T h e E u r o v i s i o n a r y

  Massive congratulations to Måneskin from Italy, who brought victory back to their country for the first time in 31 years.  Whilst the song was never one of my personal favourites, that huge public vote ensured that the win went to the song that resonated most with the viewers - and that's a good thing.  I'll certainly be following the band's career with interest over the coming months to see if they can use their  contest win to propel them into the international act that the clearly want to become. How brilliant also for the lovely Barbara Pravi to clinch second place.  Her song will always be my most cherished take-away from this year's contest.  She was quite simply magnifique! We should also recognise the absolutely fantastic job that our Dutch team carried out during what has been an unprecedented time.  To put on a contest of that magnitude, and to have produced such a superb and vibrant set of shows was a brilliant achievement.  They brou...

The Big Day has finally arrived!  Before I go on to give some predictions for what might happen this evening I want to talk about a love affair that I have had since early December.  I am, of course, talking about Barbara Pravi and her song Voilà which was eventually selected as this year's French entry at the end of January. On my very first hearing of the song on that cold December morning I was just blown away by the raw passion, emotion and nuanced delivery by Mmlle Pravi and I remember thinking there and then that I would be amazed if I heard another song over the entire season that I liked more than this one.  Five months later and I still feel the same way.  For me, no matter the outcome tonight, this song is headed towards my all-time Eurovision favourites list.  I absolutely and unequivocally adore it. Going into the Final Barbara remains second in the betting behind Italy, and whilst I was never a fan of the Italian rockers when they stormed to victory...

 So, after two years, here we have it... the running order for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2021... Thanks to the fabulous eurovisionworld.com for the graphic! I\"ll come back to this in a second, but let\"s talk about Thursday\"s Semi Final results first. Where were Denmark and Austria?  What in the buggery bollocks was that all about?  The two best songs/performances in the semi and NEITHER one went through!!!  Europe, you have been a BAD BOY!  Go to your room and have a serious think about what you have done!  Bloody outrageous! That aside, I did correctly predict 8 of the 10 qualifiers (Moldova and Albania - you have yours coming...). Really chuffed for Iceland (potential hotel room winners) and Serbia (who are now going to hoover up the entire Balkan vote),  less impressed that Europe was taken in by the epileptic fitting stuffed sofa from Switzerland and the 1982 video wizardry of Greece (woo - green screen - we\"ve never seen THAT before...)...

So, last night we had Semi Final 1, and here is how we currently stand in terms of the allocation draw for Saturday's final (thanks to Eurovisionworld.com for the graphic). 6 spots remain open in the first half of the draw, while only 4 spots will be available in the second half. Like many others, I predicted 9 out of 10 correctly. I had Croatia instead of Israel, but I'm pleased with the outcome of the first semi. Of course, everyone is saying Malta probably won this semi, and Destiny did give a super performance, but I think it could have been Ukraine who took the poll position. Today began with the sad news that one of Gagnamagnið from Iceland  has now tested positive for COVID, and that  Daði has taken the decision that if they can't all perform together then they won't perform live during the semi final (and final, assuming they get there).  Instead a recording of their last rehearsal on the Ahoy stage will be used instead.  From the perspective o...

Afternoon from Not Rotterdam.   We've just watched the full first run through of the 1st Semi Final, and I'm delighted to say that - after two years - Eurovision is back with a bang!  Slick production, affable presenters, a fantastic stage and some really good intervals acts (which, of course, may not be seen by the BBC4 viewers, as they tend to do their own thing).  Not massively struck on the postcards, but that really is a minor detail. As well as the 16 competing songs, we saw full run throughs from Italy, Germany and The Netherlands, all of whom are voting in this semi.  I'm presuming we'll see clips of these performances along with the usual quick chat with each one. So, in order of performance, these are the 10 countries which I think will progress on to Saturday's Grand Final: LITHUANIA RUSSIA SWEDEN CYPRUS NORWAY CROATIA BELGIUM AZERBAIJAN UKRAINE MALTA Two years ago I predicted 10 out of 10 in the first semi.  Let's see how close this set is! I wo...

