Eurovision 2019 Top 5

Happy Friday! If you are  a fellow European, then you'll probably be aware that it's almost time for the biggest music event across the continent, the Eurovision Song Contest! The final will take place on 18th May, this Saturday, and will host performances from 26 countries, all hoping to be the winner of this years contest. It is being held in Tel Aviv, the second biggest city in Israel, as they won in 2018- yes, there are a few non-European countries that compete :) A lot of people across Europe tune in to watch the grand finale, but not everyone knows about the semi finals, which happen during the week leading up to the contest. Forty-one countries entered for 2019, and six of those go automatically into the final. These six include the host country's song and the songs of what fans called 'The Big 5'- the countries that make the most financial contributions to the ESC: Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. All of the remaining entrants were split amongst two semi final's, seventeen in one and eighteen in the other. Only ten acts make through at the end of each semi final! This always means that us Eurofans might lose some of our most beloved songs T_T The semi finals are very stressful indeed! 

Whenever I've blogged about Eurovision in the past, I've discussed all of my favourite contenders of the year whether they've made it to the final or not, but this time round I chose to wait until the qualifiers were decided, and to talk to you guys about my Top 5 of the lot :) I hope you all enjoy reading, and that I can bring some wonderful new music into your lives! And you should all totally watch the finale, because the ESC is fabulous and is the only contest in the world where you will get such a mix of genres and styles, and multiple cultures and languages coming together ♥ It's AMAZING! 

Norway

KEIINO- 'Spirit in the Sky'

This song has been my absolute favourite entry since all of the participating countries' songs were released, and I was so relieved when they made it through Semi Final 2 yesterday... I literally screamed and managed to scare the dog XD I just love everything about the song! My favourite part has to be the traditional Sami vocals and lyrics, because they are so unique and I am a big fan of traditional/ethnic folk music. I also really like how upbeat the song is, with it being a mix of electropop and dance. It makes me feel so uplifted after I've listened to it! 

One of the singers in Keiino, Alexandra Rotan has an especially lovely and sweet voice, which is another reason why I love this song. The imagery in the official music video and in their staging, of the Northern Lights is very appealing to me, and gives the song an overall magical feel. The song even mentions fairies at one point, so you can bet the fantasy fan in me fell in love with the song because of this, as well as because of the animals in the band's logo. I have even gotten myself some cute little ears to wear in support of Norway, when I go to my best friend's Eurovision party tomorrow! 

Iceland

Hatari- 'Hatrið mun sigra'

This song is another that has been one of my favourites from the moment I heard it; its had to hold 2nd place for me just because of my love for Keiino's song, but it is very close to being joint 1st place to be honest! The genre of the song is right up my street, and is my preferred type of music in general, however we don't usually get much metal/rock/punk songs entering the Eurovision. I have Finland's 2006 entry, 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' by Lordi to thank for kickstarting my love for the contest back when I was in my early teens :) 

This song is so epic! It is a mix of electro-dance music and rock, so it's no surprise that I adore it (I am also a big fan of electro-dance music). The beautiful chorus sang by band member Klemens is so unique-sounding, I don't know how to describe what I think about it... it almost sounds surreal and otherworldly; I don't know if that makes sense but have a listen to see for yourself if you get what I mean XD The verses are very powerful and I love that it is performed in Icelandic. 

As far as the aesthetic goes, Hatari are considered to be rather controversial as they bring BDSM to the stage, and their performance and overall look is very leather/latex/bondage-filled. If you've been a regular reader of my blog for a while, you will likely have seen some of my posts related to my own sexual preferences and being into BDSM, so as you can imagine, Hatari certainly appeals to me, with their style being both kink-orientated and alternative. It's refreshing to see something different entering the contest, especially when it gets so many people talking about taboo topics and I like that Hatari are 'breaking the mould', so to speak! 

Sweden

John Lundvik- 'Too Late For Love'

Every year, my friends & I get together to watch the Swedish National finals for their Eurovision pre-selection, where the country decides who they will send to the finale to represent them. We are usually very invested in the Melodifestivalen shows (the name for the Swedish pre-selection), and watch all six shows! This year my favourite to win for Sweden was John Lundvik and I was thrilled when he won! I am so happy that he made it through the semi final stage and will be performing his beautiful song in Tel Aviv tomorrow night :) 

The song itself is fabulous! The voices of John accompanied by his amazing backing-vocalists, 'The Mamas', are stunning and sound so perfect together! The lyrics of the song have a classic theme, are very relatable and have a feel-good vibe about them! 'Too Late For Love' is another song that makes me feel really happy after listening to it, it is very soulful. I cannot help singing along at the top of my lungs. John himself is also gorgeous ;) I think this song has a very good chance of winning the show tomorrow; it is certainly high up in the odds. 

