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Eurovision Preseason 2017... anyone? (gifs)

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Strax

Member
Red Arremer said:
I feel like Iceland is not gonna pull through with yet another ballad (even tho it's a bit more upbeat, but still jeez).
.
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What do you mean by yet another ballad? Iceland has sent like 2-3 ballads ever and Svala isn't even close to a ballad.

oti xero said:
ICELAAAAAND WHYYYYYY

I don't know. Let's skip the show this year and try again in Italy next year.
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Unfortunately nobody else had a chance. Svala has been loved here since she was 10 years old and her father is one of the biggest names in Icelandic music history.
 
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SecretMoblin

Member
I like Svala because I saw Steed Lord at Þjóðhátíðardagurinn 2007 and they were amazing. Truthfully, "Paper" is not the most amazing song to me but I very much appreciate her approach to music and performance art, and think Iceland has a good shot at making the finals for the first time in a while. RÚV neeeeeeeds to finance a better stage show for her, though.




Also Jasper smh where were you a few months ago for Depi Evratesil? Armenia had one of the best selection shows this season and you went AWOL. But yes, everyone is aware of Azerbaijan's shitty treatment of its citizens. Enough ink was spilled in 2011-12 regarding the controversy over holding the contest there. There's plenty of shameful things about how ESC is handled. It's a shame that the EBU turns a blind eye to reports of human rights and press freedom violations. It's a shame that Erik Karapetyan remains the only Armenian juror to not rank an Azerbaijani song in last place. It's a shame that a hot conflict might prevent a historically strong country from sending an artist to Kiev this year. It's a shame that Israel cannot win for the foreseeable future regardless of what it sends. It's a shame that the EBU doesn't care enough to work with local authorities to return Monaco, Andorra, Luxembourg, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, or Slovakia to the contest. It's a shame that 21 mostly western-European juries gave Sergei Lazarev zero points in 2016. It's a shame when artists get heckled after delivering the biggest performance of their lives.

Eurovision fans compartmentalize the contest in a similar way to sports fans with the Olympics. There's plenty of shady garbage that goes on behind the scenes (and sometimes in front), but at its core is just a bunch of performers who want to do their best and represent their countries.
 
R

Red Arremer

Member
Strax said:
What do you mean by yet another ballad? Iceland has sent like 2-3 ballads ever and Svala isn't even close to a ballad.
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I don't mean stuff sent by Iceland, I meant in this year. There's a LOT of ballads and ballad-y songs, and Paper certainly is ballad-y.

SecretMoblin said:
It's a shame that the EBU doesn't care enough to work with local authorities to return Monaco, Andorra, Luxembourg, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, or Slovakia to the contest.
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Or work with the poorer countries that participate on and off like Bosnia, Bulgaria, etc., or work to support the broadcasters that have been trying to take part but can't due to financial reasons or rigid rulings on who is allowed to participate, which would allow countries like Liechtenstein or Kazakhstan to make their debut.
 
R

Red Arremer

Member
Tregard said:
Valentina Monetta is back
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And this is exactly why "using other country's musicians is not in the spirit of Eurovision" is a stupid argument to make. San Marino is such a tiny country with barely any independent music scene because it's completely shared with Italy. And Valentina, who is now representing San Marino for the fourth time, isn't even fully Sammarinese, she's half-Italian. Her partner in this song is an American.
To add to this, the producer, writers, etc. of all her songs in Eurovision are not Sammarinese, but from other countries (for instance, Eurovision regular Ralph Siegel from Germany has been the producer of all of Valentina's songs, as well as San Marino's 2015 song).
 
A

adin75

Member
It boggles my mind that Australia is part of Eurovision, even more so that we send reality TV show winners to represent us.
 
