Tel Aviv 2019 - first semi-final

It's on ... !!!

The excitement ... ! :-) And that music ... 

Opening with a presentation of Netta growing up and her love for the contest, cute. The arena ... and Netta herself performing first of all. Makes me wonder what they are saving for Saturday. Wow, she looks even weirder than she did in Lisboa. :-D Those are very cool outfits on the backing dancers, I like those. I like that giant lucky cat too. I'd love to have that on a postcard. :-)

Happy people in the audience ... ! :-) And Netta happy on stage. Starting on a very positive note.

The hosts appear .... the ladies in fancy dresses of course, that don't match each other. Anything but original. But of course all four look good. Slow camera work though ...

The traditional explanation of how the contest works. Norway isn't competing tonight so I can't vote. Not sure what I would even be voting for. I guess ... Poland and Australia?

The postcards are about dancing. The first looks very summery and charming. I want summer ...

Cyprus - Replay. She looks like her hair is wet. This is a pretty cool song, at least in the studio version ... and in our public broadcaster's warmup show, Adresse Tel Aviv, I think this ended up as the overall favorite. But it doesn't sound ANYWHERE near as good tonight. It actually sounds like shit. Her outfit is tacky and hideous and she sounds out of breath. A disappointment. I would actually not be surprised if they don't make it through, after this lousy performance.

Montenegro - Heaven. I actually like this one quite a lot. I wonder what it will look like, compared to when they won at home. Totally different, it turns out. Almost a shame, the original presentation was rather striking and was definitely more memorable than this. This is pretty standard. But better than Cyprus. I quite like those strings that break through every so often. But overall it gets kind of repetitive. Now they are dancing amateurishly. Well, they're pretty cute.

Finland - Look Away. I love Finland. It's one of my favorite countries. Fellow Norwegians: Forget about the Swedes, the Finns are our true brothers. But in Eurovision they are often a little depressing. This song is kind of depressing too. But, look at that - the presentation is less depressing than in Helsinki. Actually quite striking. Sebastian is hardly a great singer ... and this gets a bit repetitive ... but the beat is pretty catchy. Not bad, Finland, you've done much worse than this.

Poland - Fire of Love (Pali się). Yay, Poland! This is one of the entries I've been the most excited about seeing on stage. As I expected, it looks very cool. And it sounds cool too. This song is fascinating, it's almost hypnotic. They're getting the audience engaged with clapping. So cool to see this in the contest. They have got to be a shoe-in for the final.

Slovenia - Sebi. OK, slowing it right down. Aw, stars shining. Two pretty young things. And a pretty song, it's just soo sloow ... A lot of people may like that though. And so far, this song this does kind of stand out. A pretty ballad spinning slowly through space ...

the Czech Republic - Friend of a Friend. This song is both catchy and annoying at the same time. I don't know what it is exactly. The lyrics annoy me. I feel like the presentation could possibly give me epilepsy. But I suppose young people may like it. But then again it is Czechia ...

First trip to the green room. Chitchat with Cyprus and Poland.

Hungary - Az én apám. I quite like this entry, even though I liked his song in 2017 better. It had a much better beat than this one. But he's a good singer, he has an interesting voice, very expressive. A simple and classy presentation ... until his father's giant floating head heaves into view. Actually lots of giant floating heads. o_O A  golden tree. This song has a kind of ethnic sound to it that I think a lot of people will like. Will be surprised to not see this in the final.

Belarus - Like It. This year's youngest contestant. Dressed like a prostitute. OK. This song is pretty catchy and she's a pro at performing, despite being only 16. But it's pretty plastic. And the presentation seems ... old-fashioned somehow. I guess it's supposed to be retro? I'm too old to really get this, I suppose. I do kind of like it ... but I would have liked it better if I didn't have to watch this performance.

Serbia - Kruna. The singer wrote the song, so that's a plus. Wonder how it will look. I will be watching the final with a Serbian friend so I hope they will get through, even though this song doesn't particularly grab me. Her outfit at least isn't hideous. And she's alone on stage, they're not trying to distract us with dancers. Visually this is quite overwhelming. Any emotional ballad from Serbia and I of course can't help comparing it to Molitva, my all-time favorite ESC entry. This falls through in that comparison, I'm afraid. Not at all bad, but not all that good either. Nothing really special.

Belgium - Wake Up. Another young singer, but this one is at least a legal adult, dressed normally. And has giant drums. This song is a little weird, it seems catchy while I'm listening to it, but I can't seem to remember it when I'm not listening. I have no idea how this entry is going to do.

