Showing posts with label Herceg Novi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Herceg Novi. Show all posts
Saturday, 29 June 2013
But where was Žare Berber?
Now, you may have noticed something unusual about this year's contest. That's right. Someone was missing. Those maths geniuses out there probably noticed that although there were 23 songs entered into this year's Suncane Skale, only 22 of them were performed tonight. Žare Berber, the famous Macedonian TV show host, Survivor contestant and of course barber, was absent tonight. Him and his song, Ponekad, were nowhere to be seen on the show. What happened? Where was he? Well, not at Sunčane Skale, obviously. Perhaps someone in the region could shed some light on the situation?
Congratulations to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia!
Well, that was bloody brilliant! A big congratulations goes out to the winning song tonight, which was 'Majske kiše' by Kemal Monteno & Teška Industrija, a song representing both Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. It proved very popular with, well, just about everyone,
Also congratulations to the second and third placed entrants, Danijel Pavlović for Serbia, and Joce Panov for Macedonia!
A big commiserations though to Progešila Roda, who I absolutely loved tonight! But for some reason they came last with 12 points. Maybe they were a bit too 'progessive' for this show?
And also Glenys and Kevin, who did Great Britain and America proud once again! You know what they say... they say dreams, are for dreamers. Also they said they both wanted to do the Eurovision! Yes please! I want to see the two of them on a Eurovision Song Contest in the future. Overall, they got 37 points tonight. My favourite song, 'Korak po Korak', by Igor Cukrov, only did one point better with 38.
(And yes, like last year I did do a write up about the show while it was on, but annoyingly I'll have to reformat it for blogger).
Next up though, a post about, well, the big mystery of the evening. The missing song of Suncane Skale, 'Ponekad'.
Also congratulations to the second and third placed entrants, Danijel Pavlović for Serbia, and Joce Panov for Macedonia!
A big commiserations though to Progešila Roda, who I absolutely loved tonight! But for some reason they came last with 12 points. Maybe they were a bit too 'progessive' for this show?
And also Glenys and Kevin, who did Great Britain and America proud once again! You know what they say... they say dreams, are for dreamers. Also they said they both wanted to do the Eurovision! Yes please! I want to see the two of them on a Eurovision Song Contest in the future. Overall, they got 37 points tonight. My favourite song, 'Korak po Korak', by Igor Cukrov, only did one point better with 38.
(And yes, like last year I did do a write up about the show while it was on, but annoyingly I'll have to reformat it for blogger).
Next up though, a post about, well, the big mystery of the evening. The missing song of Suncane Skale, 'Ponekad'.
And... the results are in!
 | |||
| Full Results of Suncane Skale 2013 |
Monday, 24 June 2013
RTCG Stream 29.06.2013
RTCG Stream
mms://beotelmedia.beotel.net/tvcg
What is this, you ask? Why, this is the official streaming link for RTCG (Radio i Televizija Crne Core). So you can type this into Windows Media Player, VLC media player, or any media player of your choice and it should work, and then you can watch Sunčane Skale, or you can watch Montenegrin TV all day long if you want to. Sunčane Skale is also going to be on the following channels:
MRT (Macedonia Radio Television)
CMC (Croatian Music Channel)
DRS (Drugacija Radio Stanica)
BHRT (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Z1
Net TV (Slovenia)
KCN (Kopernikus Cable Network)
Balkanika Music Television
DM Sat
Svet Plus - Radio i Televizija
Elmag RTV
Televizija BGD - tvbgd.com
SC - 29.06.2013 - 9pm (CET)
PS: I found out here that it also starts at 9:00pm (CET). I also found out that Montenegro is one hour ahead of us (the UK) so that's 8pm GMT. (Seriously are we the only country in the world to use GMT or what?)
Anyway, I hope this helped you! :D
mms://beotelmedia.beotel.net/tvcg
What is this, you ask? Why, this is the official streaming link for RTCG (Radio i Televizija Crne Core). So you can type this into Windows Media Player, VLC media player, or any media player of your choice and it should work, and then you can watch Sunčane Skale, or you can watch Montenegrin TV all day long if you want to. Sunčane Skale is also going to be on the following channels:
MRT (Macedonia Radio Television)
CMC (Croatian Music Channel)
DRS (Drugacija Radio Stanica)
BHRT (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Z1
Net TV (Slovenia)
KCN (Kopernikus Cable Network)
Balkanika Music Television
DM Sat
Svet Plus - Radio i Televizija
Elmag RTV
Televizija BGD - tvbgd.com
SC - 29.06.2013 - 9pm (CET)
PS: I found out here that it also starts at 9:00pm (CET). I also found out that Montenegro is one hour ahead of us (the UK) so that's 8pm GMT. (Seriously are we the only country in the world to use GMT or what?)
Anyway, I hope this helped you! :D
Sunčane Skale Official Facebook Page
Hello everyone, I've got a link to share with you all today, Sunčane Skale got a new official facebook page! All y'all with FB should go like, it already has 52 and the page has only been up for like, a day or something. By the way, the contest is this Saturday (I know, that came around quick), it's also been over a whole month since ESC.
Very soon I'll make a post detailing the stream that the Montenegrin TV station (RTCG) do, and other stuff, so that those of us not in the countries where it's being shown can watch it as well.
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Tahmina's New Song - Fairytale About Love
You might remember Tahmina Nayazova, she represented Tajikistan at Sunčane Skale 2012 last year with the song Boom Boom Boom and did very well. Now she has a new song, Fairytale About Love. Link provided by MeshPR, who helped a lot with that last post I wrote about Sunčane Skale, and he also wrote the lyrics to this song. Enjoy!
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Suncane Skale site updated, MP3s added
Well, I'm not exactly sure when this happened, but checking the Suncane Skale website just now, I see that all the MP3s have been added for all the songs from this year's contest, I guess because the contest is now only two weeks away (!) Well, I better get downloading, you should too!
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
More about Sunčane Skale 2013
Hey everyone, Britski here. I've just recently received an email from the project leader of Sunčane Skale and who was also in the PR for the Macedonian delegation from ESC 2013, and he told me a lot of stuff I didn't know about the contest this year, so I thought I'd share all of these things with you guys.
Well, first thing's first, I now have a link to the official Telman video, rather than a reupload - Тельман - Сердце пополам
He then also very helpfully linked me to a video of Mave O'Rick - Heaven, which was posted on Youtube yesteday.
Mave O'Rick is a German singer who took part in the Swiss national final this year, but didn't get through to the live show. Here is Mave O'Rick's song 'My Beat', which took part in the national final selection process.
And here is an article in which Mave O'Rick speaks to ESC Daily about this song.
And now about Ellyland:
"Ellyland from Azerbaijan is also very well known there not only in Germany. She was at the Azeri National Final 2010 when Safura won. She is better known as Elli in Azerbaijan. In Germany she started now the new project "Ellyland" thats why you see so many german comments on this video :) The song is at the moment released in Germany, Austria & Switzerland (so far as I know)"
I didn't actually know that Ellyland had taken part in the national final, but I found Elly's 2010 NF video here if you want to see that. She is also a former member of the German band Bisou which was formed on the German TV show Popstars by German rapper Bushido.
More on the Eurovision connection now, Pamela Ramljak was a member of the band Femminem, and Ivana Banfić was a participant at Dora, the Croatian national final for the Eurovision.
As was mentioned earlier, Glenys Vargas was the backing singer for Juliana Pasha (Albania) back at ESC 2010 in Oslo. Also, if you want to know more about this, I recently discovered that Glenys Vargas has a blog and in this article she goes into a lot more detail about her time at Eurovision 2010. If you're interesting in the behind-the-scenes type stuff at ESC, this is a very good read. Also, it appears that Glenys and Kevin have their sights set on Eurovision, and could possibly represent someone in the near future?
US/UK Entries:
2011 - Power Positive
2012 - Love Me, Let Me Go
2013 - Dream!
This will be the third time that they represent the US/UK. As always, good luck to all the entrants, and I must thank MeshPR again for his very helpful email.
-Britski
Well, first thing's first, I now have a link to the official Telman video, rather than a reupload - Тельман - Сердце пополам
He then also very helpfully linked me to a video of Mave O'Rick - Heaven, which was posted on Youtube yesteday.
Mave O'Rick is a German singer who took part in the Swiss national final this year, but didn't get through to the live show. Here is Mave O'Rick's song 'My Beat', which took part in the national final selection process.
And here is an article in which Mave O'Rick speaks to ESC Daily about this song.
And now about Ellyland:
"Ellyland from Azerbaijan is also very well known there not only in Germany. She was at the Azeri National Final 2010 when Safura won. She is better known as Elli in Azerbaijan. In Germany she started now the new project "Ellyland" thats why you see so many german comments on this video :) The song is at the moment released in Germany, Austria & Switzerland (so far as I know)"
I didn't actually know that Ellyland had taken part in the national final, but I found Elly's 2010 NF video here if you want to see that. She is also a former member of the German band Bisou which was formed on the German TV show Popstars by German rapper Bushido.
More on the Eurovision connection now, Pamela Ramljak was a member of the band Femminem, and Ivana Banfić was a participant at Dora, the Croatian national final for the Eurovision.
As was mentioned earlier, Glenys Vargas was the backing singer for Juliana Pasha (Albania) back at ESC 2010 in Oslo. Also, if you want to know more about this, I recently discovered that Glenys Vargas has a blog and in this article she goes into a lot more detail about her time at Eurovision 2010. If you're interesting in the behind-the-scenes type stuff at ESC, this is a very good read. Also, it appears that Glenys and Kevin have their sights set on Eurovision, and could possibly represent someone in the near future?
US/UK Entries:
2011 - Power Positive
2012 - Love Me, Let Me Go
2013 - Dream!
This will be the third time that they represent the US/UK. As always, good luck to all the entrants, and I must thank MeshPR again for his very helpful email.
-Britski
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Sunčane Skale 2013 Song List Released
Hello there, Britski here. I'm here again to talk to you about Sunčane Skale 2013.
Recently, a list of all the songs and artists due to perform on this year's Sunčane Skale has been released on the official Sunčane Skale website. Here, I go through Youtube looking for these songs and we'll take a sneak peek at what this year's contest has to offer. Keep in mind that, just like in the Bundesvision, just because the song titles have been put out there doesn't mean that all the songs are out yet, and a few of these I was unable to find. Well, most of them I was unable to find. (More surprises though for the actual contest, I guess). And weirdly, it looks like there is only going to be the 'Best Summer Song' part of Sunčane Skale this year, I haven't seen any news about the 'New Stars' thing they had last year.
---
Sunčane Skale - Summer Stars Songs:
Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne - Dream! (Britain and America)
Well, let's start off first of all with the British and American joint entry. After coming fourth in last year's contest, Glenys and Kevin are back again to fly the red white and blue (twice!) and are back with their song Dream. The song's got a nice message that we all should listen to. And the great thing about Sunčane Skale is that, unlike the Eurovision, we don't totally suck at it (poor Bonnie). We (and America) could get a good result again this year!
GO UK
GO USA
Rating: 9.5/10
Telman - Serde Popolam (Russia)
I don't remember there being a Russian entry last year, in fact I'm pretty sure there wasn't. But they are a welcome addition to this year's contest and their song ain't half bad. For some reason the music video is in Amsterdam. Also this video only has 20 views so you should totally go and view it right now and increase it to the high high score of 21.
Rating: 7/10
Kemal Monteno & Teška Industrija - Majske kiše (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia)
Another joint entry now, it's Bosnia and Croatia. Out of all the Sunčane Skale videos I have looked at today, this one has the most views. Over 100,000, in fact! I'll assume that Kemal Monteno and Teška Industrija are both well known in the Balkans. But could it be an omen for this winning? The song is great, starts out as a very nice ballad indeed, and then gets more uptempo as it goes on. Doesn't really fit with the quite dark music video, but hey-ho. And with this act seeming to be very popular, it totally has a chance of winning!
