Eurovision Song Contest, 2023

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So over the past few days there's been very low quality rehearsal footage on TikTok, however now they've done an official rehearsal look on YouTube with high quality footage. The TikTok one was basically impossible to figure out how decent the vocals were, but the YouTube one fixes this.

This rehearsal video covers Semi-Final 1.


So first off, the best from this rehearsal is as I was anticipating, with Finland, Norway & Sweden smashing it.
It looks like they may have scaled down Loreens set a little, it certainly doesn't look as big as I was expecting, but I guess each act has a set budget and to make sure they don't use any out of anyone else's £, they're being sensible there. It's also possible the original Loreen act on Melodifestivalen was using clever camera tricks to make it look absolutely huge compared to what they're doing for rehearsals, although I get the feeling that the camera is also acting as close to final as possible for these rehearsals too at times.
I'm glad to see Finland is sticking to the same style theme & staging as their local national competition was.

Serbia & Latvia sound like they need to get a little more comfortable with everything, their vocals seemed a little off to me, but this is still early rehearsal footage, rather than anything near final rehearsal I guess. I was even pleasantly surprised with the vocals by Let 3. No one is expecting them to win or even sound angelic, but I'm pleased to see they appear to be taking it all pretty seriously.

Overall, I'm getting pretty hyped up, the staging looks pretty good for everyone in Semi-Final 1, and they seem to have knocked together a pretty decent & large stage for it all in the Liverpudlian Arena.

[Chrill]

It looks like they may have scaled down Loreens set a little, it certainly doesn't look as big as I was expecting, but I guess each act has a set budget and to make sure they don't use any out of anyone else's £, they're being sensible there. It's also possible the original Loreen act on Melodifestivalen was using clever camera tricks to make it look absolutely huge compared to what they're doing for rehearsals, although I get the feeling that the camera is also acting as close to final as possible for these rehearsals too at times.

So I can explain this. The rig Loreen used in Melodifestivalen weighed over a ton and the BBC simply said no. SVT (Swedish public broadcaster, host of Melodifestivalen) wanted to keep it but it was simply too cumbersome to install. In Melodifestivalen, they had to have a pause before and after Loreen's number to set the stage so there was a host monologue. This new one is the result of BBC making the show more efficient.

In terms of vocals, Loreen sounded really poor but I think she will recover for the Semi. I think Finland sounded poor too, and I'm honestly not sold on their new set.

People are talking up Israel, but this is Eurovision Song Contest not Eurovision Dance Contest. I'm not a fan of Israel, really.

[Chrill]

Right. We're building up to it, seeing semi final rehearsals and stuff. I think this will swing Sweden's way in the end, the jury vote will come out for Sweden en masse. But the televote is a grand slam for Finland, there is no way Cha Cha Cha is not the people's favourite. As it stands, I'm kind of 65%-35% in Sweden's favour, and of those 35% that's almost all Finland. The very outside shot might be France depending on how it comes together. I'm loving Évidemment. Especially when she goes mega-French screaming "A chanter la grande France" or whatever (my French aint great, people).

So with that said, let me produce my top 10. Not the "most likely to finish top 10", but the "Chrill's Top 10".

1: Loreen - Tattoo Sweden
2. Alessandra - Queen of Kings Norway
3. Käärijä- Cha Cha Cha Finland
4. La Zarra - Évidemment France
5. Mae Muller - I Wrote a Song United Kingdom
6. Marco Mengoni - Due Vite Italy
7. Teya & Salena - Who The Hell is Edgar? Austria
8. Voyager - Promise Australia
9. Gustaph - Because of You Belgium
10. Pasha Parfeni - Soarele şi Luna Moldova

The first 8 were easy for me to assemble. Belgium, Moldova, Germany, Serbia, and Ukraine were all in the mix for those bottom two spots.

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aaaaaa, it is here! Today is the day of the first semi-final!

I'll do my personal top 10, this isn't who i think will win the big night, or the order for it, just what I think as my personal top 10.

#1 Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha
#2 Marco Mengoni - Due Vite (I find this vocally the best of 2023, however Cha Cha Cha is a far catchier song)
#3 Voyager - Promise
#4 Gustaph - Because of You
#5 Mae Muller - I Wrote A Song
#6 Loreen - Tattoo (Sorry Chrill! I still love i swear!)
#7 Noa Kirel - Unicorn
#8 Teya & Salena - Who the Hell is Edgar?
#9 TuralTuaranX - Tell Me More
#10 Theodor Andrei - D.G.T. (This one has grown on me far more than any other over multiple listenings for some reason)
For me #10 was close between D.G.T., We Are One & Évidemment, but Romania came out on top, ever so slightly.

I also think if Loreen hadn't shown up, a number of countries would have been in with a chance of winning, with Finland, Italy & Australia all in my running for having a good shout at it, but as it is, I would be very surprised if Loreen didn't get a second win.
After the two Semi-Finals I shall attempt a top 10 list of the big night, and we can all look forward to that being my usual car crash predictions

As an aside, I listen to Serbia's entry from last year, Konstrakta - In Corpore Sano more than most from this year, some good staying power there, Serbia! I listen to only Cha Cha Cha more often, in the last 30 days, according to last.fm.

