Introducing Os Trabalhadores do Comércio

This is one of my all time favourite songs from our national selection.

The group Os Trabalhadores do Comércio were a very succesfull portuguese bands of the 80's and would have certainly made a big splash has the closing act in the 1986 Eurovision.

They came second in the Festival a Canção 1986!

Song of the week: Life

In memory of the talented Macedonian singer tragically killed in a car accident today here is the beautifull video of his Eurovision entry from 2004.

Performed by: Toše Proeski
Music by: Jovan Jovanov
Lyrics by: Ilija Nikolovski
Placing: 14th

Song of the week: Canta y sé feliz

Song: Canta y sé feliz
Performed by: Peret
Music and lyrics by: Pedro Pubill Calaf

Placing: 9th

Year: 1974

Eurovision sub-logo and stage revealed

Sub-logo 2008

I think this is supposed to be very artistic!

Aren't we all glad Eurovision has a permanent logo!

The stage

Made with bit and pieces from the Helsinki 2007 stage!

Very environmentally friendly...

Two semi-finals in 2008

It's official, from now on and until Mr. Svante Stockselius doesn't come up with another ideia, we will have two semi-finals in the Eurovision Song Contest. Only the host nation and the Big 4 (France, Spain, UK and Germany) are direct qualifiers to the final.

This seems to me like a good decision after all the controversy surrounding this year semi-final qualifiers and specially because it will, hopefully, make the contest to be more based on the merits of each individual song/performer then in other not so artistic factors.

My only concern is that too much Eurovision might kill Eurovision!

Introducing Tony Ferrino

Welcome to the 2008 Eurovision Season!

Tony Ferrino singing Papa bendi.

Because life is a party

A festa da vida

Carlos Mendes

Music by: José Calvário

Lyrics by: José Niza

1972

7th place

Dia de Portugal

Portugal no Coração

Os Amigos (Paulo de Carvalho, Ana Bola, Edmundo Silva, Fernanda Piçarra, Luísa Basto e Fernando Tordo)

Música de: Fernando Tordo

Letra: José Carlos Ary dos Santos

1977

14.º lugar

Introducing Haakon Pedersen & Elisabeth Berg

Melodifestivalen 1989 5th place...

Classic camp!

3 pontos!

Ficamos tão perto, tão perto! Só nos faltaram 4 pontos para chegarmos à final!

Parabéns Sabrina pela excelente performance e pelo resultado espectacular.
Espero que a RTP abra os olhos e aposte a sério no Festival da Canção do próximo ano!

Congratulations Serbia!

Congratulations Marija Šerifović

2007 Eurovision Winner: Molitva.

Music by: Vladimir Graić

Lyrics by: Saša Milošević Mare

Backing singers: Ivana Selakov, Ksenija Milošević, Ana Milenković, Sanja Bogosavljević and Suzana Dinić

The 2007 final

This year will go down in Eurovision history has one of the best contests ever. There were many different styles of music, original stage presentations and almost perfect vocal performances. The postcards were funny and we even had Santa Klaus to open the voting and deliver the prize!!!

1. Bosnia & Herzegovina: Gentel song with a soft performance. Good voice, awfull dress.
2. Spain: Happy latin song, nice boyband performance but week voices.
3. Belarus: What a sexy and magical performance...
4. Ireland: I always this women could not sing and tonight was no surprise - worse performance of the night. A deserved last place!
5. Finland: Powerfull performance from Hanna. Beautifull warm voice.
6. FYR Macedonia: No doubt Karolina can sing, but the song was not that great.
7. Slovenia: I always had my personal doubts about this one. Alenka was good but the song was not all that good.
8. Hungary: Emotional performance from Magdi.
9. Lithuania: Simple but effective stage presentention. To quiet for Eurovision.
10. Greece: Barbara Dex Award? Week performance.
11. Georgia: I like to hear this on the cd but live it's a bit of a mess.
12. Sweden: Glamourous performance of a glam rock song.
13. France: My biggest dissapointment of the nigh. Average vocals, nice pink clothes! Love the cat.
14. Latvia: Romantic song, romantic performance, but jeans and top hat dont really mix together.
15. Russia: This song really surprised my tonight. Good pop song and sexy performance from Serebro.
16. Germany: I love this song. The english part was a bit unnecessary. Roger really has some good swing.
17. Serbia: I tought this couldn't get any better but Marija gave it even more and this was trully a winning performance. Best winner of the last 10 years?
18. Ukraine: TANZEN! Mad performance from the a true ESC Diva Verka Serduchka.
19. U.K.: Good performance from a somewhat old fashioned song.
20. Romenia: They did the best they could with this week song.
21. Bulgaria: Much better them in the semifinal. Very contemporary song.
22. Turkey: This really made europe shake! Strong performance with a nice choreography.
23. Armenia: I didn't like this live. Hayko was a bit nervous. Original three and the details of the blood from the singers heart.
24. Moldova: Much better then in the semi.

