Eurovision Song Contest 2009

[Athaniar]

What, no thread on the contest, with just 1 3/4 hours to go before the grand final? So, what songs do you like? Which one song do you think deserves to win? Personally, I like Turkey's the most this year, but there are many good ones. And what's with everybody liking Norway's song? I certainly don't. Massive Hype Backlash (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HypeBacklash) in my opinion.

[Jibar]

No Terry Wogan, no Jibar.
It was bad enough when they stopped him drinking, but now there's just no point in the sham at all.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

Yeah, it's all political voting anyway and it takes up a whole evening. No thanks. Terry Wogan's comments were the only things that made it bearable.

[Evil DM Mark3]

I lost interest years ago, even Terry could not keep me interested. An evening of sub-par music and xenophobic backbiting and racism. Song for Europe indeed.

[Athaniar]

I see it for one reasons: to cheer for my country and to hear good music. Two reasons: to cheer for my country, to hear good music, and to enjoy the atmosphere. Three reasons: to cheer for my country, to hear good music, to enjoy the atmosphere, and to devour large quantities of unhealthy food. Four reasons: ah, forget it.

EDIT, 1.07 minutes in: The game is afoot. So far, so good.

[Nameless]

I’m watching it now.
It’s awful. Worse the usual. :smallannoyed:

[Kaelaroth]

*is loving it*
Though Iceland and Russia were bad.

[Nameless]

*is loving it*
Though Iceland and Russia were bad.

They're all bad. :smalltongue:

*waits for Finland*

EDIT: Norway is pretty awesome actually. :smalltongue:

[Athaniar]

1:30: Oh, great, Norway... I hate this song, that guy who "sings" has a positively terrible voice. But my favorites did well so far, the foremost being Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and My Homeland.

1:35: Gah, Ukraine's "Anti-Christ's Girl" (whatever) is, if possible, even more horrible than Norway. She can't sing, and the visuals make me wonder if I've accidentally changed channels to some porn channel. And not a good one.

2:04: All songs have been sung and voting has commenced. The bit with the kosmonauts was an interesting touch. Now we'll just have to wait...

[Jahkaivah]

I'm half watching it.

Norway guy should just "play" the violin the whole time, be much better.

Also I did not find the "what" song... that "what"... should that bother me?

UK up next...

EDIT: And they sung, I'm sure it was good, just not my taste,

[Athaniar]

May 16/17 2009
The Day the Music Died
It was beaten to death by a Norwegian violin. We mourn its passing.

[Nameless]

Worst Eurovision.
EVER.
:smallannoyed:

[Dihan]

Worst Eurovision.
EVER.
:smallannoyed:

On the other hand, the UK came 5th! :smallbiggrin:

[Somebloke]

So the Norweigan singer deserves all the affection...why now?

[Nameless]

On the other hand, the UK came 5th! :smallbiggrin:

Only because everyone else was bloody awful. :smalltongue:

[Mercenary Pen]

Significantly less political voting than previous years...

I mean, even Serbia gave us 8 points...

[Dihan]

Only because everyone else was bloody awful. :smalltongue:

Just look at the top 5. Two Scandinavia, two Eastern and the one everyone else hates. :smalltongue:

I say Jade and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber did pretty well considering.

[afroakuma]

As an impartial outsider from the other Atlantic coast, I have to say - Norway's song was pretty weak.

[Eldariel]

Heh, we took dead last (of the finals, anyways). Then again, that was to be expected; Finland's song was totally unexceptional being the same thing we've seen a thousand times every year, and the singer had a flu to boot.

Norway's song I didn't really understand, but it got a lot of hype which might impact the voting (it certainly did the year Lordi won).

[Mordokai]

Worst Eurovision.
EVER.
:smallannoyed:

No, no, no! You got it all wrong. You're implying there was ever a good Eurovision to start with.

Well, maybe before I was born. But seeing I didn't saw any of them it's kinda moot point :smalltongue:

[Rutskarn]

No, no, no! You got it all wrong. You're implying there was ever a good Eurovision to start with.

Well, maybe before I was born. But seeing I didn't saw any of them it's kinda moot point :smalltongue:

The Monsterman would like to have a word with you. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdItwaLrv1U)

[Evil DM Mark3]

No, no, no! You got it all wrong. You're implying there was ever a good Eurovision to start with.

