Eurovision 2015 Thread
 

A little bit late on the uptake here but it's largely because I have found this year's Eurovision national finals and ultimately selections so ceaselessly boring that I forgot I even lead one of these every year. But reluctantly I must go on!

A little side note about this year's competition is: I'm going to all the live shows in Vienna! That's right! This American girl living in Istanbul is head over heels in love with the drama, dickery, and douchebagginess that is Eurovision. This will be my first time attending a show in person and I am genuinely over-excited.

For those of you unfamiliar, Eurovision is a national broadcaster-led singing contest where each country participating is a member of the European Broadcasting Union. That is why we not only get entries from France and Italy but also the likes of Israel and new this year, Australia!

I will try to group entries together in each post so you can get a feel for the kinda patterns we tend to see in the competitions. As most of you know, Eurovision is by no means a talent contest. It's more of a who-has-the-most-entertaining-show-and-also-happens-to-have-a-strategic-political-position kinda contest. That's because the winner is decided by 50% jury and 50% public votes. Enough background info! Let's get to it!

The "Warriors"
 

First up are the "Warriors." These are two songs from Malta and Georgia, both titled "Warrior," and both surprisingly un-warrioresque.

First I'll give you AMBER's entry from Malta. Not a bad pop ballad over all, but it's fairly forgettable. Still, I expect it to pass the semi-final stage and earn a spot in the Final on May 23rd. The singer is an example of the common Eurovision syndrome which is, emulate a famous pop star (in this case, Adele) and insert a key change. People will LOVE you.



Georgia's Warrior is more upbeat and fun, but her voice is extremely annoying. And I'm not 100% sure but maybe there is some Georgian language in this song? Or her English pronunciation just sucks big time.



This song might qualify for the Final solely on its power as a non-ballad. A LOT of ballads are being sent this year, much to my chagrin. At least it has the dubsteppy intro and a little ethnic sing-moaning!

Needless to say, these two songs are really at the bottom of the list for me. Generic and boring, but who knows, live TV can change everything...

Delighted that you're getting to live your dream, Miss p, and I hope you have a great time. Will you be reporting live here on the events? I'm not a fan of EuroV but to be honest I may follow it if you're reporting.

One question though: I'm confused. How are you so excited about it and want to go if the first sentence in your OP is true? If it's that boring and predictable why are you (presumably) spending a lot of money to get there? The use of the word "reluctant" in the OP bothers me. Do you feel you have an obligation to do this, even if you don't enjoy it? Or are you going on behalf of your job or something?

Hope we get to see you on the telly. If so, wave! :wave:
Anyway best of luck and I hope you have a fantastic time. Nice to know you're just that little bit closer... ;)

It's kind of sarcasm. This thread is one of my favorite things I do on MB every year. I almost forgot because the entries are so BLAH this year... :) I was talking about the thread only really, being there live will be awesome of course even if every entry sucks. Hahaha

Btw, hi!

WTF Entries
 

HELP US O EUROVISION GODS. Why do these songs exist?

Not sure why his voice sounds like a woman's? Also it sounds super familiar, as if I've heard the song before somehow? In any case there's no way that the song I have heard that sounds like this song is anywhere near as bad as this is.



WHY. Just WHY. To be fair, Moldova had shit entries in its National Final anyway, but this is one of the worst possible outcomes. We all suspect votes were rigged somehow. The guy isn't even Moldovan. He's just a twat in a baseball cap.

Moving on...

Despite a great lineup with lots of interesting/entertaining/catchy beats, Finland chose the politically correct route this year (and also called back to its days of Lordi fame) and decided to send Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät with Aina Mun Pitää. I have no idea how/why this happened, but the public voted, and this was a thing apparently. Any Finnish person on MB able to weigh in on this? On the one hand I think their cause is noble but this is such a bad idea....



The crowd roars!!

Ah yes, let's not forget Italy. In a stirring callback to our earlier Eurovision days, Italy is going all-out retro this year. I mean, his voice is pleasant, the language is lovely, and the song isn't half bad. But honestly, WTF?



Very curious how this one will do in the contest. I want to say bottom three, but it's too early, really. The buildup is fun. The hipster glasses are a nice touch. The chorus is memorable. WHO KNOWS maybe it'll win. I'll still be staring at the stage like "WTF"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eniaB0xchTY

The UK lads have just dropped the biggest riddim of 2k15.

I think it's sassy, cool and corny as f*ck, but that's why I like it. It's a laugh. If this came on on a night out, I would destroy the dance floor.

Brilliant! We have a winner already! :clap:
Finally the UK gets up off its arse and does something good for EV2015. Loved that. Like something out of "Boardwalk Empire". Watch the trend begin now for retro-twenties music...

As for Ireland, well...

She's only 15, still in school ffs! You know what? You Brits may have a challenger this year from us... :)

I am hoping that this one will make it from my country, Sweden, as you do not see Jojks that often and it represents Sweden well. Quite beautiful I think. The finals are on Saturday. Too bad Loreen did not sing this year though..her latest single that she sung at the semifinals was very good I think.




Loreen's "Paperlight" :

http://www.svt.se/melodifestivalen/a...autostart=true

My Favorites
 

I haven't really loved that many of the entries this year, but a few things are definitely getting stuck in my head. Of those is the wonderful, wonderful duet between Elina & Stig from Estonia.

Goodbye to Yesterday has been one of my early favorites and nothing has changed that so far!



So catchy!

Another great entry this year is quirky Maraaya from Slovenia. I'm really into this song for some reason...I can't put my finger on why, though. I think it's just the right mix of upbeat and building. It's fun! And her voice is different.



Spain's entry was super hyped up but kind of fell short of expectations. Regardless, I liked it a lot and although I don't think it has much potential for a win and how it's performed live will play a huge part in whether it gets votes (also staging is SO important for something like this), the studio version is awesome. I like it a lot. Go Edurne!



Can't wait to see these all live!

Great staging! I will definitely try to watch the finals this weekend. Bravo!