Posh on Azerbaijan

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!

Semi 1: not too bad, eh?

I can hardly remember what countries I predicted beforehand, but we did predictions also after seeing the entries on telly, and then I had a new bunch of songs.

The ones I thought
Israel, Slovenia, Norway, Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Greece.
Not too inaccurate, I must say. I had two things wrong and eight countries right. I am particularly happy about Ireland and Estonia losing out, proving there are still things such as sensibility, taste and fairness in the world.
I feel genuinely sorry for the Netherlands - this time they really deserved going through. And I wonder if Andorran television is beginning to have second thoughts about entering the ESC.

But the finalists!

ISRAEL
Fantastic to have them through, as Boaz sang very sweetly and the song is enchanting. Also good to see that being drawn as #2 doesn't automatically stop you.

AZERBAIJAN
They did well live, but I thought the cocktail would prove a bit too much for the average viewer. It seems the average viewer is capable of more than I thought.

NORWAY
I got really nervous about Norway as they were in the last envelope. For a while, I thought they had failed and was prepared to cry bitter tears. Maria was brilliant and sang really well.

POLAND
There is something about Isis Gee that is a bit scary: especially the teeth and the drop of sweat that came off her during the song. But she sang like a marvel and the song is truly worthy of a place in the final. Most probably the choice of the jury, though.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
The stars of the night! Wonderful, brilliant, wacko, hysterical and very, very good. They can still win it!

ARMENIA
A video went around Youtube of Friday night's rehearsal, where Sirusho sang quite flatly all the way through. Tonight she sounded a lot better, and danced with more gusto. But it feels like the director of the show is not her best friend - lousy camera work on this one.

FINLAND
What happened here? Finland in the final for the third year running? I don't understand a thing, but it is good for the domestic ratings. I am contented. But I hope Teräsbetoni won't do too well, for the sake of next year's national final.

ROMANIA
Classy and good, but I had hoped for something more. Even more drama and prettier clothes. But still, surely a contender for Saturday night.

RUSSIA
I don't think the stage show really worked. Frenetic, too many things happening, too much acting. I just get bored and distracted, but it was expected that people would like this.

GREECE
Just like Armenia, the director seemed not to be too keen on this one and missed the big trick with the book. Wouldn't surprise me if it was tonight's winner, though. Better vocal performance than the Greek final suggested.

Now it is time to head for bed, more analysis to follow tomorrow...

Posh on Azerbaijan

Elnur & Samir - Day After Day 1½/5
The Azerbaijan song sounds exactly like I feel in the description below. Maybe they wrote it after having heard “O julissi” on repeat in a padded cell? To be honest I had this song down as a 3/5 based on the preview when the voices come straight from a studio. Live it is only horrendous screaming and…well…weird and crazy.

Becks on Azerbaijan

Elnur & Samir - Day After Day 2/5

A most spectacular debut is what Azerbaijan has to offer us. I really don't know how to describe this. Every time this number starts, I think it is the roof caving in on me. Or the end of the world. Or something similar. Elnur screams away as if to save his own skin. And well, when you are an Azeri angel fighting it out vocally with an Azeri devil... what do I know about what to expect?

Here is drama, passion, pathos and the Azeris seem not to be short on anything... but possibly a tune. There is not a lot to whistle along to or hum in the shower the next day, so to speak.

But in some unthinkable way, this works after all. Despite all the weird howling, this is an offering that stands out and will be noticed by anyone remotely close to a TV set.

In the final?
Yes. Unless the dynamic duo takes the howling too far live, this nutty entry is a qualifyer.

Hello Baku!

We had our first couple of visitors from Azerbaijan to this blog! I just wanted to tell you all that you are heartly welcome!

Unfortunately, I don't understand much of the entry you selected, in case "Day After Day" remains the choice, but that is beside the point. I love new countries, the more the merrier, and I hope you feel encouraged to stay with us!

Best of luck to you!

Panic attack à la Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan had their first ever national final this weekend, and everybody keeps praising the production, the show, well, just about everything. Everything but the winning package, that is.

Mainly this could be because Azeri TV won't formally decide until February 15th whether this is the song to send to Belgrade or not. If I could put in my humble opinion, I would advise the masterminds in Baku to think again.

Maybe it would be possible to polish this up in the studio. Maybe a tiny re-write could clarify the far from disastrous melody line that is far too subtle to be picked up as it is? Maybe the singers could fine-tune their balance a bit to make it come off more harmonic?

Nah, that's not it. What really bothers me is the grotesque amount of screaming that goes on. For the love of God, what is it all about? A panic attack set to music? The first single from "Armageddon - the musical"? I don't understand a thing.

I really looked forward to Azerbaijan in this contest, as I hoped for something modern, exciting and slightly exotic. Unless there is a complete change of direction, all my hopes have been in vain.



Elnur Huseynov feat Samir Javadzade - Day After Day - Azerbaijan 2008 (?)

Off to Tallinn

Tonight, my ship is sailing towards Estonia and Eurolaul (unless the storm gets worse, that is), so from my horizon it seems the other events of this weekend (of which I must say that the first ever national final of Azerbaijan feels most thrilling) will have to be put a bit on the shelf. I will comment once I come back, though.

Given my not too enthusiastic review about the entries in Eurolaul, one may wonder how I dare set foot in the studios of ETV, but the answer is simple: I love Estonia. I always did. Ever since they first entered, they had a special place in my heart.

At my first ever Eurovision that I attended in person, back in Oslo 1996, I was frenetically waving a homemade Estonian flag that my friend Saale from Tartu made for me.

In 2001, when Estonia won with a song that in no way lives up to the country's normal output, I stood up and cheered in front of my telly. Who cares about the song, I was so happy for Estonia. And I loved the ESC at Saku Suurhall.

So, whenever Estonia is not up to scratch, my heart bleeds. So maybe I hope, somewhere, that Kreisiraadio WILL win. And that they will score nul in the semi final. To shake the foundations a bit and make the Estonian contributions a bit better again. Fingers crossed.



Ivo Linna & Maarja-Liis Ilus - Kaelakee hääl - Estonia 1996
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