Well, maybe before I was born. But seeing I didn't saw any of them it's kinda moot point :smalltongue:

There was that one that was used as the signal for a revolution...

[Jahkaivah]

The Monsterman would like to have a word with you. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdItwaLrv1U)

Also these guys, a proper "what" song. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9rJLtz64Hg&fmt=18)

[Xuincherguixe]

Frankly, I think Lordi has been about the only good thing to happen to Eurovision.

As much as I like Heavy Metal, the fact of the matter is that a lot of it is trash. Just because there's lots of evil and screaming doesn't mean it's a good song.

And doesn't it become a lot less rebellious a genre when it gets mainstream acceptance? In a way, it's kind of the worst thing that can happen. Eurovision, which is heavily political and attracts all this idiotic garbage accepts you? Winning is less desirable than losing.


edit: Ah right. I got linked to that one before. That's the good kind of sanity damage. Eurovision attracts some nice insanity, which is really the only good thing one can say about it. (I was about to edit this when I remember I said Lordi was the only good thing... but I think that's an example of insanity)

[Arang]

Who da man? We da man! Who da man? We da man! NORWAY! NORWAY! YOU! GOT! SERVED!

Ironically, I didn't really like the song. How fortunate that it will be played here for the next 40 years or so.

[Rutskarn]

Xuincherguixe: I kind of refute the idea that any musical genre with a shred of aesthetic appeal can be irremovable from the rebellion that spawned it.

For that matter, I also question how winning a major award is antithetical to "rebellion". Rebellion is a drive for the recognition of a certain idea, art, or set of principles. Winning the muthafriggin' Eurovision sure seems like recognition to me.

[Xuincherguixe]

Well it is fair to say...

A genre based on rebellion doesn't necessary have to be entirely rebellious. But rebellion does seem to be part of Lordi.


I can kind of see your point that recognition is good and all. But... well, can you see how there might be some people you may not want to be recognized by? I consider it a mixed blessing.

[bosssmiley]

So the Norwegian singer deserves all the affection...why now?

Oh come on! You have to concede that he overcame the disability of being born with hideously deformed eyebrows with grace and good humour.

Victory to the caterpillar-balancing, wide-mouthed Norwegian pikey-child! :smallbiggrin:

Britain's entry: P.O.S. The only reason we came 5th was because the UK threatened to withdraw funding if they came last again.

Finland were reliably insane (WTF?! Is that Eminväinämöinen?).
Azerbaijan (who don't even border a European country) were outclassed by their stage effects.
Romania used a sock-puppet singer.
Denmark was nothing but a Boyzone tribute act.
Russia was trying much too hard to be Sinead o'Connor.
Ukraine had been watching too much "Mad Max" and "300".
Sweden's opera singing blonde looked like cats were climbing her legs.
Greece's giant stapler was a nice touch to an otherwise forgettable bit of Euro-Pap.
Germany rip-off of 30s cabaret and 50s croon wasted Dita von Teese.
And which country had the blue gimp and the Joker midgets? (Albania)

Everyone else? No impression made. FAIL!

Graham Norton's brand of snark is a worthy successor to El Tel's world-weary (and ever more drunken) resignation.

Eurovision: narrowing the mind wonderfully since 1956. :smallamused:

[Athaniar]

Note that even if I strongly disapprove of the winner (to put it mildly), there were several songs I liked this year, as there are several songs I like every year. There is nothing wrong with the contest itself (except for the fact that Norway won).

[Anselm]

Oh great -- we won. Now the tabloids will never shut up about this guy. I haven't heard the song, but extrapolating from the bland title and setup and more or less every Eurovision entry in my lifetime, I don't think I'd like it.

[charl]

I am so happy I missed this.

[Dr. Bath]

Britain's entry: P.O.S. The only reason we came 5th was because the UK threatened to withdraw funding if they came last again.

I dunno, if you ignore the lyrics at least the girl could sing fairly well. And people do like Andrew Lloyd Webber (who looks suspiciously like a troll) for some unknown reason. Personally I think Greece should have won. It had an orange man, it had a conveyor belt, it had people jumping off a low platform, it had everything a Eurovision entry needs.

[Nameless]

No, no, no! You got it all wrong. You're implying there was ever a good Eurovision to start with.

