Eurovision Song Contest 2022

Liberty_Bear · 22-03-2022 12:27am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGd1AFKR_-E

Azeri entry

Utter shite - same song writing team as Teardrops too

yerwanthere123 · 22-03-2022 12:31am

Armenia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVqGKkm7xBE&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

It's perfectly pleasant, but we've got so many songs like this in 2022. The first semi final will be a real battle, lot of middling/poor songs competing for the same market.

Azerbaijan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGd1AFKR_-E&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Finally, the class of 2022 is complete. And it's another ballad! 😄 It's grand, perfectly well executed and will probably finish mid-table in the final.

Anyone wanna make a stab at predicting the qualifiers at this early stage?

captbarnacles · 22-03-2022 11:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118786682#Comment_118786682

It is abysmal and will sound much much worse on the Eurovision stage.

Amazement on RTE that our poor song and not very good singer fail to qualify again.

LordBasil · 23-03-2022 3:40pm

Qualifier Predictions;

SF1 - Only certs to qualify are Norway, Greece, Netherlands & Ukraine (if they're able to take part). Austria will get in if their live performance is strong. Albania & Moldova have a habit of sneaking in against expectations so I'll count them in. Of the plethora of female ballads in the 2nd half I think Armenia is the strongest so I'll also count them in. After that, it's anyone's. Switzerland is quite boring but it is the only male ballad in this semi final so will stand out. Lithuania mostly qualify but they are going to suffer without Ireland & the UK voting in their SF. Latvia will likely be buried by the juries but may do well enough on the televote. Everyone seems to hate Bulgaria but I don't think it is as bad as the fandom makes out. Portugal seems to be a bit of a dark horse.

Prediction: GRE, NED, NOR, UKR, AUT, ALB, MOL, ARM, POR, LAT/LIT

SF2 - Only dead certs are Sweden & Poland. Cyprus, Belgium & Estonia likely to qualify too. Then it gets tricky. Australia & Azerbaijan are both in the first half & could could potentially cancel each other out. They will also suffer with Poland in the second half hoovering up the male power ballad vote. Of the 2 'YAS QUEEN' entries, Israel & Romania, I feel Romania has the stronger chance of progression. San Marino could be viewed a a Maneskin ripoff, which would be unfair, but could happen. Finland will likely qualify but may be seen as a bit dated. Georgia & Serbia are tough ones to predict how they'll be interpreted by juries and viewers. I feel Serbia's message could be lost and people will wonder why this mad woman is washing her hands repeatedly. Czech Republic is a good dance entry so will stand out. Montenegro & North Macedonia don't have great qualification records and could suffer being in the same half as Sweden. Then we come to Ireland. Reading comments on here it seems it is a bit marmite. I think it could be either Sarah McTernan 2.0 or potentially, with eye-catching staging, she could pull a Jedward 2011.

Prediction: POL, SWE, CYP, BEL, EST, ROM, CZE, FIN, SER, AZE/AUS

fryup · 23-03-2022 6:55pm

Well folks should i put the house and everything i possess on Ukraine to win???

it's got to be a certainty surely

yerwanthere123 · 23-03-2022 7:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118825282#Comment_118825282

I wouldn't say so. I think they'll get pushed up the table a bit but can't see them winning. Juries account for 50% of the vote, if the juries do their jobs then I doubt this would even make the jury top ten.

Welsh Megaman · 23-03-2022 10:33pm

Czech Republic - Good song, although I had images of Jimmy Sommerville swooning at the sight of a guy in Speedos.

Albania - Don’t Malta usually release the song that sounds like Holly Valance’s ‘Kiss Kiss’?

Moldova - Never let you down.

Israel - I could eat my ice cream to it.

Estonia - Strong ‘Hey Brother’ by Avicii ‘vibes’, as the kids say.

Lithunania - Found myself singing ‘Live Is Life’ by Opus over the top (contemporary pop culture reference there).

Latvia - Didn’t Iceland release that last year?