T

Tregard

Soothsayer
I feel that is the first really weak Russian track I've heard in quite some time, at the moment I am really digging Moldova/Australia/Belgium, but overall I'm not feeling like this is a particularly stellar year
 
T

Tugatrix

Member
I have a confession to make my country song is really growing on me, but still doubtful of how good it can do in the competition
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
Now that the preseason has come to a close, it's time for the annual

20 Best Eurovision Songs of 2017*



*that didn't win their national selection contests




in reverse order:

20:

Sólveig Ásgeirsdóttir - "Treystu á mig / Trust In Me"
is_16x16.png

Iceland

The live performance was a flop and the lyrics make the song worse, but the studio version warms the cockles of my Americana heart.

296ozOB.jpg
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19:

Spoon 21 - "Deák"
hu_16x16.png

Hungary

Their performance in 2015 was abhorrent boyband garbage but thankfully when asked to return, they did so with a neato, stylish electropop number sung in Hungarian. They still suck at performing.

Ebudfyf.jpg
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18:

Up - "One By One"
lv_16x16.png

Latvia

Speaking of Americana, this "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" knockoff (complete with tremolo guitar) was kind of endearing and stood out even in Latvia's relatively high-quality national final.

VDdPdgq.jpg
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17:

Paula - "Never Let U Go"
lt_16x16.png

Lithuania

A radio song from 2 years ago escaped and gasped for air alongside 48 other songs in Lithuania and hey! It was kind of good! It even survived their obscenely long selection process until the bitter end!

MEurYqB.jpg
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16:

Maxine Pace - "Bombshell"
mt_16x16.png

Malta

Malta's contest was a massive letdown considering the country's proud history at ESC but Maxine again had the most modern, fun song at the contest. Hopefully she keeps improving and doesn't turn into another Jessika.

Ni0zKL6.jpg
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15:

Gigi Radics - "See It Through"
hu_16x16.png

Hungary

Constructed as a vocal showcase for fan fave Gigi, it's so absurd and over-the-top that it appeals to my dumb lizard brain.

tCfHqLQ.jpg
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14:

Dismissed - "Hearts Align"
se_16x16.png

Sweden

I honestly wanted to hate it but the performance was ace and the arena rock songwriting talent of Ola Salo and Peter Kvint works with the band's style.

c5O3sCp.jpg
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13:

Katrīna Cīrule - "Blood Runs Quicker"
lv_16x16.png

Latvia

An early favorite for Latvia that was sunk by a poor performance, which is a shame as a bigger budget could have done great things for her.

WOCgkm8.jpg
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12:

Shiny Raia - "All You"
lt_16x16.png

Lithuania

I fucking love shit like this but she literally asked the audience to not vote for her, so...

pSzAT7O.jpg
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11:

Nika Zorjan - "Fse"
si_16x16.png

Slovenia

One of the two standouts from Slovenia's selection, she didn't really sell the song but it's strong enough that it carried her. I wish the eastern European countries would send more of this to Eurovision.

dOiED8b.jpg
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10:

Mirela - "Contigo"
es_16x16.png

Spain

Spain's selection was a titanic mess and this Spanish schlager gem lost due to some shady dealings, but the outrage was strong enough that we should see her back soon.

6apGUOm.jpg
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9:

Kerli - "Spirit Animal"
ee_16x16.png

Estonia

Eesti Laul was sadly quite weak this year and I never really jumped on the Kerli hype train, but her performance absolutely made a weak song a million times better.

I0XLmwg.jpg
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8:

Daði Freyr Pétursson - "Is This Love?"
is_16x16.png

Iceland

Most fans reacted very negatively to it when the Söngvakeppnin songs were first released -- then they saw it live. Nerdpop will make it eventually!

