TWELVE #2

T W ELV E T H E E U ROV I S IONS ONG CON T E ST 'sW E B M AG

Interviews: VÂNIA FERNANDES ...and also NINA BADRIC

Eurovision CHRONICLES

Some fresh NEWS & GOSSIP

Trendy EUROVISIVE MEMES And after LISTENING TO ALL

ESC SONGS EVER, we show you the good, the bad, the curious...

nd issue 2 e h t

Hello!

We proudly pr the second issu of the only we about the Eurovision Son ever made.

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TWELVE

e u s s i 2 the nd

10 12 16 26 76 90 92 94

EUROVISION N&G

The current News and Gossip going on in the Eurovision world, commented by our marvellous editors.

NINA BADRIC

The Croatian diva, who will be flying the Croatian flag in Baku, tells us her plans to perform her song Nebo in Eurovision.

VĂ‚NIA FERNANDES

She is one of the most praised representatives among the Portuguese eurofans. And she opened her heart to us!

2012: ALL ENTRIES IN REVIEW

We wrote about all the 42 songs competing this year, and we'll show you the strong, the weak, and everything else in between!

HISTORY BESIDES THE WINNERS

We've listened to all songs that ever entered Eurovision. There's life beyond the winning entries! Decade after decade, we highlighted the very best.

FRIDAY TALKS

Our editor Filipe Lima writes on his discover.

An illness that affects the eurofans, and it's called cryovision.

AN EUROFAN'S CHRONICLE The Brazilian eurofan and TWELVE's editor Fernanda Barreto writes a story based on the entries of ESC 2012.

THE EUROVISIVE MEMES

Humour + internet + Eurovision Song Contest + TWELVE.

THE EDITORS' LETTER

T W E LVE

We are back, and we are better!

T HE  F I R S T EUROVISION SONG  CONTEST's WEBMAG

Our page on Issuu: www.issuu.com/twelvemagazine The ESC12points blog: www.esc12points.com Contact us: esc12points@gmail.com twitter.com/ESC12points facebook.com/ESC12points

Disclaimer: This webmagazine is made only for recreational and information sharing purposes by an independent group of Eurovision Song Contest enthusiasts.

It has no intention of break any copyright rule. If you would like to know more about our policies, just contact us via email on esc12points@gmail.com.

It took us some time, but here

biggest eurofans’ problem: not ac-

it is: the second issue of TWELVE

cepting his favorite entry to lose.

was surely worth the wait. The

And a new section debuts: The Eu-

quantity of interesting material

rovisive Memes.

offered in it gives us the certain-

Besides all of this, there are also

ty we have achieved our objec-

the interviews. Our staff talked to

tive of making this issue even

one of the biggest divas of the 2012

better than the first one.

edition of Eurovision, the Croatian

Our team has prepared deep

Nina Badric. But the biggest high-

analysis of each of the 42 partici-

light of this issue is, undoubtedly,

pants of Eurovision 2012. With a

the interview with the Portuguese

differential: you can also find sug-

Vânia Fernandes, who impressed

gestions of other songs which

many people with the song Sen-

won’t go to Baku, but were part of

hora Do Mar, in 2008.

National Finals and are worth the

Usually,

public

personalities

listen. It’s always nice to get to

have something we call over-po-

know new tunes, right?

liteness. So they don’t get into po-

For those of you who answered “Yes”

to

the

question

lemics, they avoid giving real opin-

above,

ions about anything — this way,

TWELVE gives another very spe-

they are “friends” of everyone, and

cial article. Every single entry that

no one will dislike them for having

has ever been presented in the

said something which people may

contest was listened, and the best

disagree of. Well, Vânia is a rare

ones among the non-winners were

(and great) exception to this pat-

selected, to form a list of songs

tern: she showed personality and

which you should give a try.

honesty, and answered directly ev-

Of course, no issue of this webmag would be complete with-

erything which was asked, resulting in an amazing interview.

out our news and gossips section

We can say: from the out-

or without our chronicles. In her

standing graphic design, to all

Chronicles of a Brazilian Eurofan,

the efforts in bringing great ma-

Fefe gives a cool review of this

terial to it, it's for sure the final

year’s contest, while in his Friday

outcome of this magazine will

Talks, Filipe describes one of the

please you. So, enjoy! may ' 12

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THE TEAM:

Antonio Neto

22 y.o., architecture and urbanism student. Lives in BelĂŠm, but dreams of going somewhere colder. Prays for an Icelandic victory on ESC and for September and Laura to perform on ESC someday (it'd be beautiful *-*). facebook.com/netuuh | twitter.com/netuuh_

Dave Comincioli

20 years old, an Argentinean studying to be an English translator.

Musicologist. Freak of languages, Starbucks, chocolate and Friends.

Drama lover. Geek and ESC fan since 2002. facebook.com/davecomincioli

Filipe Lima

26 years old. A journalist who doesn’t want to keep in the profession and is thinking of other options for life. Loves eating, chatting and loving. Has a special relation with Italian music and Slovenia. facebook.com/filipe.lm | twitter.com/limafilipe

Fernanda Barreto (Fefe)

A 22 y.o. girl who works in a national bank. She suffers of addiction to nail polishes, True Blood series and dreams about that day when Portugal will win any competition. Specially ESC. facebook.com/missfnb | twitter.com/misssfnb 8

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Fernanda Cabrera (Nanda)

A 22 y.o. journalism student who dreams big. Has a Spanish heart.

Addicted to soccer, nail polishes, Angry Birds and flat ballerina shoes, she does an exchange program thinking on the next one. twitter.com/nandacabrera

Guilherme Luz (Gui)

28, geographer and lawyer, lives in Brasília. Likes traveling, enjoy a good time with friends and family. Believes that ESC is among the biggest TV events currently, and roots for fair victories and the growth ofthe contest. facebook.com/guilherme.l.pereira | twitter.com/chapbr

Leonardo Vaz (Leo)

The 21 y.o. dude from São Paulo is a Graphic Designer and works at a home decoration magazine. Addict on eating KitKat, he lives to see Urban Symphony back to Eurovision (winning it, obviously). facebook.com/leonardovcpereira | twitter.com/leo_vaz

Marcos Paulo Pereira

24, Physical Education bachelor from São Paulo, hates to work, loves schlager divas, coreographies, wind machines, hair-whipping and flame-throwers on stage. Might represent Kosovo next century. facebook.com/justmarkos | twitter.com/justmarkos

Matheus Gomes

26, bachelor in Law, has got a special crush with (friendly) competitions between nations like ESC, the Olympic Games and Miss Universe. He thinks Ukraine should win all of them, because they were born to rock! facebook.com/matheusrbr | twitter.com/matheusrbr may ' 12

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NEWS& & GOSSIP

the latest Eurovision related stories!

Loreen: fan and odds favourite means winner?

A Swedish hurricane vanished eurofans in 2012! But you don’t need to be alarmed: it's an Euphoric hurricane and its name is Loreen Talhaoui. Not only she dominates the bets odds, but also the fans polls — like the OGAEs one, in which her song Euphoria has received 12 points from almost every country, giving everybody a Rybak-alike feeling. Will Sweden steal the most-points-ever record from its neighbour and scandinavian buddy Norway?

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Armenia withdrew; now comes the aftermath

Jedward show how recycling is a trend also in music

Armenia thought they would have an easy time after its

There is a reason why some people call them Duracell

late withdrawing in this year’s Eurovision. Not so fast...

bunnies: twins John and Edward, a.k.a "Jedward", the

Annika Nyberg-Frankenhauzer, director of Media Re-

Irish representatives of 2011 and 2012, are just un-

lations for EBU, has informed that the country will be

stoppable! Their new project is the official support

obliged to broadcast both semifinals and final live,

song for Ireland’s team on UEFA Euro 2012 soc-

without any interruptions, besides paying the full par-

cer cup. Named Put Your Green Cape On, it is a new

ticipation fee and a 50% extra fine. If the broadcaster

version of their Eurovision 2011 smash hit Lipstick,

ARMTV ignores these conditions, they may be prohib-

with new lyrics. The money raised with this new song

ited to take part in future editions of the contest.

will be given to charity.

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all Photos: EBU, divulgation, internet resources

Eurovision Young Musicians: there's still orchestra in Eurovision!

Eurovision, Junior Eurovision and for a while we used

the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. The contest

to have even a Dance Eurovision. There is yet another

was won by Norwegian viola player Eivind Holts-

less known version of Europe's favourite show: Euro-

mark Ringstad (below). But Eurovision is not Euro-

vision Young Musicians, a competition for young

vision without a good controversy in between, right?

musicians of 18 years old or under, playing instru-

This year the complains come from Belarus, repre-

ments of their choice accompanied by an orchestra

sented by 18 years old cymbal player Alexandra De-

and a conductor chosen by the organization. It hap-

nisenya that didn’t make into the top 3. The “cryovi-

pens every two years. The nation that won the Con-

sion” happens here because, according to Belarusian

test more times is Austria, with four victories, and the

press, there are allegations about another contestants

violin was the most awarded instrument — winning

using more time than the seven minutes allowed for

seven times. Unlike the other editions of Eurovision,

them to perform. Besides, they say Alexandra is a

the winner is completely chosen by jury votes.

more complete musician and played a whole concert.

This year, the EYM was held in Vienna like in its last

Of course, the final allegation is that the jury quality

three editions, and the finalists were accompanied by

is “questionable”. That’s why we love Eurovision…



NINA

BADR IC Runner up in the Croatian national final seven years ago, the Balkan diva is now back: internally chosen, she will perform the ballad Nebo in Baku.

We talked to her before she lands in Azerbaijan. ďƒ˘

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[TWELVE] What is the importance of Eurovision in your career?

[Nina] I'm very proud because the national broadcaster invited me to represent Croatia in Eurovision Song Contest. It's a big challenge for me, and definitely a new step and inspiration in my career.

We know that Nebo is one of your new album's songs, but why did you chose this very song to represent Croatia in the contest?

My song is very emotional. Starts as a ballad, and develops power throughout. It's important that its lyrics are about love, fall and faith.

Tell us more about the preparations for Baku. Are you ready to face the passionate eurofans? How's gonna be the stage performance of your song?

I'm still dreaming and thinking about all details, especialy about the song.

Song is the most important part for me. Music is my power, and only music can give me suport on stage.

Do you have any contact with any of your neighbours' artists, for example: Kaliopi from F.Y.R. of Macedonia, or Zeljko from Serbia?

Any plans of recording songs with them?

I'm in contact with Kaliopi, Zeljko and Maya Sar… For now, we don’t have plans for recording songs, but you never know.

Which entry is your favourite to win? Not including your song!

Everybody tells me that Eurovision Song Contest is a big party of music.

I am looking forward to meet all great musicians from all over Europe. And I think that everybody is favourite to win!

How the Croatian fans and press are supporting you?

I have the best fans in the world.

We are fans of Eurovision, but we're from Brazil — do you know something about our music and culture?

Of course I know Brazilian music. It developed some unique and original styles such as samba, bossa nova…

Leave our readers a message!

