Catching Up...
OK, OK, so many apologies for not updating this blog sooner but it seems that another entry is picked every six minutes! Here’s what’s been going on over the last few days…
Saturday night saw Croatia and Lithuania pick their songs for 2007. Croatia will be participating in the semi-finals with “Vjerujem U Ljubav” sung by the group Dragonfly and old rocker Dado Topic – he’s 57! Surely the oldest Eurovision participant for many years… This song was a surprise winner and it’s not hard to see why. It begins nicely and, y’know, seems to float along rather pleasantly. But I found it utterly forgettable even as I was listening to it! I know I kind of liked it but it’s impossible to recall. Croatia have a very impressive Eurovision track record, not missing a grand final since their debut in 1993 – the only non-Big 4 country to achieve this. They are a popular choice amongst Balkan voters but I’m not sure that this will make the Top 10 of the semi-final which is a shame.
Lithuania’s 2006 entry, “We Are The Winners”, assured them a place in this year’s Grand Final, and to represent them this year is an entry of completely different extremes than LT United last year! “Love Or Leave” is the gentle flamenco song that they send this year, sung rather beautifully by 4Fun. It’s a nice song with Spanish guitar throughout and a sweet bossa nova beat for the beat to breeze along to. Again, it’s a tad forgettable but it’s very different and a late draw could pay well for Lithuania. Not a winner I think, but it’s a nice entry and probably Lithuania’s best song to date.
After 3rd place last year, Bosnia & Herzegovina have a lot to top. That job goes to young Marija Sestic and her sweet Balkan ballad “Rijeka Bez Imena” (A River Without Words). It’s a typically ethnic affair with a similar structure to their entry last year, “Lejla”, but to make this song truly special it just lacks that beautifully powerful climax that “Lejla” had. It’s very nicely sung and it’s got some great moments but… ah, it just misses the mark. It could have topped “Lejla” but it’s just not strong enough. A Top 10 finish in Helsinki? Perhaps, but Bosnia & Herzegovina won’t improve on 3rd place. Very nice song, though, it seems Bosnia have found their niche.
Meanwhile, I’m very aware that I’ve not mentioned anything about the Andorran entry, despite being out for about a week. The song is called “Salvem A Mon” and is sung by Busted-a-likes Anonymous. If only they’d stayed Anonymous. It’s received a warm reception but, for me, Andorra have still yet to submit a good song to ESC. “Salvem A Mon” is a Son Of Dork / Busted / Avril Lavigne type song that really riles me up the wall. Not my cup of tea. I don’t think Europe will go mad for it either. Although they probably will score more than the 8 points that Jenny From The Blob managed to collect for them last year…
Saturday night saw Croatia and Lithuania pick their songs for 2007. Croatia will be participating in the semi-finals with “Vjerujem U Ljubav” sung by the group Dragonfly and old rocker Dado Topic – he’s 57! Surely the oldest Eurovision participant for many years… This song was a surprise winner and it’s not hard to see why. It begins nicely and, y’know, seems to float along rather pleasantly. But I found it utterly forgettable even as I was listening to it! I know I kind of liked it but it’s impossible to recall. Croatia have a very impressive Eurovision track record, not missing a grand final since their debut in 1993 – the only non-Big 4 country to achieve this. They are a popular choice amongst Balkan voters but I’m not sure that this will make the Top 10 of the semi-final which is a shame.
Lithuania’s 2006 entry, “We Are The Winners”, assured them a place in this year’s Grand Final, and to represent them this year is an entry of completely different extremes than LT United last year! “Love Or Leave” is the gentle flamenco song that they send this year, sung rather beautifully by 4Fun. It’s a nice song with Spanish guitar throughout and a sweet bossa nova beat for the beat to breeze along to. Again, it’s a tad forgettable but it’s very different and a late draw could pay well for Lithuania. Not a winner I think, but it’s a nice entry and probably Lithuania’s best song to date.
After 3rd place last year, Bosnia & Herzegovina have a lot to top. That job goes to young Marija Sestic and her sweet Balkan ballad “Rijeka Bez Imena” (A River Without Words). It’s a typically ethnic affair with a similar structure to their entry last year, “Lejla”, but to make this song truly special it just lacks that beautifully powerful climax that “Lejla” had. It’s very nicely sung and it’s got some great moments but… ah, it just misses the mark. It could have topped “Lejla” but it’s just not strong enough. A Top 10 finish in Helsinki? Perhaps, but Bosnia & Herzegovina won’t improve on 3rd place. Very nice song, though, it seems Bosnia have found their niche.
Meanwhile, I’m very aware that I’ve not mentioned anything about the Andorran entry, despite being out for about a week. The song is called “Salvem A Mon” and is sung by Busted-a-likes Anonymous. If only they’d stayed Anonymous. It’s received a warm reception but, for me, Andorra have still yet to submit a good song to ESC. “Salvem A Mon” is a Son Of Dork / Busted / Avril Lavigne type song that really riles me up the wall. Not my cup of tea. I don’t think Europe will go mad for it either. Although they probably will score more than the 8 points that Jenny From The Blob managed to collect for them last year…
posted by ESCChris at
11:36 AM
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