A Swede who lives in Finland and who is lost in Euroland - the wonderful world of Eurovision
There is always some matter to discuss or just a song I want to share
Very welcome - I hope you'll like it here!

Friday, April 29, 2011

The 2011 review, part Nine

I have made my way through all thirty-eight semifinalists, and only the big five, already in the final, remian to be examined.

11. FRANCE



Amaury Vassili - Sognu (France 2011)

This is not the first time opera has been tried out at Eurovision, but it was a long time ago that we had such a pure piece of aria. Usually, the high notes have been baked into a more eurotypical pop cake before being served to the audience. Already from the opening notes, you understand what awaits: grandness, emotion, passion and some really impressive use of the old vocal chords.

Young Amaury really does his best, and he is rather easy on the eye as well, but for me this never takes off. It just isn't as passionate as it pretends to be. This isn't Carmen, it is rather an old backdrop left in the attic of the Opera house.

It is likely to impress a large part of the audience and could very well be the winner in the end. That would be great for France, but not so fantastic for the contest. A winner without chart potential isn't quite what Eurovision needs.

My grade: 3/5

12. ITALY



Raphael Gualazzi - Madness Of Love (Italy 2011)

If France had a typical attempt of breaking the ESC stereotype, then the Italian is almost violently atypical. Elegant jazz with more than a light hint of, well he said it himself, madness.

Raphael is a fantastic performer with a great presence and a great integrity, and he is certainly a dark horse in the running. This could also be a possible winner, but I don't think any person alive could appreciate the panic that would spread at RAI if that prospect came true.

My grade: 4/5

14. UNITED KINGDOM



Blue - I Can (UK 2011)

And here we go - at number 14 we find the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. At least if I have to select a winner beforehand, before having seen any rehearsals. This is the one song that will be obvious and understandable for most people after just one listening. It is perhaps not the best song, but the most instant.

And it comes in a very nice package with a modern arrangement and sung by an act many in the audience will remember.

It will be a tight race, of course, as there are somewhere around ten songs or so that stand a realistic chance of winning. Incredibly enough, four of them come from the big five countries.

My grade: 4/5

16. GERMANY



Lena - Taken By A Stranger (Germany 2011)

While the UK is my anticipated winner, then Germany is, for the second year running, my dream winner. Had Lena offered a Satellite-clone, I would have sighed an found the whole project completely pointless. Now this is something completely different.

The German song is more of a statement than a song. They know they have our full attention, so they put in a song that would normally stand no chance at all at the ESC. And what a fantastic song it is. Minimalist, sophisticated, clean-cut, artistic.

Not everybody's cup of tea at all, but many people will fall as madly in love with this as I have. And the people who understand nothing can't award it any minus points. It is not likely, but more than possible, that Germany takes a double this year. And I would really love them to.

My grade: 5/5

22. SPAIN



Lucia Perez - Que me quiten lo bailao (Spain 2011)

Had this been Andorra's entry I could have showed some indulgence and just been happy about their presence. As for Spain, with a fantastic pop environment and a large number of outrageously talented singers and songwriters, there is no excuse in the world to send in something as toothless and pointless as this.

A serious contender of becoming the first nul-pointer in a final since Jemini back in 2003.

In a year where all the other biggies defend their right to a free spot in the final, Spanish television only demonstrates their own grand disinterest in the whole thing.

Send them to the semis next year. Goodbye!

My grade: 0/5

6 comments:

  1. You are probably the first who really understood the reasons why the German public has chosen this song. For me it's the best and most modern song Germany has send to ESC for ever and I think it's a chance to bring ESC forward to contemporary music. The fact that Lena has won last year, gave the public the chance looking for quality and not prior for winning chances. And under this condition I don't think it is unfair that Lena started again.
    My personal favorite is the Lena's tour-version of Taken by a stranger (about 6-7 minutes) with a long instrumental intro. You need to hear /feel it live, it just blows off your head.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, thank you! I feel very strongly about Lena and her entry this year and I am forever grateful towards ARD, Lena and her management for daring.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reminds me of early 80's - Tainted love - soft cell but updated for this decade, love it, it just has something to stand out

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree about Germany - Lena's song is wonderful. I can't see Italy winning, although I love that entry as well. In fact, like you say, the first four songs are all very good! It would be great to see the UK win, and also good for the contest. People in the UK are slowly picking up that we're taking the whole thing more seriously this year and it would be good for them to be shown that a serious entry has a chance of winning.

    It's hard to pick the winner this year, though! There are a number of sound entries, but none that really elevate themselves clearly above the rest.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 1. German entry is super, totally agree: new, modern, cool... my favourite and my winner; 2. about UK... worthy representative of a country that always has been great in this competition... but if in 2009 UK coudn't beat "fairytale" (a song that i've relly never liked)... 3. France: very brave and corageous, not only for the style, but for the language... France represented by a song sung in corsican!!!! (means that that Spain is ready for a catalan or basque representative???) 4. Italy... not enough, disappointed with the rentrée... 5. Spain: please, yes, out of the big five! Greetings from Barcelona. Jordi

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello Tobson:

    I'd like for you to check my personal ESC analysis for this year... hope you like it! =oD

    http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/pepepaez/blog/?id=86932

    ¡Greetings from México!

    ReplyDelete