Croatia - TOP
Czechia - TOP
Monaco - TOP
Portugal - TOP
Serbia - TOP
Sweden - TOP
Bulgaria - HOP/TOP
Estonia - HOP/TOP
Finland - HOP/TOP
Scotland - HOP/TOP
Spain - HOP/TOP
Belgium - HOP
Bosnia Herzegovina - HOP
Israel - HOP
Macedonia - HOP
QF2 HOP or TOP
Azerbaijan - TOP
Gibraltar - TOP
Greenland - TOP
Kazakhstan - TOP
Montenegro - TOP
Slovenia - TOP
Andorra - HOP/TOP
Belarus - HOP/TOP
Crimea - HOP/TOP - I won't vote for this entry, due for me it is not a part of Russia
Germany - HOP/TOP
Russia - HOP/TOP
Ukraine - HOP/TOP
Faroe Islands - HOP
Hungary - HOP
Liechtenstein - HOP
I won't vote for this entry, due for me it is not a part of Russia
Realise it's a contentious issue (and my fault for introducing it ), but not very fair on the player who has Crimea since they didn't decide which country they could pick from. We have Liechtenstein picking from Germany for example but that doesn't mean anything political, it's just to open up more choice.
Realise it's a contentious issue (and my fault for introducing it ), but not very fair on the player who has Crimea since they didn't decide which country they could pick from. We have Liechtenstein picking from Germany for example but that doesn't mean anything political, it's just to open up more choice.
It's a difficult one but would agree with this really, I didn't include Crimea in this contest to make any sort of political point, it's just been convention in recent contests that's all.
Please PM me your votes in traditional Eurovision style, 12, 10, 8-1.
You may not vote for your own country.
Regardless of whether you have an individual or shared country in this QF, all votes are individual. Do not discuss how you will vote with anyone, including your team-mate.
There will be a 25-point deduction in the quarter finals for any country that does not provide me with votes. In the case of shared countries, that deduction will be applied if neither player votes, ie 0/2. However I encourage both players in each shared country to vote, and I will pool your votes into one set of points, as in jury and televote at real Eurovision.
If you are not in this heat but are in this contest, you may also vote. The top 10 will advance to the semi finals.
Realise it's a contentious issue (and my fault for introducing it ), but not very fair on the player who has Crimea since they didn't decide which country they could pick from. We have Liechtenstein picking from Germany for example but that doesn't mean anything political, it's just to open up more choice.
It's a difficult one but would agree with this really, I didn't include Crimea in this contest to make any sort of political point, it's just been convention in recent contests that's all.
Well, neither Liechtenstein nor Germany claim that the other is part of the same - the person, who got Crimea, should have been aware of the political issue and could have asked avb to pick one from Ukraine instead...
I didn't recognise that Crimea was involved in previous contests - I decided to announce it in public, due the explicit excluding of an Ukrainian song for Crimea...
Well, neither Liechtenstein nor Germany claim that the other is part of the same - the person, who got Crimea, should have been aware of the political issue and could have asked avb to pick one from Ukraine instead...
I didn't recognise that Crimea was involved in previous contests - I decided to announce it in public, due the explicit excluding of an Ukrainian song for Crimea...
Or you could realise it's just a game?
Ukraine could have been lifted straight from Eurovision, great pick!
the person, who got Crimea, should have been aware of the political issue and could have asked avb to pick one from Ukraine instead...
I didn't recognise that Crimea was involved in previous contests - I decided to announce it in public, due the explicit excluding of an Ukrainian song for Crimea...
Yeah - it is a game and therefore neither the last nor the first of this game will achieve anything.
I just stand to my conviction and I won't give a point in this heated up situation in East-Ukraine and on the Crimea to a song from Russia for the Crimea (especially when it is ruled that it has to be from Russia).
I wonder if anybody from the UK would have given a point to the Falkand Islands, when it had been ruled that the song has to be from Argentina (during the occupation in the 80s)
Yeah - it is a game and therefore neither the last nor the first of this game will achieve anything.
I just stand to my conviction and I won't give a point in this heated up situation in East-Ukraine and on the Crimea to a song from Russia for the Crimea (especially when it is ruled that it has to be from Russia).
