EUROVISION 2012

"Euphoria" is both anthemic + catchy enough to be a bona fide worldwide (well pan-European at least) hit even outside ESC season I think

That piano had better transform into a fire breathing robot or I'll fall asleep.

Don't want the expense of hosting the contest next year? Simply get someone from a TV talent contest to sing your entry!
A tactic more and more countries are using.

I'm not sure all ESC-heads regularly check the Bobby Bare thread, so I'll post this fun fact here as well. Just think what might have been, with Engelbert only the second-oldest old-skool star in this year's final...

Bare was a participant in this year's Norwegian selection final for the Eurovision Song Contest, partnering up with some other dude. They finished third.

http://g.api.no/obscura/pub/298x1000r/04173/1329041281000_tooji20120212_4173568298x1000r.jpg

(Bare second from left.)

Lithania's answer to Josh Dubovie.

Here we voted for Malta, Turkey, Slovakia, Georgia and Indian Joan.

But I'll be happy if we avoid a Balkan power ballad sweep.

I think they'd be happy to avoid that too.

Balkan power ballad gold.

"I left a bowl of shit for you"?!

stoked turkey made it through

Bummed Turkey made it through. Like a bad comedian attempting to act like Marc Almond c. 1989.

Can't believe people voted for Estonia AND Lithuania - how much tedium can one final take?

Had to miss today's coverage but sounds...off.

You'll see bad comedian attempting to act like Marc Almond c. 1989 on Saturday, though. :p And a Sweden WIN one supposes. (I had high hopes for the song sung in UDMURT, but it is useless alas.)

Felt like Loreen's show didn't really come together tonight? I equivocate back and forth as to whether the song has general appeal outside of boshland.

That said, I have a 100% record at failing to predict Eurovision winners.

^^^ I'm sure I'll be sitting here on Saturday night saying "wha? people like this?!"

I think it's a pretty decent Eurobosh single but i'm not sure there's enough there to win over the older audience.

I guess it's between Sweden, Russia and Italy. Beyond that: ??? I don't think we'll see a runaway winner.

Russia is going to run away with this.

Kinda happy Italy has gone with the times and entered what is apparently a contender (only heard abt 20 seconds myself), rather than griping about it not being like The Old Days and withdrawing in a huff

If the juries vote for Russia they're a lock. But I dunno if they will.

(i'll grant the first 15 seconds of Russia are good, but then it is direct unto oompah crapper, I feel)

Oompah hasn't done well for DECADES; but still some countries insist on sending it. Netherlands this year. Idgi.

Final draw is up:

01 United Kingdom English Engelbert Humperdinck "Love Will Set You Free" —
02 Hungary English Compact Disco "Sound of Our Hearts" —
03 Albania Albanian[39] Rona Nishliu "Suus"3 Personal[40] 4
04 Lithuania English Donny Montell "Love is Blind"
05 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian MayaSar "Korake ti znam" I know your steps
06 Russia Udmurt, English Buranovskiye Babushki "Party for Everybody" —
07 Iceland English Gréta Salóme & Jónsi "Never Forget" —
08 Cyprus English Ivi Adamou "La La Love" —
09 France French, English Anggun "Echo (You and I)" —
10 Italy English, Italian Nina Zilli "L'amore è femmina (Out of Love)" Love Is Female (Out of love)
11 Estonia Estonian Ott Lepland "Kuula" Listen
12 Norway English Tooji "Stay" —
13 Azerbaijan (host) English Sabina Babayeva "When the Music Dies" —
14 Romania Spanish, English Mandinga "Zaleilah" —
15 Denmark English6 Soluna Samay "Should've Known Better" —
16 Greece English Eleftheria Eleftheriou "Aphrodisiac" —
17 Sweden English Loreen "Euphoria" —
18 Turkey English Can Bonomo "Love Me Back" —
19 Spain Spanish Pastora Soler "Quédate conmigo" Stay with me
20 Germany English Roman Lob "Standing Still" —
21 Malta English Kurt Calleja "This Is the Night" —
22 Macedonia Macedonian Kaliopi "Crno i belo" (Црно и бело) Black and white
23 Ireland English Jedward "Waterline" —
24 Serbia Serbian Željko Joksimović "Nije ljubav stvar" (Није љубав ствар) Love is not an object
25 Ukraine English Gaitana "Be My Guest" —
26 Moldova English8 Pasha Parfeny "Lăutar"

My predix for top 5: Serbia, Italy, Norway, Ukraine, Sweden.

Skeptical of Sweden if only because my Facebook feed is full of people going "LOREEN TO WIN" and "WORK LOREEN!" and these people otherwise only post about RuPaul's Drag University, so they are not really representative of Eurovision voters as a whole.

Yah but I, for one, give no thoughts ever about RuPaul, and I think SWE is the proper Pop Hit of the bunch. It has, in a small way, the thing ABBA were good at -- in the chorus after the hook (eu-pho-ree-ah!), they provide ANOTHER hook (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-O!-oh). (ABBA would of course give a THIRD chorus hook after that just to rub it in.)

Your belief in it is giving me pause, actually. Most of the people I'm mentioning wouldn't know anything that's not charting in the UK or Sweden and haven't got any idea of what might work Europe-wide. I still think it'll be top 5 but perhaps not a winner.

I won't even speculate on the influence of SNOWFLAKE COUGH SHOCK.

Well I tend to have this kind of belief in a song, but I'm not sure I am right more than about one time in five... :)

(ie I remember being this way about Lena's "Satellite", and have conveniently forgotten my enthusiasms that *didn't* win)

Sure-to-be-wrong prediction:

1. Sweden
2. Italy
3. Russia

I'm going to go with Norway, Sweden, Serbia, Denmark, Romania.

Having some people round so not gonna be able to liveblog with y'all on this thread tonight. I've decided I'm supporting Albania, though, in goth retaliation for the overbearing sunshine and heat of today.

Been watching the Song for Eurotrash episode from around '98(?), it's pretty good: Edwyn Collins doing 'Ding a Dong', Kenickie doing 'Save All Your Kisses For Me', Shane MacGowan doing 'What's Another Year', Saint Etienne doing 'La La La'.

IT BEGINS

Graham Norton, Azerbaijani government spokesman "There have been stories about riots. I've seen no trouble."

I still don't like the UK song, but Eng's vocals are better live than on the recorded version.

The Hump has a certain... presence, it must be said. Song also Not Bad At All.

Also the botox has worn off and he doesn't look like embalmed like he does in the video.

This is probably the best of the ballads, tbh.

There are a lot of ballads this year, hopefully Eng's performance has shown people 'how it's done', so to speak, and we'll get some votes out of it.

liking hungary a lot more this go-round - getting kind of a nu-george michael vibe (enough with the wobble bass already tho)

Hungary: much effort into what sounds like a bare skeleton of approximately nothing

HORSEMEN LAND

The person doing the subtitles tonight is a faster typist than whoever was doing it during the semis.

TAILPIPE MAN LAND

xxp

HORSEMEN LAND

That long plait of hair going across her chest looks like a turd.

markedly less terrible than the semifinal at least

Albania is like alien music on Star Trek...not a gd look.

emil.y does a mean goth retaliation, it must be said -- this is wtf in all the most fabulous ways