HUNGARY - I just knew as soon as I heard the title and saw a still from the video that I was going to love this. And I wasn’t disappointed. This is just so magnificently camp and danceable that I have difficulty getting the tune out of my head. Zoli reminds me a bit of Deen and Sakis, only talented and handsome. I hope this makes the final so much, but then I was confident about last year’s Hungarian entry and look how accurate I was there.
ICELAND - I just don’t get the adulation that is being heaped on this one. To me, it is the essence of blandola. It doesn't even have the distinction of being memorably horrible or fascinatingly inept. I find the whole thing to be completely uninspiring.
IRELAND - Well, on the plus side it’s not a dreary male ballad. But on the down side it is a dismal rock chick wannabe noisy bit of nonsense. The longer the song continued, I found myself longing for the intricate production values and super harmonies of XXL. There are worse things in the world than ‘Et Cetera’, such as famine, disease, earthquake, but not by much. OK, stop beating about the bush, frankly, it’s a stinker and just about the most lame-brained entry in this year’s contest.
ISRAEL - It’s sanctimonious, self-righteous and so eager to earn our love that you want to slap it. It’s like wading through treacle.
LATVIA - How much lower can they set the bar? This is about as much fun as a suicide bomber. It is genuinely, consistently, indisputably putrid. Mind you, the song’s level of sheer awfulness is nothing new for Latvia. They just keep getting worse and worse. They should quit whilst they’re behind.
LITHUANIA - I loved his effort from last year (‘Miss Kiss’) but this as depressing and empty a song as you will ever hear. To label it vacuous or plain boring would be like heaping praise on it.
How wonderfully decent of Ireland, Israel and the Baltic States that begin with L to come, knowing full well that their chances of taking the trophy are a tad minimal to say the least.
However haven't Hungary and Iceland done well? Hungary's song is camper than a row of tents and I think could be in the running whereas Iceland really has got over that nasty outbreak of Silvia Knight a couple of years ago and submitted something which a friend of mine described as "definitive".
Shame both of these countries will be too broke to host the bun fight next year.
