It's been almost three full months removed from it. Now, it's the best of Malmo 2013, the way it should be. 39 entries, now it's down to the final ten. In part 6 of my Malmo 2013 review, it's the stuff that matters. Who will get 5 points? Who will get four? Or three? Or two? Or one? It's all right here in my Malmo 2013 countdown, where I reveal my 6-10 of this year's ESC. And away we go!
And the first song I'm awarding a point to...the band El Sueno de Morfeo (or ESDM-the Worldwide Leader in Alternative Music) with "Contigo Hasta el Final." (Spain). It is the second highest grand-final only song on my countdown, at number 10 (1 point). Great stuff, and it's an alternative rock song, something most Eurofans don't get. Stuff like this deserves respect from the ESC community. It is one of my favorite Spanish entries in the ESC, and a huge stepping stone from Pastora Soler's "Quedate Conmigo" (and she made an English version of that song!) from Baku 2012. I hope these guys return to ESC in the years to come.
The duo from Kotor, Montenegro, known as the Who See Klapa originally was handpicked by the Montenegrin ESC broadcaster to represent their country at Malmo 2013, with a different song called "Reggaeton Montenegro," which I liked. A sudden change didn't do no harm to their reputation, but I liked "Igranka," number 9 (2 points) on my countdown. Everything is great, the vocals by a guest (and I mean it) appearance from Nina Zizic is good, but lose the fucking dubstep! Presentation was great, and their skills are great (despite the duo rapping in native Yugoslav language). Not to mention, the duo's costumes. Astronauts. No guys, they weren't inspired by those AXE astronaut ads. Maybe, that Moby video (for "We Are All Made of Stars")? Once again, juries missed out on what was one of the best rap/hip-hop songs of the ESC. Rap, like rock, doesn't get no love in the ESC, and those are two of the biggest genres in Europe.
Who would have known that Armenia would come back with a bang after sitting out Baku 2012 due to Armenian-Azeri conflict? A track like "Lonely Planet" by Gor Surjan and Dorians was the cure for such events. Armenia has had okay tracks in the ESC before, but this one is one of their bests. I know the lyrics can be controversial to some, but I feel they sent a message. Not to mention, Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath's guitarist) wrote the lyrics and I'm sure an 18th place finish is due to the Black Sabbath fans across Europe tuning in just for that. When a brand name musician performs at ESC, you know it will continue to attract the global audience he/she/they already connect to, so this connection with Tony Iommi helped, and that is why "Lonely Planet' is number 8 (3 points) on my countdown.
What happens when opera and a 'trancestep' beat collide? You get the devastation that is "It's My Life" by Florin Cezar Ouatu, also known as "The Voice" (Romania). Trancestep? That is how I describe the beats, considering this was 80% trance and 20% of that awful division of EDM known as dubstep. But nonetheless, if you're not into opera (his discipline), then you probably hated it. Never mind the wardrobe (horrible) for those two nights of performance, it's the song that counts. Powerful, driven, and explosive. I have this at number 7 (4 points) due to far superior stuff this year. Far superior than "Zaleilah" by Mandinga from Baku 2012. Clearly "It's My Life" is one of my favorites this year.
And there was another rock goodie at Malmo 2013, in the form of the duo of Bledar Sejko and Adrien Lulgjuraj, with "Identitet" (Albania). This is number 6 (5 points) on my countdown. Rock has been always great at ESC, but doesn't get the love from the juries or some of the Eurofans. Rock is very popular across Europe and former Soviet states, so why wasn't this in the final? Juries missed out on a good hard rock tune. Best Albanian entry in ESC in quite sometimes. Rona Nishliu doesn't have the aura to match this!
So this is where I stand so far:
39. Finland
38. Cyprus
37. Sweden
36. Azerbaijan
35. Belgium
34. Croatia
33. Israel
32. Moldova
31. Serbia
30. Austria
29. Iceland
28. Italy
27. Estonia
26. Ireland
25. Netherlands
24. Russia
23. San Marino
22. Macedonia
21. Malta
20. Ukraine
19. Slovenia
18. Latvia
17. Georgia
16. Denmark
15. Bulgaria
14. Great Britain
13. France
12. Lithuania
11. Hungary
10. Spain (1 point)
9. Montenegro (2 points)
8. Armenia (3 points)
7. Romania (4 points)
6. Albania (5 points)
The final part will deal with the final five: The Swiss Salvation Army, Cascada, Koza Mostra, Margaret Berger and Alyona Lanskaya. Who will get my 12 points? Stay tuned.
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