Eurovision 2008 FINAL - Rolling/Polling

So looking forward to this!

Obviously it doesn't stand a chance, but Sébastien Tellier's "Divine" is still my personal favourite.

Other than that, there's enough to like, but little to love. I'd be very happy if Portgual won, but the obvious favourites are Ukraine and (sadly) Russia. I'm fond of Norway and Bosnia, but have deliberately stayed away from over-researching this year, in order to keep it fresh on the night.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Obviously <france> doesn't stand a chance

nonsense it has many x chance, and not undeserved.

I'll just say MIRA MIRA and keep it at that.

Not allowed to vote for my own country in the real final, so I voted for Ukraine like I probably will tomorrow.

And France doesn't stand a chance. But that isn't because it's a bad song. Maybe rather because it's too good for Eurovision.

Hmm I'll just wait for hearing the total French thing for first time I suspect + shout MIRA MIRA again – geir have you tried that first album of hers? Total !!! and ?!? srsly; "More Fire" is insane!

I am completely aware of Mira Craig's own output, but I like 15-year-old Mira's songwriting style better than the grownup Mira's more R&B oriented style ;)

They should have been on stage forever, though, even though Maria is a very professional performer and an excellent singer, Mira has so incredibly much charm.

Btw. I'm curious as I see it mentioned here too: Exactly what - other than the hilarious stage act - is good about the Bosnian entry?

I am completely aware of Mira Craig's own output

You are? T/S "Headhunter" vs "Leo"; I cannot decide.

(bosnia & herzegovina haha geir and all spectators: i think that is the one where populist w/pretention Nog webpapers said "but but but this sounds like the arcade fire therefore <3 <3 <3" or something?)

MIRA MIRA

B&H sounds absolutely nothing like Arcade Fire.

Yeah I was a bit wtf as well. But it is the one with v weak vocals to start with, and then vwoom thingies at background? or not? Anyways,

MIRA MIRA

What do you guys think Boaz Mauda's chances are? I heard the song (I think Dana International wrote it?) a few months ago, like right after they chose it, and I really loved it. I'm probably biased (love Israeli pop), but still - it would be nice to see a high placing for it.

THe only way France is going to get anywhere near the top half is surely if all the voting mechanisms fail and every country has to go to a jury.

I youtubed the Russian semifinal performance again trying to find out why they are mentioned among favourites, and HOLY SHIT was he way off all his tonalities all the time. Ultra ultra poor singery.

Mordy: I quite like Israel's one, probably not a winner though. Seventh?

France is my favourite by a long way, but it's not a very immediate song, which is important when most voters are only going to hear it once amongst 20 other songs.

I did have some big thing with predicted placings on the go but kind of bottled it. It's gonna be a close call, in any case. For some reason I went wildly optimistic and had Our Andy down as coming in 14th.

BBC opens by apologising for last year's selection cock-up.

Must he apologise in such a creepy voice? It's kinda scary.

Anyway - neon lady = EURO ON

It's Peter Kay...

wait, bulgaria didn't qualify?! sad face

They didn't. Second semi was weird.

Here's good old Marija Serifovic. Singing in English now. Possibly outstaying her welcome. Ladies in underwear doing the splits around her. This is not exactly the most spectacular opening in Eurovision history. Needs more stilts. The stage looks gorgeous.

Will Terry remember that Zeljko Joksimovic is a former Eurovision runner-up? No. Zeljko has a remarkably fine French accent.

listening to the stream on Radio2 ... where's Wogan????

Ken Bruce does it on R2, Wogan does the commentary on BBC1

ah Aladdin and Yasmin.

x=post.. that sucks... i want wogan!

Romania lead us off. This is sounding a hell of a lot better than on Thursday. I don't think that crunking shift in the backing when she comes in does them any favours, and it suffers badly in the later stages. The key change clunks badly. But that said, there is still something fairly likeable about this pair. Might do OK.

Andy!

I think it's a shame that he's second - he's got to work with a cold audience.

first time hearing the uk entry for this year...

much better than the previous few years..

(the rubbish pirates qualified too. wah.)

ok that's a solid er 15th place there. there's way worse in the competition.

OK, I was a naysayer, but he's gone out there and he's done an exceedingly solid job. They're right - that's our best shot in a while. 14th seems about right.

Plus, Albanian girl is getting swamped badly in this dirge of a chorus...

Wogan pished already...

Eh, I've mistakenly written that one off before, but her voice is too gentle for the thing.Difficult to tell how that'll do, but not a winner.

Germany now. I have trepidations. The vocals are off to a dodgy start to put it mildly.

ouch... that's painful...

Hellooooo, wooden spoon.

pretty good German song ruined by bad vocalists...

I'm tone deaf, but are they out of tune in the chorus?

Nice tune, but the singing is definitely a bit wobbly.

Jandek's proud.

No Angels were one of the biggest girl-groups of the last few years in Germany

Press the red button to "SING-A-LONG"

my wife reckons this 4 weigh slightly more than all 5 girls aloud. JSL

Significant thigh-acreage there.

I think the worst thing about that was the continual sound of a firework taking off BUT NOT BLOODY EXPLODING. Spain's the only thing between that and last.

