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Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #2 Written by on April 7, 2015 | 15 Comments

Having escaped the hotel suite in Chișinău used for last week’s Juke Box Jury, the Insight team has found a little studio in the shores of Leith for this week’s ration of hit, miss, and maybe. Five more songs face the specially invited judges to find out just how well we think they will do in this year’s Contest.

As always you can leave your comments and join in the debate in the comments!

Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #2
with Elaine Dove and David Elder

Malta: Warrior, by Amber.
Finland
: Aina mun pitää, by Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät.
Moldova
: I Want Your Love, by Eduard Romanyuta.
Israel: Golden Boy, by Nadav Guedj.
Spain: Amanecer, by Edurne.

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About The Author: Ewan Spence

British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times. You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).

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Have Your Say

15 responses to “Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #2”

  1. Esceire says:

    Malta – I don’t really like this entry but as we know from past Eurovision’s ( and i don’t want to be controversial but i can’t help it) that Malta are either A. Loved by juries or B. bribe juries. because of this alone Malta are a guaranteed qualifier which i think is a disgrace but…. MAYBE

    Finland – MISS

    Moldova – My guilty pleasure of 2015 and we know Moldova are great at bringing what are trashy/weak entries and turning them into gold dust but unfortunately this entry is at a level of rubbish that I feel no staging could possibly save it.
    MISS

    Israel – Israel this year ( as usual ) have been overrated by fans. The song itself has no structure at all and will be killed by juries and i don’t see a big enough tele vote supporting it enough to push it over the line. MISS

    Spain – Like Israel overrated imo but unlike Israel this actually has hope. I can see it top 10 but i can also see it bottom 5 its very hit or miss i think. I’m just going to sit on the fence and give it a MAYBE.

    Spain would be my winner and i don’t see it winning because its no accessible enough to win but it could get Spain there best result for a long time.

  2. Esceire says:

    About Finland, i don’t think you can compare it to Austria 2014 because Conchita was a massive gay icon in a contest that there are a lot of homosexual viewers. Finland how ever is about guys with mental disabilities where i don’t think there will be a huge support for in the semi or the final.

  3. Marc P. says:

    Malta: The revamp turned this into a very tepid, pompous affair. I can’t see this outranking the many stronger ballads in the semi-final (Norway, Latvia, MISS.

    Finland: This will probably get huge support from the televote, and I can see jurors being reluctant to kill it (especially if they disclose their names like last year) for fear of being labelled discriminatory. A likely qualifier, headed for a mid-table result in the final. HIT.

    Moldova: The live performance needs monumental improvement, and I can’t see Moldova outranking the beating Russia, Belarus, Georgia and Armenia for the big ex-Soviet points it will need in order to qualify. MISS.

    Israel: I will be so mad if this qualifies when Izabo, Moran Mazor and Mei Finegold all didn’t. The song is a guilty pleasure but I’m not sure how it will work out on stage. The juries will probably sink it , but I can see it just sneaking through if it garners enough support from the televoters. MAYBE.

    Spain: Typical G:son power-balladry. With a good draw and a shouty performance this will probably get them another undeserved top ten (just like the similarly bland Pastora and Ruth). But then again, if things don’t play into their favour and she’s off on the night, this is another bottom five. MAYBE.

  4. Esceire says:

    (P.S sorry for spamming) But if i didn’t rank Finland last i would only be doing because of the people in the band and if i did that i would be giving them special treatment which imo is just as bad as discrimination so based on that i judge the song on its own merits.

  5. Seán says:

    Not a good week of JBJ for me.

    Malta – I usually have Malta in my Top 10 but it doesn’t feature this year. Reasonable song, but not showstopping. 4.4/10

    Moldova – Something like Belarus hard to actually justify a high mark for this song. Terrible live performance. 4.7/10

    Israel – I’m with David on this one. 0.6/10

    Finland – I just don’t like this style of music, sorry Finland. 0/10

    Spain – I think this is a good effort from Spain, but I was so disappointed by the song, I think this affects the mark. However it is quite a good entry from them. 5.1/10

  6. Stephen Colville says:

    David’s political correctness about Finland was quite annoying.

    Malta : Miss. Original version was far better.

    Finland : Garbage. Miss.

    Moldova : Really low quality. Miss.

    Israel : Another miss.

    Spain. Fantastic song and a clear hit. As usual JBJ has really weird opinions.

    Glad we got a lot of the crap ones out of the way.

  7. Kate says:

    Awww, I love Spain. Love love love. Eeeaaeeaaoo! Hit!

    Malta: Overblown, a bit screechy. I just don’t know if her voice strength can carry this. Agree with Elaine that Georgia’s Warrior is better. Maybe

    Finland: As a person who is familiar with punk, I greatly enjoy the instrumentation, though I think the vocals for punk are a bit weak (which they went with more straight hardcore vocals, keep that scream up all the way through!) I think that this group can do better songs, but it is a hit!

    Moldova: Man, this song is just so smarmy. Bleh bleh. I think it is dated, the lyrics are gross, and our singer just has a face you want to punch. Miss.

    Israel: Agree with Elaine and Ewan. Fun, cheeky, just a good time. I just wish it flowed a bit better, its transitions are not handed well. Maybe.