I wish you all the best in your life! Keep fingers crossed for me in ESC — don't forget to pick up your phone, and give you vote for me! [laughs]



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VÂ N I 16

F ERNA N DE S

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She brought Portugal's best result in the last decade with a song filled with Portuguese folk influences, and gave a strong and emotional performance in Belgrade stage, four years ago. She tells us what's her life like, since then. ďƒ˘ may ' 1 2

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[TWELVE] Can you tell us about your early days

song. Actually I was not done with Operação Triunfo

in music? About when did you realize how tal-

yet, and he was already trying to talk to me and show

ented you are, about Operação Triunfo…

the song. When I read the poem, I fell instantly in love

[Vânia] It has been a blessing since the beginning. I

with it, and within a week Carlos had already traveled

kept singing all the time and always had the dream to

to Madeira (where I was born and was when after Op-

do it on a stage, but only in 1997 I had the chance to

eração Triunfo was over) so we could record in a stu-

take part in a contest in my hometown, called “Funchal

dio a demo with my voice (that’s the version that is on

a Cantar” and since then I was lucky enough to never

the compilations of the Festival). Carlos never listened

stop. I had the family by my side, supporting me no

to me singing live before, but trusted me as the right

matter what and giving me the chance to start my ca-

singer for the song. It was a kind of trust that only par-

reer in hotels, shows in the area and being supportive

ents have in their children. Carlos Coelho was my big-

in my dream of studying music. Operação Triunfo was

gest motivation among my wish to give back the love

another great opportunity that I didn't want to miss

to people who had voted to me in Operação Triunfo…

and I had no big hopes and was surprise after surprise

And suddenly I was competing.

and a big blessing to get to the point I got! It was a

Can you describe the moment you first listened

wonderful experience!

to Senhora do Mar?

Talking about Operação

The first time I listened to

Triunfo, what was your favorite performance on the show? Which one was the hardest?

I can’t and I don’t want to choose only one, because I learned something different with every single one, personal and professionally. It was amazing working every

" Carlos never listened to me singing live before, but trusted me as the right singer for the song."

(who actually ended up singing it with me, as part of the choir) and I was very unsure on saying yes, it was not love at the first sight. It was in English, with another instrumentation and atmosphere and I didn’t like it. The melody was already strong, but

week with a different mate.

the moment I read the poem

But one of the most special

that was in the same Carlos

moments on the show and of my life was, no doubts,

Coelho’s e-mail, I was catched by the power of the

when I sang with Professor Maria João, since she is one

words and when Carlos went with me to Madeira to

of my musical references, it was so special. Maria João

record my voice, he already had an instrumentation

is one of the few artists whose talent is as big as her

more similar to the final product and that was the

generosity on the stage and this is something I take in

moment I saw everything together: harmonious, per-

my heart with kindness. Beyond that it was a duet with

fect. And “The Lady of The Sea” was alive!

one of my favourite songs, from the amazing Brazilian

After Eurovision, did you work with Babic and

songbook: Beatriz (by Chico Buarque and Edu Lobo).

Coelho? Would you like to?

You had just won the show when you took part on

I traveled with Carlos Coelho to some Eurovision par-

Festival da Canção. What was your motivation?

ties all around Europe. He is genious as a musical

I was invited by the author and producer of Senhora do

producer to this kind of events, and Babic is still writ-

Mar, Carlos Coelho, a person that I never met before, but

ing some great music. Sadly, I didn’t sing any of their

seemed to know me forever. He contacted me through

songs after that. Who knows, someday.

internet and insisted I should be the one singing this 18

it, I was with a few friends

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Your backing vocals were your fellow com-

gal would be going to the final, after all.

petitors on Operação Triunfo. How were they

If I tell you that sometimes I think that was a dream,

chosen? And after Festival da Canção, did you

would you believe me? That was a movie scene, I re-

think about a different performance or taking

member I was completely down, already giving thanks

there was always a conviction?

to the singers for being there with me and Carlos for

The choir, that are not exactly a choir, because the

the opportunity, that was more than I could expect,

song without them is not the same thing and they

and Jonas would insist: “We are in…”. I don’t know if

are not completely dispensable, are great soloists that

he was practicing the Attraction Law in that moment,

were chosen because of their quality as musicians

but I know every country they revealed, it looked like

and as people. The day I met Carlos Coelho, at a coffee

we were even more far away to get it. And suddenly

shop in Madeira, we chose the singers. Carlos wanted

the cameras came closer to us and could be to any

them to be friends with me, because we would be

other country near us at the Green Room, so I kept be-

working a lot together and would be helpful if we had

lieving our trip was getting to its end there. Then we

a solid complicity. Unnecessary to say their names

heard the audience supporting us and calling PORTU-

flew form my mouth in accordance to Carlos and

GAL, and we could be done there that I would feel like

Babic’s plans. Taking them

the big winner. Nothing could

was more than a conviction,

replace this support from the

it was unavoidable. [E/N: Vania’s choir: Jonas, Luis, Evelyne, Joana and Jéssica.]

Talking about Eurovision now, how would you describe

the

experience?

What is your strongest memory of your days in Belgrade?

The people, the Eurovision

" I know every country they revealed, it looked like we were even more far away to get it."

What an amazing joy, bigger than any dream I would ever dare to have.

You were clearly a fan favourite. Did you feel any kind of pressure because of this?

I actually felt honoured, I was spoiled and cared. I felt some

fans that are amazing and

pressure for representing my

keep alive this cultural ex-

country and everyone who

change that Eurovision is, the hugs, the warm wishes,

trusted us when voting to represent them, mas the

the waves, the love and joy from this people that is

honor and the happiness that came from representing

our audience and make Eurovision a crib to artists

a country like Portugal: an amazing language, a singu-

that are proud of the place they are from. It was more

lar culture, a praiseworthy history, unique landscapes

than amazing! Besides, I remember that I was rushing

and beautiful people, was bigger than any fear.

all the time. Rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals, press

Can you tell us and Eurovision backstage story?

conferences, photos, interviews… Heaven for the one

Unfortunately I don’t have any funny backstage story.

who love this thing of being an artist.

I met some of the contestants, but the organization

In your semifinal, Portugal was the very last coun-

was such that we barely talked to each other. Every-

try to be called between the qualified ones and

thing was on the dot, rehearsals were made in a full

the audience at the Belgrade Arena would not stop

arena and with as precision as the contest itself, that

welling your country’s name, going crazy when it

when the Eurovision final was over, I felt that it was

was announced. There is any way to explain that

a good rehearsal and suddenly it was over.

moment? It was the first time in four years Portu20

audience, and… it came true!

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Besides Senhora do Mar — of course —, which

Festival da Canção. Homens da Luta’s work is very funny

song was your favorite? What do you think

and entertaining as comedians, but “a place for everything,

about the final result? (Russia won Eurovision

and everything in its place”. To me, Eurovision is a opportu-

2008 with Dima Bilan and Believe.)

nity to show the best from our country to the world and

I liked a lot Oro, the Serbian song from Jelena Tomaševic.

when you take a thing like what happened in 2011, it’s the

I was not a fan of the final results, because, for me, Eu-

transformation from something very serious to a joke. We

rovision is a clash of cultures and besides how amazing

were very unfortunate on this choice, but we will regain

was the figure skater, nothing on the winner perfor-

our expectations and confidence in Portugal, I have no

mance had a Russian feel, it was a great Timbaland pro-

doubts. I understand that people were discouraged when

duction, but is it right if the song doesn’t have any sin-

they voted for Homens da Luta, most people think that,

gularity that makes it unique and a flag of its country?

since we never get a good place on the scoreboard, let’s

Have you made friends with other contestants?

send something on the funnier side, but the truth is that

I made friends but we don’t keep in touch, however those

Eurovision moves thousands of people and Portuguese

are people that if I see again today, it will be as if we’ve

people forget that would be a good opportunity to trust

been together yesterday.

more in a show with tradition and audience like this, and

People are saying that

the truth is that seems like we

Vida Minha, Portuguese

don’t, but we actually have a

song on Eurovision, 2012 is similar to Senhora do Mar. Do you see similarities?

Did you like the choice?

The similarity is comprehensible, since the writing team is the same: Carlos Coelho e Andrej Babic. However they have different

environment

and

theme. It’s not better or worse,

" Is it right if the song doesn't have any singularity that makes it unique and a flag of its country?"

sion fans, so we should do something good. General audience in Portugal does not understand that.

What do you think is essential to Portugal to stand out to the audience and jury, since it is obviously that it is the country with fewer pol-

it’s simply different. I liked the

itic and geography allies?

choice and I’m really happy for

At this moment, I have no doubts

Carlos, Andrej and Filipa Sousa. I hope they get high

that the voting system is bound and because of this I think

scores! [E/N: Vânia and Filipa were in the same Operação

western Europe will end it up winning the Festival. Eventu-

Triunfo edition.]

ally Portugal’s day to win will come, I don’t know if it has

Did you have the chance to listen the candidates

have something to do with musical quality, lyrics, singer, py-

for Eurovision 2012? Any favourites?

rotechnic show, backing vocals, background, costumes… But

I’ve listened a few, but besides the Portuguese I still

if we can send some quality material and that really repre-

don’t have other favourite.

sents our country, I think it will be the best option.

Portugal went to the polemic side when the

Would you go back to Eurovision?

country chose to take to Germany the band Ho-

I'd do it again if I had exactly the same team, from António,

mens da Luta, who broke the sequence of three

the makeup artist, to Carlos as a producer and if all of

consecutive finals to Portugal. Can you give us

those amazing voices that we have here had have their

your opinion about this controversy?

chance! There is so much quality here to be shown, I’ve

I think this choice was offensive to all Portuguese authors,

already had my opportunity and I’m very thankful for it.

poets and artists, besides everyone who has ever been on 22

good reputation with Eurovi-

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Changing the subject 100%, tell us a bit about where is your musical career going right now, and your plans for the future.

I am singing in many projects, many different styles like I’ve always liked to do. I hope to conclude my bachelor’s degree in music this year and develop my new passion: to give classes! I am learning a lot and every single day having new adventures and challenges. I’m working hard!

You know we are a Brazilian magazine. What do you know or like the most about our culture?

Music. Your music is wonderful! From Bossa Nova to Forró, what a beauty way you have to say the words, what a swing. Amazing poetry, great Chico Buarque, Tom Jobim, Edu Lobo, Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento. And of course you are the land of one of my divas: ELIS REGINA! To wrap up, Vânia, can you leave a message to Thanks for your huge affection and for listen to us!

Congratulations to your amazing work! I hope to get to know you in person very soon.

Once again, thank you a lot for taking your time and for your attention. Senhora do Mar is between the all time favorites list from all our editors and, as Portuguese speakers, made us all very proud of you!

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all Photos: EBU, divulgation, internet resources

TWELVE readers?

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all Photos: EBU, DIVULGATION, internet resources

EUROVISI

2012

ALL SON IN

REVIEW 26

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This year, 42 countries will have their delegations in Baku, ready to showcase the best of their musical talent in the Eurovision Song Contest stage. Here's the TWELVE guide for you to follow this year's Eurovision, with all the songs reviewed by our expert editors.

HOW TO READ THIS ARTICLE:  The reviews are shown in the performing

order of each show (1st semifinal, 2nd semifinal and final).  In the end of each text, you will find two

special highlights:



WHAT'S HOT shows the strong points

of the song.



WHAT'S NOT is about the weak points

of that entry.  For the countries that held a selection

process (National Final), there is a text box called ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN, in which you can read about a song that didn't win the selection, but was also good enough. may ' 1 2

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semifinal

01. MONTENEGRO 02. ICELAND 03. GREECE 04. LATVIA 05. ALBANIA 06. ROMANIA 07. SWITZERLAND 08. BELGIUM 09. FINLAND

May 22 | 21:00 CET nd

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

ISRAEL SAN MARINO CYPRUS DENMARK RUSSIA HUNGARY AUSTRIA MOLDOVA IRELAND also voting in this semifinal: ITALY | SPAIN | AZERBAIJAN may''11 2 may

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ALL Photos in this article: EBU/ DIVULGATION/ internet resources

01.

Montenegro Rambo Amadeus | Euro Neuro Eurovision 2012 will start with

tirely of rhymes (and more confus-

and some don't, like InCulto in 2010

a "friki" entry. Montenegrin broad-

ing than the separation of the For-

or Rodolfo Chikilicuatre in 2008. Be-

caster RTCG chose internally the

mer Yugoslavia).

ing a freak may be great fun, but

singer Antonije Pusic (a.k.a. Rambo

A factor which doesn't help is

Amadeus), who has a musical back-

the presentation order. Since the

ground that mixes jazz to electric

two-semifinals system was adopt-

guitar riffs, opera to norwegian folk

ed, only in 2010 the opening coun-

melodies. Sounds complex? Wait

try was able to reach the final.

until you listen to Euro Neuro.

