The first Hungarian entry to grace the Eurovision competition stage was Friderika Bayer in the 1994 Dublin Contest with Kinek mondjam el vetkeimet ("To whom can I tell my sins?"). During the very close voting, the song finished with a total of 122 points and placing 4th out of 25 participants, including three consecutive douze points (from Sweden, Finland and Ireland), and initially setting up Hungary as the leader (followed closely by Poland). Hungary's first douze points went to Germany that year, and gave us a glimpse of things to come (i.e. domination of the Contest moving to Central and Eastern European countries, with which Hungary ironically has very little to do these days). Here's the Hungarian song that started it all:
After such an impressive debut, Hungary's fortunes quickly declined in the next three Contests, putting them in 22nd, 12th and 23rd places (1995, 1997 and 1998 respectively). With money lacking for the country's public broadcasting agencies and the consecutive disappointments at Eurovision, Hungary left the contest indefinitely, returning in 2005 with NOX's rendition of Forogj, vilag on the Kiev stage. Though the country's 2007 entry in Helsinki (a jazzy rendition titled Unsubstantial Blues by Magdi Ruzsa) put Hungary back in the Top Ten, its last four entries have either been finding themselves stuuck in the Semi Finals or barely eking into the Final and placing in the bottom of the score board.
After the 24th place finish last year in Baku, Hungary returns to the Contest with indie-pop singer ByeAlex (aka Alex Marta) with a new version Kedvesem, the song with which he won the Hungarian national selection. [The winning version was 21 seconds longer than the allowed under Eurovision Contest rules, forcing the artist to create a new remix version specifically for the show(s) in Malmo.] The song is slow, the voices are mellow and the singers all have that certain indie Silverlake vibe (Angelenos, you know what I'm talking about), and it's the type of song that's, let's say, uncommon among this year's melange of hard rock, Skrillex wanna-be electronica, and the wave of techno comeback.
Armenia's Eurovision debut came in 2006 in the form of Andre's Without Your Love at the Athens Contest, ending up in eighth with a total 129 points in the Final (including two douze points from Portugal and Russia). The follow-up entry for the Helsinki Contest in 2007 was in the form of Andre and his song Anytime You Need. The song again landed Armenia in eighth place, but increased the country's points total, including a first and so-far only douze points from Turkey (to the surprise of many spectators, and even the artist himself). In Belgrade next year, Armenia proved that third time is indeed the charm, by placing second in its Semi Final and finishing the contest in fourth place, and almost breaking 200 points, with Sirusho's Qele Qele:
The country placed in the Top Ten with its entries in Moscow (2009) and Oslo (2010), but failed to make the final at the 2011 Contest in Dusseldorf, not performing in Final for the first time since its debut. Last year, Armenia pulled out of the Baku Contest last year, because of safety and security concerns for its delegation (& any Armenian Eurovision fans) and how they would be treated in Azerbaijan. This was generally viewed as a valid reason, since the two countries are officially at war over the region of Nagarno-Karabagh, de jure part of Azerbajian over which Armenia has territorial and cultural claim (& the birthplace of the Armenia's 2007 Eurovision representative Andre). Political tensions between the two Caucasus neighbors had already spilled over into Eurovision in previous years, with the neighbors involved in minor and major incidents.
After this one year break, Dorians will hit the Malmo stage for Armenia with Lonely Planet, a light rock ballad composed by Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, with high hopes of avoiding a repeat of 2011. This is one of the few songs in this year's Contest whose fate I am completely unsure of. Thankfully the decision is not with me, but with the public votes coming from the participating countries. Here's a look (clip of the song at the national selection presentation):
By far one of the most successful countries from its early days at the Contest, Israel's debut came in 1973 in Luxembourg. There, Ilanit's rendition of Ey Sham ("Somewhere") led to Israel capturing its first Top Five placement (coming in fourth with 97 points). The debut's point total may not seem impressive these days, but remember that this was before the introduction of the douze points, having to sing in Hebrew (this was before the lifting of the language restrictions and during a time when French chansons were the victorious norm), and with winners being chosen after barely breaking the 100 point mark.
Israel's first win came in 1978 in Paris, after the introduction of the current point distribution system, with Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta's A-Ba-Ni-Bi ("I love you"). The event led to Jordanian television cutting off in mid-transmission when it became evident that the country was going to win, and declaring through its national media that Belgium had won the contest the next day (it had in fact come in a distant second). When it was announced that the Contest would be held in Jerusalem the next year, the pressure from Yugoslavia and Turkey's Arab allies led the countries to withdraw from Eurovision (though Turkey caved to the pressure much later, after picking a national representative in the form of Maria Rita Epik & 21, whose song Seviyorum had to stay back).
