#you want to know iceland's entry in 2009?
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Eurovision and Eurodance
There's been a lot questions lately about the Eurovision Song Contest thanks to a certain popular Eurodance meme (which btw, the chorus to that song is very similar to a Eurovision song:
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"Flying the Flag" by Scooch (United Kingdom 2007 - 22nd Place)
Also simply know as Eurovison or ESC, it's a televised music competition held by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members that began in 1956 to bring Europe together after WWII.
I want to stress that any genre of music can be a Eurovision song. As long has it has some lyrics. Not every entry is trying to be a meme and there's several songs you might know that you didn't know were Eurovision songs, ranging from "Volare" to Duncan Laurence's "Arcade' (which you might know as "loving you is a losing game" from TikTok). And also "Waterloo" by ABBA!
Eurodance at Eurovision
Up until 1999, Eurovision had a live orchestra, and most of the music was performed live. Arguably the first Eurodance song at ESC, "Ooo Aah… Just a Little Bit" had to a have computers on stage to have the "instruments" present:
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"Ooh Aah… Just A Little Bit" by Gina G (United Kingdom 1996 - 8th place)
Thus, ESC was still mostly focused on pop that translated well with live instruments in the late '90s. And into the 2000s when backing tracks were required, the upbeat genre that ESC was more into was what I'd classify as "ethno bangers." Not that there isn't some crossover into what's traditionally referred to as "Eurodance" and many dance subgenres, but it was not quite the same thing, at least in my opinion. Your personal criteria may vary - I want to stress I'm not the authority on the minutiae of musical genres (and here's a post on Eurobeat vs. Eurodance btw).
Today, ESC still requires live lead vocals (and backing vocals had to live up until 2021), and being that the songs are performed live on TV, you'll hear some shakier vocals on my following examples… (although for anything from 2016 onward I didn't use the ESC performances due to geoblocking). Not to say that dance breaks haven't been popular in the last few years, and that choreography hasn't been heavy, especially with ethno bangers, but just that Eurodance hasn't always lended itself to having polished and flawless executions.
And of course, there are plenty of songs that I feel do fit the Eurodance category, including some performed by big names, such as:
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"Follow My Heart" by Ich Troje feat. Real McCoy (Poland 2006 - Did not qualify for the final)
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"Look Away" by Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman (Finland 2019 - DNQ)
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"Vampires Are Alive" by DJ Bobo (Switzerland 2007 - DNQ)
"Glorious" by Cascada (Germany 2013 - 21st)
"Ne Ver Ne Boysia Ne Prosi" by t.A.T.u. (Russia 2003 - 3rd)
"Don't Play That Song Again" by Nicki French (United Kingdom 2000 - 16th)
A lot of ESC songs fall under the genre of schlager, as well as songs I'd classify as just EDM, and some with dubstep, especially as time has gone on. Many of the following songs to me are more a mix of genres than purely "Eurodance", but I think people seeking out similar songs will enjoy these:
"No Goodbyes" by Linda Wagenmakers (Netherlands 2000 - 13th)
"Sameyach" by PingPong (Israel 2000 - 22nd)
"No Dream Impossible" by Lindsay Dracass (United Kingdom 2001 - 15th)
"1 Life" by Xandee (Belgium 2004 - 22nd)
"Let Me Try" by Luminita Anghel & Sistem (Romania 2005 - 3rd)
"Tornerò" by Mihai Traistariu (Romania 2006 - 4th)
"This Is My Life" by Euroband (Iceland 2008 - 14th)
"Wolves of the Sea" by Pirates of the Sea (Latvia 2008 - 11th)
"DJ, Take Me Away" by Deep Zone & Balthazar (Bulgaria 2008 - DNQ)
"Lose Control" by Waldo's People (Finland 2009 - 25th)
"Run Away" by Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira (Moldova 2010 - 22nd; "Epic Sax Guy")
"Je Ne Sais Quoi" by Hera Björk (Iceland 2010 - 19th)
"Love Unlimited" by Sofi Marinova (Bulgaria 2012 - DNQ)
"It's My Life" by Cezar (Romania 2013 - 13th)
"Miracle" by Paula Seling & Ovi (Romania 2014 - 12th)
"Spirit in the Sky" by KEiiNO (Norway 2019 - 6th; Televote Winner; here's most of their performance in the grand final here if you are geoblocked)
"Halo" by LUM!X feat. Pia Maria (Austria 2022 - DNQ; co-written Gabry Ponte of Eiffel 65)
And two bonus videos:
Aqua's interval at Eurovision 2001
"I Love You" by Teflon Brothers x Pandora (Finnish Selection UMK - 2021)
And you might know two time champion Loreen, whose song this year is more pop to me than EDM or Eurodance, but it feels weird not to mention "Euphoria" (although I feel it's more straight up EDM, but again, mileage may vary):
"Euphoria" by Loreen (Sweden 2012 - Winner)
"Tattoo" by Loreen (Sweden 2023 - Winner)
While Eurovision does not equal Eurodance, there's still some fun jams, and again, many songs I included here that I feel straddle genres.
#didn't you used to be able to embed 10 videos in a post? anyway hope you enjoy#and disclaimer: this is all my opinion as a long time ESC viewer#and there's many dance genres etc.#but I don't consider the ethno bangers to be 'Eurodance' so that's why there are not here#I definitely overthought this whoops#eurovision#mirai's text posts#(also I do still hate the new post editor)
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2009 - final
originally posted 6/25/20
France
Patricia has no stage presence and I really hate her voice. The song itself is okay, I like the piano melody in the background and the weird dance break section, but for the most part I remember this song because of how much it annoys me. It did have pretty good staging though - compared to the video of the French NF this was definitely adapted well to the stage.
Russia
The chorus here is good, but I'm creeped out by the floating faces on all the screens. Anastasia has a powerful voice, although it borders on guttural at times. Overall this song is really powerful but it goes too far in trying to be that.
Germany
I like the style of music here, and the styling of the performance itself - except, maybe, for Oscar's shiny pants. This song is easily MLM-WLW solidarity - I know a lot of queer women who do burlesque, and I mean look at Oscar and his tight pants and try to tell me he's not gay. It's a good song and a performance that makes me laugh in a good way!
United Kingdom
Why is Andrew Lloyd Webber here. We do not want him. Jade has a great voice and so it's a shame she got stuck with this song, which in my opinion is boring as shit - like, this got fifth? Funny thing I noticed in the staging, I'm pretty sure Jade accidentally got hit by one of the violinists bc she got too close to him. I really like the stair setpiece too. More entries should use stairs in their staging. Just a thought.
Spain
Camerawork here was absolutely awful. It was shaky, Soraya wasn't often centered in the frame, idk I don't know too much about cameras or whatever but this looks bad. The staging and performance didn't suck too bad but... I really like the phrase "aggressively mediocre" for this one, I know I use it a lot and I know that the performance itself wasn't generic or whatever but in terms of quality here I don't like Spanish pop so I can't find it good but it's not bad relative to the year.
My top 42
Iceland
Estonia
Ukraine
Malta
Ireland
Israel
Armenia
Norway
Moldova
Turkey
Denmark
Slovenia
Germany
Sweden
Poland
Azerbaijan
Cyprus
Greece
Croatia
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Russia
Andorra
Albania
Finland
Portugal
Belgium
Spain
Belarus
Serbia
North Macedonia
Montenegro
Lithuania
Slovakia
Latvia
Hungary
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Netherlands
Romania
France
Czechia
Bulgaria
Voting/Intervals
Cirque du Soleil was a little much, but Dima Bilan's entrance and performance were cool! The Believe performance was just as over the top as the rest of the programming but it was executed a lot better.
Lmao I love how there's one chair used in all the performances with chairs... it's in Montenegro's and Denmark's and a couple more that I can't remember off the top of my head.
I'm greatly amused by the skit about "these are all the stereotypes about Russia, and they are Not True!". I laugh every time the bears come onscreen, I can't help it.
The act with the people on the ceiling was weird and a little bit creepy, and it went on waaay too long. It was only five minutes but it seriously felt like forever. Is this supposed to be performance art? A weird dance routine? I don't know but I don't understand it. It did have a good score though.
It amuses me how Ivan and Alsou pretend they don't understand when the audience is clearly chanting something (like "Sakis" or "Israel"). You're not fooling anyone lol but at least you're trying not to call anyone out.
It's wild to see what a lead Norway had right from the beginning. After 4 spokespeople they'd already hit 40 points. Just speaks to what a huge margin they won by. Like seriously not @ them breaking 100 after only 10 countries had voted.
The distribution of points this year was just so whack. Like you had Norway with the clear lead, the rest of the top five battling it out, and then everyone else with a slow gradiant down.
THE FUCKING SLOVENIAN PRESENTER when it became clear he actually intended on just being quiet I burst out laughing... that was so fucking funny
Thoughts after watching
Can you imagine being Alexander Rybak like... imagine being this Belarusian kid who moves to Norway, you're a fucking concert violinist, you go to Eurovision when it's in Russia of all places, win with a margin of 169 fucking points, like, and the hosts are just casually bantering with you because you speak Russian, like, god. Alexander Rybak at age 23 must have had a hell of a year. Can you imagine how surreal that would be.
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Favorite Song From Each Country! Part 8/37: Switzerland!
Ah yes, hello everyone! If you're reading this, then it is time for me to tell you about my favorite song from yet another country from 2009 onward. I've talked with someone about some stuff afterward, which will certainly help tide us over a little bit to help with the Post-Eurovision Depression (because sometimes we want more than memes and compilations)!
So, what's next for us? Switzerland!
Well, here we are with the country well known for winning the very very first contest all the way back in 1956! Oh yeah, plus their second win was with a song by someone named...CELINE DION! Needless to say, Switzerland has certainly found a place in Eurovision history, and a little bit of music history as well. For me, it makes personal history as the first (and so far only) country to have been my personal winner TWICE! That's right...I've had different countries win all my other rankings, except for Switzerland. So, let's get to the favorite and my 2023 thoughts (I've been looking forward to this one)!
Favorite Entry: I want to start off by saying that my favorite Swiss entry is my favorite Eurovision song. Period. End of story. And that it's Gjon's Tears' "Tout l'univers" from 2021. This is one of the first non-winners that I've heard (not counting Iceland's 2020 entry that randomly popped up on my Facebook feed during the pandemic). So, imagine hearing and liking "Fairytale," "Arcade," and "Zitti e Buoni" and thinking that those songs slap, knowing they won. And then you hear a non-winner and you think "Wow. If a song like this didn't win, IMAGINE what other songs are out there!" So, to be 100% honest, I doubt that I would be here writing this if it weren't for that song. Also, I'm putting a link to the song that would send you to Gjon's debut album (that he put "Tout l'univers" on). It came out a little over a month ago and it's really good with so many other songs and a variety of vibes! RANK: 3rd in 2021 Grand Final/PERSONAL RANK: 1st of 39 Countries *and 1st of God-Knows-How-Many Entries*
Thoughts on 2023 Entry: Alright, we have Remo Forrer with "Watergun" this year. After the blazing success of "Tout l'univers" in 2021, Switzerland has been sending ballads. Which, as someone who likes ballads, I don't see it as bad. "Watergun" follows that format. And aside from the theme being rather...ironic (iykyk), it's actually not that bad. Remo's voice is excellent, and I absolutely love that beginning piano. It's one of my mom's favorites from this year too! Other than that, I don't have much else to say about it because it ranked rather mid-pack for me. I liked some entries more, but I liked it more than others. RANK: 20th in 2023 Grand Final/PERSONAL RANK: 23rd of 37 Countries
#esc#eurovision song contest#esc 2023#eurovision 2023#eurovision#esc2021#gjon's tears#tout l'univers#remo forrer#watergun#Spotify
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Hey! I’ve been thinking lately about how cute it would be if reader heard Nat singing for the first time and she’s great at it (of course). Like when Nat thinks she’s home alone or in the car and she absentmindedly is singing.
Not sure if that’s a good drabble idea lol but I hope your writer’s block eases up soon!
And I Love Her
pairing: natasha romanoff x reader
summary: You discover your girlfriend has a hidden talent.
warnings: mention of nudity
word count: 841
a/n: thanks anon for sending this in! glad i could provide y'all with some fluff after that heartbreaking angst (tho i did think about making this angst too but decided against it)
send me a drabble idea
Entering your simple two bedroom apartment, you let your bag fall off your shoulder and onto the floor, dropping your keys haphazardly on the entry table.
You were beyond exhausted. After a full day of training and paperwork, all you wanted to do was take a nice hot shower and cuddle with your girlfriend.
“Nat,” you called out, frowning when you didn’t hear a response. Today, the redhead had taken the day off, given that she’d just gotten back from a two-week mission in Iceland.
Moving your way through your apartment, you heard the water running from your shared bathroom. As you were about to call her name again, you paused.
“Oh, mirror in the sky. What is love?” Natasha sang, slightly muffled by the spraying water. Your eyes widened as you heard your girlfriend’s melodic voice. You didn’t know she could sing like that. Leaning your ear against the bathroom door, you listened further.
“Can the child within my heart rise above? Can I sail through the changin’ ocean tides?” she belted out, hitting each note perfectly. As you continued to listen, you felt a familiar warmth begin to form between your legs. Deciding to surprise Natasha, you quickly stripped your clothes and quietly twisted the door knob.
“Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’ ‘cause I built my life—AH!” Natasha screamed when she felt your hands on her waist. Before she could attack you out of reflex, you caught her arms firmly, rubbing your thumbs calmly on her skin.
“Relax, Nat,” you cooed. “It’s me.”
“Jesus, (Y/N),” she clutched her chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry,” you offered her a sheepish smile.
“What are you doing in here, dorogoya?”
“Well,” you bit your lip hesitantly, “I heard you singing and I couldn’t help myself.”
“Oh,” Natasha’s cheeks tinted red. “You heard that?”
“Mhm,” you nodded, moving to grab your shampoo. “I didn’t know you could sing.”
“I don’t.”
You chuckled at your girlfriend’s futile attempt to deny her talent.
“Oh please, Natasha,” you snorted. “Since when you were you ever one to sell yourself short?”
Nat playfully rolled her eyes before taking the bottle from your hands, silently telling you she would wash your hair.
Turning around, your back facing towards her, you hummed as Natasha began to scrub your scalp. “Sing to me?”
For a moment, all you could hear was the gentle spray of the water against the tile, but you knew your girlfriend had heard you.
