snälla, snälla.

Love love love la voix is moving on higher

2009-03-01T15:00:00.004+01:00

Last night the result in MF semi 4 went like this:
Globen
Agnes - Love love love
Malena Ernman - La voix
Andra Chansen
Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving on
Star pilots - Higher
5. Thorleifs - Sweet kissin' in the moonlight
6. Next 3 - Esta noche
7. Sahlene/Haukaas - Killing me tenderly
8. Susanne Alfvgren - Du är älskad där du går

Was that the evening of the "skrälls" or what?!

- Sarah will meet Scotts in Andra Chansen next week while Star pilots will go up against Amy Diamond. I have a feeling they will both come out winners in those duels. But that does not mean that they are safe. Sarah will then meet either Lili & Susie or BWO. The pilots will meet either Rigo or Caroline af Ugglas. I sincerely hope it will be Caroline and that she will move on to Globen. I'm torn between Sarah and BWO as I'd love to have them both in the final.

- The international jury picked Moving on. Thank heavens for that! Even though I wouldn't have minded Killing me tenderly either. In previous weeks the jury has also picked Snälla snälla, It's my life and Alla.

- Petra Mede goes from strength to strength. She was great chatting in the greenroom and before and after the duels. Specially with the breast-and-voice-women. Did you see how resolute Fredrik Kempe looked when he came on stage to hug Malena and Sarah? He wrote both songs and probably felt like he couldn't be overly happy for just one of them. Also loved the "commercial spot" for Absolute Bortglömd. Hillarious! :)

- Agnes was ace! She looked gorgeous in her golden catsuit and her big hair. The whole number looked very professional and the song itself stood out in a very good way. Right choice to send her straight to Globen. I voted for her in the duel.

- On the other hand were Star pilots not the least fun to watch. The camera work lowered the act for me even more. But the song is pretty good and will get lots of airplay from now on.

- Susanne did her thing and was rather good at it but the song was too plain in its full 3 minutes. People forgot about it when it was time to vote or found other entries they liked better.

- I am still immensely annoyed and disappointed over the fact that people didn't get what a fabulous song Anna Sahlene and Maria Haukaas Storeng performed. Almost last? What a cruel joke! I voted and will love Killing me tenderly forever.

- I was afraid Thorleifs would go to Globen so thank you for not rewarding them higher than 5th. That was high enough after seeing their poor performance. If I thought the song had a little something based on the snippet then all fell apart when I heard the whole song and saw the dansband on stage.

- Sarah's voice is beautiful and her presence on stage is magical. The number looked wonderful and the song was lovely from the start. Why oh why wasn't she the winner in the last duel? Maybe people need to hear it more than once to understand. That's why I am confident that she'll walk it in Andra Chansen.

- More people voted for Next 3 than Sahlene/Haukaas. The scenario is like a nightmare to me. The chorus is ok but the rest... Am I getting old or what's the deal here?

- Malena Ernman's song grew a lot on me after hearing the whole song and seeing her on stage. It is still not my favourite and I hate the fact that it won over Moving on but it was probably my 4th favourite after seeing and hearing all entries last night.

The Swedes are killing me

2009-03-01T08:59:00.002+01:00

I voted for Sahlene/Haukaas. For me it was the best song last night together with Sarah Dawn Finer. Perhaps even the two best songs in MF this year. What's the reward for that? A bloody 7th place (Killing me tenderly) and Andra Chansen (Moving on). I'm positive Sarah will reach Globen one way or another but her chances of winning the whole deal has reduced remarkably. In Andra Chansen she has to meet BWO or Lili & Susie. Tough game. Otherwise there's the international jury. The Swedes can be so phony sometimes...

Schlagerblood

2009-02-28T17:42:00.003+01:00

When Susanne Alfvengren goes on stage tonight she won't be the first in her family with a ESC-connection. What previous Eurovision singer is a relative to Susanne? Answers on a postcard or indeed in the comments below.

