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Eurovision Preseason 2016

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S

Spyware

Member
The reason SVT blocks stuff (like Wiktoria and Ace that was mentioned earlier in the thread I think) is that no finalist should get an advantage of having their song played freely before all songs are out, or the disadvantage of people getting tired of it. I have no idea why this doesn't apply to "Andra Chansen" (Second Chance). Only the songs going straight to the final are blocked.
So far that's:
Robin Bengtsson - Constellation Prize
Ace Wilder - Don't Worry
Wiktoria - Save Me
David Lindgren - We are Your Tomorrow

Not a fan of any of these. Wiktoria's song is pretty nice when it's on but then I forget it immediately (which is true for any "good" song this year). Ace is cool as usual but I don't like this one as much as Busy Doin' Nothin' (especially this acoustic version). Robin is boring and the fake playing of the harmonica is just too awkward. I know everyone fakes the intruments but it's done so badly here. They seriously show a closeup of his face when he stops playing and the sound doesn't stop. Aaah!
David has a cool thingy with lasers for a couple of seconds but then the song actually starts and it's a snoozefest.

It's fine that it's more about the show than the voices/songs for Sweden this year tho. We don't want to win so we won't send anything amazing that people will vote for, but we might send something that will be interesting to watch. I really hope Molly's song is cool on stage since she will probably win no matter how it looks.
 
E

evilpigking

Member
Wiktoria's performance was really boring =/ Like a more boring version of last year's since at least Mans danced and moved. She just stands there while the pattern on her *shudder* beige body suit changes.
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
Spyware said:
We must have seen completely different shows :p First heat was so boring I can't even remember the one song I didn't hate. It's so unfair that four from that heat get to keep competing when Krista is out. She was better than everyone in the first heat. :( The last heat seems like it's more even. A couple okay songs and a couple of horrible ones, like it should be. But Molly will win anyway so meh.
Click to expand...

I like Krista! The upbeat Swedish schlagers are corny as hell but usually pretty fun. I liked "Möt mig i Gamla Stan" last year, I've liked almost all of Linda Bengtzing's songs (can't wait for her English debut), and I admit to being a bit obsessed with Kikki's "Idag och Imorgon". But stuff like "Faller" doesn't win Melfest anymore and would be a disaster at ESC. My guess is Christer Björkman didn't really have enough confidence in her to give her a winning song.

She's great though, I love her interviews.


Spyware said:
Not a fan of any of these. Wiktoria's song is pretty nice when it's on but then I forget it immediately (which is true for any "good" song this year). Ace is cool as usual but I don't like this one as much as Busy Doin' Nothin' (especially this acoustic version). Robin is boring and the fake playing of the harmonica is just too awkward. I know everyone fakes the intruments but it's done so badly here. They seriously show a closeup of his face when he stops playing and the sound doesn't stop. Aaah!
David has a cool thingy with lasers for a couple of seconds but then the song actually starts and it's a snoozefest.
Click to expand...

I pretty much agree with all of this, but I'm much more bullish on Wiktoria. The international fans went nuts immediately after her performance, they haven't shut up about her for the past week, and her bookmaker odds of winning Melfest have increased tremendously, with many giving her 2nd-3rd most likely to win behind Molly and Robin/Ace.

They need to ditch the harmonica mess for Robin. It's even more embarrassing than the song title. David seems like a cool guy and a good dancer but I honestly hated "Shout it Out" and "Skyline", and his song this year is no different.

I just don't want a song called "Youniverse" to win, especially if it sounds like that leaked snippet. I know Molly has a fanbase over there, but yuck. I feel bad for the superior Molly :(
 
O

oti

Banned
Reveal

The voting in the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final is set to be radically transformed in 2016. A new results sequence will mark the biggest change since the “douze points” system was introduced more than 40 years ago, adding a new level of excitement for hundreds of millions of viewers in Europe and beyond.

Previously, the results of the professional juries and viewers have been presented as a combined result, each accounting for 50 percent of the final score.

From 2016, the professional juries and televoters from each country will each award a separate set of points from 1 to 8, 10 and 12. This now means the top 10 countries in both the jury and televote will receive points.

How will it work?

After viewers have cast their votes by telephone, SMS or using the official app, each national spokesperson from the 43 participating countries will be called in to present the points of their professional jury. After the presentation of the scores from the juries, the televoting points from all participating countries will be combined, providing one score for each song. These televoting results will then be announced by the host, starting with the country receiving the fewest points from the public and ending with the country that received the highest number of points, building towards a guaranteed climax.

For those wanting to know how their country has voted, the televoting and jury scores from each participating country will be available after the show on Eurovision.tv.

Why this change?

For several years, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest has been known well before the end of voting as technically no other act could catch up. This major change, means that winner will only be known in the final minutes of the show. The new format, discussed since 2012, also increases transparency and was unanimously approved by the Reference Group and the EBU Television Committee, the governing bodies of the Eurovision Song Contest.

“A big step”

“This new way of presenting the votes is a big step forward, both to make a better television show as well as a more exciting competition,” said the EBU’s Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest.

