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[eurovisionwonderland]

SPAIN

Spain has chosen their national winner and entry for Eurovision 2022.

It is Chanel with "SloMo".

I dont mind it. The song is a good song. Will it stand out? I doubt it. Its not groundbreaking, but it is good. I will say though, I like it 10x better in the studio version than on stage. It sometimes felt like the dancing and stage show was too hectic for the song to reach its full potential.

5/10

[eurovisionwonderland]

ALBANIA

Albanias entry came out at the end of December (better late than never.... from me).

Their entry is "Sekret" by the beautiful Ronela Hajati.

There are so many aspects of this song that I love. I love the chorus, the opening, the melody. I love that it has the powerfulness that reminds you of Albania. I love the instruments. I love the staging. However, im not in love with the verse. Its not disastrous, but doesnt lift the song at all.

But, one of my favorites from Albania in later years.

6/10.

[eurovisionwonderland]

CZECH REPUBLIC

My oh my! We have another Eurovision 2022 entry and its not even Christmas! Its not Albania either!

Second country out is Czech Republic and We Are Domi with "lights off".

I will be the first to admit I had hardly any expectations, as I hadnt listened to the contenders (I know, big yikes). But I kinda love this. Its modern, its energetic, it gets stuck on your mind and shes a great singer.

Will it win? hard to say with two entries out.

8/10.

[eurovisionwonderland]

BULGARIA

Eurovision season 2022 has officially begun with our first entry being released! First country out this year being Bulgaria and Intelligent Music Project with their song "Intention".

Initial thoughts: They are hoping for the rock-hype from last year to carry over. There are definitley aspects of this song that I think are good, but it also leaves me feeling like something is missing. I sit through the song constantly waiting for a top-point or a climax, sort to speak.

With that being said, listening to it a couple times on repeat, the chorus is getting stuck in my head.

Is this from the fact that its the first song, or does it have that affect? Time will show.

I dont think its a winner by far, BUT its decent!

SO FAR, I´d rate it a solid 5/10.

Disclaimer: At this early stage, ratings might change as new songs are released. Keep that in mind!

Whats your thoughts?

[eurovisionwonderland]

DATES FOR EUROVISION 2022

These are the dates that are worth writing down for the upcoming contest!

Note that these are all very early dates, and might change during the upcoming months. As the months go on and we get more information I will update it.

Hopefully seeing some of the dates gets you just as excited as it gets me!

* By this date.

December

16 december: Czech Republic decides their entry in their national final.

29 december: Albania decides their entry in their national final.

Unknown dates: Austria release their artist. Greece and Switzerland decide their entries.

Bulgarias entry band Intelligent Music Project releases their song this month.

January

2 january: *Poland announces their artist.

Unknown dates: Israel (through x-factor) and Spain (national final) decide their entries.

February

5 february: Italy decides their entry in Sanremo 2022.

12 february: Estonia decides their entry in their national final.

19 february: Norway decides their entry in their national final and San Marino choose their artist through their artist selection.

26 february: Australia decides their entry through Australia Decides 2022 and Finland decides their entry through their national final.

Unknown dates: Croatia, Latvia, Malta and Serbia decide their entries.

March

4 march: *Ukraine decides their entry.

5 march: Denmark and Iceland decide their entries through their national finals.

12 march: Sweden decides their entry through their national final.

Unknown dates: Portugal and Germany decide their entries through their national selections.

AND OF COURSE!

The 1st semifinal on May 10th, the 2nd semifinal on May 12th and the Grand Final on May 14th!!

[eurovisionwonderland]

EUROVISION SEASON 2022

Long time no see my fellow Eurovision lovers!

Are you having withdrawals from the competition in May? So am I! But don´t be too sad, because this years season is already kicking off!

Following Måneskin´s win (and global takeover?!?!?!) the competition next year will be held in beautiful Turin in Italy between May 10th and 14th. Who else is excited for the fantastic clips??

41 countries will participate, with Armenia and Montenegro returning to the competition.

That means we have a fun upcoming winter of artist and song releases, and it has already started!

I will be giving my opinion on the entries this year as well, and I would love to hear yours!

[eurovisionwonderland]

Semifinal 2: the votes

On to the second semi-final we go!

Unlike the first semifinal, the ten finalists were pretty far ahead the once who did not qualify. It was also closer in the top, unlike the first where Malta was the favorite by quite many points.

