Malmo 2013: Rankings of the 39: 33-28

Malmo 2013 has long gone since mid-May 2013, and once again, this is my Malmo 2013 countdown, where I rank all 39 entries from this year.

Last time it was 39-34, and today it's 33-28. So let's go!

Despite the big dress she had on in the semifinal, Moran Mazor (Israel)'s "Rak Bishvilo" didn't amount not much to me. This is number 33 on my rankings. The only singer this year in Malmo (I think) to wear prescription glasses. The track however, was a tad bit boring. A huge disappointment compared to the likes of Izabo (2012) and the legendary Izhar Cohen, who won in 1978. Hopefully they'll do much better next year in Denmark.

Aliona Moon's "O Mie" (Moldova) is number 32 on my Malmo 2013 rankings. Why this low for such an overrated, boring song? Simple, because it is the second straight year anything from Pasha Parfeny (a.k.a. Pasta Barfeny) has made it to the ESC and eventually to the grand final. I didn't like Pasha's "Lautar" from Baku 2012 (one of the worst songs that year), and since he wrote "O Mie," I definitely hate this one too. Anything Pasha touches is shit. The end. Moldova deserves better.

 

In addition to Klapa s Mora, the Moje 3 (Serbia) also added even more disappointment for the former Yugoslav states in ESC this year. The Serbian version of Wild Orchid (or 3LW or SWV or any 'girl' group with three members) absolutely failed this time, but was not a really a failure. "Ljubav je Svuda," at number 31, was okay, but their presentation in the semifinal was horrible. What the fuck was that? Second worst former Yugoslav effort of Malmo 2013.

Natalia Kelly (Austria)'s "Shine" is at number 30 on my Malmo 2013 countdown. Okay stuff, but I put this very low because of far superior stuff. This track almost reminded me of "Na Inat" by Poli Genova in 2011, with the guitar riffs, except "Na Inat" sounded much better and had more aura levels than "Shine" (I may have to re-listen to both). Good stuff, even though it wasn't a surprise that she failed to qualify for the grand final.

Eythor Ingi Gunnlaugsson (Iceland)'s "Eg a Lif" is at number 29 on my Malmo 2013 countdown. A disappointment compared to Baku 2012, it is a good track and I thought it was one of those that made the grand final, which it did. This man looks like a hybrid of Kid Rock, Chad Kroeger (Nickelback's lead singer) and Charlie Hunnam (Jax Teller). Why didn't Twisted Brown reunite for this? Kid Rock is in the house and Malmo 2013 is where he's at! Seriously, it is an okay entry for Iceland, compared to the Jonsi and Greta Salome Stefansdottir duet at Baku 2012, however when it comes to Iceland in the ESC, Pall Oskar Band's "Minn Hinsti Dans" from Dublin '97 is still that country's best.

And at number 28 is Marco Mengoni (Italy) with L'essenziale. Quite boring, yet okay track and it was hard to rank it. Even though, compared to the superiority of Nina Zilli from Baku 2012, Nina was heaps better. This was nothing special, being that it was one of Italy's worst ESC tracks, and I'm hoping Italy would do better than that next year.

So here 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

Where will the winner Emmelie de Forest land on this rankings? Stay tuned, as the next installment will focus on positions 27-22 of my Malmo 2013 rankings.