Most-Played…national finalists + OGAE 2012!
I think it’s time to take a break from JESC, partly for those of you who roll your eyes at Junior Eurovision and partly for me because I’m tired of typing ‘JESC’ and ‘Junior’ every second word.
Today’s post is a hybrid, featuring the second installment of my new (ish) Most-Played series, as well as a quick look at the results of everyone’s favourite second chance contest: the OGAE SCC.
But first up, that list of most-played songs. Last time it was winners (you can read/re-read that here: https://eurovisionbyjaz.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/new-most-played-esc-winners/) and this time, as you most likely figured from the title, it’s national finalists – the songs that have tried and failed to get to the big show, but have found their place on the iPods of NF followers everywhere. Check out my list, and then comment me the ones you’ve played the most since…well, ever. Pretty please?
#1 | Kom by Timoteij (Sweden 2010)
The Fab Four (only Swedish, female, and with less embarrassing haircuts)
Timoteij are to me now what the Spice Girls were to me fifteen years ago – I love everything they’ve ever produced and think they’re totally fabulous in every way (and if Timoteij had their own brand of perfume, I’d probably buy it too). The first of their two Melodifestivalen songs may have come 5th in the final, but for many it will be one of those potential ESC entries that got away. It did win the 2010 OGAE Second Chance Contest however, so that’s some *sniff* consolation *sniff*.
#2 | Nada Es Comparable A Ti by Mirela (Spain 2009)
#3 | Breathing by Bryan Rice (Denmark 2010)
#4 | En Una Vida by Coral (Spain 2010)
‘I’ll get you, Daniel Diges. And your posse of circus performers too!’
Here’s an epic ballad in the mould of Mirela’s and/or Pastora Soler’s Quedate Conmigo, both of which I love unconditionally. Having been beaten in Spain’s 2008 final by none other than Mr. Baila El Chiki-Chiki, I bet Coral thought she had a win coming two years on when she stepped back on the NF stage with only a curly-haired, clown-toting guy who’d been in the stage adaptation of High School Musical to defeat. Unfortunately she thought wrong, but she’ll always be the rightful winner in my eyes.
#5 | Emotions by Mista (Slovakia 2010)
#6 | You’re Out of My Life by Darin (Sweden 2010)
‘Can we PLEASE get that wind machine turned down a notch?’
#7 | Nótt by Yohanna (Iceland 2011)
#8 | La Histeria by Marquess (Germany 2008)
Germany had a super-strong (or über-strong) national final in ’08. Caroline Fortenbacher! Monrose! Cinema Bizarre! It couldn’t have had more star power unless there were more famous people competing (duh). Anyway, none of those artists managed to win, and neither did Marquess – but their entry La Histeria is so much fun. Albeit more Spanish fun than German fun. I think it would have done much better in Belgrade than Disappear, a song which many fans wish would do just that.
#9 | Dear Mama by Blaxy Girls (Romania 2009)
#10 | Elektrisk by Anniela (Sweden 2011)
#11 | Forever Or Never by Cinema Bizarre (Germany 2008)
#12 | My Heart Is Refusing Me by Loreen (Sweden 2011)
Who knew you could feed clothes through a paper shredder?
Loreen was another ‘one that got away’ from Melodifestivalen, but she kind of compensated by coming back in 2012 and, you know, winning Eurovision, et cetera. The song that brought her and her wacky taste in clothing to ESC community attention was different to, but just as kick-ass as Euphoria. I still can’t believe it didn’t get out of the second chance round.
#13 | In The Club by Danny (Sweden 2011)
#14 | Better Or Worse by Julia Alvgard (Sweden 2011)
#15 | Tid Att Andas by Simon Forsberg (Sweden 2011)
#16 | Surrender by Passionworks (Finland 2009)
#17 | Or by Chen Aharoni (Israel 2011)
I am nothing if not a member of Team Dana International, but even I have to say that sending her to Düsseldorf instead of Chen was a MASSIVE mistake on Israel’s part. I swear to Mr. God that he would have qualified and made the top 10 had he been given the chance. Or is everything I want in a Eurovision song – ethnic but contemporary, catchy, dramatic, performed by a hot guy…sigh.
#18 | Do You Wanna? by Gipsy.cz (Czech Republic 2009)
Let’s face it – DYW was the lesser of two evils.
#19 | Sleepless by Anna Noa (Denmark 2011)
#20 | Drømmen by Jeffery (Denmark 2011)
This is quite a humble number that slipped through the cracks, failing to make the super-final of DMGP last year. I think it’s my fondness for Scandinavian languages in hip-hop/r & b-type music that keeps me playing it. It probably wasn’t right for Eurovision, but as a listening song, it ticks all the right boxes.