“I give her all my love,” Natasha began to sing, and you recognized the opening notes to the Beatles classic. Her voice was even more beautiful up close, the slight rasp kindling a fire in your belly. “That’s all I do. And if you saw my love, you’d love her too.”
As Natasha guided your head back so she could rinse your hair, you closed your eyes, as your lover washed away the day.
“I love her,” she hummed, pressing a wet kiss behind your ear, eliciting a soft sigh from your lips.
Reaching behind her, Natasha blindly grabbed the bar of soap before resuming the song. “She gives me everything and tenderly. The kiss my lover brings, she brings to me.”
You craned your neck, inviting Natasha to kiss you, which she gladly accepted, quickly connecting your lips.
“And I love her,” she mumbles against your smiling lips.
“I love you too,” you whisper, your eyes clouded with desire.
“A love like ours could never die as long as I,” Natasha caressed your skin with the soap, gently pulling your body closer to hers, “have you near me.”
While you had initially entered the shower with different intentions, you were now perfectly content with letting your lover cleanse your body as she serenaded you.
“Bright are the stars that shine,” her voice became quieter, as she turned you around to face her. “Dark is the sky. I know this love of mine will never die.”
Natasha paused, and at the pause, you looked up at her, only to be met with expectantly look written on her face. Knowing what she wanted, you rolled your eyes with a fond smile.
“And I love her,” you sang, doing your best to match Natasha’s level.
An amused laugh bubbled out of Natasha’s mouth, as she rubbed your nose against hers. “I love you, milaya.”
“I love you too,” you gave her a chaste kiss. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she tilted her head.
“For singing to me,” you beamed, “and for washing my hair.”
“Anytime, detka,” she pecked the corner of your mouth, as she reached to turn the faucet off. “Let’s get out of here. My skin is starting to prune.”
Giggling, you nodded in agreement, as Natasha handed you your towel. As the two of you dried off and changed into sweats, you watched your girlfriend as she set up a movie and blankets, and you couldn’t help but think to yourself how luck you were to be loved by Natasha.
And you loved her.
—
taglist: @when-wolves-howl @xxxtwilightaxelxxx
#natasha romanoff imagine#natasha romanoff x reader#natasha romanoff#marvel x reader#marvel imagine#marvel#my writing
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EUROVISION 2021, personal favorites:
- Russia 🇷🇺
Manizha, Russian Woman: Absolute favorite. The sheer originality of the song! Her energy and the level of absolute badassery! She can sing, she can rap,and she's a bomb of energy. The way reggae and brass and hiphop and Slavic melodies overlap and it somehow works, the transitions between fun and "I'm bitter about the sexism and I'm mocking it unapologetically and making a stand" and the anthemic, emphatic and powerful message to Russian women; I was swelling with emotion while watching her. While to an American or a Westerner it may seem like performative feminism, I'm gonna remind you that in Russia and other Slavic countries that's very much not a thing and actually a very unpopular stand to make, and in Russia, The Balkans, and Eastern Europe in general, hundreds of women face domestic and sexual abuse on the daily, and those who do come forward rarely get support and are mostly dismissed. Let's not forget that Manizha got a huge backlash from the Russian government officials, and a big part of it was for her Tajik roots. The honesty of her message is real, and she's speaking from personal experience and the experience of women around her - nothing performative about her song, and you can tell from her delivery that the fire within her is true and she leaves her heart on the stage and pours it into the song. The staging and costumes are great as well, and symbolically well thougt-through. I would really like her to win, or at least get to the top 5. Most of all, I hope her message is heard and felt. 10000/10
- Italy 🇮🇹
Måneskin, Zitti e Buoni: definitely the closest thing to my actual music taste this year, so liking them off the bat wasn't a surprise. However, they're not just your regular Franz-Ferdinand-ish young alt rock band that wants to do rock "properly" - they have IT. The X factor, the Je ne sais quoi. I've been exposed to that particular genre, and I can confidently say that the song still manages to be refreshing and original (that bridge, those riffs!) The band has a great energy and no matter how much Damiano steals the show, they are still a unit and nobody is left in the shadows. They have the spirit of great rock bands of the previous century, and yet they don't try to copy anyone (khm,Greta Van Fleet, khm). Damiano's vocals are both powerful, seductive and provoking, and I'm still admiring the sheer amount of emotion he can pack into a single line and the nuance and yet rawness behind it. I'm not gonna state the obvious lol (the obvious being yes, I'm thirsty as well, he becomes yet another unattainable rockstar for me too,and yes they all look great) Anyway, great song, and maybe the clearest and most serious candidate for the number one spot, taking both the jury and the public into consideration. 10/10
- Iceland 🇮🇸
Daði Freyr and Gagnamagnið, 10 years:
What can I say about this masterpiece that hasn't already been said? A clear fan-favorite (hi, Valentina), but with the guns to back it up. The song is contagious, fun and campy, and unlike some other songs with said qualities, actually good from a musical perspective. Daði is incredibly charismatic and his sense of humor shines through, and even though he's the star of the show, the same can be said about the other band members. The synergy Måneskin has can be applied to Gagnamagnið as well, even though the energy is entirely different. They're serving us fun, sunshine, kitties rainbows sugar spice and everything nice, and manage to do it with zero cringe factor (plus those funky keytars). I'm one of those Eurovision fans that lament the golden age's (2004-2009) campiness (We'll never forget you, Verka), and Daði managed to bring it back, but modernised, polished and still sincere. I personally preferred the epic dad joke that slightly more commercial Think About Thing was (but that's one tough act to follow), but I'm always down for a husband adoring his wife and singing praises to their relationship. Since we're on tumblr, I feel obliged to use the term "cinnamon rolls" in describing Daði and the band. 9.5/10
- France 🇫🇷
Barbara Pravi, Voilà: She brought the theatrics, she brought the drama, and she brought the 101 in "that's how you perform". Her personality leaps through, and her voice is both beautiful and full of emotion and power. I'd hire her to star in a serious and artistic movie. Despite the fact that Voilà is from its melody to the singing style to the video to the vibe and the aesthetic hands down the most French thing I've seen since Amélie (do not come for that movie), it miraculously doesn't come across as a cliché, but rather an homage, and an individualistic one at that. It's not entirely my cup of tea, since I'm usually biased to songs that may come off as snobbish (I mean, the jury is going to lap it up), and are all about being proper and technical and oh how ~artistic~, but Barbara puts the soul into the immaculate. I'm not giving her the highest mark because I'm yet to see the performance, but I'm rooting for her. If she delivers the performance, we might have a clear winner. 9/10
- Ukraine 🇺🇦
Go_A, Shum: I'm a sucker for all things ethnic and mytological, so this was a no-brainer. I want that song played at every party. I want to go to the forest in the video and chant and summon the spring with flute and hard-bass. Kateryna Pavlenko has some unexplainable power over me, and her eyes are simply hypnotizing. The vocals are great, proper Slavic ethno right there (seriously, check out Slavic folklore and traditional music), and she has a subtle punk quality too(?). Ukraine came to save the spring and make us forget about the pandemic, and minus the Maruv fiasco (justice for her!), they always deliver and I expected nothing less. On the other hand, I loved the original version much more and couldn't help but be a bit disappointed with the revamp (yes, I know they had to), and while I personally love Shum, I think some other acts are more deserving of the higher placement. Go_A are not my winner, but definitely soon to be in my playlist. 8/10
- San Marino 🇸🇲
Adrenalina, Senhit ft. Flo Rida: You know that golden age of Eurovision I mentioned? THIS. I'm Serbian, so I can't resist a banger reminiscent of our horrible turbo-folk elements (and I say that endearingly,takes me back to 18th birthday parties (boy I'm glad that's over)). Let's just crown Senhit this year's Queen of Camp. The wild factor of Flo Rida...just?? Amazing. Can't wait to see how the performance goes (EDIT- it went great, I had a grin on my face the entire time and couldn't help but dance along). A certain refreshment after Serhat and Valentina Monetta endless loop. They didn't dial down the weird, but made it catchy af, and the vocal can rival any Balkan folk diva. While I think it's definitely the most entertaining entry this year, it's far from being the most original, and it's not really my genre of preference. Will vote for Senhit and root for her to qualify. 7.5/ 10
- Sweden 🇸🇪
Tusse, A million voices: As I mentioned before, I'm the first person that starts complaining about Sweden Superiority as soon as Eurovision season begins, and I'm with you all with being tired of Sweden qualifying just because they're Sweden and usually just bringing the same brand of MTV/Calvin Harris/American pop, or a successful and not-so-subtle imitation of the performances that did well the previous year,but listen: A million voices is a solid pop song and I'm going to die on that hill. It actually embodies the essence of pop - a catchy, pleasant melody sung by a good vocalist, with a short,sweet and uplifting message. It's not the same as previous years, it's not commercial, just good pop - good pop being something you immediately like and vibe to no matter how many common elements of the genre it checks. It relies on RnB rather than electronic sounds, auto tune or various DJ effects. Tusse is charming and charismatic af, and he's a 19yo kid doing an amazing job on a global stage. You don't have to like it, but there's no need to hate on it (ask Jendrik). Imo, Tusse deserved to qualify. Not winner material yet, but I wish him a fun time and a successful career. 7 5/10
- Switzerland 🇨🇭
G'jons Tears, Tout L'Univers: I saw the video first, and I HATED IT. It came across as a Duncan Lawrence-high-art wannabe, something technically perfect, but empty of soul or meaning, another soft boy with a sad falsetto, another jury-points bait. BUT. I changed my mind entirely after seeing him perform. Hands down, it was touching and epic. Reminding me of Hamlet aside, he DELIVERED, and made me love him, and actually enjoy the song. I still think the song is less original than Tusse's voices, but I enjoy the troubadour vibes of the pre-chours. G'jon is absolutely adorable, and I'm not gonna be mad if he wins. 8/10
shout-outs&honorable mentions:
- Serbia 🇷🇸 Yes, some national bias, but I'm proud of our girls. Ever Since we placed 2nd with Željko's Lane, we had that goddamn flute e v e r y year, and the same outdated scenography with a side of extra pathos (I'm sure that ruined Sanja's chances and her otherwise great performance back in 2016.) Finally something fun and actually representative of the music popular here. They looked flawless and the energy was off the charts. Go, Hurricane!
-Finland 🇫🇮 Yes, cheesy and corny and I cut my finger accidentally from watching the video on all the edge, but I'm biased because they're bringing emo and nu-metal back, and that's the music of my early adolescence (hello, Kaulitz brothers and Andy Biersack,hello Gerard Way and Linkin Park) Call me grandma lol
- Malta 🇲🇹 DESTINY CAN SIIIIIIIIING! I wasn't impressed with the song initially, but the performance blew my mind.
- Ireland 🇮🇪 A for effort, and so nice of her to try and give us something unique! While it wasn't good enough to qualify, it was super fun and she seems so nice. Also, we all know that she was out of breath an can sing much better than that. Still wasn't bad.
- Romania 🇷🇴, for being so young and brave enough to put on a show. The nerves got the better of her, but the song itself is good and no doubt she'll do well in the future
- Lithuania 🇱🇹, thanks for the memeries
- Croatia 🇭🇷, Not my cup of tea, but Albina gave a great performance
-Norway 🇳🇴, for embodying the spirit of Eurovision
- North Macedonia 🇲🇰, for the disco chest
- The UK 🇬🇧, for putting some effort
(Might edit later)
#eurovison#eurovision 2021#rotterdam#the netherlands#russia#malta#italy#france#iceland#sweden#serbia#esc 2021#switzerland#san marino#ukraine
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✨ esc 2008 top ✨
somehow even trashier than 2009 lmao
Love them!!
1. Portugal - we stan our sea villain
2. Armenia - I love this holy shit
3. Serbia - i've just ascended to heaven listening to this
4. Turkey - rock in turkish...blessed
5. Ukraine - she killed the stage, what a diva
6. Sweden - generic pop song from sweden that I actually love
7. Greece - yesss girl ethnic bop
8. Norway - maria has achieved empowerment
9. Iceland - this is the greatest eurodance song that ever graced the esc stage change my mind
10. Finland - ah yes this is the finland I know and love
11. Russia - I liked this more than I thought I'd do
12. Slovenia - what in the world was that dress though
13. Latvia - lazy town's pirate song reincarnated
14. Andorra - why is she dressed like a gladiator
15. Israel - got chills..
16. Switzerland - he's beautiful <3
Like them!!
17. Spain - that moment when spain trolled the whole europe
18. Azerbaijan - not the angels again :)))
19. Croatia - I love some traditional jazz tango thank u
20. Bosnia & Herzegovina - oh look it's strawberry shortcake!!
21. Albania - great vocals as usual
22. Malta - this is something that I'd actually hear from Moldova whaaat
23. Georgia - so true bestie
24. Bulgaria - this slaps
25. Romania - screechy nico doesn't mix that well with vlad's voice
26. Netherlands - wow I just found a good dutch entry from their dark era
27. San Marino - one of their best entries
28. Denmark - so cheerful...changes my mood everytime
29. France - it's a pretty cool bop
30. Czech Republic - sounds a bit melancholic for a song called "have some fun"
31. Cyprus - the definition of girlboss
32. North Macedonia - tamara todevska??
33. Moldova - this song is oddly comforting
34. Poland - emotional
35. UK - funky yes
36. Lithuania - epic vocals, if only the song had more impact..
They're good
37. Montenegro - i enjoyed this but it's a tad forgettable oof
38. Ireland - you guys just weren't ready for this work of art smh /j
39. Hungary - don't really remember much but it was pleasant
40. Belarus - hurricane did it better
Not my thing
41. Estonia - what a cringefest
42. Belgium - not even the 50s would want this back
43. Germany - yikes
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These are fun! Thanks to @direwolf-summer for the tag!
1. Favorite song at the moment
At this very moment? Yikes that's a big question. It's #pride and I'm a basic ass wlw so I've been listening to a ton of Janelle Monae, Perfume Genius, Frank Ocean, Hayley Kiyoko, Charli XCX, Christine and the Queens, Kehlani, etc... but if I had to pick a single song it would be Holly Humberstone - The Walls Are Way Too Thin
2. A song you associate with your favorite ship
I, again, am a basic ass lady who has a whole playlist of Wolfstar songs, and it is genuinely tough for me to choose a good one so you are getting blessed with a few here...
