Friday, December 31, 2010

Romanian final tonight- our award ceremony

A new Eurovision year is rapidly approaching, and the national finals bonanza is already up and running. For GEE bloggers that means a lot of work heeding all the songs making up our mind several times too many. We have to admit it can be quite tiresome. Because in spite of our love for Eurovision, there is still some bad stuff going on around Europe. But oh, what sacrifices we make for our beloved readers.

The time has come to Romania. This is a country that really takes Eurovision bloody seriously. Actually so seriously that their national final is on New Year’s Eve, lasting for six full hours. Now that calls for some special attention. And since this day is a day for happy thoughts, that's what we'll give you. Because no matter the extent of suffering brought upon us, GEE girls see something good in everyone.

So here's what we'll do: We'll give every entry and every participant some awards - all the awards they deserve, actually. And since we already scrolled through all those numbers, we'll reveal the awards to you now. You can see it as our way of predicting the future. Chances are you won't be stuck watching the Romanian national finals at the strike of 2011 anyways!

Here are the results of the GEE jury:

#1 Adi Cristescu - One by one
Best misplaced moustache in a too leading role; best choir chick dress; best weird purple clothing underneath a white shirt and best attempt at contacting the sun when really you can’t even reach your neighbor with that boring song.

#2 Dalma - Song for him
Best hairdo; hottest woman; coolest woman; most shocking turn of events; best red shoes; most confusing story and best song, ‘nough said.

#3 Leticia - Dreaming of you
Best woman in possession of almost the same name as the Crown Princess of Spain; best overly dramatized opening; most confused woman; best dancer with too much makeup and most successful attempt at being so uninteresting you'd rather watch the not so good dancer on mute.

#4 Silvia Stefanescu - I can't breathe without you
Best boobs in competition and in entire Romania when Paula Selling is on vacation; best impersonation of Catherine Zeta Jones; best respirator in a leading role; best attempt at singing 'can' when the song title specifically says 'can’t'; most zombied choir chicks and most annoying piece of crap in a leading role.

#5 Blaxy Girls - It's so fine
Best attempt at turning a blanket into a skirt without succeeding; best rapper disguised as a rather dull folk musician and best attempt at convincing yourself everything is fine when really that is very far from the truth.

#6 Claudia Pavel - I want u to want me
Best wig; best attempt at trying to make someone like her when really no one does; most muscular arms; best choir chick dressed in something very interesting; most bored white clad guitar player; most self absorbed keyboard player and best song that you didn’t really catch until it was over and you praised the Lord.

#7 Laurentiu Cazan - We can change the world
Best attempt at saving the world when the entire band is busy doing something else and really you are the one who needs saving; best leather jacket; best satin pants that are way too tight in all of the wrong places and none of the right; best bar stools in a major role; best attempt at straightening up and staying right and definitely not moving and best man looking like a woman while trying to look like a man.

#8 Dan Helciug - My Facebook girl
Best social media song in traditional media in a supporting role; best use of drum as nothing but footrest; best stageshow with laptops; best attempt at turning Van Morrison, Cher and Bob Marley into social media; best travel sticker collection; best adaption of Mark Daniel Read's hairdo by someone definitely not being Mark Daniel Read and best use of sentences like “when you added me as a friend, it felt like Christmas day in July” and “My mouse is burning hot from clicking on the internet”.

#9 Distinto, Ianna & Anthony Icuagu - Open your eyes
Best dress; best misplaced moustache; best attempt at looking like Mark Anthony when clearly you’re on the wrong continent; worst choir man hairdo; best late entrance by blonde babe and best eye opener in a leading role.

#10 Directia 5 - Cinema love
Best keyboard playing with several instruments except keyboard present; best repeating bending of knees by bass player; hottest man with pink jumper in a leading role; best boyband with one hot man and a lot of weirdos doing their own separate things; most alluring moves by a male vocalist and best choir man acting like he is in a leading role, when really he shouldn’t have been there at all.

#11 Rallsa - Take me down
Best movie opening; best heels; hottest catsuits; best destruction of entry when starting to sing; best ass shaking; best attempt at cloning Brittney Spears and Madonna; best whatta fuck is this music kind of music; most obvious attempt at being taken down.

#12 Hotel FM - Change
Best combination of Supertramp and Robbie Williams; best playing of drums and a grand piano while the sound is entirely electronical; best clapping of hands by a pianist while the piano is still playing; most variety in facial expressions by the lead singer; best understanding of not being able to save the world; largest teeth and best snapping of fingers in a leading role.

#13 Mihai Alexandru featuring B-Body & Soul - Bang bang
Best welding glasses of 2011; best attempt at banging the 90s; best fat, short George Michael; best unuseful women; best double chinned rapper; best sudden happening that doesn't fit the rest of the entry; best lack of money and an ace to play and best blown kiss.

Ok, so a lot of goodies from all of Romania to you there. In terms of winning, guess we should vote for Dalma, since she does have the best song. But do we? No, it isn’t that good. Instead we opt for Directia 5. Only for the chance of making some cinema love to the lead singer in Germany in May. Take a look at the video below, although with our sincerest apologies for the camera man practicing his zooming abilities.

Happy New Year!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Dmitry Koldun returns to Eurovision 2011?

We picked up a rumor on the Internet today that Dmitry Koldun might be yet again working his magic on a Eurovision stage near you next year. Apparently he will enter the Belarussian preselection with this number:



Could it be true? As this piece of information comes a bit out of the blue (yes, pun intended) we are staying cautiously optimistic at this point, but we can't help but admitting we have a soft spot for this dandy charmer.

Perhaps any of our readers proficient in Russian can help us out on this one? False or true?

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Retro Sunday: Portugal 1996

We suppose you'll have to be a hardcore Eurovision fan to prefer old ESC classics over Christmas carols these days, and we have been searching really hard to find something sufficiently Christmassy in this week's Retro Sunday. The most obvious choice must be this pearl from the first time Oslo was the Eurovision host city:



Not only is this Portugal's best result so far, and a wonderful, happy celebration of Portugal's versatile historic roots. It has also connections to one of the best feelgood Christmas movies of all times, Love Actually. Lúcia Moniz portrays Colin Firth's (aka Mr. Darcy, we forgot his character's name in this movie) love interest Aurélia. Their encounter makes us almost start to think that Portuguese, not Italian, is the language of love and it's so very romantic when Aurélia mumbles something in her own language while Mr. Darcy keeps blabbering away in his own stiff upper-lip Oxford English. It's all extremely stereotyped, but what the heck, it's Christmas and we will allow ourselves to become mushy and sentimental.

Thanks to the Portuguese for keeping it real and almost always singing in their own language in Eurovision. We look forward to the Festival da Canção and hope to God they choose a decent entry for Düsseldorf. Because there's no other country we more wish success and a long awaited victory. And we wouldn't mind spending a couple of spring weeks in Lisbon either.

