Eurovision Song Contest 2021

LordBasil · 12-05-2021 2:26pm

Ireland Rehearsal Clip;

12-05-2021 2:30pm

Well it looks interesting, anyway. And she's running on a treadmill for a lot of it, so vocals are obviously gonna be more difficult than if she was singing without much movement. Think there's room for cautious optimism, and even if it does fall flat I'd at least rather Ireland go out having been too ambitious rather than done something too safe/dull like much of the 2010's.

Sawduck · 12-05-2021 2:39pm

The song isn't great but it's nice to see Ireland doing something interesting with the staging for once, i still have nightmares of that gormless idiot standing on a balloon a few years ago.

LordBasil · 12-05-2021 2:47pm

Sawduck wrote: »

The song isn't great but it's nice to see Ireland doing something interesting with the staging for once, i still have nightmares of that gormless idiot standing on a balloon a few years ago.

Indeed. I still cringe every time I think of Kasey Smith's dancers or Nicky Byrne's totally lacklustre performance and staging.

Sawduck · 12-05-2021 2:59pm

LordBasil wrote: »

Indeed. I still cringe every time I think of Kasey Smith's dancers or Nicky Byrne's totally lacklustre performance and staging.

Yeah they both were terrible especially Mr. Robot Nicky Byrne

Busi_Girl08 · 12-05-2021 4:33pm

Great to see some creativity from Ireland again. Her vocals sounded pretty good for someone pegging it on a treadmill for 90 seconds.

How many more rehearsals does she get before Jury?

Strazdas · 12-05-2021 5:12pm

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

Great to see some creativity from Ireland again. Her vocals sounded pretty good for someone pegging it on a treadmill for 90 seconds.

How many more rehearsals does she get before Jury?

Only one more run through (Monday afternoon) before the jury final (Monday night).

gmisk · 12-05-2021 8:34pm

LordBasil wrote: »

Indeed. I still cringe every time I think of Kasey Smith's dancers or Nicky Byrne's totally lacklustre performance and staging.

Or Brendan Murray in his balloon...lol

I love this staging, her vocals were ok in clip I thought. Hopefully enough to get through!

Welsh Megaman · 13-05-2021 1:03pm

What’s the token heavy metal song this year?

13-05-2021 3:10pm

Welsh Megaman wrote: »

What’s the token heavy metal song this year?

Finland but it's more Limp Bizkit than Lordi sadly, and has unbearably cringey lyrics.

Italy have a much better rock entry (imo), though theirs is more of a hard rock/glam rock style, not dissimilar to Jane's Addiction.

Busi_Girl08 · 13-05-2021 4:24pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Finland but it's more Limp Bizkit than Lordi sadly, and has unbearably cringey lyrics.

Italy have a much better rock entry (imo), though theirs is more of a hard rock/glam rock style, not dissimilar to Jane's Addiction.

I had "Put your middle finger up head shot don't wanna stop AAAH" stuck in my head for ages after hearing it the first time :pac:

13-05-2021 5:00pm

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

I had "Put your middle finger up head shot don't wanna stop AAAH" stuck in my head for ages after hearing it the first time :pac:

Well that chorus is repeated about 200 times in three minutes, so it's difficult not to have it in your head whether you like it or not!

LordBasil · 14-05-2021 11:27am

Huge movement yesterday in the odds - Malta briefly went back to being favourite until Italy's rehearsal then France surged ahead after Barbara served a mesmerising performance. I really can't call the winner, even after seeing everyone at least once.

There also seems to be an ever growing possibility that Sweden NQ in SF1- terrible draw, bad stage lighting, poor vocals, awful outfit, annoying movements. This year is going to really test the theory that juries will vote for Sweden regardless of what they send....

According to the bookies Ireland's chances of qualification appear remote but remember in 2018 the bookies had Ryan as DOA and he qualified in 6th place of 19 entries. There are some similarities between Lesley & Ryan - established singer-songwriters, drawn in the 'semi of death', perform directly before a Cypriot banger, decent but overlooked songs with divisive staging concepts. Can Lesley also be a shock qualifier?

gmisk · 14-05-2021 1:33pm

LordBasil wrote: »

Huge movement yesterday in the odds - Malta briefly went back to being favourite until Italy's rehearsal then France surged ahead after Barbara served a mesmerising performance. I really can't call the winner, even after seeing everyone at least once.

There also seems to be an ever growing possibility that Sweden NQ in SF1- terrible draw, bad stage lighting, poor vocals, awful outfit, annoying movements. This year is going to really test the theory that juries will vote for Sweden regardless of what they send....

