Posh on Turkey

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 New 2009

So here we go again. Another year. Another Eurovision season. Where does the time go etc. etc... I'm not ready for all of this but what can you do, hey?! It feels awfully lonely running this blog on my own this year without Becks. But Posh is going to push through the good and bad songs leading up to May. Please walk with me in the valley of Eurovision!

Two countries have already choosen their entries - Albania and Turkey. I'm not convinced on Albania yet but the Turkish song has potential. Let me know your views!



Albania. Kejsi Tola - "Me Merr Ne Enderr"


Turkey. Hadise - "Tüm Tek Tek"

Posh on Turkey

Mor ve Ötesi - Deli 3/5
I can’t help but like a song translated into “Insane” but that’s just me. Catchy, melodic rock which works better in my iPod or in concert than on a TV-screen. Turkey is becoming one of my favourite countries in Eurovision for their innovative selection of styles every year. They are never stuck in the same genre. I applaud that!

Becks on Turkey

Mor ve Ötesi - Deli 2/5

If there is one entry I have truly mixed emotions about this year, then it is Turkey. Which is very unusual as I usually swallow anything Turkey sends in without any hesitation what-so-ever.

As long as I only hear this ditty, it works for me. It is a fairly engaging rock tune, not too easily accessible, perhaps, but in no way bad. But when I see the band onstage, all my interest dies. Who are these people? What do they do there? Why should I care?

I never bothered watching the clip, I just saw the studio clip that TRT provided for the preview feed, and I am not convinced. Not my cup of tea. Very disappointing, but nice that Turkey keeps trying new genres and styles.

In the final?
Yes, I think so. Not bad, and Turkey has a rare tendency of getting their songs to work on the night. But I'm far from extatic.

Lucky #2

Swedish newspapers are slowly beginning to realise that Charlotte Perrelli's number two slot in the running order is far from a good place to be. Christer Björkman, from the Swedish delegation, pointed out that no song ever won ESC from a #2 starting position and now the newspapers cry. It is all over, there is no hope and we could just as well send in Céline Dion to sing "My Heart Will Go On" as the Swedish ship is sinking.

Again, they are rather short on analysis. It is true that no #2 ever won the contest, but the semi final is not about coming out on top. It is a question of ending up among the top ten, and that is more than possible from a #2 spot.

And in the final, there is no risk of Charlotte ending up singing in second position. The UK has already secured that unlucky spot for themselves.

But here are quite a few songs that made top ten despite singing as #2:



Michèle Torr - Une petite française - Monaco 1977
4/18



Sophie Carle - 100 % d'amour - Luxembourg 1984
10/19



Sonja Lumme - Eläköön elämä - Finland 1985
9/19



Gina G - Ooh... Aah... Just A Little Bit - United Kingdom 1996
8/23



Sebnem Paker & Ethnic - Dinle - Turkey 1997
3/25



Jessica Garlick - Come Back - UK 2002
=3/24

The moment you think you forget

Turkey is a virtual treasure chest - every time I just feel like dishing out a good entry for the sake of showing something good or funny, it seems Turkey is eagerly waiting to provide something useful.

"Unuttugumu sangidim anda" (The moment you think you forget) may be another nightmare title for commentators to spend sleepless nights over, but this song (runner-up in the 1999 Turkish final) could probably have gained a few more points than the misfortunate "Dön artik" did. (Not that "Dön artik" didn't deserve more, that is not at all what I am saying.)

Feryal Basel won the OGAE Second Chance Contest with this song in 1999 and kept coming back a few times in the national series without huge success. If anybody knows what she is up to these days, please fill me in.



Feryal Basel - Unuttugumu sangidim anda - Turkey NF 1999
2/10

Turkey rocks

According to me, Turkey rocked more or less every year since they first set foot on the Eurovision stage. But this year they really got their guitars out, without sounding even a tiny bit like Lordi.

Good idea. Mor ve Ötesi is a well-established act on home ground and will give defend the Turkish colours in Belgrade. With their song "Deli" they will also carry on another old Turkish tradition: group names that are more difficult to pronounce than the title of the song they are set to sing. (I wonder how many of the commentators that got a headache back in 1984, when it was time for Bes yil önce, on yil sonra to enter the stage?)

This is what the boys will sound like. Not bad, if you ask me.



Mor ve Ötesi - Deli - Turkey 2008

Dancing with the Turks

I know Nina is bound to disagree with me, but this is one of my all-time favourite Eurovision entries. Few songs are as upliftling, cheerful and energetic as this one.

My arms start swinging and my feet start moving. I just want to dance like Seyyal and her troupe. And I can put this song on repeat over and over and over again.

But I still can't quite credit, 21 years down the line, that it didn't recieve a single miserable tiny little point back in Brussels. Shameful, is what it is. Shame on the juries. And three cheers for Seyyal, Melis and the others!

As for fashion... well, it was the 80's, right?



Seyyal Taner & Grup Lokomotif - Sarkim sevgi üstüne - Turkey 1987 22/22