Rating: 9.5/10
Ivana Banfić - Izgužvana svila (Croatia)
I don't have a clue what the 'CMCFestival' is, but apparently this was on something called the 'CMC Festival'. (Could it stand for Croatian Music Festival??? Maybe?) But the song itself is very nice. Good job Croatia.
Rating: 9/10
Danijel Pavlović - 3 dana (Serbia)
Now it's Serbia's turn to impress us! This is a nice touch, it's really really good, in fact a great job by Serbia.
Rating: 9/10
Jelena Kažanegra - Za tvoje usne (Montenegro)
It's a fairly decent effort from Montenegro, I feel like I know this song already >.> Maybe that's a bad sign, perhaps it's too generic. It might not stand out in the contest.
Rating: 8/10
Ellyland - Colorized (Azerbaijan)
After their great attempt last year, Azerbaijan are back once again! Lots of comments in German on the video, I guess Ellyland is more famous in Germany than here. It's a nice effort from Azerbaijan. All that pop stuff ain't usually my cup of tea, but this sounds a lot like what would be on the radio over here, so this song could be a smash hit. Theoretically speaking, of course. I mean hey, the Wombles were number 1 over here, anything can happen.
Rating: 6/10
Igor Cukrov - Korak po korak (Croatia)
Four words for this Croatian song: this is bloody brilliant! I really really enjoyed this song, my favourite so far. Fantastic song from Croatia!
Rating: 10/10
Dejan Seferović - Novi život (Montenegro)
Oh hey, a Montenegrin entry that I could find! This is one of the few Montenegrin songs that are actually on the internet. A decent attempt from Montenegro. It's not half bad. In fact, a very nice song from Montenegro.
Rating: 9.5/10
Ivana Martinović - Dodaj (Montenegro)
Montenegro sure are entering a lot of songs this year. Well, it is their contest, after all. I'm sure I remember Ivana from last year's Sunčane Skale, but can't be bothered to go back and check. I can't fault her song this year either, it's very very nice. One of my favourites from this year's contest. Montenegro's putting up some very good songs this year.
Rating: 9.5/10
Zare Berber - Ponekad (Macedonia)
Wow, this is the first (and only!) of this year's Macedonian entries that is actually available now on Youtube. In fact, this video has been on the tube for a whole year. Well, who the hell is Zare Berber? Apparently, he was on the Macedonian version of Survivor. No I am not joking. That is the truth. I know nothing about Macedonian Survivor, or any of the Survivor series actually, so I don't know anything more about that. Oh dear Macedonia, your song is putting me to sleep. Zzzzzzzzz...
Fairly neutral towards this.
Rating: 6/10
---
Well, that was all the songs I could find as of now for Sunčane Skale 2013. Unlike last year's contest, I haven't really given out that many 10/10's yet. Only 'Korak po korak' got my 10/10 score. Maaan, I just feel like something is missing. I really wanted there to be some crazy Balkan ethnic music (preferrably with accordians and performed in silly ethnic dress/costumes). But maybe I'm just out of touch. With reality.
---
Youtube Links:
Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne - Dream! (Britain and America) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GSIikICWlM
Telman - Serde Popolam (Russia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDDQujxiDIo
Kemal Monteno & Teška Industrija - Majske kiše (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsUNYerf7CU
Ivana Banfić - Izgužvana svila (Croatia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq5HcCi4Jmc
Danijel Pavlović - 3 dana (Serbia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgAXeSMvGJ0
Jelena Kažanegra - Za tvoje usne (Montenegro) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg36qng-X9c
Ellyland - Colorized (Azerbaijan) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLB7RSNlEpE
Igor Cukrov - Korak po korak (Croatia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIGowtk3jGM
Dejan Seferović - Novi život (Montenegro) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoGKYby2EnU
Ivana Martinović - Dodaj (Montenegro) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc0puhqz4WQ
Zare Berber - Ponekad (Macedonia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKne4O4dSFw
---
These songs ain't on the internet (yet):
Marko Prentić - Na tamnoj strani mjeseca (Montenegro) - What a shame, Montenegro is the host country but their song isn't here yet. In fact, if you type this into Youtube no results come up at all. But I'll be looking out for this.
Denis - Sakrivam bol (Macedonia) - Now, although he is just listed as 'Denis', I assume that this is Denis Murat from last year's Sunčane Skale. It could be a completely different Denis from Macedonia, I don't really know. What I do know however, it that this song isn't on the interwebs yet.
Joce Panov - Boli me tvoj dodir (Macedonia) - "No video resullts for Joce Panov - Boli me tvoj dodir" Well, that just makes me a sad bunny.
Bojan Jambrošić - Hajdemo zajedno (Croatia) - Sadly they don't have this either. However, they have another song by Bojan called 'Preko ruba vremena' which is quite nice, hopefully his Sunčane Skale entry is just as good.
Kristijan Rahimovski - Dio naše ljubavi (Croatia) - Again, Youtube doesn't have this one.
Saška Janković - Ono kad (Serbia) - They don't have this either, although Saška was on Beosong 2013 with Duga u tvojim očima. It's always good to see people from the Eurovision/National Finals on Sunčane Skale. For me, anyway.
April - Paše mi (Slovenia) - Nope. Zip. Nada. Not there. Sorry Slovenia.
Mave O`Rick - Heaven (Germany) - Glad to see that Germany, my all time favourite country in the whole world, is back again this year at Sunčane Skale! They don't have this song yet though. Youtube tells me that Mave O'Rick was on something called 'The Worldstar International Contest' in Moldova. I've never heard of 'Worldstar International Contest' before. Why are there so many Eurovision spin-offs that I don't know about?
Pamela Ramljak - Ovaj put (Croatia) - Not there either. I think by this point there are more songs I haven't been able to find than those I could find.
Pero Stefanović - Sad ubijedi me (Montenegro) - A lot of Montenegrin entries this year. This one they didn't have either.
Deana Dasović - Ljubav od juče (Bosnia-Herzegovina) - "No video results for 'Deana Dasović Ljubav od juče'." No results at all.
Pogrešila Roda - Nije bitno (Serbia) - Aw, they didn't have this one either. A shame, cos this band's got a cool name. From Youtube it looks like they were on 'Serbia's Got Talent' or some show like that.
---
Well, there you have it! That's the end of that, until the 29th June, when Sunčane Skale is happening for real. Sunčane Skale 2012 was amazing, brilliant, perfect even. I sure hope this year's contest can live up to the legacy of greatness laid out before it. Oh, what am I saying, I'm getting too carried away again! See y'all next time!
Recently, a list of all the songs and artists due to perform on this year's Sunčane Skale has been released on the official Sunčane Skale website. Here, I go through Youtube looking for these songs and we'll take a sneak peek at what this year's contest has to offer. Keep in mind that, just like in the Bundesvision, just because the song titles have been put out there doesn't mean that all the songs are out yet, and a few of these I was unable to find. Well, most of them I was unable to find. (More surprises though for the actual contest, I guess). And weirdly, it looks like there is only going to be the 'Best Summer Song' part of Sunčane Skale this year, I haven't seen any news about the 'New Stars' thing they had last year.
---
Sunčane Skale - Summer Stars Songs:
Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne - Dream! (Britain and America)
Well, let's start off first of all with the British and American joint entry. After coming fourth in last year's contest, Glenys and Kevin are back again to fly the red white and blue (twice!) and are back with their song Dream. The song's got a nice message that we all should listen to. And the great thing about Sunčane Skale is that, unlike the Eurovision, we don't totally suck at it (poor Bonnie). We (and America) could get a good result again this year!
GO UK
GO USA
Rating: 9.5/10
Telman - Serde Popolam (Russia)
I don't remember there being a Russian entry last year, in fact I'm pretty sure there wasn't. But they are a welcome addition to this year's contest and their song ain't half bad. For some reason the music video is in Amsterdam. Also this video only has 20 views so you should totally go and view it right now and increase it to the high high score of 21.
Rating: 7/10
Kemal Monteno & Teška Industrija - Majske kiše (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia)
Another joint entry now, it's Bosnia and Croatia. Out of all the Sunčane Skale videos I have looked at today, this one has the most views. Over 100,000, in fact! I'll assume that Kemal Monteno and Teška Industrija are both well known in the Balkans. But could it be an omen for this winning? The song is great, starts out as a very nice ballad indeed, and then gets more uptempo as it goes on. Doesn't really fit with the quite dark music video, but hey-ho. And with this act seeming to be very popular, it totally has a chance of winning!
Rating: 9.5/10
Ivana Banfić - Izgužvana svila (Croatia)
I don't have a clue what the 'CMCFestival' is, but apparently this was on something called the 'CMC Festival'. (Could it stand for Croatian Music Festival??? Maybe?) But the song itself is very nice. Good job Croatia.
Rating: 9/10
Danijel Pavlović - 3 dana (Serbia)
Now it's Serbia's turn to impress us! This is a nice touch, it's really really good, in fact a great job by Serbia.
Rating: 9/10
Jelena Kažanegra - Za tvoje usne (Montenegro)
It's a fairly decent effort from Montenegro, I feel like I know this song already >.> Maybe that's a bad sign, perhaps it's too generic. It might not stand out in the contest.
Rating: 8/10
Ellyland - Colorized (Azerbaijan)
After their great attempt last year, Azerbaijan are back once again! Lots of comments in German on the video, I guess Ellyland is more famous in Germany than here. It's a nice effort from Azerbaijan. All that pop stuff ain't usually my cup of tea, but this sounds a lot like what would be on the radio over here, so this song could be a smash hit. Theoretically speaking, of course. I mean hey, the Wombles were number 1 over here, anything can happen.
Rating: 6/10
Igor Cukrov - Korak po korak (Croatia)
Four words for this Croatian song: this is bloody brilliant! I really really enjoyed this song, my favourite so far. Fantastic song from Croatia!
Rating: 10/10
Dejan Seferović - Novi život (Montenegro)
Oh hey, a Montenegrin entry that I could find! This is one of the few Montenegrin songs that are actually on the internet. A decent attempt from Montenegro. It's not half bad. In fact, a very nice song from Montenegro.
Rating: 9.5/10
Ivana Martinović - Dodaj (Montenegro)
Montenegro sure are entering a lot of songs this year. Well, it is their contest, after all. I'm sure I remember Ivana from last year's Sunčane Skale, but can't be bothered to go back and check. I can't fault her song this year either, it's very very nice. One of my favourites from this year's contest. Montenegro's putting up some very good songs this year.
Rating: 9.5/10
Zare Berber - Ponekad (Macedonia)
Wow, this is the first (and only!) of this year's Macedonian entries that is actually available now on Youtube. In fact, this video has been on the tube for a whole year. Well, who the hell is Zare Berber? Apparently, he was on the Macedonian version of Survivor. No I am not joking. That is the truth. I know nothing about Macedonian Survivor, or any of the Survivor series actually, so I don't know anything more about that. Oh dear Macedonia, your song is putting me to sleep. Zzzzzzzzz...
Fairly neutral towards this.
Rating: 6/10
---
Well, that was all the songs I could find as of now for Sunčane Skale 2013. Unlike last year's contest, I haven't really given out that many 10/10's yet. Only 'Korak po korak' got my 10/10 score. Maaan, I just feel like something is missing. I really wanted there to be some crazy Balkan ethnic music (preferrably with accordians and performed in silly ethnic dress/costumes). But maybe I'm just out of touch. With reality.
