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Super Saturday National Final Form Guide (26th February) Written by on February 25, 2011

Welcome to the fourth part of the ESC Insight Super National Final Form Guide.  This is place which you can find out where to follow the competitions live and online, who will be competing for each country, and most importantly, who we think best stands to win the coveted prize to represent their nation in Dusseldorf and why! 

The time has come – the big 2nd Super Saturday with no less than 6 national selections is finally here.  THIS is the weekend that every major Eurovision fan has been waiting for and we don’t think it will disappoint.  Could the 2011 Eurovision winner in fact be amongst these selections?  This form guide has an inkling it might, if we get the choices right. 

So, join ESC Insight in taking bets and keep score with our predictions… 


 

UKRAINE

Show time: 8.15pm, Saturday 26th February (CET)
 
Online stream: https://www.eurovision.tv/esctv/future
 
Contestants:
  • Bahroma – Černoe More
  • Jemchug – Hero
  • Vitalyj Galaj – My Expression
  • Zlata Ognevič – The Kukushka
  • Vladislav Leitskiy – Love
  • Mika Newton – Angely
  • Shanis – Ya Tvoja
  • Elena Korneeva – Why Did I Say Goodbye?
  • Denis Povaliy – Aces High
  • Anastasia Prikhodko – Action
  • ARMIYA – Allo Allo
  • El Kravchuk – Moya Nadežda
  • Jamala – Smile
  • Eduard Romanyuta – Berega
  • Dariya Medova – Infinity
  • Alexey Matias – Myself
  • HEKSI – Sever-Jug
  • Tanya Vorževa – Vsyo Rešeno
  • Ivan Berezovskiy – Ave Maria
  • Zaklyopki – Superhero (U-La-La)
  • Mila Nitič – Goodbye
 
Who to watch for? Ukraine has taken 6 months to complete its huge selection process, and frankly they need not have bothered; such has been the buzz around 3 of its entries – Anastasia Prikhodko, Zlata Ognevich and Jamala from the very start.  But truthfully, we only see one name as the winner, and that is Jamala.  Her incredible push to win has been interpreted by some as so obvious that it is in fact a rigged result, but we just see it as the case of her being the out-and-out stand-out with the love-it-or-hate-it Smile.  We are so confident of her selection that if she doesn’t win, the only suitable explanation could be that Ukraine get scared off by the possibility they may have to host Eurovision in 2012.
 

 

LATVIA

Show time: 8.20pm, Saturday 26th February (CET)
 
Online stream: https://www.eurovision.tv/esctv/future
 
Contestants:
  • Evija Sloka – Don’t Stop The Dance
  • Elīna Krastiņa – Look Back At Me Again
  • Ivo Grīsniņš-Grīslis – Cinderella
  • The Secretz – Summer Night
  • Pieneņu Vīns – You Are
  • Jānis Stībelis – Let It Be Me
  • Oksana Ļepska – Live On!
  • Musiqq – Angel In Disguise
  • Blitze – Hop
  • D-family – Daylight
  • Lauris Reiniks – Banjo Laura
 
Who to watch for? In December when the songs were previewed online for Latvia, it appeared obvious that this national final would be a 2 horse race, and 3 months on, nothing has changed.  The band Blitze encaptures a lot of the charm of Eurovision 2000 fan favourites Brainstorm with their song Hop.  Since the previews however the buzz has grown in the most unfortunate of circumstances – as the song composer Martins Freimanis passed away last month with flu complications.  Freimanis’ untimely death has been mourned throughout Latvia, not just within the music industry, and his memory would be aptly and rightly served with this song to be selected (similar to what happened in Iceland).  On the flipside, Latvias’ current favourite son; Lauris Reiniks, has submitted a pop gem in the form of Banjo Laura – a ridiculously joyful, infectious and memorable song, and we think stands as the best chance of success for Latvia at Eurovision in many years.  Both of these acts trounced the competition in their heats, qualifying first, so the statistics back us up.  Our hearts say its Lauris to win, but our heads say Blitze.
 

 

DENMARK

Show time: 8.30pm, Saturday 26th February (CET)
 
Online stream:  https://www.dr.dk/tv/live#/DR1
 
Contestants:
  • Anne Noa- Sleepless
  • Jenny Berggren- Let Your Heart Be Mine
  • Jeffrey- Drømmen
  • Le Freak- 25 Hours A Day
  • Sine Vig- You’ll Get Me Through
  • Stine Kinck- Hvad hjertet lever af
  • Lee Hutton- Hollywood
  • Christopher Brandt- Emma
  • Kat & Justin Hopkins- Black and Blue
  • A Friend in London- New Tomorrow
 
Who to watch for? The Danish may just have trounced the Swedes this year in regards to good, upbeat dance tunes this year for their selections.  The schlager fans are salivating over Le Freaks’ 25 hours a day, and those old enough to remember Ace of Base are getting their fill of pop magic with Jenny Berggren and her Let Your Heart Be Mine.  Both have catchy choruses to join in on but for some reason don’t exactly take you over the edge that you are looking for to get you on your feet and cheering.   Live it could be a different matter for both acts, but in the meantime we think Anna Noa may have that something extra special to snare the votes.  The 17-year-old seems to mix that typical Danish Eurovision sound with Taylor Swift-sounding vocals, and it leaves us Sleepless thinking she might give the Danish author John Gordon a back-to-back victory after penning the winning Satellite for Lena in Germany last year. 
 

