2003 - 02 Austria

Austria. Oh Austria. In 2003, Austria chose their Song in a National Final. 10 Songs were presented and the winner was chosen by a combination of SMS Voting and Televoting, with the votes divied by Males and Females...whatever that means. All in all, it was a pretty decent NF. There was a variety of different "Sounds", from rock to pop rock to folk to dance to pop etc. In the end, surprisingly, Alf Poier won the ticket to Riga with his folksy rock song "Weil der Mensch zählt", with the fan favorite "This Night Should Never End" by Petra Frey placed second. Alfs song was instantly almost universally despised by ESC fans and placed dead last in many Bookies and Fans opinions. However, that night, his performance was absolutely HILARIOUS! He staged the song as a mockery of traditional ESC songs. His two backing singers were dressed as ABBA memebers and performed completly over the top and exaggerated movements. In the end, it struck a humorous key among the European voters and received 6th Place, Austria's best placing since 1989 and their best placing til now. At first, i just didn't get the song. Even for the first couple years i watched ESC, i just didn't get it. Then, once i gained a proper sense of ESC Humor, i found it hilarious! It always brings a smile to my face :)

Anywho,  I selected my winner in 2 Rounds of Voting. In the First Round, I listened to all 10 Songs 3 times. After each listen, I awarded points in the Eurovision Style to select my top 3 Songs. In the Second Round, I awarded "Televotes" to chose my winner.

Round 01 -
Number - Title (Translation) - Vote 01 - Vote 02 - Vote 03 - Total - Place

01 - Girls Of Summer - 12 - 08 - 12 - 32 Points - 1st

02 - Frei Sein (Be Free) - 02 - 02 - 02 - 06 Points - 9th
03 - Separate Ways - 04 - 03 - 03 - 10 Points - 8th
04 - We Will Survive - 01 - 01 - 01 - 03 Points - 10th
05 - Don't Wanna Be - 07 - 05 - 07 - 19 Points - 5th =
06 - Weil Der Mensch Zählt (Man Is The Measure Of All Things) - 03 - 10 - 06 - 19 Points - 5th =

07 - This Night Should Never End - 08 - 12 - 08 - 28 Points - 2nd

08 - All Fingers And Thumbs - 05 - 04 - 04 - 13 Points - 7th

09 - Dreaming Of You - 06 - 07 - 10 - 23 Points - 3rd

10 - Daydream - 10 - 06 - 05 - 21 Points - 4th

Round 02 -
Number - Title - Televote - Place
01 - Girls Of Summer - 57 682 Votes - 1st
02 - This Night Should Never End - 38 457 Votes - 2nd
03 - Dreaming Of You - 35 991 Votes - 3rd

 Austria 2003 Songs

Comments
My clear favorite from the Austrian NF of 2003 has always been and will always be "Girls Of Summer". It is just absolutely brilliant. Sheer perfection. I love the beat, the vocals and the message! It's one of the best songs of 2003!

"This Night Should Never End" and "Dreaming Of You" end up in my top 3 songs 7 times out of 10, but sometimes "Daydream" or "Don't Wanna Be" will slide in. They are all good songs and have traded 2nd - 5th many times. I also have the aquired taste for "Weil der Mensch zählt". "All Fingers and Thumbs" and "Separate Ways" are also pretty decent songs. In the End, it's a pretty good NF that i enjoy listening to again and again. :)

But the Winner and my Second Entry to My ESC 2003 is "Girls Of Summer" by Subsitute!

So Comments?