Eurovision Song Contest 2021

penelope2012

Sawduck wrote: »

I have bets on both Malta and Switzerland to win, think Malta will win

So have I

Welsh Megaman

Flo Rida: “It was an honour to help out Sol Marina last night. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to judge the ‘Miss Rotterdam Peachy Buns’ contest. Peace out!”


*drops mic*

No chance for Malta now with that running order.

The first half is odd, all the female singers in a row followed by the men. Russia and Malta back to back is especially strange. And why does Spain have such a great slot? That would have been a contender for the death slot for me.

Seems like a France v Italy shoot out now, with Ukraine and Switzerland being the other possibly winners. Maybe Iceland too, but that's a hard one to place. They are massively popular but the song isn't a patch on last year.

gmisk

Flying Fox wrote: »

No chance for Malta now with that running order.

The first half is odd, all the female singers in a row followed by the men. Russia and Malta back to back is especially strange. And why does Spain have such a great slot? That would have been a contender for the death slot for me.

Seems like a France v Italy shoot out now, with Ukraine and Switzerland being the other possibly winners. Maybe Iceland too, but that's a hard one to place. They are massively popular but the song isn't a patch on last year.

That draw definitely damages Malta's chances

I think it's going to be Italy now if I had to guess

All that fandango

Listened to the Big 5 entries last night, all are fairly good. Dare I say even the UK isnt the worst and they have had some shocking entries over the years. But oh my god, Italy...WOW!! Very very impressive! Germany's is very fun, wont win, but I'd say yer man singing it isnt even worried about that. Spain is very nice also, could get a decent score. France, I dont know, not for me personally but its a strong song, takes itself a bit seriously though perhaps?

Either way, I've never looked forward to the Eurovision final as much before, I think its because of the year of doom and gloom we all had. Bring on Saturday!

MisterAnarchy

Ive had a listen to the top 5 priced songs and hmm, I don't think much of any of them.
The Italian song is dreadful, France, very average, Malta is ok, the chorus is catchy, Ukraine, the singers voice is awful.
Switzerland is by far the best song out of that bunch.
A very underwhelming selection of songs.

odyssey06

All that fandango wrote: »

Listened to the Big 5 entries last night, all are fairly good. Dare I say even the UK isnt the worst and they have had some shocking entries over the years. But oh my god, Italy...WOW!! Very very impressive! Germany's is very fun, wont win, but I'd say yer man singing it isnt even worried about that. Spain is very nice also, could get a decent score. France, I dont know, not for me personally but its a strong song, takes itself a bit seriously though perhaps?

Either way, I've never looked forward to the Eurovision final as much before, I think its because of the year of doom and gloom we all had. Bring on Saturday!

Did you listen to studio versions or their live versions?
I liked the UK studio version but thought live some of the vocals needed to be stronger.
With France, the opposite problem, I really liked the studio version but thought the live version overdid the vocals & 'torch song' overwrought emotional performance - though maybe that will resonate with the audience?
Spain and Germany will get decent scores I think but won't trouble Italy at the top table (along with Switzerland, Malta, San Marino).

I'm hoping the bottom of the table will be the likes of Moldova, Greece, Serbia, Albania which deployed the rather obvious strategy of under-dressed ladies with a mediocre europop dancefloor song.

I hope Portugal, Belgium, Iceland and Ukraine do well for trying something a little different.

CruelSummer

Am I the only one that doesn't see winning material in the French or Italian songs?

Flying Fox

Flying Fox wrote: »

And why does Spain have such a great slot? That would have been a contender for the death slot for me.

Saw someone on Twitter point out that Spain's giant moon takes a long time for the stagehands to set up and take down, so it makes life easier for them to have it after Iceland (who sadly won't be on stage) and before the half-time break.

Also saw an interesting tweet that said the producers apparently don't know the results of the semi-finals, so the running order of the final apparently isn't based on how well or poorly contestants did in the semi. Whether it's true or not I don't know.

exaisle

I was surprised that Moldova got through...nice looking girl but her vocals hurt my ears...maybe whomever voted for her had the sound off. I think nervy vocals let down Austria too.