Serbia is the first country to win in it's first attempt. This is also the first time since 1998 that a song in a language that was not english won Eurovision. And the first ballad to win since 1996.

Top 5 prediction

Winner: Ukraine - Verka Serduchka - Dancing lasha tumbai

2nd place: Serbia - Marija Serifovic - Molitva

3rd place: Belarus - Koldun - Work your magic

4th place: Slovenia - Alenka Gotar - Cvet z juga

5th place: Latvia - Bonaparti.lv - Questa notte

Notícias de Helsínquia 3

Bom, na fria e silenciosa Helsínquia os ensaios para a final da Eurovisão continuam, com os apurados de ontem já integrados no lote dos 24 países que iram lutar pela victória amanhã à noite.

Segundo informações enviados pelo nosso "enviado especial", após o último ensaio geral as grandes favoritas são agora a Eslovénia, a Letónia, a Sérvia, a Ucrânia (loucura total em palco) e a Rússia, todas com grandes reacções do público presente no Harthall Arena. Público que reagiu também positivamente aquando das participações dos suecos The Ark e naturalmente, com Hanna Pakarinen, a artista da casa.

Pela negativa o cantor grego Sarbel parece ter desiludido um pouco, com uma prestação vocal fraca, apesar do show em palco resultar visualmente bem.

De todas as Eurovisões a que o Nuno já assistiu ao vivo ele considera esta a pior de todas, não que a organização não seja eficaz mas o ambiente geral é muito, mas mesmo muito calmo e pouco festivo.

Notícias de Helsinquia 2

Bom, segundo o nosso "enviado especial" em Helsinquia o ambiente geral após a semi-final parece ser de alguma desilução...

Dos 10 finalistas apurados a maior surpresa parece ter sido a Moldávia, enquanto que dos países que se ficaram pela semi-final a maior desilusão parece ter sido Andorra.

A prestação portuguesa foi bastante apoiada este ano pelo público que assistiu ao vivo ao espectáculo. A prestação da Sabrina foi bastante apreciada pelos fans e a OGAE Portugal distribuiu bandeiras nacionais pelo Harthall Arena, tornando a presença nacional ainda mais notada.

O recinto não esgotou completamente pelo que 15 minutos antes do show começar foram distribuidos bilhetes de graça!!! No entanto a organização está a portar-se à altura do evento. O público da casa é um pouco frio...

Em relação a favoritos a Ucrânia continua liderar. O Nuno acha no entanto que para o ano iremos para os Balcãs, mais concretamente para a Eslovénia.

The 2007 semi-final

What a show!

This was the best semi-final ever, many high quality songs, with powerfull performances. The stage is indeed small but it works ok in television. The hosts have a nive chemistry between them and the portuguese commentators speek a little too much...

Highligts and some lows of the evening:

1. Bulgaria: Powerfull song, with an amazing instrumental track. Elitsa's voice was a little too nervous...

3. Cyprus: Very professional performance from a true ESC Diva.

4. Belarus: Koldun was one of the best singers of the night and gave a excellent performance of is magic song.

6. Georgia: I like this song but on stage it seem like there was something extra missing...

8. Switzerland: New member of the "Kate Ryan club". Bad vocal performance.

9. Moldova: Powerfull song but average performance from Natalia Barbu.

12. Denmark: This could have been a lot better. DQ is too "clean".

15. Servia: Perhaps the best song of the nigh, sung by the amazing Marija.

17. Portugal: The best Portuguese entry in years. We have nothing to he ashamed of. Sabrina deserves our congratulations!

