So I wasn't able to watch Eurovision until yesterday, and because of this had to self-impose several hours of internet exile so that I wouldn't read the results before watching.
Now that the dust has settled, here are my thoughts:
- The winner: lame. I thought it was a boring song with terrible staging. I honestly don't see how this was so loved by the voters and juries. It's perfectly fine, but hardly memorable.
- I was shocked at how well Sweden did. It was totally deserved (and probably should have won), but for some reason I had anticipated this flopping. I'm glad to see that Europe has good taste! Hopefully this will help Eric find the global success he deserves.
- I was also shocked at how well Italy did. I pegged this as last place (it ended up in second!). Personally, I hated this song and it was probably my least favorite. I can't believe people actually called in and voted.
- Jedward: they did well, but should have won. They balanced novelty and proper pop perfectly and put on one of the most memorable performances (with lots of kicking and star jumps!). Interestingly, according to Australian voters (whose votes obviously don't count in the final) the twins were the clear winners.
- Why had all the bookies predicted a France win? It didn't go over all that well and didn't finish well either. I'm confused as to why this was tipped to do conquer (other than the beautiful LED projections behind him)
- Wanted Finland to do better. So earnest. Estonia should have also done MUCH better than they did, even though the performance itself looked cheap.
- Germany did a TERRIBLE job hosting this year. What was up with that boring (and endless) interval act? And I hated that the video intros to each artist were basically tourism ads for Germany. They should have shown representations of each country, not local Germans from each country.
- Never underestimate the power of sand art.
- Norway's song was missed greatly in the final.
- What was up with all of the good songs being performed in a row early on in the competition, leaving a bunch of crap in their wake?
- I'm glad the pointy hatted Moldova brought some much needed whimsy. Yay for horn-playing unicyclists!
- I also liked Denmark's song and was happy to see it do so well.
- Still don't get UK's song.
- Kudos to my two favorite European countries (UK, Sweden) for giving Jedward 12 points. Yes!
My Top Three:
1. Ireland
2. Sweden
3. Hungary
