http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news Blogs by Rodrigo Romero | The Eurovision Family of Events en-uk copyright: 2010 EBU/EUR Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:13:04 +0100 a53bb47e38020dea23034c23a05494c9 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=76402 Ok, so continuing the countdown to ESC 2011 now we have Belarus... and I really don't know what to say about them. I mean, their record is far from flattering, actually it's rather shitty. Their one true amazing entry came in 2007 when Koldun came the closest they've ever been to taking the crown ... Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:24:46 +0200 7929ccd7b8c22c791539b64adab4ddd7 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=74792 In the countdown from the worst to the best entries in 2011, position 41 is held by Lithuania. This country has one of the worst ESC records, only having made it to the final twice, and with a great number of bad placings over all. Their best result has been the gimmick entry 'We are the winners', ... Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:09:59 +0200 2d524073f5df3f4c821a2a855ab7e5eb http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=71642 So continuing my countdown to ESC 2011 from the worst to the best songs, position 42 is sadly taken by Belgium. And I say sadly because I hoped that after a couple of questionable entries, last year it seemed that the Belgians were on the right track. But it seems that they have completely lost it ... Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:21:35 +0100 ed948d503e61dbe8b99e007e754f1994 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=71362 The story of Malta in Eurovision is certainly bittersweet. They have one of the most beloved contestants in fans hearts, and yet they still need to produce a winner (or consistent decent results, for that matter). It's true that 2 out of the 3 entries that Chiara has taken to the contest are ... Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:30:46 +0100 201919c77d0d0407cbc717ab8059d7bb http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=47102 For quite a long time, a lot of eurofans complained about the unfairness of the voting system that started in the late 1990's, which in general terms gave a lot of advantage to countries with a lot of neighbors or with a big community living in other countries, giving place to what was then called ... Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:36:45 +0200 a4227c9d86c69b7f72821e4cf453b7b7 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=45642 Well, I'm finally back home after (here comes the bragging haha) a long trip all over Europe... well, not all over, but I did go to a hell of a lot of places. I'm very tired, so I went straight to what relaxes me the most: Eurovision!! I want to dedicate this post to my comments on the ... Sun, 20 Jun 2010 03:41:35 +0200 8ef778044d4ed32abd829c32e7287ee9 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=44612 A few days have passed since Eurovisoin 2010 ended. I didn't quite finished my reviews since, for some reason, I just couldn't log in to the page in the previous days to the contest. I tried every day since I arrived in Europe, and just couldn't do it. So, even if I missed three countries to ... Thu, 03 Jun 2010 01:58:52 +0200 9ea1f9087ebe89651e4ff17e50b54e3a http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=38142 Belarus is also one of the youngest countries in ESC, and their history hasn't been at all good, only managing to qualify to the final, and be placed in the top ten, for that matter, back in 2007 with the great 'Work Your Magic'. This year they chose two entries. The first one, I really liked; ... Sun, 23 May 2010 11:45:15 +0200 687934c69a462eb0feacafa297d10d68 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=37472 Keeping up the excitement and the secrecy is something that in Bosnia-Herzegovina they’ve managed to do pretty well, since last year, they announced who would go to Eurovision, the name of the song, but the presentation itself went really far into the season. This year they did the same, and then ... Fri, 21 May 2010 14:39:22 +0200 46582aa54d2594fa9f0edb53b449a391 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=37372 Another of the countries with a rather successful record in our loved festival is Israel. Three victories on their count, and one of them probably one of the most unforgettable songs ever… of course I’m talking about the 1998 winner, the fabulous Dana International with Diva. But not only their ... Fri, 21 May 2010 08:44:50 +0200 650d35aa37e826edb1d529113391ac9c http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=37362 Melodifestivalen is probably the national final that most fans await all year long more impatiently. The reason is quite obvious. SVT really takes it seriously and year after year they put a series of amazing shows together. That way they have produced amazing entries, no less than 4 winning songs, ... Fri, 21 May 2010 08:27:09 +0200 bbd9ebc6bd71f755c6cc343e33b21c20 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=37352 First like Serbia and Montenegro, and then as Serbia alone, the history of the Balkan country in Eurovision is remarkable. Top ten placings every single time they’ve appeared (except last year when they didn’t qualify to the final, although they did finish in the 10th position in their ... Fri, 21 May 2010 07:18:18 +0200 d4620088faae3979c167d294632e2c42 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=37342 How a country can go in one year from such an amazing entry to a shitty one is beyond me. How a country as successful as the UK can manage not only to be very successful in what I just said, but actually do it to perfection, is beyond me. Being the second country with the most victories and so many ... Fri, 21 May 2010 06:02:41 +0200 ce781fa0b7391d0b76635c2254a6c43b http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=37202 Greece has been one of the most successful countries of the late years. Not only have they been in every final since 2004, but they have reached a top ten placing every single time, achieving victory in 2005 with ‘My Number One’ which was, as well, considered among the best five songs in the ... Fri, 21 May 2010 00:02:15 +0200 0a8a92248d71606ca6dcb18adc43a0a7 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=37012 Estonia first came to Eurovision in the 90’s, and quite frankly, they have had a rather good record. They even won the contest in 2001 (which