Well inside the top 100, success for Kyrgyzstan. It was more the video than the song that I entered but I was satisfied with having Kyrgyzstan in the semi final for only the third time ever .
I was surprised to find there were three other entries with a lower score than this from first round entries and tied with one of Icelands, although it was the lowest score of this year.
I'd still rather have Kyrgyzstan than Libyantichrist tbh.
Not even the second most controversial country this year (because of Crimea and Nagorno-Karabakh), Northern Cyprus will have to wait till 2015 to see if it can redeem itself from this Monrose disaster. It's not so much the tangled limb and S&M themes that me off because that could have been fun if the song wasn't so... flat? Idk I think if you're going to be outrageous then you need to have something catchier because otherwise you only come 87th.
Now here's a song that attempts to take down the patriarchy in a completely different way. Myahri obviously don't need no man to have a great day. Actually she is content being totally by herself as she gives us lessons in karaoke, baking and fashion. So I feel regretful as I break her dreams so quickly due to the song being a bit lame Fwiw though Terry when I had Turkmenistan back in the day I could choose from Russia and failed also (but not as much as this)
This is probably a less popular opinion as this is the first song in this list to make the Final. Kendji Girac is a ride I agree but we are cruelly teased with his far superior Color Gitano at the beginning of Andalouse, which I would happily have championed to reach the higher echelons of this ranking (in reality about seven places higher due to being a single song country). But yeah Andalouse doesn't do anything for me, even though I'm sure Kendji Girac will return in 2015.
Now here's a song that attempts to take down the patriarchy in a completely different way. Myahri obviously don't need no man to have a great day. Actually she is content being totally by herself as she gives us lessons in karaoke, baking and fashion. So I feel regretful as I break her dreams so quickly due to the song being a bit lame Fwiw though Terry when I had Turkmenistan back in the day I could choose from Russia and failed also (but not as much as this)
This is probably a less popular opinion as this is the first song in this list to make the Final. Kendji Girac is a ride I agree but we are cruelly teased with his far superior Color Gitano at the beginning of Andalouse, which I would happily have championed to reach the higher echelons of this ranking (in reality about seven places higher due to being a single song country). But yeah Andalouse doesn't do anything for me, even though I'm sure Kendji Girac will return in 2015.[/b]
Öňe, Diňe Öňe was quite nice i think, Hazynam is.. not.. i think i gave andalouse quite a lot of points but listening to it now i dont really remember why...
Excited about all these list. I do love me some lists. Might send around some PM's tonight to some older players to try get votes up high for this vote..
Yeah that's fine as you requested originally to host NFs. Are you okay with opening tonight though? The plan I laid out was for it to open tonight and close xmas eve (doesn't have to be stuck to rigidly though).
Yeah that's fine as you requested originally to host NFs. Are you okay with opening tonight though? The plan I laid out was for it to open tonight and close xmas eve (doesn't have to be stuck to rigidly though).
I'm grand with that. Might not be until night-time but I should have them open tonight or early tomorrow morning . It isn't an obligation to vote if your country is in a heat is it?
Deadline: December 24th, 2014 @1900 UK TIME
Voting System: 5-3-2-1 (for all voting systems even with 5+ songs)
The top scoring song from each NF will qualify, with the exceptions of countries which will have 2 qualifying or 3 qualifying.
Poor phill was given some terrible responsibilities this year, the most controversh being this. There are some redeeming qualities about this song taking into account the sinister recruitment of six-year-olds for politically-motivated anthems. I can only imagine Azerbaijan's nationwide aneurysm should this song ever be performed on stage.
83. Azores
Contributors: stanld03, MiesBouwman, March Mornings
I like Volta more than I did during Sofia, but none of these are mega standouts, as Where the River Meets the Sea only becomes epic in the last minute or so by which point the average voter has made their judgement. That is all I have to say on Azores as they left little to no impression on me this year.
