Eurovision Song Contest 2012 - Final (Preview)

Saturday, May 26th, BBC1/BBC1HD, 8pm

1. United Kingdom
Engelbert Humperdinck
"Love Will Set You Free".
The controversial British entry is actually a decent acoustic ballad with a playful melody and strong vocals from "The Hump". Whilst I can't say it makes a huge impact, I can't deny that I enjoy it when it's on.
Hook: "Love comes once, if you're lucky enough."

2. Hungary
Compact Disco
"Sound Of Our Hearts".
My personal favourite of this year's ballads, the production reminds me a lot of Madonna's "The Power of Good-bye". Some might consider it bland, generic and over-familiar, but there's nothing wrong with that.
Hook: "This is the sound of our hearts, if you listen".

3. Albania
Rona Nishliu
"Suus".
One of the slowest, but most powerful female-led ballads this year, this is very simple and basic but features breathtaking vocals from Rona. Namely, lots of Björk-esque wailing, but the song couldn't be more different from her music.
Hook: The massive, held-out notes.

4. Lithuania
Donny Montell
"Love Is Blind".
A bit of a mess, to put it mildly. Jumping around in style, from ballad to poor '90s disco production and back again, you can't help but feel there's a song in there somewhere trying to get out, but failing. By no means terrible, but I don't know what Lithuania were thinking entering this. The blindfold is in particularly bad taste.
Hook: "Love is blind, it's true".

5. Bosnia & Herzegovina
Maya Sar
"Korake Ti Znam".
One of the more forgettable female ballads. I'd elaborate, but there is little distinctive about it. It has some Celtic pan pipes towards the end, if that helps.
Hook: It doesn't have one.

6. Russia
Buranovskiye Babushki
"Party For Everybody".
Ask most people in the UK what they expect from Eurovision, and this will likely be what springs to mind. Several Russian grannies in traditional costume, it begins promisingly with a Lion King-like chant, but it soon deteriorates out of nowhere into an excruciating pop-Cossack crossover that you will NOT get out of your head. But in a very bad way. UK voters will love it, in a rubbernecking-a-car-crash kind of way.
Hook: "Dance, come on and dance, come on and party for everybody, dance."

7. Iceland
Greta Salóme & Jónsi
"Never Forget".
An epic Celtic duet whose production instantly conjures mental images of forests, swords, fur coats and leather trousers. The specific melody may not stick in your head, but it will surely be remembered as "that Game of Thrones-y one I quite liked".
Hook: "Forever we'll be free".

8. Cyprus
Ivi Adamou
"La, La, Love".
One of the strongest tracks this year, it's a real club-thumping stomper of a track that wouldn't sound out of place on a Rihanna album. Deserves to be a huge chart hit.
Hook: "Oh I'll be waiting for this la la la-la-la-la-la la la la-la-la-la-la la love".

9. France
Anggun
"Echo (You and I)".
A rather catchy if unremarkable up-tempo pop song with a memorable whistled hook. The song is a little schizophrenic in its production and tempo, but has a familiar feel. Despite its title, it's sung mostly in French.
Hook: Whistling, or "In my dreams, in my dreams, in my heart, in my mind, I see you and I".

10. Italy
Nina Zilli
"L'Amore E' Femmina (Out Of Love)".
Instantly infectious, it mixes a ballsy attitude with a retro vibe to great effect. Think the perfect blend of Dusty Springfield and Amy Winehouse.
Hook: "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

11. Estonia
Ott Lepland
"Kuula"
A full-on piano ballad, but with a male vocal. It's on the stronger end of the scale than most of its ballad competitors.
Hook: The title, really.

12. Norway
Tooji
"Stay".
Bits of this song are ace, in particular the bridge and the first half of the chorus, but the very irritating production throws in these horrid buzzes and alarm-like synth noises that stop me from loving this as much as I otherwise might. But Tooji owns that stage much like Sweden's Eric Saade did last year.
Hook: "I don't know what I'm doing tonight, but this rush is making me stronger".

13. Azerbaijan
Sabina Babayeva
"When The Music Dies".
Reigning champions Azerbaijan opt for yet another ballad, but this one is not quite up to their recent standard. It starts off in a lower register that doesn't sound altogether pleasant, but does build to a rousing chorus.
Hook: "Cold, cold, cold".