I think was probably the most undeserving winner ever, and I still think that that song was pure crap, but whatever), and with some falling downs, they ... Thu, 20 May 2010 18:19:37 +0200 79b974be648a19bcfd6dc06d8f3adb95 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36792 After year of crappy, and I mean crappy results for Germany, they arrive to Oslo as one of the hot favourites to win the crown. It’s crazy what’s happened to this member of the Big 4, but they just don’t get the results anymore. Whether the songs are good or not, that’s arguable, but ... Thu, 20 May 2010 03:23:17 +0200 3aea21ae2bb391ec1aed994d5186f7df http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36782 An original contestant of Eurovision, Belgium has been present in almost every edition, missing out only in three occasions. Yet, their record is quite bad. They do have one victory, and two runner up positions, one of which came in the last decade, but still, in general terms the small country ... Thu, 20 May 2010 02:43:19 +0200 b2b7ba1594525142257187ed3b9efa9f http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36772 One of the most successful countries of the latest years has been Russia. I even read somewhere that Russia and Ukraine had become the new UK and Ireland of Eurovision. I doubt that’s close to being true, but that’s not the point. The thing is that Russia has, in the 2000’s, had a really ... Thu, 20 May 2010 00:08:13 +0200 6c0916dae1a0f07008d54e47e7f84343 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36552 Portugal remains the longest participating country which has yet to win the competition. And, in general terms, they haven’t really been close to the crown with their highest position still being the 6th backing 1996. They did come second in the semifinal in 2008, and if the voting system would ... Wed, 19 May 2010 20:33:01 +0200 3bbc9bf04d1edec267ee8d8692092b98 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36382 Croatia seems to be a solid contestant in Eurovision. It’s one of the few countries which never suffered relegation, and since the introduction of the semifinals they have only missed qualification in 2007; true, last year they were the jury wild card, but then again, what matters is being there ... Wed, 19 May 2010 18:20:04 +0200 26f694c6148cb909e8365df0a043dd04 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36362 The early years of Romania in ESC were disastrous. However, after facing relegation in 2001, they haven’t missed a single edition of the contest, with their results improving greatly. At least, since the semifinal format was introduced, they have been present in every final (I hated that last ... Wed, 19 May 2010 16:27:42 +0200 079dcc4e60fcd55f07db40d067afe5d4 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36152 Boonika bate toba, boonika bate tare… That’s how Moldova came into Eurovision back in 2005, and what a debut they made!!! Second place in the semifinal, sixth in the final. Who doesn’t remember the grandmother in her rocking chair playing that huge drum!! Yes, that was the beginning of a ... Wed, 19 May 2010 05:32:08 +0200 2ff11a3dd3fdd1c89b35b52bcbd302af http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36142 What can be said about the Irish history in ESC that every fan doesn’t already know? They’ve won more times than anyone else, the 90’s were pretty much ruled by them, they send amazing ballads, they have the one guy who has managed to win the contest three times (two as a singer and one as a ... Wed, 19 May 2010 03:11:34 +0200 427c036a5417c8a0edd2bf4fe01c796b http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36122 Lithuania made their debut in 1994 with an impressive result… nul points. Ok, that was uncalled for, but honestly, their record hasn’t really changed that much, and their best position so far was with LT United back in 2006, when they achieved a 6th place in the final. This year they return to ... Wed, 19 May 2010 01:36:43 +0200 51eef77867f2ed1b2ecc7aaa317af5e7 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=36102 If there’s a country which has greatly benefited from televote, it’s been without a doubt Turkey. A lot has been said about their getting votes simply because they get them from their huge diaspora around Europe. And while that might be partially true, it would be very unfair to reduce their ... Wed, 19 May 2010 00:10:54 +0200 29119341696686e3e85f801492d5313a http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=35832 Another of our youngest countries in ESC is Bulgaria. Off to a rather discrete start, they failed to qualify in their first two attempts, but then made a U turn and qualified reaching their highest position ever with Voda in 2007. 2008 and 2009, however, saw them stuck in the semifinal again, last ... Tue, 18 May 2010 16:57:24 +0200 caad9e91713986e898f4c531fa0e3c6d http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=35602 Being a country with a rather irregular record doesn’t really matter that much if at least you manage to pull a victory some time. It probably matters even less if that happened let’s say in the past 10 years. That’s why no one really worries that much when two years in a row we see quite a ... Tue, 18 May 2010 07:12:17 +0200 df161c30c7d8e48b1b450ea1acf02845 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=33752 Slovakia was absent from ESC for 11 years, finally deciding to make a comeback last year. And what a comeback, I might add. I was of the opinion that Let’Tmou was one of the most unfairly treated entries last year, when it only managed to gather 8 points after an amazing (probably the best, voice ... Sat, 15 May 2010 00:46:49 +0200 1d784df49547c7a85b2390283e961611 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=33732 Young Georgia (in ESC terms) comes back for their third appearance this year. Our second youngest participant country presents us this time, after having a record of two appearances and two qualifications for the final, with a ballad in the voice of Sofia Nizharadze. Received fairly well among the ... Sat, 15 May 2010 00:05:14 +0200 fb295ed7acc524bff4bf060fa173c98f http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/rodras29/blog/?id=33662 Spain is one of the oldest countries in ESC, and member of the so widely debated Big 4. Their history in the festival has been mixed, with some amazing entries and some others which hopefully are by now forgotten. The last years have been less than flattering for the Iberian country, as since 2005 ... Fri, 14 May 2010 19:26:02 +0200