Eurovision - The Review

Last night, I spent a whole three hours watching the wonderful thing that is the Eurovision Song Contest. Originally created in 1956, it was imagined as a way of bringing Europe together through music and 57 years later, that notion is still realised in this annual competition. Due to last years winner being Sweden, the contest this year was held in the city of Malmo. This is my review of each song, and I promise... I'll try not to be too camp about it!

(Apologies for the lack of pictures - Having a bit of trouble with the site!)

1. France: Amandine Bourgeois - L'enfer Et Moi  (Final Position: 23rd with 14 points)

Never the greatest position to be in the Eurovision Song Contest, the first song up was from one of the "Big 5". The French entry this year reminded me a bit of a disgruntled teenager. Obviously, I could not understand the lyrics, but this hardly mattered as she shouted her way through the evening's opening number. It was never going to be popular, even if it was in a better place than 1st, but that merely compounded the misery for Amandine on the night.

2. Andrius Pojavis - Something (Final Position : 22nd with 17 points)

Someone told me Andrius was a doppelganger of myself, and there seemed to be a lot of love from the gay community for him, but the song itself never really kicked off. (Wait - Did I just big myself up there?!) ... Once again at a disadvantage because of its placing on the night, Andrius looked as if he was enjoying himself, but it was a largely forgettable performance and this was confirmed as Lithuania picked up a lowly 22nd place.


3. Moldova - Aliona Moon - O Mie (Final Position: 11th with 71 points)

Although this song got a good reception from the Malmo crowd, it lacked a bit of spark and magic for me which probably was the reason why it didn't place higher than it did. Got a lot of support from Eastern Europe, which has become natural for Eurovision in recent years, but they will be relatively pleased with an appearance on the left hand side of the scoreboard.

4. Finland - Krista Siegfrids - Marry Me (Final Position: 24th with 13 points)

I was fairly surprised that this didn't place higher, but possibly the controversy of the song didn't sit well with European voters despite Eurovision having camp tendencies. The song was good fun, although the backing singers sometimes looked a bit lost. The lesbian kiss at the end seemed to go down well with the LGBT community on social media, but the rest of Europe thought the song didn't amount to much, and it was left rotting away in the doldrums of the lower reaches of the scoreboard.

5. Spain - ESDM - Contigo Hasta El Final (Final Position: 25th with 8 points)

Again, a largely forgettable song, with the only detail I remember being the strange appearance of bagpipes. Maybe the Scottish had an influence in Spain? Clearly, the voting public forgot about this song too, with a 2nd to last placing continuing Spain's poor track record in the competition.

6. Belgium - Roberto Bellarosa - Love Kills (Final Position: 12th with 71 points)

The youngest act in the competition, 18 year old Roberto certainly did well with his song. I thought his eyebrows were a bit scary, but the song was pretty good. Maybe lacked that perfect Eurovision recipe, but I liked it, and probably a fair placing for the youngster, just sneaking on to the left hand side of our screens.

7. Estonia - Birgit - Et Uus Saaks Alguse (Final Position: 20th with 19 points)

Something tells me Europe doesn't appreciate being taken back to the 1960s with this song, as the coverage began in black and white. I can see what they were trying to do, but it instantly put me off. The song was OK, if a bit boring, but I couldn't justify a higher placing for it. Nice dress though.

8. Belarus - Alyona Lanskaya - Solayoh (Final Position: 16th with 48 points)

Glitter balls, strobe lights and impossibly high heels, this seemed like classic Eurovision. Unfortunately, the contest demands something more unique these days, so this never really quite cut the mustard. It lacked that originality for it to be a major contender, so it might have blended in with everything else of years gone by. 16th was a fair placing.

9. Malta - Gianluca - Tomorrow (Final Position: 8th with 120 points)

My favourite song of this years contest, although I'm not entirely surprised it didn't finish higher. The simplicity of it was everything, and Doctor Gianluca looked as if he was really enjoying himself as did the people on stage with him. A constant smile across his face added to the song's cheeriness, and it went down well across Europe. It's a shame it didn't get a podium finish at least, but Malta should be proud of their efforts this year. It got my vote! Also goes without saying, it got in my top 5!

10. Russia - Dina Garipova - What If (Final Position: 5th with 174 points)

The Russians always tend to do well in Eurovision and this year was no different as they sneaked into the top 5 with a beautiful ballad. A lot of this song needed a good voice from Dina and she didn't disappoint. Good work!

11. Germany - Cascada - Glorious (Final Position: 21st with 18 points)

A very, very odd entry from Germany, as it seemed like a carbon copy of last years winner, Euphoria. A change of lyrics did nothing to hide the obvious likeness, and this obviously didn't go down well in the arena or with the voting public as they picked up a measly 18 points. Sheer laziness from the Germans, and Cascada will have done nothing to help her popularity with this one. I think I wouldn't be the only one to 'evacuate the dancefloor'...

12. Armenia - Dorians - Lonely Planet (Final Position: 18th with 41 points)

I distinctly remember listening to this song and thinking, "I'm pretty sure I won't remember this", and I was right. Upon re-jigging my memory though, I can see why it didn't finish higher. Someone argued that it had an originality and a roughness to it, which was welcome from the usual Eurovision camp parade. But the voting public didn't think the same! And neither did I!