Feliz Natal a todos!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Albanian final tonight















Merry Christmas everybody from the bottom of our cups of eggnog. We had to add considerable amounts of rum to be able to endure a quick flip through the 18 finalists of tonight's 49th edition of the Festivali i Këngës. The Albanians will treat us to an extra Christmas pressie as usual as they will be the second country to choose their entry for Düsseldorf 2011. And by the look of it, this might very well be a ballad.

Here's the final line-up selected through two semifinals (thanks to esctoday for info):

Finalists from semi-final 1
• Selami Kolonja – Ëndërr Kosovë

• Miriam Cani & Alban Skenderaj – Ende ka shpresë

• Dorina Garuci – Mirëmbrëma ëngjëlli im

• Orges Toçe – Mari

• Kamela Islami - Jetova për ty
• Marsida Saraçi – Vetëm s’jemi në botë

• Dorian Nini – Mirësevini në Shqipëri

• Hersiana Matmuja – Me cilin rri ti dashuri

• Maria Prifti - Pasuri e pasurive (newcomer)

Finalists from semi-final 2

• Besa Kokëdhima - E bukura dhe bisha

• Saimir Braho - Shtegëtar i jetës time
• Enkelejda Arifi - Një dashuri

• Denis Hasa - Mbi xhaketën time

• Goldi Halili - Në krahët tua
• Françesk Radi - Kemi dasëm' o

• Xhejsi Jorgaqi - Rastësi

• Aurela Gaçe - Kënga ime

• Albi Xhepa & Sam Jaupaj – Dritë (newcomer)

We are trying really hard to pick a couple of highlights for you, but to be honest we find this to be a rather weak bunch, and we can't imagine any of the entries doing well in the international Eurovision final. However we do suspect that some of the entries might be a grower and the Albanians are also known for re-vamping the winning song which usually is an improvement. They also tend to change the language to English, which we don't take a particular liking to.

It will be interesting to see whether the song Ëndërr Kosovë by Selami Kolonja will stand a chance. At least the song title implies enough political connotations to cause tensions between the Balkan neighbors. Marsida Saraçi with Vetëm s’jemi në botë has the potential to become a funky floor stomper and those who want a sugar coated love duet should check out the Albanian Barbie and Ken Miriam Cani & Alban Skenderaj's Ende ka shpresë. GEE are always suckers for the ethno influenced entries and in that department there's enough to go around for everybody, but most of the songs are too slow and in combination with too much eggnog it just makes us very sleepy. Aurela Gaçe does her best to wake us up with her shouty song Kënga ime, catchy, but in the end, in lack of a better word, simply too shouty to become a favorite.

This final is wide open, we have no idea how the Albanians will vote tonight. We can only hope to be pleasantly surprised by a smash entry that went under the GEE radar first time around.

Edit: looks like all the videos uploaded on YouTube (which we based this review on) have been blocked. According to esctoday you can watch the webcast live from the final through this link from 20:30 CET.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Look who's dancing!

It's official, our very own Alexander Rybak is one of the participants in "Let's Dance", the Swedish edition of Strictly Come Dancing. We have never heard of any of the other participants so we guess Sweden must be running out of celebrities to put on the show. And as Norway import so many youngsters from across the border to do the work that we just can't be bothered with, we suppose we could spare a Eurovision Star or two for our dear neighbors.


We wish Alexander the best of luck, we hope you really can dance as well as you sing and play. And the best of luck to the Swedes as well, you might be in for a hell of a ride with this crazy fiddler in the line-up!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Retro Sunday: Ukraine 2007

Ah, Verka Serduchka. She is so caricatural she's almost a parody on the parody. And do we love those kind of people? Oh yes. Seriously, no Ukraine has ever been this good at counting to seven in German:



If you don't tap your feet even just a little to this, you're either totally deaf or the Scissor Sisters. From the very first sieben, sieben this is a song you cannot ignore. You are forced to make a stand, either on the hateful or on the affectional side. We're of course lovin it, mostly for what it represents. Verka offers us complete dedication, craziness and happiness. She is a doll in tin foil and does look like a silvery Christmas three with that bright star to top it off. Whatta woman. And we do want those shoes for New Years, mind you.

Also, please notice that gold clad man on accordion. His somewhat cool calmness is admirable amongst all those other nutcases. While the stewardess to our left is one smoking hot woman. Hips and breasts FTW! Guess there is nothing more to say here than Lasha tumbai. And yeah, of course: Ein, zwei, drei, Tanzen!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Retro Sunday: Yugoslavia 1965

It's sunday and only a couple of weeks before Christmas. Time to be nostalgic:



Oh, don't you just long for those times when the world was presented to you in in shades of black, white and grey? When the men were as classical as the music with their bowties and tenor voices, there still was a country named Yugoslavia and the Philarmonic orchestra gave you the perfect background music? Well, then we guess you long for Vice Vukov.

Vice is the Dean Martin of Eurovision and Eastern Europe with his intensity and style, singing a beautiful ballad. We have absolutely no idea what it's about, and that just adds to the charm. Apart from that, this isn't exactly a song to remember, but we love it anyway. Just because of the fiddlers and the hairdo and the reminders of the glorious times that once were. For that it deserved both the points it got. Thank you, Portugal and France.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

The Swiss will choose tonight!

Much the same like Christmas it seems like Eurovision season kicks off earlier every year. And for the record, that's not a bad thing. In the Good Evening Europe HQ every day is Eurovision day all year around. And tonight the first entry for Düsseldorf will be selected. Oh joy! The Swiss have done terribly bad the last few years and darling Michael von der Heide even told us that they might consider withdrawing if he didn't make the cut in Oslo. Well, we all know how that went and his sinister prediction turned out to be a bunch of BS, thank Gawd. 



But they seemed to have realized that something must be done to try and save the sinking ship and it would be nice to see a Swiss entry proceed from the semi-finals at the very least. Step one towards restoring Swiss ESC-greatness is to bring back the national selection final. We've had a quick spin though tonight's candidates, and that's about half an hour of our lives that we will never get back. We better hope that the Swiss will choose wisely so we're not stuck for the next six months with the realization of Switzerland sending yet another non-qualifier. Cause most of the entries in the line-up won't have a snowball's chance in hell to make it through, we reckon.