  8. A very entertaining edition, guys, loving your work!

    Malta: I feel the same as the jury, what was a wow performance in November has gradually gone downhill now we are in April. I hope Amber makes it to the Final but it will be tight. I just hope she sticks with ‘The Matrix’ outfit she wore in the NF… MAYBE

    Finland: I am a child of punk, being 48, and can get where PKN are coming from but this isn’t a very good example of a punk song. I have this feeling now it will be a MISS, unless the press and social media bring their story to the fore in the days before the ESC, in which case it will be a HIT

    Moldova: I watched the NF and this was awful. The Axl Rose look without the voice, a dance that even Britney Spears at the start of her career would have said ‘hell no!’ to – the old saying “you can’t polish a t*rd’ comes to mind – MISS

    Israel: If the live vocals and performance are like the video, this will give the Contest such a feelgood factor! I think the audience in Vienna and at home will love this and it will stick out a mile amongst all the ballads. HIT

    Spain: Edurne is so, so gorgeous and has such an amazing voice but the song itself doesn’t do it on its own. This needs the rumoured ‘out of this world’ staging to sell it and get Spain in the top 10 again. MAYBE

    Looking forward to the next jury!

  9. John Lucas says:

    Malta: The problem with this song is that it does all the right things on the surface, but it just isn’t very engaging. Catchy and well-structured enough to qualify, but bottom ten in the final I fear. MAYBE.

    Finland: Will attract a strong televote but the genre is too niche to win. Ewan makes a good point when he corrects the genre of Lordi – they may have looked like monsters, but musically it wasn’t actually all that far removed from previous winners at all. It was just louder. This is much less accessible and will therefore rely on the storyline combined with the ever-present Anti-Eurovision vote. MAYBE (with high marks from the UK all but guaranteed)

    Moldova: My guilty pleasure too on record. I think the live performance will kill it. Bad singing can be disguised. Bad stage presence is a lot trickier. MISS

    Israel: Stands out as one of the most un-self consciously fun entries of the year. For that reason I’m reasonably confident it’ll qualify, though it may suffer the same fate with the juries that Portugal did last year. MAYBE

    Spain: I have a feeling Spain have a very strong visual concept behind this. If they pull it off, it could be a real moment. It already sounds very cinematic and atmospheric. HIT.

  10. HarrietKrohn says:

    Malta: I don’t even have anything to say about this, at this very moment I’m even struggling to remember the song although I’ve listened to it …*goestocheck* … 17 times. Miss.

    Finland: I actually quite like it. I didn’t exactly grow up with punk, but it was right around the corner in some phases of my life. It might not be the best punk has to offer, but it’s not hardcore enough to put me off. Maybe, but their back story might make it a hit (or a miss – this one can really go either way).

    Moldova: Okay, this is my second worst guilty pleasure of the year (the worst is yet to come and I’ve yet to meet someone else who likes it). This puts me in a good mood every time I hear it, I just love it. Hoping against hope he might pull it off live, but … maybe. *sigh*

    Israel: For me, the jury is still out on this one. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I’m all ‘meh …’ Something inside me refuses to like a song which begins with a boy/young man crying out for his mama because some girl was mean to him. But something inside me also wants to like a song which ends with “three minutes – gotta go”. In a way this reflects the song which can’t decide what it wants to be either. So maybe.

    Spain: This leaves me totally cold. I’m not one for power ballads anyway, but some still strike a chord with me. This one doesn’t, it’s so over the top in some ways. And by the way, I wasn’t fond of “Quédate conmigo” either. Miss.

  11. Igor says:

    Elaine really made me laugh at the end, really good reaction 😉
    Yeah Finland is just not good by my count, and I just don’t see that pity vote
    Others are just a random bunch, Malta is not so good, Moldova is a very good dance number, Israel also very bouncy which might give them a top 10 result and Spain is a great big ballad, Spain really wants to win it but I think they won’t do it with this song

  12. Shai says:

    Malta – Have you heard of less can be much more.Overcooked and overproduced to the point of getting all wrong – MISS

    Finland – A noise for me and I don’t get the song – MISS

    Moldova – If you rip off Just a Little Bit, make sure your performance and look suit the song, otherwise it comes all very incoherent – between MAYBE and a MISS

    Israel – I should dislike the song for its disjoint character. To its credit it sounds different from anything in this semi or anything in the whole contest. The chorus is extremely catchy and the song may wake everybody up from the sleeping mode they were in. Can be a big HIT or a big MISS

    Spain – Drama, drama and more drama. I am not entirely convince she can sing it live. I think it’s too much for her in the high notes and there is a big chance she will sound out of tune. If she get the singing right this may be a HIT otherwise a MISS

  13. Eric Graf says:

    Re: Moldova’s video …

    Not high budget at all. First of all, the car stunts are all spliced-in stock footage. Different cars, different backgrounds.

    Secondly, almost the entire video is recycled from another video of his: https://play.md/2117303 (I hope that works.)

    My votes:

    Malta – MISS (Booooriiiiiing.)

    Finland – MAYBE (If the punk fans show up and vote. The studio version kind of sucks, as the vocal runs out of gas on the last verse. What’s up with that? Anyway, they were much better live on the NF.)

    Moldova – MAYBE (He was good in the Riga Preshow Concert, and EVERYBODY was awful on the Moldovan NF – bad monitor systems perhaps. But I do want to slap him every time I see him. He’s the dictionary photo next to the word “smug”. He’s like David Lee Roth squared.)

    Israel – MAYBE (The song takes too long to kick in, and bad staging could kill it. But I can easily pick 7 or 8 worse songs in Semi 2, including Malta.)

    Spain – MAYBE (Besides the song being dull, she’s been surprisingly unimpressive in her live performances so far. The intervals seem to be giving her trouble.)

    Hmmm … 4 maybes. Just call me Valentina.

  14. Ewan Spence says:

    Erik, nice catch on the video – how about it’s giving the appearance of high production values (for a Moldovan/Ukrainian song)?

  15. Congrats to Eric Graf for providing one of the funniest comments I’ve read but don’t diss the Roth! Eduard reminds me more of the loser two-timing boyfriend in Bon Jovi’s “Always” video – now that’s smug squared!

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