Listen! MF semi 4

2009-02-27T20:03:00.002+01:00

Christer Björkman you are killing me! This week there are 3 songs I need to see in Globen. Period. Saturday night will be painful when not more than one of them will get a direct ticket to Globen. Grr!

Agnes - "Love love love"
The song is close to Agnes recent hit "On and on". That is a good thing. Hoping the whole song is as good as the snippet because this is the one I liked the best on the very first run-through. On the other hand reports are stating that Agnes has voice problems and might not cut it live. Maybe the fantastic golden catsuit will help!

Star pilots - "Higher"
The first thing that comes to mind is an altered version of the old Baywatch theme. Rather nice retro-feel to it I must say and I kind of dig it. Could aspire on a 5th place in this strong line up.

Susanne Alfvengren - "Du är älskad där du går"
Likeable ballad with good familiar voice but not up to standard with the second ballad in this weeks' heat. So unfortunately it will be left outside the top 5. The beginning of the clip SVT has granted us with had me humming along to another song. Took me a good while to realise which one it was. Now I know - it's the chorus of "Lullaby" by Brandur from MF08.

Anna Sahlene & Maria Haukaas Storeng - "Killing me tenderly"
I have been waiting for this entry ever since the singers were announced. Norway was my favourite last year. I can't judge so soon if "Killing me tenderly" is as good but without doubt a favourite from MF09. 60s sound baked with modern pop and a stroke of schlager. Very close to what I listen to outside the ESC-bubble.

Thorleifs - "Sweet kissin' in the moonlight"
Lasse Holm. ABBA-piano. "Dag efter dag". This is nothing less than a total 80s schlager revival. Quite catchy even though I normally loathe dansband. Fair enough if the Swedes send Thorleifs to Andra Chansen but please not directly to Globen. There are so many better contestants.

Sarah Dawn Finer - "Moving on"
On first hearing I thought: very good ballad but better than "I remember love"? Then I played it again. And again. And again. Now I can't stop. It gives me serious goosebumps. SDF is always better live too. Just thinking about her live show tomorrow makes me all tingly inside. A ballad worthy Celine Dion and her likes that would be a world wide hit immediately. Moscow! Moscow!

Next 3 - "Esta noche"
The chorus and the Spanish part is good but rap in Swedish always fails. A lot better than say Mikael Rickfors' attempt in MF last week but still this entry is destined for last place tomorrow. Someone needs to come last too you know.

Malena Erman - "La voix"
Malena seems to be a fun woman and the stage show is said to be really tight. But opera in MF hasn't worked for me in the past and I feel something missing this time around too. I suspect others will love it and vote it into the top 5 but La voix leaves me cold. Sadly, as I had heard great things about it and had rather high expectations.

In the perfect world of Posh: I hate to pick only two of my three favourites but it's a tough world and it must be done. So Sarah and Sahlene/Haukaas to Globen. Agnes and Star pilots to Andra Chansen. Susanne 5th. Then Thorleifs, Malena and Next 3 in that order.

The Swedes will vote:
Globen
Sarah
Thorleifs
Andra Chansen
Agnes
Sahlene/Haukaas
5. Malena
6. Star pilots
7. Susanne
8. Next 3

Swiss lovebugs in the building

2009-02-25T19:12:00.003+01:00

Things are shaping up! I haven't posted new ESC-entries for a while just because they are not worthy of being exploited on this blog. Yeah, it's been that bad. Then comes Switzerland to the rescue totally out of the blue. Who would have guessed that the Swiss had it in them?! Hurrah!

Switzerland 2009. Lovebugs - "The highest heights"

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Earlier stuff from Lovebugs:

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!

Eesti laul 2009 without sweaty old men

2009-02-23T22:43:00.007+01:00

On Saturday it's time for Estonia to pick their entry in Eurolaul (or Eesti laul). This national final is very close to my heart since I have visited Eurolaul several times and I have good friends in Estonia who have been working with the event in different ways. Last year I was really pissed off when the people voted for the awful "Leto svet" which still turns my stomach. This year they can't go that much wrong. My favourites are Laura and Rolf Junior but I could live with Urban Symphony, Traffic and Janne Saar too. Go to ETV to see preview videos of all 10 songs.

