The Last Six of the Eurovision Finalists Break Down!

Here we go folks, the last 6 performers for the Finals of Eurovision! Don't worry, there are thirteen other countries that didn't make finals, that I'll be talking about as well!

And let's start things off with:

Twenty-First Place

Germany

"Glorious"- Cascada

That's right folks! Cascada, our beloved and talented artist from way back when is actually from Germany! And she performed for them this year. Now, I was sure that she was just like Bonnie Tyler, and would get very high up in the placement because of her popularity, especially since she's come out with that "Evacuate the Dancefloor" song in 2009. (Was it really that long ago? Wow!) Now, before the countries began competing Cascada came out with the music video for "Glorious", and I wasn't incredibly fond of it. Now, I liked it, but it wasn't really a song I'd go out of my way to listen to. It still isn't, but at least now I want to dance when I listen to it!

You can tell that everyone listening to the song in the audience is really enjoying themselves. Her dress is really pretty, and I'm fairly sure she's lost some weight since the music video came out [good for her!]. The presentation was very simple, lots of purple lights, two back-up singers, fog on the ground and Cascada on a platform. An enjoyable song indeed.

Twenty-Second

Lithuania

"Something"- Andrius Pojavis

I was very pleased with this song! I like the tune of it, and the bit of rock it has to it (if that makes sense?) This is another song that has a different sort of genre to it than the others. Now, his voice could use some tuning, accent-wise. I have no other qualms with the song though. It stands out a bit, sure, however it is easily forgettable, which is a shame. This guy's pretty cute too!

Twenty-Third Place

France

"L'enfer Et Moi"- Amandine Bourgeois

And here's another genre that's not like the others! I'm sorely disappointed that this song didn't score higher. (I'm saying that an awful lot, aren't I?) Amandine Bourgeois is very pretty, looking hard-core and wild on the stage and singing in French. This is a song that's going on my Zune as soon as I can get a copy of it. Her voice is also very pretty, and not something you get to hear every day, though I would very much like to. I love the part after 2:30-something where she's yelling more and bouncing and whatnot! It lasts for the rest of the song, and is what I think the most intense part of the song. Whoo! Go France!

Twenty-Fourth Place

Finland

"Marry Me" Krista Siegfride

THE CRAZY EYES. LOOK AT HER CRAZY EYES. (Here's me flipping out on Tumblr again)

This woman is crazy!! There's no other explanation! For crying out loud, she says "if you run I will find you anyhow" and her back up singers say "isn't that crazy?"!! Now, this isn't to say that she isn't pretty. She just needs to keep her eyes out of the wide-open position. "Ding dong?" Yes, yes she is.

Now, at the end of the video, she kisses one of the dancers/background singers. Some people were very upset about this, but for different reasons. One group was upset because "ew my goodness lesbians gross". The other group said "ew my goodness she's kissing that girl just to get popularity points, how dare she exploit lesbians like that". And then there's that group that was more reasonable and said "oh, so she's trying to symbolize same-sex marriage and urge Finland to go legalize it. Odd. Wonder why?". Many people didn't vote for the Finland because of the first two reasons though. Despite the reasons, Finland only made 24th place.

However, this brings up an interesting bit. According to this article from the Daily Mail: "The competition’s rules forbid ‘lyrics, speeches, gestures of a political or similar nature’". Well that's interesting indeed, considering a great many other songs from the past. "However, Miss Siegfrids denied her protest was political, saying: ‘‘Homophobic people are angry with me for doing this. But I’m planning a surprise at the end of my performance. It’s live on TV, so nobody can stop me.

‘I don’t think ‘Marry Me’ is political. It’s about love and tolerance. But gay marriage is not allowed in Finland and that’s wrong. I wanted to make a statement about that.’"

There's also a rumor going around saying that countries that cut out any part of Eurovision will be banned from further competitions for a certain number of years, and that any country that doesn't view the kiss will be banned. I haven't been able to find anything on that though, so if you can, please send me a link!!

