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Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #8 Written by on May 19, 2015 | 6 Comments

Just before the semi finals kick in, lets squeeze in the final Juke Box Jury of Vienna, and the final five songs that will take to the stage in Austria.

Andrew Main (Eurovision Ireland) and Ben Robertson (ESC Insight) sit down the remaining numbers in the  defendant’s box to award them are a Hit, a Miss, or a Maybe.

Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #8
with Ben Robertson and Andrew Main.

Estonia: Goodbye to Yesterday, by Elina Born and Stig Rasta.
Czech Republic:
: Hope Never Dies, by Marta Jandová & Vaclav Noid Barta.
San Marino:
Chain of Light, by Anita Simoncini & Michele Perniola.
Russia:
A Million Voices, by Polina Gagarina.
United Kingdom:
Still In Love With You, by Electro Velvet.

ESC Insight will be continuing our coverage of Eurovision 2015  until we find our winner for the year. Keep up to date with the Insight Podcasts through the podcast’s dedicated RSS feed or  subscribe to ESC Insight in the iTunes Store and get the show automatically downloaded.

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: Juke Box Jury #8”

  1. Sneaky Ewan – you won’t get many comments on this, releasing this four hours before SF1!

    Very briefly…

    Estonia – HIT. Love it, one of the classier entries, great live, great official vid, this will be top 10, possibly top 5.

    Czech Republic – HIT. At least this is what I hope happens, I suppose MAYBE might be more realistic. I love this pair, they have the best chemistry of any duo here this year and they are superb to watch off stage. Loving the shoe chucking too – they will stay in my memory long after May 23rd…

    San Marino – MISS. This might be a bottom song in their SF, they are great singers but they have a crock of a song and rubbish staging. Try again in four years, Michele and Anita, Ralph might have retired or moved onto another country to write for!

    Russia – HIT. The best of the ballads this year by far, Polina nails every single live performance and this is amazingly staged. If the juries and public want another ballad winner, this will be it.

    UK – MISS. The song has never been a problem for me, Alex and Bianca can sing live well and their chemistry works now but the staging is appalling. I thought this would get enough interest from voters to get a LHS of the scoreboard – if the staging stays as it is, this will be lucky not to be bottom 5.

    Phew! Enjoyed all of your JBJ this year, even if some of your pundits have had amazingly opposite views to me!

    I’m looking forward to next years already!

  2. Ben P says:

    Estonia – I really love this song and think it portrays its message well. It also looks like they’ve given themselves the best chance of doing well with their staging. It’s definitely a dark horse and I’d love to see this win. A lot of people have posed the question “can a song about an argument/break up win the contest?” and I think it could if written and sold convincingly enough as this song is. Hit.

    Czech Republic – I was very pleasantly surprised that the country returned this year and hope they don’t disappear next year! I want to love this but I find myself just admiring it. It’ll be one of those songs that comes alive from the performance as you said in the podcast and if it does it’ll give itself a shot at sneaking into the final. Maybe.

    San Marino – I agree with pretty much everything you all said. Maybe Michele (who I believe is Italian) will become a big star there and end up representing Italy one day in the future. A wasted opportunity for the singers and the country. I predict it could come last in SF2 – many think Portugal but Leonor’s song is better than this and at least she enjoys performing it. Miss.

    Russia – Every time you think Russia might stumble, they don’t. Last year’s song was very dull on the recording and the preview video but came alive and was delivered to its maximum potential by the Tolmachevy sisters. When I first heard A Million Voices I thought it was great and could potentially win. I certainly think if it belonged to a Nordic country it might win. I also remember thinking I wish this was our (the UK’s) song because Russia don’t mess around and leave anything to chance. For the contest’s and the fan’s sake I hope it doesn’t win but it should be top 5. Hit.

