Eurovision Song Contest 2012

[JRS]

Yes, it is soon again that time of the year!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2012
http://www.eurovision.tv/page/baku-2012

This Year the contest will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The venue will be the new Baku Crystall Hall.
Total of 42 countries will compete of the victory.
And like every year, there is all sorts of songs competing:

The 1st Semi-final 22 of May(all the songs):
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEBED24A4F7884572

The 2nd Semi-final 24 of May(all the songs):
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF32FC85B3C706E4F

The Finale 26 of May(songs already in the final):
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFEFA12C1B291870A

My personal favorites this year are:

• Slovenia
• Sweden
• Serbia
• Finland
• Croatia
• Denmark
• Latvia
• Bosnia- Herzegovina

There are some horrible songs this year, too.
I mean, it would not be ESC without it
I think San Marino might be the contender for "The Worst Song" -award this time, IMHO.
Though I do not like Montenegro or Austria much either.

Who will win? That is the question.
Like every previous year, there are some favorites for winning, and this year it does seem that Sweden is above all the rest. It is a very good song..and has become a radio hit in many countries.
Serbia and Italy have also been mentioned as favorites.
I sort of wish that there would be a tight contest for the winning but these days it seems very unlikely, a pity in a way.

So, what are your personal favorites?
What songs are good and which ones are the terrible ones?
Who do you think will win?

 

[Eyes]

Oh, YES! *.*

I was waiting for this thread (been loving all the songs for a couple of months now as a proper Euroloon). My avatar will probably tell you my favourite - it's also my favourite song of the year so far - but I think I'm gonna do a review of all of them soon.

ALSO, San Marino is FABULOUS. Not that it's gonna do anything though.

I'll go into detail later, and I may be biased JUST a LITTLE but I'll be very surprised if anything other than Loreen (Sweden) wins this. She's flaunting a superb pop song, excellent live abilities and being, like you said, a big hit already across Europe - I love everything she's done and this is easily her most accessible song. Even Fairytale didn't have this much hype.

 

[Jono]

I'm only watched a few top lists on YouTube and Loreen has featured heavily at no.1 and I don't mind it. I like it much better than the winner last year.

I can't say I remember many of the others, but I didn't think Ireland's was that bad.

As for who wins. I've only been paying attention for 2 years and the voting is still a bit of a mystery to me.

Unfortunately we don't get to see the semis until the 25 and 26.

 

[MacLeod]

Ah the annual European popularity contest. Who likes who. Though i must admit with the new voting system introduced a few years back it has improved.

 

[cultcross]

We haven't started a war in ages. We should do well.

 

[TheGodBen]

I wanted Armenia to win, just to fuck with Azerbaijan, but then Armenia withdrew from the contest. So now I'm backing the Son'a.

Oh, and I must once again apologise for Jedward. I fear I shall be doing this for the rest of my life.

 

[iguana_tonante]

First time ever, I got a look at this famed Eurovision song contest you guys talk about so much. I have one question: Russia, what the fuck?

 

[MacLeod]

It's just a shame that Wogan's no longer doing the commentary for the Beeb.

 

[JRS]

First time ever, I got a look at this famed Eurovision song contest you guys talk about so much. I have one question: Russia, what the fuck?

Yes, the grannies from Russia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buranovskiye_Babushki

They have gotten tons of media attention for the past few months. I am happy to report that they have managed already to collect the money for the building of new church to their village( the old one was destroyed, when Stalin was still running the country).
I think their song is OK, not the worst of the contest.
But I would not call it one of the best either, I gave it 3 out of 5 in my own review.
(BTW, Russia will always go to final..because it is Russia..)

 

[Eyes]

First time ever, I got a look at this famed Eurovision song contest you guys talk about so much. I have one question: Russia, what the fuck?

And the scariest thing is it isn't the weirdest entry this year. Take a look at San Marino.

And to a lesser extent Turkey, Latvia, Austria, Israel, Moldova, Ireland and Ukraine have all gone somewhat ridiculous this year.

I really hope Russia don't win though. And I doubt they will. Jokes can only go so far. I also hope that the grannies don't come in 2nd to Loreen so she isn't remembered as 'that weird boring woman who stopped the grannies from their rightful victory' as has sort of happened to 2007's Serbian winner vs. the Ukrainian drag queen who came in 2nd that year, although Molitva was nowhere near on Euphoria's level.

Oh, and I must once again apologise for Jedward. I fear I shall be doing this for the rest of my life.

It's ok. Just sabotage their performance, make them fail dismally and get Ireland to send someone who can sing next time.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

What are Jedward singing - I only wish they would cover "My Lovely Horse".

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzYzVMcgWhg[/yt]

 

[iguana_tonante]

First time ever, I got a look at this famed Eurovision song contest you guys talk about so much. I have one question: Russia, what the fuck?

And the scariest thing is it isn't the weirdest entry this year. Take a look at San Marino.

San Marino can do no wrong in my book. A whole country you can walk around in one day, just one hour by car from where I live. What's not to love?

 

[cultcross]

Oh, and I must once again apologise for Jedward. I fear I shall be doing this for the rest of my life.

It's ok. Just sabotage their performance, make them fail dismally and get Ireland to send someone who can sing next time.

