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Eurovision Insight Podcast: Daily Chat From Vienna, Wednesday 13 May Written by on May 13, 2015 | 6 Comments

The first rehearsals from the first semi-finals are over, and its a good time to talk about the back eight of next Tuesday’s running order.

Ewan takes the chair again, with Samantha running the co-pilot’s chair. Joining the show today are Benny Royston (friend of the parish at ESC Buzz), Ervin Juhasz (working with the Montenegrian delegation), and a debut appearance from Dimitri De Groodt (ESC Kaz).

Eurovision Insight Podcast: Daily Chat From Vienna, Wednesday 13 May
Hosted by Ewan Spence, with…

Samantha Ross (ESC Insight)
Benny Royston (ESC Buzz)
Ervin Juhász (Montenegro Delegation)
Dimitiri De Groodt (ESC Kaz).

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.

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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6 responses to “Eurovision Insight Podcast: Daily Chat From Vienna, Wednesday 13 May”

  1. Another good ones guys!

    Spot on description with Bojana = Magenta from Rocky Horror, showing your age now… Also spot on with the car crashness aspect of it all!

    Agree that Polina is one of the contenders for the win but I’ve been saying this since April 3rd when I saw the first live performance of “A Million Voices” from a concert in Vladivostok – Russia will be there or thereabouts when the last jury gives its scores on May 23rd.

    Samantha and Benny perfectly summed it up for Romania – it won’t mean anything to anyone who is not Romanian and the message doesn’t come across quickly enough. They might get enough votes to get to the Final but nothing else.

    Loving the comparison between every female superhero/comic character you had ever heard of and moulding them together to give us Nina at Eurovision! As a straight man, her outfit pleases me…

    Russia and Georgia the best rehearsals on day 2 – add Greece to that for the best in SF1.

  2. togravus says:

    Another very enjoyable podcast. Thanks!

    On Russia: I haven’t seen a live performance yet but I can’t imagine another big ballad winning ESC at this point.

    On Romania: I don’t understand a word but love the melody and the orchestration. That’s enough for me to send an sms in case Voltaj make it to the final, which I expect them to do.

    On Georgia: I don’t get the fuss. The whole package just seems too much for me to enjoy. I general I prefer simple stuff, both in food and songs.

    On Belarus: You forgot to mention Uzari and lovely Maimuna when discussing non-qualification imo.

    On Hungary: I have a strong dislike for the abstract lyrics but I love the subtle harmonies. I wouldn’t be surprised if the juries placed Boggie pretty high. It’s the love child of two former winners, “Hallelujah” (which I like) and “Ein bisschen Frieden” (which I don’t like).

  3. Laurence James says:

    Hello from the UAE! Thank you Ewan for the great listen, Vienna doesn’t feel so far away after all. I can’t make it this year, but really value sites like yours keeping us all informed and entertained! Laurence

  4. Fatima says:

    I still can’t believe that someone as eloquent as Ervin Juhász did not know who Locomotive GT are / were (when I asked him on escxtra later year)

  5. Nicky1991 says:

    On Malta: I Kinda think she’s underrated as a vocalist and the backdrop is quite good as it matches the song, you want fire and a powerful ballad together, but i think we haven’t seen all maybe a few background vocalists and a dancer perhaps

  6. Gert Waterink says:

    I fully agree with Samantha about the Barbara Dex Award ;-). I mean, I have a feeling that there’s some exaggeration in the press centre going on about outfits.

    I understand the gasps when Trijntje entered the hall with that dress. But there were similar kind of gasps when Ukraine appeared with a giant on stage (Ukraine 2013). Twitter exploded about that ridiculous staging. And indeed, Albania 2012. No matter how “weird” her…ehm….”hairworm” looked like, it was only one aspect of the entire total package. And all other aspects of “Suus” were equaling out the Barbara Dex awarded outfit.

    Ukraine came 3rd in 2013
    Albania came 5th in 2012.

    Now I’m not going to say that Netherlands will do something similar as those entries, scoring-wise. But I do think that televoters and juries won’t be too much bothered about her black dress with massive cleavage.

    Dear Ewan? Deep deep down in your heart…..doesn’t it excite you a little bit to see Trijntje like that ;-)? Because….you seem so….firmly against it hehe.

    Anyway, in comparison I did find Joan Franka’s outfit in 2012 much “weirder”. But it wasn’t just her Indian headdress. Everything was wrong about her looks. And she wasn’t -sorry for saying it- the most handsome woman in Baku either. She looked strained, slightly pumped up. Trijntje at least has a wunderful cute face for a 40+ year old fierce woman.

    In Trijntje’s defence, I think tomorrow will prove she’s more photogenic (Trijntje already said that she had to get used by the camera’s, hence her “serious looks”). Hans Pannecoucke’s cinematography may not work to such an extend as the Common Linnets, but I always prefer it, no matter how different entries are, to see close-ups, to look in someone’s face, to see her interact with the televoting audiences and judges, instead of those present in the hall or press centre.

    Having said all this, I’ve made my first TOP 10 of entries that I think will go through to the final on Tuesday. I always make a TOP 10 as early as possible, so I won’t changing too much about it. There will be some slight changes based on tomorrow’s 2nd set of rehearsals for semi 2, but the upper half seems rather fixed:

    01. RUSSIA: No doubt
    02. ESTONIA: This will come together
    03. GEORGIA: Game of Thrones
    04. ROMANIA: Professional band, with content
    05. DENMARK: Fun! One Direction meets Elvis
    06. GREECE: Great staging, bit dull ballad
    07. ARMENIA: Slightly Belarus 2010
    08. THE NETHERLANDS: A bad Azerbaijan 2011
    09. BELGIUM: It can improve though
    10. BELARUS: Has already 40 points

    Outsiders, that can enter the TOP 10 again after Friday’s rehearsals:
    — FINLAND: If through, only sympathy vote
    — F.Y.R.O.MACEDONIA: Looses from Romania
    — HUNGARY: Wunderfully staged, lacks impact

    No-hopers:
    — SERBIA: Too boring, even for Barbara Dex
    — ALBANIA: Smashed in between RU, DK, RO and GE
    — MOLDOVA: Too tacky

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