5cWxdmY.jpg
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7:

Elodie - "Tutta Colpa Mia"
it_16x16.png

Italy

The right song probably won Sanremo but the competition remains as classy as ever and Italy does a fantastic job of promoting strong talent.

kexY6Ul.jpg
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6:

Gabrielė Vilkickytė - "Jūra"
lt_16x16.png

Lithuania

A complete non-event, but this song is why I watch national finals. Her voice! The song! That weird lounge-y electronic pop I love and need more of in my life! This alone justifies Lithuania's comically huge selection contest.

i6cL2iQ.jpg
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5:

Raiven - "Zažarim"
si_16x16.png

Slovenia

Last year's "Črno bel" was one of the preseason's best and even though "Zažarim" didn't quite get there, Raiven continues to provide music that the rest of Europe ain't offering.

XejTpai.jpg
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4:

Crime Sea - "Escape"
lv_16x16.png

Latvia

MNTHA had one of the decade's best preselection songs with "Nefelibata" and her current band/project didn't disappoint with their Supernova appearance. <3 <3 <3

xHdsR7Z.jpg
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3:

Wiktoria - "As I Lay Me Down"
se_16x16.png

Sweden

Not quite as banging as "Save Me" last year but she does her thing really well and I love her and she's amazing and whatever she does next will slay.

UWEW0sT.jpg
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2:

Orsi Sapszon - "Hunyd Le Szemed"
hu_16x16.png

Hungary

No performance could do the song justice and it showed at A Dal. It legit sounds like something straight out of a classic Disney film.

AKuEZMq.jpg
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1:

Loreen - "Statements"
se_16x16.png

Sweden

smh Sweden.

jRiIQdJ.png
Click to expand...




Overall: It was a very weak year both for selection contests and ESC itself. It's hard to tell if the contest is getting better or worse with time, but 2017's offerings don't help.
 
A

amanset

Member
oti xero said:
Statements is better.

Also lol, they changed fucking to frigging.
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It was so sodding cringeworthy the first time round with the "fucking". Oh so edgy, almost designed to generate fake outrage when forced to change the lyrics. But frankly "frigging" sounds even worse.
 
P

pinkurocket

Member
I haven't checked out all the songs yet, but this year feels so lame. Last year was also so meh. I hope it's not going downhill continuously. When the album comes out, I'll listen to all songs and judge them properly.

I'm happy Kween Valentina is back but jesus that song.
 
S

Strax

Member
SecretMoblin said:
Now that the preseason has come to a close, it's time for the annual

20 Best Eurovision Songs of 2017*



*that didn't win their national selection contests




in reverse order:

20:

Sólveig Ásgeirsdóttir - "Treystu á mig / Trust In Me"
is_16x16.png

Iceland

The live performance was a flop and the lyrics make the song worse, but the studio version warms the cockles of my Americana heart.
Click to expand...

I'm from Iceland, watched all songs on TV and listen to them all when they first came out and I literally can't remember this being a part of it.
 
K

Katzenjammer

Member
SecretMoblin said:
melfest results were released, Loreen actually got the most televotes in Heat 4.... but the app votes pushed her to 3rd
7jCBlVE.gif
Click to expand...
Sweden messed up real good. I'm still not over being salty about it and skipped watching the finals.

I don't get the arguments about the song being boring when it is musically the most interesting thing to happen in mello for years and years. I feel like Robin Bengtsson is a "picked by committee"-winner that everyone can accept but nobody is really happy with.
 
R

Red Arremer

Member
KraftyKrankins said:
(I'm from Bulgaria and) I'm extremely happy to see us contribute with another... decent song, but this right here is missing a decent chorus. Hope it guarantees us another top 10 spot though.
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Oh sure it's a nice song but almost all songs this year are just that - nice songs. Mostly a little on the boring side. A lot of ballads again this year, as well.
There's only a few ones that are either proper Eurovision trash (Montenegro never disappoints!), or actually good songs with a lot of potential. I'd have to go over all of them again to figure which ones I really like (and mind you, I do like the nice songs, but they don't stick, if you know what I mean), but it wasn't many, and this year in general seems very lackluster and samey, just like last year.

Funnily enough, Moldova seems to be one of the strongest contenders for me this year. It and Italy are the only 2 songs I remember.
 
