No, just like last time. I’m not really at one with the crystal balls, it seems. Saturday was another busy night for Eurofans, the evening just flew by…all eight and a half hours of it. Before we enter into what is quite possibly the most intense week of all time for song reveals, here’s a look at just how I wrong I was…
ESTONIA 🇪🇪
PREDICTION: Juri Pootsman ❌
I may have got the prediction wrong, but on this occasion I’m happy to do so. I’m chuffed for Uku, he deserved to make it to the Contest. If for no other reason than the staging reminds me of a Muppet Christmas Carol. That’s never a bad thing. “Remember, the Marleys Estonia’s chances of qualifying were dead to begin with”. That’s a tad hasrh given he’s has come back with a better all round package this year, but it still feels like an uphill struggle. Prediction wise, managed to call 2/3 in the superfinal too with Uku & Juri. Never saw Sissi doing so well. A very pleasant surprise given she, arguably, had the best vocal of EL final!
DENMARK 🇩🇰
PREDICTION: Chief 1 & Thomas Buttenschøn ❌
Second prediction, second superfinal but no winner. I know we’re still all rather peeved with DR for not selecting Ben & Tan but that really shouldn’t overshadow the entries we had. They were truly woeful in their own right. The only one from the studio tracks that I had any kind of inclination for was Silver Bullet, but on the night? One of the worst vocal performances of the whole season. At least, the winner’s in Danish eh? At least we get another language on the Satur…Thursday night.
SWEDEN 🇸🇪
PREDICTION: Alvaro Estrella ✔️ / Paul Rey ✔️ / Eva & Ewa ❌ / Efraim Leo ❌
I’ll not lie, after the first two were called I was feeling a tad smug. The standard Melfest rule of “pick the male soloist” was holding up pretty well until…Clara & Klara. As I stated on Friday my heart was truly torn for Duell 3, but I did think Eva & Ewa would clinch it. They were never going to win Melfest but if they did, you just know Rema rama ding dong would’ve crushed the televote come May. Clara does, however, completely deserve her place in the final. In terms of the song Behöver inte dig idag is probably my favourite of the whole 28. Clara Hammarström also brings an element of pop fun to Saturday’s final so, all in all, a satisfactory outcome.
PORTUGAL 🇵🇹
PREDICTION: NEEV ❌
Well I guessed it would be a song in English so that’s something isn’t it? Just got the wrong song. Turns out my beloved Saudade was never really in a with a shot, in fact my personal top four of the night finished 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th with the juries. In the end it was a head to head battle between the Black Mamba & Carolina Deslandes. After both came out even with jury & televote The Black Mamba were awarded the victory on count back. Yes, it will be odd not hearing Portuguese but at least it’s still something out there, something with a bit character. The immediate reaction online was not a good one but…it’s the reaction in May that counts.
ITALY 🇮🇹
PREDICTION: Annalisa / ❌
And lastly, we have the big one. The seemingly never-ending broadcasting behemoth that is Sanremo. I said on Friday that calling a winner was a nigh on impossible job and so, it proved to be. Pretty much at every turn I called it wrong. In the build up to the top 3 reveal I was thinking Ermal Meta, Annalisa and possibly Arisa as a wildcard. Got Ermal right, but after Francesca & Fedez were buried by the earlier votes never gave them a chance. And there was no way I thought we’d ever be lucky enough to get Måneskin in the top 3, what a treat!
So well after 2:00 CET we ploughed into the top 3 superfinal, after what had been a rather odd evening in terms of choices made, it was surely Ermal Meta’s win in the bag. Topping almost every poll all week a return to the top for 2018 winner was inevitable! NOPE! Third it was to be for Meta. One last reappraisal of how the Italians voted. Surely after their leap in the televote Frankie & Fedez would be laying hands on the golden lion and yet, wrong again! MåNESKIN WON SANREMO, turns out we can have nice things after all!
It was a week when I, like many others, was able to thrown myself head on into Sanremo. All it took was a global pandemic and national lockdown for us to get on board! Whether it was the wonderfully effusive hosts, the unrivalled quality of entries, the flower trolley, the very existence of Elodie, endless Zlatan or the peril of watching people very nearly fall down a load of stairs there really was something for everyone. And at the end of all that we’ve wound up with an incredible rock song for Eurovision. Job done.
And after all that we’ve got Senhit and a certain someone maybe teaming up, the end of the Russia will they / won’t they, a Eurovision Destiny to be fulfilled, the return of the viral sensation of 2020 aaaand…Jimmy Newman’s Kitchen Disco. What a week this is shaping up to be!
Pif Paf Blog 