The results are in: OGAE 2012
For those of you who don’t know, the OGAE Second Chance Contest is where the songs that failed to make Eurovision go to try and redeem themselves. Nominated songs from each national final are voted on by official fan clubs all over the world to determine the best of the could-have-beens.
Last year, it was Iceland’s Yohanna who won the contest with Nótt (a song that coincidentally, or nótt, made my above playlist). This year, another powerhouse female vocalist took out the competition – Pastora Soler, the most successful Spanish ESC entrant since 2004.
- Spain – Tu Vida Es Tu Vida by Pastora Soler
- Sweden – Amazing by Danny Saucedo
- Norway – High On Love by Reidun Sæther
- Denmark – Take Our Hearts by Jesper Nohrstedt
- Austria – That’s What I Am by Conchita Wurst
- Iceland – Hugarró by Magni Ásgeirsson
- Russia – Back To Her Future by Dima Bilan & Yulia Volkova
- Slovenia – A Si Sanjal Me by Eva Boto
- Estonia – Mina Jään by Lenna
- Cyprus – You Don’t Belong Here by Ivi Adamou
- Germany – Quietly by Ornella de Santis
- Netherlands – Chocolatte by Raffaëla Paton
- Portugal – Gratia Plena by Ricardo Soler
- Belgium – Safety Net by Iris
- Finland – Lasikaupunki by Ville Eetvartti
- Greece – Killer Bee by Cassiopeia
- Latvia – She’s A Queen by Roberts Pētersons
- Ireland – Mercy by Donna McCaul
- Lithuania – Why by Beissoul
I am a little surprised that Pastora managed to win. I’m not a huge fan of Tu Vida Es Tu Vida, possibly because I love Quedate Conmigo so much; and anyway, I figured Norway or Ireland would romp to victory. But she is a stellar performer, so my pointless-since-she’ll-never-see-this congratulations go out to her.
Just because, here are my personal picks of the bunch:
- Norway
- Russia
- Ireland
- Slovenia
- Estonia
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Finland
- Austria
- Cyprus
May we all celebrate the brilliance of these national finalists, ‘til the upcoming selection season erases them from our memories!
What do you think of the OGAE results? And don’t forget to tell me about your most-played national finalists!
NEXT TIME: It’s back to the JESC recaps as I look back on Rotterdam 2007. Then, prepare yourselves for a very frightening Halloween post as I count down the top 10 Scariest Eurovision Moments of All Time…BOO!
eurovisionbyjaz.com 
18 Responses to “Most-Played…national finalists + OGAE 2012!”
wooh. I loved Marquess=D but I think Germans don’t like spanish music that much :s
other songs that I used to listen and still listen (: are
Jutro – Jelena Tomasevic (this was written by ZJ=D soo I just had to love it)
and
Flamingosi – Ludi letni ples. this song is so much fan!: but yeah.. this scandal with Montenegro and naaah.
I like your list(:
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Hello! I’ve missed your comments =]
La Histeria is an awesome song. I cannot be sad after I’ve heard it. But it was definitely too Spanish to win the German NF, even though it was so much better than the song that did…
Jutro is the only ZJ Eurovision-related song I’ve never heard *blushes* but I will make that change ASAP! It has to be good.
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aww(: sorry that I was a bit absent:$ but school & things & bla.
I think you’ll like it!
❤
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No pressure, I know how study and stuff can take over =]
I will give you a verdict on the song when I’ve remembered to listen to it!!
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Like the modernist I am, all of my songs are from 2012. However, only have 10 songs. Still, here goes nothing.
1) Danny Saucedo – Amazing (SE 2012)
2) Jesper Nohrstedt – Take our Hearts (DK 2012)
3) Regina Ósk – Hjartað Brennur (IS 2012)
4) Blar Ópal – Stattu Upp (IS 2012)
5) Gabór Heincz – Learning to Let Go (HU 2012)
6) Greta Šmidt – The One (LT 2012)
7) Ivi Adamou – Call the Police (CY 2012)
8) Dora – Baby I’m Yours (GR 2012)
9) Nina Zilli – Per Sempre (IT 2012)
10) !DelaDap – Crazy Swing (AT 2012)
Now, onto OGAE. Oh, poor Danny! He just needs a bridesmaid’s dress made of silver! Aside from that, I’m a little surprised. There were better (and more camp) songs that I thought would’ve made it onto the list, like “Learning to Let Go” in Hungary (and “Konichiwa” in Slovenia). Well, c’est la vie!