Here's tonight's line-up:


1.    Polly Duster - Up to you

2.    Duke - Waiting for ya
   
3.    Andrina - Drop of drizzle
   
4.    Bernarda Brunovic - Confidence
   
5.    Anna Rossinelli - In love for a while
   
6.    Aliose - Sur les paves
   
7.    Dominique Borriello - Il ritmo dentro di noi
  
8.    Scilla - Barbie Doll
   
9.    CH - Gib nid uf
   
10.    Ilira and The Colors - Home
   
11.    Sarah Burgess - Just me
   
12.    The Glue - Come what may

You might as well skip the first 8, unless you take a particular twisted joy in torturing yourself. In that case you might consider seeking professional help. Andrina's Drop of drizzle is perhaps not that bad. She's young and we get a hunch that she might be ok live. The song is very commercial in a Faith Hill kinda way. It should have played out the country feel to it to a much greater extent to really stand out. We like the fact that Dominique Borriello sings in Italian, but that's it, the song itself is one big yawn. And Scilla's Barbie Doll, we expected it to be bad, but we actually couldn't finish listening to the whole song, it's just too awful. Anna Rossinelli's name gets our hopes up for a full blown Italian power ballad, however instead she gives us a bland and boring sqeekathon, what a bummer. Polly Duster's kilts and Aliose's French sugar pop are equally horrible in very different ways. Top that with Duke's wannabe hip hop/rap, perhaps of even poorer quality than FYR Macedonia this year and a boring ballad in the Jesus/Praise the Lord segment by Bernarda Brunovich you're in for a roller coster ride of bad taste and heart wrenching moments.



CH's Gib nid uf is not half bad, we like that it's sung in Swiss German and it has a radio friendly sing along melody. But it's not ESC material we're afraid. The ex-American Idol participant Sarah Burgess seems to emerge as a fan (aka gay) favorite, but we don't like it much. It's annoying, kinda fake and very Katy Perry wannabe. And for those of you that didn't care much for Lena's freaky accent, here's another challenge for you. 



This boils it down to a couple of favorites, really. Ilira and The Colors with Home, has that something special. It sounds a little like Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around.../...Comes Around and that can't be a bad thing. And we became very puzzled by the language, could it be Romansh? It turns out it's Albanian, and the song is about how it's like being a second generation immigrant in Switzerland. Interesting. With a pimped-up production this could turn out to be a real dark horse in Düsseldorf.



The Glue with Come what may also reeks dark horse miles away. What is this? Is it entirely a cappella? We're intrigued and wonder how this will turn out live. After some contemplation we have reached the decision that this must be our favorite for tonight.



A last piece of advise for Switzerland, forget about neutrality for once and take a stand. Happy voting!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Retro Sunday: Italy 1974

Suppose we're not the only Eurovision fans screaming "yes, yes, yes!" from the top of our lunges when we received the terrific news that Italy most likely will return to ESC next year. Or should we rather say "Sì", as the lovely Gigliola Cinquetti so sweet and softly did back in 1974 when she came second representing Italy for the second time:



There's no shame in being defeated by a bunch of triggerhappy Swedes on a mission, armed to their teeth with the most schlagertastic stompathon ever. At least not when you already won the competition 10 years earlier. And most people do of course remember the winning song "Non Ho L'Età" better than this runner-up. "Sì" is perhaps not as ear catching and instantly touching, but it has this very alluring, sincere feel to it, which sways us ever so gently into the state where we would say yes to just about anything. Well, nothing new there, we suppose.

And the choir chicks, wow, apparently you didn't need to show much skin to be sexy back in the 70s, sometimes less is more, peeps, or more is more, or yeah, whatever. As long as it's with brown floral print! And apparently you don't need more than one microphone shared by four people either. Those were the times, indeed.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Finally: Welcome back Italy!

We are crazily happy over in the GEE office right now. Could we be dreaming? Or is Italy really returning to Eurovision?


Yup, turns out Italian broadcaster RAI really has applied for participation. Wow, that's like the best news since Roxette sang their last song. Only we won't really believe it until an Italian participant is actually on stage. Berlusconi isn't really famous for sticking to standards. On the other hand, he does need to gain some more popularity in Europe, so who knows. Let's just cross our fingers he won't bring in his bikini ladies or, wait a minute, why not?

We for sure start wondering if our work in September actually did work. We did after all try to pay off a couple of people. And that makes us wonder who we should pay off to make Toto Cotugno return as well. He is, if you didn't notice, our fav Italian after Francesco Totti, and we believe the latter cannot sing just as well as the former.

Anyway, this will for sure be pretty amazing. We can't wait to see the best of Eurovision!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Last MGP finalists revealed

Finally NRK has given us the last names to compete for a place in the Norwegian national final, Melodi Grand Prix. Here they are all together:

For the Florø semi final:
Pernille & Marius: "I’ll be Yours"
Hanne Sørvaag: "You’re like a Melody"
Isabella: "Sand"
Endre: "Oh, Oh (Puppy Love)"
Marika: "Hungry for You (Gipsydance)"
Mimi Blix: "Allergic"
Babel Fish: "You Can Depend on Me"


For the Skien semi final:
Grethe Svensen: "Like Dreamers Do"
Girl Happy: "SOS"
The BlackSheeps: "Dance Tonight"
Noora Noor: "Gone With the Wind"
Susperia: "Nothing Remains"
Stella Mwangi: "Haba Haba"
The Lucky Bullets: "Fire Below"

For the Ørlandet semi final: 
Carina Dahl: «Guns & Boys»
Use Me: «Daisy»
Sichelle: «Trenger mer»
Sie Gubba: «Alt du vil ha»
Åste & Rikke: «Not That Easy»
Helene Bøksle: «Vardlokk»
Gatas Parlament: «Jobbe litt mindre»


Hmm, ok. What can we say about this? We are certainly really happy about Hanne Sørvaag, who is a doll, and who we like better when she sings her own songs instead of handing them over to teenagers and their likings. And like we told you, we are happy about Gatas Parlament and The BlackSheeps. Moreover Noora Noor is pretty cool, and we're excited about what Endre's puppy love implies.

Towards Helene Bøksle we are indifferent, since we guess we have to deal with her no matter what. But what's up with this Babel Fish, classifying their participation as a mid life crisis, yet saying they have made the best song ever? We only remember them as something annoying from the 90s, but hey, revivals have proven to work before. So guess we are more skeptical towards Mimi Blix, characterized by her local news paper as the Tyra Banks of Norway. Well, sorry, a good pose and an African father doesn't automatically give you that, but whatever. Tyra is not exactly a Eurovision lady anyway.

And why so many unknown names Mr. Sundnes? Kinda makes us wonder if the line-up is custom made for a certain lady... On the other hand, we don't mind getting new names out there, after all Alexander Rybak wasn't all that big either when he first entered the MGP stage.

Anyways, this is a lot to take in. We'll have to give you more comments later.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Retro Sunday: Estonia 1996

It's yet again Sunday, which calls for our weekly Eurovision retro fix. Estonia is one of our favorite countries when it comes to giving us bittersweet melancholy. Which kinda fits our blue mood today.



