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From all your tweets and comments it does feel like many of you have been waiting for this show, so let’s not delay it any more.
Juke Box Jury is back!
Yes, over the next eight weeks we’ll be gathering a number of Eurovision experts, commentators, writers, and performers, and going through the 39 songs selected for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. A simple question, “is this song a hit, a miss, or a maybe?” will generate debate, controversy, and a few raised eyebrows.
We’ll start off with our first transatlantic recording for the Jury, with Emma Backfish (EscXtra) and Samantha Ross (ESC Insider) joining Ewan Spence on a long distance call to start the judging.
Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #1
with Emma Backfish and Samantha RossSwitzerland: You and Me, by Takasa.
Cyprus: An Me Thimasai, by Despina Olympiou
Lithuania: Something, by Andrius Pojavis
Denmark: Only Teardrops, by Emmelie de Forest
Don’t miss an episode of the Eurovision Insight podcast 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. Looking for the Eurovision MP3′s? and help the ESC Insight team buy their return tickets over the Oresund Bridge.
I’m going to agree with Emma and say that I think Denmark has a great chance in a wide open year. The fact that Emmelie won the superfinal with 50% of the votes suggests to me that the song is better than many might have initially thought.
She was only third in the betting odds and the Danish press (and many Eurovision fans) seemed to think Simone was the clear frontrunner.
The other songs discussed today are probably not going to make any major impact on the contest this year.
From a non-European perspective: I actually don’t get the hype over the Danish entry, I couldn’t even get halfway through it because it sounded so bland to me
I loved the Swiss entry from the very first listen, it’s very catchy and positive. And for a song to win its national final on a pure televote with a 20% margin over the second place entry from Carrousel must have meant the Swiss people really loved it. Given a good performance, it could be a surprise for the final.
Denmark. Hit, but I don’t get the level of expectation for this entry either. Yes, it ticks some boxes, but it doesn’t connect for me and therefore exhausts my patience within the first minute.
Switzerland. Miss. I always assume that individuals will vote with more focused tastes, rather than the middle ground, and this semifinal offers those alternatives. The jury is better positioned to award broad-but-moderate appeal, but they have better options too.
Lithuania. Sasha – hat. Donny – blindfold. Andrius – eyebrows … and a song about shoes.
High Maybe. It has some character and appeal, but there are enough acts that could push past it.
Cyprus. Miss. The ballad vote is spread too thin for this to slip over the line.
Switzerland: Maybe – I think is a borderline qualifier. The song is catchy, and their backstory might help them to a degree, but they are drawn in a tough semi-final and the live performances they have given so far have been weak.
Cyprus: Miss – Whilst I really like this song, I can’t see it attracting much televoting support at all.
Lithuania: Maybe – It’s a good song, but the presentation is gimmicky and distracting. Still, I’m giving this a slight chance as Lithuania have qualified with worse in the past few years (Donny Montell, I’m looking at you)
Denmark: Hit – I think this should qualify with ease from semi-final one, but I don’t really get the hype around it and don’t see it as a potential winner…
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Cyprus
4. Lithuania
🙂
With the Swiss entry it all depends where they appear in the Running Order. But it could do very well because of its All-Age-Appeal. So it could be a hit, but it’s definite maybe.
The Cypriot Entry has to do something extraordinary to stand out in his Semifinal. Plus the Song has no unique selling point. So it’s more of a miss.
With the Lithuanian Song it’s the opposite side of the coin. That song will stand Semifinal 1 amongst all those ballads. So it’s more of hit than a maybe.
The Danes should go through to the final but will it do much more? Some of the last Danish Entry’s had a rather broad MOR Appeal but did better than I thought. So I think it’s a hit and a Top Five Contender.
Would be teardrops if they won. (2001 contest was appalling..)
I agree with most of the comments regarding Cyprus. It’s a pretty song that won’t make much of an impact.
I don’t see any of the appeal with the Lithuanian entry. It’s a little off-color, but the lyrics don’t really make that much sense and the performance is a little off-putting.
Switzerland is one of my favorites this year. It’s so catchy and inoffensive. Not being from Europe, I don’t quite understand how being associated with the Salvation Army is going to hurt/help them. I agree, a definite maybe though. As someone else said, it depends on their spot in the running order.
Denmark is most definitely a Top 5 contender in my book and a serious favorite to win it all. It’s catchy and has a strong beat. Emmelie Forest’s vocals are just as strong live as they are on the studio version, and the lyrics tell a great story. As they said in the podcast, this song has instant grab appeal and will leave a lasting mark.
Well, the Danish song is pure schlager hiding behind a folk orchestration. It leaves me cold. The Danish MGP was one of the worst NFs of the season. The staging was great, but the songs were bad in general. I prefer to give points to songs.
For me Denmark is the most overhyped song in 2013
it is totally bland and nothing special
it reminds me abit of Azerbaijan 2010, they wanna create a hype around it with the comment like “we gonna finish top5 for sure”
i hope they will fail like Azerbaijan in 2010, but in a weak year like we have in 2013 it could take the crown like azerbaijan in 2011 🙁
Lithuania is somehow cute
Switzerland is boring
Cyprus – can´t remember
Denmark – absolute hit
Switzerland – maybe
Lithuania and Cyprus – miss (though Lithuania has a habit of making finals)