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I’m with you on 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 9. Love ’em! ‘Stattu Upp’ is the bomb. I actually would have preferred that to go to Baku over the English version of ‘Mundu Eftir Mer’, but it seems Iceland always change into English. I think ‘Aftur Heim’ was so like…magic in Icelandic. It lost something major in the transition. Sigh.
AHAHAHAHA!!! I never registered that Danny had come second yet AGAIN until you mentioned it! Hilarious. At least when he was in Melodifestivalen with EMD he came third! I bet if there’s any way he can come second when he hosts, it’ll happen. He’ll come out on stage second after Gina, or SVT will hold a poll on the best MF host of all time and he’ll be runner-up.
Oh, ‘Konichiwa’…what a song that was. I watched some clips of the twins’ performances in the leadup to the Slovenian final and they were so bad they were good. The ‘Wild Dances’ one is epically terrible XD
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There are a ton of things that I love the Icelanders for but that is CERTAINLY not one of them. However, that approach has worked in the past. The most notable example I can think of is Sílvia Night from 2006 (loved that to bits, by the way). It, like you said, was especially sad on “Aftur Heim,” the song I learned to sing in Icelandic because I loved it so much.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if SVT just made a huge mockery of Danny’s second-place suffering? I’d sort of love it.
I’ll have to check that one out.
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I personally can’t wait for Danny to pretend to be happy for the eventual winner, all the while thinking ‘IT SHOULD BE MEEEEEEEEE!!! WHY ISN’T IT MEEEEEEEE!!!! LOREEEN MUST DIEEEEE!!!’ et cetera.
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That will be wonderful. Just imagine if Eric Saade comes back and wins. If that happens, I can guarantee that a big, glittery catfight will erupt on stage (and I’ll love every second of it).
Also, Asiavision/ABU TV Festival! I just got to see it last night and, while the visual identity of it was pretty weak, it was an amazing opportunity for 2 billion more people to get in a Eurovision spirit! Did it seem like the stagers of the uptempo numbers had watched a ton of Eurovision performances to get their stage shows, or was that just me? By the way, I loved Australia, China, Indonesia and South Korea. Along with Japan, which wasn’t really great, the best five of the night by far. What did you think?
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Woohoo! I’m so glad you brought up the ABUTVSF. I thought it was really good, although I did miss the competition element. I hope in the future it becomes more of an Asiavision than just a celebration of music. It’s not the same without one winner and a whole bunch of losers!! And I think the 2 billion people deserve more of a show. The group song at the end reminded me (in a bad way) of the ‘Waterloo’ disaster of Baku, as seen in my scary list. And what happened to Havana??
Let me break it down:
Singapore – an okay ballad. I liked his voice, but all in all it was nothing special.
Australia – naturally, Havana was AMAZING!! She made all the dreary songs after her look even drearier. I’d only seen her sing live once before and she was a bit off, but I think she did a great job on this occasion. And I want her outfit.
Sri Lanka – they were good singers, but I didn’t like the song. His awkward dance moves were, well, awkward too.
Vietnam – yawn.
Malaysia – one of my favourites. Probably the best ballad of the night, and I LOVED his voice.
Japan – I’m biased on this one because I’m already familiar with Perfume and this song. Douze points!!
Hong Kong – yawn, again.
Indonesia – not a fan of the song, but she looked so stunning and sounded so damn good! Bonus points for the costume reveal, as it was.
China – me likey. Quite an unusual, ethereal song.
Afghanistan – I knew this guy too, and I think he’s talented, but it’s not my thing. Kudos for bringing real ethnicity though.
South Korea – pre-exisiting fan of TVXQ here!! I was hoping they’d perform ‘Keep Your Head Down’ since I love that song, but ‘Catch Me’ was great. Thank god for them, Havana and Perfume for livening up the proceedings.
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I rewatched the contest to refresh my memory and we seem to have the same opinions, for the most part! Again, the lack of competition was sad, but that’s sort of the way that Eurovision started out (in that they only announced the winner). I hope that changes. Also, that performance at the end was SO cliché. But I think that the “Waterloo” in Baku incident was far worse. Now, to break it down:
Singapore: Ditto.
Australia: Love. Second best of the night, in my opinion. Great choreography, nice presentation and, sort of surprisingly, a decent vocal. Please don’t take offence, but I expected her to just murder the song.
Sri Lanka: Skipped it. I remembered how boring it was by not remembering any of it.
Vietnam: Same deal, no difference.
Malaysia: Certainly one of the better ballads. However, it just really didn’t go anywhere for me. He does have a wonderful voice, though.
