Just finished previewing all the songs and wow what a painful journey it was. Not a single song, I repeat, NOT A SINGLE SONG that impressed me.

It's bad, very bad...

I guess my early picks would be:



Also, 33.5/40 entries are in English = DISASTER!

Also, also... Australia, you are disqualified!

After the last couple of years, my excitement has really been subdued. This is very much what I'm dreading.


Wow. That's a bummer! Dreading another year of boring stock standards.


Agreed! The UK will be glad to have someone to give them votes, at least.

Just watched Semi Final 1. Pretty vanilla stuff, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Can't remember last year well enough to compare. I want to say it was a slight improvement.

Denmark was probably my favourite. Liked the energy, liked the presentation, liked the song. A little bit Archie and the Jugheads, but that was nice. Incredibly disappointed it didn't make the cut, but there's always one or two good songs left behind.

Estonia probably had the best stage presentation of everyone. Very interesting use of the stage and backdrop screens. Another song that wasn't run of the mill. Wasn't lyrically brilliant, but I enjoyed it.

Finland seemed like it would be a gimmick, but I think it was actually pretty damn legit. I liked the raw energy of the song. I think it was broadly applicable. I liked that it was a unique sound in a field of repeating safe songs.

Georgia was another act with a nice visual hook. Solid sound. Serbia another case of not being a gimmick. I thought it was decent. Russia safe, but worthy.

Hoping for something stand-out in Semi Final 2, but not necessarily expecting it. Denmark and Finland were probably the most memorable so far. Disappointed they won't be back.

Favourite of Semi Final 2 was Latvia. Possibly my favourite so far. Not a Euphoria calibre stand-out, but I liked it. Malta was also very good in a similar way. Sweden was the other stand-out, and an obvious contender.

I was a little put off by Slovenia at first, but it grew on me. Silly cartoon voice and motion sickness inducing head movements, but one of the more memorable songs for the chorus; When you're down, down low. [I caught the first few songs of the Final live, and it seemed a fraction less silly.]

Was surprised Ireland didn't get a pass, even though I didn't like some of the lyric content. [Don't want to hear people sing about not knowing basic math]. Portugal also had some unpleasant lyrics - dry an ocean with longing? Not exactly the most romantic idea. Put that on a dating profile, eh? Good luck.

Norway was decent, but the redhead was carrying it. Obvious qualifier, but I don't think they have any business winning.

Hoped for more from Iceland. The most by-the-numbers entry from them in the last few years. Many were. Azerbaijan disappointed me on multiple levels. It felt like an improvement over 2014, though. Israel wasn't a spectacular performance, but I liked the Mercury boots and it was nice to hear a different style of sound.

First few seconds of Cyprus mad me think of Mr. Big - Be With You.
Poland had me thinking about Maxi Priest - Wide World.

Interested to see the UK performance. Liking the retro vibe of the preview. Australia looks like they might stand out by getting funky. A welcome change of pace.

Will try to watch the full replay of the Final tonight. I saw something like half of the first 8 songs live. The presentation of the open was really good. Probably could've done without Charlie's Angels doing lip synching, though. Some terrible comedy, too. Nice of them to be welcoming to Australia with constant references, though. Constant.

I've only watched the Final (over the official live stream on YouTube as Croatian national TV wasn't broadcasting this year). Wasn't motivated enough to watch the semi-finals too after the painful previewing experience lol. But actually in the end, the Final turned out okayish, it wasn't as bad as I though it would be.



I didn't remember that song so I just saw their semi-final performance on YT. It was alright, but a bit boring to me. Halfway through my focus started fading. :p



Ah, I liked the visual tricks as well.



Didn't miss them in the final. :p



Good one, good one! I was pleasantly surprised.



Can't remember Ireland, too lazy to go watch their performance lol. Did Portugal sing in English in the end? I remember their song was all in Portuguese when I was previewing and knew they wouldn't qualify.

--- --- ---

My impression of the Final:

01. Slovenia - not diggin' that style of singing, I found the song boring and the combination of her dress (a wedding dress of some sort) with those huge headphones was a disaster. Zero points from me.

02. France - as I've started taking French lessons in February, I was interested to see if I could understand anything. I picked up a few words, she was mentioning 'town', 'home', so the lyrics seemed interesting lol. A decent song, nothing spectacular.

03. Israel - One of my two favorite going in. I remembered the song for catchy chorus. I was a little disappointed in the end, the music in the background sounded like it was missing something (it sounded a bit emptier that what I had remembered). I thought his sneakers were terrible lol (they had some kind of wings or whatever). The chorus was still catchy though, so it was alright overall.