Twenty-Fifth Place
Spain
"Contigo Hasta El Final"- ESDM
"With You Until the End"

I didn't really think there was anything too special about this song my favorite part was the vocal bit before the first chorus, at about 1:40. Her dress was incredibly pretty, and she's rather pretty herself. I didn't like the  vocalization at the very beginning, before the lyrics began. I did like how happy she was, and I liked the overall sound of everything. There was just nothing that really stuck out about this song, even though it is a good one.

Twenty-Sixth Place

Ireland

"Only Love Survives"- Ryan Dolan

This was a good song, though the vocals could have been better. There were lots of flashing lights, a couple hot guys banging on drums in tight pants, some Celtic symbols in the background. Ryan Dolan was alright, but could have been much better.

And there you have it everyone, the 26 finalists for Eurovision 2013. Later I will put up the countries that didn't make the cut. If you have questions, please comment below!

Another fun fact: Did you know that in 2003 it became a rule that live music is not allowed on the show? That ban is still in place today. Very interesting....

Happy Listening!

Eurovision, songs 11-20 Break Down!

As promised, here are the next ten performances of Eurovision 2013!

Eleventh Place

Moldova

"O Mie"- Aliona Moon

This is a fantastic song! It starts off with people in white and a piano playing. Aliona Moon is wearing a dress very interesting arm holes (how often do you get to say that every day?), that starts off white, grows dark, and then as it hits her waist turns deep red. Her eye makeup is rather pretty. At about halfway through the song you realize the projector is on her dress, as it's projecting sparkles onto her. When her vocals really get interesting at about 2:20, thunder strikes, and then when her vocals hit yet another peak, FLAMES. KJSD:FKJ There is fire everywhere!! The background, her dress.. And when everything "cools off" the flames on her dress turn blue until they sort of freeze on an electric blue. (And if that wasn't cool enough, she's raised on the platform she's standing on while she's singing!)

I'm going to have to listen to this again. Immediately. I will say that her voice seems to have a little difficulty with one of the higher notes in the chorus every time she goes to hit it, but it could  just be the way her voice is, since it's high-pitched. Fun fact: Aliona actually was a back-up singer in last year's competition, for Moldova's Pasha Parfeny, and "O Mie" is actually composed by Pasha Parfeny.

I really wish this song had scored higher, I very much like it!

Twelfth Place

Belgium

"Love Kills"- Roberto Bellarosa

This is another cutie, singing in his black and white suit. Two girls dance behind him, trying to be symmetrical. It's funny though, one has longer arms than the other, so they still stick out. The song is nice and simple, and has a little build in the chorus. The second verse cues a bass line, and a little techno tune. Second chorus is much more powerful, and all together this is one great song! The bass even drops a little after the second chorus to make for some excitement. However, near the end of the song I started seeing his crazy eyes. (Though not as bad as the girl from Finland this year! Ohhh, you just wait until the next blog post!) Congrats to Roberto, for being cute and having a great song!

Thirteenth Place

Romania

"It's My Life"- Cezar

GET EXCITED EVERYONE.

The internet has certainly enjoyed this song. Now, don't get too excited. This isn't Bon Jovi in any way, shape, or form. You're either going to love this song, or despise it. Or you'll be like me and have no idea what to think about it (See Tumblr where I exploded here).

Dubstep, Opera, a Soprano Male, Vampire.... Am I forgetting something? Anything? This guy is pretty attractive, and I can appreciate his voice to some extent. Oh, I see what I forgot. At about :48 the people from under the red tarp thing come dancing out in nude-colored clothing that clings rather tightly to their buttocks.  Where was I? Oh, right, his voice. He has a pretty voice, I'll give him that. I really like it in the lower range, and if anything I'm rather jealous of his sopranic abilities. And his dress. I would totes where that.

