My vision on the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

For the past decade or so, I've watched the Eurovision Song Contest nearly every year. Some of the songs presented during the semi-finals and the final of the contest are pure kitsch and not even worth the airtime, but year after year I'm amazed at some of the entries. These entries are my main reason for watching - from time to time there are some real gems, stuff you'd never ever hear, if it wasn't for this contest.

This year I was unable to watch the song contest however, so I had to record it and watch it later on, even though at that point I already knew that Germany would end up the winner of the contest, which took away a lot of the excitement of the show. Anyway, here's a summary of my thoughts on the entries for 2010.

Song 1 : Safura - Drip Drop

The first thing I need to mention is that Safura is an absolutely gorgeous appearance. Having said that, I didn't really care for her song. It's a genre that I don't particularly fancy, and I'm afraid it's a song I'll be forgotten the next day.

Score: 7 out of 10

A picture of Safura, the best part of the Azerbaijan entry

Song 2 : Daniel Diges - Algo Pequeñito (Something Tiny)

I didn't really care for the circus-like act in the background, but Daniel has a great voice. Still, not a song that I would be singing the next day - unfortunately, the only thing that I'll remember from this performance is the idiot that decided to disturb the performance. At least he's got his fifteen minutes (seconds?) of fame, but I doubt anybody still knows why he was disturbing the performance in the first place!

Score: 6 out of 10

Song 3 : Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart Is Yours

A bit of a held-back male "My Heart Will Go On" song, I'm afraid, and from time to time I think I caught some small itches in his voice. Not my cup of tea. The presentor made a reference to our very own Helmut Lotti, which I find rather unfortunate - Helmut is a MUCH better singer, let there be no doubt about it.

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 4 : Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira - Run Away

One could best compare this to a typical Eurodance track, not bad within it's genre. I can imagine this getting good airplay on the regular radio stations. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the achy-breaky-pelvis saxophonist - his little ditty walks the line somewhere between catchy and annoying. I fear that with too much airplay, it'll become the last option.

Score : 6 out of 10

Song 5 : Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders - Life Looks Better In Spring

The first (and only thing) that crossed my mind when this song came on was "Me, my guitar, and some folks in the background". I'm still waiting for some Eurovision pearls.

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 6 : Vukašin Brajić - Thunder And Lightning

Time for some rock, then. Not a bad effort, and as with the Moldovian entry, I can see this getting some decent airplay on the radio stations. Still not spot-on, though.

Score : 7 out of 10

Song 7 : Tom Dice - Me And My Guitar

Ever since I first heard the song, I thought we wouldn't stand a change in the semi finals. Media voices however indicated that Tom Dice would actually have a chance to score well, and even win the festival. I've learned to appreciate the song (through lots and lots of airplay), but it's still not something I'd listen to voluntarily.

Score : 6 out of 10

Tom Dice, our nation's hope and pride (until we got to the finals)

Song 8 : Milan Stanković - Ovo Je Balkan

Announced as a happy song with a comical undertone, but unfortunately I saw neither in this performance. Maybe it's the language barrier, or mainly a cultural difference, but there was never a moment in this song that I was hooked.

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 9 : 3+2 - Butterflies

Another slow, down-tempo song, and I'm beginning to fear the worst for this Eurosong edition. Where's the spark? Where's the punch from previous years? Anyway, on to the Belarus song, which is underway now, and I'm beginning to like it quite a lot more after seeing the middle background singer, and hearing the second male voice. The butterfly-wings effect completes the Eurosong-feel of the song, but in the end it's a song that I could end up listening to in a calm and quiet moment. Not bad.

Score : 7 out of 10

Song 10 : Niamh Kavanagh - It's For You

Niamh Kavanagh has already won one of the earlier editions of the Eurovision Song Contest (1993, to be precise) with a song I can't remember called "In Your Eyes".

Even though she has a great (Irish) voice, it's yet another down-tempo song which I'll easily forget. Besides, for some reason or other I keep hearing flashes of "From A Distance" by Bette Middler, a level of perfection certainly not achieved by this performance.

