Eurovision Song Contest Rotterdam 2020

LordBasil

Maybe a bit early but what the hell. Let's discuss the 65th Eurovision Song Contest which, following the victory of Duncan Laurence, will be hosted in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on the following dates;

Semi Final 1 - Tuesday 12th May 2020
Semi Final 2 - Thursday 14th May 2020
Grand Final - Saturday 16 May 2020

LordBasil

So far 5 Countries have revealed their artists but no songs have been unveiled. Here are the artists with a little taster of what kind of music they perform.

Belgium will be represented by the group Hooverphonic;

Spain will be represented by Blas Canto;

Bulgaria will be represented by VICTORIA;

Cyprus will be represented by Sandro Nicolas;

Austria will be represented by Vincent Bueno;

LordBasil

I wonder who RTE will choose after 2019's disaster. The omens could be good for Ireland;

In 1970 & 1980 ESC was hosted in The Netherlands and on both occasions Ireland won!!

Ireland generally does well at the 1st contest of a new decade as along with those 2 victories mentioned above;

We came 2nd in 1990
6th in 2000, our best result since mass televoting began
In 2010 despite only finishing 23rd it was the only time since the introduction of the semi finals that a woman qualified for Ireland.

It's the 65th Contest, Ireland debuted in 1965.

So here's hoping we do well. With Switzerland coming 4th in 2019 it means that Ireland is the only Western Country, along with Spain, that still participates not to come Top 5 at least once in the 21st Century.

Come on RTE get your act together.

yerwanthere123

A bit early? How about a bit late :pac: We'll have our first entry on Sunday so I was actually going to start the thread this week, gutted I didn't now! Albania will be the first to choose, as tradition now dictates.

I'll go completely mad and predict another Ireland flop in 2020.

Muahahaha

OP reminds me of this

-Ted do you mind if I put on my record?
-No.Go ahead.
- I've got Eurosong fever, Ted, I love the Eurosong competition, I can't wait.
- What time is it now Ted?
- Half past one.
-And the competition is on in?
-May.

Smacruairi

If we go with something like what we sent to the junior eurovision, we could do quite well. That had an amazing look, sound, and decent production values behind it with a central theme.

Blas canto for Spain is a really big performer. If he has a decent song he will do very very well.

LordBasil

Happy New Year!!

We have our first confirmed entry from Albania. The artist is Arilena Ara, the song is called 'Shaj' (Curse) but it will be translated to English for Eurovision;

Hard to tell how it will do, could reach the final but likely will then get forgotten.

Albania should have sent this bop instead;

LordBasil

Upcoming National Selections in January 2020

11th - Nacionaline atranke: Heat 1 (Lithuania)
11th - Melodi Grand Prix: Semi-final 1(Norway)
18th - Nacionaline atranke: Heat 2 (Lithuania)
18th - Melodi Grand Prix: Semi-final 2 (Norway)
25th - Nacionaline atranke: Heat 3 (Lithuania)
25th - Melodi Grand Prix: Semi-final 3 (Norway)
26th - Eurovision Song CZ (Czech Republic)

Only one final in CR but we could get some internal artists/songs revealed. Rumours that Blas Canto (Spain) will release his song on the 26th but not confirmed.

Also rumours that RTE will announce the Irish Entrant but not the song later this month. Would fit in with previous years, bar last year. Nicky Byrne and Ryan O'Shaughnessy were announced in January of their respective years.

LordBasil

The host nation, The Netherlands, have confirmed that they will be represented by Jeangu Macrooy. His song will be unveiled at a later date. Here is a taster of what he's like;

LordBasil

Another artist reveal, France have announced they will be represented by Tom Leeb, with the song released at a later date.

LordBasil

Semi Final Allocation Draw took place today;

Italy, Germany & The Netherlands will vote in this SF.

SF1

1st Half
North Macedona
Belarus
Lithuania
Sweden
Slovenia
Australia
Ireland
Russia

2nd Half
Norway
Cyprus
Croatia
Azerbaijan
Malta
Israel
Ukraine
Romania
Belgium

Not looking good for us

Ireland is screwed unless we have an amazing song. Ryan O'Shaughnessy qualified from a 'Semi of Death' but he has a decent song, great running order and fantastic staging. With Sweden, Russia, Australia and Ukraine all pretty much guaranteed to qualfy and countries like Belgium and Azerbaijan there too as well as not having the UK voting we need a miracle.