'Highlights' is definitely a relative term here, and my sympathies to everyone who had to experience the Montenegrin music industry this year, but congrats to March Mornings for breaking the curse! Interventna actually isn't my favourite as Hana Cakuli was once again underrated (slightly). Actually half of the songs are just above average but there multiple abominations including this and an instrumental piece which is quite nice to listen to but doesn't have a place in DSFE imo as it is not a song. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before someone from The Voice Germany has Montenegrin heritage, but until that time, Montenegro can look forward to its one qualifier next year.
Tragically I am not immune from early cuts and I now have to take responsibility for this. The problem is that this is another one where things don't get exciting until the second half and also a video could have helped but Hristina could not be arsed. Deep Waters is still a low key pleasure for me although I think if Vojvodina was made to take part more than once it wouldn't have had such a great year, and any country can up with one decent song so tough measures have to be made. At least they got their first ever finalist
Aland Islands - Tbh the only of these I can really remember is Find You, liked that one. Not been a classic year for the Aland Islands. Albania - Miriam Cani and Samanta Karavella were my favourites here, a shame Gabriella Cilmi or Bebe Rexha didn't make it. Albania have been surprisingly strong this year. Algeria - Loved Lynda Thalie, Mani was good too Andorra - Sorry to hear about Pastora retiring, seems to be suggesting stage fright issues, surprising but hope she can overcome it. Her song is the best here. Austria - Conchita should get through comfortably, not much between the other 3 but maybe prefer Como. Azerbaijan - The link for the first Laleh song seems to be blocked for me. Suffered from Laleh fatigue this year, Timur Rodriguez is my favourite, loved that one. Belarus - This is a tricky one, obviously I liked Walking With A Ghost, but I loved the Ruslan-Valeriya duet too. Can't they both qualify? Belgium - Surprisingly poor year for the Belgium. Not massively taken by any of these, Maya's Moving Castle maybe the best. Bosnia - Haris easily my favourite of these. Bulgaria - Oonagh Fest begins, wake me up when it's over. Liked Zhana Bergendorff of these. Croatia - Really liked Close To The Sun and Nirvana.
Cyprus - Poor year for Cyprus, Ivi needs to release some new stuff. Only one of these I really like is Katy Lols. Czech Republic - Absolutely loved Zombie, miles ahead of the others here for me. Denmark - I quite like all four of these, Volbeat being my favourite. Was surprised Denmark's record this year was as bad as it was, still don't really understand how I managed to finish second last with them in Neuss. England - The two winners were both good, Foxes was my favourite of the two. My favourite English song this year was John Newman, also like Vaults, Mighty Oaks and Mumford & Sons. Estonia - Elina Born was good, the rest were a bit meh, Estonia tend to specialise in that, aliens aside.
Lieder is a good song and it looks like a lot of North African nations are finding new opportunities from Germany as well as France now. Unfortunately the less said about the other two entries the better, as even Shiri Maimon was not playing her cards right this year.
A recurring theme in this ranking is that my favourite song from a "bad" country generally does considerably worse than something meh that makes the final and that was my experience of Egypt this year. Although I'm not sure I actually gave Grace any points sorry Gwen :x But anyway there are some hidden gems for Egypt that I am surprised have not turned up yet, but given that their appearance is rare, it may be sometime before they break through.
This was a really good song and there was a time I expected us to be going to Vatican City for the next contest, as Göd probably intended. Sadly it was not to be (although Rhodes) and seeing what Italy and San Marino had to go through for some of this year leads me to the conclusion that the Vatican got off lightly and needs to get more involved with DSFE if it wants a higher placement next year.
This is much the same as Vatican as I don't think one song can prove your worth, although Red Eyes <333 and I'm surprised it made the Final due to being so out there, but perhaps that is a sign of the oncoming indie apocalypse Terry prophecised earlier this year. South Holland itself is a bit of a random decision, considering Yorkshire's proposed addition was met with pitchforks, so I would be surprised if we see them again. Although we do need three more new countries to make the Wikia symmetrical, so maybe North Holland next time?
So my tongue in cheek decision to let Crimea pick from Russia turned out to be a bad idea as this later caused war between Terry and CAF who was not impressed with the political implications Outside of this controversy, I am deeply saddened that Polina Shagay was shamefully robbed this year. She has her own pile of men and wings in her hair. What more do you want? The other two songs left no impression on me and thus Crimea can go no further.
