Latvia

Where to draw the line, Latvia?

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Can Latvia continue their good fortune in the Eurovision Song Contest without Aminata being involved? After two successful years in a row we’re leaning towards a no, but we suppose we can allow them the benefit of the doubt and give Triana Park a chance to prove us wrong.

We were actually quite surprised to find out that such a hard hitting, alternative entry could win in a country where televoting is used to establish the winner. Never in a million years could we imagine the same thing happening in Norway, where the families watching MGP and voting on their phones are too conservative to pick something so far outside the box. Continue reading

First impressions from the first dress rehearsal of the second semi final

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– No, no, no, Andres Putting, don’t come any closer! Pic by EBU/Andres Putting

Yay, we remembered there were 18 more songs to go and just saw the first dress rehearsal for the second semi final. It is also brewing up to be a great show, of course. The undisputable highlight being our favourite Schlagerboys appearing on the big screen, driving around in a taxi, which we’ve heard is shady business in Stockholm. This is what else to expect:

01 Latvia Justs Heartbeat

Has shown a vast selection of leather jackets, so it is a bit disappointing that he chose the black one for the stage. Maybe he should borrow Poland’s stylist? Other than that, douze points for effort. Will be in the run for best performance in the final together with Hungary’s Freddie.

02 Poland Michał Szpak Color Of Your Life

After the Bosnia & Herzegovina disaster in the first semi final, we are happy there is at least half a cello left for Poland. Michal wants people to sing along, and we can now reveal why you know that melody so easily: it echoes the riff of “I will survive”, which is a message we keep repeating to ourselves every morning these days. Clever little thing that Captain Jack Sparrow. Continue reading

The ultimate flag post

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In Norway we’re still holding our breath and crossing our fingers for Agnete to actually show up in Stockholm, but otherwise it seems like the preparations before the rehearsals kick off in Globen are running along smoothly. A sneak peak of how the stage will look like tells us that we’re about to get reacquainted with the good old television test signal, which will give a nice retro touch to the competition. Well done, SVT!

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Can anyone actually tell the difference here?

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Our hearts beat for Latvia

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As avid Eurovision fans we soon pick up on our Facebook feeds when a completely fabulous song is competing in a national final in some random country. Every year we end up falling in love with a number of songs that in the end never makes it past the finishing line and reach the Eurovision finals. This year our sincere gratitude goes out to Latvia for not keeping this little gem away from an international audience. Good call!

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Eurovision – What to expect when expecting

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Tis the season to be jolly! O come, all ye faithful. And have yourself a merry little Eurovision season!

We can’t wait to start tearing apart all those entries and reporting live from the audience for you, but sadly there are very few chosen ones yet. A few songs will be rendered a thousand times still. And then there is the need to do a recess and have a look at what has been going on the last couple of months. Here’s some of the gossip, predictions and prayers and hopes for you:

Great things could happen in Hungary

So, we closed our eyes for a minute and made a wish. That one day Hungary would bring us a good looking, well behaved bloke with a voice and song to match. Turns out his name is Freddie. Which is short for Fehérvári Gábor Alfréd and a synonym for pretty perfect. He hasn’t conquered his national final yet, but there is no chance he wouldn’t, right? Meet us in Stockholm, baby, we’ll mess around.

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Congrats, Freddie! You just won the pre-qualification round for this year’s hotlist.

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Hurrah! Second semi-final coming up!

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Oh, please! Get a room!

Tonight is a big one coming up for us as Norway is on, and no less than FIVE of the guys on our hotlist. We recommend a bottle of Chardonnay, Valium and an oxygen mask within reach. If all goes well and we don’t pass out with overexcitement before the Czech Republic sings, we hope we will be able to celebrate the following ten countries going through to the Grand Final (click on the links to read our review):

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Faith in Latvia reinjected

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Latvia hasn’t qualified for the final since 2008 and it makes us wonder why they still bother to show up. And not to mention how they could have saved the rest of us from having to suffer through a whole bunch of shockingly bad entries had they stayed at home. Every single non-qualification have been earnestly deserved, we’ll give them that.

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First rehearsals. Impressions and fun facts

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In case of emergency, please unfold the parachute. Photo: Andres Putting (EBU)
In case of emergency, please unfold your own parachute first, then help your children. Photo: Andres Putting (EBU)

So. First semi final is no more than a week away and rehearsals are well on their way. Here are some of the most important facts we have picked up on this far:

  • Georgia is way funnier than first anticipated.How unbelievably cool is it to bring a parachute onstage? If you are to dance around high as a kite onstage, why not bring your kite, we say. And there is a slight possibility Israel’s lady might blow us all up, so security equipment is welcomed.
  • Speaking of Israel, we have an announcement to make: Three pair of pants have been found lurking around the airport looking for their owners. Mei and choir chicks can report to the information desk in order to get fully dressed for next week.

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Latvia's losing streak continues

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It’s tempting to start off this review with asking if someone could Please explain this Rubbish (our own interpretation of PeR). We certainly can’t explain anything as we don’t understand the first thing about why the Latvians voted this the winner and gave these blokes the opportunity to embarrass themselves in front of some 100 million TV viewers. We seriously question the Latvians taste as they seem to have refined the art of picking the most godawful entries the past few years. Continue reading