Georgia - Keep On Going. Another dramatic ballad.  Also with a visually striking presentations. I don't really like his voice. But the song has something, not sure how to phrase it ... This entry also has an ethnic sound to it that a lot of viewers may like. The big question is how will people be able to remember which is which of this and Hungary.

Australia - Zero Gravity. This will look the same as it did in their national selection, I understand. In other words, crazy. :-D Oh, wow, the whole thing looks crazy. Amazing. But the song is actually beautiful. I would be voting for this if I could vote tonight. Another shoe-in for the final. Just as long as people aren't too distracted by this presentation, which is almost literally out of this world. What a singer Kate is, wow. Go Australia!

Back to the green room. Plugging the app. Chitchat with Czechia. Every performance is amazing! Chitchat with Belgium.

Iceland - Hatrið mun sigra. This is not my type of music. But the chorus is actually quite beautiful. The song is kind of schizoid, it's like two different songs in one. But I think it's so cool that the contest has an entry like this. Will be extremely surprised if this doesn't get through.

Hoppe etter ruccola ... !! :-D

Estonia - Storm. First time I heard it I didn't like this song at all. Don't know why. I'm sure it's nothing to do with the fact that the singer's a Swede, though. He's not a very good singer, but it's the lyrics that really annoy me. You cannot rhyme this with this, come on. But I have to admit that the melody is kind of growing on me. Damnit. Would not be sorry to see this sink without a trace, though.

Portugal - Telemóveis. Weirdest presentation of the night, guaranteed. Much weirder than Iceland. Will the dancer fall again? OMG those outfits. Yes he fell. WHAT is that thing on the singer's face? Overall bizarre. But the song is actually not that bad ... but it's hard to notice that because the outfits and choreography is so distracting. No idea how this will do.

Greece - Better Love. Wow, Arabian Nights vibes. This singer has kind of an interesting voice. But that's not the word I would choose to describe her outfit. Dancers with swords ... and a giant balloon that disappears into the audience. This looks weird. A rather lovely melody but very strange presentation. I don't have high hopes for this. Lots and lots of flowers ... o_O

San Marino - Say Na Na Na. I actually quite like this song. Much more than I thought I would. How will it look on stage though, that's the question. Dancers in white shorts ... hah, the female dancers are show less skin than the male ones. I like that. A lot of text in the background. Dancing on a lit-up cube. Now this is retro I can get behind. I do like this. They've got to do at least a little better than last year ... or most years?

One host in the green room, the other three on stage. Explaining how to vote ... but like I said, I can't vote tonight. :-(

First runthrough of all the entries.

OK, some guesses on who will get through tonight.

Australia
Iceland
Poland
Hungary

Less sure of the rest ... it feels like anything could happen. So few standout songs tonight.

Serbia?
Georgia?
Finland?
Czech Republic? Maybe?

I'm hoping for San Marino ... and Montenegro. But I don't know. I really don't know tonight ... o_O

Dana International is in the house ... !! And on the stage!

One of the hosts with last year's Junior ESC winner. Cute.

A video featuring the beauties of our host country and the various performers all around the country. Ooh, there's Bilal Hassani ... And it's all set to A-ba-ni-bi.

Another runthrough of all the songs. Look at Australia flying ... !

And the voting is over ... now.

Chtichat in the green room, with Estonia and Portugal. The host looks like an idiot too with that thing on his face.

Ooh, a video tribute. Wow. Very cool. I want to watch that again.

Poor Netta, she's been wearing that ridiculous outfit for two hours now. But she probably likes it. :-D

More chitchat. The results are almost in ... The excitement ...

Two of the Big Five and the host are in the green room. Being embarrassed by the host and presenting their songs.  A little glimpse of Spain ... wow, that's colorful. :-D France! They are going to do so well this year. Finally, Israel. This guy must be so nervous, representing his country at home. Poor guy. But at the same time, what an honor.

The results are in ... !

And the ten finalists are ...

Greece
Belarus
Serbia
Cyprus! Wow, they sucked so bad, and they still made it. Wow.
Estonia. Boo.
Czechia
Australia! Of course!
Iceland
San Marino! Yay!!
Slovenia!

OMG - no Poland ... ! :-o

It was a good show, but I'm sad for Poland ... :-(

Runthrough of the ten finalists.

