Ok, I fold. Some of my readers (I’m looking at you, Jack!) have been asking me for my personal ranking of this year’s Eurovision songs. Out of all of the articles I’ve written, this might be the toughest! I’ve been putting it off, hemming and hawing about how to organize my thoughts. It’s really quite difficult to chew up and spit out 43 songs from 43 nations, stretching from Iceland to Azerbaijan to Malta and back again. Complicating the venture even further is the knowledge that my opinions change as often as the weather (and in a Minnesota spring, that says quite a lot!); I can barely pick out an area rug for my apartment without second-guessing myself eleven thousand times.
So, in order to make my “ranking” somewhat easier (as well as to cover my ass when I invariably change my mind), I’ve decided to break the songs down into groups. With the songs in my “favorite” group, my absolute favorite can morph and change with my mood: if I’m feeling wistful and philosophical, it’s Dino. If I’m channeling my inner dramatic diva, I reach for Aurela. When I’m craving a night out at my favorite wine bar, curling up with a taste of Pinot Noir, I’ll queue up a little Gualazzi. And for those time when I want a full-on, hands-in-the-air, sing-into-my-hairbrush dance-fest, I turn on “What About My Dreams?” (and I hope nobody’s watching!). As an officially accredited journalist for this year’s Eurovision, I know that I’m going to have to choose a favorite when I eventually give my nomination for a Marcel Bezençon Press Award. I might just have to wait and see how the rehearsals hit me…
Anyway, after the jump, I’ll give you my own personal ranking/groupings, as of the night of Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011! (Ask me again on April 22nd, and you might see a completely different list…)
And remember…all songs are available here: Eurovision Song Contest – Düsseldorf 2011 Preview Player
Love It!!! (These songs are the ones that struck me immediately, and have continued to impress me the more I listen to them. The fact that some of them have either survived a translation unscathed or were even enhanced by the change impresses me even further. Hearing these songs played four times in a row wouldn’t phase me in the slightest. Furthermore, these songs have inspired me to investigate these artists’ earlier work, as I’ve done with Tose Proeski, Mor ve Ötesi, Ani Lorak, and Malcolm Lincoln.):
Albania: Aurela Gaçe – “Feel the Passion”
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dino Merlin – “Love In Rewind”
Hungary: Kati Wolf – “What About My Dreams?”
Italy: Raphael Gualazzi – “Madness of Love”
The Netherlands: 3Js – “Never Alone”
United Kingdom: Blue – “I Can”
Really Like It! (These songs hit my eardrum really well, but not quite as well as the tunes listed above. I’ll listen to them happily, but maybe just once at a time…):
Bulgaria: Poli Genova – “Na Inat”
France: Amaury Vassili – “Sognu”
Georgia: Eldrine – “One More Day”
Germany: Lena – “Taken By a Stranger”
Iceland: Sigurjón’s Friends – “Coming Home” (This one happens to be my Mom’s favorite!)
Moldova: Zdob şi Zdub – “So Lucky”
Poland: Magdalena Tul – “Jestem”
Serbia: Nina – “Čaroban”
Slovenia: Maja Keuc – “Vaniljia” (The English version hasn’t been released yet, so I’m judging this by the original Slovenian.)
Not Bad! (These songs are either enjoyable, but not as memorable OR they’re the songs that I hate to admit that are growing on me.):
Azerbaijan: Ell and Nikki – “Running Scared”
Belgium: Witloof Bay – “With Love Baby”
Cyprus: Christos Mylordos – “San Aggelos S’Agapisa”
Denmark: A Friend in London – “New Tomorrow”
Estonia: Getter Jaani – “Rockefeller Street”
Ireland: Jedward – “Lipstick” (It’s a total guilty pleasure…like eating a big plate of cheese fries. I really enjoy it when I’m in the moment, but I feel somewhat guilty about it afterwards!)
Portugal: Homens da Luta – “A Luta É Alegria”
Spain: Lucía Pérez – “Que Me Quiten Lo Bailao”
Switzerland: Anna Rossinelli – “In Love for a While”
Turkey: Yüksek Sadakat – “Live it Up”
So-So (I don’t actively dislike these songs, but they leave me feeling somewhat unenthusiastic.)
Austria: Nadine Beiler – “The Secret is Love”
Finland: Paradise Oskar – “Da Da Dam”
Greece: Loukas Giorkas feat. Stereo Mike – “Watch My Dance”
Israel: Dana International – “Ding Dong”
Latvia: Musiqq – “Angel in Disguise”
Malta: Glen Vella – “One Life”
Norway: Stella Mwangi – “Haba Haba”
Romania: Hotel FM – “Change”
San Marino: Senit – “Stand By”
Slovakia: TWiiNS – “I’m Still Alive”
Ukraine: Mika Newton – “Angels”
Not For Me (I dislike these songs, but I don’t find them ear-rippingly terrible.):
Croatia: Daria Kinzer – “Celebrate”
Russia: Alexey Vorobyov – “Get You”
Sweden: Eric Saade – “Popular”
Umm…No. (Need I Say More?):
Armenia: Emmy – “Boom Boom”
Belarus: Anastasia Vinnikova – “I Love Belarus”
Lithuania: Evelina Sašenko – “C’est Ma Vie”
(FYR) Macedonia: Vlatko Ilievski – “Rusinka”
The ESC Insider 
Sam’s Unranked Rankings, 2011!
