The 9th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place on December 3rd 2011 at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex in Yerevan, Armenia. Even though JESC doesn’t follow the rule of the Winning Nation hosting the next years contest, this year is a bit of an anomaly as Armenia did win JESC 2010.
The original participants list was made up of 12 Nations, with San Marino set to make their debut and Latvia, Serbia and Malta withdrawing from the contest. However, San Marino ended up pulling out and Latvia ended up pulling back in. Bulgaria also returned to the contest after being absent since 2008.Therefore, JESC 2011 will have 13 Nations competing.
Songs To Download
Songs To Download
The songs are -
02 - Latvia - Meness Suns (Moondog) - Amanda Basmakova
03 - Moldova - No, No - Lerica
04 - Armenia - Welcome To Armenia - Dalita
05 - Bulgaria - Supergeroy (Superhero) - Ivan Ivanov
06 - Lithuania - Debesys (Clouds) - Paulina Skrabyté
07 - Ukraine - Evropa (Europe) - Kristall
08 - FYR Macedonia - Zhimi Ovoj Frak (I Swear By This Tailcoat) - Dorijan Dlaka
09 - The Netherlands - Ik Ben Een Teenager (I'm A Teenager) - Rachel
10 - Belarus - Angely Dobra (Angels Of Goodness) - Lidiya Zabolotskaya
11 - Sweden - Faller (Falling) - Erik Rapp
12 - Georgia - Candy Music - Candy
13 - Belgium - Een Kusje Meer (One More Kiss) - Femke
Comments -
I'm in the process of filling in the comments on each song so check back...but here's the long and short of it. In my opinion, it's a two way race between the Ukraine and The Netherlands. Right now, I'm liking Ukraine just a bit more than The Netherlands, although they are both just fantastic songs. The Netherlands is a bit more "pop" and a surprisingly mature song for JESC. The Ukraine has that awesome dancey ethnic beat that I just can't get enough of. Belgium is growing on me like whoa and i just love it more and more. The Bulgarian entry is also pretty fantastic.
My Current Rankings (Which i'm sure will change in the coming weeks) -
1st - Ukraine
2nd - The Netherlands
3rd - Belgium
4th - Bulgaria
5th - Moldova
6th - Russia
7th - Sweden
8th - Georgia
9th - Latvia
10th - Armenia
11th - Lithuania
12th - FYR Macedonia
13th - Belarus
I think the songs with best chance at winning are Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, (Possibly) The Netherlands and if Europe is feeling particularly silly that evening, maybe Georgia.
More to come....
Comments -
01 - Russia - A surprisingly strong entry from Russia (who normally is a popular nation among fan but more often than not, i just don't get what all the fuss is about). It has a strong build and I really enjoy the heavy bass, especially during the chorus. This song is sure to have the whole hall clapping and bobbing along with it's catchy beat. Ekaterina previously placed equal 2nd for Russia in JESC 2009, and she's proved that she can deliver a fantastic performance with strong vocals. If this song got a later draw, i'd say it was a contender to win, but as it drew first, i'm just not sure it can do it. It should do quite well though. 07 Points out of 10.
02 - Latvia - There's some debate on whether or not this song is the actual Latvian entry, but i'm treating it as if it were. This song takes some getting used it...but once you get it, you can't help but love it. A slow jazzy start gives way to a strong jazz beat. This song has grown on me a lot. If it can manage to keep the audiences attention for the first, slower half, they are in for quite a treat. A dancey, jazzy beat with a catchy enough chorus. Not only that, she has amazing arm movements and a fun and unique costume. That being said, i have major concerns about her vocals...she sounds weak on the high notes and i feel like she's relying a lot on being expressive with her gestures rather than her voice. If she can work on her vocals and keeps everything else the same performance wise (i.e. costume, dancing and awesome gestures) she might be a dark horse...there's a very "Lithuania 2008" kinda feel about it (Lithuania placed a surprising 3rd at JESC 2008 despite having a universally thought of un - noteworthy song). However, i don't have high hopes. I predict it'll land in the bottom 5...but who knows? All in all - 06 Points out of 10.
03 - Moldova - This song just keeps falling in and out of favor with me. I can never really pinpoint how I feel about it. At first listen, I placed it in the top half...but then after a few listens, I decided it belonged in the second half...but then I heard it a few more time I started to love it again. It falls in that group of mid - tempo, jazzy song which I can never seem to figure out. The more I hear it, the more I love it. In a word, it's "smooth". It's a bit repetitive, but that's part of it's charm. It manages to create a mood, an ambiance, and even though it's steady, it never manages to be boring. The more I hear this song, the more I absolutely adore it.