---
Youtube Links:
Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne - Dream! (Britain and America) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GSIikICWlM
Telman - Serde Popolam (Russia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDDQujxiDIo
Kemal Monteno & Teška Industrija - Majske kiše (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsUNYerf7CU
Ivana Banfić - Izgužvana svila (Croatia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq5HcCi4Jmc
Danijel Pavlović - 3 dana (Serbia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgAXeSMvGJ0
Jelena Kažanegra - Za tvoje usne (Montenegro) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg36qng-X9c
Ellyland - Colorized (Azerbaijan) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLB7RSNlEpE
Igor Cukrov - Korak po korak (Croatia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIGowtk3jGM
Dejan Seferović - Novi život (Montenegro) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoGKYby2EnU
Ivana Martinović - Dodaj (Montenegro) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc0puhqz4WQ
Zare Berber - Ponekad (Macedonia) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKne4O4dSFw
---
These songs ain't on the internet (yet):
Marko Prentić - Na tamnoj strani mjeseca (Montenegro) - What a shame, Montenegro is the host country but their song isn't here yet. In fact, if you type this into Youtube no results come up at all. But I'll be looking out for this.
Denis - Sakrivam bol (Macedonia) - Now, although he is just listed as 'Denis', I assume that this is Denis Murat from last year's Sunčane Skale. It could be a completely different Denis from Macedonia, I don't really know. What I do know however, it that this song isn't on the interwebs yet.
Joce Panov - Boli me tvoj dodir (Macedonia) - "No video resullts for Joce Panov - Boli me tvoj dodir" Well, that just makes me a sad bunny.
Bojan Jambrošić - Hajdemo zajedno (Croatia) - Sadly they don't have this either. However, they have another song by Bojan called 'Preko ruba vremena' which is quite nice, hopefully his Sunčane Skale entry is just as good.
Kristijan Rahimovski - Dio naše ljubavi (Croatia) - Again, Youtube doesn't have this one.
Saška Janković - Ono kad (Serbia) - They don't have this either, although Saška was on Beosong 2013 with Duga u tvojim očima. It's always good to see people from the Eurovision/National Finals on Sunčane Skale. For me, anyway.
April - Paše mi (Slovenia) - Nope. Zip. Nada. Not there. Sorry Slovenia.
Mave O`Rick - Heaven (Germany) - Glad to see that Germany, my all time favourite country in the whole world, is back again this year at Sunčane Skale! They don't have this song yet though. Youtube tells me that Mave O'Rick was on something called 'The Worldstar International Contest' in Moldova. I've never heard of 'Worldstar International Contest' before. Why are there so many Eurovision spin-offs that I don't know about?
Pamela Ramljak - Ovaj put (Croatia) - Not there either. I think by this point there are more songs I haven't been able to find than those I could find.
Pero Stefanović - Sad ubijedi me (Montenegro) - A lot of Montenegrin entries this year. This one they didn't have either.
Deana Dasović - Ljubav od juče (Bosnia-Herzegovina) - "No video results for 'Deana Dasović Ljubav od juče'." No results at all.
Pogrešila Roda - Nije bitno (Serbia) - Aw, they didn't have this one either. A shame, cos this band's got a cool name. From Youtube it looks like they were on 'Serbia's Got Talent' or some show like that.
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Well, there you have it! That's the end of that, until the 29th June, when Sunčane Skale is happening for real. Sunčane Skale 2012 was amazing, brilliant, perfect even. I sure hope this year's contest can live up to the legacy of greatness laid out before it. Oh, what am I saying, I'm getting too carried away again! See y'all next time!
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
I Guess This Is A Live Blog Of Sunčane Skale
Sunčane Skale - Pjesma ljeta (Summer Stars)
Update:
You can now watch Sunčane Skale - Pjesma ljeta right here on Youtube thanks to ArchiwumEurowizjiTV! ArchiwumEurowizjiTV also has a blog about the 2012 contest, which you should totally check out!
However, presumably because no one cared enough to record it there is no recording of the 'New Stars' (Nove zvijezde) event. I dunno why, but apparently Slovenia won that so congratulations to Slovenia!
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3rd July 2012
Welp, it's the day! Whadd'ya mean what day? Sunčane Skale of course! The (self-proclaimed) biggest music festival in the Balkans!
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Apparently we've missed something called 'new stars' and now it is the second say of Sunčane Skale (much like the twelve days of Christmas, it is clear that one day of this just isn't enough). Today Montenegro are trying to find 'the best summer song', which I'm sure will go on to be a global success and a worldwide hit! So, before we begin, let's have a look at the list of participants and go over a few of the names you might already know (remember, I said might!)
People you might (might) know if you watch the Eurovision national finals/the contest itself:
Vlatko Ilievki:
Macedonian Eurovision entrant of 2011 with 'Rusinka' and participant of the five-hour long edition of Skopje Fest. If you watched that for five hours then I feel sorry for you. (I mean, of course I watched it, I have no life. But if YOU watched five-hour Skopje Fest then...)
After winning the Skopje Fest, Rusinka went on to be the greatest Macedonian Eurovision entry of all time, and was all set to win the contest in May. Unfortunately, the voting public of Europe are well known for being completely tasteless and the song did not qualify from the semi finals in 2011. But their loss is our gain, and now he's back for Sunčane Skale 2012!
Martin Mrozinski:
Polish singer in 2010 with the amazing song Legenda, was somehow, like Vlatko, robbed in the semis, and didn't qualify to the final. Poland recently withdrew from the Eurovision due to a string of bad results despite sending great stuff, but don't worry, because they're not withdrawing from Sunčane Skale any time soon!
So yeah, these two guys didn't qualify for the final of Eurovision, but at least these guys made it to the contest! These next few didn't even get past the national finals:
And now we can take a little looky at some of the interval acts (info taken from esctoday.com):
"The interval acts of the 18th Sunčane Skale have been revealed. Marija Serifovic (winner of Eurovision 2007), Dado Topic (Croatia 2007), Rona Nishliu (Albania 2012),Tonci Huljic (Croatian composer) and Petar Gaso are the official guests and they will perform in the festival."
Excellent, so before we begin, let's briefly mention one more thing.
The British-American joint entry : The triumph of the Special Relationship:
Right, so I forgot to mention earlier. That Glenys Vargas from before? She's the British entrant. There's going to be a British entry tonight. Oh yes, this isn't just for the Balkans. Well... ok, so it's not entirely a British entry. It's a British and American joint entry, meaning that both we and America send it. (It's complicated, some of the other acts tonight are joint entries with other countries too.)
And it's not just Britain and America which are out of place in this 'Balkan' music contest. Other not-Balkan countries have entries too, Denmark, Germany, and most notably, Tajikistan (!!!), which is a country I sadly know nothing about.
So to recap: Britain-America: Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne - If You Love Me Let Me Go
I don't know which one's American and which one's British, but if they don't win tonight, I blame bloc voting.
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So I've been sitting here, watching Montenegrin TV, waiting for the contest to start already. Montenegrin TV ain't too bad though, they've had some other decent music shows on today. Oh hey, is it starting? Yes, yes it is!
And we start out with shots of beaches. To be fair I always thought Montenegro was right by Russia and it would be snowing all the time but god damn, look at this Herceg Novi place. There's beaches, the sun's shining. This ain't fitting in with my extremely narrow view of Eastern Europe. And we learn that this contest has a 'director' so if you got any problems with this tonight, take it up with Slobodan whatever-his-name-was. Aaaand there's still beaches everywhere. Stop it Montenegro, you're making me jealous, it's raining in Britain right now. Oh god we get it already, there's a staircase, sunny steps, it's sunny, they're steps, move on please.
And now here we are, at the contest itself! We see the stage, and our two hosts. I dunno what they're saying but I'm sure it's all very important. I can't explain what it is exactly but you know when there's just something about the camera and the production that makes a show feel really dated? Yeah? Get used to that tonight. They read out all the TV channels this is going to be on, no BBC I notice. (Seriously show this in Britain it's a lot better than the rubbish we have to put up with on a Sunday night.) Reading out a list of all the countries that are going to be on tonight, did he just say Spain? Spain?! Really?
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1 - Macedonia - Alexander Belov - Sve je ljepse u dvoje
First up, it's Macedonia! They got a cool flag, and a lot of beaches, apparently. Well, in their postcard, anyway. I kinda want the British postcard to be a rainy wet mountain. Cos, you know, anything else would just be lying/false advertising. Now, onto the first entry. Alexander ain't too bad, I'd say this is a lot better than his Skopje Fest entry. There's some backing dancers/singers that are so far away you can't really see them, and not a lot is going on on the stage, but this is minimalist Eurovision, remember? Also try to remember it's still 1994 in Sunčane Skale world. This song's pretty decent, and he's a good singer, I can't fault it. HE STARTED TO MIME AIR GUITAR AT ONE POINT
Rating: 9/10
2 - Albania - Enrika Derza - Jam E Imja
Next, it's Albania! They've also got a cool flag. The girl tried to say something in her postcard but they muted it so I dunno what she said. And now the stage is blue. The song kicks off with some hardcore metal sounding stuff. This is pretty epic. And luckily all the songs so far have been in foreign, so we don't get any of those half-baked Eurovision style nonsense lyrics. Seriously this is epic. Wait, are those the same backing singers that the other guy had? Yeah those are Aleksandar's backing singers. Oh I get it, it's the same all the way through. Anyway, that was bloody brilliant.
Rating: 9/10
Oh hey, the Austrian girl came on and she's talking English! Hoorah! It's great to see you too here at Sunčane Skale. I guess her song's going to be in English?
3 - Austria - Jade Davies - Love Crazy Girl
That title. What a great song title. Remember what I said before about Eurovision style nonsense lyrics? Well, here they are in all their glory. Aaaaah, the camera's jumping all over the place. The song's good, the lyrics are terrible. Sounds like something you'd hear on the British radio.
YOUR LOVE'S GOT ME GOING CRAZY
LET ME BE, BE YOUR BABY
And so on.
Rating: 7/10
4 - Greece - Elena Iliadi - Agony
Hey, it's Greece! She speaks English too! I'm surprised Greece didn't make theirs a joint entry with Bulgaria or someone to cut down the costs. Wait, how can Greece afford to take part in this again? Oh god it started and it's a dance track. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
DUN DUN DUN DUN
It's god a hella funky beat. I don't really have a clue what she's saying, is this song in English? Are you sure this song's in English? This is a pretty happy song to be called 'agony'. There's... I hesitate to call them dancers. She has these three guys who walk around her in a circle and flail about for pretty much the entire song. Greece does realise that you don't have to host next year's Sunčane Skale if you win, right? So there's no need to try and lose on purpose. Well, the audience seemed to like it anyway.
Rating: 6/10
5 - Montenegro and the Netherlands - Mico Vujovic and Wim J. Gerrits - Leave Her Alone
Now that's a brilliant combination. Montenegro and the Netherlands. It's so randomly wacky that this better be good.
Oh god it just started, I take that back, it's so cheesy. Cheese overload. Cheesy lyrics. Cheesy guys singing. CHEESE
"She is the picture in my frame" oh god. And then the Dutch guy runs on the stage and tells him to 'leave her alone'. The cheese continues.
Fun fact: Netherlands is the #1 producer of chees(y songs for Sunčane Skale).
And this is still going on! Please stop. The Montenegrin guy looks like Paul de Leeuw. This is getting silly. Montenegro, Netherlands, leave me alone. Please.
The best part is the ending. Because it ends. Thank god.
Rating: 3/10
Oh hey, now we cut to a host in... I guess it's the green room? I just saw a Polish flag! And an American one! And... Norway? Germany??? Let's play spot the flag! The Austrian girl is putting the names of all the Sunčane Skale entrants into her iphone for some reason. Well, we haven't heard enough of Love Crazy Girl just yet, so she sings a little for us as well. Here's the epic girl from Albania. Oh did she just bash Austria's entry? Oh no you didn't girl! There's just something great seeing people who don't speak English as their first language conducting interviews in English. And hell, that Albanian girl can hit the high notes.
