Counting down to JESC: Kyiv 2009
Another day, another step closer to the next contest and, you guessed it, another EBJ JESC recap! We’re on the home stretch now with three more editions to cover, so let’s get straight into the 7th. It was hosted by the Ukraine and took place under the same roof as big Eurovision had four years earlier, but in the end it was all about a country unaccustomed to topping the scoreboard…
The stats
Edition: 7th
When: 21st November, 2009
Where: Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine
Motto: ‘For the joy of people’
Hosts: Ani Lorak, Timur Miroshnichenko & Dmytro Borodin
Broadcaster: NTU
Entries: 13
Debutants: 0
Returnees: 1 – Sweden
Withdrawals: 3 – Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania
Interval acts: Ani Lorak performing Shady Lady and I’m Alive, Art Studio Rizoma performing ‘Tree of Life’
First place: Netherlands
Last place: Romania
Most douze points: 4 – Belgium
The entries
Sweden/ Du by Mimmi Sandén
Russia/ Malenkiy Prints by Ekaterina Ryabova
Armenia/ Barcelona by Luara Hayrapetyan
Romania/ Ai Puterea în Mâna Ta by Ioana Anuţa
Serbia/ Onaj Pravi by Ništa Lično
Georgia/ Lurji Prinveli by Group Princesses
Netherlands/ Click Clack by Ralf
Cyprus/ Thalassa, Ilios, Aeras, Fotia by Rafaella Kosta
Malta/ Double Trouble by Francesca & Mikaela
Ukraine/ Tri Topoli, Tri Surmy by Andranik Alexanyan
Belgium/ Zo Verliefd (Yodelo) by Laura
Belarus/ Volshebniy Krolik by Yuriy Demidovich
Macedonia/ Za Ljubovta by Sara Markovska
The scoreboard
- Netherlands – 121
- Armenia – 116
- Russia – 116
- Belgium – 113
- Ukraine – 89
- Georgia – 68
- (= 6) Sweden – 68
- Malta – 55
- Belarus – 48
- Serbia – 34
- Cyprus – 32
- Macedonia – 31
- Romania – 19
My top 5…
…songs
Belgium – as you may have noted in my last post, this is only my FAVOURITE JUNIOR SONG OF ALL TIME! Ahem. I’m rarely averse to a song that starts out as a ballad and then transforms into something else, a la Donny Montell’s Love Is Blind, and this is a wonderful example. Catchy, fun pop music with infectious yodeling.
Sweden – I’m beginning to think ’09 was epic, since this is another of my absolute favourites. I missed Sweden so much when they withdrew from JESC 2008, but I couldn’t have asked for a better comeback. Those Sandén sisters know how it’s done, and Mimmi opened the show in style with her sophisticated but not too grown-up electro-pop-r-and-b number (or whatever you’d call it).
Netherlands – after the great ‘WTF?’ winner debacle of the previous year, it was good to have someone come out on top who, in my mind, deserved to be there. Click Clack has that retro vibe the Netherlands seem to favour, but with a little something extra – namely a singing, tap-dancing, awesome jacket-wearing dude called Ralf.
Armenia – I love a sports anthem at Eurovision, and this is no exception. It may be shouty, but that doesn’t matter when you’re right there shouting along with Luara. Go Barcelona indeed!
Belarus – I’m not even joking. You can abuse me all you want, but I’ll still like this song. It’s pure musical madness and I’m pretty sure Yuriy was possessed by Krassimir Avramov, but that makes it stand out.
…voices
Romania – I can understand Ioana’s song coming last (it’s nice, but gets boring) but her voice was too good to be in that position. Then again, it’s not called the Junior Eurovision Voice Contest…
Sweden – what is with this family? How is it possible to have so many talented children? It’s so unfair. They could at leastbe ugly so the rest of us don’t feel so inadequate.
Belarus – his prowess is not so evident when he’s yelling ‘volshebniy KROLIK!’ (a.k.a. for most of the song) but once he goes all opera, it’s on. I bet you couldn’t shatter glasses with your high notes. No matter how tight your underpants are.