“There is more reason than ever to vote in the Eurovision Song Contest. The new voting format guarantees that the song which is most popular among the public will receive twelve points regardless of how the juries voted. It is fitting that this change to the Contest’s iconic scoring sequence will be debuted in Stockholm, where the famous douze points system was introduced in 1975.”

The new voting presentation was inspired by the voting system of Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s national selection format for the Eurovision Song Contest.

“All competitions are enhanced by creating a dramatic finish” said Christer Björkman, Show Producer of the 2016 Contest. “This was a unanimous decision taken by the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group. It’s about creating TV magic”, he added.

Martin Österdahl, Executive Producer for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest explained, “In previous years the winner has been known for up to 20 minutes before the end of voting and that’s not good TV. This format change will inject a new level of excitement into the finish of the Eurovision Song Contest”.

The Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Stockholm on Saturday 14th May 2016. Visit Eurovison.tv for a full explanation of the new voting format.

- See more at: http://www3.ebu.ch/news/2016/02/eurovision-song-contest-voting-u#sthash.DKtQ2baO.dpuf
Click to expand...
 
P

Peru

Member
Hmm. Creating more tension and mystery towards the end of the voting process is smart. Lots of people are just going through the motions now. They already changed some things the past few years by sequencing it so that it would seem like a tight race for a while.

But having the individual voting presentation be based on JURIES? Giving them all this focus? I'd rather see the juries go. Their idea of 'quality' songs are more often than not super boring and they'll shit on the contestants who are a bit different.
 
E

Elider

Member
Peru said:
Hmm. Creating more tension and mystery towards the end of the voting process is smart. Lots of people are just going through the motions now. They already changed some things the past few years by sequencing it so that it would seem like a tight race for a while.

But having the individual voting presentation be based on JURIES? Giving them all this focus? I'd rather see the juries go. Their idea of 'quality' songs are more often than not super boring and they'll shit on the contestants who are a bit different.
Click to expand...

Agreed, though I suppose all countries need to be seen during the point awarding, and that should be combined with the absolutely amazing system where all countries actually get points proportionately.

Though ... I guess it would work if each country just presented one other country's score? Like, the Latvian announcer randomly tells us that France got 68 points and so on. Would certainly shave off time, too.

On the other hand, we'd miss out on the hilarious animosities and new friendships that are born from "douze points" :p
 
O

oti

Banned
I dunno. Try new things out. Why not.
What I think is a bit icky is giving the juries even more attention. Hearing that some music "experts" gave country Z 12 points doesn't sound that captivating.
 
P

Peru

Member
oti xero said:
I dunno. Try new things out. Why not.
What I think is a bit icky is giving the juries even more attention. Hearing that some music "experts" gave country Z 12 points doesn't sound that captivating.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's likely to make the votes presented more predictable. We'll know some wacky routine that could get novelty points from the public won't get it from the jury.
 
W

Wes

venison crêpe
Didn't they try crowd only voting about 10 years ago and it was a mess?

Hopefully this new strategy is just the right secret combination to making it tense up until the very end.
 
O

oti

Banned
Go crowd-only if you want Turkey to come back.
And Alcohol is Free could've been top 3 if it wasn't for the juries.
 
A

addik

Member
Wait, so are the hosts still going to call each and individual countries to collect their votes, even if the points they will reveal are based on the juries? Or will a spokesperson from the juries will present their votes per country on the stadium itself?

Oddly enough, the highlight of the show for me is when each country calls in their vote for the show. I just like the cringe or the awesomesauce that could potentially come out from the different presenters.
 
W

Wes

venison crêpe
addik said:
Wait, so are the hosts still going to call each and individual countries to collect their votes, even if the points they will reveal are based on the juries? Or will a spokesperson from the juries will present their votes per country on the stadium itself?

Oddly enough, the highlight of the show for me is when each country calls in their vote for the show. I just like the cringe or the awesomesauce that could potentially come out from the different presenters.
Click to expand...

Call each country, get judges 1-6/7. Announce the 8-10-12 points per country.

Exactly as is currently done except those 1-12 points have been calculated purely by judges.

Then they take the current scoreboard and starting from the country with the lowest points after the jury round and going through them all the way to the current first place they say how many additional points they accumulated from the public vote.

I.E "The United Kingdom got 35 points from the combined public votes let's add that to their total of 2 from the judges...."

That's how I understood it at least.
 
L

Ludger Kresnik

Member
ShaggsMagoo said:
That's pretty good. I'm interested to here what it sounds like in English, because lets face it, it is going to be in English. I'm also quite fond of the duet she did for Eurovision 2012, so I might be a tad biased.
Click to expand...

Here. I sortakinda prefer the Icelandic version a little bit, though actually sending songs in Icelandic is never a good idea.
 
G

G.ZZZ

Member
I sorta liked our year winners (for once they're pretty representative of Italy actual sound scene), shame we send that second song that is just another generic song zzzz
 
S

ShaggsMagoo

Member
Ludger Kresnik said:
Here. I sortakinda prefer the Icelandic version a little bit, though actually sending songs in Icelandic is never a good idea.
Click to expand...