 ...it's going to be a bloodbath between two massive nations... For LAST PLACE! After an absolutely dire second rehearsal today, during which very few of the correct notes were sung, it sadly looks like the UK is facing a last place battle with Spain.  And Spain is cheating by giving their song a complete and utter revamp to the point that it's virtually unrecognisable from the version of the song on the official album.  Don't get me wrong, it's still pants.  It's just that these are shinier pants. Italy brought another really strong performance again this morning.  And whether you like the rockier style that they bring or not (and, I'm certainly NOT a fan), you can't deny that they bring a raw power and a fresh feel to this 65 year old contest.  Fab outfits too!!! As far as the bookies are concerned we are now looking at France Vs Italy at the top of the table, and thankfully Barbara brought another flawless performance this morning.  It's very simple...

I posted this story already on Facebook today, but as it's probably the nicest and most moving story I've heard in connection with this year's contest I wanted to add it again here on my blog. Here's a lovely story concerning this year's Norwegian singer, TIX.  Two years ago a 20 year old fan of his called Aurora found out that she was dying.  Her final wish was that TIX would sing at her funeral.  The singer fulfilled her wish and flew to Stavanger specially to sing at the funeral.  For the past two years he has wanted to write a song to dedicate to Aurora, and a few weeks ago he sang it for her family and friends for the first time.  The song is called "Angel don't go" and it's stunning.  I love his Eurovision song, but this is much stronger.  It's lovely to see the reactions of her loved ones as he sings the song. TIX is donating all the proceeds from the new song to a charity which helped Aurora during her final months.  What a splendid cha...

A much quieter day today in Rotterdam, with only the last 8 songs of Semi Final 2 going through their second rehearsals. For me there were three standout performances, so let's take these in order of presentation. Another really strong performance from Portugal, combined with some of the most beautiful staging of all the songs, has propelled them firmly into the qualification window.  The smooth, laid back vocals are in stark contrast to much of what else is on offer this year, and despite not giving this a hope back in March when it was selected, I think this has the potential to not only qualify, but do really well in the final.  Bem Bom! Of course, Victoria from Bulgaria, brought yet another set of completely flawless performances today, and I'm pretty sure now that she's guaranteed a Top 5 place next Saturday.  The staging, the gentle haunting vocal, the melancholy mood - it's just all perfect! Our two jolly japesters from Denmark delivered another set of cracking r...

  Well, it's certainly all coming together in Daði Freyr land.  Whilst the song itself really is quite mediocre there is no denying that Iceland's charismatic singer and his band of merry men (and ladies) has on of the best performances in Rotterdam.  It's simple, fun, engaging and you come out at the end of 3 minutes with a huge smile on your face! The first half of the acts in second semi final rehearsed again this morning and early afternoon, after which the Big 5 plus our Dutch hosts took to the stage for the first time.  Let's concentrate on the semi finalists first... For me, the other huge standout performance of those was Austria.  Vincent's selling of the song is extraordinarily good.  Power, emotion, pathos... it's all there.  Right now, I'd say he was edging out Gjon's Tears in the battle of the big (semi final) ballads. I have to be honest and say that Senhit and her bloody Adrenalina is not beginning to grate with me.  She's making a ...

OK, I finally get it now... Russian Woman by Mangina was incredible today!  Our girl took no prisoners when she delivered a stonking performance of her feminist anthem during their second rehearsal.  It stands out as being different enough, but also memorable, so I think a Top 10 or even Top 5 place in the final is not unrealistic. I was also very impressed with Belgium today.  Could this pull off a Common Linnets type shock and finish far higher than first imagined? The biggest news story in Ahoy today concerned Kateryna, the lead singer of Ukraine's Go_A.  She woke up feeling unwell this morning and was immediately tested for COVID and told to take bed rest.  The boys in the band all tested negative, but, as yet, nothing more has been said about Kate.  During their rehearsal this afternoon an excellent stand-in took her place to allow the band to do a full run through. Hey Gurls - Croatia Calling... We learned today that delegations are being asked to sel...

It's day 4, and today we watched the artists from the second half of Semi 2 take the stage for the first time. For many, this meant looking forward to seeing Gjon's Tears from Switzerland, one of the big favourites.  For me, though, it was all about the superbly clever 80's flashback brought by Denmark's Fyr Og Flamme.  And, my word, did they deliver!  Easily the standout performance of the day for me, and even more fun than in DMGP.  Jesper was in his element cavorting around the huge stage like a thing possessed.  This really is an ironic pastiche of 80's pop and it's executed perfectly.  This HAS to get to the Final, and I'm convinced it'll be there!  By the way, they mentioned in their press conference that one of their biggest 80's influences is Modern Talking - fab! So, if I told you this morning that one of the hot favourite, dark etherial and moody ballads was going to be performed by the singer as a modern interpretative dance track, you...