The Dream Eurovision of 2008:)

To be honest I think 2008 is one of the weakest Eurovision's in many many years. There are not many strong songs to be honest...

So therefore I have created my own list of entries from the national selections of 2008 which I would've liked to have seen in this years competition.

I will use the same running order as the official semifinal running order:

Semifinale 1:

1: Montenegro: Stefan Filipovic - Zauvijek volim te This song was chosen internally by the broadcaster, therefore no other choices - it is very very boring.
2: Israel: Boaz Mauda & Oshrat Phaphir – Butterflies Even though the live performance in the national final was not the best (then refering to the vocal of the girl) this song was by far the strongest I feel. Also the performance could've been improved until the show in May.
3: Estonia: Rolf Junior - On On On This is a cute song which I think would've fared better with the viewers than Kreisiraadio... and the performance in the national final was colorful in the right way and not over the top.
4: Moldova: Alexa – We Are One This is a very catchy eurovision schlager and would've been a sure qualifier for Moldova I think.
5: San Marino: Miodio - Complice I actually like this song very much, even though it might be the best song for Eurovision. You can say it was too good for Eurovision which need simple but catchy songs to do well. I hoped it would qualify, but it didn't. But a very descent debut of San Marino.
6: Belgium: Paranoiacs - Shout It Out Well to be honest I have three huge favorites from the Belgian selection this year, the other two being Femme Fatal with Decadence and Di Bono with the song I'm Not Sorry, but neither of them reached the Belgian final, and Shout it Out is very catchy as well. Well performed and would've been in the shake up for qualification I feel.
7: Azerbaijan: Unformal – Little Muse This song would've been a better alternative than the winner regarding the quality of the song (in my humble opinion of course). The presentation was good, the vocal was good, but the English was not so good,but it feels like a real song more than Day After Day...
8: Slovenia: Iris - Peti Element Unfortunately Slovenia had one of the weakest preselctions this year, and it is hard to pick out a favorite, and I did not like the winning song. The more interesting song was Peti Element which I believe could have become more of a fan favorite than Rebekas song.
9: Norway: Michelle - Baby Don't Stop The Music Even though I LOVE the Norwegian song this year I did not find it to be the strongest in the Norwegian selection this  year. The strongest and most modern songs did not even get to the final. The best of the lot was Baby Dont Stop the Music which is catchy and by far would have presented a more interesting performance and also would  have become a fan favorite for sure.
10: Poland: Izabela Kopeć - You've got my love Another hard selection to pick my favorite, but Izabela Kopeć's You've got my love was by far one of the more interesting songs in the selection. My biggest favorite was though the song Bella by the group Video which is rumoured to be one of the songs sent in but included in the Polish preselection this year. Bellas was GREAT.
11: Ireland: Leona Daley - Not Crazy After All. The biggest shock in this years preselection. Leona Daley gave an extremely well performance of this song and to me this would have been of the CLEAR FAVORITES to Win the whole competition. Fantastic song, fantastic artist.
12: Andorra: Gisela - Casanova. Chosen internally by the national broadcaster. I do not like this song, since we have heard this song 1000 of times before in a better package, often coming from Sweden.
13: Bosnia & Herzegovina: Elvir Lakovic Laka - Pokusaj. Chosen internally by the national broadcaster, but then again a fantastic song. Interesting, original and catchy. This is not a joke entry but ART through music. This song might be in for a surprise win this year.
14: Armenia: Surusho - I Can't Control It. Well to be honest I do like this years entry, but it is too childish and to me her english is worse than in the song i really prefered to win. I Can't Control It was modern song were east and west meet in a good harmony of music. This would've done just as well as Qele Qele I am sure of it.
15: The Netherlands: Hind - Your Heart Belongs To Me. Chosen internally by the broadcaster. I loved this song the first time I heard it, but then you get tired of it really fast. Her voice is very good, and the presentation of the song is ok. It was doomed to loose out after Armenias Qele Qele in the semifinal eventhough Hind did a better presentation of her song than Sirusho.
16: Finland: Movetron - Cupido. Finnish hardrock in Finnish is not my cup of tea. Movetron's song would've probably been the better choice I feel, and probably it would've been translated for the international final and then become even better. An energetic performance which for sure would've made a fan impression:)
17: Romania: Zero - Come This Way. Romania had one of the BEST preselections this year, and it is hard to pick just one favorite. But the imidiate favorite after first listenings was Zero's song Come This Way. And this song felt like a Eurovision WINNER to me. But the performance in the national final was not the best but that could've been sorted out before the semifinals of this year.
18: Russia: Dima Bilan - Believe (1st version). I have to admit that I LOVED Believe the first time I heard it, but after they changed it and included all the violins I feel it lost some of the modern rythm which made it great. Now it is okey. It might still be in it for a first victory for Russia. The other hot favorites of the Russian final was Sergey Lazerev's Fire and Aleksey Vorobyov's New Russian Kalinka, wouldnt have minded either of them for Russia this year.
19: Greece: Kalomoira - Secret Combination. This was the best choice of the three alternatives in this years Greek final. But to be honest I think Kalomoiras performance in the Greek final was much better than in the eurovision semifinal.

