My Top 10

1. Estonia
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Iceland
5. Denmark
6. Greece
7. Spain
8. France
9. Israel
10. Portugal

My Results from the 1st Semi Final

2nd Semi Final ...

Only moments away!!! If you need a score card, see below or you can email me at ameurotrash@gmail.com and I'll send you the excel file.

1st Semi-Final

It's the big day for 18 countries ... in 11 hours I'll be holed up, incognito, in some Hollywood café watching the show live!! I'll blog real time about them too. Last year I watched in Café Europe - a wonderful coffee shop near to where I live, but a few months ago it closed it's doors for the last time as a victim of the recession.

Below are the top 10 I think will go though to the final, whether or not I actually like the songs (below is based on their live performances):

Montenegro - YES
Czech Republic - YES
Belgium - NO
Belarus - MAYBE
Sweden - MAYBE
Armenia MAYBE
Andorra - YES
Switzerland - YES
Turkey - YES
Israel - MAYBE
Bulgaria NO - THE STILT DANCERS ARE FUCKING AMAZING THOUGH!!!
Iceland - YES
F.Y.R. Macedonia - MAYBE
Romania YES
Finland - MAYBE
Portugal - YES
Malta - YES
Bosnia & Herzegovina - YES

My top choice: Iceland's "Is it True" sung by Yohanna

Ahh 10 days until the 1st semi final - it just makes my day (considering my wallet was ripped away from me) - yes "It is True" :O)

This has to be my favourite Eurovision entry this year - I'm going to make a prediction - it will be in the top 10; I hope it wins. She's beautiful and the type of girl i would marry - if she would serenade me every night (um ... even though she was born the year I graduated high school). She's got a great voice (and some damn smart parents/manager-see her history below), it's a nice little ballad, but it's so difficult to predict a winner at Eurovision - it depends on how she performs at the 1st semi final and the final (she HAS to get in), but as of now she my front runner.

Singer's History (per Eurovision.tv):

Yohanna (Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir) was born in Copenhagen, in October 1990, she was a gifted child who started singing even before she could talk!

Yohanna and her parents moved to Reykjavík in Iceland when she was just two years of age Later the family moved to Hafnarfjörður when she was eight. It was then that she had her first real opportunity to put her talent on show. She was one of seven hundred children participating in a song contest when singing teacher María Björk spotted her potential. She offered Yohanna a place at her singing school, and it was there that she learned the basics of performing modern pop songs. Everyone was amazed not only by the girl's perfect pitch, range, and maturity, but also by the control she displayed when performing.

Yohanna recorded her first album in 2000 at the age of nine, and it was released on her tenth birthday in the year. The debut album was a huge success and was followed up by a second album in 2001, confirming her status as a true child prodigy. Her third album, consisting of popular Christmas carols, was released in late 2003. This proved to be her last album for a number of years as it was a joint decision between her manager and parents to give Yohanna some space to grow up and work on her musical skills away from the spotlight.

In order to develop both her voice and her own personal musical style, Yohanna’s teenage years were spent working in and out of the studio with musical instructors, songwriters and producers. Educationally speaking, this was a busy period for a young lady who also tried her best to attend school regularly and have some fun with her friends along the way. Yohanna was nevertheless away from home for considerable periods, rehearsing in New York or Los Angeles and meeting with music business people all over the world. After turning down a recording contract with a major label, Yohanna spent some time in Denmark working on her vocal techniques. During this time she also recorded her first adult album Butterflies and Elvis with British songwriter Lee Horrocks and sound engineer Thomas Yezzi.

The album was well received upon its release in early 2008. Yohanna’s years as a child recording star were now well and truly behind her and she put all her heart and soul into her newly honed sound. When songwriter and producer Óskar Páll Sveinsson set out to ask Yohanna to interpret the song Is It True? for the 2009 Icelandic national Eurovision pre-selection song contest, he was looking for her particular R’n’B sound and style.