Mar 23
Posted by Samantha Ross
Ok, I fold. Some of my readers (I’m looking at you, Jack!) have been asking me for my personal ranking of this year’s Eurovision songs. Out of all of the articles I’ve written, this might be the toughest! I’ve been putting it off, hemming and hawing about how to organize my thoughts. It’s really quite difficult to chew up and spit out 43 songs from 43 nations, stretching from Iceland to Azerbaijan to Malta and back again. Complicating the venture even further is the knowledge that my opinions change as often as the weather (and in a Minnesota spring, that says quite a lot!); I can barely pick out an area rug for my apartment without second-guessing myself eleven thousand times.
So, in order to make my “ranking” somewhat easier (as well as to cover my ass when I invariably change my mind), I’ve decided to break the songs down into groups. With the songs in my “favorite” group, my absolute favorite can morph and change with my mood: if I’m feeling wistful and philosophical, it’s Dino. If I’m channeling my inner dramatic diva, I reach for Aurela. When I’m craving a night out at my favorite wine bar, curling up with a taste of Pinot Noir, I’ll queue up a little Gualazzi. And for those time when I want a full-on, hands-in-the-air, sing-into-my-hairbrush dance-fest, I turn on “What About My Dreams?” (and I hope nobody’s watching!). As an officially accredited journalist for this year’s Eurovision, I know that I’m going to have to choose a favorite when I eventually give my nomination for a Marcel Bezençon Press Award. I might just have to wait and see how the rehearsals hit me…
Anyway, after the jump, I’ll give you my own personal ranking/groupings, as of the night of Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011! (Ask me again on April 22nd, and you might see a completely different list…)
And remember…all songs are available here: Eurovision Song Contest – Düsseldorf 2011 Preview Player
Love It!!! (These songs are the ones that struck me immediately, and have continued to impress me the more I listen to them. The fact that some of them have either survived a translation unscathed or were even enhanced by the change impresses me even further. Hearing these songs played four times in a row wouldn’t phase me in the slightest. Furthermore, these songs have inspired me to investigate these artists’ earlier work, as I’ve done with Tose Proeski, Mor ve Ötesi, Ani Lorak, and Malcolm Lincoln.):
Albania: Aurela Gaçe – “Feel the Passion”
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dino Merlin – “Love In Rewind”
Hungary: Kati Wolf – “What About My Dreams?”
Italy: Raphael Gualazzi – “Madness of Love”
The Netherlands: 3Js – “Never Alone”
United Kingdom: Blue – “I Can”
Really Like It! (These songs hit my eardrum really well, but not quite as well as the tunes listed above. I’ll listen to them happily, but maybe just once at a time…):
Bulgaria: Poli Genova – “Na Inat”
France: Amaury Vassili – “Sognu”
Georgia: Eldrine – “One More Day”
Germany: Lena – “Taken By a Stranger”
Iceland: Sigurjón’s Friends – “Coming Home” (This one happens to be my Mom’s favorite!)
Moldova: Zdob şi Zdub – “So Lucky”
Poland: Magdalena Tul – “Jestem”
Serbia: Nina – “Čaroban”
Slovenia: Maja Keuc – “Vaniljia” (The English version hasn’t been released yet, so I’m judging this by the original Slovenian.)
Not Bad! (These songs are either enjoyable, but not as memorable OR they’re the songs that I hate to admit that are growing on me.):
Azerbaijan: Ell and Nikki – “Running Scared”
Belgium: Witloof Bay – “With Love Baby”
Cyprus: Christos Mylordos – “San Aggelos S’Agapisa”
Denmark: A Friend in London – “New Tomorrow”
Estonia: Getter Jaani – “Rockefeller Street”
Ireland: Jedward – “Lipstick” (It’s a total guilty pleasure…like eating a big plate of cheese fries. I really enjoy it when I’m in the moment, but I feel somewhat guilty about it afterwards!)
Portugal: Homens da Luta – “A Luta É Alegria”
Spain: Lucía Pérez – “Que Me Quiten Lo Bailao”
Switzerland: Anna Rossinelli – “In Love for a While”
Turkey: Yüksek Sadakat – “Live it Up”
So-So (I don’t actively dislike these songs, but they leave me feeling somewhat unenthusiastic.)
Austria: Nadine Beiler – “The Secret is Love”
Finland: Paradise Oskar – “Da Da Dam”
Greece: Loukas Giorkas feat. Stereo Mike – “Watch My Dance”
Israel: Dana International – “Ding Dong”
Latvia: Musiqq – “Angel in Disguise”
Malta: Glen Vella – “One Life”
Norway: Stella Mwangi – “Haba Haba”
Romania: Hotel FM – “Change”
San Marino: Senit – “Stand By”
Slovakia: TWiiNS – “I’m Still Alive”
Ukraine: Mika Newton – “Angels”
Not For Me (I dislike these songs, but I don’t find them ear-rippingly terrible.):
Croatia: Daria Kinzer – “Celebrate”
Russia: Alexey Vorobyov – “Get You”
Sweden: Eric Saade – “Popular”
Umm…No. (Need I Say More?):
Armenia: Emmy – “Boom Boom”
Belarus: Anastasia Vinnikova – “I Love Belarus”
Lithuania: Evelina Sašenko – “C’est Ma Vie”
(FYR) Macedonia: Vlatko Ilievski – “Rusinka”
Posted in 2011, Personal, Special Comment
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