The points were as follows:

1. Switzerland 291 points

2. Iceland 288 points

3. Bulgaria 250 points

4. Portugal 239 points

5. Finland 234 points

6. Greece 184 points

7. Moldova 179 points

8. Serbia 124 points

9. San Marino 118 points

10. Albania 112 points

As for those who did not qualify, Denmark was the closest with 89 points, while Latvia came last with only 14 points.

The only thing I would say for those who qualified is that I have no clue how Moldova did. The song is not great, but the what they performed on stage was even worse. How they managed to get 123 televotes is beyond me.

Anyway....

What are your thoughts?

[eurovisionwonderland]

Semifinal 1: the votes

As we have all recovered from the amazing Eurovision weekend, it is time to break down the votes, starting with the first semi-final.

Who qualified?

So, as we already now these countries qualified: Norway, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Cyprus, Belgium, Israel, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Malta.

But, now that the votes have been released, the more fun thing to see is who won and who lost each semi-final.

This is how the countries finished in the second semi-final:

1. Malta 325 points

2. Ukraine 267 points

3. Russia 225 points

4. Lithuania 203 points

5. Israel 192 points

6. Cyprus 170 points

7. Sweden 142 points

8. Azerbaijan 138 points

9. Belgium 117 points

10. Norway 115 points

So, this means Croatia missed out on the final by five points, as they got 110 points. Other than that, Romania, Slovenia, Australia, North Macedonia and Ireland were far behind. Ireland finished last with only 20 points.

I don't mind that Norway qualified over Croatia as neither of those songs were by far any of my favorites. As for the others, I don´t really think any of those that missed out were good enough for a final anyway, so the result was pretty fair in my eyes.

Did your favorites from this semi-final qualify?

[eurovisionwonderland]

ITALY IS THE WINNER OF EUROVISION 2021

5Good Morning my fellow Eurovision friends! Hope you are not too hungover and that you had a great time yesterday. I certainly cannot believe it is over already. How fast did this week go?! I feel like we found out about the 2020 competition being cancelled yesterday. And now we have to wait another year.

BUT!

Italy and Måneskin won Eurovision 2021 with 524 points, beating France with 25 points.

I was extatic! Italy was one of my personal favorites, along with Switzerland, and as the live performances went on I was 100% sure I wanted Italy to win. What a song. What a band.

AND I simply can't believe people born in the late 90s and early 00s are now old enough to be Eurovision winners.

Don't worry, I will go through the votes later, but right now I'll take Sunday off to recover.

SEE YOU ALL IN ITALY 2022!

What is your opinion on the winners?

[eurovisionwonderland]

Eurovision Final 2021: The Big Five + Netherlands

As I have posted my opinions on the other 20 finalists, it would only be fair if I did so for the so-called "big five" and the host country Netherland as well.

The United Kingdom and James Newman with "Embers"

Personally, I think this is one of their better songs recently. I was a little bit sad about the fact that its very bleak on stage. Nothing special at all.

Spain and Blas Cantó with "Voy A Quedarme" The song itself is alright. Dont get me wrong its a beautiful song, and because its in spanish it doesnt matter that I cant understand a word, but it just doesnt do it for me, unfortunately.

Germany and Jedrik with "I don't feel hate"

A great message with the song and lyrics, but the actual song itself is probably my least favorite this year. Unfortunately what matters in a competition like this is the whole experience. Although I like the craziness of it, the constant changes in music is not for me. Could be a last place.

France and Barbara Pari with "Viola"

This is one of the better of the Big Five this year. She is very good live and it reminds me a lot of France which is a plus in my book. Should place high up in my opinion.

The Netherlands and Jeangu Macrooy with "The Birth of a New Age"

I am lowkey happy the competition was cancelled last year so the Netherlands could send an actual good song. His song last year was boring and not worthy a host country, but this is good. It is a little bit bleaker on stage than in the studio version, and I dont think it will be able to compete with the very best, but it is a step up. And Jeangu is just too cute!

Italy and Måneskin with "Zitti E Buoni" Where do I start? I love every single thing about this. The people, the song, the staging. I have no complaints. Definetly in my top three this year. I am struggling to decide between Italy and Switzerland (yes, polar opposites) as to which I would like to win more. And I do think Italy has a winning chance. Would love to see it.

As we have seen I personally don't think that being in the big 5 or hosts do you any favours (other than being qualified for the final, obviously). I tend to not like Germanys, Spain or the UKs songs - they have been terribly low on my rankings the last decade.

What are your opinions?