Wolfstar Angst: Perfume Genius - Just Like Love, Frank Ocean - Swim Good, Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy (Those Boys), Islands - Becoming the Gunship, Future Islands - Ran, Bastille - Flaws, St Vincent - New York
Wolfstar Depressing Angst like oh my god this is the saddest song ever made: Phosphorescent - Song for Zola
Runners up for that category: Villagers - Memoir, Banks - Before I Ever Met You
Wolfstar as middle aged dads to Harry: Rufus Wainwright - Montauk
Wolfstar Fuck The War They Are In Love: Rag'n'Bone Man - Skin, Tasha the Amazon - Watch It Burn
3. A song that could be about you
Belle and Sebastian - Another Sunny Day
4. A song you think is overrated
I think if a single person enjoys a song, then it is bringing happiness into the world, and I can't hate on it. That being said, I had a college radio show for several years so I kept my eye on what was popular in indie world and there were a few artists that I just could NOT figure out the appeal who would consistently top best of lists - the one that is coming to mind immediately is Lana del Rey, but there are a few in that vein of being indie darlings and I love all their peers but just don't get that particular something about them.
5. A song that reminds you of a good memory
Alexander Rybak - Fairytale: this won Eurovision in 2009 with a record breaking number of points and went on to soundtrack my entire summer. I lived in remote northwestern Iceland that summer and attended an event called the Ögur Ball that was an all night party on a farm with a live local cover band. This song was so popular at that time that they played it THREE TIMES IN A ROW and the crowd wanted more so they also played it to end the night.
6. The last song you listened to
The Specials - Nelson Mandela (I was considering it for the song that reminds you of a good memory entry)
7. A song that makes you laugh
The Lonely Island ft. Michael Bolton - Jack Sparrow
8. A song you want your mutuals to listen to
Jenny Hval - Ashes to Ashes
Tagging some people I'd like to get to know better @wanderingbandurria, @justtoarguewithyou, @feminerdist, @kobayboshi, @andreyahalms, @holyprimadonna
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Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Film Review)
While the 2020 edition of the contest was cancelled, it still went on in this movie, sorta
Also, don’t count on me to not spoil anything. You have been warned.
So my impressions will come from having seen the movie in whole once, and possibly looking over certain segments of movie (it’s two hours, so if I have to analyze every bit of it, it’s gonna take more than two hours).
So from the trailer I initially thought it might be a spoof of the contest, and it does spoof it a bit, but the overall story and movie plot is your average musical rom-com underdog story. Will Ferrell stars as Lars Ericksong, a character who feels underappreciated and wants to win the Eurovision Song Contest to prove something. Rachel McAdams stars as Lars’ partner in crime/band mate/childhood friend Sigrit Ericksdottir, a character who is very loyal to Lars but at the same time is struggling to find her voice. Lars is a character who wants to win at any cost, even if it makes him lose vision of what’s important to others, and this alienates and Sigrit (if you’ve seen movies or stories or maybe it’s real life where a band makes it big or wants to go big but throws others under a bus, you’d probably predict something like this happening)
And it wouldn’t be a rom-com if there weren’t someone or something to test the couple. Aside from band dynamics enter in Dan Stevens who stars as Russian entrant Alexander Lemtov. He has the looks, he has the voice, hell, he has the palace too, but he also has his sights on Sigrit (mainly her hidden talent). I guess I can throw in Mita who has her sights somewhat set on Lars. There is of course strain between Lars and Sigrit, but if you’ve seen one too many rom-coms you can probably guess whether their relationship is resolved.
As for the underdog part, while it’s usually the underdog winning the competition in the end, it’s not 100% true here. One thing about Eurovision is sometimes the winner of one year’s contest isn’t the most memorable act of the grand final, and may fade out of existence, or not gain enough traction to become international superstars. It’s not often that I hear of Eurovision songs outside of Eurovision apart from a retro station playing “Waterloo” or the English version of “Volare”. Can’t forget about Celine Dion but I believe few know she participated. Then again, I don’t listen to the radio much and often go with Spotify algorithm suggestions. Anyway, instead of underdogs Fire Saga winning the competition, they won the hearts of many across Europe, and their home country of Iceland (except for Olaf maybe). So in the end, the message here, while done many times before, is winning isn’t everything.
But I’m not done yet!
It’s a musical, so can’t forget about the songs and musical numbers. The best number in the entire movie, apart from the actual spoof of the contest, is the song-along.
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There’s something about seeing Eurovision winners and contestants of past and present (albeit they’re all from the past 10 years) come together for a musical number. As for the songs used in this medley, only 2 were actual Eurovision songs (Abba’s “Waterloo” and Celine Dion’s “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi”). It’s possible the song choice could be to appeal to a wider audience with recognizable songs amidst what may be unrecognizable faces (but recognizable to those who have seen the Contest). Maybe there’s a licensing issue that could be factored too. Anyway, I’d like to see something like this happen in the actual contest. Maybe the 26 competitors of the grand final coming together singing a host country’s famous entries?
And as for the contest segment itself, it was more referential to actual contestants and their performances rather than spoofing them. Ones that stick out me are Belarus’ entry more reminiscent of Finland’s Lordi
While Belarus did have a rock act in Eurovision 2009, in 2016 the country had an entry that ran with the wolves, sort of.
Another element that stood out for me was the hamster wheel used in Fire Saga’s semi-final performance, which was a crazy element in Ukraine’s 2014 entry.
The songs for sure are definitely what you’d hear in Eurovision as well. There have been rap songs featured so “Coolin’ With Da Homies” would be a possible entry you’d hear. Operatic love ballads like “Lion of Love”? Tons of them, or by themselves as operatic, love ballads, and flamenco elements.
Last but not least, Husavik - My Hometown.
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There are plenty of songs that combine English’s with the singer’s native language or another language they sing in. There are also songs that are odes to their hometown, home country (namely “I Love Belarus”), or even just a region of their home country (“Horehronie” should have made the final in 2010). What makes this one of the most Eurovision songs in a movie that’s set to Eurovision is:
- it’s universal with the parts sung in English but also in the singer’s/country’s native language which counts a showing off their country’s culture
- it’s an emotional power ballad which is typical to Eurovision. You hear these every year as there’s usually at least one if not two or three.
Of course there are discrepancies that aren’t actually part of the contest. The scoreboard is one as points are usually counted in the grand final, and the countries of Spain, UK, France, Germany, and Italy only compete in the grand final. The other is the lack of security. I doubt Lars would be able to freely run around and nearly miss his performance at the national final, or fly back to Iceland unless it was a family emergency (I’d assume). Only reason for it to be this lax is for story tension and plot.
Overall, while it’s not a horrible movie, I wouldn’t say it’s that great of a movie as well. It is watchable and has great songs, but the plot is just average.
#eurovision#eurovision moive#movie#movie review#review#the story of fire saga#fire saga#musical#romantic comedy#rom-com#comedy#underdog#will ferrell#rachel mcadams#dan stevens
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Eurovision 2020 – The Least Useful List Ever
Disclaimer: I am absolutely biased towards certain styles of music and am probably the least impartial person ever. I also don‘t take anything seriously, so you shouldn‘t make that mistake with this list. I mean, Eurovision has been postponed anyway and we‘re all going mad in self-isolation.
France: Tom Leeb – Mon Alliée
MEEEH, it‘s a dude with a guitar singing a quiet love song. Super basic and also super boring. Would be better if there was no English in it, that makes it worse. 3 Points.
Czech Republic: Benny Cristo – Kemama
Czechia has a type. It‘s kinda fun, but it‘s not my style of music. This could be on the radio and I‘d be „Okay, I‘m driving anyway“. There‘s not enough happening for me here. 4 Points.
Armenia: Athena Manoukian – Chains On You
Someone saw Ukraine‘s entry from last year, huh. But I actually kinda like it. I actually like the aesthetic more than the song itself, but it‘s kinda good. Except for the super basic chorus. Wouldn‘t add to my playlist but I don‘t mind it. 5 Points.
Italy: Diodato - Fai Rumore
Hey, I‘m having a déjà vu. Another non-english love song. But this is better than the french one, simply because there‘s actually some emotion in this dudes voice. Also Italy just gets sympathy points from me at this point. 5 Points.
Russia: Little Big – Uno
I love this song so much. It‘s so much fun. It‘s so stupid and campy. In short: very Eurovision. It‘s also just very interesting instrumental-wise. At least I think it is. I really like it. (also their dancer in the blue jumpsuit doing splits and a death drop? Icon) 10/12 Points.
Denmark: Ben & Tan – YES
Why does this sound like Shallow to me? I think it‘s the guitar and the male and female voice. Anyway if it‘s Shallow it‘s bad Shallow. NO from me. I don‘t like the pacing. BUT if they had had a live performance at least it would‘ve been great for audience participation. 4 Points
Estonia: Uku Suviste – What Love Is
Oh. It‘s that kind of song, huh. Why does th music video like this. Why are there spider webs on the microphone. Why is there the word „LOVE“ in an empty industrial hall. Why does he do so many vocal runs. Just a big WHY from me. 2 Points.
Romania: ROXEN – Alcohol You
I know this was the fan favourite song, but I liked literally ALL OTHER songs she had more than this one. It does look really cool though. It‘s also very modern, but there‘s not enough build-up for me? Or rather, it sounds like it builds up to something and it doesn‘t really in the end? Like it builds up to something, but it doesn‘t go as hard as I would have liked it to? But that‘s just me. 6 Points.
Azerbaijan: Efendi – Cleopatra
Okay, this is my guilty pleasure song this year. The music video is super weird (the dancers all look like they do not want to be there, she‘s suddenly dancing around a car in an outfit from 2009 and she‘s raking around in a baththub full of gold dust?), the text is super basic BUT holy shit I just love the pre-chorus and the chorus. I mean. What‘s going on there?...Whatever it is, I like it. 7 Points.
Albania: Arilena Ara – Fall From The Sky
She reminds me of Poppy, of all people. But her voice is deeper. Her song is also more basic. I really have nothing to say about thsi, except that it sounds like a song from last years ESC but I don‘t know which one right now. 2 Points.
Greece: Stefania – SUPERG!RL
If we have learned anything from S!ISTERS last year, then it is that you shouldn‘t replace I‘s with exclamation marks. Also why is she singing about her being super strong and stuff and then she uses her powers to...make two bullies probably break their noses?...and why did the nerd draw her (so weirdly)? What is this music video… 2 Points
Portugal: Elisa – Medo De Sentir
Conan was robbed last year and therefore I cannot like whatever Portugal does this year. Conveniently, I also don‘t like this song. I swear, there‘s slow and quiet songs I like, it‘s just not...this kind. 3 Points
Moldova: Natalia Gordienko - Prison
This year‘s music videos are so obscure, but at least this isn‘t the slow-mo-romance from last year. That being said...I do not like her face being so close to the camera. The song is surprisingly decent though. In an Eurovision context, duh. 4 Points
Malta: Destiny – All Of My Love
Two things: Destiny‘s voice is absolutely stunning. I love listening to her sing. She really knows what she‘s doing. And: although I had to skip the narration at the beginning (it made me uncomfortable??) it‘s a great song. It‘s fun. They‘re also all covering their mouths and noses. Truly ahead of their time. 7 Points.
Serbia: Hurricane – Hasta La Vista
My immediate reaction to that opening shot was: „Oh, hatred will win again huh?“. That‘s pretty much all they had in common with Iceland though. Something is wrong about this Instrumental. I don‘t know what it is, but it sounds off-beat for some reason? It‘s super weird to listen to, I don‘t know. It‘s also, eh, basic? 3 Points
Poland: Alicja – Empires
I knew an Alicia in school and I hated her with all I had. I wouldn‘t say I dislike this song that much, but I also don‘t...really like it? I‘m always sceptical about songs that have very ambigious lyrics and then show some political stuff in the music video because I just KNOW that they do that so they can collect their Internet points while not risking to lose the points of older people who only watch the Contest on TV and will never see the music video. Apart from that, I just don‘t care for the song, honestly. 4 Points
San Marino: Senhit – Freaky!
So, in the years where San Marino doesn‘t send Serhat, can we borrow him? I mean, he works in Germany anyway and speaks German, so it shouldn‘t be a problem, right? About the song: yeah, why not. Sounds a bit like they tried to do a little bit of Lizzo here, and I don‘t mind it. The people who did the music video also saw Ukraines entry from last year. The scene where they‘re all touching each other is basically the same. 5 Points
North Macedonia: Vasil – YOU
ME?! Why is he in the „She Got Me“-Bar by the way? And why is there a passed out guy in the background?! Is that girl wearing a Scrunchy? This whole video is She Got Me. Only worse. IT‘S EVEN THE SAME LOCATION?? 2 Points
Iceland: Daði og Gagnamagnið – Think About Things
I haven‘t seen one person on the Internet who dislikes this song and I...for once...am part of the hype. I love this song, I love these people, it‘s so stupid and that‘s why it‘s amazing. Iceland just gets Eurovision recently. It‘s also a total bop, all other things apart. I‘m humming it at least once a day, it‘s becoming a problem. Daði ALSO lives in Germany, so I think we can claim this song at least a bit? 12 Points
Finland: Aksel – Looking Back
In German, your „Axel“ is your arm pit. I just though you should know that. And I‘m only writing that because this song makes me feel nothing. It just faded right out as soon as I looked at my computer screen. It was gone immediately. 3 Points
Sweden: The Mamas – Move
Good voices. This sounds a lot like their song from last year for some reason. I mean. It even has the same lights or am I going mad?? It‘s totally fine though. 5 Points
Cyprus: Sandro – Running
This will sound weird, but...he looks like a german teenager. I can‘t explain it, he just DOES. Yes, the weird moustache totally included. With me talking about this, you can probably guess that I do not care about this song eiter. Bleh. 4 Points.