SF2

France, Spain and the UK will vote in this SF.

1st Half
Austria
Moldova
Poland
San Marino
Serbia
Iceland
Czech Republic
Greece
Estonia

2nd Half
Denmark
Bulgaria
Switzerland
Finland
Armenia
Latvia
Georgia
Portugal
Albania

Hard to judge but looks wide open.

yerwanthere123

Yeah SF1 is definitely looking a lot stronger on paper, but I know we've said that in the past and in the end it turns out the opposite can be true. To qualify from the first half we'd obviously need a strong song, which I'm 100% sure RTE will be able to send... :pac:

We're almost into February and still only one song picked! And I haven't even listened to it yet, meant to post it on the thread when it was picked but was just busy with all the usual Christmas stuff. Will give it a listen tonight, although based on the feedback I've heard so far it's not exactly Earth-shattering.

LordBasil

Looking further at our Semi Final Competition;

North Macedonia = Topped the Jury Vote last year so will want to keep momentum but can they do well again or was last year a fluke? They are sending a male singer who could be overshadowed by others.

Belarus = Patchy Qualification Record, has support from Russia, Ukraine & Romania but song will need to be good.

Lithuania = Rely heavily on Diaspora votes, they have us and Norway voting for them but are missing neighbouring Latvia and diaspora heavy UK. Will need a strong entry with widespread appeal and strong jury score to qualify.

Sweden = Jury darlings but their popularity with Televoters has waned. If they send another formulaic pop song by a male singer they could fall short, unlikely to happen so probable qualifiers.

Slovenia = Like Belarus, patchy qualification history. Will depend on song.

Australia = Like Sweden, they are jury darlings but their fortunes on the televote have been somewhat mixed.

Russia = No idea what type of performer or song they will send but they are likely qualifiers.

Norway = Based on what I've seen so far in MGP, can qualify if 'Wild' or 'One Last Time' are selected.

Cyprus = Sandro could be overshadowed, song & performance will have to be good.

Croatia = In similar boat with Slovenia.

Azerbaijan = Only failed to qualify in 2018 so are likely to qualify this year.

Malta = If Destiny wins X Factor Malta and has a strong song they could be contenders for the top prize! Likely Qualifier at least.

Israel = Hard to know really. Will they send a strong entry again so soon after winning?

Ukraine = Still have their 100% Qualification record but lack of big names among Vidbir 2020 line up could spell trouble. Has the broadcasters' shameful treatment of MARUV last year put strong artists off?

Romania = Lost their 100% Qualification record in 2018 and failed to qualify again last year so nothing is certain with them. Like everyone else it will depend on song, performance & staging.

Belgium = Hooverphonic will undoubtably have a strong entry but will need to stage it well or they could end up as another Sennek. That being said, likely qualifier.

It's going to be tough for everyone, all to play for at this stage!

LordBasil

Theatre Production Company ThisIsPopBaby will stage Ireland's Entry

https://wiwibloggs.com/2020/01/29/thisispopbaby-will-stage-irelands-eurovision-2020-entry/248719/

This is really interesting, Ireland's entry will really need to stand out after getting that nightmare draw. Apparently 2FM were blown away when they heard the song and instantly decided to select it.

Rumours are that it is a female singer. According to Irish HOD Michael Kealy the entrant will be unveiled in a few weeks.

yerwanthere123

More news about Ireland, apparently we're being represented by “An artistically on point LGBT act”. Not sure what to make of that, I'm now thinking it's going to be something really silly and twee.

yerwanthere123

Also, Spain has been revealed

Spain

LordBasil

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

More news about Ireland, apparently we're being represented by “An artistically on point LGBT act”. Not sure what to make of that, I'm now thinking it's going to be something really silly and twee.

Philly McMahon from ThisIsPopBaby said in a radio interview over the weekend that it is a 'banger' that people will be dancing to for years' to come. A 'Euphoria' moment! Make of that what you will...

Regarding Spain's song, it is decent if a bit underwhelming. Spain have a habit of having good songs but messing up the staging e.g La Venda, Amenacer. I've no doubt he'll be able to sell it live but will it be a song that people will remember to vote for after all 26 finalists have performed?

yerwanthere123

LordBasil wrote: »

Philly McMahon from ThisIsPopBaby said in a radio interview over the weekend that it is a 'banger' that people will be dancing to for years' to come. A 'Euphoria' moment! Make of that what you will...

