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Denmark wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2013
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The 2013 Eurovision Song Contest is taking place in Malmö, Sweden. After the two semi finals, earlier this week, 26 countries will be competing in the final. After each entry has been performed live, juries of music industry pros from each country will cast their votes, as will the public. Who will win? Who will score NUL POINTS? Who will suffer a wardrobe malfunction? Will anyone become tired and emotional? For all the fun, plus answers to these vital Eurovision (EV) questions, follow our live text commentary here!
Press F5 or refresh your page to update the commentary.
00:25
So there we have it. A tragic result for OTT campness and a triumph for Denmark, who can well afford to pick up the EV tab next year. And perhaps by then the Danish singer will have found some shoes… (Oh yes, Azerbaijan were second and Ukraine was third.)
00:22
So now we know that Denners has definitively won, it’s all down to whether Azerb or Ukers come in second. Romania are back down to 13th place. Denners singer is fainting and being supported by blokes in suits. Lithuania are dishing out some random kudos at the bottom of the league table and Azerb are sill in 2nd. Denners singing appears to be texting her Mom.
00:21
Denners singer now going potty, screaming, running around going balooloo… and Cyprus still haven’t VOTED! Now, let’s see… ok yes, more points for Denners… but 12 for Greece. YAY! Let’s celebrate with all nutters worldwide! It’s a great night at EV.
00:20
Denners are first, Azer second, Ukers third, Norway fourth, then Russian, Greece, Malta, The Netherlands, and Italy… at least Greece are UP THERE!
00:18
Romania in 11th place. Way ahead of UK and Ireland… sad for those topless drummers, gotta say.
00:16
Azer have slipped into second place. Can they stay there? Slovenia are judging (in a serious black shirt and an enthusiastic haircut) and giving it to Italy. He-llo? Did no-one SEE the Romanian performance? Denners are still numero uno.
00:15
Sweden got the points… and Norway and who else is a neighbour??? Yawny yawny yawn. Romania were BRILLIANT! Doesn’t anyone live nearby?
00:13
Greece (obviously people with taste) have just lifted Romania to 10th place!!! Hooooooooray! Ireland are voting for Russia but YKW is still in the lead. Denners are now voting. Guess who for!!?
00:12
The French judge, in funereal black, is dishing out the kudos to the usual top 3 (you know who) and Romania have sunk back to 13… tragic results.
00:11
Iceland are voting and Romania have CLIMBED to 12th place. Go DRUMMERS!
00.10
Germany is going with Denners, Uk, Azer, Norway and GREECE are still in 5th place. Russia in 6th.
00:09
OK Here we are. Denners still 1, Ukr 2, Azerb 3 and the German judge has appeared on screen in what looks like a multicoloured crocodile skin.
00:08
Romania are now in 13th place. Is that sinking or shall we just say that if Ireland or the UK were there, they’d be very happy!
00.06
Russia have given Greece some points, so they’ve obviously got good taste. Malta is voting now and giving ROMANIA 7 points. Wooo hooo hooo!!!!! Let’s here it for the NUDIE drummers!
00.05
Bulgaria are voting for Ukers and Aberz – so no surprises there. Sucking up to the neighbours is a fav pastime here at EV. Almost as much of a MUST at that ol’d Malf. Belgium just gave The Netherlands 12 points… see wot I mean?
00.05
It’s a done deal, gotta say. Denmark were always hot favs. But still. Romania COULD pull their socks off and get anough votes to at least APPROACH the top rankings. And there’s still second hot fav GREECE… who are in with a chance. Of something. Scoring a goal? Perhaps not. But making their mark? Defo.
00.01
Halfway through the voting and Denners are in the lead, Ukers second and Azerbaj are third. Ho hum. No leprechauns, no fuschia, no NUDIE drummers in there. At least Greece are keeping it up for madness.
Latvian judge is clutching a small amount of vegetation as she announces that she’s voting for Russia… well, I adored Romania. What’s wrong with singing falsetto whilst wearing a Liberace dressing gown?
23:58
1 Denners, 2 Ukraine, 3 Norway… COME ON Romania!
23:56
Finland are voting for guess who? Yar darling. Denners are getting the votes. Ukraine is in 2nd place, Norway is 3rd. Spain are up now with their votes and another strange Neopolitan icecream frock. Voting for Denners still in first, so far ahead that it’s now a foregone conclusion. Ukraine second, Azerb still in third.