Slovenia: Ana Soklic – Voda
We wanna pRääääy – I know she (probably) isn‘t singing that but I can‘t hear anything else. The way she looks at the camera also weirdly bothers me, but that might just be because I can‘t really do eye contact. By the way, the chorus totally sounds like Paper from Iceland 2017. To me. I can‘t explain myself. 5 Points
Bulgaria: Victoria – Tears Getting Sober
Ouh...that title. She‘s going for a Billie Eilish-vibe, isn‘t she. She so is. And I wouldn‘t mind usually, but this is...very obvious. Like, VERY. I also don‘t care a lot for Billie Eilish‘s music, so, you know… 3 Points
Ireland: Lesley Roy – Story Of My Life
„Hey, Lesley, we‘re selling you to One Direction so we can go to the Eurovision Finale.“ What do you mean, it‘s not that Story Of My Life? Hmpfh. She also does not look like she should have that voice. She looks a bit like a middle-aged lesbian, if I dare say so. Why are there so many songs this year that I do not care about? AAAAH. 4 Points
Austria: Vincent Bueno – Alive
Damn, I want a Kinder Bueno now. His voice caught me a little bit off guard, I won‘t lie. And I know he‘s Austrian, but he looks like he‘s a classmate of the guy from Cyprus. Both weirdly german teenager-esque. The song is fine. Still not my genre. She can dance though, so I like him. 5 Points
Israel: Eden Alene – Feker Libi
What I conclude from this song: Israel is not yet ready to win again. I mean, the song is totally fine, but...it‘s not anything special? It just blends right in with the song from before. And I wanted to give bonus points for native language, but just the chorus doesn‘t count. Nuh-uh. 4 Points
The Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy – Glow
Ah, the Dutch, known for weed and speaking funny German. One thing I genuinely don‘t get: if you are the hosting country, why send ballads or sad songs? I mean, the chances of you winning are so slim, you might as well send a song that‘s entertaining for the home crowd. Maybe in your native language, maybe with a catchy and fun chorus or a repeatable dance move...(may I mention Germany‘s opening act when they hosted the contest in 2011 and the way Stefan Raab completely transformed the song to have it be more fun and entertaining? Not the same thing, but I just think it needs attention). The song isn‘t bad, though. 4 Points
Switzerland: Gjon‘s Tears – Répondez-moi
Oh look, the Swiss remembered they know French. I swear, if they send a German song before us and all of Europe and Australia has to listen to Swiss-German I will throw something. Anyway. It‘s better than the Song sent by France. I like the „Ah-aaah“-parts a lot actually. Honestly, I quite like this song in general. The longer I listen to it, the more I like it. Oh no. 7 Points
Latvia: Samanta Tina – Still Breathing
Why do I feel like I heard this song already? Like, in this list. At least she has a very subtle hat. She won‘t stand out a lot. That reminds me, I don‘t understand art. I have also reached the chorus now and have to say that it still sounds a little bit like Azerbaijan but it‘s actually pretty cool. I don‘t know why, but there‘s just something about it. 7 Points
Georgia: Tornike Kipiani – Take Me As I Am
Okay, don‘t add me, but I really like this song. No jokes here. I just really love the way Georgia keeps sending super angry dudes to Eurovision and nobody cares about it. Although he sounds a lot less scary than Oto, which, in my book, gives him some minus points. Still. I like this. This Song also has more German in it than the German Song. Just pointing that out. 8 Points
Germany: Ben Dolic – Violent Thing
When I first heard this song, I absolutely despised it. I think it‘s just my natural reaction to Germany‘s songs nowaday. Anyway, everyone keeps saying that Germany finally has a good song again like it‘s been ages and ages. But, let‘s be real: 2019 was really bad, yeah, but 2018 was super good, I love 2015‘s Black Smoke to this day and we won in 2010, which, for a contests that only occurs every year and has more than 40 contestans, is not bad at all. What I want to say with that: yes, it‘s actually good, but it‘s not our first good song in decades. 7 Points / Not allowed to vote for it
Belarus: VAL – Da Vidna
This is the first video that YouTube gave me an ad for and I‘m not here for it. I know I‘m supposed to judge the song, but I also have to ask: what does she have on her head? That is a serious question. What is that. She also looks like my cousin a little bit, which is neither good nor bad for her. I‘d like to give her native language points, but two things bother me: a) what is she doing with those dudes and b) I don‘t like this song. 2 Points
Lithuania: The Roop – On Fire
(The Roop! The Roop! The Roop is on fire!) I love this. And what I mean by „this“ is the full package. The song is fine by itself (yes, I like weird songs) but his whole demeanor is just so obsucre...I love it. He manages to look like an extremely serious person while doing the silliest moves ever. He also just looks SO Eastern-European, it‘s ridiculous. 10 Points
Croatia: Damir Kedzo - Divlji Vjetre
He does not look like he should sing this kind of song. He looks like a German amateur rapper. Yes I know, it‘s not my fault that a lot of people look German. I don‘t like this song! I‘m sorry! 2 Points
United Kingdom: James Newman – My Last Breath
There‘s a fire-, no wait, wrong guitar intro. This dude looks like what my brother would looks like if he could grew a proper beard and was a few years older. I don‘t know what you are supposed to do with this information, but at least you have it now. For an UK song, this is absolutely decent. 4 Points
Ukraine: Go_A – Solovey
Yesss, ethnic stuff! I love this song, it‘s absolutely great. And her dress is absolutely stunning. I can‘t even think of anything funny to say about this song, it just totally takes me in. 10 Points
Spain: Blas Cantó – Universo
Can we have La Venda back please? And what is he doing with his hands? And why does he look like he does YouTube? So many questions, so little answers in this music video...(no, seriously, I KNOW this dude from somewhere.) 3 Points
Belgium: Hooverphonic – Release
Yah, Release me from this song please. I‘m getting sick of these songs!! Why is everyone whining, the world is bad enough already!! I‘m using two exclamation marks at once so it‘s serious!! And she says losing game, which is a direct nod to Arcade which led the Netherlands to the win. It‘s song science. Or for short: love love peace peace and all that. 2 Points
Norway: Ulrikke – Attention
Whenever I read the word „Attention“, all I can think about is Todrick Hall. Which is a problem, because this isn‘t…a party song. By the way, why is she squinting so hard? She looks like she‘s in physical pain. And not the „I‘m so sad“-way, but the „I really need to go to the toilet please“-way. I‘m running out of things to say so I have to resort to potty humour. Sorry. 2 Points.
Australia: Montaigne – Don‘t Break Me
I know we have all seen the outfit already, but why does she look like that. She also looks so lost on stage? I feel bad for her, but not because of the lyrics but because of the look on her face. Oh, and about the song: meh? 4 Points
FINAL TOP TEN:
One Point: Azerbaijan
Two Points: Malta
Three Points: Germany (I can‘t really vote for them but who cares there‘s no contest)
Four Points: Latvia
Five Points: Switzerland
Six Points: Georgia
Seven Points: Lithuania
Eight Points: Ukraine
Ten Points: Russia
Twelve Points: Iceland
#eurovision#esc#esc 2020#eurovision2020#eurovision 2020#eurovision song contest#list#nobody cares about tumblr#but i don't know where else i should post this#also#i care a lot about this#eurovision is super big for me#so#ehm#yes i'm obsessive#we go hard#aye#also if you couldn't tell#english isn't my first language#(it's not even my second language)#so deal with it or sth i'm not apologizing
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01. LITHUANIA
Ieva Zasimauskaite - “When we’re old”
12th place
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After six, long arduous months, this ranking somehow outlived the entire Almaia relationship, and that alone should be reason enough to finish the ranking immediately, but the the upcoming ban of all nfsw stuff (/porn) from this website will also cause a homosexual exodus (homosexodus? 🤔), sooooo, definitely time to finish this ranking before I lose 85% of my current audience.
Look, listen OKAY, just like how I naturally gravitate towards Lea Sirk’s sass and Elina’s pristineness and DoReDoS’s hilarious whateverthatwas, I was simply never *not* going to like a Lithuanian frumpy space princess and annointed HINDU with a voice more brittle than Theresa May’s position in the House of Commons, whose meditation rites include drinking a cup of boiling water (without the tea! just water) on a daily basis to *purify* her mind and soul. Okay the last MAY be an exaggeration on the behalf of the Flemish commentator (Peter Van de Veire is a known jokester), but then again, I can totally see Ieva telling this to random bystanders in her hotel lobby? Such oblivious, but well-meaning wackiness is just so Ieva SassyMouseKyte.
Naturally, one MASSIVE part of my Ieva stanning is JUST her personality, which is both intensely kooky and disarmingly innocent, see above. Another example: Ieva serenly sliding off the stage during the semifinal, only to find the nearest camera and exclaim ”I FELT THE PRESENCE OF *GODS* ON THE STAGE WHILE I WAS SINGING ^__^ I FEEL *ENLIGHTENED* 🤗🤗” llke she was Siddharta Gautama under the Bodhi tree <3 I am no a religious man but if Ieva said the stage was brightened with a non-descript Eastern Deity’s presence during the performance, who am I to refute it? 😁
Gods or no gods, I will say that it took a *serious* amount of dharma to give us *the most unexpected gift* we’ve ever could’ve been granted, which is a COMPETENT EUROVISION ENTRY FOR LITHUANIA. In terms of Eurovision, Lithuania are amongst of the objective *worst* on a terrifyingly consistent basis and here you have a fairly pleasant Ellie Goulding-inspired, frumpolicious Hindu cleric bringing a ballad about the inevitability of high medieval alliance pacts. Let’s Sing The Song That She Wrote:
Actually that’s selling the act a bit short, because for a brief moment, Ieva managed to transform her moment during the sheer INSANITY that was this year’s finale (well the sheer insanity streaked with horrifying, terrible, machinal dullness, not naming any names but *cough*austriaandaustralia*cough), into an oasis of *pure show-stopping sentiment* and that’s a powerful feat to accomplish for a Eurovision entry. Normally, you think such an entry would Blackbird itself into oblivion but as Ieva had prophetically declared, GOD WAS ON HER SIDE, AMEN, so nope, think again Christerifer Morningstar 😈
Speaking of, praise Hallellujah, Oh Glory and Mazzel-Motherfucking-Tov that Ieva qualified under the hilarity that is the current combined voting system (to those who still hate it, AISEL would’ve qualified under the old system despite being 12th in both jury and televote 🙃 Granted this would be funny if this had happened to Sennek or Ari or Eye Cue or basically anyone other than Aisel, but it didn’t so The Old System remains CANCELLED, s/n/s) because not only is Ieva an Elyon Goddess Moste High, and has the unique quality of being a Good Entry from Lithuania, “When We’re Old” is also... fucking awesome in itself?
“When we’re old” is *not* your typical BorisBubbles fave on the surface (lol as if I can expect you to know what a typical Boris fave is after only two full rankings on tumblr 😬), but it totally is? Ieva hits that personal sweet spot for me that I require from my faves: Quirky, but not overbearingly weird. Well-liked, but not liked *enough* to top every post-show list. Sentimental, but because her emotions are *real*, not because of some forced commercialized acting gig. (such as, um, fucking Rona Nishliu and her fake-as-fuck dry sobbing ugh die bitch! (k not literally, just musically, 5ever)). Also, this song makes me want to sing along like the soft ass fag that I am. “When Weeeeeeeeee’re OWLED Hooooooooooooooo!!!” All of this cements Ieva as a dark horse, an underdog and an eternal outsider and these are the *specific* type of entries that I started this blog for.
I guess I should write a bit more, with more *sass and pizzazz*, but that’s basically my Ieva love in a nutshell! I think she’s an utter gem, both as a human and a Eurovision participant, “When We’re Old” *still* remains the only entry this year to give me *emotional attachment* in the form of shivers and near-tears and bad impromptu karaoke. If you don’t think she’s all that, well that’s your loss, not sorry! She made the final through the good graces of Hare Krishna and did better than Jessi*can’t* and *No*lexander ! If I get a relationship, I want it be precisely like Ieva and her Hubbo’s. GET A LIFE!!
ALL HAIL THE QUEEN OF EUROVISION 2018
Thank you for reading this ranking, it’s been a blast! See you on the 1st of April 2019 for the #TelAviv2019 preshow ranking. God bless you and shalom!
EUROVISION 2018 - POST SHOW
01. Lithuania (Ieva Zasimauskaite - “When we’re old”)
02. Moldova (DoReDoS - “My Lucky Day”)
03. Estonia (Elina Nechayeva - “La Forza”)
04. Slovenia (Lea Sirk - “Hvala, ne!”)
05. Switzerland (ZiBBZ - “Stones”)
06. Germany (Michael Schulte - “You let me walk alone”)
07. Albania (Eugent Bushpepa - “Mall”)
08. France (Madame Monsieur - “Mercy”)
09. Hungary (AWS - “Viszlát nyár”)
10. Finland (Saara Aalto - “Monsters”)
11. Bulgaria (EQUINOX - “Bones”)
12. Denmark (Rasmussen - “Higher ground”)
13. Malta (Christabelle - “Taboo”)
14. Cyprus (Eleni Foureira - “Fuego”)
15. United Kingdom (SuRie - “Storm”)
16. Serbia (Balkanika - “Nova Deca”)
17. Portugal (Cláudia Pascoal - “O jardim”)
18. The Netherlands (Waylon - “Outlaw in ‘em”)
19. Ukraine (MÉLOVIN - “Under the ladder”)
20. Macedonia (Eye Cue - “Lost and Found”)
21. San Marino (Jessika ft. Jenifer Brening - “Who We Are”)
22. Sweden (Benjamin Ingrosso - “Dance You Off”)
23. Austria (Cesár Sampson - “Nobody but you”)
24. Latvia (Laura Rizzotto - “Funny girl”)
25. Azerbaijan (AISEL - “X my heart”)
26. Israel (Netta - “Toy”)
27. Norway (Alexander Rybak - “That’s how you write a song”)
28. Montenegro (Vanja Radovanovic - “Inje”)
29. Armenia (Sevak Khanagyan - “Qami”)
30. Poland (Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer - “Light me up”)
31. Greece (Yianna Terzi - “Oniro mou”)
32. Georgia (Iriao - “For you”)
33. Belgium (Sennek - “A matter of time”)
34. Italy (Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro - “Non mi avete fatto niente”)
35. Romania (The Humans - “Goodbye”)
36. Ireland (Ryan O'Shaughnessy - “Together”)
37. Croatia (Franka - “Crazy”)
38. Belarus (ALEKSEEV - “Forever”)
39. Russia (Julia Samoylova - “I Won’t Break”)
40. Spain (Amaia & Alfred - “Tu canción”)
41. Iceland (Ari Ólafsson - “Our choice”)
42. Australia (Jessica Mauboy - “We got love”)
43. Czech Republic (Mikolas Jozef - “Lie to me”)
HALL OF BORIS BUBBLES EUROVISION FAVES (1972-2018)
1972: the Netherlands (Sandra & Andres - “Als het om de liefde gaat”)
1973: United Kingdom (Cliff Richard - “Power to all our friends”)
1974: Sweden (ABBA - “Waterloo”) (ed: totally by default btw. Shit year.)