What an odd couple this is. It's such a beautiful song, but we must admit it feels kinda awkward watching this 16 years old girl singing a love duet with this rather.. erm elderly gentleman. At least the stylist dressed her up to look like she's at least 40. Perhaps Sieneke picked up fashion tips from this YouTube clip before entering the stage in Oslo earlier this year? It sort of hits us when we watch old stuff from the 90s, this is pretty much how we must have all looked like back then. We think we'd rather stay in denial on that one. Thank God no-one yet had thought of digital cameras and Facebook.

Anyways, at least this song is still as lovely as ever. So we'll just close our eyes and listen.

Friday, November 26, 2010

JOA FTW!

Today it was announced that Norwegian Jon Ola Sand will carry on the torch after Svante Stockselius' resignation earlier this year.








We have taken a closer look at this bloke's previous accomplishments and the challenges that lies ahead.












He was executive producer for ESC 2010 in Oslo, here's a snap shot of the fabulous stage area at Telenor Arena.












From now on he will be responsible for pleasing this lot.








And he needs to keep track of what's going on on this scoreboard.












Perhaps he will ask his daddy for some advice? Joa's new EBU colleagues should be prepared for a few prank calls, then.





We wish him the best of luck in his new job, he better start rehearsing the famous one-liner "Good Evening Europe, and thank you Düsseldorf for a wonderful show!"

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Belarussian fairytales for Alexander?

As we wait for new names to be released in the lineup for MGP 2011, there's apparently not much hope of seeing Alexander Rybak back on stage. And even though we love him to bits, we think it's a good thing that he's not pulling a "Lena" on us. History has told us that it's a tough act to follow up a victory in Eurovision, just ask Charlotte and Niamh... Alexander is however not closing the window completely for new ESC fairytales in the future. According to vg.no he wishes to compose for other artists from other countries and he suggests Belarus where he has his native roots. Our initial response is that we want to keep him for ourselves, heaven knows we can use some decent songwriters after last year's Eurovision disaster, but we suppose we can share him... After all it's Thanksgiving across the pond today and Christmas is soon approaching, and we do want Santa to think we've been nice this year. Hohoho!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Fun lovin criminal

There's been some gangsta shooting going on in Oslo the last couple of days. They guy known as Norway's most wanted multi criminal dude, AKA Uncle Scrooge the money maker, was shot seven times, and is fighting for his glorious life over at the hospital. Well guess what? GEE allready got several shots of this man at Telenor Arena on the 29th of May:

Scrooge even scored at Eurovision. This lady. And us. And Fabian Stang, we've heard.
Guess that proves once and for all that GEE always are ahead of things. What's maybe a little bit worse, is that we talked a lot to this guy and thought he was such a nice fellow. We are a little afraid that accounts for our slight lack of judgement in matters not concerning the quality of Eurovision songs, i.e. the quality of men.

Well, from another perspective, we do like to believe everyone deserves a chance to take a time out and be happy during Eurovision. After all the contest is inclusive and everyone is welcome. And what do we know if this is a bad man or not? We mean, except for the fact that he has been involved in several serious crimes like the theft of the Munch paintings and some big scale drug cases. And that the police knows him as a member of the largest criminal gang of Oslo. We only know him as a Eurovision fan!

The rich uncle was somehow saved, and is now fighting for his life instead of being perforated in the freezer, even though he didn't wear a bullet proof vest. That's fortunate. We're happy he probably wore a vest under his suit in May, though. Because how else could anyone survive cheering for Didrik this obviously in Telenor Arena?

We hope he gets well. Because no one deserves to die, especially not Eurovision fans.

Fun lovin criminal cheering for Norway with our flag in Telenor Arena. How very inclusive!

Monday, November 22, 2010

First MGP finalists presented

Just now NRK presented all the finalists for the first and some for the second semi final in Melodi Grand Prix, Norway. Here they are:
  
#1 Ørland: 
Carina Dahl: «Guns & Boys»
Use Me: «Daisy»
Sichelle: «Trenger mer»
Sie Gubba: «Alt du vil ha»
Åste & Rikke: «Not That Easy»
Helene Bøksle: «Vardlokk»
Gatas Parlament: «Jobbe litt mindre»

#2 Florø
Mimi Blix: "Allergic"
Babel Fish: "You Can Depend on Me"

There is a lot to be said. Stay tuned for our comments later.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Retro Sunday: Denmark 1981

Denmark has barely given us a dull moment throughout Eurovision history. So what better than to brighten a grey and gloomy November Sunday than this fab disco number dating back to the glitzy 80s when color TV was still the best thing that had happened since sliced bread:



It makes you wonder why this stylish pair of excellent performers only finished 11th in a field of 20, and this week it was revealed by the singer Debbie Cameron that there might have been foul play in action leading to this result. She claims that she was approached by a BBC executive at her hotel before the final who told her that due to political considerations it had been agreed upon a long time ago that UK's Bucks Fizz would win. As a result all the other favorites, among them Denmark, Israel and West Germany, were sabotaged by the technicians during rehearsals. We don't know if this story holds any truth in it, but you can read more about it in the book "Tommy - en biografi", and yes, that's the curly bloke behind the piano.

And regardless of the poor result and how this came about, we love this song and so should you, whether your hair is curly or straight!

Friday, November 19, 2010

More MGP leaks...

According to Norwegian gossip magazine Se&Hør, this will be the line-up for the first MGP pre-selection round at Ørlandet, 15th of January:

1. Helene Bøksle - Oh really, didn't see that one coming! 
2. Hanne Sørvaag - Gal behind this year's "My Heart is Yours" disaster
3. Gatas Parlament - Yup
4. Carina Dahl - Big Brother bimbo
5. Sie Gubba - Holy crap, this can't be happening....
6. Sichelle - RnB chick, last seen in MGP 2009
7. The Blacksheeps  - Yay, the winners of Nordic MGP Junior in 2008!
8. Nora Noor - Soul chick










"Hurray, we're finally old enough to participate in MGP for grown-ups!"



We will of course come back with reviews as soon as it all becomes official and the songs have been released. All though it almost seems pointless as long as someone seemingly has decided that Helene Bøksle will win anyways... We fear that her contribution will be dire and dull, similar to Christine Guldbrandsen's "Alvedansen" which we didn't like at all. But, there's still plenty of opportunities to prove our predictions wrong, and if she wins with a good song, we will support her with great enthusiasm!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Haddy on CNN's African Voices

This week our favorite Eurovision Song Contest presenter is featured on CNN's African Voices:



So, Haddy, how about you entering ESC as an artist next year? That would have been something!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Retro Sunday: Greece 2002

You know those Eurovision entries that are so typical of their year of existence they almost seem parodic? Yup, they are usually really crappy ones. But in GEE we are inclusive and love everybody, of course. And seriously, these guys do make us happy, if not for the right reasons:



Just take a look at those robocop outfits, worth all the 27 points they got alone. Take a look at their sweaty hair and determined eyes. So dedicated to save the world from the horror of the turning millennium. Only the millennium has already turned and no crisis made its appearance. But hey, maybe they knew what would happen to their country 8 years later? Could be, these people are after all future oriented.

