Eurovision 2014: Chris's Grand Final Party

Conchita, Queen of Eurovision!

Held last night, Chris's 3rd Annual Eurovision Party was certainly the best ever! The twelve attendees cheered, squealed, grooved, joked, and sang our hearts out during the three-and-a-half hour extravaganza. Chris's decorations were second to none, with brightly coloured bunting, #TeamMolly posters and #JoinUs diamonds adorning the ceiling, walls and floor. When Austria's Conchita Wurst was announced as the victor, we were all delighted, especially Chris, who supported her from the start. We were also pleased with the UK's score, a respectable 40 points, which put us in 17th place. Here are the final standings in our group competition:

1. Chris - Austria - 1st place
2. Chelsea - Sweden - 3rd place
3. Jess - Armenia - 4th place
4. Wendy - Ukraine - 6th place
5. Steph - Denmark - 9th place
6. Jade - Finland -11th place
7. Emily - Romania - 12th place
8. Georgina - Switzerland - 13th place
9. Megan - United Kingdom - 17th place
10. Daisy - Azerbaijan - 22nd place
11. me - Malta - 23rd place
12. Rosie - Slovenia - 25th place

Yes, my beloved Firelight ended up four places above the bottom of the leaderboard, but I wasn't at all dispirited. Their performance was delightful, and I somehow managed to vote for them 50 times during the short interval. Amazingly, they were awarded 10 points by the UK, so the binge voting was well worth it! In total, they were given 32 points, which meant my pledge to eat one Malteser for each point they received was significant, yet easily doable.

32 maltesers

Daisy's tactical choice of Azerbaijan sadly failed to pay off; their 22nd place finish is the first time they've ever placed outside the top 8. After her win last year, Rosie was relegated to last place this time around. Chelsea and Chris both improved by 13 places on last year, and my first choice actually qualified this time around! The UK didn't do too badly, and the rest of the attendees' countries finished on the left hand side of the leaderboard. After the excitement of the contest, today I've felt rather melancholy, but I will look forward to Austria 2015!

Some of Chris's decoration

The artists we supported

Eurovision Grand Final: Initial reaction

Congratulations to Conchita Wurst!!! Chris's choice won Eurovision 2014, which meant he got to keep first prize - juggling balls! Conchita's performance was astounding and I was thrilled when her victory was announced! I managed to vote for Malta exactly 50 times, and in the end they came 23rd, but they received 10 points from the UK, so I feel like I did my bit! 

Eurovision 2014: Second Semi-Final

It's Eurovision Final day! But before the festivities begin, here are my thoughts on the second semi-final, which saw 10 more countries make it through to the final.

These were:
Malta (yay!)
Norway
Poland
Austria
Finland
Belarus
Switzerland
Greece
Slovenia
Romania

Only my sister's choice, Ireland, failed to qualify, but she wasn't too downcast, because she will now support Romania. I was worried that Malta's performance would be overshadowed by the later acts, but thankfully it wasn't! Israel's failure to qualify surprised me; I really liked Mei Finegold's "Same Heart", but it's position at second in the running order probably harmed it's chances. Belarus's success was also unexpected, but I do have a soft spot for Teo's "Cheesecake". I thought the Greek entry "Rise Up" came across really well on the show, and the trampoline was an effective gimmick. I was also happy that Austria, Finland, Switzerland and Slovenia got through!

It's now only 1 hour and 10 minutes till the Grand Final begins!

Eurovision Semi-Final 2: Initial reaction

MALTA QUALIFIED!!! I did not paint my nails and vote 27 times in vain!

Eurovision 2014: First Semi-Final

I intended to post this yesterday, but hey ho.

On Tuesday night 16 became 10 as the first Eurovision semi-final of 2014 took place.

The qualifiers were:
Armenia
Sweden
Iceland
Russia
Azerbaijan
Ukraine
San Marino
The Netherlands
Montenegro
Hungary

This means that Latvia, Estonia, Albania, Belgium, Moldova and Portugal failed to qualify. Latvia's song, "Cake To Bake", was very cheerful, but I think the stark contrast between it and the song performed before it (Armenia's "Not Alone", which featured a plethora of pyrotechnics) seriously harmed its chances. I was quite surprised about Estonia's fate, because the song is very Eurovision-y (it's title is "Amazing") and Tanja's vocals didn't falter at all, in spite of her acrobatic choreography. However, I felt that the dancing detracted from the song somewhat, and it was third in the running order, which wouldn't have helped it stay in the minds of the voting public. Albania and Moldova produced pleasant songs, but they were ultimately overshadowed by the other songs, many of which are favourites to win. Belgium's representative, Axel Hirsoux has a brilliant voice, but I wasn't fond of his song, "Mother". I enjoyed Portugal's performance, but the more modern songs were favoured by the voters.

In terms of qualifiers, I was delighted to see San Marino get through! This year is Valentina Monetta's third time representing her country, and her qualification with the song "Maybe" is the first time her country has reached the final. Likewise, Sergej Ćetković's "Moj Svjet" marks Montenegro's first qualification as a standalone nation. I really enjoyed this rousing Balkan ballad; I'll probably support it if Malta fails to qualify from the second semi-final (which I hope doesn't happen). Iceland's qualification surprised me, but Pollapönk's "No Prejudice" is a very catchy song with a good message, and I'll be happy to hear it again in the final.

The other seven songs were widely expected to qualify, and I'm especially happy that Armenia, Sweden, Azerbaijan and Ukraine made it through, because it means that four more of Chris's partygoers will have songs to support in the grand final. Now all we need is Malta, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Switzerland and Slovenia to qualify tonight!

Eurovision 2014: Country choices

Chris has continued his yearly tradition of getting each of us to choose a country to support, and this year, after much contemplation and soul-searching, I've gone for Malta! The song is called "Coming Home", and it's performed by the group Firelight, most of whom are siblings. I really like it's folky vibe and it reminds me of "Let Me Go" by Gary Barlow, a song I heard live at Gary's concert on the day we chose our countries. In truth, I can't see it winning, but I'm passionate about supporting it, which is ultimately the reason why I chose it, rather than one of the favourites like Armenia or Norway. I do think it deserves a spot in the final, and I shall definitely vote for it in the second semifinal on Thursday 8th May. However, as with last year, my choice will open the semifinal, which did not fare well for Austria's 2013 campaign, as the country did not qualify. Nonetheless, I believe Firelight has what it takes to earn a place in the 2014 final. I hope I'm correct!

Everyone else's choices are as follows:
Chris: Austria
Emily: Ireland
Georgina: Switzerland
Rosie: Slovenia
Chelsea: Sweden
Steph: Denmark
Wendy: Ukraine
Jade: Finland
Jess: Armenia
Megan: United Kingdom

May the best song win!