1. France - Amandine Bourgeois - L'enfer et moi
2. Lithuania - Andrius Pojavis - Something
3. Moldova - Aliona Moon - O mie
4. Finland - Krista Siegfrieds - Marry Me
5. Spain - ESDM - Contigo hasta el Final
6. Belgium - Roberto Bellarosa - Love Kills
7. Estonia - Birgit - Et uss saaks alguse
8. Belarus - Alyona Lanskaya - Solayoh
9. Malta - Gianluca - Tomorrow
10. Russia- Dina Garipova - What If
11. Germany - Cascada - Glorious
12. Armenia - Dorians - Lonely Planet
13. Netherlands - Anouk - Birds
14. Romania - Cezar - It's My Life
15. United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler - Believe in Me
16. Sweden - Robin Stjernberg - You
17. Hungary - ByeAlex - Kedvesem
18. Denmark - Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops
19. Iceland - Eythor Ingi - Eg a lif
20. Azerbaijan - Farid Mammadov - Hold Me
21. Greece - Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol is Free
22. Ukraine - Zlata Ognevich - Gravity
23. Italy - Marco Mengoni - L'Essenziale
24. Norway - Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love
25. Georgia - Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani - Waterfall
26. Ireland - Ryan Dolan - Only Love Survives
* As Host Country, Sweden got to pick its start number for the Final before the Contest even began. Everyone else got their start number through a random draw.
My Top Ten Prediction (from this year's Finalists)
Confession time: I want to go to Scandinavia. I am indeed still kicking myself for not being in Malmo watching the Contest in the arena, but my friends will be here with me (some also kicking themselves as well) at my house and we'll be watching the Final (accompanied by booze and awesome food representing every region of Europe, plus maybe some Mexican food...I mean we are in LA). I also want the Contest go to a country that values artistic expression, individual thought, and the freedom to be yourself and enjoy whatever things you want (music included). I believe that the freer people are/feel the higher the proportion and quality of artistry is in that country. So I guess I'm going with my heart (for the most part), but not forgetting the impact no ex-Yugoslav in the Final is going to have on the results.
Even with my desire to go to Scandinavia next year, My Ideal Winner would be Spain in this year's Contest. That song did something to me and I've become an instant ESDM fan. I'm not sure a win is in the stars for ESDM, but I'm still hoping for a Top 5 finish. I think the actual battle for the win will be between Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Italy and Moldova. You may be surprised to see Moldova up there, but consider that there are five ex-Yugoslav countries, along with the other Balkan nations (Albania and Bulgaria) that are still voting even though their entries didn't make it past the Semi-Finals. Their votes will shift from each other to their neighbors, making Moldova, Romania and Greece (and maybe Hungary) the most likely recipients of their high marks. Estonia, Iceland, and Finland are also expected to do well, but with every Scandinavian country represented in the Final, as well as the countries of almost all of the ex-Soviet republics (only Latvia did not make the Final), and block voting between these countries likely result in those votes getting diluted. With all that, and even with the super-ethno flare of the Greek song, Moldova's stand-out stage performance may put it in the Top Five and within reach of the win.
Top Ten in random order:
- Spain - (My favorite and my wishful thinking winner, will likely get some high marks, probably from Portugal, Italy and possibly from France).
- Denmark - (One of the crowd favorites, this song has already won the OGAE's* voting by a landslide. Denmark will likely get high marks from the Netherlands and Germany (both of whom do not have Turkey or ex-Yugoslav countries to vote for this year), along with top marks from their Scandinavian/Nordic brethren, the country is the one to beat at the Malmo Contest).
- Norway - (With several national OGAE organizations having had a hand at picking this song for Norway, and the international OGAE voting this song in third place recently, this one is a clear favorite, and Norway is not likely to be forgotten in the voting shuffle like it was last year in Baku. Margaret Berger is already well established as an artist in Scandinavia; the heavy promotion campaign prior to the Contest has helped; and with the electronica beat trend going strong, Norway is playing for the win).
- Ireland - (Ireland hasn't won seven Contests by chance. They've done it with good songs with wide appeal that collected douze points from all over the European map. The song's lyrics of love have already proven a winning strategy, and the song's upbeat drummy sounds and those shirtless back-up drummers/dancers don't hurt either. Expect a few douze points coming Ireland's way, most likely from the UK and Belgium (if the latter doesn't give it's twelve points to the Netherlands). Top Five is in sight for Only Love Survives, especially appropriate with the song being performed last on Final night...you've heard of save the best for last, right?)
- Italy - (Eurovision fans were most excited with the return of the country into the Contest in 2011, and have placed the country in the top of the scoreboard, filled with nostalgia and love for Italian songs. Likely to get high marks from San Marino, which unfortunately got knocked out at Semi Final 2, and possible high scores from Spain, Romania, Moldova. And with Austria, Switzerland (who also do not have any ex-Yugoslav countries to vote for this year), and France's votes, I see a Top Five finish for this one, if not the win).
- Moldova - (The quality of this song is already high, and singing in Romanian was a stroke of genius, guaranteeing the coveted douze points from neighboring Romania. The Balkan voting block will split itself between this entry, Greece and Romania -and maybe Hungary, but Romanian is a Latin language, similar to Italian, and Moldova could end up getting a few more top marks from Italy and San Marino, and from the Iberian peninsula. I could do without the giant glowing skirt gimmick, but there will be enough Eurovision fans who will like that and send some unexpected points Moldova's way).
- Greece - (Greece will undoubtably get a douze points from Cyprus and will likely be the beneficiary of Serbian, Albanian and Macedonian top marks as well - it's good to be neighbors sometimes. Add to that additional high marks from Greeks voting in Western Europe, most likely from the UK and Germany, and Greece will finish in the Top Ten once again).
- Estonia/Sweden (I pit these two against each other not because the songs are alike, but because the votes between the Nordic/Scandinavian block will likely concentrate on one or two countries, leaving the others to the middle and back of the pack. Estonia has had more press and stage presence and could score high marks not only from Finland and Sweden, but from Baltic neighbors Lithuania and Latvia as well, giving them the edge over Sweden).
- Finland/Iceland (Same reasons relating to block voting as the Estonia vs. Sweden match-up, and with Denmark and Norway getting early high marks as favorites, Finland's upbeat song in English will probably have wider appeal. Factor in the gay votes for the singer whose song has become a national anthem for marriage equality in Finland and I see Marry Me beating out the sweet Icelandic ballad).
- Romania/Ukraine (I never underestimate Ukraine at this Contest. They know who their audience is and they know how to get votes from that audience...and the Giant carrying the singer to the stage gimmick may just end up doing the trick with this decent, though predictable song).
No comments:
Post a Comment