There is something about this choreography that makes us think we will hit the next available dance floor lifting our knees and arms synchronically. We sure hope no one will reveal to them that their style is 20 years delayed. Just say the password, S.A.G.A.P.O., and enter this world with a smile instead, will you?

Too bad this music is really crappy, but hey, that could be replaced. We usually just play this video on mute. At least we are so envious of that portable keyboard and those repetitive skills skills skills. And that chest, of course course course.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Where is Wikileaks when you really need them?

Here we go again! The speculations on who's gonna participate in next year's MGP are soon about to turn into a frenzy as the tabloids starts leaking names of artists and songwriters. This is supposed to be super secret until December, but some have obviously a hard time keeping their big mouths shut. And who has bigger mouths than the rap group Gatas Parlament? Even though they do not willingly announce the big news themselves, we recon they're in the running alright. What else to expect from a couple of left wing, anarchist, free speech activists? You just gotta love it! Perhaps Aslak Borgersrud from Gatas Parlament was persuaded by MGP fan favorite Jenny Jenssen since they are now new BFF's after participating in Maestro together? The world has officially gone crazy.








"F**k, we got totally wasted last night, hope I didn't say anything really stupid and bourgeois"



And of course Helene Bøksle is yet again mentioned, but this is yesterday news as GEE reported this back in June. We'll keep you posted on more leaks which are bound to happen as soon as another artist or songwriter gets drunk together with one of VG's journalists.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Retro Sunday: Finland 1964

Oh, Finland. How we love you. There's always something about that country that makes you happy, whether it's one of its most charming men, one of the funny rhythms that they tend to serve you or just the ever so amusing language. That's why today we bring you one of our favorites from the land of the thousand lakes and the ten thousands of hotties:



Fortunately we're not old enough to possibly have been able to experience this live. But God knows we wish we were. Because OMG, mr Mårtenson, whatta man you were back then. Whatta voice, whatta smoking, whatta bow tie, whatta look, whatta brylcreemy hairdo. Don Draper go home and good evening Finland. Just add the fact that this song is some Jim Reevesy classic, and there’s really not more to say.

As the sweet Danish presenter Lotte Wæver, can tell us, this song is about that Sunday morning when the alarm clock doesn't set off. Don't know what else this man says, but don't really care either. If we were to spend a Sunday morning with him, not a hundred alarm clocks would get us out of bed. Enjoy <3

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Retro Sunday: Belgium 2004

There's been a lot of talk about the Second Chance Contest today, so what better than to shed some light on one of the many fallen favorites in this week's Retro Sunday:



Xandee's "1 Life" was one of the biggest favorites with the fans and the bookies back in 2004, and Belgium seems to have fallen in this category a couple of times over the past few years, God knows why. Perhaps a lack of loyal neighbors voting for them, or perhaps they send songs that simply do not appeal to people outside the hardcore ESC-fan crowd.

We like this upbeat, energetic number. Eurotrash at its very best, and Xandee really scares the shit out us when she nails us with her piercing eyes straight into the camera and wiggles her booty until we blush. Refreshing!

And the winner is...

Sweden! Congratulations! Not exactly a big shocker, Timoteij has been a huge fan favorite all along. We'd much prefer Salem Al-Fakir to represent Sweden, so we suppose we're not in line with the Schlager loving fan boys this time!

Thank you OGAE Denmark for hosting the show! Here's the complete scoreboard:

1 Sweden 267
2 Denmark 223
3 Portugal 203
4 Spain 167
5 Israel 161
6 Norway 138
7 Germany 105
8 Greece 103
9 Finland 87
10 Cyprus 73
11 Serbia 64
12 Slovenia 54
13 Poland 24
14 Lithuania 20
15 Armenia 11
15 Ireland 11
15 FYR Macedonia 11
15 Russia 11
19 Croatia 4
20 Malta 3
21 Rest of the World (Bulgaria) 1
22 Azerbaijan 0

For the 13th time in Second Chance Contest history, Sweden takes the victory:

Second Chance Contest results revealed today!

Remember that we told you about the Second Chance Contest earlier? It's been a while and the results have been delayed for some reason. But today the results will finally be revealed by this year's host OGAE Denmark. You can watch the live stream here from 3 p.m. (15:00) Danish time. How very exiting indeed!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Oh dear Didrik

Aaah, Didrik. Not again. Please don't show up in the media one more time telling us how you know what to do when your brand new album flops. And how you were afraid of winning Eurovision because of the money it would cost Norway and how you don't think you will have a pop music career. What are we supposed to do? Feel sorry for you? Now that won't sell any records.

We are just so tired of all your twaddle. We can't be bothered to hear your whining anymore. And we can't be bothered to make yet another remark about it. We actually find ourselves at the point where we really wish you stood up for yourself, telling us what you are good at, DOING what you are good at. Which certainly isn't blabbering away to journalists.

We are so on the verge here now that we really want you to find yourself. Just do it fast and a little less painful, will you?

Monday, October 25, 2010

Guess who's back, back, back?

We were all sad to see our Eurovision Diva Maria Haukaas Mittet go after an excruciatingly exciting dance duel with the super hunky Åsleik "Knerten" Engmark on Strictly Come Dancing last Saturday.

But, now she's back!

One of the other contestants had to withdraw due to an injury, and it turns out you don't have to ask twice for Maria to get back into the limelight! What a shocker. And hurrah!



But, hang on a minute, will this mean that darling Maria won't have time to participate in MGP 2011 after all? Oh, no! Or yeah, whatever...

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Show!

There has been quite a few people up on their feet in Norway today, raising and collecting money for The Norwegian Refugee Council, this year's beneficiary for the annual NRK broadcasted event. The Telethon has taken place every fall since 1974 and has become an institution and a tradition in Norway. A very worthy cause and we hope all our fellow Norwegians have taken the opportunity to dig deep into their well filled pockets.

Former ESC host Haddy N'jie is also hosting the TV-show today and we are yet again super impressed, she does an excellent job! And it seems like we are not quite over the Eurovision fever we caught when hosting the big event earlier this year. Just take a look at this video, made by the comedians Bye & Rønning, in an attempt to get even more people off the couch when one of the over 90 000 volunteers carrying a collection box comes knocking on the door. The Glow parody is right on the money, so to speak, and very funny. And if you look closely you can even spot a few ESC celebs on those couches!

If you wish to give a donation, you can find more information here.

Retro Sunday: Denmark 2000

Inspired by the fact that we are going to watch our first Danish national final live next February, we started digging trough old DMGP material, to see if we could discover some hidden gems for you. And blimey, there's plenty of those to go around!



