Malmö Memories | My top 10 songs of 2013, one year later
I hope you guys like bargains, because today you’re getting two top 10 lists for the price of one. Woohoo?!
Here’s the deal: in my last post – a hilarious (cough) recap of Eurovision 2013 – I promised the next one would be a countdown of my favourite moments from Malmö, expanding on those I included in the recap. Unfortunately, I’ve been forced to semi-break that promise and squish that top 10 into another top 10 due to the general chaos of life at the moment, and also my warped idea of how much I could cram into the few weeks that remain before Copenhagen kicks off.
So, firstly, in condensed form, here are my top 10 moments* of the contest that was:
*“Moments” in this instance refers to anything from actual, brief moments to long, drawn-out moments i.e. entire performances. I’m not so strict with the definitions on this blog.
#10/ The Kedvesem clapalong – It wasn’t the easiest song to sing along to, so the audience in the Malmö Arena showed their appreciation for Hungary’s entry in a different way. Just the fact that they had that appreciation made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
#9/ Moldova’s magnificent money note – Pastora Soler left big stilettos to fill, and while Aliona didn’t totally fill them in terms of length, she certainly did in impact. How that voice can emerge from such a delicate person I will never know.
#8/ One hell of an Urban Orchestra – The second semi final saw a troupe of dancers transformed into human instruments, followed rather randomly by BMX stunts. Things don’t have to make sense to be awesome (which you have to accept if you’re a Eurovision fan).
#7/ Petra’s trip into Eurovision past – Ms. Mede proved herself up there with the Ankes of the hosting world by venturing into ESC history. She lost her patience with Udo Jürgens and accused Linda Martin of being Johnny Logan’s drag persona, and it was brilliant.
#6/ Astronauts and cyborgs and overall epicness…oh my! – Who See’s performance for Montenegro was a huge highlight for me, because it was executed with excellence that I didn’t expect. The boys were entertaining and Nina was fierce and vocally on her game.
#5/ Carola’s fall from grace – During the completely wonderful ‘Swedish Smörgåsbord’ interval act, the legendary ESC champ Carola opened her mouth to bust out Fångad Av En Stormvind, only to be swept off the satellite stage by a stormwind of the machine variety. This was 100% unscripted, of course.
#4/ Azerbaijan’s glass case of emotion – Virtual high five for the Anchorman reference *smack*! Farid’s glass box was one of the best props/staging concepts of recent memory, IMO. Put that on stage with Jemini and Cry Baby could have come top 5 easily.
#3/ A parade of pop stars – The artist parade is something usually reserved for Junior Eurovision, and I’ve always loved it there. Incorporating one into the adult comp was a nice move on SVT’s part, and I hope we see it again in the future.
#2/ Roberto Bellarosa jumps for joy – This really was a moment. A short but very sweet moment, in which Belgium’s boy wonder sang his last note, then proceeded to do this, which was EVERYTHING.
#1/ A Swedish dream team – I have to bestow the honour of Moment Numero Uno on the interval act of Darin and Agnes, and you’ll know why if you’ve been reading me for a while. It’s because it was my dream come true. I love Agnes, but Darin is my absolute favourite male artist on the planet, and he made it to Eurovision. Technically.
Sorry to rush through that without any build-up or suspense, but up next I have the main top 10 for today’s post, which is full of both of those things. It’s been over a year since all the songs were locked in for the 2013 contest, and between then and now, my rankings of those songs have changed many, many, many…*ten minutes later* many times. But as I haven’t actually sat down and figured out just how much in ages, I figured now would be an interesting time to do so.
I’m not going to go through the entire Class of Malmö here and now; instead, I’m going to hand out some very belated points to my newfound top 10 – my current favourite entries from the contest just past. Have your own votes at the ready and let me know where they would go if you could distribute them today.
Here are the results of Jaz’s mental vote:
1 point goes to…
Greece with Alcohol Is Free by Koza Mostra feat. Agathonas Iakovidis
You can’t help loving this song, even as time goes on and you become aware that the alcohol is in fact NOT free – and downright expensive if you’re in Scandinavia. It’s an effortless ethnic party for three minutes, kilts and moustaches included, and appeals to me much more than the cliché Paparizou rip-offs that Greece has been guilty of sending in the past.
2 points go to…
Azerbaijan with Hold Me by Farid Mammadov
I didn’t like this much at first. It was doing so well with the bookies, and I was just thinking three letters: W, T and F. But – and this has nothing to do with the awesome stage presentation – I’ve come around. This is a ballad with a lot of impact, in and outside of the choruses. It’s a great addition to my personal Shower Karaoke Collection (the shower is my personal glass box, after all).
3 points go to…
Israel with Rak Bishvilo by Moran Mazor
Damn, there were some good ballads last year! Rak Bishvilo was one of the most dramatic ones, with this intensity to it that builds and builds until Moran’s epic crystal-shattering note, well, shatters some serious crystal. It is repetitive, but when the melody is so lovely, it doesn’t matter much.
4 points go to…
Sweden with You by Robin Stjernberg
Yep, I still love me some Robin. The ESC’s most recent host entry went from being my favourite in Melodifestivalen to one of my top songs before, during and after the main event, and it’s still up there despite a few other songs developing an edge recently. I see You as an atypical Swedish entry and quite a unique song in general, which I really appreciate.
