Eurovision Thread: Österreich Like a Phoenix

[bluegate]

I can't help noticing the two biggest controversies of last time haven't been addressed. The Netherlands still received no apologies for the organisors sabotaging us even after the court case said nothing happened. In fact they repeatedly indicated they were doubling down on their mistreatment of us. And we're still just attending as if nothing happened.

Time to get over it, no one cares about Joost Klein.

What importance is a court case? The judicial system not prosecuting or convicting Joost has no bearing on Eurovision's decisions.

The organisers of Eurovision set out a set of rules that they like their participants to follow and it's within their rights to disqualify a participant if these rules are broken.

Better just hope that this year's artist knows not to engage with pestering reporters.

 

[Burnhardt]

Well, Russia is killing another competing country, whereas Israel is killing non-competitor brown people no one really cares about. Completely different circumstances.

Evidently.

Israel got more points from the public vote than Ukraine did.

 

[McElroy]

Finland did pretty well, Finland also did pretty well, and Finland did decently well. The public cheesed on the Swiss hard enough that it could have been a voyage home from the semi had they competed there first. I have to check out most of the performances later, because I was on the night shift and got interrupted with work a few times.

 

[McElroy]

We are back. First semi.
Moldova: a bit of a mess. It would be a bigger mess but Moldova is a small country. Where is the J-Pop energy from a guy calling himself Satoshi? Not in Vienna.
Sweden: formulaic but of course not bad. Have seen and heard this show many many times.
Croatia: folksy and witchy. Sounds like trailer music with original vocals. It's pretty cool, I guess, but it doesn't make me feel any better.
Greece: a bigger mess. Excess is the point, I get it. The act is fun but the song not so much, no hook, just random things.
Portugal: "real music". So totally different from the previous four I was taken back. But oh what's with that violin...
Georgia: beekeeper academy rejects. I don't think anything works here. Silly suits, silly lyrics, lalalala, trying too hard -> shouting instead of singing, "dance moves".
Italy: unmissable. I've heard this song a million times on Finnish radio, but it's not bad.
Finland: hell yeah.
Montenegro: gaga time. Yeah, a performance by a Balkan Lady Gaga (from 15 years ago, tbh).
Estonia: women go to the gym. "Too Epic to be True"!!?!?!?1? WHY? Why name a song this way? Even if it worked as some generic anthem rock the lyrics make it almost a parody. But gotta get those reps in.
Israel: it's not his fault. Lmao at the guy shouting over the song, totally deserved. Holy shit they got some sexy dancers. It's a good vocal performance too. The good thing about Israel in the final is another chance for some interjection.
Germany: lost clothes. Huh? Eurovision more like perv-o-vision. The song is Fuego from a few years ago. And that is a good song.
Belgium: poser. She has never skated. A Lorde pastiche.
Lithuania: leaves a lasting impression for sure. Good performance and I can even imagine myself listening to the studio version.
San Marino: trying a little bit... too hard again. San Marino can be pranked with generic songs that other countries wouldn't feature. And this song pranks itself with the ridiculous featuring artist that clashes with the rest of it.
Poland: metal(?). A praying warrior princess giving a gospel/soul-ish performance. Visuals are cool, the armor she's wearing especially. Forgot about the song already.
Serbia: metal(!). Rock 'n' roll goes a long way every time.

My prediction for finalists: Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Israel, Lithuania, Croatia, Portugal, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia.
Basically Georgia, San Marino, Estonia, Moldova, and Greece drop out because their songs are trash.

 

[McElroy]

Moldova and Greece got through anyway. Okay then. A meme song or two is allowed.
2nd semi.
Bulgaria: crazy in a good way. Nice stage show with a cool escalation. The song isn't bad, but the hook is a bit too weird to catch on.
Azerbaijan: cute break-up song. Doesn't leave and impression though it's nicely bilingual right in the middle.
Romania: the mid 00's called. Fans of Nightwish will enjoy for sure. "Choke me" isn't a good sing-a-long. Back in 06 Hard Rock Hallelujah won also because it's a really fun song to sing along to.
Luxembourg: Lorde again? Okay, not really but we are getting to a dangerous amount of camp.
Czechia: vocally performed. The song is too generic to ever stand out.
France: got it down. We know what to expect from the French these days. Now with an operatic motif.
Armenia: The Office. Meme song this time with rock 'n' roll.
Switzerland: I barely registered this one.
Cyprus: the magnificent 7. Yeah, 7 producers. OH FUCK SHE IS HOT. Cypriots don't stray far from their formula.
Austria: actually pretty fun. Another steel armor? Won't get many points in the final, but one German dance pop is required in the program.
Latvia: a lightshow not a light show. My favorite ballad thus far.
Denmark: boxed in. Glass walls and boxes aren't my favorite stage elements. Song is alright and Danish too.
Australia: solar energy. Great performance, deserves a spot in the final. A bit too busy in comparison to the Latvian song.
Ukraine: another female solo, but it's a good one. Nice long note, nice middle part to break the usual structure.
The UK: no computers were harmed. He's not a singer, but the production looks like "Look Ma No Computer", if that makes sense at all.
Albania: doesn't pretend. They send a similar act most years nowadays and it must be an act Albanians like or the only kind they know how to produce. To ever be a success it would have to be mind-blowingly good, but it's not.
Malta: charmed. Song's okay too, I guess.
Norway: ja ja yawn. I prefer Romanian Nightwish over Norwegian... um... unnamed party band.

Predictions: dropping out are Luxembourg, Albania, Switzerland, Norway, but the fifth worst is a toss up between the Armenian meme song and some of the more forgettable solo acts.

 

[McElroy]

I don't get how Albania did it again. Armenia was one meme song too many. Disappointed at the lackluster reception for the Latvian song.

 

[Hades]

I still remember Eurovision sabotaged and disqualified our contested allegedly because of Israel. And then they went out of their way to pick Israel over the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland , some of their oldest and prestigious members. Even Israel habitual bad conduct was not enough to make Eurovision stop endorsing them over actual European members.

So lets hope Israel wins so Eurovision can see they got played for a pack of fools to whitewash war crimes , and then have to handle the headache of hosting Eurovision in a warzone.

 

[McElroy]

A surprise winner. I didn't watch the whole final, but I will check out the scores tomorrow.