I wonder if anybody from the UK would have given a point to the Falkand Islands, when it had been ruled that the song has to be from Argentina (during the occupation in the 80s)
CAF, the country names are really just a way to identify the songs. It's the songs you vote for, not where they're from - its not like Putin has entered these songs in the contest I understand if you feel strongly about the situation but please vote for the songs - after all, it's not like this has any effect in international diplomacy & politics
QF2 review:)
Crimea - I don't know what's come over Russia/Ukraine & area recently, but this is yet another strong entry from round there. 8
Greenland - Oh this isn't really doing anything for me. It's not dreadful but I don't really like it. Respect for that amazing facial hair though . 6.5
Hungary - This is good, like her accent & it's not screamy like this kind of thing can be. Takes a while to get going though. 8
Montenegro - Whoa I'm dizzy This is surprisingly good, especially for Montenegro. Love the spelling of Fajter too lol. 8
Ukraine - Well I sure wasn't expecting Ukraine to go Bollywood on us. I actually really like it, good find. Best so far. 9
Faroe Islands - Well this is a bit of a definition of bland, sorry. It's not a bad song, it's not really a good one, just a bit...nothing. 7
Kazakhstan - This is nice, as somebody said before, good fun but I'm not sure whether it's quite up there with the best here. 7.5
Azerbaijan - Azersweden again I think this is the first time I've heard her in Swedish, I don't think I've disliked her yet & I'm not starting. 9
Slovenia - OMG, the *Balkans have entered the self-parody zone. It's all that's worst about typical Balkan pop, but kudos for the balls to do it. 6
Germany - I have a feeling this'll grow on me, maybe a bit out-there on first listen but there's some bits there that I like already. 8
Belarus - Eee, Rybak is...um...back I'm not like some here, I don't mind him, it's just that they all sound the same. It's not a bad one though. 7.5
Gibraltar - Oh, another one I nearly entered for Jersey. Love Laura, love this song, she's gonna be absolutely huge one day. 9
Russia - Well, Ukraine definitely win the awkward little battle here, sorry but I'm not a fan of this at all. How do you translate that letter too? 6
Liechtenstein - Oh this is good Like the beat to it, & her voice is good too, a bit Paloma-like. Yeah, really liking this one, good find. 9
Andorra - Woah Pastora, this is a different side to you I really like this one too, even her screamyness works here. Good finish. 9
DENMARK - There are far better Volbeat songs than this. This one didn't really click with me at all
ENGLAND - Can't beat a bit of nicey-nice indie folk
CYPRUS - Nice one, this. Powerful, emotive. The language works well for the song.
ITALY - I enjoyed this, I wish Italian songs didn't tend to blend in with one another so much
ICELAND - I considered this a few contests back. The video freaked me out too much and the song washed over me.
SVALBARD - This is quite pleasant. (Side observation: the Norwegian-country music combo is bafflingly common)
GREECE - A little too understated for me. The video was interesting..
LUXEMBOURG - There's nothing wrong with this one, but it's got no spark or hook.
ARMENIA - Compared to some of the songs in this semi, this is quite striking and different. A good thing.
ALBANIA - I want to like this, but it feels a bit try-hard, especially with the over-production on her voice
FRANCE - Dated, but fun. Hard to dislike this while listening to it. Forgettable afterwards.
LATVIA - Slow and a bit boring. I am sorry. Soulful, though, and a great song for Latvia
SWITZERLAND - Lilting and pleasant to listen to. Creepy lyrics.
TURKEY - Again, this is a perfectly serviceable song, but it's not holding my attention. Good chorus though.
MALTA - Weirdly reminiscent of the previous song. This guy seems very sincere. Nice little indie rock song.
Struggled to hand out points for this one. Ended up having to give points to some songs I wasn't overjoyed over.
Denmark – A really strong start to the QF here, I love the country/rock vibe going on throughout the song and her really like both of their voices, a very nice surprise.
England – This one has grown on me since first listen, I actually quite like it now, it’s got a nice catchy chorus and it is quite sweet and easy listening too, was probably a bit unfairly harsh on this on first listen.
