This was the entry that was supposed to bring France back to the top positions, where they belong. Instead they did what the French have done too many times recently. They messed up.
Anggun - Echo (You and I) (France 2012)
This song was a brave choice - it was modern, original and not as direct as most songs achieving eurovision success. Clearly it needed a strong performance to back it up, but it had potential to be a good surprise on the night.
Instead we had a show that was ambitious but messy on-screen. Too many things are happening and there is no logical red thread for the viewers to follow, neither does the camera work ever allow the viewers to establish any kind of contact with the singer who remains a stranger throughout most of the song.
With the precious exception of Patricia Kaas, recent French entries have usually worked badly visually at Eurovision for the last ten years or so. It is surprising to see that French television, who has a very strong culture of making television visually appealing, never seem to pull off the ever so important visual aspect of the Eurovision Song Contest.
To make things even worse, Anggun - one of the most experienced performers in the final - did not live up to expectations or the level she had set during rehearsals and sang badly. Had the televoters had full power, she would have been left without a single point.
The song deserves much more than that. Even with a messy performance and a dismal vocal delivery it is still one of the most interesting entries of the year. I hope French television will stay on their ambitious path, but maybe try to deliver a more distinct and accessible show for next year.
My grade: 4/5
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Tobson's Ranking: #9 FYR Macedonia
An honest day's work for Kaliopi, who did what she was expected to do: she sang, she shone and she took her country back to the grand final for the first time in years.
Kaliopi - Crno i belo (FYR Macedonia 2012)
Almost all of Former Yugoslavia used the same recipe this year - instead of organising a national final that most names would refuse to be a part of anyway, they internally selected a star to do the job for them. Not a bad idea at all.
But then there are stars and then there are stars. Not everyone who is a star in their own backyard will convince the entire continent of their own greatness. Many big names have failed in the international lime light.
But Kaliopi is the kind of star that is universally understandable. There is her elegance, her intriguing voice and, above all, that sublime presence that just fills the stage and demands your attention.
Regardless if you like her song or not, you just know that this is somebody you'd love to know better.
Frankly, Kaliopi's song is good but not excellent. It could surely have benefitted from a less dated sound and arrangement. But Kaliopi herself just rises above any objections of the kind, nails her scream, delivers her last chorus and keeps the audience fascinated up until the very end of her performance.
Pure class.
Now I just hope she will come back to the ESC in a few years with a sharper entry. Then things would really start to get interesting...
My grade: 4/5
Kaliopi - Crno i belo (FYR Macedonia 2012)
Almost all of Former Yugoslavia used the same recipe this year - instead of organising a national final that most names would refuse to be a part of anyway, they internally selected a star to do the job for them. Not a bad idea at all.
But then there are stars and then there are stars. Not everyone who is a star in their own backyard will convince the entire continent of their own greatness. Many big names have failed in the international lime light.
But Kaliopi is the kind of star that is universally understandable. There is her elegance, her intriguing voice and, above all, that sublime presence that just fills the stage and demands your attention.
Regardless if you like her song or not, you just know that this is somebody you'd love to know better.
Frankly, Kaliopi's song is good but not excellent. It could surely have benefitted from a less dated sound and arrangement. But Kaliopi herself just rises above any objections of the kind, nails her scream, delivers her last chorus and keeps the audience fascinated up until the very end of her performance.
Pure class.
Now I just hope she will come back to the ESC in a few years with a sharper entry. Then things would really start to get interesting...
My grade: 4/5
Tobson's Ranking: #10 Albania
Artistic, demanding and difficult. Albania making it into top five is surely the sensation of the year.
Rona Nishliu - Suus (Albania 2012)
Through the years, Eurovision audiences have shown that they like easy songs. Ditties. Choruses with handles, the kind you can hum along to or sing in the shower.
Try singing this one in the shower and you'll burst an artery or something.
In short, given the usual standards of this contest, the Albanian entry should not have stood a chance. But then Rona Nishliu swept in, took the stage, imposed herself on the audience and demanded their attention before delivering her big ballad in the way that stars do.
It just proves that also more demanding material belongs to Eurovision, especially when there is a powerful voice and a whole lot of star quality there to back them up. Suus scoring highly this year was more than a success for Albania, it was a bit of a victory for the entire contest.
My grade: 4/5
Rona Nishliu - Suus (Albania 2012)
Through the years, Eurovision audiences have shown that they like easy songs. Ditties. Choruses with handles, the kind you can hum along to or sing in the shower.
Try singing this one in the shower and you'll burst an artery or something.
In short, given the usual standards of this contest, the Albanian entry should not have stood a chance. But then Rona Nishliu swept in, took the stage, imposed herself on the audience and demanded their attention before delivering her big ballad in the way that stars do.
It just proves that also more demanding material belongs to Eurovision, especially when there is a powerful voice and a whole lot of star quality there to back them up. Suus scoring highly this year was more than a success for Albania, it was a bit of a victory for the entire contest.
My grade: 4/5
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Tobson's Ranking: #11 Turkey
Hayde, indeed! Turkey is back on track in this competition.
Can Bonomo - Love Me Back (Turkey 2012)
Ever since back in the day, when nobody voted for Turkey or paid them much attention, I have cherished their entries and held them as one of my favourite ESC countries. So it feels very good indeed to see that the mishap of 2011 was nothing but the occasionally slip and not a new trend in Turkish entries.
Can Bonomo is really bringing Turkey back to form with a catchy rhythm, a singalong chorus and a fun performance. What is even better is that this oriental ditty also manages to be quite divisive and not everyone's cup of tea.
Anything that can annoy people and be entertaining at the same time is most welcome.