Ireland's choices are deliberate - in this climate, they don't want to have to pay to host the thing. Which is really a shit prize if you think about it. I think the host city should rotate to make it fairer.

 

[Eyes]

Oh, and I must once again apologise for Jedward. I fear I shall be doing this for the rest of my life.

It's ok. Just sabotage their performance, make them fail dismally and get Ireland to send someone who can sing next time.

Ireland's choices are deliberate - in this climate, they don't want to have to pay to host the thing. Which is really a shit prize if you think about it. I think the host city should rotate to make it fairer.

They had a few people who could kinda sing but would never have won in their national final, it was more a case of the rabid Jedward fans (yes, such things exist) voting and obliterating the competition. Besides, Jedward have more of a chance of winning than all the others, they already have a fanbase in Europe to some degree.

I like the idea of hosting it in the winning country/city, it makes hosting a bit of an honour for the fans and keeps continuity, and what country would willingly put it's name down on the hosting roster? Of course the economic considerations are a problem but the EBU does attempt to help with that as far as I'm aware?

First time ever, I got a look at this famed Eurovision song contest you guys talk about so much. I have one question: Russia, what the fuck?

And the scariest thing is it isn't the weirdest entry this year. Take a look at San Marino.

San Marino can do no wrong in my book. A whole country you can walk around in one day, just one hour by car from where I live. What's not to love?

I love San Marino as a country (really want to go there sometime actually). And I love their entry this year. A woman called Valentina Monetta singing about Facebook, because they've tried to get into the final by serious means and that isn't working so they've come up with this. It's the hot mess of this year and I love it.

 

[TheGodBen]

Ireland's choices are deliberate - in this climate, they don't want to have to pay to host the thing. Which is really a shit prize if you think about it. I think the host city should rotate to make it fairer.

Actually, there was some controversy around our 1995 entry, "Dreamin'", because it was a bit shit and a conspiracy theory developed claiming that it was only selected because we couldn't afford to host the show for a fourth year in a row. What's more, it was later claimed that the melody was plagiarised from another song. Does that story sound familiar?

I don't think Jedward were selected deliberately because they'll lose. I think that there's a certain annoyance in this country that we haven't won the competition in a long time even though it is our god-given right, so we lash out by sending joke entries. If we can't win the competition then we'll mock it, that kinda thing.

 

[JRS]

I don't think Jedward were selected deliberately because they'll lose. I think that there's a certain annoyance in this country that we haven't won the competition in a long time even though it is our god-given right, so we lash out by sending joke entries. If we can't win the competition then we'll mock it, that kinda thing.

Could be, though Jedward has managed to build a relativly large fan-base..and that is why they most likely will also go to the final. Though, I must say that the joke is getting a bit old.

On somewhat more serious note,
yesterday few bigger ESC fansites, like ESCtoday.com where hacked by some sort of anti-gay group and they pretty much lost tons of content. A really sad negative thing all in all. It is uncertain if the hack originated from Azerbaijan..or possibly even from Iran, like some have suggested.

I wanted still to post these short recaps of all of the songs here.
Particularly for those of you, who maybe wish to have a quicker feel of the song..or do not have time,
or desire to listen all of the songs entirely before the actual contest

Recaps
Semi I:
http://youtu.be/66hSp2uRfiU

Semi II:
http://youtu.be/-MLcq5pvsfg

The "Big 5" + Azerbaijan:
http://youtu.be/6ecxnPMszqc

 

[Australis]

Ahhhhhhhh, love me some Eurovision. Some of the best laughs I've had have been watching this. In some ways it's a shame it has to be spread over multiple nights, getting it all in one hit was a blast.

I know it gets bagged, but a couple of songs over the years have permanently made their way onto my playlists.

Your comments intrigue me, but I prefer to watch it 'live'. Which means watching it 12 hours later.

I miss Wogan, he was so damn good. We have Australian commentators now, but they can't bring the funny like he did. Is Graham Norton any good?

I might catch some YT over the next couple of days.

 

[Eyes]

I know it gets bagged, but a couple of songs over the years have permanently made their way onto my playlists.

That's nothing to be ashamed of, the MAJORITY of the ones from the Eurovisions I've watched have made it on to mine.

Graham Norton's ok, but I've never really experienced Wogan so I can't compare. I don't tend to pay much attention to the commentary anyway, I'm there for the show.

 

[Angel4576]

Let's all vote for Greece.......

 

[TheGodBen]

Could be, though Jedward has managed to build a relativly large fan-base..and that is why they most likely will also go to the final. Though, I must say that the joke is getting a bit old.

I thought the joke was old from the very first moment that I learned who Jedward are. They're older than the Russian grannies.

Your comments intrigue me, but I prefer to watch it 'live'. Which means watching it 12 hours later.

I miss Wogan, he was so damn good. We have Australian commentators now, but they can't bring the funny like he did.

Dammit, I thought us Europeans had successfully kept the Eurovision hidden from the rest of the world. It's like a secret collection of BDSM outfits and utensils; they're a lot of fun, but you don't want your neighbours to know about them.

Let's all vote for Greece.......

The way things are going, who knows if they'll even be in Europe next week? Some financial experts are predicting they'll fall into the sea by Wednesday, which has left Cyprus worried as they'll suddenly have to figure out who to vote for.