Douze Points!

As many of you may have guessed from previous posts, I love certain songs (Andorra) and don't particularly like others. Nathan had been nagging me previously to pick my favourites. When I did do it, it was early on a morning on my bus with my iPod in listening to the songs. I was half asleep, rushed and couldn't be bothered, so i made a bit of a hash of it. So i decided, i WILL do it properly. It was immensely hard and took a lot of concentration, self discipline and cake, but, i've listened to all the songs and not been biased in my judgements. Much. Well, maybe a LITTLE bit, but that's not that bad is it?

1 point - Armenia; Qele, Qele
This is a good song from Armenia this year. It starts off quite slow and traditional, but then the tempo speeds up and it becomes a good catchy pop song. The lyrics are quite, what's the right word here? Playful? Fun? Suggestive? Demanding? All of the above and much more. Put it all together and it's a great song. The reason why it's bottom of my favourites is because I had TONS of songs to choose from and this one simply isn't the best.

2 points - Ukraine; Shady Lady
This song is very catchy and fun. It starts off very strange, but then the beat and lyrics come in and its very effective and powerful. One thing that does annoy me though, are those little beeps. What's the point? None the less, the chorus is powerful and catchy, great song! Not quite Verka, but I'm secretly happy they haven't sent another man dressed in tin foil. Don't tell Nathan...

3 points - Belarus; Hasta La Vista
This is a good rock/pop song with a very 'unique' video. When I first saw this dude, i thought he looked like an awkward teenager dancing, but he scrubs up well for this video. My first thought when watching it; PHWOAR!!!
The song itself is quite catchy and I find it slightly touching until he states "I don't care". I don't know why i rate this above the others, I just like it...

4 points - Greece; Secret Combination
Starts off very traditional and then has a funky modern beat thrown in there. Very smooth transaction from old to new, like it! Nathan used to LOVE this song and it had it on loop, so it got old fast. But this song is one of those whose chorus sticks in your head, and no matter how hard you try to get rid of it, you cant. I think that's why i like it. The chorus has a good beat and the lyrics are quite groovy and appealing to me for some reason. (by now I'm sure you've noticed I'm not very good at describing things!)

5 points - Slovenia; Vrag Naj Vzame
Although it is in another language, I really like it. I don't often opt for songs in a foreign language, simply cos i don't know what it's on about! But i do like this one. The verses are slightly boring but the choruses are upbeat and the words sound really funky! I mean - 'Vrag Naj Vzame' who could not like the sound of that? Especially since it means 'to hell with it!' (I only know this due to the fountain of all things Eurovision constantly repeating it and its meaning; ie. Nathan was being annoying)

6 points - Latvia; Wolves of the Sea
Ah, I was wondering when this was going to come up. This will be an amazement to Nathan that this is on my favourites at all. When he first played this, I told him straight out that I thought it was tacky Eurotrash. So, much to my annoyance, it grew on me. Although it is Eurotrash, it is upbeat with fun, and very strange, lyrics. They make you want to join the nearest 7 seas expedition and call yourself Pirate Peggy. Or at least it does to me... anyone else? Or am i going to sailing alone? I cant believe I just said that... ?!

7 points - Sweden; Hero
This year, Sweden has a strong singer singing a great song. The lyrics are very catchy and paired with an up beat modern music rhythm and beat, it makes a great song that its really nice to listen to and learn!!
Although I didn't watch it being performed at Melodifestivalen (as Nathan repeatedly reminds me) but I did think it had a good chance of winning, which reflected in my voting. I still think it has a good chance of coming into the top 10, just not winning.

8 points - Denmark; All Night Long
I love this song and have done for a while. I like this genre, easy listening/pop sort of songs. The music is very easy to listen to and is quite regular. The dude who sings it, Simon Mathew, has a good voice which suits this song well. If you've read my Denmark post, you have heard all this before and I am running out of new opinions ad things to say other than I love this song! GO DENMARK!!

10 points - Andorra; Casanova
Ah, this prediction is slightly different and it took me a lot of effort to place this song 2nd from the top. I am quite faithful to Andorra and in all my earlier top 12 favourites, Andorra has always come top; mainly because I loved Anonymous so much last year. So when I listened to Andorra's song this year, I loved it from the first beat.
The beat is rhythmical, catchy and the lyrics are so fun and sung so well! I love this song so much, but I had to be honest, and there's one that I love and like that little bit more...