Okay, I've decided I kind of like it now, after listening to it a couple of times. I really like the aesthetics to the dancers, I mean really. The fact that in the beginning they looked like they were just some rocks around him, and at the end they wrap around the female dancer to make a skirt! It's very neat. So yes, get excited! Get acquainted! Because I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing this floating around the internet fairly soon if you haven't already, and you'll be able to tell the world allll about it.

ALSO. It's Romania. Did anyone else make that connection? Vampires, Romania? The two just seem to click. My first thought was "Of COURSE Romania spawns this vampiric man. Who else would've done it?".

Fourteenth Place

Sweden

"You"- Robin Stjernberg

Holy crap I love this song. It resonates very deeply with me, meaning-wise, and the sound of it just brings out some sort of primal feelings from within me and makes me want to dance with someone. (Oh hey there cup of coffee, how you doin'? Just kidding, I know better. xD) But this song is just fantastic! His voice could use some fine tuning perhaps, but it's just perfect for this sort of music. I love how at 2:20 the guys next to him are patting themselves in tune with the drum. But this whole song is just meant to celebrate one special person, and I don't think I'm capable of thinking of a better way to pay tribute. Maybe with more lyrics. The song is a tad repetitive. I remember being disappointed the first time I looked up the lyrics because there weren't all that many different verses. Ah well, it's still a great song!

Fifteenth Place

Georgia

"Waterfall"- Nodi Tatishvili and Sophie Gelovani

I remember when I first heard this song a couple months ago. I thought their duet was just perfect. Their voices compliment each other so well, blend so wonderfully. Not to mention their chemistry! They smile at each other when they meet eyes, they held hands, their outfits have that beautiful light vs dark resonance, I just love it! The lyrics are powerful and romantic, but I hardly notice it with how capitvated I am by the very sound of it all! 2:15 is probably my favorite part, where everything kicks up a little. You don't understand how hard it is for me to try and type while I watch this- I just love it so much! And near the end when she's leaning on him and his arm is around her! Oh my goodness gracious it's just too precious! I really wish that these guys had a higher score. I would have been perfectly happy with them winning this year to be honest.

Sixteenth Place

Belarus

"Solayoh"- Alyona Lanskaya

This might be my new favorite dance song for the time being. Alyona Lanskaya just dominates the stage and the song. My favorite parts are probably the chorus, and when she talks about the beat at about 1:14, definitely the part between the second chorus and the third, and the fact that this song just makes me want to get up and shake it! My dislikes =? Hmm, her dress. I don't approve of all of the tassels. And for a song that doesn't really talk about another man, there's something very sexually-charged about everything she does. It's just not necessary I guess.

Seventeenth Place

Iceland

"Ég Á Líf"- Eythor Ingi

Now THERE is a man!! Sorry everyone, but he's just 50 shades of my type! This song is "I Have a Life", and is all about how he can "drift over hardship" and "I'm alive because of you". Oh my goodness. If Eythor Ingi just walked up to me one day, I might burst into tears. I'm going to rewatch this now.. The tune is very straight-forward and simple and just beautiful. His voice is incredibly perfect. The man just stands there by himself, singing passionately and moving incredibly accurately. His hand motions are all very deliberate, either slow or quick. The song beings its build at 2:00, and the most beautiful note starts at 2:17 and lasts until 2:35 (with a short breath here and there). But that moment when he just picks up the mic stand and rips the mic from it, oh my goodness. He just commands the entire performance! It's almost as if he's saying "yes, people are coming on to the stage, but this is MY time!". This song's definitely going on to my Zune, video, mp3, everything! I'm so incredibly disappointed that he only got 17th place.