so to be honest - even if my favorite songs had been chosen for each country i think that Montenegro, Andorra, Estonia, Slovenia, Netherlands and San Marino would have been without a chance to qualify for the final anyways....

I think that Norway benefited of choosing Maria's song this year because of its simplicity even though my favorite was an other song. I think Belgium would have fared a lot better with Paranoiacs song than Ishtars song and if all my favorites had been chosen that Greece might have lost in qualifying out actually, and the same goes for Finland even though my favorite would've been the choice.

Semifinal 2:

1: Iceland: Euroband - This Is My Life. Another strong selection of songs and hard to pick a favorite. Considering  Iceland was the show opener on semifinal 2 this was the perfect song. Very good performance, great voices.
2: Sweden: BWO - Lay Your Love On Me. Sweden chose wrong again. Hero might give them a 5th place but BWO's song could have given Sweden the victory for sure. A much more catchy and professional song than Hero.
3: Tyrkey: Mor Ve Ötsi - Deli. A Very good rock song chosen internally by the broadcaster. The eastern european countries are good at choosing songs internally.
4: Ukraine: Ani Lorak - Shady Lady. Fantastic song, fantastic artist, fantastic performance - but if all my favorites had won in the national selections i think it would be harder to win than what it has turned out to be this year. Ani Lorak is in it for the victory for sure.
5: Lithuania: Aiste - Troy On Fire. Lithuania has one of the worst songs of the decade this year. The 2nd place in the national final Troy On Fire would have been a much better choice. Catchy, mystic, great vocal, great performance and very very suited for Eurovision.
6: Albania: Flaka Krelani & Doruntina Disha - Jeta kërkon dashuri. Even though I have learned to like the Albanian song this year (i didn't in the start because Oltas vocals were really bad in the national preselection) I would have preferred this up-tempo song instead. Catchy and interesting. And Doruntina is a Norwegian too;)
7: Switzerland: Paolo Meneguzzi - Era stupendo. Internally chosen by the broadcaster. I do not like this song at all. It is a ordinary Italian pop song which sounds very much like a typical eurovision song. It makes no impact and i am glad it lost out in the semifinals.
8: Czeck Republic: Toxic - Two Sides. This song was by far the most interesting one. With this sound of Kelis it would've stood out and in my opinion qualified easily. The performance in the national selection was great.
9: Belarus: Victor Pshenichniy - Baby Blue. I have to admit it, the performance in the national final was horrible - but the song is SOOOOO good. It is very very catchy and i love this type of songs in the Mika/Scissor Sisters style. The performance would have been a lot better in the ESC anyways - thats always the way with song with Belarussian songs.
10: Latvia: Sabine Berezina - If I Only Knew. Fantastic song in the style of Enya, but a lot more pop. Would've fared a lot better with Eurovision fans for sure.
11: Croatia: Emilija Kokić – Anđeo. This song is alot better than the chosen song Romanca. And the national performance was good also. Typical balkan ethnic ballad, you just gotta love it.
12: Bulgaria: Deep Zone and Balthazar - DJ, take me away. Even though it did not go to the final, i think it was the right choice. It is modern and experimental for Eurovision, which is excactly what this competition needs. The performance was great and in my opinion it deserved a place in the final, especially considering some of the other songs that qualified.