While we wait for the result let's watch (and listen to) some cracker songs from the last few years in Eurolaul.

Eurolaul 2008. Rolf Junior - "One on One"

Eurolaul 2007. Laura - "Sunflowers"

Eurolaul 2006. Ines - "Iseendale"

Eurolaul 2004. Maarja - "Homme"

Eurolaul 2004. Kerli - "Beautiful inside"

Unfortunately there were no videos of Meribel "Mr Right" (2006), Eha "Gotta go" (2005) or Koit Toome "Know how I feel" (2003) on YouTube so you'll just have to take my word for how good they are.

Petra Mede is the queen of comedy

2009-02-23T20:53:00.003+01:00

I know Velvet is not the best of singers but how can anybody seriously think that Mikael Rickfors' dead-boring gubbrock shite was better than "The Queen"? I need answers because I don't understand at all...

That performance (and song) is as close to Kylie Sweden will ever get.

Forgot to mention in the last blog entry that Petra Mede was hilarious this time. She has been funny in earlier weeks but on Saturday she was outstanding. This part of the night had me in stitches:

But what the hell SVT? Why did you cut the clip before she was done in the greenroom? The best part is missing! Cowardness?! Are you that afraid of Carola? Thank God for Youtube (as long as it is there before SVT takes actions...)

I love it!!! Brilliant humour!

You're not alone I got u så vill stjärnorna but baby goodbye

2009-02-21T22:02:00.002+01:00

Tonight the Swedes voted almost as I predicted but I did not see Rigo & Rickfors getting that far...

Globen
Molly Sandén - Så vill stjärnorna
EMD - Baby, Goodbye
Andra Chansen
BWO - You're not alone
Rigo & The Topaz Sound feat Red
5. Mikael Rickfors - Du vinner över mig
6. Velvet - The Queen
7. Sofia - Alla
8. Maja Gullstrand - Här för mig själv

- BWO will now compete against Lili & Susie in Andra Chansen. Shame as I like both songs but I seriously hope that BWO will win that game as the song was magnificent in its full 3 minutes. My sister and I were drooling like two teenagers when Martin looked straight into the camera.

- "Skrällen" Rigo & Co will compete against Caroline af Ugglas and by then I believe people have grown tired of the repetitive "I got u" and favours Caroline's heartfelt Janis Joplin composition instead.

- The international jury keeps surprising me with odd choices and this week Sofia got the ticket. Sweden will NEVER send a song in Greek to Eurovision so what's the point? Surely BWO should have taken her place. What were they thinking? Maybe next week they'll favour Thorleif!!

- Velvet did not sing well at all but the song deserved a much better fate than that and I hope it becomes a hit as soon as possible. Even "The Queen" would have been a more rational choice from the jury than "Alla".

- "I got u" was a cute little ditty and I could have lived with Rigo and friends ending up at 5th place but seriously, Andra Chansen? Well, rather them than Rickfors I suppose but still...

- Molly was beautiful and sang like an angel except for a frog during her winner's reprise. I got Sanna Nielsen-vibes several times and she'll do well in Globen but rumour has it that Sarah Dawn Finer has a killer ballad next week too. And really, it's Molly lifting the song and not vice versa.

- Erik, Mattias and Danny did fine considering the reports from rehearsals had been so and so. The song is no way near a master piece and I fear Globen as the young girls will vote, vote, vote for their idols. "Baby goodbye" can be a radio hit but I'd hate to see it as Sweden's hope in Moscow.

- What happened with Micke Rickfors? What's the deal there? I. Don't. Get. It. Was his song really that much better than Velvet, Sofia and Maja's? Really? Shame on you Swedish people.

- Maja's voice was better live than in the studio version and the performance looked ok to me. Thought she'd be 5th but what do I know these days...

