Eurovision 2008 - Netherlands

Your heart belongs to me
Hind

Music: Hind, Tjeerd van Zanen, Bas van den Heuvel
Lyrics: Hind, Tjeerd van Zanen, Bas van den Heuvel


History (1956 to 2007):

Netherlands's previous appearances: 48 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1956-1984; 1986-1990; 1992-1994; 1996-2001; 2003-
Best result: 1st (1957, 1959, 1969, 1975)

One of the original Eurovision countries, the Netherlands managed four victories in the first twenty years (such as Lenny Kuhr's forgettable 'De Troubadour' in 1969), but have had nothing since their last victory in 1975. Perhaps the country is being punished for inflicting Teach-In's 'Ding Dinge Dong' upon the rest of Europe?

The country's record since televoting has not given much hope of a fifth victory - the wonderful Edsilia Rombley came a creditable 4th in 1998, but since then it's been downhill all the way with 8th place in 1999, 13th in 2000 (despite being a favourite prior to the contest), and a dismal 18th in 2001.

Having to miss 2002 through relegation, the Netherlands returned in 2003. There were great hopes for the Dutch entry, Esther Hart's 'One more night', with many predicting its victory. In truth, it was a rather ordinary song that sounded very similar to 1999's 'One good reason'; being the first song after the advert break (when many televoters are still in the kitchen or bathroom) probably didn't help. Ending up a disappointing 13th, the Netherlands just missed out on an automatic Final place, and had to compete in the 2004 Semi Final. The country's song that year - 'Without you', performed by Re-union - did surprisingly well in the Semi Final by finishing 6th with 146 points, before slumping dramatically to 20th with 11 points in the Final - a most bizarre result, given that the order of the top ten songs in the Semi Final (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, obviously) was generally echoed in their Final placings (2-1-3-7-5-20-9-12-13-14). One can only assume that the Netherlands benefitted from performing last in the Semi Final, though this doesn't really account for - to give an example - Ireland awarding the Netherlands its 12 points in the Semi Final, but nothing at all three days later! Whatever the explanation, the Netherlands found itself in the Semi Final for the second successive year.

In 2005, hopes were high for Glennis Grace and ''My impossible dream', a stunning ballad recalling Whitney Houston circa 1992. Most people had assumed that Glennis would qualify for the Final failrly easily, and these expectations were reinforced by a great performance - Glennis looked stunning in a white dress, was strong vocally, and the whole act benefited from a simple presentation with just Glennis on the stage, and no unnecessary distractions in the form of dancers or backing singers. Sadly, it was not enough, 53 points securing a disappointing 15th place. Stuck in the Semi Final again in 2006, Treble's song 'Amanbanda' could hardly have been more different from Glennis', but despite a strong performance it could only manage 22 points and 20th place. The Dutch will therefore be hoping it's third time lucky in trying to clamber out of that Semi...

In 2007 Netherlands was represented by Edsilia Rombley.


This year's entry:





My prediction & opinion:

This year Netherlands will be represented by Hind singing a beautiful pop song.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 9th to 11th
My prediction for the Final: Likely qualifier; 10th to 12th

Eurovision 2008 - Norway

Hold on be strong
Maria Haukaas Storeng

Music: Mira Craig
Lyrics: Mira Craig

History (1956 to 2007):

Norway's previous appearances: 4 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1960-1969; 1971-2001; 2003-
Best result: 1st (1985, 1995)

Norway is renowned for scoring 'nul points' - under the present voting system, introduced in 1975, it has achieved the feat three times (most recently in 1997), and finished last on a further three occasions. However, victories in 1985 with the dreadful 'La det swinge' and in 1995 with Secret Garden's beautiful 'Nocturne' have helped redress the balance. Certainly, Norway's two winners could hardly be more different - remarkable then that both were written by Rolf Lovland, composer of 'You raise me up' - originally recorded by Secret Garden themselves (with vocals by Brian Kennedy, Ireland's participant in 2006), but perhaps more famously covered by Josh Groban in 2003, and Westlife in 2005.

While neighbours Sweden have generally prospered under televoting, with a run of top ten finishes between 1998 and 2004, Norway's record has been patchy. After a respectable 8th place in 1998, the awful 'Living my life without you' finished an undeservedly high 14th in 1999. 2000 brought a catchy song in 'My heart goes boom', but a relatively disappointing 11th place. In 2001, Haldor performed 'On my own', what I thought was a rather attractive and powerful ballad. However, televoters were evidently distracted by Haldor's grimacing, and it scored just 3 points from Portugal for its efforts, finishing last. Following this poor result, some were wary when Norway came back in 2003 with another male-sung ballad. However, Jostein was cuter and more endearing than Haldor, and 'I'm not afraid to move on' finished a very respectable 4th.