Well, maybe before I was born. But seeing I didn't saw any of them it's kinda moot point :smalltongue:

Hard. Rock. Hallelujah.
Hard. Rock. HALLELUJAH!
Dun... Dundun… dudududundudla dun dulu, dunduhduhdaaa
The saints are crippled,
On this sinners' night, DUHDUHDUHDAAHHH!
Lost are the lambs with no guiding light. DODOODOO!
The walls come down like thunder
The rock's about to roll, DUHDUHDUUHH!
It's the arockalypse,
Now bare your soul!
DOOODOOO!
All we need is lightning,
With power and light…
Striking down the prophets of FALSE! DOODODOODOO
As the moon is rising,
Give us the sign,
Now let us rise up in awe………
Rock 'n Roll angels bring thyn Hard Rock Hallelujah!!!
Demons and angels all in one have arrived…
Rock 'n Roll angels bring thyn Hard Rock Hallelujah!!!
In God's creation supernatural high…
The true believers…
Thou shall be saved! DODODOOO!
Brothers and sisters, keep strong in the faith..DAAHDAAHHH
On the day of Rockoning,
It's who dares, wins!
You will see the jokers soon'll be the new kings!!!! AHHHAHHH
Rock 'n Roll angels bring thyn Hard Rock Hallelujah!!!
Demons and angels all in one have arrived…
Rock 'n roll angels bring thyn Hard Rock Hallelujah!!!
In God's creation supernatural high!!! UHH!
DOODOODOODODODOOO… DOODODOODODODODOOOOO… DOODOODOODODODOOO… DOODODOODODODODOOOOO…
DAADAADAADADADAAA… DAADADAADADADADAAAAA…
DAADAADAADADADAAA… DAAAAAADAAAAA!!!
Wings on my back,
I got horns on my head…
My fangs are sharp,
And my eyes are red…
Not quite an angel,
Or the one that fell…
Now choose to join us or go straight to HEEELLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!11ONEONEELEVENTY
DUNDUN Hard. DUNDUN Rock DUN Hallelujah!
DUNDUN Hard DUNDUN Rock DUN Hallelujah!
DUNDUN Hard DUNDUN Rock DUN Hallelujah!
Hard DUNDUN Rock DUN Yeah!
Rock 'n Roll angels bring thyn Hard Rock Hallelujah…
Demons and angels all in one have arrived…
Rock 'n Roll angels bring thyn Hard Rock Hallelujah…
In God's creation supernatural high…
DUNDUN Hard DUNDUN Rock DUN Hallelujah!
DOODOODODOODODOOLOOOO!!!


Who knows all the lyrics? I KNOW ALL THE LYRICS! :smallamused:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh3hj9-J76Y

[Totally Guy]

I think Norway must have fiddled the votes!:smalltongue:

[Dihan]

I think Norway must have fiddled the votes!:smalltongue:

Iceland didn't bank on coming second! :smalltongue:

[Rutskarn]

Looks like the UK really sucked!

...

Okay, I guess that wasn't really the pattern.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Dude not punny.

[Shikton]

If you didn't like the song NOW, try to survive it being played constantly on the radio for a few months before Eurovision was even aired.

The fiddle parts were catchy and stuff to begin with...but now I'd say the song is pure torture.

Nice to win it though. :smallbiggrin:

[Nameless]

Oh my God these puns are awful! D':
*Rips our eyeballs and sticks the in my ears, then takes out a gun and shoots self through the mouth*

[Sagittarius]

My impressions on the Eurovision Contest (Yes...I actually watched it while trying to learn. Don't ask...)