Here's Armenia, first real contender of the evening. Nice bit of yodel to kick off...

what's the capital of Armenia? :P

Has that dancer got a non-ironic mullet?

shakira alert!

Yerevan is the capital of Armenia

I like this one. Nice clattery drums.

http://image.guim.co.uk/Guardian/arts/gallery/2007/jun/25/blocparty/22june505-114.jpg
http://image.guim.co.uk/Guardian/arts/gallery/2007/jun/25/blocparty/22june505-114.jpg

That's what this song's about, right?

Right, anyone remember Tina Karol? Ukranian entry a couple years ago. More or less just like this except with really, really fantastic boots. And better singing. Which is to say that Sirusho has a fairly horrible voice, and this is baggy and repetitive and bleh, but will go top ten with no trouble at all.

Bosnia!

now my first favourite from the semis

she looks a bit like Penelope Cruz.. (the Armenian girl)

ah Yerevan.. intro awesome, rest so-so..

Wasn't there a similar clothes-line themed presentation last year?

it's Toni Basil!

the lyrics (thanks BBCi) are... disturbing

(xpost) it's Cleo Rocos

That one's great. Reminds me a bit of the Arcade Fire. (NB: I am not generally a fan of A.F.)

NB: CORR BLIMEY.

Did she just say "we are all hoe's"?!

Note to Scouting For Girls - THAT is how you hammer a chorus into people's skulls without being a massive shower of cunts. Not as steady as the semi, but that "WHOO!" moment is still bloody glorious. I can't see it winning, but top 5 doesn't seem unlikely.

Israel's uber-sturdy ballad up now. They are VERY impressed by Boaz's intro in the hall.

won't be next year in jerusalem

First time I heard B&H - what a stormer! Fantastic chorus.

Israel, mwoah. Drags a bit.

Dare you press red and join "Boogaloo Stu"? I'd rather stab myself in the ears with an ice pick...

Finland - Lordi without the make-up or sense of irony.

Again, surprised to find myself agreeing with Wogan - definitely the strongest Israeli entry in some time. But not a winner.

Finland are very loud, yes.

Jaap Stam on guitar.

It's a bit "Final Countdown"-y, probably get a lot of Scandinavian votes.

more 'eurovision can't escape the 80s' evidence

snoball OTM..

v boring..

It's like watching Guitar Hero.

where is turbofolk!?!

The camera is much too far away from the Finns here, it's making them look very tiny. Production and staging's let them down. Bottom-half at best.

Shouty Old Man and chums now.

Sounds like the Gotan Project..

gf enjoys this one...

Croatia's got too much going on at the same time. (on stage..)

old man hates the internet?

Mark E Smith moment?

i've had a fiver each way on sebastian tellier at 80-1. no one think i have a chance of picking up? israel was ok.

Actually Croatia was a lot of fun.

sunny sunny poland

That went much better than the semi. Winsome is the word I'm looking for, I think - another solid top tenner there.

Poland still as dull and badly enunciated as ever.

bland....

(Daniel Bedingfield-beat)

WELCOME TO THE BELGRADE!

LET'S GET CRAAAAAZZZZZZZZYY!!!

Poland in sub-Celine Dion moment...

Drink a shot every time Wogan says "diaspora".

God, please don't let the ululations carry this one, please. It's a dodo and should be near the bottom of the pile. Very near the bottom. But it'll wind up about 12th.

MIGHTY ICELAND BOSH BOSH BOSH next.

TIME FOR EUROBOSH

I'm still waiting for Wogan's first "eejit". I'm guessing it's gonna be around the time of Bosnia's first 12 points.

[glowstick cat]

"each way" means winner or runner-up right? 80-1 seems a decent price then I think.

Another that's really come on since the semi. People compare it to Jemini... do they actually remember Jemini? http://youtube.com/watch?v=Eu5kgSeZHfw if they don't. This is vastly superior, but it kinda runs out of tricks early. Difficult to fault other than that, though, and guaranteed to be their best finish in a few years if only cos it's actually in the final.

Next big contenders up - Turkey.

Each way in Eurovision terms is... top 4? Betfair offers win, top 4, top 10. At 80s, Tellier's worth a punt.

has Turkey ever won? they got steady support everywhere, and this is a fresh song..

Differs from most of this year's guitar stuff in that it actually has a hook. Thust, purpose, poise, drive - any abstract noun you want, these have it. Top 3 minimum, possibly pushing for the win.

Jovana's French accent is noticeably worse than Zeljko's. This green room skit is leading into Portugal, incidentally.

xp - winners in 2003.

Jovana is seriously fishing for cheers at this point. They won't go back the green room much, I suspect.

"Stay awake and support your country's contestants"!

Struggling to, this year. Only Bosnia have excited me so far.

i got confused by this one in the semis. I think Lady of the Sea is a boat, cos she's actually on about missing her bloke. not what i first thought.

(it also sounds like a slowed down Army of Lovers track)

top 3 at a quarter the odds if you don't come first. that backstage chick is hot. bane is a knob.

Dear god I love that Portuguese 's' sound. This was getting tipped by critics steadily, but tonight, it's firmly emerged from the pack and I'm starting to believe this is a serious contender for the win. From Portugal. Serious.