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Every Eurovision has the freak

only a few know how to be good freak artists.

ď ƒ WHAT'S HOT: unusual and funny melody.

ď „ WHAT'S

NOT: confusing lyrics

(even sung in English), being the

The song offers an unusual and

entry it deserves. Some get good re-

first country in the semifinal is al-

funny melody, with lyrics made en-

sults, like Verka Serduchka in 2007,

most a guarantee of not qualifying.

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GRETA SALÓME & JÓNSI | Never Forget Jónsi represented Iceland in 2004 and reached the 19th place. After that, he tried his luck in the Icelandic na-

02.

ICELAND

tional final of 2007, being the runner-up. Now he's back to Eurovision, with Greta Salóme — a singer that also plays the violin in the Icelandic Symphonic Orchestra.

Their song is a great mix of the musical styles of the duo: it has the rock flair from Jónsi, and the classical lightness of Greta in the violins. In a semifinal with a few ballads, Never Forget stands out. Even being the second country to perform (a karmic placing, historically), Iceland has a good chance of reaching the final, as it's a very juries-friendly song. Also helps the fact that it is placed between songs of different styles, so they probably won't steal votes from each other.

Sending male/female duos to Eurovision is an old but successful formula — just look at Azerbaijan winning in 2011, and Denmark being 4th in 2010. We'll probably watch Iceland performing with wind machines, cameras rolling around the floor and the cliché scene of the couple in love and pretending nothing can happen between them.

 WHAT'S HOT: a great song, that is likely to please the jury. It can also follow the path of some duos that did well recently.

 WHAT'S NOT: being the second country to perform is not so nice really, but you never know!

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Blár Ópal's Statu Upp summer song reached the second place, riding the new boybands wave (such as The Wanted and One Direction).

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03.

GREECE

ELEFTHERIA ELEFTHERIOU | Aphrodisiac ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Eleftheria was, indeed, the best choice.

If other song had to be chosen anyway, it would be Dora's Baby I'm Yours. It's also made in the style Greece loves – a mix of pop with traditional national sounds.

The 33rd greek entry to Eurovision is actually sung by a Cypriot voice. The 22 years-old singer, born in Paralimni, tried to represent her mother-country in 2006, but only got 7th place in the national final. In 2009, she got into the Greek X-Factor, but was eliminated in the fifth live show. Eleftheria was also supposed to enter the national final of Greece in 2010, but her song leaked in the internet before the show, which caused her disqualification.

Greece is living hard times nowadays. Not only for the national final of 2012 that took place in a shopping mall: the official video only reproduces her performance in that event. In it you can see a draft of a good stage performance, which still has space to improve.

She has a whole lot of charisma and stage presence, but still needs more confidence.

A strong and european-sounding pop with some Greek touches.

Since Sakis Rouvas, that's the magic combination that Greece has been using in its songs, and Aphrodisiac is no exception. A very successful and low-risk formula. It doesn't mean that Europe won't get tired of it, though. That happened to Turkey in 2011: after some repetition of rock songs, the country got stuck in the semifinals for the first time ever.

 WHAT'S HOT: proven successful formula since 2004.

 WHAT'S NOT: exhaustive repeti-

tion of the recipe may be tiring to the ears of the public (and jury).

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ANMARY | Beautiful Song Linda Amantova is the real name of the singer representing Latvia this

04.

LATVIA

year. She was born in the "distant" (not really, but she says so in the lyrics) year of 1980, and has a degree from the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music. Her rise to stardom came after she entered the Talantu Fabrika 2 reality show, where she was the runner-up.

Anmary, in fact, has a beautiful song. It's impossible not to get enchanted by its cuteness. After the national final, Beautiful Song got revamped and now it's much more pleasant and less caricatural to listen to. The weak spot is the silly lyrics, reminding songs from the Junior Eurovision in some verses: I was born in the distant ninety-eighty/ The year that Irish Johnny Logan won...

Apart from that, she holds up the song well, with her pretty voice and a nice stage presence. But she needs to get rid of the corny staging from the National Final, with the singer and two dancers wearing awkward outfits and doing weird moves.

Cute songs with appealing singers like this usually reach the final — just as Dino Merlin for Bosnia in 2011, and the Portuguese Flor de Lis in 2009. The drawing position is not very good, though: the Latvian ballad comes after the uptempo ethno song from Greece.

 WHAT'S HOT: beautiful voice, appealing singer, nice stage presence.

 WHAT'S NOT: not so nice drawing

position right after Greece, may be presented weirdly on stage.

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: The other semifinalists who fought against Anmary were weak, but the band PeR, with their geek outfits and contagious song, would have a more innovative presentation.

They deserved much better!

05.

ALBANIA

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Xhensila Myrtezaj had a song called Lulet Mbledh Për Henen, that could be revamped and turn into a big epic ballad, or even become a R&B song.

RONA NISHLIU | Suus

34

Rona was born in Mitrovica, in

ginning of the song is simply won-

Actually, this song may qualify,

the former Yugoslavia, but soon

derful, with a delicate and intense

as its semifinal is very fragile. It

moved to the Kosovo capital Pris-

piano part. The voice adds a sweet

wouldn't stand a chance if it was

tina, because of political trouble in

tone to the melody. But then, we

drawn in the second semifinal.

her city. In 2004, she was fifth in

enter the second half of the song,

the Albanian version of Idol. Be-

when an endless annoying scream-

sides being known for her pop ef-

ing session starts. Luckily we have

forts, she's also a jazz singer.

the mute button in our remote con-

 WHAT'S HOT: her voice is really

good indeed. And the worst songs of this year are also in this semifinal.

 WHAT'S NOT: its only highlight

In the ballad ocean of Eurovi-

trol. It's a pity how a song which had

sion 2012, Suus could be just one

it all to become a phenomenon can

reaches the final, it'll vanish away

more of its kind, but it's not. The be-

get lost like that.

among lots of other ballads.

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is the screaming. And if Albania

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Catalin Josan's Call My Name would be a totally different try compared to Zaleilah. It's a soft pop/rock which reminds many recent Danish entries - such as All Night Long.

It'd be a safer choice for qualifying, but less likely to surprise the audience and getting a good result in the final.

06.

ROMANIA MANDINGA | Zaleilah You may find this song familiar.

sounds, in an infectious and dance-

Romania's best results came

Elena Gheorghe, the Romanian rep-

able rhythm — that kind of song

with similar recipes: they came sec-

resentative of 2009, was the lead

which you wanna dance along

ond in 2005 and 2010, with catchy

singer of Mandinga before her debut

to. Sounds perfectly fitted for the

songs and interestingly staged per-

in Eurovision, and both songs (from

televoters, keeping in mind that

formances. Would this be their time

2009 and 2012) have similarities in

most of them don't listen to the

to shine, at last?

their musical style.

songs prior to the Eurovision live

Now with another Elena in the

shows. The stage presence will

vocal part (now with the surname

probably be remarkable, with a sort

Ionescu), Mandinga brings a song

of choreography that they are do-

mixing Cuban music with Balkan

ing in some live performances.

 WHAT'S HOT: easy and contagious lyrics and rhythm.  WHAT'S NOT: not really a juryfriendly song, and whoever understands Spanish will get the silly lyrics. may ' 1 2

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07.

SWITZERLAND

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Not so great songs this year in the Swiss NF – Sinplus was the wisest choice anyway.

I'd mention Lys Assia for the curiosity factor. What if she came back to Eurovision after so many years?

SINPLUS | Unbreakable The band is formed by the broth-

revamped nicely as the last Swiss

will struggle to get the same atten-

ers Ivan and Gabriel Broggini, born

entry was. It actually got revamped,

tion from the public. To overcome

in Losone (in the Italian-speaking

but it remained the same as before.

that, maybe a remarkable presenta-

Switzerland). Their career began

Sad, isn't it? In addition, the accent

tion would do, but it seems unlikely.

recently, after the release of the al-

of the singer leads to some misun-

bum called Desinformation — which

derstanding: in the chorus, he sings

also contains their Eurovision song.

swim against the swim, instead of

Unbreakable was the first song

36

swim against the stream.

 WHAT'S HOT: the only rockers in

their semifinal, and the song has good quality.

 WHAT'S NOT: not a favourable po-

to be chosen for 2012, in the end

The position of the country in

of last December. It was a promis-

the semifinal is also a bad point: af-

rock entries did poorly in the past,

ing song, as it would probably be

ter the cheerful Romania, the band

and the song is a bit old already.

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sition in the semifinal, some similar

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: More sentimental than Would You, Safety Net would have more chances of going further in the contest – the singer's voice has more space to show its full strength in this song!

08.

BELGIUM Iris | Would You Iris is one of the youngest sing-

develops during the three minutes.

lodic young ladies in Eurovision, the

ers of this year, with only 17 years

Her voice is intriguing and slowly

most recent to come up was Anna

old. After being spotted in a talent

becomes irresistible. The well re-

Rossinelli, who surprisingly reached

competition of a teen magazine, she

hearsed falsettos and the key chang-

the final in 2011 with In Love For A

was signed to a record label, and re-

es are worthy of praise. Would You is

While — a good sign for Iris.

leased a single. She's got internally

a very well produced and orchestred

picked by the Flemish broadcaster

song, that gives feelings of "Sunday

VRT, and her first TV performance

morning road-trip" or "late afternoon

teenager lifestyle, Iris can be lucky

ever was in her National Final, in

under the tree in autumn". The kind

enough to get a spot in the final.

which the song was chosen.

of clichés that everyone loves.

It's amazing to see how this girl

In a whole universe of sweet me-

 WHAT'S HOT: in times when minimalism is the new black for the

 WHAT'S NOT: definately the singer needs some more stage presence.

09.

FINLAND

PERNILLA KARLSSON | När Jag Blundar ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: If you like Coldplay, you'll probably feel at home listening to Ville Eetvartti's Lasikaupunki. It's a pop-rock song with a nice violins part, and a performance stunning enough to fill a big arena.

The singer who will represent Finland this year crossed a lot of barriers until getting the ticket to Eurovision: she passed through an internet voting, a broadcasted live shows phase, a final and a superfinal.

She's 21 years old, and belongs to the Finnish minority of Swedish-speakers. In 2006 she won a music contest called Världens Minsta Schlagerfestival, but kept dedicating herself to playing handball, her other passion.

But with encouragement from her brother, who is a musical producer (and the composer of När Jag Blundar), she's mainly doing music today.

Smoothly sung, När Jag Blundar can break even more barriers. The uniqueness of the song begins by its language, Swedish, goes on to the lyrics telling a family's story, and reaches the melody: simple and remarkable, full of chords that develop throughout the song in perfect tuning with Pernilla's performance, who surely is surrounded by family memories that led her brother to write this song for their mother.

By the way, this familiar factor still reinforces the quality of this song, also allowing an emotional flair that can make the finnish entry stand out from its rivals in the first semifinal — which is full of bland and questionable songs. The same sweet and involving style was used by Finland last year and has been successful in recent years — Belgium won the first semifinal of 2010 with Tom Dice, and Iceland reached an acclaimed second place in the 2009 final with Yohanna.

 WHAT'S HOT: the singer is full of charisma, and has a familiar connection with the song.  WHAT'S NOT: the big amount of ballads in 2012, and the not-so-good draw in the semifinal (after

the similar ballad from Belgium, also sung by a young female singer).

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IZABO | Time Psychedelic rock, disco, punk

on a rhythm mixture for this year.

Teapacks got stuck in the semifi-

and Arab music: these are the main

Time is a very unusual song, which

nals, and France ended up with in

musical influences of Izabo's songs.

certainly stands out, together with

the 22nd place in the final.