Japan: Everything I thought that Japan would send. That’s not a bad thing, but I sort of wanted to be surprised. Aside from that, good song, interesting performance? I mean, their voices were so vocoded that it was hard to tell if it was live.
Hong Kong: Skipped again.
Indonesia: Now this was the best ballad on the night. Soft where it needed to be and big when it got boring. Fantastic performer and beautiful song.
China: This, along with Afghanistan, was really the only “other” song in a sea of electro and ballads. Beautiful song that gave me a whiff of Lisa Miskovsky from MF this year. Don’t really know why, but it did.
Afghanistan: I know I enjoyed this, but I can’t remember any of it.
South Korea: My winner on the night. It was like they took everything about Havana’s performance and polished it, along with the song. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Also, about JESC quickly. So excited! I’ve really fallen for Israel, Sweden and the Netherlands and I’m hoping for the best. Now, onto the good stuff, the original Eurovision! Lithuania held their first show and picked some awful thing about Loreen as their first choice. Most of it was rubbish, but there were a few good songs, especially the one by Valerija. Also, the Swiss announced the three songs from the French broadcaster.The only really good one, in my opinion, was the one called “J’avais rendez-vous,” which sounded like an indie-hipster acoustic song paired with a poppy hook. Second best Swiss song yet, behind the absolutely insane yet somehow good effort by Lys Assia. It’ll be interesting come December. Anyhow, this comment is WAY too long so I’ll cut it here.
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No offence taken re: your Havana comment! I also expected her to be sub-par judging on past performances (a.k.a. one) but she brought it.
Yeah, I find it hard to believe Perfume were fully live. Who knows what the rules are with this non-contest. Maybe I’m just underestimating their talent??
I haven’t had time to listen to any Swiss songs yet. Tell me, is the standard any higher than last year? Could this be the year the whole NF is not blah?
PS – There’s no such thing as a too-long comment. I’m just sorry for this paltry response.
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Oh yes, if only we could produce those kinds of electronic modifications to our voices with our own vocal cords. ;^) Anyway, it’s always possible in a new thing like this.
On the topic of Switzerland: I don’t think this year it’ll be blah! The two Italian songs are also out and I remember that there was a good one by Chiara Dubey who’s back from last year. Also, the French songs aren’t bad. On the whole, including Lys Assia and Raplh Segel (he’s made a move into comedy with this one), Polish pop princess Magda Tul and some group called Man Meadow (that name screams Melodifestivalen reject), who are all going for the seven or so German spots, this’ll be a pretty good NF, I believe, especially if Ms. Assia shows up on a skateboard.
Here’s the best French song.
… And Chiara’s song.
Sorry if the embeds add insult to injury. Just trying to help!
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Haha, I always wanted a Kanye West-brand vocoder to use in everyday life. It would make boring errands so much more interesting.
Well, it’s good to hear a non-blah prediction for the Swiss, although I’ll have to take your word for it for a bit longer since there’s so many things I should be doing at the moment that aren’t listening to possible entries. Epic sadface. Thanks for the embeds though!
Lys Assia on a skateboard, huh?? Well, if a dog can do it, an eighty/ninety/hundred year-old woman should be able to.
PS – I think Man Meadow were in the Polish final in 2008. Random factoid that you may already have known.
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Have you seen the guy who went through a drive-thru and did the Elmo voice? That’s what I wish I could do.
Hope they come in handy and that you get some time soon!
Barring anything insane from Ukraine, I think Lys might be the oddest thing we see this year, although she’s NOTHING compared to that absolute gem from Lithuania in 2010.
Oh I could write a novel on the insanity of that, starting with the flipped Australia. It will go down in the annals of Eurovision history as the craziest thing ever.
I knew they were from somewhere, I just couldn’t remember. They, more specifically their name, just screams MF, not to be rude.
P.S. Again, sorry if the embed adds insult to injury, I’ve just been DYING to post this song.
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Yeah, that was..that was…well..I have no words. It’s stuff like that the haters latch on to when they feel like trashing Eurovision, and I can’t blame them.
Guess what?? I managed to listen to most of the Swiss finalists!! Yay! So as we now know, neither Lys nor Magdalena managed to make the final cut, which in the latter’s case is not a great loss as far as I am concerned (‘Give It Up’ is a bit rubbish). I have to admit to a liking for Lys and NewJack though, a very guilty liking. With a different female vocalist I’d go as far as to say it would’ve been good! It is annoying how Siegel is apparently demanding a wildcard for Lys though, like she should be put through just because of who she is. There comes a time when enough is enough – I mean, we end up seeing her every year at Eurovision anyway.
