Eurovision Song Contest: the songs of the Big 5+1

For those who are new to the contest, a useful piece of info: since the introduction of the semi-finals 12 years ago, the concept of the Big Five has risen in prominence. The Big Five are the biggest financial contributors to the Eurovision organization and they are France, Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy. They go straight to the final and so does the previous year's winner, who is also this year's host: in this case, it's Sweden.

This may seem like a big advantage, but it's a double-edged sword: on the one hand, these countries' artists don't have to go through the agony of the semi-final and the possibility of failure to proceed. On the other hand, not being in the semi-finals makes the public less aware of their songs than of the songs of the semi-finalists. That one more listen is often crucial. Also, voters from other countries can be spiteful for the Big Five's privilege and not vote for them because of that. For whatever reason, the Big Five, while they were frequent winners in the past, have only won once (Germany in 2010) since the semi-finals began.

Having said that, I believe France has a very good chance at winning this year. It's very near the top in the betting odds.

Amir Haddad (see above photo), or simply Amir, is the artist representing France this year. I'm sure that you'll agree that he's a sexy man. He's also singing a song that does not rely on vocal acrobatics to get its message across. J'ai Cherché is accompanied by a very good video that challenges gender stereotypes. France has 5 victories in 58 participations, but it's last victory was in 1977. That's a long time ago. Perhaps it's time for a win again?

Sweden's first victory came only 3 years before France's last. It was, of course, Eurovision's Holy Grail: Abba's Waterloo. They made up for lost time, though. They had 5 more wins, giving them a total of 6 out of 55 participations, second only to Ireland in number of wins. Also, the Swedes are the people who form the majority of the production team responsible for getting the show on the air each year. So, disregard an entry from Sweden at your own risk.

It's a really good song, by the way. I'd call it Indie Pop. The singer, Frans, bears an uncanny resemblance to Joseph Gordon Levitt. This song, as well as the song from France, are among my favorites. I wouldn't mind if either of them won.

Italy, being the home of the Opera, is really proud of its musical tradition. There is the notion that the Italians don't think that Eurovision is good enough for them. If asked, they'll probably tell you that their own Sanremo Festival is superior.In fact, between their appearance in 1993 and their appearance in 2011, they only took part once, in 1997. They just didn't see the reason for it.

The voters repay them in kind: out of 41 participations, they only won twice (in 1964 & 1990). In fact, for 4 consecutive years, between 1958 and 1961, it was scandalous how the Italian entries, universally successful Pop Classics, failed to win: Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu [Volare] came 3d, Piove [Ciao, Ciao Bambina] came 6th, Romantica came 8th and Al Di La came 5th. It seems that Eurovision always failed to understand Italy and vice versa.

This year's song, like most of their entries, leaves no doubt to the listener that it's an Italian song. That could be considered as an advantage, because it stands out from the homogenized Pop of most of the others. It's also a good song, ably sung by Francesca Michielin. On the other hand, the voters who just don't like Italian music will dismiss it summarily. Who will win in this tug o' war? We'll know on Saturday night.

Those of us who watch the UK version of the Voice, have become acquainted with Joe & Jake a year ago, when they were just hopefuls. Jake was eliminated in the Knockout round and Joe sung for two more rounds and was eliminaated in Live Week 2. During their time on the show they became friends and after they left they decided to form a duo, named imaginatively Joe & Jake. They entered the show "Eurovision: You Decide" and were selected through a public vote to represent the United Kingdom.

The UK has been victorious 5 times, the first in 1967 with Sandie Shaw and the last in 1997 with Katrina & The Waves. They have frustratingly had 15(!) times in second place. Lately things are not going great: it's been 7 years since they've last entered the Top 10 (2009, #5). Even that came between 2 years which had them occupying the last place. Is it time for UK's fortunes to change? The song is OK but not spectacular. The bookies give it a fair chance for the Top 10, but not so much for the very top. Judge for yourselves:

Spain, like Italy, used to present songs that paid homage to the rich musical heritage of the country. Like Italy, it didn't do them much good. 2 first places (in 1968 & 1969) out of 55 participations (one of which was a 4-way tie) and 4 last places (3 of which with nul points) is not that impressive. Like Italy, Spain failed to win with what became eventually an international hit, much more so than the actual winner (Eres Tú by Mocedades, #2 in 1973).

This year's song has an international Pop flavor rather than a national one, but it's well crafted and well sung. According to the odds, it probably won't make the final Top 10, but I'm not so sure... There is potential.

Finally, there is Germany. It has won the contest twice (1982, 2010) out of 59 participations and came last 6 times, 3 of those with nul points. A big European Disco hit, Dschinghis Khan, represented Germany in 1979, but only came 4th.

This year's entry I actually liked. The fashion sense of Jamie-Lee Kriewitz will probably result in a lot of raised eyebrows - but, come on! It's Eurovision: eyebrow-raising and eye-rolling are part of the curriculum. However, the ever-powerful bookies don't give this much of a chance and you know how they don't like to lose money...

Now you've heard every single one of the songs that will appear in the final, roughly 24 hours away. I have tried to be as impartial as possible, not being swayed by national allegiences and the likes. I was guided rather by my taste in music, whatever that may be. If you have predicitons or have singled out favorite songs, please do mention them in the comments. We can then compare our guesses after the final. See you tomorrow.