Aw, Poland ... :-(

ISRAEL 2011 - Ding Dong

I love Israel's song from last year ... and I love their song from last time they won. So I was intrigued to hear that their entry this year would be performed by the same singer as in 1998, the hotly debated Dana International. I was hoping for the best. But alas, I was disappointed.

This song has nothing of the fire of Diva, and none of its catchy rhythm. This is sort of a ballad speeded up. But it has no hook and no personality. I can hum along to it while I'm listening it, but as soon as it's done I forget it. It is soo harmless and bland ... a very disappointing effort. I don't know what they're thinking we're supposed to like about this ... ?

As for Dana herself, it's been 13 years, so of course her voice will have deteriorated ... and it has, audibly so. Her voice is much weaker now. That too showing much less personality. She doesn't look that much older, but a pretty face just can't make up for the weaknesses of this song. The performance is also very dull. I'm not sure what they think they're going for. It's all totally standard and totally bland. Vanilla. :-) This will fade into the background as soon as the music fades out.

Basically I don't know what the Israelis were thinking when they picked this song. That it would be good enough because it's Dana? I like it that she's written the song herself - there aren't that many female contestants in the ESC (remembering, of course, that it's the composers and lyricists that are competing, not the singers :-) - but that's pretty much all I like about it. I predict a sad fate for Israel on stage in Germany. Ouch. :-)

This is Dana International performing her own composition Ding Dong (I know ...). She will be competing for Israel on Thursday, May 12th.

Widescreen here.

Lyrics here.

ISRAEL 2010 - Milim

Israel ... often a supposed favorite in recent years, but has usually failed to live up to these expectations. I really don't know how they'll do this year. Their entry is good, quality work, no question ... and kudos for singing in Hebrew ... but it's also a ballad, so that makes it more difficult right there, and it's, I don't know, in some ways quite anonymous. I've listened to it a dozen times but I couldn't hum it now to save my life. Ballads can do very well in the ESC, but they have to have a hook, something that makes them instantly memorable, and IMO this song lacks that. But it's a beautiful melody and the fact that voting will begin from the start of the show this year will unquestionably work in this song's favor.

The performance was plain and unremarkable in the national final, I wonder if they'll be changing that ... if not, that'll again be making it less memorable. But it's a good song and the performance is sincere and emotional, which we know the Easterners like, so that may be good. ;-) But I have to ask one thing - WTF is up with his hair?? o_O

This is Harel Skaat performing Milim by Tomer Hadadi and Noam Horev. They will be competing on Thursday, May 27th.



Lyrics with translation here.

Lithuania, Israel, France

Yup, here's Dima. And he got stuck ... !!! LOL!!! :-D

O.M.G. o_O

This opening perfectly showcases the one major problem Russia has, and always has had: They never know when enough is enough.

Lithuania:
Boring song and boring presentation.
This kid has watched way too much MTV.
Does he have a black eye??
Anne Ida's wondering does he know enough English to understand what he's singing ... ? :-D
Boring, no chance.

Israel:
Boring.
And it's so obvious ... !! Do they think we're idiots? >:-(
Oh, and the drums ... That is soo four years ago ...
Boring, no chance.

France:
Ooh, Patricia Kaas ... !!
KAS is being so negative, she says this song is boring too. No, it isn't, it's cool!! And the presentation is wonderful too.
Oh, how she suffers ... !! See her soul just pour out onto the stage ... ! :-D
I really like this, but I don't think a lot of people will remember this in 90 minutes.
Alas.

Israel, Bulgaria, Iceland

Israel:
They are getting a more enthusiastic reception than I'd expected.
The song sounds better here than it did in the national final. Their performance is better, they're singing better.
I like the song more now, but I still think it's pretty boring. And full of clichés.
Pretty good presentation, but nothing very memorable.

Bulgaria:
Tee-hee! Hardly anyone cheers for Bulgaria. :-D
I love what they're doing to the stage, but nothing can save this song.
OMG check out her hair ... !! lolz!!
I hate this song and I never want to hear it again.
Their outfits are awful too.
Go away, Bulgaria.

