Singers, Song reviews, Rankings
Turkey won the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga, just edging out the Belgians and the heavy favored Russians.

In the order performers appeared in Riga:

1. Iceland
Singer:Birgitta Haukdal
Song: Open Your Heart

This song is an orchestrated, guitar-driven tune with that slightly annoying uplifting quality of so many Eurovision songs. But as annoyingly uplifting songs go, this one’s not too bad. It’s catchy, with some intriguing musical twists and turns along the way. Haukdal, with her girl-next-door good looks, comes across well on stage. The big question here is: 25 songs later, will television viewers remember this song fondly enough to vote for it?

Background: The 23-year-old Haukdal is a big star back home, garnering twice as many call-in votes as her closest competitor in Iceland’s Eurovision qualifier. She’s the lead singer of the Garbage-like band Irafar, which has broken several Icelandic sales records.

Iceland has a history of finishing near the bottom of the Eurovision heap. But thanks to successive Eurovision champs Latvia and Estonia, the minnows at Eurovision can no longer be counted out so easily.

Sample Lyrics: “Every time you close your eyes, I can see the light that you’re hiding.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 7+

2. Austria
Singer: Alf Poier
Song: Weil Der Mensch Zählt

His song doesn’t have a hope in hell of winning. But winning doesn’t seem to have ever been Poier’s objective. He’s a rebel with a cause: to mock Eurovision. This song could be the theme song for a toddler’s TV special; there are also flashes of heavy metal. Most of the jokes supposedly embedded within this composition will be lost on anyone who doesn’t speak German; German-speaking Europe will presumably get a big laugh out of it.

Background: The 36-year-old Poier has made a career out of trying to make a point whenever he can. He billed his entry as a kind of anti-Eurovision Eurovision song. The lefty cabaret artist claims he is railing against mediocrity and conformity. Asked about his song, he says cryptically that “I am in favor of balls and against circles, for corners and against edges, for every tree and not the generalization of the forest.” “Whoever votes for me,” he goes on, “is against being standardized and cemented into the European banality.” Poier, a one-time chimney sweep, presents one of the only songs this year that is not about love.

Sample Lyrics: “Well, the animals of this world, I rather like them. But my true favorites are the rabbits and the bears.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 4

3. Ireland
Singer: Mickey Harte
Song: We’ve Got the World Tonight

You can’t ever write the Irish off, of course. With good or bad songs, they have a habit of winning this thing. This particular song could be good enough to win—which isn’t to say, mind you, that it is actually any good. It has that determinedly feel-good air that is likely to turn some stomachs.

Background: Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, to the delight of many Irish and to the horror of others. Controversy ensnared Harte when some pointed to alleged similarities between his song and Fly on the Wings of Love, the 2000 Eurovision winner. Officials said they heard no such similarities.

The 29-year-old cites Sting and Paul Brady as chief musical influences, but, at least according to his Eurovision offering this year, he has far more in common with late-era Elton John.

Sample Lyrics: “We’ve got the world tonight. Let’s hold on together. We’ve got a love that’s right.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 5

4. Turkey
Singer: Sertab Erener
Song: Everyway That I Can

This is one of Turkey’s best songs in years, and that it will be sung in English could greatly boost Turkish hopes of a win. A conservatory-trained soprano, Erener certainly knows how to belt out a song, no matter the language. This song, about a jilted concubine, has a refreshing, hard-driving pace; part R&B and part hip hop, it blends modern beats and eastern strings into a sexually charged tune that doesn’t seem as contrived as most of the others this year.

Background: Erener is no musical slouch, having sung duets with none other than Jose Carreras and Ricky Martin. She has been a fixture on the Istanbul music scene since the 1980s, and started her 2003 Eurovision odyssey by putting her foot down. She insisted that Turkish rules be bent so that she could sing in English. This insistence, from a correct calculation that non-English songs tend to do far worse, infuriated many Turks. In the face of ever harsher criticism, Erener at one point reportedly even threatened to leave Turkey after the Eurovision finals.

Sample Lyrics: “I feel you moving on a different course, making way for a distant coast. You say you love me and you roll your eyes. Turn to stare at the empty skies.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 8

5. Malta
Singer: Lynn Chircop
Song: To Dream Again

Chircop has a lot to live up to after Malta’s Ira Losco came in an impressive second last year. But she won’t meet Maltese expectations with this predictable, canned love song. Chircop resorts to an often tried formula: to sound as much like Celine Dion as possible. But Chircop lacks that superstar’s full-bodied, my-heart-on-my-sleeve confidence.

