We love a bit of good opinion, you’ve seen that in the previous articles. The two countries we’ll be reviewing today are the big shots of this year: Not only are they representing two autofinalists, they’re also both in the top four with bookmakers. Can Italy and newcomer Australia impress?
AUSTRALIA
Guy Sebastian – Tonight Again
Rodrigo: Was not very warm to them being in the contest, but this has totally won me over. We need more of this in the Euroverse.
Score: 9/10
Peter: Good call for Guy to go and record and uptempo song, but you can tell it was written very quickly as it’s just that little bit basic, and I’d say Mr Sebastian knows that too. Australia will get big votes and Guy will sell it live, but it falls short of winning material.
Score: 5.5/10
Nick: A decent song, nothing wrong with that. It’s very chart-friendly, but I doubt it’ll ever find its way there. I just feel it’s a rushed job and Europe will know it. It is however my main contender for victory at this point… I could be way off though.
Score: 6.5/10
Rinor: Finally, a contemporary pop/soul song at Eurovision! Thank you, Australia! A fantastic effort from SBS on their first Eurovision participation. I have no doubts that Guy will kill it on stage. I wouldn’t mind this winning, at all.
Score: 10/10
Simon: It’s quite good isn’t it! Not a winner, but good, and a much-needed up-tempo number.
Score: 6/10
Dan: I was on the fence with Australia’s participation this year until I heard this and realised that Australia had in many ways saved this year. They knew their goal – send a well known, established artist and a song that is both completely fresh and at the same time capable of appealing to a mass audience. Brilliant. (take note of this UK).
Score: 9/10
ITALY
Il Volo – Grande Amore
Rodrigo: In spite of all the hype I cannot see this winning. Really like it, though, lyrics are great and the boys surely can sing.
Score: 8/10
Peter: I think the consistent underperformance of songs like this at Eurovision is enough to tell us that this just is not the winner it’s being touted as, but it is my favourite nonetheless. I love the guys, I love the melody, I love the build and the drama.
Score: 9/10
Nick: When Italy gets a bad result with their ultimate star (Emma), they just come back to fight for that title, don’t they? Strong vocal performance, strong visual performance. But I can’t see popera winning Eurovision, somehow.
Score: 7/10
Rinor: Grande Amore is amongst my favorite entries this year, if not the actual favorite. I had doubts about the revamped 3 min version, because the original is almost 4 minutes long, but they didn’t disappoint! The new version is as strong, the guys can sing and they look good on stage. The juries are surely gonna vote for it, but I can totally see the public loving it as well. Rome 2016?
Score: 10/10
Simon: They’re great; the song’s not. Too Mediterranean for me. Just calm down a bit, eh?
Score: 5/10
Dan: I’d heard the hype about this before I’d even seen the performance, and before they’d even won San Remo. It wasn’t until I heard this live that I realised how good it is. This operatic song constantly builds and has a big dramatic chorus that you can’t ignore – with so many ballads, it stands out immensely. The three members of the group also seem comfortable performing together which should come across well on stage.
Score: 8/10
The story so far…
Literally halfway now and Belgium still leads our ranking. Today’s countries Italy and Australia do however come rather close, but fall short of breaking the 8.00 mark. With a current second and third place, there is however no reason to complain.
- Belgium – 8.50/10
- Italy – 7.83/10
- Australia – 7.67/10
- Azerbaijan – 6.92/10
- Belarus – 6.17/10
- Austria – 6.08/10
- Germany – 6.00/10
- Latvia – 5.83/10
- Ireland – 5.64/10
- Serbia – 5.43/10
- Czech Republic – 5.14/10
- Hungary – 5.08/10
- Malta – 4.83/10
- Lithuania – 4.79/10
- Israel – 4.64/10
- FYR Macedonia – 4.14/10
- Armenia – 3.71/10
- San Marino – 3.08/10
- Moldova – 2.79/10
- Finland – 2.17/10
Tomorrow, it’s time to return to the semifinals. We’re going to be reviewing two countries who had a great Eurovision in 2014… but can they repeat it? It’s the Netherlands and Montenegro!