According to the bookies Ireland's chances of qualification appear remote but remember in 2018 the bookies had Ryan as DOA and he qualified in 6th place of 19 entries. There are some similarities between Lesley & Ryan - established singer-songwriters, drawn in the 'semi of death', perform directly before a Cypriot banger, decent but overlooked songs with divisive staging concepts. Can Lesley also be a shock qualifier?

I actually love the Irish staging it really stands out...I am not sure running on a treadmill is the best thing though...her voice can be a bit ropey...

I put a few bets on Iceland and Lithuania for top 5.
San Marino and Cyprus top 10...so fingers crossed for those too!
I don't really love the Cyprus song (clear lady Gaga knock off) but I like the staging and it sticks in your head

The Sweden song isn't for me at all (melodifestivalen had better options like the mamas or dotter), but as you say the juries tend to love them.

14-05-2021 2:29pm

LordBasil wrote: »

There also seems to be an ever growing possibility that Sweden NQ in SF1- terrible draw, bad stage lighting, poor vocals, awful outfit, annoying movements. This year is going to really test the theory that juries will vote for Sweden regardless of what they send....

On the one hand I really don't think Sweden deserves to qualify with that song and would be happy for them to miss the final, but I would feel bad for Tusse given how young he is and the weight of expectation on him. He also had surgery on his larynx recently so his voice may still be recovering from that. He's clearly talented, he just needs a better song and maybe a bit more experience.

From Semi 1 it also seems like Azerbaijan and possibly Romania are also struggling a bit (poor Roxen apparently got so emotional during the first rehearsal that she was crying the whole time while also trying to sing and perform that choreography!), whereas Belgium is looking very classy and possibly exceeding expectations. Russia and Ukraine looking very solid, as are Cyprus (which I'm not keen on but can't deny looks good) and Lithuania. Malta looks a bit "meh" but the vocal will undoubtedly push it through.

I'm hoping Cyprus will sufficiently overshadow Azerbaijan, Israel and Croatia, and that those three will take votes off of each other, paving the way for Ireland, Belgium and Australia to qualify. :cool:

From Semi 2, Moldova seems to be the one most people are underwhelmed by; no dancing ice-creams.

Estonia and Georgia don't seem to have won over any new fans with their staging, whereas Austria and Portugal seem to have elevated and are looking a lot more likely to qualify than had previously been thought. (I've had "Love is On My Side" stuck in my head today!)

Iceland looks terrific, Bulgaria looks emotional and Switzerland looks arty - if I had a free bet (and I'm a bad guesser! :pac:), I'd probably put it on the Swiss as there's something about Gjon's Tears that gives me a "winner" vibe.

All of the automatic qualifiers are looking pretty good this year, actually. Which is a rarity! Would love Italy to win it but would also be happy if France win.

LordBasil · 14-05-2021 3:18pm

SF1 is very difficult to predict beyond Lithuania, Cyprus & Malta qualifying. Russia & Ukraine are also very likely qualifiers but there is a chance for everyone, even 'no-hopers' like Slovenia & North Macedonia have opportunities if juries appreciate their vocal power.

SF2 is a bit more predictable. I think 10 qualifiers will be San Marino (especially if Flo Rida turns Up), Greece, Austria, Iceland, Serbia, Albania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland & Switzerland. I did think this was going to be more competitive but Czech Republic, Moldova & Latvia have very underwhelming staging/performances which I think will rule them out. Moldova especially, I was expecting some outrageous costumes/props but it is very lacklustre and Natalia will get blown off the stage by a Serbian Hurricane. While Switzerland will qualify easily, WTF is this staging;

14-05-2021 4:26pm

I actually like the Swiss staging! He'd be criticised if he was just sitting at a piano and people would moan about it being too similar to "Arcade", so I think it's cool that they're trying something different.

LordBasil · 14-05-2021 5:19pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I actually like the Swiss staging! He'd be criticised if he was just sitting at a piano and people would moan about it being too similar to "Arcade", so I think it's cool that they're trying something different.

It's not necessarily the staging i.e. LED, lighting, props more the performance. The song is a fragile, emotional ballad and yet if you mute the sound it looks like he is rapping. There are other dance moves he does which come across very pretentious & 'avant-garde'. I hate his outfit, those trousers are too high-waisted, make him look like Simon Cowell.

Strazdas · 14-05-2021 8:14pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I actually like the Swiss staging! He'd be criticised if he was just sitting at a piano and people would moan about it being too similar to "Arcade", so I think it's cool that they're trying something different.

Yes, I can see all the arguments in favour of this staging and trying to distinguish it from Arcade. I'd say though people were a bit startled by just how frantic it is - you could never have guessed there would be so much movement and rapid camera angle changes in a ballad.

freshpopcorn · 14-05-2021 10:35pm

I haven't listened to any of the songs apart from Irelands this year.
I think I might keep them as a surprise.