Lithuania: Solid 08/15 song. Made to fill up CDs to not make the actual hits feel alone. Not winner material, though...
Israel: Nice to see a jewish and paleastenian human on one stage not ripping out each others throats. Other than that, the song doesn't have much to offer.
France: Oooh, good one! First entry to show real quality. Plus for not randomly filling the stage with six people, too. Might have been one of my favorites if I didn't have the repeated image of Patricia Kaas clutching an I.V. instead of her mic. Girl could use more body fat, I think...
Sweden: I am a sucker for rock, operas and rock operas. This one should have been the song most tailored to my taste, but somehow it fails. I'm not particularly excited by Malena Ernmann's voice, I guess.
Croatia: Another solid 08/15 song. Can't point to anything to rant about but nothing to be excited about, either.
Portugal: First band to play the gambit and try something exotic to distinguish them from the rest. Someone should have told them that country-specific folk might not be the best way to achieve this. Also, this might be a good time to state that vigorously hitting instruments that have to be muted anyway looks stupid. Nice song, though, but not a winner by far.
Iceland: Whoa... Nice song with a good singer and a solid presentation. This is the first one that I actually like, although it would never find its way into one of my playlists. Come to think of it, it is not unlikely that my entire sympathy for the song is based on Yohanna's appearance. Testosterone, shut up for a minute, I need to re-evaluate.
Greece: A nice tactical play by the Greeks. Sakis Rouvas might not have the vocal quality to play in the highest league, but they are filling their niche pretty well and might pick up votes from disco effecionados around Europe. It would require physical threats to my family to get me to vote for it, but I have to acknowledge the intelligence behind the choice.
Armenia: Not exactly bad, but the song really lacks something to positively distinguish itself from the rest. Also, making the singers indistinguishable from the background dancers is a fail in my book.
Russia: Anastasia Prikhodko is able to sing but this presentation doesn't meet my sympathy. Too dramatic and too much focus on the clip in the background (which would make for a nice MTV clip, though).
Azerbaijan: One of the few songs that I could imagine having success outside the ESC. Decent song and performance, although it just doesn't fit my taste. At least it is better than the German contribution in each aspect I can think of - maybe except for the physical appearance of the male performer.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Another rare positive surprise! Good song, good singer, good presentation. A beautiful and unpretentious contribution that meets my short-lived sympathy. Too bad that Alexander Rybak's entry will be stealing points left right and center from Regina.
Moldova: Another folk entry but it stays way behind Portugal's contribution IMHO. The Portugese at least tried to adapt their concept to the dramatic level of an European Song Contest, whereas the Moldovians stay on ren-fair level. Not bad but not particularly ambitious, either.
Malta: Chiarra's fifteenth appearance on the ESC (or a few times less...dunno), which is not surprising, given Malta's small population and the fact that she might have the best voice in the entire competition. But repeated performances with the same song (or so it seems at least) don't meet my sympathy. And appearantly not the sympathy of the voters either. Objectively, this was one of the best performances but I guess, people are just sick of Chiarra. Or want to coax Malta into sending sexier performers. Your pick.
Estonia: The third (and last) time in this program that my expectations are surpassed. A calm but beautiful song with a stage performance that matches its tone and a good singer. It isn't really material to take a contest by storm but I rooted for them nonetheless.
Denmark: Somewhere around here my memory of the remaining event is a bit fuzzy and I blame Brinck. This is music for golden weddings and pensioner sales shows. NEXT!
Germany: The German contribution. Too bad I am unable to vote for it... NOT! The stage performance is pretty good (although I agree that they wasted Dita's talent) but the rest isn't. This one is bound to lose all potential votes to Albania or Azerbaijan and then cry about the evil Eastern European voting mafia.
Turkey: Out of the first few places, this one might be the contribution that I underestimated most. Sure, the stage show is pretty good and Hadise is not too bad a singer but come on... the song didn't really have that much quality and should be clearly inferior to the Greek and Azeri performance. Diaspora votes explain some of the points but the rest I can only explain with testosterone (speaking of which...still need to re-review Iceland...)
Albania: I have to admit that I don't recall much of the song because I focused my attention on the stage show. The entire performance looked more at home in a Blue Man Group performance than in an ESC. Speaking of the Blue Man Group: When will they be recruited from one of the countries? When I saw Circe du Soleil performing the intro, I almost expected them to be listed for a country.
Norway: After four mediocre performances, Alexander Rybak is bound to look like a god of music. The performance, song and stage show has some quality but I still think that Regina made the better calm love song. Alexander's success might be attributed to a similar appearance bias that I suspect in the female competition.
Ukraine: OK, good news for Germany, Turkey and Albania: Suddenly I like their contributions a bit more. In the super-exaggerated performance, I kinda lost track of the song. I don't feel that I missed much, though.
Romania: Not really a winner. Another 08/15 song with a performance that looks cute but is lost somewhere between "quiet enough to leave the focus on the song" and "catching everyone's attention in a split-second".
United Kingdom: Romania, please have a look at this stage show to learn how to promote your song. You have something pretty to look at while the focus remains firmly on the singer. The song itself is pretty good but I really think that many of the points are earned by the smart guy who arranged the performance (Andrew Lloyd? Your work?).
Finland: Count on the fins to provide something exotic. With Lordi, they played the gambit in 2006 and won spectacularly. 2008, I was really rooting for Teräsbetoni, which unfortunately didn't work. This time, they decided not to try Hard Rock again but instead provide a crazy disco-rap-mix that at least was distinguishable from the rest. Waldo's people shared Teräsbetoni's fate in the last few places, though. Which I honestly didn't expect. Sure, the quality of the song and performance was not that great but I would have thought, their pretty fireshow would earn them a few points on its own. Guess, I need to cancel my suggestion of sending Rammstein or Subway to Sally for Germany next year.
Spain: A pretty dull performance at the end. There have been better songs, better singers and better shows across the evening.


