Eurovision Daily

11. Albania

Singer: Aida and Frederik Ndoci

Song: Hear My Plea

An amazing song coming from the amazing Albania. Hear my Plea is a wonderful ballad sung in English. Calm and flowing, with a slight ethnic sound to it, it relates the story of a broken heart, begging the one to take them back.

I have to say that this song has struck me the minute I heard it, and it immediately got me dancing to it. It is a song that can actually have a performance on stage, a modern ballet, free movement style. The video itself portrays lovely scenery of lakes and fields. Something that cannot be brought on the stage unfortunately.

The performance should be simple, like the song itself. Maybe have some musicians on percussions to fill up the stage.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKwDag6yqTM

11. Denmark

Singer: DQ

Song: Drama Queen

Viva la Diva! Denmark has their own Drama Queen to represent them in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. The song is a pleasant pop song. Get's you singing to it in a jiffy and might even make you feel like a star for a moment.

As a performance, as from what the video has presented itself, I see a cabaret kind of performance, lots of feathers, lurex, big headresses, dancers and a real diva show.

I guess the song, and the act in itself seems to be pretty much a WYSIWIG - that is What You See Is What You Get! Let's just hope that this gets Denmark into the final…

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jChHYDQpij0

Eurovision Daily

9. Moldova

Singer: Natalia Barbu

Song: Fight

Well, I will not say it is another song with another rock sound…you will here it yourself!! But just in case…it is!

Natalia's Fight has won the contest back home in Moldova and is now representing the country in the Eurovision. The song is about how we fight through life, against people who want to stamp on our dreams, on our life, and it tells that for us to survive in this world we have to fight forever. A sad truth, but not entirely wrong as a perception.

The video shows us Natalia singing alone and sometimes accompanied by a violin she herself is playing. In a school yard with fire burning around, and kids running as fast as they can, we see some who fall to the ground, portraying the idea that only the strongest make it to the end.

What to expect on stage. Well Natalia and her violin would definitely be there I think. But having a band would fill up the empty stage. However maybe a choreography in this case would alternate from the bands to come before her. We'll wait and see…

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfymDcGZpqY

10. Netherlands

Singer: Edsilia Rombley

Song: On Top of the World

What a refreshing sound!!! A pop song! On Top of the World is the Dutch entry for this years Eurovision Song Contest.

A flowing song, pleasant to the ear and gets you sing at the top of your lungs in no time. A definitely strong entry and a potential in passing the Semi - Finals. But of course we'll leave the voting to take care of that.

The song is about a woman who is in love, and tried to get over this love. However excepting the fact that she can't so she takes the second chance, and reaches out to the top of the world.

Performance wise, the flowing music and up-beat sound makes it the perfect song for a choreography. I hope that she takes this approach. The video presented for her promotions show her during an unplugged performance with a band. I guess this could also be an option.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWP1mqabJ2U

Eurovision Daily

7. Montenegro

Singer: Stefan Faddy

Song: Ajde Kroci

And here we go again…!!! Another song with the sound of rock. Stefan Faddy sings this song in his mother tongue. The song Ajde Kroci, meaning Come on, Step Up, is about a guy who is trying to get a girl to go out with him…or maybe just sleep with him actually! (well that is the impression the translation gives)

Personally, I am not to much impressed with this song. Performance wise I see it being just another band on stage. Maybe some flairs to fill up the show…but than again it is the Eurovision and you never know what to expect that much!

The video stereotypically associates rock with motorcycles…however the twist is that the bikers have a bride on their bike! Pretty interesting. Maybe Stefan will come in on stage riding a bike!...who knows?

View the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B9D6f6qG3I

8. Switzerland

Singer: DJ BoBo

Song: Vampires are Alive

Just a few summers ago DJ Bobo was singing his hit 'Chiwawa' and now he changed his exotic disco hit to a halloween party tune called Vampires are Alive. Have to admit the song has a good up tempo beat that gets you dancing to it, although the Swiss seem to have objected to the choice of the song representing their country, claiming it promotes Satanic acts!!!

Well there is not much explaining behind the words of the song - it’s a fantasy! However the video is great. Very Halloween style. And very good artistic effects. After seeing it, ideas of what the performance might be are DJ Bobo coming out of a coffin, and having dancers dressed up as vampires. The video routine for a dance seems pretty good as well. Actually I'll try to find some time to learn it :)

View the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-dDxp8Cez0

Eurovision Daily

5. Iceland

Singer: Eirikur Hauksson

Song: Valentine Lost

Surprise, Surprise…another rock song!!...This time Eirikur sings us a rock ballad about a Valentine Lost. I have to admit that although I am not really a rock fan, this song is pretty appealing. It has a poetic sound to its lyrics. Even when heard in Icelandic. Hehe

Although there are 2 versions, that is the Icelandic and English one, I presume that this song, like many other countries taking part, will be sung in English.