12 points - Germany; Disappear!!
Germany. This song is brilliant! These girls know how to sing and show it beautifully!! I think the song is a very good mixture of ballad and upbeat chorus. It never gets too hectic or busy and is quite slow compared to other songs. I am a bit of a romantic deep down, so I loved the concept and lyrics of this song, I think deep down most of us do! The music is quite rhythmical and quite light, not very heavy like Finland. I love this song and it took a lot of courage and self discipline t put it top!! This is not its kiss of death! It will survive and do well, it probably wont win knowing Germany's luck - but who cares?! It's already #4 in the German charts! (Unfortunately, I'm secretly wishing Andorra does better. Damn these voices in my head!! My doctor says I'm schizophrenic, but we don't agree...)

So now we are ready for May. All the songs have been picked, and we have strong opinions about lots of these songs. As long as we don't give the kiss of death to these songs then one of these should win in Belgrade. Hannah will tell you that I have not had one favourite from beginning to end, and it has changed quite often. So far, my favourites have been Norway, Slovenia, Iceland and Sweden. Norway, my early favourite has slipped down my top 10... so who's in it now?

1 point - Norway - Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On, Be Strong
This pop ballad is very well written and has a great rhythm. The reason this song only gets 1 point, as opposed to a higher score earlier on, is because it's a ballad we will save judgement until she gets on stage and performs it. Ballads have to be sung well to score highly.

2 points - Georgia - Diana Gurtskaya - Peace Will Come
Georgia's début entry last year was fantastic. They pulled out all the stops to put on a great show for their first entry. I like this year's entry much, much more! Peace Will Come is a pop song which tackles an everyday issue of peace. It's a great song and I think if she performs well in Belgrade she could finish well for Georgia.

3 points - Russia - Dima Bilan - Believing
When Dima Bilan entered Eurovision for Russia in 2006 he came second, runner-up to Lordi. This time he's back with another pop ballad. I believe that this song can do very well in Belgrade. The reason this song gets more points than Norway is because in 2006 Dima put on a great show for his ballad and we've been told to expect the same this year, without the piano!

4 points - Germany - No Angels - Disappear
Germany have sent their most famous girl group No Angels to Belgrade in hope of securing a first victory for the 'Big 4' in 10 years. The pop song Disappear is another well written song and I think we can expect a very good performance and stage show in Belgrade.

5 points - Andorra - Gisela - Casanova
One of my favourites from the beginning but has slipped down due to the fact it's repetitive and there being better songs. It's another pop song with a catchy and repeatable chorus that Hannah simply cannot get out of her head! I expect it to get through the Semis but do poorly in the Final.

6 points - Latvia - Pirates of the Sea - Wolves of the Sea
This is the best joke entry of 2008. It's pirates for goodness sake! I love them so much, it has a very catchy chorus and it's quite singable! This can only fit in the genre of Eurotrash! My favourite lines include 'We are robbing you blind, I hope you don't mind.' and 'Then Hook, our captain is looking at you, there's no Peter Pan, so what can you do?' It's fantastically well written and I expect it to do reasonably well in the Final.

7 points - Armenia - Sirusho - Qele, Qele
This song is quite repetitive but very catchy and you find yourself saying 'Qele, Qele' quite often to yourself and you can sing along to this really easily. I hope this is performed as well as André did on Armenia's début in 2006 as they really deserve to do well this year. I also think that due to the quality of the song, and positioning of Armenia, we could be going to Yerevan in 2009.

8 points - Slovenia - Rebeka Dremelj - Vrag Naj Vzame
This was my favourite for at least 2 months, until This Is My Life was released. Slovenia's stylish video really caught my eye too! The song is so catchy and I find myself subconsciously singing along! I love the way that 'Vrag Naj Vzame' means 'To Hell With It' and that fits with the nature of the song perfectly. I really expect this to be the highest charting song in a language other than English, it should get through the Semis comfortably and should do reasonably well in the Final.

10 points - Iceland - Eurobandið - This Is My Life
This is what a Eurovision song should be! If Iceland still don't do well this year then they are going to have to rethink their selection process. However, this will do well, no matter what else is in it's Semi. It will stand out above the rest and progress to the Final. I think a top 5 placing for Iceland in the Final.

12 points - Sweden - Charlotte Perrelli - Hero
THANK YOU SWEDEN!
Melodifestivalen was fantastic and this was simply the best of the Melodifestivalen Final. Ok so the public wanted a ballad, unlucky Sanna, but the juries wanted a classic Swedish Eurovision song, and rightfully so! I have this on loop at the moment, along with This Is My Life and Vrag Naj Vzame, so I want, hope and know it will do well in Belgrade. It will win Semi Final 2 and because the UK have voting rights in SF2 then I will vote my heart out for Sweden because this is simply the best song this year. I think we should be going to Sweden for Eurovision next year and they deserve to host it.