Switzerland

Luca Hänni- 'She Got Me'

One of the main reasons why I love this song is because of charisma of the singer, Luca Hänni. He has such a cheeky persona, and just comes across on stage like he's got swag :D haha, I never thought I'd use that word in a sentence! But yeah, the way he dances just puts me in the mood to dance myself and makes the song that much more entertaining! The lyrics are upbeat and it is the perfect song to party to, so I can't wait to hear it during the finals at the Eurovision party I'm attending. I guarantee that drunk me will hear it and think that I am the best dancer ever as I attempt to dance along with Luca XD

Spain

Miki- 'La Venda'

This song is just so fun! It instantly makes me want to jump up and down along with Miki and his dancers. It's so energetic and another song that just screams party time!! I really love that it is performed in Spanish, and I wish that all the songs entered were sung in their native language to be honest. The message of the lyrics is wonderful; the title 'La Venda' translates to 'the blindfold' and the song is about removing the blindfold that is prejudice and hate, to find happiness and love for others and yourself. It's a spectacular song and it has that summer-time feel to it, which just spreads joy to all who hear it! 

So those of my Top 5 favourite entries that have qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest this year and will be performing in the final (although Spain is one of the 'Big 5' that I mentioned previously, so they went straight into the final!). They are all brilliant songs and I will be routing for all of them tomorrow, especially Norway, Iceland & Sweden! I thought I'd end my post by letting you guys know the other five songs that make up my Top 10, so that you can go and check those out if you want to :) In order: Chingiz- 'Truth' (Azerbaijan), Duncan Laurence- 'Arcade' (The Netherlands), Lake Malawi- 'Friend of a Friend' (Czech Republic), Sergey Lazarev- 'Scream' (Russia), and Victor Crone- 'Storm' (Estonia). 

I also want to mention another song that was absolutely robbed and didn't qualifier for the finals, and would have definitely been in my Top 5 if it did! And that is Hungary's entry 'Az én apám' by Joci Pápai. It's such a lovely song and Joci, who has performed at the Eurovision finals before, has such a stunning voice, so I can't recommend his music enough :) Let me know guys which was your favourite song that I've featured in today's post; I'd love to hear your opinions!

Thankyou for reading! 

♥ 

Do you watch the Eurovision Song Contest?

If so, do you also watch the Semi Finals? 

What was your favourite song from last year's contest? 


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What Musical Theatre Means To Me

Hey lovelies! I hope you're all been having a wonderful start to the week :) To be honest, mine has been tough and I have been really struggling mental health wise. Today, in a bid to uplift myself and determined to start my day on a much more positive note, I put on my favourite musical hits as soon as I got out of bed. Songs from musicals never fail to make me feel better, even if I'm in the gloomiest of moods, I won't be able to make it through more than five songs without bursting into song myself! Musicals have always been a big part of my life; from being a small child, I have loved them! I used to watch them on repeat for days, and when I wasn't watching them, I was reciting them and dancing around my house singing :D They taught me so much and have brought joy into my life for the last twenty years, they have been something of an escape for me when things were hard and it felt amazing when as an adult, I could finally afford to go to see them in person, which was surreal and just phenomenal! Did you guys know that today is World Theatre Day!? It just seemed like perfect timing that I really appreciated how much listening to those songs this morning, and experiencing that feeling of warmth and emotion flow through me, made me feel 10x better. I couldn't not share that with you guys! This might be another rambley kind of post, because I'm just going to write and not think too much about it :) However, I hope you enjoy reading it nonetheless!   

I've decided that I'm going to write all about the reasons why I love musicals! Right now, I am listening to the original soundtrack for Cats, which is definitely my all-time favourite musical, and I'm having such a marvellous time having a good old sing-along (my family are probably not enjoying it as much, haha!). I would love to know what your favourite musical is! Please let me know in the comments :) 

One of the main reasons why I love musical theatre, and so wish that I had the musical and dancing talent to participate in them myself, is because of how unique a way of emotional expression they are. Everything in musicals is so deep and moving, whether the emotions being conveyed are those of sadness or anger or extreme happiness! I am a very emotionally empathic person and I feel things strongly, and so I find watching musicals therapeutic in a way, they allow me to experience intense feelings and give me an outlet, if that even makes sense. I cry a lot during musicals :D Is anyone else the same? 

I just love how extra musicals are when it comes to portraying emotions, and I feel like people who are less emotionally expressive will gain a lot from watching them. When I was around ten or eleven years old, I first started to experience the onset of my depression and I bottled up a lot of my feelings, because I wanted to pretend that everything was okay and I didn't want to be a burden to my loved ones. I would keep my feelings internalised when I was around others, but when I was alone, I would still find it hard let go of the tension of constantly trying to put on a happy face, and that's where musical theatre came in. I would put on one of my favourite shows and as I watched I would be able to channel my emotions through the stories and feelings of the characters. I always felt kind of refreshed after watching, pretty similar to how you might feel after you've had a good cry.  

