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Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury 2012 #2 Written by on March 30, 2012 | 12 Comments

It’s always great to see the reaction when Juke Box Jury comes round, although I think part of it is the realisation that if the jury has been called, then it’s not that long till the Eurovision Song Contest itself.

No matter, it’s on with another week of Eurovision music and the chance to rate them as a potential hit, miss, or maybe. And if want to join in the debate, hit the comments at the end of the post.

Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury 2012 #2
with Karina Westerman and Steven Newby.

Macedonia: Crno I Belo, by Kaliopi.
Hungary: Sound of our Hearts, by Compact Disco.
Latvia: Beautiful Song, by Anmary.
Iceland: Never Forget, by Greta Salome and Jonsi.
Slovenia: Verjamem, by Eva Boto.

Don’t miss an episode of this year’s Juke Box Jury (or any of The Unofficial Eurovision Podcast episodes) by subscribing to the RSS feed dedicated to the podcasts. iTunes users can find us in the iTunes Store and get the show automatically downloaded to your computer.

About The Author: Ewan Spence

British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times. You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).

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Have Your Say

12 responses to “Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury 2012 #2”

  1. Zolan says:

    I’ve been consistently disappointed by Macedonian entries, but I would love to see “Crno I Belo” make the final. Certainly, the singer more than the song, but there’s definitely a place for Kaliopi’s performance in the 2nd semi.

    Hungary’s entry is depressing. The video even more so.

    “Beautiful Song” would be better in ‘foreign’, but there’s no denying that melody. I most hate the unimaginitive ending of pseudo-enthusiastically wailing different notes from the same chords.

    Iceland: Yes. I look forward to seeing the stage version.

    Listening to “Verjamem” right through is work, and the climax is quite weak. I’m trying to hear what others do, but it seems quite murky and flat to me. Not feeling it.

  2. KW says:

    I like Hungary’s song, but I’ll admit that it’s probably because it’s the kind of song that appeals to “indie hipsters” like me and no-one else, haha.

    I think Steven shouldn’t worry, the juries surely will kill Latvia off. And rightly so.

    And Macedonia’s song narrowly missed out on my top 10, so I like it too.

    “Voice of sanity”? More like insanity. And Iceland’s song is nothing like the Gruesome Twosome and is infinitely superior.

  3. Seán says:

    The trouble for Iceland is that most of the north of Europe – Russia, Estonia, UK, Ireland and all the rest of the Scandinavian entries are really strong this year. I just wonder whether Iceland’s ability to stage a song is going to get them into the top 5. Which would be a shame, because it is one of my real favorites this year.

  4. Magga says:

    Just to calm Ewan and Steven down regarding venues in Iceland. We have several indoor-football arenas that can hold 10.000-20.000 people or we can go the danish way and host ESC at our national football stadium which can take about 35.000 at concerts =)

  5. I reall think this years Macedonian entry is really underated by people, I agree with Ewan, I really think that it could do well and get into the finals if the jury vote goes it’s way. Hungary falls flat on it’s face for me, it fails to stand out it’s just a run of the mill song.

    Latvia just never seems to understand what a song is, for pete sake they qualified in 2008 with a song about Pirates, 4 years later they are trying to get votes with name placements. The lyrics are the worst thing about this song along with the video.

    Iceland is the perfect song for me, I love the Icelandic and English version, it can’t go wrong for me. It’s a brilliant Icelandic ballad that could do as well as Yohanna. I would love this to do a top.5 even win.

    The Slovenian entry just does not inspire me, it has no impact for, me yes the staging was great but I think it could be overshadowed.

  6. Ewan Spence says:

    Yaay! So we can have one stadium for the concert, and have everyone sleep at the old dorms at the Keflavik airbase?

  7. Ewan Spence says:

    But… Pirates will always improve a song.

  8. Zolan says:

    You’re a genius! “Buccaneer Song” it is, then…
    Yay for juries. We have to draw the line somewhere.

    Aside: That melody feels ripped straight from some Baroque classical piece, just imagine it in harpsichord or oboe. I’m sure a decent fugue could be made from it.

  9. I think Reykjavik would be a perfect host city, I spent a week in Iceland last October and it’s a beautiful country. The Icelandic people are very welcoming and friendly and I think they would host a brilliant show. I woudl not enjoy the prospect of being in Keflavik Air Base as a hotel room, the road from Keflavik to Reykjavik is enough to bore me to death and just feels very isolated.

  10. Ben says:

    Here’s an idea.

    Reykjavik 2013.

    Venue: OUTSIDE.

  11. Steven says:

    Next to Geysir, or, even better, Þingvellir – that would be spectacular. Like most above, Iceland 2013 seems like a perfect idea to me!

  12. Zolan says:

    I have to ammend my comment about Slovenia’s entry.
    Turns out that the version I got from a Eurovision YouTube channel (trying to be consistent) had poor audio. I finally got a cleaner version which is much better.
    The arrangement and delivery have much more impact than I was crediting them with.
    Still, the fact that I didn’t immediately search for the best version I could find is symptomatic of it’s overall effect.

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