Yay it's Alexander Belov! Aw, now they're doing interviews all in foreign and stuff. Now let's go back to (broken) English and talk to Greece! She wishes us 'happy summer'. Oh come on, we've already heard all of these songs already, why is the host asking them to sing part of it again. Oh no it's the cheesy guys. No don't ask them to sing any of their song. No really don't. Why aren't you listening to me? Come on, get to Britain/America already. And now we have some shots of the city and... it's night time in Montenegro already? How in the...?
Aaaaand we're back.
6 - Macedonia (again) - Dani Dimitrovska - Ne Pitaj
Now for the second Macedonian entry! Oh, it's a sad song. I thought this was a contest for summer songs. However, this is pretty good. No cheese, no annoying dancers. I don't know if I actually like this or the cheesy song from before it making this sound better than it actually is. It's pretty classy. Could do well at the Eurovision.
Rating: 8/10
7 - Bosnia-Herzegovia - Dino Kulenovic - Svirajte jos jednu pjesmu
Good lord, how do you even pronounce that? How does anyone remember the title of this? Well, there's no messing about in Bosnia, they get straight to their song. Lots of cool ethnic instruments. And we find out he wrote this song himself. I like it a lot but then again I do like all that rinky-dinky Eastern European music. I'd be happy if this won the contest tonight. And Bosnia, please enter this guy in ESC. Thanks. The song gets even better towards the end. And props to Dino for bringing a guitar out and playing it on stage.
Rating: 10/10
8 - Poland - Marcin Mrozinski - Is That A Real Love?
YESSS It's Marcin Mrozinski! Finally what we've all been waiting for, the Eurovision entrants. Well, what I've been waiting for, anyway.
The title of the song doesn't really make sense gramatically but oh well. He tried. It's pretty good, not as good as Legenda was but I like it a lot.
Is that a real love? Yes, yes it is. Go go Poland!
Rating: 10/10
9 - Norway - Rikke Normann - Fading Away
"Volim te Montenegro!"
And here's Norway! I dunno how all these not-Balkan countries get invited to a Balkan music festival, but oh well. Better not complain or they'll kick out us and America. And it beings... and it's a dance song... kinda. Good attempt from Scandinavia. But oh god these lyrics. Those terrible Eurovision-style broken English lyrics have made a reappearance. Listen to this pure poetry:
"What you touch you turn to gold, I wonder the weight your heart can hold?"
Truly prophetic lyrics from Rikke Normann, the great bard of Norway.
Rating: 6/10
10 - Croatia - Martina Vrbos - Na Kraju Grada
And it's the first Croatian entry of the night! I like that sparkly purple dress. Oh, it's a dance track as well? Ok then. A lot of dance tracks tonight. We got a city on the stage. Wait a sec, is she using autotune?! It kinda sounds like it. There's definitely some auto-tuning going on here... hmm... well, I don't exactly know what the rules (if any) of Sunčane Skale are, so maybe you're allowed to autotune, but still, it feels a bit unfair considering nobody else has used it (that I've noticed, anyway). Solid attempt from Croatia. I like the city effect for the background too. Now that it's night-time the stage looks a lot better (I'm guessing this is some sort of open-air venue by those beaches we've seen so much of.) It sounds like she's singing the same four words over and over again and I don't even understand Croatian!
Rating: 6/10
Oh great, we're in the green room again. And they're interviewing the Macedonian girl so it's in foreign. Host guy, stop asking them to sing parts of their songs. We'd heard these songs before, we're not goldfish, we do remember what we saw just a few minutes ago. Apparently the Norwegian girl knows some football players from Norway? Cool. He asks her to sing one of the most popular songs in Norway right now so of course she sings 'Fairytale'. Nice to know that that's still the most popular song in Norway.
"That song will never go old-fashioned in Norway." - Rikke, Norwegian poet
And we interview the Bosnian guy. I dunno what they're saying but Dino's song was ace. Hey wait a minute where'd his glasses go? He had glasses before, I swear! And now it's Marrrcccin! Keeping with the football theme they talk about Euro 2012 and other things that are of no relevance. Oh my god Marcin's got a British accent what the hell. WHAT?! He's got a nicer British accent that I have! And apparently this is the first time Poland has participated in Sunčane Skale. I notice that the Croatian girl's hair looks like cotton candy.
Oh hey they've got a huge fridge with a ton of beer bottles inside it. Dunno why they're showing us that. I guess Amstel are the sponsors of this contest since it's their beers in there.
11 - Germany - Robert Phoenix - Can You Feel How Much I Love You?
Oh wow the German flag! Weirdly I've got a big German flag just like that one. And we got some nice shots of a forest. Ok, so before we start I better say that maybe I'll be a teensy bit biased towards this song because Germany is my all time favourite country in the whole world... just warning ya. Anyway back to this song which is totally amazing and stuff. Turns about Robert Phoenix wrote this himself.
The lyrics are great, the music's great, can we feel? Hell yes we can. Germany to win! Germany #1
Rating: 10/10
12 - Serbia - Andrej Ilic - Sara
The Serbian guy walks off in the middle of his postcard. And is this the first Serbian entry of the night? I can't be bothered to go back and check but I think it might be. Oh, it's a sad song again. Not really 'summery' (if that's a word) but I quite like it. This song's real nice. And props to this guy for also bringing a guitar with him. Oh what, a girl started singing and the song switched into English. Cool. Bilingual bonus. Good effort from Serbia.
Rating: 9/10
13 - United Kingdom and America - Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne - Love Me, Let Me Go
Number 13, unlucky for some. But hopefully not unlucky for the British and American entry! True allies, unlike Montenegro and the Netherlands, which is just random. Hahahaha, our postcard has snow on it and grey clouds. The other postcards were beaches. Oh hey, ours has a beach now too. There's no way that's Britain. It can't be. I bet it's Montenegro. They're just trying to make us feel better about our awful weather. Maybe it's America.
So here come Glenys and Kevin, flying the flag for Britain (and America) but mostly Britain!
And we've got girls dancing about dressed in the American flag, and a cool rapper. I think the rapper is the British one. The song's pretty nice, and they're also the first act to have a proper dance routine/staging.
They sure make Queen and country (and president) proud! And remember, if we don't win tonight, three words: Balkan bloc voting.
GO BRITAIN
GO AMERICA
GO GO GO
#1
Rating: 10/10
14 - Spain - Salome Simone - Fumble In The Jungle
And now it's Spain's turn to impress us! What a great song title, 'fumble in the jungle'. I can't tell what she's saying but this song ain't half bad. A good effort from Spain. Tons of strobe lighting everywhere. I still don't know what the song is about. Something about a jungle?
Rating: 8/10
So, as this point in the show, I realise something. There's been no phone numbers showing at the bottom of the screen, as they do in ESC and the NFs... so just how do they decide the winner? I guess we'll find out soon enough.
15 - Tajikistan - Tahmina Niyazova - My Heart Makes Boom Boom Boom
Well, let's move straight on to Tajikistan. I know nothing about Tajikistan, so I'm going to base my entire opinion of their country based on the next three minutes. Let's see what they've brought to the table. Another great song title. More great broken English, but I can't fault them their, my Tajiki or whatever it's called isn't exactly up to scratch (or existing at all.)
Great song, I've decided that I like Tajikistan.
As Basil Brush would say, BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Rating: 10/10
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And now we're back in the green room. I don't know if all the songs have been performed yet. Wait, they can't have been, Vlatko hasn't been on yet. Well here's the Spanish girl. He calls Spain the champions of Europe and I seethe a little inside because I wanted Germany to win the Euro. ;_;
He asks her what the most popular song in Spain is and she sings... something. I dunno. Yay it's Robert Phoenix. Aw, he doesn't know good English, god bless him. And is that an American flag sitting on top of the German one? Wait, what's that red and white I keep seeing in the background? No Marcin, stop waving the Polish flag already, you've had your five minutes.
And now they interview the British and American entrants. LOL, Kevin is pretty funny. "No I'm Glenys!" And now they hijack the mic from the host guy. These two are bloody brilliant.
Well, they talk to the Serbian guy next, but there's no way he can top Glenys and Kevin. Serbian guy sings to a bottle of beer to some reason. Some sort of sponsored message I think. BUY AMSTEL
Hey it's the Tajiki girl. I've learned what the Tajikistan flag looks like today. So has the host, apparently. lol she forgot what Sunčane Skale was called. "The uh... magical... uh... amazing... festival..." Yeah , whatever that's called. The festival thing. That. You know what. And she sings some sort of Tajiki song for us.
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And we're back!
16 - Macedonia (yes, again) - Vlatko Ilievski - Nema Me
Yessss, it's Vlatko Ilievski! One of the best from Eurovision 2011, who doesn't love Vlatko Ilievski? Well, I guess people who vote in the Eurovision, but we've already discussed that they don't have any taste anyway. At least the voters of Skopje Fest know true talent when they see it. Gosh, look at this postcard. Macedonia sure looks nice. Great effort from Macedonia, and Vlatko's as brilliant as ever.
This song's great, Vlatko's great, this to win please.
GOSH HE'S SO CUTE!!! WAIT I NEVER SAID THAT
NO REALLY
HEY STOP CUTTING TO THE BACKING SINGERS
WE WANNA SEE VLATKO
WHAT?!?!
Rating: 10/10
17 - Azerbaijan - Seyran - Sunshine
Ok, I've calmed down now. Now it's Azerbaijan's turn! We're gonna let the sun shine! The lyrics are bizarre, although the song itself ain't too bad. Wow, it's pretty catchy. Uh... we got some Azeri dancing... type stuff. Those bright yellow outfits have got to win whatever the Sunčane Skale equivalent of the Barbara Dex award is.
Other than that it was really good. Great job Azerbaijan!
Rating: 10/10
18 - Montenegro - Kaja and Dobri Momci
Suuunčane Skale #1!
Now it's Montenegro's turn (again)! Yes, accordians! I love accordians! This is shaping up to be great! Oh my, this song just gets better and better. These guys are great! Did I mention how great this was yet?
Wow, they really are saving the best for last, that was bloody brilliant! 100000/10! Winner please.
Rating: 10/10
19 - Turkey - J-DA - Gel Gel
Here's the Turkish entry! Oh, this song is really summery. At least Turkey got it right, this is what a real summer song sounds like. Although I guess we don't really have a summer, so we're immediately at a disadvantage. Anyway, back to Turkey, this is a pretty solid song, nice song, it's in Turkish so no cheesy lyrics (well, maybe there are cheesy lyrics, but they're in Turkish so it doesn't matter), catchy tune, nice staging. And an actual dance routine/staging from J-DA. Could it win? Possibly.
Rating: 9/10
20 - Croatia - Magazin - Dusu Nemas Da Me Na Njoj Nosis
No way in hell am I gonna remember that song title. Now, apparently Magazin were on Eurovision this one time, but I don't remember them. Oh, nice flute. Very nice ethnic feel. Not really a 'summer song', but it doesn't seem most entrants are trying a summer song in this competition for summer songs.
Rating: 10/10
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Aaand we're back in the green room. Is that all the songs for tonight? "What a beautiful woman... girl." Excellent hosting skills.
Interview with J-DA, which we learn is pronounced Jaydar, and she starts to rap holy hell. She ain't half bad. Here's Seyran from Azerbaijan, which we know very well from this year's Eurovision that wasn't all that long ago. Seyran pours compliments on every single country and promises to be back at Sunčane Skale next year. Please do, you were great.
Seyran sings an Azeri song for us as Marcin still insists on waving his Polish flag in the background.