Another reason why I love musicals and why they helped me so much was their depiction of individuality. I struggled a lot as a child and a teenager with my identify and embracing my personality and my quirks, who I was as a person. I dealt with bullying for most of my school years, and it was very challenging for me not to see myself through the eyes of people who were mean to me. I struggled with learning to love myself for all that makes me unique, and although I am a lot better now, like I value so many things about myself and I think I'm pretty awesome, there are still days when everything comes back to haunt me and I falter. There were many things that helped me on my journey of self discovery and acceptance, and one of those was musicals. 

Musical theatre is a beautiful, expressive art form and there are so many creative details and inspiring characters. There are lots of themes about societal outcasts and people who stand out as different from the crowd, for example Dr Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Seymour Krelborn in Little Shop of Horrors. Watching characters like those, who are so amazing and gorgeous and intriguing because of what makes them unique, because of their individuality, made me feel not so alone, and that it was not only okay to be different, but empowering to. So that was very important to me, and still very much is now that I'm a grown up (even though I feel like I have Peter Pan 'syndrome' sometimes XD). 

Coming back to the fact that musicals are an art form that are beautiful and scream creativity, this is another reason why I find myself so in love with them! I adore how emotions and scenarios are interpreted throughout dance and song, and how the staging is stunning and full of colours and features elaborate set up's. There is so much to look at and take in. You really get to feel like you are in the scene along with the preforming artists, and for me I feel like I'm transported into another place or time for the duration of the show, even more so when I'm viewing in person! They are enthralling and make me feel all the things :) 

There is something uniquely moving about watching a scene unfold in song rather than word, and it is fascinating how much meaning can be expressed through certain lyrics. I feel like listening to these songs throughout my childhood helped me with my own emotional understanding and expression, because they provided something different to the music in the charts (not that they didn't influence me in their own way). Listening to Annie, in the musical of the same name, sing about her longing for a family to call her own, and to Fantine in Les Misérables pour her heart out about all of the suffering she endured, is moving in all kinds of ways. No matter how many times I see those scenes, I am moved just as much as if I'm watching them for the first time! But I am a bit of an emotional wreck anyway XD Crying is my default response, no matter what emotion I'm feeling. 

Something else that I love about musicals is how fun they are! They empathise positive feelings just as much as they do for the heart-wrenching moments. A lot of the time, everyone is just so elated and animated and are expressing pure happiness through song and dance. Such as in Cats, in my favourite song of the entire musical, 'Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat', the cast are running and leaping about the stage celebrating the fabulousness of a ginger tabby cat who lives on the trains! Or in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, people are literally dancing around congratulating a guy because he has the rainbow gown of dreams! And I am all for this :D Seriously though, what's not to love about musicals!? They make me feel like I want to sing and dance through life too, and I feel so joyous after watching them! 

I'm going to stop writing now, because this is becoming an essay :D But I just wanted to end my post by saying a huge thank you to all of the creative geniuses out there who produce musicals, who write the storylines and create the costumes and sets, who choreograph the dances, to everyone who does their bit to put together such wonderful works of art! You enrich my life and the lives of lots of others. Happy World Theatre Day! Keep doing what you're doing, and bringing more happiness into the world. I cannot wait to go watch my next musical! 

Thankyou for reading! 

♥

What is your favourite thing about musical theatre?

Do you have favourite song that never fails to uplift you?

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What Alternative Music Means To Me

Hi lovelies! If you follow me on social media, you'll know that on Tuesday, I went to a gig! I did intend to get this post written up yesterday, but I was absolutely exhausted from said gig and my body was super achy all day. Concerts and fibromyalgia are definitely not friends! Despite this, I had an awesome time, so it was worth the blistered feet and stiff joints! D: As they say, no pain, no gain, I guess! The band that I went to see was a Finnish rock band called The Rasmus, which I'm sure most of you will remember from their UK debut hit 'In The Shadows' back in 2003. Gosh, how has it been 15 years since this beautiful song was brought to my ears and subsequently caused my alternative awakening!? Haha, emo-esque poetry aside, hearing this song for the first time really was what brought the alternative scene to my attention, when I was just 10 years old! For the last week or so, I have been thinking about what drew me to this genre of music in the first place (aside from all the attractive musicians :p), and it's these thoughts that have inspired today's post. I hope that you all enjoy reading, and that some of you find what I have to say relatable! 

I have a feeling that this post is going to get a little rambley, so sorry in advance for that guys! 

I have always found psychology and the why's of life fascinating, and in this case, I'm talking about why I became a fan of alternative music. I mean, there are probably a lot of reasons for this, and one of them is simply because I enjoy the sound of it! I love how the instrumentals sound; I love the loud energy, the heavy beats, the showmanship and entertainment factor that goes into the performances themselves, with the staging and the costumes/outfits and the well-thought out, intricate and interesting music videos. But even so, I am the only person in my family that is really into the alternative/rock/metal genre. My siblings and parents, like most people, like a few songs of this type of music, but it is not their favourite and it does not make up the majority of what they prefer to listen to. And growing up, this often made me ponder the questions: why do I like alternative music? Why am I different? What is it about who I am as a person that makes me interested in things that my loved ones aren't? Not that I saw this in a negative way for the most part. Growing up, there were so many aspects of my personality and my interests that made me feel set apart from other people, like a social outcast, well, until I found like-minded friends, but my taste in music wasn't one of these things. 

