Another Eurovision Song Contest site

In case you have no heard, a liberal politician Sarah Henderson (that idiot on the right of the picture) asked SBS Australia why there were no votes given to Israel in the jury and televotes and if SBS had rigged the votes.

There are many issues I have with this. The biggest one is in her former life, Sarah was a respected journalist and presenter. So I guess she would be able to do research before appearing like a buffoon to accuse the national broadcaster of corruption.

I didn't expect much from this Cypriot song. I couldn't figure out what they would do to bring the joy of the film clip to the stage of Eurovision. I thought it was also on the cusp of non qualifying, and somehow they pulled that off (lets not go there). The answer was a big table and somewhat decent dancers.

The dancing on the table was inspired. It fits perfectly with the party theme of the song. The issue is once you are there you are restricted to where you can go. She did get off it in the end. Antigoni did her part dancing and singing and looking appropriately happy/seductive/sexy as the mood called at the time. The outfit was a choice, but it suited the song, and backing ladies had variations of the same thing, but varied so they weren't matching completely. There was a heap of choreography both on and off the table. The dancers were up, down, under and all round dancing their hearts out. They looked very identical in the face and very different from Antigoni which made her stand out.

I was worried about this after seeing it in the national final. They looked nervous and uncomfortable on stage and it made me ill at ease. This was not that at all. It was never going to qualify, but they presented their entry in classical way that they should be proud of. I must say that they could have read me the newspaper in Portuguese and I think I would like that too.

They did a clever thing beginning on the catwalk and for the majority of the song they stayed there. They used the stage to their advantage and made the performance feel more personalised especially when the camera was walking through them and they sang down the camera. There was a relaxed feel and the men were relaxed onstage in garment and in attitude. They moved around without being captured because of clever camerawork and diversions, and the entire performance was seamless. The girl on fiddle was a highlight even though she was pretending.

The Montenegrin entry was an example of a country with a costume budged, but not a prop budget. Finely dressed ladies with a lot of choreography and a pretty bare stage. They needed to qualify and I wanted this to qualify, but it was not to be. I have some problems.

I think there are many people who like Eva Marija. She would potentially be the Miss Congeniality of this year's song contest. She seem constantly in a good mood, always smiling and generally happy. So it broke my heart when she front the cameras ready to burst into tears and apologising for not making the final.

The team from Luxembourg did a decent job of using effects to highlight the song with butterflies, flowers bird and gusts of wind surrounding Eva through the song. For a one person performance, it made the performance feel full. Eva has a folksy kind of way of singing which worked. It made it feel carefree and light. She missed a few notes, and if i was asked to do steps and sing at this calibre, I couldn't do it. But then I am not competing at the song contest.

Sweden did not deserve the score they got at the end of the final. The juries did the heavy lifting with the majority of the score and televoters snubbed the song with 17 and 16 points in the semi final and the final respectively. I was incredibly surprised because the song is great. I listen to it in the car and sing along. I genuinely thought this would be top 10 and 12th at worst.

The Swedes must be panicking, and will do all manner of changes to their Melodifestivalen show to curb what they would consider a disaster. But there are two things to consider: firstly, the 19 entries that placed above it compared to this song. The other is that this kind of result has been happening to other countries with good songs and poor scores for a very long time. Look at Norway's 2024 song as an example; good song - bad score.

I'm disappointed for Latvia. They chose a decent song, performed by an experienced person who has a lovely vulnerable voice. I was on the fence about it qualifying expecting that the juries will help it along, but not to be. Semi final 2 was a difficult one and if you didn't do something out of the box, you didn't get through. (But then Armenia did that and the scored the same points in the semi final as Latvia.)

The Latvian performance was the same as that in their national final. While I felt that the performance felt dated and old fashioned, it did have some advantages. It created an intimate atmosphere surrounding Atvara. There were not many long shots and the focus was on Atvara. It was very different from everyone else's performance and the effect of flying glass was impressive.

Sadly with the focus directly on the singer, when things went wrong, it was front and centre. The opening part was a bit nervous and clumsy. The movements felt forced and a bit repetitive through the performance. If you were near sighted, all you'd see on the screen is a face and hands. But she turned it around and looked like she was feeling the lyrics and her vocals reached the stellar levels expected.

The theme of the Armenian song has a theme we all relate to; going to a dreaded job where are treated badly. Unlike several of the entries this year, this was a chaotic force. It stood out as a highly energetic performance that had few moments of breathing space. There was always something going on in an elevator, running through boxes, exaggerated posturing and hard banging dance. While other songs had vocals-dance-vocals-dance, this had either main vocal or backing, all through the song.

I believe that if this song had come out of a different place, this may have qualified. It deserved better just for the effort of putting together that performance. It stood out for the energy it presented. The vocals were not great at times, but with the amount of choreography involved I'd be surprised if he was out of breath.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the sticky notes on his jacket. I thought it was a wonderful idea to have his competitors write him notes on the jacket he would be wearing as if they were ordering him around in the office. It gave him a great souvenir of his experience in Vienna, but it was personalised.

I like Senhit. Every time I've seen here interviewed she has appeared bright cheerful and genuine. She has a long history of entries and all have them have been valid interesting songs. This one is not my favourite, but the presentation on the night was worthwhile.

After two occurrences of that tight, triangular wig she sported in the early 2020, she found one that suits her. Such a relief. She was dressed in a very interesting way which was a bit left of centre but spot on for this song. Her dancers were pulling focus a bit, but it needed the movement or it would just be an old song. Their outfits were muted compared to the silver on Senhit and Boy George.

Speaking of Boy George, he looked like a lump. The make-up was on point. Hat fit the silver theme as did his harness. The coat was that of a woman trying to hide her pregnancy, the skirt was frumpy and the stark white shoe with all of the above was unacceptable for a fashion icon. I am also annoyed with Senhit announcing him on stage - it was not necessary. And he comes off his throne and does a dance from the Karma Chameleon era. Jez.