The quartet released their first al-

the laid-back style of the band.

bum in 2003, and collected lots of

Their funny way to perform, in a

hits in Israel — therefore being well

semifinal loaded with bland songs,

with a funny stage performance,

recognized in the European alterna-

may lead to a Laka-factor, granting

can make the difference.

tive pop scene.

Israel a place in the final.

 WHAT'S HOT: the unusual and relaxed style of the band, together

 WHAT'S NOT: it's impossible to

After the failed comeback of

At the same time, this formula

measure the efficiency of this for-

Dana International last year, Israel is

was also used by Israel and France

mula, that can go pretty right or

trying to renew its energies and bet

in 2007 — back then, the Israeli band

very, very wrong in the results.

10.

ISRAEL

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VALENTINA MONETTA | The Social Network Song (Oh Oh – Uh – Oh Oh)

The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (yeah, that's the official name of the country) will be represented by the 28 years old Valentina — who has proposed herself to make the debut of the little state in 2008, but Miodio were the lucky ones, back then. Valentina is a newly born artist: she re-

11.

SAN MARINO

leased her first album in late 2011, filled with jazzy songs.

Here is the most controversial song of Eurovision 2012: before, it was called Facebook (Oh Oh Uh Oh Oh), but one simply can't do product placements in ESC! All the controversy is penned by the "legendary" composer Ralph Siegel, author of The Social Network Song. The broadcaster SMTV picked (or ordered) the song, and later searched for a singer — who is yet unknown in the showbiz. No, we're not doubting her potential, but fact is: a contentless song like this wouldn't be accepted by anyone more famous.

Here's my interpretation of the lyrics: the song tells a virtual sex story between the singer and a partner, who ends up being known all over the internet for his carnal adventures at the cyberspace — then, the singer gets famous herself, and receives tons of new friend requests in her social network (that one, which name cannot be spoken). The lyrics mention "cyber sin", "sex machine". Even being said diffusedly, the presence of these words deprave my mind, assuring me that this song is not naive as it seems — intentions well hidden behind an angelical singer and a silly melody, featuring a disco-pop dated sound, and lots of autotuned vocals during the entire three minutes.

About the performance: San Marino will preceed Cyprus, Denmark and Russia — all countries with good bet odds and among fan-favourites.

At least, Italia will vote in this semifinal, avoiding a nul-point tragic ending. The question is: why a song about social networks in Eurovision? Is this topic really that much relevant in San Marino?

 WHAT'S HOT: it's worth reminding that Eurovision had worse songs than this, in the past.

 WHAT'S NOT: quality of music, lyr-

ics, production and theme as respect-

able as Rebecca Black's.

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IVI ADAMOU | La La Love This girl is going for Cyprus, she's not unknown in

12.

CYPRUS

Greece: she entered the second season of the Greek X-Factor, in 2009 — along with the greek representative Eleftheria Eleftheriou, who was eliminated six weeks earlier. Ivi's got gold certification for her first EP in 2010, and released her first full studio album, called San Ena Oneiro, in 2011.

Since the beginning of the last decade, Cyprus has been sending bland common songs, thus always giving the spotlight to Greece. But, this year, the tables turned: Ivi brings a contagious well-produced pop song, and a charismatic stage presence. La La Love is instantaneously addictive. Its instrumental part has a modern electropop base, meant to catch the young audience, while lyrics and chorus are sticky enough to conquer even more mature people.

One of the more controverse topics in Eurovision is the jury unacceptance of electro-driven songs. With La La Love that seems unlikely to happen: it's a solid and well-built song from the beginning to the very end. The official video also proves that: it follows current trends in the music industry, paying a visual homage to the new hipster queen Lana Del Rey with a beautiful retro-like editing, and a well written take on Snow White's fairytale.

Cyprus will surely have the Greek support in the voting: they're in the same semifinal, and both singers are known in Cyprus and Greece and have catchy, modern pop songs.

 WHAT'S HOT: great position in the semifinal, after San Marino's grievance and before a slower song; Cyprus also can rely on the Greek voting. And after all, it's a really good song.

 WHAT'S NOT: the staging needs more colours than the music video.

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Call The Police may not about love, but it's a very solid and catchy electropop effort. may ' 1 2

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13.

DENMARK

SOLUNA SAMAY | Should've Known Better After two top 5 results in a row, Denmark needs to keep the pace, and who's in charge of that this year is Soluna Samay Kettel.

The 21 year-old Guatemalan-born girl began to sing at the age of 5, alongside her father in the streets

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: The young and talented Jesper Nohrstedt would also be a good choice for Denmark. His song, Take Our Hearts, would fit perfectly the current Danish profile in Eurovision!

of cities from Germany, South Africa and Italy. Settled down in Copenhagen, she released in 2011 her debut album, Sing Out Loud, with 14 brand-new tracks. The singer speaks fluently English, Danish, Spanish and German — the last one is the language she uses at home with her family.

Should've Known Better won the Danish national final as a dark horse — it entered the competition as a wildcard and topped the televote, but actually wasn't the juries' favourite. The song is a sweet ballad with a smooth melody, matching perfectly the lovefilled poetry of the lyrics and enhanced with the bright vocals by Soluna. The production process of the entry was made by Chief1, the producer responsible for Denmark's entry in 1997 (Kølig Kaj, Stemmen I Mit Liv), and took only one month to be concluded.

 WHAT'S HOT: Denmark is riding high waves in the contest, with

two top 5 results in a row — and their chances of repeating the achievement this year are clear.

 WHAT'S NOT: the challenge for

Denmark this year is to forget the competition and focus in its own stage performance.

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ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Yulia Volkova and Dima Bilan's Back To Her Future would probably have a remarkable stage performance, which certainly would bring votes – added to the fact that they're already well-known.

14.

RUSSIA BURANOVSKIYE BABUSHKI | Party For Everybody After reaching the third place

songs, and versions of worldwide

an announcement of a party for ev-

in the race for the Russian ticket

hits such as Yesterday (The Beatles)

erybody, boom boom. I support hu-

to Eurovision 2010, the grannies

and Hotel California (The Eagles).

mour as a music element, but as long

folk ensemble from Buranovo won

Aren't they cute? Well, that's the

the country by storm this year: in a

only compliment I can make about

national final with 25 competitors,

this song. It just lacks a rhythm or

they left behind acts like the ESC-

any kind of appeal that's worth a

winner Dima Bilan (who sang to-

vote. It's funny to see a bunch of

gether with t.A.T.u.'s Yulia Volkova)

(badly rehearsed) old ladies singing

and the famous rapper Timati. The

something that starts as a Russian

grandmas usually sing russian folk

folk song and suddenly turns into

as the song have a minimally structured base. And this one hasn't.

 WHAT'S HOT: they're from Russia, and they'll sing in favourable spot and semifinal.

 WHAT'S NOT: bad song. The ladies also need some good rehearsing to sing along in the same rhythm. may ' 1 2

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ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Caramel would also be a great Hungarian representative.

Vízió is a native language pop song with strong beats and nice vocals!

Don't forget to check it out!

15.

HUNGARY COMPACT DISCO | Sound Of Our Hearts Compact Disco is an electro-pop

44

trant, Kati Wolf) to go to Baku.

in their stage presentation – it can

band formed by Behnam Lotfi, Gá-

They cared a lot about the song’s

influence the results and bring bet-

bor Pál, Attila Sándor and Csaba

production, but it lacks the audacity

ter positions to them. Hungary will

Walkó. They met for the first time in

that makes the difference. The lyrics

be the 15th country to step on the

2005, and since then, they released

contain a very beautiful message;

stage in the first semifinal.

an album in 2009. The band was

the vocals are not the best though,

selected to Eurovision Song Contest

but it’s far from being a total fiasco.

 WHAT'S HOT: Sound Of Our Hearts was well received by the eurofans

through Hungarian’s National Final

Sound Of Our Hearts doesn’t

A Dal ("the song"), after reaching

have elements that may surprise

NOT: the bad results from  WHAT'S last year must be forgotten, and the

the superfinal and being picked by a

the audience. The Hungarian del-

band still has to bring surprise ele-

jury (headed by their last year's en-

egation will have to put some effort

ments on stage.

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TRACKSHITTAZ | Woki Mit Deim Popo Trackshittaz is formed by friends

Analysing the verses of this

Lukas Plöchl (nickname G-Neila) and

song, we can presume that it was

Eurovision needs songs and art-

Manuel Höffelner (aka Manix), which

made only for the purpose of being

ists like these, if it really wants to

are the edgy duo behind Woki Mit

a summer hit. It's not meant to have

become a phenomenon among the

Deim Popo. They became famous in

amazing lyrics, and the boys are not

youth and a pop icon — it's got to get

Austria after Lukas’ participation in

afraid to be indecent: all they want

sexy and daring, just like this entry.

the reality show Helden Von Mor-

is to rock the party in the nightclub.

gen. In 2011 they almost had their

Their position in the semifinal is

 WHAT'S HOT: the performance

Eurovision moment with the song

neutral: they’ll be in the position 16,

Oida Taunz, which was the runner

after Hungary and before Moldova,

up of the National Final.

two countries that probably will not

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Conchita Wurst would shock everyone: the bearded travestite has a powerful diva-like voice, and her schlager That's What I Am would surely bring 12 points from Sweden in the finals!

have elaborated performances.

will be remarkable and the song is sticky enough to get into the finals.

NOT: juries may not enjoy  WHAT'S this “threat to the good manners”.

16.

AUSTRIA

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PASHA PARFENY | Lautar Who represents Moldova in this

In 2012 he won O Melodia Pentru

song from Austria, and before the

year’s contest is Pasha Parfeny.

Europa, the Moldovan National Fi-

twin-pop from Ireland. Pasha’s posi-

Born in Orhei, Moldova, he always

nal, with a song intitled Lautar.

tion is not so good, even being one

worked with music since his child-

The song has a melody that re-

of the last to perform — Waterline

hood. His first National Final at-

sembles the 1920s, but the whole

and Woki Mit Deim Popo are more

tempt was in 2009; back then he

thing is still very 2012. He sings

charming than Lautar.

was the lead vocalist of SunStroke

that he'll conquer his “princess” with

Project, the Moldovan representan-

his… trumpet. The lyrics aren’t that

tives in 2010. His second attempt of

great, but not so awful either, what

going to Eurovision was in 2010 as

can bring some jury votes. Moldova

well, with No Crime, as a solo artist.

will perform right after the big-butt

17.

MOLDOVA ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Transbalkanica's Balkan Riders would also be a wise choice: a nice blend of folk and pop sounds in the song, with a stage performance that would surely praise the Moldovan roots.

 WHAT'S HOT: there’s not any similar entry in this semifinal.  WHAT'S NOT: bad position between two "attention seeker" songs, lyrics aren't so great either.

JEDWARD | Waterline Guess who’s back? The twins

As expected, their comeback is

with the big advantage of being the

John and Edward are returning to

with a catchy pop song, meant to

last ones to perform. It's even pos-

Eurovision! They brought an excel-

improve Ireland’s image in Eurovi-

sible to see some improvement in

lent result to Ireland after eleven

sion. Their song fits perfectly the

their vocal efforts.

years: their country came back to

Jedward style, allowing the boys to

top 10 in 2011, reaching the eighth

jump and dance around the stage.

place with the song Lipstick. The

Waterline is not as catchy as Lipstick

therefore, lots of televotes. And it's a

boys were revealed in the United

— but it is very familiar and pleas-

bubblegum song with catchy lyrics!

Kingdom after their participation

ant, and will probably conquer the

on The X-Factor. Waterline is their

twins’ fans and everyone watching

song for this year’s contest.

the first semifinal of Eurovision —

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Andrew Mann may not be as sparky as Jedward, singing his song Here I Am, but he's sounded great live, and the track has a nice and catchy drum beat.