Eighteenth Place

Armenia

"Lonely Planet"- Dorians

Yet another good song! This my friends, is Eurovision Jesus, as the internet has deemed him. I think he looks like Johnny Depp and Jesus put together. Look at his hair flow!!!! And his scarf and vest!! It's beautiful really. Okay, okay, song. I love this song, it's got a rock tune to it that you don't find in a lot of Eurovision songs, and it's really refreshing. The Dorians are an Armenian rock band that started in 2008. They first tried Eurovision in 2009 with the song "Fly", but they were third place in the National Final for Armenia. I believe (but could be wrong) that Dorians were supposed to be representing Armenia last year, however Armenia withdrew from the competition because of security reasons and personal beliefs of the performers from said country. (There was a shooting that an Azerbaijanian soldier was to blame for, but apparently it was an Armenian soldier, and so and so forth. People were upset.)

Despite all of that, this song is a fairly good one, and I look forward to sitting down and listening to the Dorians's other songs.

Nineteenth Place

United Kingdom
"Believe in Me"- Bonnie Tyler

"HOLY CRAP IT'S BONNIE TYLER"- said everybody. Everyone flipped with excitement when they knew that Bonnie Tyler was going to be representing the United Kingdom this year, whether they knew before the countries started competing or right when she walked up the stage. EVERYONE loves seeing someone they already know get up on stage, they love holding that knowledge. Haha, I can say that I do too. A lot of people believed that Bonnie Tyler was going to win for England this year, because who doesn't love "Total Eclipse of the Heart"? I listened to it just this morning. Yes, the UK was definitely disappointed when it hit them that they weren't going to win this time.

Now, Bonnie Tyler is a bit of an acquired taste, at least to me. I like her older music, that goes without saying. But when I first listened to "Believe in Me", my first thought was "No, I don't really feel like it, sorry. But I'll believe in that 'teardrops' chick!". I know, I know, shame on me. But I just didn't like the song. After a couple of times of listening to it though, I kind of like it now.

Twentieth Place

Estonia

"Et Uus Saaks Alguse"- Birgit

This song started off softly, looking at the stage in black and white, which is quite fitting for the sound, considering it does sound like something from back in the b&w times. Chorus hits, and so does the color, and a beautiful sound! Her dress is a simple white thing with no shape, beautiful flow, and a few layers. Birgit is certainly a beautiful woman, very natural-looking, and her voice is just as pretty. She sings effortlessly, and the notes she sings aren't too difficult until 2:30 comes with that extremely pretty longer note she hits. Yes, it's a very good song, but unfortunately it's just kind of...there. There isn't nothing all that special to it, but I certainly wouldn't mind listening to it again.

And there's those songs! There are six left from the competition, and then there are 13 countries that didn't make it to the finals. Expect the next post soon!

Happy Listening! Any comments or concerns are appreciated, just leave them below and I'll get to the ASAP!

The Top Ten of Eurovision Break Down!

Whoo! Denmark!! I'll tell you what folks, I called it! A couple months ago I was just surfing YouTube for whatever Eurovision 2013 songs I could find, and "Only Teardrops" was one of the first songs I found and listened to. I bounced in my chair, learned the lyrics, how to play it on the guitar- it was my jam for, well, it still is!

Needless to say, I'm super excited that Emmelie de Forest won with that song.

That isn't to say I didn't have other favorites! Ukraine was pretty great this year, with "Gravity", Belarus's "Solayoh" was just awesome, and "Waterfall", from Georgia was just beautiful.

Okay, okay, enough of that. I'm going to give everyone a Eurovision Break Down! First I'll go through the 26, in order of how awesome the world thought they were. Then I'll talk about the countries that didn't make the cut. If you have ANY Eurovision questions, please ask me! If I don't know the answer, you can be sure to bet that I'll Google it! Extensively. Because that's what I do :'D So please comment below or send me an email with questions and comments!



First Place, Winner of Eurovision 2013:

Denmark

"Only Teardrops"- Emmelie de Forest

                   As I said, this was definitely my favorite. The song itself was a simple concept, and came off beautifully. The drum beats, the flute, her voice, everything! It all resonated with me in a way that was just great.