Background: The 23-year-old’s day job is as a TV presenter. She is a classically trained pianist and a polyglot, speaking English, German and Italian, as well as reasonable French and Spanish.

Sample Lyrics: “You’re my vision of love, the very heart of life, the last word.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 3-.

6. Bosnia-Herzegovina
Singer: Mija Martina Barbarić
Song: Ne Brini

This song takes the techo route to would-be stardom. If you like that kind of thing, this dance-club ditty may have strong appeal. Otherwise, there’s little hope of glory for the Bosnian entry.

Background: Barbaric, 19, secured her place in Riga by crushing fellow competitors in the Bosnia-Herzegovinan national contest. There was, however, some talk that the results might have been rigged after the televoting system went haywire—but Barbaric quickly put the controversy behind her.

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 3+

7. Portugal
Singer: Rita Guerra
Song: Deixa-me Sonhar

This is another song that’s so hard to distinguish—because you know you’ve heard it a thousand of times before, and you didn’t like it much the first time. Some may find this slow-moving ballad an inspiration; others may want to use the opportunity when it comes on TV to run to the fridge.

Background: One of Guerra’s main claims to fame is that she was a voice in various Disney and Dreamworks animated films, including The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Guerra, 35, is celebrated in her homeland for her deep, smoky voice—but doesn’t put it to its very best use with this bland song.

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 3

8. Croatia
Singer: Claudia Beni
Song: Vise Nivam Tvoje

Croatians have sent a markedly better song to Riga than they sent to Tallinn. This one has a funky shuffle quality going for it, a song to which you could line dance. The tall, dark and dashing Beni, if she puts on a good stage performance, could draw more votes than expected.

Background: Claudia Beni, a 17-year-old student at a hair stylist school, is the youngest competitor in this year’s Eurovision. Unsurprisingly perhaps, she borrows heavily from Aguilera, Spears, and their teenage ilk.

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 5+

9. Cyprus
Singer: Stelios Konstantas
Song: Feeling Alive

It’s a good thing he’s got those raffish good looks. This formulaic, soft-techno tune, on its own, is unlikely to draw Konstantas many votes. There’s not an original syllable in the dreary lyrics.

Background: Konstantas was born in Cyprus but recently moved to Greece to pursue his singing career. This year will mark his third try for Eurovision fame; he’s participated in two Cypriot national finals before. He wrote Feeling Alive himself.

Sample Lyrics: “I need your love. I need you tonight. I’ve waited for you baby all of my life.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 2

10. Germany
Singer: Lou
Song: Let’s Get Happy

This is the kind of song that will make you want to kill yourself if you hear it in the wrong mood, say, when you’re hung over and depressed some early morning, nursing a headache. At other times, this techno number could be the life of the party. It is the type of song that Eurovision fans love and Eurovision detractors love to hate.

Background: Lou Hoffner, 39, has been touring for 15 years around Germany with her Lou Hoffner Trio. Her bright orange hair and blinding white smile has won over many Germans, at least one of whom dubbed her “Powerfrau.” She calls the title of the song, Let’s Get Happy, her life’s motto.

Sample Lyrics: “Let’s get happy and let’s be gay, all our troubles—they will fade away.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 4+

11. Russia
Singing Duo: Tatu (photo)
Song: Ne ver’, ne bojsia

Even if this style of music doesn’t happen to be your cup of tea, you have to give the Russians their due: quality wise, in sheer professionalism, their song stands head and shoulders above most of the rest in this year’s Song Contest. And while it’s unmistakably pop, there is plenty of originality to this edgy, technotronic tune—that simultaneously does not stoop to the level of everyday Euro dance.

Background: If for some reason you still have Cold War-era notions of Russians as an essentially dour people invariably stuck behind the times, then try these Russians on for size. Tatu’s already famous and/or infamous Julia Volkova and Lena Katina have made a huge splash in the music world with their effects-drenched, dark power pop and lesbian chic. The 18-year-olds, who regularly make out on stage at concerts, have topped charts from Novosibirsk to San Francisco blending obvious talent, schoolgirl good looks and cleverly calculated sexual ambiguity. Their impressive, high-energy songs Not Gonna Get Us and All The Things She Said have hit No. 1 across Europe, making Tatu the first bonafide Russian group to make it big in the West.