That key change may have killed it. But bloody hell, I'm near welling up. This is excellent. Top 5 is a conservative estimate... runner-up?

Fucking Latvia up next. Fucking Latvia.

awful - get off

"we are robbing you blind, we hope you don't mind"

Good details in Portugal = backing singer stabs of voice + martial drums. Yes excellent.

ARRR.

What are the other songs on Pirates of the Sea's album called?

This belongs in the Dschingis Kahn ESC lineage probably?

This is gonna win.

Its almost The Mighty Boosh's 'Future Sailors'

Hi..

Amber and Alice have been tipping Turkey to win from the start (i.e. one of the semi finals)

I think they might be right.

produced by: shiver me timbaland

portugal sounded like 'crucified' by army of lovers. listening to these i can't see how france won't come top three "but that's eurovision for you".

Nothing about that went well. The song's a turd, the singing was horrid... hang on, was this dance break in there before? It seems to have taken some of the singers by surprise. Half of them have given up. Voters have turned on the novelties this year, please let that continue here. First booing of the night!

Another big gun - Sweden.

My wife: "Oh my god, is that a tranny?"

too much plastic surgery for sure...

Aw, I thought she was wearing black and white all over body makeup for a minute there.

Stupid lyrics.

sweden was a lot worse than i was expecting.

Perrelli's voice is not rocking it this evening. At all. The waterfall effect is comfortably the best use of the video wall so far, though - the Swedes know how to put on a show, give 'em that.

She's come roaring back into the game in the dying stages, though, and that world-famous key change kicked in perfect. Top 10 though, it won't be troubling the engravers.

Fucking Denmark...

Chico? Is that you??

right said fred x cheeky cockney sparra

most punchable singer award goes to denmark.

Could be a McDonalds jingle.

Denmarks lyrics = markov generated from past hits? should have gone the whole Dexy's route and just worn dungarees too.

Terry sounds remarkably chipper. Hes usually sounding like a man on suicide watch by this point. And with only one little moan about geographical voting too. Is he well?

Do not mock right said fred thus humph.

I think Simon may have forgotten how to tug his braces. Or make noises come out of his mouth. Then again, I had this as a solid-lead tanker in the semis and it came through... but it'd be a generous feller who'd put this any higher than, say, 20th.

He still can't find his braces, so he's gone for his collar instead. Note to Europe: don't say the light show's excellent. Andy Abraham stomps that one, hard.

Georgia. This is the weakest one-two of the line-up.

Booooo.

"piss will come"

Is she a real blind lady?

I kinda like it. Would listen to IRL.

This is real life.

Yeah, quite liked that.

The breathless "Somethings gonna change! Somethings gonna change" gives me a vague t.A.T.u. flashback.

She was born blind, aye. Another that's really improved since the semi, but still sounds like a watered-down Martika song. 15th, 16th, there or thereabouts.

And now, the woman to beat: Ukraine.

she is frightening

top 3 fo sure. 4 men in a box always win euroivish

Chorus is kind of a let down after the build, which was pretty great.

tho i like the 'beep beep'

but only if you nod your head at the same time..

yeah, the 'beeps' were the best bit.

^^^ it's hooked up to Wogan's heart monitor

nearly fell off the top there

Note to Ed - just cos I think it's gonna win doesn't mean I have to like it. But - this packs a TON into its three minutes, and the super-value-fun-bundle is always a good bet at Eurovision. Best ignore the lyrics. And the tan. It felt like a fairly sizeable spectacle, though, and cannot be ruled out. Not necessarily the favourite though...

Tellier!

bearded ladies!

Chaki Fan Club

Why can't the camera stay on him?

Helium!!!!

Oh, France. What the fuck have you done?

backing vox too loud...

telliers vox too quiet

WTF is he actually saying? Chivers?

This is Momus in disguise, isn't it?

What are Chivers?? This is ace.

off the rails!

easily my favourite so far...

I loved it.

Nice!

The French can't rally do 'camp' can they, it keeps end up as cool instead.

Ace tune though

OK, Azerbaijan...

My wife: "They have their own Rhydian!"

fucking hell azerbaijan

Please let screechy man be intro-only, otherwise I'm going for a wee.

Go ahead

good first effort azerbaij. rock opera rocks

I have a horrid feeling we may have witnessed a collapse of Kate Ryan-esque proportions. Us Tellier-backers may have neglected to consider how a vocal-hook led track would sound in The Biggest Basketball Stadium In Europe. The vocals kinda got thrown to the four winds, but the bit with the solar eclipse was great. I do not think Europe will have been endeared to the golf cart though. Hmm... 17th.

MIGHTY AZERI ROCK POWER

Last place?

Can't understand what the guy in the chair is singing... HAHAHA LOOK INSIDE YOURSELF!!!

The devil on his throne reminds me of Meatloaf for some reason...

Makeouts!

Next to Tellier, they seemed sensible. Another I'd put top ten by journey's end.

Greece's weakest entry in a while now.

ok this is kinda good xpost haha

Britney with bouzoukis

nice production... could imaging britney doing this...

alright chorus SUCKS

This is no better or worse than Slave For You. So pretty good really.

chiki chiki

lol

Well, the top ten's probably guaranteed... but nothing better. Her voice is uninteresting, the chorus goes on and on and on... not a serious contender at all.