As a result, the Norwegians found themselves directly qualified for the Final in 2004, and were probably confident about sending yet another male with a ballad - unfortunately, however, as far as the televoters were concerned, Knut Anders Sørum had more in common with Haldor than Jostein. Finishing last (again) with just 3 points, the title of Norway's song assumed an amusing irony, Knut's position being anything but 'High'.

Fortunately, 2005 brought better things for Norway, with Wig Wam's rock anthem, 'In my dreams', finishing a promising 6th in the Semi Final, before going on to secure 9th place in the Final. Guaranteed a place in the 2006 Final, hopes were high that Christine Guldbrandsen could gain another top ten placing with the lovely 'Alvedansen'. However, despite a good vocal and visually appealing performance, Christine's song failed to resonate with the voting public, picking up just 36 points in 14th place. Consequently, Norway must once again take part in the Semi Final in 2007.

In 2007 Norway was represented 45-year-old Guri Schanke emerging as the winner. I have a deep aversion to Scandinavians sending Latino-inspired songs to Eurovision - it just seems so very cheap, desperate and inauthentic - so Norway's entry being called 'Ven a bailar conmigo' was never going to be a good start.

This year's entry:





My opinion & prediction:

This year’s entry from Norway it’s a catchy pop-ballad singed by the beautiful Maria Haukaas Storeng. Her face will remind the Romanians, of the latino singer Elena Gheorghe. The song is Jennifer Lopez style, and who says that this song won’t reach the final, has nothing to do with Eurovision.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 4th to 8th
My prediction for the Final: Definite qualifier; 12th to 14th

Eurovision 2008 - Poland

For life
Isis Gee

History (1956 to 2007):

Poland's previous appearances: 12 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1994-1999; 2001; 2003-
Best result: 2nd (1994)

Finishing 2nd with Edyta Gorniak's wonderful 'To nie ja!' in 1994, Poland had a fantastic start to its Eurovision career but has been trying to live up to it ever since. The country finished a disappointing 18th in 1995, 15th in 1996, 11th in 1997, 17th in 1998 and 18th in 1999, before having to miss 2000's contest due to its poor five-year average. Its return in 2001 was barely worth the effort, finishing a new low of 20th and being relegated again. Happily, 2003's contest proved much more fruitful, with Ich Troje and 'Keine grenzen - zadnych granic' finishing a very respectable 7th. Cannily, to appeal to as many countries as possible, the song was performed in a mix of Polish, German and Russian - Germany rewarded it with its 12 points, but Russia was unimpressed and gave it no points at all. It was a beautiful song, and with one of the best performances at the 2003 contest it really deserved to finish higher; nevertheless, 7th was quite enough to give Poland an automatic place in the following year's Final. Unfortunately, normal service promptly resumed in 2004, with Blue Cafe's 'Love song' finishing an unimpressive 17th.

Poland's subsequent Eurovision experiences have been deeply frustrating, finishing 11th in the Semi Final in both 2005 and 2006, and missing out on qualification by a mere handful of points - first with Ivan and Delfin's 'Czarna dziewczyna', and latterly with Ich Troje (back for another go) and 'Follow my heart'. Back in the Semi Final again in 2007, Poland will surely be hoping to finish anywhere but 11th.

The Jet Set represented Poland in Helsinki, singing 'Time to party'. The songwasis fresh, contemporary and catchy, and the poles deserve credit for sending something unashamedly modern to Eurovision.

This year's entry:






My opinion & prediction:

This year Poland will be represented by Isis Gee, singing a non-catchy ballad. The song is rather usual, weaker than Ich Troje, so I think It won’t do much.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 14th to 18th
My prediction for the Final: Will not qualify

Eurovision 2008 - Portugal

Senhora do mar
Vânia Fernandes


History (1956 to 2007):

Portugal's previous appearances: 41 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1964-1969; 1971-1999; 2001; 2003-
Best result: 6th (1996)

Prior to 2006, Portugal's record at Eurovision was spookily similar to that of Finland, with the same number of entries (39) and the same of lack of success (never finishing higher than 6th place). However, Finland's storming victory in Athens - following first-time wins in previous years for oldtimers Turkey and Greece - has left Portugal as the most prominent country never to have won the Contest.

Indeed, Portugal has rarely even come close to winning, its high point being a strong 6th place in 1996 thanks to Lucia Moniz - better known today as Colin Firth's Portuguese maid in the film 'Love Actually'. Portugal had a flurry of good results in the early 1990s (8th in 1991 and 1994, 10th in 1993), brought only to a grinding halt by scoring nothing at all in 1997. After unremarkable results in 1998 and 1999, Portugal missed 2000's contest through relegation, and - after another poor result in 2001 (17th) - declined to take part in 2002. Interestingly, Portugal's absence gave a reprieve to the Latvians, who had finished one place below the Portuguese in 2001 and would otherwise have missed the 2002 contest. Marie N went on to represent Latvia that year, winning the contest for her country in the process.

