Hey guys! I am back for the last time for 2016. Now that we know all 26 songs that will be competing in the grand final on Saturday, here’s my take on how the events turned out last night, and how they will tomorrow.
It was a pleasure to discuss this year’s edition with you all! Thanks for your participation and thanks to MJ for letting me do this for the 4th year in a row! Hope to see you again next year!
Eurovision Song Contest 2016 – Semi Final 1 Power Rankings (VIDEO)
Eurovision Song Contest 2016 – Semi Final 1 (VIDEO)
Eurovision 2016 Song Contest – Semi Final 2 Power Rankings (VIDEO)
Eurovision Song Contest 2016 – Semi Final 2 (VIDEO)
First of all, let me start by saying that this was an incredibly week semi-final. I got about 7 out of the 10 qualifiers correct. Yet, I am only glad that Ukraine, Australia and Bulgaria all made it to the finale, who were basically the only countries deserving to be in the final over the rest.
The Eurovision 2016 Grand Finale can either be watched through your local EBU member European broadcaster, LOGO TV in the USA, SBS in Australia and, if none of these are an option, via a live stream on the official Eurovision website (link: http://www.eurovision.tv/) or YouTube! Mataja will be live blogging the Saturday May 14 final, set to begin at 9pm (Stockholm)/8pm (London)/3pm (East coast)/12pm (West coast).
Without further ado, here is my power list for the grand finale.
26. Georgia – Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz – Midnight Gold
I will admit that Georgia did better than I expected last night, still, I can’t see any of these songs doing well at all.
25. Lithuania – Donny Montell – I’ve Been Waiting for This Night
Not my cup of tea. That’s about all I can say.
24. Poland – Michal Szpak – Color of Your Life
I started to feel the love for this following the live performance. Still don’t think it’s that good a song.
23. Austria – Zoe – Loin D’ici (Far from Here)
I slowly got into Loin D’ici after the semi final. It was a very decent performance vocally, she was very cute, and I could see why people liked it. I am not sure if it’ll do well against all the wonderful songs in the finale though.
22. United Kingdom – Joe & Jake – You’re Not Alone
Once again, the UK didn’t take the competition seriously (despite the apparent improvement over the last few years), and I can see from miles away that they won’t do that well, even though, the uplifting, cute song could save them from the rock bottom.
21. Sweden – Frans – If I Were Sorry
Come on. This is so lazy. The lyrical content is awful. The guy lacks any kind of charisma. He comes off as arrogant and unlikeable.
20. Israel – Hovi Star – Made of Stars
His vocal abilities are undeniable. His song is cute. It just won’t be memorable against the others.
18. Hungary – Freddie – Pioneer
Meh. Cute guy, hot voice, that’s it.
17. Germany – Jamie Lee – Ghost
She looks like she got lost in a candy factory. It’s cute, though. I like the song, but this is another song that won’t fair well against some of the stronger entries.
16. Belgium – Laura Tesoro – What’s the Pressure
The dancing, the singing, it’s all so cute. Not a winner, though.
15. Malta – Ira Losco – Walk On Water
She was so disappointing for me in the semi-final. She’s expecting a baby and everything, which is very cute, but the vocals were disappointing. She looked gorgeous, though.
14. Latvia – Justs – Heartbeat
Another hot guy syndrome. He’s very cute, his song isn’t too awful. The instrumental is actually very very experimental and nice. The song is written by Aminata, Latvia’s representative last year, and the instrumental makes it so obvious that this is the case.
13. Czech Republic – Gabriela Guncikova – I Stand
I am in love with her vocals. She’s very pretty. Easily one of the best proper ballads in the competition this year.
12. Cyprus – Minus One – Alter Ego
The performance was very nice in the semi-final and the song is immensely catchy. This is one of the rare times in the competition that I feel proud of my country.
11. Croatia – Nina Kraljic – Lighthouse
This started off as a favourite and kept slipping down. The first dress is ugly; the second dress is ugly. The reveal is anticlimactic. Nothing about the performance matches the song. I’m very disappointed.
10. Netherlands – Douwe Bob – Slow Down
Netherlands chose a good song and a charismatic singer this year. The ‘pause’ towards the end could have been more effective with a bit of play with the lighting, though.
9. Serbia – Sanja Vucic ZAA – Goodbye (Shelter)
Inspiration from Serbia’s very own Marija Serifovic is obvious in the presentation. The song is very nicely written, sung and presented. I am smelling a good placing for Serbia.
8. Spain – Barei – Say Yay
One of the rare times when I think Spain is doing a good job in Eurovision. Barei is a lovely person, she is a great singer, yet I feel like the staging will be her downfall.
7. Bulgaria – Poli Genova – If Love Was a Crime
I was rather impressed with her last night. Her vocals were very good, she’s very likeable, yet the dress is still hideous. I think this will do well for the country it represents.
6. Italy – Francesca Michielin – No Degree of Separation
Easily my favorite automatic qualifier. She sings with such passion and precision, it’s just very lovely to watch. Italian is a gorgeous language to sing in, which is a plus.
5. France – Amir – J’ai Cherché (I have looked for)
If the live singing wasn’t so questionable, I’d say that France was coming to win this thing. Now I’m not so sure. The song is one of the generic songs in the competition, yet the one with the most substance to it within these generic songs.
4. Australia – Dami Im – Sound of Silence
I was also disappointed with her performance. It was vocally solid, but I failed to feel the emotion which I had felt in her rehearsals. Still very impressive!
3. Armenia – Iveta Mukuchyan – LoveWave
If the flag controversy that she got into by raising a Nagarno-Karnabakh flag in the semi final (I am not talking about the politics of it all, as I am not that knowledgeable about the Azeri-Armenian issues – I just feel like it was a dick move to be talked about). The song is still alright, the performance is still stellar.
2. Russia – Sergey Lazarev – You Are The Only One
Ahhhhh this song is still incredibly cheesy to me. It might as well win, but I feel like most of the western countries will bring this song down, both for the cheesiness and the fact that it is Russia.
1. Ukraine – Jamala – 1944
Without a doubt in my mind, Jamala is MY winner of Eurovision 2016. Her vocal performance last night was so stellar that it brought me to tears. The staging for elegant, gorgeous, just plain perfect. The wailing (in the best way possible), the high notes, the choruses, it’s all just perfectly emotive. It received an incredible amount of love from the audience in the Globe Arena, and I saw first hand, how both people who heard/saw it for the first time and people who hated it when they first heard it fell in love with her. Come on Ukraine! You can do this! Kiev 2017!!!!?