Spain have got off to a much better start than I'd thought...

Has Dennis Hopper's eyes...

did he just mention "macarena"?

silly costume aside, it's not bad.

el robocop!

Weirdly catchy. That simple synth melody is awesome.

Does anyone know what 'chiki chiki' means?

...

(xpost) the title means "Chiki Chiki Dance" or something

There's some "No Limits" in there...

THANKS SNOBALL

The 'hilarious' shit dancing has scuppered a song that actually might have had a shout of giving Spain a respectable finish there - again, in advance, that looked like a lock for the bottom, but the music came off OK. The backing dancers could well have killed it dead, though.

Serbia. Will be interesting to see how this does - the previews looked like Balkan-ballad-by-numbers.

Apparently Spain's was originally < 1 minute long, so they had to "flesh it out" (=repeat) to meet Regulations.

(xxpost) There's a complex dance made up of several other dances, which is why the lyrics mention the macarena, etc., etc. - but it just comes across as some dumb shit.

s'true.

Serbia doesn't seem to hang properly together does it? Just a sequence of bits?

Atmosphere over song - nothing really happened, but it was awful pretty, and will hopefully show up the next entry, Russia, as the cobblers it fairly clearly is. I wouldn't say it's gonna make the Serbia the first back-to-back hosts since Ireland, tho.

I actually lost interest during Serbia's entry, boring. Wogan mentions political voting for the first time this evening!

"Nothing's gonna dim my life with thee"?

Yeah I think so, my attention wandered off..

xxxpost

What a terrible voice.

Oh baby baby, it's a wild world.

Curt Schilling on skates!

Anyone?

This is fucking dreadful.

That was shit.

haha Wogan: "good chance, that one."

I had pet theory last year of how proliferation of Idol shows and similar has increased the voting public's awareness of singing technique. Russia's placing may be a test of this theory.

GO MARIA

she looks like laetitia dean

Oh man. I haven't thought a Eurovision winner was actually shit in a while, please don't let this buck that trend. Dull, dull, dull Timbaland by numbers sung a preening cock. Russia have to win eventually, but their entries always seem to leave voters too cold to give them the prize. I think this is gonna continue that trend... hopefully.

Norge brings us home.

but i quite like this

Winehouse could make a decent job of this. Not that Maria isn't doing.

good, but this is middle of the pack, no? xposts

my child?

Second mention of political voting from Tel...

overall standard pretty poor this year...

VD!

Political voting/Wogan: Because all 5 Nordic countries are present?

They really like their basketball don't they?

Which eastern european country is gonna win then?

Right, I'm voting Bosnia then. I'd have put France second. And probably Germany third, it was a nice song hobbled by an awful performance.

They just really like VD xxpost.

B&H all the way

after all that i'd revise andy binman up a few places.

(xxpost) Well so many entries have sucked a big dick tonight, I'm not surprised...

my douze points goto Bos&Herzog. 10 to iceland. bother'd after that

B&H by a whisker

And that, surprisingly, might well be the pick of the Scando-pack. Sort of a Brave Little Toaster vibe coming off of that.

I think this field's really come off very well this evening. On paper, it looked like the weakest set in years, but a lot of them came good on the night. Difficult to pick a winner, though - I think I'll err on the side of caution and go for Ukraine to just edge out Turkey and Portugal, but there's a good five or six with a shout.

Now to the phones, see if we can push Seb up to mid-table.

I can't remember what half of these sounded like, that's how bad they were. B&H B&H B&H

I like Turkey!

I suspect Britain overall will give B+H about 5. Our 12 might well go to Greece.

My wife is voting for Denmark.

what the hell, 8 points to ukraine. go crazy

Iceland - Turkey - Portugal was a pretty solid run.

OH SHIT my wife just voted for Azerbaijan by accident!

49-1 for Denmark to come last good bet y/n?

n

No half-time show? Only 7 minutes left!

Either UK or Germany will come in last.

Our household has now voted for Bosnia, Denmark, Azerbaijan, and France. I think we're done voting.

Half-time show = after voting ended I think.

Diaspora!

Wau Norway odds for winning dropped from 75 to 26 on that performance. Tripling of chances seems unreasonable.

Actually nearly all of them had marked odds drop before -> after. Must remember next year and SPECULATE.

Betfair has slashed the odds on Ukraine, 2.96 compared to 5.1 for Russia. No-one else is even close.

Betfair's *customers* have slashed etc surely.

OK Iceland is boshing harder on each runthrough here. Vote.

FIRST EEJIT OF THE NIGHT - 22.03.

xpost - well, yes, technically that would be right...

Eh, just enough time to pop a few more in for Laka.

Also vote: B&H, Portugal.

"The Orchestra for Weddings and Funerals"! Good band name there.

Where can I see the on-the-fly odds? Is there a webpage?

They've blown the budget and had to drag in some buskers from off the street. And the reason for Wogan's cordiality - he's had to be dry all evening.

No wait, he was lying!

www.betfair.com -> sports -> special bets -> general -> eurovision etc.

No riverdance, this!

OMG, I AM TERRY!

voted for: B&H

supsected winner: Armenia, Greece or Turkey.

