Eurovision 2009

[gadjo_dilo]

First semifinal, tonight.

Vote Elena Gheorghe!
Vote " The Balkan Girls "!
Vote for ROMANIA!

:laugh:

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

[Dave B]

The UK is screwed, again.

Tactical voting aside, our song is rubbish. I just heard it on the radio and had forgotten it was our Eurovision entry, thinking instead it was a former X-Factor song or something similarly bland.

I'll still be watching though, missing Wogan but having Ken Bruce on Radio 2 instead.

[janneppi]

What I saw from the candidates there is awfully lot of horrendeus crap this year. Like always.

[gadjo_dilo]

The UK is screwed, again.
. I just heard it on the radio and had forgotten it was our Eurovision entry, thinking instead it was a former X-Factor song or something similarly bland.


They say that the composer is Andrew Lloyd Webber who's expected to join the stage and play a white piano...... :laugh:

http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv22/ElenaESC/4-1.jpg

[gadjo_dilo]

Now we have the first 10 finalists:
Turkey - it's considered a favourite but too much navel dance for my taste
Sweden - the trills of the old lady are really annoying
Israel - a "political " entry: an arab and a jew
Portugal- I have a weakness for portuguese but the singer should change that ridiculous dress
Malta- good voice but the " dimensions " of the singer would be a handicap
Finland- liked it. too bad that the girl on the right wears a mini skirt
Bosnia & Herzegovina - I remember only the interesting " revolutionary " picture
Romania - Fine legs. Great that brave Elena managed to wear sandals with 15 cm heels
Armenia - the dancers reminds of samurai
Iceland - beautiful girl with a song and outfit that reminds the early editions of the contest

On Thursday is the second semifinal.
Vote Nelly Ciobanu!
Vote " Hora din Moldova "
Vote for Moldova!!!!!!

[EuroTroll]

I liked the dress the Swedish girl was wearing. Very nice! But then, unfortunately, she began singing and all was ruined. :s

Are there any entries this year that anyone here would say are musically good? Just curious. If so, post YouTube links. ;)

Ah, Eurovision. A great show when we won it. Totally devalued since Latvia won it. :p :

[DonJippo]

I liked the dress the Swedish girl was wearing. Very nice!

They say prize of that dress is 40000€, I just can't understand why anyone would pay that much for a dress :confused:

[EuroTroll]

They say prize of that dress is 40000€, I just can't understand why anyone would pay that much for a dress :confused:

Yeah, I know.

To make an impression? :) Which it did. And she has a nice voice. But when you start singing the usual Eurovision crap a la "Can you keep a secret? I'm in love with you. Can you make a promise? Say, forever true," it really makes one reach for the bucket. http://smilies.vidahost.com/contrib/geno/kotzen.gif So yeah, it's a huge waste of money.

And I do mean bucket. Not bouquet. :)

[ShiftingGears]

I think the only say I'd ever watch Eurovision was if Opeth was Sweden's entry.

[Dave B]

Every year there's a Facebook campaign to get Bill Bailey elected as the UK's entry. Every year it fails. I'm beginning to suspect that online campaigns are worthless :uhoh:

[Roamy]

Whats Eurovision - Is that where you film all of the Islams moving in??

[EuroTroll]

Whats Eurovision - Is that where you film all of the Islams moving in??

Yes, as long as they sing! ;)

[Roamy]

Yea I am thinking about building a nice mobile roadside stand where I can sell Pashminas to the passerbys :p

[EuroTroll]

Yea I am thinking about building a nice mobile roadside stand where I can sell Pashminas to the passerbys :p

Don't really know what Pashminas are, but I think you've got to rething your business plan, mate. ;) We're in Moscow now, and all they consume is vodka and rotten cabbage. :D

[Roamy]

Pashminas are those beautiful scarves that you get from Turkey. Actually we could wrap the vodka in Pashminas and sell the cabbage like chinese take out

[Magnus]

In Sweden especially older people go crazy over our opera lady, and many belive she will win. But it is like that all the time, and then some state from the east wins anyway. I guess in a few years a new competition will be born, with ionly the western states again... Not that I care: Sepultura will not compete anyway :(

[EuroTroll]

But it is like that all the time, and then some state from the east wins anyway. I guess in a few years a new competition will be born, with ionly the western states again...