This is probably because I didn't care about what anyone thought of this! Music is one of the most wonderful things in this world, and it brings everyone happiness no matter what their preferred genre is! Singing along to your favourite songs makes you feel fabulous and has a positive effect on your mood, and music has definitely been a big part of my life. There was a reason why I fell in love with this type of music, and it wasn't just that it appealed to my love of all things gothic and macabre (although I think it is all linked!). It was because of the lyrics, the words, and the subjects of the songs. They just spoke to me! 

If you have been a regular reader of my blog for a while, you'll know by now that I have depression and generalised anxiety disorder, and that I have struggled with these mental health conditions for most of my life. I started to experience the first noticeable symptoms of depression when I was around 12 years old, and this came in the form of intrusive thoughts and sudden drops in my mood. The symptoms would come and go, and were not yet having any serious impact on my life but they were there, and they were difficult to process as a child. I had experienced bullying up until this point in my life, which only got worse and by the time I was 14, the depression was a big part of my everyday existence. It changed the way I experienced the world, the way I thought about things and people and life in general, and it was at this time when music really started to mean so much to me. 

The years building up to the onset of my depression is when I discovered my love for alternative music, and it is no wonder to me why I was drawn to it. When I was in primary school and was still at that age when you don't fully understand deep emotions, I did not know how to express how I was feeling about myself and about my life, and I was not ready to talk about my mental health with people for a very long time (for lots of reasons, but that's a story for another post!) and so I felt isolated and alone. Then suddenly I heard people singing about how I felt, both literally and metaphorically, and it honestly felt amazing... I can't really put into words exactly how it felt. It was so important for little me to hear people talk/sing about things I did not yet have the capacity to fully put into words myself, and to finally know that there were other people out there who understood. It was comforting having the lyrics resonate with me, and this brings me to the reason why I decided to write this post :) 

Alternative music has been there for me ever since I was 10 years old. It has been there to help me through all of the hurdles I have dealt with in my life, through all of the heartbreak and the emotional trauma and all of the abysmal ruminations in my head. It has helped to both uplift me and allow me to channel my feelings, to work through them by having a good cry or giving myself a reminder that I am not alone in all that I am experiencing. It has been almost like a shoulder to cry on, when I didn't feel like I could talk to anyone about how I was feeling and it still is for me to this day. Even though I now talk pretty openly about my mental illnesses, there are still some barriers, some of the 'ugly' sides of depression that are more of a challenge to express, and this is where I can still rely on music to make me feel better. 

I used to get so irritated when I was younger whenever I would hear people talking about how sad music makes you depressed and how it negatively impacting teenagers mental health, and whatever else they were saying, because I knew how much it was helping me. I mean, I know everyone's individual experience and interpretation of things is going to be different, but as a whole, I was surrounded by other people in my friendship group who also found solace in alternative music so it was disheartening that it was getting painted so badly by the media. Writing about this has brought back so many memories, one of them being about when the Daily Mail wrote an article in 2008 about the band, My Chemical Romance being an 'suicidal cult' that causes teenagers to become depressed. Does anyone else remember that? In response, teenagers all over the UK staged protests and as they were one of my favourite bands at the time, I got involved in my own small way. I couldn't make it to any substantial protests but a group of my friends & I made 'F**k the Daily Mail!' banners and walked around our local shopping centre with them! Fun times :D 

Anyhow, let's get back on track, haha!

What is it about alternative music that means so much to me? It is a combination of factors. The way it made me feel like I was never truly alone in what I was feeling, no matter how intense the depressive thoughts were, there was an artist out there sharing their own experiences that I could relate to, and it made me feel like I could carry on, no matter how hard things were because these people were staying strong through their struggles so, I could too! My favourite alternative musicians were inspirational to me, because I looked up to their strength for dealing with all that they were singing about, and also they were so courageous for sharing their feelings and personal stories with the world, especially when I still couldn't talk about my own struggles. In doing so, they were helping me and millions of others out there so much, and that is a beautiful thing! 

Alternative music is very expressive (some people think it's too expressive, especially when it comes to 'screamo' and the likes, haha!) and I really appreciate this! It is another reason why alternative music means so much to me. The way that they express some of the most vulnerable and deepest, darkest parts of the human psyche is something that I will always be thankful for. Not only because many artists do it in such a relatable and poetic way, but also just because they help people to express themselves vicariously through their music. No matter what emotion they are trying to relay in the song, it is usually always intense and that allows people to... how do I say it?... reach into themselves and pinpoint a moment in their own lives when they felt that particular emotion so strongly. That's why lots of people find it so cathartic to listen to alternative music. For example, when I am feeling angry or I am struggling not to think about the past and particularly to a time when I was very irritated, listening to a good angry, shouty metal song like Let the bodies hit the floor by Drowning Pool helps XD I'm sure everyone can relate in some way to that!