- I don't know if I didn't pay enough attention or if the song wasn't as good in its full 3 minutes as I thought the snippet was. Sofia fell a bit flat for me during the show. Maybe I have to re-watch her performance on SVT Play.

- BWO! BWO! BWO! No more comment needed. That band always rise to the occation. So my voting didn't help them reach the final but just you wait until Andra Chansen and my phone bill will go bankrupt.

Listen! MF semi 3

2009-02-21T10:26:00.003+01:00

Was supposed to have posted my comments last night. But I fell asleep. Simple as that. At least they're here now.

Velvet - "The Queen"
Best song tonight but what good does that do when Velvet has a habit of coming 5th. From what I've seen from rehearsals the number will appeal to children with the princess-theme and a castle on the LED-screens but kiddies are not allowed to vote as many times as teenagers (for EMD). Shame Velvet is not a great live singer, that could have convinced a few more people.

Rigo & The Topaz Sound feat. Red Fox - "I got u"
Rigo was once a member of Latin Kings. The song has a nice beat and is linked with "Mambo No.5", you'll agree. Though I think 1 minute is enough and fear that it won't be more than "I've got u, jojojojojo, I've got u..." 3 minutes straight.

Molly Sandén - "Så vill stjärnorna"
This song is the long lost cousin to "Kärleken är", every Disney ballad in the book, the complete works of Sanna Nielsen and a dansband ballad. Like it or not young Molly is a star in the making with a beautiful voice who makes the number believable so Globen it is. But sorry Pling, you are definitely losing it.

E.M.D - "Baby, Goodbye"
I've never been a fan of EMD (though like Danny's solo work) so had no expectations on their entry. The song seems ok and reminds me of something else. What? It will sail through no matter what just because it's EMD. Fjortisar will vote like crazy and the song will get picked up on radio stations but if anybody screams Moscow I'll punch them.

Mikael Rickfors - "Du vinner över mig"
How I dislike "gubbrock"! Tobbe Ek said that the chorus reminded him of Sandra Dahlberg's old "Här stannar jag kvar" and I can hear that too. Never liked that one either. I even have trouble understanding the jury who picked this over thousands of other suggestions. No thanks. Last?

Maja Gullstrand - "Här för mig själv"
I have no relation to Fame Factory-Maja as I lived in Finland at the time. I just know that I hate her juvenile voice but the song has its charm. Bossanova has made it before. Remember "A different kind of love" in 2005 - another weak semi final. Don't be surprised if Maja gets a ticket to Andra Chansen but I hope her fun stops at 5th place as best.

Sofia - Alla
With the title I was expecting the lyrics to be Swedish but it's in Greek and I should have known that really since Sofia's last entry was originally sung in Greek too. I quite like this and could imagine Anna Vissi singing this as an album track. She would do it a million times better though. Naturally. Anna is a Greek goddess after all. I'll send this to Andra Chansen but I doubt the Swedes will be as kind as I am.

BWO - You're not alone
This is not as strong as I had hoped for in the 1 minute snippet but then again I haven't seen Martin in action yet... But without even seeing the sexiest man in Sweden (Martin, not Alexander) it is my second favourite tonight. And Marina (possibly the sexiest woman in Sweden) has another sultry talking part just like last year. I hope it goes well for the bodies without organs.

In the perfect world of Posh: Velvet and BWO to Globen. Sofia and Molly to Andra Chansen. EMD 5th. Then Maja, Rigo and Rickfors in that order.

The Swedes will vote:
Globen
EMD
Molly
Andra Chansen
BWO
Maja
5. Velvet

I think Velvet will be 5th out of habit but it could also be that she change places with Maja. Sofia will just miss out.

Oh dear...

2009-02-19T07:57:00.003+01:00

Anyone wanna take bets on how long it will take before the EBU take actions against Georgia? There is no chance in hell that they will be allowed that lyrics after everything that has been going on between Georgia and Russia. The song is called "We don't wanna put in" and is a disco stomper. The country is playing with fire here. Dangerous. Get it? Put in. Putin. We don't want Putin.