 WHAT'S HOT: Jedward has a huge girly fanbanse around Europe —

 WHAT'S NOT: comparisons with their last year’s entry and the criticism about their style and vocals.

19.

IRELAND

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2

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nd

semifinal

01. serbia 02. F.Y.R. of Macedonia 03. NETHERLANDS 04. MALTA 05. BELARUS 06. PORTUGAL 07. UKRAINE 08. BULGARIA 09. SLOVENIA

May 24 | 21:00 CET th

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

CRoatia sweden georgia turkey estonia slovakia norway bosnia & HERZEGOVINA lithuania also voting in this semifinal: FRANCE | GERMANY | UNITED KINGDOM may ' 1 2

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49

01.

SERBIA Željko JoksimoviC | Nije Ljubav Stvar

50

Another comeback in this year’s

composed songs for two balcanic

rovision, it's still filled with energy

contest is Željko Joksimovic — one

countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina,

and is also totally able to bring good

of the most respected singers in

in 2006 with Lejla; and Serbia in

results to his country. If the results

his homeland. He was born in Bel-

2008, with Oro. His mission will not

depend on betting odds or eurofans

grade, and since he started to work

be easy, but he has the guts to bring

polls, Serbia will get another good

with music, he marked his pres-

ESC back to Belgrade.

result this year.

ence in song contests around Eu-

Nije Ljubav Stvar is the most

rope. His first Eurovision trip was

balcanic-sounding of all ballads

HOT: Željko has a great  WHAT'S retrospect in the contest, and the

back in 2004, when his song Lane

this year. It has a strong emotional

emotional effect of balcanic ballads.

Moje brought a second place to Ser-

factor, and even if the song is very

bia and Montenegro. After that, he

similar from his other works in Eu-

 WHAT'S NOT: the déjà vu feeling

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about his past entries.

02.

F.Y.R. Of MACEDONIA Kaliopi | Crno I Belo This year, FYROM is bringing

very well known among the Bal-

going to the finals lie on her fame

an artist with lots of experience:

kans for her humanitary work and

among the former-yugo countries.

Kaliopi. The singer started her ca-

her long list of hits.

She will perform in the second spot

reer winning a song contest for kids

A song that you enjoy when

when she was nine. She gained suc-

you iPod's shuffle mode plays, but

cess with her band, which released

that you wouldn't choose to play

two albums of huge success in her

by yourself. That’s Crno I Belo, this

homeland. Kaliopi went to Switzer-

year’s entry from FYROM. As Simon

land, and when returned to Mace-

Cowell (X-Factor judge and music

donia, won the Skopje Fest in 1996.

producer) would say, this song is

She’s the biggest diva of Macedonia,

totally forgettable. Her chances of

of the semifinal — no one has ever qualified performing in this spot.

 WHAT'S HOT:

the experienced

singer, who won't be too affected by her nerves on stage.

 WHAT'S NOT: Kaliopi will perform in the doomed position number two of her semifinal. may ' 1 2

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JOAN | You And Me Joan Franka, from Rotterdam, has a tough task to accomplish: bringing The Netherlands back to the finals of ESC, in May 24th. Her career started after she showed up her vocal skills in The Voice of Holland, reaching 8th place. In this year’s Dutch national final, Joan presented You And Me and won the competition.

She is between Macedonia and Malta, which are very different songs from hers. But coming at number three, at the beginning of the semifinal, it can be very bad. The best feature of the song will be its lyrics: cute, simple, sometimes even naïve. The singer will perform wearing the same indian feathery hat of the National Final. This type of performance is the main weapon from who is trying to get back to the finals and conquering juries and televote. It’s very likely that Netherlands won't collect too many points because of the lack of diaspora and neighbours, but it'd be very well deserved if Joan reaches the final.

WHAT'S HOT: this song is so simple that it might work well with jury and televote.

WHAT'S NOT: the bad running order,

and the lack of neighbours to rely on.

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ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Former contestant on the Dutch version of The Voice, Raffaëlla is not only a good singer, but she's also sexy.

And her song, called Chocolatte, indeed had lots of chocolate.

KURT CALLEJA | This Is The Night

04.

MALTA

He's a newcomer in music industry with only three official song releases — but in the Eurovision world, he's a veteran. His songs were strong candidates in the latest maltese national finals — Kurt is a thirdtime lucky. Before Eurovision, the 22-year-old singer took a chance and lived in London for a year, singing in lots of night clubs. After that, he came back to Malta and made his first attempt to ESC back in 2010, in a duet with Priscilla Psaila singing a song called Waterfall.

Definitely, Malta has fixed the mistake they made in 2011, bringing something modern, well produced and cheerful. Kurt's voice is good and the song’s introduction makes us want to hear more. The only problem is that the chorus is not as interesting as expected; it’s hard to detect if the issue is in the melody or in the lyrics.

HOT: Calleja’s pop-rock is WHAT'S behind Belarus — his main adversary in the semifinal.

WHAT'S NOT: the so-called "Kurt

Dance", which may look hipster but is actually very silly.

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: We can't argue with that: Claudia Faniello tries every year a spot in ESC and always fails.

This year, with the beautiful ballad Pure, it wasn't different....

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05.

BELARUS

LITESOUND | We Are The Heroes!

Litesound is formed by the Belar-

winner was disqualified because of

appointment to the fans. Still, it has

usian brothers Dmitry and Vladimir

a fraud in televoting, and they were

the same catchy lyrics and strong

Kariakin, the Belarusian drummer

chosen to represent the country.

chorus, and most of the voters don’t

Ignat Yakovic, the Italian vocalist Ja-

The first version of the song, as

know the first version of the song.

copo Massa, and the Russian guitar-

performed in the National Final, was

ist Alex Kolchin. They made three

very impressive and strong, being

attempts after going to Eurovision, in

welcomed by eurofans with good

2006, 2008 and 2009. In 2012 they

impression. But they revamped the

entered the Belarusian National Final,

arrangement and the song turned

Eurofest, but actually they got only

from a pop-rock to an electro-pop

among the eurofans, and Jacopo’s

the second place. But the original

tune. The new version brought dis-

vocals must improve.

 WHAT'S HOT: it's the most accessible rock song to the Eurovision ears in 2012, and it has a strong chorus.

 WHAT'S NOT: the new version

of the song wasn’t well accepted

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Aura's Hands Up would be one more electropop song, but with something a bit uncommon in this style: it's mixed with folkish sounds.

The problem? Aura's pronunciation of English isn't that good during the track. We Are The Heroes was a good choice, in the end.

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FILIPA SOUSA | Vida Minha Filipa Sousa, who was born in Albufeira, started to sing when

06.

PORTUGAL

she was six years old. She already entered the famous reality show Operação Triunfo back in 2003.

This year, Filipa received an invitation to participate in Festival da Canção, Portugal’s national final, with Vida Minha, and won the competition.

Portugal is coming back to a successful path — it’s time for Europe to recognize that they are trying to get their redemption among the eurofans. Vida Minha is a wellsung, beautiful and emotional ballad, an authentic portuguese fado, but still very international — it sounds traditional, but at the same time accessible to the whole Europe’s ears (even reminding some Balkan-ballads). The main problem is its similarity with Senhora do Mar, Portugal's entry from 2008 – which shares the same composer and lyricist with Vida Minha.

It will be tough, because Portugal will perform between two soviet countries — but the country may reach the finals with some effort and a nice staging.

 WHAT'S HOT: Filipa sings a beautiful fado song, which sounds internationally accessible.

 WHAT'S NOT: the déjà vu feeling

from Senhora do Mar, and the position in semifinal is bad.

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Rui Andrade: beautiful ballad, good looks... What a great combination! may ' 1 2

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07.

UKRAINE

GAITANA | Be My Guest There is no way that Ukraine will choose an entry without controversy. The 7th diva that will represent Ukraine (counting Verka Serduchka, of course!) is Gaitana, born GaitaLurdes Essami. She moved to her father’s homeland, Congo, where she lived for some years before returning to Europe. The singer owns a strong personality, a poweful voice, and currently is the face of many international brands like Coca-Cola and Samsung in Ukraine.

Be My Guest was chosen among 21 entries in the Ukranian national final — including the hot-favourite from eurofans, Max Barskih. She was invited before, but Gaitana accepted because she felt that it was the right song to sing. However, even if it has one of the most interesting productions of this year, it lacks on its lyrics, which are very repetitive and limited to a few verses.

Her vocals are phenomenal, though.

By the way, the singer will use a venok (a crown made of flowers), a homage to her homeland.

HOT: Gaitana enjoys a  WHAT'S huge fame in the Eastern Europe, and this can bring points.

 WHAT'S

NOT: Ukraine always

thinks that their spot in the finals is guaranteed. Such a lie!

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Everybody (yes, I mean it!) was sure that they would Dance with Max Barskih in Baku, but he ended at the second place! What a pity, he was ready to fight for the victory.

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ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Desislava is much more popular in the Balkans, and Love Is Alive is a song that would be much more loved by the eurofan crowd.

It'd be easier to reach the finals.

SOFI MARINOVA | Love Unlimited

08.

BULGARIA

Love! That's what Bulgaria brings

The song is not something fresh

some dancers and the singer’s outfit

us this year. Sofi Marinova sings

on Eurovision: the song’s subject (a

is terrible — Sofi needs to change all

Love Unlimited, the Bulgarian entry

love song with lyrics in a bunch of

that immediately for the rehears-

for 2012. She has gypsy roots, and

different languages) is not new —

als, or Bulgaria will pave its way to

enjoys popularity in her homeland

remember Lior Narkis from Israel

staying at semifinals again.

because of her powerful voice capa-

in 2003? Even not being innova-

ble of reaching the impressive mark

tive, the Bulgarian entry is still very

of five octaves. Her career began in

catchy and the singer's eccentric

1995 with her band Super Express,

voice brings something special to

and she already has more than ten

it. Attention: the live performance

albums in her discography.

lacks energy, dancing movements,

 WHAT'S HOT: Sofi’s voice is very

unique and fits the song, which is among the most joyful from 2012.

 WHAT'S NOT: performance lacks

energy and something to grab the televoters' attention. may ' 1 2

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09.

SLOVENIA

EVA BOTO | Verjamem The youngest singer from this year is from Slovenia: Eva Boto is only sixteen years old. That’s exactly what you read, she was born in 1995. Her experience comes from practicing at her home. She made appearances in many music festivals and won some of them.

To reach Eurovision, she had to go through a long National Final, Misija Eurovisija. After that, she went to EMA 2012, the event where Verjamem was chosen as the Slovenian entry for Eurovision 2012.

After the success of No One, it was obvious that Slovenia would invest once again on a ballad with a great voice behind it. In a year with a lot of former Yugoslav countries choosing Balkan ballads, this one has potential to reach a higher place — Eva is a great performer, with flawless vocals, stage presence and very mature for her age, what increases Slovenia’s chances of going to the finals for the second time in a row.

 WHAT'S HOT: the same formula worked well with juries last year.  WHAT'S NOT: the Slovenian language may not please all the european countries.

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: The Slovenian National Final happened between Eva Boto and Nika & Eva Prusnik. Eva Boto was better. And, between her two songs other than Verjamem, A Si Sanjal Me highlights.

It shows another side of hers, with a very good uptempo groovy pop/rock.

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NINA BADRIC | Nebo This year, Croatia has left the

feeling the pressure — since we’re

Igor Cukrov and Feminnem, but

traditional National Final Dora be-

not talking about a newcomer, but a

with one big difference: Nina has

hind, and made an internal choice:

big Balkan star.

the maturity of a true diva.

