Tel Aviv 2019 - final!

YAY ... !!!!

It's on ... ! I'm watching with a nine year old so I have to explain things just as much as blog about them ... :-D

Cool opening! And what a great way to show off the country flags!

The 9 year old LOVES Iceland's outfits ... !! :-D

She is also half Serbian so she's really excited to see the Serbian contestant. She has never watched Eurovision before because she's just said she thought it was boring ... but then tonight she suddenly realized it's about singing and dancing. She thought we were going to watch a long speech or something. :-D She was going to go to bed but when she realized we were going to watch lots of people singing and dancing she absolutely refused to go. :-D I hope she manages to stay awake till Iceland's performance :-D

The hosts welcome us all and explain about voting.

Malta - Chameleon. One of my favorites this year. And the Maltese would be so crazy happy to win one day ... ! But it won't be this day. It's such a cool song though. Her voice is a litle weak tonight. But I really like this. Will consider voting.

Albania - Ktheju tokës. The 9 year old thinks this seems very Albanian, but admits she doesn't know what Albanian is. Her father thinks it looks more Egyptian. A much better singer than Michela, alas. A striking ballad while we're listening, but pretty forgettable.

The Czech Republic - Friend of a Friend. This song is catchy, I can't deny it. Probably the best Czech entry ever. Kind of 80s retro. The 9 year old hates it. She can't stand the singer's voice. :-) She says that they definitely won't win. I think she's probably right. :-) But I can see what people see in this.

Germany - Sister. This song has quite a beautiful melody, I quite like it. But it's not good to be part of the Big Five. You only get heard one time and that's not a good thing ... as a general rule. This year I like the German song but I don't think they have a chance.

Russia - Scream. Another song I quite like ... and of course something of a favorite ... but I was disappointed by the presentation. The video is so cool and the presentation is just ... on another level. But it's still a potential winner. Just because it's Russia, and Sergey. But I am disappointed.

Host in the green room, with Jean Paul Gaultier.

Denmark - Love Is Forever. My favorite!! Fingers crossed. This song is so adorable, I can't get over it. And it's catchy. When you've heard half of it, you can sing along to the rest. But it's probably too old-fashioned to really get anywhere. I'm just happy to see it in the final. And that they brought along their giant chair. :-)

San Marino - Say Na Na Na. This song is so hilarious. Disco style! I like it. And the arena likes it too. He is so good on stage. A good argument for sending older people with experience. Good luck to San Marino, this is so cool.

North Macedonia - Proud. I like this entry too. Tamara is such a good singer. The 9 years old thinks it's boring. I like it. But I'd be very surprised to see them go all the way ...

Green room, chatting to Malta, Germany, Czech Republic.

Sweden - Too Late For Love. I wish this was much worse than it is. I so want us to beat them. But alas. What weird pants he's wearing. It's a quality entry though. They're such pros at this. Damnit.

Slovenia - Sebi. I was so surprised that this got through. But it's pretty. Everybody here is loving the presentation. It is pretty but it gets a little repetitive ...

Cyprus - Replay. I was super disappointed with the performance on Tuesday. It seems marginally better tonight. But not a lot. The 9 year old likes her outfit. :-D I'm not impressed tonight either, sorry not sorry.

The Netherlands - Arcade. The big favorite. He was great on stage on Thursday. Same tonight. Won't be surprised to see this win. Also won't be surprised to see something else win either. The field is so even this year, I have no idea what I'm doing.

Greece - Better Love. This presentation looks so weird. The 9 year old shouted when she saw it, COOL!! :-D The presentation is so weird ... ! My designer friend thinks the weirdness distracts from the song. His wife loves it. She says it's this kind of shit you only ever see in Eurovision. Can't argue with that. The 9 year old loves it, she thinks it's amazing. It's so cool and beautiful!!!

Host in the green room, enticing us with all the cool people we will see later in the show. Stay on this channel!!

Israel - Home. I like this song. Didn't like it the first time I heard it, but it's really grown on me. But it doesn't have the chance to grow on people, that's the trouble with it. I like his voice. The 9 year old doesn't like him. She's impatient to see Norway - she thought we were on now, so she was disappointed to see this guy in a suit. Who is deeply moved by the honor of representing his country, wow.

Norway - Spirit in the Sky. My Serbian friend is laughing at the postcard, he says look at the Norwegians, even in Israel they manage to find a mountain to climb up on. :-D His daughter, the 9 year old, LOVES it. It's the best song so far! It actually is really good. A modern song but with an indubitably Norwegian flavor. I'm very happy with this. Yay for us! :-)

United Kingdom - Bigger Than Us. Yawn. It would be hilarious if they managed to beat Sweden with this, but that'll never happen. Boring song, boring presentation. Not bad as such but not at all exciting.

Green room with Russia, San Marino, North Macedonia. Sheesh, they are really obsessed with their app.