The bad-girl twosome aren’t inclined to mince words, with Julia telling The Sun newspaper that, “No one should be scared of us, but we’re going to win Eurovision….We want to blast everything that’s gone before with our sexy act.” Tatu have reportedly been warned not to blast things too far or risk facing disqualification. Eurovision rules say entrants must not do anything to bring the contest into disrepute; sullying Eurovision’s reputation presumably could mean two young women kissing on stage, though it apparently does not mean singing ungodly tacky songs—which scores of contestants have done for decades.

Tatu certainly hasn’t won any friends over in the German delegation with Julia’s scathing remarks about Germany’s entry, 39-year-old Lou; she reportedly said Lou was over the hill and added for good measure that “in Russia, we look after the blind and elderly, but we don’t send them to Eurovision like the Germans.”

There’s little doubt Tatu’s sublime pop ups the Eurovision ante. With an already massive fan base across the continent, they have to be one of the huge favorites this year. Singing in Russian could hurt their chances given that all the winning songs for the past decade have been sung in English; they were pressed into singing in Russian for reasons of national pride. In any case, losing to relative no names in Riga would be an embarrassment for Tatu—all the more so since they’ve gone on record declaring they will clobber the competition.

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 9

12. Spain
Singer: Beth
Song: Dime

This is the kind of song that will make you want to kill yourself if you hear it in the wrong mood, say, when you’re hung over and depressed some early morning, nursing a headache. At other times, this techno number could be the life of the party. It is the type of song that Eurovision fans love and Eurovision detractors love to hate.

Background: Lou Hoffner, 39, has been touring for 15 years around Germany with her Lou Hoffner Trio. Her bright orange hair and blinding white smile has won over many Germans, at least one of whom dubbed her “Powerfrau.” She calls the title of the song, Let’s Get Happy, her life’s motto.

Sample Lyrics: “Let’s get happy and let’s be gay, all our troubles—they will fade away.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 4+

13. Israel
Singer: Lior Narkis
Song: Many Words for Love

A catchy, swing-song tune with all kinds of things going on musically i.e big-band sounds and choral interventions. In an otherwise R& B, techno-dominated competition, Words for Love could be a breath of fresh air for many, but it may fall just short of being winning material. That it is in the unlucky 13th singing slot will presumably work against it.

Background: While serving in the army, Narkis was reportedly moved from the Israeli Air Force to be a singer in the military’s Northern Border Group. He never looked back, and has since become a popular singer across Israel. The Jerusalem Post describes the 27-year-old as a performer in “the Iglesias lover-boy style, although probably more Julio than Enrique.”

Sample Lyrics: “It’s my way to say I want you.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 6

14. Netherlands
Singer: Esther Hart
Song: One More Night

Hart puts her full-bodied voice to good use in this song that could have been written for Whitney Houston. While it is familiar pop fare, the song is well-paced and lively, without appearing overly packaged. You may not want to put money on this one to win, but it could certainly finish in the top half.

Background: Hart’s Ain’t No Lies went to No. 8 on the British dance charts several years ago, which is more popular success than most contestants can claim this year. The Rotterdam native, now 32, reportedly considered vying to become Britain’s representative in Riga, but thought better of the idea—and ending up winning back home. Hart teaches music at the so called Rock Academy in the Netherlands, so she presumably knows a good pop tune when she hears it.

Sample Lyrics: “There’s a fire that burns within us, a flame that never dies—like a river that runs right through me, a river old and wise.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 7-

15. Great Britain
Singing Duo: Jemini
Song: Cry Baby

You’d think the land of the Beatles and Shakespeare could generate a more inventive melody and involved lyrics. It’s not that this song is outright stomach churning, but the onus is on the Brits—with all their natural advantages, including native English—to come up with something that’s not run of the mill. This watered down R&B, though, is depressingly ordinary. Britain’s song last year was better.

Background: Jemini are Chris Crosbey and Jemma Abbey, 20 and 21 respectively. They started performing together in their native Liverpool at age 15, where they made the rounds at cabarets until their big break winning the British Eurovision finals.