Regarding Spain's song, it is decent if a bit underwhelming. Spain have a habit of having good songs but messing up the staging e.g La Venda, Amenacer. I've no doubt he'll be able to sell it live but will it be a song that people will remember to vote for after all 26 finalists have performed?

Doesn't fill me with confidence tbh, but I hope I'm wrong!

Capt'n Midnight

last time they won

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI78Bqp6z6g

still an earworm

Sir Oxman

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

More news about Ireland, apparently we're being represented by “An artistically on point LGBT act”. Not sure what to make of that, I'm now thinking it's going to be something really silly and twee.

...it's going to be yer man Panti, isn't it?...:(

yerwanthere123

Sir Oxman wrote: »

...it's going to be yer man Panti, isn't it?...:(

I'm thinking something along those lines, yes.

LordBasil

Sir Oxman wrote: »

...it's going to be yer man Panti, isn't it?...:(

No, the artist is apparently a young up and coming act who is a member of the LGBT Community.

Irish Singer Laoise is being heavily rumoured. Here is a recent sample of her music;

She's a very promising talent if it is her.

yerwanthere123

LordBasil wrote: »

No, the artist is apparently a young up and coming act who is a member of the LGBT Community.

Irish Singer Laoise is being heavily rumoured. Here is a recent sample of her music;

She's a very promising talent if it is her.

I'm ignoring all rumours after the Janet Devlin fiasco from last year :pac:

LordBasil

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

I'm ignoring all rumours after the Janet Devlin fiasco from last year :pac:

Yeah, any rumours need to be taken with a large pinch of salt.

Looking forward to seeing who it actually is and hearing the song.

yerwanthere123

Reading more about what Philly McMahon says about our entry, whilst I'd be very dubious as to it's anywhere near as good as he's making it out to be, I was impressed by this:

In the ’90s, we really settled into a groove… we really owned that. And then when the competition went through a massive change, Ireland didn’t really understand what that change was. But here’s my thoughts on the past entries over the past however many years. Nobody goes to Eurovision thinking that they’ve got a bad song.

I think what’s worked against us is that we just don’t have a massive pop industry in the country. And so in terms of talent development… if you look at Swedish or Australian entries, you’re talking about massive record labels behind those, massive development periods, massive songwriting hubs — none of which we have. So, our kind of stock in trade is a ballad. We have succeeded with that in the past and we also haven’t succeeded with that in the past.

At the very least we've got someone on board who understands the reality of our situation and where we've been going wrong. It sounds as if RTE are genuinely making an effort this year, but obviously we still need to hear the song first.

LordBasil

Czech Republic;

Very modern but I don't know how this will fare with the Eurovision audience and it might be difficult to stage although apparently it is going to have a revamp before the contest.

murpho999

LordBasil wrote: »

Semi Final Allocation Draw took place today;

Italy, Germany & The Netherlands will vote in this SF.

SF1

1st Half
North Macedona
Belarus
Lithuania
Sweden
Slovenia
Australia
Ireland
Russia

2nd Half
Norway
Cyprus
Croatia
Azerbaijan
Malta
Israel
Ukraine
Romania
Belgium

Not looking good for us

Ireland is screwed unless we have an amazing song. Ryan O'Shaughnessy qualified from a 'Semi of Death' but he has a decent song, great running order and fantastic staging. With Sweden, Russia, Australia and Ukraine all pretty much guaranteed to qualfy and countries like Belgium and Azerbaijan there too as well as not having the UK voting we need a miracle.


Hard to judge but looks wide open.

I don't see how we're screwed at all. This neighbourly voting thing is a myth that people persist with and the UK don't give us lots of votes either.

Look at the winners over the last few years, mostly Western and they simply had the best song.

Ireland has done poorly recently due to poor songs and acts, as simple as that.

yerwanthere123

murpho999 wrote: »

I don't see how we're screwed at all. This neighbourly voting thing is a myth that people persist with and the UK don't give us lots of votes either.

Look at the winners over the last few years, mostly Western and they simply had the best song.

Ireland has done poorly recently due to poor songs and acts, as simple as that.

Well it's not a myth at all, as the many years of geographic voting can attest to. The UK has consistently given us higher points over the years.

