Vienna 2015

Looking at France and Spain

We finally have a new number one! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, after a while of Belgium’s Loïc Nottet dominating our review results, it’s now Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw who has taken over. (Who else, huh?) Can anyone become our new hero? Two grand final ladies will be trying today: France’s Lisa Angell and Spain’s Edurne!
FRANCE
Lisa Angell – N’Oubliez Pas
Peter: After many years of underwhelming results, France has gone back to the kind of thing that did brilliantly for them at the turn of the century. Unfortunately, it’s 15 years later, and this just doesn’t stand out enough in the line-up we have this year. I find myself skipping this.
Score: 5/10
Simon: Far too french. Not bad though; I just can’t get involved with this song.
Score: 3/10
Nick: A good old French ballad, classy and cheesy as they can get. Truth be told, it’s more of a soft, mild camembert than a full on cheesy roquefort, but I love it, I really do. Great lyrics, great voice, universal message. This is the way to go, France!
Score: 10/10

France: Lisa ANGELL
Credit: Nathalie Guyon
Rodrigo: Today we review my two favourite Eurovision countries. I think that this entry is really good, beautifully composed and the message is great. However, I fear it may be too French. She is a solid performer, though, so you never know. I fear, however, that if juries don’t go for it we have the first rather obvious candidate for last place, as televoters will have plenty of (better) ballads to choose from.
Score: 7/10
Rinor: Although I expected (and continue to expect) more from France, I find this song very decent. It’s beautifully performed by Lisa Angell, but unfortunately iss a little outdated and without any potential to win the contest.
Score: 6.5/10
Dan: This is a nice entry – I like that France have gone back to their roots here (although I did like Mostache last year). However, it does come across as quite dull and I’m guilty of skipping over this one when it comes on in the car and I don’t know whether the audience will have a similar reaction, possibly using this as their toilet break?
Score: 4/10

SPAIN
Edurne – Amanecer

Peter: As a composition, I can’t help but feel that this is missing something, but the production of the song is very atmospheric and Edurne is a competent performer, so all is not lost. The performance needs to be exactly right for this to strike a chord.
Score: 7.5/10
Simon: Is that wailing in the chorus meant to be the hook? Oh dear. She can perform well and the song has potential, but it feels half-written.
Score: 3/10
Nick:  That’s a lot of fuss for a song that just sits there. It’s not bad or anything, though. If this were a beauty contest, Spain would win the thing easily, but with this song… Nah. I feel Loreen wasn’t looking forward to singing this, so it ended up with THE eye candy of the year, Edurne. Caramba, she’s smoking.
Score: 6.5/10
Spain: Edurne
Credit: Sony Music Entertainment Spain
Rodrigo: Love it from beginning to end. The whole atmosphere of the song does the trick for me very well. I love Edurne’s voice and her abilities as a performer are superb. The the lyrics are outstanding (actually, maybe the strongest part of this entry, which unfortunately means it might get lost in translation). Staging will be key for its success. Being THE female eye candy of the year might also help her.
Score: 9/10
Rinor: “Amanecer” is a beautiful song, and it’s well produced. But once again, it’s very predictable. I honestly can’t see major differences between this or Pastora Soler in 2012 for instance. Spain should focus on bringing something new to Eurovision if they truly want to win.
Score: 7.5/10
Dan: From all of the songs this year, in my opinion this one has the biggest production. It has a similar sound to a song Loreen would release, but that’s no bad thing in my eyes. Eldurne delivers this well, it suits her voice perfectly.
Score: 7/10

The story so far…
Despite Nick’s 10/10 for France, Lisa’s song fails to show as it also scores three scores below six. It settles midtable, just behind Russia and ahead of Latvia. Spain on the other hand does much better with a current nineth place. They’re tied with Greece, but still place below them. Why? Greece was scored a 10/10 as their high (by Rodrigo), whereas Spain’s highest is a 9/10, coincidentally also by Rodrigo.

  1. Sweden – 8.64/10
  2. Belgium – 8.50/10
  3. Italy – 7.83/10
  4. Australia – 7.67/10
  5. The Netherlands – 7.00/10
  6. Norway – 6.92/10
  7. Azerbaijan – 6.92/10
  8. Greece – 6.75/10
  9. Spain – 6.75/10
  10. Iceland – 6.29/10
  11. Montenegro – 6.17/10
  12. Belarus – 6.17/10
  13. Austria – 6.08/10
  14. Germany – 6.00/10
  15. Russia – 6.00/10
  16. France – 5.92/10
  17. Latvia – 5.83/10
  18. Denmark – 5.71/10
  19. Ireland – 5.64/10
  20. Serbia – 5.43/10
  21. Czech Republic – 5.14/10
  22. Hungary – 5.08/10
  23. Malta – 4.83/10
  24. Lithuania – 4.79/10
  25. Israel – 4.64/10
  26. FYR Macedonia – 4.14/10
  27. Armenia – 3.71/10
  28. San Marino – 3.08/10
  29. Moldova – 2.79/10
  30. Finland – 2.17/10

Tomorrow, we’ll be off to the southwest of Europe with Portugal, but we’ll also be paying a visit to the Baltics as we review Estonia!

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