I actually find it good to only have 4 songs in CofC because it allows you to fully support the songs you do have in it, even if you know they will do poorly, and it's just so much more fun in general, than having to hope for your 20-something countries to get through and being hard to keep track of.
Have 11 votes so far. Assumed I'd get most today anyways. So hopefully get up a bit. But it's super close in quite a few of the heats, and not at all in a couple of them....
Phill has the honour of having the two best songs from B&H this year, despite the disparity between their placements. Other than that, listening to Bosnia's playlist this year is not an enjoyable experience. Even their CofC is a struggle for me, as it includes the wrong Pamela Ramljak song, I find Haris is a less interesting version of Bobby Andonov and I do not share mika's enthusiasm for Oko Moje. Dabogda even receives an elusive 2/10 from Alexos HQ, but it has a few 3s and 4s to keep it company too. When will Maja Nurkich release new music to save the B&H from more disappointment?
Meelelahutajad is almost really good, but it's just missing that something to make it a standout entry and that is Saaremaa's only story this year, because it has all of Estonia's bleak wtfery and none of its Baltic charm.
Another case where a country's worst performing song actually saves it from a bottom 10 placement (though not by much). There are some interesting, turbo-folk infused nightmares going on in Luli but it's this kind of unstable charm that resonates. The story of the teddy bear with a heart is also cute even though the song is the musical interpretation of an overdose, and ultimately these two opposing forces cannot keep Uzbekistan alive for much longer than the majority of its neighbours.
Phill has the honour of having the two best songs from B&H this year, despite the disparity between their placements. Other than that, listening to Bosnia's playlist this year is not an enjoyable experience. Even their CofC is a struggle for me, as it includes the wrong Pamela Ramljak song, I find Haris is a less interesting version of Bobby Andonov and I do not share mika's enthusiasm for Oko Moke. Dabogda even receives an elusive 2/10 from Alexos HQ, but it has a few 3s and 4s to keep it company too. When will Maja Nurkich release new music to save the B&H from more disappointment?
A recurring theme in this ranking is that my favourite song from a "bad" country generally does considerably worse than something meh that makes the final and that was my experience of Egypt this year. Although I'm not sure I actually gave Grace any points sorry Gwen :x But anyway there are some hidden gems for Egypt that I am surprised have not turned up yet, but given that their appearance is rare, it may be sometime before they break through.
True, I requested Egypt in the last contest because I wanted to send this one. I think it would have won easily
Comments
I'd still rather have Kyrgyzstan than Libyantichrist tbh.
87. Northern Cyprus
Contributors: JordanC55
Only song: Like a Lady - Monrose
Not even the second most controversial country this year (because of Crimea and Nagorno-Karabakh), Northern Cyprus will have to wait till 2015 to see if it can redeem itself from this Monrose disaster. It's not so much the tangled limb and S&M themes that me off because that could have been fun if the song wasn't so... flat? Idk I think if you're going to be outrageous then you need to have something catchier because otherwise you only come 87th.
86. Turkmenistan
Contributors: TerryP
Only song: Hazynam - Myahri
Now here's a song that attempts to take down the patriarchy in a completely different way. Myahri obviously don't need no man to have a great day. Actually she is content being totally by herself as she gives us lessons in karaoke, baking and fashion. So I feel regretful as I break her dreams so quickly due to the song being a bit lame
85. Corsica
Contributors: nick1990
Only song: Andalouse - Kendji Girac
This is probably a less popular opinion as this is the first song in this list to make the Final. Kendji Girac is a ride I agree but we are cruelly teased with his far superior Color Gitano at the beginning of Andalouse, which I would happily have championed to reach the higher echelons of this ranking (in reality about seven places higher due to being a single song country). But yeah Andalouse doesn't do anything for me, even though I'm sure Kendji Girac will return in 2015.
Coming up... first country with more than one song!
Öňe, Diňe Öňe was quite nice i think, Hazynam is.. not.. i think i gave andalouse quite a lot of points but listening to it now i dont really remember why...