[eurovisionwonderland]

Eurovision Final Running Order

Now that we our class of 2021, the running order is complete. We open with a bang and Cyprus, and close the party with a bang and San Marino. Seems very fitting. I personally think entries like the United Kingdom and Sweden will sound bleak coming inbetween the songs they do, but we will see.

We have waited two years for this, so it will be exciting regardless!

It looks as follows:

1. Cyprus

2. Albania

3. Israel

4. Belgium

5. Russia

6. Malta

7. Portugal

8. Serbia

9. The United Kingdom

10. Greece

11. Switzerland

12. Iceland

13. Spain

14. Moldova

15. Germany

16. Finland

17. Bulgaria

18. Lithuania

19. Ukraine

20. France

21. Azerbaijan

22. Norway

23. Netherlands

24. Italy

25. Sweden

26. San Marino

ONE MORE DAY TO GO!

[eurovisionwonderland]

Semifinal 2: Results

And we finally have our line up for Eurovision 2021! Lets have a look at how the second semifinal went.

First country qualified was Albania and Anxhela Peristeri with "Karma". Although it is not my favorite by far, one of these songs always seems to qualify so I cant say I was very surprised.

Second up was Serbia and Hurricane with "Loco Loco". Happy they went through, its a good song. They did seem to have tiny tiny troubles with the timing in their dancing, but didnt matter very much. Definetly deserved a final spot.

Next was Bulgaria and Victoria with "Growing Up is Getting Old". I personally think her song Imaginary Friend is a lot stronger than this one, however Growing up is getting old is definetly a good song too. No surprise she went through at all.

Next up was Moldova and Natalia Gordienko with "SUGAR". This was maybe the biggest surprise for me. Yes the song is alright but it doesnt stand out and we have heard it one million times before (And did anyone else realised that Moldova, Albania and Cyprus have all gone for the same outfit/stage show??).

Then we had Portugal and The Black Mamba with "Love is on My Side". This is one of those songs that I fell asleep to when listening to it by my self, but then on stage it was quite good. Not a winning song by far, but much like Belgium, much better live.

Poor Iceland! Yes, Da∂i Freyr og Gagnamagni∂ and "10 years" went through, deservedly so, but I am so sad they wont be able to actually perform. Their song is good, albeit not as good as last year. However that would be a mastermind thing to replicate as they probably would have won.

Then it was San Marino and Senhit ft. FloRida "Adrenalina"s turn to qualify. A great song in my opinion. FloRida being there brought it up (my young self is screaming. I grew up in prime-FloRida time). Was not surprised to see it go through and it will be exciting to see where it places.

At this point I was sweating! Next up was Switzerland and Gjon's Tears with "Tout l'Univers". I have to admit, this is my favorite. I thought he was in a league of his own tonight. Cant wait to see them in the final.

Second to last we had Greece and Stefania with "Last Dance". A great song in my opinion. She has a good voice, I simply cant believe she is the youngest. The stage show and dancing was a little stiff but didnt mean much. Very deserved that they went through.

Last to qualify was Finland and Blind Channel with "Dark Side". I personally like this song. I dont think its as good as Italy, but its a song that for some reason reminds me of Finland. Glad it went through!

Congratulations to all the finalists!

As for the once that didnt went through from the second semi-final, there is none that I personally would rather see in the final. I think the right songs went through.

What are your opinions?

[eurovisionwonderland]

Semifinal 1: results

We have our first finalists of Eurovision 2021!.... except for the pre-qualified, of course.

The first name called was Norway and TIX with "Fallen Angel". I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised to see them qualify. Fallen Angel is not in my top 10 favorite songs, but there was many entries that did way "worse" yesterday. And the fact that Andreas Haukeland is a top tier human being made it all better!

next up was Israel and Eden Alene and "Set Me Free". I was very anxious because according to the odds (do we even check the odds anymore?), Israel would not qualify. But, she did a great performance and had one of the best vocals of the night. And to my untrained ear, it definetly sounded like she hit that high note! Very happy they qualified.

third to qualify was Russia and Manizha "Russian Woman". Initially I was not a big fan of this song, but I found her performance in the semi-finals to be the best I have heard it so far. I am not surprised they qualified at all.

Fourth up was Azerbaijan and Efendi with "Mata Hari". One of my personal favorites of the evening. I love the song, but I liked it even more with the staging. It reminded me of Azerbaijan and that is one of my favorite things about Eurovision. Very excited to see them in the final!