What to expect on stage? A simple band performance with maybe a little fireworks and explosions of lights at some instances. The video itself shows a pretty simple plot. Driving on an empty road in the middle of nowhere with shots of Eirikur singing his heart out to his lost Valentine. Nothing better to suit a rock balland like this.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkkArz9trEs

5. Georgia

Singer: Sopho

Song: Visionary Dream

And what more can I say then Welcome to Georgia for its first participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. I'm not sure if this was a Visionary Dream for Georgia but it is definitely a dream come true for Sopho as she will be representing her country.

The song reminds us a bit of the Bulgarian entry: melodic, upbeat and a high pitch voice to accompany it. However it is softer, and has less use of percussions, especially drums.

The lyrics of this song are very poetic. A visionary dream which sails through a story and shares a history. The video seems to complement this theme portraying wonderful Georgian landscapes as well as dances and costumes.

What to expect as a performance? In my visionary dream of this performance, I see Sopho standing in the middle hardly any movement except her arms, but with a group of dancers at the background to fill up the rhythm of the song.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D5Y9qpDN_0

Eurovision Daily

3. Cyprus

Singer: Evridiki

Song: Comme Ci, Comme Ca

Ever thought that Cypriots could speak French? Well they're singing in French for sure this year. Comme Ci, Comme Ca are the easiest flowing words of the song. Starting off as a normal pop song, it picks up a small rock beat from the first chorus. But still gets you singing along to it. I know I did!! And even my French has improved now!

Evridiki sings a nice song about how we go through life to busy to realize what is happening around us and take things and people around us for granted. And before we know it we are surrounded by work and our lonely world as everyone has deserted us.

As a performance I do not expect much more than to have Evridiki perform on stage with the band just like in the video. Having a bit of a rock feel, the Goth costumes from the video might follow as well. I have to admit. Mr. Lordi and his masked friends have opened up a whole new sound to the Eurovision Song Contest!

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izoFyBGHyHw

3. Belarus

Singer: Koldun

Song: Work your Magic

Belarus in my opinion have a very powerful song. Koldun and his band have definitely Worked their Magic over the Belarusian jury…question is will they work it over Europe?

To no surprise this year, the song…again…has soft rock elements, bringing back the band element to the stage, right after the Cypriot entry. However the fact that it is sung in English it may be more appealing to the European public.

What to expect on stage? After seeing the video there are 2 possibilities for Koldun to choose from. He can either present himself with the band, or with the zombie looking servants who can dance in the background hehe. Well one thing for sure is that as a song you can both just present it as a band as well as with a stunning choreography. So unless the Belarusian delegations doesn't spill the beans beforehand…we'll have to wait till the coming weeks to know what the show will look like.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvBj7lErU3o

Eurovision Daily

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Eurovision daily! As promised everyday...starting today...you will be receiving my daily comments about songs taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. I will first start with the Semi-Finalists and the Finalists. I will also review them within the running order presented on the night!!

So starting with the first semi-finalist...

1. Bulgaria

Singer: Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yakulov
Song: Voda

The song is the perfect song for the opening of the Eurovision. It starts off as a musical song, with a touch of ethnic sound. It than becomes more upbeat, a sort of ethnic-techno song.

The lyrics, to who is not familiar with the Bulgarian language seems more a collection of tribal sounds than words. However they are what makes this song unique.

The song is named 'Voda' meaning 'Water'. In fact the song is about a girl named Mitra, who is singing by a river, whilst a young boy with a pony is walking by.

The video of the song starts off like Madonna's Frozen. Elitsa is seen dressed like a black angel against a background of dark skies and lightning. She then flies above water in these dark skies. The video also portrays the two participants banging away on the ethnic bongos covered with water. (see the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGZOqb5IFJo)

Do we expect a show from this song? I hope so…!! If they keep the lighting and water on the stage I predict a very good performance, which although singing at the first place (and no one has ever won the Eurovision from 1st place in Eurovision history) it is a song which is very hard to for the public to forget about.

2. Israel

Singer: Teapacks
Song: Push the Button

The first time I heard the song, I must admit it really did not impress me. I thought it was a total confusion of languages, types of music, beats…in 3 words…A Big Headache.

But now that I'm starting to get used to it, and actually understanding some of the lyrics, it is a song with a message. It states very frankly (and possibly with some political references) to what goes in the life on an israeli citizen now a days, but can also be mirrored to many other nations in the world.

The song speaks about how governments work around tactics and strategies among themselves, and create wars. The 'Push the button' to violence in the streets, bombs, terror, suffering, etc. The people on the other hand live a life between live and death. They are living but wait to die any minute.

The music of the song starts off like a childlike sing-a-long song, but the refrain has a rock sound. The song is sung in 3 languages: English, French and Hebrew. The Hebrew part is mostly rap.

What to expect on stage: a performance from teapacks. The main singer, the band…and them pushing the button.

View the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPq5_YNKC2w