Since coming back in 2003, Portugal's fortunes have been little better. Rita Guerra's beautiful ballad, 'Deixa-me sonhar' scraped an undeservedly low 22nd place, meaning that Portugal had to compete in the Semi Final in 2004. There, many online polls had tipped Sofia and her song 'Foi Magia' to come last, so in the circumstances, 15th place with 38 points - including 12 from all the ex-pats in Andorra - was quite impressive. In 2005, the Andorran votes were nowhere to be seen, but that was not enough to prevent 2B securing a decent 51 points for 'Amar', even if its 17th place was slightly down on the year before. However, it was downhill in terms of both points and placing in 2006, with 'Coisas de nada' mustering just 26 points (with 12 from Andorra again this time) and 19th place. This all means that Portugal is one of only six countries - the others being Andorra, Belarus, Estonia, Monaco and Slovenia - to have failed to qualify from any of the three Semi Finals held so far. Will 2007 finally bring Portugal success?

No. Sabrina got the 1st under the qualifing countries line.


This year's entry:





My opinion & prediction:

This year Portugal is sending a nice ballad, but I don’t think it would do much.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 12th to 14th
My prediction for the Final: Unlikely to qualify; 18th to 20th, if it does

Eurovision 2008 - Romania

Pe-o margine de lume
Nico & Vlad Mirita

Music: Andrei Tudor
Lyrics: Andreea Andrei, Adina Şuteu

History (1956 to 2007):

Romania's previous appearances: 9 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1994; 1998; 2000; 2002-
Best result: 3rd (2005)

Romania made a rather inconspicuous start to its Eurovision career, finishing in 21st place in 1994. After that, the country appeared to give up on the contest, not returning until 1998, though that was partly due to its intended 1996 entry - 'Ruga pentru pacea lumii' by Monica Anghel and Sincron - failing to make it through that year's qualifying round. The Romanians might as well not have bothered to come back, their 1998 effort - Malina Olinescu's 'Eu cred' - scraping a meagre 6 points and 22nd place, despite being popular among Eurovision fans. Reappearing in 2000 for a third attempt, Taxi's gentle song 'The Moon' managed a slightly more impressive 17th, though it was not enough to prevent Romania missing out on the 2001 contest due to relegation.

Since 2002, however, Romania has slowly established itself in people's minds as a country that WILL win Eurovision one day in the near future. Romania's 2002 entry was what many thought was the worst song of the contest, the Disney-esque ballad 'Tell me why'. Despite being tipped as a likely candidate for 'nul points', Monica Anghel - finally getting her chance after the abortive 1996 effort - and Marcel Pavel gave one of the evening's most professional and powerful performances; in a notable north-south divide, the song was shunned in the voting by the UK, Scandinavia and the Baltic States, but picked up enough support from the Mediterranean countries (and Russia) to finish in 9th place with a healthy 71 points. 2003 represented the first time that Romania had appeared in two consecutive contests, this time with the unusual 'Don't break my heart', performed by Nicola. If the song was slightly strange, the stage performance - featuring giant compact discs and bright colours reminiscent of Teletubbyland - was even stranger. However, it evidently stuck in televoters' minds, as the song finished in 10th place, probably higher than it deserved.

As a result, the Romanians found themselves in the happy position of qualifying directly for the 2004 final. However, after two impressive results Romania's record had to slip sometime, Sanda Ladosi finishing a disappointing 18th with 18 points, and ensuring that Romania would have to take part in the Semi Final in 2005. Sanda's song, 'I admit', deserved better, but the performance was poor, and the singer looked like she had forgotten to finish dressing before going on stage. Still, the Spanish obviously approved, awarding Sanda's cleavage a perky 10 points.

Romania's national finals always seem to feature some very contemporary songs, and 2005 was no exception, with its winning entry - 'Let me try', by Luminita Anghel and Sistem - featuring a powerful vocal and oil drum-wielding percussionists over a thumping techno beat. With a spectacular stage performance, including the creative use of angle grinders, it proved a recipe for great success. Romania won the Semi Final by some margin (235 points, including the maximum 'douze points' from six countries), before going on to finish 3rd in the Final, easily the Romanians' best ever result at Eurovision. Qualified for the Final in 2006, many people believed that Mihai Traistariu was in with a chance of winning the whole thing, his uptempo 'Tornerò' topping many of the fan polls. Though falling short of victory, Mihai gave a vocal performance to be proud of, his deserved 4th place with 172 points ensuring that Romania was once again in the Final in 2007.

In 2007 Romania was represented by Todomondo with the catchy 'Liubi, liubi, I love you' - a world away from the contemporary pop-dance tracks that Romania has tended to favour in recent years.