Yay it's Vlatko Ilievski! YAYAYAYAYAYAY
I dunno what he's saying but I totally agree. 10/10 great words of wisdom. Can Macedonia take the trophy home tonight? Well, they have about 100 entries so statistically they've got a good chance if nothing else. Vlatko's singing something about Macedonia. Wait, is the Croatian girl in the background taking a picture of Vlatko on her phone? Hahahahaha
He interviews the accordian band and they're bloody brilliant as ever. I don't remember if they were from Serbia or Croatia though. Oh well. (EDIT: Wait they were from Montenegro I'm such a derp)
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And we're back to the stage. I think she's thanking the people who do the contest but I can't tell. Is this the end yet? Wait, there's more songs?! What?! Yup, it looks like there's more. 20 just wasn't enough.
21 - Serbia (again) - Dusan Svilar - Kao Tebe
Oooh, nice ethnic feel to this one. It's a beautiful song, he's a good singer. It's a nice, slow ballad from Serbia. Makes a change from all the DANCE DANCE PARTY music we've been hearing tonight. Could the difference be the edge that brings it to victory? No because Britain's going to win. Wait I mean, yes.
Rating: 8/10
22 - Slovenia - Nusa Derenda - Ja I Sebe Vjerujem
Nusa Derenda is a pretty cool name. I feel like I know that name from somewhere, was she on ESC?! EMA perhaps? But it's yet another song title I won't remember. Verjamem? Something like that. The song starts out well enough, it's quite nice. Sounds like something you'd hear on the ESC proper. Gets a little more upbeat later. I really like the chorus. Very nice song from Slovenia. The ending is amazing. This could win 100%.
Rating: 10/10
23 - Turkey (again) - Deniz Cem - I Just Need Your Love
I feel like I recognise this dude. I don't know why, I don't know who he is, I've never seen him before. Oh, and the song starts, that's very nice. Very very nice trumpet solo. Is this using a sample of Mr. Saxobeat? Maybe all trumpet music just sounds the same to me. It's really good. They really are saving the best stuff til last. I think I've used this phrase about ten times before now about this contest, but that was bloody fantastic. Great job Turkey!
Rating: 10/10
24 - Montenegro - Ivana Martinovic - Slobodna
I mean, this must be the last song by now, musn't it? There can't be more, surely! Hmm, I like it when they do the songs in their native language more than when they do them in English. This is very nice. Well, what more could we expect from the host country? Nice work Montenegro.
Rating: 8/10
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Zoom in on a giant Turkish flag for some reason. And now we're back in the green room. Deniz speaks English very well. Hey, Croatian girl, stop interrupting Deniz, this is his interview, you've had yours already. Deniz sings some sort of Turkish rap thing. Hooray it's Slovenia! Slovenia's got a cool flag, and a great song. And yes, I am certain now that girl was on the Eurovision. I just noticed how epic the Montenegrin flag is.
So, is that all the songs from tonight's Sunčane Skale? I mean, they couldn't possibly squeeze any more in, could they?
Ok, so we're having a recap of all the songs, so I guess that's the end. But there's no numbers to vote for, so I guess there's no telephone vote for this show. But if there's no phone vote then what's the point of showing a recap? Questions questions. Unfortunately not answers, because this makes no flamin' sense. It's like it's trying very hard to be the Eurovision Song Contest but without one of the fundamental parts, the blooming phone vote! Seriously this recap is still going on. Who exactly is the recap for if there's no voting public? Just to show us all the songs again? And when exactly is Britain going to take home the trophy?
Wait I just noticed that spelt 'Phoenix' wrong as 'Pheonix' in Robert Phoenix. o_O
Well, the recap ended. The two hosts are talking about... something or other. And they're both sitting on chairs really far apart from each other for some reason, as if they've had a row when we weren't looking and now don't want to be together. No autocues in Montenegro, they're reading from bits of paper.
Wait, who the hell are these people now walking onto the stage? Why is there a trumpet? What on Earth is he wearing? What is going on, why is this happening??? There's some sort of band performing now, I guess they're the interval act. First impressions aren't everything, they're actually pretty good. I like the instrumental part. Apparently this guy is called Petar Graso, and he's pretty famous in the Balkans.
Oh well, time now for some Balkan oompah music and bird whistling. I want to say I don't like it, but I can't, it's bloody great. Vodka! Tequila! And so I googled 'Petar Graso Vodka Tequila' and found out that this song is called 'Delirium Tremens.' Delirium Tremens - Rating: 10/10
Marija Serifovic is coming on now. Yesyesyes! Wait why is she wearing sunglasses? I know we're on the beach but it's been night time here for about two hours or something. Oh well, great as ever!
Now the hosts are back so I guess that it the end of the interval acts. I think this is the jury. As a true, balanced and fair contest, the public aren't going to be asked their opinion, it's all down to these juries from countries all over the Balkans (and beyond). And here's the scoreboard! Looking at the scoreboard, we learn that J-DA's real name is 'Meral Centidag' and that Robert Phoenix is still spelt Pheonix.
The voting system that follows will be extremely familiar to anyone who follows the Eurovision Song Contest. Because it's the exact same voting system. Well, why change perfection? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
And now for the first juries' votes! I didn't catch what country this was but they gave Glenys and Kevin four points so on behalf of Britain I thank unnamed country. I guess that technically, much like the Bundesvision, countries can vote for themselves. Hey, Marcin got 3 points! Well, 12 points to Azerbaijan, Seyran's off to a flying start. Can Azerbaijan win both Sunčane Skale and Eurovision?
Spanish jury now. And they give their results in English! And they do that annoying 'thanks for the great show' thing that all the spokespeople do in Eurovision. And we receive four points again from the Spanish jury. Wooo, go Britain, go America! Holy hell Vlatko still has no points, this is a complete travesty. Give Vlatko points someone. I guess we'll have to wait for the Macedonian jury to vote for the big points. :S
Wow, 8 points to Poland and Marcin!
10 points to Tajikistan and Boom Boom Boom!
And finally, 12 points to Aleksandar Belov! <3
And the next jury member also does the "thanks for the show" schtick. This is getting too much like Eurovision. Dunno what country this is who is voting now.
Oh hey, 8 points to Vlatko! Hooray! It's about time! <3
10 points to Glenys and Kevin!
12 points to Ivana Martinovic!
Next voting is Turkey! Let's see if we get any points from them. We got five points from Turkey! Thanks Turkey! Ivana gets 8, Boom Boom gets 10 and... after a delay, 12 points to Seyran! Britain is fifth! We're doing considerably better than we do in the actual Eurovision.
Poland giving their votes in English and we have a video link rather than the Spanish phone link.
8 points to J-DA from Turkey!
10 points to Enrika from Albania!
And 12 points to Duslan Svilar from Serbia!
Britain-America got no points ;_;
Vlatko no points ;_;
Slovenia voting next, and here's Darko Berlic, I have no idea who that is. It seems they couldn't afford a videolink so we have a telephone connection again. It's really bad, it sounds like he's talking from the moon or something.
8 points to Ivana!
10 points to Martina Vrbos!
And 12 points... not to Slovenia... to Macedonia! Aleksandar Belov! <3
Someone else giving their votes in English. Vlatko got 5! <3
8 points go to Marcin! <3
10 points go to Boom Boom Boom!
And 12 points go to Great Britain and America, Kevin and Glenys! <3
Now Aleksandar is first, but... we're second! Britain is second!!!! Pinch me I must be dreaming.
Here's the votes from Tajikistan. Terrible moon phone conection again. Vlatko got 3 <3
8 points to J-DA!
10 points to Kaja and Dobri Momci! <3
And 12 points to Duslan Svilar!
Next it's some other jury that speaks English.
8 points to Austria!
10 points to Greece!
And 12 points to... Tajikistan! Boom Boom Boom!
This brings Tajikistan to the first position, pushing Aleksandar to second and Glenys and Kevin down to third.
Next it's the German jury, and Stefan here has a considerably better phone connection than the others. Germanyyy <3 <3 <3
8 points to Seyran!
10 points to Marcin! <3
And 12 points to Deniz! <3
Next it's someone... uh... I dunno who this is. We receive two points from them though.
8 points to Magazin!
10 points to Duslan Svilar!
And 12 points to Seyran!
And this pushes Seyran to the first position, knocking J-DA down to second. Glenys and Kevin are still holding on to third place, Marcin is in fourth. Tahmina is fifth and somehow Aleksandar Belov's wonderful song has been knocked down to sixth. It's a close run race, with Azerbaijan and Turkey out in the lead but only ever so slightly. Montenegro and the Netherlands' disastorous show currently has 0 points. Can they get the Sunčane Skale nul points? Only time will tell.
They go to the Austrian jury but it shows the Azerbaijan flag for some reason, and the Austrian dude speaks Serbian? Vlatko got three from Austria <3 Marcin got four, Aleksandar got one <3 <3
8 points to... United Kingdom and America!
10 points to... Macedonia!
And finally, 12 Austrian points to... J-DA!
Seyran is still in the lead but J-DA is catching up.
Next it's the Azeri jury! He can't speak Serbian so we're back to English.
8 points go to Germany! Robert Phoenix! <3
10 points go to Austria!
And finally, 12 Azeri points go to... J-DA! Well, Turkey and Azerbaijan are BFF. This pulls J-DA into the lead by a considerable amount. Ironically, the Azeri votes knocked Azerbaijan to second place.
Next it's the Norwegian jury! Is the host translating everything that the Norwegian guy is saying?
8 points to Aleksandar Belov! <3
10 points to Glenys and Kevin! <3
And finally 12 points go to Enrika Derza!!!
Thanks Norway, now onto the Croatian jury!
8 points to Macedonia!
10 points to Slovenia!
And 12 points to... Croatia! Wait a minute, this is the Croatian jury! Hey! Honestly though, I'm surprised more countries haven't given themselves 12 points.
Now the jury from Bosnia-Herzegovina!
8 points to Slovenia!
10 points to Serbia!
And 12 points to Croatia!
Britain-America is now second! J-DA is still in the lead but only by three points! (Someone give Britain four points please)
The next jury members microphone is broken >.> Maybe they should have used the moon landline they have there. We got three points, but they gave J-DA point too.
8 points to Turkey!
10 points to Serbia!
And 12 points to... Azerbaijan!
Now J-DA is ahead of Seyran by only one point. Marcin is now third and Glenys and Kevin are in fourth.
Well, that's it, J-DA has won Sunčane Skale 2012 with Gel Gel! J-DA steps out and they bring the second and third place onto the stage too. They get gold, silver and bronze awards. Congrats also to Azerbaijan and Poland on being second and third! Well, that's all folks!
Congratulations J-DA! Congratulations Turkey! You won Sunčane Skale! See ya next year in Turke... uh... Montenegro!
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I also have the following two songs on my ipod for some reason, they're from the 'New Stars' evening so I didn't see 'em performed, but here's my ratings:
Joca i Zmajevi - Naocare - Pretty cool song from, uh, well actually I don't remember what country this one's from. Serbia, maybe? Google translate tells me that 'Naocare' means knife, but apparently it also means sunglasses? I'm sure that causes some confusion. Rating: 8/10
Denis Murat - Ti si pesnata - Nice ballad from Macedonia, pretty nice song, haunting melody - Rating: 9/10
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So, that's it for Sunčane Skale, a big thanks to the wonderful beach city of Herceg Novi for the fantastic show tonight, and of course to all the participants of this year's contest! I'll see y'all next year!
Update:
You can now watch Sunčane Skale - Pjesma ljeta right here on Youtube thanks to ArchiwumEurowizjiTV! ArchiwumEurowizjiTV also has a blog about the 2012 contest, which you should totally check out!
However, presumably because no one cared enough to record it there is no recording of the 'New Stars' (Nove zvijezde) event. I dunno why, but apparently Slovenia won that so congratulations to Slovenia!
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3rd July 2012
Welp, it's the day! Whadd'ya mean what day? Sunčane Skale of course! The (self-proclaimed) biggest music festival in the Balkans!
