GERMANY
German broadcaster NDR staged Unser Lied für Liverpool [Our Song for Liverpool] to select a German entry. There were eight pre-selected finalists, but they added a twist by having an extra entry voted upon by TikTok to join these eight, making it a roster of nine finalists.
Among the six TikTok finalists, there were two entries who could've made a splash in the final:
"10/10" - Jona. He actually also released an English version of this song where I got the message that this ballad is about a guy trying to lift a girl's spirits up, that to him she's a "10" and deserves all the love, attention, and acclaim. Singing such a sensitive song with a gruff vocal like his might sound jarring, but for me it works. He was 3rd in the TikTok vote with 14% of the total.
"Draw the Line" - From Fall to Spring. This band is very much inspired by the sound of Linkin Park and if it weren't for the presence of the popular novelty schlager entry this would've easily won the TikTok vote and when it would go head-to-head in the final it would've probably garnered more jury points and prove a more formidable rival to the eventual champion. But as it is, it got 28% of the total TikTok vote and the TikTok champion almost doubled that with 52% of the vote.
Prior to finals night, one of the eight had to drop out as the artist fell ill...
"Alle Frauen in mir sind müde [All Women in Me are Tired]" - Frida Gold. There are some Eurofans who have a high regard for this arty, acoustic ballad. I think it would've been unlikely to win but would've fared respectively if Frida was able to go through.
Now let's discuss the most notable of the remaining finalists.
"Melodies of Hope" - Patty Gurdy. There are several Eurofans who love this pop entry with a fusion of traditional German folk music. It was actually not in last place in either jury or televote--it ranked 7th in the former and 3rd in the latter. It's just that the points it garnered just formed the weakest total and hence it placed last in this final overall.
"Misfit" - Lonely Spring. This pop-punk entry was a very entertaining listen. It ranked 4th in the televote, but was marked down by the jury, who ranked this 6th, and with that it finished 5th overall.
"Dare to be Different" - Trong. It's interesting to see someone of Asian origin competing--in this case, of Vietnamese descent. He delivers a cosmopolitan dance pop bop that is engaging, It pleased the juries enough that it ranked 4th and was able to hold on to that position overall despite a 6th place televote finish.
"Hold On" - Will Church. This balladeer was by far the jury winner but he was only a very distant 5th with the televote and this resulted in him finishing 3rd overall.
"Lied mit gutem Text [Song with Good Lyrics]" - Ikke Huftgold. This guy is a purveyor of a very popular genre in Germany called "party schlager", and he amassed such a huge following that he handily won the TikTok vote, even when most Eurofans (including myself) would cringe at his presence. His entry is a dumb, simple novelty song, and indeed it came dead last with the juries. However, he was able to parlay his popularity to generate a significant amount of votes that based on the proportional points amassed, he soared to 2nd overall. Interestingly, he didn't win the televote--to the relief of many Eurofans--because the televote and eventual winner actually has a stronger following. The eventual winner was also a bit weak with the juries as it finished 5th, but thank goodness for their built-in following rallying to their cause and bringing them to victory and hopefully a more respectable finish for this country this time.
MOLDOVA
Moldova's broadcaster, TRM, staged Etapa națională [The national stage]. There were 30 who were shortlisted for an initial screening, and that 30 were whittled down to a final 10. Here's one well-regarded entry that missed the final cut.
"Deja Vu" - Adelina Iordachi. This is a bass-laden dance-pop bop that is generally solid and considering Eurofans tend to gravitate towards this type of music, this is why it was well-regarded. However, it fell short of the final 10 as it ranked 11th, missing the cut by a single point.
It's time to discuss the notable finalists, starting with...
"Why You Play It Cool" - OL. "OL" is short for the singer's real name, Olga Lisicova. This is a funky jam that deserves its respectable regard. It placed 5th with the jury though unfortunately it placed dead last with the televote. Still the high jury mark helped it secure a respectable 6th place overall finish.
"Red Zone" - Donia. It's interesting to note that in the initial screening this was ranked 3rd. This pop banger took a dip during the final, as it ranked 6th with the jury and 5th with the televote, for a 5th place overall finish.