Though the country was to host the next year, with the Contest scheduled during Israel's Day of Remembrance and with no allotted funds required for the hosting gig, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority passed, and the EBU declared The Hague as the hosts of Eurovision in 1980. Israel withdrew from the 1980 Contest in order to observe the Day of Remembrance, and was quickly replaced with Morocco's one and only entry in the Contest with Samira Bensaid's Bitaqat Khub ("Love Message"). The country continued its success throughout the eighties with six Top Ten finishes, two of which were close second places. Israel started off well in the early nineties, but withdrew from the Contest several times, returning to the stage in Birmingham in 1998 with Dana International's Diva. That year's contest turned into a five-way diva-off, with Dana taking the trophy back to Israel, the result solidifying only after the dispensation of the last votes. As the first and so far only openly transgender contestant, her participation had already ruffled serious feathers among the Orthodox communities within the country before the Contest. The win turned into a cultural divide (some say war) between the secular and religious Israelis...here's the performance that caused all the ruckus (along with the allocation of the 8, 10 and 12 points):
The next decade saw Israel all over the score board (and not making the Final for the first time during the 2004 Istanbul Contest), but still managing to get two Top Five finishes along with one Top Ten placement in 2008, with The Fire In Your Eyes written by Dana and performed with the incredible vocals of Boaz. Since then the country has either barely made it to the Final and finishing towards the bottom, or as has been the case in the past two years, not making it past the Semi Final (incidentally, one of those not-past-the Semi Final finishes -to the shock of most viewers- was with Dana returning to the Contest in Dusseldorf in 2011). This year, Israel returns to the contest with young diva Moran Mazor, whose vocal talents led her to victory during K'dam, Israel's heavily competitive national song selection show (it is one of the most vigorous, along with Sweden and Norway's national competitions). Moran will perform Rak bishvilo ("Only For Him") and, if politics don't play a role, should have no problem making it to the Final:
After debuting in 1974's Brighton Contest and placing a decent 11th, Greece followed up with several withdrawals from the Contest in the 70s and 80s (mostly for political reasons involving Turkey). In the years that Hellenic Republic participated, the country was rewarded with several Top Five and Top Ten finishes. Unfortunately the Greek audience's interest in the contest was very low until Greece surprised even itself with a bronze in 2001 in Copenhagen with pop-duo Antique's (I Would) Die for You. Antique was made up of two Swedish born Greek singers, Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis (their musical paths amicably diverged in 2003, with each artist pursuing solo careers with varying success). Elena eventually took home the trophy for Greece after winning the 2005 Contest in Kiev with the catchy ethno-pop performance of My Number One. In 2006 Athens played home to the Contest, co-hosted by an initially clueless Maria Menounos and Sakis Rouvas, who had scored another third for Greece in the 2004 Contest in Istanbul with Shake It. With these successes the Contest's popularity in Greece spiked, to the point where Eurovision is considered a national affair (both in terms of national selection and the country's actual representation at the Contest. Here's Elena Paparizou's winning live performance from the 2005 Final:
The years after the 2005 win have seen Greece consistently placing in the Top Ten of the score-board, including Sakis Rouvas' return to the Contest in 2009 in Moscow (where he finished seventh). That streak unfortunately hit a road bump last year with Eleftheria Eleftheriou's Aphrodisiac (another catchy ethno-pop rendition, that has become the standard from the Eastern end of the map of the countries participating in the Contest), leaving the country in seventeeth place (and making it the first time since the introduction of the Semi Finals that the country has finished in the Top Ten). This year, Koza Mostra feat. Agathonas Iakovidis is hoping to change that with Alcohol is Free, which contrary to what its title may lead you to believe, is performed in Greek (except for the title line(s). I want to see Greece in the Final, but this song makes me think that the country may end up getting stuck at the Semi Final stage (and making not qualifying for the Final for the first time a real possibility). One thing, though, is a certainty...this song will get the coveted douze points from Cyprus, as it has almost every year of the Contest. Take a look:
The island nation, with its now famous volcano Eyjafjallajokull, lies the north of the Atlantic bordering the Arctic Circle, and first joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 in Bergen after it was able to link into the European Broadcasting Union with strong enough satellite capabilities (how far we've come). With the appropriately named trio ICY and their song Gleðibankinn ("The Bank of Fun"), the debut entry placed sixteenth in a field of twenty contestants (as did the country's next two entries in Brussels and Dublin), followed by Iceland receiving its first nul point at the Lousanne Contest in 1989. For the 1990 Contest in Zagreb, Iceland sent duo Stjornin with their song Eitt lag enn ("One More Song") into a field dominated by entries themed after the unification of Europe (the first twelve countries of the EU, then known as the European Community or EC, formally tied knots with each other under the Maastricht Treaty) and placed a well deserved fourth. The song was traditional Eurovision fare, served up with glorious 80s matchy-matchy outfits and flock of seagulls and sung in Icelandic (ah, nostalgia), and fared well with a total of 124 points (the Contest trophy went to Italy that year with Toto Contugno's Insieme: 1992, with subtle lyrics like "Unite Unite Europe"):
Through the nineties, Iceland usually ended up on the lower half of the score-board, until it sent an English lyrics song (All Out of Luck by Selma) to Jerusalem for the 1999 Contest and receiving three douze points (from Cyprus, Denmark and Sweden). This remained Iceland's most successful entry in the Contest for a decade, until Yohanna's Is It True competed in 2009's Contest in Moscow (you'll get a glimpse of this song later on this blog). Coincidentally, both of Iceland's bridesmaid moments (aka almost-winning second place finishes) were against Nordic countries (first Sweden, then Norway), with the winning countries awarding Iceland their douze points. This year, Iceland goes back to basics for the Malmo Contest and is represented by Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson's Eg a lif, a slow soft ballady Icelandic brew. I have high hopes for this song, and its charismatic and talented singer (who also may or may not be a long lost cousin of Thor...just sayin'), though admittedly who/what I like is miles away from what Eurovision viewers think is good/deserving of the win lately. See for yourselves:
Starting in spot 7 on May 16 will be Bulgaria, who first debuted in the 2005 Contest in Kiev. The country's first entry, Lorraine by Kaffe, placed 19th in the Semi Final and missed out on being on the Final stage. Bulgaria's next entry in Athens followed a similar fate, but the country's 2007 entry in Helsinki, Water by Elitsa & Stoyan, finished sixth in the Semi Final and elevated the country into the Final for the very first time. After the points were distributed, Bulgaria finished with an impressive 157 points and nabbed fifth place (in a field of 24 Finalists). Here's the song that brought the country its best result and first (and so far only) Top Five finish:
The next five years saw Bulgaria again floundering out of the Contest in the Semi Final stages, after the double semi finals were set up for the 2008 Contest in Belgrade, to more fairly accommodate the increase in the number of participating countries. If the rule change had not been imposed that year, Bulgaria would have automatically qualified for the Final in 2008, but instead left with an 11th place finish leaving Bulgaria empty-handed. During last year's Baku Contest, Sofi Marinova's Love Unlimited (with lyrics in Bulgarian, English, Greek, Spanish and French), suffered a similar fate, tying for tenth place (Norway proceeded to the Final because they had received votes from more countries), and shutting the country out of the Final once again. This year Elitsa & Stoyan are back to represent Bulgaria in Malmo with their song Samo shampioni ("Only Champions") sung in the national language and hope to repeat their success from Kiev. Take a look and see if you can spot the similarities to the 2005 entry:
Malta first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 in Dublin, with Joe Grech's Marija I-Maltija sung entirely in Maltese, and despite scoring 58 points, came in last that year. Its next entry in Edinburgh in 1972 finished last and the Maltese song in the Stockholm Contest in 1975 placed twelfth. After these unsuccessful attempts, Malta opted out of the Contest until the 1991 Contest in Rome (the Contest was moved from Sanremo for security reasons during the height of the Gulf War and the rising of tensions in Yugoslavia). For the Rome Contest that year, Malta returned to the stage in English with Paul Giordimaina and Georgina's Could It Be, and scored its first Top Ten finish (and 106 points). In the next five years Malta consistently placed in the Top Ten, even finishing in third place in 1992's Malmo Contest with Mary Spiteri's Little Child. Then Chiara appeared in 1998's Birmingham Contest with The One That I Love to give the small island nation "favored to win" status for the first time in its Eurovision history. It became clear that the 1998 Contest was a very close battle of the Divas, with Israel (Dana International), the UK (Imani), Netherlands (Edsilia), Croatia (Danijela) and Malta at the top of the leader board with each score distributed by the national juries/televotes. Malta was in the lead over Israel until the last votes came in (from (FYR) Macedonia) and Chiara's song (link below) didn't receive any points from the former Yugoslav republic, giving the win to Israel (and Malta falling to third place behind the UK).
The nail-biting near-win got Chiara, who was visibly shaken and disappointed with the result, on the European music map and charts, and put Malta on a mission to bring a win back to Valetta. The country had a Birmingham-like experience in 2002 in Talinn with Ira Losco's 7th Wonder (coming in a very close second to Latvia). The next few years saw Malta up and down the score board, until Chiara's return to the Contest in Kiev in 2005. There, she was once again favored to win with her song Angel, alongside Elena Paparizou and Israel's Shiri Maimon. However, after the first few countries had dispensed their votes, Elena became the clear front runner (she kind of swept the contest), with Chiara ending up second (Israel ended up fourth behind a very surprised third-placing Romania). The Kiev contest became the figurative straw that broke the country's back and left Malta struggling to make it to the Final (or scoring points if/when it made it that far). [Chiara returned to the Contest in Moscow in 2009, hoping that her third appearance would be her charm, but returned home in 22nd place.]
This year Malta's entry Tomorrow will be presented by Gianluca Bezzina, a twenty-three year old doctor, the third sibling of seven, and part-time singer, who vowed the Maltese audience during the national selection process and won the right to represent the country in Malmo. It will be interesting to see if this sweet ukelele-accompanied song will be able to stand out in a field dominated electronic and ethno pop songs:
Starting in fifth position in the Second Semi Final on May 16 will be Finland, who until the mid-2000s was considered the most under-achieving participant of the Contest. Debuting in the Cannes Contest in 1961 (and placing 10th), Finland achieved sixth in 1973 with Marion Rung's Tom Tom Tom in Luxembourg (with 93 points). This remained the country's best score for nearly thirty years, during which time Finland managed to rack up a record nine last-place finishes (three of them the dreaded nul point). Then Hard Rock Hallelujah happened. A little known band by the name of Lordi, dressed in full orc and other Middle Earth inspired costumes a la Lord of the Rings, hit the stage during the 2006 Contest in Athens and blew their competition away. After the final votes came in from Turkey, Lordi had gathered a total of 292 points, and Finland found itself as the winner of the Contest for the first time in more than four decades at Eurovision. Here's the performance that changed it all:
Since the Lordi win and the hosting of the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland has found very little success on the Eurovision stage, and has basically become the points-sprinkler for its Scandinavian and Baltic neighbors. Though young Paradise Oskar gave a promising performance with his guitar and vocals in Dusseldorf in 2011, and though Da Da Dam (with its message of peace) qualified for the Final after placing third in its Semi Final, the tally on Final night was a distant and disappointing 21st with 57 points. Last year's result was even more dismal, with the Finnish entry not even making it out of its Semi Final in Baku. This year the country will be represented in Malmo by Krista Siegfrids and her song Marry Me. Krista, a student studying to be a teacher, is from the Swedish-speaking western part Finland and took the national selection contest by storm, winning both the jury and tele-votes. [Incidentally, the song has become a rallying point for marriage equality advocates in Finland, a cause Krista supports.] Shall we have a look and a listen?