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Apparently we've missed something called 'new stars' and now it is the second say of Sunčane Skale (much like the twelve days of Christmas, it is clear that one day of this just isn't enough). Today Montenegro are trying to find 'the best summer song', which I'm sure will go on to be a global success and a worldwide hit! So, before we begin, let's have a look at the list of participants and go over a few of the names you might already know (remember, I said might!)
People you might (might) know if you watch the Eurovision national finals/the contest itself:
Vlatko Ilievki:
Macedonian Eurovision entrant of 2011 with 'Rusinka' and participant of the five-hour long edition of Skopje Fest. If you watched that for five hours then I feel sorry for you. (I mean, of course I watched it, I have no life. But if YOU watched five-hour Skopje Fest then...)
After winning the Skopje Fest, Rusinka went on to be the greatest Macedonian Eurovision entry of all time, and was all set to win the contest in May. Unfortunately, the voting public of Europe are well known for being completely tasteless and the song did not qualify from the semi finals in 2011. But their loss is our gain, and now he's back for Sunčane Skale 2012!
Martin Mrozinski:
Polish singer in 2010 with the amazing song Legenda, was somehow, like Vlatko, robbed in the semis, and didn't qualify to the final. Poland recently withdrew from the Eurovision due to a string of bad results despite sending great stuff, but don't worry, because they're not withdrawing from Sunčane Skale any time soon!
So yeah, these two guys didn't qualify for the final of Eurovision, but at least these guys made it to the contest! These next few didn't even get past the national finals:
- Ivana Martinovic – Serbia & Montenegro 2005
- Rikke Norman – Norway 2011 & 2012
- Kaja – Serbia & Montenegro 2004
- Aleksandar Belov – Macedonia 2010
- Andrej Ilic – Serbia 2008 & 2009
- Seyran – Azerbaijan 2011
- Jade Davies – Austria 2005
- Nusa Derenda – Slovenia 2001
- Magazin – Croatia 1995
And now we can take a little looky at some of the interval acts (info taken from esctoday.com):
"The interval acts of the 18th Sunčane Skale have been revealed. Marija Serifovic (winner of Eurovision 2007), Dado Topic (Croatia 2007), Rona Nishliu (Albania 2012),Tonci Huljic (Croatian composer) and Petar Gaso are the official guests and they will perform in the festival."
Excellent, so before we begin, let's briefly mention one more thing.
The British-American joint entry : The triumph of the Special Relationship:
Right, so I forgot to mention earlier. That Glenys Vargas from before? She's the British entrant. There's going to be a British entry tonight. Oh yes, this isn't just for the Balkans. Well... ok, so it's not entirely a British entry. It's a British and American joint entry, meaning that both we and America send it. (It's complicated, some of the other acts tonight are joint entries with other countries too.)
And it's not just Britain and America which are out of place in this 'Balkan' music contest. Other not-Balkan countries have entries too, Denmark, Germany, and most notably, Tajikistan (!!!), which is a country I sadly know nothing about.
So to recap: Britain-America: Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne - If You Love Me Let Me Go
I don't know which one's American and which one's British, but if they don't win tonight, I blame bloc voting.
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So I've been sitting here, watching Montenegrin TV, waiting for the contest to start already. Montenegrin TV ain't too bad though, they've had some other decent music shows on today. Oh hey, is it starting? Yes, yes it is!
 |
| Sunnier than Britain |
And we start out with shots of beaches. To be fair I always thought Montenegro was right by Russia and it would be snowing all the time but god damn, look at this Herceg Novi place. There's beaches, the sun's shining. This ain't fitting in with my extremely narrow view of Eastern Europe. And we learn that this contest has a 'director' so if you got any problems with this tonight, take it up with Slobodan whatever-his-name-was. Aaaand there's still beaches everywhere. Stop it Montenegro, you're making me jealous, it's raining in Britain right now. Oh god we get it already, there's a staircase, sunny steps, it's sunny, they're steps, move on please.
 |
| State of the art stage |
And now here we are, at the contest itself! We see the stage, and our two hosts. I dunno what they're saying but I'm sure it's all very important. I can't explain what it is exactly but you know when there's just something about the camera and the production that makes a show feel really dated? Yeah? Get used to that tonight. They read out all the TV channels this is going to be on, no BBC I notice. (Seriously show this in Britain it's a lot better than the rubbish we have to put up with on a Sunday night.) Reading out a list of all the countries that are going to be on tonight, did he just say Spain? Spain?! Really?
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1 - Macedonia - Alexander Belov - Sve je ljepse u dvoje
First up, it's Macedonia! They got a cool flag, and a lot of beaches, apparently. Well, in their postcard, anyway. I kinda want the British postcard to be a rainy wet mountain. Cos, you know, anything else would just be lying/false advertising. Now, onto the first entry. Alexander ain't too bad, I'd say this is a lot better than his Skopje Fest entry. There's some backing dancers/singers that are so far away you can't really see them, and not a lot is going on on the stage, but this is minimalist Eurovision, remember? Also try to remember it's still 1994 in Sunčane Skale world. This song's pretty decent, and he's a good singer, I can't fault it. HE STARTED TO MIME AIR GUITAR AT ONE POINT
Rating: 9/10
2 - Albania - Enrika Derza - Jam E Imja
Next, it's Albania! They've also got a cool flag. The girl tried to say something in her postcard but they muted it so I dunno what she said. And now the stage is blue. The song kicks off with some hardcore metal sounding stuff. This is pretty epic. And luckily all the songs so far have been in foreign, so we don't get any of those half-baked Eurovision style nonsense lyrics. Seriously this is epic. Wait, are those the same backing singers that the other guy had? Yeah those are Aleksandar's backing singers. Oh I get it, it's the same all the way through. Anyway, that was bloody brilliant.
Rating: 9/10
Oh hey, the Austrian girl came on and she's talking English! Hoorah! It's great to see you too here at Sunčane Skale. I guess her song's going to be in English?
3 - Austria - Jade Davies - Love Crazy Girl
That title. What a great song title. Remember what I said before about Eurovision style nonsense lyrics? Well, here they are in all their glory. Aaaaah, the camera's jumping all over the place. The song's good, the lyrics are terrible. Sounds like something you'd hear on the British radio.
YOUR LOVE'S GOT ME GOING CRAZY
LET ME BE, BE YOUR BABY
And so on.
Rating: 7/10
4 - Greece - Elena Iliadi - Agony
Hey, it's Greece! She speaks English too! I'm surprised Greece didn't make theirs a joint entry with Bulgaria or someone to cut down the costs. Wait, how can Greece afford to take part in this again? Oh god it started and it's a dance track. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
DUN DUN DUN DUN
It's god a hella funky beat. I don't really have a clue what she's saying, is this song in English? Are you sure this song's in English? This is a pretty happy song to be called 'agony'. There's... I hesitate to call them dancers. She has these three guys who walk around her in a circle and flail about for pretty much the entire song. Greece does realise that you don't have to host next year's Sunčane Skale if you win, right? So there's no need to try and lose on purpose. Well, the audience seemed to like it anyway.
Rating: 6/10
5 - Montenegro and the Netherlands - Mico Vujovic and Wim J. Gerrits - Leave Her Alone
Now that's a brilliant combination. Montenegro and the Netherlands. It's so randomly wacky that this better be good.
Oh god it just started, I take that back, it's so cheesy. Cheese overload. Cheesy lyrics. Cheesy guys singing. CHEESE
"She is the picture in my frame" oh god. And then the Dutch guy runs on the stage and tells him to 'leave her alone'. The cheese continues.
Fun fact: Netherlands is the #1 producer of chees(y songs for Sunčane Skale).
And this is still going on! Please stop. The Montenegrin guy looks like Paul de Leeuw. This is getting silly. Montenegro, Netherlands, leave me alone. Please.
The best part is the ending. Because it ends. Thank god.
Rating: 3/10
Oh hey, now we cut to a host in... I guess it's the green room? I just saw a Polish flag! And an American one! And... Norway? Germany??? Let's play spot the flag! The Austrian girl is putting the names of all the Sunčane Skale entrants into her iphone for some reason. Well, we haven't heard enough of Love Crazy Girl just yet, so she sings a little for us as well. Here's the epic girl from Albania. Oh did she just bash Austria's entry? Oh no you didn't girl! There's just something great seeing people who don't speak English as their first language conducting interviews in English. And hell, that Albanian girl can hit the high notes.
Yay it's Alexander Belov! Aw, now they're doing interviews all in foreign and stuff. Now let's go back to (broken) English and talk to Greece! She wishes us 'happy summer'. Oh come on, we've already heard all of these songs already, why is the host asking them to sing part of it again. Oh no it's the cheesy guys. No don't ask them to sing any of their song. No really don't. Why aren't you listening to me? Come on, get to Britain/America already. And now we have some shots of the city and... it's night time in Montenegro already? How in the...?
Aaaaand we're back.
6 - Macedonia (again) - Dani Dimitrovska - Ne Pitaj
Now for the second Macedonian entry! Oh, it's a sad song. I thought this was a contest for summer songs. However, this is pretty good. No cheese, no annoying dancers. I don't know if I actually like this or the cheesy song from before it making this sound better than it actually is. It's pretty classy. Could do well at the Eurovision.
Rating: 8/10
7 - Bosnia-Herzegovia - Dino Kulenovic - Svirajte jos jednu pjesmu
Good lord, how do you even pronounce that? How does anyone remember the title of this? Well, there's no messing about in Bosnia, they get straight to their song. Lots of cool ethnic instruments. And we find out he wrote this song himself. I like it a lot but then again I do like all that rinky-dinky Eastern European music. I'd be happy if this won the contest tonight. And Bosnia, please enter this guy in ESC. Thanks. The song gets even better towards the end. And props to Dino for bringing a guitar out and playing it on stage.
Rating: 10/10
8 - Poland - Marcin Mrozinski - Is That A Real Love?
YESSS It's Marcin Mrozinski! Finally what we've all been waiting for, the Eurovision entrants. Well, what I've been waiting for, anyway.
The title of the song doesn't really make sense gramatically but oh well. He tried. It's pretty good, not as good as Legenda was but I like it a lot.
Is that a real love? Yes, yes it is. Go go Poland!
Rating: 10/10
9 - Norway - Rikke Normann - Fading Away
"Volim te Montenegro!"
And here's Norway! I dunno how all these not-Balkan countries get invited to a Balkan music festival, but oh well. Better not complain or they'll kick out us and America. And it beings... and it's a dance song... kinda. Good attempt from Scandinavia. But oh god these lyrics. Those terrible Eurovision-style broken English lyrics have made a reappearance. Listen to this pure poetry:
"What you touch you turn to gold, I wonder the weight your heart can hold?"
Truly prophetic lyrics from Rikke Normann, the great bard of Norway.
Rating: 6/10
10 - Croatia - Martina Vrbos - Na Kraju Grada
And it's the first Croatian entry of the night! I like that sparkly purple dress. Oh, it's a dance track as well? Ok then. A lot of dance tracks tonight. We got a city on the stage. Wait a sec, is she using autotune?! It kinda sounds like it. There's definitely some auto-tuning going on here... hmm... well, I don't exactly know what the rules (if any) of Sunčane Skale are, so maybe you're allowed to autotune, but still, it feels a bit unfair considering nobody else has used it (that I've noticed, anyway). Solid attempt from Croatia. I like the city effect for the background too. Now that it's night-time the stage looks a lot better (I'm guessing this is some sort of open-air venue by those beaches we've seen so much of.) It sounds like she's singing the same four words over and over again and I don't even understand Croatian!
Rating: 6/10
Oh great, we're in the green room again. And they're interviewing the Macedonian girl so it's in foreign. Host guy, stop asking them to sing parts of their songs. We'd heard these songs before, we're not goldfish, we do remember what we saw just a few minutes ago. Apparently the Norwegian girl knows some football players from Norway? Cool. He asks her to sing one of the most popular songs in Norway right now so of course she sings 'Fairytale'. Nice to know that that's still the most popular song in Norway.