The only reason it is not higher in my list is (apart from strong competition) Can himself. The rest of his output is wilder, more daring, less streamlined, has sharper edges.
I would have liked to see what kind of emotion some of his other sings might have stirred up in Baku.
My grade: 4/5
Can Bonomo - Love Me Back (Turkey 2012)
Ever since back in the day, when nobody voted for Turkey or paid them much attention, I have cherished their entries and held them as one of my favourite ESC countries. So it feels very good indeed to see that the mishap of 2011 was nothing but the occasionally slip and not a new trend in Turkish entries.
Can Bonomo is really bringing Turkey back to form with a catchy rhythm, a singalong chorus and a fun performance. What is even better is that this oriental ditty also manages to be quite divisive and not everyone's cup of tea.
Anything that can annoy people and be entertaining at the same time is most welcome.
The only reason it is not higher in my list is (apart from strong competition) Can himself. The rest of his output is wilder, more daring, less streamlined, has sharper edges.
I would have liked to see what kind of emotion some of his other sings might have stirred up in Baku.
My grade: 4/5
Tobson's Ranking: #12 Finland
At #12, this is the highest placing of a non-qualifying entry this year. Although I still think it should have qualified.
Pernilla - När jag blundar (Finland 2012)
To be honest, I am not sure how necessary a qualification would have been. It would have been nice. Suitable. Not out of place. But still.
Pernilla nailed all the important parts: throughout the week of rehearsals in Baku, she took in the stage, adapted to the camera angles, grew more confident on stage and - above all - sang really well on the live broadcast.
It is not a small task for a complete newcomer to represent your country at Eurovision and nerves got the better of several performers during the ESC history. Pernilla was calm, composed, beautiful and secure.
Sending in a slow ballad in your own language is always a gamble - this one got really close to qualification. For a country like Finland - with no less than nine last places and an almost uncountable amount of misunderstood masterpieces with dismal placings - this is an entry to be very proud of.
My grade: 4/5
Pernilla - När jag blundar (Finland 2012)
To be honest, I am not sure how necessary a qualification would have been. It would have been nice. Suitable. Not out of place. But still.
Pernilla nailed all the important parts: throughout the week of rehearsals in Baku, she took in the stage, adapted to the camera angles, grew more confident on stage and - above all - sang really well on the live broadcast.
It is not a small task for a complete newcomer to represent your country at Eurovision and nerves got the better of several performers during the ESC history. Pernilla was calm, composed, beautiful and secure.
Sending in a slow ballad in your own language is always a gamble - this one got really close to qualification. For a country like Finland - with no less than nine last places and an almost uncountable amount of misunderstood masterpieces with dismal placings - this is an entry to be very proud of.
My grade: 4/5
Tobson's Ranking: #13 Hungary
If you bring modern, radio-friendly electro-flavoured pop à la Hurts to Eurovision, you will have a special place in my heart.
Compact Disco - Sound Of Our Hearts (Hungary 2012)
Hungary had really bad luck in the draw for the grand final - had this song been among the last ten to perform, chances are that more people would have realised what a suggestive little package this is.
It is up-to-date, it is very well performed and, thanks to charismatic front figure Csaba Walkó, it looks just as good as it sounds. Not unimportant in a televised contest.
The only problem here is that the package itself is slightly better than the actual song, but if it gave this band a push in their domestic career it was all worth it.
For the last two years, Hungary has made in important contribution to Eurovision by sending in very modern entries that sound contemporary and radio-playlist-friendly. If they stick to this tactic, the voters will get the big idea sooner or later. Hang in there!
My grade: 4/5
Compact Disco - Sound Of Our Hearts (Hungary 2012)
Hungary had really bad luck in the draw for the grand final - had this song been among the last ten to perform, chances are that more people would have realised what a suggestive little package this is.
It is up-to-date, it is very well performed and, thanks to charismatic front figure Csaba Walkó, it looks just as good as it sounds. Not unimportant in a televised contest.
The only problem here is that the package itself is slightly better than the actual song, but if it gave this band a push in their domestic career it was all worth it.
For the last two years, Hungary has made in important contribution to Eurovision by sending in very modern entries that sound contemporary and radio-playlist-friendly. If they stick to this tactic, the voters will get the big idea sooner or later. Hang in there!
My grade: 4/5
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Tobson's Ranking: #14 Ukraine
Ukraine has had better songs through the years. Better presentations as well. But they sure know how to put on a party.
Gajtana - Be My Guest (Ukraine 2012)
The big purpose with the Ukranian entry seemed to be to promote the European Football Championships more than anything else, and that seems to have gone according to plan.
Gajtana is a feisty character and a tremenduous singer who might have ended up with a little too little to sing, leaving her no choice but to wail away for most of her three minutes. She does it well, but the song turns out more than a little bit more shouty than it needed to be.
That's not a big deal, though. I had a very good time together with the girl, her wacko dancers and her animated backing troop on the backdrop.
In short, a great performance. Had it been combined with a better song, Ukraine could easily have found themselves in the top spots again.
My grade: 3/5
Gajtana - Be My Guest (Ukraine 2012)
The big purpose with the Ukranian entry seemed to be to promote the European Football Championships more than anything else, and that seems to have gone according to plan.
Gajtana is a feisty character and a tremenduous singer who might have ended up with a little too little to sing, leaving her no choice but to wail away for most of her three minutes. She does it well, but the song turns out more than a little bit more shouty than it needed to be.
That's not a big deal, though. I had a very good time together with the girl, her wacko dancers and her animated backing troop on the backdrop.
In short, a great performance. Had it been combined with a better song, Ukraine could easily have found themselves in the top spots again.
My grade: 3/5
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