Though the last of the Caucasus countries to enter the Eurovision Song Contest (in 2008 in Belgrade), Azerbaijan is certainly one of the most successful from the eastern end of the Contest's spectrum. The first Azerbaijani entry by Elnur & Samir (with their good versus evil performance of the song Day After Day in full devil and angel costumes) placed the country into an impressive (and somewhat unexpected) eighth place. During the next two contests, the country continued its streak of placing in the top of the scoreboard (third in 2009 in Moscow and fifth in 2010 in Oslo). Then came Ell & Nikki's love song/ballad Running Scared, written and composed by Swedish Eurovision veterans Stefan Orn and Sandra Bjurman and Iain Farquharson from the UK. Performed wholly in English at the Dusseldorf competition in 2011, the song scored a total of 221 points and left favorites Italy and Sweden behind with 189 and 185 points respectively. [Note: I saw this performance live on Final night in Dusseldorf's Esprit Arena and had predicted a Top Five finish. The win was a surprise at that moment, but after watching the 2011 Final again, you can see how this song was able to beat out everyone else]:
Last year, as a result of Ell & Nikki's win, Baku played host to the 2012 Contest, with Ell (aka Eldar Gasimov) playing co-host during both Semi-Finals and the Final night. The pair reunited on stage, first to sing the winning song at the beginning of the Final competition, then at the end of the night to present the winner's trophy to Loreen from Sweden. This year, Azerbaijan is keeping the song genre the same, but will be sending a solo male artist to the Contest for the first time. [Since most winners of the Contest are either solo female artists or female/male duos, going to the Contest with a solo male artist is considered a gamble, no matter how good the song]. But if you're going to make a bet, why not do it big with someone like Farid Mammodov, a twenty-one year old student at the national performing arts university, an employee of the Baku Jazz center, a wrestler, and a song-writer (one of his song he wrote competed in the national selection)...oh and the man can sing. Here he is performing Azerbaijan's official entry for Malmo Hold Me at the national selection competition. The song is pretty much guaranteed to make out of the Second Semi Final and will most likely get Azerbaijan another Top Five finish this year:
Though originally slated to debut in 1996 and then becoming a victim of the erratic EBU rule changes of the nineties, The Republic of Macedonia (or better known by its tounge-twisty official name, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) first participated in the Contest in Birmingham in 1998. Neither that first outing nor the subsequent tries have brought FYR Macedonia the success some of its Balkan neighbors have enjoyed, let alone placed the country in the Top Ten. Though the country usually manages to eke its way out of the Semi Finals, its best finish was a distant twelfth at the Athens Contest in 2006 with Elena Risteska's Ninanajna. Last year in Baku, the country was represented by Kaliopi (who incidentally was supposed to be the debut act for her country in 1996) and her song Crno i belo ("Black and White"), which came in thirteenth in the Final (even scoring a couple of douze points from neighbors Serbia and Bosnia-Herzigovina):
This year, FYR Macedonia returns to the Malmo contest, after seemingly rediscovering its ethno-pop roots. Esma & Lozano's song Pred de se razdeni takes ethno-pop to new levels, by acknowledging the sizable Romani population of the country with a Macedonian and Romani mix of vocals. This is an interesting combination for a Eurovision song, and I urge you not to scoff. The composition and the vocals may not be in line with your usual tastes, but this attempt is sure to get noticed by FYR Macedonia's Balkan neighbors (there are 4 in the Second Semi Final, with a potential of 5 more Balkan Finalist from the First Semi Final to be held on May 14th). Whether you love, hate or laugh at this performance, it is likely one to be remembered for a while and may land the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (try saying the country's name in French for more tongue twistedness: L'Ancienne Republique Yougoslave de la Macedonione) in the Top Ten for the first time:
A tiny enclaved micro-state (it is entirely surrounded by Italy), officially known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino, is a newbie to the Contest, debuting in Belgrade in 2008. After placing last in its Semi Final that year with Miodio's Complice (presented in Italian), San Marino pulled out of the Contest for the next few years, returning in 2011, along with its neighbor Italy. Though still not making it out of the Semi Final, the country's 16th place finish (with 34 points) was a vast improvement compared to its first Contest. The San Marinese entry in Dusseldorf was Senit's song Stand By, which should have fared much better against the eighteen other entries in the First Semi Final:
Last year the San Marinese entry made a big splash during the promotional and introductory tours, not because of its quality, but because of its subject matter. The song, presented by Valentina Monetta, was initially titled the "Facebook Song," which after running into legal issues for calling out the social media giant's name. Valentina promptly reworked the title and stripped all specific references to Facebook from the lyrics. The Social Network Song went on to place 14th in the First Semi Final in Baku, continuing San Marino's slow and steady climb in the placings. This year Velentina Monetta is back to representing the Most Serene Republic with an Italian song Crisalide (Vola), with which she hopes to inch her way into the Malmo Final show. This entry is San Marino's strongest and could take San Marino to its first Eurovision Final (the country is guaranteed high marks from Italy, but will not be eligible for any from its neighbor in the Semi Final stage, since Italy drew to vote in the First Semi Final):
The first country to present its entry in the Second Semi Final on May 16 will be the Baltic nation of Latvia, who dipped their toes into the Eurovision pool in Stockholm during the 2000 Contest. There, Latvia finished a strong third with Brainstorm's My Star, followed by a wobbly 18th place in Copenhagen in 2001, and ultimately taking the trophy home in 2002, held in neighboring Estonian capital Talinn. The winning entry that year was performed by Marie N with her song I Wanna (but not before a jab from BBC's Terry Wogan commenting "If you wanna win, don't forget to put on your hat."):
As hosts of the 2003 Contest in Riga, Latvia received the worst score on home turf in Eurovision history, finishing in a dismal 24th place (out of 26) with just five points, barely getting ahead of Malta and the United Kingdom (the latter receiving its first nul point and its first time in last place). Since then Latvia has bobbed up and (mostly) down on the scoreboard, placing in the Top Five in 2005's Contest in Kiev and then falling to the bottom half of the scoreboard since. Latvia has not made it through the Semi Final stage in the last four years and is hoping its entry Here We Go by PeR will fare better in Malmo. This song is an interesting (and confusing) choice for a country trying get back into the Final of the Contest...it sounds like a high school talent show trying to fit too much into a three-minute performance and falling flat. But don't take my word for it...watch and determine for yourselves:
Though technically debuting in the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Serbia has a long history at Eurovision: Participating as part of Yugoslavia from 1961 through 1991, then as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (made up of Serbia and Montenegro after several republics of Yugoslavia broke away) in 1992, and later returning to the Contest as Serbia and Montenegro (in 2004 and 2006). In 2004 the entry from Serbia & Montenegro placed 2nd in Istanbul, but it was Maria Serifovic's sweeping win with Molitva ("A Prayer") in Helsinki, on behalf of independent Serbia, that brought the Contest to Belgrade the following year. Here's the song that was quickly nicknamed the "lesbian funeral song" and brought the country its first win during its debut as Serbia at the Contest:
Since that win, Serbia has consistently placed into the Finals every year (with the exception of 2009), exclusively with songs written and performed in Serbian (this is an anomaly at the Contest, with pretty much every entrant rushing to sing in English to capture a wider audience). The entry at the 2009 Moscow Contest finished tenth in its Semi Final and should have moved on, but for a new rule the EBU had in place that gave the juries a free pick from the songs, which led to Croatia making it to the Final (this rule was quickly abandoned the next year). Last year Serbia was represented by Eurovision favorite Željko Joksimović (he represented Serbia & Montenegro in Istanbul in 2004, was the co-host of the 2008 Contest in Belgrade as well as the composer for Serbia's entry on home turf that same year) in Baku and placed an impressive (and somewhat unexpected) third. This year, Serbia is represented by girl group Moje 3 and their song Ljubav je svuda ("Love Is Everywhere") in the First Semi Final on May 14th (they take the stage last that night). I'm beginning to see a pattern of "love" songs this year...let's see how Serbia's version of "love" will fare in Malmo:
One of the original participants of the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 in Lugano, Belgium enjoyed early success with its second place that year. That feat was followed by four last place finishes (two of them receiving the dreaded nul point designation), until 1978's Contest in Paris, where Jean Vallee placed second with L'amour ca fait chanter la vie. Belgium's first win came in 1986 in Bergen, Norway, when a thirteen year old Sandra Kim (pretending to be fifteen) presented J'aime la vie. When her true age was discovered, Switzerland, who had placed second, requested that Belgium's win be stripped, because of non-compliance with the Contest's minimum age rules (rules dictate that a contestant must be at least 16 years-old when participating). The Swiss request was not granted, Sandra Kim kept her trophy, and remains the youngest winner in Contest history, unless the age restrictions are revised. [A change in the minimum age requirements for the main Contest is is highly unlikely, since Eurovision launched an annual Junior song contest in 2003 to cover the eight to fifteen age group). Let's take a moment to Belgium's first (and so far only) win:
Belgium continued its tradition of sending a French entry one year and a Flemish one the following year, until language restrictions were lifted (anyone can sing in any language nowadays). Taking full advantage of the change, Belgium participated with an entry in English in 2002 (Sister by Sergio & the Ladies), placing thirteenth overall. In 2003, Belgium went all in for the Contest in Riga, and sent the group Urban Trad singing Sanomi in a made-up language and placing a very close second behind Turkey's winning entry. Sanomi was criticized for being written in a made-up language, with some mockingly remarking that it was a shame that Belgium couldn't find artists willing to sing in the 26+ official languages of Europe.
In the last decade, Belgium has been the hardest hit of Western European countries, in terms of receiving points in the Semi Final stages. The country has been struggling to make it to the Final (even with the participation of well established stars like Kate Ryan), and has only managed to make it out of the Semi Final once in 2010 in Oslo. [Of note: Belgium was one of the loudest critics of the then established televoting structure, which placed many Western European countries at a severe disadvantage against the voting blocks of Scandinavia, Balkans and former Soviet republics. The country's efforts to reform the EBU has been successful: Eurovision now uses a split tele- and jury- vote system, that seems to have diminished block voting to some degree.] This year's Belgian entry Love Kills, performed by Roberto Bellarosa, is of the usual high quality expected from the country. But, will it be able to break Belgium's Semi Final curse on May 14 and place into the Final in Malmo:
Cyprus first entered the Eurovision fray in 1981 in Dublin with Island's song Monika and placed a very respectable sixth that year. This was followed up by Anna Vissi's entry Μόνο η αγάπη("Only love") in the 1982 competition in Harrogate, which brought Cyprus its first Top Five placement in the Contest:
Throughout the eighties, nineties, and early 2000s, Cyprus has traveled all over the score board, but still managed two more Top Five finishes: one in 1997 with Hara and Andreas Constantinou's Μάνα μου ("My Motherland") and the next in 2004 with sixteen year-young Lisa Andreas' soft ballad Stronger Every Minute (overall Cyprus has placed in the Top Ten a total of nine times since its debut). Cyprus' 2004 performance (clip below) in Istanbul also brought the country its first ever points from Turkey (five in the Semi Final, and one in the Final - Cyprus returned the favor with 2 points for Athena's performance of For Real on home turf). Cyprus' first ever points to Turkey (a groundbreaking eight, delivered with a message of peace) were given in the previous year, ultimately leading to Sertab Erener's victory in Riga. Those goodwill vote exchanges have been rare ever since (in fact only once), with Turkey awarding four points to the Cypriot entry, which ultimately failed to qualify for the Final in 2008. Let's take a look at the song that broke the Cyprus-Turkey points divide (and hope it leads to other divisions being resolved):
This year Cyprus heads to Malmo with Despina Olympiou's ballad Αν με θυμάσαι ("If you think of me"). Though I don't understand the words, the music and Despina's voice tell me to not underestimate this entry as an underdog in this year's Contest. Cyprus has pulled off surprising high finishes before, and this song has great potential to get the Mediterranean island nation back in the top of the scoreboard. I really hope that the live performance in the First Semi Final (and hopefully in the Final on May 18th) goes well (many a great performer has not survived the singing live onstage, though based on Despina's past live performances, this should be no obstacle for her to overcome):
Welcome to the Spiritual Home of Eurovision: Ireland! With a record number of wins since its debut in Naples in 1965, the first of which came in 1970 in Amsterdam with Dana's entry All Kinds of Everything, no other country has had the success Ireland has enjoyed at the Eurovision Song Contest. Of those wins, three came in consecutive years (1992, 1993 and 1994), followed by Ireland's seventh win in 1996, making Ireland the only country to ever run out of places to host the Contest and placing the country's public broadcaster RTE at the risk of bankruptcy (hosting is expensive business). Ireland also has the honor of being the home of singer/songwriter Johnny Logan, who holds the record for three wins (twice as singer and once as songwriter). His heart-wrenching ballad Hold Me Now, presented at the 1987 Contest in Brussels, not only won the contest, but became a cross-European hit and solidified Logan as a star (not only of Eurovision, but of the European music scene of the eighties and early nineties):