18. FYR Macedonia: Its good to have so many neighbours...

22. Hungary: I didn't like this song much but the performance was very very good.

25. Slovenia: Opera diva, stage show was not amazing but just ok. Alenka was a bit too relaxed.

26. Turkey: Excellent performance, it made Europe shake and shake...

28. Latvia: Good song, good performance, charismatic singers!

Helsinki calling

A Eurovisão todos os anos celebra a música europeia. Por esta altura, já todos terão visto os ensaios no youtube e terão dado uma espreitadela nas apostas.
Por aqui, a Eurovisão vive-se de uma maneira pacata, tal como a vida no resto da cidade. Os jornais falam da Eurovisão, há ecrãns nas ruas e bastante publicidade. Nos jornais fala-se da Sabrina como sendo uma presença positiva, alegre e com uma actuação arrojada. As pessoas conhecem-na e referem-se a ela como uma das mais bonitas. Mas será que conquista a Europa? Veremos dentro de algumas horas.
A canção de que todos falam é, sem dúvida, a cancão de Andorra. Tem conquistado muitos apoiantes pela força que tem demonstrado nas actuações. Onde quer que os Anonymous vão, tornam-se o centro das atenções. Mas conseguirá reunir votos suficientes para a final?
Com carta verde para a final parecem estar as cancões da Bielorussia e da Sérvia.
No Euroclube, passam as músicas do costume, Dime, Invincible e afins. Quanto às deste ano, Sabrina, parece que só a pedido. Mas, de cada vez que a nossa canção é tocada, ouve-se 4 ou 5 vezes a canção da Ucrania. Parece que para o ano a cidade anfitriã será Kiev. O entusiasmo é total, a coreografia pegou e todos a dançam.
Mas esta noite, na Semi-Final, tudo aponta para a existência de muitas surpresas. Bom espectáculo desde a fria Helsinquia!!!

Este texto é da autoria do Nuno Valério, que é assim uma espécie de enviado especial deste blog ao Festival Eurovisão da Canção 2007.

My top 10 favourites and my guess for tonights semi-final. Updated

My top 10 for the semi-final:

* Bulgaria
* Belarus
* Iceland
* Georgia
* Moldova
* Serbia
* Czech Republic
* Andorra
* Turkey
* Latvia

Who will really be in the final:

* Bulgaria (right)
* Belarus (right)
* Switzerland (failed)
* Croatia (failed)
* Serbia (right)
* FYR Macedonia (right)
* Andorra (failed)
* Slovenia (right)
* Turkey (right)
* Latvia (right)

So I got 7 right and 3 songs wrong... Not bad!

Who's affraid of Verka Serduchka?

TANZEN!

Ukraine is now the big favourite to win Eurovision 2007. The boys from Anonymous are also well appreciated in Helsinki! Will we be going to Kiev or Andorra la Vella? What about Beograd 2008?

Visit eurovision.tv for more pics, videos and news from Helsinki!

I Love Finland: Pump pump

Let your hip go hippety pump pump
That's the way we dance 'til we die.. ay ay ay...

Let your hip go hippety pump pump
Give me shivers all down my spine... ay ay ay...

I love Finland: Lapponia

The biggest scream ever in the Eurovision.

The singer is the amazing Monica Aspelund.

Rehearsing in Helsinki part II

Some say it's looking great, others say it's still awfull and has no chances at all...

The giant fans are still there!

Visit: http://akoe07.livejournal.com/ for more reviews and pics!