Cyprus – Really liking this one too, it’s retro Eurovision which I approve of and it has a great little chorus full of passion, a good find for Cyprus.
Italy – I always love this type of Italian song, so naturally I love this as well, I find it has a great chorus, the traditional Italian style of song isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, you either love them or hate them, so expect this to get a nice top 5/10 placing but not troubling the winner.
Iceland – Not particularly caring for this one, I find it tries too hard to be all artsy and dramatic (something which quite a lot of songs here try to do) and it just doesn’t do anything for me, plus I am not caring for the final minute of just music.
Svalbard – Another song which sounds like a good old retro Eurovision song, once again a good catchy chorus and overall good solid fun which I enjoyed.
Greece – Like Iceland I feel this is trying to be too artsy and dramatic and it is just leaving me pretty cold as a result and for such a short song I found it a bit dull as well.
Luxembourg – This is nice enough and it is sweet sung with passion, but I can’t help but think in a contest style situation it doesn’t really stand out enough, though I am sure it will have its fans.
Armenia – I found this decent on my first listen, but it’s leaving me a bit cold tonight, it’s still decent enough but against some of the other uptempo numbers it’s failing a fair bit short for me.
Albania – As soon as she used dubstep as a lazy excuse as a chorus she lost me, the fact she sounds like a sheep just adds to what is wrong with the song. Other than that it’s completely passable but after some of the strong recent entries for Albania this is a bit of a come down.
France – I like this so I am not going to complain, but it’s a rather strange choice for a big country like France, going with a couple of years old song with no video. As for the song it managed to be French without being too French which is good in my books, though not a patch on her Eurovision entry.
Latvia – This is nice enough and she has a strong voice but the song doesn’t really grab me and hold me attention for any prolonged period of time and has a consequence the song doesn’t really leave any impression on me.
Switzerland – I loved their last entry in this contest (giving it 12 in the final), I was a bit indifferent to this in the reveals, found it a bit too understated, but I rather like it now, still not 12 worthy for me, but it’s a nice and heartfelt entry.
Turkey – It’s nice to have a good song for Turkey (even if it’s not actually Turkish), the whole song has a bit of a retro feel to it and I am really feeling it, once again a nice surprise.
Malta – Another song that is nice enough without being amazing, though I am liking this more than I did during the reveals, I appreciate the rock vibe that this has which stops it from being your average indie band number.
With big thanks to Beth for her hard work with it, here is the QF1 RECAP.
Thanks Beth, looks great, but there is one problem. The Czech song appears twice, first where it should be and then again straight after when it should be the Croatian song.
Somebody not voting for Crimea because of politics is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard in my 50 odd contests here. We're voting on songs not on which country we prefer/recognise. It's like not voting for Israel because you're pro-Gaza...
Comments
QF 1 Hop or Top
Croatia - TOP
Czechia - TOP
Monaco - TOP
Portugal - TOP
Serbia - TOP
Sweden - TOP
Bulgaria - HOP/TOP
Estonia - HOP/TOP
Finland - HOP/TOP
Scotland - HOP/TOP
Spain - HOP/TOP
Belgium - HOP
Bosnia Herzegovina - HOP
Israel - HOP
Macedonia - HOP
QF2 HOP or TOP
Azerbaijan - TOP
Gibraltar - TOP
Greenland - TOP
Kazakhstan - TOP
Montenegro - TOP
Slovenia - TOP
Andorra - HOP/TOP
Belarus - HOP/TOP
Crimea - HOP/TOP - I won't vote for this entry, due for me it is not a part of Russia
Germany - HOP/TOP
Russia - HOP/TOP
Ukraine - HOP/TOP
Faroe Islands - HOP
Hungary - HOP
Liechtenstein - HOP
Realise it's a contentious issue (and my fault for introducing it
Really Enjoyed
Czech Republic
Finland
Portugal
Enjoyed
Bulgaria
Estonia
Monaco
Sweden
Average
Croatia
Israel
Scotland
Serbia
Didn't Enjoy
Belgium
Bosnia
Macedonia
Spain
It's a difficult one but would agree with this really, I didn't include Crimea in this contest to make any sort of political point, it's just been convention in recent contests that's all.