Like this one, from 10 years back. The Danes decided to send another song to ESC and as we all recall that went pretty well, but we absolutely adore Sanne Gottlieb's "Uden deg" (Without you) which finished third in the national final. What a confident and strong performance, she looks smashing, and don't even get us started on that skirt. She proves that she gets what Eurovision is all about by waltzing around the stage in that totally over the top diva fab outfit! We are seriously considering showing up at Ballerup Super Arena with matching yellow skirts as a homage to this lovely lady.

And the song is lovely too. It's like a dash of the soundtrack from the 80's Danish movie Buster's World mashed up with a tiny bit of the 90's classic Missing by Everything But the Girl, which all brings good memories to mind. And it doesn't at all sound outdated like some many other ESC entries from around the turn of the millennium. How very delightful and well worth a replay!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

From love to dirt in Beat for Beat

OK, let us continue writing about the Norwegian tv show Beat for Beat, because it seems to be the place where Eurovision people hang out while waiting for the real action to start. Last night we encountered an a-team and a b-team in its purest form with our not so beloved Didrik representing the latter.

Finally prime time tv gave in to Astrid's continous wish for Jostein Hasselgård on a friday night. 
Didrik Solli-Tangen of course made sure he got to sing the first song as the not so entitled primadonna he is. And we can't really decide whether he reminds us of a spoiled little brat who flipped through his father's LP collection and wanted to sound exactly like one of those 80s' macho men or if he just reminds us of Don Johnson. Nonetheless not good. Definitely not good. We're pretty goddamn embarrassed when Didrik starts up the opera, but would even say there's blasphemy going on as he delivers our beloved Frøken Frantzen in the end. And let's skip the screaming cougar with the jacket of horror and shoes of the porn star next door, who btw suits him pretty well.

The contrast is huge to our all time favorite hunk Jostein Hasselgård paired up with Eurovision choir chick pro Åshild Stensrud. Now this man is just too good to be true, and can do just about any song better than the original. Also just love how he cuts off Didrik when he tries to be something that could sound like a beatbox. Guess he just shares our idea of Beat for Beat, which is having fun with music and singing well, not just clinging to your somewhat vanishing celebrity status.

So in the end nothing changed during this hour of Beat for Beat, except maybe for the fact that Jostein stole A1's Beat for Beat throne. We still have a major crush on mr Hasselgård and still have no respect of Didrik whatsoever. But hey, there's always a reason to spend some time with Jostein. And there's even a Eurovision medley in there for you to decode. Click here to watch the whole show or watch one horrible part of it below.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Retro Sunday: Russia 2003

Really there should have been a lot of reasons not to like Russia back in 2003. There is techno rhythm and screaming and a keyboardist on speed. It's just that from the first few seconds when TaTu screams Hey! we're already kinda charmed:



These are some funky Russian chicks. We do love their quirky hairdos and filthy jeans, their cocky attitude and their schoolgirl charm. Although we're not sure they actually know they are on a Eurovision stage, not just rehearsing in front of the mirror. But these girls really can do and did do everything. Oh, if we only were young like them again.

So let the Russians scream. They sure can do it in style.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Let's paint Copenhagen red in February!









 

According to the latest news on dr.dk, Danish MGP is heading back to the capital after being hosted for several years at various locations in Jutland. Hurrah! The venue for the final on the 26th of February 2011 will be Ballerup Super Arena, located in a suburb just outside Copenhagen. The arena can house an audience of 6500 during DMGP, and GEE will be there covering the event in the most glamourous way possible!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Düsseldorf anno 2011


So, word's finally out and confirmed that we're going to Düsseldorf next year. Leaving the dream of Berlin behind, GEE has now finally learned where this place actually is located, and here's a couple of reasons Düsseldorf anno 2011 will be fun, or not so fun:


Fun facts:
  • Düsseldorf has a very large Japanese community, which means loads of good sushi for us.
  • It is not so far away from Frankfurt, and there's a lot of cheap flights to Frankfurt if we can't find one to Düsseldorf.
  • The name is pretty fun to pronounce. And being Norwegians we're probably better at it than the British and such. Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Düsseldorf.
  • We have never been to Düsseldorf before, and we never would have gone there either, if it hadn't been for Eurovision. So lots of new stuff to explore and experience!
  • The stadium can house an audience of 54 400 people. Pretty amazing.
  • If you remember the Flash Mob, you will remember they can dance there. 
  • With just over half a million inhabitants, it is small enough to be entirely marked by Eurovision during the Eurovision weeks. And then we won't lose track of each other either. Nice and cozy.
  • The town is famous for fashion fairs. Should be good when we need yet another dress for yet another event.
  • It is one of Germany's wealthiest cities with a lot of rich business people to buy poor GEE bloggers a drink or five.
  • Rheinuferpromenade is supposedly a street full of cafes along the Rhein. And Mediahafen is filled with contemporary architecture and bars. Now, that's where you'll find us. 
  • There's good beer in Germany. So probably there's good beer in Düsseldorf. That's the most important, really. 
Not so fun facts:
  • It is not Berlin. And we love Berlin.
  • It doesn't exactly scream of fun, does it... It sounds like one of those boring, German cities that we never really knew much about - couldn't even look it up on a map, they all sound like the same to us, sort of. 
  • It will probably be a nightmare finding a cheap and decent place to stay, the hotel prices have already sky rocketed.
  • We can only tell our friends we're going to... Düsseldorf, not very trendy, nor glamourous.
  • Even though the arena can house 54 400 people, it will only be open for 24 000 spectactors during Eurovision. What, do they think Eurovision fans are like twice as big as other people? How very offensive of them.
  • It is not Berlin, or yeah, did we already mention that? Oh well, suppose we just need to get over it.

    No Rybak for China



    OK, so no use for Alexander Rybak to start digging a hole to China. Because China doesn't want him.

    You see China is mad at Norway for giving the Nobel Peace Price to Chinese Liu Xiaobo acknowledging his work for the freedom of speech. And of course China doesn't want freedom of speech. Nor do they want freedom of playing a violin and singing like it's your last day on earth.

    Yeah, that makes perfectly sense. And we're really happy Eurovision is outside politics. But we guess the real question is: Who is getting punished here, Norway or China? We'd sure opt for the latter. Go spit on your own carpet, grumps.

    Sunday, October 10, 2010

    Retro Sunday: France 1977

    Germany's success this year will hopefully inspire the rest of the Big 4 bunch to actually consider choosing a good song for next year's contest. Like France did 33 years ago:



    It's been a while since France's last victory, alltough we need to do them justice by mentioning that they have come close many times with amazing songs and stunning performances. However Marie Myriam was the last one to take the victory home and she was indeed a very deserving winner. We love her confident performance where she just trusts her own abilities and the superb quality of the song.

    Numerous artists have covered this song in different languages, among them, one of our favorite ESC participants ever, Birthe Kjær from Denmark. We much prefer the original in French, but when the song can sound almost equally good in one of the strangest languages in the world, it tells us that this is one of the true classics. Forget shouty dance routines, bring back the fab Frenchness of the grand ballad!