1975: Germany (Joy Fleming - “Ein Lied kann Eine Brücke Sein” )
1976: Luxembourg (Jürgen Marcus - “Chansons pour ceux qui s’aiment”) (😂)
1977: Belgium (Dream Express - “A million in 1-2-3″) (ed.: top five ESC year)
1978: Israel (Izhar Cohen & Alfabeta - “A Ba Ni Bi”)
1979: Germany (Dschinghis Khan - “Dschinghis Khan”)
1980: Luxembourg (Sofie & Magaly - “Papa Pingouïn”)
1981: Belgium - (Emly Starr - “Samson”)
1982: Germany - (Nicole - “Ein Bißchen Frieden”)
1983: Israel (Ofra Haza - “Hi”)
1984: Ireland (Linda Martin - “Terminal 3″)
1985: Turkey (MFÖ - “Didai, Didai, Dai”)
1986: Belgium (Sandra Kim - ”J’aime la vie”) (même si c’est une folie!)
1987: Belgium (Liliane St. Pierre - “Soldiers of Love”) (ed.: top Five esc entry)
1988: Switzerland (Céline Dion - “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi”)
1989: Denmark ( Birthe Kjær - "Vi maler byen rød")
1990: Yugoslavia/Croatia (Tajci - “Hajde, da ludujemo)
1991: Sweden (Carola - “ Fångad av en stormvind”) (ed.: top five ESC entry)
1992: Denmark (Lotte Nilsson & Kenny Lübcke - “Allting som ingen ser”)
1993: the Netherlands (Ruth Jacott - “Vrede”)
1994: Germany (MeKaDo - “Wir geben ‘ne Party”)
1995: Cyprus (Alexandros Panayi - “Sti fotia”)
1996: Croatia (Maja Blagdan - “Sveta ljubav”)
1997: Poland (Anne-Marie Jopek - “Ale jestem”) (ed.: Top five ESC year)
1998: the Netherlands (Edsilia Rombley - “Hemel en aarde”) (I think???? lol 😬)
1999: Croatia (Doris Dragovic - “MARIJA MAGDALENAAAAAAA”)
2000: Latvia (Brainstorm - “My Star”) (ed.: top five ESC entry)
2001: France (Natasha St. Pier - “Je n’ai que mon âme”) (but also, nobody)
2002: Spain (Rosa - “Yooropz leebin a selebrayshun”) (ed.: this trashfest <3)
2003: Germany (Lou - “Let’s get happy”) (and let’s be GAY!)
2004: Albania (Anjeza Shahini - “Image of you”)
2005: Romania (Luminita Anghel and Sistem - “Let me try”) (Ed.: top five year)
2006: Iceland (Silvia Night - “Congratulations”) (ed.: 2006 SF > 2006 GF 😬)
2007: Georgia (Sopho - “Visionary Dream”) (ed.: i have about 9 absofaves from this year though lol)
2008: Iceland (Euroband - “This is my life)
2009: Iceland (Yohanna - “Is it true?”) (ed.: top five ESC entry)
2010: Albania (Juliana Pasha - “It’s all about you”)
2011: Germany (Lena - “Taken by a stranger) (ed.: top 5 entry, bottom 5 year >_<)
2012: Sweden (Loreen - “Euphoria”) (ed.: as with ABBA Loreen wins my ranking by default because this year is mostly rubbish.)
2013: Greece (Koza Mostra - “Alcohol is free”) (ed.: personal fave ESC year :))
2014: Slovenia (Tinkara Kovac ft. Lea Sirk - “Round and round) (ed.: top five ESC year)
2015: Latvia (Aminata - “Love Injected”)
2016: Armenia (Iveta Mukuchyan - “LoveWave)
2017: Belgium (Blanche - “City Lights”)
2018: Lithuania (Ieva Zasimauskaite - “When we’re old”) (ooooohhhhhhhh)
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Eurovision 2018 - Initial Impressions
So, with the pre-parties getting into full swing, I thought I’d note down my impressions of each of the songs, as well as general comments on each semi-final.
SEMI-FINAL 1
Azerbaijan: Aisel – X My Heart 5/10
Luna moon me unimpressed. Given that this is Azerbaijan that we’re talking about, it’d probably qualify anyway, even with the 1st semi being such a bloodbath, but god I hope not. This is as generic-Eurovision as it gets, complete with the cringe-worthy, nonsensical lyrics.
Iceland: Ari Olafsson – Our Choice 1/10
To be fair, Ari’s got a good voice, but the only thing that will save this song is to make him sing in Icelandic so that most people don’t understand what on Earth he’s saying. If I thought “luna moon me up” from Azerbaijan was bad, then this song just made that sound positively Shakespearean! Watching it for the first time, this gave me a serious case of the creeps and made me want to run for the hills. It’s almost as if Iceland gave up after last year and just went. “not voting for me despite me sending quality songs, will you? Well then here’s the blandest thing imaginable, see how you like that!” It’s just as well Iceland got the dreaded #2, it’s not like it’s got a chance anyway. Better luck next year.
Albania: Eugent Bushpepa – Mall 8/10
Rock entry, and in Albanian no less! I really like this since the get go. He’s got an excellent voice and seem to work well live too, so I definitely look forward to seeing his performance in Lisbon!
Belgium: Sennek – A Matter Of Time 10/10
Aaaand Belgium delivers a quality entry that’s slightly out of the left field again! I knew I could trust you, Belgium. So far, this has been my #1 overall. I had high hopes for it ever since Laura was announced and I listened to the two songs she posted on her youtube channel, and A Matter of Time definitely met those expectations and more. She’s a good singer with an unique voice, and the song is dark and atmospheric but sleek and stylish at the same time. With the right staging, she’ll be ready to slay.
Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef – Lie To Me 7.5/10
This is quite modern for Eurovision and a total earworm. I’m a bit undecided about it to be honest, but I enjoy it for the most part. I suppose it will really hinge on his delivery on stage, but for now it doesn’t strike me as the cold, soulless, off-a-production line kind of pop that usually turns me off.
Lithuania: Ieva Zasimauskaite – When We’re Old 8/10
I’m feeling a bit devastated by this running order, which probably just destroyed any chance of my girl Ieva qualifying to the final. This is a lovely little song that soothes the soul like a warm cup of cinnamon-spiced tea in the winter. There’s a quite kind of magic to her voice as well that sells the genuine emotion behind the song so well. Her live vocals need a bit improvement, imo, but judging from her recent performance at Riga she’s definitely working on that and getting better. Sandwiched between two high energy fan favorites in an already tough semi though, I’m worried that her song will end up being the bathroom break instead of the slow but charming respite.
Israel: Netta – Toy 9/10
If someone looked up the word “grower” in my personal dictionary, they will see a picture of Netta next to it, along with a link to the MV for Toy. I have to admit, I hated this song on first listen and was completely baffled by how Eurovision fans got behind this, and so quickly too. I was convinced that this was a hot mess that would drop faster than a lead balloon. Well, here I am, placing this in my top five and happily eating my words. This song is catchy as hell and has a way of getting under your skin and into your mind and never letting go, and that’s exactly what happened to me. It’s so clever in how it carries the central message of women empowerment as well, demonstrating with style how a song like that don’t have to involve power ballads and grand-standing divas, and that one can just have fun with it in the mean time.
Belarus: Alekseev – Forever 7/10
This song, for me, is a tale of two songs. I love the final studio version of the song as well as the MV, but what I’ve seen of his live vocals so far leave me less than impressed and I shudder at the horrendously overdone staging, with the LED suit and everything going on in the background. If Eurovision were based on studio versions alone, this would have been in my top ten, but as it stands right now unless they change the staging and Alekseev shows improvement in his live vocals, I’m of the mind that this song will get left behind, especially since it has Israel and Estonia as neighbors in the running order.
EDIT: I found a much more recent live performance in Yekaterinburg while I’m still working on the rest of the post, and his live vocals show much improvement, which made me a lot more confident about Belarus’ prospects. I’m still a bit worried about it being stuck between two big favorites though.
Estonia: Elina Nechayeva – La Forza 9/10
This is glorious. As a (very) casual fan of opera and a huge fan of stellar vocals, this ticks all of my box in just the right way. If I were to have a complaint about this song though, it’s the fact that the song lack a true climax and a direction it’s building to. Elina commands the stage with that hell of a voice though that you’d hardly notice. This is definitely not the usual Eurovision fare and that, particularly with the genre being what it is, might work against it, but I’m hoping that the jury and the voters at home will be sufficiently wow’d by her vocals that the fact that this is a pop opera piece and not something they might normally listen to cease to matter.
Bulgaria: Equinox – Bones 5.5/10
I don’t know if it’s because I had too high an expectation for Bulgaria after the last two excellent years, but this song just falls completely fat for me, and repeat listens doesn’t seem to improve my regard (or lack thereof) for it one bit. If anything, I’m turned off by it more and more, what with the hype still surrounding Bulgaria and its entry. Let’s hope the staging change my mind.
Macedonia: Eye Cue – Lost and Found 4/10
I don’t know, people seem to like this but for me this is one of the forgettable ones that have me going “how did this one go again?” before the song even finishes playing. It’s fine enough, but it makes my attention wander.
Croatia: Franka – Crazy 6.5/10
It’s fine, I suppose, but it’s nothing impressive. I’m sorry, but everything about it screams safe and middle of the road for me.
Austria: Cesar Sampson – Nobody But You 7/10
This feels like a pleasant-but-safe entry much like last year’s, and all but screams middle of the road, just like last year. But with how Nathan Trent charmed his way into my favorites list during pre-party season, I think it’s way too early to count Austria out yet. With his effortless vocals and the right amount of charm, Cesar might still lift his song into contention for the finals yet.
Greece: Yianna Terzi – Oneiro Mou 9/10
Epic ethno-ballad for the win! I certainly wouldn’t say no to #Athens2019 even if this isn’t my overall favorite. This is beautiful, atmospheric, and has the chance of being truly spectacular with the right staging. I’ve only seen the studio version, so I can’t comment on her live vocals, but I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed for this one and hoping that she delivers on what the studio version promises.
Finland: Saara Aalto – Monsters 9/10
This has the potential to blow up into a huge banger. The song is powerful and just the right kind of anthemic for Eurovision fans to get behind. I really hope Finland ups their game with the staging and styling though because the national finals one rather came out on the wrong side of left field and something like that just won’t cut it for the big leagues. All the best to Saara and Finland!
Armenia: Sevak Khanagyan – Qami 9/10
Armenia took the plunge this year too in sending a song entirely in Armenian, and Sevak, being such a stellar vocalist, is definitely the guy to take that risk with. He’s one of the strongest male vocalists this year and that definitely shows in how he delivers this song and its artistry and ethnic charm. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing this live and I hope he kills it in the semi and carry the song to a high finish in the final.
Switzerland: Zibbs – Stones 7.5/10
This is quite a bop with an excellent beat, but I’m not sure this song will cut it in this semi, unfortunately enough.
Ireland: Ryan O’Shaughnessy – Together 4/10
I guess this is better than last year’s...? That isn’t saying much though. The only thing going for it seem to be the gay romance going on in the MV, but even that feels like a cynical ploy to score points with fans. The female supporting vocals also make it feel like the very definition of incongruous, with the mixed message they’re sending out.
Cyprus: Eleni Foureira – Fuego 3/10
This irritates me to no end, and the fact that people I’ve come across seem to like it only exacerbate things for me. Objectively I guess it’s inoffensive in that generic Eurovision way, but there’s just something about this song that just rubs me the wrong way.
SEMI-FINAL 2
Norway: Alexander Rybak – That’s How You Write A Song 6/10
I have to admit, I had quite the soft spot for him because his victory in 2009 was what introduced me to Eurovision. That said, where do I even begin with this song? This is the furthest thing from his excellent Fairytale, and more closely resembles a kindergarten sing-along. There were quite a few songs I preferred over this one in the Norwegian national finals too, and I’m not sure if I’ve gotten over their losses yet. When it comes to Rybak himself though, you can’t deny that this man has charm in spades and total command of the stage, and he definitely knows how to work his audience. With a better song we might have been able to have #Oslo2019, but alas...
Romania: The Humans – Goodbye 7/10
This is quite a pleasant song, if a bit dated. I really enjoy the instrumental backing as well, with the strings and everything. When it comes to this year’s rock selections though, this isn’t exactly the best (or even the best in this semi).
Serbia: Sanja Ilic & Balkanika – Nova Deca 5/10
In any other year, the ethnic element and use of traditional instruments would have captured people’s attention and help them forgive a lot of the song’s faults, but with more nations taking risks as a response to Portugal’s win, I don’t think that strategy works nearly as well, if at all, this year. And they’re not even the best Balkan song in this semi, unfortunately.
San Marino: Jessika feat Jenifer Brening – Who We Are 2/10
Sorry, I prefer the Norwegian “Who We Are” that sadly got left behind in nationals. She’s got a nice voice, I’d give her that, but the song sounds like two different songs thrown together, and not in a good way. The dancing robots are the only things going for it, really.
Denmark: Rasmussen – Higher Ground 8/10
I always wonder if I’m being too soft on the Nordic entries because of personal biases, but I’d like to think I’m fair even with my soft spot for them. This song, when it comes down to it, isn’t that spectacular and the lyrics can be iffy at times, but nonetheless I find myself enjoying it. Part of that is probably the viking aesthetics. the atmospheric staging, as well as the general musical theatre aura to the whole package.
Russia: Julia Samoylova – I Won’t Break 3/10
This is another one that makes me go, “I know they’re going to qualify for simply being Russia but please, please find a way to stop that from happening!” Granted, this is worlds above last year’s aborted entry, but then again it doesn’t take much effort to achieve that particular feat. I don’t know if it’s her diction, her vocal techniques, or a mixture of both, but her vocals is grating.
Moldova: DoReDos – My Lucky Day 6/10
This is one of the songs that I think might become a grower for me. I almost discounted it entirely at first, because the first performances and videos I’ve seen of it were nothing short of disastrous, with the low quality making the whole thing seem cobbled together with tape and some loose strings. With the official music video out and the performance in Riga showcasing them live though, I’m slowly warming up to it, though this still feels rather like Hey-Mamma-lite to me.
Netherlands: Waylon – Outlaw In ‘Em ???/10
Okay, I don’t know what I think about this song. Or rather, I do, but my thoughts don’t condense into a neat score that I can put on it. Objectively speaking, this is a spectacular song with a genuine spirit to it. Emotionally speaking though, what makes it great also makes it unlistenable for me because I loathe country music as a genre. So, my rational self will be cheering if, or rather, when this advances to the final with a respectable position, but the other parts of me will be lamenting the fact that I have to sit through this again for the final. So, I guess it’s best of luck to Netherlands, see you in the finals, but I wish you came with a mute button...?