23:55
Armenia is announcing votes in a yellow jumper! Voting for Ukraine (gal in nude fishtail) and now Italy are voting for GREECE! Football is clearly a popular theme for EV. Ukraine are now in 2nd place. Malta fourth. Denmark steaming ahead with a swelling lead!
23:55
Romania’s got some more points from Norway putting them about 7th. The UK and Ireland are lurking lurking lurking… but at least Estonia is there below them. Just. Romania are in 10th place!
23:54
Denmark are leading, with Azerbaijan hot on their heels, and Norway and Greece neck and necking it for fourth place. Estonia are lurking at the bottom.
23:50
Moldova have finally voted for Romania!!!! Hooray! I love Moldova! Denmark are still in the top slot though.
23:48
Hungary (in shiny green) are voting for… Romania? Nope. Denmark again. Azerbaijan are in 2nd place. Romania are voting for Greece putting them in 4th place. It’s a compensation really, that such a nutty performance can be up there, when the GLORY that was Romania is clearly sinking to the bottom of the barrel.
23:47
Denmark are steaming ahead in the voting and the Ukraine judge looks like he’s a contestant…
23:47
Israel have voted for Denmark, Azerbaijan and I think the Footie mob again…
23:46
Azerbaijan just got a bunch of votes so they’re happy but UK just voted for Russia and Greece and Denmark. Still no-one seems to care about the fabulous Romanian performance. I’m gutted.
23:46
Austria went for the Footie players too! And Italy! Blimey, what about Romania?
23:45
The Netherlands have voted for Denamrk and Malta… Norway are in the lead.
23:42
Albania just voted for Italy… why?
23:41
And guess who Sweden have voted for? Yup, Denmark. And Norway.. and ok, the Scandies are all pals. (Norway’s in the lead.)
23:40
After a break, voting has begun and Greece, the glory of the manic footie players, has just got 12 points!
23:02
The backing gals are standing well back. Prolly daren’t get too close. And here come the finale fireworks, a great big fountain of them…
23:00
Sadly nobody is in green at all. But we have at last got TOPLESS drummers and backing dancers. Sweaty men in black leather and tats. Oooh! Not exactly EV but who cares??? Bring it on! And hasn’t he got a BIG set of drums???? Oh, and doesn’t he handle them like a pro?
22:59
Last but defo not least, here’s Ryan Dolan from Ireland with Only Love Survives. Please let there be leprechauns.
22:57
Well, we got dry ice and a bloke in black. She was in a silver nightie with extra hip padding and a strange grey panel down one side. And they did meaningful walking towards each other but sadly no backing dancers and no pink. Perhaps they’re saving it for a grand finale? We’ve got spurting steam! And fireworks. Oh yes, they’ve got the flamey things out and paid extra for clouds in the background and they’re singing their li’l sox off, gotta say…
22:55
Nodi Tatishvili and Sophie Gelovani are giving their ALL for Georgia with the song Waterfall. Let’s hope we get some wet shirts, eh gals?
22:52
It was a good start – the frock is star-trooper styled – but now she’s just standing there. Where are the dancers? The fireworks? The dry ice? The wiggly dancing is ok but sadly the frock shows no sign of a Malf. But the guys here have just awarded her the Cutest Back View prize and the drummer is going potty in the background. Looks like Animal from the Muppets.
22:50
OK WAKE UP! Here comes Margaret Berger from Norway with the song I Feed You My Love, which is defo a good title. ANd she’s in glitter silver. Things are looking up.
22:46
Marco Mengoni is singing his heart out with the song L’essenziale, hoping to bring home some good news for Italy. But sadly, he’s wearing a recuperated Charlie Chaplin suit and he forgot to shave. Stubble is just so YESTERDAY! He’s got the startled hair though… but apart from that I’m devasted to report that he’s not really at EV, he’s somewhere else… who knows where. A place where men dress in black, look mournful and clutch microphones as if they’re drowning… I tell you, there’s not even ONE bit of pink. Not even ONE backing dancer. Time to open another bottle. (Of multivit juice, natch.)