Well...these were my thoughts, more or less. In the end, I voted for Iceland, Bosnia&Herzegovina and Estonia. Which at least made Top10 each.

[Rutskarn]

Whoa, textblock. Almost thought that was more pr0nspam, there.

[Dihan]

I actually read all that. Estonia was my favourite entry and I was pleased that they came at least sixth overall.

[GolemsVoice]

Soo, what place did Germany score? I read about them the day before, and they were all confident and whatnot, though, judging by the music this Alex C, or whatever he calls himself has made up to now, which can summed up in the words "Hey baby, you look really good", and that is probably more eloquently put than he ever managed, my hopes for him are quite low. I just hope it was a place in the mid-tens, after all, it IS my country.

[Dihan]

Germany came about 20th, if I remember correctly.

[GolemsVoice]

I fear it serves them right. I never liked the performer, and it seemed to me that they were more proud about Dita von Teese than about their own song.

[Sagittarius]

I fear it serves them right. I never liked the performer, and it seemed to me that they were more proud about Dita von Teese than about their own song.

And what part about that would be wrong?

Dita von Teese > Alex S.

[Egiam]

I thought that the Israel entry (http://www.eurovision.tv/event/artistdetail?song=24675&event=1480)was fabulous.

Here is a radio story (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103980225)about it.

[GolemsVoice]

And what part about that would be wrong?

Dita von Teese > Alex S.

Sadly, that's about right. And that IS what is sad. If you're more excited about a (supposed) background-performance, than about your own song, something is wrong, no?

[Lord of the Helms]

Eh. Glad I missed it. I do feel good about my country doing poorly for continuously putting in acts that are crappy even by Eurovision standards. I mean, bizarrely enough, in the Bundesvision song contest, we actually continuously have decent and respectable acts competing and getting fairly well-deserved places (Subway to Sally won last year, Rage placed 3rd this year, and even I can admit that Seeed / Peter Fox is pretty respectable as German raeggae/Hip-Hop acts go even if I don't actually like their music). Why can't we get at least half-way tolerable act for Eurovision, rather than the musical abortions we keep sending there recently?

[ThunderCat]

My impressions on the Eurovision Contest (Yes...I actually watched it while trying to learn. Don't ask...)This is quite impressive. I haven't been able to sit through a whole show in years. Btw, from the little I heard, Norway's song had a slightly eastern European sound, didn't it?

[Don Julio Anejo]

This is quite impressive. I haven't been able to sit through a whole show in years. Btw, from the little I heard, Norway's song had a slightly eastern European sound, didn't it?
Norway's singer is Russian.

[Athaniar]

Btw, from the little I heard, Norway's song had a slightly eastern European sound, didn't it?

If you replace "slightly" with "extremely" and "eastern European" with "awful", then yes, it did.

No, really, I didn't hear anything eastern european about it.


Norway's singer is Russian.
I thought he was Belarussian?

[Don Julio Anejo]

He was born and grew up in Belorussia but his family is Russian.

By the way, this Eurovision is the first in a while where I was actually happy with who won it.

[Dihan]

He was born and grew up in Belorussia but his family is Russian.

I thought he was born in (what is now) Belarus but grew up in Norway.

[The Rose Dragon]

I hated our song. Stupid lackluster song.

We came third right after the year we came first with Sertap Erener. That was our best song.

Seriously, we suck in music.

[Avilan the Grey]

My wife as officially decided that she has to leave the continent next year, since people in Europe apparently has no taste (She's American). I kind of agree, my absolute favorite was Iceland, which came second, but who could possibly vote for Norway? That guy had a below par melody, a total lack of singing voice and a look that melts the heart of 12 year old girls and nothing more. I was extremely surprised Norway got any votes at all...! And I am not bitter that we hardly got any votes; as usual we send crap.