| Eurovision Song Contest News - 2010 Oslo, Norway 

Euro Sheep

Hello Europe and beyond!

As you can all see, I am Euro Sheep! At the minute I'm 17, studying for my IB exams in May 2009 ( that means I can't see ESC ) in the sleepiest and one of the most beautiful parts of the UK! I joined esctoday in 2007 after the contest in Helsinki because it was a chance to meet new people, keep up to date with all the ESC news and share opinions (although after almost a year I have learned you have to shout pretty loud to be heard, and that not all opinions are necessarily nice or even valid!) Since my birth I have always watched Eurovision on TV, I would never look forward to it, I always enjoyed watching it and I would always forget about it for another year after not being able to find the CD in the shops! I have many strange but special memories; buying the tape of "No Dream Impossible" in 2001, wanting Denmark to beat Estonia even though I hadn't listened to the songs, being convinced t.A.T.u. would win in 2003 and getting really angry in 2005 after switching on to just see the finish of Helena Paparizou's performance! 2006 was the turning point for me...I cast my first vote EVER! for Sweden and I finally managed to find the CD, but it was hidden really well in store - so I often look back and think "what if I had never found it!"

Anyone who has read one of my comments will probably think that my head is pretty empty and that my opinion is well, basically worth nothing. I'm not stupid - just lacking in common sense . It is very hard to judge a person from a few lines (so how can you trust what I'm saying here!? haha). If any of you would like to contact me, I urge you to do so because I have no-one to talk to in person about Eurovision (though it's not because I have no friends, honest!), hence I need all the e-friends I can get! So...if you want to my eMail address is:

esc_talk2me@hotmail.co.uk

For me, Eurovision extends further than the songs, the show, the participants...it is proof to everyone that Europe can unite in celebration. It shows the power of music, that countries which once made it their aim to destroy each other and wipe each other off the face of the map now give each other the gift of points. If you cannot find something admirable in every ESC entry then you must open your mind and let the music in, so that you can truly be part of something so universal and so moving...(but even I have one exception to this rule as you will see)

After a year of reacting and commenting on this site, I have seen quite a lot and met quite a few horrible people (I wont name names). There are also many I admire for their conviction and witty observations, so it takes all kinds to make this site great

I guess you could say I was a schlager lover (though not completely) but I feel if you want to find moving ballads there are plenty of others which are better than the ones in ESC (although I still haven't found anything like "Angel", "Questa Notte" or "Heaven"). That said, there is nothing better than up-tempo ESC music, it courses through my blood vessels like electricity and is the very thing which keeps me moving and smiling everyday!!!
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My favourite contest Kyiv, Ukraine 2005
My favourite winner NORWAY 1995: Nocturne - Secret Garden
My favourite entry of all time GEORGIA 2007: Visionary Dream - Sopho
My favourite Melodifestivalen entry Vågar Du, Vågar Jag - Sanna Nielsen

My most favourite of all favourite singers/people - EVER!!! Sanna Nielsen
Jag älskar dig, du är min vinnare i evighet!!!
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ESC Moscow, Russia 2009
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ESC Belgrade, Serbia 2008
This year was the biggest Eurovision in its history and for me, I wanted to celebrate this with a bang! I was looking forward to it since the 13th of May 2007 – when the Helsinki final ended – and so this year was the first time I looked at the national finals. I'm really glad that I did because I've found so many amazing songs, and I am very close to the winners of the shows I watched. In the past, I would never listen to the entries until the night of the show, but this year the temptation proved to much! I admit, I listened to some of the songs, but it was worth it! After I had heard all the them, I realised that it would be impossible to give only 10 points, but I've tried really hard and succeeded!!! So here we go...

1 SWITZERLAND: Era Stupendo - Paolo Meneguzzi > Marry me gorgeous!!! if it's legal in Switzerland
2 NORWAY: Hold On Be Strong - Maria
3 SERBIA: Oro - Jelena Tomašević feat. Bora Dugic
4 ROMANIA: Pe-o Margine De Lume - Nico & Vlad
5 ICELAND: This Is My Life - Euroband
6 BULGARIA: DJ, Take Me Away - Deep Zone & Balthazar
7 ARMENIA: Qele, Qele - Sirusho

8 GREECE: Secret Combination - Kalomira
10 SWEDEN: Hero - Charlotte Perrelli
12 UKRAINE: Shady Lady - Ani Lorak

Countries just missing out:
> Albania - just simply a great ballad!
> Andorra - loved the outfit and it's like my favourite pop bands from when I was 9 never split up!!!
> Belgium - wonderfully whimsical and classically composed
> Bosnia & Herzegovina - hated it at first, but now I can see it's just like me - eccentric!
> Czech Republic - cringe! But it's just catchy and easy to listen to!
> France - quintessentially French, something different and a refreshing change...it oozes cool
> Germany - forget the performance (or the live singing at least) and you have an amazing pop song
> Georgia - Diana is an inspiring performer...peace for Georgia forever
> FYR Macedonia - I just love the beat!!!
> Ireland - it's just funny on so many levels
> Latvia - the song which united everyone in silliness!
> Malta - it's all about the VODKA hair shake and Morena's fabulous glitter-ball boots!!!
> Russia - I don't like Dima but this entry is better than his first, well done Russia
> Slovenia - awesome performance and kick-ass lyrics!!!

