A very Scandinavian Super Saturday (feat. the results of your Melfest votes)
Hey, people who read my blog! Tonight is a great big fat night on the NF calendar, with impending host country Denmark and last year’s hosts Sweden going head-to-head with their respective finals. There’s also the Slovenian final to look out for, plus semis in Norway and Portugal and an alleged revelation from Russia…and that’s not all. Yikes, right? Unlike likely Melodifestivalen winner Ace Wilder (spoiler alert!) I suspect none of us will be busy doin’ nothin’ this evening. In fact, we’ll be busy doin’ a heck of a lot. Here’s a more in-depth look at what you’ll be dividing your time between.
PS – Read on to the Melfest section to see the results of last week’s poll, and whether they’ve influenced my prediction at all.
PPS – Getting to that section may take while. Seriously – this is a long post. Go grab yourself a cup of tea, or better yet, an energy drink, and get reading.
Norway: the semis continue!
I have a confession to make: I didn’t have the time to follow Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix this year.
Having followed it the last few years and enjoyed myself immensely, I had every intention of doing the same thing in 2014. Unfortunately, life (and a bunch of other NFs) got in the way, and last night I realised it wasn’t going to happen, what with the first semi final taking place pretty much as I was accepting that. Oops.
But the show must, and did, go on without me. Three songs out of five are through to next Saturday’s final – Heal by Mo (which I have previewed and quite enjoyed), Needs by Dina Misund, and High Hopes by Linnea Dale. Tonight, another five songs will compete for another three places. They are:
- Hele Verden by Cir.Cuz
- Right Now by Martine Marbel
- Sing by Oda & Wulff
- Taste of You by Knut Kippersund Nesdal
- Hit Me Up by Charlie
I can’t offer any educated insights here, but I can offer uneducated ones. Based purely on title/name appeal, I like the look of Hele Verden, Right Now and Hit Me Up. It’s a given that at least one of those will qualify to the final, but that won’t stop me from gloating when that happens, just to warn you.
Tomorrow night, it’s the same deal with lucky last semi three, featuring:
- Bensin by Moi
- Ain’t No Love In This City No More by El Cuero
- Who Needs The Universe by Ilebek
- Sole Survivor by Elisabeth Carew
- Silent Storm by Carl Espen
I’m interested to (eventually) hear Bensin, Who Needs The Universe and Sole Survivor in this group. I’m also interested to hear whether anyone has the potential to reach or top the standard of Margaret Berger – i.e., is Norway keen to keep the ESC in Scandinavia for another year, or are they just not that bothered?
Denmark’s MGP seeks someone to fly the home flag
Speaking of not being bothered…here’s Denmark! DMGP was very strong last year, and we all know what came of that. I’d like to take a moment to remind you of one my personal favourites from back then.
What could have been *sigh*…but it was Emmelie de Forest who took the win, then again in Malmö. That’s why we’re all referring to Denmark as ‘the host country’ this season, isn’t it? So, in saying that, the host country chooses its entry tonight, and whichever song wins can be guaranteed a rapturous applause in the Eurovision final.
That song will be one of ten entries competing in Odense, listed below in running order.
- I Choose U by Bryan Rice
- Your Lies by Rebekka Thornbech
- Feeling The You by Sonny
- She’s The One by Danni Elmo
- Vi Finder Hjem by Emilie Moldow
- Right By Your Side by GlamboyP
- Before You Forget Me by Nadia Malm
- Cliché Love Song by Basim
- It Hurts by Anna David
- Wanna Be Loved by Michael Rune feat. Natascha Bessez
I chose to be lazy here and only listen to the snippets a few times over.
The impression I got was that Denmark definitely don’t want another win; but at the same time, give these songs a chance and you’ll probably find quite a few that will give the Danes a middling to decent result, which won’t embarrass them.
Here’s my top five:
I Choose U – Bryan Rice is my ultimate ‘one who got away’. He 110% should have gone to Eurovision in 2010, but was left languishing in second place. Four years later, he’s back with a song that doesn’t have the same impact as his last, but is perfectly good radio pop with a great tempo.
Feeling The You – The disco sound is having a revival, no? I blame that for my attraction to this cheesy funkfest. It can’t have anything to do with that nonsensical title, which could either refer to Sonny’s penchant for sexual harassment or some kind of heightened vibe-sensing ability he possesses.
