My final ESC 2008 favourites.
I'm still in a bit of a "Belgrade hangover" and dragging myself through EURO 2008 now (which has gone horribly wrong as of the result tonight for my Deutschland loving self) so for now I'm going to just officially rank my favourite 10 entries since the end of the competition, it's interesting to note that it was quite different before I left for Belgrade!
10.
This had been hovering in and out of my top ten before Belgrade, but yeah, I can't just leave this + him out. I had the chance to meet Simon at the Welcome Party the night I got into Belgrade and he was adorable. I had the chance to interview him as well and Fotis (who runs oiko) told me at one point it was the best interview that's been on the site. ANYWAYS, the performance was fantastic, and he's just wonderfully entertaining.
09.
France - Sébastien Tellier Divine
The only one of the big four in my top ten! This song was absolutely fantastic, completely eccentric in a way that was different from the weird aspects of the other entries. And everyone loves golf carts on stage! Oh this was just fabulous.
08.
09.
The only one of the big four in my top ten! This song was absolutely fantastic, completely eccentric in a way that was different from the weird aspects of the other entries. And everyone loves golf carts on stage! Oh this was just fabulous.
08.
Israel - Boaz Mauda The fire in your eyes / Ke'ilu kan
I'm still extremely pleased with how this placed (9th!) when I wasn't even sure it would make through the first semi. I can't even explain the impact this has live. Boaz's voice is just so so so beautiful, and this entire performance was mesmerizing live. Boaz and his backing singers were also ridiculously sweet and I'm not sure they knew how truly amazing they were.
07.
Greece - Kalomira Secret combination
Sadly, this was one of the songs that lost its charm for me as my time in Belgrade progressed. I had it rated much higher before leaving, but it started to slip as I saw the rehearsals and really had the chance to enjoy other songs. I still think this is the song that had the most "commercial" edge this year in the entire competition and it seems to be catching on after the contest. Don't get me wrong, I still love this song and Kalomira, but I think it ended up in a higher position than deserved.
06.
San Marino - Miodio Complice
This was probably the biggest upset of this year for me - I was extremely upset that it didn't qualify from the first semi and then found out it received the least amount of votes for the night. Um, what? I understand this woman dancing around on stage is weird and really doesn't fit at all, but this song was absolutely beautiful, and a fantastic debut for San Marino on the international stage. I honestly don't understand how this did so poorly. Such a shame, but at least I've discovered a new band, right?
05.
Ukraine - Ani Lorak Shady lady
Right, I've absolutely loved this song since I first heard it and I love Ani and I really thought this was going to win. The performance was fabulous and I'm still confused as to why I'm not sick of this song just yet. I mean, yeah, it's classic Eurovision and completely over the top and crazy, but I love it. People would just freak out whenever this came on at the Euroclub (and trust me, it came on quite a bit) and the ESC faithful in Belgrade just ate it up. Ani succeeded where Charlotte Perrelli failed - whereas Charlotte took the simple route with her schlager song, Ani ran with it and just gave the Eurovision audience what they inevitably wanted - 3 minutes of flashy kitsch.
04.
Serbia - Jelena Tomašević feat. Bora Dugić Oro
Funny, I'm currently listening to this song. Which really isn't a coincidence, as I listen to it quite a bit still. I still get chills thinking about the reaction this song got in the Arena, which was overwhelming. It was just so beautiful to see how proud the Serbian people were of this song and of Jelena. It was all very emotional watching this performance, and standing on the chairs on the floor of the Arena with the rest of the crowd and waving the assorted flags we had all collected throughout the night in harmony with this song. It was an absolutely beautiful experience. The song though! Yes, I've loved this song from the start. Željko Joksimović has to be one of my favourite composers ever, he is an absolute genius (in addition to this, he wrote my favourite Eurovision song of all time, Lejla). Absolutely gorgeous, and I would have been more than happy with a double victory from Serbia.
03.
Russia - Dima Bilan Believe
Well, what is there to say about this really. Dima was a hotly contested issue in Belgrade. Either people loved him or hated him, and it actually seemed like the latter most of the time. The fans and press did not seem to take favourably to him, and in many ways I understand why. There was a lot of flair and pomp around this performance, and the performance aspect most definitely took priority over the musical. A lot of people though, see this as the long awaited victory after his 2006 runner up performance. Russia has definitely made the effort in the past few years and I think it was really their time to win. I was one of the people heralding Dima, and I completely understand why he won. While some may bitch about the Western countries having no chance against the mighty east, I think it's more of the fact that Russia sent one of their most popular artists who is recognized internationally and put a ton of effort into this, and guess what? It paid off. That being said, I think the song is quite good (could be better) and the performance is obviously outstanding. Dima is such a star, I really hope he is able to make it worldwide. He deserves it.
02.
Norway - Maria Haukaas Storeng Hold on be strong
This was my favourite going into Belgrade. I am SO unbelievably proud of Maria and the final placing for the song. (#5, and it still gives me chills to be able to write that!) It was just so beautiful and so classy in the mess of Pirates and crazy Azeri heaven and hell scenarios. The first time I had the privilege to see this perform live I couldn't help but get a little choked up -- it was just one of those moments where being highly disappointed in something you love could have happened, and it was the complete opposite. It was so simplistic and so lovely, and I'm so happy this didn't go flying over viewers heads.
01.