Re "buskers": I'm sure this music is a TOTAL blast at summer outdoor wedding ft vodka, dancing, weird local liqueurs and overall bonhomie!

My wife says this is a terrible peformance of an old Yugo hit.

(Tellier was pretty good though, probably the only song that gets better on a 2nd listen)

Oh, they have dancers! I'd not actually spotted those...

And that dude in white suit is ultra-famous.

If you hold that drum up to a mirror, it says "PAUL IS DEAD"

Another big hit, this was from the movie Underground.

oh right g00blar she's crnagoran isn't she? or was it fyrom?

I have 10 dollars down on Boaz. I'm gonna to lose those 10 dollars, aren't I?

the first.xpost

Is this going on a bit, or is it that they've turned it down too quiet so Wogan can blather over it? I really can't tell...

Mordy, you may as well kiss them goodbye now.

Bah. I should stop betting with my heart.

^^^real talk

Can't ruin "Kalashnikov"...

Voted for France, hope B&H will win this. Too tired to wait for the results...

I think that shout out to Finland may be the most belated "Thank you for a wonderful show" in Eurovision history.

"She's a physical comedian"

Poor Zeljko. Poor Jovana.

You'd think the sputtering buffer problem that I'm having while listening to radio 2 would be a problem. But actually, I'm pretty sure I'm not missing out by not hearing 50% of this announcer's commentary. He sounds kinda Tobias'esque, doesn't he? "I'd kiss that man between the cheeks."

43 spokespersons... this is where the grind sets in "most exciting part of the show" yeah right...

43 spokespersons?? Holy cow.

Latvia!?!?

FUCK'S SAKE BRITAIN

Look at Greece, kicking some booty.

Told you!

Nothing for BH though!? Shocking.

turkey - they sounded like the manics!
LATVIA?

Greece WTF are you thinking Britain?!

I knew Greece would get the uk vote

ohh look FYR macedonia gave albania 12 shocker lol

Azerbaijan with early lead!

You gotta laugh at the political voting.

azerbaijan 2nd!?

All of Ukraine's points go to their neighbors. Shocka!

It's George Peppard...

Poll ends in 36 mins, don't forget to vote!

Lol norwegian commentators:

"A bit of neighbour voting there"
"Er we shouldn't talk really"

only 3 null pts left

Serbian crowd booing Russian votes?

xxp lol

I thought the 'eastern bloc' were all mad at each other at the mo. Need to pay more attention to the news, I guess.

GO TURKEY GO TURKEY GO TURKEY

Actually - Norway fourth with no Scando juries voted yet. Keep yr eyes on that one...

I really want nil points for UK.

Albanian dude looks like a serial killer

Is there a website which is tabulating the votes?

that is*

I mean, when did the Balkans become all friendly?

The note of despair on "they've given a point to Spain..." was delightful.

One day UK,France,Spain & Germany will get pissed off and pull out and the competition will be fucked.

I thought the 'eastern bloc' were all mad at each other at the mo.

Yeah but this happens every time: "enemies" in the Real News lurve each other in the ESC!

6 points!

OH NO SIX POINTS!

The famous Belgian-Armenian bloc lol!

Bitchin!

I'll be content with a Greek win, I quite liked it. Course, it's still very early days.

Greece are doing bafflingly well, aren't they?

Who was it gave points to UK again?

San Marino

Russia only doing well thanks to neighbors, right?

Must be yes. Pls do not let win. Ho ho Sweden bombing.

The Latvian woman sounded very resigned at giving those 12 to Russia. Pleasingly.

WTF BULGARIA?

Ha ha ha ha ha wtf?

yay points for bosnia

yay!

host country should get to award DOUBLE POINTS

And San Marino 1/2 points

Must be the huge Russian immigrant community.

I wonder who Cyprus will vote for...

lol

lol at Moldovan apple

rubbish poland and their diaspora are only country between us and last

"This red apple is for you, Belgrade!" Yes.

Greece vs Russia then

pished

woo iceland!

Nice of Moldova to resurrect Frank Gorshin, there.

12 points to uk from france you think?

or spain?

Armenia???

nagannahappa

Reasonable-sized Armenian immigrant population in France, if I'm remembering right.

no remorse about madeleine then PORTUGAL?!

For a second, I thought she said "The U.K." instead of "The Ukraine".

Haha, all of Europe hates our guts.

"SOmebody's gonna win tonight" no shit Sherlock

That's what we get for funding it all!

x-post

Did he just go "When you win... numa numa ay?"

after i'd seen them all i said it was between russia and greece with prob greece to win. so why did i have a fiver each way on france? fucking hipster.

cant believe russia's gonna win...was one of the worst songs...

reality check - SPAIN are doing better than our poor old andy binman. pff

Re UK etc: Extra exposure from semis an advantage I think, even though it carries risk of not qualifying.

andorra gave pts to scooch last year ISTR

NO SHAME

Poland have cloned Ray Cokes

But only 3 from Andorra to France!

lol at Armenian woman

I can't quite keep up with who's voted... how much of the East is left?

Yeah but this happens every time: "enemies" in the Real News lurve each other in the ESC!

My theory fell through with Armenia.