Here are your performing countries:
1 DENMARK Volbeat ft Sarah Blackwood - Lonesome Rider
2 ENGLAND Mighty Oaks - Brother
3 CYPRUS Maria Elena Kiriakou - Dyo Angeloi Sti Gi
4 ITALY Chiara - Un Giorno Di Sole
5 ICELAND Arstidir - Shades
6 SVALBARD Hanne Sorvaag - Rain Checks
7 GREECE Hannah Georgas - Thick Skin
8 LUXEMBOURG Alain Clark - Whatever
9 ARMENIA Narek Makaryan - Yerazanqi Grkum
10 ALBANIA Bebe Rexha - I Can't Stop Drinking About You
11 FRANCE Natasha St-Pier - Par Coeur
12 LATVIA Astra The 22's - Save Me
13 SWITZERLAND Pegasus - Lay Low
14 TURKEY Burhan G - Ikke I Nat, Ikke Endnu
15 MALTA The Crowns - Home
PLAYLIST
Voting will close on Sunday September 14 at 7pm.
Please PM me your votes in traditional Eurovision style, 12, 10, 8-1.
You may not vote for your own country.
Regardless of whether you have an individual or shared country in this QF, all votes are individual. Do not discuss how you will vote with anyone, including your team-mate.
There will be a 25-point deduction in the quarter finals for any country that does not provide me with votes. In the case of shared countries, that deduction will be applied if neither player votes, ie 0/2. However I encourage both players in each shared country to vote, and I will pool your votes into one set of points, as in jury and televote at real Eurovision.
If you are not in this heat but are in this contest, you may also vote. The top 10 will advance to the semi finals.
Тоқта! Ұры!
Well, neither Liechtenstein nor Germany claim that the other is part of the same - the person, who got Crimea, should have been aware of the political issue and could have asked avb to pick one from Ukraine instead...
I didn't recognise that Crimea was involved in previous contests - I decided to announce it in public, due the explicit excluding of an Ukrainian song for Crimea...
Or you could realise it's just a game?
Ukraine could have been lifted straight from Eurovision, great pick!
It's a bloody game sheesh.
p.s. I'm not Crimea.
I just stand to my conviction and I won't give a point in this heated up situation in East-Ukraine and on the Crimea to a song from Russia for the Crimea (especially when it is ruled that it has to be from Russia).
I wonder if anybody from the UK would have given a point to the Falkand Islands, when it had been ruled that the song has to be from Argentina (during the occupation in the 80s)
Someone please give him Crimea next contest lol.
I'm sorry to hear that Gwen.
It must have been a recent accident what with you giving Denmark points in Reading.
Crimea - I don't know what's come over Russia/Ukraine & area recently, but this is yet another strong entry from round there. 8
Greenland - Oh this isn't really doing anything for me. It's not dreadful but I don't really like it. Respect for that amazing facial hair though
Hungary - This is good, like her accent & it's not screamy like this kind of thing can be. Takes a while to get going though. 8
Montenegro - Whoa I'm dizzy
Ukraine - Well I sure wasn't expecting Ukraine to go Bollywood on us. I actually really like it, good find. Best so far. 9
Faroe Islands - Well this is a bit of a definition of bland, sorry. It's not a bad song, it's not really a good one, just a bit...nothing. 7
Kazakhstan - This is nice, as somebody said before, good fun but I'm not sure whether it's quite up there with the best here. 7.5
Azerbaijan - Azersweden again
Slovenia - OMG, the *Balkans have entered the self-parody zone. It's all that's worst about typical Balkan pop, but kudos for the balls to do it. 6
Germany - I have a feeling this'll grow on me, maybe a bit out-there on first listen but there's some bits there that I like already. 8
Belarus - Eee, Rybak is...um...back
Gibraltar - Oh, another one I nearly entered for Jersey. Love Laura, love this song, she's gonna be absolutely huge one day. 9
Russia - Well, Ukraine definitely win the awkward little battle here, sorry but I'm not a fan of this at all. How do you translate that letter too? 6
Liechtenstein - Oh this is good
Andorra - Woah Pastora, this is a different side to you
DENMARK - There are far better Volbeat songs than this. This one didn't really click with me at all
ENGLAND - Can't beat a bit of nicey-nice indie folk
CYPRUS - Nice one, this. Powerful, emotive. The language works well for the song.