Vi Finder Hjem – This reminds me of something you’d find in the Swedish preselection for Junior Eurovision, which suits me just fine. Extra points for singing in Danish!
Cliché Love Song – Damn, this is catchy. And I wish some other songs would be this honest. For example, Dina Garipova’s What If would be Shamelessly Lame Ballad Wired To Rake In The Points, and Solayoh would’ve been Off-The-Shelf Ethnopop Five Years Past Its Use-By Date.
Wanna Be Loved – Very European dance pop. Not original, but a decent example of what it is.
Now, who among these five and the leftovers will succeed Emmelie as the Danish rep? I always have a hard time predicting DMGP, but working on the basis that my favourites hardly ever win it, I’m going to guess Danni Elmo or GlamboyP. If I was to get lucky and have a most-liked take out the comp, it’d be Bryan Rice or Basim.
What do you think? Who’s going to fly the Danish flag on home ground?
This is it: Melodifestivalen reaches its exciting conclusion
And I’ll be getting up at 3am to tune in! I am so P.U.M.P.E.D, my mini Swedish flag is practically quivering with excitement.
This is the ten-strong lineup for tonight, accompanied by some bite-sized reviews.
Natural by Anton Ewald – I’ve finally figured out what isn’t clicking here. It’s too forced, too try-hard, too ‘I want to come back and WIN, damn it.’ I loved Anton last year, and I still think he has the face of a Hollywood heartthrob (and the voice of Eric Saade on an off day) but Natural is one club banger that will stay in the club.
Songbird by Ellen Benediktson – And the award for Song Most Likely To Send Me To Sleep goes to Sporty Spice lookalike Ellen! I was shocked when this qualified straight through, because it is nice, but boring as Sanna Nielsen’s outfit. Bless the girl, but she will be my toilet break.
Blame It On The Disco by Alcazar – The schlager-tastic trio has sucked me in with their hypnotically catchy chorus circa 2002, and I no longer dread the thought of them winning. That is partly because they won’t be winning. But they will more than make up for the lack of bedazzling on Sanna.
Alcazar’s motto: peace, love, and a sh%!load of sequins.
Yes We Can by Oscar Zia – Perhaps it’s my secret addiction to cheesy Disney Channel movies talking here, but I LOVE this one. Oscar is adorable, can bust a move and has the voice of an angel (when compared to Anton Ewald). Combine those pros with the karaoke dream that is Yes We Can, and I for one am sold.
Bröder by Linus Svenning – I’m so happy this came out of AC, because it was one of my favourites in the first semi. It’s one of just two Swedish-language songs in the final, which coupled with the sad back story makes it all the more special. I don’t expect it to do much tonight, but it will stand out in the line up.
Survivor by Helena Paparizou – She made it (almost) all the way! I’ve grown to love Survivor, and the already-established love I had for Helena herself means there is a whole lotta love from me to this entry. I’ve been singing this in the shower, back-to-back with Undo, constantly for the last month. My neighbours are not amused.
Just call her a survivor, already!
To The End by YOHIO – I still prefer Heartbreak Hotel, but this has grown on me. I have to admit though, my favourite thing is that the big, brash performance is going to make Sanna’s simplified staging a breath of fresh air. I think YOHIO’s chances of winning have waned, but he should do okay with this.
Undo by Sanna Nielsen – Sanna is a perfect human, and this is a near-perfect lady ballad IMO. You can take your Wrecking Ball comparisons and shove them somewhere intimate, because there is no way you’ll ever see Sanna swinging across the stage astride a heavy-duty piece of destruction equipment. I do hope to see her swinging into first place during the voting, however.
Efter Solsken by Panetoz – I love these guys, their sound, and their irresistible choreography. They are definitely a collective ray of sunshine in this competition, and if there was to be a shock winner, I’d want it to be them.
Busy Doin’ Nothin’ by Ace Wilder – This song is an ear worm and a half. It’s also interesting and modern enough that it would make a good winner. I’m skeptical of Ace’s live vocal abilities (she’s no rival for Sanna in that department) but if Eric Saade can win Melfest, singing prowess is obviously not that important…
The outcome of Melfest 2014 isn’t going to be as hard to predict as DMGP, or as I initially thought. We’ve seen how the acts performed in the semis, we’ve seen the betting odds, and we have our gut instincts to guide us. Still, I was that hopeless during the semis and AC that I needed all the help in the world to make my prediction. That’s why I recruited you guys to vote for who you thought would win tonight.