Taking a closer look at this years stars: Anonymous

Anonymous is a young band like its members: Niki, Potter and Gallego.
The group was created in Andorra in 2004 when some school friends decided to form a band following the example of their idols Blink 182 and Sum 41. Since then the band has found its place in the Principality and has won a large number of teenage fans.
Their concerts at the opening of the Games of the Small States in 2005 and their performances in clubs around the country have been the finest introduction for Anonymous.
The group is also introducing itself, little by little, into the Spanish music panorama, with appearances in various communication media. At the end of 2006 the group made a tour around Catalonia, opening the concerts given by Falling Kids, one of the latest emerging teenage punk bands in Spain. They are currently placed at number 3 in the Spanish singles chart with their Eurovision song Salvem el món.
Competition is something they are also used to, they have taken part successfully in Global Battle of the Bands in which they came second, and in the Emergenza Festival.

Success is growing for Annymous and first stop on their voyage will be the Eurovision Song Contest, where they hope to infect us all with their hopes and wishes for a better world.

.

(This text was only possible because of the help of Nuno Valério)

Rehearsing in Helsinki part I

Who the hell come up with the ideia of using giant fans?

Overall and from what I can see in this video it was a good rehearsal, Sabrina seems to be very confidant on stage. The dance routine seems a bit messy... And the stage appears to be very small.

Visit: http://www.12points.tv/v2/12points.asp for more pics and videos from Portugal and other countries.

Lisbon ... dancing

Country: Portugal

Performer: Sabrina

Song: Dança comigo (vem ser feliz)

Music by: Emanuel

Lyrics by: Emanuel, Tó Maria Vinhas

Review: I saved the best for last... or maybe not!

It has been more them 10 years since Portugal last ended in the top 10. Recent entries have drop more and more into the last places of the semi-final and have not ended last (with zero points) because we still have some diaspora voting.

This year will hopefully mark the begining of a new era, it's the first time for a very long period that we have a professional production team behind our song.

Dança comigo is a cute latin pop song, sang by a cute female singer called Sabrina. It's not a great song (not that bad either) and the singer is average. Sabrina's voice sounds a bit flat on the studio versions of the song so I prefer the live versions. I know she sangs a bit off key sometimes but the song sounds more "alive"!

The performance promises to be at the same level with the other songs, with a couple of professional dancers and some "caliente" moves... Just hope it won't be too over the top.

There is of course no chance for us in the semi-final, we still have a long way to go if we want to improve our Eurovision resuts, so for now anything above 15th place would be a great result in my opinion.

Lisbon calling London

Country: United Kingdom

Performers: Scooch

Song: Flying the flag (for you)

Music by: Morten Schjolin, Andrew Hill, Paul Tarry, Russ Spencer

Lyrics by: Morten Schjolin, Andrew Hill, Paul Tarry, Russ Spencer

Review: Once upon a time there was a bubblegum dance group called Scooch that despite some chart sucess rapidly retired.

This year they decided to come back, older, gayer and fatter, to try to conquer Europe. The first victim of their very camp and tottally old-fashioned song Flying the flag (for you) was a cute French girl singing a Scotish song. They will now fly to Helsinki where they hope to save the british honour in the Eurovision Song Contest after years of bad results...

The performance will surrelly be original but I cant see this doing very well, the song its a bit borring and doesn't stay in our memory for a long time... Quality is not a word we can use associated with the U.K. this year. Bring Daz back!

Lisbon calling Ankara and Kiev

Country: Turkey

Performer: Kenan Doğulu

Song: Shake it up şekerim

Music by: Kenan Doğulu

Lyrics by: Kenan Doğulu

Review: With the exception of 2005, Turkey has been one of the countries that has contributed the most to the modernization of the Eurovision Song Contest, sending major stars to the competition with high quality pop songs.

This year they will be represented by Kenan Doğulu one of the most popular and influential musicians in the Turkish pop music industry. His song Shake it up şekerim brings to this year's contest an urban feel with nice ethnic sounds, very different from all the other competing songs.

Shake it up şekerim is prehaps the most contemporary song of the year, it might not be the most Eurovisionesque song but it certainly deserves a place in the final line-up.

I confess I didn't like it at first but now its one of my favourites... It might not be a winner but its still a nice effort from Turky.