22:45
Hafta say it, it IS a shame she didn’t go for a better shade of pink rather than that highly ON TREND nude colour. I mean, a splash of fuschia and some glitter armpits and she’s have been a contender in various categories. Pink fireworks at the end just weren’t enough to lift her into the top ten.
22:43
Zlata Ognevich is represent Ukraine with the song Gravity and it’s what she needs because one puff and she’ll blow away. She clearly hasn’t eaten since 1958… which is why she had to be carried on stage by a refugee from Lordi. Wearing a nudie coloured fishtail frock, she’s giving it her all. Well, as much as a gal can have when she hasn’t eaten since… you get the picture.
22:40
The booze must have been free for this lot to get into this state. So they win Best Mania on Stage but they defo loose in the OTT Camp category and also they never even ev=ntered for Best Glitz, Best Pink Frock or Best NUDIE dancer. (We wqant some more of those, don’t we gals?)
It’s slo-mo footie and chanting in trendy monochrome with strange stamping and chanting.
22:39
Any song called Alcohol Is Free is a winner. So this has already won Best Title. Koza Mostra & Agathonas Iakovidis are doing it for Greece.
22:36
Whew. That’s over but the next one looks a bit serious too. All in grey. Milli Seçim Turu is singing Hold Me for Azerbaijan and he’s another one with startled hair. On the other hand he DOES have an upside down dancer in a perspex box. Good job the perspex is there too, cos they’re looking pretty keen on each other. BUT here comes a mad dancer in a PINK FROCK! This is bliss. We have pink petals, the dancer in the box is going potty, he’s upside down, the singer in grey is going mad and even the box boy is writhing.
22: 33
No other prizes however. No fireworks. No glitter. No backing dancers, NUDE or not. No bright pink wardrobe. No EV Malf. Nuffing. Bof. Take a nap gals, I’ll wake you up if something happens.
22:31
Iceland wins for Singing in Foreign instead of Engerlish. Eythor Ingi (He With Long Blond Hair) is singing Ég á Líf.
22:29 Well, there you go, that’s the entry that’s expected to win… but don’t forget Armenia in the Mascara category. She can’t snatch that one!
22:26
It’s starting well. Sandy Shore bare feet. Floaty frock, crazed backup drummers, handsome boy paying with his pipe, the gal singer is a runner up in the mascara contest and although there’s no glitter, there’s plenty of meaningful gasping going on.
22:25
Dearo dear. Moving quickly onto the next contender… Emmelie de Forest is representing Denmark with the song “Only Teardrops” and you might as well know that they are the hot favs with the bookies across the territory.
22:24
What IS he doing in this contest? Not a frock in sight. No glitter collar, no NUDIE dancers. No EV W Malf. Nuffin. I LOVE Hungary but this is PATHETIC! He’s a defo for NUL POINTS. And what are those glasses he’s wearing? Did Elton John help him choose those?
22:22
ByeAlex is up next, representing Hungary with the song Kedvesem. Not a natural choice as he says he doesn’t like celebrity or glitter or any of that OTT camp stuff.
22:20
Extra points are awarded for the fireworks, even though the singer’s really not old enough to be letting them off himself. What IS his mum thinking of?
22:19
I’ve got it. It was an accident with a hairdrier. He got an electric shock which is why his hair is all on end, and why his jacket has already had an EV Malf.
22:18
Sweden takes the stage now and since they’re the hosts, we have to be polite about them. It’s Robin Stjernberg singing “You”. And he looks all of about 5 years old. On the other hand he’s got some spectacularly brillant random dancers doing strange meaningless yoga-stuff behind him.
22:16
The song is called Believe in Me, BTW. Not that it matters, we’re still shaking our heads over the missing OTT Camp.
22:15
Now how is Our Bonnie to match that? She can sing, we all know that. But has she got NUDIE dancers? And sadly, the dress is on the plain side. Just a tiny bit of chain on one shoulder. She has got some dangling scarves though… but so far just a band playing instruments. No naked people at all. Tut, tut, tut…
22:14
All bets are off. Romania is my HOT HOT fav to win. Dry ice, fireworks, cray NUDE gal dancers… yes, ok they’re wearing NUDIE body suits… but this is classic. We have writhing, drama and a shirt undone to the navel… a WINNER!