Iceland:
Ooh, pretty pretty beautiful song ... !! One of the best songs this year. And yay, they're getting a great reception in the Arena. :-)
And check out what they're doing with the stage, that is fantastic ... !! Wow!! Wonderful!
A lovely song, a lovely singer with a lovely voice. All of it so pretty. :-) I hope and believe that Iceland will do very well this year. Should definitely get to the final.
But! Imagine if they won. :-o They're already up shit creek. Winning the ESC would be like losing the paddle. Yeah, we were figuring out that whole financial mess we were in, we were getting on top of that, and we would have worked it all out too ... but then we won the goddamn ESC!! :-D

ISRAEL 2009: Noa & Mira – There Must Be Another Way

I had planned to go into a bit of depth on this post about the political background for the controversy around this song, and my thoughts on it, and what have you ... but I'm feeling worse again today, and I really don't think my brain is up to arguing much of anything today. So let's just say that there has been controversy, but for and against, that I am not entirely comfortable with Israeli participation in the ESC but there they are (and more on that later), and that I personally don't know enough about the background to this entry to judge whether it is a genuine effort to bridge certain chasms or whether it is in fact a situation where two young women are being exploited for some nefarious political gain.

I am, however, in a position to judge whether or not this song is any good. :-) And IMO, it's not. It's boring. The Israeli entry last year was pretty boring too, but the singer had a tremendous voice, and the presentation was quite striking. Noa & Mira, however - one Jewish, the other an Israeli Arab - aren't very good singers. They seem a little awkward on stage, and the song has an unremarkable melody and is less than catchy. While one may in theory applaud the effort, I have to say that to me this song is one big yawn. It fails entirely to distinguish itself on its own merits. I don't think we'll be seeing this on May 16th.

Others may disagree, of course, but hardly enough to make a difference. :-) This is Mira Awad and Noa performing There Must Be Another Way (Einaich) which they composed themselves along with some fellow called Gil Dor. They will be competing for Israel as #10 on May 12th.

Lyrics here.

Rumor has it ...

... that Norway is becoming a hotbed of anti-Semitism, that Norwegians are all Jew-hating semi-Nazis and that Jews who live in Norway are afraid to venture out onto the streets. If you're a foreigner reading this, you may have heard/read/seen news stories to this effect. I'm here to tell you that it just ain't so. Don't trust what you read in the Jerusalem Post.

The fact of the matter is that there is an active smear campaign going on against Norway in order to blacken our reputation internationally. We are supposedly the most anti-Semitic nation in Europe, and the increasing hatred against Israel and the Jews is being fuelled by the Norwegian media and the intellectual elite (JPost). I think you can spot the problem right there, actually. >:-)

First: Yes, it is true that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Norway ... as it is all over Western Europe. This is due to Muslim immigration. The more Muslims live in any given country, the more anti-Semitism you will find in that country, because your average Muslim hates Jews. I'm not kidding. They're raised that way. But even so, this is neither here nor there ... because it's us ethnic Norwegians that fundamentalist Zionists are out to get, and not the immigrants who live among us. Why is that?

In many other European countries, public discourse on this issue is rather limited. Sweden is a good example. It's very difficult to find an audience for criticism of Israel in Sweden ... Swedish media is very biased in Israel's favor, and it's frighteningly easy to get labelled an anti-Semite. Public debate in Norway is different. Swedes reading Norwegian newspapers are often surprised, sometimes even shocked by the openness of the debate here. Please note: This is a good thing. Your average Norwegian is not afraid to speak his or her mind on this issue. And many Norwegians are very critical of the way Israel touts its supposed status as the only democracy in the Middle East (gag me with a spoon) and then uses its enormous military power to brutalize the Palestinians they have herded in behind their walls and fences. It's hard for anyone looking at the situation objectively and rationally to not be critical. But of course, objectivity and rationality are not qualities that our Israeli attackers are interested in or even capable of.

The simple fact that many Israelis have a very hard time grasping is that disagreeing with, criticizing and opposing the policies of the Israeli government does not equal anti-Semitism. It doesn't even necessarily equal anti-Zionism. And to call Norway a hotbed of anti-Semitism is actually just plain ridiculous. For the longest time, Norway was one of Israel's staunchest supporters. Socialists in Norway, and many Social Democrats as well, admired Israel tremendously and saw it, for the first couple of decades of its existence, as a herald of a glorious velvet revolution. But then Israel built up its massive war machine, fell into bed with the US and began its history as a brutal occupant ... and I'm sure you can imagine that many idealists were rather disappointed (a feeling which has been and still is further aggravated by Israeli claims of being such a glorious free democracy). Even so, we don't have a history of hating Israel. Through the years, we have been much closer to Israel than we IMO ought to have been. We've awarded Israeli leaders the Peace Prize. We've sold Israel weapons, we even gave them the heavy water they needed to make their nukes. Why is it that Norway has been so essential to peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine for so many years? Is it because Israeli leaders have been so convinced that we're all anti-Semites? No, of course not. It's because they trusted us as their friends to do the right thing and try to help. But a true friend will also put their foot down when that is what is necessary.