Entries I hate or find utterly boring
> Belarus - trashy, unoriginal and de-schlager-fied!!! How could you!!!
> Spain - I liked the joke but shame about the song...
> Lithuania - zzzzzz...is Switzerland on yet?
> San Marino - I have respect for this entry but nothing more
> Turkey - I hate this more than any other song in the world. It is horrible, ugly, contorted, painful noise and a crime against ESC as well as music as a whole. I don't care if you like this, I will have my opinion - why the hell did this qualify and take the places of music which deserved its place in the final? (No wait! I have found something I like about this entry - the lyrics. They are sheer genius, I adore them...it's just a shame about the music they're set to )

So...in total for ESC 2008:
- 38 entries
- 5 entries
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My Favourite Songs From The National Finals 2008

ALBANIA: Festival I Këngës 46 - 14th-16th December 2007
Jeta Kërkon Dashuri - Doruntina Disha & Flaka Krelani*
Nën Një Qiell - Mira Konçi & Redon Makashi
Mall I Tretur - Mariza Ikonomi
Qyteti I Dashurisë - Teuta Kurti
*if anyone has the studio version give it to me please because I have looked everywhere!!!

ARMENIA: 8th March 2008
I Can't Control It - but Armenia definitely made the right choice!!!

ESTONIA: Eurolaul 2008 - 2nd March
All of the songs are special for me

UNITED KINGDOM: Eurovision-Your Decision - 1st March 2008 - I voted in this
(1) It's You - The Revelations (should have gone to Belgrade)
(2) Woo (U Make Me) - Michelle Gayle
(3) Even If - Andy Abraham
(4) Mr Gorgeous - LoveShy
(5) I Owe It All To You - Rob McVeigh
Changes - Simona Armstrong (what the hell was this? )

GEORGIA: 1st March 2008 - so disappointed after what they sent last year!
Captaine - Salome Korkotashvili
Life - Vivo
Sakartvelo Itsvevs Megobrebs (Georgia Invites Friends) - Teatroni

GREECE: 27th February 2008
(1) Secret Combination - Kalomira
(2) Always And Forever - Kostas Martakis (OMG, how hot is he?! )
(3) A Chance To Love - Chrispa...meh,

ICELAND: Laugardagslögin 2008 - 23rd February
Núna Veit Ég - Birgitta Haukdal & Magni Ásgeirsson
Fullkomið Líf - Eurobandið (well, it is quite different from the English version)
Don't Wake Me Up - Ragnheiður Gröndal
Hvað Var Það Sem Þú Sást Í Honum? - Baggalútur
In Your Dreams - Davíð Olgeirs
Að Eilífu - Þóra Gísladóttir
Ho, Ho, Ho, We Say Hey, Hey, Hey - Merzedes Club
I Wanna Manicure - Hara

SERBIA: Beovizija 2008 - 10th March
Beli Jablan - Aleksa Jelić & Ana Štajdohar (I have played this 165 times!!!)
Zavet - Beauty Queens
Čudesni Svetovi - Zoe Kida u Zemlji Gruva
Dunav - Drum'n'Zez
Kvar - Betty Boop
Da Si Tu - Lejla Hot
Sada Ili Nikada - Marko Vulinović

UKRAINE: 23rd February
Ani was definitely the best choice!!!
"The Dream Of A Brighter Day" & "I'll Be Your Melody" were good but nothing compared to "Shady Lady" and if you think the opposite then you are one of these people who think that their opinion is fact and that their music taste is better than everyone else's here. You seriously need to lighten up get off your high horse because "Shady Lady" is the best song of 2008!!!

With the following songs, I didn't watch the NF but listened to them after wards out of curiosity:
Lonely Heart On Wheels - A Butterfly Mind (Belgium)
I Feel The Same Way - Sandrine (Belgium)
Hinterm Ozean - Caroline Fortenbacher (Germany)
Tree of Life - UNITE (Denmark)
Todo Está En Tu Mente - Coral (Spain)
Troy On Fire - Aisté Pilvelyté (Lithuania)
Yes - Mini Me (but I swear it's been plagiarized from a tampon advert) (Lithuania)
Zemjo Moja - Lambe Alabakovski (FYR Macedonia)
Casanova - Morena (Malta)
Caravaggio - Claudia Faniello (Malta)
Superhero - Sandra Oxenryd (Poland)
Shine - Biondo (Romania)
RailRoad, RailRoad - Rednex feat. Ro-mania (Romania)
Qarlığaçlar - Asılyar (Russia)
Flyer (Under Fire) - Sergey Lazarev (Russia)
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Melodifestivalen 2008
Yes, I thought I would make my profile even longer by celebrating the best national final of the year. I bought the CD just as something to listen to on a train journey - imagine how happy I was upon discovering that this was the best pop music I have ever heard in my life!!! Sweden is THE BEST!!! Heja Sverige!!!

