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Our last show of April, and it’s another Juke Box Jury. We’ve still got 16 songs waiting to go in front of our judges and hope for a hit, do their best to avoid a miss, and be satisfied with a maybe (unless your Zeljko, who really really wants to win this year).
So Zeljko will be happy to know he’s one of the five countries this week, ready for David, Elaine, and Ewan to discuss, debate, and deliberate over.
Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #6
with David Elder and Elaine Dove.Serbia: Nije Ljubav Stvar, by Zeljko Joksimovic.
Austria: Woki Mit Deim Popo, by Trackshittaz.
Georgia: I’m a Joker, by Anri Jokhadze.
Romania: Zaleilah, by Mandinga.
Lithuania: Love Is Blind, by Donny Montell.
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.
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Ewww, David’s sick bag story made me queasy! o_O And I too was appalled when the gruesome twosome won last year. Anyway…
I can see what you mean about Serbia’s song taking half the song to properly kick in, but it’s still really good. And to me, Željko being ‘not as good’ is still better than most Eurovision participants at their peak.
I don’t like Austria’s song and I too find it a bit offensive, but I have to say after seeing them in Amsterdam last weekend and getting a photo taken with them I’ve warmed to them a bit. I even wished them good luck after the photo was taken!
Georgia’s song is horrid. It’s just cringeworthy and if there was any justice this would have the same fate as Armenia last year and not qualify.
And I agree, if Romania get a late draw then they could be dark horses to win. FAB-U-LOUS is a very apt description!
As for Lithuania… well, he is a good performer and in a way I feel he’s too good for this song, which has a really naff “Saturday night in a Phoenix Nights-esque working man’s club” vibe to it. On the plus side he’s performing last in the semi, but then again so did The Toppers.
The pronounciation is awful for a lot of this, especially Anri Jokhadze. I also think Serbia has a great chance of winning.
Georgia and Romania above Serbia? Get real guys.
Georgia!? No. Please?
As for Zeljko, I reckon there’s a bit of “anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better” going on between him and Sakis Rouvas. Ever since that result in 2004 they’ve been scoring points off each other – ie Sakis hosted in 2006, Zeljko hosted in 2008. Sakis then returned to sing in 2009, oh look, now ZJ is back too… And I think he’ll get a similar result to “This Is Our Night” 😛 (even though it;s a much better song)
Romania is my absolute favourite this year!!! I really hope you’re right about them being the dark horse of the contest; as a country they really deserve it, and this song is definitely good enough to get them there 😀
Serbia: The orchestral introduction of the melody makes perfect sense musically. Problem is not only that he will lose people, but that the song is too short for it. He’s compressed the end more than the intro so that it feels both slow to start and over too soon. Still brilliant, though.
Austria: Just not enough here for me. I can see it going down well at drunken parties, though.
On a related topic, I’d much prefer Conchita enter with an indisputably strong and serious ballad to really screw with people.
Georgia: I can get enjoyment from this, but I’m also infuriated that he was so sloppy about it. It’s basically terrible with some good bits. Still, if it improves as much between now and the contest as between selection and now, only the lyrics will still be atrocious.
Romania: I’m a total outlier on this one. I cannot even listen to this right through. Nice intro, but then it’s just a nagging racket to me. Could win.
Lithuania: I don’t know. Bad strategy, a bit awkward and alienating. But the composition and arrangement is quite thoughtful, and Donny is clearly committed to mastering every skill demanded to deliver the best performance he can. It’s just a shame there’s no prize for effort.
Serbia: Nije Ljubav Stvar, by Zeljko Joksimovic.
It is no Lane moje, Leyla or Oro, which is a disappointment. These three songs were all classical and timeless, while this new song is trying to be modern and not really working for me.
Austria: Woki Mit Deim Popo, by Trackshittaz.
I think it’s a brave choice to send this to the ESC. It isn’t politically correct, it’s exploitive, it’s rude, it’s dirty and filthy and I absolutely love it. I’m glad they are going whole hog and going hard. Good luck – I hope it makes the final. It’s a breath of ESC fresh air.
Georgia: I’m a Joker, by Anri Jokhadze.
I believe this is the worst entry of the year; I expect some sort of gimmick (it’s Georgia after all – long sheets, goths, heavy choreography and impromptu sword fights expected) and it’ll tumble into the final like they deserve it.
Romania: Zaleilah, by Mandinga.
I think it’s rubbish. I absolutely loath the bag pipes and really am not enjoying the words, and the way the song travels. It’s rare but I think it was much better live than in the film clip as the clip does not show off the lady’s voice.
Lithuania: Love is blind
I like that even if you knew the title of this song and were just watching – you’d get that at the point of the blind fold being discarded you know that the the man’s eyes are finally open.
I hate the way the commentators find something good to say about EVERY song.
While internal selections make it a bit more tricky, in the majority of cases a Eurovision entry has won through on a public vote, which means there are people out there who like it. Surely that has to be acknowledged?
@ the hilariously named, BJ… Did you actually listen to what I said about Austria?
What about the way the commentators find something BAD to say about every song?
Why can’t they just make up their minds? 😉
@Chris — “I’m a Joker” is theatre, and suits a set piece in the same way that “Stay” suits a dance routine (*), or “Kuula” suits an empty set. Anri IS the gimmick, and he doesn’t strike me as one willing to be upstaged. 😉
Also, I disagree strongly with the implication that “Visionary Dream (My Story)” was anything less than deserving.
(* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLaRptHNvLw)
Praise for Georgia?
I almost pressed “STOP” in protest!
Just one minor complaint that has been nagging me for a while now: The pronunciation of the good German name Siegel. It is SIegel, with the stress on “see” and not “SieGEL” with the stress on “gel.”