Standout performance from sf2 for me was Portugal...he absolutely nailed it but I wish he's get rid of the guitar...that aside, I think it's different and catchy enough to do it on Saturday night.

MisterAnarchy

CruelSummer wrote: »

Am I the only one that doesn't see winning material in the French or Italian songs?

See my post 2 posts above.

All that fandango

odyssey06 wrote: »

Did you listen to studio versions or their live versions?
I liked the UK studio version but thought live some of the vocals needed to be stronger.
With France, the opposite problem, I really liked the studio version but thought the live version overdid the vocals & 'torch song' overwrought emotional performance - though maybe that will resonate with the audience?
Spain and Germany will get decent scores I think but won't trouble Italy at the top table (along with Switzerland, Malta, San Marino).

I'm hoping the bottom of the table will be the likes of Moldova, Greece, Serbia, Albania which deployed the rather obvious strategy of under-dressed ladies with a mediocre europop dancefloor song.

I hope Portugal, Belgium, Iceland and Ukraine do well for trying something a little different.

I listened to the live, stage version of them. Although I did have a listen to San Marino yesterday on Spotify and thought it was very catchy, it sounded very underwhelming on stage in comparison last night.

I said it last night and I'll say it again, I cannot see the grá for the Swiss song at all. I thought it was very poor.

Also, I agree with the UK being very poor vocally. But I think the overall tune isnt bad.

AndyBoBandy

Having listened back to a few of the songs from the semi finals at my desk with computer connected to proper speakers...

The Lithuanian song is an absolute banger... would be huge in clubs if clubs were still a thing....
The Ukrainian song is an absolute stomper. Absolutely brilliant.

I'd be slightly biased towards electronic music myself, but those 2 tracks have very heavy beats/groove in them. Ukraine's track is basically techno. Favourite song by far.

The rock n roller in me says Portugal, also a great song.

-=al=-

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Having listened back to a few of the songs from the semi finals at my desk with computer connected to proper speakers...

The Lithuanian song is an absolute banger... would be huge in clubs if clubs were still a thing....
The Ukrainian song is an absolute stomper. Absolutely brilliant.

I'd be slightly biased towards electronic music myself, but those 2 tracks have very heavy beats/groove in them. Ukraine's track is basically techno. Favourite song by far.

The rock n roller in me says Portugal, also a great song.

Not particularly an electronic music fan, but the Ukrainian and Lithuanian songs were pretty fun and refreshing

I hope they do well

odyssey06

-=al=- wrote: »

Not particularly an electronic music fan, but the Ukrainian and Lithuanian songs were pretty fun and refreshing
I hope they do well

I just re-played Lithuania and it's refreshing fun and ... a bit addictive watching the moves timed perfectly to the music. They'll certainly stand out from the crowd.

* Before playing the clip Youtube aired an ad for Audible with Graham Norton... freaky

odyssey06

It's a pity they couldn't get Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams out to do a Fire Saga medley as the interval act
(or maybe whoever does the singing! Molly Sanden did get to the Oscars...)

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Portugal seem to be having a bit of a "Common Linnets" moment, which is really nice to see. Nobody thought this song was going anywhere when it was chosen, now it seems everyone is raving about it!

Portugal now up to eighth in the odds, ahead of San Marino, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. That's some going!

odyssey06

Deleted User wrote: »

Portugal now up to eighth in the odds, ahead of San Marino, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. That's some going!

Reckon I'll give Portugal a vote.

Has anyone voted using the Eurovision app or is it still SMS based?

I used the app on Tuesday night (gave Ukraine and Belgium two votes each), it's the exact same as voting by SMS only you "tap the button on the app and send" instead of "typing out the number and send".

I did have to add credit first though, didn't fall under the free texts on my data plan sadly.