Lyrics
Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Semi-Final (1)
Performer: Yohanna
Song title: Is It True?
Song writer(s): Óskar Páll Sveinsson, Chris Neil, Tinatin Japaridze
Song composer(s): Óskar Páll Sveinsson, Chris Neil, Tinatin Japaridze
Back Up Singers: Pictured (Fridrik and Regina )

You say you really know me,
you’re not afraid to show me
what is in your eyes
So tell me about the rumours
Are they only rumours?
Are they only lies?
Falling out of a perfect dream, coming out of the blue.
Is it true?
Is it over?
Did I throw it away?
Was it you?
Did you tell me you would never leave me this way?
If you really knew me
You couldn’t do this to me
You would be my friend
If one of us is lying
There’s no use in trying
No need to pretend
Falling out of a perfect dream, coming out of the blue
Is it true?
Is it over?
Did I throw it away?
Was it you?
Did you tell me you would never leave me this way?
Is it true?
Is it over?
Did I throw it away?
Was it you?
Did you tell me you would never leave me this way?
Is it real?
Did I dream it?
Will I wake from this pain
Is it true?
Is it over?
Baby did I throw it away?

• Official Video


• Live performance


• 1st rehearsal on stage in Moscow

Iceland's Flag (just in case you wanted to know)

Sean's Personal Picks: 1st Semi-Final (Potential) Winners Part 1

The following list is only based from the songs on continuous loop blaring from my iPod. I'm not going off of the videos and/or live performances; in other blog updates I'll go through each video/live performance and shred each one to bits. They can sound incredible on tape, but if crap live they will never get to the final!! Lip syncing is FORBIDDEN at EUROVISION (that's probably why Britney's never "sung" there).

Out of the 18 countries in the 1st semi-final only 10 can go through to the final and my 10 choices are bolded/underlined below; they are not in any specific order of like or non-like or sorta-like:

Montenegro (fun)
Czech Republic (No, No, No - this is just wrong from the start)!
Belgium (um - no - is Elvis back?)
Belarus (not a fan of rock)
Sweden (not a fan of Opera, but enjoy ROK-PERA)
Armenia (very Jia Ho)
Andorra (ahhhh LOVE IT, her rolling Rs is music to my ears - one of my favs!!)
Switzerland (another fav! 80s punk sounding while Nirvana looking)
Turkey (very Euro-average, which makes it perfect for the semi-final plus she's hot)
Israel (LOVE IT another fav - it probably won't win, but should get through)
Bulgaria (catchy ROK-PERA)
Iceland (ahh what a great song! she's a blond beauty w/ a great voice - could win! in my top 10)
F.Y.R. Macedonia (hmm - hmm - i'm gonna pass)
Romania (catchy EuroPop sung by sexy Balkan girls in mini-skirts)
Finland (EuroRap-Trance-Pop - sometimes it works - i think this song still needs to grow on me)
Portugal (i usually don't like Portugal's entries, but this i do)
Malta - (pretty, but not a fav - have to see if the visual changes my thoughts, nice voice though)
Bosnia & Herzegovina (i like, i really like - live the drums)

Ok - I would pick Portugal too, but only 10 can go through. Let's see if any changes after I watch the live performances and official videos.

Extra points if you can guess which country the three pictures are from. Answer in my next blog update :O)

It's Almost Time!!!

Yep - that time has come where EuroTrashishians become as giddy as catholic school girls doing something naughty. EUROVISION 2009 is less than a month away - men and women all over the world will be watching with drunken baited breath (one must be drunk in order to watch). For one that's never been drunk - it's true, I've never been drunk - I'm trashed enough on Euro Glee that I slur my words, get overexcited screaming when a hottie starts singing and snarl at anyone that gets close to the TV remote. Eurovision can only be enjoyed on maximum volume!

I normally would post this on my personal blog, but since Eurovision is in a league of it's own I thought it could only survive with a blog of it's own.

Tune in on 12, 14 & 16 May to watch Russia host EUROVISION 2009!!!!