Douze Points!

Our BigPoll Votes
Nathan's view
1st - Linda Bengtzing
2nd - Frida feat. Headline
3rd - Amy Diamond
4th - BWO
5th - Charlotte Perrelli
6th - Sanna Neilsen
7th - Nordman
8th - Christer Sjögren
9th - Sibel
10th - Rongedal

Hannah's view
1st - Linda Bengtzing
2nd - Charlotte Perrelli
3rd - Amy Diamond
4th - Frida feat. Headline
5th - BWO
6th - Sanna Neilsen
7th - Rongedal
8th - Sibel
9th - Nordman
10th - Christer Sjögren

Overview
As you can see both Hannah and myself have roughly the same list with both of us having Linda 1st and Sanna 6th. 2nd-5th are the same in both, just changed slightly; same for 7th-10th too. If Hannah and I are anything to go by Sweden should send an upbeat track in Swedish... which I am learning the lyrics to!

Read our opinions on the Melodifestivalen 2008 Final here.

Hannah's view
I like this song; and the artist.
During his 'audition' to get onto Eurovision I thought he looked like an uncomfortable teenager trying o dance. It looked awful. But, in the official video, WOW! He scrubs up WELL! My first thought whilst watching it... is that the same dude?! Because this one is FIT!!
The song is good, the music is very pop/rock and has a good beat that is easy to hum. Although I understand the lyrics, they loose me slightly. If he says "Im gonna miss you... maybe" and then continues to say he's happy with her, why does he then continue to say, "I dont care!"
I dont know, but as I have said many times before, foreign people are strange. I mean that in a good way, I still love you all! Except certain people...

Nathan's view
Woah! What a radical change this song had! My sources tell me, thanks esctoday.com, that the same guy who organised Dima Koldun's 'Work Your Magic' last year organised this song and I have to say, it works, very, very, very, very well! It's a great song too, with a great beat, great lyrics and I hope it does well... actually I know it's going to do well!

"Malta, which includes the neighbouring island of Gozo, used to be under British rule. It became independent in 1964, but remains a part of the Commonwealth. Malta became the European Union's smallest new member in 2004. Tourism is the island's most important industry and Malta has more than a million visitors every year."

Whittaker's World of Facts - Russell Ash

Hannah's view
I dont think so. I think this is a great song with an even better video. I really liked this song ever since Nathan played it to me (very loudly) on his phone.
Its a catchy beat, even if you can't completely distinguish the lyrics at times! Its a fun song, paired with a fun title. How can you not like a song called Vodka?! Morena's vocals are superb near the end, but her accent doesn't help people trying to understand her English; no offence, I do actually love her accent!
One thing I do want to know is, who on EARTH are the men screaming 'hey-hey-hey!' amongst other things! It is slightly disturbing (did no one else feel that? Oh well..).

Nathan's view
Hahaha! VODKA! Woot! Malta you've hit the vodka, or at least I thought so till I saw the preview video. MAN Morena's hot! I mean the video is fantastic, like a scene out of Mission Impossible really. The lyrics are great and I love the men, unlike Hannah, chanting 'na zdarovye' in between the verses! Not one of my favourites but it should work well on stage in Belgrade.

"Denmark shares a border with Germany and is the smallest, most southerly Scandinavian nation. It is a wealthy, high-tech country and has all the oil and natural gas it needs. The standard of living is high. Denmark is a monarchy and the kingdom includes the Faeroe Islands and Greenland."

Whittaker's World of Facts - Russell Ash

Hannah's view
Personally, i love this song! Nathan can't see why; and i don't blame him. I have weird tastes. But i genuinely do love this song and the artist.
It has a relaxed pop feel to it, for it is most definitely a pop song, but has an easy beat and the lyrics are easy to hear, learn and sing along to! I love this type of song, so I'm particualrly attached to this song. I also think that the artist, Simon Mathew, has a great voice which suits this genre and can (unlike some Eurovision artists) sing in tune.
I think Denmark has made a good effort this year and should be rewarded for it. It scores very highly in my personal top 10!

