Welcome one and all to this year's batch of "Shite or Alright" podcast reviews with Andy and Ann!!!
Scroll down to the bottom of this post to find our podcasts - we are hoping to add a podcast to the list every 3 days-ish so come back soon if the next episode has not yet 'dropped'.
In preparation for this year's contest I thought I would write a longer foreword regarding the set up and make up of this year's contest. See this a 'laying of the land' when it comes to the technical bits of the show as well as planting some seeds for you casual watchers out there - especially in the UK - to take notice of this year's show and maybe have someone to support!
This year, Eurovision is rocking up in Ann's home town of Liverpool after the UK were asked to host the contest on behalf of last year's winners Ukraine. Unlike many of the bidding cities, Liverpool has a twin city in Ukraine - Odessa to be precise. Liverpool is an underdog city, a city with an independent attitude, a city that has had to rise from the ashes several times, plus we know how to party! Liverpool is quite literally a city of culture (having held the European title in 2008) but is also the unofficial home of pop music. Many fans will be touring the city to find some of the famous sights and sounds of its musical heritage such as the Cavern, Eric's, The Jacaranda, LIPA and the numerous statues around the city heralding its musical alumni.
Although Scousers and Merseysiders were welcoming about their city hosting many Eurofans had reservations about the choice of venue. The Liverpool Arena was one of the smaller stadia on the provisional list and, when you factor in the stage size and the situation of the green room in the arena, many were not happy at the reduced capacity the hall could hold - resulting reduced ticket numbers available for the live shows. That, twinned with the extravagant price of the tickets and the equally extravagant price of accommodation and/or transport, meant many seasoned Eurovision visitors were left empty handed; facing the fact that going to a contest in their own country was just not a viable option. In a positive move, reminding all that this is Ukraine's party being held in our house, a portion of the tickets for all 9 live shows, were set aside especially for displaced Ukrainians.
There is a slightly reduced number of entries in this year's contest - 37 to be precise - partly down to the ejection of R*ssia and B*larus from the EBU over the war in Ukraine, and funding deficits for the delegations of Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro. Maybe they will come back again soon...? In other background news, there has been a concerted effort to get Andorra back into the fold although RTVA still cite 'financial difficulties' as a barrier for coming back. Monaco has also had a renewed interest due to the start up of a new TV channel in the principality "Monte-Carlo Riviera TV" which may (or may not) lend itself to broadcasting the contest. There are always stories and rumours about Luxembourg, Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey returning, although the recent rule change concerning voting in the semi-finals may well be a 'virtue signal' to the latter as voting concerns led to them exiting after the 2012 contest. News of a number of voting changes to come later!!!
As for the make up of this year's contest, it is really quite an interesting mix, with an increased proportion of groups taking to the contest. This could reflect the wins of Måneskin and Kalush Orchestra over the past 2 years but could also be an interesting side glance at the rules regarding backing vocals on tape. Although extra dancers have been "the norm" for many years to bump up stage numbers, many viewers see value in band members singing or dancing - or neither - but are interacting authentically on stage. It will also be interesting to see how certain delegations use the stage. Will they stay on the full stage further back from the audience taking advantage of the LED screen OR will they use the large island right next to the fans OR will delegations make use of both, using the catwalk between the two?
We have a number of returnees to this year's show: the most famous and most anticipated contestant we have is 2012 winner Loreen who will be once again representing Sweden. Also from that year, Pasha Parfeni is once again singing for Moldova. Italy's Marco Mengoni was their singer in 2013 and Monika Linkytė was half of Lithuania's act in 2015. Gustaph, the Belgian singer, was twice a 'hidden' backing singer in 2018 and 2021 and Georgia's Iru was a member of the group Candy who won jESC in 2011. Although he will not be visible on stage, Duncan Laurence, who won ESC in 2019, was partially responsible for putting together the 2023 Dutch act and co-wrote their entry.
When it comes to languages at this year's contest, English is still the primary focus. 9 songs this year are wholly performed in a language other than English and an additional 5 with a mixture of English and other(s). I find this a little odd considering that 3 of the last 6 Eurovision winning songs have not been in English and one other winner had a chorus not in English. When it comes to genres, there is a glut of rock inspired songs - many of which come from the groups category. There is is also plenty of ethnic & folksy sounds, radio-friendly tunes, fun numbers, and a handful of songs that look fairly innocuous from the outside but on further inspection pack a hefty political punch.
Finally there are some small, yet significant, changes to the voting procedures. Now that we have got used to the full jury and full televote scores being announced separately in the final there are some changes to the voting in the two semi-finals. For the last few years the voting the the SF has been worked out the same as the final but this year the semi finals will be televote scores ONLY! Although I suspect this has been done to ensure that more viewer-friendly songs/acts get through to the final, I can also see a situation where an act landslides the semi but is then held back almost by a more tepid jury vote (or even vice versa).
The other change to the scoring is, for many watchers of Eurovision, a nod to the fact that the show is truly a worldwide event. Over the last few years during Junior Eurovision, technology has been available to enable people from anywhere in the world to cast votes online. For the first time EVER those viewers watching the final from a non-participating country can now have a say. There will be a 38th televote score added into the mix - a 'rest of the world' vote - which will be amalgamated with the other 37 participating countries televote scores and distributed at the end of the show. You never know, these extra 58 points may well be the difference between a delegation winning or losing!
Well, that's my introduction done and dusted - now all that's left to do is review some of the actual songs and acts !!!!
EPISODE ONE: Jon Ola Sand's SQUID GAME
Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Sweden and Ukraine!
Advice from Cilla Black herself *possibly*
An Insta ad for fabric pens
Quite a normal song...
Either way, they can't win..
BUT YOU DON'T KNOOOOOOOOWWWWWW MEEEEEEEEE!
It should be on the Afrekening next week
I'd buy her sandwich toaster
EPISODE TWO: A life bowl
Austria, Cyprus, Iceland,
Romania, Serbia and Spain!
Does she keep the same phone number for every
show?
They were going to eat him alive
Part of a longer musical I never want to see
Bluey characters appearing at Eurovision
Look at me – I can swim!!!
Feels like a sketch by Ellie & Natasia
I'd like it a little more Loïc
EPISODE THREE: She touched her bell
Armenia, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania and Portugal!
Doing 3-2-1 doesn't work on a podcast
They are the new Sweden
Anne-Marie and The Mamas.
He's one of us !
BUT *HOW* DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD?!?!!?
A wall of Irish average
We'll have to do it again then won't we ppppttthhhhtttt
EPISODE FOUR: Eurovision at first sight
Croatia, Finland, France, Georgia, Netherlands, Slovenia and Switzerland!
Are we allowed to talk about him now...?
Dangerously close to 'sing-along-able'.
The ex-Yu Simon Barnaby
Avez-vous ... un bother....?
Prick Ghastly
Three stops from Dagenham
What language was that in...?
You need to save yourself for the important bits
EPISODE FIVE: Ivo Graham goes grunge
Albania, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Malta and Norway!
What? Big tits...?
Doesn't appeal to middle aged men
Mediterranean Pob
Not an original character
He could rupture something
Those boots looked well strapped up
Is this the missing Georgian or the missing Moldovan entry?
EPISODE SIX: A twin filling in a woman sandwich
Australia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Poland, San Marino and United Kingdom!
Do you know this board game?
It is, essentially, very silly
I thought there might be more songs like this
Makes Coco Jamboo sound like Mozart
hmmmmmmmmmm stick insect
Don't get me on the nails
The GO_A tribute act has turned up