[Chrill]

I'll do one more, I'll try to do them in actual order. The top 5 here is possibly the top 5 on the night, I don't see SF2 challenging for those spots. SF1 is ridiculously strong this year.
#1 Sweden: Loreen - Tattoo
#2 Finland: Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha
#3 Israel: Noa Kirel - Unicorn
#4 Czechia: Vesna - My Sister's Crown
#5 Norway: Alessandra - Queen of Kings
#6 Moldova: Pasha Parfeni - Soarele si Luna
#7 Serbia: Luke Black - Samo mi se spava
#8 Netherlands: Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper - Burning Daylight
#9 Croatia: Let 3 - Mama ŠČ! (although it could easily finish dead last)
#10 Switzerland: Remo Forrer - Watergun

9 out of 10, I'll take that. Portugal took the place of the Netherlands.

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Semi Final 1, in no particular order, these ten songs to get through.
#1 Norway: Alessandra - Queen of Kings
#2 Finland: Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha
#3 Switzerland: Remo Forrer - Watergun
#4 Czechia: Vesna - My Sister's Crown
#5 Sweden: Loreen - Tattoo
#6 Ireland: Wild Youth - We Are One
#7 Israel: Noa Kirel - Unicorn
#8 Serbia: Luke Black - Samo mi se spava
This is where it gets tricky, and I really struggle to with any confidence name them, but I think the next 2 are my favourites to get through just as they have a memorable bit to it all.
#9 Malta: The Busker - Dance (Our Own Party)
#10 Croatia: Let 3 - Mama ŠČ!

8/10, only slightly worse!
I was a bit surprised Serbia got through their vocals didn't seem to shine through very well. Sad that Ireland & Malta didn't get through in the end, they both went above & beyond in their singing.

Bring on Thursday for Semi-Final 2. This one I think will have a more interesting results stage, so many songs that are just... 'eh' in SF2 compared. I think Austria, Australia, Belgium & maybe Denmark are the only 100% safe countries, the rest could be very everywhere.

[Chrill]

I was a bit surprised Serbia got through their vocals didn't seem to shine through very well. Sad that Ireland & Malta didn't get through in the end, they both went above & beyond in their singing.

They really did not.

Ireland was likely 2nd last, ahead of Azerbaijan. Malta was surely close to get through, but more thanks to some fun outfits and a party mood.

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Ireland was likely 2nd last

The first few lines of Ireland were definitely not good as an opener, the singer sounded off, but I thought they really brought it back when the song picked up into the main part of it, rather than just the opening, which yes, definitely not the best opening lines of the night.

The lead signer of Ireland's entry said the competition doesn't give Ireland a chance. Which whilst its true they've failed to qualify 4 times in a row now, with the entry before that, Ryan O'Shaughnessy's Together coming only 16th, which came after another 4 failed qualifications, i'd say on the whole most of their songs have been fairly weak, even by my very incorrect standards (according to votes anyway) of good songs.

Azerbaijans entry this year did grow on me, even if at the start i was very meh about it. I think this year has probably seen the biggest switch around of songs I grew to either dislike or like, after initially being the other way about them.

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Well, that's another 8/10 for me in the second semi-final!

#1 Australia: Voyager - Promise
#2 Cyprus: Andrew Lambrou - Break a Broken Heart
#3 Lithuania: Monika Linkyte - Stay
#4 Slovenia: Joker Out - Carpe Diem
#5 Belgium: Gustaph - Because of You
#6 Austria: Teya & Salena - Who the Hell is Edgar?
#7 Greece: Victor Vernicos - What They Say
#8 Georgia: Iru - Echo
#9 Armenia: Brunette - Future Lover
#10 Estonia: Alika - Bridges

I'm hoping come Saturday the UK's Mae Muller sounds a bit more on point, it was a bit flat in the preview, which I guess is from a rehearsal, and hopefully not the performance the Jury looks at.

[Chrill]

I'm hoping come Saturday the UK's Mae Muller sounds a bit more on point, it was a bit flat in the preview, which I guess is from a rehearsal, and hopefully not the performance the Jury looks at.

That was not the jury performance, no, but unless she steps up it's the UK going back to finishing outside the top 20.

Currently I see Portugal, Estonia, Albania, or the UK finishing at the very bottom.

Also, why am I being flooded by support for the Israeli entry all over the Internet? On Tiktok, YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, it's being pushed so heavily. It's not a good enough entry to warrant that. Are they running some guerilla marketing scheme to promote their song?

[kamnet]

I'm so late to the start of the party!

How are we feeling about Remo Forrer's "Waterguns" being a Top 5 song?

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Apparently it's just me... at least by jury votes. Speaking of which..

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[kamnet]

And our final votes...

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Finland jumping into 2nd was quite a happy surprise. It was a good entry, very danceable. UK deserved a higher rating, at least top 50%.

[Chrill]

Sweden was 2nd in the televotes which is perhaps stronger than I expected. Loreen was always winning the jury vote. In terms of performance, hers was the best of the night. Every grain of sand, every cloud of smoke, every camera angle was meticulously calculated to make this a winner. Her singing was amazing even lying down or crouching. The better artist won.