F

fanboi

Banned
I was at the Swedish final, damn good and incredible good show.

The most powerful song was Jon-Henriks song, personal favourite was FO&Os for some reason.

But I think the winner was a good one.
 
K

KraftyKrankins

Member
Red Arremer said:
Oh sure it's a nice song but almost all songs this year are just that - nice songs. Mostly a little on the boring side. A lot of ballads again this year, as well.
There's only a few ones that are either proper Eurovision trash (Montenegro never disappoints!), or actually good songs with a lot of potential. I'd have to go over all of them again to figure which ones I really like (and mind you, I do like the nice songs, but they don't stick, if you know what I mean), but it wasn't many, and this year in general seems very lackluster and samey, just like last year.

Funnily enough, Moldova seems to be one of the strongest contenders for me this year. It and Italy are the only 2 songs I remember.
Click to expand...

You know, it's kinda funny but for me last year's was one of the better ones that I've seen(10 or so) and I'm actually feeling even more songs this year. Not in the "sure hit" kinda way like you're saying, but for me Hungary, France and Belgium are actually pretty good, and Macedonia is the only one I'm sure is gonna be in the top 5.
Even my country's entry is growing on me A LOT(and judging by how quickly the Youtube views have rise, I'm not the only one).
We'll see how it goes though, little less than two months left.
 
S

Spyware

Member
Ugh, SVT decided to scrap Inför Eurovision, the pre ESC program where a bunch of people listened to all the songs and rated them. It was my way of checking out the contestants.
Does anyone know if De Eurovisa will have a TV show thisyear? They seems to have a podcast where they discuss ESC but I wanna check out the videos too.
At least Adresse Kiev is confirmed, I just hope I can watch it this year. Last year I couldn't get it to work until way later. NRK didn't seem to like that I was trying to watch from Sweden.

And is oti xero trying to start a Carthago thing?
"Furthermore, I consider that Germany must be given zero points." :D
 
E

evilpigking

Member
Actually a fair number that are decent this year relative to the what I thought.
Hungary, FYR, Moldova, Latvia, Israel, Italy, Azerbijian, ...well maybe not that many after all
 
O

oti

Banned
evilpigking said:
Actually a fair number that are decent this year relative to the what I thought.
Hungary, FYR, Moldova, Latvia, Israel, Italy, Azerbijian, ...well maybe not that many after all
Click to expand...

Cyprus and Greece are decent too, in the context of Eurovision.
 
R

Red Arremer

Member
How does everyone feel if I post the 2017 OT on the weekend of April 29/30? It's about 2 weeks leading up to the event, so not too early. =)
 
O

oti

Banned
Red Arremer said:
Ukraine should pay the EBU fees for Russia not attending then. This is especially gross given that Russia's performer is disabled, too.
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You do understand this is exactly the reaction Russia wants from you, right? You followed their plan exactly, lol.
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
It was going to be a mess regardless. Russian authorities knew of the potential to ban individuals who had traveled to Crimea, which was obviously a factor in their decision to pick Julia.

Russia's options were to sit this one out a la Armenia in 2012 citing security concerns, send a typical entry like Polina/Sergei and have them be harassed by a hostile local crowd, or send someone with the intent of provocation.

The EBU appears to be fine with it, probably because it takes the heat off of them for having to take a stand on the issue. Now Russia gets to embarrass Ukraine, blame them for Russia's likely non-participation this year, and threaten to withdraw from the contest entirely due to their grievances, like Turkey.

They could have Julia perform via satellite and the EBU would be fine with Russia picking another performer, but we'll see.
 
T

Tregard

Soothsayer
Red Arremer said:
Ukraine should pay the EBU fees for Russia not attending then. This is especially gross given that Russia's performer is disabled, too.
Click to expand...

In my personal opinion, I think Russia knew something like this would happen. They wanted to make a spectacle of Ukraine.
 
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