13: Denmark: Simon Mathew - All night long. Denmark did not have a very strong national selection this year, but they chose the right song. It is catchy and easy on the ear (and the eye) but wont make the biggest impression in the final i think.
14: Georgia: Salome Korkotashvili - Captain. The best song from the preselection was Captain for sure, cute and well performed. Other hot favorite would have been 3G and their song I'm Free.
15: Hungary: Lola - Break Out. Another hard selection to pick out a favorite.. but Break Out have a modern sound and a commercial message which is what people want in Eurovision. I think this would have been a better choice than Candlelight.
16: Malta: Pamela - Whispers. This is one of the best ballads of ALL ballads this year, and it didnt even reach the Maltese final. I am sure this song would've qualified and maybe even WON for Malta... well too bad we never get to know the answer to that hypotheses.
17: Cyprus: Nikolas Metaksas - Butterfly. Another great ballad. Probably not a good deal coming straight after another favorite ballad for me, but then again this is my wish list not the actual list. Even though this song would have been a much better alternative than the cabaret they chose.
18: FYR Macedonia: Tamara ft. Vrčak & Adrian Gaxha - Let Me Love You. Well it was the best of the choices I feel. Modern song with a great rythm, but the vocals was aweful in the national selection and slightly improved in the semifinal of ESC. Overall an okey performance.
19: Portugal: Vânia Fernandes - Senhora do mar. Fantastic song, fantastic artist. Very good performance and for the first time in history I felt that Portugal was a sure qualifier and that they might even be in for a surprise win.

The automatic qualifiers:

2: United Kingdom: LoveShy - Mr. Gorgeous. This was the best alternative I feel, even though the national performance was not the best. Catchy and reminiscent of Beware of the Dog by Jamelia.
4: Germany: Cinema Bizarre - Forever Or Never. By far the best song, and it really felt like a Eurovision winner. But the performance was weak, but then again the lead singer was sick and was not able to sing, unfortunately.
19: France: Sebastian Tellier - Divine. This is a fantastic song, chosen internally (can you imagine it?). It is a brand new concept for Eurovision, but that is were the problem also is - is it too modern and too different for the common Eurovision taste?
22: Spain: Anael - Thinking Thinking. Spain choosing their song through Myspace must have been the most innovative selection method in history. But then again the result did not look good, with only a few really good songs qualifying for the national final, and the 5-6 best ones DID NOT qualify at all, this one included. Fantastic song and a Eurovision Winner to me.
23: Serbia: Jelena Tomašević - Oro. Chose the right song and are in it for a second year in a row win. Fantastic song, fantastic artist. very beautiful.


MY dream WIN of Eurovision 2008 would've been SWEDEN: BWO's Lay Your Love On Me, and a CLOSE runner up IRELAND with Leona Daley's Not Crazy After All.

Page still under construction....

Well getting this page up and running takes more effort and time than expected... there is so much to dive into - our goal is to have a very accurate and informative, and most of all an interesting, page about the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix - therefore there has to be done a lot of research before we go public with it. Contacting NRK (the national broadcaster of Norway) for information does not help either because they dont seem to be too eager to help claiming that they don't have the information (which i do not believe since it is specific names which I am looking for - which cannot be that hard to look up in their archives)...well, well... so hopefully we will get it up and running this fall:)