Generally, the lineup this year is better than previous years, but for me it’s still blah. It doesn’t even compare to Melodifestivalen. In fact, the best of the Swiss bunch are about on a par with the ‘ok’ songs from last year’s MF. I think SF has the best entries. I like Melissa’s and Jesse’s, but Heilsarmee are my favourite at this point, and I think they could win. Carrousel are alright, and Chiara is alright, but just as alright as she was last time. I won’t be jumping for joy if either of them win. I still have Nicolas Fraissinet’s song to hear, as well as the monkey song which I have no hope for whatsoever!
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oh cool list! I have Timoteij and Anniela on mine too 😀 here it is:
1.Macedonia 2007 Lambe Alabakovski – Belo e se: I really, really, really hope Macedonia sends him to eurovision soon with a similar song!!!
2.Sweden 2009- Måns Zelmerlöw- Hope and Glory: same, I need him in eurovision.
3. Russia 2005- Dima Bilan- Ty dolzhna ryadom byt’: well, he went to eurovision the year after this song, but (as you know) this is my favorite song by him.
4.Sweden 2006- BWO- Temple of love: I need them in eurovision xD
5.Norway 2010- Gaute Ormåsen- Synk Eller Svøm
6.Sweden 2007- Måns Zelmerlöw- Cara mia: Did I mention I want him to represent Sweden in eurovision? xD
7.Spain 2008- La casa azul- la revolucion sexual: ugh Spain 2008, they had a great line up in the NF and they picked the worst. I also loved Coral’s song. but La casa azul is just one of my favorite groups ever.
8. Latvia 2011-Lauris Reiniks-Banjo Laura: I’ll never forgive Latvia for not sending this. Still not over it.
9.Toše Proeski- Čija si- Serbia-Montenegro 2003: Well, this technically won the nf, but didn’t make it to esc. It would have been high in my 2003 rankings (probably 3rd).
10.Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson – Það sem verður-Iceland 2006
11. Slovenia 2006 -Saša Lendero- Mandoline: read latvia 2011 😛
12.Croatia 2009- Feminnem- poljupci u boji: I like this better than Lako je sve and call me. Which I love
13.Sweden 2010- Timoteij- Kom: I need them in eurovision!!!!
14. Serbia 2008- Beauty Queens – Zavet
15. Germany 2008- Carolin Fortenbacher – Hinter dem Ozean: Agree, Germany had a strong final in 2008. I didn’t like cinema bizarre though, they were too tokio hotel-ish for me.
16. Finland 2010- Amadeus- Anastacia
17. Sweden 2008- BWO- Lay your love on me
18. Poland 2010- Iwona Węgrowska- Uwięziona
19.Germany 2010- Jennifer Braun- I care for you
20. Sweden 2011- Anniela-Elektrisk
As for the OGAE thingy, I didn’t follow it this year, but I do remember some of those songs from the nfs and I think my winner would have been Russia and Estonia my runner-up, and Cyprus 3rd. But I don’t remember them all, I have no idea what that Lithuanian song sounds like for example xD
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2. YES!!!
4. YESSSS!!! I love this song, as repetitive as it is.
6. Måns again. Who doesn’t love a but of Måns?? I like this song better than ‘Hope and Glory’. Now it’s official he’s not hosting Melodifestivalen my fingers are crossed either for ESC hosting or MF participation.
8. I loved Musiqq when they won (more than I do now) but anyway, that softened the blow. But ‘Banjo Laura’ was the song that got away of 2011. It was just a bit weird performance-wise…maybe that’s why it missed out.
9. I listened to this for the first time on your blog the other day. Naurally, it’s a good song because of who created it!
12. Better than ‘Call Me’ for sure. But ‘Lako Je Sve’ is one of my favourite ESC songs ever so I can’t say I like it less than this.
13. If I could pick any artist/s to go to Eurovision it would be Timoteij! Preferably with this song, but since that’s impossible anything would do. Their latest album is awesome.
14. Great song. I hate to say it but I like it more than ‘Oro’. Slightly.
15. I actually didn’t get this at first, but the last time I listened to it I was like ‘oh my god, Germany should have sent this!’. I do like ‘Disappear’, but in terms of performance and general song quality it was basically the worst option.
17. =D
19. Quite good. I also liked her version of ‘Satellite’. It would never have won ESC though.
20. Why didn’t this get anywhere??
I am shocked you like Russia the best out of the OGAEs!! Not. If it wasn’t for Yulia (who couldn’t sing in ’03 and still can’t now) ruinining it, it would have been so much better, but no doubt it never would have beaten the grannies.
I don’t know what Lithuania sounds like either, TBH!! And I never listened to Portugal or Latvia.
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