I agree with the second part though, we do poorly because of our terrible songs, and the best song generally wins or else finished high up the table.

LordBasil

murpho999 wrote: »

I don't see how we're screwed at all. This neighbourly voting thing is a myth that people persist with and the UK don't give us lots of votes either.

Look at the winners over the last few years, mostly Western and they simply had the best song.

Ireland has done poorly recently due to poor songs and acts, as simple as that.

You are right that Ireland does badly because we generally send sub-par songs but in terms of qualification it is proven that some countries have it easier due to neighbours or countries with high numbers of diaspora, voting for them. For example Lithuania always gets 12 Points from Ireland, Norway and the UK televotes due to their diaspora living in those countries or Russia will always pick up points from former 'Eastern Bloc' countries (Belarus, Azerbaijan etc.) regardless of their song's quality. For countries without neighbour voting or diaspora it is harder to do well unless they send strong entries, even qualification can be seen as victory for them.

It is correct to say 'Ireland is screwed unless we have an amazing song' because in such a tough semi final with so many big players (Sweden, Russia, Ukraine etc) an average song won't have a chance of qualifying whereas in a weaker semi final it could just sneak through (see 2010 or 2013).

Saying that, I genuinely believe any country can win/do well if they send strong, popular entries, as Portugal and Israel have recently proved, but average songs from certain countries (Russia, Lithuania etc.) have a stronger chance of qualifying to the final than average songs from other countries (Ireland, Switzerland, Finland etc)

yerwanthere123

A pretty slow Eurovision season kicks into gear this weekend; Malta, Latvia, Italy and Australia will all be choosing their entries.

Still haven't listened to Spain or Czech Republic, need to get cracking!

yerwanthere123

Forgot to actually post my initial thoughts on Albania. Overall it's grand on first listen, would probably sneak into the final with extra jury support and ultimately finish bottom 5. Important to note though that this isn't the finished product, it'll be getting a revamp before May as the Albanian entries usually do.

So just listened to Spain, it's nice enough and there's nothing particularly wrong with it, but I can't see it garnering any significant either jury or televote. Would probably do well to make top 20 in the final.

Czech Republic is fine, might stand out with good staging like they had last year. It just kind of plods along though, there's no big chorus or anything. It's grand, maybe a qualifier in a weaker semi final.

Capt'n Midnight

So far nothing worth talking about from Italy

yerwanthere123

Australia

I actually like this, but there's work to be done on the presentation.


Latvia

I actually quite like this too! Will certainly stand out.


Italy

Think this is quite decent. Not sure about the televote but I reckon it'll mop up a lot of easy jury votes.

LordBasil

It's been an interesting weekend;

Australia; OK Song but the staging needs to be totally changed. If they have that staging in Rotterdam they won't qualify.

Latvia; Interesting and different. Could qualify being in the more unpredictable SF sort of how Slovenia 2018 qualified.

Italy; Decent song, sung well. I feel like this and France will be fishing for similar votes. BTW France's song will be released on Sunday next.

Amik

Melodifestivalen is in full swing.

Dotter's minimalist staging blew me away. Why can't Ireland do it like this: mirror top from Penneys and some bright lights from Woodies. :P

She moved on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g88Aj5NWtxk

Amik

LordBasil wrote: »

It's been an interesting weekend;

Australia; OK Song but the staging needs to be totally changed. If they have that staging in Rotterdam they won't qualify.

Latvia; Interesting and different. Could qualify being in the more unpredictable SF sort of how Slovenia 2018 qualified.

Italy; Decent song, sung well. I feel like this and France will be fishing for similar votes. BTW France's song will be released on Sunday next.

Australia: Not a fan of this at all. The staging gives me the creeps, too. Sounds like a lot of whining.

Latvia: It didn't take me long to realize Aminata Savadogo was involved in writing this song. So love her sound and vibe. I've enjoyed all of this country's entries since 2015.

Italy: Very decent, Italian ballad. Doesn't have the magic of Netherlands 2019 but an easy Top 10 finish. Don't feel Eurovision 2021 in Italy.

otnomart

Amik wrote: »

Italy: Very decent, Italian ballad. Doesn't have the magic of Netherlands 2019 but an easy Top 10 finish. Don't feel Eurovision 2021 in Italy.

Agree.


Italy would have won Eurovision 2020 with this song by Achille Lauro though.