With that being said, Finland entertained me more. I would happily have conceded victory to Käärijä. The jury vote exists, and they knew that when they selected Loreen and Käärijä respectively. If we change the format for the future and go back to full televoting, most likely Loreen's entry would have looked or sounded differently.

Sweden's jury was one of only two juries to give Finland 12 points. The Swedish public also gave Finland 12 points. The Finnish public was the only televote to give Sweden a 0. Dare I say it? Yes, Finland are sore losers

See you in Stockholm in 2024, it's been a while!

In terms of robberies?
Norway deserved more. Germany deserved way more. Israel deserved far less. France was extremely unsportsmanlike by giving the finger to getting 50 points from televotes. 50 points means a lot of people in a lot of countries voted for you. Be grateful.

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but unless she steps up it's the UK going back to finishing outside the top 20.

Safe to say that was a very accurate prediction, her voice was unimproved, and it certainly came across in the votes.

I was so gutted for Käärijä, he seemed so destroyed when Sweden got the correct #1 points at the end. It does remind me of why I hate the jury vote, especially how it is presented in the most gutwrenching way possible for the top countries. I also really don't think the jury vote should count for a flat 50/50, I feel that the people at home watching, and the people paying to either watch (hello, UK tv licence, ugh) or paying to vote should probably get a higher vote %, may be a 66/33 split would be better.

Overall I think the right countries, minus Israel, were in the top 5, not quite in the order i'd have put them in though. I'd have put one of either Belgium, Austria or Australia in there in Israels place based on the performances on the final alone.

I truly hope from this Eurovision, I haven't heard the last of either Käärijä, or Gustaph. I'll be keeping my ears open for anything they put out onwards, they're the two standouts for me from this year.

Slovenia i found a lot more likable than i expected in the final, maybe the singers personality came across more in the finals, they seemed truly warm people, with the 'cheeky chap' stuff too, which as a certified cheeky chap i can only approve of.

The interval act was amazing, bringing back ESC history to sing meaningful to Liverpool in one way or another was fantastic, and Duncan Lawrences rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was beautiful.

Overall, another fantastic year of Eurovision. Another year of waiting and anticipating for the next one, in some location in Sweden!

France was extremely unsportsmanlike by giving the finger to getting 50 points from televotes. 50 points means a lot of people in a lot of countries voted for you. Be grateful.

Admittedly i missed this during watching the finals. I've gone back to that moment in a Youtube video of all the televote results, hoping it was more someone on the French team rather than the singer herself, but yep, it was straight up her. I think she tried to mask it slightly with a sequence of hand movements before pulling the finger in the final moments, i wonder if that's how i missed it on the night.
The French act seemed a little nervous, maybe because of being on a pole that goes upwards height wise, perhaps that contributed to the lower votes than expected, I'd have easily put it in the top 10 before the final.

[kamnet]

Since it's been brought up twice now, what was wrong with Israel placing as high as they did?

[Chrill]

Since it's been brought up twice now, what was wrong with Israel placing as high as they did?

To me, her singing wasn't good and the song itself was flat. The major selling point was "sexy lady dancing". All the songs I liked had some sort of message, even the Finnish song when you look past the visuals and translate the lyrics. Israel just felt like an excuse to play bubbly teen girl for 3 minutes.

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Since it's been brought up twice now, what was wrong with Israel placing as high as they did?

Her song seemed to focus more on the dancing, than the content, and at the end it broke down into basically 20-30 seconds of dancing and not singing a word during it or after, from what I recall, and for a song contest, that isn't what I'd expect.

One thing i genuinely wish had resonated a bit harder with audiences was Austria & Switzerland entries. They're both great songs, perhaps people don't actually know who Edgar was in a literal sense to get Austria's song.

[Chrill]

One thing i genuinely wish had resonated a bit harder with audiences was Austria & Switzerland entries. They're both great songs, perhaps people don't actually know who Edgar was in a literal sense to get Austria's song.

I loved Austria, but the live performance was so bad. It was flat, and nothing happened on stage. It was empty, and made them look really small.

They should have built up an oversized office similar to the one they were dancing in in the video. Played around a bit more. And vocally they needed a stronger choir.

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They should have built up an oversized office similar to the one they were dancing in in the video. Played around a bit more. And vocally they needed a stronger choir.

Honestly, I think a number of songs suffered from staging mess-ups, or really inadequate ones.

UK: Staging was really meh, and really didn't give you anything to distract from her not-on-par vocals, i know finalised songs on videos are autotuned to heck, but if her vocals were like this for the recording of that, then whoever was paid to tune that for the video needs a medal.
Austria: Fully agreed their staging was also on the meh side. I know doing the full scale thing on their video would have been a bit chaos to setup in the less than a minute time that postcards allow for, but even a small one would have done well to get up the appreciation.
France: The staging involving having the singer on a pole going up and down really detracted from the song, and honestly I think the singer was a little uncomfortable with it because of that. I think it should have been staged similar to Italy, just the singer, some lights, and a big look into the camera & audience showing emotion.