Sample Lyrics: “Love, love’s not enough. I need your trust, but you don’t try anymore.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1 to 10: 5 -

16. Ukraine
Singer: Olexandr Ponomaryov
Song: Hasta la vista

You expect something fresh from nations participating for the first time in Eurovision, and the Ukrainians deliver—in part. A classy, promising intro does descend slightly into kitsch, but there are flashes of brilliance. Olexandr Ponomaryov’s fine voice shines during the slow bits. There should have been more of those.

Background: Ponomaryov, a former boxer, is said to be Ukraine’s most popular male singer, and was given the honor of representing his country in its first ever Eurovision. Ukraine Television chose Israel’s Pick and Shem-ur to write the Ukrainian entry. They also wrote Israel’s winning 1998 song, Diva. Said Ponomaryov about his showing in Riga: “God willing, my song will become popular in Europe.”

Sample Lyrics: “I can see in your eyes all the love you’d like to hide away.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 6-

17. Greece
Singer: Mando
Song: Never Let You Go

This uninspiring song doesn’t do Mando’s obvious talent justice. The song feels like an assembly-line product, with few if any distinguishing features. Above average voice; below average song.

Background: Music is in Mando’s genes, born to a pianist and opera singer. The virtuoso started writing her own songs at 10, and made her first public appearance in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar at 14.

Sample Lyrics: “I don’t know what I’m going through. Close my eyes, still see you inside. Everything reminds me of you.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 4-

18. Norway
Singer: Jostein Hasselgard
Song: I´m Not Afraid to Move On

A lovely ballad that, in contrast to others this year, does not take itself too seriously. Hasselgard, with his Nordic good looks, keeps it simple, playing the piano himself and not succumbing to the temptation to play to the teeny-bopper set only. This is one of the classier tunes on offer in Riga.

Background: Norway missed out on the 2002 competition after placing dead last in 2001. Hasselgard, 24, takes his sincerity cues from the likes of Bacharach and James Taylor, but his crystal clear voice is unique enough. He has worked as a kindergarten teacher for several years.

Sample Lyric: “’Cause I’m in love with a beautiful girl. She’s the one from the magical world, and I hold her now.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 8-

19. France
Singer: Louisa
Song: Monts Et Merveilles

The French follow the Norwegians with another ballad. This is also an above average offering, though it’s slightly over polished quality makes it less appealing. Still, it is a welcome departure from saccharine, over-the-top numbers served up by France in recent years.

Background: Word spreads virtually every year that, after falling short for over two decades, France, this year!, has the song to win. This year is no different. Louisa Bailechel, 33, is half Italian and half Algerian; this triple threat dances, sings, and is also said to be a professional comedian. Until now, though, she has been relatively unknown in France.

Sample Lyrics: “I feel naked and deprived of my wings, like a fallen angel. Oh my sweet love, where are you my sweet love?”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 6-

20. Poland
Singing Trio: Ich Troje
Song: Żadnych Granic

This song has a hint of the avant garde, though it still remains well within safe Eurovision territory. The lead singers have powerful voices. But the song still seems to lack something—not quite committing to either being a pop ballad or something more postmodern. Indecisiveness loses it some points.

Background: Ich Troje is at the same time the most popular band in Poland and the most loathed. The trio’s been accused of plagiarism, tacky provocation ą la Marilyn Manson, and of peddling kitsch—none of which necessarily works against you when it comes to Eurovision. The punk-looking but pop-sounding band made their way to Eurovision via an SMS pre-selection process that was criticized by some as unfair.

Sample Lyrics: “I wish I were an astronaut. I could watch the Earth from above. Everyone who has been there at least once says it’s wonderful.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 5+

21. Latvia
Singing Trio: F.L.Y.
Song: Hello from Mars

This is a mainstream pop song—and it isn’t all that bad. But the name of the game is to stand out from the crowd. Latvia’s entry last year, Marija Naumova, understood that and went on to an upset win in Tallinn. But Hello From Mars, save for the off-beat song title, doesn’t really distinguish itself. The trio somewhat make amends for vapid lyrics with a professional performance. But that is probably not enough to give Latvia a successive Eurovision win.

Background: F.L.Y. are twenty somethings Martins Freimanis, Lauris Reiniks, and Yana Kay. They’re a prefab band, conceptualized at a late-night party after the 2002 Song Contest. Seperately, all three singers have established solo careers in the region: Kay’s song Baby Girl was a hit in Russia and Freimanis had roles in the rock opera Kaupens, My Dear.

