As an end of year 'wrap up' I've decided to take the sombre way out and take time to remember those Eurovision stars who have departed this earth in 2016. Not necessarily Eurovision acts or artists but those associated with the great show in many different ways...
There are probably more people I could have included but these were certainly the people I wanted to celebrate at this time. Maybe next year, I'll have to make a more detailed note to make this an 'end of year tradition' - as sad as it is. They are gone, but certainly not forgotten
Wishing you all thebest in 2017 x
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You can download or listen to the latest podcast here - https://archive.org/details/ESC-RIP-2016
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Thursday, 29 December 2016
ALBANIA
The Albanian final was held on the 23d December at the
Palace of Congress in Tirana, hosted by Ledina Çelo & Kasem Hoxha. Before
the final there were 2 semi-finals where the long list of 24 was reduced to a
final of 12. For the first time ever in Festivali i Këngës history, the winner
was chosen by a combination of an expert jury and online voting. The winning
act was Lindita Halimi singing the song “Botë” (World)
The setting of the song is very simple with Lindita alone on
the stage. The song is backing singer heavy but they may be shoved to the side-lines
to concentrate on the main singer. She is very eye-catching with her small
stature, long claw-like nails, beautiful flowing hair and gapped-toothed grin –
all of which give her character and make her seem very likeable but also
vulnerable. During the semi-final, she wore a tight fitting sparkly flesh
coloured cat suit which did not suit her frame. Her dress in the final was
classier and more tasteful but looked far too long on her and did not seem to
suit her movement as a singer. I would suggest some time and effort be taken to
dress her in something more suitable AND to work on her performance craft to
the camera.
The song has an interesting introduction with some slightly
unusual chord sequences. It starts off quite minimal but grows quickly but proceeds to do little else after the first chorus. She is very passionate
during the song and gestures a lot which, if choreographed correctly and
directed toward the camera, would be very effective. However, a lot of the song
involves a lot of oooooh-ing and aaaaaaaaah-ing and doing vocal gymnastics
which a) doesn’t sound nice and b) seems a total waste of time. The ending is a
little abrupt, has no build up and there are no clues to suggest that the end is coming soon.
As ever with Festivali i Këngës, songs are performed in
Albanian but also with an extensive orchestra and an array of backing singers.
This has usually meant that songs have undergone an extensive transformation by
the time it gets to Eurovision. Therefore, judging this song as is, is a little
unfair. All we do know is that it will be performed in English in May. However
what is in her favour is that the song is few seconds under the 3-minute mark
and so not much will be done structurally to make the song eligible for the
contest. The instrumentals need to have more light and shade - more drama - which will hopefully be mirrored in the reworked lyrics. I think this is an OK song but needs a lot of work in terms of
performance and stagecraft. Her voice is good but she needs more actual lyrics and meaning
- not constant warbling. Putting into English will be a good move if they don’t
mess around too much with the current structure of the song.
ARTIST - Lindita
SONG - Botë (World)
MUSIC - Klodian Qafoku
LYRICS - Gerald Xhari
Friday, 16 December 2016
161216
Happy Christmas everybody!!!!
So, you can follow all the fun and games on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair
You can download or listen to the latest podcast here - https://archive.org/details/escarmchair-161216
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But even at this festive time of year, there is much 'Eurovisioning' to be done - in fact, our first nation final will be happening next week! It's a long way until the end of March!!!!!
In this episode I run down the dates of the known NFs then take a look at some of the people trying to make a name for themselves - or another go at Eurovision - and by golly there are quite a few!
I also get to share some very exciting news about the United Kingdon NF that is happening at the end of January :)
Music comes from France and Italy
So, you can follow all the fun and games on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
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You can download or listen to the latest podcast here - https://archive.org/details/escarmchair-161216
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