Amik

otnomart wrote: »

Agree.


Italy would have won Eurovision 2020 with this song by Achille Lauro though.

:P :P :P

Not a strong San Remo this year. My personal favourite was Raphael Gualazzi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ-3rtO_Zqs

LordBasil

My favourite in San Remo was this belter;

Capt'n Midnight

Amik wrote: »

Melodifestivalen is in full swing.

Dotter's minimalist staging blew me away. Why can't Ireland do it like this: mirror top from Penneys and some bright lights from Woodies. :P

Róisín Murphy back in the day.

yerwanthere123

A few more entry reveals coming in the next few days. Armenia, Norway and Lithuania on Saturday, the French song release on Sunday followed by Belgium on Monday. Hopefully the Irish reveal isn't too far away either.

Amik

Hello you...

I think I found my Valentine...



Romania will be sending Roxen.

Song not released yet but you can get a feel for her Billie Eilish sound here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5FxqUBeyp8

Amik

Meanwhile in Poland...

They've gone the talent show route.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIRNbXY9neY

The jury are Cleo (2014), Michal Szpak (2016), and Gromee (2018).

Not feeling it will be Poland's year at the moment. :P

yerwanthere123

Armenia

Nothing to get remotely excited about here I think, a borderline qualifier at best.

Norway

Decent ballad sang well.

Lithuania

This is... really good! My favourite so far. Obviously the performance is a bit mad though, so depends on whether or not people will take it seriously. I think this could get a lot of Moldova 2017/Norway 2019 type of votes.

yerwanthere123

Also found this post on the Digital Spy forum from an Irish poster:

I got serious tea about the Irish act, courtesy of our OGAE leader who has heard the song and described it as uptempo and modern. He said the singer is female, originally from Dublin but has lived in the US for the past 15 years.......surely it has to be Samantha Mumba?!

Now obviously take this with a generous helping of salt, but Samantha has said in previous years she'd like to do it. I hope it isn't true, I'd much rather someone younger and upcoming.

LordBasil

The name being thrown around for the Irish singer is Lesley Roy, she's LGBT and she lives in America. If she's not the singer she could be the songwriter as she has written songs for Adam Lambert amongst others. We'll have to wait and see....

About this weekend's selected entries;

Armenia; A mess but will have a revamp so it could still be salvaged.

Norway; People are really liking this but it does nothing for me. The juries might like it in Rotterdam but it could be overshadowed by other big ballads.

Lithuania; A memorable entry after last year's dirge. Will qualify, do well in the televote and not just from Lithuanian diaspora but I think the juries will prevent it from being a contender to win.

Amik

LordBasil wrote: »

Armenia; A mess but will have a revamp so it could still be salvaged.

Norway; People are really liking this but it does nothing for me. The juries might like it in Rotterdam but it could be overshadowed by other big ballads.

Lithuania; A memorable entry after last year's dirge. Will qualify, do well in the televote and not just from Lithuanian diaspora but I think the juries will prevent it from being a contender to win.

Lithuania: So much fun and the first really unique entry so far! I like the school teacher teaching "Don't Do Drugs Kids" vibe. I hope it does well.

Norway: Excellent singer and the song sticks. Among my favourites at the moment. Two issues for me: the lyrics aren't very imaginative/deep (but I like the title and chorus) and it's bordering on a very stereotypical Eurovision performance/sound. That pyro was great though!!

Armenia: Two big disappointments from this country in a row. I won't be dreaming about her like I do Iveta to this day. Maybe they're still paying off her performance. :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL066Rp7J7k

yerwanthere123

France

There's been a hugely negative reaction to this so I was expecting something terrible. Nowhere near as bad as is being made out, but it's still very safe and solid with a bad key-change. Could see decent staging elevating it slightly but a 15-20 finish in the final would probably be the very best this could hope for.

Amik

Meanwhile in Poland...

Albert Černý won the 3rd Semi Final of Szansa na Sukces.

If he looks familiar you're right: He's only a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend (Czech Republic 2019)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTLoybZgcZg

donkeykong5

Any truth in the rumour about julian benson.

Amik

The Flemish released their song this morning: Release Me by Hooverphonic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay6KTNtMCwo

Sweet voice and good lyrics (supposedly about a dying father but can be interrpreted in a few ways). A pleasant listen with a Bond-ish theme vibe. A dark horse with the right staging.