"Bade, bădișor, bădiță" - Surorile Osoiano [Osoianu Sisters]. For those hankering for traditional folk music like those Buranovo grandmas representing Russia back in 2012, you will get your fix with this entry. They have a gimmick as for the final they added a tall hunky dancer/woodwind player to spice up their presentation. It helped them garner 4th with the jury and 3rd with the televote, finishing 4th overall.
It's interesting to note that the Top Three finishers in this national final were interconnected. Besides all three of them having prior appearances at the main Eurovision stage, the eventual winner used to be the lead singer of the 2nd placed act, and the 3rd placed act used to be a backup singer for the eventual winner, and was accompanied by said champion when it was her turn to compete at Eurovision the following year. I would call this an "Epic" showdown
"Du-mă [Take me]" - Aliona Moon. She was renowned for her epic ballad "O Mie [A Thousand]" 10 years ago, and this time she is going modern pop with this number. It's a well-sung number but it lacked the dramatic staging of her Eurovision stint, and even if she finished 2nd with the jury, she didn't quite connect with the televoting public that she ranked 4th and hence ended up 3rd place overall.
"Yummy Mommy" - Sunstroke Project. The meme-able band with Epic Sax Guy is back with this silly but catchy pop number. They delivered a bright, colorful presentation with awesome choreography but admittedly they couldn't stand a chance with the quality delivered by the eventual champion. It's expected that they ended up 3rd with the jury and 2nd with the televote for a 2nd place showing overall.
ICELAND
Iceland's RUV held its annual Söngvakeppnin [The singing competition] featuring 10 entries subjected to two semifinal heats, wherein five finalists would be selected. All semifinalists must perform their songs in Icelandic and then have the option to either stay in that language or sing in English for the final. During finals night, the top two among the finalists would then have a showdown in the "Gold" round.
Let's first talk about one entry highly regarded among Eurofans that failed to advance to the final.
"Óbyggðir [Wilderness[" / "Terrified" - Kristin Sesselja. It would be shocking for many Eurofans to learn this entry finished last in its heat. It seems the Icelandic public couldn't connect to this elegant pop ballad and didn't vote for it.
Now, it's time to discuss the finalists.
"Dancing Lonely" /"Gleyma þér og dansa [Forget you and dance]" - Sigga Ózk. She reminds me a lot of Melodifestivalen regular Wiktoria with her sweet ingenue persona and her blonde poodle-styled hairdo. Even her pop bop reminds me of Wiktoria's songs. But she didn't quite connect as well with the public in the final and hence she came in 5th and last.
"Sometimes the World's Against You" / "Stundum snýst heimurinn gegn þér" - Bragi. He delivers a modern pop ballad that is a solid listen, though I would probably prefer Sigga Ozk and even Kristin Sesselja over him. He somehow connected a bit more with the Icelandic public and finished 4th.
"Doomsday Dancing" / "Dómsdags dans" - Celebs. Some might view this as a troll act with their garish, colorful presentation, but like Subwoolfer for Norway last year, their song has good fundamentals. Interestingly the band had to gain a wildcard spot to enter the final as during their semifinal heat, they were pipped out of an automatic finals slot by Bragi by a mere two votes. Now that that they made it, they came close to competing in the superfinal against the eventual champion. Most fans would've wanted this to advance to that superfinal instead of...
"OK" - Langi Seli og Skuggarnir {Langi Seli and the Shadows]. Most fans would scratch their heads on why the Icelanders dig this old-fashioned rockabilly act, but well, we have no control over what this particular market wants. I would've yank this act and replace them with Kristin Sesselja.
SERBIA
Serbia's RTS staged its second annual Pesma za Evroviziju [Eurovision Song]. For this year's edition they shortlisted 32 entries, who would compete in two semifinal heats where the Top Eight of each heat based on jury and televote would advance to the final.
There were a few notable entries that were eliminated in the semifinal stage...
"Mamim [Mom]" - Tijana Dapčević. She competed for the now-renamed North Macedonia back in 2014 with the dance-oriented "To The Sky". She's still in dance music mode, embracing an even more disco-oriented sound with this number. She actually ranked 5th with the jury, but she was pulled down by being 2nd to last in the televote, so she placed 10th in her heat and hence missing the final.
"Lanac" - Angelina. The pulsating electro-dance-pop sounds of this entry is catnip for many Eurofans so they were rooting for this to advance to the final. It did rank 8th with the jury in its semifinal heat, but the televoting public marked it down to 11th, and with the ultimate determining points based on the Top 10 standings in each category (using Eurovision-style scoring), the 3 points she amassed made her finish 12th overall in her heat.