22:11
What a relief! At last a true EV entrant. He’s wearing a black glitter dressing gown and the backing BOY dancers are apparently NUDE! And he’s singing in a flasetto. There’s an Eliz I collar too and yards and yards of red silk.
22:09
Shocking, just shocking. So moving swiftly on to Romania, represented by Cezar with the song It’s My Life.
22:06
What’s this? Anouk is wearing simple black! She looks stylish and understated! Does she know where she IS Has she read the rules? Where’s the egg? The glitter? The blue mascara? Good grief, what IS EV coming to?
22:05
And just a word about the presenter. She’s wearing a pink trench coat with a cutaway neckline, a thigh split and a beehive. Anywhere else, and you’d be asking WTF? But here at EV, it’s hot style.
22:02
Anouk is representing The Netherlands with the song “Birds”. But suddenly nothing matters. There was a random shot of a polar bear on screen so it’s all over on the voting front now. Cute furry things with cold noses and four paws ALWAYS win!
21:59
Two scarves (one round the neck and one trailing from the ripped jeans pocket) and some candle flares… it’s all happening here. Just hope he keeps the scarves out of the flames.
21:58
Dorians, singing “Lonely Planet” has already won Best Mascara and also looks to be shaping up as a hot contender in the Wind Machine category. Watch the ripped jeans, girls. Fingers crossed for a wardrobe malf!
21:57
The German entry scored very high on Bits Falling From Above. Can the Armenian entry measure up?
21:56
Defo gets the prize for Most Skipping.
21: 55
And here comes the German entry, one of the so-called Big Five, Cascada singing “Glorious”. The forck is an exagerated fishtail but at least it’s in gold and the gal has the legs to wear it with style.
22:52
Stadium moment with glowing balls… forget those old lighters, so low-rent babeee…
21:51
Russian entrant Dina Garipova is singing “What If” and the subtext HAS to be What If I had a decent frock instead of this frumpy old nightie?
21:47
Gianluca is singing his little heart out for Malta with the song “Tomorrow” and lots of hopeful hand-clapping.
21:42 CET
The singer representing Belarus has just hatched out of an egg. Oops, it’s a white Tina Turner! She’s got the frock, she’s got the heels. She’s even got the micro mini frock. But does she have what it takes to win EV?
21:38 CET
Estonia. A colleague who reviewed ALL these songs last week said this singer makes him want to learn Estonian: “I quite like this one. Probably because my Dad used to play a lot of Rita Coolidge and there’s a bit of Rita about Birgit. Nothing fancy, just a pretty girl in a pretty dress with a soft voice. This song actually makes me want to learn Estonian. Does Birgit teach? 10 points, 8-1 to win.”
Hmmm. If you want the euronews jury’s verdict on all the songs try here for the songs from the 1st semi final, here for the songs from the second semi final and here for the songs from the rest
21:35 CET
That Belgian boy – not Daniel Radcliff’s twin brother, is he?
21: 35
Child star Roberto Bellarosa will is representing Belgium with the song “Love Kills” and sucking up by singing it in English.
21: 32 CET
El Sueño de Morfeo have just finished performing “Atrévete” complete with leggy running through a wind.
21:30 CET
And of course the only way to follow that is with a Spanish boy puffing on his bagpipes. And another fabbie frock. What’s the better that updraft is destined to create a wardrobe malfunction – or should that be function?
21:25 CET
The same day that President Hollande signed same sex marriage into law in France, the entry for Finland seals the deal with an onscreen EV lip-to-lip moment.
21:24 CET
The glory begins. Krista Siegfrids obviously bought her outfit from the Punk Barbie-with-bruised-knee collection. It’s all so exciting! And what was that about a lesbian kiss… keep watching…!
21:20 CET
Next up is Finland with the song Marry Me.
21:15
The backing dancers definitely get my vote for Most Strange and Meaningless so far… not to mention Most Billious Choreography.
21:15 CET
So far so classy. No singing grannies, no animal costumes… and next up representing Moldova is Aliona Moon singing “O Mie” and we’re looking at the first really OTT frock of the evening, a vision in glorious fuschia, topped off by an origami gloss tulip.
21:00 CET
The fabulous voice and no-fuss delivery of Amandine wasn’t exactly OTT and pink, but it came from the heart. And here comes the Lithuanian entry, Andrius Pojavis singing his song, “Something”.