Poor czech girl.

Enough to make sure Russia wins?
xxpost

Why does everyone hate poland?

Poland weren't great but I'm v surprised how unanimous the view on that seems to be (thought it would get the 'epic' vote)

The tradtional silence that descends when the home fans realise they've lost is sweeping across the auditorium.

On the other hand - go Norway!

Of course all the new europeans vote for Russia, if they don't their gas will be cut off again

malta - for sure

Malta usually gives UK votes

haha fuck malta

"Thanks a lot, Malta"

tassels are the real winner here

The UK really is hated when even Malta dont give us a point

that's gratitude for you. everyone else's former enslaved countries vote for them, why not ours?

If Ireland give us fuck all then we might as well quit.

TAKE THAT FRITZ

Yay Norway picks up 2-7 points from most everyone, solid.

WTF not Malta -> UK?

"Charlotte smells really good!" (norwegian (female) commentator)

bosch boshed

Ireland with the pity votes.

What is with Wogan and Israel?

i spoke too soon

FFS

Turkey -> pirates bloc!

Also Muslim bloc!

TWELVER! At cost of Russia winning though :(

BH getting the recognition they deserve.

"eeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr iceland???"

omg this Swedish guy is so drunk/stoned

lolol

g00blar, I stopped listening (my connection was too shitty). What'd he say about Israel?

hahahaha wtf

Azerbaijan have done unbelievably well. Bizarre.

He's shocked (shocked!) that Israel's not getting more votes, keeps mentioning it. xxpost

That's cause he lubs Israel, just like me.

Even Terry is shocked about Azerbaijan and he's seen it all.

I had pet theory last year of how proliferation of Idol shows and similar has increased the voting public's awareness of singing technique. Russia's placing may be a test of this theory.

DEBUNKED.

12 points for Serbia here no doubt from Montenegro

My wife on Montenegro's voting: "Ass-licking assholes".

Where's she from?

Terry hates Bosnia-Herzegovina so his opinion counts for nothing.

Jesus, went to get some food thinking Greece would probably hold it, came back to find fucking Russia have won. :(((((

Montenegro!

That takes some contortion! xxxxpost

they should all have to sing the songs.

LAST!!

Oh well Russia may sound OK in a studio recording, what do I know.

Danish woman = crown prince's ex

really? wow!

Is this the shittest winning song ever in the history of Eurovision?

Boo Russia Boooo

BBC PULL OUT AND STOP FUNDING!

never!

Makes you fondly remember the elation of the Lordi victory.

UK volunteer for semis I say, and avoid complacency!

Wogan threatening to pull the plug on the whole thing now

Woah, Tel getting all apocalyptic!

Well, Italy haven't entered for years and they're still part of the EBU

That trophy looks like it came from Argos...

Wait, is blonde Russian skater an Olympian?

no it's David Cameron in a wig

Ah, thought so.

Olympian yes, at least commentators claimed so. But so is the singer from Rammstein I believe.

Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear.

Ok Terry made me decide on
Is It Time For UK To Pull Out Of Eurovision Song Contest

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/olympics/2006/writers/02/16/mens.final/t1_plushenko_medal_si.jpg

Well done g00b, that is the real winner right there.

Still, alright till the voting started. Or the interval act, I suppose.

Fucking boring programme. Only saw ten minutes of it though. Wogan even sounds bored of his stuck-record lol foreigners schtick. Actually, he doesn't sound bored he sounds clinically depressed.

Actually, that has to be the highest standard of song across the board in Eurovision for a long time.

We put in a song that sounds like an Edwin Starr song from about 30 years ago and wonder why it finishes near-as-damn-it last?

UK song was utter shite (as usual)

But the Russian song was shite too

Actually, that has to be the highest standard of song across the board in Eurovision for a long time.

really? maybe the average standard was slightly higher but the best songs were mediocre

We put in a song that sounds like an Edwin Starr song from about 30 years ago and wonder why it finishes near-as-damn-it last?

you think the UK had the most dated sound in this?

UK's real problems with ESC: 1) thinking it's Beneath Them to actually try, plus 2) not understanding there are Worlds of Pop that are not anglocentric (and that they have never heard of).

Any other candidates for most dated sound blueski? I don't agree with the 30 years ago thing though, it sounded totally 1991 surely?

01 Romania: Nico & Vlad - Pe-o Margine De Lume

Like Andrea Boccelli singing a duet with Mariah Carey in Romanian. Not too bad, but ultimately drowning.

02 United Kingdom: Andy Abraham - Even If

Poor man's Rick Astley. Another weak entry from the country that delivers the best pop music in the world 364 days a year.

03 Albania: Olta Boka - Zemrën E Lamë Peng

IMO worst entry of the night. Forgettable.

04 Germany: No Angels - Disappear

The song isn't too bad, but with vocal performances like that, no wonder it didn't do well.

05 Armenia: Sirusho - Qele, Qele

Can understand why this did well - probably got a lot of immigrant votes from all over Europe, as it sounded kind of Arabian. Great chorus even though I find beats like those annoying.

06 Bosnia & Herzegovina: Laka - Pokušaj

OK, I am starting to get the point about this. Obviously a lot of fun, and a hilarious stage act. Then it doesn't matter that the song is completely pointless, I guess.