With its seven wins, four second place finishes, one third-place bronze and twenty additional Top Ten finishes, Ireland has definitely earned its depiction as the Spiritual Home of Eurovision. That said Ireland's placings at the most recent contests have been somewhat dismal, though the country was able to score in the Top Ten twice (Tenth in 2006 with Brian Kennedy's Every Song Is a Cry For Love, and eigth with Jedward's first appearance in 2011 in Dusseldorf with Lipstick). Last year Jedward again represented Ireland, this time in Baku, with a seizure inducing rendition of Waterline that eventually finished nineteenth (though the twins didn't seem to notice, busy jumping around like a couple of spastic squirrels in sci-fi space knight suits every time the camera panned in their direction). Take a look at this Jedaster:
This year, Ireland has chosen Ryan Dolan to duke it out in Malmo with the catchy electro-pop Only Love Survives. The odds- and bet-makers, as well as several Eurovision fan groups have high expectations with this song, as do I. The music has a fun thump and is upbeat, the lyrics are warm, fuzzy, and carry a positive message, being performed by a young Northern Irelander with incredible vocal skills, all making this entry a bit of a sure-thing for making it to the Final and most likely getting into the Top Ten, if not higher, bringing Ireland back to its Eurovision glory. Now the only question that remains is if Ireland's RTE will be able to host next year's contest, given the country's financial woes, and if that consideration makes any impact on the public's and/or jury's votes and points. Here's Ryan Dolan's official Eurovision presentation video of Only Love Survives:
Making its debut in Kiev in 2005 (along with Bulgaria), and placing sixth that year with local band Zdob si Zdub's Bunika Bate Toba (sung in Moldovan, a sub-dialect of Romanian), Moldova has kept the Eurovision audience entertained with its wild mix of experimental and eclectic entries at the Contest. The country has only missed the Final once since it began participating in the Eurovision Song Contest (failing to qualify from the Semi Final stage in Belgrade in 2008), and has fared decently otherwise. It has also quickly become Romania's dumping ground for high marks, particularly douze points (a feat Moldova often reciprocates with its closest neighbor), the first of which was in 2005. Emboldened by their great finish in 2005, Zdob si Zdub returned to the Contest in Dusseldorf in 2011, this time performing in (what some have suggested was indeed) English with So Lucky. I saw the return of the band live on stage and went from being concerned for the safety of the unicycle rider in the gnome hat, to wishing for her to wipe out, so that I could find some humor in the performance. The song somehow managed to get points (again a big fat twelve from Romania in both the Semi Final and the Final), and placed 12th overall. But, I mean, really:
This year Moldova heads off to the competition in Malmo with O Mie ("One Million"), sung in Romanian by Aliona Moon. Moon is no stranger to the Contest, and participated in Baku last year as a back up singer during the performance of Lautar, Moldova's entry written and sung by Pasha Parfeny, who composed this year's song O Mie. Looking beyond the distracting wrought-iron like neck and piece Aliona is supposed to don during her performance (as she did in the Moldovan national election finals), the Moldovan/Romanian version of the song is pretty spectacular (let's hope it stays that way...the English version is, well, not so great). That said, I would venture and go as far as suggesting that this is Moldova's best entry so far in the Contest, and could end up nabbing the coveted douze points from several countries (aside from the almost-certain top score from Romania). I mark this one as another underdog with the potential to place in the Top Ten...see for yourselves (live street performance of the Moldovan/Romanian):
Starting in spot 11 in the First Semi Final is Belarus. Debuting in the 2004 contest in Istanbul's Semi Final, Alexandra & Konstantin's My Galileo placed 19th with 10 points, leaving Belarus out of the Final and the competition. It took Dimitry Koldun's entry Work Your Magic in the 2007 Contest for Belarus to get to the Final, with the song eventually getting 145 points and finishing 6th (Belarus' best result so far). Since then Belarus has rarely made it out of the Semi Final (with the exception of 3+2's 2010 entry Butterflies in Oslo). Here's Dimitry working his magic during his live performance in Helsinki:
This year Belarus is being represented by Alyona Lanskaya with Solayoh. Her song was selected after Belarus' president (yes, the president of the country! These people take this Contest seriously) completely replaced the country's Eurovision and national song selection team. There are even reports that Alexandar Rybak, who won the 2009 Contest in Moscow representing Norway and is of Belarusian origin, may become involved in Belarus' selection process and write next year's songs who will compete for a chance to represent Belarus at the 2014 contest (to be held in the country of this year's Contest winner). Perhaps all these unorthodox moves to improve Belarus' placement on the Eurovision stage are paying off. Alyona's song Solayoh is certainly its best entry to date and could bring Belarus back into the Top Ten on Final night. That is, if it gets enough votes in the tightly contest First Semi Final on May 14th. Here's a clip of the song being presented at the live Romanian national final selection show:
Back to the coast of the Baltic Sea and on to another former Soviet republic: Lithuania! First debuting in the 1994 contest in Dublin (along with its neighbor Estonia), Lithuania's first bit of Eurovision history was unfortunately the dreaded nul points (a.k.a., "tuck your tail between your legs and run home"). The next year, Lithuania (along with other low scoring countries) had to submit its entry to a preliminary round each year, and there the qualifiers for the show were picked by an international jury (this was later replaced by the Semi Finals). The 1994 result, and subsequent poor results in the preliminaries, led to a five year period Lithuanian absence from the Eurovision show(s). The country returned to the 1999 contest in Jerusalem, but faltered at the bottom of the score boards until its 2006 entry in Athens. After placing fifth in the Semi Final, LT United's We Are The Winners football-chant "song," brought Lithuania its best placement (and first and only Top Ten) in the Contest:
The subsequent contests have remained unkind to Lithuania in the Finals (when and if they qualified), and the country basically became a point distribution system for Russia's (& its Baltic neighbors' and ex-Soviet friends') entries every year. Surprisingly, Lithuania receives high marks from both Ireland and the UK (there's a sociology dissertation, or at least a Eurovision interest story there). This year's entry is presented by Andrius Pojavis in the form of Something. At least the song title is descriptive of its contents...it's something (erm, is this thing on?), but is it going to be enough to get Lithuania back on top of the score board?
