Guest review by Rafael de Alba

The second Guest Review comes from Rafael de Alba from Spain. You all must remember him from the Spanish selection this year with One more chance,. He is a big fan himself and will be in Moscow. Read more about him here..Here is what he has to say about ESC 2009:

Greetings to all eurofans in Finland and abroad! Here is my modest opinion of what promises to be a great show this year!
MONTENEGRO - A great song with a brilliant bridge just before the final chorus. Incidentally, the lyricist is Spanish, and co-ordinates OGAE Spain. Good luck, Jose! > 7
CZECH REPUBLIC - Very entertaining. It could well be part of a musical. Perhaps too exotic/specific for the general public > 5
BELGIUM - A charming story, and different to the rest. Might look attractive on stage, especially if they bring the cartoon character in! Shame that Belgium never receives points lately > 7
BELARUS - Great verse, not sure about the chorus. Vocally sound, I predict a mid ranking, but I love the presence of rock in the ESC. > 6.5
SWEDEN - I must admit I much prefer Alenka Gotar if I could choose, and the staging of La Voix was unimpressive > 5
ARMENIA - Too ethnic to appeal to the west, but will get into the final because Armenia always does > 5
ANDORRA -A pleasant number, if a bit dated, but still a very fresh song if it's staged properly. Will Andorra rise to the challenge? They only got it right once...> 6
SWITZERLAND - Simply a masterpiece, and very contemporary. It would be a shame not to see this one in the final > 10
TURKEY - The new version is much improved, but I find something missing in this song. > 7.5
ISRAEL - Mmm.. I keep thinking Noa could have done better, but all preselection songs were too similar. Still, it's an elegant alternative to the rest. I have the feeling it won't get through > 7
BULGARIA - I saw him live in London and unfortunately this singer does not communicate much on stage. But the backing vocals are very promising > 6
ICELAND - What a beautiful song (and singer!). This song is this year's Maria Haukaas > 9
MACEDONIA - FYROM keeps sending rhythms to which the western countries are not so accustomed > 4
ROMANIA - A stunning girl singing a mediocre song. However, her live performance will be spotless > 5
FINLAND - I love it, and it sticks in your head after the first listening > 9
PORTUGAL - Genuine and beautiful instrumentation and a very Portuguese number, which I love. I wish they tried harder with the stage performance and costumes > 8
MALTA - I wish Chiara had tried something different this time round. Deja Vu, with a hint of Disney. How about a bit of Vodka? > 6
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA -I love this one! Great video too, not sure they will be able to replicate its effect live. Luckily for them, they sing last > 9
CROATIA - Similar to 2004 entry, which I prefer >3
IRELAND - I know many like this one, but I find it very dated and I don't think Ireland will qualify > 4
LATVIA - Oh my God! I forgot who is going for Latvia! Which cannot be a good sign>? >4
SERBIA - Growing on me, although personally I prefer to listen to this one rather than watch it on stage > 5
POLAND - A very well constructed ballad and beautifully sung. Pretty commercial too > 7
NORWAY - A winner from the start. It has all the ingredients: easy tune, excellent performance. I have no doubt this will win > 9
CYPRUS - The song is pleasant but repetitive. I don't think the singer will deliver the required vocal qualities > 5
SLOVAKIA - Another exotic contribution. I know she sings well (she knows that too) but I much prefer his voice > 6
DENMARK - A good quality mid tempo. Personally I think he sounds too much like Ronan Keating, even his accent is Irish! And his vocals might turn out a bit forced, but i still love this one > 8
SLOVENIA - Slovenia's worst entry ever, sorry. This song is doomed > 1
HUNGARY - A very impressive singer, dancer and performer. I predict that this will be the surprise of the night, and could actually complicate things for Ryback >9
AZERBAIJAN - A sweet number, personally i don't think this will make a top 10 > 6
GREECE - I cannot help thinking this song would have gone further three years ago > 7
LITHUANIA - The English version comes across like a tongue twister, but the original version sounds great > 7
MOLDOVA - I am impressed by this one, and I think people underestimate its potential on stage. I predict a top 10 because of the televoting > 8
ALBANIA - Well done Albania, another great entry with folk elements and faithful to the country's roots! The verse a bit flat > 7
UKRAINE -By far the best video, and the song is great, but I find the performance rather vulgar. I am not impressed by this one but I fear it could even win, which would be a shame > 4
ESTONIA - Definitely in the final but I find this song too similar to that one of the sixties... > 5
NETHERLANDS - It's so dated and camp it's great! I hope they qualify. I love dancing to this one on a saturday morning in my shorts while I do the cleaning > 8
FRANCE - What can I say about Kaas? She won't win but it doesn't matter. She will take the ESC to a new level > 10
RUSSIA - Russia clearly doesn't want a consecutive victory. Still, I quite like the song, but I am not too sure about the singer's ability to perform live > 6
GERMANY - I am very impressed with this one. Much better than Cicero in my opinion. But it deserves a proper choreography > 8
UK - Wow, what an amazing singer! By far the best balad of the contest. I predict a top 3 > 9
SPAIN - After last year's fiasco all eurofans in Spain are thrilled with Soraya's attitude. She is a true fan of the ESC and really wants to win. I predict sixth place for her, given that we don't have as many neighbours, although naturally I would love Spain to win! I cannot wait to hear her new version on the night! Go, Soraya! > 9.5 (I can't help it ;-)

Agree? Disgaree? Feel free to comment. Marcello's Guest Review is here..

Comments

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Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

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