Another thing that I have always loved about alternative music is the creativity and the expression of stories through imagery. I have forever had a very vivid imagination; my mind is a strange place at times to say the least. I have the oddest dreams and daydreams, and come up with some very random ideas for stories. I have been like this since I was a kid and when it came to my imagination, I knew I was different to the people around me. When it comes to alternative music, the lyrics themselves have crossed over the line from the mainstream norm and broken so many societal taboos that they have the freedom to do wild and wonderful things with their music videos. 

Some videos are like gothic fairytales, with strange creatures and spooky shadows and fantastical people, in an array of marvellous outfits and elaborate makeup. Some are more focused in reality, showing us scenes that symbolise the lyrics of their songs, depicting real-life, relatable yet usually tragic scenarios; which again help remind people who have gone through similar situations themselves that they are not alone. They are expressive and rich with colour and just brilliant. Bringing it back to that first alternative song that I heard by The Rasmus in 2003, I was very much into history at 10 years old, and in particular I was super interested in the Victorian era around this time. In the video to In The Shadows we follow a Victorian maid who has a horrible time in the house she works and lives in, gets blamed for things that she didn't do and just dreams of escape from her life. This in itself has me enthralled in the 'storyline' of the song, both because of the history elements but also because of the relatability of wanting to be somewhere else, to be living a different life than the one you do. This maid then happens to experience something magical, when she finds a mirror that shows her a 'world' outside of her own, where she can see a man who is very different to what people looked like in her time period, with his eyeliner and his messy, feather-covered hair. 

I'd never really seen many people dressed like this in my life before when I was that age and so I was also pretty much in awe of him too XD After the girl is horribly punished for something, the 'man in the mirror' (oops, another song reference :D) appears and this time holds out his hand to her, and pulls her through the mirror into the gig he's performing at, and for once this girl feels free, and like she can let her hair down and enjoy herself. She's smiling so much and you can tell that she's captivated by the band who are so different than anything she's ever known, and the lyrics are reflecting her current life that we've just watched unfold. It's fantastic! I was just hooked from the moment I watched the music video and listened to the words, and saw alternative dudes, haha! It has so much contrast to any video I'd ever seen, which until this point was just those of pop and r 'n' b artists, which I mean were great for the genre but they never had any deep stories being told, not the kind I was longing for. I found that alternative music videos told me a story that would make my imagination run wild for hours thinking about what it would be like to be the characters in the videos, or for myself to be in those scenarios. Although there have been many contributors in my life to the way my creativity and imagination developed as I grew older, I have to thank alternative music for a huge part of that. It's the kind of music that still now, I can listen to and fantasise my own stories along to the lyrics, and I love it! :) 

This post has gotten really long so thankyou so much to anyone who hasn't gotten bored and is still reading! You might know how much I've been struggling with motivation and energy lately so when I got the drive to write about this, I just went with it and was determined to keep going until I couldn't think of anything else to say on the topic. Apparently, I had a lot to say, haha! I'm going to conclude this post by telling you all about seeing The Rasmus in concert! 

Oh my god, they were incredible live!! The venue that my best friend & I went to was the Manchester Academy 2, which has moved into the University of Manchester students' union building since the last time we went to a gig there. This venue room was a lot smaller than the old one, but that just made it more awesome (well if I didn't have anxiety it would have been, I did almost have a panic attack when it got too crowded but let's ignore my spoonie problems for now :D) because you felt really close to the stage. It's so cool being at a gig where you're so close to the front that you can see the facial features of the band, and not just essentially silhouettes, haha. I'm only 5'2'' so it was great being able to actually see for once! 

The vocals of the leader singer, Lauri Ylonen, were perfect! They sang my favourite song, First Day of My Life, first too, yay!! They preformed the classics from their 2003 'Dead Letters' album, which is probably the songs you'll remember if you were a fan of the band around the time that 'In the Shadows' was in the charts. One of those songs was Time to Burn and I hadn't listened to it since I was about 12, and I got hit with a wave of nostalgia that was epic! I haven't been able to stop listening to it since I got home!! They also sang one of my other favourite songs by them, which was released in 2008, called Livin' in a World Without You, plus a couple of their new songs from their 2017 album, 'Dark Matters'. All of the fans were amazing when it came to their engagement; it was lovely to see the members of the band smile so much in response to the crowd :) I also just love when you're at a gig and the band stop singing to let the crowd sing for them instead. There's just something that sounds so fantastic about a crowd singing together, I love it! They performed 'In the Shadows' last as I thought they would, but they came back out after the typical 'ONE MORE SONG!' chant from the audience, and we got two more songs. 'Sail Away' from the band's 2005 album was the final song they did, and it was a beautiful one to finish on. Even though I still feel like I've been hit by a bus two days later, I really wish I was going to see them again! I can't recommend seeing them enough & I'll definitely be going again next time they are touring! I hope you guys enjoyed reading my mash-up of why I love alternative music and how much of a fabulous time I had at the Rasmus gig. Have a lovely rest of your week everyone!