Georgia – the song is not up my alley, but I think the group sound really good together, as all the Georgian groups tend to.
Ukraine – Andranik has a really strong voice which comes unexpected from someone of his stature.
…costumes
Armenia – now here are some sport-inspired outfits I can get behind! Luara was in danger of being upstaged by her backup dancers in their super-cute soccer uniforms, complete with the Eurovision logo emblazoned on their shirts.
Netherlands – I want every single one of those jackets. Ralf, if you’re reading this while wondering what to get me for Christmas, there’s your answer.
Sweden – simple but eye-catching. Sequins aren’t a Eurovision calling card for no reason.
Belgium – yellow and flowers, two of my favourite things. This look was young, fun, and totally song-appropriate.
Ukraine – traditional costume never looked so good. Again, they’re bright and floral, but I’m not complaining.
Luara, Ralf, Mimmi, Laura, Andranik and his dancers
My bottom 5…
…songs
Cyprus – I like the opening/closing riff, but apart from that I’d class this as one of my least favourite JESC entries. I find it quite whiny and monotonous. I also feel really mean right now, but I have to be honest.
Serbia – not dreadful, just ‘meh’.
Macedonia – let’s face it, anything was bound to be a letdown after the few minutes of perfection that was Macedonia’s 2008 entry.
Georgia – this takes a while to get going, and once it does, it doesn’t go very far.
Malta – I know this is Junior Eurovision (as if I haven’t mentioned it enough already) but this is just too kiddish for me, as catchy as it is. The lyrics are ridiculous.
…voices
Serbia – I’m sure Anica is a lovely girl, and excels in other areas of life in general…but my god, her voice is terrible.
Cyprus – it may be the song that makes Rafaella’s vocal sound worse than it is.
…costumes
Cyprus – this look just doesn’t appeal to me.
Romania – it’s not so much the costumes that are bad (but I had to bring this up) than the creepy cardboard cut-outs which are apparently there to give the illusion of more people on stage. Just like the Swiss mannequins of ESC 2007, this trick wasn’t fooling anyone.
Georgia – they’re sweet, but they make the girls look like they should be going to bed, not performing in front of a crowd of thousands and a TV audience of many more.
Rafaella, Ioana and the Group Princesses
Did you get a kick out of Kyiv, or was Ukraine’s show a fizzler?
eurovisionbyjaz.com 
2 Responses to “Counting down to JESC: Kyiv 2009”
I’ll always remember Jesc 2009 for the super boring interval act and the tiny stage. The postcards were amazing though.
My top 5 were Belgium, Russia, Armenia, The Netherlands, Serbia (it’s soo childish, but catchy xD) and I really liked Romania as well, but it was too grown-up-ish for jesc. And I agree, the cut-outs were creepy and pointless since they filled the stage which was already tiny.
Totally agree with you on Cyprus and Georgia. Georgia is sooo boring and repetitive! But I love the music video and it kind of made the song grow on me..
And Sweden…Well, Mimmi has an amazing voice, but her song is too much oh eh oh and too many unnecessary sound effects for me to enjoy it.
Ps: on No, no vs Sensatsiya: I’ll reply to that in my jesc 2012 reviews. For now I’ll just tell you that I love both songs 😛
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Unless I’m mistaken, Ani Lorak lip-synced her way through both the songs she performed, which I don’t get because she’s a great singer. Even if she had a throat infection that would’ve made her sound like she was possessed (which she obviously didn’t) I would have rather heard that than watched excruciating minute after excruciating minute of miming. Whyyy Ani whyyyy???
I like Romania too, but it was too mature for Junior. I guess that’s why it came last, unless people were too creeped out by the cut-outs to vote for it.
Aaah, Mimmi’s song is probably in my top 5 ever! But I get where you’re coming from.
Keeping the mystery alive for your reviews then, ahaha? Can’t wait to read them. I am so curious to see what you think of Armenia, because I really have no clue…not. Bebby, sweeeetie bebbyy…
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