Hey, I'm from the "east" and I do believe I'm as European as you are, damn it! :hmph:

;)

[EuroTroll]

Hey, I'm from the "east" and I do believe I'm as European as you are, damn it!

Ah, so no response from Magnus! :hmph:

This is it!!! This. Means. War!!! :fasttalk:

I hereby take back anything nice I said about the Swedish anthem on the Geography thread!! I hereby adopt the official Finnish position that all Swedish men are gay!! :devil:

I hereby congratulate the pirates of Saaremaa (one of the West-Estonian islands) for their successful pillage and burning of Sigtuna in 1187!! Come on, saarlased, we're sailing for Stockholm tomorrow!!! I'll bring the matches!! :hmph: :devil:

[DonJippo]

I hereby congratulate the pirates of Saaremaa (one of the West-Estonian islands) for their successful pillage and burning of Sigtuna in 1187!! Come on, saarlased, we're sailing for Stockholm tomorrow!!! I'll bring the matches!! :hmph: :devil:

On your way stop by in Åbo and I will give you some gasoline to help you :devil: :p

[EuroTroll]

On your way stop by in Åbo and I will give you some gasoline to help you :devil: :p :

Yes! :hot: So let it be written, so let it be done!! :hot: :angryfire

[gadjo_dilo]

Not that I care: Sepultura will not compete anyway :(

Never say never. Everybody is free to compete and to represent any state as long as it's a national choice. Every musical genre is permitted ( just notice how many symphonic orchestra instruments we have this year ).
In the future Sepultura may represent Albania, Azerbaidjan, etc. :laugh:

[A.F.F.]

I hereby take back anything nice I said about the Swedish anthem on the Geography thread!! I hereby adopt the official Finnish position that all Swedish men are gay!! :devil:


They are indeed.

[AndyRAC]

They are indeed.

Is that true? How is that - what with all those gorgeous Swedish girls, seems a bit of a waste.....

Right, I'm off to Sweden!!

[gadjo_dilo]

Have you noticed the impressive military forces who joined the stage during the televoting break? :laugh:

Just kidding. I know that that military choir is famous.

[Magnus]

Hey, I'm from the "east" and I do believe I'm as European as you are, damn it! :hmph:

;)

Dear Studiose: I did not even mention Europe in my text, I do not care for what nation or part of the world i happen to live in, or be a part of: i regard nationalism and proudness over a state as probably the most stupid thing man has ever come across, when it comes to feelings.

But: when we discuss languauge, it is a fact that most inhabitants in the western parts of Europe vote for people/singers from the same parts as they live in, and whilst the eastern community are consisting of a larger group of people, the eastern countries will win... Simple as that.

[Eki]

Have you noticed the impressive military forces who joined the stage during the televoting break? :laugh:

Just kidding. I know that that military choir is famous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lNFRLrP014

[Magnus]

BTW: I missed out on the war-declaration... Hmm... Ok: let all your boats be powered by Johnson/Evinrude 60-70 hp, manufactured between 87-02. And let all your cars be from Volvo 300 and 400 series.
:devil:

[EuroTroll]

Ok, Magnus. ;) I guess I misunderstood you. Consider the war called off. :) Anyway, the saarlased are not as fierce as they were 800 years ago, so it would have been quite difficult to rally them for the Stockholm raid. :D

In case you're interested. ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonian_pirates

[gadjo_dilo]

But: when we discuss languauge, it is a fact that most inhabitants in the western parts of Europe vote for people/singers from the same parts as they live in, and whilst the eastern community are consisting of a larger group of people, the eastern countries will win... Simple as that.