    Wednesday, October 6, 2010

    Andorra will not return to Eurovision 2011



















    Sadly, according to the group "Andorra to Eurovision Germany 2011" on Facebook, it has now been confirmed that Andorra will not take part in ESC in 2011. If you know Catalan you can read more about the decision in this news-article.

    We have previously pointed out the importance of big nations like Italy returning to Eurovision, but we are equally strong supporters of the smaller nations to participate as well. It is such a shame that Andorra for the second year in a row is forced to withdraw due to economical reasons, cause this makes us all poorer. Since their debut in 2004 they have been a breath of fresh air, giving us charming performances from Anonymous and darling Susanne Georgi. They have introduced one more language on stage and added flavor and spice with crazy outfits and erm... interesting choreography. Andorra FTW and please come back soon!

    If you are keen on bringing Andorra back to Eurovision and wish to receive news about this matter you can join the above mentioned Facebook group.

    Sunday, October 3, 2010

    Retro Sunday: Spain 1991

    ESC 2010 was a long string of more or less forgettable ballads. A few decent ones allright, but when a ballad lacks passion and achy breaky hearts and all that stuff, it sort of just falls flat on the ground. So this week's Retro Sunday is a tribute to one of those truly memorable ballads, that is still standing strong some almost 20 years down the line:



    With a song only lasting for about 2:30, this quintessential Latino Lover kept it short and sweet, following one of the most important recipes for success; always leave the crowd wanting more. Cause how can we get enough of his amazing smile and soft, dark brown Bambi eyes, perfectly contrasted by his sexy whiskey voice? Watching this today, it almost feels a bit over the top, but we can tell you one thing, that was not the case back in 91 when we where in junior high, if you catch our drift. So Spain, how about you giving us something similar to drool over in Germany next year, that's actually kind of what we expect of you every year, you know!

    Exclusive revelation!

    GEE has previously been out hunting for Carola's wind machine.















    Hmmm, could this be the one, Guri wonders...














    ... Only to find out that you can actually get one for the bargain price of 399 SEK at Clas Ohlson!


















     At least if you happen to be in Malmö, where this pic is taken.















     "Fångad av en stormvind!"

    Friday, October 1, 2010

    DMGP 2011




















    In ESC history, Denmark is one of our absolute favorite countries. We love their happy go lucky tunes and buckets of charm that puts a big smile on our faces, thinking that life's one big party. There's just something about those Danes that simply appeal to us Norwegians, that makes us want to join them instead of beating them. Sort of. That was until this year when they showed up in Oslo with some trash they picked up in Sweden and a grumpy welder and his Hello Kitty doll. Wtf was that all about?

    It's time for Denmark to restore faith in us all, we'll be gracious enough to give them one more shot. And since half of GEE has moved to Copenhagen for the year, we'll have the chance to follow DMGP 2011 closely, covering the events and sharing our thoughts and opinions with you dear readers along the way.

    The deadline for submitting songs expired last Monday and according to DR's website 663 contributions came in. A secret jury will pick 6 songs from this bunch and the lineup in the final in February will be completed by DR inviting 4 songwriters on wildcards. This is all very exciting we must say! So far some of the competing songwriters have been revealed, among them Christina Schilling (behind Hera Björk's runner-up hit "Someday" in DMGP 2009 and the Ireland's ESC entry in 2009) and Claus Christensen (the man behind Denmark's ESC entry "Drama Queen" back in 2007).

    We won't bore you with too much details and facts, which have all been pretty much covered in a bunch of other blogs and websites already. But when the songs and the artists to perform them have been selected, we'll let you know what we think about it all, don't you worry! We are mirthfully sharpening our pencils as we speak...

    Sunday, September 26, 2010

    Retro Sunday: Happy birthday Marcin with Israel 1999

    Today's Retro Sunday is dedicated to our favorite Polish man. Or how about our fav man period? Because today is in fact Marcin Mrozinski's birthday. Yay and hooray and congratulations!

    And from both of us to all of you, Marcin, here's a couple of Israeli blokes wishing you Happy Birthday.



    OK, so it's probably not the best song that ever participated in Eurovision. But it's one of those songs that are just in it for the fun. That make you smile and jump around and forget about all the trouble you've seen. And that's really what a birthday song should do. Also, we do know you get the concept of both fun and boybands.

    Look at all those happy faces, thinking they are just the coolest guys on earth for bringing techno into Eurovision. Well, we have to say we're kinda happy that didn't set off completely, but it did secure Israel a good 5th place and us a bit of a happy moment. And mind you, they do have their own Macarenaish dance, which is very good for succeeding in this contest in GEE's opinion. A little brushing up and they would have been fine.

    So, Marcin, best of wishes. It's your party and we do wish you a fabulous day. Remember to thank your mother from us :*

    (And for all of you lucky bastards that are not so far away from Warsaw, rush off to the ROMA Theater to see Marcin starring as Marius in Les Miserables. Should be very enjoyable).

    Saturday, September 25, 2010

    X-Factor ready to be Eurovisionized

    Ok, here's the deal, glamourous GEE blogger girls have better things to do on a Friday night than hiding behind a pillow trying not to watch self-absorbed teenagers ridicule themselves on national TV. We have a life you know, friends to see, places to be, G&T's to be consumed. At least that was the case until the new season of Norwegian X-Factor introduced good old Eurovision Queen Bettan "Bobbysocks" Andreassen as one of the judges on the show. And now it turns out that she has invited Alexander Rybak as a sidekick when selecting the finalists in the "over 25" group. OMG! Seems like all our Friday nights in the weeks to come suddenly became all booked up... Stay tuned peeps!










    Will this lovely couple find Norway's next superstar? Hell yes!

    Thursday, September 23, 2010

    Didrik and the ostriches















    OMG, we really can't believe Norway is still wondering why Didrik Solli-Tangen didn't win ESC this year. But as we try to make people see the notion of quality, another question of ridicule hits us wham in the face: Why didn't Didrik's new single "Best Kept Secret" reach the top 20 or iTunes top 100? Seems like everyone are just super shocked Didrik didn't make money doing what he doesn't like doing. Wow, can you not just participate in ESC and then become a super star no matter what you sing? Really?

    Take the musical manager of Norway's largest music radio channel Petre, Mats Borch Bugge, for instance.He thinks the single isn't selling online because people rather would buy the whole digital album when it's released. Er, sorry, what? Those tendencies are new to us. Along with Norway largest radio channel P1, Borch Bugge also confirms he won't be playing Didrik's album on air, but still he thinks it's gonna sell? Come on, what desert is your head buried in, man?

    While Didrik tells us he doesn't care about the reception of the song (could see that coming), Universal's only comment is that the single isn't selling, basta cosi. And Didrik's manager Eivind Grøstad is again showing his brilliance telling us they have to work really hard to get air time on radio and that they have to compete with international artists. Oh, good luck with that, hon.