Australia: Jessica Mauboy – We Got Love 7/10
It’s a good song, and even without having seen her live I already get the feeling that she probably has great energy on stage. The song itself is fun, but ultimately safe and inoffensive. It will most likely qualify, but I think it needs something more to go further in the finals. Maybe if there’s a killing part like Dami Im’s song in 2016...
EDIT: I promised myself I’d finish this post before watching the London Pre-Party, but that didn’t exactly happen. So, yeah, she absolutely killed it with her stellar vocals, infectious energy, and charm. If she keeps her momentum, then Australia’s more than good to go.
Georgia: Iriao – For You 7/10
In any other year, I’d appreciate this a lot more, but alas, 2018 isn’t like any other year. I commend them for their choice to keep this in Georgian, and the vocals on this song are quite impressive as well. But, the fact is, with so many other songs with ethnic elements to compare it to, it doesn’t stand out as much as it should because the simple truth is that whatever this song does well, there’s another song that does it even better.
Poland: Gromee feat Lukas Meijer – Light Me Up 7/10
This is a great song to rock to at a beach party or on a long road trip. But, the thing is, I’m not exactly partial to beach parties. Or road trips. Or anything else summer-y really. So while this is certainly easy to listen to and enjoyable while it’s on, it’s not exactly something that incites passion in me.
Malta: Christabelle – Taboo 8/10
This song definitely has a kick to it, and I mean it in the best way possible. I love the song both for the song itself and the message of mental health awareness that it conveys, and I definitely appreciates that it manages to carry its message without being preachy. The staging seems to be coming along quite well already judging from the national finals (despite technical difficulties), and I’m definitely keeping my eyes on this one to see how it evolves on the big stage.
Hungary: AWS – Viszlat Nyar 9/10
The story of my journey with this song is a bit like a mixture of my experience with the Netherlands’ and Israel’s entries. I appreciated this song from the very beginning on an objective level, but personally I’m not much of a fan of heavy metal so I was having a hard time really enjoying it despite my eagerness for it to advance to the finals and do very well. Unlike Waylon and his country piece though, heavy metal is a lot less offensive to my personal tastes, so I was able to appreciate it more and more on a personal level as well with repeated listens, to the point that I now consider it one of my favorites of the year, both objectively and subjectively-speaking. I’m a bit worried that the juries will penalize it for its genre, but hopefully it will win over enough televotes, especially those from the younger generations, that it will go through anyway.
Latvia: Laura Rizzotto – Funny Girl 7.5/10
I like this song for its quirky yet catchy nature, but what really captivated me about it was the aesthetics of its MV. I do think they will benefit from a staging that is in line with the MV, with a theatrical, film noir feel to it.
Sweden: Benjamin Ingrosso – Dance You Off 5/10
I could have probably been able to tell this was the Swedish entry going in blind. This is all the well-produced slickness that we’ve come to expect from Sweden, but without the energy, soul, and the extra je nais sais quois that put Heroes or Euphoria in a different league. But hey, at least this isn’t nearly as robotic and worthy of trigger warnings as last year’s, which can only be an improvement. And, as a side note: enough with the brown-haired, reasonably attractive young white men, Sweden! I know you can do something different. ...Right?
Montenegro: Vanja Radovanovic – Inje 8.5/10
It’s going to be tough going right after Sweden. But, this song is so different that hopefully that won’t matter too much. This is one of the (many) ethnic entries this year that actually stood out to me. There’s something hauntingly Balkan about this song, and Vanja Radovanovic delivers it expertly. I also like how the song builds itself up to the rising chorus. Anyway, I’m not entirely confident about its chances, but I sure hope to see this one in the finals.
Slovenia: Lea Sirk – Hvala, Ne! 6.5/10
I have to admit, this one is a bit of a guilty pleasure. The song isn’t anything too special and can definitely be said to be repetitive, but still, I find myself digging the beat despite myself.
Ukraine: Melovin – Under the Ladder 8/10
I didn’t rate this song at all when I first heard it, but having seen his performance at the national finals, I’m beginning to warm up to it more and more. I’m still kind of trying to figure the song out, but whatever it is there’s something about it that kinds of grab you.
ALREADY QUALIFIED
Portugal: Claudia Pascoal – O Jardim 8/10
This is quite magical and atmospheric, capable of evoking one’s imagination with the song alone. With the right staging, this will become something truly captivating.
France: Madame Monsieur – Mercy 9.5/10
France does it again and makes it into my top three for the second year in a roll. The song is unassuming at first, but then builds into something beautiful, tender, and clever. The use of double entendre to convey the central message lends the song a sense of universality despite it being sung entirely in French, which will definitely make a difference in Lisbon because they don’t need the fancy LED or special staging elements to help non-Francophones in the audience to understand what the song is trying to say.
Germany: Michael Schulte – You Let Me Walk Alone 8/10
Huh, Germany actually managed to surprise me. It’s a nice and comfortable ballad, and I mean it in the best possible sense. What makes all the difference this year with Michael Schulte’s “You Let Me Walk Alone” is how heartfelt and genuine this song is, and that, I hope, is what will make a difference and propel it to the left side of the scoreboard. Not to throw any shades, but I very much prefer this to any paint-by-numbers “pseudo-ethnic” pieces that might arise solely as a response to Salvador Sobral’s win.
Italy: Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro – Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente 10/10
This is easily my top three, but I’m a bit hesitant to put my support behind without seeing the staging, because we all know how last year’s Italian-language song with a deep message turned out. The fact that they said they’re going to display the lyrics during the performance give me hope, because one of my favorite things about the music video was the way they showed the lyrics in a variety of different languages. But either way, this is poetic and powerful, and something of pure quality like all of Italy’s entries lately.
Spain: Amaia & Alfred – Tu Cancion 7/10
This comes as a surprise to no one, but this year’s Spanish entry is worlds better than last year’s. At first glance, it’s just the run of the mill saccharine love song, but once you pay attention to it there something genuine about it that grabs your attention despite that. This is not really something I usually rate, but I’d be lying if I say I didn’t enjoy it a lot.
United Kingdom: SuRie – Storm 5/10
Definitely not my favorite in You Decide by a long stretch, but I can’t exactly argue the point that she gave the best performance of the night. She’s a great singer and performer, but the song itself is rather...lacking. So, let’s hope the BBC still knows what it’s doing in terms of staging because this song definitely needs it if the UK has an hope of not finishing bottom five. Then again, SuRie might surprise us yet. She already made a more than respectable performance out of this song once already, after all.
Who I want to qualify:
SEMI-FINAL 1:
Belgium, Israel, Albania, Czech Republic, Greece, Armenia, Finland, Estonia, Balarus, Lithuania
SEMI-FINAL 2:
Denmark, Moldova, Australia, Malta, Latvia, Ukraine, Netherlands, Hungary, Georgia, Montenegro
Who I think will qualify:
SEMI-FINAL 1:
Belgium, Israel, Albania, Czech Republic, Greece, Armenia, Finland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan
SEMI-FINAL 2:
Norway, Sweden, Australia, Russia, Netherlands, Hungary, Moldova, Ukraine, Malta, Poland
#eurovision 2018#personal opinion subject to a lot of change#i mean this time last year some of the songs that ended up as my favorites weren't even making beeps on my radar#like at all#so this is more for me to jot down my thoughts at this stage before they change drastically based on pre-party performances and rehearsals
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Tmblrvision 2016 Rankings + Reviews
With season 2 of @tmblrvision underway, I think it’s time I make my thoughts on last year’s songs public. This year’s entries will be up by the time school starts for me (so, soon). I’m still learning how to add cuts to posts so forgive me if there isn’t one for a minute.
#56 Vatican City
Ok, so I forced myself to listen to this all the way through…honestly I applaud the HoD for finding SOMETHING for the Vatican, even if it’s this. I am however utterly confused by why exactly someone made a CD of the Pope. The bit at the end with an actual person actually singing was nice, and almost something I’d listen to if it were JUST that, but the instrumental and spoken bit were baffling enough to me that I have to rank this dead last. I mean, HAVE to.
#55 San Marino
This is only marginally better than Senhit’s Eurovision entry. I absolutely detest her voice, as well as that of Marracash. Additionally, this song is awfully repetitive and something about the beat is annoying me - I usually don’t mind them, so that’s odd…
#54 Tunisia
See, this one is funny, because you’re fooled into thinking it’ll actually be good until she starts singing. The instrumental on the verses is so nice to listen to, but the vocal melody is boring, and I hate Amina’s voice. And everything goes to shit on the chorus.
#53 Azerbaijan
A lot of people like this one. I’m not sure I understand why. The instrumental is just plain boring; it doesn’t even try to be interesting. And her vocals are atrocious, especially on the chorus. It’s not that she’s a bad singer necessarily, I’m just thoroughly turned off by her voice. I guess she’s hit-or-miss.
#52 Georgia
Everyone had high hopes for Nina, I think…sadly, when compared to Warrior this just doesn’t deliver. The instrumental is beautiful, and I love it, but it needs a voice to match, and that’s what this song is lacking here. Nina’s distinctive vocals don’t fit well with the song, and when paired with the odd effect they sound even more out of place.
#51 Egypt
I’m just not a huge fan of Arabic music, so this is just a personal taste thing for me. There are some songs I like, but those are the exception, generally (I guess I just have a hard-on for everything Moroccan, lol). I’m sure it’s a great song but it’s just not for me.
#50 Montenegro
I’ve never understood the hype around this guy at Eurovision, I really don’t like his voice. It’s a pretty and emotional song but not great.
#49 Luxembourg
The singer and instrumental simply don’t sell themselves to me. Next.
#48 Andorra
This is just so…weird. I hate 80s music. And the song structure is all over the place. I want to like it but I can’t.
#47 Lebanon
Again, not a fan of the Arabic music. The verses are nice but I just can’t get behind the chorus.
#46 Austria
She’s trying too hard to be edgy and meaningful, and it’s coming across all wrong. Not to mention her voice. Also, the lyrics fit oddly with the rhythm, it’s almost like they’re stressed weird, and it gives the song this unsettling quality to a native english speaker.
#45 Serbia
It’s ok, but I’m not one for the vibrato, and it’s too jazzy for me. Sounds like jazz and musical theatre had a baby and it was raised in the Balkans. Not my thing.
#44 Jordan
This is exactly the kind of trashy shit I’d expect to see at 2000s era Eurovision. The chorus is catchy but the verses are boring.
#43 Bulgaria
This reminds me a lot of that aforementioned, traditionally Middle-Eastern style of singing, and as you know it’s really not for me. Preslava has a great voice though.
#42 Albania
This isn’t something that I necessarily mind listening to. I mean, it’s nice. But I feel like it doesn’t really go anywhere, build, what have you, so it’s hard to rank higher.
#41 Monaco
This is actually pretty catchy, has a nice flow. But her voice is so light and airy and it doesn’t really fit with the rest of the song. It brings the song down a lot for me.
#40 United Kingdom
The first verse is pretty good, but for the rest of the song there’s too much going on in the instrumental for me to enjoy Emma’s voice. I also never understood the appeal of any 2000s-era music, really, and this screams Avril Lavigne wannabe.
#39 Norway
The instrumental is nice but something about his voice isn’t really locking with me, I don’t know. It’s really just the song. He doesn’t fit it.
#38 Turkey
The chorus to this is good, but the verses are structured weird rhythmically and the constant switching between Turkish and French annoys me. It doesn’t work for me.
#37 Sweden
I enjoy Zara’s music generally, and this is a good song up until she finishes the first chorus and the beat drops. But something about this isn’t clicking. Maybe it’s the way the song fits her voice, or maybe it’s MNEK, or maybe the instrumental.
#36 Italy
I never understood the Il Volo hype. This song seems almost overdone to me - as a classically trainer singer I LOVE the harmonies, but the song is really meh and unoriginal.
#35 Slovenia
This is funny, and I can tell that Klemen is a good singer despite the effect he’s put on his voice. But the fact remains that it’s hard for me to like joke entries. I still don’t think it should have won.
#34 Denmark
This isn’t a bad song but there’s something about the arrangement that doesn’t quite feel right. Her voice also sounds a bit strained. I don’t know. It was a nice pleasing video to watch, at least.
#33 Algeria
I have to admit I did kind of sleep on this one…it’s a bopful song but Leïla’s voice doesn’t quite do it for me.
#32 Bosnia and Herzegovina
This is a mixture of styles that I hate that have somehow combined into something I like, and it confuses me. Enough said.
#31 Libya
There is an indescribable charm about this song. I’m not sure why but I really enjoy most of it. However it does go on for a bit long and there were other songs that were simply better.
#30 Armenia
This is a pretty and good song, but I prefer the solo version better. Oh, there was a solo version, you ask? Yeah, and it was apparently released in 2009. But yeah contrary to popular opinion I don’t think their voices fit together very well. Tamar and Elina sound nice together but not really the other three.
#29 Iceland
An overall nice song but not very dynamic. The rap part is okay and the sung part is okay but there’s nothing that makes it good or bad. A quintessential host country entry.
#28 Netherlands
Their Eurovision entry was much better, much more calming. This is alright too, but I don’t like it nearly as much - although I enjoy the harmonies as always.
#27 Cyprus
This walks a tough line bordering urban trashy, but I think I like it, for the most part. Not something I could see doing well in the real contest, though.
#26 Moldova
I have to say, this song was a LOT more beautiful than I remembered it being - so much so that I actually jumped it up in my ranking after listening to it again just now. His voice and presence are kind of creepy and displeasing but I think it’s a very nice ballad now.
#25 Macedonia
This song is so happy and summery! The chorus never fails to make me smile…but sadly it’s not enough of a push to place higher.
#24 Ukraine
It’s a beautiful song, but it seems to go on forever. The chord progression is also not one of my favorites. Overall it’s pretty good though.
#23 Slovakia
This is a very cute song but the verse and the chorus don’t fit very well together - they sound very different and the transition is just awkward.
#22 Spain
It’s happy and radio-friendly and probably one of my favorite songs in Spanish. I actually like this better than Sofia. I can see why this did well and I doubt Pastora Soler will be able to come nearly as close.
#21 Latvia
It’s a good song but nowhere nearly as good as Love Injected. I also worry for Aminata’s voice…it can’t be healthy to belt so high.
#20 Romania
Another song that was much better than I remembered. It’s not the most creative of entries but I remember liking it when it was first revealed on Tumblr and somehow everything works, it’s charmed me. I love Inna’s voice. And, funnily enough, the titular phrase “diggy down” doesn’t even bother me that much. It’s awkward, but not awful.
