Eurovision 2011 Wrap-Up

So I wasn't able to watch Eurovision until yesterday, and because of this had to self-impose several hours of internet exile so that I wouldn't read the results before watching.

Now that the dust has settled, here are my thoughts:

- The winner: lame. I thought it was a boring song with terrible staging. I honestly don't see how this was so loved by the voters and juries. It's perfectly fine, but hardly memorable.

- I was shocked at how well Sweden did. It was totally deserved (and probably should have won), but for some reason I had anticipated this flopping. I'm glad to see that Europe has good taste! Hopefully this will help Eric find the global success he deserves.

- I was also shocked at how well Italy did. I pegged this as last place (it ended up in second!). Personally, I hated this song and it was probably my least favorite. I can't believe people actually called in and voted.

- Jedward: they did well, but should have won. They balanced novelty and proper pop perfectly and put on one of the most memorable performances (with lots of kicking and star jumps!). Interestingly, according to Australian voters (whose votes obviously don't count in the final) the twins were the clear winners.

- Why had all the bookies predicted a France win? It didn't go over all that well and didn't finish well either. I'm confused as to why this was tipped to do conquer (other than the beautiful LED projections behind him)

- Wanted Finland to do better. So earnest. Estonia should have also done MUCH better than they did, even though the performance itself looked cheap.

- Germany did a TERRIBLE job hosting this year. What was up with that boring (and endless) interval act? And I hated that the video intros to each artist were basically tourism ads for Germany. They should have shown representations of each country, not local Germans from each country.

- Never underestimate the power of sand art.

- Norway's song was missed greatly in the final.

- What was up with all of the good songs being performed in a row early on in the competition, leaving a bunch of crap in their wake?

- I'm glad the pointy hatted Moldova brought some much needed whimsy. Yay for horn-playing unicyclists!

- I also liked Denmark's song and was happy to see it do so well.

- Still don't get UK's song.

- Kudos to my two favorite European countries (UK, Sweden) for giving Jedward 12 points. Yes!

My Top Three:

1. Ireland


2. Sweden


3. Hungary

Eurovision 2011 Wrap-Up

So I wasn't able to watch Eurovision until yesterday, and because of this had to self-impose several hours of internet exile so that I wouldn't read the results before watching.

Now that the dust has settled, here are my thoughts:

- The winner: lame. I thought it was a boring song with terrible staging. I honestly don't see how this was so loved by the voters and juries. It's perfectly fine, but hardly memorable.

- I was shocked at how well Sweden did. It was totally deserved (and probably should have won), but for some reason I had anticipated this flopping. I'm glad to see that Europe has good taste! Hopefully this will help Eric find the global success he deserves.

- I was also shocked at how well Italy did. I pegged this as last place (it ended up in second!). Personally, I hated this song and it was probably my least favorite. I can't believe people actually called in and voted.

- Jedward: they did well, but should have won. They balanced novelty and proper pop perfectly and put on one of the most memorable performances (with lots of kicking and star jumps!). Interestingly, according to Australian voters (whose votes obviously don't count in the final) the twins were the clear winners.

- Why had all the bookies predicted a France win? It didn't go over all that well and didn't finish well either. I'm confused as to why this was tipped to do conquer (other than the beautiful LED projections behind him)

- Wanted Finland to do better. So earnest. Estonia should have also done MUCH better than they did, even though the performance itself looked cheap.

- Germany did a TERRIBLE job hosting this year. What was up with that boring (and endless) interval act? And I hated that the video intros to each artist were basically tourism ads for Germany. They should have shown representations of each country, not local Germans from each country.

- Never underestimate the power of sand art.

- Norway's song was missed greatly in the final.

- What was up with all of the good songs being performed in a row early on in the competition, leaving a bunch of crap in their wake?

- I'm glad the pointy hatted Moldova brought some much needed whimsy. Yay for horn-playing unicyclists!

- I also liked Denmark's song and was happy to see it do so well.