Thankyou for reading! 

♥ 

Are you a fan of The Rasmus?

 If so, I'd love for you to let me know your favourite song in the comments :) 

Also, do you enjoy alternative music? What do you love most about it? 

Can you remember the first alternative song you ever listened to? 

Eurovision: First Impressions #4

Hey lovelies! I know that I said I would have this post up on Sunday, however I seriously underestimated how busy I would be yesterday... but YAYYY!! Today is Monday which means that there's only a day left until the first semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest! I am super duper excited to finally get the chance to see so many of the amazing artists that I've been following for months now performing live, with their new and improved Eurovision-finale-worthy staging and choreography! Even though I will be boarding a plane to Lisbon tomorrow, it still doesn't feel like it's really happening! And as ecstatic as I am now, I don't think I will have reached my full capacity on the excitement scale until I arrive in Lisboa and that Eurovision sign is there to greet me in the airport (there better be a sign, Portugal! There was one in Stockholm when I visited in 2016 so I'm counting on it!). Obviously the ESC is something that I love and thoroughly enjoy investing several months of my life into, but at this stage in the competition it gets kinda stressful too! This is because you know that some of the artists you love won't make it into the final... there are going to be tears guys; I'm an emotional wreck so I'm sure of it, haha!

If this is the first of my Eurovision impressions posts that you are reading or if you're not really all too familiar with this wonderful annual contest, let me explain a little of how it works :) This year there are forty-three countries participating, six of them automatically get a place in the final (because they are the host country or part of the group of countries that helps fund most of the Eurovision), which leaves thirty-seven countries to compete! There are only twenty places available (meaning there's twenty-six artists in the final) for the last show which will take place on Saturday 12th May, and the artists are separated into Semi final 1 or Semi final 2, with ten qualifying from each show. I hope I explained that well! So yeah, those semi finals are going to be both incredible and a nightmare to get though, and I'm crossing as many fingers as I can that my favourites all qualify! 

This post is the fourth and final one in a mini series I've written to share my opinions of each of the songs entered into the 2018 line-up. I've discussed my thoughts and feelings, and likes and dislikes, of ten songs in each post, in the order in which the songs were released/confirmed. I will leave some links to my three previous posts at the end of this for those of you who would like to read more on the subject. Today's post is going to include thirteen songs  though, since that's how many I have left to chat about. I hope that you all enjoy reading, and if you are a fan of the Eurovision, I hope that you all enjoy the show on Saturday night!! Let me know who you're favourite performer of the night was over on twitter too! 

31. Belgium- 'A Matter of Time' by Sennek

It's a shame that I have to start off today's review with a song that I'm not really keen on. It's not a bad song at all, it's just that it isn't to my personal tastes. I feel like this could be a popular song for the viewers at home though as it sounds very similar to the types of songs that do well in the UK charts; it has some definitely Paloma Faith vibes. But I don't listen to much of that style of music so I could be way off, haha :D The singer, Sennek (Laura Groeseneken) has a cool voice! However I feel like the song drags on a bit and this makes me a little bored. Because of this, A Matter of Time is placed towards the bottom half of my Top 43. 

32. Croatia- 'Crazy' by Franka

Oops, this is unfortunately going to be another review much like the one above! In fact, this is my least favourite entry in the whole of the 2018 line-up (sorry Croatia!). Franka Batelic is stunning and has a great voice, but the song just doesn't do her justice at all! The line 'I will remember, roses and horses in the rain' just makes me giggle because it's incredibly cliché, even for a love song! I'm really not a fan of the chorus either with the whole 'l-l-l-love', and to be the honest the entire song just doesn't have anything unique, exciting or catchy about it. What do you think of this song guys? 

33. Australia- 'We Got Love' by Jessica Mauboy

This song on the other hand is a fabulous entry! It's all about self love and not letting people make you feel like you have to change who you are, to never give up! A message to just spread love and get along with one another ♥ This song is also powerful, especially with it representing Australia at Eurovision as in December 2017, the country finally passed the law to legalise gay marriage!! It feels like Jessica Mauboy is singing in celebration of this and that is fantastic, and makes the song even more special. I love singing along to We Got Love, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :D haha!

34. Austria- 'Nobody But You' by Cesar Sampson

This is a really good song, the lyrics are sweet and I like listening it before I go to bed, because it's chilled. Cesar has a lovely voice, and sounds even better performing live from the snippets I've seen (as hard as it is, I am avoiding watching the official rehearsal videos on YouTube because I want a surprise!). I think this song was a grower for my friends, but I loved it from the start. It makes me a little sad whenever I've listened to it over the last few days because the realisation hit that it's in Semi Final 1, with so many amazing songs and even though it's great, there's definitely ten better songs! T_T Why can't everyone make it to the finals!? 