Halfway through and Malta and Destiny "Je Me Casse" qualifies. Not one of my favorites before, but very good on stage. Her vocals are insane. By far the best female singer of this year. Malta is the one to beat this year, and this performance solidified that.

Sixth qualifying country was Lithuania and The Roop with "Discoteque". Do I like the song as much as the one they were sending last year? No. But, I absolutely love everything about this group. The staging, their personalities. Everything. Well deserved!

Seventh qualifying was Cyprus and Elena Tsagrinou with "El Diablo". No surprises there. Cyprus have gone with this sound for the last three finals (that have been arranged) and have done well with that. The song is good, the staging was good - I hope it goes up a few levels for the final.

Next up was Sweden and Tusse with "Voices". It would not be a Eurovision final without Sweden, and they have qualified yet again for the 10th time in a row. I personally liked the staging better before they changed it, but it is a high quality song, and even though the vocals were a tiny bit off they still did well.

Second to last we have Belgium and Hooverphonic with "The Wrong Place". This was the only surprise to me. I will admit, the song is better live than in studio when you can get the whole experience, but its very boring to me. Can't see it placing very high in the final, unfortunately.

Last but not least, we have Ukraine and Go_A with "Shum". Although I wouldve liked to see someone else qualify, I am not surprise they did. I recognize that there is an aspect of Folk-music involved that I am not familiar with.

Congratulations to all countries who qualified!

As for the countries that didnt, I only would have liked to see Romania go through. Purely based on the song. I think the song is great, but her stage performance is one of the worst of the night. Unfortunately that have been the case throughout rehersals too. The other countries, I did not really enjoy.

Who did you think should have gone through?

[eurovisionwonderland]

Get To Know: Vasil

Vasil Garvanliev is a macedonian opera and pop singer. He is most known as only Vasil.

Vasil started singing at age 7 and was discovered by a composer who passed him performing on the street. He became famous in his home country and went on many tours.

He lived in Canada for ten years and returned to Europe settling in London. He has recently moved back to Macedonia.

In 2019 he sang backing vocal for the north macedonian entry. In 2020 he was internally selected to represent North Macedonia with the song "You". When the competition got cancelled it was revealed he would be representing the country in the next competition as well.

How does North Macedonia place between your favorites?

[eurovisionwonderland]

Get To Know: Montaigne

Jessica Alyssa Cerro, better known as Montaigne, is an australian singer and songwriter. She signed a contract with the record label Albert Music in 2012, 17 years old.

Her first single "I Am Not an End" came out in 2014, when she also signed a deal with record label Wonderlick Entertainment.

Montaignes debut album came out in 2016, titled "Glorious Hights" which peaked at number 4 in the australian charts. The album also won her the award Breakthrough Artist 2016 at the ARIA awards. Three years later she released her 2nd album, "Complex".

She won Australia Decides in 2020 with the song "Don't Break Me". When the competition was cancelled it was revealed Montaigne would be competing for Australia again this year.

Is Technicolour your favorite to win this year?

[eurovisionwonderland]

Get To Know: Tusse

Tousin Michael Chiza is a Congolese-Swedish singer. He came to Sweden alone as a refugee.

In 2018, Tusse participated in Talang, reaching the semi finals. He won Swedish Idol the following year.

He won the Swedish national final with 175 points, 57 points ahead of Eric Saade. He recieved almost 3 million televotes, which is almost twice as much as number two, Saade.

The 19-year-old has said his song Voices is for everyone who feels lonely. He said this is a familiar feelings to him, because he has moved around a lot and always felt alone. Music has helped him with it.

Tusse has released six singles, with "Rain" reaching 63 at the Swedish charts, and obviously "Voices" which has been number 1.

How do you think Tusse and Voices will do in May?

[eurovisionwonderland]

Get To Know: Manizha

Manizha is a Russian-Tajik singer, songwriter, author, director and more. In addition she is also an advocate for fighting domestic violence and ambassador in the UN Refugee Agency.

She comes from a line of proud women. Her great-grandmother was one of the first women in Tajikistan to remove her veil and get a career of her own.

After her family flew from Tajikistan to Russia, Manizha began studying music and psychology.

She has released two independent studio albums, "Manuscript" in 2017 and "RIAM" in 2018. She also sang in the Russian dub version of Mulan, along with releasing lots of singles.

Manizha won the Russian national final with 39.7% of the public votes.

She has big shoes to follow, after Little Big who is currently on 195 million views on youtube.

How will Russia do in Eurovision this year?