Yeah that's fine as you requested originally to host NFs. Are you okay with opening tonight though? The plan I laid out was for it to open tonight and close xmas eve (doesn't have to be stuck to rigidly though).
Ida - Maybe I Like It
Stine Bramsen - Prototypical
Tina Disco - Someone You Love
North ft. Stine Bramsen - 32
PLAYLIST
Finland (2 qualify)
Softengine - Yellow House
Miriam Bryant - Dragon
Teflon Brothers- Maradona (kesä '86)
Janna - Sä et ole hullu
Jenni Vartiainen - Eden
PLAYLIST
France
Matthieu Mendes ft. Pomme - Okay
Marie-Mai - Je Cours
Cats On Trees - Sirens Call
Owlle - Disorder
PLAYLIST
Germany (2 qualify)
Oonagh - Gäa
Anastacia - Stupid Little Things
Glasperlenspiel - Ich Bin Ich
Mark Forster ft Sido - Au Revoir
Hundreds - Our Past
PLAYLIST
Gotland (2 qualify)
Emerentia - Silver Bullet
Frida Sundemo - A Million Years
Tove Lo - Out Of Mind
Elin Lanto - Skylight
PLAYLIST
Greece
Athena Manoukian - XO
Delta Rae - Dance In The Graveyards
Freaky Fortune - Our Destiny
Marietta Fafouti - Kookoobadi
Onirama - Metaxi
PLAYLIST
Greenland
Emmelie de Forest - Rainmaker
Hedegaard - Happy Home
Bjornskov - Vi er helte
Carpark North - Burn It
PLAYLIST
Hungary
Andras Kallay-Saunders - Juliet
Bogi - Feels So Right
Boggie - Fearless
Boggie - Parfum
ZZ Ward - Last Love Song
ZZ Ward - Put The Gun Down
PLAYLIST
Iceland
Ask Embla - Einn
Bellstop - Trouble
Charlotte Qvale ft Thomas Eriksen - The Fire
Arstidir - Shades
PLAYLIST
Iran
Raphaella - Parallel Lines
Tooji - Rebels
Arash ft. Helena - One Day
Jasmine Kara - Paralyzed
PLAYLIST
Ireland
Ryan Dolan - Start Again
Kodaline - One Day
Little Green Cars - My Love Took Me Down To The River To Silence Me
Thea Gilmore - London
PLAYLIST
Isle of Man
Paper Aeroplanes - When The Windowws Shook
Meadowlark - I've Got You
A Girl Called Ruth - You I See
Petula Clark - Cut Copy Me
PLAYLIST
Israel (2 qualify)
Dotan - Home
Haim - If I Could Change Your Mind
Asaf Avidan - Different Pulses
Naama Cohen - Some More
PLAYLIST
Italy
Giorgia - Quando Una Stella Muore
Chiara - Un giorno di sole
Laura Pausini & Thalia - Sino a ti
Daniel Adomako - Per Sempre
PLAYLIST
Jersey (3 qualify)
Ivy & Gold - The Town
Rhodes - Your Soul
Chloe Howl - Paper Heart
Charlotte OC - Colour My Heart
Jasmine Thompson - Run
Rhodes - Breathe
Coasts - Wallow
PLAYLIST
Kazakhstan
A-Studio & Tomas N'evergreen - Falling For You
Kesh You - Rizamyn
Grace Valerie - Not For Love
Luina - Kalaisha
PLAYLIST
Deadline: December 24th, 2014 @1900 UK TIME
Voting System: 5-3-2-1 (for all voting systems even with 5+ songs)
The top scoring song from each NF will qualify, with the exceptions of countries which will have 2 qualifying or 3 qualifying.
Contributors: phill363
Only song: Hayastany Men Enq - Lilu ft Arevner
Poor phill was given some terrible responsibilities this year, the most controversh being this. There are some redeeming qualities about this song taking into account the sinister recruitment of six-year-olds for politically-motivated anthems. I can only imagine Azerbaijan's nationwide aneurysm should this song ever be performed on stage.