35. Ireland- 'Together' by Ryan O'Shaughnessy 

This song is beautiful, and the first time I watched the video, I struggled to hold back tears (I'm way too emotional!). The lyrics just bring back old memories and feelings for me, but that's not necessarily a bad thing; it can be very cathartic to feel so moved by a song like that. Everyone loves having a good cry along to stuff, right? Ryan O'Shaughnessy voice is so nice! Some of you might remember him from when he was on Britain's Got Talent and The Voice Ireland. The video to this song is great, mostly because it features two male dancers, and it's very refreshing to see same-sex relationships represented in more mainstream media. It is a cute video for sure! If this song doesn't make it through Semi Final 1, I'm gonna be gutted!

36. Sweden- 'Dance You Off' by Benjamin Ingrosso

My best friends & I were so invested in the Swedish National Finals this year, watching all of the shows and even having a little get together for when the winner was announced. Honestly, Sweden's Eurovision selection shows, named the Melodifestivalen or Melfest for short, just revile those of any other country! They are amazing and extravagant and the hosts, David Lindgren and Fab Freddie, were incredible! Melfest is just like one big party (across six shows: four contests, a second chance round for some of the performers, and a finale) and even though I can't understand a word of what's being said, well other than Second Chance and Yes, haha!, it's still so fun to watch. I was super happy to see the artists Samir & Viktor come back again with another awesome song, called Shuffla, so I was kinda disappointed when they didn't win, however Benjamin Ingrosso was in my top 3 so that's not bad at all. There were so so many incredible songs in the Melfest this year, including In My Cabana by Margaret and A Bitter Lullaby by Martin Almgren. The winning song is one of those that's impossible not to want to dance along to, and the staging was something different and very visually appealing, but I'll say not more about that because spoilers! 

37. Norway- 'That's How You Write A Song' by Alexander Rybak 

As a Eurofan, it was impossible not to get excited about Norway's song as soon as we heard that it would be performed by Alexander Rybak. He was the winner of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, with an brilliant song called Fairytale. Back then, we all fell a little in love with his cheeky personality, his cute Peter Pan-esque look, and his fabulous violin playing! I was super intrigued to find out what his new song would be like, and how he would sound/look 9 years later! The first glimpse of his 2018 entry that I got was when the official music video was released, and my first impressions changed as soon as I saw a live performance a few weeks after that. That's How You Write A Song is certainly catchy, but after watching the official video, I also thought it was a little too cheesy (it reminds me somewhat of the song Chico Time, who else remembers that?) and when compared his 2009 winning song, it was just too different and I wasn't sure what I really thought of it. But eventually my faith was restored when I saw the stage performance of it, Alexander Rybak has a really great stage presence and his characteristics shrine though in the way he performs! Obviously, his violin playing is a huge bonus too! It's not my favourite song in the contest, but it's still a good one. Also Rybak doesn't look like he's aged at all :D 

38. Israel- 'TOY' by Netta 

Up until this point, there was none of those classic Eurovision songs, the kind that are extravagantly random and unusual, the type of songs that you can't help but love because they are so wacky and weird! They are one of the reasons that I got so into Eurovision, because you just don't hear them in many other places, and certainly not in a competition with such popularity and prestige (This is why Eurovision is truly amazing)! So, I felt until this song was released that we were missing something this year... but then we were all hit with this fabulous, quirky song!! It's brilliant and I loved it right away... Netta is absolutely amazing, she's energetic and fun and has one of those attitudes that I admire so much, she just doesn't care what people think and is loud and proud. Her social media is so entertaining and she's always bursting into random song, and getting others to sing along with her. It's also awesome to have a beautiful plus-size woman in the competition to represent! The song is not only filled with unique dance moves and lots of chicken sounds XD (yes, chicken sounds!), but it also has an awesome message! I have spontaneously sang 'I'M NOT YOUR TOY... YOU STUPID BOY' quite a lot lately! Me & my sister cannot resist getting up and imitating those dance moves everything we listen to the song too!  Omg and Netta also mentions Pikachu in her song so yeah she's my favourite person now :) Toy is the best song performing in Semi Final 1 for me, and I would really love to hear what everyone else thinks of this song, so please have a listen and let me know in the comments. 

39. Russia- 'I Won't Break' by Julia Samoylova

Julia Samoylova was an entrant of the Eurovision Song Contest for Russia last year, but she was banned from entering Ukraine (where the 2017 show was hosted) because of some confusing political rule that she broke by or when entering Crimea several years earlier. Crimea is a conflict zone but I don't know much more than that on the subject. I can't say that I was too disappointed about her not being allowed to enter the competition because I really didn't enjoy her song, but it's still a shame that in a competition that is supposed to be about unity and have no political involvement. I'm not sure what I think about her being banned from performing, I don't know enough about the situation or what she even apparently did to deserve being banned though so? Anyhow, with the show being hosted in Portugal this year, Julia Samoylova is back with another song and upon first hearing it, I was impressed by how much better it was from last years song Flame Is Burning. 2018's song has a touching theme and speaks to me on a personal level because of my own struggles with living with mental illness. It is good to sing along to as well. But then, I heard a very short clip of a live performance of the song and really didn't like it! She's had time though since then to perfect her vocals and staging, so it will be interesting to hear it live in Semi Final 2 on Thursday. 