07 Israel: Boaz - The Fire In Your Eyes

Never liked this at all. Sounded old-fashioned and very MOR.

08 Finland: Teräsbetoni - Missä Miehet Ratsastaa

In spite of Lordi's growling, this is probably the heaviest Eurovision entry ever. I kind of expected it to perform better, but I guess the rockers went for Azerbaijan instead.

09 Croatia: Kraljevi Ulice & 75 Cents - Romanca

Cute number that could have done better. And I am kind of surprised it didn't, given the Balkan Bloc being well-organized as usual. Nice little tango number. Would have gotten 12 from Argentina.

10 Poland: Isis Gee - For Life

Rather forgettable, in spite of a cute stage act.

11 Iceland: Euroband - This Is My Life

Sounded a bit like E-Type. Nice, but there were better dance numbers this time.

12 Turkey: Mor ve Ötesi - Deli

A rock song in Turkey. They seemed to do very well at once, but it was deserved when they started falling down the ranks.

13 Portugal: Vânia Fernandes - Senhora Do Mar (Negras Águas)

Jostein Pedersen, a ESC veteran who is sort of the Norwegian answer to Terry Wogan, loves this. I have never understood why. To me it sounded like a French entry from the 70s and early 80s and that is not meant as a compliment.

14 Latvia: Pirates Of The Sea - Wolves Of The Sea

I am sure my 2 and a half year old nephew loved this, as he is a big pirate fan. Me? I found it a bit stupid, really....

15 Sweden: Charlotte Perrelli - Hero

I thought it would take a Pakistani participation to avoid Norway giving 12 to Sweden, but apparently I was wrong.
The Swedes are probably very disappointed now, just like they were when The Ark unexpectedly did even worse last year. I found it one of the better entries of the night, and much better than her 1999 winner. So kind of surprising it didn't do better even though it wasn't my favourite.

16 Denmark: Simon Mathew - All Night Long

While I don't hate this as much as most of the people here do, I still don't see why it performed that well, but I guess it was kind of an Olsen Brothers-factor, getting a lot of votes from males between 40 and 60. OK chorus, but to me it sounded like a worse version of last year's Swedish entry (which disappointed a lot).

17 Georgia: Diana Gurtskaya - Peace Will Come

Rather forgettable IMO.

18 Ukraine: Ani Lorak - Shady Lady

Stage act of the night, a fantastic act and a great electro arrangement. This was probably my favourite even though I voted for France as I expected Ukraine would do well anyway. Which they did, only not quite as well as I hoped for.

19 France: Sébastien Tellier - Divine

Because I expected Ukraine to do big things, I voted for this one, which I expected to be underrated by the televoters. And it was, of course. I personally loved this cross-in-between Air and Phoenix.

20 Azerbaijan: Elnur & Samir - Day After Day

A bit too hilarious, really, but it seems to get the majority of the metal vote this time. No denying the technical greatness of the opera singer, but his voice still anoyed me too much for me to like this entry.

21 Greece: Kalomira - Secret Combination

Greece and Armenia both did well, but probably stole too many votes from each other to go all the way. For this, you can almost apply my Armenia comment once more: Great chorus, catchy song, but too annoying beat.

22 Spain: Rodolfo Chikilicuatre - Baila El Chiki Chiki

This was kind of fun, but Eurovision is not the place to launch a new Macarena or Ketchup Song obv. Great electro arrangement anyway.

23 Serbia: Jelena Tomašević feat. Bora Dugic - Oro

A beautiful song that had a bit too many weird "etchnic" elements to do it all the way for me. But other than Croatia's breaktaking 2005 entry (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mpJ83Lya1Q - has grown to become one of my all-time favourite ESC entries by any country ever) this may be the best typical Balkan ballad I have ever heard in ESC.

24 Russia: Dima Bilan - Believe

So, this wasn't a Timbaland production after all. But it obviously didn't matter. It performed well after all. Not my favourite, but not a bad song either. And Russian kind of deserved a win after becoming the runnerup a zillion times.

25 Norway: Maria - Hold On Be Strong

The song itself is sort of too good for Eurovision, and, well, alongside Ukraine and France this was my fave that I of course couldn't vote for anyway. I had another favourite in the Norwegian preselection (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUbm-4taYUA), but I guess we picked the right song after all. We got the expected 12s from our neighbours and also lots of unexpected votes for countries that usually don't vote for Norway. But the stage act may have been less spectacular than what it would have taken to win.

I don't agree with the 30 years ago thing though, it sounded totally 1991 surely?

The UK entry sounded 1987. Remember this guy?

http://malcolm816.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/56334472_62836b2094_o.jpg

oh wow geir you're tempting me to listen to them all again, nasty.

Any other candidates for most dated sound blueski?

take your pick really - you could argue it with France, Finland, Croatia, most of the ballads (not Russia's tho) - point being a retro style isn't usually an issue in the contest

Most dated was Portugal. Would have done fantastic if performed in French in 1975.

France, no, unless Air and Phoenix sound dated.

...

"Remember this guy? "

hmm. could someome link to a youtube video of that above pictured act for me

Geir otm here, France not dated at all, total 00s sheen.

point being a retro style isn't usually an issue in the contest

er RONG? Not talking about style, talking about sound.