#19 Ireland
Bry seems like someone I want to wrap up and hug…his voice, his look, those lyrics. But the song has too much drums and guitar for my taste. I’d kill for an acoustic version, to be honest.
#18 Germany
I know I’m not supposed to rank my own entry… but nonetheless I am still very proud of seventh place! To me the song does get a bit boring after a while but I love Namika’s voice and so I’m generally satisfied with this song and result. I guess I’d like it more if someone else had sent it.
#17 Portugal
This is a well-meaning song that I’d bop to if I heard it on the radio. It doesn’t stand out from the pack enough to have gotten any points from me but I do like it.
#16 Belarus
I love Belarus!!! This song is so good to dance to and bop to in the car, and it’s not really what I’ve come to expect out of Belarus given their Eurovision results. But this is super good.
#15 Greece
This was one of the most slept on songs of the contest imo…I never fail to get hype to this one. I seriously regret not giving it any points last year. Her voice works so well with the song and the song is so hype-inducing. I love it.
#14 Israel
I love this song! I didn’t pay much attention to it last year but it’s the song that has the most staying power for me - it’s the Tmblrvision song I listen to most as of a year after the contest.
#13 Russia
Not usually a big fan of techno music but Nyusha just works it. This is something I would hate if it were in English.
#12 France
I still haven’t watched the full music video for this…but I maintain that this should have won. Not a song I really liked during voting but I would much rather have had this than Fighter or Putin Putout. Not to mention that this song is really good live (yes, I saw Jain live. It was awesome).
#11 Morocco
Morocco is one of those countries where I just adore their entire music industry. I love this song, I love Yallah, I love Ghaltana - and I feel like I’ll love whatever I see from them next. Morocco is my exception to the rule of “i don’t usually like Arabic music”.
#10 Croatia
Not generally a rock music girl, but there’s something I like about this song that I can’t quite identify. That chorus has me bangin’.
#09 Belgium
This is a song I’d expect to find either in a club or in Eurovision…and it’s pretty good. Belgium, send her to ESC.
#08 Poland
I wasn’t a huge fan of this last year but I’ve come to really love it - I listen to it a lot now too. Something about his gritty voice, or the song itself…I really love it and regret not giving it points.
#07 Malta
This is such a beautiful emotional ballad. I never fail to connect with this and I think Kevin’s voice communicates the feeling very well. This won’t be easily topped for me.
#06 Lithuania
I remember we all thought this was going to win and so I gave it no points…I take it back. Lithuania sweetie I’m so sorry… but anyways this is a good song and one I’d show to my friends if they asked for music recs.
#05 Czechia
This song makes me want to learn Czech. I liked it from the beginning and I like it now - this is great.
#04 Estonia
I love all of this. I love the bass and the drums and his voice. This is a very typical song you’d expect to hear from an Estonian guy but I like it a lot despite that.
#03 Switzerland
I have loved this song from the start. It’s so slept on, I think - I love duets and I love the retro instruments in the background. I think i’m going to acquire a reputation of giving my douze to underappreciated bops…just wait til you see who I gave it to this year.
#02 Finland
This is just beautiful. She has one of my favorite voices in this contest and the instrumental is just so lush. It’s awfully similar to Malta’s entry but I really don’t mind that so much because they both do it so well.
#01 Hungary
Uh…of course. You should have seen this coming…I am the ultimate Boggie fan. And this is one of my favorite of her songs. It’s so pretty and Milán’s voice fits with hers so well. It’s very atmospheric too. This should have done way better and I’m STILL upset.
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reading: wk50-52
3 weeks + 3 journal entries for how i was gonna start this post. in essence: goodbye 2020, my god has it been a rollercoaster, albeit one sloping gently downhill into familiar melancholy. i never thought i’d feel like this again, yet it’s like slipping into a warm ocean where i can float forever, safe in the salt and waves lapping at my face.
stay tuned a ‘best of 2020′ list and what i want to read next year that isn’t my damn textbooks. and maybe some personal updates depending on how much wine i drink this evening. happy new year, my loves.
week 50: penultimate week of o+g rotation: i would say the end is in sight but in fact i have lost all motivation, hate my degree (well, specifically, the course administration), had a breakdown outside my exam followed by the most embarrassing brain freeze ever during a panel discussion that i was speak on, took several days to reply to everyone about said exam breakdown, am convinced i will fail my 5th year exams, aaaand dealt with all of this by handpainting christmas cards all saturday. welcome 2 the fun house !
week 51: final week of placement: i struggled through the final week of my placement (literally popped into my placement for 2 hours to have a tutorial, get signed off, and collect my things), failed my mock osce, and went home. so unbelievably drained.
week 52: christmas & post-christmas liminality: feeling vaguely restored by the virtue of reading many books, watching many movies, curling up by the fire, eating many christmas cookies, and having barely any social interaction outside of my family and our cat and dog. still absolutely drained; still very terrified of my next placement and of failing this year. all i want is to move to a city where no one knows me and i can be something new, but alas. eighteen months until i graduate; forty-two until i finish my foundation programme and can truly set off into the big blue yonder of the world.
books
✩ The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson (finished)
so i actually would have much preferred this to have kept its original swedish title, ‘män som hatar kvinnor’ (’men who hate women’) - it’d have been less manic pixie dream girl and more reflective of larsson’s point, even if larsson is v guilty of the former. it’s a good book - larsson’s grasp of plot is really excellent and i really enjoyed the twists and turns, even if the pacing of the big reveal was a little too rushed for my liking. however, i find his characters a little off - many of them are great, especially berger & henrik vanger, but i find blomkvist a little self-insert at times (he’s a financial journalist! but not like other financial journalists! and he has a sexy editor lady with whom he has an open relationship! and he sleeps with this cool hacker girl who immediately trusts him!), and lisbeth is...very ‘traumatised manic pixie cyberpunk girl’ if you ask me. which is a little uncomfortable. also not to mention the rape scene - which is vile. overall: good, intrigued to see if larsson will flesh lisbeth out to be less of a caricature in the sequels.
✩ The Orphan Master’s Son - Adam Johnson (finished)
this book has lost none of its magic for me, absolutely none. if anything, re-reading it a few years later has made me appreciate so many things: the characters (even more than before! if that’s possible!!), the abject heartbreak of the second mate and his wife, the trip to texas (i got far more out of the political side this time), the relationships in the camps (the captain of the junma and li mongnan - hold me whilst my heart BREAKS), the way that johnson plays with narrative from the loudspeakers to the interrogator to the dreamlike quality of jun do’s own new life in pt 2. as a teenager, i was fascinated by the setting, the double-farce of the propaganda vs life, the passages about the second mate’s wife and her silken yellow dress - i thought that jun do was a bland narrator, which i now see couldn’t have been further from the truth. i have so, so much respect for johnson as an author and this book really is a formative part of who i am, in ways that i could not express.
✩ Dark Matter - Michelle Paver (finished)
another re-read. michelle paver is the queen of ghost stories and things that go bump in the night (see: spirit walker in the chronicles of ancient darkness) - this book absolutely terrified me the first time that i read it, so i made a point of finishing it in the daytime this time. perhaps that’s why it didn’t hit as hard this time - it was less terrifying. however, really appreciating her choice to make the narrator gay, without ever making a deal out of it or naming it - it’s the lil things like working class arctic explorers being disgustingly in love with their charismatic expedition leaders, ya know? big fan. also huge fan of her descriptive prose - she is also the queen of arctic imagery. her prose, combined with the gorgeous black and white photos at the start of each chapter, have not helped my desire to sack it all off and go work as a doctor in the faroe islands or iceland.
✩ The Diet Myth - Spector (on hold)
i left this book at uni bc i didn’t want to ruin my own christmas with his awful writing style, if you want an indication of how much i dislike this book.
✩ Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Caitlin Doughty (in progress)
a christmas gift that i’m currently reading. i’m so morbid and am learning so much, although i feel like some of the chapters are burbling on with anecdotes but don’t hammer home many points (although maybe it’s bc as a medical student i’m less easily shocked than your average reader) - bit confused as to where we’re going but i’m along for the ride.
✩ Calling a Wolf a Wolf - Kaveh Akbar (in progress)
beautiful. in progress - his imagery is quite beautiful but i struggle to sit and read poetry.
✩ The Secret History - Donna Tartt (in progress)
re-read. i sink back into old books like familiar lovers, like hot baths. so much comfort.
films
✩ Dead Poets Society (1989)
why were the deleted scenes deleted. WHY. rewatching it, i felt some of the character development and relationship development was a little rushed - yet the deleted scenes could have fixed that. WHY WERE WE ROBBED. as ever, emotionally devastated as someone who loves languages and books and words, but ultimately chose medicine and science. as ever, very very sad over neil perry and aching for todd anderson. newfound appreciation for meeks + dalton. that punch at the end? *chef’s kiss*
✩ Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
i am inducting my sisters into lotr and they are powerless to stop me.
✩ Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
my favourite of the hp movies.
✩ Atonement (2007)
this film and i have a long history - i first saw the start of it many years ago, when i did not know what c*nt meant, so was understandably a little bit lost, but also keira knightley in that green dress was a true gay awakening moment. i love the cinematography - it’s so ridiculously dreamlike and gorgeous, and the set design for the house is just beautiful. as are keira knightley and james mcavoy. also, the soundtrack with the use of the typewriters and lighters as drumbeats - my GOD, so beautiful. the second half of the film felt very rushed to me - the reveal that some of it was briony’s fiction made sense, but it lacked the stunning quality of the first half, both plot-wise and camera-wise (although the dunkirk scene was brilliant; love a long, revolving camera pan). i particularly hated every scene with briony in it - v lacklustre - and also the scene with luc remembering cecilia, it just felt forced and gimmicky. the novel definitely wins out for me.
podcasts
i haven’t listened to any podcasts in a while, bar a few episodes of the magnus archives whilst cooking and running errands, BUT i did record one!! the episode will be up in the new year but we have a few back episodes on Right to Refuge, which covers refugee/asylum issues and is by the charity that i work for!
articles: medicine / nature
✩ Mass die-off of birds in south-western US 'caused by starvation' - Phoebe Weston, The Guardian
✩ Eradicating Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Human Rights-Based Approaches of Legislation, Education, and Community Empowerment - Williams-Breault (2018), Health Hum Rights
i just finished my obstetrics & gynaecology rotation and was appalled by the prevalence of FGM/C in the UK and wanted to learn more. this article is truly excellent in terms of understanding cultural issues and barriers to ending FGM/C.
✩ Female Genital Mutilation: Health Consequences and Complications—A Short Literature Review - Klein et al. (2018), Obstet Gynecol Int.
a short america-centric lit review that i read whilst writing up my reflective pieces - not as good as the above one but has more (horrifying) statistics: 200 million women affected worldwide; 6,000 girls cut each day; 85% will have some form of medical complication in their lives, from psychological/sexual to gynaecological to obstetric including death; estimated death rate of 1 in 500; 60.5% of affected women reported fear when their spouse wanted sex compared to 2.4% of unaffected women.
✩ Gender equality and human rights approaches to female genital mutilation: a review of international human rights norms and standards - Khosla et al. (2017), Reprod Health
intersection of two things i spend a lot of time thinking about: human rights & medicine. interesting - to re-read again and consider and learn more about things like treatment-monitoring bodies, etc.
✩ The macho sperm myth - Robert D Martin, Aeon
a wonderful friend sent me this! i am somewhat lost by the meandering course of the article but interesting points are raised. also the idea that some scientist was like ‘i absolutely KNOW that the heads of sperm contain tiny homunculi; i cannot see them but they are THERE’ is just hilarious.
articles: covid-19
nb: i am not linking every covid article i read bc that would be so depressing but rest assured i’m up to date on a surface level. i am not on a medical level bc i am emotionally exhausted.
✩ Covid vaccine: 'Disappearing' needles and other rumours debunked - Jack Goodman & Flora Carmichael, BBC
pls don’t even. let me think about anti-vaxxers. i simply wish to know the current conspiracy theories so i can argue with people more effectively.
✩ Covid at Christmas: 'Chris Whitty is more popular than Britney Spears' - Emma Harrison, BBC
please someone get me a chris witty prayer candle i am BEGGING
✩ Covid-19: Doctors call for rapid rollout of vaccines - Nick Triggle, BBC
articles: culture
✩ Art in 2021: The highlights to hope for - Will Gompertz, BBC
yayoi kusama is coming to the tate modern!! which i can actually get to relatively easily on public transport from my uni city!! gonna take myself to see the infinity rooms omg i am so EXCITED
✩ History: Quileute Nation
this is the official site of the quileute nation, whose history and mythology stephanie meyer butchered in the twilight saga.
✩ The Archers tackles the 'hidden' connection between disability and modern slavery - BBC
something i’m ashamed to say that i knew nothing about until this article. the archers keeps on giving in terms of social issues.
✩ Gollancz gets Sims’ ‘horror for the Netflix generation’ - Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller
jonny sims is writing a BOOK??! the EXCITEMENT i feel
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Air Canada Wants to Fly More U.S. Travelers Through Canada and Overseas
A freshly painted Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with Air Canada new livery was seen by a plane spotter flying over Toronto Pearson International Airport. Air Canada/Ruilin Fu
Skift Take: Air Canada may face questions from investment analysts who seek reassurance that it is resisting its old instinct to redistribute profits to its customers by adding flights.
— Sean O'Neill
When it comes to maintaining domestic air superiority, U.S. carriers have been shaking their fists at Persian Gulf airlines that have rapidly increased their American presence. Yet there’s another threat that may be growing in their backyard—or more precisely, just north of it.
Air Canada has been around for 80 years, but only recently sought to parlay torrid growth into global ambition. The company aims to turn its three major Canadian hubs into larger transfer points for global travelers crossing North America. Flying to Europe or Asia? Try Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver as your connection—you may very well like these airports far more than Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles, Air Canada is telling travelers. And the carrier isn’t shy about singing its own praises.
“Every time an American flies up on us they go ‘Oh my God, you’re the best-kept secret. How did we not know about this?’” said Ben Smith, Air Canada’s president of passenger airlines. “That is what’s music to my ears.”
Air Canada’s full-year 2016 results are expected Friday, and will probably continue a remarkable financial turnaround that began after what Chief Executive Officer Calin Rovinescu described as “the near-death crisis years” of 2008-2009.
