Eurovision liveblog part 7
Serbia have turned up on stage with half an orchestra to sing a perfectly pleasant torch song. Zeljko Joksimovic has a nice voice, and there's nothing essentially wrong with this song, but it's not truly exciting. Nije Ljubav Stvar is sung in Serbian, hurrah.
Ruslana-producing nation Ukraine is now on stage with dramatic euphoric strings and a woman dressed as Pocahontas singing Born This Way by any other name. She has brought some animated dancers to make Be My Guest look a bit more entertaining. Terrie says it sounds like some nation's Euro football anthem and it does. I think this is what Jedward wanted to do but didn't quite. Five points from me. Be My Guest is sung in soul-diva style English.
Finally, it's Moldova with Pasha Parfeny and a sort of big-band version of the Balkan beat ouevre. Lautar is about a trumpet, fnar fnar, and is sung in oddly-mannered English ("how looks the trumpet?") accompanied by dancers in the ugliest costumes ever seen at Eurovision. It has a sort of circus vibe, I can see it appealing to burlesque lovers and fans of tiny bulbous dresses. Bonus points for not actually having a trumpet on stage.
Darien says he is bowled over by Moldova. Thank you, Oscar.
So here's our recap! We have:
UK with Engelbert, pretty song, shame about the order of the draw. Hungary being Maroon 5, Albania with a Bjork number, Lithuania with the douche in a blindfold, Bosnia with a big ballad (well-performed), Russia with the grannies, Iceland with tedious hollering, Cyprus doing the splits, France with an electronic number that I liked, Italy with Amy Winehouse, Estonia with a big ballad (tedious), Norway with an acrobat, Azerbaijan with a big ballad (terrible), Romania singing unexpectedly in Spanish, Denmark (Alanis Morissette), Greece (flat singing, dreadful song), Sweden (appropriately performed Euphoria), Turkey (mad klezmer vampires), Spain with a big ballad (best of the night), Germany (very disappointing), Malta (just awful), Macedonia, who foxed us with a balad that went hard-rock, Jedward, Serbia with a torch song, Ukraine being Lady Gaga, and Moldova with a song that isn't actually that good but which closed the programme so hurrah.
Our final picks!
Darien: Italy and Russia
Terrie: Moldova and Spain
Seamus: Moldova and Italy
Issa: Italy and Moldova
Lise: Spain and Denmark, with a side of Sweden.
Wish us luck!
Ruslana-producing nation Ukraine is now on stage with dramatic euphoric strings and a woman dressed as Pocahontas singing Born This Way by any other name. She has brought some animated dancers to make Be My Guest look a bit more entertaining. Terrie says it sounds like some nation's Euro football anthem and it does. I think this is what Jedward wanted to do but didn't quite. Five points from me. Be My Guest is sung in soul-diva style English.
Finally, it's Moldova with Pasha Parfeny and a sort of big-band version of the Balkan beat ouevre. Lautar is about a trumpet, fnar fnar, and is sung in oddly-mannered English ("how looks the trumpet?") accompanied by dancers in the ugliest costumes ever seen at Eurovision. It has a sort of circus vibe, I can see it appealing to burlesque lovers and fans of tiny bulbous dresses. Bonus points for not actually having a trumpet on stage.
Darien says he is bowled over by Moldova. Thank you, Oscar.
So here's our recap! We have:
UK with Engelbert, pretty song, shame about the order of the draw. Hungary being Maroon 5, Albania with a Bjork number, Lithuania with the douche in a blindfold, Bosnia with a big ballad (well-performed), Russia with the grannies, Iceland with tedious hollering, Cyprus doing the splits, France with an electronic number that I liked, Italy with Amy Winehouse, Estonia with a big ballad (tedious), Norway with an acrobat, Azerbaijan with a big ballad (terrible), Romania singing unexpectedly in Spanish, Denmark (Alanis Morissette), Greece (flat singing, dreadful song), Sweden (appropriately performed Euphoria), Turkey (mad klezmer vampires), Spain with a big ballad (best of the night), Germany (very disappointing), Malta (just awful), Macedonia, who foxed us with a balad that went hard-rock, Jedward, Serbia with a torch song, Ukraine being Lady Gaga, and Moldova with a song that isn't actually that good but which closed the programme so hurrah.
Our final picks!
Darien: Italy and Russia
Terrie: Moldova and Spain
Seamus: Moldova and Italy
Issa: Italy and Moldova
Lise: Spain and Denmark, with a side of Sweden.
Wish us luck!