Tellier was channelling early 80s ELO in my book - if only it had been as awesome as 'Hold On Tight' - still wouldn't have done well tho

hmm. could someome link to a youtube video of that above pictured act for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI

Really, that's what "Even If" sounded like.

lolling over here

haha alan :-)

OMG, that was an xpost, lolling even more now!

er RONG? Not talking about style, talking about sound.

style and sounds are synonomous in my argument (what else do you think i mean by style?). but take Russia's Timbalandy drums off and it could've been 20 years old itself.

alan youve been excelsiored haha! omg geir not getting joek :D :D

The French entry was Jarvis Cocker in disguise.

According to the Norwegian commentator, Tellez breathed helium just before singing, starting the song with a helium voice. I didn't see or hear that, but....

you could hear the helium v briefly but he didn't inhale as much as he should've

style and sounds are synonomous in my argument (what else do you think i mean by style?). but take Russia's Timbalandy drums off and it could've been 20 years old itself.

I see what you're saying, but I think you're undervaluing "Timbalandy drums" etc while being totally otm about singling this element out in this discussion -- "style" and "sound" are NOT in any way synonymous, and and and erm we'll just end up in Poptimists Duffy/Winehouse-style discussions again aren't we? :?

what else do you think i mean by style?

Good question; I think I mean arrangement rather than sonic implementation of arrangement. Best I can do right now anyway. This is v v v interesting thing (because we hear and interpret music differently).

but he didn't inhale as much as he should've

Of course it would have made a cool effect and a hilarious stage act if he had just gotten weightless and taken off flying into the audience before falling down on the stage after running out of helium.....

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

(hahaha Geir I only just now read properly through your concise and long-ass after-the-fact post, and it obtains much truthbombs, falsebombs and general wtf. Do you seriously think large number of Pakistani-Norwegians vote in this thing? I have no idea myself!)

lol results in; ILM has 0 x clue about world music

Sad that Dom wasn't here all along sortof, that would've been fun. ;_J

Dom did you pay to watch ricky hatton?

(just wondering if that's why he wasnt here)

Sopcast stream

Do you seriously think large number of Pakistani-Norwegians vote in this thing?

Not now. But you all know that Turkey always get a lot of votes from Germany.

Dreadful fight, dreadful undercard. Fat suit was funny though.

Not now. But you all know that Turkey always get a lot of votes from Germany.

Ah forward-looking. I see. Not unreasonable.

Final results:

1. Russia - 272
2. Ukraine - 230
3. Greece - 218
4. Armenia - 199
5. Norway - 182
6. Serbia - 160
7. Turkey - 138
8. Azerbaijan - 132
9. Israel - 124
10. Bosnia & Herzegovina - 110
11. Georgia - 83
12. Latvia - 83
13. Portugal - 69
14. Iceland - 64
15. Denmark - 60
16. Spain - 55
17. Albania - 55
18. Sweden - 47
19. France - 47
20. Romania - 45
21. Croatia - 44
22. Finland - 35
23. Germany - 14
24. Poland - 14
25. United Kingdom - 14

Those ten bucks on noted friend-havers Israel not quite so misguided as I thought they were, I guess. Ninth is not unimpressive. Norway cracking the top five could well be seen as justification for the revised semi-final system too.

Incidentally, Russia were a pretty distant third in the first semi-final, 21 points behind Greece and 4 behind Armenia. Thread favourites Bosnia made even more significant gains, though - they only qualified ninth, a whopping 22 points behind seventh-placed Romania and seven behind Finland in eighth. The collapse of votes for both Romania and Finland is fairly startling - Romania scored 49 points less and Finland 44 less, despite the final featuring almost twice as many juries.

That's as nothing compared to Portugal, though - they finished runners-up in the second semi, some way behind Ukraine, but managed to drop 51 points in the final. Third-placed Denmark dropped 52, and, oddest of all, fourth-placed Croatia dropped 68. Turkey could only finish seventh in the second semi-final, but wound up in the same place in the final, picking up 53 points.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that Sweden only qualified because:

In line with the Rules of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, the 10th qualifier was the highest ranked contestant in the back-up jury vote who did not qualify for the Final.

Not quite sure why this rule was introduced - on televoting, the Swedes would have finished behind both FYROM and Bulgaria.

Not quite sure why this rule was introduced

In case of pan-european communications infrastructure breakdown I guess? Seems a sensible backup plan.

Thread favourites Bosnia made even more significant gains

The protest voters don't watch the semi finals, and Bosnia was the obvious favourite of the protest voters this time.

Hmm, no Euro08 album on itunes (yet?)...but they do have a whole Laka album! Sadly doesn't include Pokušaj, but I'm very tempted to buy it anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq1dfQVCGuo

!!wow!!

Incidentally, Russia were a pretty distant third in the first semi-final

Ooh bitter, I had some money on them outside the top three. Total betting result: about £10 in the red. Poland finishing last saved me a further £30 in the red lol.

Intrigued by Tellier's use of "chiver".
Possibly Yorkshire slang for a lad and not a French word
but also used in Mr Oizo's Steak film.