Eurovision 2007
Helsinki, Finland

THE YEAR OF QUALITY

The very first Eurovision Song Contest I ever watched on TV so it has a special place in my heart. There are so many outstanding songs this year that I got quite the wrong impression and expected the same  from any Eurovision I watched. Little did I know…

THE OFFICIAL TOP THREE:
Serbia
Ukraine
Russia

MY TOP THREE:
Ukraine
Slovenia
Israel

UKRAINE
VERKA SERDUCHKA. DANCING LASHA TUMBAI
An absolute standout. One of the best Eurovision songs ever. Rather fond of this one.

SLOVENIA
ALENKA GOTAR. CVET Z JUGA.
Heavenly. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Divine. Perfect fusion of operatic and pop.
ISRAEL
TEAPACKS. PUSH THE BUTTON.
Entertaining. Unpolished. Why not? (And I THINK there’s an important message in there somewhere)

I’m on a roll. Just have to keep going. MY TOP 4, 5, 6 & 7:

BULGARIA
ELITSA TODOROVA AND STOYAN YANKOULOV. WATER.
Elitsa and Stoyan drum, sing, hit, pound, whack, strum, chortle and bash their way through a frenzied song. Fantastic.

ANDORRA
ANONYMOUS. SALVERN EL MÓN/LET’S SAVE THE WORLD
I’ve said it before. Andorra nails classic pop. Love this pop song. Love it.

BELARUS
KOLDUN. WORK YOUR MAGIC.
There’s something about this. It’s corny, cheesy & yet I LIKE IT.  And I’m not afraid to say it. You’ll be singing along in no time.  Altogether now: Work your magic, I never wanna lose this feeling, I am able and I’m wheeling, yes I’m wheeling…

HUNGARY
MAGDI RÚZSA. INSUBSTANTIAL BLUES.
What a voice. Raw, warm, heartbroken. Even if you don’t like the blues, you’ll love this one.

Special mention to:

ICELAND
EIRIKUR HAUKSSON. VALENTINE LOST.
An old rocker. An empty stage (well, except for the band). A powerful song. Strangely emotional. Should’ve made the final.

GREECE
SARBEL. YASSOU MARIA.
How catchy is this? Similarly to Koldun (see above), it’s corny & I LIKE IT. Altogether now:
Shake it up, shake it up, there you go
Oh ohh yassou Maria
Ai ai ai there she goes
Maria!…followed by some funky balalaika.

LATVIA
BONAPARTI.LV. QUESTA NOTTE.
Six tenors in top hats singing in Italian isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Brilliant.

GERMANY
ROGER CICERO. FRAUEN REGIER’N DIE WELT
Something different. It’s called jazz. What’s it doing in Eurovision? It’s smooth, cool & hip.

Award for Originality
Awarded jointly to NORWAY, PORTUGAL & SPAIN
NORWAY’s Ven A Bailar Conmigo & PORTUGAL’s Dança Comigo had a BIT in common. And so did SPAIN’s  I Love You Mi Vida. All fabulous energetic Latino-inspired, dance-your-little-cotton-socks-off ditties. Incidentally,  Thomas G:son wrote I Love You Mi Vida AND Ven A Bailar Conmigo for this year. AND Euphoria in 2013. AND 7 other Eurovision reach-the-final songs. AND and and…

THE END