I'm afraid that the saturday vote will prove that the first part of your theory is wrong.
Can't see France voting for UK or Germany. :laugh: Or Spain giving its 12 points to anybody else than us.

[Eki]

Another gem from the Russian Red Army Choir and Leningrad Cowboys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV6ETVQgob0&feature=related

[gadjo_dilo]

The first 10 semifinalists are 5 from west and 5 from east. Where's the political vote? :laugh:

[Dave B]

There's a Eurovision drinking game here (http://oliverdavies.blogspot.com/2009/05/eurovision-song-contest-2009-drinking.html). I'll be playing along, but substituting the vodka for wine. I may be slightly drunk...

[EuroTroll]

We're in the finals too! :beer: With a nice song, actually, if I do say so myself. :up: Unlike last year, when Estonia was represented by three 2nd rate fat middle-aged comedians, singing a song (badly) that was essentially an inside joke. :s

Not a winning song for us this year, surely, but a nice one. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U29y5bjJ92c)

As to who will win... It's got to be Norway, hasn't it. It's just the sort of catchy happy stuff that usually wins this thing. It doesn't even mean much that the guy can't really sing that well. :laugh: 'Cause he's poor in an adorable way. :p : Weird for this song to represent Norway, though. A mix of Gaelic and Slavic tunes.. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8JRtGMBUz0&feature=related)

What I really like is that this year there seem to be more songs in the countries' native language!

[gadjo_dilo]

"It's time for me to unwind
I'm gonna start my weekend with gin tonic and lime"

because

"The Balkan girls, they like to party
Like nobody, like nobody"
:laugh: :laugh:

Tomorrow night don't forget to vote for our best national assset: the girls.
Vote gorgeous Elena for Romania and Nelly for Moldova.

[EuroTroll]

Tomorrow night don't forget to vote for our best national assset: the girls.
Vote gorgeous Elena for Romania and Nelly for Moldova.

I'm sorry, I'm very forgetful when it comes to such pledges when they don't involve a financial incentive. :p :

[gadjo_dilo]

I'm sorry, I'm very forgetful when it comes to such pledges when they don't involve a financial incentive. :p :

Our girls use the " in nature " paying system. :laugh:

[EuroTroll]

Our girls use the " in nature " paying system. :laugh:

Well, I do think both songs are rather bad, but... :p : Alright, there's an Estonian Air Moscow-Tallinn flight in two hours. ;) After a "private audition", I might reconsider. ;) :devil:

[gadjo_dilo]

You won't regret it. Good luck and tell Elena I'll keep my fingers crossed for her ( I have a soft spot for this girl - she's of aromanian origin, just like me ).

P.S. Be sure you'll be back in Tallin in time. If the contest evening will find you in Moscow you'll be able to vote for your own country. Don't cheat!

[EuroTroll]

I think you misunderstood. ;) I won't be flying anywhere! :p :

Aromanian, eh? Thanks to Wikipedia, learned something new about Romania. ;) Well, the Balkans, actually.

[gadjo_dilo]

Aromanian, eh? Thanks to Wikipedia, learned something new about Romania. ;) Well, the Balkans, actually.
And thanks to Elena you learned something new about the Balkan girls. So vote her!

[Eki]

There's a Eurovision drinking game here (http://oliverdavies.blogspot.com/2009/05/eurovision-song-contest-2009-drinking.html). I'll be playing along, but substituting the vodka for wine. I may be slightly drunk...
Reminds me of an old Finnish game:

You need a six-pack of vodka and three players.

1) Each player drinks two bottles of vodka
2) One of the players go outside
3) The players left in the room try to figure out who was it that went out

You can also play it with just two players, but then you obviously need more vodka.

[EuroTroll]

And thanks to Elena you learned something new about the Balkan girls. So vote her!

I already knew that about the Balkan girls! :p :

I'm sorry, it'll have to be Norway. ;) It's the best song.

[gadjo_dilo]

I'm sorry, it'll have to be Norway. ;) It's the best song.