Line Of Fire - E-Type & The Poodles *****
Alla Gamla X - Face 84 *****
Déjà Vu - Velvet *****
Lullaby - Brandur **
That's Love - Michael Michailoff *****
Thank You - Amy Diamond *****
Visst Finns Mirakel - Suzzie Tapper ***
I Love Europe - Christer Sjögren *****

Love In Stereo - Ola *****
Du Behöver Aldrig Mer Vara Rädd - Lasse Lindh ***
Razborka - The Nicole *****
Den Första Svalan - Alexander Schöld *****
Just A Minute - Rongedal *****
Empty Room - Sanna Nielsen *****
Kebabpizza Slivovitza - Andra Generationen (no stars)
One Love - Johnson & Häggkvist *****

Lay Your Love On Me - BWO *****
Izdajice - Mickey Huskić ***
Upp O Hoppa - Frida feat. Headline *****
When You Need Me - Thérèse Andersson *****
Under Mitt Tunna Skinn - Patrik Isaksson & Bandet *****
Smiling In Love - Caracola *****
Jag Saknar Dig Ibland - Ainbusk *****
Hallelujah New World - Eskobar *****

För Många Ord Om Kärlek - Niklas Strömstedt ***
If I Could - Calaisa *****
Pamé - Daniel Mistogiannis *****
Hur Svårt Kan Det Va? - Linda Bengtzing *****
I Lågornas Sken - Nordman *****
That Is Where I'll Go - Sibel *****
Ingen Mår Så Bra Som Jag - Fronda ****
Hero - Charlotte Perrelli ************************************************************ (you get the idea...)

My Top 10 This is very tricky...(excluding Charlotte who would be at NO. 1)
1) Lay Your Love On Me - BWO
2) Upp O Hoppa - Frida feat. Headline
3) Just A Minute - Rongedal
4) Empty Room - Sanna Nielsen
5) Thank You - Amy Diamond
6) Déjà Vu - Velvet
7) Hur Svårt Kan Det Va? - Linda Bengtzing
8) That Is Where I'll Go - Sibel
9) Pamé - Daniel Mistogiannis
10) If I Could - Calaisa

So as you can see, I am absolutely crazy about pop...but the few songs I hate make me think "what was Christer Björkman thinking?!" I am going to try my hardest to get tickets for the final next year even though they are harder to get than goldust, but if that fails I will watch every semi, andra chasen and the grand final online without fail!!!
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I couldn't help but make my profile even longer because I had to show y'all these videos from MF2008
> Sanna Nielsen crying (OMG, it breaks my heart!): http://www.youtube.c(...)/watch?v=GuRdTVrdq8I
> Charlotte collapsing (a.k.a. bad acting!): http://www.youtube.c(...)/watch?v=WwgNgRFP9Os
> "it's Sibel, bitch!": http://www.youtube.c(...)/watch?v=p-RsgVRJM9Y
> Sibel v. E-Type & The Poodles: http://www.youtube.c(...)/watch?v=Nn4i0wPFEco
> Carola gets owned by Nordman in Kiruna: http://www.youtube.c(...)/watch?v=3d4MAYn6Gbk
> Björn Gustavsson - "Vad Är Kärlek?": http://www.youtube.c(...)?v=DSdzkmiJM28&NR=1#
> Christian Luuk - "Jag Saknar Dig Ibland": http://www.youtube.c(...)/watch?v=-344RLnfGCM
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So, the final part of my profile - my ESC points 1-12 for all contests going back to 2000 (I'm not doing anymore!!!) Now, in most cases, I have had miss a lot of songs from the lists which I like - but these are just the best 10 (which would get 12 points from me any day) - enjoy...