14. Romania
Mandinga
"Zaleilah".
Daft, gimmicky, playful and insanely catchy. Horns and accordions over a dance beat, it's a fine slice of Eurovision cheese.
Hook: "Zalilalilaleh, every day, everybody."

15. Denmark
Soluna Samay
"Should've Known Better".
This mid-tempo acoustic ballad is instantly catchy. Think Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn", and you'll be in the ball park. It's only let down a little by the mid-section when the rather lovely chorus wanders away, and a very silly costume that makes the female singer look like a toy soldier.
Hook: "Now I miss you, like Sahara misses rain".

16. Greece
Eleftheria Eleftheriou
"Aphrodisiac".
A memorable and credible club anthem, with a sprinkling of Eastern vibes, like the best song Shakira never recorded, but with less irritating vocals. Its singalong "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" chorus would also sound great on a dancefloor.
Hook: "You make me dance, dance like a maniac."

17. Sweden
Loreen
"Euphoria".
Now we're talking. With David Guetta consistently riding high in the UK singles chart, why this hasn't been picked up by radio and become a monster hit in the UK already mystifies me. Easily the best entry this year, this could potentially give Eurovision music some much-needed credibility with British music buyers. The best example this year of a stomping club anthem, I'd love to see this fly u-u-u-u-u-u-up the UK charts. I'm loving the simplicity of the staging, too.
Hook: "We're going u-u-u-u-u-u-up".

18. Turkey
Can Bonomo
"Love Me Back".
A sea shanty stretched out far beyond its welcome, this is simply awful. But still not as bad as Montenegro's Euro Neuro. "Like me like I like you and say na na na na ne na ne na." Poetry.
Hook: "Come up to my ship, baby, I'll make you fly."

19. Spain
Pastora Soler
"Quédate Conmigo (Stay With Me)".
Arguably the biggest of this year's big ballads, Soler sings her heart out with a song that's full of drama and big notes and a chorus even an Anglophone can sing along to.
Hook: "Quédate conmigo, quédate conmigo".

20. Germany
Roman Lob
"Standing Still".
One of the stronger slow tracks, it begins as a mid-tempo piano ballad that builds nicely with a slight rock edge. Definitely one of this year's more credible tracks, and was co-written by the UK's own Jamie Cullum.
Hook: "I'm standing still, I'm standing still as you leave me now".

21. Malta
Kurt Calleja
"This Is The Night".
Starting off promising, this has some nice chords, a decent pop production, and then builds effectively to a hugely disappointing chorus.
Hook: "Hey-ey-ey-ey-e-yay".

22. FYR Macedonia
Kaliopi
"Crno I Belo".
Starting as a female-led piano ballads, it takes a sudden diversion and rocks out in the second half. It comes out of nowhere and disappears just as suddenly, but gives the song a distinctive sound.
Hook: "Crno i belo e se".

23. Ireland
Jedward
"Waterline"
They're back. Let's face it, last year's Irish entry, "Lipstick" was pure genius. 5 seconds in, it was stuck in your head. This is a far more generic pop-rock song and its lack of gimmicks make it much less memorable. But it's Jedward, so they will find some way to stick in people's minds, as the song surely won't.
Hook: "I am close to the waterline".

24. Serbia
Zeljko Joksimovic
"Nije Ljubav Stvar".
With a melody that reminds me of Coldplay's "Paradise" at times, this male-fronted piano ballad is full of Eastern promise, featuring a string-laden, thumping production that builds effectively.
Hook: It doesn't really have one, but very few of the ballads are led by a male vocal.

25. Ukraine
Gaitana
"Be My Guest".
Gaitana's vocals are very reminiscent of Anastacia's, and the song is all fun, positivity and P.A.R.T.Y. It's a cheesy singalong Anthem with a capital A.
Hook: "You can be my guest".

26. Moldova
Pasha Parfeny
"Lăutar".
An odd title for a song in English (it's a type of musician) this is one of those Eurovision songs that would never ever chart in the UK, yet would get votes from UK audience for its novelty factor. Whilst it doesn't even make my top 30 it does have a certain inexplicable appeal.
Hook: "This trumpet makes you mine, girl".