Sample Lyrics: “Time would pass me by if I had never asked you why. Your eyes were open wide the day you saw me cry.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 5

22. Belgium
Celtic Band: Urban Trad
Song: Sanomi

That they are playing Celtic-style music has drawn attention to the Belgians. And this certainly is a distinctive tune for Eurovision—with a strong traditional sound, tastefully interlaced with electronic music. But it is hard to imagine such traditional music can appeal to the masses enough to make this a contender. Sanomi is sung in an imaginary language.

Background: Urban Trad became bogged down in controversy when allegations arose that lead singer Soetkin Collier had connections with Belgian right-wing groups. Collier acknowledged that she’d belonged to ultra-nationalist groups in school. But she insisted she was no longer politically active. The damage was done though, and Collier got the boot, and was replaced. At full strength, Urban Trad can number 17 members, but they had to scale down to six under Eurovision rules.

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 6+

23. Estonia
Band: Ruffus
Song: Eighties Coming Back

The Estonians have latched on to a very catchy melody and underpinned it with gritty, bluesy rock; the result is a refreshingly subtle, deceptively simple song. The words to Eighties Coming Back, while not ingenious, also don’t grate like so many other lyrics on offer in Riga. Lead singer Vaiko Eplik—who studied jazz singing in school and who points to Suede and Pulp as his musical heroes—has a feel for music to match anyone taking the stage this year. This is, in the good sense, the least overtly polished song of the lot this year.

Background: Cheap shirts and ties have been a proud hallmark of this avowedly Eurovision-skeptic, Brit-poppy Estonian band; this is a group that would seem more in place at a roadside dive, beer and cigarette stubs spilled at their feet than at this high-priced glitzfest. When Eplik, 22, was told he couldn’t possibly sing in the Estonian finals wearing a 30-cent shirt, he went out and bought a 10-cent one and wore it; he reportedly shunned urgent advice that bad fashion meant a certain loss of votes in Riga. While CITY PAPER invites questions of bias as a Baltic-based publication, a cold, dispassionate analysis of the Estonian song testifies to its merits. That, and the fact that recent winning nations have a history of winning again within a few years, means Estonia has to be seen as a potential first place finisher. But the reality is that the Estonians could either take the Eurovision finals by storm or flop big time for being so far outside the Song Contest norm.

Sample Lyrics: “Everybody’s wearing their hair the way you did 15 years ago, and it makes you wanna cry.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 8+

24. Romania
Singer: Nicola
Song: Don’t Break My Heart

The Romanians showed up at last year’s Song Contest with a stodgy duet—but rolls into town this year with a considerably more fashionable ditty. Nicola’s promotional video includes text flashing up on the screen saying, “How to Win Eurovision” and someone in the background saying over and over, “Romania, 12 points!” The song’s not quite that good.

Sample Lyrics: “If you wanna count on me, I’ll never let you down. But don’t break my heart, ’cause I don’t wanna cry.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-5: 5+

25. Sweden
Singing Duo: Fame
Song: Give Me Your Love

The Swedes sometimes seem to be writing the same Eurovision song over and over, year after year after year—in a futile bid to recapture past ABBA glory. A nation like Sweden that exports so much good pop talent ought to hold up a higher standard. But this song—while it tries oh so hard to please—is as hackneyed as they come; it is sweeter than a tub of cotton candy.

Background: Fame are Magnus Backlund, 36, and Jessica Andersson, 29. They met on the set of Sweden’s Fame Factory, a televised talent contest. Backlund took home the award, but Jessica dropped out because of her pregnancy. Andersson is a former model and Backlund a commercial pilot.

Sample Lyrics: “Sometimes I think that you’re an angel, and it’s plain to see that you can’t rescue me.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 2-

26. Slovenia
Singer: Karmen Stavec
Song: Lep Poletni Dan

Singing last is highly coveted—since it presumably means the voting public is more inclined to remember you and your song. This potential advantage, however, is squandered on this average Euro dance tune. If anyone benefits from singing towards the end, it is likely to be the Romanians and Estonians.

Background: Slovenia grabbed headlines last year by sending a drag-queen group called Sisters to represent it in Tallinn. One of those the threesome beat out to get to Estonia was Stavec. After that 2002 lost to Sisters, a seething Stavec vowed to never compete again.

Sample Lyrics: “He sang to me nanananana, so naturally he set my heart on fire. He truly was my one desire. Oh baby, how he was nananana.”

CITY PAPER rating from 1-10: 2+