04. Estonia - aside from the nice visual tricks, a rather boring (but at least not annoying) entry.

05. United Kingdom - something different, but unfortunately boring.

06. Armenia - one of the worst disasters of the night. WTF are they even singing about?! Annoying facial expressions, annoying vocal arrangement, annoying everything. Terrible! Zero points!

07. Lithuania - rolled my eyes on that 5s long kiss. Cheap trick, didn't appreciate him hype-talking to the crowd during the song. Bleh...

08. Serbia - lol lol lol. What a queen! Love the way she starts the chorus by singing the word 'beauty' from the bottom of her abdomen lol. Points secured!

09. Norway - an alright entry, but sort of like Estonia, ultimately boring.

10. Sweden - typical Sweden. I don't dislike it, but it's more interesting to watch than to listen to.

11. Cyprus - that part in the middle of the song where he spent almost a minute repeating the words 'I should have been there for you' nearly killed me. Could you possibly try harder to be boring? The song dragged on forever. Zero points.

12. Australia - I was actually pleasantly surprised. A decent tune, one can move their feet to it. The build up to the chorus was the the best part: 'Do whatchya whatchya whatchya want' x3.

13. Belgium - and here we have the most annoying male of the night. Man, I can't stand his face, his moves, his voice. Everything! Wanted to shoot him down. Irritation aside, from the physical/sports view, the spin move he did was impressive, won't deny him that. But yeah, die please...

14. Austria - a very, very pleasant surprise. Setting the piano on fire was totally unnecessary though, so a small deduction in pts there.

15. Greece - Hello Celine Dion. Bye Celine Dion...

16. Montenegro - I remembered the title of the song and that it was in Montenegrin from my previews, but I didn't think the song was anything special. I actually really liked it a lot in the end. Another pleasant surprise.

17. Germany - I didn't like Germany when I was previewing the entries, but it didn't turn out as bad. The lady gets the award for best dress/styling easily.

18. Poland - In the Name of Love was this boring. Holy... I barely, just barely endured it. The constant pinkish graphics were annoying too. Zero points!

19. Latvia - hello there! This was quite a surprise! Has its own vibe, kind of the most unique of the night. Nice one, though I can't imagine myself listening to something like this outside of ESC.

20. Romania - I actually remembered Romania from my previews and thought it was alright. It turned out great, would have been even better had the entire song been in Romanian.

21. Spain - lol. Her facial expressions and hand movements... Lol...

22. Hungary - dear lord. Terrible. My friend calls these kind of ESC entries 'the U.N.I.C.E.F. songs' and indeed it was one. The singer's (that woman in dark red dress) facial expression never changed, not for a second. The most boring entry of the night?

23. Georgia - she came like a savior after that dreadful Hungarian entry. Respect!

24. Azerbaijan - a minute in, I went to piss. When I came back it had just finished. Couldn't have timed it any better. I pissed on this entry, it deserved it.

25. Russia - oh no, more U.N.I.C.E.F. Boring, typical... Rolled my eyes to hear tears at the end. Fuck off.

26. Albania - one of my two favorites from the previews. I don't know what was wrong with me as this was hella boring. :-\

27. Italy - a complete opposite of Albania. Italy was the very first song I previewed, a month or so before any other country as I always expect something good from Italy and I remember being disappointed back then (I think it was March). I didn't see them perform live though, but instead I watched the official video (that was a mistake). Boy was I blown away last night with their live performance! No shits and gimmicks on stage, just mighty powerful vocals. ITALY!

My final ranking (list made prior to voting results):

01. ITALY: Il Volo - Grande Amore

02. ROMANIA: Voltaj - De la capăt (All over Again)

03. MONTENEGRO: Knez - Adio

04. AUSTRIA: The Makemakes - I Am Yours

05. LATVIA: Aminata - Love Injected

06. GEORGIA: Nina Sublatti - Warrior

07. AUSTRALIA: Guy Sebastian - Tonight Aagain

08. ISRAEL: Nadav Guedj - Golden Boy

09. FRANCE: Lisa Angell - N'oubliez pas

10. SERBIA: Bojana Stamenov - Beauty Never Lies


Honorable mention: Germany (also best dressed).



The star of the night was this presenter on the left here:



Her facial expressions and general cheeky behavior was awesome to watch. At times she looked like she was really struggling to contain herself from cracking into laughter from all the fails and shit that was going on (like during those technical difficulties with black screens during voting).

I thought it turned out to be a pretty good final. The energy kicked up a little. It felt more like Eurovision than the Semi Finals did. Enjoyed the opening celebrations and the presentation of Vienna etc. Modest, but nice.