ITALY - I enjoyed this, I wish Italian songs didn't tend to blend in with one another so much
ICELAND - I considered this a few contests back. The video freaked me out too much and the song washed over me.
SVALBARD - This is quite pleasant. (Side observation: the Norwegian-country music combo is bafflingly common)
GREECE - A little too understated for me. The video was interesting..
LUXEMBOURG - There's nothing wrong with this one, but it's got no spark or hook.
ARMENIA - Compared to some of the songs in this semi, this is quite striking and different. A good thing.
ALBANIA - I want to like this, but it feels a bit try-hard, especially with the over-production on her voice
FRANCE - Dated, but fun. Hard to dislike this while listening to it. Forgettable afterwards.
LATVIA - Slow and a bit boring. I am sorry. Soulful, though, and a great song for Latvia
SWITZERLAND - Lilting and pleasant to listen to. Creepy lyrics.
TURKEY - Again, this is a perfectly serviceable song, but it's not holding my attention. Good chorus though.
MALTA - Weirdly reminiscent of the previous song. This guy seems very sincere. Nice little indie rock song.
Struggled to hand out points for this one. Ended up having to give points to some songs I wasn't overjoyed over.
England – This one has grown on me since first listen, I actually quite like it now, it’s got a nice catchy chorus and it is quite sweet and easy listening too, was probably a bit unfairly harsh on this on first listen.
Cyprus – Really liking this one too, it’s retro Eurovision which I approve of and it has a great little chorus full of passion, a good find for Cyprus.
Italy – I always love this type of Italian song, so naturally I love this as well, I find it has a great chorus, the traditional Italian style of song isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, you either love them or hate them, so expect this to get a nice top 5/10 placing but not troubling the winner.
Iceland – Not particularly caring for this one, I find it tries too hard to be all artsy and dramatic (something which quite a lot of songs here try to do) and it just doesn’t do anything for me, plus I am not caring for the final minute of just music.
Svalbard – Another song which sounds like a good old retro Eurovision song, once again a good catchy chorus and overall good solid fun which I enjoyed.
Greece – Like Iceland I feel this is trying to be too artsy and dramatic and it is just leaving me pretty cold as a result and for such a short song I found it a bit dull as well.
Luxembourg – This is nice enough and it is sweet sung with passion, but I can’t help but think in a contest style situation it doesn’t really stand out enough, though I am sure it will have its fans.
Armenia – I found this decent on my first listen, but it’s leaving me a bit cold tonight, it’s still decent enough but against some of the other uptempo numbers it’s failing a fair bit short for me.
Albania – As soon as she used dubstep as a lazy excuse as a chorus she lost me, the fact she sounds like a sheep just adds to what is wrong with the song. Other than that it’s completely passable but after some of the strong recent entries for Albania this is a bit of a come down.
France – I like this so I am not going to complain, but it’s a rather strange choice for a big country like France, going with a couple of years old song with no video. As for the song it managed to be French without being too French which is good in my books, though not a patch on her Eurovision entry.
Latvia – This is nice enough and she has a strong voice but the song doesn’t really grab me and hold me attention for any prolonged period of time and has a consequence the song doesn’t really leave any impression on me.
Switzerland – I loved their last entry in this contest (giving it 12 in the final), I was a bit indifferent to this in the reveals, found it a bit too understated, but I rather like it now, still not 12 worthy for me, but it’s a nice and heartfelt entry.
Turkey – It’s nice to have a good song for Turkey (even if it’s not actually Turkish), the whole song has a bit of a retro feel to it and I am really feeling it, once again a nice surprise.
Malta – Another song that is nice enough without being amazing, though I am liking this more than I did during the reveals, I appreciate the rock vibe that this has which stops it from being your average indie band number.
Thanks Beth, looks great, but there is one problem. The Czech song appears twice, first where it should be and then again straight after when it should be the Croatian song.
#JusticeForCrimea