"That song will never go old-fashioned in Norway." - Rikke, Norwegian poet
And we interview the Bosnian guy. I dunno what they're saying but Dino's song was ace. Hey wait a minute where'd his glasses go? He had glasses before, I swear! And now it's Marrrcccin! Keeping with the football theme they talk about Euro 2012 and other things that are of no relevance. Oh my god Marcin's got a British accent what the hell. WHAT?! He's got a nicer British accent that I have! And apparently this is the first time Poland has participated in Sunčane Skale. I notice that the Croatian girl's hair looks like cotton candy.
Oh hey they've got a huge fridge with a ton of beer bottles inside it. Dunno why they're showing us that. I guess Amstel are the sponsors of this contest since it's their beers in there.
11 - Germany - Robert Phoenix - Can You Feel How Much I Love You?
Oh wow the German flag! Weirdly I've got a big German flag just like that one. And we got some nice shots of a forest. Ok, so before we start I better say that maybe I'll be a teensy bit biased towards this song because Germany is my all time favourite country in the whole world... just warning ya. Anyway back to this song which is totally amazing and stuff. Turns about Robert Phoenix wrote this himself.
The lyrics are great, the music's great, can we feel? Hell yes we can. Germany to win! Germany #1
Rating: 10/10
12 - Serbia - Andrej Ilic - Sara
The Serbian guy walks off in the middle of his postcard. And is this the first Serbian entry of the night? I can't be bothered to go back and check but I think it might be. Oh, it's a sad song again. Not really 'summery' (if that's a word) but I quite like it. This song's real nice. And props to this guy for also bringing a guitar with him. Oh what, a girl started singing and the song switched into English. Cool. Bilingual bonus. Good effort from Serbia.
Rating: 9/10
13 - United Kingdom and America - Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne - Love Me, Let Me Go
Number 13, unlucky for some. But hopefully not unlucky for the British and American entry! True allies, unlike Montenegro and the Netherlands, which is just random. Hahahaha, our postcard has snow on it and grey clouds. The other postcards were beaches. Oh hey, ours has a beach now too. There's no way that's Britain. It can't be. I bet it's Montenegro. They're just trying to make us feel better about our awful weather. Maybe it's America.
So here come Glenys and Kevin, flying the flag for Britain (and America) but mostly Britain!
And we've got girls dancing about dressed in the American flag, and a cool rapper. I think the rapper is the British one. The song's pretty nice, and they're also the first act to have a proper dance routine/staging.
They sure make Queen and country (and president) proud! And remember, if we don't win tonight, three words: Balkan bloc voting.
GO BRITAIN
GO AMERICA
GO GO GO
#1
Rating: 10/10
14 - Spain - Salome Simone - Fumble In The Jungle
And now it's Spain's turn to impress us! What a great song title, 'fumble in the jungle'. I can't tell what she's saying but this song ain't half bad. A good effort from Spain. Tons of strobe lighting everywhere. I still don't know what the song is about. Something about a jungle?
Rating: 8/10
So, as this point in the show, I realise something. There's been no phone numbers showing at the bottom of the screen, as they do in ESC and the NFs... so just how do they decide the winner? I guess we'll find out soon enough.
15 - Tajikistan - Tahmina Niyazova - My Heart Makes Boom Boom Boom
Well, let's move straight on to Tajikistan. I know nothing about Tajikistan, so I'm going to base my entire opinion of their country based on the next three minutes. Let's see what they've brought to the table. Another great song title. More great broken English, but I can't fault them their, my Tajiki or whatever it's called isn't exactly up to scratch (or existing at all.)
Great song, I've decided that I like Tajikistan.
As Basil Brush would say, BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Rating: 10/10
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And now we're back in the green room. I don't know if all the songs have been performed yet. Wait, they can't have been, Vlatko hasn't been on yet. Well here's the Spanish girl. He calls Spain the champions of Europe and I seethe a little inside because I wanted Germany to win the Euro. ;_;
He asks her what the most popular song in Spain is and she sings... something. I dunno. Yay it's Robert Phoenix. Aw, he doesn't know good English, god bless him. And is that an American flag sitting on top of the German one? Wait, what's that red and white I keep seeing in the background? No Marcin, stop waving the Polish flag already, you've had your five minutes.
And now they interview the British and American entrants. LOL, Kevin is pretty funny. "No I'm Glenys!" And now they hijack the mic from the host guy. These two are bloody brilliant.
Well, they talk to the Serbian guy next, but there's no way he can top Glenys and Kevin. Serbian guy sings to a bottle of beer to some reason. Some sort of sponsored message I think. BUY AMSTEL
Hey it's the Tajiki girl. I've learned what the Tajikistan flag looks like today. So has the host, apparently. lol she forgot what Sunčane Skale was called. "The uh... magical... uh... amazing... festival..." Yeah , whatever that's called. The festival thing. That. You know what. And she sings some sort of Tajiki song for us.
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And we're back!
16 - Macedonia (yes, again) - Vlatko Ilievski - Nema Me
Yessss, it's Vlatko Ilievski! One of the best from Eurovision 2011, who doesn't love Vlatko Ilievski? Well, I guess people who vote in the Eurovision, but we've already discussed that they don't have any taste anyway. At least the voters of Skopje Fest know true talent when they see it. Gosh, look at this postcard. Macedonia sure looks nice. Great effort from Macedonia, and Vlatko's as brilliant as ever.
This song's great, Vlatko's great, this to win please.
NO REALLY
HEY STOP CUTTING TO THE BACKING SINGERS
WE WANNA SEE VLATKO
WHAT?!?!
Rating: 10/10
17 - Azerbaijan - Seyran - Sunshine
Ok, I've calmed down now. Now it's Azerbaijan's turn! We're gonna let the sun shine! The lyrics are bizarre, although the song itself ain't too bad. Wow, it's pretty catchy. Uh... we got some Azeri dancing... type stuff. Those bright yellow outfits have got to win whatever the Sunčane Skale equivalent of the Barbara Dex award is.
Other than that it was really good. Great job Azerbaijan!
Rating: 10/10
18 - Montenegro - Kaja and Dobri Momci
Suuunčane Skale #1!
Now it's Montenegro's turn (again)! Yes, accordians! I love accordians! This is shaping up to be great! Oh my, this song just gets better and better. These guys are great! Did I mention how great this was yet?
Wow, they really are saving the best for last, that was bloody brilliant! 100000/10! Winner please.
Rating: 10/10
19 - Turkey - J-DA - Gel Gel
Here's the Turkish entry! Oh, this song is really summery. At least Turkey got it right, this is what a real summer song sounds like. Although I guess we don't really have a summer, so we're immediately at a disadvantage. Anyway, back to Turkey, this is a pretty solid song, nice song, it's in Turkish so no cheesy lyrics (well, maybe there are cheesy lyrics, but they're in Turkish so it doesn't matter), catchy tune, nice staging. And an actual dance routine/staging from J-DA. Could it win? Possibly.
Rating: 9/10
20 - Croatia - Magazin - Dusu Nemas Da Me Na Njoj Nosis
No way in hell am I gonna remember that song title. Now, apparently Magazin were on Eurovision this one time, but I don't remember them. Oh, nice flute. Very nice ethnic feel. Not really a 'summer song', but it doesn't seem most entrants are trying a summer song in this competition for summer songs.
Rating: 10/10
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Aaand we're back in the green room. Is that all the songs for tonight? "What a beautiful woman... girl." Excellent hosting skills.
Interview with J-DA, which we learn is pronounced Jaydar, and she starts to rap holy hell. She ain't half bad. Here's Seyran from Azerbaijan, which we know very well from this year's Eurovision that wasn't all that long ago. Seyran pours compliments on every single country and promises to be back at Sunčane Skale next year. Please do, you were great.
Seyran sings an Azeri song for us as Marcin still insists on waving his Polish flag in the background.
Yay it's Vlatko Ilievski! YAYAYAYAYAYAY
I dunno what he's saying but I totally agree. 10/10 great words of wisdom. Can Macedonia take the trophy home tonight? Well, they have about 100 entries so statistically they've got a good chance if nothing else. Vlatko's singing something about Macedonia. Wait, is the Croatian girl in the background taking a picture of Vlatko on her phone? Hahahahaha
He interviews the accordian band and they're bloody brilliant as ever. I don't remember if they were from Serbia or Croatia though. Oh well. (EDIT: Wait they were from Montenegro I'm such a derp)
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And we're back to the stage. I think she's thanking the people who do the contest but I can't tell. Is this the end yet? Wait, there's more songs?! What?! Yup, it looks like there's more. 20 just wasn't enough.
21 - Serbia (again) - Dusan Svilar - Kao Tebe
Oooh, nice ethnic feel to this one. It's a beautiful song, he's a good singer. It's a nice, slow ballad from Serbia. Makes a change from all the DANCE DANCE PARTY music we've been hearing tonight. Could the difference be the edge that brings it to victory? No because Britain's going to win. Wait I mean, yes.
Rating: 8/10
22 - Slovenia - Nusa Derenda - Ja I Sebe Vjerujem
Nusa Derenda is a pretty cool name. I feel like I know that name from somewhere, was she on ESC?! EMA perhaps? But it's yet another song title I won't remember. Verjamem? Something like that. The song starts out well enough, it's quite nice. Sounds like something you'd hear on the ESC proper. Gets a little more upbeat later. I really like the chorus. Very nice song from Slovenia. The ending is amazing. This could win 100%.
Rating: 10/10
23 - Turkey (again) - Deniz Cem - I Just Need Your Love
I feel like I recognise this dude. I don't know why, I don't know who he is, I've never seen him before. Oh, and the song starts, that's very nice. Very very nice trumpet solo. Is this using a sample of Mr. Saxobeat? Maybe all trumpet music just sounds the same to me. It's really good. They really are saving the best stuff til last. I think I've used this phrase about ten times before now about this contest, but that was bloody fantastic. Great job Turkey!
Rating: 10/10
24 - Montenegro - Ivana Martinovic - Slobodna
I mean, this must be the last song by now, musn't it? There can't be more, surely! Hmm, I like it when they do the songs in their native language more than when they do them in English. This is very nice. Well, what more could we expect from the host country? Nice work Montenegro.
Rating: 8/10
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Zoom in on a giant Turkish flag for some reason. And now we're back in the green room. Deniz speaks English very well. Hey, Croatian girl, stop interrupting Deniz, this is his interview, you've had yours already. Deniz sings some sort of Turkish rap thing. Hooray it's Slovenia! Slovenia's got a cool flag, and a great song. And yes, I am certain now that girl was on the Eurovision. I just noticed how epic the Montenegrin flag is.
So, is that all the songs from tonight's Sunčane Skale? I mean, they couldn't possibly squeeze any more in, could they?
Ok, so we're having a recap of all the songs, so I guess that's the end. But there's no numbers to vote for, so I guess there's no telephone vote for this show. But if there's no phone vote then what's the point of showing a recap? Questions questions. Unfortunately not answers, because this makes no flamin' sense. It's like it's trying very hard to be the Eurovision Song Contest but without one of the fundamental parts, the blooming phone vote! Seriously this recap is still going on. Who exactly is the recap for if there's no voting public? Just to show us all the songs again? And when exactly is Britain going to take home the trophy?
Wait I just noticed that spelt 'Phoenix' wrong as 'Pheonix' in Robert Phoenix. o_O
Well, the recap ended. The two hosts are talking about... something or other. And they're both sitting on chairs really far apart from each other for some reason, as if they've had a row when we weren't looking and now don't want to be together. No autocues in Montenegro, they're reading from bits of paper.