5 points go to…
Montenegro with Igranka by Who See
The reason I was so worried about this live was because it’s so awesome in studio, as a song by itself. I’m not a huge fan of dubstep, but it’s a genre that’s still refreshing to see in Eurovision, and it made for an über cool contribution from Montenegro. It is divisive, which probably explains its failure to qualify in Malmö, but I’m definitely someone who loves it rather than hates it.
6 points go to…
Ukraine with Gravity by Zlata Ognevich
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be “going” to Denmark for Eurovision 2014. But as someone who never felt anything much for Only Teardrops, a part of me wishes we were going to Ukraine. Gravity would have made an excellent winner, being so majestic and soaring and reminding me that I should watch The Lion King again. I’m basically still as impressed by it as I was a year ago.
7 points go to…
Moldova with O Mie by Aliona Moon
Oh look, it’s another ballad. This one shares many similarities with Israel’s – it’s a little repetitive but still stunning, not in English which makes it all the more magical, and demands a lot from the lung capacity of the singer. It gets more points from me because…well, I don’t know. Melodically speaking, I guess it just appeals to my ear more. PS – My mother also likes this a lot.
8 points go to…
Norway with I Feed You My Love by Margaret Berger
This was the edgiest and one of the most current entries of the year, and had lyrics that we all enjoyed musing over the possibly saucy subtext of (‘I have the future on my tongue’…hello!). Some people didn’t enjoy the backing track of grinding metal, but I loved that too. All in all, it’s intense, catchy and unique, and a side of Norway that I want to see more of in the future.
10 points go to…
Hungary with Kedvesem by ByeAlex
I fell in love with this song from the first time I heard it, shortly after it won A Dal kind of unexpectedly. I’ve been raving on about it a lot recently, what with the Malmö nostalgia everywhere at the moment, and I’m not stopping now, because it is that awesome. The original, non-Zoohacker version is the ultimate in beautiful simplicity, but the remix gives the song the bit of pep required to elevate it even higher in my opinion. Plus, Hungarian is one of my favourite musical languages and it sounds particularly lovely in this instance.
And finally, 12 points go to…
Italy with L’Essenziale by Marco Mengoni
I haven’t changed my mind on Italy much since they chose their last entry. I still think this is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard (for real) and that Marco is one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever seen (also for real, and irrelevant). It’s a ballad with integrity; one with real meaning to it, which I feel every time I listen to it despite sometimes forgetting the literal English translation. Marco’s performance at Eurovision wasn’t completely spellbinding – I’m not sure he’s capable of taking anything totally seriously – but the song is so magic it didn’t matter. And he’s so delicious I can forgive him.
And with the douze doled out, let’s recap.
- Italy
- Hungary
- Norway
- Moldova
- Ukraine
- Montenegro
- Sweden
- Israel
- Azerbaijan
- Greece
Those are my most-loved songs of Eurovision 2013, and it wasn’t all that hard to separate them from the rest. I guess time, in addition to healing all wounds and going by so slowly, also makes you surer of what you like.
You know what comes next, right?
Hit me up, peeps – what’s your 2013 top 10, a year after the show?
NEXT TIME: Just when you thought it was time to move on from NF season, think again! I’m about to reveal the best could-have-beens of the 2014 season. That’s as far as I’m concerned, of course. #JoinUs #JoinMe and see if we have any in common.
eurovisionbyjaz.com 
4 Responses to “Malmö Memories | My top 10 songs of 2013, one year later”
Hold up, no love for la Belgique?! That is just 50 shades of WRONG. 😛 I just threw this rank together today, but I think it’s pretty good.
1 point – Denmark
2 – Cyprus
3 – Montenegro
4 – France
5 – Norway
6 – Moldova
7 – Spain
8 – Belgium (At least Roberto has SOMEONE who loves him. 😉 )
10 – Sweden
and 12 go to my favorite Eurovision song ever, Hungary!
Also, only Hungary is in my top 10 again this year at 8th. Denmark is next closest at 12th. I can’t believe Cyprus is gone. I hope they come back next year.
P.S. I’ve got heat 5 open and running. 😉 http://hopefullydaedal.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/the-winner-is-heat-5/
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Hey now!! I still love Roberto, I do. He’d be like, 11th or 12th if I did a full ranking. That’s a rather good place to be hovering around out of 39.
Although I don’t feel the same, it’s nice to see some countries in your top 10 that didn’t do so well – Cyprus, France etc. The best part of course is Kedvesem coming out on top!! And you didn’t even screw up giving it 12 points like Lena did XD
Next year being the 60th Eurovish and all, I hope Cyprus come back too. Cyprus and B & H, and Serbia, and Turkey, and Croatia…I could go on. I really am feeling the lack of Balkans.
Voted!! It was a pretty easy choice for me in this heat. CoughHealCough. Mo ❤
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Yes, I know. I was just being hard on you. 😉
Hey now, don’t hate on my queen. 😛 That was such a charming moment (Lena and the douze to Hungary!) and I hope something like it happens this year.
The overall lack of countries makes me very sad. ;( I have a feeling this is the smallest we’ll get, though. Now just wait for the headlines in a year “Eurovision semi-finals cancelled due to participation numbers.”
Thanks for your vote! 😀 This is the closest heat yet.
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LENA FOREVER!! No hate. Her screwing that up just made her more adorable in that awkward way of hers. I always love the spokesperson who effs up anyway because it’s Eurovision tradition!! I think it was 2012 or 2011 when nobody messed up majorly, and it felt SO WRONG.
Haha, I always base whether we have enough countries on whether two decent semis are feasible. I’ll only be truly upset if there comes a day when we have to go back to one.
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