 WHAT'S HOT: Croatia’s semifinal is

Nina Badric, with Nebo, is the entry

It is very difficult not to fall on

from the experienced singer that

your knees for Nebo: it’s a grow-

has a career of twenty years now.

ing ballad with delicated touches

At her 39, she can be proud of be-

of the violins, with instrumentals

ing one of the most beautiful and

and verses that are very elegant

famous singers from the contest in

and sentimental. It's nothing new

Croatia will perform between the

2012. Considering her participation

for Croatia to send entries like this:

hot favourite Sweden and the also

in Eurovision, it is inevitable not

they have done it in the past with

Balkan-balladeer Slovenia.

filled with good neighbours which will bring lots of votes!

 WHAT'S NOT: points from countries outside the Balkan area, as

10.

CROATIA

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11.

SWEDEN

LOREEN | Euphoria Remember this name: Lorine Zineb Noka Talhaoui, or Loreen, is the biggest persona of this year’s contest. Being a hot favourite to win, the Swedish singer would never imagine all this frenzy when she participated at the first edition of the Swedish Idol back in 2004, and when she debuted at the Melodifestivalen stage last year, with My Heart Is Refusing Me — being eliminated in Andra Chansen.

There’s only one word that can describe all of this: charisma. That’s why Euphoria, the Swedish entry of 2012, is at the top of bet odds and the OGAE voting to win Eurovision Song Contest. The singer has something that makes us wants to follow her lead, to know what she’ll do next on stage. Song and performer make the perfect match: even without the best voice of the contest, it makes sense on the broken part of the chorus. Loreen’s performance might remain the same as seen in Melodifestivalen: minimalist, with the snowfall effect — don’t change it!

HOT: the singer ability to  WHAT'S dominate the whole stage and the audience through her dance moves.

 WHAT'S NOT: the song lyrics are not the best of this year's contest.

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Even with the good level of almost all songs of Melodifestivalen 2012, no one could beat Euphoria.

At least, Danny Saucedo made an interesting performance of Amazing.

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ANRI JOKHADZE | I'm A Joker This is not a joke: Anri Jokhadze is

on). He’ll be the first male singer to

advice and didn’t make a promotion-

known in his country as “the golden

represent the country in the Eurovi-

al tour, which she considers “totally

voice of Georgia”. Wow, fantastic,

sion Song Contest.

useless”. Oh, come on! To make Geor-

baby! His first time in Eurovision

I’m A Joker is marked by its con-

was in 2008, as a backing vocalist

fused moments through the entire

for Diana Gurtskaya, when she sang

track. What a boring rhymes and lyr-

Peace Will Come. As a big Eurovi-

ics! This song is far from being like

sion fan, he tried to go by himself in

the last entries from Georgia, which

2009, but failed to win the National

have reached top 10 for the coun-

Final (won by Stephane & 3G back

try… Also, to make things worse, he

then, but disqualified by EBU later

followed his close friend Eva Rivas'

gia's situation even worse, they will perform after Sweden. What a Joke!

 WHAT'S

HOT: Georgia likes to

change the music genres that they’re sending every year and it is good…

 WHAT'S NOT: they surely won't keep their place among the top 10 countries with this song.

12.

GEORGIA

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Letter To A Friend by the rock band November was be the best option for Georgia this year. Maybe they didn't want to send another rock song, and preferred Anri's song. Bad idea! may ' 1 2

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CAN BONOMO | Love Me Back He learned to play the guitar

spin around the house while listen-

will perform after Georgia and be-

when he was only eight years old,

ing to it! This is the joyful spirit and

fore the ballad from Estonia. We are

and started his musical career at his

the identity that was missing in

not so sure about it, but we can tell

17. Bonomo also studied at Istambul

2011. Can Bonomo is the author and

that Turkey might return to the fi-

Bilgi University, and used to be a

producer of this entry, and also a

nal after their hiatus, last year.

MTV host. He released his first al-

good singer. But he looks too goofy,

bum Meczup in 2011.

walking like Jack Sparrow (from the

Oh, Turkey is back! This is what

movie Pirates of the Caribbean)

we can call a Turkish song: the con-

while he’s dancing and singing — it

tagious rhythm and typical instru-

may not work well on Eurovision

ments make us want to dance and

stage. His position is favourable: he

13.

TURKEY

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 WHAT'S HOT: his position is good

and Can is a good singer; the song sounds very “Turkish”.

 WHAT'S NOT: in the stage, he

moves around like a drunk man, may look too weird for the public.

OTT LEPLAND | Kuula One of the biggest music phenom-

Vanilla Ninja band, that represented

sleepy. Although it's not among the

ena in the recent history of Estonian

Switzerland in 2005 and reached

big favourites, it has great potential

music, Ott Lepland was born in Tal-

the 8th place, back then).

to conquer both televote and jury,

linn and gained notoriety after win-

Kuula is a strong and inspiring

having one of the spots at the final

ning the third season the estonian

ballad: its lyrics say that our hearts

guaranteed — at least, that's what all

version of Idol. In 2010, he played

have a voice, which expresses itself

the current bet odds say.

the lead role on High School Musical.

through the song, and unceasingly

His entry for Eurovision 2012, Kuu-

asks to be heard. Is it ready to con-

la, won the anual Eesti Laul, beat-

quer Europe, though? It seems not to

ing one of the hot favorites, Lenna

be everyone's cup of tea — some eu-

Kuurmaa (former lead vocalist of the

rofans think that it's very boring and

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Birgit Õigemeel sang You're Not Alone, with the group Violina. It could have a better chorus, but its uplifting violin instrumental mixed with some electropop ends up sounding contemporary.

 WHAT'S HOT: great vocals, strong and memorable performance.

 WHAT'S NOT: in this second semifinal, there's plenty of other ballads — some of them can overcome Estonia.

14.

ESTONIA

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15.

SLOVAKIA

MAX JASON MAI | Don't Close Your Eyes The Slovaks aren’t lucky in Eurovision history, but 2012 that seems likely to change. After the confirmation that they would not feature on ESC this year, the national broadcast gave up their decision and internally chose Miroslav Smajda, aka Max Jason Mai, to represent them with Don’t Close Your Eyes. He got famous after reaching the second place in the Slovakian Idol.

The singer already said that his performance will be something crazy because his song is so filled with energy — and we can’t argue with that. Don’t Close Your Eyes has all the elements of a good metal song: guitar riffs, sound effects and his voice sounds like some hardcore metal bands. The Slovak rockstar has a big challenge ahead: he’ll perform before one of the hot favorites, Stay

by Tooji — and Slovakia has no neighbours to help them with votes.

 WHAT'S HOT: a good stage pres-

ence and interesting performance in rock songs sometimes manage to catch people's attention in ESC.

 WHAT'S NOT: the lack of neighbours to help Slovakia with some guaranteed votes.

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TOOJI | Stay Norway goes international for

ing the formula of beautiful sing-

at the camera to capture the view-

the second time in a row: this time

er that hasn’t a great voice but it

ers. Does someone else believe that

sending Tooji, a singer who was born

doesn’t matter, because he does an

Norway will fight with Sweden for

in Iran and raised in Norway. Touraj

incredible dance routine and goes

the top of Eurovision scoreboard —

Keshktar, his original name, spent

deep into the stage presentation.

and not only in the semifinals?

his childhood going to art and music

Stay is an electropop song with an

schools. He’s also cute in the inside:

easy structure: some key changes

he has worked at some refugees’

and Arab touches help make it one

asylums and children’s schools.

of the hottest entries of 2012 for

The Norwegian bet for this year

the Euroclub dancefloor. Tooji also

is completely right — they are us-

knows how to give the right look

 WHAT'S HOT: the choreography is

very impressive (and Tooji’s booty shake as well!)

 WHAT'S NOT: the singer is yet to

find something to do with his hands while he’s standing still.

16.

NORWAY

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Tommy Fredvang, with the song Make It Better.

He's so cute that he doesn't even need to sing. But his entry is pleasant to listen to, and it also has nice lyrics.

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17.

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA MAYA SAR | Korake Ti Znam Maya Sar, in one year, changed

means “I know your steps”. Maya's

be at the finals — the country per-

from backing vocal to the leading

self-composed song is talking about

forms in position 17, and has all the

one: in the last year’s contest, she

the love story with her husband, but

block voting to help: Serbia, FYR of

was the piano player and the sup-

we can guarantee that we do know

Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia are

porting voice of Dino Merlin’s Love

Bosnia & Herzegovina’s steps —

in the same semifinal. That’s surely

In Rewind. She reached the Balkan

they’re almost the same every year!

enough to go through.

charts with the song Nespretno,

But it doesn’t change the fact

and her first solo album will be re-

that Korake Ti Znam is guided by a

leased soon — all of it produced in

good singer and great arrangements.

her studio called Long Play.

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from the Balkans, Bosnia surely will

 WHAT'S HOT: well produced song, strong block voting.

 WHAT'S NOT: splitted voting can happen — Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia will also have Balkan ballads.

DONNY MONTELL | Love Is Blind After the deaf from 2011, that's the blind people's turn? Donatas Mon-

the trick, he won the National Final

use some dancers to reply his chore-

in 2012 with the song Love Is Blind.

ography. Lithuania will perform last

tyvydas, known internationally as

This song would sound much

in this semifinal, which brings them

Donny Montell, has a strong connec-

better if it wasn’t too old-fashioned.

a lot of chances of getting through

tion with dance, winning the Lithu-

It would work a lot in Eurovision edi-

to the finals again.

anian version of Dancing With The

tions from the past decade, but not

Stars. He's not only good at dancing:

this time. Donny tries hard, even

he's already sung at Slavianskij Bazar

doing a body twirl when the song

to perform is an almost guaranteed

and New Wave contests, and tried to

turns from a ballad to a discopop ef-

spot in the finals.

go to Eurovision a few times before:

fort. Being lonely at the stage with a

in 2009 and 2011. As third time does

song like this does not help: he could

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN:

 WHAT'S HOT: the talented danc-

ing skills from Donny, and being last

 WHAT'S NOT: old fashioned song, and not the strongest vocals.

18.

Lithuania

Composed by the Swede Bobby Ljunggren and sung by Simona Milinyte, One Of A Kind would be a better entry for Lithuania, as it's a modern electropop song, with a catchier chorus.

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final

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01. United kingdom 09. france 10. italy

May 26 | 21:00 CET th

13. azerbaijan 19. spain 20. germany

+10 countries qualified from the 1st semifinal +10 countries qualified from the 2nd semifinal

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01.

United Kingdom

Engelbert humperdinck | Love Will Set You Free

70

Let’s show him some respect:

one believed that he would bring

this year’s final. Although his posi-

Engelbert Humperdinck is one of

something old-fashioned. But, sur-

tion is bad, we’re sure that he can go

the oldest performers in this year’s

prise: Love Will Set You Free is mod-

far. No more Daz Sampsons, Jeminis

contest, with 76 years old. He was

ern, graceful and cool. It’s one of the

and Scooches for UK — they’re tak-

born in Madras, India, and his birth

most beautiful ballads of the year

ing Eurovision seriously once again!

name is Arnold George Dorsey. He

— it gives goosebumps. This song

has 55 years of career and it is well

sounds like Frank Sinatra meeting

known in Europe.

Johnny Cash, which is an incred-

When "The Hump" was an-

ible comparison. But the draw was

nounced by BBC, there was some

unfair with the old man: he’ll be re-

disbelief in his ESC attempt: every-

sponsible for the opening song of

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 WHAT'S HOT: flawless voice is the best way to be reminded by the voters — he will be a jury favorite!

 WHAT'S NOT: performing at posi-

tion one at the "televote age" does not help at all!

Anggun | Echo (You And I) If you live in Europe and never listened to the song Snow on the

ternational album, Snow On The Sa-

lar voice, but some others say that

hara, released in over 33 countries.

there are too many shouting parts.

Sahara, then you should ask for

She brings to the Eurovision

It's impossible to please everyone,

help immediately! Anggun is very

Song Contest a very different kind of

so we can say that Anggun has an

popular among the entire European

entry: Echo (You And I) is an uptem-

impressive vocal technique!

continent. Born in Indonesia, she

po song with so many keychanges

also made a huge career there. In

that makes it sounds like a remix. It's

1995 she went to England, trying

a typical contemporary French elec-

something new, but was the French

tropop track. What's controversial

producer Erick Benzi who brought

about this song is Anggun’s voice:

her to France and made her first in-

some people say that it is a singu-

 WHAT'S HOT: the broadcaster is investing high on Anggun, doing a huge tour and lots of duets.

 WHAT'S NOT: she'll have to beat the Swedish Loreen, who sings a similar style of song. Tough task.

09.

France

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10.

Italy

Nina Zilli | L'Amore È Femmina (Out Of Love) Boom, boom, boom! The San Remo diva Nina Zilli is representing Italy in this year’s song contest.

Her birth name is Maria Chiara Fraschetta, and her stage name is an honor to two importante females of her life: singer Nina Simone and her mom, which surname is Zilli.

She was born in Piacenza, but already lived some years abroad, in Ireland and USA. She came back to Italy at the beginning of the past decade. She released two albums, and L’Amore È Femmina is one of the tracks from her last album.

There are so many eurofans that disliked the song exchange (Per Sempre for L’Amore È Femmina), but it was a wise choice. It has a delicious and charming uptempo melody, which certainly will amaze Europeans, bringing an excellent score position for Italy. Unfortunately, the English version made the song lose a bit of its charm — but still, Nina is a confident singer who will lead us to an excellent performance.

 WHAT'S HOT: L’Amore È Femmina’s melody — if not the best, is among the best melodies of 2012.

 WHAT'S NOT: the mezzo-Italian, mezzo-English version that will be sung in Eurovision.

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: This year's edition of the Italian Sanremo festival was won by a great participant: Non È L'inferno, performed by Emma.

It is a pop/rock which starts calmly, and goes growing into a very powerful song.

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SABINA BABAYEVA | When The Music Dies The host country of Eurovision Song Contest this year will have a good and graduated singer to de-

13.

Azerbaijan

fend their title: Sabina Babayeva, born in Baku, graduated in law and vocal arts by Asaf Zeynally College of Music, discovered her singing talent when she entered a choir.

Throughout the years, she fought for her space in the Azeri musical scene and tried lots of times to go to Eurovision, in the past national finals. She finally made it, with When The Music Dies.

This song is filled with sentimental verses, pain and also hope, especially when she says that “tries to keep us alive”. The track was made by the same Swedish team of Drip Drop and Running Scared.

Her preparations were made in Ukraine with a team of specialists.

She believes that her running order (at 13) will not ruin the results from a good performer. Sabina, my dear, don’t believe in that you’re saying!

 WHAT'S

HOT: Azerbaijan was

never below top 10, and being the host country usually brings some more votes.

 WHAT'S NOT: this shy campaign of When The Music Dies, which is

strong enough to surprise the Eurovision audience.

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: Arzu Ismayilova was another good voice in the Azeri national final.

If she had won it, an unique song would be composed for her, just like what happened to Sabina Babayeva. may ' 1 2

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19.

SPAIN

PASTORA SOLER | Quédate Conmigo (Stay With Me) Known in Spain for mixing up traditional rhythms such as copla and flamenco with pop and dance music, Pastora Soler (born Pilar Sánchez Luque) released 11 studio albums so far, and usually colaborates with big artists like Alejandro Sanz and Eros Ramazzotti.

The Spanish song for 2012 is worth the sum of its seven predecessors. After so many mistakes, Spain finally manages to put together a totally impressive voice with a delicate, authentic and rich music arrangement. They left behind the excess of latin influences in their entries, and went for an international sounding, epic ballad instead. Composed by the Swede Thomas Gustafsson (who's also the author of the acclaimed Swedish entry), Quédate Conmigo can be performed live just like it is in studio version, with the voice modulations, keychanges, and all the emotion. Pastora is the perfect voice and the right diva for the job.

When finally Spain got it very right, what impeaches its victory are other songs, with more space for innovative stage performances.

 WHAT'S HOT: that's the golden chance for Spain to raise its sta-

ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN:

tus in the contest, with a flawless

No other song from Pastora's National Final would beat Quédate Conmigo , but Ahora O Nunca is also a beautiful ballad, which somehow showcases her vocal abilities.

singer and a beautiful, well-con-

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structed and international song.

 WHAT'S NOT: even with a perfect match of great song and performer,

without an innovative staging this entry may get overshadowed by some of its rivals.

Roman lob | Standing Still ALSO WORTH THE LISTEN: German NF's decisive event had three songs being performed both by Roman Lob and Ornella de Santis. Among the three songs, Standing Still was clearly much better than the other two, both Roman's and Ornella's versions. So, it was all a matter of selecting who would present it better. Ornella was good and cute, but Roman did greatly.

Born in Düsseldorf, Roman Lob makes music since he was only 8.

His works until the National Final were unknown for everyone. But, at the reality show, his face started to show up while he advanced through the concerts and finally won with Standing Still, beating the singer Ornella Di Santis, which sang in Portuguese during the contest!

The cute factor (and we’re not talking about Roman’s face) will be the singer’s main weapon — in 2010 they have done the same thing with Lena and won the contest. Standing Still has suffered lots of changes: when it was released, it wasn't so catchy at its beginning. Taking one minute to strike the public, for an Eurovision song, it’s an eternity! But they have changed — and for the better. It has real chances of getting Germany a third top 10 in a row.

HOT: the music video WHAT'S shows how charismatic the singer is. It is a good ballad to become a hit.

WHAT'S NOT: honestly? We can’t

see anything bad about this song. 

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Written by Dave Comincioli and Filipe Lima

Lys Assia, Non Ho L’età, ABBA, A-Ba-Ni-Bi, Johnny Logan, Diva... whenever people talk about the history of Eurovision, the champions are always recalled.

But the past of the festival keeps many other great songs which aren’t often remembered, just because they didn’t win. TWELVE went “treasure hunting” and now lists some of them, which you should check yourself.

After almost 60 years, Eurovision has gathered a huge collection of remarkable entries. But history can be cruel. Winners stay. The others? Good luck with not being left behind! Some songs which ended with the trophy aren’t even that special. But they are more often brought back to memory than some amazing non-winner participants.

Since the beginnings of the contest, good quality work has been relegated to defeats. The greatest example of all, by the way, dates back to the first eurovisive years: Domenico Modugno’s Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu is one of the most known songs up to date. But, in 1958, it only got the third place. The Italian entry was essential for making the newly-created festival establish itself and get recognized as an event to highlight musical talents — but it didn’t win.

Many other participants have followed the same pattern, displaying good tunes and losing. Some of them are even remembered now and then. Others aren’t... but should be. And that’s what TWELVE offers you now: decade by decade, a list of defeated songs (some known, some forgotten) which deserve the attention of those who want to know more about Eurovision history.



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the first steps The first years of ESC were much more about settling down and creating recognition and empathy towards the audience than releasing amazing songs.

Clearly, the already-mentioned Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Italy, 1958) is the highest point of the first decade — besides it, musically, there isn’t much more. The other highlights of the 1950s are for secondary reasons. Skibet Skal Sejle I Nat (Denmark, 1957) deserves a remark for being the first try of stage presentation: it even has a kiss, quite a strong thing for that period, in the end of it. Heute Abend

Wollen Wir Tanzen Geh’n (Germany, 1959) had the first twins on stage.

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the female decade Women took control of Eurovision in the ‘60s. Most — not to say every — good songs of the decade are performed by female singers. This is even reflected in the results: only two solo males won in the whole period, Jean-Claude Pascal in 1961 and Udo Jürgens in 1966.

Happy rhythms were very usual then. Tonia’s Un Peu De Poivre, Un Peu De

Sel (Belgium, 1966) and Wencke Myhre’s Ein Hoch Der Liebe (Germany, 1968) are two quality samples of this trend.

But, of course, the contest was never based on only one proposal, so other styles were also presented. Iva Zanicchi’s Due Grosse Lacrime Bianche (Italy, 1969), for example, is a clear demonstration of how much the entries developed since the ‘50s – it is an Italian romantic piece very ahead of its time, and whose characteristics are still successful nowadays. For those who understand Portuguese, Madelena Iglésias’s Ele

E Ela (Portugal, 1966) has not only an interesting beat, but also very beautiful lyrics.

Completing the “girl power” list of the ‘60s, we have Vicky Leandros and Marion Rung.

Vicky would win in 1972 with the excellent Après Toi. But, before it, she had already shown winner attributes with L’amour Est Bleu (Luxembourg, 1967). Marion is an example of the difficulty created by the imposition which existed then of singing in the national native language: the cute Tipi-tii (Finland, 1962) uses random words/ sounds to approach better the international public.

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the explosion

If songs like Due Grosse Lacrime Bianche showed the growth of the musical quality Eurovision started to go through in the ‘60s, the ‘70s mark the explosion of it.

The quantity of good material coming from this decade is quite relevant.

Starting with Occhi Di Ragazza (Italy, 1970). It has a feeling which, as Due Grosse…, is still commonly heard in current Italian songs.

Also, the variation range of styles became larger. The usual happy pop and the “la-lalas” started fading, giving space to more epical sounds, bigger participation of backing vocalists, and stronger bridges and choruses. With Diese Welt (Germany, 1971), Katja Ebstein was one of the predecessors of this change. The exception to this movement was the United Kingdom, which kept on giving chance to happier tunes, such as Jack In The Box in 1971 and Save Your Kisses For Me in 1976.

Let Me Be The One (United Kingdom, 1975), played by The Shadows, a band that sounded like “The Beatles reloaded”, was the introduction of rock into the festival. Afterwards, rock has always marked presence on eurovisive stages, and Colm C. T. Wilkinson’s Born To Sing (Ireland, 1978) is another great sample of it.

While the guitars were finding their space, the tambourine started disappearing — Fredi & Friends’ Pump-pump (Finland, 1976) is one of the last good uses of it.

The ‘70s also marked the entrance of very important countries into the competition.

Among them, Greece and Israel. Both of their debuts were already outstanding.

Marinella’s Krasi, Thalassa Kai T' Agori Mou (Greece, 1974) is the first marking folk song of ESC, with very traditional Greek beats – which are also present in the amazing Sokrati (Greece, 1979), by Elpida. Likewise, Ey Sham (Israel, 1973) showed the Israeli entered to win, as they did, some years later.

Presentations were in full development during the decade. Examples as ABBA, Brotherhood of Man and Izhar Cohen & the Alpha-beta, who valued the stage performance with costumes and dances (and won), show that they were starting to be valued as a decisive factor for triumph — which would reach the current importance in the 2000s, with Marie N and Lordi.

And, of course, it’s impossible to talk about presentations and the ‘70s without remembering

Dschinghis Khan (Germany, 1979). It was the first friki to call attention, and with a song which is ahead of its time. They influenced the sounds of the ‘80s positively: many artists followed its musical style, while almost none decided to tend to frikism.

During this period, there were also entries which prepared the audience for future moments.

Mathima Solfège (Greece, 1977), performed by Pascalis, Marianna, Robert & Bessy, sounds very similar to the following year’s champion A-Ba-Ni-Bi. Meanwhile, Tommy Seebach’s Disco Tango (Denmark, 1979) was the first breath of the ‘80s, which would see the rise of keyboards and electronic instrumentation.

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all Photos: internet resources

the keyboard era

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There was no middle term in the ‘80s: the songs were either magnificent or very bad.

This period saw the appearing of some bad frikis (like Israeli “hupa hule” Shir Habatlanim), weird costumes (like Portuguese group Doce) and, of course, the keyboards and electronic instrumentation. Tomas Ledin’s Just Nu! (Sweden, 1980) is the perfect “welcome to the ‘80s”, since it’s a very electronic rock, as the decade was filled with.