Back to the Balkans we go for the introduction of Montenegro. [forgive the multiple posts today...I'm a bit behind thanks to jury duty earlier this week].
Montenegro has been a participant in the Contest as an independent country since 2007, but can trace its ESC roots back further. It has participated as a part of Yugoslavia from 1961 until 1991, as part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (along with Serbia, as the remaining constituent republics of Yugoslavia) in 1992, and then as Serbia &Montenegro from 2004 to 2006. Specifically, the 2005 entry representing Serbia & Montenegro was Montenegrin, as were the artists representing Yugoslavia in 1983 and 1984. Montenegro's success has been limited at Eurovision and it has not yet been represented in the Final since joining the competition under its own name. The country's best result so far (and its only non-Montenegrin entry) placed 11th in the 2009 Semi Final with Andrea Demirovic's Just Get Out of My Life.
This year the tiny country is back to (mostly) singing in its official language and being represented by hip-hop group Who See's song Igranka. The duo's official promotional video is a melange of Breaking Bad, a high school marching band, women in bikinis doing their thing in a cage Fight Club style, some random lady shaking her chichis, and another kicking a chair several times in what looks like an abandoned warehouse. I'm not really sure what it all means or how I feel about it (this has not qualified for WTF category), so I'm just gotta let ya'll see and decide for yourselves. Enjoy?
One of the original seven countries who competed in the first Eurovision in Lugano in 1956, the Netherlands was a perennial favorite during the first three decades of the Contest. The country was able to log in four wins (1957, 1959, 1969 and 1975), all sung in Dutch, and has hosted the Contest an equal number of times (including in 1980, when Israel was unable to host that year's contest after winning on home turf in 1979). The last decade has unfortunately been unkind to the Netherlands, with only one entry (in 2004) making it out of the Semi Finals, despite the fact that the recent performances have all been in English (except in 2010).
Though the Netherlands' Eurovision history may have become a mixed bag, the country has continually supplied the contest with an eclectic mix of solo and groups of artists and musical genres, through the 90s. This eclectic mix includes Edsilia Rombley (who represented her country twice at the Contest) and her 1998 entry Hemel en Aarde, which to this day is the most successful entry the country has had at the Contest since the last Dutch win in 1975. Hemel en Aarde placed fourth (only 32 points behind Dana International's winning song Diva, which took the contest back to Israel the following year). Take a look:
The Netherlands, unlike many of its Western European neighbors not in the Big Five (I'm looking at you Belgium), has kept mum on the regional blocks and the introduction of the televoting system, which has disadvantaged the Dutch. Instead the country has continued to send quality songs to the Contest undeterred. This year is no exception! Perhaps emboldened by Germany's win in 2010 and Sweden's victory last year, the Netherlands picked its representative internally (no big Idol-esque selection production), and is quietly mounting a promotional campaign for their entry for Malmo and the odds of the Contest coming back to Amsterdam (or the Hague) is looking good. Almost all oddsmakers and many Eurovision insiders agree that the Dutch song will place in the Top Five, if not win the Contest this year, with the ballad Birds performed by Anouk. Unfortunately, there is no actual video of the Dutch entry this year, but here is a clip of the song:
I applaud the Netherlands for sending a poignant ballad to a contest crowded by electro-pop messes and wannabees, and I am happy to declare this song as one of my favorites this year. But what do you think? Does this ballad have a chance to make it out of the First Semi Final and compete against all the electro-pop messes that will surely crowd the Final on May 18th? I send Anouk many good vibes for a great live performance (which can break a favored artist's run at the Contest and send the contestant packing for home). Ik wens u het beste Nederland/Anouk!
Debuting in 2003 in Riga, Ukraine finished 14th with popular singer Oleksandr Ponomaryov. But no other country, in the history of Eurovision, was able to flip the disappointment of their first appearance with a win the following year. In 2004's contest hosted in Istanbul, Ruslana (dubbed "Xena, Warrior Princess" by Terry Wogan, the sublimely sarcastic long-time commentator of the BBC), literally jumped and danced her way into first place with Wild Dances and a resounding victory that took the Contest to Kiev in 2005, in the midst of the political and reformist Orange Revolution that was taking place in Ukraine.
In Kiev, Ukraine was disappointed to find itself in 19th place on home turf, but went back to placing in the Top Ten in 2006 in Athens. The next two Contests brought Ukraine two second place finishes (in Helsinki in 2007 and Belgrade in 2008). In particular, the drag queen discombobulated disco song (if it can be called that) by Verka Serdushka made quite the splash in Helsinki and even became a hit on a few European national charts. Still, Ukraine is probably one of the most successful new entrants (along with Azerbaijan) since its debut and manages to collect points for even the most "what did I just witness" songs.