Let's now discuss the notable entries among the 16 finalists.
"Posle Mene [After Me]" - Filarri. This cute guy offered an engaging modern dance-pop banger that is catnip to some Eurofans and he actually shone during the semifinal heat as he placed 4th to advance. But somehow, the jury just didn't vote for him in the final and he likewise failed to figure in the Top 10 in televote (he placed 14th, and so with 0 points he was officially in a bottom-feeding 13th place tie.
"Nedostupan [Unavailable]" - Boris Subotić. There are some Eurofans who dig this entry and I have a feeling it's because of the strong vocal ability of this guy and the fact that he's good looking. The modern pop ballad he performed is actually also above-average, but with a deep bench this year, he barely squeaked at the semifinal to advance, and he was 11th in the jury and 15th in the televote to finish in a last-place 13th place overall ranking.
"Zumi zimi zami" - Hurricane. Despite the entire 2020-2021 lineup being fully replaced, this band still maintains that peppy energetic dance-pop sound, this time with a bit of tribal favor (especially since one of the new members has African heritage). Eurofans dig this, but it surprisingly ended up with a weak 12th place overall showing in the final. It was saved from a bottom placement by placing 10th in the televote.
"Rumba" - Zejna. She got the Eurofans attention with her Latin-infused banger. Though she only placed 10th with the jury, her 6th place showing with the televote helped her secure 7th place overall in the final.
"Od jastuka do jastuka [Pillow to pillow]" - Stefan Shy. In his semifinal heat, this Latin/Balkan/acoustic pop fusion number was major jury catnip that it topped the jury, though it wasn't as strong with the televote that he ended up 2nd overall in his heat. Somehow the jury support diminished a bit as he dropped to 4th in the final, though he still maintained a respectable 7th in televote for a 6th place overall finish.
"Greh [A sin]" - Dzipsii. This modern disco banger topped the 2nd semifinal as it was the favorite of the jury and was 2nd in the televote. Interestingly, in the final, this number faded a bit with the jury as it only ranked 6th, but it became stronger in the televote as it ranked 3rd and hence finished 5th overall.
"Novi plan drugi san [New plan, second dream]" - Filip Baloš. It's interesting how with Filarri, this guy and the eventual champion we have a strong showing for queer singers in this notoriously conservative country. It's interesting that in his semifinal heat he only ranked 5th in both jury and televote but managed to finish 4th overall in the heat to advance, and he delivered a strong performance in the finals, finishing 3rd wit the jury and 4th with the televote for a 4th place overall finish. I'm glad this entry finished high, though to be honest, I would've wanted this to be runner-up behind the eventual champion. Still, for this country, this should be viewed as major progress.
"Moj prvi ožiljak na duši [My first soul scar]" - Nađa. This lady's name is pronounced with a but of a "zh" after the "d" part of her name. I have to make that distinction as there is an act named Nadia (pronounced "nah-di-ah") also competing in this competition, with the Avril Lavigne-style rock number "Devojka tvog dečka [Your boyfriend's girlfriend]" and ended up in 8th place in the final. Most Eurofans don't dig this lady's acoustic ballad number, but it's catnip with the Serbian jury and public in the semifinal heat, being 2nd behind Stefan Shy in the jury and won the televote. Somehow in the final, she connected even more with the jury as she topped the jury, but her televote support weakened as she only ranked 5th in the televote and hence finished 3rd overall.
"Cvet sa Istoka [Flower from the East]" - Princ. This Fabio acolyte offered up the classic Balkan ballad style that dominated Eurovision in the 2000s. It still struck a chord with the Serbian public as it topped the televote in both his semifinal heat and in the final. However, the jury is another story--in his semifinal heat, he actually finished 12th and so in the semifinal he finished 3rd going into the final. He got a more respectable jury finish as he ranked 5th in the final, and this gave him a 2nd place final ranking. Interestingly the eventual champion also had some tough luck in the semifinal heat as he was 9th with the jury and 3rd with the televote, but his fortunes improved tremendously in the final as he ended up 2nd in both jury and televote to overtake the aforementioned category winners and win this national selection, to the delight of many Eurofans.
COMING UP: SWEDEN and PORTUGAL
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