Montenegro - Toilet/Put The Bins Out break.

Serbia - The ‘Daily Mail Sidebar Of Shame’ song.

Croatia - I tapped my foot.

Norway - I tried to fit an entire banana in my mouth.

Slovenia - Nile Rodgers was watching, thinking ‘Did I write this?’

Poland - Can’t remember, I was trying to dislodge a banana out of my mouth.

Greece - Robotic vocals reminded me of ‘O Superman’ by Laurie Anderson (another contemporary pop culture reference).

Sweden - Wine refill.

Iceland - First Aid Kit tribute.

Portugal - Tissues refill.

Russia - Politics aside, ugliest boyband ever with a make-your-own video from a street corner kiosk.

yerwanthere123 · 23-03-2022 11:00pm

Russia - Politics aside, ugliest boyband ever with a make-your-own video from a street corner kiosk

?

Russia are banned this year.

Wheety · 23-03-2022 11:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118825282#Comment_118825282

I think they'll win too. Already bookies favourites.

yerwanthere123 · 26-03-2022 7:12pm

Getting round to my SF predictions now.

Semi-Final 1

Qualification:

The Netherlands

Ukraine

Croatia

Norway

Greece

Armenia

Albania

Switzerland (borderline)

Iceland (borderline)

Austria (borderline)

NQ:

Bulgaria

Latvia

Moldova

Denmark

Slovenia

Lithuania (borderline)

Portugal (borderline)

This is an incredibly weak SF, so there's quite a few cancelling each other out and could go either way. I had Lithuania and Portugal in ahead of Iceland and Austria originally but changed upon watching a recap video. Lithuania is terrible, I'm not sure even the juries are getting behind that, and as mentioned above they'll be down 24 points as Ireland/UK can't vote here. I think Iceland and Portugal are tapping into the same market and only one will make it through, but Iceland is more of an ear-worm so I reckon they'll make it in. A lot could change as always when we see how they'll be staged. Also keep in mind that an extra spot may become available if Ukraine aren't able to enter after all.

fryup · 26-03-2022 11:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118826530#Comment_118826530

so will you be as brave me and put all your worldly possessions on them😶

Wheety · 27-03-2022 3:18pm

Nah. The odds aren't attractive now.

27-03-2022 4:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118839582#Comment_118839582

Ukraine (if they make it), Netherlands and Greece are dead certs. Norway should be safe from public votes alone even if the juries tank it, and I'm inclined to think Portugal should be safe too for the opposite reason. I enjoy Iceland and hope it gets through too but if only one of Iceland or Portugal can make it then I'd be inclined to go for Portugal.

I disagree about Lithuania being terrible, I think it's got a nice retro feel to it that might make it stand out and she seems like a good, charismatic performer. I'm inclined to think the juries will appreciate it. I'm also thinking Moldova will get enough public goodwill to go through, even without Romania's guaranteed 24 points.

Austria and Switzerland are the big two question marks; the former has been generally well received but has the potential to be a car crash live (I am slightly biased because I really dislike it!), while the latter has had lukewarm reception but could blossom live. Slovenia is another one that's hard to call, the Eurovision reddit seems to have a lot of love for them but it might just be because they're so young that people find them endearing; not sure juries or the general public will be as bothered by that though.

I doubt there'll be room for both Croatia and Armenia, and my gut feeling says the latter will get through.

Bulgaria looks like a no-hoper (even though I don't think it's as bad as people say) and I can't see any reason Denmark could make it through either.

Latvia might have had a better chance in Semi 2 but I think Moldova and Norway will overshadow it when it comes to the "novelty song" votes.

I totally forgot about Albania tbh. Yeah, that'll probably qualify even though it's very "meh" to me.

So right now, my predicted qualifiers are (in alphabetical order):

Albania, Armenia, Greece, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Ukraine.

If Austria does actually sound good live then they will probably qualify, and I think Lithuania may be the one to miss out. If Ukraine don't make it AND Austria is terrible, then Lithuania will qualify and there's room for one more, which I think would be Iceland.