***

Country: Ukraine

Performer: Verka Serduchka

Song: Dancing lasha tumbai

Music by: Andrei Danilko

Lyrics by: Andrei Danilko

Review: How can I say this... I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee this song!
I know this song is a bit crazy but that is exactly what makes Dancing lasha tumbai such a great Eurovision song. That and the fabulous Verka Serduchka off course.

There have been many comedy acts in recent years but this one seems to be the most original and funny of all, and if such songs are ever to win this would be a very nice choice.

Many fans say this kind of "trashy" songs are not worthy of a music event like the Eurovision Song Contest, but I think that this kind of acts are just what the contest needs.
This songs just makes us feel happy and wanna dance to it and that is what pop music is all about. Even if the songs are not that innocent in the end...
Verka is without a doubt the most interessanting contestant going to Helsinki.

Lisbon calling Stockholm and Bern

Country: Sweden

Performers: The Ark

Song: The worrying kind

Music by: Ola Salo

Lyrics by: Ola Salo

Review: Eternal favourites Sweden had this year one of the worse national finals in years, still they managed to choose a song that I think has very good chances to make us travel to Stockholm next year.

It was no surprise to see The Ark winning Melodifestivalen with their pop/ glam rock song The worrying kind. This song has a touch of vintage rock mixed with some pop influences, but its at the same time a very "now" song. It also gives us a very cool change from more traditional schlager songs and proves why the Swedish music industry is so powerfull. Plus glam rock always scores high in the ESC.

This entry is being very underated by fans. It is a very comercial song that I bet will have great impact in the European audience.

***

Country: Switzerland

Performer: DJ Bobo

Song: Vampires are alive

Music by: DJ Bobo, Axel Breitung

Lyrics by: DJ Bobo, Axel Breitung

Review: Switzerland definatly learned from the null points back in 2004 and have since taken a radical new approach towards Eurovision.

This year they are back to the top of internet polls with Vampires are alive, a modern song by Dj Bobo, the man who gaves us Chihuahua.

I'm not the biggest fan of this song but I recognize it's comercial appeal. The introduction and the end reminds me of Darth Vader and the in between its pure eurodance, but it lacks a stronger sound, to really stay in our minds.

I also fear the stage act can be a bit too much and end up in a big mess... Still this is an almost certain finalist.

Lisbon calling Ljubljana and Madrid

Country: Slovenia

Performer: Alenka Gotar

Song: Cvet z juga

Music by: Andrej Babić, Aleksandar Valenčića

Lyrics by: Andrej Babić, Aleksandar Valenčića

Review: This song was Andrej's third attempt in three years to win EMA, all his other songs were favourites to win the event but always lost because of the 50/50 voting (jury plus televote). He started with Metulj in 2005, a very special song, he them went a little camper last year with Mandoline and this year he went completly crazy and made this ode to campness, opera meets balcan disco, called Cvet z juga.

I love Eurovision so camp songs are not really an issue with me but there is something in this song that hasn't yet reached my Eurovision heart...

I think my biggest set back here was the performance in the national final, it was just awfull! So bad I've not been able to love this properly. That and the fact Eva Cerne had such a cool song, a fantastic dress and only came second (she would have won if they had a jury)...

Slovenia won the OGAE Portugal preview's meeting early this month (I didn't give it any point) and has scored well in other meethings across Europe so fans clearly like it, will the audience agree?
***

Country: Spain

Performers: D'Nash

Song: I Love you mi vida

Music by: Thomas G:son, Andreas Rickstrand

Lyrics by: Tony Sanchez-Ohlsson, Rebeca Pous del Toro

Review: There is no country I would love to see win Eurovision more them Spain. They kinda tried too in the early 00's and almost had really good chances this year too. They had nice songs and nice singers but then went totally crazy and choose the worse method to do a national final ever...

The result was combination of boysband D'Nash singing another G:son theme I Love you mi vida, a song clearly intended for a female soloist, or at least a soloist! There is no chance for them now, I like D'Nash and I like the song but never in a million years will they match... Plus they will sing in the place of death, 2nd in the Final.

Still this is a long way from those Ketchup girls thing from last years contest. There is still hope for our vizinhos, maybe Madrid 2009?