Cool, Thanks. The English version is pretty good as well. Although I imagine the BBC is just going to cover half of the screen during her performance with a giant epilepsy warning.
 
S

Strax

Member
Ludger Kresnik said:
I almost never say this, but I really like our song this year. I'm hoping we'll at least place higher than 15, should we make the finals.
Click to expand...

Ertu frá Íslandi?

ShaggsMagoo said:
That's pretty good. I'm interested to here what it sounds like in English, because lets face it, it is going to be in English. I'm also quite fond of the duet she did for Eurovision 2012, so I might be a tad biased.
Click to expand...

I thought I posted the english version, oh well. I didn't care for duet.

scamander said:
I prefer the Icelandic version of the song as well. A shame most entries are in English these days.
Click to expand...

Ludger Kresnik said:
Here. I sortakinda prefer the Icelandic version a little bit, though actually sending songs in Icelandic is never a good idea.
Click to expand...

I agree, the icelandic version is better.
 
J

Jasper

Member
Official!

Iveta Mukuchyan has been selected to perform for Armenia. Her Eurovision song LoveWave will premiere on March 2nd.

Armenia-Iveta-Mukuchyan-4.jpg
 
C

chadskin

Member
Yowza, Armenia.

Ukraine's entry has also been chosen:
Ukrainians have chosen a Crimean Tatar singer and her song about the mass deportation of Tatars under Josef Stalin as the country's entry for this year's Eurovision song contest.

Susana Jamaladinova, who performs under the stage name Jamala, was chosen Sunday night by the combined votes of a three-person jury and some 380,000 votes from viewers watching the televised final round.

Her song "1944" refers to the year in which Stalin uprooted Tatars from their homeland and shipped them in badly overcrowded trains to Central Asia; thousands died during the journey or starved to death on the barren steppes after they arrived. They were not allowed to return to Crimea until the 1980s; Jamaladinova was born in Kyrgyzstan.
Click to expand...
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0951...icks-crimean-tatar-eurovision-singing-contest

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtPHKrvlCVw
 
A

AnathemicOne

Banned
Anyone care to answer a question for me regarding Eurovision?

Why are most songs done in English? I would understand for worldwide appeal but I would also assume that with a Europe-centric contest for European countries many of said countries would sing in their own respective languages ('cause pride? I dunno).
 
S

ShaggsMagoo

Member
AnathemicOne said:
Anyone care to answer a question for me regarding Eurovision?

Why are most songs done in English? I would understand for worldwide appeal but I would also assume that with a Europe-centric contest for European countries many of said countries would sing in their own respective languages ('cause pride? I dunno).
Click to expand...

Of the 16 winners since 2000, only one was sung in a language that was not English(Serbia in 2007), and that win was at the height of block voting. There used to be a rule that made countries speak in their national languages, however a string of wins by Ireland in the 90's put a stop to that.
 
E

evilpigking

Member
Cyprus song is pretty good. It feels like a real song that they a band might release regardless of circumstances. Maybe a little repetitive but nowhere near as bad as Austria. Seriously fuck that song it goes nowhere, has little variety, and will probably make it into the final for no good reason.

Ukraine song is alright, I like the use of wood clapper sound, and the Crimean Tartar chorus. Performance could use some upgrading though.

Danish song has good harmony but is kinda bland.

Swiss song might be alright if she gets the flat out of her voice.

I guess atm I'm Spain = Cyprus > Ukraine> Italy >>> Anyone not listed already and not named Austria >>>>>>> Austria

Hopefully Spain doesn't get entirely robbed this year like Edurne last year. Her song was awesome and deserved way more than 21st. Looking forward to what the Baltics spit out this year.
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
evilpigking said:
Looking forward to what the Baltics spit out this year.
Click to expand...

I'm honestly perched quite a bit on Latvia/Estonia given the way their contests have gone so far this year. It's quite remarkable how the region has gone from reliably sending the most regrettable dreck year after year to hosting some of the most interesting and fun alt-pop this year.

As mentioned before, stuff like Mick Pedaja's "Seis", DVINES's "Set it on Fire", Marta Grigale's "Choices", or Würffel's "Facing North" is stuff that couldn't be heard in other contests because the organizers are too scared to break out of the schlager/ballad mindset.

Lithuania is an absolute shitshow as usual.
 
O

oti

Banned
Read about the Ukrainian entry. Wowza. That's some pretty interesting stuff and the comment section on YouTube is on fire. Song is also pretty cool. It's as if... as if Eurovision could be more than SAGAPO and
polandwasherwoman-2-2.gif
 
S

Sesha

Member
If it turns out as boring as last year they should just cancel the entire thing.

At least the Ukrainian entry sounds interesting. Giving the finger to Russia live in front of hundreds of millions has become one of the more fun aspects of Eurovision.
 
S

Snarfington

Member
Leonsito said:
What? Really? Avantasia has more talent than anything that Eurovision has seen in decades.
Click to expand...

I'm not a big fan of the song in particular (and I looove Avantasia), but it's a fun, catchy tune and that's always great for Eurovision. That or Ghost I'd be happy with from Germany.
 
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