The carrier has been radically increasing its international footprint, and in the second and third quarters of 2017 will become the champion of long-haul capacity growth. That seating capacity comes atop annual, overall capacity growth averaging about 20 percent. As it ramps up seasonal flying this spring, Air Canada’s total long-haul capacity will exceed 18 percent, surpassing Emirates, which has been adding new routes from Dubai to just about everywhere. In the summer quarter, long-haul seat growth will top 10 percent.
New American routes
With these powerful numbers as a backdrop, Air Canada is launching an all-out assault to the south. In May, the airline launches new service to a half dozen U.S. cities, including smaller markets such as Memphis and Savannah, Ga. These will further expand a global route map that stretches from Algiers to Reykjavik and Taipei to Tel Aviv. The airline is also scouting Africa for future destinations.
So-called “ sixth freedom ” flying—the right of an airline to carry passengers or cargo between two foreign countries as long as it touches down in its home nation— is the cornerstone of Air Canada’s strategy. It helped the Montreal-based airline post record net income of C$308 million (US$235 million) in 2015, more than double the prior year.
Boosting Air Canada as an international connecting point is also crucial to broadening its long-haul service, such as the nonstop Toronto to Delhi flight launched in 2015 and a new nonstop to Mumbai that begins in July. (Meanwhile, among U.S. carriers, only United Continental Holdings Inc. flies to India.)
To fill planes bound for Sydney or Munich, Air Canada requires a healthy dose of traffic from elsewhere. “That connecting flow helps you support the launch of new services,” said Cameron Doerksen, a transportation analyst with National Bank of Canada Financial Inc. “You may not have thought it was viable to launch Toronto-Delhi unless you were getting some connecting traffic from the U.S.”
Air Canada isn’t alone in pursuing this type of international transfer strategy, given the range capabilities of modern aircraft and the enormous hubs that have emerged in the Persian Gulf. Low-cost Iceland leisure carrier WOW Air, though only five-years-old, has grand ambitions to boost its Reykjavik base as a North Atlantic hub, and Singapore Airlines Ltd. has similar designs on making Changi Airport an easy one-stop connection for North Americans heading to Southeast Asia.
For Air Canada, the tactic comes with some risk. The carrier is nowhere near the size of the American behemoths to the south, most of which don’t take kindly to losing passengers to anyone. Long-haul flying typically commands higher fares and thus a more lucrative customer base, placing it among the more fiercely contested segments in air travel, said Helane Becker, an aviation analyst with Cowen & Co.
Carriers like Delta Air Lines Inc. are notoriously sharp-elbowed when it comes to turf scuffles, and Emirates can throw on huge capacity as needed simply by moving the service to its superjumbo Airbus A380. In other words, Air Canada may be running a risk of getting squeezed.
“I don’t know when, but there will be a reaction by the U.S. carriers at some point when the supply of seats gets too high,” Becker said. “In the short term, the U.S. carriers are probably focusing on some other markets as a group—Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco—but once they stop focusing on that, you might start to see some competitive response to Air Canada. For now, it’s not on their radar screen. They have bigger fish to fry, such as the Middle East carriers.”
Revenge for the lean years
Smith, who on Feb. 9 helped unveil Air Canada’s striking new black-and-white aircraft livery during a ceremony in Toronto, isn’t too worried about U.S. rivals. Air Canada is targeting a 1.8 percent market share of the U.S.-international market, he said, which is roughly double its current amount. “And that means one or two business customers a day from Philadelphia, you know? One or two from Cleveland,” he said. “If someone’s going to add an extra flight to go fight for that, then they’re kind of irrational.”
Moreover, he argues, Air Canada’s flexing is only fair. Foreign carriers have been poaching its international traffic for a long time. Having acquired Canadian Airlines Ltd. in 1999—then the nation’s No. 2 carrier—Air Canada was hobbled by heavy debt and high costs. The airline sought protection from creditors four years later, and didn’t expand its 56 plane wide-body aircraft fleet for a dozen years. Air Canada acquired its first Boeing 777—a staple of most international long-haul fleets—just a decade ago.
During these lean times, Montreal tour company Transat A.T. Inc. emerged as its largest competitor on trans-Atlantic routes. Smelling blood, domestic upstarts, and Emirates grew exponentially at Air Canada’s expense as well, and Asian airlines targeted Canada as part of their North American expansion. “Talk about sitting there watching by the sidelines as prime routes into our prime markets have been taken away by premier carriers,” said Smith. “It drives you crazy.”
Air Canada has a “soft target” of about 50 percent connecting traffic at its hubs, up from its current 41 percent, Smith said. By comparison, Air France-KLM has about 70 percent at its Amsterdam Schiphol hub, while the Persian Gulf trio—Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways Ltd.—all top 90 percent at their respective hubs.
Air Canada’s full-throated foray into long-haul flying has been fueled by a massive fleet renewal program, which includes 25 Boeing Co. 787s, and the migration of older Boeing 767s from its mainline fleet to its low-cost Rouge subsidiary. The carrier also has 12 additional 787s on order, 61 Boeing 737 Max planes that start to arrive later this year, and 45 Bombardier CS300s on tap for 2019 and beyond.
With a newer fleet and some on-board amenity upgrades, Air Canada is counting on its Toronto-Pearson hub to become a competitive factor in luring more global jet-setters. The airport has structured operations so passengers connecting at Pearson don’t need to claim and re-check their bags. Pearson also introduced a “baggage image and weight identification system” (BIWIS) in 2013, which takes a photo, weighs, and scans for radiation on each bag that arrives, which satisfies the post-Sept. 11 restrictions imposed on U.S.-bound flights.
Also helpful for U.S bound customers is that entry via U.S. Customs and Border Protection occurs in Canada. “You’re not going to convince somebody from New York to fly through Toronto,” Doerksen said, given the typical nonstop options from the largest U.S. cities. “But if you live in Cincinnati, you have to connect somewhere, and it makes sense to do it in Toronto.”
Growth will eventually slow
Even if Air Canada manages to avoid blowback from competitors, the pace of growth will ease in coming years. Its trans-Atlantic joint venture partners, United and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, will probably try to impose some curbs. On Tuesday, United Chief Financial Officer Andrew Levy alluded to this when he said seat supply over the Atlantic from its partners was “of most concern” given that higher capacity has dented profits.
More immediately, Air Canada is “up against the limits of what they can do with Rouge without going back to their pilots,” said Seth Kaplan, a managing partner of trade journal Airline Weekly, referring to further expansion of the low-cost unit, where wages are about 25 percent below the mainline operation. “So one way or another, further expansion would cost more, because either it would have to be mainline or they would have to trade their pilots something for it to be Rouge.”
Air Canada executives have already opened the door to expanding Rouge beyond the 50-aircraft limit they’ve negotiated with pilots, with Rovinescu telling analysts in November he would have opportunities to discuss the matter “over the coming years.”
Smith emphasizes that financial success, not attaining global stature, is driving the airline’s overall expansion. The growth ends, he said, when Air Canada sees no more profitable opportunities.
“We don’t need to be the largest carrier in the world.”
Long hauls are considered flights 3,000 miles or longer. Growth figures are according to schedule data from Diio Mi.
Excluding fuel, currency rates and one-time charges, the profit topped C$1.2 billion.
Related from yesterday: Air Canada and United May Try Again for U.S.-Canada Anti-Trust Immunity
—With assistance from Michael Sasso in Atlanta.
This article was written by Frederic Tomesco and Justin Bachman from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
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Eurovision 2018 Rehearsals Day 6 - Actual first impressions
Armenia: Ooh I love them stacked-up sticks of lighting, it’s like some sort of an unbuilt fence. Sevak sells this song well enough. Nothing else to say, really. Oh yeah and for once I liked the camera shots in a preview clip. Good job Sacha?
Switzerland: Camerawork was decent too but there was this one looooong panning-zoomout shot that I didn’t like. I also didn’t mind Corinne’s clothing this time as opposed to last time. And they gave a camera shot to her brother, too.
Ireland: I still hope they don’t focus the camera WAY too much on the dancers where the main point is supposed to be the performer, not funny background events. There’s at least one shot on him and one spinning shot including him and the lady (I think it’s a lady) on the piano, and that’s good. And yes, whatever was focusing on the dancer boys in the music-video setting worked out well as well but I just don’t want this to be the music video’s replica (well at least it doesn’t seem like it as we have some... even more ‘extra’ dance moves out of this).
Cyprus: We haven’t had a proper slutpop winner since 2005... and a proper rock winner since 2006... so which is better? Also yeah Cyprus is waiting for a victory for longer too, but what else is? Iceland. And they don’t fucking stand a chance. Look, I’m all in for all first time winner countries to happen before I die (which is DEFINITELY not going to happen because we have San Marino and they still haven’t fixed their shit :’) ) but I don’t really want Eurovision to award countries that have waited for that long to do so sorted out by the number of the years of waiting the longest. I mean, with this pattern you get Lisbon 2018, Nicosia 2019, Reykjavik 2020, Valletta 2021, Ljubljana 2022 and so on. With some countries not getting their shit together (looking at you Malta, please stop selecting mediocre/harmless MESC songs as winners), I’d rather if they wait for longer for them than have this pattern followed. (also Budapest 20xx deserves to happen, whether AWS make it happen or not) So I’m sorry about being this bitter, I just... am not a huge fan of this entry as much as I am of the past Cypriot entries. Why the big praise for the ones I’m not that fond of? :( And oh yeah I forgot to talk about performance. Fire, red, choreography, hair. Well at least Romania isn’t in their semi (though if you guys wanted it to fail so badly then you think it should be, that’s sad, I hope that actually no one thinks like this), so we could witness one hair flip a day. Dunno if both will qualify though so there WOULD be 2 in 1 day... :’) (Oh yeah, and Laura Rizzotto’s hair flicks. Flicks, not flips. She might do a flip though)
Norway: And suddenly everyone is not a fan of this. I’m not exactly sure why. Rybak works the stage. I assume it’s because people are already fed up of him even if it’s been so long since he made into Eurovision as a performer. And that he won in the past, too. Well I don’t really want it to win either but since Poland, the guiding torch for all the other competitors for victory, is in their semi, then it might. But Norway 2009 won and Poland didn’t qualify that year. All 3 times Poland didn’t qualify, the winner was either Rybak, a big 5 country or a mediocre dark horse. I hope they qualify so the winner could be a GOOD dark horse. ;) (”You ride a black horse in the rain” - Hovi Star)
Romania: Eh it’s okay for what it is. They got one camera shot wrong though as a guy was escaping his mannequin-challenge pose at the end of it when he was supposed to act like a mannequin. I am not sure how will they get the staging of that moment right enough though but I hope it works decently out, yeah
Serbia: The thumbnail of their rehearsal’s (eurovision.tv courtesy) looks like it’s a typical Balkan song surrounding. Backing vocalist ladies come up to the main singer and stare into the distance like they’ve seen some sh*t. And then they start singing together with the singer in front. Anyway the sound mixing here is terrible but I hope the crowd elevates the feel. (Also they were doing an instagram takeover with The Humans, and unfortunately their journey has ended as soon as Big 5 + host country started rehearsing.)
San Marino: Now with that “Justice for Valentina” sign I can finally compile my “post-nf-pre-ESC-week-season” moments moodboard! Anyway, even with the cameras it’s a big hot mess, the dancers/backings are pointless, they better only keep the robots. Actually, I do want to see some backings. Bring on Basti! Also also, Jenny B’s costume is ugly and I’d rather if she kind of does something like Valentina last year but more youthful and less like ‘your mom tries to be cool again’.
Denmark: Yep, pretty much like the NF staging, except that there’s some pointless pink that shines on Rasmussen’s face. What for..? Trust me, I don’t know either!
Portugal: Oh so they got rid of the chair. As per the banned items request or as per Benjamin’s request? Also I love that Nirvana’s shirt of Isaura’s, reminds me of the lead singer of Musiqq turning in the first rehearsal of Latvia’s with a Spongebob shirt. xD I guess it’s simple enough of a thing there performance-wise? They don’t need to do much, just enough to keep it intimate?
United Kingdom: Oh lights. Something like Levina’s music video last year. I am not sure if this will get UK anywhere that great but I sure hope it’s not too dead of a last if it’s unfortunately last.
Spain: Togetherness. Are they just staring at each other while singing for this whole performance or is there more action to this love? We might not know just yet... but I hope they do something else at some point. Like, dramatically introducing out of nowhere when they begin singing their lines or something.
Germany: All these countries biting their nails about what they’re gonna do without any LEDs in Lisbon and Germany’s just like ‘fuck it, I’mma bring my own one anyway”. Sadly, they come across as ridiculously over-the-top, especially with the silhouettes and the black-white color spinning you see on these hypnosis toys or so. Not to mention, the chorus graphics are just THAT incredibly cartooney that I couldn’t really stand them. I’m thinking this could drop in my overall ranking of 2018 because the song just doesn’t feel too “wow” anymore and it’s just...
Italy: I waited for this so friggin long because I wanted to know about what they decided on about the on-screen shenanigans to make sure this is more than “two men being aggresive for 3 minutes”. And... I think they’re doing something about it, with lines of their song in different languages on different places and accompanying graphics and all. Really playing the sentimental card here. But I’ve yet to see a winner which relied on lots of on-screen effects (for Sweden 2015 it was on-stage effects more than on-screen). We had France 2014 being on-screen effects-heavy, we had Italy 2016 and Bulgaria 2017 relying on simple on-screen white stuff, Israel 2015 had an on-screen snapshot effect at the end of their performance. This... is just ‘extra’ as heck.
France: I thought I was gonna see more people gearing towards French City That Is Mostly The Capital One 2019 idea but it seems that there’s something off about the package so far. Maybe it’s the lack of an audience to do the hand gesture with them? Maybe it’s the unfashionable shoe choice? Oh I don’t know, I’m still holding onto that theory it’s Tallinn 2019 and still would love Sofia 2019 if there’s no one else that I would want to win is topping the charts...
#eurovision 2018#eurovision rehearsals#eurovision 2018 rehearsals#eurovision rehearsals day 6#armenia 2018#switzerland 2018#ireland 2018#cyprus 2018#norway 2018#romania 2018#serbia 2018#san marino 2018#denmark 2018#portugal 2018#united kingdom 2018#spain 2018#germany 2018#italy 2018#france 2018#i'm too tired to hashtag anymore tbh#help me people#i'm feeling sad as fuck tbh#i am only waiting for this eurovision year to end so i could focus on my life a little more :'(#i mean i have an exam tomorrow :')#ouch and yeah#lolol#nothing that slays me except for germany?#oh nooooo
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