40. FYR Macedonia- 'Lost And Found' by Eye Cue

Macedonia's entry was certainly a grower for me. When I initially heard it, it wasn't that I thought it was a bad song or anything, it's just that it didn't stand out to me and there were lots of other songs that I preferred. I felt, and still do despite me now liking the song a lot more, that Lost And Found sounded a little weird. By weird, I mean that it sounds like two different songs mashed together... basically the chorus and verses could almost be different songs with the way they sound! Originally, I wasn't too sure if they fit well together and couldn't stop thinking about it everytime I listened to the song, which was sort of distracting me from enjoying it. Nevertheless, I started to appreciate the song the more I listened to it, playing it loud in my friend's car and having a sing-along definitely helped! It has a great beat and instrumentals, and I can imagine it being played in nightclubs so I feel like younger viewers will enjoy it. I prefer the verses to the chorus but it's still overall a nice song. I'm looking forward to hearing it live, but it's in Semi Final 1 so I'm not sure how much of a chance Macedonia has of qualifying for the final this year.  

41. Lithuania- 'When We're Old' by Ieva Zasimauskaite 

I really like Lithuania's song! It was a nice change to have a song of this genre/sound after so many upbeat and energetic songs, and those with amazing high notes and full of strong emotion. This song is definitely not lacking in emotion though, it just illustrates it in a different way and is beautifully put together. The lyrics are meaningful and all about love, but not in a stereotypical way. The video is adorable too :) Ieva Zasimauskaite has a very unique voice, that is lovely to listen to and sets her apart from the other performers. Even though it's a calm and slow song, it is still lovely enough that it won't get lost amongst the crowd, and I've been told that it sounds fantastic live in the rehearsals so I feel like it has a very good chance of qualifying, despite it being in Semi Final 1.

42. Bulgaria- 'Bones' by EQUINOX

Bones is certainly different, and I've never heard a song quite like it in the ESC before. I recently discovered the music of a US a cappella group called Pentatonix and I'm lovin' this sort of music right now, which meant when I heard Bulgaria's entry for this year, I was very impressed! Although it's not an a cappella song, it reminds me of one because there's not too much instrumental input and the song relies mostly on the different vocal tones of the five singers, with a simplistic beat in the background. I just love it :) I really like how well the different singer's voices compliment each other, and I think it will be incredible to hear live... I can't wait! I love all of the space imagery, and the meaning behind the lyrics is nice too. I don't have much to say about this song other than I think it's epic and I am sure that it will quality!!

43. Georgia- 'For You' by Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao

The final song that was released, on Tuesday 13th March ,was from Georgia. I was super happy to discover that it was preformed in the Georgian language, bringing the number of songs sang in their native language to nine, which is fabulous. I want to see more in the future! For You is a nice song to listen to, very peaceful. I love the traditional feel of it with the ethnic sounds and instrumentals, it reminds me very much of something you might hear in a religious setting. I like how the song starts off calm with just one member of the band singing in the lead, and starts to change sound as the other members join in, adding their own unique tone to the harmony. My favourite part of the song though is two minutes in when it really picks up and the vocals get stronger, the song feels more powerful then and memorable. The seven guys that make up Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao have beautiful voices! The song will be performed in Semi Final 2, where most of my favourites from the 2018 line-up are also performing and even though Georgia's entry is lovely, I don't think it stands much of a chance when up against some of the other songs in this show. With it's unique twist on traditional music, I feel like it might not appeal to as many audiences.

So we have reached the end of my Eurovision Song Contest song reviews for 2018. There are a few songs this year that I am really not a fan of, but the majority of the songs that have been entered this time round have been great and so it has been super hard to choose which I prefer. Trying to sort my Top 10 was definitely a challenge!! These last few months have passed by so quickly, and tomorrow evening the ESC process officially begins with Semi Final 1. I still cannot believe that I will be there to witness it all. Wow! Eeeek it feels a little surreal that on Saturday we will find out who will win the entire contest; hopefully it's one of my favourites ;) I hope these posts have been a fun read for everyone, including those of my follows who don't watch the Eurovision. If I've helped you discover even one song that you enjoy, then I'm delighted :)

Thankyou for reading!

♥

What is your favourite song that I've mentioned in this post? 

Have a listen & let me know :) 

If you watched the Eurovision finale last year, did you have a favourite song? 

As promised, here are the links to my other Eurovision 2018 song reviews: 

| First Impressions 1 | First Impressions 2 | First Impressions 3 |