Lisbon calling Moscow and Belgrade

Country: Russia

Performers: Serebro

Song: Song n.º 1

Music by: Maxim Fadeev

Lyrics by: Daniil Babitchev

Review: This is another "American" pop modern kinda song. Many predict that it will give Russia their first win but I really doubt it.

It lacks charisma, I dont like it, it's a borring song.

I woudn't be surprised if this group of "wanna be divas" totally floped on stage.

***

Country: Serbia

Performer: Marija Šerifović
Song: Molitva

Music by: Vladimir Graić

Lyrics by: S. M. Mare

Review: Serbians really really want to win Eurovision don't they?

Molitva is a beautifull song and will without a doubt be among the top 5 in Helsinki.

Marija's voice is sublime and fits the song perfectly. She may not be the most attractive singer in the world but she really gives it all on stage making her song shine even more.

It's all very quiet and emotional in this gentle song, so it should stand out well among all the other more extravagant songs.

I dont see it has a winner yeat but it is one of the best songs this year without any doubt.

Lisbon calling Warsaw and Bucharest

Country: Poland

Performers: The Jet Set

Song: Time to party

Music by: Mateusz Krezan

Lyrics by: Kamil Varen, David Junior Serame

Review: Poland is becoming the eternal 11th in the semi-final. They missed the 2005 final by just 4 points and the 2006 final stayed at only 6 points away...

Time to party is a happy, modern, American/MTV kinda of song, that should go down well with most viewers.
The Jet Set give a nice performance of their song on stage, very appealing and modern in the right way. Its looks like a "live" music video with 3 minutes.

So all seems to be fine here, but will the european audience fall in love with this style of song? I must be honest and say I dont like it particularly.

***

Country: Romenia

Performers: Todomondo

Song: Liubi, liubi, I Love you

Music by: Mister M

Lyrics by: Mister M, Vlad Creţu, Ghedi Kamara
Review: I still dont get this song...

Is it a comedy song? A Eurovisionesque multilingual song? Pop? Folk? I just dont know!

Fans seem to like it, I dont see anything special about it, its just a big mess in my opinion.

Bring back Dracula, my love.

Lisbon calling Amsterdam and Oslo

Country: The Netherlands

Performer: Edsilia Rombley

Song: On top of the world

Music by: Tjeerd Oosterhuis

Lyrics by: Tjeerd Oosterhuis, Martin Gijzemijter, Maarten ten Hove

Review: Desperate attempt from The Netherlands to show some interess on Eurovision. Rumour say that Edsilia was the cheaper solution to represent the country after the Idols winner made too many demands...
The song is ok, not to say bad, I can't see anything special about it.

Next!

***

Country: Norway

Performer: Guri Schanke

Song: Ven a bailar conmigo

Music by: Thomas G:son
Lyrics by: Thomas G:son

Review: Another song from the new king of Eurovision Schlager, Ven a bailar conmigo is a mix of "Dancing with the Stars" and Ricky Martin.

Guri is a very strong performance and gives the song all she has on stage, viewers will have a nice "latino" party with this song/ performance.

It sounds a bit fake because it comes from a Nordic country that isn't exactly latino... But I wanna wasn't from a Latino country either and it won so this might not be such a disadvantage after all...

Lisbon calling Kishinev and Podgorica

Country: Moldova

Performer: Natalia Barbu

Song: Fight

Music by: Alexandru Braşoveanu

Lyrics by: Elena Buga

Review: This was one of the first songs choosen this year and remains one of my favourites ever since.

It's a modern pop-rock theme with a nice mix of electronic guitars and violins. The song starts slowly but builds up well and turns into a very powerfull song that really captures our attention.
Natalia's voice fits the song perfectly and if she is able to give a good performance in Helsinki this might give Moldova a well deserved third Eurovision final.

***

Country: Montenegro

Performer: Stevan Faddy

Song: Ajde kroči

Music by: Slaven Knezović

Lyrics by: Milan Perić

Review: I had high hopes about Montengro and Stevan Faddy. I loved No Name in 2005 and Stevan had a really cool song in their national final last year.

Unfortunatly this expectations didn't came thru with Ajde kroči. This is another pop rock song, with a nice brigde that gives it a touch of balcanic soul but that its unable to rescue this song from sounding incredibly old fashioned.

It's not all bad, but I also don't see in it many aspects for Eurovision sucess... Maybe next year.

Lisbon calling Skopje and Valleta

Country: F.Y. R. Macedonia

Performer: Karolina

Song: Mojo svet

Music by: Grigor Koprov

Lyrics by: Ognen Nedelkovski

Review: Is always a pleasure for the fans watching a former Eurovision participant return to the contest, specially one that was well appreciated like Karolina in her first attempt with the song Od nas zavisi in 2002.

Of course that it also helps when the returning artists is back in the contest with an amazing song like Mojo svet.
This song is a happy mixture of pop-rock with some more traditional balcan rythems. It has a very strong and catchy chorus and of course it can also count with Karolina's strong vocal habilities and stage presence.

Macedonia has always reached the final since the current sistem was introduced and I think this year will be no exception, Karolina's challenge will be to improve the result Elena Risteka got last year and manage a place above 12th in the final.

***

Country: Malta

Performer: Olivia Lewis
Song: Vertigo

Music by: Philip Vella
Lyrics by: Gerard James Borg

Review: Olivia Lewis is already an Eurovision veteran, even if this is only the first time she will be in the ESC stage. She has tried to reach the contest more times them any other artist and will finally have her chance in Helsinki.

Malta is one of the countries that really really loves the Eurovision Song Contest and always gives it their best. This year they once again be represented with a very strong entry.

Vertigo is not an easy song, it mixes flamenco with arabic sounds in a style that we could call "Mediteranic". It's very different from what Malta has sended so far and can sound bit strange at first but it's certainly a very special song.

Olivia has a very nice voice and stage presence and after their bad result last year, in part due to a weak stage performance, I think this year it will all be near perfection.

It wont be easy for them to reach the final but I think that they will pull it of in the end. Olivia really deserves that chance for all her previous efforts.

Lisbon calling Riga and Vilnius

Country: Latvia

Perfomers: Bonaparti.lv

Song: Questa notte

Music by: Kjell Jennstig

Lyrics by: Kjell Jennstig, Torbjörn Wassenius, Francesca Russo

Review: This is a first time since 2000 that a song will be sang completely in Italian, an surprisingly it will not be representing Italy or Switzerland but it will be flying the Latvian colours.

Beside being sang in Italian Questa notte also has more them a touch of opera in it, making it sound even more "vintage". Will this appeal to viewers? I think so, at least the more traditional audiences like the Portuguese one, that will surely give it a high score.

This is a pleasent song, similar to the ones that the group Il Divo sings, which can only help Bonaparti to achieve a good result. Plus they will sing last in the semi-final.

On the negative side are those crazy hats they wore in the national final, but maybe they will leave those at home.

***

Country: Lithuania

Performers: 4Fun

Song: Love or leave

Music by: Julija Ritčik

Lyrics by: Julija Ritčik

Review: After a very crazy song last year Lithuania is back with a very soft song.

How this song won in Lithuania is a mistery to me, their national final used to be much weirder.

Love or leave is a gentle song, with a guitar in a backround giving it a kind Spanish feeling and the the lead singer voice giving it extra warmth.
Maybe a little too subtle for Eurovision, but on the other hand its a beautifull song that can contrast well with other more "extravagant" songs and achieve its goal to reach the viewers hearts.

Their stage performance is also very quiet but very original.

Lisbon calling Dublin and Jerusalem

Country: Ireland

Performer: Dervish

Song: They can't stop the spring

Music by: John Waters, Tommy Moran

Lyrics by: John Waters, Tommy Moran

Review: The Irish have their own recipe regarding Eurovision, they either send a ballad or a celtic song, considering they won 7 times we could say that this is indeed a very good recipe.

However if we look at their most recent scores they haven't havent been doing all that well.