Iceland - Hatrið mun sigra. Weirdness! One hundred percent not my cup of tea, but it's so cool that an entry like this is in the contest. And in the final! Not the winner. But great that they're here.

Estonia - Storm. We are officially bored. I guess this is kind of catchy, but ... it just doesn't do it for me. And it's not because he's Swedish. But it's a little bit because they are rhyming this with this. And also because he's singing depressing lyrics and constantly grinning. Estonia nil points.

Belarus - Like It. Early Britney. I hate her outfit. And the entire presentation is not my cup of tea. But the performance is good. For a 16-year-old she's very professional. The song is pretty catchy. Not the winner, but respectable.

Azerbaijan - Truth. I like this song. The presentation is weird. I wonder if the rules say anything about how many robots you can have on stage. Chingiz is a pro though, the performance is good, even if the whole thing looks weird. But one of the better songs this year.

France - Roi. Now France I really believe in this year. This song has also really grown on me. But it's a shame it went straight to the final. This looks amazing though. I love it. LOVE IT.

Italy - Soldi. I don't really like this ... I understand that it's catchy, and that people like it, but personally I'm just not feeling it. His performance is just so expressionless and emotionless. It's better now than in the video, but ... no. I'm not feeling it.

Serbia - Kruna. The 9 year old is excited, she is half Serbian. Of course she understands the lyrics, I don't ... except the few lines that are in English. I like it that they usually sing in Serbian though. And it's a beautiful song, and I like it ... it's just that I can't help comparing it to Molitva. And nothing compares to Molitva. Sorry Serbia.

Switzerland - She Got Me. This song is SO catchy in such a bad way. The whole thing is just riddled with grammatical errors. I can't condone this. But I understand why people like it. I just can't get behind it. Also I'm not a fan of this presention. Too much red.

Australia - Zero Gravity. This entry ... ! This is just indescribable. I love it. My hosts are saying that only Kate Bush is Kate Bush. I can't argue with that. But this just looks so ... Eurovision. :-D

Spain - La venda. Spain closes the show. Party time! My Serbian friend says that this sounds like Spain doesn't want to host Eurovision next year. :-D But it's an excellent end to the show. The arena is going wild. Perfect!

Host in the green room, and everyone is super happy. Now to the voting. We can vote ... now!

First runthrough of all the songs.

I voted! Once each for Malta and San Marino, five votes for Denmark, three for Australia and ten for France. My civic duty is done. The 9 year old is absolutely convinced that Norway will win. Our entry was so cool that her head exploded. It's totally true.

Interval entertainment - Conchita and Måns! Will they be singing each other's songs? No, he's singing Fuego. Hah, this is a cool idea. What will Eleni sing??

Dancing Lasha Tumbai!! Ahahahahaha!! What will Verka sing ... !

Of course! Toy!! :-D

Wow, blast from the past ... ! Hallelujah!! They will all sing Hallelujah. OMG. My heart is melting. Where else but Eurovision ... !

Second runthrough.

Chitchat with the hosts. And Madonna!! I agree that she is super cool, or at least she used to be, but I'm not excited about these American artists in the show. What's the point, Americans have nothing to do with this show. Bah, humbug. But this is an inspiring speech. Now sing ... !

Nope, locals first. Good.

Then a chat with some American I never heard of. And the mentalist again.

Netta ... !!

Good thing that they sent Toy to Lisbon, because I don't think they would have won with this. But now we've got Serbians dancing for the first time tonight. :-D

Third runthrough.

There's still time to vote. But I used up all my votes already.

Chitchat in the green room with the Netherlands and Switzerland.

And now Madonna finally. Not her best performance ... :-D

The voting ends ... now!

Gal Gadot steps by to tell us why three minutes are all we need. And Jon Ola Sand needs much less than that to tell us that we have a result.

Oh, the excitement ... !!

OMG hahahah, it's so predictable. 12 points to Russia from Azerbaijan, 12 points to Italy from San Marino ... :-D

But we did not give our 12 points to Sweden! Go us!

What is the Romanian woman wearing ... !

Chitchat in the green room with Macedonia and Sweden.

Hahaha, Russia and Azerbaijan just swapped twelves :-D

Izhar Cohen leading the Israeli jury!

Chitchat in the green room with Sweden.

OMG I am nervous. Sweden in the lead now, Macedonia 2 points behind. I would a thousand times rather see Macedonia win than Sweden! But now the popular vote which will change everything ...

Ahahahaha, the UK's coming last! LOL! But poor Germany, what a burn!

OMG a gadzillion points to us! Ahahahaha!!

I love this new setup! SO exciting ... !!

The Netherlands is the winner!! They crushed Sweden!! Hahahaha! And if my ears didn't deceive me, we got more points from the popular vote than anyone else. That's something to be proud of!

Congratulations to the Dutch! The last time they won I hadn't even been born yet. o_O Amsterdam 2020!