The Eurovision 2014 Finalists

This is the week, Eurovision happens this week. The First Semi-Final is tomorrow, with the Second Semi-Final on Thursday and then the big event, the Final on Saturday.

And on Saturday, the winners of the First and Second Finals will compete with last year's winning country, Denmark, and the original five countries. Here are those entries:

Denmark - "Cliché Love Song" by Basim



Spain - "Dancing in the Rain" by Ruth Lorenzo



Italy - "La Mia Citta" by Emma Marrone



Germany - "Is It Right" by Elaiza



France - "Moustache" by TWIN TWIN



United Kingdom - "Children of the Universe" by Molly

The Final Entries of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest

Sweden - "You" by Robin Stjernberg


It's a nice pop tune, but I guess Sweden doesn't really want to win two years in a row.

Spain - "Contigo Hasta El Final (With You All The Way)" by ESDM


At first it seems like Spain has gone traditional. I just wonder if the audience will still be with them by the time the song really kicks in.

Italy - "L'Essenziale" by Marco Mengoni


Wow, that's some hair.

Germany - "Glorious" by Cascada


Germany is usually a strong competitor, despite most of Europe still hating them for that World War II business, and this year is no exception. It's a great dance tune that would have won if it were from the Ukraine, but not Germany.

France - "L'enfer Et Moi (Hell and Me)" by Amandine Bourgeois


This is a great song, and per usual, it's in French, but it's much better than most years' entries. It seems the French are in it to win it this year. I can't wait to see what this looks like on stage. That will make or break it.

Along with the UK entry, "Believe in Me" by 1980s songstress Bonnie Tyler, the above finalists join Semi-Final winners Lithuania, Moldova, Finland, Belgium, Estonia, Belarus, Malta, Russia, Armenia, The Netherlands, Romania, Hungary, Denmark, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Greece, Ukraine, Norway, Georgia, and Ireland in the Grand Final tomorrow afternoon. Those of you in the States can watch it live here.

The Final Six Entries in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest

These are the five nations who are always in the Finals, plus last year's winner and this year's host, Azerbaijan.

United Kingdom: "Love Will Set You Free" by Engelbert Humperdinck



The UK always tries to make an effort, like trying to get Morrissey, or getting Andrew Lloyd Webber to write the song. This year they got decades past pop idol Humperdinck. It's just not enough, UK…

France: "Echo (You and I)" by Anggun



Speaking of trying to win, every once in a while France decides they'd like to win and actually enters something catchy and modern. This is one of those years. Another one that's growing on me.

Italy: "L'Amore È Femmina (Out Of Love)" by Nina Zilli



I think this one has a real chance of winning. Dancey, jazzy and fun.

Azerbaijan: "When the Music Dies" by Sabina Babayeva



Another power ballad, but a strong one and a real contender for the win.

Spain: "Quédate Conmigo (Stay With Me)" by Pastora Soler

You'll have to click the link above to see the Spain video, embedding forbidden by YouTube. It has no chance to win though in my opinion, but then again, just my opinion...

Germany: "Standing Still" by Roman Lob



Europe aside, I think this could be a hit here. I like it a lot, one of my favorites, and another strong contender for the win.

The Grand Final for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest takes place on May 26th in Baku, Azerbaijan.

[REC]

[REC] ~ Take Cloverfield and mix liberally with the original Night of the Living Dead and some good old fashioned reality TV formatting and you’ll have a good idea of what [REC] is all about.

A go-getting spunky reality hostess and her cameraman cover the night shift of a firehouse when a rescue call goes horribly wrong – and they find themselves quarantined in an apartment building with a zombie problem.

It’s worth noting that an American remake of [REC], called Quarantine only did so-so at the box office – however, the original has spawned a sequel due in Spain this October, and probably shortly thereafter for US DVD.

Fans of the genre will find this predictable but that doesn’t tame or invalidate any of the legitimate and terrifying scares in this Spanish horror flick. The night vision ending of this one had me sleeping with the lights on afterward.

Soraya on Eurovision 2009

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Eurovision 2009: Greece, Moldova and Spain

"This Is Our Night" by Sakis Rouvas (Greece 2009)


"Hora Din Moldova" by Nelly Ciobanu (Moldova 2009)


"La Noche Es Para Mi" by Soraya (Spain 2009)

All three are great examples of what Eurovision is all about, and all three strong contenders. We'll see.