Firstly, I’d like to thank you all for voting – the numbers were bigger than I expected, and I appreciate every click made. Secondly, HERE ARE THE RESULTS!
It was a close one between Ace and Sanna at first, but perhaps poor Sanna is destined to be second-best.
I’m not so sure she can defy that destiny this evening. The result comes down to televotes from the Swedish public, as well as vote cast by a variety of international juries. Last year, the juries took victory away from YOHIO and boosted Robin into what became a winning position. Not to sound too dramatic, but acts will suffer at the hands of either Sweden or the juries. It’s the way of the system.
I’m calling Girl Power to overcome the suffering, in the form of either:
Ace – I had a feeling about her before the poll results proved her so popular. I don’t think the juries will love her, but Sweden does/will, and they could give her the boost required so that a middling jury score won’t matter.
Ellen – Hers was a shock qualify, and I still don’t get it. But apparently there’s something about her I’m missing. Songbird is understated where Busy is aggressive, and sometimes less is more. The victory may depend on how many people have migraines.
Sanna – I am Team Sanna. I want her in Copenhagen, dammit. She’s tried six times in the past, and I’m not convinced she’ll get over the line now, but I can’t discount her. She has a decent draw, and based on downloads Sweden has responded well to Undo. The juries should rate it too, so if it’s not quite a win for Sanna, it will be a good result.
If she wins, it’ll undo her sad for sure.
If you’re watching Melfest tonight, join me on Twitter @EurovisionByJaz. I’m excited to share my first (and probably only) live NF of the season with anyone who’ll have me. We can share witty 140-character quips until the sun rises (or until the show is over and you go to bed at a reasonable hour, if that’s your situation). See you there?
Sans Scandinavia (i.e. elsewhere in Europe)…
I think this post has gone on long enough, so I’ll just gloss over the rest of this weekend’s happenings.
Tonight
- Russia will supposedly make an internal selection, having set an NF date and pushed it back already.
- Slovenia’s EMA final, featuring 2005 rep Omar Naber and a song co-written by Hannah Mancini, begins and ends.
- Portugal’s Festival da Canção kicks off with a semi.
Sunday
- Sergej Četković’s song for Montenegro will be premiered. According to Wikipedia it’s called Moj Svijet, which means it’s very unlikely to actually be called Moj Svijet.
Tuesday (not part of the weekend, but worth a mention)
- Greece decides which of four acts to send to Denmark, presumably flying economy or with the baggage.
Alright. I’ve talked at you for long enough. I’ll let you go and prepare your viewing snacks and test your flags for wave-ability and flex your pumping fist. Me, I’ll be setting my alarm for a very silly hour of the morning and choosing the pajamas that would be best suited to watching Melfest.
#AustralianESCfanproblems.
Enjoy your evening, ladies and gents!
eurovisionbyjaz.com 
3 Responses to “A very Scandinavian Super Saturday (feat. the results of your Melfest votes)”
“Bensin” was nothing special live. There were no mistakes, but no extra stage presence either. I’m happy to enjoy the studio version.
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I recommend Bensin for your listening pleasure regardless of its ESC chances.
Studio version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd2XF1WAPmA
It could be just the Nordic smoothie cocktail for your hectic days.
(I’m having fantasies about how beautiful this could be live, but keeping my expectations low.)
I thought Melfest was all over once jury support starting flooding in behind Ace (not to mention Alcazar), and then it was the public who (barely) saved Sanna. So many parallels with Spain.
“Songbird” got a worse hiding than I expected. I suspect the juries are a little too focused on second-guessing the public instead of providing an alternative perspective … They are deliberately going against stereotypical assumptions. Or maybe I’m just overrating it, which is entirely possible.
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Bensin has been and gone from MGP, and I’m still not sure if that’s good or bad. It sounds like the soundtrack to a drug-induced haze of some kind. Hallucinations optional. How was it live?? I’m feeling too lazy to check it out for myself.
It certainly seemed like Ace was The One at first in Melfest. I would have been happy with her as a choice, in the hope that her voice would have improved by May a la Ryan Dolan. Even with the dodgy vocal, the performance was good and the song rocks. But as a fully paid-up member of Team Sanna, I can’t complain about her FINALLY winning.
Alcazar suprised me the most by doing so well. And I have to admit, I did not see Anton’s last place coming. I suspect he didn’t either.
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