This sounds exactly like “Oops! I Did It Again.” Which is intentional. It’s another “I am totally going win Eurovision” song. It pales in comparison to the Lithuania song, but it does have the lyrics “Congratulations, I have arrived” and “You’ve been waiting forever for me to save you.” The singer is actively annoying, though. And in the middle, she calls God to tell him she’s saving the world. The crowd is booing her pretty hard, and why not?
Author: Chris Zammarelli
22. Bosnia and Herzegovina – Hari Mata Hari: “Lejla”
You guessed it: more generic Eastern Mediterranean pop. Actually, that’s not fair. This is a really good song. The singer’s excellent. (And in tune, which has not often been the case tonight.) Sounds like the crowd loves him too: lots of applause at the end of his number.
21. ESTONIA!!!! – Sandra: “Through My Window”
Wow, another ABBA-esque beginning. And another collection of ’80s-influenced outfits. R.U.F.F.U.S. was right: the ’80s are coming back. This is awful, but I love Estonia, so I’m giving it a pass. The singer has the old WCW Championship belt on for some reason. I’m waiting for Goldberg’s music to start. Nope, still a crappy ABBA rip-off. In fact, Estonia out-ABBAed Sweden this year. That ain’t right, but since it’s Estonia, I don’t want to be right.
[NOTE: The singer is from Sweden, but she’s performing for Estonia. I’ve removed one exclamation point from the headline to this post as punishment.]
20. Sweden – Carola: “Invincible”
Well, of COURSE, Sweden’s entry sounds like ABBA. It ALWAYS sounds like ABBA. The singer has a long flowing train on her coat and the strongest jawline I’ve seen tonight. The song sucks, but it rhymes “invincible” with “insatiable,” so it’s got that going for it.
19. Portugal – Nonstop: “Coisas de Nada”
For some reason, the Portuguese entry decided to go with an ABBA-sounding song. Usually only the Swedes do that. Imagine the Spice Girls singing ABBA in Portuguese (except for the chorus). This is ridiculously lame. And it makes Katrina and the Waves sound like Slayer.
18. Lithuania – LT United: “We Are the Winners”
Six guys in suits singing an ’80s-synth pop song about how they are the winners of the Eurovision, so “vote for the winners.” This would be funnier if they hadn’t followed the Finnish entry. I wonder if this type of sarcastic cynicism is a part of Lithuania’s national character. Because that would be awesome.
17. The Netherlands – Treble: “Amambanda”
Performers playing their own instruments. Another Shakira rip-off song, with a weird “Lion King”-type African chanting in the middle.
16. Finland – Lordi: “Hard Rock Hallelujah”
The Finnish Gwar (seriously) singing “Hard Rock Hallelujah.” Key quote: “It’s the Arockalypse.” Finland’s not even trying, but the song is really awesome.
Holy shit, the singer just sprouted bat wings from his costume. Wow. The crowd loves it, but I pity who comes next!
15. Ukraine – Tina Karol: “Show Me Your Love”
*NSYNC-sounding beginning, except with accordions. The singer is trying to sound like Shakira. I’m just going to leave it as a given that the dancing is bad. I’ll let you know when it’s any good. They’re jump-roping, though, so that’s something. Prototypical upbeat Eurovision number. Not memorable, as adorable as the singer is.
14. Turkey – Sibel Tüzün: “Süperstar”
Sexy trance dance beat to start, then a disco beat. The singer has lots of tattoos, but is sexy in a ’30s blonde-bombshell way. The stream is a bit blurry, though. I can tell that she has an enormous mouth. Non-English song, non-talented dancers. Best song on the night so far, although she got a bit shrill near the end.