#zeljko joksimovic

Even though we don’t have a conventional competition going on this year, I thought it’d still be nice to remember some of the most iconic entries in the contest!

Norway - Alexander Rybak - Fairytale - 2009

Sweden -  Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes - 2015

Portugal - Salvador Sobral - Amar Pelos Dois - 2017

Sweden - Loreen - Euphoria - 2012

Finland - Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah - 2006

Austria - Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix - 2014

Ukraine - Ruslana - Wild Dances - 2004

Russia - Polina Gagarina - A Million Voices - 2015

Serbia - Zeljko Joksimovic - Lane Moje - 2004

Bulgaria - Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess - 2017

Italy - Il Volo - Grande Amore - 2015

Denmark - Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops - 2013

Greece - Sakis Rouvas - Shake It - 2004

Russia - Dima Bilan - Never Let You Go - 2006

Netherlands - The Common Linnets - Calm After the Storm - 2014

Serbia -  Marija Šerifović - Molitva - 2007

Ukraine - Jamala - 1944 - 2016

Russia - Dima Bilan - Believe - 2008

Germany - Lena - Satellite - 2010

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Hari Mata Hari - Lejla - 2006

Russia - Buranovskiye Babushki - Party for Everybody - 2012

Israel - Netta - Toy - 2018

Australia - Dami Im - Sound of Silence - 2016

Azerbaijan - Farid Mammadov - Hold Me - 2013

Netherlands - Duncan Laurence - Arcade - 2019

Greece - Helena Paparizou - My Number One - 2005

sebi sam uradio

nisam znao sam sta hocu

dok si cekala me nocu

topla, pospana i bosa

Poruka na vratima

kljuceve si vratila

pise zelis mi svu srecu

a ja znam da nikad necu

260. Tulia - “Fire of love (Pali sie)” Poland 2019

In a reverse from the songs ranked around them, Tulia actually brought a VERY entertaining song, but their presentation turned it into a boring experience. 🤦‍♂️ The selfie backdrop. The lack of dynamism in the act, which is killing for a song this repetitive. The song is called “Fire of love”, WHERE 👏 IS 👏 THE 👏 FIRE? 👏

The worst has to be the  camerawork though; I don’t think I’ve seen worse in any entry? SO MANY wideshots, SO MANY audience shots, SO FEW close-ups. This is not Tulia’s fault, but Poland failed hard at selling what should’ve been an easy qualification. 

However, even here there are a few qualities that prevent me from ranking Tulia lower. I actually LOVE the first minute of “Pali Sie” quite a bit; The four of them on the lazy susan, faces covered by veils, those giant golden headdresses, brighly coloured skirts and ribbons. It really makes for a strong first impression that piques my interest. It’s just a damn’ shame the staging doesn’t do anything to maintain my attention after the first minute mark. :( 

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259. Christos Mylordos - “S’an aggelos s’agapisa” Cyprus 2011

My Eurovision staging philosophy has always been that no matter how bad the song, great staging CAN elevate it to a higher level, but that isn’t entirely true. Sometimes the staging provided IS good, but not suitable to the song.  Enter this anonymous Cypriot entry which doesn’t really go anywhere musically, but has some pretty rad staging. This looks pretty cool:

and course it has a amazing screaming woman because why not?

AND it ALMOST snatches my wig? But then I try to remember what “S’an aggelos s’agapisa” sounds like and struggle, as the final memory of it is blown away by the wind like a dandelion.

Also with this update, I’ve now eliminated HALF of 2011′s entries, more than 50 write-ups before of the actual halfway point of this ranking. What an amazing year, y’all. 

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258.  Željko Joksimović - “Nije Ljubav Stvar” Serbia 2012

I am surprised I have Željko this high lol? I mean, ‘surprised’ in the sense that my usual reaction to him is “GOOD LORD HIS MUSIC IS SOOOOOOOO FUCKING BOOOORING GTFO” and we are well past that point in the ranking by now. And yes, the first 2 minutes and 15 second of “Nije ljubav stvar” ARE that breed of hohum lullabye noises Željko is famous for.  However, those final 42 seconds are... legit good lol? Well, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself: the climax of “Nije ljubav stvar” isn’t wig-snatchingly great, and it doesn’t absolve the previous 2 minutes of tedium and it certainly doesn’t excuse the ridiculous third place the song finished in.🙄 Regardless, I enjoyed the closing minute, which by itself makes “Nije ljubav stvar”the second best of the Joksimovic compositions in this ranking. ^__^

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257. Freaky Fortune ft. RiskyKidd - “Rise up” Greece 2014

Lol “Rise up”. It’s fiiiine. The song itself is sterilized nondescript dance noise but Nicholas and RiskyKidd manage to work it well enough with a well-needed energy injection. Not too fond of that momentum-slaying trampoline though~

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256. Oto Nemsadze - “Keep on going” Georgia 2019

I don’t think “Keep on going” brooks any introduction: it’s not a good song lol. It’s aggressive and drags on forever. Out of all the “Build up into climax” songs, the build up is arguably the MOST agonizing. 2′20′‘ of “ugh END ALREADY” But holy hell that climax was awesome though. It’s really weird how a song as bad as “Keep on going” manages to almost sell itself with excellent A+ staging. Great LEDwork  and, deviating from the 2019 norm, wonderful camerawork that give the song a cinematic feel. The staging is Inspired.  If Georgia keep on going down the path of treating their entries like cinematic masterpieces, then nothing will be able to stifle their domination once they get their hands on a good song.