- Still don't get UK's song.

- Kudos to my two favorite European countries (UK, Sweden) for giving Jedward 12 points. Yes!

My Top Three:

1. Ireland


2. Sweden


3. Hungary

Jedward - Lipstick

"She's got her lipstick on"

It's Eurovision week! More specifically, today is the first semifinal where roughly half of the acts for the final will be chosen. None of my favorites are in this round, but I'm still interested to see what happens. My favorite in the contest, though, is ex-X-Factor novelty twins Jedward and their ridiculously fun (and kinda stupid) Lipstick. Jedward have always entertained me, from their off-key antics on X-Factor to their train wreck of a reality show, but I never thought they'd actually record a song that I'd like. I don't know how they'll do in the contest (their live "vocals" leave much to be desired), but I think they'll either place really well or really poorly. There's no middle ground for an act like this. (fun fact: Ireland, the country these guys are representing, have won the contest more than any other country, including a three year (!) streak in the mid-90's)



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Jedward - Lipstick

"She's got her lipstick on"

It's Eurovision week! More specifically, today is the first semifinal where roughly half of the acts for the final will be chosen. None of my favorites are in this round, but I'm still interested to see what happens. My favorite in the contest, though, is ex-X-Factor novelty twins Jedward and their ridiculously fun (and kinda stupid) Lipstick. Jedward have always entertained me, from their off-key antics on X-Factor to their train wreck of a reality show, but I never thought they'd actually record a song that I'd like. I don't know how they'll do in the contest (their live "vocals" leave much to be desired), but I think they'll either place really well or really poorly. There's no middle ground for an act like this. (fun fact: Ireland, the country these guys are representing, have won the contest more than any other country, including a three year (!) streak in the mid-90's)



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira - Run Away

"Let me breathe, let me leave"

My god, don't they look happy? Scary happy.
Consider this my (very late) Eurovision post. I watched the competition on Sunday and, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the overall quality was better than last year, and there were definitely plenty of wtf acts to laugh at (singing to a giant apricot pit? Really, Armenia??). I thought Denmark deserved to win with their Police-aping 80's power ballad (and might have if the voting rules hadn't changed). I also liked Greece, Iceland, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Albania. Another highlight for me, and one that didn't get a lot of love, was Moldova's over-the-top neon-colored entry. The saxophone player was absolutely ridiculous, but the two singers had nice live voices and the song was the first real uptempo dance tune of the evening. Like many other entries of the night, it featured some prominent fiddling (in light of last year's winner, for sure), but the saxophone is really what differentiates this from the anonymous club song it could have been. It got kind of lost in the shuffle, but they were one of the few acts that I found myself investigating after the competition was over. Total over-the-top cheese, for sure. But what else do you expect in a Eurovision post?

Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira - Run Away by tattoowesley

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the Eurovision album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira - Run Away

"Let me breathe, let me leave"

My god, don't they look happy? Scary happy.
Consider this my (very late) Eurovision post. I watched the competition on Sunday and, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the overall quality was better than last year, and there were definitely plenty of wtf acts to laugh at (singing to a giant apricot pit? Really, Armenia??). I thought Denmark deserved to win with their Police-aping 80's power ballad (and might have if the voting rules hadn't changed). I also liked Greece, Iceland, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Albania. Another highlight for me, and one that didn't get a lot of love, was Moldova's over-the-top neon-colored entry. The saxophone player was absolutely ridiculous, but the two singers had nice live voices and the song was the first real uptempo dance tune of the evening. Like many other entries of the night, it featured some prominent fiddling (in light of last year's winner, for sure), but the saxophone is really what differentiates this from the anonymous club song it could have been. It got kind of lost in the shuffle, but they were one of the few acts that I found myself investigating after the competition was over. Total over-the-top cheese, for sure. But what else do you expect in a Eurovision post?

Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira - Run Away by tattoowesley

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the Eurovision album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.