I wasn't too pleased to have the winner spoiled for me before I watched, though. Wasn't hugely surprising, but y'know. Every year I unfollow Eurovision on Twitter for the week and avoid news reports etc. Made the mistake of going on Facebook to check that MKO's page had been updated - and the first thing I see in the news feed is SWEDEN WINNER. Argh!

01 Slovenia - Really grew on me over the two nights. The chorus hook kept getting stuck in my head - which remained stationary. I really started to wonder how she handled shaking and wobbling her head for three minutes. Were the headphones to help manage her equilibrium?...

02 France - Pretty legit, but nothing stand-out. I was very distracted by the nude tracksuits when they introduced them before the performance. Strange choice. Nice cheat with the screen army (to go over 6 performer limit - which is my favourite Eurovision bylaw to quote). I would like to see France show up with something much more unique than this.

03 Israel - Oh, I loved the shoes. I don't know what the boots of Mercury had to do with anything he was singing about, but they're great. Very catchy. Energetic performance. It's always difficult when you see a 'spontaneous' moment recreated exactly two nights in a row, though. Some dodgy lyrics, too. 'Baby I'm your trigger, you know my love is bigger.'

04 Estonia - I went from liking this song to starting to turn on it. Great stage performance. Enjoyed hearing a different genre. Felt very filmic - maybe like something else, but I can't place what. Got sick of breathy references to waking up, though. On and on about waking up, not waking up, wake me up, wake you up. Enough! Shut up! Go to sleep!

05 UK - I liked it! Love the 20s vibe through a pop neon filter. Felt a little bit lightweight and underdone, though. Could've gone a bit further. The stage show was great, though. Love a good gimmick. Great set, great backdrop, lights on suits! Never going to win, but I enjoyed it. (And not just because the UK is the Scorpion of the Euro fan-vote. Just wasn't good enough). Might like to see a French version of something like this with a bit more cabaret.

06 Armenia - Wasn't feeling it. Music was totally forgettable (in so much as I can't remember it). Not sure why they decided to hold a Wiccan council meeting at Eurovision.

07 Lithuania - Overwhelmed by bright colors and phony smiles. Whole thing felt very insincere from start, to kissing finish. Didn't notice the back-up man-on-man, woman-on-woman kiss. Seemed like a cheap attempt to get attention and votes, especially with the Ireland vote going on. Didn't work.

08 Serbia - Pretty good! Dunno what was going on with the creepy mask costume change, but fair enough. Maybe there was a commentary to be had about public consumption of commercial beauty, but whatever. Good song, good performance..

09 Norway - From what the commentary said, it sounds like the guy found the redhead online and petitioned her to join the duette. Unfortunately, she was so much better than he was. Could've done a good solo performance. I started to have flashbacks to Azerbaijan's winning song. It wasn't that bad, though. Just a bit wishy-washy.

10 Sweden - Even before being spoiled, I thought this would be a contender. Great energy in the song and performance. Sometimes I like the Semi Final performances better, but this guy nailed it for the Final. Really handled the stage well. I like the song and would listen to it casually. Stage presentation was impressive, if a little mismatched. Dumpy cartoon kid didn't feel like it matched the song. Even the bits that did were superficially relevant and didn't contribute to a cohesive performance. Still - song contest and a good song.

11 Cyprus - Good chance to top up drinks, take a piss. Snore.

12 Australia - Loved the energy, loved the funkiness. I liked that the theme of the song felt like a celebration of having the chance to attend. Tonight's so good. Didn't feel Australia had any business winning, but when I heard this, I wondered if it might go Top 3.

13 Belgium - I liked elements of the presentation, but it felt out of step with everything else going on. Terrible to have to follow the song that it did. From the fun express to the mopey pubescent howling emotionally in his bedroom. Wasn't bad, but there were issues.

14 Austria - It felt very derivative in almost all respects. From the music to the presentation of the band. Not just hipster bullshit - but dress-up calibre stuff. Song was actually pretty decent. Couldn't believe it ended with 0 points! Setting the piano on fire might've been my favourite moment, though. I love stupid gimmicks at Eurovision. Could've topped it off by throwing the hat and the bass guitarist and his stupid leisure suit in.

15 Greece - Sigh. How the mighty have fallen. I just want to see a cheesy looking guy in a white suit sing something I won't remember. Maybe throw an opa in, or something vaguely Greek. Above all else, just wear white.

16 Montenegro - I thought this would be the farce that Englebert Humperdink wasn't. It wasn't. It turned out to be pretty good. Always nice to hear some native languages and sounds.