27-03-2022 7:57pm

For Semi 2:

Sweden is obviously sailing through and probably winning this semi.

Poland should be safe, though it seems a bit underwhelming live and needs some work.

Estonia is probably safe, although I think he should lose the silly cowboy staging.

Czech Republic is a strong studio cut and should go through as long is it's not a disaster live.

Finland will qualify, if for no other reason than trading off the love for "In The Shadows" 20 years ago!

I'm inclined to think Serbia will make it: definitely gonna get high scores from the voters/juries in the Balkans and I think it'll be unique enough to get enough support elsewhere to push through.

I'm leaning towards Cyprus making it through, it has an ethnic flair to it that will distinguish it in this semi.

Australia and Azerbaijan are in the same half and I think the former will make it through at the latter's expense (though one can never rule out Azerbaijan buying/cheating its way to the final anyway. 🙄)

Belgium seems like jury-bait and no doubt he'll sing the hell out of it, so that'll probably be safe.

That leaves one spot.

I'm gonna rule out North Macedonia and Montenegro as I can't imagine either of them getting enough support.

I also think Israel and Romania might cancel each other out: if you had the Israeli performer with the Romanian song then it would probably make it through, but as it stands neither is strong enough on its own to really deserve it.

I'm hoping Malta doesn't qualify: changing their song for a generic sickly sweet "feelgood" song is such a cynical move and I hope it backfires regardless of how well she performs it.

Georgia is a complete unknown: nobody knows how it's gonna come off live, and it will either pull a "Midnight Gold" surprise or finish dead last.

That leaves Ireland and San Marino. I'm gonna be stupidly optimistic and say that Brooke springs a surprise with the staging and nails her vocals, and Ireland makes it through (albeit in 9th or 10th place).

So alphabetically:

Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Ireland(!), Poland, Serbia, Sweden

If Ireland is a disaster then San Marino will probaly go through instead, unless Georgia turns out to be a blast onstage in which case they might squeak through.

yerwanthere123 · 27-03-2022 10:47pm

Semi-Final 2:

Qualification:

Czech Republic

Poland

Sweden

Estonia

Finland

Australia

Romania

Belgium (borderline)

Azerbaijan (borderline)

Cyprus (borderline)

NQ:

Israel

Georgia

San Marino

Montenegro

Serbia

Ireland

Malta (borderline)

Macedonia (borderline)

The first six on my list, from Czech Republic to Australia are the only ones I'm very confident will make it through, it gets a lot trickier after that. Azerbaijan is pretty poor but I reckon the juries will sneak it over the line. Romania is mostly terrible but I think there'll be enough televote support to get this through. Cyprus is a standard fare ethno-pop Eurovision song but there's still something of an audience for this. I think the juries will love Belgium but I think the televote support won't be there.

Israel and Montenegro are dead on arrival I reckon. I think San Marino and Georgia are in trouble also, but as mentioned above we've yet to see how the latter is live so perhaps they could spring a surprise. Serbia is just too weird to garner enough support from anywhere outside the Balkans imo, although high votes from Montenegro and Macedonia could potentially get it close. I actually quite like the Maltese song and think it's good enough to qualify, but I'm not sure if even the suspiciously generous juries will be enough to edge it over the line.

I'm trying to make a case for Ireland making it but I just can't, the song isn't strong enough, and the reviews from her performance in Barcelona last night weren't exactly glowing. Who knows, maybe we'll be surprised with decent staging after last year's horror show, but right now I think it's another year of missing the final.

road_high · 28-03-2022 3:09pm

Never thought I’d say this but I’m loving the Irish entry! It’s very modern contemporary pop, sounds a bit like Sia or those kind of artists. Didn’t know of Brooke before this but sounds like she is very well known in the pop circuit

delboy85 · 28-03-2022 9:49pm

I think the standard this year has turned out to be pretty good (after a very iffy start).