This year's entry:






My opinion & prediction:

Well, If you want Eurovision scandal, you can watch ,,Selectia Nationala” from Romania. After last years disqualifiquasions & retirements, this year was the same. It started with the disqualification of Paradise and de retirements of 3 Sud Est and Maya. After the Semifinals, another retirements: Catalin, VH2, New Effect & Gentiana, Nico and Adrian Enache. Overall the Contest was won by Nico & Vlad Mirita singing a beautiful ballad called ,,Pe-o margine de lume” (On the edge of the world), they won by 3 points ahead of Biondo . The lyrics are in Romanian & Italian, and the vocals are strong, much better than last year. I voted in the final for ,,Seven days”, but when I saw they had no chance, I sent another vote for ,,Pe-o margine de lume”. This song is great, it reminds me of the 2002 Romanian entry ,,Tell me why” (the composer of ,,Pe-o margine de lume” is the son of the composer of ,,Tell me why”). After the song won the accuses of plagiarism appeared but nothing was proved.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 3th to 5th
My prediction for the Final: Definite qualifier; 2th to 4th, possible winner

Eurovision 2008 - Russia

Beliving
Dima Bilan

Music: Timothy Z.Mosley (Timbaland)
Lyrics: Timothy Z.Mosley (Timbaland), Dima Bilan


History (1956 to 2007):

Russia's previous appearances: 11 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1994-1995; 1997; 2000-
Best result: 2nd (2000, 2006)

Russia made its Eurovision début in 1994, when Youddiph achieved a creditable 9th place. Subsequent entries were memorable - 1995's for its bizarre title, 'Lullaby for a volcano', and 1997's for Alla Pugacheva's unfeasibly big hair - but neither performed terribly well, finishing 17th and 15th respectively. Since 2000, Russia has recorded some much improved results, due to some strong songs and the decision to perform most of them in English. Alsou and her song 'Solo' finished a strong 2nd in 2000, followed by a reasonable 12th place in 2001 and 10th in 2002.

Russia had high hopes for victory in 2003, sending the controversial 'lesbian' duo t.A.T.u to Eurovision. Fresh from a massive international hit with 'All the things she said', it was inevitable that t.A.T.u's song, 'Ne ver', ne bojsia', would do well. However, like Baccara before them (whose 1978 Eurovision entry for Luxembourg - 'Parlez-vous français?' - followed their international hit 'Yes sir, I can boogie'), global success prior to Eurovision failed to translate into victory, and t.A.T.u had to be content with 3rd place. It was very close, though - t.A.T.u finished just one point behind 2nd-placed Belgium, and three behind Sertab's winning song for Turkey. Interestingly, the UK was one of only two countries (the other being Ireland) to give Russia no points at all, despite 'All the things she said' already topping the UK charts earlier in 2003 - points from either country would almost certainly have given t.A.T.u victory. To be fair, the studio recording of 'Ne ver', ne bojsia' is fantastic, but t.A.T.u's performance on the night was second only to Jemini's in terms of tunelessness; 3rd place was about as much as it deserved. Nevertheless, it was quite enough to secure Russia's place in the Final for 2004.

Following up t.A.T.u was always going to be difficult, but Russia had a good try by sending its own Avril Lavigne lookalike, Julia Savicheva. Delivering a tuneless performance worthy of her predecessors, Julia was the beneficiary of 2004's most localised voting - picking up at least 8 points for 'Believe me' from all the former Soviet countries (making up 48 of its total of 67), but only 19 from all the others put together. However, it was probably due - at least in part - to her existing popularity within the former Soviet nations than overtly political voting. Whatever the reasons, it was quite enough to propel her to 11th place, narrowly securing Russia's direct participation in the 2005 Final in the process.

For 2005, Russia opted for another angsty female performer, this time in the form of Natalia Podolskaya and the grammatically flawed 'Nobody hurt no one'. However, despite picking up a creditable 57 points - all from countries bordering Russia - 15th place fell well short of gaining Russia direct entry to the 2006 Final, and a place in the Semi Final now beckons.

In 2006 Russia was represented by Dima Bilan finishing 2nd, while in 2007 was represented by the girl band Serebro finishing 3rd with 207 points.


This year's entry:





My opinion & prediction:

Dima Bilan returns for Russia in 2008, after finishing 2nd in 2006, behind Lordi’s rock. He wants revenge and he might get it. The song is as beautiful as ,,Never let you go”, and it can go all the way.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 1st to 3rd
My prediction for the Final: Definite qualifier; 1st to 4th, possible winner

Eurovision 2008 - San Marino

Complice
Miodio


History (1956 to 2007):

San Marino's previous appearances: 0 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: None
Best result: N/A

San Marino makes his Eurovision debut in 2008.


This year's entry:




My opinion & prediction:

For its first Eurovision appearance San Marino is sending a song most parted singed in Italian.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 13th to 16th
My prediction for the Final: Will not qualify