In a first, this document was written hosted on the server, and updated LIVE as the contest progressed.It's all over now. This is what I wrote. I'll HTMLify it later.
2009/12/04 - just to let you know I've not forgotten, work has been very heavy - it is in the run-up to Christmas.
Many thanks also to Joëlle for the song titles that I missed.
Introduction
Welcome to music fairytale, with two brats and a box.
Soft music, dancers in white bodysuits with a musical note on the front gives way to girls dressed like the Blues Brothers as the music goes Eurobeat. This soon merges into a techno-ethnic, as do the costumes.The performers walk by carrying their flags to a hello in their language.
The presenters, they're a screechy woman and a bloke with a naff sense of humour. The female is actually Ani Lorak, who you might remember performing for Ukraine (Shady Lady)? But as a host, she's entered into the stereotype. It's like there is some sort of Eurovision-host-school they go to. But perhaps the most annoying is the so-called green-room host, er, brat.
Blah blah blah, come on, let's get on with it, huh? Actually, as the badly animated (or was it just my TV?) sequence runs, 'll say that it seems like the active part of the studio is not actually that big. Is the audience rather small, or is the director a fan of tight angles?
As before, and I disagree with this, phone voting starts from the beginning of the first song. Dial lots of times, they suggest. Mmmm.
Okay, on with the show. It's Sweden up first.
01 Sweden
Mimmi Sande/n - Du (You)
A relation of Molly (2006), and also Frida (2007!).
Cute girl with a dreadful outfit, she looks like an '80s movie hooker.
Actually, the song is quite '80s, which is probably why I quite like it. I'm going to be awake all night trying to remember what this reminds me of... ye gods!
02 Russia
Malenky Prints - Little Prince
An annoying brat puts in a surprisingly confident performance. Don't like the song much, but can't say the routine isn't impressive.
03 Armenia
Luara Heyrapetiya - Barcelona
Football players crossed with cheerleaders, with a shouty performer. Mmm, not really.
04 Romania
Ioana Anut,a - Ai puterea i^n mana ta
A much softer performance for a sound that sounds a bit R&B with pretty jazzy outfits. The music is a bit heavy on the tinny drums, but it sounds like a hard song to perform and she does it quite nicely.
Cool ending.
05 Serbia
Onaj Pravi - Nis^ta Lic^no
Oh no, sounds like a Sesame Street theme with a girl dressed like a goth western take on the Harajuku girl. It's all a bit comical. I think this song will either crash and burn, or top-three-it.
- advert time - Timotei again!
06 Georgia
Group princesses - Lurji Prinveli
Weird hairstyles and an oddly memorable performance for quite a nice sounding song. They're like marionettes aren't they? A bluebird puppet on a rotating tree, a ballerina, and a lot of non-words.
This is not the best song if you ask me, but stands a good chance of pulling it off.
Such a gentle song. It's quite sweet really
07 The Netherlands
Ralf - Click Clack
They spent a lot of time on a syncro dance routine like any number of boy bands you could care to name, though I think the song suffered a bit for it, too repetitive. The tap section in the middle, while well done, seemed a bit of an interruption.
All said, it is well performed. I reckon we'll see Ralf again, maybe in the main contest.
I'm watching RIKSat, so they'll obviously like...
08 Cyprus
Rafaella Costa - Thalassa, ilios, aeras, fotia
Nice intro. I originally thought the title might refer to the four winds, but now I see it in full (didn't have time in the live broadcast to write it all down) I'm leaning towards the four elements.
It sounds like an intro to a serious soft rock number. I think it would aim for that, but Rafaella hasn't the voice to pull this off. Shame, as it has lovely music.
Perhaps the best music of the night so far?
09 Malta
Francesca & Mikaela - Double Trouble
It's little and large like you won't believe. I'm not sure if that girl is really big or the other is really tiny. It's actually quite a good performance of a really annoying song about friendship.
- yet MORE adverts -
Can you believe we're almost two thirds through the performances? Wow.
It looks like everybody else got a making-of-the-stage video insert.
10 Ukraine
Andranik Aleksanyan - Try Topoli, Try Surmy
A song playing to ethnic cultural aspects of the country, a hayrick, pumpkins, and - guess what - girls in orange. Interesting performance. Got to hand it to the orange girls.
11 Belgium
Laura - Zo Verliefd (Yodelo)
A ten year old opens beautifully. I was going to say it was a lovely song until the pace picked up and the yodelling started, but somehow - as odd as the combination sounds, Laura's presence pulls it off and makes it a lot better than it sounds.