20:45 CET
Last year Englebert Humperdink was first up and finished second from last… this year France has drawn the short straw. Amandine Bougeois will be singing L’Enfer Et Moi, written by Boris Bergman and David Salkin. For the complete running order click here.
More about: Eurovision 2013, Pop music, Sweden
Copyright © 2013 euronews
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Eurovision: Which acts made it through the first semi-finals?
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The countdown to the final of a musical extravaganza has begun with Tuesday night seeing the first of two semi-finals to decide who will ultimately compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.
After the opening ceremony, last year’s winner Loreen performed the tune that brought her success in the Azeri capital Baku.
Loreen’s victory guarantees host country Sweden a place in the finals – along with major financial contributors to EBU (the contest’s organisers) France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK.
Also through to the final is Belarus entry Solayoh – with singer Alyona Lanskaya finally getting the chance to represent her country after failing to be picked on two previous occasions.
Moldova’s Aliona Moon took part last year, but as a backing singer for Pasha Parfeny who came eleventh. In Saturday’s final, she will take centre-stage.
One early favourite is Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest who could make it a third Danish victory with her song Only Teardrops.
With lyrics about peace, togetherness and hope, Dina Garipova is aiming to take the title back to Moscow.
Following Tuesday night’s semi-finals, here is the full list of 10 acts that made it through to the final:
Estonia: Birgit – Et Uus Saaks Alguse
Denmark: Emmelie de Forest – Only Teardrops
Russia: Dina Garipova – What If
Ukraine: Zlata Ognevich – Gravity
The Netherlands: Anouk – Birds
Lithuania: Andrius Pojavis – Something
Belarus: Alyona Lanskaya – Solayoh
Moldova: Aliona Moon – O Mie
Ireland: Ryan Dolan – Only Love Survives
Belgium: Roberto Bellarosa – Love Kills
Acts representing Austria, Montenegro, Croatia, Cyprus, Serbia and Slovenia were knocked out of the competition.
Here is the euronews verdict on all of the songs from the first semi-final:
Denmark
Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops
MJ:
The aptly-named « Emmelie of the Forest », walking bare foot to the sound of drums and pipes, against a backdrop of flames, and a rhythm that is so-typically Eurovision. Close your eyes and the vocal mannerisms sound remotely like the Cranberries. All that’s left to do is to cry (Only Teardrops…?) at the banality of it all. 3 points, 100-1 to win.
MD:
Harsh words, Marie! She’s like a Danish Shakira’s baby pixie sister and how can you not like that? The world needs more Danish Shakira pixies and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would vote for this song – it has a tune and a chorus. You can hum to it. I’d lose the pipes though. 10 points, 16-1 to win.
Russia
Dina Garipova – What If
MD:
‘What If’ is what ‘Imagine’ would have been like if it had been written by Hello Kitty rather than John Lennon. It reminds me of ‘Dawson’s Creek’, which is not a good thing. There’s nothing wrong with Dina; fair play to her in fact for singing those lyrics with a straight face. And I won’t even begin to describe the video, as watching it made me sick in my mouth twice. Russia always gets votes though from its neighbours, so it might even win, the tragedy of which would be greater than the video. Nul points, 50-1 to win.
TS:
The song is so cheesy and has so many strings that Switzerland migh sue Russia for patent violation of the fondue recipe. A much much more indigestible, stodgy, silly fondue. Nul points, 45-1 to win (unfortunately).
Ukraine
Zlata Ognevich – Gravity
TS:
There is no denying that the singer is talented, but the song stays dull no matter how hard she tries. She isn’t help by the bland music. Also, the African gimmicky back vocals are a weird addition. 1 point, 30-1 to win.
MD:
They’ve obviously spent a lot of money on the video, which is similar to a 3-minute version of Avatar, but this is meant to be a song contest. And this ‘song’ goes nowhere. Twice. You wait for Godot but he never arrives. When they have to perform this on stage, without so many special effects, poor Zlata will have to go out there armed with nothing but a really good voice. If she pulls this off then good luck to her. Nul points, 100-1 to win.