 

ESTONIA

Show time: 8.35pm, Saturday 26th February (CET)
 
Online stream: https://www.eurovision.tv/esctv/future
 
Contestants:
  • Getter Jaani – Rockefeller Street
  • Jana Kask – Don’t Want Anything
  • Noorkuu – Be My Saturday Night
  • Outloudz – I Wanna Meet Bob Dylan
  • Victoria – Baby Had You
  • Orelipoiss – Valss
  • Ithaka Maria – Hopa’pa-rei!
  • MID – Smile
  • Rolf Roosalu – All & Now
  • Mimicry – The Storm
 
Who to watch for? Estonia is gathering quite the reputation for not only being one of the most contemporary selections, but also the strongest.  This year is no exception and most of the finalists if selected would get the big thumbs up from fans.  Estonians aren’t ones to necessarily pick from obvious favourites, and left-of-centre (and also excellent) selections such as Outloudz can’t be discounted.  But pointing out just 3 favourites, ESC Insight would say to keep an eye out for Ithaka Maria, Mimicry and Getter Jaani.  Hopa’pa-rei by Ithaka Maria is a stomping, Ruslana-esque rock performance; the kind which slaps you about the face to grab your attention.  It feels too messy and heavy to be selected, but judging by the response of the audience during the semis, many fans would disagree.  Mimicrys’ song The Storm does in fact mimic the current music chart trends, 80s-styled electronica-indie tune coupled with a glow-in-the-dark eye-catching appearance.  And finally, Getter Jaani provides the most instantly accessible piece in the Estonian selection with Rockefeller Street.  Pop without being clichéd, the chorus is one that sticks in your head from very first listen, and certainly looks and feels like a worthy winner.
 

 

SERBIA

Show time: 9.00pm, Saturday 26th February (CET)
 
Online stream: https://www.eurovision.tv/esctv/future
 
Contestants:
  • Breeze – Ring Ring Ring (Kornelije Kovac)
  • Nina – Caroban (Kristina Kovac)
  • Aleksandra Kovac – Idemo Dalje (Aleksandra Kovac)
 
Who to watch for? Without having heard the actual songs, and most especially, haven’t heard any live performances, its a very tough call.   Add to that the fact its a family competition this year, 3 members of one very talented family putting forward different compositions, and it might be game on in the studio and not just on the stage.  But if they want to keep everyone in the family happy and have a win-win situation, surely Aleksandra Kovac who has composed and is performing her own entry will be the one to choose. 
 

 

MOLDOVA

Show time:  6.40pm, Saturday 26th February (CET)
 
Online stream:  https://www.trm.md/
 
Contestants:
  • Anişoara Balmuş – You and I
  • Aurel Chirtoacă – Încă îndrăgostit
  • Boris Covali &Cristina Croitoru – Break it up
  • Corina Cuniuc – Şi tac
  • Dana Marchitan – Lucky you Lucky me
  • Diana Staver – Love song
  • Doiniţa Gherman – Viaţa
  • Ion Krasnopolski – Cu fanfara pînă dimineaţa
  • Karizma – When Life is Grey
  • Katrina – Solo por tu amor
  • Denis Latişev – It’s My First Dance with You
  • Mariana Mihaila – Mi rey!
  • Milenium – In memoriam
  • M-Studio – Night Reflection
  • Natalia Barbu – Let’s Jazz
  • Natan – Dacă dragoste mai e
  • Nicoleta Gavriliţa – Just your friend
  • Odry – Doina, dor nemărginit
  • Pasha Parfeny – Dorule
  • Ruslan Taranu – Lumina mea
  • Cristina Scarlat – Every day will be your day
  • Vadim Luchin & Tamaz Djgarcava – Always
  • Valeria Tarasova – This is my life
  • Adriana Voloşenco – I can win the game
  • Zdob si Zdub – So lucky
 
Who to watch for? Just when you thought potential Eurovision marathon- like shows for 2011 were over (we are looking at you Bulgaria!), Moldova give us a HUGE show.  Surprisingly, the selection is quite good and for the most part upbeat, meaning that the small Eastern country could give us another fun song like last years’ Runaway once again.  Focusing in a little more, we have 3 songs earmarked for possible winners – those from Karizma, Natalia Barbu and Zdob si Zdub.  All 3 are well known to the Eurovision devotees amongst us, with the latter 2 having represented Moldova previously.  Despite its dreary name, When Life is Grey, Karizma provide easily the most accessible and catchy song of the evening although in the past has proved patchy on the live performance front.  Natalia Barbu stands as a stronger live performer, and the song Let’s Jazz is unusual enough with its beats to stick in the minds of viewers.  Lastly, Moldova’s favourite band and Red Hot Chilli Pepper wannabes Zdob si Zdub (the trend of bands for Eurovision 2011 is far too obvious) sits as most likely choice considering their local popularity and a predilection from the jury.  So Lucky is nowhere near as memorable or charming as their previous offering Boonika Bate Doba, where we saw a grandma play the drums with them on the 2005 stage, but it certainly can’t be discounted as a potential representative.
 
 
 

Have we missed the dark horse for your country? Disagree with our predictions?   Let us know! We will be continuing our form coverage week by week until mid March when all the National Finals will have concluded.  Stay tuned.

About The Author: Sharleen Wright

Sharleen Wright is the co-founder of ESC Insight and a freelance journalist and researcher. She has previously worked for numerous community radio stations in Sydney Australia, and contributed to the wider world of comedy holding production and promotions roles at both the Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Her written words have appeared online, as well as The List magazine, and numerous fanzines on the topics of television and specifically, Eurovision . She is currently based in Australia and undertaking research on food and event tourism. You can follow Sharleen on Twitter (@sharly77) and Facebook (facebook.com/sharleenwright).

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