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...
Evdokia Kadi - Femme Fatale 1/5 Had this entry been done by real musicians and a real singer I would probably have liked it as I’m a big fan of everything Anna Vissi and Greek music in general. Now I don’t. Enough said. I’m allergic to 3-in-1 songs. Specially outdated and local cabaret ones.
Last year, Cyprus was one of the pre-favourites and then failed to even make it into the final. Of course it is easy to go a bit mad when things like these keep happening. But this mad?
All attempts at sounding modern or to please the general taste have been totally abandoned in favour of a complicated little ditty in Greek that is pretty hard to make head or tail of. A cabaret act for drunk tourists at some local taverna in Larnaca, performed by the local Liza Minnelli, still dreaming about her big break.
Of course there is something in this obnoxious package that really speaks out to me, and in the middle of all the mess with tempo changes and choruses and brass going berserk I find myself quite liking this. Sorry world, but that is just how weird I am.
In the final? No, not even close. Who would vote for this? They won't even cash in on a Greek 12-pointer this year.
I will soon go into discussing the entires for this year's final, but I have to highlight another fabulous singer of the Eurovision first. 1987 was in many ways a very crucial year for me, as it was the first edition of ESC that I had on video. And as I watched it. It is, in fact, the only videotape I ever wore out. After ten years, it lost sight and sound, and I had to find a replacement copy.
One of the best ones of 1987, in my humble opinion, was Cyprus. This, children, was way before they lost their way and started dancing on tables, and when they knew that a direct and easy melody line was the way to euroheaven.
"Aspro Mavro" is a very straightforward little number, and who cares if it was really written by Torgny Söderberg? (Will we ever find out, anyway?) Alexia really is the icing of the cake also, and she belts out her song with real conviction, sporting a top that would probably have rendered her a few years in jail a few years earlier home on the island.
A few years later, when spending my holidays in Cyprus, I found out she had also been one of the members of Island back in 1981, and I also purchased three albums of her, something that put her on heavy rotation in my sound system.
"Nerobogies", probably her best album, is still a fantastic collection of songs that she released back in 1992 before growing a bit serious, so to speak. I love her cheesy pop output and would love to see her back in Eurovision one day. And get her sunny island back on track.
Imagine my joy when I found an Alexia fan on YouTube, who had loads and loads of clips. Dig in on the entire collection here or enjoy my select ones:
I agree with everything Mr. Becks said about Switzerland so no need for me to repeat it all again. I've always had a weak spot for bombastic Italian ballads and if only Paolo ditches the dancers then this could be a turning point for the country of living vampires.
Next off to Cyprus then...
They had their final last weekend and courtesy of my friend Eurofivestar with a satellite dish I could follow this impressive show live on TV. (You'll understand my sense of irony once you get to know me...) The stage looked like a producer's nightmare from the mid-80s, the singers sounded like rejects from the local Idol audition and the songs turned to the kind of nonsense that didn't even make it to British Song For Europe in the 90s. Am I being too harsh? Well, if you had seen the programme you wouldn't judge me!
The winner wasn't the worst of the lot though but there were at least 2-3 other songs that would have been a slightly better choice. "Femme Fatale" is like a Kinder Egg with three songs smashed into one, or in another way of speaking - a bit schizophrenic. I do like Greek music, much thanks to the goddess Anna Vissi, and in a way I can see why the voters went for the traditional sound and the only entry sung in their native language. But. This will get nowhere in Belgrade.
Cyprus 2008 - EvdokiaKadi - "Femme Fatale" To think that the same country sent the modern electropop-esque "Commecicomme ca" with star Evridiki only last year... Shame on you Cypriot song writers!
As a bonus for all of you who didn't get a chance to see the show here is a short re-cap of the 10 entries. Have your say in the comment box!