Italy didn't really do much for in the early days but it's probably my favourite now.

Conversely, I really loved Sweden when it was initially revealed but I'm a little bored with it already. But I suspect it will be challenging for the win.

The one song that I truly hate this year is Lithuania!

Not getting the love for Spain on various forums. Sounds pretty generic to me. But I wouldn't begrudge Spain a good result.

Latvia I despised at first. But it's growing on me.

I can't see Ireland qualifying (but I hope I'm wrong).

My Top 10 at the moment would be:

12 points - Italy

10 points - Portugal

8 points - Iceland

7 points - Czech Republic

6 points - Greece

5 points - United Kingdom

4 points - Poland

3 points - Australia

2 points - The Netherlands

1 point - Armenia

yerwanthere123 · 29-03-2022 4:25pm

Running orders

Good to see both Latvia and Israel being given the death slots they deserve 😈 Although I think it matters less in the SF's.

Not sure what to make of Ireland's draw, I mean they put us on as early as they possibly could. A lot of the weaker songs are in the first half, so Ireland could sound decent coming after them. On the flipside, we'll likely be memory-holed by the better songs that'll be yet to come. We'll only be a borderline qualifier even if we do make it, so best we can hope for is great staging. Or at least something resembling decent staging after last year.

29-03-2022 4:33pm

Ireland essentially opens the second half of Semi 2, it'll probably be on after a commercial break. Coming after the break and before North Macedonia's rather dirgey song might not be a bad draw for Brooke.

The weirdest thing in that draw for me is Armenia being chosen to close the first semi. Like it's an ok, pleasant enough song but it's not exactly the usual high energy closer you'd expect. Would have figured Austria or Norway would have had that slot.

LordBasil · 29-03-2022 8:06pm

Not a great slot for Ireland it must be said, thrown on as early as possible given our second half draw. I suppose we shouldn't complain too much considering we got the latest first half slot possible last year.... for the all the good it did us. Cyprus on just before us is a nice song but the staging might be a bit underwhelming so if Brooke can bring energy and personality to her performance then all hope is not lost. Being followed by North Macedonia is not too bad an outcome either.

Other observations;

Switzerland and Azerbaijan have been screwed over. The producers obviously don't want too many male ballads in the final. Slot 4 is new Slot 2.

Armenia is a surprising closer for SF1. I thought either Austria or Norway would close but this will help Armenia qualify for the first time since 2017. It is a catchy song and I feel Rosa Linn could potentially be the Common Linnets (The Netherlands 2014) of 2022. Watch this space....

Speaking of The Netherlands, I feel S10 has been the biggest winner of the running order. A soothing, ethereal ballad after a run of 3 uptempo songs. With a strong performance and attractive staging she could win SF1 which would set her up nicely for a good slot in the final.

Poor Croatia, they always get screwed over even when they draw second half.

Latvia looks a goner. They needed a better slot to increase their tele vote as the juries are gonna bury them.

Good draw for San Marino, straight after that Maltese cheese fest.

Serbia despite the early draw will stand out, which could memory hole Finland and Israel

Australia have been given a great shot at qualifying. I hope they don't though... I can't stand that song.

Poland and Montenegro being beside each other is a bit strange, why not have Ireland, Romania or Estonia to break them up. Poland will qualify but his chances of winning the SF are reduced. It feels like SF2 is set up for Sweden to win...

Czech Republic closing will boost their chances if the vocals are solid. Closing a SF does not guarantee qualification, see Latvia 2017 and Denmark 2021.

Bring on the rehearsals!!!!

captbarnacles · 31-03-2022 1:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118847338#Comment_118847338

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJKcbrq7zhY

fitz · 31-03-2022 1:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118859332#Comment_118859332

Was one of the better performances on the night. The sound was a complete disaster, none of the singers could hear anything in their in-ears, to the point that towards the end of the night, they started using the full studio versions of the tracks, with vocals in them, rather than the instrumentals.

