Well, less than two months until that time of the year where everyone’s musical guilty pleasures go against each other. After 2010’s offering being a bit dull, will this year be any better? Let’s find out:
1. POLAND: Jestem // Magdalena Tul
After not really doing anything memorable as of late, Poland start this year with a pretty good sounding 12th-beat electro-pop track. Already this is better than most of last year’s entries, even though there’s not much here that screams ‘winner’. 7.5/10
2. NORWAY: Haba Haba // Stella Mwangi
Swahili-infused dance-pop from the 2009 winners. Sadly, this falls into the same problem of not really going anywhere. And the main meat of the song is a bit weak in retrospect. Still, it’s a nice little inoffensive way to spend three minutes. 6/10
3. ALBANIA: Feel the Passion // Aurela Gaçe
Imagine if James Bond was Albanian. They’d use this as a theme. Honest. Anyway, the vocals at the beginning aren’t as good as I’d like them to be, but the first chorus actually is quite awesome. Nice one. 8.5/10
4. ARMENIA: Boom-Boom // Emmy
Verses sound oddly tango-ish. All the rest is actually pretty good disco-pop. Ooh, liking that drum break in the middle. I like this, this could do quite well indeed. 8/10
5. TURKEY: Live It Up – Yüksek Sadakat
This is going to have to go the extra mile to beat last year’s amazing “We Could Be The Same”. What we have here is another rock track (yay!) with a some really nice sounding synths and strings to make it sound more than a bit glam. It’s not as good as maNga was, but it’s still very good. 9/10
6. SERBIA: Čaroban // Nina
Serbia send the most 60’s song in the history of ever. Loving the little break in the middle. KEY CHANGE! On the whole it’s a rather sugarsweet little thing, and as a result I rather like it. 7.5/10
7. RUSSIA: Get You // Alexey Vorobyov
RedOne produced this one, don’t ya know? First things first, that verse chord structure is WEIRD. Chorus is VERY singalong, which always goes down well here. The whole thing is good, yet it’s not great. 8/10
8. SWITZERLAND: In Love For A While // Anna Rossinelli
Unbelievably twee folk. I can see why people like it, but sadly I’m not that much of a fan. Sorry. 5/10
9. GEORGIA: One More Day // Eldrine
OOH! Was not expecting this. A dark electronica opening and verse turns into an awesome rock chorus, a little rap section that actually kinda works, this is actually really good. This NEEDS to be in the final. 9/10
10. FINLAND: Da Da Dam // Paradise Oskar
A bit like Belgium last year, a guitar ballad. Whilst it’s no Me & My Guitar, it’s still a nice little song. Sadly, it’s not one of those songs that sticks in your head. 7/10
11. MALTA: One Life // Glen Vella
Another 12th beat electro-pop track. Sadly this is just too generic to be that good. The bridge shows signs of being good, but it’s not enough. Also that key change is NOT done well. 4.5/10
12. SAN MARINO: Stand By // Senit
This isn’t bad. A soft-rock ballad from only the second appearance from these guys. Yes, I DID prefer the first one, but this is rather nice. 6.5/10
13. CROATIA: Celebrate // Daria
Wow, her voice is rather deep in that first verse, isn’t it? Anyway, it’s been a while since a proper club track which’ll do it some favours. Dubstep-lite break’ll get it some points here. KEY CHANGE!! 7.5/10
14. ICELAND: Coming Home // Sigurjón’s Friends
It’s very ‘oldie’. Sadly, I don’t really like it, which makes me feel really bad considering the backstory behind the song. 5/10
15. HUNGARY: What About My Dreams? // Kati Wolf
Another club dance track, which is pretty well done. Nice bilingual bit there with the Hungarian in the middle. The sad thing is that dance has never really won Eurovision before, and I don’t think that will happen this year. 7.5/10
16. PORTUGAL: A luta é alegria // Homens da Luta
Portugal have never been THAT good at Eurovision, haven’t they? Anyway, no idea what the hell this is. It sounds like a kid’s show theme. This is just not going to win. 4/10
17. LITHUANIA: C’est ma vie // Evelina Sašenko
Piano ballad. 5/10
18. AZERBAIJAN: Running Scared // Ell & Nikki
Another soft rock ballad, but this one has synths in. Not a fan of the “oh”s though. They make it sound like a bloody Bieber track. Anyway, barring that, it’s not fantastic, but it’ll do. 6.5/10
19. GREECE: Watch Me Dance // Loukas Giorkas ft. Stereo Mike
And so we end the semi with one of the frontrunners as of late, Greece. And it’s a gritty, urban take on traditional folk. This is…interesting. Very interesting. A problem is that it’s not very…danceable, oddly. It’s just a bit weird, sorry. That said, Greece will always qualify, and I think the UK will vote this quite highly. 5.5/10
Right, that’s all 19 entries done. So, if it was my votes that actually mattered, we’d see Poland, Albania, Armenia, Turkey, Serbia, Russia, Georgia, Finland, Croatia and Hungary in the final. Now watch, as I only get one of those right.
Alex vs. The World 