Cyprus-Forum.com

[magikthrill]

article from CNN:

Norway favorite to win Eurovision
Kiev hosts 50th annual European song contest



KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Middle-aged rockers from Norway won the audience's heart, putting them in pole position against a glamorous Greek female act for the crown at the Eurovision Song Contest this year.

Europe's annual extravaganza of florid musical groups and cheerful cheesiness got under way late Thursday in the Ukrainian capital with contestants from 25 countries competing in the semifinals.

Ten semifinalists, including bookmakers' joint favorite Norway, won the right to participate in Saturday's grand finale. Performers from 15 other countries already have won slots automatically, including Britain, France, Germany and Spain and the other top contender Greece.

Minor clashes broke out just hours ahead of the Europe-wide musical contest, as police dispersed anti-government protesters who rallied in front of the Sports Palace, the Eurovision's venue in downtown Kiev, using the spotlight on this former Soviet republic.

But inside, the attention of the 5,000-strong audience was firmly on the bands that displayed a bewildering range of musical styles and bright national costumes.

Austria's Global Kryner band, whose female lead singer was dressed in an Austrian alpine folk costume, opened the event with a song that was a mixture of Brazilian rhythms, yodeling and Dixieland jazz.

But neither thy nor Estonia's "Suntribe," an all-girl band of five who accompanied themselves with scratching on DJ turntables, impressed the Ukrainian viewers who gave them the thumbs-down.

It was Wig Wam of Norway, the odds-on favorites in Saturday's finals together with Greece's Helena according to bookmakers in London and Kiev, that got the biggest applause for their song "Come On," a heavy metal ballad reminiscent of Van Halen and Aerosmith.

Hungary's Nox, a black-attired ensemble which mixes Hungarian folk tunes with electronic music, were seen as the dark horse in the finals.

The other countries to advance from the semifinals were Romania, Moldova, Israel, Denmark, Macedonia, Croatia, Switzerland and Latvia.

Eurovision is one of Europe's major media events, with more than 150 million people expected to watch the televised final round. The winner is determined by telephone voting in each country.

Despite the intense interest in Europe, Eurovision's performers rarely make much of a dent in other cultures' consciousness -- a notable exception being ABBA, whose 1974 win with "Waterloo" launched them into worldwide stardom.

Last year's winner was Ukraine's Ruslana. Known for her negligible leather-and-fur outfits, she danced with modern aerobic intensity but her song was based on ancient tunes from Ukraine's wild Carpathian Mountains region.

Ukraine is unlikely to notch a second consecutive win, bookmakers seeing its entry as around an 80-1 shot. Even the group's name is a shaky proposition. Usually transliterated from Cyrillic as "Hryndzholi," the name's listed on Eurovision's Web site as "Greenjolly" -- a peculiar decision in that Ukrainians generally pronounce "g" as "h."

However they're spelled, the group's music may be unexpectedly familiar to anyone who watched TV coverage of last year's Orange Revolution. One of their rap songs was the unofficial anthem of the protests, often chanted by the huge crowds that gathered in downtown Kiev to protest rigged presidential elections.

"It was the song of the revolution, it has some meaning for Ukrainians, but not for the rest of Europe ... and it's not the best song we've ever heard," admitted a Kiev bookmaker who gave his name only as Anatoly out of fears for his job. Betting is not entirely legal in Ukraine.

The government of Yushchenko, who was elected after the protests, is eager to use Eurovision to promote his drive to bring the ex-Soviet republic closer to Europe.

City authorities have decorated downtown Kiev with orange ribbons -- Yushchenko's campaign color.

But his losing opponent in last year's elections, Viktor Yanukovych, sought to make use of the event for his own political ends, staging a protest rally that police broke up without making any arrests.

Security was tight near the Sports Palace, the contest's venue, and in downtown Kiev, where police searched cars and passers-by.

Police even deployed several river boats and divers to patrol the Dnipro River and the tent camp erected as an alternative accommodation for thousands of Eurovision fans on Trukhaniv Island, just outside the city center.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/0 ... index.html

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I had no idea Greece was high up there. Does anyone remember what the bookies had predicted last year?

[cannedmoose]

I think Ruslana was fave last year... Paparizou is still fave, but those Norwegian guys rocked last night... like a poor man's The Darkness...

[magikthrill]

they were good. i just listened to the song on the website and its really crap compared to elena. elena's song though has quite more of that trashy eurovision feel to it.

also i listened to maltas entry. that bitch is just a wannabe celine dion.

[cannedmoose]

they were good. i just listened to the song on the website and its really crap compared to elena. elena's song though has quite more of that trashy eurovision feel to it.

also i listened to maltas entry. that bitch is just a wannabe celine dion.

I don't care about Elena's song, I'm voting for her because she's a grade A babe...

As for the Maltese entry, I think that's one of the better ones... at least the Zeppelin woman can sing... if she was a LOT slimmer she'd actually be quite attractive too...

[magikthrill]

Zeppelin woman?

lmao lol

[cannedmoose]

You forget so easily Thrill

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/viewtopic.p ... c&start=60

[magikthrill]

sorry the question mark was erroneous. i just find it funny with that name. must say though it suits her quite well lol.

[brother]

That is very sizest against a probably very nice and larger than life person, sorry Ms zeppelin.

[Saint Jimmy]

OK, brother... So, you're chubby too, huh?

[cannedmoose]

Yes, I'm sure she's quite lovely... I did have a wicked thought though... in her video for the song, it's set on a beach. At one point there is a shot of her raising her arms to the sky, followed immediately by a shot of the beach with about 200 people laying spreadeagled on their backs... my first thought was jesus, her B.O. must be pretty bad to do that...