04 - Armenia - A typically and predictably Armenian song. Strong ethnic beat, super dancey and fun and without much of a message whatsoever...but hey, that's how they won JESC 2010 and placed 2nd in JESC 2009. When i first heard this song, i was head over heels in love with it and promptly placed it in my top 5 Songs. It's so fun and dancey, you just can't help but dance and smile along! However, after a dozen or so listens and listening to the other songs, this song is losing a lot of it's luster. Yes it's fun and dancey, but it's also silly and well, kinda just sounds like a bunch of choatic noise. Still, Armenia always does well with songs like this and being the host nation, i'm sure this song will rack up a fair amount of points...but if it wins, it just shows that Europeans have little to no taste in music. 06 Points out of 10.
05 - Bulgaria -
Excellent. When i first listened to the songs, i placed this in my top 3. A nice steady start gives way to a fantastically dancey song. I adore how the beat stays steady through the verses and then explodes at the chorus. I also love how his voice carries the verses in place of music...he just sings along with the steady beat. The chorus is catchy and fun but maintains the steady beat of the whole song.
06 - Lithuania - A pretty enough song and a fair enough ballad, but I just can't help but feel a bit bored after about a minute. It kinda has no choice but to fail at JESC...not because it's bad but just because it's so forgettable. I'm sure it'll end in the Bottom 03. She's got solid enough vocals, but all she does is sway back and forth and frankly, all the swaying in the world can't make this song memorable. 04 Points out of 10.
07 - Ukraine -
08 - FYR Macedonia - Eh, it's boring and jazzy. I am well and truely disappointed in FYRM...they normally kick ass at JESC (despite what the populace of Europe tends to think). This song is just boring and lame and goes absolutely nowhere. Ugh i hate it. 02 Points out of 10.
09 - The Netherlands -
10 - Belarus -
A pretty enough song. It's not bad...it's just rather boring. Her voice is nice and smooth and the song has it's moments, but frankly it gets boring pretty quickly. Even the key change can't make it memorable. It just can't compete with almost all of the other songs. Still, it could surprise me and do well, like Belarus last year (which i placed 2nd to last but managed to top 5 at JESC). Still...it's boring and forgettable. 02 Points Out of 10.
11 - Sweden -
12 - Georgia -
13 - Belgium -
As of right now, it's pretty much a two way race between The Netherlands and Ukraine, with Bulgaria and Belgium (which is growing on me more and more) coming right after them.
My Contest -
01 - Quarter Final -
First, I had the songs compete in a Quarter Final. In the QF, I awarded points a total of 7 Times. The First vote was based on my inital thoughts. The Second vote was given after i'd listened to the song 10 times. The Third vote was given after I watched the performances of the songs. The Fourth and Fifth votes were given after various listens. The 6th vote was worth Double and was given after re - watching all 14 songs. Finally, the 7th vote was worth 4x and i gave it based on my current rankings. The top 10 Scoring songs advanced to the Semi Final.
QF -
Number - Nation - 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - Total - Place
01 - Russia - 08 - 06 - 07 - 04 - 08 - 12 - 21 = 66 Points - 6th
02 - Latvia - 03 - 07 - 05 - 05 - 10 - 10 - 15 = 55 Points - 9th
03 - Moldova - 07 - 04 - 12 - 07 - 05 - 14 - 24 = 73 Points - 5th
04 - Armenia - 10 - 02 - 03 - 06 - 04 - 06 - 09 = 40 Points - 10th
05 - Bulgaria - 12 - 10 - 06 - 16 - 14 - 20 - 30 = 108 Points - 3rd =
06 - Lithuania - 01 - 03 - 02 - 01 - 02 - 04 - 06 = 19 Points - 11th07 - Ukraine - 14 - 14 - 16 - 14 - 12 - 24 - 48 = 142 Points - 1st
08 - FYR Macedonia - 02 - 01 - X - 02 - X - 03 - 04 = 12 Points - 12th09 - The Netherlands - 16 - 12 - 14 - 08 - 16 - 32 - 42 = 140 Points - 2nd
10 - Belarus - X - X - 01 - X - 01 - 02 - 03 = 07 Points - 13th11 - Sweden - 06 - 08 - 04 - 12 - 06 - 08 - 12 = 56 Points - 8th
12 - Georgia - 04 - 05 - 08 - 03 - 07 - 16 - 18 = 61 Points - 7th
13 - Belgium - 05 - 16 - 10 - 10 - 03 - 28 - 36 = 108 Points - 3rd =
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