OK, so I arrived a day late. In missing Day 1 of rehearsals I managed to lose out on 4 of the big favourites. Not only that but Sunday saw a hospitalisation, a rose sprouting back (who knew that was a thing) and a Lithuanian heart string tug-fest. Note to self for next year, leave … Continue reading Day 2: Aalto’s A-Game, Sensational Cypriot Silliness and Eye Cue’s Eyeful
Yesterday I started the countdown for my top ten in this year's Contest, which you can catch up on here. Today will see any impartiality I may have been previously clinging onto cast asunder as I share with you my top 5 songs at this year's Contest. 5. FRANCE 🇫🇷 Madame Monsieur - Mercy Despite being … Continue reading Getting Off the Fence: My Top 10 (Part 2)
In a matter of days we'll have seen the first rehearsals for all our songs this year. Forever more the 2018 entries will be associated with the visuals & staging concepts and no longer just be the audio in it's own right. Before we take this big leap into the unknown I want to nail … Continue reading Getting Off the Fence: My Top 10 (Part 1)
After months of build up we are now a mere seven days away from the first rehearsals for this years' Contest. After Eugent Bushpepa won Fetstivali i Këgnës last December it took a full 80 days for us to complete the 43 song lineup with Georgia releasing 'For You' on March 13th. In the subsequent … Continue reading One Week to Go: Preview Parties, Dress Dramas & Splendid Surie
Last week saw the announcement that Portuguese beer Super Bock will be one of the major sponsors for this year's Contest. OK, that doesn't mean alcohol will be free but hopefully it means beer will be cheaply and readily available at the facilities in Lisbon. That got me thinking about which beers would be well … Continue reading Alcohol is Free. A Beer Tasting Guide to Eurovision 2018
Each time I have carried out this odd experiment it has been something akin to an internal selection. Without any external factors I've made the lone decision on the song that I thought would be right. However, in this instance I decided to follow the You Decide approach. Having cast out the net a little … Continue reading 60 Minute Song Contest: You Decide
It's hard to think that barring any major revamps the next national final won't be until Festivali i Këgnës at some point in December this year. This season we've been treated to Tayanna's manager putting Andriy Danylko firmly in his place, Greece disqualify so many entrants from their final they only had one act left … Continue reading National Finals By Numbers
This weekend sees the final round of national final fun for the 2018 season. The Lithuanian competition enters it's 22nd and final week, a mediocre Melodifestivalen will draw to a close but most importantly Norway's Melodi Grand Prix is set to produce the most exciting selection of the lot. With returning artists, quality songs and … Continue reading 60 Minute Song Contest: MGP Edition
As we approach another weekend chocked full of National Final action we now have nearly half the songs for this year’s Contest. Of course, we don’t have the exact versions of all of these entries. We still need to hear three minute versions of ‘Mall’ and ‘Non mi avete fatto niente’ and of course, the … Continue reading Waiting on a Winner: The Hunt Continues…
In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that Eurovision: You Decide 2018 was the very first national final I attended live. I am, therefore, definitely a little biased towards last night's event. Putting that to one side though it’s quite clear that whether you were in the Brighton Dome or watching at … Continue reading We Decided, They Improved