    UK – The first time I heard it I sighed and was disappointed. I was surprised that some people loved it. Last year I really believed we had the potential to win and was disappointed by 17th place. However, like you guys I thought it was the first building block on the road to the UK choosing better entries and changing perceptions on the BBC’s attitude to the contest. I feel like they thought Molly’s song wasn’t instant enough so let’s choose the ear worm submission regardless of its quality. Guy, the UK HoD last year said choosing a singer who’d written or composed their song meant that it would mean more to them. That idea is obviously been thrown out this year. The songs sounds to me too much like a 3 minute jingle, or theme song to a sitcom or game show. I worry we’ll come last in the final (hopefully a 27 song final won’t mean nul points) because at this point, before the semi-final results, I can’t see who might do worse. Some televoters may like it but the juries will have a hard time justifying putting it up too high. Coming last again won’t do much to encourage good writers and composers in the UK. Miss.

  3. Shai says:

    It’s the last JBJ of the season and while I’ve listened to it after the semi, that would not stop to comment 🙂

    Estonia – A perfect song. If this wins it means that song does matter -HIT

    Czech Republic – it might be a good song but there is something missing for me-MAYBE

    San Marino – a dreadful and dated song- MISS

    U.K. – I like it.it makes me smile but it can come out quite messy. Between MAYBE and a HIT

  4. HarrietKrohn says:

    Estonia – I haven’t been following rehearsals, but of course I got to see their performance in the semi – and I love it. It’s without a doubt my favourite song this year, I’ve listened to it countless times and I never grow tired of it. However, I don’t see it entering the top 5, because it doesn’t draw enough attention to it. Still, a huge HIT.

    Czech Republic – I’m very happy my dear neighbours are back. I’m hoping that Marta’s (relative) fame in Germany will help them score high here, but without knowing anything of the staging I don’t really see them getting out of their semi. Personally, I think it’s a nice enough song, not quite my genre, but not too bad. MAYBE.

    San Marino – my guilty pleasure of the year. My head tells me this is a terrible song, so very Ralph Siegel in the end that I want to scream, but I love it. The beginning at least is very interesting, it’s only the end that is just toooo cheesy and unbearable. I don’t know the two youngsters performing it (JESC is not ESC), but they seem way too young for a song as heavy as this one. A clear miss for the contest, but personally still a HIT. (Shocking, I know.)

    Russia – Polina probably won her semi tonight, but I still haven’t managed to love the song. Somehow it’s too perfect, and I can’t connect to it. But it’s clearly good and might challenge for victory (dear God, I hope we’re not going back to Moscow next year …). Polina looked terrified on stage though, or was it only me who had that impression? MAYBE, but a strong one.

    United Kingdom – one minute I love it, the next minute I hate it. It definitely puts me in a good mood, it’s a song I often have “stucked in my mind”, as Nina Zublatti would say. But I cannot for the life of me see this one scoring high, at all. I’m sure it’ll be the worst of the Big 5, even if I don’t like it least of them. Still, it’s a MISS.

  5. ian from the philippines says:

    san marino- quite agree. it like making jedward sing a ballad. i think we should start a kickstater to get san marino a better song and not in the clutches of ralph seigel MISS

    estonia- on of my ‘i’m ok with it if it wins’ song. but during the semis, there was a tv disconnect with final part of the song. so IDK HIT

    czech republic- i’m still me about it MAYBE

    russia- great song/performance. too bad it’s russia. make you own conslusions HIT

    uk-i get the comment made by the panel and i willfully ignore it. i’m still in love with this song. if i’m right there will we a lack of ‘fun’ song this year and fan journalist are forgetting that this is still a middle-class family entertainment show. most of the punters will need that song that makes them dance and feel happy. the front runner aren’t giving that. you can argue sweden or australia but it’s too calculated in it’s ‘fun’. will it win? maybe. will it go top ten? IDK but rest assure i will be dancing when is come on saturday night

  6. Shai says:

    I forgot-

    Russia – a power ballad but I wish it came from a different country. It would be easier to like it. HIT(if I’m ignoring who it represents) and a sicking MISS(if I don’t)

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