On another note I can't believe it's 18 years since Mickey Joe represented us!

ACitizenErased · 14-05-2021 10:39pm

I actually really like Switzerland's staging - it's by far my favourite song this year and was the same last year. Can't understand why it's tumbling in the odds.

yerwanthere123 · 14-05-2021 11:09pm

:pac:

https://twitter.com/JulienPernici/status/1393241061573730308

16-05-2021 3:27pm

Sad news: Iceland and Poland may not get to perform live on Thursday night. Someone in each camp has tested positive for Covid and so both delegations now have to quarantine.

Hopefully if re-tests show the main performers are negative they can still go ahead live but they may need to use the "live on tape" version like Australia is doing. Iceland was looking very good in the rehearsals, will really suck if they can't perform live.

yerwanthere123 · 16-05-2021 3:51pm

Sh*t news, but hopefully the performers themselves will be negative and still get to perform. If they can't then they have the choice of using either the live on tape performance or the second rehearsal performance. I imagine they'd go for the latter so it looks as similar to everyone elses as possible, but the lack of a crowd would be a real negative.

Really hope this isn't the start of something, and everyone gets to perform as scheduled with a crowd.

16-05-2021 4:05pm

Malta is also missing opening ceremony tonight due to a positive result in their hotel, don't know if it's anybody in their delegation though so they might still be ok to perform live on Tuesday.

Really the organisers should've made the opening ceremony a virtual one, it's not like that many people watch it anyway.

KathleenGrant · 16-05-2021 4:22pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Malta is also missing opening ceremony tonight due to a positive result in their hotel, don't know if it's anybody in their delegation though so they might still be ok to perform live on Tuesday.

Really the organisers should've made the opening ceremony a virtual one, it's not like that many people watch it anyway.

I didn't even know there was one till now.

16-05-2021 7:20pm

KathleenGrant wrote: »

I didn't even know there was one till now.

It's basically just a glorified fashion show. The delegations dress up, walk down a carpet, get photos taken and answer anodyne questions from the press. Nothing to get excited about tbh.

Strazdas · 16-05-2021 10:03pm

Deleted User wrote: »

It's basically just a glorified fashion show. The delegations dress up, walk down a carpet, get photos taken and answer anodyne questions from the press. Nothing to get excited about tbh.

But first chance for the acts to actually meet each other. They don't get much opportunity at all earlier in the week, as they all rehearse at different times and on four different days.

Itssoeasy · 17-05-2021 4:52pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Sad news: Iceland and Poland may not get to perform live on Thursday night. Someone in each camp has tested positive for Covid and so both delegations now have to quarantine.

Hopefully if re-tests show the main performers are negative they can still go ahead live but they may need to use the "live on tape" version like Australia is doing. Iceland was looking very good in the rehearsals, will really suck if they can't perform live.

This just shows that while we are clearly on the far side of this mess, it’s not gon away just yet and while we thankfully are getting back to normal we still need to be aware.

yerwanthere123 · 17-05-2021 11:25pm

Was aiming not to, but I inevitably caved and watched the second rehearsal videos. Here are a few thoughts on SF1:

Ireland really isn't looking great at all is it. Lesley is just about keeping up with the busy stage routine, but it's still far too much. Singing whilst running on a treadmill would be difficult for an excellent singer, for Lesley it's impossible. Maybe this will look better and come together by Tuesday, but more than likely wishful thinking on my part.

Can't believe how cheap Australia looks? Looks like it was filmed in a studio akin to the Late Late Show or something. Could they not have hired out an arena for a few hours? Will be disappointed if the juries undeservedly rate this highly out of sympathy, which I fear will most likely happen.

Cyprus looks good, but I feel like I see this exact performance more or less every year. An attractive female singing over an electro-pop beat. I think this will just about scrape top ten in the final, but equally wouldn't be surprised if it misses out.

I can't believe how many have Norway as a qualifier. Who's voting for this shíte? I don't get it.

Israel are doing a great job of selling a middling pop song. It's fun, colourful and engaging... kind of what the UK should've been aiming for this year!

I remain convinced that Ukraine are a dark horse. Probably not to win, but I think top 5 is achievable. It looked and sounded great with the stand in performer, will inevitably be even better when the lead returns.

And as for my favourite Malta, I wasn't thoroughly impressed I must say! Find it difficult to imagine it winning on that. Admittedly I've listened to the studio version so much that it'd be difficult for any live performance to match it, but feels like they're gonna have to do more. Hope it all comes together by Tuesday.

I feel Lithuania have almost been forgotten about somewhat, but is this because of better songs elsewhere or a consequence of how early in Eurovision season it was unveiled? I've a feeling it's the latter. Lithuania aren't going to win but I do think they should contend for the top 5.

Eurovision Song Contest 2021

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