And note, I'm not 'Dufnering' while I'm doing this. If you know what I mean.
However, this is, my top five from Malmo 2013. I have reviewed 34 others, but these are the remaining five, and yes, I saved those for last. Are you ready? Here we go...
Just like Esma Redzepova and Bonnie Tyler, Cascada was another brand name act that competed at this year's ESC. The trio was probably using their win in the German national final and the ESC as a way to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their successful track to date-a cover of "Everytime We Touch," a top five hit in the UK. A decade later, these same guys decided the ESC would be a great place to achieve their goal. And it worked. Despite getting lower points in the grand final, "Glorious," which was meant to be a copycat (not quite) of "Euphoria" by Loreen Talhaoui, winner of Baku 2012, is really a great track. And just as good as "Everytime We Touch." This channels "Euphoria," except "Euphoria" is much more euphoric and deeper. End of discussion. At number 5 (6 points) on my Malmo 2013 countdown, it is one of my favorite German entries ever in the ESC. Bar none.
At number 4 (7 points) is Margaret Berger with "I Feed You My Love" (Norway). I ranked this higher for a reason: for it's euphoric value. Some of these dumbfucks comparing her to that shithead Lady Gaga, except this woman is far superior. When someone compares an 'underground' act like Margaret Berger (and I mean 'underground' to us Americans) to Lady Gaga, it makes a person look stupid. Seriously. But this song is powerful and that is why at number 4, it is one of my favorite Norwegian ESC entries.
Who said rock doesn't fare well at ESC besides the likes of Lordi, The Allisons and Terasbetoni among others? Look no further than the collaboration between Koza Mostra and Agathon Iakovidis with "Alcohol is Free" (Greece), at number 3 (8 points). This has to be the best collaboration at Malmo, and is the essential party song. When we are all living in an tough, terrible economy, a song like this delivers. Alcohol is to be consumed free for all adults as a way to stay calm during these tough times. And their sound is a great companion. Therefore, this is one of my favorite ESC entries from Greece, along with Mathima "Solfege Lesson" (1977) among others.
Originally it was "Rhythm of Love," the song Alyona Lanskaya won the Belarussian national final with in December. The change to "Solayoh" (Belarus) doesn't mean shit. Both are great tunes. "Solayoh" eventually made it from the semifinal to the grand final, and garnered a 12 point vote. It is even my second favorite song (10 points) of Malmo 2013. The reason is simple. It is due to its raw courage, it's aura and it's epicness. It is hard to compare this with "We Are the Heroes" by Litesound from Baku 2012, except I like both songs. Belarus yet again never fails in ESC, as far as quality.
And there was one. Here is my number one song of Malmo 2013, and my 12 points go to...
Der Heilsarmee (or Takasa) with "You and Me" (Switzerland). Interesting group, including a 95 year old (seen in this image at the right on the cello), and a guitarist. This diverse group of people was why I put these guys at the top. Nevermind the EBU's name change from Heilsarmee to Takasa because of the Salvation Army name and trademark, but it is still the same great song with people you don't hear much about in the music industry. It is groups like these and the Babushki's from Baku 2012 that you want to be happy that they have performed on one of the biggest stages in the music industry, despite failing to qualify for the grand final. Like Sinplus at Baku, these guys continue to carry on the epicness that the Swiss brings to the ESC year after year.
So to put the cherry on top, here are my final rankings, three months removed:
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)
5. Germany (6 points)
4. Norway (7 points)
3. Greece (8 points)
2. Belgium (10 points)
1. Switzerland (12 points)
One more point about Greece, I'm glad that "Alcohol is Free" made the final, but was mad when "Aphrodesiac" made the final at Baku. The difference was that the Greek song for Malmo is far superior than that slaggish shit that represented that country in Baku. End of story.
And that ends my Malmo 2013 review, it is nine months away until EUROVISION LIX, somewhere in Denmark.
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