The Netherlands
Anouk – Birds
MJ:
An orchestra-backed melody that sounds very much like a Hollywood musical from the 50s, or a Disney song. It’s got an abundance of charm but I can’t see it winning Eurovision. 10 points, 150-1 to win.
TS:
Nice warm voice, some jazzy 60s music, nice build-up, the Netherlands manages to have a pretty decent song with Anouk’s
Birds
. Let’s hope for her that her stage presence will make out for the lack of wow-effect the Eurovision audience is so fond of. 7 points, 35-1 to win.
Estonia
Birgit Õigemeel – Et Uus Saaks Alguse
TS:
One of the great things about Eurovision is that you hear songs in languages that otherwise seem very far away. But the lyrical sonority of Estonian, the singer’s clear eyes and dimples are not going to make up for this otherwise nondescript song. 2 points, 60-1 to win.
MD:
I quite like this one. Probably because my Dad used to play a lot of Rita Coolidge and there’s a bit of Rita about Birgit. Nothing fancy, just a pretty girl in a pretty dress with a soft voice. This song actually makes me want to learn Estonian. Does Birgit teach? 10 points, 8-1 to win.
Lithuania
Andrius Pojavis – Something
MD
: Andrius Pojavis is clearly someone who loves the camera and he can do very strange things with his eyebrows. I was too focussed on him to even hear the music until an epic ‘
YEAH
’ bang in the middle of the video woke me up. After that it just felt I was watching karaoke. 1 point (for the eyebrow dancing), 100-1 to win.
TS:
Yeeahhhh, those eyebrows are truly something else indeed. The song, on the other hand, is just like every other Eurovision sub-par songs that will be forgotten as soon as Andrius gets off stage. 1 point, 100-1 to win.
Belarus
Alyona Lanskaya – Solayoh
TS: Generic euro dance peppered with Eastern and Latino gimmicks, like a cheap Shakira knockoff. The music video breaks grounds in costume kitsch, though, with latex hoodie, male dancers in leather harness, and three-finger gloves. 1 point, 60-1 to win.
MJ: Thomas said it all really: pseudo latino euro dance, stealing gimmicks from the likes of Shakira (for example there are lots of silly little terms like ‘chacha’, ‘haha’, ‘chokechoke’) and fantastic video with costumes you’ve never seen in your wildest dreams/nightmares: open dress on black bra, leather chest straps, leather calf straps, shiny and baggy latex hoodie. And, and…a very cheap-looking choreography that you could easily learn in your ‘modern jazz’ dance class… 3 points for trying, 70-1 to win.
Moldova
Aliona Moon – O Mie
TS: Despite the cheesy strings in the background, this song is almost bearable for an Eurovision solo performance. It is not the most original on its kind, but the vocal talent of the singer should wow the public in Malmö. 5 points, 25-1 to win.
MJ: Definitely not my cup of tea but a somewhat interesting (if a little complicated) melody sung in an intriguing language that you just don’t hear very often. That said, I was a bit too distracted by the video, being reminded first of the French singer Mylène Farmer, then the old TV show The Prisoner (?!) you know the part where she gets chased by a giant balloon? Anyway, then it becomes some kind of detergent advert with a load of coloured scarves floating in the air (“Eurovision protects the colour of your laundry”). Unlike Thomas, I think the melody is too sad to win Eurovision. Anyhow, dear Aliona, I’ll be seeing you. 4 points, 60-1 to win.
Ireland
Ryan Dolan – Only Love Survives
TS: This song is such a succession of clichés and Euro dance gimmicks that it feels like an evil scientist came up with the perfect mathematic formula for the typical Eurovision dance hit. It won’t prevent the many remixes of the song to provide a summer soundtrack for European vacationers from the Black Sea to the Canaries Island. 5 points, 50-1 to win.
MD: Evil scientist? The video is full of people making heart shapes and generally spreading love, so if it was an evil scientist, he sucks at being evil. Uplifting house, uplifting message, and it’s late spring. Just what this continent needs right now dammit. 10 points. 8-1 to win.
Belgium
Roberto Bellarosa – Love Kills
MD: Where the Irish song was happy, this one leaves you wondering if Roberto and his dancers even got paid. They just look so sulky. And whereas the Irish song was called ‘Only Love Survives’, this one is called ‘Love Kills’. If both are true then Love is one cruel, unscrupulous customer that murders its way to world domination. And what’s with the trend this year of short, aborted dub-step sequences? This song is quite ‘catchy’ though; it came unannounced and uninvited back into my head hours after hearing it. But it has put me in a bad mood. Nul points. 80-1 to win.