Portugal - Vânia Fernandes Senhora do mar
This song was nowhere near the top of my list before Belgrade, and I can't get enough of it now. It wasn't even a blip on my radar really until I had the chance to see it performed live, and from then on, whenever I had the chance to see it, I was pretty much holding back tears every single time. I can't even describe how much this song touches me. I think I also have memories of the Portuguese delegation and how kind and gracious Vânia, composer Andrej and everyone else was to us. There was no pretension here, these people were simply here to share their song and perform the best they could, and everything about it was perfect. The oiko team was truly on-board championing this song, and the press in Belgrade rated this song #1. I'm absolutely enamored with this song, and I will honestly never forget watching this performance in Beogradska Arena during the final, stomping my feet on the seat I was standing on, and waving my flags and singing along to this song with tears in my eyes. This song for me exemplified what the Eurovision is truly about - allowing yourself to be exposed to a song in a language you may not understand and letting yourself completely fall in love with it. This song was it for me, I still get emotional thinking about it and the experiences I had in Belgrade with it.
I'm still extremely pleased with how this placed (9th!) when I wasn't even sure it would make through the first semi. I can't even explain the impact this has live. Boaz's voice is just so so so beautiful, and this entire performance was mesmerizing live. Boaz and his backing singers were also ridiculously sweet and I'm not sure they knew how truly amazing they were.
07.
Sadly, this was one of the songs that lost its charm for me as my time in Belgrade progressed. I had it rated much higher before leaving, but it started to slip as I saw the rehearsals and really had the chance to enjoy other songs. I still think this is the song that had the most "commercial" edge this year in the entire competition and it seems to be catching on after the contest. Don't get me wrong, I still love this song and Kalomira, but I think it ended up in a higher position than deserved.
06.
This was probably the biggest upset of this year for me - I was extremely upset that it didn't qualify from the first semi and then found out it received the least amount of votes for the night. Um, what? I understand this woman dancing around on stage is weird and really doesn't fit at all, but this song was absolutely beautiful, and a fantastic debut for San Marino on the international stage. I honestly don't understand how this did so poorly. Such a shame, but at least I've discovered a new band, right?
05.
Right, I've absolutely loved this song since I first heard it and I love Ani and I really thought this was going to win. The performance was fabulous and I'm still confused as to why I'm not sick of this song just yet. I mean, yeah, it's classic Eurovision and completely over the top and crazy, but I love it. People would just freak out whenever this came on at the Euroclub (and trust me, it came on quite a bit) and the ESC faithful in Belgrade just ate it up. Ani succeeded where Charlotte Perrelli failed - whereas Charlotte took the simple route with her schlager song, Ani ran with it and just gave the Eurovision audience what they inevitably wanted - 3 minutes of flashy kitsch.
04.
Funny, I'm currently listening to this song. Which really isn't a coincidence, as I listen to it quite a bit still. I still get chills thinking about the reaction this song got in the Arena, which was overwhelming. It was just so beautiful to see how proud the Serbian people were of this song and of Jelena. It was all very emotional watching this performance, and standing on the chairs on the floor of the Arena with the rest of the crowd and waving the assorted flags we had all collected throughout the night in harmony with this song. It was an absolutely beautiful experience. The song though! Yes, I've loved this song from the start. Željko Joksimović has to be one of my favourite composers ever, he is an absolute genius (in addition to this, he wrote my favourite Eurovision song of all time, Lejla). Absolutely gorgeous, and I would have been more than happy with a double victory from Serbia.
03.
Well, what is there to say about this really. Dima was a hotly contested issue in Belgrade. Either people loved him or hated him, and it actually seemed like the latter most of the time. The fans and press did not seem to take favourably to him, and in many ways I understand why. There was a lot of flair and pomp around this performance, and the performance aspect most definitely took priority over the musical. A lot of people though, see this as the long awaited victory after his 2006 runner up performance. Russia has definitely made the effort in the past few years and I think it was really their time to win. I was one of the people heralding Dima, and I completely understand why he won. While some may bitch about the Western countries having no chance against the mighty east, I think it's more of the fact that Russia sent one of their most popular artists who is recognized internationally and put a ton of effort into this, and guess what? It paid off. That being said, I think the song is quite good (could be better) and the performance is obviously outstanding. Dima is such a star, I really hope he is able to make it worldwide. He deserves it.
02.
This was my favourite going into Belgrade. I am SO unbelievably proud of Maria and the final placing for the song. (#5, and it still gives me chills to be able to write that!) It was just so beautiful and so classy in the mess of Pirates and crazy Azeri heaven and hell scenarios. The first time I had the privilege to see this perform live I couldn't help but get a little choked up -- it was just one of those moments where being highly disappointed in something you love could have happened, and it was the complete opposite. It was so simplistic and so lovely, and I'm so happy this didn't go flying over viewers heads.
01.
Portugal - Vânia Fernandes Senhora do mar
This song was nowhere near the top of my list before Belgrade, and I can't get enough of it now. It wasn't even a blip on my radar really until I had the chance to see it performed live, and from then on, whenever I had the chance to see it, I was pretty much holding back tears every single time. I can't even describe how much this song touches me. I think I also have memories of the Portuguese delegation and how kind and gracious Vânia, composer Andrej and everyone else was to us. There was no pretension here, these people were simply here to share their song and perform the best they could, and everything about it was perfect. The oiko team was truly on-board championing this song, and the press in Belgrade rated this song #1. I'm absolutely enamored with this song, and I will honestly never forget watching this performance in Beogradska Arena during the final, stomping my feet on the seat I was standing on, and waving my flags and singing along to this song with tears in my eyes. This song for me exemplified what the Eurovision is truly about - allowing yourself to be exposed to a song in a language you may not understand and letting yourself completely fall in love with it. This song was it for me, I still get emotional thinking about it and the experiences I had in Belgrade with it.