12 Belarus
Yuriy Demidovich - Volshebniy krolik
Weird intro with boys wearing bunny ears, and lots of posing and non-singing, sliding into a techno-rock sort of songs. Still with non-singing, like weird rapping. Loads more idiotic posing. Perhaps this is supposed to me arty? Oh my god, he's screeching operatic now. WTF? This is right off left field.
OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!
13 FYRMac
Sara Markosta - Za Ljubovta
Too reminscent of a very pale imitation of the Swedish song if you ask me. Slightly better outfits though.
Not as good vocally, though. Still, it ought to do well following that Belarussian....
Hey, wait, host yacking. Is that it? OMG, it is! Only 13 songs. It all took less than an hour. Damn, that went quickly!
A recap, so I'll put my favourites in order. To be honest, the top few I liked, but the rest? It's hard to put the lower ones in order, it was easier to drop off the ones I didn't like.
ESCore:
12. Sweden
10. Romania
8. Georgia
7. Cyprus
6. Russia
5. Serbia
4. Belgium
3. Ukraine
2. FYR Macedonia
1. The Netherlands
Ani Lorak performs "I'm Alive". Soft start. Given she's a professional, I think the 10 year old yodeller is the one likely to steal the show. It's what I'd call a power ballad, and overperforming it nicely. She has a good and powerful voice, it's a shame she screeches as a host.
Nice to see Ani still around, but TBH I was secretly hoping for Tina Karol to pop up. She looks like somebody who would be good with kids (Ani looks too serious).
Haha, "Shady Lady", her ESC performance.
Male host and brat in the "green room", well a corner of the stage.
Another recap.
Somebody in the audience voted FORTY times. Asked how, she said "I have two phones!". Is that quite in the spirit of things?
Okay, come on, where's the UNICEF song?
Voting ends, and RIKSat (looks like plk in Greek) goes to adverts for McHappy Day and some other stuff... including "Hollywood Patch", what's that? Looks like a nicotine patch, modelled on a tanned girl in her underwear lying like she's sunbathing. Lots of lightbulb symbols?
McDo doing a prawn-burger? Huh? That sounds SO horrible!
A gentle ballet performance to music-box music. We missed most of that.
Ani Lorak returns in a flowing white dress.
Art studio Rizoma performs The Tree of Life. Sounds a lot like Sigur Ros.
The wind is picking up outside. My dish is not secured for Hotbird, at least I have the songs.
This performance, actually, is quite nice. VERY Sigur Ros, very cool.
Random observation: The internet broadcast is about a minute behind the live televised broadcast.
Some behind the scenes stuff.
The EBU bloke in Bjorn Eriksen. What happened to Svante?
The signal is starting to hiccup a little. It is gusting quite strongly. Come on, let's get through the votes - only 13 countries!
Actually, it could be worse. Into tomorrow it is supposed to gust 100-110kph with sustained winds of 60-80kph.
Whoo... everybody gets 12 points to start with. Like nobody saw THAT coming!
VOTING STARTS:
Sweden first, their 12 and the first 12 of the night to The Netherlands. Not a bad choice.
Russia's 12 goes to Armenia. That football song. Russia voted well for neighbours.
Armenia now, offering their 12 to Ukraine.
Romania's voting offers 12 points to The Netherlands.
A third of the way in, the top three are:
The Netherlands 52
Ukraine 45
Belgium 42Serbia, cute girl, offers 12 points to Belgium.
Belgium is in second place, 6 points behind The Netherlands.Another cute Georgian princess offering points, their 12 to Armenia. (!)
The Netherlands. Interesting thing in the girl's hair, looks like a big spider! They are six points in the lead, until they gave 10 to Armenia and 12 to Belgium who are now three in the lead.
RIKSat goes to advertising. A girl wearing a million outfits for a KitKat Senses promo. Weird.
Cyprus offers their 12 to Armenia, who take the lead from nowhere!
Malta now, can they put The Netherlands back? Well, only six to Armenia so perhaps? Nope, only 8 from them, so Armenia still three in the lead. Nope, Belgium gets the 12 so whizzes into the lead.
Ukraine now, I bet they'll be Armenia-friendly. But the signal has gone so I won't know. Hang on...
...tick tock tick tock tick tock...
...time passes...
...time fluits like an arrow,
fruit flies like a banana...
Just in time for people jumping up and down, but who won? Ah! Ralf, for Click Clack - The Netherlands.
I didn't like the song much, but I can't fault it for the performance. I just hope Sweden, my preferred song, did better. It looked as if Romania might have not done terribly well. It must be galling to be beaten by Belarus.
What worries me is there are an ever decreasing number of countries in the contest, and this time there's no obvious Unicef support. I didn't see it in the credits either.
No comments on the socreboard, I will need to Wiki it later so I know who-came-where.
Okay, that's all for now. I'll mark this stuff up later.
Bye!
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