And in a true democracy, like Norway, people may say what they truly believe ... unlike in fake democracies like Israel where the authorities prefer to brainwash the population with fascist propaganda till they think the entire world is against them. It's really sad to see it. But if you get the chance, talk to a Norwegian Jew. Granted, there aren't many of them ... only a couple thousand. But I promise you that they aren't afraid to walk the streets in our cities - their cities. They aren't afraid of their fellow Norwegians. They don't feel like we hate them, because we don't! We are no more anti-Semitic than any other Europeans - in fact, I suspect we are rather less so than many. But people speak their minds here ... they speak of the things that they see ... and the actions of the state of Israel speak louder than words.

In conclusion: 'Israel' does not equal 'Jews'. 'Well founded criticism of political decisions' does not equal 'anti-Semitism' or 'hatred of Jews'. The Jerusalem Post will print unfounded lies (until they remove the articles because too many people call them on it). If you hear the names Erez Uriely or David Weiss in connection with stories about Norway and anti-Semitism, please be advised that Uriely is a right-wing nutcase who was kicked out of the Mosaic Community in Norway several years ago because of his association with right-wing extremist groups, and Weiss most likely doesn't even exist. Manfred Gerstenfeld is a dangerous man who is willing to tell quite horrendous lies to further his own agenda - he may truly believe that Norwegians are barbaric and unintelligent, but I personally would rather question the intelligence of a people that actually doesn't understand that their own barbaric behavior towards fellow human beings for the crime of living in a certain area is probably more harmful to their own cause than any foreign criticism could ever be.

The problem here isn't whether Norwegians are anti-Semites ... the problem is rather the amazing ability of a dangerously high number of Israelis to make any criticism of the state of Israel, no matter how fair and well-founded, seem like the preliminary stages of an industrial mass extinction of all the world's Jews.

Please don't believe these slanderous rumors. That is what they are - slanders and smears. If these stories come to your attention, please take a moment of your time to think about exactly who they benefit - who would want to influence your opinion on this matter and why. And don't think badly of us Norwegians before you've met us - we can be quite nice really once you get to know us. :-)

Thank you. :-)


Update, Saturday: As has been suspected, David Weiss in fact does not exist. What a surprise. >:-)

Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Israel

Armenia:
Excellent!!
This is a potential winner, definitely. Yerevan 2009?? :-)
Very well presented. Although she did sound a little out of breath towards the end there. :-)
Nice dress and she certainly knows how to shake her ... fringe.
V. good all round.

Bosnia & Herzegovina:
One of my favorites.
Original and creative, and great presentation.
I hope they do very well, they deserve to. I have high hopes for them this year.

Israel:
His voice keeps getting better every time I hear it. And the presentation is striking.
But I think the song is boring. I suppose they may do well, but I hope it won't. It's too standard ... there are a number of more original and entertaining songs in the lineup this year.

Montenegro, Israel, Estonia

Montenegro:
The song sounds better than I expected. Better than in the video. He's got stage presence. I didn't think much of their chances when I'd just seen the video, but now they're sounding good. They've got a good shot at a place in the final.
His backing dancers look like hookers though. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Israel:
A striking opening. People will remember that. Unfortunate starting slot, but good presentation.
The song is still boring though. I SO don't understand how this can be a favorite.
I hope this doesn't make the cut.

Estonia:
Piece of shit.
The guys can't sing for shit and they look like idiots. Again the backing dancers look like ... OK, not hookers. Strippers. The beat of the song is incredibly annoying.
It certainly is a gag entry - as in, gag me with a spoon.
I hope intensely that this doesn't make it (although it may, and I won't be entirely surprised if that happens) because I never want to hear this 'song' again.

Ha ha! The Estonians got booed!! :-D

ISRAEL 2008: Boaz Mauda - Fire In Your Eyes

Dana International wrote this song- and rumor has it that she will be on stage in Belgrade too. The singer is this year's, or was it last year's, Idol winner, and he has the vocal talents of someone on that level too. Actually, no, I've heard Idol winners with much better voices. And I don't even watch Idol.

Boring song, although perhaps marginally less boring than the Montenegrino one. Not a very good voice though. No real hook here either- nothing I can hum. This song actually sounded better the first time I heard it ... ! Now that can't be a good sign ...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8jZoj77Qlk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWue6qzmGq4