Saturday 14 June 2008

Eurovision - Day Six

Day 6 arrived and it suddenly dawned on me that the Eurovision bubble I have been living in for the past week was about to burst. There was no time for me to feel sad about it as I had the dress rehearsals of the Final to attend.


I was generally really happy with the songs that did qualify from the two Semi Finals - the new system had really worked as no-one can complain that the final is dominated by the East this year. It was a real victory for both Iceland and Portugal in particular, who have both qualified to the final for the first time since the semi finals were introduced. In fairness, both countries deserved to qualify as they had great songs and both acts gave amazing vocal performances.



By this point, there were 5 acts in the final that really were in my opinion streets ahead of the other 21 acts - my ultimate favourites Euroband, were absolutely amazing to watch they sound and look great on stage - they give 100 percent every time they take to the stage with an infectious high energy that electrifies the arena; Maria from Norway with her classy performance and one of the best songs in the contest; Portugal’s dramatic, theatrical performance delivered by Vania; Charlotte Perrelli's schlagertastic "Hero" and lastly, Ani Lorak with her performance that had all the right elements of a Eurovision winner: Fierce female vocalist, Great song, Amazing stage performance with a fantastic dance routine.

Today was the first opportunity I got to see the Big 4 perform alongside the other qualifiers (I had seen their rehearsals separately). Germany’s No Angels haven't improved at all as vocally they are terrible. I hadn't seen a performance where they have been in tune - it was a great shame as I really like the song (well, in its studio version). France was disappointing for me as there isn’t really much to write about the performance except that Sebastian arrived on stage in a golf buggy. Spain had probably the worst song in the competition with a performance to match. Andy Abraham for the UK delivered vocally but his dancing was questionable as was his suit, it was a bit like your dad at a family wedding trying to be cool and failing miserably.

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