Norway?!!?! Now you're disappointing me....

[EuroTroll]

Norway?!!?! Now you're disappointing me....

C'est la vie... :p :

[EuroTroll]

Woohoo! 6th place! :D :up:

Thanks Finland, all is forgiven! :p : Thanks Slovakia, the next bad thing you do will be forgiven! :p :

See, Magnus? Norway 1st, Iceland 2nd. Maybe it's not so bad after all. ;)

[themo]

Reminds me of an old Finnish game:

You need a six-pack of vodka and three players.

1) Each player drinks two bottles of vodka
2) One of the players go outside
3) The players left in the room try to figure out who was it that went out

You can also play it with just two players, but then you obviously need more vodka.

can you play this game with 1 player :beer:

[Magnus]

Woohoo! 6th place! :D :up:


See, Magnus? Norway 1st, Iceland 2nd. Maybe it's not so bad after all. ;)

Aahhh; those western countries could have their own competition... :D

[UltimateDanGTR]

For once politics was less in the equation-hence why we came 5th! although we had a good enough song to come 2nd i feel-some political voters somewhere! BOO! :D happy with 5th though-shows we are not as hated so much! (we are only hated because we brilliant at everything)

congrats to norway-they had the best song.

also nice to see we gave a lot of points to the germans, and vice-versa. shows we are friends again with our old rivals...... (even though their song wasnt that good-we must have like the half naked dancing girls!)

[gadjo_dilo]

For once politics was less in the equation-hence why we came 5th! although we had a good enough song to come 2nd i feel-some political voters somewhere! BOO! :D happy with 5th though-shows we are not as hated so much! (we are only hated because we brilliant at everything)
Nothing to do with politics. UK managed to get points because for the first time in years they presented a singer who can sing. If the song itself hadn't been so boring ( a perfect match for a Disney film presented on the night of Oscars :laugh: ) you would have had serious chances to win.


congrats to norway-they had the best song.

If the song of " Enrique Iglesias's brother " was the best song then I could say with the hand on my heart that it was the weakest edition of ESC. :laugh:
The " fiddler on the roof " was last century's style.



also nice to see we gave a lot of points to the germans, and vice-versa. shows we are friends again with our old rivals...... (even though their song wasnt that good-we must have like the half naked dancing girls!)

...and nice to see that you gave 12 points to Turkey. Remember this in the future when the title will go again to the east. :laugh:
Anyway why should a " friendly " vote be more ethical than a "political " one? :laugh:

[EuroTroll]

The " fiddler on the roof " was last century's style.

What's this century's style, then? Slutty girls singing about partying? :p :

[gadjo_dilo]

What's this century's style, then? Slutty girls singing about partying? :p :

Nah! It's more about a strong voice making you feel some emotions even if you don't understand the lyrics. Something like the song that won in 2007 ( Serbia - Molitva ).

[Daniel]

Nothing to do with politics. UK managed to get points because for the first time in years they presented a singer who can sing. If the song itself hadn't been so boring ( a perfect match for a Disney film presented on the night of Oscars :laugh: ) you would have had serious chances to win.

I'm sorry but that is an absolute load of rubbish. The Eastern Bloc countries used to vote for each other no matter what. With the change in voting system I think the results were a lot more indicative of reality.

[gadjo_dilo]

I'm sorry but that is an absolute load of rubbish. The Eastern Bloc countries used to vote for each other no matter what. With the change in voting system I think the results were a lot more indicative of reality.
Give me a break. Some things never change. The national juries couldn't stop all ex-yugoslavian countries to vote for Bosnia. Moldova and Romania exchanged 12 points between them despite their average songs. Cyprus voted for Greece, etc. It's a fact that some " little churches " functioned in the past ( even before the eastern block was allowed in competition ) and they are still alive.
The idea is that a good song may get points from every country and a bad one has no chance.
How else can you explain that last year many countries from the east couldn't get to the final despite the "support" of the neighbours?