This year Ukraine goes to Malmo with Zlata Ognevich's song Gravity. The ballad is a bit, how shall I put this, screamy for my taste (though it can't even compete with the dog-whistler scream queen from Albania last year). Ukraine's track record of six Top Ten finishes in its first decade as a participant in the Contest makes it a force to be reckoned with (even the oddsmakers are in agreement giving this entry 1 in 12 odds of winning):
The largest country represented in the Eurovision Broadcasting Union (both in terms of population and geographical size), Russia's debut to the Contest came in 1994's contest in Dublin with Youddiph's Vyechniy Strannik. This debut earned Russia a total of 70 points and a 9th place finish:
Seven years after Youddiph's performance, Russia placed second in Stockholm in 2000 (missing first place, which went to Denmark, by 40 points) and then placing a very tight third with t.A.T.u.'s Ne ver Ne Boysia at the 2003 Contest in Riga (Turkey won with 167 points, with Belgium in 2nd place with 165 and t.A.T.u. receiving 164 points for Russia). In 2006, Russia was represented by Dima Bilan, by then a rising star in his home country, and Never Let You Go, with its theatrical performance (a ballerina popped out of the white piano covered in red rose petals that Dima was "playing" and dancing until the end of the song) got Russia another 2nd place finish (this time behind Lordi's Hard Rock Hallelujah from Finland). Two years later, Dima Bilan would return to the Contest in Belgrade with Believe and finally take the winner's trophy to Moscow, with another dramatic performance (this time singing barefoot in front of a wind-machine, with an Olympic figure skater dancing on fake ice behind him). I mean, for realz:
Given Russia's success at Eurovision with songs presented in English (and considering many ex-Soviet republics' vote distribution history), it is never wise to count the "Bear" out of the top of the leader board. This year, the country is represented by 22 year-old Dina Gapipova with What If, a power-ballad with a message of unity, competing for the win in Malmo with an official Contest theme of "We Are One." Could we be going back to Russia (this time presumably in St. Petersburg) for the Contest next year?
[A little programming note. This post was originally supposed to auto-publish on Sunday, but apparently doesn't happen when the blogger accidentally picks a date two weeks from what was intended...Major ooopsy!]
Like most other Western European countries, Denmark has a mixed-bag history at the Eurovision Song Contest. The country started participating in 1957 and the debut song placed a respectable third in that year's Contest. Denmark's next six entries all placed in the Top Ten, and in 1963, Denmark was able to take the trophy home in London with husband and wife team Grethe and Jorgen Ingmann's Dansevise.
Then came Denmark's less-than-diserable fourteenth place finish (out of 17 participants) in Luxembourg in 1966 (it was their worst finish until that point). After the London performance, Denmark left the Contest for more than a decade, returning 1978 to the contest being hosted in Paris. Since then and until their next win in 2000 (coincidentally hosted by Stockholm), Denmark has floated up and down the final score charts (eleven Top Ten finishes are not something to be scoffed at, especially when they include two consecutive 3rd place finishes in 1988 and 1989). After unexpectedly the Contest in 2000 with the Olsen Brothers' Fly on the Wings of Love, Denmark almost pulled off the elusive win on home turf with Rollo & King's performance of Never Ever Let You Go in 2001 (which eventually came in second).
In the 2000s (and after the introduction of a massive number of new countries), Denmark continued its Eurovision roller-coaster ride(s), with an eclectic brew of Danish rap, drag queen disco, traditional Eurovision pop, and hippie folk/pop songs (the latter was delivered in Baku last year by Soluna Samay with Should've Known Better, which earned Denmark its second-worst result).
This year, Denmark will be represented in Malmo by Emmelie de Forest and her song Only Teardrops, a mixture of folksy elements and feisty vocals. The song is heavily favored to win this year's contest, since virtually all betting sites have Emmelie winning her Semi-Final and neck and neck with Norway and the Netherlands for the win during the Final on May 18 (remember, these are the same folks who predicted Loreen's sweep during last year's competition). If these numbers are right, the Danes may have good reason to be excited (and maybe foaming at the mouth) about the possibility of hosting next year in Copenhagen. [For the record, Copenhagen is just a drive across across the Oresund Bridge from Malmo, so this would be the shortest trip the trophy would make to get to its new home.] That said, do I like this song on its own, or because it and its performance remind me of Shakira?
Following their neighbor Slovenia will be another Balkan (and ex-Yugoslav) republic in the First Semi Final: Croatia. [A small admission before I go into the stats and information. I secretly want Croatia to win, so I can have more incentive to visit the Dalmatian coast, particularly Dubrovnik (which incidentally stands in for King's Landing in Game of Thrones. OK, I think two of my geek worlds just collided and I can't get up). Now back to the reason you're reading this blog: the Eurovision Song Contest.]
Though Croatia's capital Zagreb played host to Eurovision in 1990 (after Yugoslavia's win with Croatian band Riva's Rock Me Baby in 1989), the country's first appearance at the contest as an independent nation didn't happen until 1993. That year Croatia was represented by Put, who performed Don't Ever Cry to a very enthusiastic crowd in Millstreet, Ireland. The song came in 15th, but Croatia's Eurovision lot improved in its first decade participating in the Contest (two 4th place finishes in 1996 and 1999, 5th place in 1998 and a total of 6 Top Ten finishes with its first ten entries in the Contest). But then the ESC rapidly expanded eastward (including almost all former Yugoslav and non-Baltic former Soviet republics; the Balkan countries of Bulgaria and Romania; and eventually the countries of the Caucasus region: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), leaving Croatia in the dust (in terms of points the country received). But let's have a throwback moment to one of the last "old-school" songs to win the Contest...Riva with Rock Me Baby at the 1989 Contest hosted by Lausanne (after Celine Dion's win for Switzerland in 1988 - and yes we're talking about THE Celine Dion, but we'll get to that later):
This year, Croatia comes to Malmo with the music ensemble (their description, not mine) Klapa s Mora, performing Mižerja. Certainly an interesting selection, this song will, if performed well at the live shows, stick out from the rest of the electro-pop entries it is surrounded by. And I specifically applaud Croatia, along with any country, who sends an entry to the Contest, sung entirely in their official language, instead of in English (which somehow has become the unofficial "official" language of Eurovision). All the best of luck to you Hrvatska:
