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Eurovision Song Contest 2013

Citius Altius Fortius

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Citius Altius Fortius

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My favourite this year is Kedvesem - ByeAlex (Hungary). Not sure if it'll rate with the televoters, but just one of those special ESC entries that comes along every few years.

I totally agree - the Hungarian entry this year is a "little gem" and I hope it will do well in the competition!!!

I care for the following songs and I hope they will qualify for the final:

Semi-Final 1:

Estonia

Denmark

Lithuania

Ireland

Belgium

Serbia

Semi-Final 2:

San Marino

Finland

Iceland

Israel

Hungary

Norway

Switzerland

the "worst" entries in the competition in my point of view:

Montenegro

Latvia

FYRO Macedonia

Armenia

Romania

GRAND FINAL:

France - the more I hear it the more I like it, but it is an average French chanson

Germany - it starts very promising and is seems that it heads to highpoint, but you will wait and wait and wait (her performance will be very important to push the song)

Italy - my favourite of the songs, which are in the final from the start

Spain - a nice song, but nothing more nothing less (there were better spanish entries recently)

Sweden - it was not my favourite at the melodifestivalen, but it is growing for me more and more - and it is really a good song

United Kingdom - its a good song, but nothing special and I hope it isn't forgotten

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Lord David Flag Bearer Level 3

Lord David

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Too bad Sweden didn't do a "Millstreet" and go for Västerås, a mere 100km from Stockholm and would have been a homage as the hometown of winner Loreen.

You could have used a slightly upgraded Swedbank Park (even if it were an open aired concert setup) as the main venue seating well over 14,000 and use ABB Arena Syd as the Press Center.

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cube Silver

cube

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i realldy don´t get the hype about Denmark this year

it totally reminds me of Azerbaijan´s Drip Drop hype back in 2010
a totally bland song, totally hyped

i just hope it will end like Azerbaijan in 2010 - and not winning

For me Denmark 2013 would be among the worst winners ever in ESC history

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markun Gold

markun

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I'm supporting Finland in the second semi:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/mamma-mia-eurovision-song-is-coded-gay-protest-8604124.html

Mamma Mia! Eurovision song is coded gay protest

The rules of the Eurovision Song Contest are strict: competitors must not promote a political message. But a subversive plea to legalise gay marriage, sung by a Finnish singer whose stage routine features passionate kissing with a female dancer, could sweep to victory at this month's competition.

Organisers forbid "lyrics, speeches, gestures of a political or similar nature". The Finnish entry has snuck in under the radar, however.

"Marry Me", sung by Krista Siegfrids, is a thumping dance anthem that at first appears to be sung from the perspective of a girlfriend who will do anything to get a proposal from her man.

"Skipping dinner to get thinner/Where is my proposal?" she demands. "I know where the future's heading/ I can see my perfect wedding."

Yet Siegfrids, 27, says that Finland's entry is actually a protest against the Finnish parliament's decision to vote down gay marriage legislation last year. She hopes the song will capture votes from the gay community in the UK when the 2013 contest is held in Malmo, Sweden, in a fortnight.

"I don't think 'Marry Me' is political," said Siegfrids. "It's about love and tolerance. But gay marriage is not allowed in Finland and that's wrong. I wanted to make a statement about that."

Organisers have intervened previously, blocking Georgia's 2009 entry because of its thinly disguised references to the then Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, following an outbreak of hostilities between the two nations.

"Marry Me" is being used to boost a "citizens' initiative" in Finland. A petition has already been signed by 100,000 people, a sufficient number to ensure that the gay marriage bill will be re-presented to parliament.

The European Broadcasting Union may ban the controversial conclusion to Siegfrids's performance – a "gay kiss" with her female dance team – to appease broadcasters in Eastern Europe, where homophobia still thrives. The Russian parliament passed a bill outlawing "homosexual propaganda" in March.

Siegfrids said: "Homophobic people are angry with me for doing this. But I'm planning a surprise at the end of my performance. It's live on TV, so nobody can stop me."

"Marry Me" could scupper the chances of the UK ending a dismal run of Eurovision form with "Believe in Me", performed by the veteran singer Bonnie Tyler.

Siegfrids said: "Since you can't vote for your own entry, I hope you will vote for Finland. I know the show is watched on huge screens in gay bars in Soho and I want to get everyone's support in Britain."

Benjamin Cohen, publisher of PinkNews, said: "Eurovision is often referred to as the 'gay world cup', thanks to its camp celebration of popular culture and the fact that so many gay people tune in. "So a song that appeals to gay voters is a particularly clever idea, especially given the Europe-wide debate on the introduction of same-sex marriage."

The contenders on 18 May include a French noir-rocker in praise of S&M, an Armenian power ballad written by the Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, and a Greek sea shanty called "Alcohol Is Free".

Winning message in the song

1967: Sandie Shaw, Puppet on a String

Shaw called it "sexist drivel" but the song clearly anticipated the Clegg/Cameron relationship: "Just who's pulling the strings?/ I'm all tied up to you/ But where's it leading me to?"

1969: Lulu, Boom Bang-a-Bang

Was this Lulu's secret Vietnam protest? During the 1991 Gulf War, BBC bosses blacklisted the song.

1975: Teach-In, Ding-a-Dong

Dutch nonsense verse invited us to "Try to sing a song that goes Ding-Ding-a-Dong". But not during the week of Margaret Thatcher's funeral.

1997: Katrina and the Waves, Love Shine a Light

The winner rocks the New Labour gospel: "Brothers and sisters in every little part/ Let our love shine a light in every corner of our hearts."

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Olympian2004 Flag Bearer Level 6

Olympian2004

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So contrary to what happened many times before, the bookies' favourite wins indeed. Congratulations Denmark! The ESC will have to move only a few kilometres to the west. I wonder whether Copenhagen will use the Parken Stadium again or rather move to a smaller indoor venue, just like Malmö did. And I must say: Malmö Arena didn't feel as small as I originally expected, at least judging by the TV pictures. So there's actually nothing wrong about downsizing the contest again, after the lavish extravaganzas especially of Düsseldorf 2011 and Baku 2012.

By the way: I'm really glad that Azerbaijan didn't win again. Not only because their ESC was so politically controversial and so extremely lavish, but also because Azerbaijan's entry this year sounded just like their entries since 2010: Plastic pop from foreign producers, tailor-made for best-possible success. It gets really tiresome, especially that tide of Swedish producers and composers in ESC music these days.

Sweden did something great to Eurovision nevertheless - and not only by inventing ABBA, but also by staging that marvellous ESC in Malmö. The final tonight was particularly funny and charming in my opinion, and the funny self-mocking "Clichés about Sweden" musical as interval performance made the Swedes even more likeable. Petra Mede was a great host - she had a terrific task, having to host three big shows in just one week and nevertheless always stayed sharp, charming and professional. And compliments also to Sarah Dawn Finer - not only for being hilarious as Lynda Woodruff, but also for giving such a stunning performance of "The Winner Takes It All". She's really a fine singer! The only person that was absolutely dispensable was Eric Saade as green room host. That boy was clearly overstrained by having to work as a presenter (he checked his moderation cards way too often and seemed clumsy and lacking persona). Also their were some glitches, such as the graphics showing that Belgium had gotten 12 points by which-ever-country-that was before the announcer had even announced the "douze points", or when Petra already wanted to call Bulgaria but seemingly had forgotten that they had to show the three frontrunners first.

The result of this ESC is not surprising in terms of Denmark and many other Top 10 places - but in terms of countries like Germany, Spain and Ireland. Spain had a very good song in my opinion - their singer only showed some weaknesses, maybe due to nervousness. But despite the overall musical quality, it got only 8 points. Then Ireland - however quirky and slightly too homoerotic as the bare-chested drummers might have appeared - with its actually quite catchy song and good performance got only 5 points and therefore the last place. And Germany's Cascada were probably too much of a copy of last year's winning song "Euphoria", but Natalie Horler's performance was very energetic and seemingly stirred the whole place up. I didn't expect a miracle, but I surely expected more than the 21st place and only 18 lousy points.

Now Germany is in danger of falling back to those days in the 2000s when they got disappointing results even for very decent songs. Maybe it's because the national final now has almost the old format again and Stefan Raab isn't actively participating in the selection process anymore? Even if it didn't good ratings anymore last year, the casting format probably wasn't wrong at all - and after all, it produced three Top 10 placements in a row, including Lena's victory in 2010. I simply don't want a new era of "OK, let's send a couple of performers to a national selection show, the TV audience can only vote at that night and then the least evil wins." And Cascada probably was that least evil in this year's national final.

Anyway, it was an interesting ESC year (even if I found most songs boring at first hearing - but some of them definitely grew on me meanwhile), and I'm looking forward to the next one in lovely Copenhagen!

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Scotguy Flag Bearer Level 2

Scotguy

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Got up at 7am this morning to watch live the contest.

Here are my thought on the Eurovision 2013 Final Malmo:

Thought the opening was good - nothing spectacular but did its job.

Petra was fantastic as always, such a nice host

Really enjoyed all of the interval acts - very unique and Swedish

Obvious glitches during the voting section

Did not like it when although it was obvious that Denmark had won that they stopped the voting and did the big announcement only to finish the voting after, became a bit confusing and muddled - i thought that my internet connection had skipped the remaining voters.

Did anyone else notice Eric Saade say to Petra # MLIF (Mother i'd like to ****) - he did look so so hot though that boy

Sarah Dawn Finer singing the winner takes it all was a nice touch and homage to ABBA

And now to the results:

Happy that Denmark won - not my own personal winner but i liked the song and it was a good performance and happy that the contest will stay in the western part of Europe for another year.

Surprised that Azerbaijan came second - i think this was down to the Balkan countries voting there as they could not vote their own region this year

Happy that Norway, Italy, The Netherlands, and Malta did well.

I think the UK for the entry it submitted did well at 19th.

Surprised by Germany's result as Cascada is well known across Europe and her song was really catchy.

Feel so sorry for Ireland, did not deserve last place, plus the guys were mega hot.

So in General Sweden did a great job at hosting this years contest, personal view, not as good as Stockholm 2000 but entertaining none the least and Denmark is a good winner, history repeating itself it seems.

So all that is left to say is Goodnight Malmo............. Good Morning Copenhagen

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savas Gold

savas

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Just came home from our private Eurovision dinner party :) very tasty and quite funny as we had our own voting. I predicted Denmark as the winner and also Norway in the top 5 :) I am very happy that Greece made it to the 6th place. No idea why Azerbaijan became second and the Russian entry in the top 5 ... a quite average ballad. I am sorry for France as they had a great song. Cascada's place is ok for me as I dint like the song from the very first time. Although it was definitely better then Romania's entry.

Loved Petra, the swedish humour, the liberal show with two gay kissing scenes and that #milf was terrific ;)) going to bed now so goodnight :)

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Olympian2004 Flag Bearer Level 6

Olympian2004

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It's interesting, however, that even at the gay festival called Eurovision Song Contest two more or less homoerotic performances (Finland and Ireland) got voted down completely. Or is the share of homophobes among ESC viewers larger than we originally thought? OK, maybe I'm reading too much into that result, I'm just very surprised especially by Ireland's poor result. It's really a shame - they were so good in guessing the musical taste of Europe right until the 1990s, but since then, they seem to have lost it a bit. I wonder if we'll ever see another ESC in Ireland any time soon.

I would have found it very interesting if Greece had won. And boy, that funny and somewhat self-mocking performance really would have been a great winner (even if the song's title "Alcohol Is Free" would probably have created a lot of controversy especially in the Muslim countries of EBU). And I suppose that quite a few viewers voted for the song not only because it was fun but also because they were curious how Greece would deal with the task of hosting the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. ;) Or would have Greece passed the hosting rights on to another country then?

Anyway, here are two great examples of entertainment that will certainly pop up in any retrospective of ESC history in the future. Brilliantly done, Sweden!

And it's wonderful that we will get another example of Scandinavian warmth and hospitality next year from Denmark. If you ask me, they could always stage the ESC in Scandinavia - with the sole exception of maybe an Irish or German ESC once in a while. :D

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Olympian2004 Flag Bearer Level 6

Olympian2004

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Oh, and commiserations also for Spain - which seems to have absolutely no lobby in Europe. I mean, their song was actually very good - only the voice of beautiful Raquel del Rosario was a bit shaky throughout the performance. And the result is: 8 points and next-to-last rank. Spain hasn't had a single-digit rank in the ESC since 2003 (although they were at least close with their 10th rank last year)!

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savas Gold

savas

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I am not sure. The choreography of Azerbaijan could be considered also very homoerotic and it almost won. Thank god it didn't :) the rumour of gay people having such a good taste? Well when it comes to music it gets difficult ;) lol

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Rob2012 Torch Bearer 10000 Club

Rob2012

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Oh, and commiserations also for Spain - which seems to have absolutely no lobby in Europe.

Lobby?! Surely it's about the songs and their musical merit?! Surely?! God, this is like finding out Father Christmas isn't real!! :lol::ph34r:

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