More than that, UK and France did quite well because sent good voices, Germany and Spain did very bad because mantained their usual way to treat the competition.

[Daniel]

Give me a break. Some things never change. The national juries couldn't stop all ex-yugoslavian countries to vote for Bosnia. Moldova and Romania exchanged 12 points between them despite their average songs. Cyprus voted for Greece, etc. It's a fact that some " little churches " functioned in the past ( even before the eastern block was allowed in competition ) and they are still alive.
The idea is that a good song may get points from every country and a bad one has no chance.
How else can you explain that last year many countries from the east couldn't get to the final despite the "support" of the neighbours?

More than that, UK and France did quite well because sent good voices, Germany and Spain did very bad because mantained their usual way to treat the competition.
But it's clear and obvious this year that national rivalries and alliances were less of a factor in the voting.

[gadjo_dilo]

Believe what you want. From my point of view the votes went as usual. The only thing that I can't get every year ( with a few exceptions, of course ) is the criteria that makes a song to be voted by most of the countries.

Now let's see which countries won 12 points ( with a jury contribution of 50% ) :
Norway - 16 times
Turkey - 6 times
Iceland - 3 times
Bosnia & Herzegovina - 3 times
Greece - 3 times
Estonia - twice
Moldova - twice
Armenia - once
Spain - once
United Kingdom - once
Croatia - once
Azerbaijan - once
Romania - once
Russia - once

Since the jury had an important word I have doubts about the juries "competence".

[Drew]

But it's clear and obvious this year that national rivalries and alliances were less of a factor in the voting.

I definitely agree with that, although alot of the time it seemed as if nothing had changed :)

I'm glad the Norwegian song won and I really like the Estonian song too, strangely :D

[EuroTroll]

and I really like the Estonian song too, strangely :D

You are wise beyond your years! ;) :p :

[Eki]

You are wise beyond your years! ;) :p :
Yes, senile and demented.

[EuroTroll]

Yes, senile and demented.

Quiet, you! You and your like gave us 12 points. No escaping that, now! :p :

[Dave B]

Looking back at my score sheet in the cold light of day and it's apparent how my handwriting deteriorates during the evening, almost as if it was directly linked to alcohol consumption. :beer:

[Eki]

Quiet, you! You and your like gave us 12 points. No escaping that, now! :p :
I didn't even see the contest. I was driving home from the Jean Michel Jarre concert in Helsinki.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8dqzTl0vUI

[EuroTroll]

I didn't even see the contest. I was driving home from the Jean Michel Jarre concert in Helsinki.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8dqzTl0vUI

Ah.

Is it true what Bill Bailey says? "Jean Michel Jarre is a fraud." :)

[stevie_gerrard]

also nice to see we gave a lot of points to the germans, and vice-versa. shows we are friends again with our old rivals...... (even though their song wasnt that good-we must have like the half naked dancing girls!)

Oh yeh, be alrite if the germans gave us any points at all! Not one single point, i think its time to reignite the rivalry :p :

Honestly, i thought our song was quite poor, but we got the right idea in marketing it around europe before the contest, if we did that more often, i think we would reguarly be near the front. We definately didn't deserve to win.

Congrats to Norway, one of the best songs without a doubt. :up:

[jso1985]

Give me a break. Some things never change. The national juries couldn't stop all ex-yugoslavian countries to vote for Bosnia. Moldova and Romania exchanged 12 points between them despite their average songs. Cyprus voted for Greece, etc. It's a fact that some " little churches " functioned in the past ( even before the eastern block was allowed in competition ) and they are still alive.
The idea is that a good song may get points from every country and a bad one has no chance.
How else can you explain that last year many countries from the east couldn't get to the final despite the "support" of the neighbours?

More than that, UK and France did quite well because sent good voices, Germany and Spain did very bad because mantained their usual way to treat the competition.

With all the respect for the people affected by the Balkan Wars, I sometimes think Yugoslavia broke up just so they could vote for each other in Eurovision :p

But... if you look at Norway's score, probably the creepy guy would have won anyway even with fully installed popular voting.