17 Germany - A bit bland. I feel like Germany has been sending these types of acts for the past few years. A facade of complete act, but a bit hollow. Nice lady, but it was all just a little too standard. She was the runner-up of Germany's contest. The winner said he didn't wanna do it when he won. Can't help but wonder what that was like.

18 Poland - Again, just a bit too vanilla. By the numbers female vocal. Not sure if this was better or worse than busty wenches doing laundry.

19 Latvia - Very good! Was pleased to see it poll pretty well! Felt like a very genuine, interesting, unique entry. I particularly liked the quieter moments.

20 Romania - Didn't enjoy it. Reminded me of a bunch of those bands that have come out of the UK and US in the last 10 years. A mob of middle-aged guys who probably wish they were Coldplay, but aside from a couple of borrowed sounds, just drone on about love or some limp social circumstance. I wish there was more levitation. More vampire studded coats. More high pitched voices. I wish Cezar would return.

21 Spain - I don't know if I'm just being a tourist, but I feel like Spain always sends these types of pop female acts. Things that don't say Spain to me. I feel like they've got cultural identity and sounds to represent, but they don't. I don't know. It was nice enough, but I wish the big 5 felt big.

22 Hungary - A bit bland, a bit of a downer. Spent more time talking about the dress than the song.

23 Georgia - Spent equal amounts of time on attire and music in this one. Awesome. The wicked witch warrior look was a little bit silly, but the kind of thing I like to see. The song had some nice power. Never going to win, but a solid top half entry.

24 Azerbaijan - What the hell happened to you, Azerbaijan? Did you finally win and decide to give up your Eurovision darling status? Werewolves?! Out of shape, poorly dressed back-up dancers? I want to see towering plumes of flame. I want big energy. Maybe some record deck guitars. A guy who looks like the bloke from Aqua. No more ballads. Never again.

25 Russia - Something about Team Russia showing up dressed in white, singing about believing in a dream for the future made me laugh. What is this dream? What is this future? What are the million voices united behind? I thought it was a pretty good song. A little lost in the field, though.

26 Albania - Pretty run of the mill.

27 Italy - Pretty good, but too legit for me. Trios and quartets of Italian men in suits feel a bit like a cliche right now. I'm forever pining for Raphael Gualazzi and some jazz at Eurovision. That was so, so good.

Easier to do a Top 10 than previous years:

1. Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes

2. Guy Sebastian - Tonight Again

3. Aminata - Love Injected

4. Electro Velvet - Still In Love With You

5. Bojana Stamenov - Beauty Never Lies

6. Maraaya - Here For You

7. Nadav Guedj - Golden Boy

8. Nina Sublatti - Warrior

9. Loïc Nottet - Rhythm Inside [What am I doing?!]

10. Elina Born & Stig Rästa - Goodbye To Yesterday

Honorable mentions: Denmark & Finland.


I think it was Portuguese... Can't remember.


Which one? I thought they were generally pretty good, but some bad comedy and some awkwardness. The one on the far right seemed like she was given a lot of dodgy comedy and transitions to deliver. Handled it pretty well, all things considered. As much as presenters lip synching feels wrong, I enjoyed that open, too.

Edit: Oh, yeah. They edited the technical difficulties out of the voting during the reply. So that was nice, but I didn't know about it until I saw some on a recap tonight.

:D



LMAO! Those were in-sync with the song, but the dress + those = mess.



Exactly.




Those shoes are terrible!



UK's just been boring for the past few years, not annoying.



Possibly the worst entry in the final, maybe only topped by Hungary and Poland?




My friend who was watching with me gave them 2 points! Tsk, tsk, tsk... Women...



I should have been there for you...
.
.
.
I should have been there for you...
.
.
.
I should have been there for youzzz



I planned on disqualifying them initially, but they built a bridge to my heart and I gave them 4 points.



Ugh. The most annoying guy of the show.



0 points! Shocked! Hated the piano on fire (surprise, surprise... lol).



Had no idea about that. Interesting. She was so good-looking though.



Very good indeed! :)



Tsk, tsk, tsk... It's time to let go Mick. Let go...



Awww... I was hoping you'd make fun of her hand motions lol.



A bit? Man, I can't remember an entry thins boring, this monotone... Georgia came like a savior!



The one I pissed over...



What me and my friend noted is that after the technical difficulties started (black screens showing up instead of xy's country's presenter giving the votes) Russia started getting lesser points and lost their lead. Those 4-5 countries that they had tech-difficulties with were skipped and then called back once again in the end. Suspicious, suspicious...

Sweden is alright. I don't dislike it, but them winning with such an entry didn't thrill me either.

I T A L I A (btw, they got the most points from televotes only -> 1-ITA; 2-RUS; 3-SWE; fuck the jury).