Calm before the winter (song) storm

This week brought a couple of live Eurovision preselection shows. It’s the last week in January before the national final/song presentation rush of February and early March.

Yesterday Finland chose their entry, “Työlki ellää.” I’m disappointed that it isn’t “Anastacia,” but it is still very good. I like the woman-in-fancy-dress-playing-accordion. So far it’s the first song chosen for Oslo that was memorable upon first listen, so that’s a good sign.

Norway had their second chance round, and while my favorites didn’t make it through, “Yes man” and “Jealous cause I love you” made it to the final. They’re both decent songs, thought I like the latter better.

The qualifiers in the third Slovakian quarterfinal were pretty good, and overall this looks to be a jump in quality over last year. “Z osnov” stands out as the most interesting qualifier in the the third semifinal, as it is a decent a capella song. As I’ve said before, I don’t care much for a capella but it has a novelty factor and is performed well. “Niečo máš” also stood out as a decent ballad. I didn’t like the qualifiers in the fourth quarterfinal as much. “Tón” was the most interesting out of that group, but not by much.

Next week is completely packed, with 10 live shows. Slovakia will have two semifinals, Azerbaijan will have their sole semifinal, and Germany and Sweden will have their first ones. The number of countries with entries selected will more than double by next Sunday, as five songs are selecting their entry: Cyprus, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, and Norway. As for predictions, I haven’t heard the songs in Cyprus and Denmark nor the performers in the Netherlands, but I predict “Don’t Wanna Lose You Again” or “Make My Day” for Norway or “Je Ne Sais Quoi” in Iceland. These are probably very unoriginal choices, however, and the “fan favorite” is never a guarantee to win.