83. Azores
Contributors: stanld03, MiesBouwman, March Mornings
Highlights: Volta - Diogo Piçarra, Where The River Meets The Sea - White Pearl
I like Volta more than I did during Sofia, but none of these are mega standouts, as Where the River Meets the Sea only becomes epic in the last minute or so by which point the average voter has made their judgement. That is all I have to say on Azores as they left little to no impression on me this year.
82. Montenegro
Contributors: Saturn, 21stCenturyBoy, DamienS, chonto, EmpressPlum, dylanpartyon, penguinperson, avb x2, yoshi94, yoshi94/CAF, TerryP, March Mornings.
Highlights: Une Vendos - Hana Cakuli, Sinner City - Vladana, Interventna - Boban Rajovic
'Highlights' is definitely a relative term here, and my sympathies to everyone who had to experience the Montenegrin music industry this year, but congrats to March Mornings for breaking the curse! Interventna actually isn't my favourite as Hana Cakuli was once again underrated (slightly). Actually half of the songs are just above average but there multiple abominations including this and an instrumental piece which is quite nice to listen to but doesn't have a place in DSFE imo as it is not a song. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before someone from The Voice Germany has Montenegrin heritage, but until that time, Montenegro can look forward to its one qualifier next year.
81. Vojvodina
Contributors: Alexos
Only song: Deep Waters - Hristina Vukovic
Tragically I am not immune from early cuts and I now have to take responsibility for this. The problem is that this is another one where things don't get exciting until the second half and also a video could have helped but Hristina could not be arsed. Deep Waters is still a low key pleasure for me although I think if Vojvodina was made to take part more than once it wouldn't have had such a great year, and any country can up with one decent song so tough measures have to be made. At least they got their first ever finalist
Top 80!
Aland Islands - Tbh the only of these I can really remember is Find You, liked that one. Not been a classic year for the Aland Islands.
Albania - Miriam Cani and Samanta Karavella were my favourites here, a shame Gabriella Cilmi or Bebe Rexha didn't make it. Albania have been surprisingly strong this year.
Algeria - Loved Lynda Thalie, Mani was good too
Andorra - Sorry to hear about Pastora retiring, seems to be suggesting stage fright issues, surprising but hope she can overcome it. Her song is the best here.
Austria - Conchita should get through comfortably, not much between the other 3 but maybe prefer Como.
Azerbaijan - The link for the first Laleh song seems to be blocked for me. Suffered from Laleh fatigue this year, Timur Rodriguez is my favourite, loved that one.
Belarus - This is a tricky one, obviously I liked Walking With A Ghost, but I loved the Ruslan-Valeriya duet too. Can't they both qualify?
Belgium - Surprisingly poor year for the Belgium. Not massively taken by any of these, Maya's Moving Castle maybe the best.
Bosnia - Haris easily my favourite of these.
Bulgaria - Oonagh Fest begins, wake me up when it's over. Liked Zhana Bergendorff of these.
Croatia - Really liked Close To The Sun and Nirvana.
Czech Republic - Absolutely loved Zombie, miles ahead of the others here for me.
Denmark - I quite like all four of these, Volbeat being my favourite. Was surprised Denmark's record this year was as bad as it was, still don't really understand how I managed to finish second last with them in Neuss.
England - The two winners were both good, Foxes was my favourite of the two. My favourite English song this year was John Newman, also like Vaults, Mighty Oaks and Mumford & Sons.
Estonia - Elina Born was good, the rest were a bit meh, Estonia tend to specialise in that, aliens aside.
Contributors: Cuishla, AcerBen, TerryP
Highlights: Lieder - Adel Tawil
Lieder is a good song and it looks like a lot of North African nations are finding new opportunities from Germany as well as France now. Unfortunately the less said about the other two entries the better, as even Shiri Maimon was not playing her cards right this year.
