Eurovision 2010

Absolutely the best TV event of the year, beats the world cup by miles. Everything about ESC 2010 was incredible. The hosts were amazing, particularly Erik Solbakken who did so many random, bizarre things on live TV that I shall forever have respect for him. The artists were all incredible, all of the entries have been growing on me and I don't hate any of them now. The interval act was the best interval act I have ever seen in my life for anything, I had goosebumps and I was shaking afterwards because of how amazing it was. I somehow felt inspired, like I could do anything. I can't figure out why, but I did.

Particularly 'stand out' performances for me were:

Jon Lilygreen and The Islanders (Cyprus) - I felt sorry for his poor guitar, as he seemed to have covered it in gaffa tape, perhaps due to a hideous accident that damaged the poor thing? I expected his vocals not to hold out for the performance, so I was delighted when they did. I've loved the song since I first heard it months ago, so I was really quite disappointed with its placement of 21st place.

Tom Dice (Belgium) - I was blown away by how strong his performance in the semi final was, and I was thrilled that it was just as strong, if not stronger, for the actual final. There's just something incredibly charming about a man singing a song about his guitar, whilst just playing his guitar. It was simple, strong and quirky, and I loved it.

Giorgos Alkaios and Friends (Greece) - As usual, an incredibly strong Greek performance. They haven't not qualified since 2000, I think, so it's hardly any surprise that the Greek act would be amazing. Some criticised the song for being 'too Greek' but I think that's what makes it good, they stayed true to their roots (something the UK could do with thinking about for 2011...) and pulled off an incredible performance. Giorgos' dad dancing also put a smile on my face...

Jessy Matador (France) - I hadn't seen the stage show for this song as it was one of the Big Four and qualified automatically, so it wasn't at either semi final, so I was worried that it wouldn't match the recorded version - I was wrong. I particularly loved whatever it was that they did at the end (it began with a 'H', apparently?) as it somehow made the performance feel 'more French', not sure how but it did.

Lena (Germany) - Hadn't seen the stage show for this either, so again I was worried that it wouldn't be as good as expectation suggested it would. Lena's vocals were a bit off at one or two points, but I think that just comes with the territory of performing live. Anyway, I loved her performance and I was glad that she won.

Harel Skaat (Israel) - I've made it no secret that I kind of love this man now. His song was incredibly powerful and I could feel the emotion he had when he really got into it at the end. I never predicted or expected that I'd feel so moved by a Eurovision song. I identified with the lyrics in this song, as well as being able to experience the emotion I got from it. I would be disappointed that it didn't place higher than 14th, but 14 is my 'favourite number', so I'm actually really happy about it.

Oslo did an incredible job of hosting Eurovision this year, and I think it's going to be incredibly hard to beat by Germany in 2011. I had a good ESC experience this year, particularly due to the fact that I was tweeting throughout the semis and the final alongside several big ESC fans (@tugcefindikoglu, @TomKei and a few more) and getting to see so many opinions of others. I was disappointed with the UK coming last, especially as it was obvious that our act, Josh Dubovie, had enthusiasm in bucket loads for the whole thing and really didn't deserve to come last. The votes this year seemed to be slightly more political than last in my opinion, but I'm not trying to excuse why he came last - he came last because the song was too outdated for this year's competition, especially when so many other countries had modernised (Germany, France, Belgium...) and produced songs that sounded good, looked good and were actually promoted. Why we can't send somebody already well known is beyond me...

So there we have it, Eurovision is over for another year and I'm already looking forward to the next. What's great about it being over is that I've discovered tons more music through it, particularly Eric Saade :)

Besos ♥
Rachel