Best part of the night for me was TVE being so sure Spain was going to win by a landslide :laugh:

[Eki]

Ah.

Is it true what Bill Bailey says? "Jean Michel Jarre is a fraud." :)
In what way he is a fraud?

[gadjo_dilo]

If you have the patience to browse this page you'll have the table of who voted who. So nothing new under the sun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2009#Final_2

[ShiftingGears]

I saw Greece's entry on youtube and felt horribly violated. Anyone else feel likewise?

[EuroTroll]

In what way he is a fraud?

Only God and Bailey himself know, I guess. :)


If you have the patience to browse this page you'll have the table of who voted who. So nothing new under the sun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2009#Final_2

You exaggerate. 50% is new under the Sun. :)

As an example, why would Slovakia give us 12 points? We have no emotional connection with them, positive or negative. When it comes to politics and "friendship between nations", it would have been much more likely for us to get full marks from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary... there are connections there. With Slovakia? Non that I can think of.

Then again, we also got 12 from Finland, and that does "make sense".

50-50. ;)

[gadjo_dilo]

You exaggerate. 50% is new under the Sun. :)

As an example, why would Slovakia give us 12 points? We have no emotional connection with them, positive or negative. When it comes to politics and "friendship between nations", it would have been much more likely for us to get full marks from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary... there are connections there. With Slovakia? Non that I can think of.

Then again, we also got 12 from Finland, and that does "make sense".
50-50. ;)

Because mingled the Eurovision's ways are :laugh:

First of all I'm sure that every year there's a certain EBU indication for the votes. We have to admit that the level of ESC winner songs is average, That's why, beyond the typical support that will ever exist, I can't understand why a few 2-3 songs are voted by everybody. The competitors belong to different cultures and is unlikely to be voted from all the four cardinal points.


Slovakia gave you 12 points. So what? A few years ago we got 12 from Andorra. This year Portugal gave 12 to Moldova. Why? Politics-no, friendship-no, moldovan immigrants - no. Probably because the song had strong folkloric elements just like the portuguese entry.
Maybe Slovakia really liked your song and it was an " accidental " vote. But I look at the others who gave you 12, 10 and 8 points and I see the usual " clients ": Finland -12, Lithuania -10, Latvia -10, Russia-8, Poland -8, Sweden-7.

BTW: on which bases the estonian-slovenian friendshio has developed? (just for my curiosity).

P.S. Do you know that the estonian singer has a twin sister in Romania? :laugh:


Now for those who say that the results of this year were less altered by the political/friendly vote, let's see what happened in 2008 when the scandinavians, the baltics, the balkans, the ex-soviets, etc. still used to vote for each other:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2008#Final_2

So what can we see here? The countries that managed to get to the final were almost the same. Even in top 10 there aren't major differences. A baltic county with a bad song ( my friend's Studiose's Estonia ) couldn't get points from the "allies" ( got only 8 points in a semi-final ). The same for Lithuania, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Belarus because of their crap songs.

Nothing new under the sun.......

[EuroTroll]

Ok, point taken. ;)

Estos and Slovenes have a few shared qualities. Big-headedness, an inflated opinion of ourselves, etc. :laugh: That's why there's sympathy. ;)

Twin sister in Romania, eh? Got proof? ;)

[gadjo_dilo]

Twin sister in Romania, eh? Got proof? ;)

Photo proof: :laugh:

http://www.libertatea.ro/usr/thumbs/thumb_612_x_0_4006-147708-seamana.jpg

[EuroTroll]

Ah, yes. Sandra's evil twin. How are you doing handling her? We had to deport her, of course, after she set fire to an orphanage and ate all the kittens in the animal pound. :p :

[Garry Walker]

I am surprised people still watch that show, I unfortunately heard some of the songs from the semi finals and started thinking... if these are the best ones picked from each country, how god damn awful the other contestants were?