Wait, who the hell are these people now walking onto the stage? Why is there a trumpet? What on Earth is he wearing? What is going on, why is this happening??? There's some sort of band performing now, I guess they're the interval act. First impressions aren't everything, they're actually pretty good. I like the instrumental part. Apparently this guy is called Petar Graso, and he's pretty famous in the Balkans.
Oh well, time now for some Balkan oompah music and bird whistling. I want to say I don't like it, but I can't, it's bloody great. Vodka! Tequila! And so I googled 'Petar Graso Vodka Tequila' and found out that this song is called 'Delirium Tremens.' Delirium Tremens - Rating: 10/10
Marija Serifovic is coming on now. Yesyesyes! Wait why is she wearing sunglasses? I know we're on the beach but it's been night time here for about two hours or something. Oh well, great as ever!
Now the hosts are back so I guess that it the end of the interval acts. I think this is the jury. As a true, balanced and fair contest, the public aren't going to be asked their opinion, it's all down to these juries from countries all over the Balkans (and beyond). And here's the scoreboard! Looking at the scoreboard, we learn that J-DA's real name is 'Meral Centidag' and that Robert Phoenix is still spelt Pheonix.
The voting system that follows will be extremely familiar to anyone who follows the Eurovision Song Contest. Because it's the exact same voting system. Well, why change perfection? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
And now for the first juries' votes! I didn't catch what country this was but they gave Glenys and Kevin four points so on behalf of Britain I thank unnamed country. I guess that technically, much like the Bundesvision, countries can vote for themselves. Hey, Marcin got 3 points! Well, 12 points to Azerbaijan, Seyran's off to a flying start. Can Azerbaijan win both Sunčane Skale and Eurovision?
Spanish jury now. And they give their results in English! And they do that annoying 'thanks for the great show' thing that all the spokespeople do in Eurovision. And we receive four points again from the Spanish jury. Wooo, go Britain, go America! Holy hell Vlatko still has no points, this is a complete travesty. Give Vlatko points someone. I guess we'll have to wait for the Macedonian jury to vote for the big points. :S
Wow, 8 points to Poland and Marcin!
10 points to Tajikistan and Boom Boom Boom!
And finally, 12 points to Aleksandar Belov! <3
And the next jury member also does the "thanks for the show" schtick. This is getting too much like Eurovision. Dunno what country this is who is voting now.
Oh hey, 8 points to Vlatko! Hooray! It's about time! <3
10 points to Glenys and Kevin!
12 points to Ivana Martinovic!
Next voting is Turkey! Let's see if we get any points from them. We got five points from Turkey! Thanks Turkey! Ivana gets 8, Boom Boom gets 10 and... after a delay, 12 points to Seyran! Britain is fifth! We're doing considerably better than we do in the actual Eurovision.
Poland giving their votes in English and we have a video link rather than the Spanish phone link.
8 points to J-DA from Turkey!
10 points to Enrika from Albania!
And 12 points to Duslan Svilar from Serbia!
Britain-America got no points ;_;
Vlatko no points ;_;
Slovenia voting next, and here's Darko Berlic, I have no idea who that is. It seems they couldn't afford a videolink so we have a telephone connection again. It's really bad, it sounds like he's talking from the moon or something.
8 points to Ivana!
10 points to Martina Vrbos!
And 12 points... not to Slovenia... to Macedonia! Aleksandar Belov! <3
Someone else giving their votes in English. Vlatko got 5! <3
8 points go to Marcin! <3
10 points go to Boom Boom Boom!
And 12 points go to Great Britain and America, Kevin and Glenys! <3
Now Aleksandar is first, but... we're second! Britain is second!!!! Pinch me I must be dreaming.
Here's the votes from Tajikistan. Terrible moon phone conection again. Vlatko got 3 <3
8 points to J-DA!
10 points to Kaja and Dobri Momci! <3
And 12 points to Duslan Svilar!
Next it's some other jury that speaks English.
8 points to Austria!
10 points to Greece!
And 12 points to... Tajikistan! Boom Boom Boom!
This brings Tajikistan to the first position, pushing Aleksandar to second and Glenys and Kevin down to third.
Next it's the German jury, and Stefan here has a considerably better phone connection than the others. Germanyyy <3 <3 <3
8 points to Seyran!
10 points to Marcin! <3
And 12 points to Deniz! <3
Next it's someone... uh... I dunno who this is. We receive two points from them though.
8 points to Magazin!
10 points to Duslan Svilar!
And 12 points to Seyran!
And this pushes Seyran to the first position, knocking J-DA down to second. Glenys and Kevin are still holding on to third place, Marcin is in fourth. Tahmina is fifth and somehow Aleksandar Belov's wonderful song has been knocked down to sixth. It's a close run race, with Azerbaijan and Turkey out in the lead but only ever so slightly. Montenegro and the Netherlands' disastorous show currently has 0 points. Can they get the Sunčane Skale nul points? Only time will tell.
They go to the Austrian jury but it shows the Azerbaijan flag for some reason, and the Austrian dude speaks Serbian? Vlatko got three from Austria <3 Marcin got four, Aleksandar got one <3 <3
8 points to... United Kingdom and America!
10 points to... Macedonia!
And finally, 12 Austrian points to... J-DA!
Seyran is still in the lead but J-DA is catching up.
Next it's the Azeri jury! He can't speak Serbian so we're back to English.
8 points go to Germany! Robert Phoenix! <3
10 points go to Austria!
And finally, 12 Azeri points go to... J-DA! Well, Turkey and Azerbaijan are BFF. This pulls J-DA into the lead by a considerable amount. Ironically, the Azeri votes knocked Azerbaijan to second place.
Next it's the Norwegian jury! Is the host translating everything that the Norwegian guy is saying?
8 points to Aleksandar Belov! <3
10 points to Glenys and Kevin! <3
And finally 12 points go to Enrika Derza!!!
Thanks Norway, now onto the Croatian jury!
8 points to Macedonia!
10 points to Slovenia!
And 12 points to... Croatia! Wait a minute, this is the Croatian jury! Hey! Honestly though, I'm surprised more countries haven't given themselves 12 points.
Now the jury from Bosnia-Herzegovina!
8 points to Slovenia!
10 points to Serbia!
And 12 points to Croatia!
Britain-America is now second! J-DA is still in the lead but only by three points! (Someone give Britain four points please)
The next jury members microphone is broken >.> Maybe they should have used the moon landline they have there. We got three points, but they gave J-DA point too.
8 points to Turkey!
10 points to Serbia!
And 12 points to... Azerbaijan!
Now J-DA is ahead of Seyran by only one point. Marcin is now third and Glenys and Kevin are in fourth.
Well, that's it, J-DA has won Sunčane Skale 2012 with Gel Gel! J-DA steps out and they bring the second and third place onto the stage too. They get gold, silver and bronze awards. Congrats also to Azerbaijan and Poland on being second and third! Well, that's all folks!
Congratulations J-DA! Congratulations Turkey! You won Sunčane Skale! See ya next year in Turke... uh... Montenegro!
---
I also have the following two songs on my ipod for some reason, they're from the 'New Stars' evening so I didn't see 'em performed, but here's my ratings:
Joca i Zmajevi - Naocare - Pretty cool song from, uh, well actually I don't remember what country this one's from. Serbia, maybe? Google translate tells me that 'Naocare' means knife, but apparently it also means sunglasses? I'm sure that causes some confusion. Rating: 8/10
Denis Murat - Ti si pesnata - Nice ballad from Macedonia, pretty nice song, haunting melody - Rating: 9/10
---
So, that's it for Sunčane Skale, a big thanks to the wonderful beach city of Herceg Novi for the fantastic show tonight, and of course to all the participants of this year's contest! I'll see y'all next year!
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| Sunčane Skale |
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
What the heck is "Sunčane Skale"?
"The music festival Sunčane Skale, year after year, is becoming more popular and known for gathering many international singers." - not really
Welcome to my blog about uh... well, Sunčane Skale and other related things. Huh, what's that? Well...
On two nights a year, countries all across the Balkans who all hate each other put down the swords and join together in a celebration of music. It's kinda like the Eurovision except it's for Eastern Europe only so BUTT OUT BRITAIN. Well, except that Britain shows up every year, with America. More on that later.
Boasting itself as 'the biggest music contest in the Balkans' (I don't suppose there is much competition, although it did beat off such critically acclaimed contests such as 'Beosong' and 'Skopje Fest') Sunčane Skale has been going since 1994. And if you watch any of it, you will see that for them it is still 1994. I'm not saying it's horribly dated but... wait. I am. It is. But it ain't a bad show. Year after year, many talented singers from all over the world arrive in Herceg Novi to perform their songs, and the contest has seen it's fair share of great music.
Short explanation: Montenegrin Eurovision rip-off. This makes Bundesvision look like an original concept.
Unique stuff to Sunčane Skale:
More than one entry:
As a fair and well balanced contest, Britain only has one entry each year. Meanwhile, Macedonia has ten entries. Like I said, a fair and balanced contest.
Token countries:
Sometimes it's Germany, sometime's Denmark, and last year we had Tajikistan, there's always one token country that's there and totally isn't out of place at all.
The British-American joint entry:
Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne return to Sunčane Skale year after year to fly the flag for Great Britain (and America, but mostly Britain). Truly a triumph of the special relationship, they continually get robbed by Balkan bloc voting.
No Phone Voting:
As a fair and balanced contest, Sunčane Skale is a true model for the democratic world. There is no phone voting in the contest, the entire thing is decided by juries. Who needs things like public opinion? Not here at Sunčane Skale, we don't!
Same Host Every Year:
The beach city of Herceg Novi is the perfect host for the contest every year.
Useful Links: Sunčane Skale official website
Sunčane Skale 2012
I'll try and do something for the contest this year, I promise.
Welcome to my blog about uh... well, Sunčane Skale and other related things. Huh, what's that? Well...
On two nights a year, countries all across the Balkans who all hate each other put down the swords and join together in a celebration of music. It's kinda like the Eurovision except it's for Eastern Europe only so BUTT OUT BRITAIN. Well, except that Britain shows up every year, with America. More on that later.
Boasting itself as 'the biggest music contest in the Balkans' (I don't suppose there is much competition, although it did beat off such critically acclaimed contests such as 'Beosong' and 'Skopje Fest') Sunčane Skale has been going since 1994. And if you watch any of it, you will see that for them it is still 1994. I'm not saying it's horribly dated but... wait. I am. It is. But it ain't a bad show. Year after year, many talented singers from all over the world arrive in Herceg Novi to perform their songs, and the contest has seen it's fair share of great music.
Short explanation: Montenegrin Eurovision rip-off. This makes Bundesvision look like an original concept.
Unique stuff to Sunčane Skale:
More than one entry:
As a fair and well balanced contest, Britain only has one entry each year. Meanwhile, Macedonia has ten entries. Like I said, a fair and balanced contest.
Token countries:
Sometimes it's Germany, sometime's Denmark, and last year we had Tajikistan, there's always one token country that's there and totally isn't out of place at all.
The British-American joint entry:
Glenys Vargas and Kevin Ettienne return to Sunčane Skale year after year to fly the flag for Great Britain (and America, but mostly Britain). Truly a triumph of the special relationship, they continually get robbed by Balkan bloc voting.
No Phone Voting:
As a fair and balanced contest, Sunčane Skale is a true model for the democratic world. There is no phone voting in the contest, the entire thing is decided by juries. Who needs things like public opinion? Not here at Sunčane Skale, we don't!
Same Host Every Year:
The beach city of Herceg Novi is the perfect host for the contest every year.
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| Sunny music note - Symbol of Sunčane Skale |
Useful Links: Sunčane Skale official website
Sunčane Skale 2012
I'll try and do something for the contest this year, I promise.
Friday, 8 June 2012
And The Scores Are...
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| Suncane Skale2012 Results |
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