Nathan's view
Oh God, please don't make me actually talk about it... Ok, so it's pop, it's not different enough to do well in my opinion. If Simon comes out on the night in tin-foil then maybe I'll have a different opinion but until then, it's definitely not one of my favourites. It doesn't reach my favourites list, by a LONG way.

"The United Kingdom is made up of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland. Although it is a small country, the UK has had a huge influence on the world because of its cultural, military and industrial strengths. At one time, it controlled a vast empire sf lands across the globe and was the world's leading industrial nation. Traditional manufacturing industries are now less important. In the 21st century the UK's main industries are technology, tourism and services such as banking and it is still and important economic power."

Whittaker's World of Facts - Russell Ash

Hannah's view
This year, the UK has sent Andy Abraham to Belgrade with his own song, Even If. This decision, when announced on the results show of UK's Eurovision: Your Decision sent shockwaves through the country.

Andy was a contestant on a talent contest called X Factor, on which he did very well. When he preformed on Eurovision: Your Decision he got to the finals against Michelle Gayle, who was singing a song called Woo (You Make Me). Not only did most of the country, including me and Nathan, think that this song ought to win, but so did both of the judges on the show. When the result came through that Andy had won, everyone was gobsmacked. Me and Nathan were ranting about the British publics opinions for days.

Andy's song is not bad. Its upbeat ad catchy. The lyrics are very touching and work well with the rhythm of the piece. I also like the 'break it down' bit in te middle of the song, it works very well. Andy is also a very good and enthusiastic performer. All this said, the UK's entry is not the best, in my opinion.

Nathan's view
Warning - Rant imminent...
Hur svårt kan det va for the UK to pick the right song?! Not very!!! Oh My God... The British public do not know what's right! First bloody Leon wins X Factor 4 instead of Rhydian, or even Same Difference, and now Andy Abraham (X Factor 2 runner up) beats 90s pop singer Michelle Gayle in Eurovision: Your Decision. Even the judges thought the Michelle should've won. Both me and my neighbours voted at least twice for Michelle and thought we wouldn't have to do any more as she would win comfortably. What has annoyed me most, I think, is the fact that the BBC haven't released the voting results from Eurovison: Your Decision so we can't see how close it was. I only know one person who wanted Andy to win and however much Even If grows on me, Woo (You Make Me) was the perfect Eurovison song.

So British public - yet again, you have done yourselves proud...

"About half of Slovenia is covered in forest, making it the third most forested
country in Europe. Slovenia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1992 and
joined the European Union in 2004. Its people now have a reasonably good
standard of living"

Whitaker's World of Facts - Russell Ash

Nathan's view

Well Slovenia look to be going for it this year with a very upbeat track. Although it is sung in Slovenian I believe that this is to be a big contender this year. It's competing with Iceland for my 'douze points'.

The lyrics are very well written in both Slovenian and English. The song makes so much sense in English and I think it would fit well to the rhythm in English too. 'Vrag Naj Vzame' means 'Let the Devil Take It' or 'To Hell With It'. I prefer 'To Hell With It' as it fits with the rest of the lyrics (translated to English) better.

Rebeka Dremelj is a popular model in Slovenia and other ex-Yugoslav states. I think that she will get votes not just through bloc voting, but from Western Europe too.

Hannah's view

I think that this is a catchy song, and i can definitely tell that by the fact that Nathan continually repeats the phrase, 'Vrag Naj Vzame'. It is started to get annoying, Nathan! But, aside from that, i do enjoy the song, possibly not as much as Nathan.

I do like the fact that a country can sing its song in its native language, i think its a better idea than everyone trying to sing in English just to try and win and impress.

It is a good song, but (as i said before) i prefer others. I think partly why Nathan likes it more than me is because, as he mentioned, she is a popular Slovenia model. Need i say more? And somehow, that doesnt do it for me; where as Belarus on the other hand...