    So what should we learn from this? Definetly that quality and dedication is needed, not just a free pass to participation in ESC and some so called good friends. And perhaps also that Per Sundnes doesn't have that sense of quality and that we do hope Eivind Grøstad never will be manager of anything we care about.

    Enough with the ostrich mentality here, people. Didrik sucks. Get over it.

    What great expectations?! The Netherlands and their 3Js

    We're approaching Eurovision season and GEE can't wait. What treats will be presented to us this year? Well, again we don't see them coming from Netherlands, that's pretty sure.

    WTF are you looking at? Do you think we LIKE Eurovision?

    Boybands have never been GEE's cup of coffee, but at least we know this much: They're supposed to consist of fresh boys, not depressed old men. We mean, who killed the cat and how close were you anyway? Apart from that, we guess the Dutch 3Js have everything that we hate so much from this genre: The pathos, the eyerape and the misunderstood notion of singing on top of each other. And yeah, then you would add that they seem to be singing in a rather undelicious language (Sorry, Dutchesses) and have hooked up with the most boring tailor on earth. They haven't picked their song yet, but what 3Js have presented earlier in their career,  is so gray and tiresome we're all lost in dreamland already, dreaming of all the better times ahead for The Netherlands. Once, after 2011.

    Expectations this far:
    Grumpy men trying to be boys trying to be amorous trying to be sensous? Oh, Lord. Expectations are approaching the bottom of the lake and disappearing fast. But hey, that means we will be easier impressed if they go ahead and prove us wrong.

    Now, though, this is just sadder than Sad Sam and Dawson Leery combined:

    Sunday, September 19, 2010

    Retro Sunday: Iceland 1999

    It's funny how most of the entries from 1999 just look and sound so incredibly dated. We mean, it's not that long ago, did we really look like this? And back then the winning song was accused of being old fashioned, like the cutting edge contemporary stuff with oontz-oontz beats performed by Spice Girls lookalikes with bare bellies were any better. We sort of prefer timeless ABBA tadamtidam piano riffs and cheesy Schlager/Dansband saxophones.



    Regardless, the runner up that year wasn't half-bad. Selma from Iceland was a real charm bomb on stage despite of her ghastly outfit and that ridiculous twirly hairdo, which we in horror remember copying thinking it looked smashing. Kudos for managing to sing half decent trough the hectic aerobic routine as well. Perhaps a more fitting title for the song should have been "All out of breath"?

    It must be pretty annoying for the Icelandic to lose the victory twice to another Nordic country, like they did both in 1999 and 2009. But hang in there Iceland and keep sending top notch songs, justice will prevail sooner or later!

    Thursday, September 16, 2010

    Going to Italy

    Off to Italy. Will we be leaving Eurovision behind? Probably not.

    If you didn't notice, GEE blogger girls were living the busy life in May. We were working and partying and hardly had time for eating (which was great for the dress fittings). Safe to say, we didn't have time for our neglected men either. And when Guri's husband quietly suggested he was living in a dressing room as we were running around changing into our glorious changing outfits while Astrid's man hid in another town, it hit us: We are not the most popular of girlfriends right now.

    That's why we will be taking our men to our fab house in Italy for a couple of days. It's a country outside of Euovision as they should know and there will be plenty of love and food and wine and grappa for them there.

    But as we were getting ready departure, rumors grew stronger that Italy might be participating this year. Now, that would have been heaven for two girls loving Italy more than anything and still missing Toto Cutugno like crazy.

    So then, dear readers, we will not be able to leave Eurovision behind during our days in heaven after all. We will be trying to convince every Italian we see to participate again. We will be paying Berlusconi off. And we will look for Toto.

    Lucky our Italian kitchen is big enough to keep our fab men occupied in the meantime. And don't we just love them for that.

    For you, here’s Italy at its best. So far:

    Sunday, September 12, 2010

    We need you, you (you)

    So, guess this has been the weekend where all the MGP stars showed us what else they can do. We already know Maria can dance, but did you also know A1 can sing?

    Eh, wait a moment.. That's the ONLY thing they can do. But at least now they also can sing in Norwegian prime time TV shows. Since GEE never hit the boyband wave, we were actually quite surprised by how charmed we were after meeting these guys in May. Guess common distrust of the Per Sundnes methods really can unite the most unlikely group of people.

    We bring you the last part of the show, starting with Ben Adams talking about revolution. LOL, that's one thing we never thought he'd do. But apart from that, they still hit our spots in this show, so much loved by us to begin with. And this Mark Daniel Read really proves once again that he is a little bit better than most boybandies. Setting aside the slight worry A1 might be on a rolldown when they have to participate in family shows like this, we approve of their energy and star behavior. How lucky is the Norwegian state to be housing these charm buckets? (Nope, we didn't mention Christian Ingebrigtsen in our praising. Consider it a political statement connected to FrP)

    Take a look, skip the first few second of grey, notice the audience gals about to faint in the front row, be mad at Ivar Dyrhaug for not wanting to sing with Ben Adams and please fast forward over the blonde spreckled hen trying to sing Dolly Parton for a while there.

    Retro Sunday: Ireland 1980

    We've been waiting. Such a long time. To mention Johnny Logan. But oh, whatta man he is. Or at least was. While everyone seems to be hooked on him wanting to hold them, we'd like to draw attention to his later grandeur as heartbroken hippie.



    In 1980 Johnny, king of pathos, was a sad boy with an intense need of self destruction. He could just wait and wait because he'd waited so long and was so lonely already that nothing mattered anymore. Really, nothing. But we have to say, we can't even begin to understand how his beloved kept away from this piece of eyecandy. The fabulous black and white suit is super classy as it blends in with the amazing art deco stage of Hague. And the hair! We love it more than Michael Kelso and young Paul McCartney combined! Add a super sexy dark clad sax player in the back there, and you get why people keep watching this (we choose not to comment on the choir chicks, you can see it as a political statement).

    Won't you just look at the despair in Johnny's eyes as he tells us how he's lost everything. Well, he kind of has now, but he was a winner once. The best winner of them all.

    (We've included the video with introduction for you, so you can see the lovely photo of Johnny at the pub in the right corner there and more of the cool stage backdrop. How very classy Eurovision was back then).

    So do you think you can dance, Maria?

    Last night on the premier of this season's Norwegian Dancing with the stars/Strictly come dancing, our favorite Eurovision Diva showed us that she is not just a one trick pony. By the look of it, Maria Haukaas Mittet (yep, she's newlywed) actually can dance as well!











    (pic from vg.no)


    By scoring a decent 30 points with the judges and finishing on top of the scoreboard during this first round she's off to a flying start. So hold on be strong guys, this lady will be airing on a TV screen near you for yet many weeks to come!