79. Egypt
Contributors: Cuishla, Gwen 404, MissMidgard, TerryP
Highlights: Grace - Omnia Hegazy
A recurring theme in this ranking is that my favourite song from a "bad" country generally does considerably worse than something meh that makes the final and that was my experience of Egypt this year. Although I'm not sure I actually gave Grace any points sorry Gwen :x But anyway there are some hidden gems for Egypt that I am surprised have not turned up yet, but given that their appearance is rare, it may be sometime before they break through.
78. Vatican City
Contributors: Carlisle156
Only song: Niente Al Mondo - Dolcenera
This was a really good song and there was a time I expected us to be going to Vatican City for the next contest, as Göd probably intended. Sadly it was not to be (although Rhodes) and seeing what Italy and San Marino had to go through for some of this year leads me to the conclusion that the Vatican got off lightly and needs to get more involved with DSFE if it wants a higher placement next year.
77. South Holland
Contributor: penguinperson
Only song: Red Eyes - Thomas Azier
This is much the same as Vatican as I don't think one song can prove your worth, although Red Eyes <333 and I'm surprised it made the Final due to being so out there, but perhaps that is a sign of the oncoming indie apocalypse Terry prophecised earlier this year. South Holland itself is a bit of a random decision, considering Yorkshire's proposed addition was met with pitchforks, so I would be surprised if we see them again. Although we do need three more new countries to make the Wikia symmetrical, so maybe North Holland next time?
76. Crimea
Contributors: stanld03, BethnalGreen, TerryP
Highlights: Shagay - Polina Gagarina
So my tongue in cheek decision to let Crimea pick from Russia turned out to be a bad idea as this later caused war between Terry and CAF who was not impressed with the political implications
75!
#VoteForOkoMojeOrHaveYourHeadCutOff
Contributors: phill363 x2, JB92, kvn, AxG, BethnalGreen x2, chonto, avb, mikabv, nunaney, poshbloke, stanld03/TerryP
Highlights: Do or Die - 30 Seconds to Mars, Kad Je Dosta - Pamela Ramljak
Phill has the honour of having the two best songs from B&H this year, despite the disparity between their placements. Other than that, listening to Bosnia's playlist this year is not an enjoyable experience. Even their CofC is a struggle for me, as it includes the wrong Pamela Ramljak song, I find Haris is a less interesting version of Bobby Andonov and I do not share mika's enthusiasm for Oko Moje. Dabogda even receives an elusive 2/10 from Alexos HQ, but it has a few 3s and 4s to keep it company too. When will Maja Nurkich release new music to save the B&H from more disappointment?
74. Saaremaa
Contributors: Matthew_Combes, Gwen 404, AxG x2, fireemblemcraze
Highlights: Meelelahutajad - Getter Jaani
Meelelahutajad is almost really good, but it's just missing that something to make it a standout entry and that is Saaremaa's only story this year, because it has all of Estonia's bleak wtfery and none of its Baltic charm.
73. Uzbekistan
Contributors: MiesBouwman, Jem Casper, AxG, BethnalGreen
Highlights: Luli - Olga Polikova, Yurak - Shahzoda
Another case where a country's worst performing song actually saves it from a bottom 10 placement (though not by much). There are some interesting, turbo-folk infused nightmares going on in Luli but it's this kind of unstable charm that resonates. The story of the teddy bear with a heart is also cute even though the song is the musical interpretation of an overdose, and ultimately these two opposing forces cannot keep Uzbekistan alive for much longer than the majority of its neighbours.
Who will be next??
How dare you
I have fixed it for you ^_^
Gutted that the video for my entry for Austria has gone too - that acoustic version of 'Wake Up' is weak as hell.
EDIT: It appears the song was actually called 'Stars Align'. Found it now.
True, I requested Egypt in the last contest because I wanted to send this one. I think it would have won easily
Dylanparton?
Edit: that is who I sent my votes to anyway so if that is wrong then my votes won't count lol
You send it to whoever is hosting that batch of NFs.
dylanpartyon is doing batch 1
Yugimuto1 is doing batch 2
Still to open is batch 3 (hosted by avb) and batch 4 (hosted by mikabv)
Then we have the SF and final once again send your votes to whoever is hosting that SF/final
You are so organised with this Terry so thanks for doing this as I wouldn't have a clue!