13. The Netherlands - Anouk - Birds (Final Position: 9th with 114 points)

Horrible, horrible song. I had to leave the room to avoid crying my eyes out. The depressing nature of it literally made me walk out in despair, and frankly I'm amazed it managed a top 10 finish. If it was my choice, it would have come stone dead last. Maybe it stood out as depressing amongst a show full of glitz and glamour, that people remembered it and voted for it? Shame on you.

14. Romania - Cesar - Its My Life (Final Position: 13th with 65 points)

Possibly the most bizarre finalist of this years contest, Cesar took the meaning of "a high pitched voice" to new ball-breaking heights with this one. However, I strangely enjoyed it, so much so that I put it in my own top 5. What made it more bizarre was the "naked" dancers who weren't really naked. This entry encapsulates the image of Eurovision that "non fans" have. Crazy. Mad. And we loved it.

15. United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler - Believe In Me (Final Position: 19th with 23 points)

Poor Bonnie. It was an apt title for a fading British Eurovision dream, but once again, the song just wasn't good enough. It was a good performance, certainly the best version of it I have heard so far, but in a good field this year, it never stood out as great. Will I live to see a British Eurovision winner? Something is telling me, no.

16. Sweden - Robin Stjernberg - You (Final Position: 14th with 62 points)

I liked this song, but strangely, the holders of the contest find it difficult to create the same effect 2nd time around, (unless you happen to be Irish!), and it seems that was the case again with Sweden. Robin sang his song well, and it seemed to go down pretty well aswell - and I liked it - but it just didn't get the votes, and ended with mid table mediocrity. Maybe it was the dancers fault? They looked like out of control Sims characters...

17. Hungary - Bye Alex - Kedvesem (Final Position: 10th with 84 points)

A good song, so much so that the good-looking guitarist nearly fell off his stool in excitement. Its always difficult to appreciate a song to its fullest extent when its sang in its native language, so maybe this song was lost on me a bit. I quite liked the melodies however, and the arena seemed to love it. A deserved top 10 finish.

18. Denmark - Emmelie De Forest - Only Teardrops (Final Position: 1ST WITH 281 POINTS!)

A brilliant, brilliant song and a deserved winner of Eurovision 2013. It was runaway favourite before the start and you can see why. I just loved the flute (or piccolo?) intro and the lyrics were great and the performance was brilliant. How many times can Scandinavian countries get it right between them? In my top 5 aswell.

19. Iceland - Eythor Ingi - Eg a Lif (Final Position: 17th with 47 points)

Eythor had a tough ask following a great Danish entry, so maybe his song was lost in the greatness of the Danish. Again, largely forgettable and that was reflected in its final standing.

20. Azerbaijan - Farid Mammadov - Hold Me (Final Position: 2nd with 234 points)

Great lyrics, and equally great dancing, the Azerbaijani entry was performed very well indeed. Farid had quite a task mirroring the dance moves with his fellow dancers whilst keeping up a good singing performance, but he succeeded. Unfortunately, very few remember 2nd places in the land of Eurovision, but this runners-up spot was largely deserved, although it just missed out on a top 5 finish in my books.

21. Greece - Koza Mostra ft. Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol is Free (Final Position: 6th with 152 pts)

A song about the troubled economic times of current Greece was met with a general likeness in Europe, (especially in the UK - Probably because of the title!) I didn't think it would do that well, but I liked the quirkiness of the song and it probably deserved a little bit more than a nonetheless, good 6th place finish.

22. Ukraine - Zlata Ognevich - Gravity (Final Position: 3rd with 214 points)

Another good song, ruined by 5 seconds of the giant. I just cannot see why they did that, and it took away the seriousness of the song for me. It started off on a bad note, and despite an amazing voice, I just couldn't stop asking the question, "What was the point of the 7ft 8 man?!" It might have provided more dangerous competition for Denmark without it.

24. Norway - Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love (Final Position: 4th with 191 points)

I liked this song a lot. It almost woke up a fading Eurovision crowd towards the end of the songs, and it was welcomed. It had a modern, club vibe to it and that's my cup of tea! It just squeezed into my top 5, and Europe tended to agree with me! A fair placing for a good song, from a country still flying high on the back of Mr.Rybak's runaway victory in 2009.

25. Georgia - Nodi Tatishvili and Sophie Gelovani - Waterfall (Final Position: 15th with 50 points)

Quite surprised this got as high as it did. It had a whiff of Peter Andre and Jordan about it, and I have never been a fan of these love song duets, (unless you count Bosnia's 2008 entry - Pokusaj!) It lacked magic and spark, and as the contest was coming to a close, it was pretty boring.

26. Ireland - Ryan Dolan - Only Love Survives (Final Position: 26th with 5 points)

Oh, the injustice! This song was in my top 5 and for good reason. Sure, the drummers were good-looking, (as was Ryan!), but the song was brilliant for me. The drums were mesmerising, the lyrics were infectious, and just like in the semi-final, Mr Dolan performed it admirably. Maybe because it was last up, the European public had given up listening? That's my only explanation for such a surprising finish for the Irish, and the wooden spoon. And what's more, Ireland will now probably revert back to the tried and trusted Jedward... Sigh...

...

All in all though, I really enjoyed this year's contest. The last few years haven't been great for me really, but this years was superb, almost on a par with 2008. A brilliant job from Emmelie De Forest ensured Denmark's first win in the contest since the Olsen Brothers in 2000, and it was richly deserved. Bring on Denmark 2014!