Second Place

Azerbaijan

"Hold Me"- Farid Mammadov

This is another song that I really liked. It sounds like an older song, and I rather like those. Farid Mammadov sang whilst moving about a clear box that held a shadow-like man who mirrored his movements for the majority of the song. A lady in red danced about in her barefeet (I love it when people go barefoot on this stage, it feels so much more natural for whatever reason), and red petals floated about the clear box when she came in. 

The song itself was very nice, and made for good "listening while doing whatever" music. It will probably get stuck in my head later and no doubt I'll be looking it up later to listen to again and again, trying to learn how to play it on the guitar as I go. (Farid may be a distraction the whole time; I find him very attractive!)

Third Place 

Ukraine

"Gravity"- Zlata Ognevich

In the final performance, Zlata Ognevich is brought in by a large viking-like giant. She's definitely one of the most simply beautiful women this year. Her dress isn't anything special, but it's pretty all the same. The song itself feels like it belongs in Lion King or something, with how earthy and loud it is! (That isn't a bad thing!) She sings about gravity, makes some metaphors about butterflies, and mentions thunder now and then. To my delight, they played some thunder in the background! There was a lot of fog, and some light pyrotechnics at the end of the show. It's another nice, simple song that's fun to bounce in your chair to.

Fourth Place

Norway

"I Feed You My Love"- Margaret Berger

She'll feed me what? I'm sorry, but that phrase is all sorts of no in my head. I like the beginning of the song, it's got a lot of techy sounds to it, flashing lights, and Margaret Berger herself is wearing some sort of white space dress with long tight sleeves and white heels. It's an interesting thing, but you wouldn't catch me wearing it.

But right, the song.

It's a very modern sound, breathy, slow speech and lots of pauses for the vocal echoes (of which there are a lot of). Her voice is very nice though, as well as all of the sounds. I think my only complaint is that one line "I feed you my love". Nope, just sounds too weird to me. She's very deserving of fourth place though. Go Norway! (GO ALEXANDER RYBAK!! <3 The 2009 Eurovision will always have a place in my heart.)

Fifth Place

Russia

"What If"- Dina Garipova

Now I know I said that Ukraine had one of the most simply beautiful women. Well, I think Dina Garipova was THE most classically beautiful. She reminds me of women from the 80's for some reason. Dina uses no fancy tricks. She just sings wonderfully about everyone coming together as one in peace with a couple (four) background singers and some glowly orbs. Lanterns in the audience lit up and rose to the ceiling- it's a very touching song. I love how Russian often sings of peace. Heck, I love how a lot of the countries sing about forgiveness and world peace and the like! Who can forget Apricot Stone from Armenia a few years ago?

Sixth Place

Greece

"Alcohol is Free"- Koza Mostra ft. Agathon Iakovidis

A happy song for everyone to sing! There's always a song like this in Eurovision. Last year it was the cute grandmothers baking and talking about parties. But this song is happy, fast-paced, and for everyone to yell "Opa!" to! There's a hottie on the acordian, and old guy on a...what is that? Some traditional stringed instrument smaller than a ukulele. The guys on stage are playing their instruments and playing around with each other- it's great! Like a Greek Flogging Molly almost (please no one shoot me for that). But this is definitely one of my favorite songs to bounce around to now.

Seventh Place

Italy

"L'Essenziale"- Marco Megoni

One of the cuter men this year sings this song in Italian, in a nice suit, leaning towards the microphone like he's afraid to grab it but doesn't want to be too far away from it. There's a piano and a guitar in the background, and everything is nice and soft. His voice is simple as well, changing colors now and then. The music behind him gets a little more complicated after the first verse, and his singing gets more colorful, but there's nothing too special about it. Or maybe the fact that it's really so simple and clean that makes it special. I really like the lines near the last chorus, about 2 minutes and 15 seconds into the song. And I really hate that no matter what web browser I put this video into, the screen either goes black or freezes while the song still plays. Shame. But another fantastic song in the lineup.