AndyBoBandy

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Having listened back to a few of the songs from the semi finals at my desk with computer connected to proper speakers...

The Lithuanian song is an absolute banger... would be huge in clubs if clubs were still a thing....
The Ukrainian song is an absolute stomper. Absolutely brilliant.

I'd be slightly biased towards electronic music myself, but those 2 tracks have very heavy beats/groove in them. Ukraine's track is basically techno. Favourite song by far.

The rock n roller in me says Portugal, also a great song.

Those will do

Done them 3 each way a quarter 4 places - Ukraine 15/2 , Lithuania 50/1 & Portugal 33/1

Gwan the Eastern Bloc Block voters

odyssey06

No action tonight on stage, so to go on a tangent...

My favourite Irish entry which didn't win is Somewhere in Europe - Liam Reilly, who sadly passed away at the start of this year.
Robbed by Italy - not the first time that happened in 1990

Meet me in Paris on a Champs Elysees night...

odyssey06

Deleted User wrote: »

Those will do
Done them 3 each way a quarter 4 places - Ukraine 15/2 , Lithuania 50/1 & Portugal 33/1
Gwan the Eastern Bloc Block voters

I think you need to check the oul atlas there on Portugal mon ami

Lithuania is more Baltic aligned... I don't think they get any bloc voting \ cultural affinity for similar songs with say Bulgaria-Romania-Moldova region. Ukraine might benefit from that.

odyssey06

odyssey06 wrote: »

I think you need to check the oul atlas there on Portugal mon ami

Lithuania is more Baltic aligned... I don't think they get any bloc voting \ cultural affinity for similar songs with say Bulgaria-Romania-Moldova region. Ukraine might benefit from that.

I know where Portugal is :pac:

The other 2 are USSR types as far as I'm concerned, and will vote for each other I hope

odyssey06

Deleted User wrote: »

I know where Portugal is :pac:

The other 2 are USSR types as far as I'm concerned, and will vote for each other I hope

I used to think that but it didn't seem to help these ex-bloc countries in the semis such as Georgia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Romania.

I think there may be sub-blocs we need deeper understanding \ local knowledge of.

mailforkev

I just listened to the Italian song for the first time. Can someone please explain to me why a song that would just about get out of a semi seems to be the bookies' favourite?

I can't see the love for France being so high up the list either. It's not even the best song in French in the tournament thanks to the Swiss (and one sentence of Malta).

odyssey06

odyssey06 wrote: »

I used to think that but it didn't seem to help these ex-bloc countries in the semis such as Georgia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Romania.

I think there may be sub-blocs we need deeper understanding \ local knowledge of.

I'm only going on memory from when I used to watch it most years, and remember Marty Whelan giving out about all the ex Soviet States voting for each other

I hope he's right, but if the songs are good enough; then they should do well on merit . Rock and Roll, and Techno > dreary ballads or Greek Polka type rubbish :P

Should be entertaining anyway

breezy1985

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I'm only going on memory from when I used to watch it most years, and remember Marty Whelan giving out about all the ex Soviet States voting for each other

I hope he's right, but if the songs are good enough; then they should do well on merit . Rock and Roll, and Techno > dreary ballads or Greek Polka type rubbish :P

Should be entertaining anyway

It's sort of true but it's not just and Eastern thing and we certainly can't complain. You can't vote for the country you live in but if you have a high population living off foreign or loads of people who live just over a border for whatever reason it helps.

Jump_In_Jack

Next year, could we enter in a foreign language? Maybe French?
Sure it’s all subtitled in English nowadays anyway.

odyssey06

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

Next year, could we enter in a foreign language? Maybe French?
Sure it’s all subtitled in English nowadays anyway.

Let's keep that in the back pocket... going full Celtic as Gaeilge sometime might be worth a try.

But I'd start with sending an act who isn't spooked by performing live to a large audience, and is comfortable with the staging \ can shape it to suit them.

ACitizenErased

Been having a little think over the last 24 hours. I reckon Ukraine could surprise everyone and win it.