Score : 6 out of 10

Song 11 : Giorgos Alkaios & Friends - OPA

Even though I don't understand a single word of the Greek language, I'm rather drawn to this song. There's a song by Despina Vandi which I like a lot (Ghia), and this song reminds me a bit of her song. Personally, I'd drop the scratching part in the middle, a few less "Opa!s" here and there, and I have a second "Ghia" in my playlist.

Score : 7 out of 10

Song 12 : Josh - That Sounds Good To Me

Written by two/thirds of Stock, Aitken & Waterman, but I'm befuddled as soon as I hear a really weak remnance of the old SAW wonder. Back in the days (and yes, I admit it) I quite liked the SAW sound, but this song does nothing for me. The shaky singing performance isn't helping either.

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 13 : Sofia Nizharadze - Shine

I'm instantly thinking "oh no, another downtempo song which fails to stick in the mind", but halfway through the song there's big improvement. Sofia (another eyepleasing singer) really managed to convince me with her voice - thanks for the wink, Sofia :)

Score : 8 out of 10

Song 14 : maNga - We Could Be The Same

The first notes of this song immediately bring "Papillon" by Editors to mind, which is a very bad thing - simply because there is NO way they can top that song (Papillon is an instant favourite of mine).

Fortunately for Turkey, the song is an entirely different animal, and a pleasant one at that. Great voice, catchy, solid song. I didn't really care for the robocop lady in the background, but the guitarist who looks like he's just run away from some kind of metalfest makes up for it all. Good song, great performance - here's my winner people.

Score : 9 out of 10

maNga, the Turkish entry - my choice if I had to pick a winner

Song 15 : Juliana Pasha - It's All About You

My prayers for some uptempo stuff have been heard, but not completely answered. Even though she has the voice, the looks and the uptempo song, there's something holding me back in liking this song, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Let's just blame it on the violin guy.

Score : 6 out of 10

Song 16 : Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi

Uptempo, and improving - this is beginning to get very catchy. Hera obviously has a great voice, so I'll forgive her for performing a song with a french title. Finally a song I was expecting from this year's edition.

It doesn't top the Turkish entry, but at least the contest is heading a bit more in the style I was expecting from it.

Score : 7 out of 10

Song 17 : Alyosha - Sweet People

When someone mentions Ukraine, I'm immediately reminded of the wonderful Ruslana (can you tell I'm a fan?), and yet again Ukraine has sent a strong young lady to defend their honour. Alas, I'm not the biggest fan of the timbre of her voice, and I still prefer Ruslana. Or Ani Lorak from 2008. Or, for that matter, Tina Karol from the 2006 edition. Either of those three would have been a much better entry, in my humble opinion.

Score : 6 out of 10

Song 18 : Jessy Matador - Allez Olla Olé

I've never been a fan of the French (mostly because of their language) so they better come up with something decent to impress me. Such as the Taxi movie series, which I'd have rather watched than this song. Basically, this song represents what's wrong in the music scene nowadays (still in my humble opinion, of course). Some beats, as few words as possible repeated ad finitum, and a series of "put your hands up" mixed in certain parts of the song. Pass.

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 19 : Paula Seling & Ovi - Playing With Fire

First of all, I've never seen two people play the same piano at the same time, opposite to each other - which was a very nice gimmick! Quite a nice song actually, very catchy and I really like Paula Seling's voice (her appearance isn't too bad either, by the way).

Score : 7 out of 10

Paula & Ovi playing the same special piano

Song 20 : Peter Nalitch & Friends - Lost And Forgotten

This is actually not a bad song, even though I didn't expect it to be when I heard the first couple of notes. Peter Nalitch's voice is a very nice and agreeable voice, which makes up for the lack of edge in the song - not too bad. Apparently this song was meant to be some sort of tongue-in-cheek effort, but sadly that was very much lost on me.

Score : 6 out of 10

Song 21 : Eva Rivas - Apricot Stone

A song with a rather strange title, and the strangeness continues as I listen to the song. Not my cup of tea.

