It's Eurovision time again and, at last, we have all the entries released for the competition.
As usual there are some terrible attempts at a song and most of these have already received the dreaded 1000-1 odds and I shall not even bother to mention them. At the other end of the talent spectrum, however, there are some decent entries which deserve a few plays.
The big news, I suppose, is that Loreen, Sweden's winner in 2014 with the wonderful Euphoria, is back this year and is, by some margin, the favourite at the moment. She is a good performer and you just know that she will not miss a step or a note on stage either so I cannot imagine that she'll not be in the Top 5 at the end, scoring heavily with both judges for the performance and the public amongst which she has many fans who'll vote for anything she does. The winner? Maybe. I'd like to say definitely not but she has the whole package and all I can fault is that the song is not Euphoria. It doesn't stick in your mind like that did. It doesn't last. But that may not matter on the night.
Last year's winners, Ukraine, have a reasonable enough entry but it's no winner on its own merits. They'll do well, I think, again this year with many people just wanting to help the country after what will have been a year and a quarter of devastation and upset. With many millions now resident in countries other than their own there will be many votes being dialled in so they'll be up there - but Top 10 rather than a win.
The United Kingdom came second last year with the excellent Sam Ryder's Spaceman and we do seem to have found ourselves again after years of mediocrity. Mae Muller is another new person to us all but she is modern and has a great song that suits Eurovision. Many people expect this year to have a female winner and I'd like to say she stands a chance. The bookmakers don't, putting her a predicted 8th at 65-1, well out of the usual range for a possible winner. However, it is quite early days still and I shall not write her off on the grounds of her odds yet. If she can perform the song well live then, as predicted, she'll be Top 10 and I'm inclined to make her one of my possible winners. It's nice to say that again about a UK entry! I also believe the world takes a better view of the UK now and is more prepared to vote for us than might have been the case a few years ago.
Finland have one of the dreadful songs that isn't rated 1000-1 but, in fact, nearer 6-1 as the second favourite. It's not something that I can see a lot of people liking and it will almost certainly get forgotten afterwards but I'll accept that it has some catchy Cha Cha Cha lines which will get some votes. It's quite heavy too and a change from all the pop singer girls. Bookmakers are seldom massively wrong, though, and this is being talked about a lot so I guess it'll be another Top 10.
Norway are at 23-1 with a quite dramatic woman singing about Queen of Kings and belting it out big time. It's Eurovision and, in the absence of many other big songs it will garner votes from those who like this style. I'm not at all sure about her hitting all the right notes, though, so much will depend on the rehearsals as to whether Norway stay in the Waiting Room - what I call that area between possible winners and mere hopefuls. I don't see a win for Norway at all. Even Top 10 could be a struggle.
Spain are also dramatic with the strangely titled EAEA which is not exactly a sing-a-long number this year. It's a strong performance, though, with plenty of Balkan-sounding noises to help pull in some more votes. Spain either do very well or very badly. This year I see them doing very well but not quite winning.
Israel have a good pop song to rival Mae Mullers. It's something about a Unicorn and runs along nicely. I reckon if something like this is going to win then it'll be Mae Muller who gets the more votes of these two. But Israel deserve a Top 10 this year.
Austria have a bit of fun with Who The Hell Is Edgar? and a song all about Edgar Allan Poe which is quite extraordinary and also very catchy. Whether the world at large will get the meaning of the clever lyrics I don't know but it's a nearly-pop song with a twist that often does well at Eurovision so another Top 10 contender in my book.
Moldova always seem to have a mass of support out there in the public voting land but don't get much from the juries as a rule. this year I reckon they should do better with the juries and they do have a decent and catchy number which ought to help them maintain a good record of positions in this competition. They might even win the thing. With the bookies giving them odds of 250-1 at the moment that's quite a statement to make but there you go. If they do, remember I told you first. It's a bloke singing on his own this year and there aren't the usual sexy girls or references to excite us or offend others but it's all about some guy wanting to 'marry' some girl in the open air under the moon and stars and maybe even the sun too. All good stuff and no doubt some crazy costumes at least
Italy is one of my own favourites this year and I would give the guy a chance of winning. At nearly 200-1 as I write, having increased every day, it would seem that the bookies know something that I don't. The song and his performance are excellent and it is a powerful number, almost unique this year which has to mean it has something extra going for it. If you want a ballad, this is a good one, sung well and it is very, very Italian which I think voters like a lot. So why it is failing in the betting market I do not know. I'm going to stick with it as a possible victor.
I am not going to bother writing about any of the others as they all much of a muchness and not at all memorable or likely to win, with one exception and that is Ireland. They are verging on the 1000-1 area at 910-1 as I write and no-one has come back from those sort of odds. Why? I think people have looked at the two groups for Semi Finals 1 and 2 and concluded that, with Ireland in a tough Group headed by Sweden, there is a distinct chance that they will not actually qualify for the Final. It would be very sad if that were to be the case as the song is very much the sort of song that should be in the competition. A real pop song with lyrics which work well for Eurovision. Yes, it's commercial and I do have a problem with it reminding me very much of One Direction at times, specially the We Are Young, er, I mean One, bit!! I wonder whether Louie Walsh was involved this year? Anyway, never mind the similarity, Ireland should be in the competition Final and they should be back in the Top 5 again. No-one seems to think they stand a chance but I'm staying with them too and hoping everyone else is proved wrong.
So that's 11 tracks that compete for the Top 10. If I had to choose one that doesn't make it I'd say Spain today.