ESC Helsinki, Finland 2007 - 40 / - 2
1 RUSSIA Song #1 - Serebro
2 GREECE Yassou Maria - Sarbel
3 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Rijeka Bez Imena - Maria
4 UKRAINE Dancing Lasha Tumbai - Verka Serduchka
5 BELGIUM LovePower - The KMGs
6 LATVIA Questa Notte - Bonaparti.lv
7 SWEDEN The Worrying Kind - The Ark

8 MALTA Vertigo - Olivia Lewis
10 BULGARIA Water - Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulov
12 GEORGIA Visionary Dream - Sopho

ESC Athens, Greece 2006 my very first!!! - 37 / - 0
1 SWITZERLAND If We All Give A Little - six4one
2 MALTA I Do - Fabrizio Faniello
3 NORWAY Alvedansen - Christine Guldbrandsen
4 TURKEY Süper Star - Sibel Tüzün
5 ARMENIA Without Your Love - André
6 ESTONIA Through My Window - Sandra Oxenryd
7 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Lejla - Hari Mata Hari

8 ICELAND Congratulations - Silvía Night
10 SWEDEN Invincible - Carola
12 UKRAINE Show My Your Love - Tina Karol

ESC Kyiv, Ukraine 2005 - 36 / - 3 Разом нас багато, нас не подолати!!!
1 TURKEY Rimi Rimi Ley - Gülseren
2 DENMARK Talking To You - Jakob Sveistrup
3 ICELAND If I Had Your Love - Selma
4 ESTONIA Let's Get Loud - Suntribe
5 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Call Me - Feminnem
6 ROMANIA Let Me Try - Luminita Anghel & Sistem
7 HUNGARY Forogj, Világ! - NOX

8 MALTA Angel - Chiara
10 LATVIA The War Is Not Over - Walters & Kazha
12 GREECE My Number One - Helena Paparizou

ESC Istanbul, Turkey 2004 - 34 / - 2
1 GREECE Shake It - Sakis Rouvas
2 UKRAINE Wild Dance - Ruslana
3 ICELAND Heaven - Jónsi
4 ESTONIA Tii - Neikõsõ
5 BELGIUM 1 Life - Xandee
6 MALTA On Again...Off Again - Julie & Ludwig
7 SERBIA & MONTENEGRO Lane Moje - Željko Joksimović & Ad Hoc Orchestra

8 ALBANIA The Image Of You - Anjeza Shahini
10 SWEDEN It Hurts - Lena Philipsson (again, the Swedish version is better!)
12 BELARUS My Galileo - Alexandra & Konstantin

ESC RIga, Latvia 2003 (the most difficult to allocate points to!)
1 SLOVENIA Nanana - Karmen Staveć
2 PORTUGAL Deixa-me Sonhar (Só Mais Uma Vez) - Rita Guerra
3 THE NETHERLANDS One More Night - Esther Hart
4 FRANCE Monts Et Merveilles - Louisa Baileche
5 SPAIN Dime - Beth
6 POLAND Keine Grenzen-Żadnych Granic - Ich Troje
7 SWEDEN Give Me Your Love - Fame

8 UKRAINE Hasta La Vista - Olexandr Ponomaryov
10 TURKEY Everyway That I Can - Sertab Erener
12 ICELAND Open Your Heart - Birgitta Haukdal
Other great entries: Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Norway

ESC Tallinn, Estonia 2002
1 LATVIA I Wanna - Marie N
2 SPAIN Europe's Living A Celebration - Rosa
3 GERMANY I Can't Live Without Music - Corinna May
4 SWEDEN Never Let It Go - Afro-Dite
5 RUSSIA Northern Girl - Prime Minister
6 LITHUANIA Happy You - Aivaras
7 MALTA 7th Wonder - Ira Losco

8 FRANCE Il Faut Du Temps - Sandrine François
10 UNITED KINGDOM Come Back - Jessica Garlick
12 ESTONIA Runaway - Sahléne

ESC Copenhagen, Denmark 2001
1 FRANCE Je N'ai Que Mon Âme - Natasha St-Pier
2 THE NETHERLANDS Out On My Own - Michelle Courtens
3 CROATIA Strings Of My Heart - Vanna
4 ICELAND Angel - Two Tricky
5 GERMANY To Live For Love/Wer Liebe Lebt - Michelle
6 UNITED KINGDOM No Dream Impossible - Lindsay Dracass
7 MALTA Another Summer Night - Fabrizio Faniello

8 DENMARK Never Ever Let You Go - Rollo & King
10 ESTONIA Everybody - Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL
12 GREECE (I Would) Die For You - Antique

ESC Stockholm, Sweden 2000
1 MALTA: Desire - Claudette Pace
2 NORWAY: My Heart Goes Boom - Charmed
3 LATVIA: My Star - Brainstorm
4 THE NETHERLANDS: No Goodbyes - Linda
5 ISRAEL: Sa'me'akh - PingPong
6 FYR MACEDONIA: 100\% Te Ljubam - XXL
7 DENMARK: Fly On The Wings Of Love - Olsen Brothers

8 SWEDEN: When The Spirits Are Calling My Name - Roger Pontare (the Swedish version is the best!)
10 ICELAND: Tell Me! - August & Telma
12 ESTONIA: Once In A Lifetime - Ines
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Peace,

Euro Sheep
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