I'm thrilled to have the last guest review this time around from my hero and Eurovision wonderwoman Anna Muurinen. She has written the Eurovision Handbook and is a real Eurovision authority in the Finnish media. I feel honoured and privileged to be able to share her thoughts here with you. And this is what she thinks of the songs of 2009:Montenegro: Maybe it is Ralph Siegel´s luck, that today´s Europe has so many countries… Song is ok, but not interesting enough. One of my favourite countries in ESC, but not with this song. 6/12
Czech Republic: Who said there isn´t humour songs this year? The dark side of me enjoys it, I´m afraid. 6/12
Belgium: Copycat could have been Belgium´s entry in the 90´s – and today already very well forgotten. 3/12
Belarus: Not my type of music at all. Will score very well, but is still just noise without any deeper message. 3/12
Sweden: Hilarious Malena! Even if the melody could have more originality, I stand for Sweden. Difficult to sing along, so I´ll clap my hands. Wildly. If gets through to the final will be one of my favourites to win. 10/12
Armenia: At first I was a bit afraid of these Apple Sisters, but have to admit once again that Armenian rhythms are working very well. Lovely ladies, good vibrations. 10/12
Andorra: How many times Eurovision fans have to hear this “Get a Life!”??? Well, Andorra put it in a very nice way. An innocent, pure bubblegum pop song with a real singer. Final is too far away, but once again, very nice performance from Andorra! 8/12
Switzerland: Too mainstream, nothing new. The title Highest highs sutes for Switzerland, but song is more like lowland. 3/12
Turkey: Hadise has a great potential, but song is poor and yearns for much more material and ideas. 5/12
Israel: A peace song from Israel isn´t an innovation. Multilingualism neither. But still - this song has so much inner power, and ensemble works very well. The coda is probably the best in ESC history! Beautiful singers, wonderful lyrics. 12/12
Bulgaria: Share problems with Belarus. Don´t understand it´s message, don´t get interested in. 2/12
Iceland: Nice and clean, but not strong enough. Too easy to forget. 7/12
FYROM: If FYROM is in the final (as it usually is), I have to say, that´s not right. Simplicity doesn´t carry in this case, boys are charming – but I didn´t get thrilled about Bon Jovi as a teenager, and I won´t do it now. 4/12
Romania: Balkan girls really have been very triumphants in ESC lately, indeed! Effective rhythm in the chorus. Pretty nice. 7/12
Finland: I´m happy as a rabbit, or happy as can be (like Cliff R. would say it), because Finland´s entry isn´t any kind of heavy music. So I have promised to love Waldo truly, madly, deeply. 8/12.
Portugal: My favourite countries in ESC! Will not win with this song, but shows how proud they are of their own musical culture. Easy listening, but in a warm and nice way. 7/12.
Malta: Lovely Chiara. It´s always a pleasure to listen her singing. Angel was a better song, but the general standard of Chiara´s songs is very high. We´ll see her in the final again. 8/12.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Luckily there is still this kind of songs! Keeps me believing in this institution. Bistra voda is passionate, dramatic, very well performed catchy song. You just can´t make it better! 12/12.
Croatia: Nothing new, but still I wan´t to listen this over and over again. Song with a strong traditional, original, authentic touch. 8/12.
Ireland: Nice to see some humans from Ireland for a change! Nice energy, good mood. Simple, but delicious. 8/12.
Latvia: No kind of music to my ears. Even the beautiful language of Latvian is replaced. I want to have Renars Kaupers back and soon! 2/12.
Serbia: Leto svet, part II? Fortunately the sequel gets more points. Microphone-headed singer is great, and song is nice, original and musical too. We´ll see Serbia in the final.
Poland: Pompous, boring and very forgettable. The melody is probably older than the Bible. ZZZZzzzzzzz. 2/12.
Norway: Aleksandr makes this song. Wonderful to see this kind of joy in ESC! Song itself could be stronger. 8/12.
Cyprus: A very difficult song to sing! And not a perfect song for a big stage. But isn´t she sweet. 6/12.
Slovakia: Slovakia continues where they were last time in ESC. Very old fashioned stage opera, and too much shouting in the end. 4/12.
Denmark: So easy going that I start to look for some troubles! I´m sure Jörgen Olsen would put this song to another level. 5/12.
Slovenia: Good idea, poor execution. 4/12.
Hungary: An honest dance tune. Relaxing, happy, strong. 8/12.
Azerbaijan: Does the Spanish sun shine in Azerbaijan? Gives a good picture of today´s Europe. I´m not so impressed by the song, but it´s always cheerful to hear the line Addicted to you (FIN-02)!
Greece: A brilliant, happy, optimistic pop song. Sakis is such a character. This can be your year, Greece! 10/12.
Lithuania: There is every element, but still I feel like an outsider. It doesn´t warm my heart. Maybe I have never really loved? 4/12.
Moldova: Cheerful, proud, surprising! 10/12.
Albania: Once again a very strong singer and a catchy tune from Albania! Very nice. I would love to see how they teach music in Albanian schools! In ESC Albania is a country of excellent young singers. 7/12.
Ukraine: What works in Ukraine, doesn´t necessarily work for the whole Europe. Well produced and performed. But far too cryptic for me. 6/12.
Estonia: A fanfare for eternal Estonian nation! I find this song a very powerful evidence of Estonian culture, know-how and will. 10/12.
Netherlands: I´m just too old for this, I´m afraid. Missing Gerard. 3/12.
Spain: Keeps me cool. I prefer Un bloody mary, por favor. 4/12
UK: Jade visited Finland before Moscow, and she is such a sweetheart! Surprisingly Lloyd-Webber´s song isn´t just strong enough. Nice try anyway. 7/12.
Russia: Melody from an folklore archive? Once more we´ll see, how winning ESC can relax. We haven´t seen nothing like this for years. 8/12.
Germany: I just loved Roger Cicero. There´s is some flavours of his great performance, so Germany is back on track again. 5/12.
France: How wonderful is to have her finally in ESC! A Strong and intense presence. So dramatic song is a far too difficult for this current Eurovision Show Contest, but who cares. This song is not made for ESC, it´s made for people who wan´t to feel. Beautiful, beautiful lyrics. 10/12.
Final prediction: This really isn´t my year... But the winner is Norway, Greece or Bosnia&Herzegovina. Ukraine and Belarus will success too. Sweden or Estonia can surprise.
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