1982 was a very positive year for Eurovision. It is one of the best historical years of the contest. Among several good entries, two can be highlighted as ahead-of-their-time. First, Doce’s Bem Bom (Portugal, 1982), which shows a different Portuguese entry: not with their usual folk, but with very happy music, combining it with different dancing and strange outfits. Also, Avi Toledano’s Hora (Israel, 1982), which is a masterpiece, Israel at its best.

It could easily fit any of the most recent editions (and having good results!), so visionary it was – and it sounds even better live than in the studio version.

By the way, the ‘80s were very friendly to the Israelis. The nation explored massively a single format, which consisted of a solo singer and five colorful backing vocalists and dancers, usually making very similar dance steps every year. And it paid off: Israel was top ten in six of the eight years it took part of ESC in the decade. Besides Hora, another outstanding song of the country’s use of this format is Olé, Olé (Israel, 1985), by the winner of 1978 Izhar Cohen.

Other countries also marked their work during this period. Italy gave one of their last breaths of quality before they gave up in the ‘90s, with Umberto Tozzi and Raf’s Gente Di

Mare (Italy, 1987). Finland tried to “go Swedish”, and ended up making better entries than Sweden itself: Ami Aspelund’s Fantasiaa (Finland, 1983) has some ‘60s reminiscences, while Sonja Lumme’s Eläköön Elämä (Finland, 1985) and Vicky Rosti’s Sata Salamaa (Finland, 1987) have the big presence of the ‘80s keyboard.

From all the songs of the decade, no one screams its date more than Terminal 3 (Ireland, 1984), by Linda Martin. It is a great song, which leaves all the influences and trends of that moment explicit during its execution.

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the lost decade After two very productive decades, the ‘90s went for the kind of low-quality song which helped damaging the reputation of ESC. In a simple illustration, the best entries of the ‘80s are incomparably better than most of the top ones of the ‘90s. There are years, in this period, which you can’t save not even a single entry. One of the few savable ones is Stjórnin’s Eitt

Lag Enn (Iceland, 1990), which shows the transition between the two decenniums.

Among the Big Five, France experimented a lot. Their biggest result was with Amina, and

C'est Le Dernier Qui A Parlé Qui A Raison (France, 1991), who finished second and was, specially then, the closest to having a different quality winner in ESC. Spain had its highlight with Azúcar Moreno’s Bandido (Spain, 1990), which was a perfect mix of Spanish and pop music – something that would very likely not work nowadays, for being too strong for current patterns, but was well-received then.

United Kingdom totally incarnated the ‘90s spirit with Gina G’s Ooh Aah... Just A

Little Bit (United Kingdom, 1996). It is, more than any other participation, the total summary of what was being played in worldwide radios during the decade: uptempos with electronic beats. Jalisse, with Fiumi Di Parole (Italy, 1997), was the last Italian romantic flavor. Her fourth place was pointed as very unfair by lots of people (and indeed, it was), and encouraged RAI to withdraw for 14 years.

After ten years of bad results, the Turkish finally had a shine with Dinle (Turkey, 1997), by Sebnem Paker and Etnik, which offered very entertaining sounds and performance.

Brazil (Yugoslavia, 1991), by Bebi Dol, causes dubious reactions. At the same time its tropical sounds, like Marie N and Guri Schanke, make you want to dance, it’s extremely frikish, like Verka Serduchka, creating the doubt: am I allowed to like this?

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Lisa del Bo’s Liefde Is Een Kaartspel (Belgium, 1996) is not only a great song, it also answers a very repeated doubt among eurofans. Sometimes, someone is highly pointed, and people wonder: “This entry isn’t even that good. Would it be so successful if it was sent by a country with less neighbours or less influence?”. Well, the Swedish group Friends ended fifth with Listen To Your Heartbeat in 2001 – which was later proven to be a total copy of Liefde Is Een Kaartspel. Lisa, of “poor” Belgium, who had sent the same tunes before, was 16th.

Greece and Cyprus had some great contributions to improve the average quality of then.

In one of the cases, even, with an almost-triumph: Sophia Vossou’s I Anixi (Greece, 1991) was a hot favorite in 1991, but a last-minute change of saxophone player (putting a guy who seemed to have rehearsed for five minutes at most) ruined the chances. Anyway, it helped showing the Greek still knew how to merge their national music to pop, as they failed to do during the ‘80s – something reconfirmed by Mariana Efstratiou, with Emeis Forame

To Himona Anixiatika (Greece, 1996). Cypriots’ best work was Mana Mou (Cyprus, 1997), a kind of slower-tempo Antique.

The two best door-openers for the 2000s were Edsilia Rombley and Doris Dragovic. Edsilia’s

Hemel En Aarde (Netherlands, 1998) is a total representation of what the first editions of the new millennium had: groovy rhythm, and solo artists being accompanied by backing vocalists only during the chorus. Doris’s Marija Magdalena (Croatia, 1999) also starts trending what was to follow.

And what was to follow? The more recent story, you all know by heart. Marie N, Helena Paparizou, Lordi, Dima Bilan, Alexander Rybak, Lena... all of them, result of everything which passed. And now, hopefully, you can all know what passed with more details.

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Many entries were cited in this article.

If you are interested in checking some, but not all of them, we ranked below the ones which deserve more attention!

*

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*The 1950s didn’t offer a lot of musical variety to the audience. Besides Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, the editions were filled with songs which sounded extremely alike each other. Selecting any other entry to complete this top five would be simply hiding the truth: all the other participants from the ‘50s offered the same kind of sounds, and differing them would be a random choice over equal possibilities.

Domenico Modugno Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu Italy, 1958 may' 12

5 4 3 2 1

Madalena Iglésias Ele E Ela Portugal, 1966

Marion Rung Tipi-tii Finland, 1962

Tonia Un Peu De Poivre, Un Peu De Sel Belgium, 1966

Vicky Leandros L'amour Est Bleu Luxembourg, 1967

Iva Zanicchi Due Grosse Lacrime Bianche Italy, 1969

5 4 3 2 1

Marinell

Krasi, Thala

Greece, 1974

Tommy

Disco Tango

Denmark, 19

The Shad

Let Me Be Th

United Kingd

Dsching

Dschinghis K

Germany, 197

Elpida Sokrati

Greece, 1979

la

assa Kai T' Agori Mou

4

Seebach

o

979

dows

he One

dom, 1975

ghis Khan

Khan

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9

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Ami Aspelund Fantasiaa Finland, 1983

Doce Bem Bom Portugal, 1982

Izhar Cohen Olé, Olé Israel, 1985

Linda Martin Terminal 3 Ireland, 1984

Avi Toledano Hora Israel, 1982

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Azúcar Moreno Bandido Spain, 1990

Lisa del Bo Liefde Is Een Kaartspel Belgium, 1996

Doris Dragovic Marija Magdalena Croatia, 1999

Gina G Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit United Kingdom, 1996

Sophia Vossou I Anixi

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Friday Talks

Cryovision: eurofans' exclusive illness Written by Filipe Lima*

I understand people’s comparing Eurovision to sports.

Meanwhile, most of televoters have never listened to the

When you watch a competition, it’s unavoidable to let

participants until the exact moment of the festival’s final.

yourself get involved and end up rooting for one or two

Expecting their reaction of first-listeners to be the same

participants. But the similarities go beyond. I can notice,

of who have been in contact with the entries for very

among eurofans, that there is a behavior which is very alike

long is totally naive.

the sports fans’: if a person decides to root for a country and it loses, the unjustified crying automatically starts.

yourself with the symptoms which were cited here? If so,

The math is very simple. If you like two songs of

take care: you may be suffering from cryovision, a very

the final, the chance of one of the other 24 entries win

common illness, but which is extremely hard either to live

the edition are bigger than 90%. In other words: your

with or to cure.

favorites have a much bigger likeability of losing than

If your self-critics allowed you to admit having this

finishing first place. Even so, almost no one can accept

issue, I can propose a collective solution. Let’s watch

their country of preference not having won.

ESC waiting for our beloved songs to lose. This way, if

Fondness is subjective, and gives arguments in favor

one of them wins, we’ll get happy. If not, we won’t be

and against any of the Eurovision finalists. Having

complaining, creating silly theories trying to diminish the

plurality of beliefs is great and democratic. The problem is

winner’s achievement.

that eurofans, in general, can’t accept different opinions.

Most of ESC fans behave as if they were the center of

Friendly votings, diaspora, people with horrible taste... all of this is true. But there are also sore losers.

the universe. It’s rare to find one who accepts divergences.

We need to understand that none of these factors are

Only his own judgment is worthy – and the ones who

enough to win Eurovision alone. Without a good song,

agree with him, of course. Who disagrees is wrong and

there’s no chance of one of these reasons (frequently

should be criticized until death.

cited by sore losers when they create conspiracy theories)

People with this kind of problem ignore that the

being enough for a victory.

champion is decided through the votes of millions of

So, let’s do it?

people from several countries. In other words, they really

See you, people! Big hugs!

believe their own opinion is, alone, more valid than all the

*Filipe Lima, 26 years old, is a journalist. He

others together.

watches Eurovision since 2002, and didn’t

They also forget that, because they are crazy about the contest, they’ve heard each song hundreds of times.

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What about you, dear reader? Have you identified

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like the results of 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. But he won’t cry about that.

Photo: internet resources

Molitva's victory was pointed out as result of neighbours' voting.

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Chronicles of a brazilian eurofan

It's time to light our fire!

Written by Fernanda Barreto*

I’ve noticed that this year we have a lot of Eurovision

In my europarty it’s free to dance like a joker and

songs that talk about love: Love Unlimited, that Love is

shake your booty with no fear! I believe we should

not an object, that Love is blind, that Love is female,

know better Zaleilah’s choreography! Even if you don’t

that Love Will Set You Free… I’m still waiting for that

know your steps, you and I are going to practice!

day that I’ll say to somebody to stay with me or hear from

When Eurovision Song Contest ends, or when the

someone else to love me back. Anyway, let’s change this

music dies, I’ll listen to the sound of my heart. This is

emotional subject, we have so much to do today!

the night to enjoy the life of mine and yours in heaven.

It’s time for us to shout it out: PARTY FOR EVERYBODY! Be my guest and join us in this next Eurovision

We feel like we are the heroes getting closer to the waterline! How I’ve been waiting for this...

Song Contest’s party! And don’t you dare to worry about

I hope you all have a great and fantastic Eurovision

your music taste: we’ll have some traditional musicians,

time with your friends and family. Because that’s surely

and beautiful songs on the precise time of three min-

what I will do!

utes. I’m sure you’ll never forget of them! But please, it’s not time to get online on Facebook... I mean, on social networks. Focus, guys!

For my personal taste, we have to drink beer and eat peanuts on our Europarty, and party a lot after the show.

Would you? Some people say that peanuts are aphrodisiac. Still, we have to be careful: we can’t go far with the drinking games, because we will get drunk and not be able to walk when you close your eyes. People, we are not unbreakable, so don’t close your eyes while you’re drunk and walking.

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I’ll be standing still on my couch, you and me, ex-

*Fernanda Barreto, 23 years old, loves to

pecting my favorite entry to show up – I’ll have an eu-

write the famous “name of the song chron-

phoria to listen to it when it comes on telly! And it doesn’t

icles” and believes that it is a tradition. She

matter if I dress black or white clothes, it will be pretty

supports Norway and Italy, and wants Portu-

— of course I want to stay hot at the Europarty, with no

gal on the finals once again, but she believes

euro-neuro stuff!

that none of her wishes will happen.

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Photo: internet resources

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THE EUROVISIVE MEMES*

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T W ELV E thank you for reading! www.issuu.com/twelvemagazine www.esc12points.com facebook.com/ESC12points twitter.com/ESC12points