TS: A song as smooth and overproduced as Roberto’s haircut. And just as unoriginal and unexciting. 3 points. 50-1 to win.
And here’s our verdict on the song’s that fell at the first hurdle:
Austria
Natália Kelly – Shine
MD
: 19-year-old Natália has got plenty of energy and a good indie singing voice but is let down a little by the song, which is fairly pedestrian and gets a bit repetitive. I think the word ‘shine’ is used about six hundred times. Not my cup of tea but no worse than some of the stuff out there, I suppose. Staple Eurovision fare. 2 personal taste points (out of a maximum 12), I would offer odds of 40-1 to win.
TS
: Yup, it’s a decently produced pop-rock song, albeit a repetitive one. Natália seems like a fun girl to be around and the song is catchy enough to play on heavy rotation on commercial radios throughout Europe during the summer. But it is definitely not quirky enough to win. 5 points, 25-1 to win.
Croatia
Klapa s Mora – Mižerja
TS:
Bold move from Croatia, which skips on the Eurovision glitter with a vocal band singing ‘klapa’, traditional Croatian music that’s on the
UNESCO
cultural heritage list. Pretty but a bit obscure. Nul points, 500-1 to win.
MD:
Thanks for the heads up, Thomas. I now know to stay away from klapa concerts. When the camera pans to the crowd in the video, there are people who seem to be paying more attention to their phones than to the band. That kind of says it all for me. Nul points, 200-1 to win.
Slovenia
Hannah – Straight Into Love
MD:
I’m fairly certain I’ve heard this song before. At a previous Eurovision Song Contest maybe. Or in hundreds of nightclubs. Which means that either Slovenia have ripped off an existing tune (unlikely) or this is just textbook Eurovision disco fodder (likely). I’m fairly sure I’ll hear this again on holiday somewhere over the summer but I can’t really see myself getting too excited about it. 3 points, 33-1 to win.
TS:
Hanna Straight to Love: Yes, it is all been heard before, and better. But the dubstep element is used more appropriately than other entries (granted, that was not very hard). As a Eurodance song, it does the job. Her voice is a bit reminiscent of the House divas of the early 90s. 3 points, 45-1 to win.
Montenegro
Who See – Igranka
MD:
What with the hip-hop and the dubstep, this is a little darker than what we expect from Eurovision, but a change is always welcome. I’m not sure it will be to everyone’s tastes though even if I applaud ‘Who See’ for the following lyric: “Beat Goes crazy in my head, burn down bag, give me a drink/Grill, garlic, parsley and fish, give me all so I can overeat.” Due to cultural differences I have no idea what that means but I like it. 8 points, 66-1 to win.
TS:
“Who See” manage to reproduce the current mainstream techno/rap/dubstep mixture so accurately that this song, if it were in English, would probably be a Top 40 hit for a couple of weeks. Sadly for them, it comes from Montenegro. 5 points, 40-1 to win.
Cyprus
Despina Olympiou – An Me Thimáse
MD: The song title translates as “If You Remember Me”. I won’t. Cyprus will need more than its usual 12 points from Greece to make the final with this song, and I can’t see it happening. Nul point, 200-1 to win.
MJ: Oh geez, I can’t think of much to say about this song. This is so flat, I can’t even make light of it. The clip is tasteless, what with the religious icon dress and the ‘oh-no-stop-chasing-me-in-the-forest-in-the-night’ scene. 0 points 150-1 to win.
Serbia
Moje 3 – Ljubav je svuda
TS:
A decent pop tune, scantily-clad young aspiring pop stars etc. the type of which Eurovision churns out by the dozen. Unfortunately for the Serbian trio, it shouldn’t leave its mark in the contest’s history. 3 points, 45-1 to win.
MD:
Are Moje 3 the kind of women who men love to look at and other women don’t really like (without ever having actually met them)? If they are, Moje 3 might struggle to take Serbia to the final. I only mention the women thing because I have completely forgotten everything about the song. Nul points, 200-1 to win.
Who the hell are we to judge?