It certainly wasn't a great performance, but she dealt with it considerably better than some of the other acts.

I do hope they do something different with the staging though, I feel like she's being let down on the staging/wardrobe front, and wonder how much support she's getting in the background.

I think she's in with a shot of qualifying, but shouldn't trouble the top of the leaderboard in the final.

My top 5 would be Sweden, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic and Greece.

road_high · 31-03-2022 4:51pm

Agree the production and choreography are terrible here

captbarnacles · 01-04-2022 5:36pm

I think its between Italy and Sweden.

I feel an upbeat song with a good perfromance could beat them but there isn't much in line except maybe Norway and can that really score well with the juries?

LordBasil · 02-04-2022 11:28pm

Ireland currently last in the SF2 qualification odds. Jesus. Surely we can't come last 3 years in a row? Hopefully Brooke can deliver a strong performance so even if she doesn't qualify she won't finish last.

I think a ballad is winning this year, one of either Italy, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands or possibly Armenia. Juries will prevent Ukraine from winning. The only uptempo song I could see challenging is Austria if the vocals and staging are on point. There will have to be at least 1 uptempo song that does well with the juries although it is difficult to stage EDM entries in Eurovision due to the 6 person on stage rule.

06-04-2022 7:02pm

Strongly considering getting tickets for the semis or the Final.

I'm looking for a bit of advice as to what to expect transport wise after the shows?

ie: will there be all-night trains, buses and taxis to towns close to Turin? Thanks.

yerwanthere123 · 07-04-2022 9:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118890544#Comment_118890544

Sorry I couldn't be of any help to you as I've never been to any Eurovision nor Turin. There's plenty of Eurovision communities online, particularly Digital Spy, if you need help from people in the know.

Did you get any tickets today @Chauncey Gardiner?

yerwanthere123 · 11-04-2022 4:13pm

Anyone else ranked their top 40 with the gerbear sorter yet?

1 Sweden

2 France

3 United Kingdom

4 Czech Republic

5 Estonia

6 Armenia

7 Ukraine

8 Poland

9 Spain

10 Croatia

11 Netherlands

12 Ireland

13 Norway

14 Malta

15 Germany

16 Greece

17 Austria

18 Australia

19 Romania

20 Slovenia

21 Azerbaijan

22 Switzerland

23 Cyprus

24 Belgium

25 Portugal

26 Finland

27 Georgia

28 North Macedonia

29 Italy

30 Iceland

31 Albania

32 Moldova

33 Serbia

34 Montenegro

35 Latvia

36 Denmark

37 Lithuania

38 San Marino

39 Israel

40 Bulgaria

Think this is a reasonably accurate way of doing it, although I'd actually put Czech Republic ahead of the UK. Ireland are also overranked, but quite happy with my bottom two 😈

Anyone's thoughts on the songs changed in recent weeks? Armenia have shot up my rankings recently, think it has dark horse potential. Also liking Croatia a lot more, think it's a certain qualifier now. Sweden will be very hard to dislodge from my #1 ranking though.

11-04-2022 5:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118895827#Comment_118895827

Hi ya, thanks for that. My daughter and her friends got tickets for the first semi-final Jury show on 9th May. As its the week before the big event, they've also been able to get hostel accommodation in Turin. I'm sure it will be some experience.

delboy85 · 11-04-2022 9:43pm

I've just used that gerbear sorter. Very accurate for me!

https://esc.gerbear.com/sorter2022.htm

Italy
Portugal
Poland
United Kingdom
Czech Republic
Australia
Greece
Georgia
Iceland
The Netherlands
Serbia
Armenia
Cyprus
Malta
Latvia
Norway
Sweden
Denmark
Azerbaijan
Albania
France
Croatia
Austria
Ukraine
Ireland
Israel
Montenegro
Belgium
North Macedonia
Germany
Switzerland
Spain
San Marino
Estonia
Moldova
Finland
Romania
Bulgaria
Slovenia
Lithuania

Eurovision Song Contest 2022

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