I know, bex. Again, it says a lot about personal taste and the subjectivity that goes into ESC analysis. Not sure this Amsterdam event was of much use in terms of staging, or live vocals - sounds like a lot of artists had the backing track turned up to the max. That Turkey tune is reliant on staging more than others, I reckon, and he was stood there on his own. What we also need to do is coolly factor in those other variables we know play such a significant role in overall points gathering.

pure class...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT9VVyKsIMg&feature=watch_response

Someone taken a fair chunk of Ukraine today. I was happy to lay at 100 as part of greening up my earlier back

I like the look of the new site btw jr.

Nice pics of lena and the little muffins

Thanks fig... it's a work still in progress... wanted to get pics up there of our biggest-priced and most lucrative winners to date, advised on the site Ramps & Karen for old time sake - probably the tv betting win, along with Gough, that got me into it more seriously.

is this one of your post's Henry ?

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I get so hot for Grannies, I have insane urges to rub my d!ck all over them, occasionally squeezing their over ripe melons in a way they have never experiecend before.

Fiveleaves, you think Italy is overrated at 10 and Sweden represents fair value at 3.5? You're buying up Spain and NL?

I'm keen on far more action on Italy and have been buying. I just don't see the attraction of the Swedish song with juries. It sounds like something out of the 90's... Italy on the other hand has a great song which combines different musical styles. It's got retro elements and appeals to older listeners but it's also very contemporary... It's the most innovative song in my opinion. I also see it as the song with the most commercial potential not just for the artist but for Eurovision as a whole. It is in everybody's interest for Italy to remain in the contest because this will reduce the contributions of all other participants. And although Italy placed 2nd last year, Eurovision barely attracted the interest of 7% of Italian TV viewers. Now Italy has come up with an even better song than last year. To me all of this adds up to a formula for success for all parties involved - Italy which I see as the host for next year and the other EBU members who will benefit from that...   

I don't doubt that Italy will fare better with the professional juries than Italy. But I also think that Italy will do better than Sweden with the general public. Ultimately, there just isn't any viable alternative for any other song to win the contest once all factors are considered. 

But hey, good luck to you with the Netherlands and Spain...

Italy on the other hand has a great song which combines different musical styles Hmm does the phrase jack of all trades master of none mean anything to you Spanky? I think Italy just sounds like a mish mash of jumbled ideas its neither one thing or the other. Particularly since it throws in a few la la la's for no apparent reason

And although Italy placed 2nd last year, Eurovision barely attracted the interest of 7% of Italian TV viewers. You mean last year before they had finished second? In which case this years figures will undoubtedly be much higher. I never like this argument anyway but if Italy wins the jury vote by landslide again I'd argue it would look like that jury votes can just be 'bought in a way which would be very bad for its longevity

Ultimately, there just isn't any viable alternative for any other song to win the contest once all factors are considered. must be nice to be son confident about a 9/1 shot. Wish I felt that way about something this year but can't see anything in the song to inspire such confidence.

Well no doubt it couldn't be proven but I think a lot of people would be making accusations of the juries being directed to favour Italy. I would

Good luck, I admire your confidence

Market certainly does love Italy. It left me cold the first time I heard it but has grown on me on further listens. The 10 draw is poor though and I'm far from convinced by the argument it exudes greater quality than the competition and Nina Zilli is some charismatic lead singer in a different league to all other artists this year. For me it's more like lounge music and as others point out, it's confusing to the listener and rather messy. She hasn't done any promotion outside Italy which isn't exactly a positive either. But it seems for many Italy can do no wrong and has some automatic superiority as an ESC nation. Also agree it starts to look ridiculous if Italy wins the jury vote again this year. Last year's jazz number was certainly a unique effort but I'm more inclined to think it received an inflated score from juries as a special welcome back, and I wouldn't expect the same treatment 2 years running. If I was a juror I would rate at least 8 other songs better than Italy this year.

"Vive le France and Go Norway!"...HERE,HERE

Me and you singing from the same hymn sheet this year, Milan - which is ironic given our polarity last year!  Greece also in my 'green gang' 

A late draw and Norway will smash this.  Eric did well last year in spite of early draw and surrounded by other decent songs.  And remember - 'Stay' is written by the same guy as 'Popular' so he has a track record of knowing what the ESC public want.

Even Portugal jumping ship

https://eurovisiontimes.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/eurovision-2012-more-ogae-votes-announced/

OGAE top 5 so far   Sweden   Iceland    Cyprus   Serbia      Spain   
Kolumbus pre chart  Sweden   Spain      Iceland  Serbia      Italy - with Cyprus 6th

It's not a shocking record.

They've had the winner in their top 3 for 3 of those 4 years.

Russia were favourites and winners in 2008 iirc and polled well on Kolumbus and Azer were top 6 in the same poll last year.

and last year 22nd 15th 11th? and picking songs that haven't even qualified in their top 3?

I like to provide people with some facts and they can draw their own conclusions.

Personally as I have said previously fan polls have their uses if you know how to interpret them correctly

So will I Bex.

All I'm saying is polls are part of the jigsaw.

Looking at last years Kolumbus poll we had Hungary top.
Come the time of the rehearsals (if not way before) it was clear that the song was very weak live with poor staging and an average vocal.

We then have the UK. Again, poor live vocals and terrible staging.

France had a decent rehearsal, but on the night the guy lost his bottle, looked sweaty and was vocally poor. There was also the argument put forward by many beforehand that the juries wouldn't support an Pop-opera type song.

Estonia 4th - Still a slight mystery as to why it did quite so badly, but it was more Disney Channel than Eurovision.

Sweden - Finished 2nd?

Then we come to Azer, a country with tremendous record and plenty of allies. That was very well staged, instantly catchy and altho vocally a little iffy, it wasn't the type of song, unlike Hungary, that relied on a powerful vocal to have impact.


This year we're looking at a song at the top of the polls that is actually better live than recorded imo
Very strong vocally and brilliantly staged at the MF.

LOL I hope it drifts.
I'm just pointing out that the clear leader in the best poll we have has considerably more solid claims than last years in particular.

7.2 the Azzuri