Eighth Place

Malta

"Tomorrow"- Gianluca Bezzina

This guy is so adorable!! His face is all scrunched up with happiness when he smiles. This is a nice, happy song about someone who works in IT and how much he wants this girl. IT IS THE CUTEST SONG OF EUROVISION EVER. The song is very upbeat, and makes you want to dance and sway a little. Everyone performing just seems so happy and friendly, and casual as if they were performing in a coffee shop rather than a major musical contest. Yet another song that promises to be stuck in your head, but at least keep you happy while it's there.

Ninth Place

The Netherlands

"Birds"- Anouk

Ugh, do I have to? Every time I've tried to listen to this song (this is currently the third time), I haven't been able to finish it. I just don't like it. Sure, she's kind of pretty, and the background music is okay, though it sounds like something Danny Elfman came up with. But this is like Lena from what, 2010? 2011? Except I'm not going to end up liking her after listening to the song another ten times. I don't like her accent, the lyrics, the odd way the song builds at the chorus, her cheekbones, or her voice. And I really don't like the background singers' voices either. It's just, weird. Nope, stopping the video. If you like the song, I'm sorry, but this just isn't my cup of tea. (Or coffee, since that's what I'm drinking now.)

Tenth Place

Hungary

"Kedvesem (Zoohacker Remix"- ByeAlex

Two vaguely attractive men, one singing, the otehr playing guitar (I think I like him a bit more, even though he's constantly bobbing his head forward in an odd fashion), a girl standing ways away from them singing back up with a voice I'd much rather be listening to than the actual lead singer himself. She certainly outdoes him vocally, projection and quality-wise. The song itself is incredibly repetitive, and in what I'm assuming is Hungarian. I'm not really a fan of the song. I like the simple guitar playing, the techno-whistle thing that plays now and then, and the Miss Lady singing background, but that's about it.

And there you have the top ten! I'm posting the next ten in the next blog post, look forward to it! It'll be out shortly. I'll probably do it right now actually, while my coffee is still hot.

Happy Listening!

Ubuntu 13 Shipping with Chromium??

But... I don't like Chromium.

Which is true, I really don't. Never used it, and I never will. I've gotten Google Chrome to work just fine under the past few releases of Ubuntu. And if Chrome hasn't been working properly I just switch to Ubuntu's usual default, Mozilla Firefox.

The first thing I do every time I install Ubuntu (I've had to do it quite a few times on my laptop. What can I say? Tech happens.) is install the flash players so that I can watch YouTube on Mozilla, and then I install Google Chrome. And then I update everything else and go through my list of installations and upgrades.

However, according to OMG! Ubuntu! (Whom I love to pieces), Ubuntu is hoping that when they release 13.10 it will be packaged with Chromium as the default browser. Chromium!! That thing that I go out of my way to uninstall if I ever catch it on my laptop! Now, I'm not saying that I'd rather run Opera or Internet Explorer, but I mean, I hardly see the point of Chromium.

Personally, I think that Chromium should have been scrapped as soon as Google Chrome was able to be stable in Ubuntu. Maybe it's just because I don't know all that much about Chromium, and maybe because while I love Google Chrome to bits, I'm having a secret love affair with Firefox. (It's currently the default browser on my Android Tablet, that's for sure. I kind of hated Chrome on Android. It used to be Dolphin, but I mean, come on. Firefox is so much prettier, and the add-ons are free!)

If I'm wrong, about anything above, then please let me know. I like being correct, especially when I'm sharing information with others.

Those of you who want to read the article put out by OMG! Ubuntu!, here's a link:

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/05/chromium-to-replace-firefox-as-default-browser-in-ubuntu?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+d0od+%28OMG%21+Ubuntu%21%29

As for other news, I'm very slowly working on getting the website finished! I'm probably going to publish it sometime this week, minus a few pages that are still works in progress.

What do you think? Should the default browser stay as Firefox, or switch to something else? Comment below!

Hope everyone's enjoying themselves!
-Lindsey

www.aveiliea.tumblr.com

www.inkdreamsnovel.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/InkDreamsNovel

inkdreamsnovel@gmail.com