| Eurovision Song Contest News - Germany 2011 

Poppy Pickette

It was high time I edited this thing

About me - I'm 27, currently living in Bosnia&Herzegovina, a Mom of a wonderful 7-year-old boy and an ESC fan obviously or otherwise I wouldn't be here in the first place. This year we have a tough competition in my opinion. There are just way too many excellent entries, so it's really hard for me to make a Top 10 list. What I do know is that either of these 3 winning would make me happy:

- Portugal
- France
- Bosnia&Herzegovina (those that know me will know that this isn't biasness speaking, as I really think we have a great entry)

Here's what I think about the entries for 2009:

1. Montenegro - Their best entry so far, that I can grant them, but still not good enough for me.
2. Czech Republic - That must have been the most brutal violation my ears have ever been exposed to.
3. Belgium - Cheesy.
4. Belarus - I don't like it at all.
5. Sweden - Reminds me of Slovenia a few years back. Malena doesn't do it for me the way Alenka did.
6. Armenia - Catchy. Strange. Fun. Flashy. Love it.
7. Andorra - A lovely song that I'd love to see in the final. Refreshing.
8. Switzerland - Somehow it goes unnoticed whenever it's being played in my play-list.
9. Turkey - Not my cup of tea. Way too cheap for my taste and Hadise cannot sing. Period.
10. Israel - This song gives me real pleasure.
11. Bulgaria - Well, honestly, I don't know what to make of it.
12. Iceland - A very good song, but the singer doesn't convince me.
13. FYR Macedonia - Probably the worst Macedonia has ever sent.
14. Romania - I like it. It's not classy or a high quality entry, but nowhere does it say it has to be.
15. Finland - This is a good song and I would hate it if it went unnoticed.
16. Portugal - Now, here we have three minutes of real enjoyment. Bravo!
17. Malta - The problem with this song is that we all keep comparing it with Angel. Once we forget that, we're left with a BEAUTIFUL ballad.
18.Bosnia & Herzegovina - At the risk of sounding biased, this is a potential winner.
19. Croatia - Very dramatic. I'm usually fond of Igor's voice, but I think he failed on this test.
20. Ireland - Quite a refreshment after turkey! Lovely Sinead, lovely song!
21. Latvia - See what I wrote about Czech Republic. But, believe it or not, a potential dark horse IMO.
22. Serbia - It's funny, catchy and will probably be a hit in the region.
23. Poland - A beautiful ballad that is often underrated in this forum.
24. Norway - Love the violin! Very pleasant to listen to.
25. Cyprus - I think I'm the only person outside Cyprus who's really in love with Firefly.
26. Slovakia - I'm glad to see them at the ESC, but this just isn't it.
27. Denmark - Creepy for some reason. Sorry.
28. Slovenia - Love it! I simply love it.
29. Hungary - He's a good dancer, but that's not enough. The song's average.
30. Azerbaijan - Probably the most overrated song this year. At least for me it is.
31. Greece - I don't like it. I like Sakis in general, but this song isn't according to my taste.
32. Lithuania - Gotta love Love. Sasha is very convincing too. This ought to do well.
33. Moldova - Mixed feelings on this one. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I hate it.
34. Albania - I liked it when it was sung in their native language. Now I considered it ruined.
35. Ukraine - Oh dear ... I don't know where to begin with this one ...
36. Estonia - One of the best entries this year. And Estonian is such a beautiful language!
37. The Netherlands - When I first heard this, I went ''You've gotta be kidding me.'' Go figure.
38. France - the most powerful ballad this year. It has class, style, quality, great singer ... it's got it all.
39. Russia - Way too loud for my taste.
40. Germany - A big No-No for me. Though I do like Oscar's voice, but this isn't a song for him.
41. United Kingdom - Jade is awesome, the song isn't. I suggest they sell it to Disney.
42. Spain - Mixed feelings about this one as well. At first I liked it, but I suppose I got bored of it.

My Top 5 split into semi-finals (I really don't have a Top 10 list per semi):

SEMI 1 (entries marked with letter V represent the ones I'll vote for)

1. Portugal (V)
2. Bosnia & Herzegovina
3. Malta (V)
4. Israel (V)
5. Armenia (V)

I wouldn't be angry if these 5 qualified as well (no particular ranking, they're pretty much in the same league, as far as I'm concerned):

Andorra, Sweden, Romania, Turkey, Finland.

SEMI 2

1. Estonia
2. Lithuania
3. Slovenia
4. Cyprus
5. Ireland

Again, 5 more entries from Semi 2 I'd like to see in the final, but that I'm pretty much indifferent to, without any particular ranking:

Poland, Croatia, Norway, Moldova, Greece

My Top 10 from both semis:

1. Portugal
2. Bosnia & Herzegovina
3. Estonia
4. Lithuania
5. Malta
6. Slovenia
7. Cyprus
8. Israel
9. Ireland
10. Armenia

The countries that will probably give us the best entertainment (I suspect some of them will squeeze into final because of that):

Czech Republic, Armenia, Turkey, Latvia, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova, Ukraine, The Netherlands, Romania, Hungary and Spain from the final.

The countries that will give us the most classy and the most convincing performance:

France, Malta, UK, Lithuania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Sweden

The entries I have a hunch will be in the final, although I'd hate that:

Montenegro, Czech Republic, Belgium, Latvia, Ukraine, The Netherlands, Azerbaijan

And finally ... my Top 10 overall:

1. Portugal
2. France
3. Bosnia & Herzegovina
4. Estonia
5. Lithuania
6. Malta
7. Slovenia
8. Cyprus
9. Israel
10. UK

And just to make myself clear, I do slightly prefer Portugal over France, but that's only because Flor-De-Lis always, and I really mean ALWAYS, lifts my spirits.

My favourite people on this site: Norwegian TK, Luka Sliskovic, Marko B., Mina x, Layla Al-Magnuna, Daniel C, ALIBI, Liam Clark, Lina, unkept dream Zammit, Ozi C, SEA MASTER, Galander, Axel Kearns and many, many others.

May the best song win! (Yeah, yeah, I know, as if ...)

P.S. If you wish, you can add me at azra_caluk1@hotmail.com