This year they went for the celtic theme, choosing Dervish to sing for them and later deciding that the song would be the poetically entitled They can't stop the spring. So far so good, why shouldn't it work again this year?

I'm not so shure that it will work, altough this is a very gentle song but Dervish lead singer Cathy Jordan has a very particular voice that doesnt sound all that atractive to me. Beside that during her national final she seemed to be singing a bit out of tune (maybe there were just high notes) and displayed the appeal of a dead cat on stage.

Also, the song itself might be a problem. One of the irish commentators said he didn't like any of the songs they had to choose from! Even if They can't stop the spring is a nice song it really doesn't have that special something that could catch the viewers eyes, hears and hearts.

***

Country: Israel

Perfomers: Teapacks

Song: Push the button
Music by: Kobi Oz

Lyrics by: Kobi Oz

Review: After two ballads Israel is going to Helsinki this year with a more modern song. Push the button by the all male group Teapacks is a song about the need for peace and the dangers of war! How apropiate for a country that just last summer went to war with one of their neighbours.

But enough politics this is a song contest and considering just that this is not a bad song at all, I think it has some good chances in Eurovision. It has that touch of Wadde wadde dudde da? and We are the winners two succesfull songs in the history of the contest.

Personnaly it's not one of my favourite songs this year. They also drawed the number 2 slot in the semi-final, bad luck!

This is a different song, but it will be different in the right way?

Taking a closer look at this years stars: Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić

One of the oldest and most experienced singers in this years contest comes from Croatia. Dado Topić born in 1949 started is carrear while he was still a teenager as a member of rock bands Devils Elixire, Dynamite and Korni Grupa where he sang for about a year. He left Korni to form his own band - Time - which he left after 10 year in order to develope his solo career.

Troughout the years of his very successful career Dado stayed faithfull to rock, soul and blues, with a sweet mixture of funk.

He has received many awards, including "best rock vocal and composer" in the year 2006 and reached a new highlight this year when he won the popular Croatia pre-selection for Eurovision the Dora 2007.

In Helsinki he will sing Vjerujem u ljubav (I believe in love) with the group Dragonfly. This formation was formed in the mid 90's under the name The Draggerrs.

Besides the lead singer Iva Gluhak the band is composed of three more member: Drago Vidaković and Branko Kužnar-Žan in the guitars and Branko Badanjak who plays the drums.

Dragonfly has developed their own sound, having played with some important member os the Croatian music scene while playing all year round in Croatian clubs and touring the Adriatic coast. During their career they have had excellent feedback from audiences and music analysts.

Lisbon calling Budapest and Reykjavik

Country: Hungary

Performer: Magdi Rúzsa

Song: Unsubstantial blues

Music by: Magdi Rúzsa

Lyrics by: Imre Mozsik

Review: Eurovision 2007 is full of diferent styles of music, Hungary brings us a slight touch of blues with their soft-rock ballad Unsubstantial blues.

Young singer Magdi is a talent show winner so she should have plenty of television experience which will certanly help her in Helsinki. Her voice is very original and serves her song well, giving it a special sentiment.

The draw was also kinde to the Hungarian, they will sing in the 22th place, close to the well of the show.

On the negative side this song doesn't seem to have any special kind of appeal. Its all very quiet and soft and Magdi can get lost among stronger songs from Malta, Andorra or Slovenia that will alk sing before or after Hungary.

***

Country: Iceland

Performer: Eiríkur Hauksson

Song: Valentine lost

Music by: Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson

Lyrics by: Peter Fenner

Review: Eiríkur was one of the members of the group Icy the first Icelandic representatives in Eurovision, he returns this year with a strong rock ballad that reminds me of Queen.

Valentine lost if one of my favourite songs in this year's contest and I love it even more in the original Icelandic version called Ég les í lófa þínum (I read from the palm of your hand).

Rock music has found new strenght in Eurovision and this song is a very good example of that type of music, I think that it can also please viewers who liked the old strong love ballad with a symphonic sound that used to dominated the contest in the past. This however can be its negative point: sounding a little too old.

The draw wasn't very kind to Iceland, they will sing in the beginning of the show, next to Belarus another rock inspired song.