The euronews jury is made up of three music-loving but unfortunately not music-playing journalists, who reserve the right to be honest while trying to remain respectful to the performers: Mark Davis (normally found listening to Pearl Jam, Jake Bugg, the Stone Roses), Thomas Seymat (Alt-J, Franck Ocean, Daft Punk) and Marie Jamet (Marvin Gaye, Pulp, Clinic).
More about: Belarus, Contests, Eurovision 2013, Moldova, Pop music, Sweden
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EU’s young and jobless: Portugal ‘brain drain’, 60% of young Greeks unemployed
The UN labor office predicts a global rise in unemployment of 12.8 percent by 2018. Across the wealthier regions surveyed on current youth unemployment levels – including the European Union – the rate stood at a 10-year high of 18.1 percent in 2012, and is expected to remain above 17 percent until at least 2016. Only six countries (Austria, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland) had youth unemployment rates below 10 percent. Greece is not one of them. Greek unemployment is twice as high as the eurozone average, with 64.2 percent of young people out of a job in February, according to new data published on Thursday. The country is in its sixth year of recession, drained by tax hikes and spending cuts demanded by the EU. “I’ve been looking for a job since 2010 and it has been extremely tough,” physiotherapy graduate Angeliki Zerva told Reuters. “Most employers do the job with interns and don’t need to hire anyone.” In order to attempt to curb this practice, Greece has slashed the monthly minimum wage for under-25s to 500 euro – a full 32 percent. Overall EU unemployment hit a new record in March, according to the most recent Eurostat monthly report. Over 19 million jobless – including one out of four under-25-year-olds – were out of work that month. Portugal’s unemployment rate is particularly bad, having soared to 18 percent, according to first-quarter figures from the national statistics institute; 43 percent of Portuguese youth are unemployed. A number of young people and professionals alike are now seeking work outside the country’s borders.“It’s not wanting to work outside Portugal; it’s needing to work outside Portugal,” Victor, a Portuguese journalist, told RT. He is set to move to Angola to work for a magazine. One resident named Ricardo is one of the few who has been working – as a website designer to provide online help to the people who want to make the move abroad. He is set to move away himself before the end of the year.“We are facing a serious brain drain in Portugal. Our country educates people but it can’t employ people,” he said, explaining his current job. “I saw lots of people decide that they would move to somewhere like Brazil, only for it not to work out,” he added, explaining how many had fallen subject to scams. Those who have managed to seek out work in Portugal face low starting wages and ongoing salary cuts, prompting their departure as well“We don’t want to be rich, we aren’t moving for the money. We are moving so that one day we can earn enough to start a family, live normal lives. Here, now, if you can get a job, it’s on slave wages for perhaps three years – that’s not living,” Ines, who has plans to move to Brazil with her partner, told RT. Portugal has been in recession for around three years, and expects more jobs to be repeatedly cut as austerity measures continue. The economy is predicted to shrink by a further 2.3 percent this year. In April, the country’s constitutional court implemented €5.8 billion in cuts to, among other things, civil service pay and sick leave benefits.“My pension gets cut time and time again. Soon I’ll get nothing,” said one elderly resident. As unemployment has continued to increase and austerity sweeps Europe, faith in the eurozone is falling sharply among more than just businesses and investors. Massive protests are ongoing in the EU, the most recent being the demonstrations of Spanish students and teachers in Madrid, and budget workers in Athens. But governments bound to bailout agreements continue to implement increasingly severe austerity measures on their populations, tightening belts and cutting jobs without the prospect of creating new ones. … Read More
IMF`s Lagarde Interrupted by Student Protesters
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The International Monetary Fund leader, Christine Lagarde has been interrupted by student protesters during her appearance at the University of Amsterdam.
The IMF Managing Director had just began discussing the European debt crisis, when students emerged from the audience chanting, “mic check!” and dozens more would yelled back “Madame Lagarde!”
The students apparently were apparently there to criticise the funds policies. Security guards managed to remove the students and eventually the interview resumed.
The 17-country eurozone is in recession. Christine Lagarde
urged all euro members to push for banking union.
“Obviously what we pursue, is stability, and clearly there is need for that at the moment for a stable discussion to be heard.”
More about: Christine Lagarde, Netherlands, Protest, Student
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