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 22 : Lena - Satellite

Lena was announced as a Kate Perry sound-a-like, and apparently the song already is rather popular on the local radio stations (even though this is the first time I heard it). Obviously I know she's the winner of the contest, as I'm listening to the Eurosong contest after the broadcast, but to be honest I really cannot fathom why. Ok, the song could do well on the local stations, but it's oh so forgettable - I doubt I'll be able to sing along any part of the song tomorrow.

Yes, I'm aware that she has won this particular edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, but personally, I'd have chosen my winners elsewhere (Turkey, anyone?).

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 23 : Filipa Azevedo - Há Dias Assim

The Portugese language is not one that I'm able to understand, which immediately (as with other songs) creates a barrier in liking this particular song. Unfortunately, there's not a single redeeming fact in the song to entice me into liking it - again, a down-tempo song which fails to grab my attention.

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 24 : Harel Skaat - Milim

Announced as a mix between "Ne Me Quitte Pas" by Jacques Brel and "De Waarheid" by Marco Borsato, so I'm not expecting a floorfiller here. Despite Harel Skaat's beautiful voice, the song doesn't manage to impress. Alas, another song which will go down in the Eurosong listings, rather than in my Eurosong playlist.

Score : 5 out of 10

Song 25 : Chanée & N'Evergreen - In A Moment Like This

The final chance for some sparks in this contest - and the first thing I hear from the announcers is that it's a rather unsuccesfull copy of "Every Breath You Take" (a classic by The Police), mixed with a little bit of "The Winner Takes It All" by Abba.

Granted, Chanée isn't too hard on the eyes (I'm very subtly ignoring the male part of the performance here), but alas that's the only redeeming feature of the performance...

Score : 6 out of 10

Gratuitous shot of Chanée & N'Evergreen

In conclusion...

I'm afraid I have to say that I'm very disappointed with this edition of the Eurosong Contest - I normally don't like or agree with all of the entries, but with nearly all previous contests there were at least a small subset of songs that stuck in my mind, with nearly half of the entries being of the agreeable kind.

The end results:

Here are the official end results from this years competition - see you next year!

1. Germany : Lena - Satellite (246 points)
2. Turkey : maNga - We Could Be The Same (170 points)
3. Romania : Paula Seling & Ovi - Playing With Fire (162 points)
4. Denmark : Chanée & N'Evergreen - In A Moment Like This (149 points)
5. Azerbaijan : Safura - Drip Drop (145 points)
6. Belgium : Tom Dice - Me And My Guitar (143 points)
7. Armenia : Eva Rivas - Apricot Stone (141 points)
8. Greece : Giorgos Alkaios & Friends - OPA (140 points)
9. Georgia : Sofia Nizharadze - Shine (136 points)
10. Ukraine : Alyosha - Sweet People (108 points)
11. Russia : Peter Nalitch & Friends - Lost And Forgotten (90 points)
12. France : Jessy Matador - Allez Olla Olé (82 points)
13. Serbia : Milan Stanković - Ovo Je Balkan (72 points)
14. Israel : Harel Skaat - Milim (71 points)
15. Spain : Daniel Diges - Algo Pequeñito (Something Tiny) (68 points)
16. Albania : Juliana Pasha - It's All About You (62 points)
17. Bosnia & Herzegovina : Vukašin Brajić - Thunder And Lightning (51 points)
18. Portugal : Filipa Azevedo - Há Dias Assim (43 points)
19. Iceland : Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi (41 points)
20. Norway : Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart Is Yours (35 points)
21. Cyprus : Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders - Life Looks Better In Spring (27 points)
22. Moldova : Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira - Run Away (27 points)
23. Ireland : Niamh Kavanagh - It's For You (25 points)
24. Belarus : 3+2 - Butterflies (18 points)
25. United Kingdom : Josh - That Sounds Good To Me (10 points)

The unexpected encore

Oh, by the way... as a small encore, here you can find my notes on the Eurovision Song Contest of 2008 in Belgrade. Back in those days, I was just starting this website, but had written the article prior to a complete style change of the website. As a result, I've never put the article online. Now seems like a good time to put it online anyway, even if it only is a form of short-term nostalgia.