2005 Top 50

50-41

50. Cheezy Keys - Feel The Beat

This one just scrapes into my top 50, as it is a jolly little tune, rather seventies and summery, but you have to be in the kind of Beach Boys mood to listen to it. With it's "doo doo do-do-do"s and deep backing it makes me smile, and fills me with happy feelings, but is nothing special, instead a piece of easy listening music to relax to. Great summer song, but not worth listening to all year round.

49. Wilson - Something

The closest Eurovision gets to Blink182 style music, but don't let that put you off! One of the few highlights in an extremely mediocre Dutch NF, but still didn't make it out of the semis. A teenager's song, very light rock-pop. Worth a listen or two, then you can decide for yourself. Gets a bit repetitive by the end, but the music is good and the guitar's sound good too.

48. A & N - Miss One-Night Good-Time

Santana-lite music, with a pleasant latino feel, though the vengeful lyrics kind of contradict that with "I will dance on your grave someday". Again, very summery, and nice bridge at the end, which slows the pace. Catchy though somewhat repetitive chorus, and not too challenging musically.

47. Global.Kryner - Dreaming

The first of our entries here by artists who made it to Eurovision in 2005 anyway. This song musically is much superior to "Y Asi" in my opinion, the trombone fits with the song much better, and the lead singers voice interacts well with the male voices. Cheery music, but not as humourous or imaginative lyric-wise as Y Asi was. Also there is an absence of yodelling in this one.

46. Jonny Rosenberg - When Forever Ends

The Dutch should have picked this song, very reminiscent of Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca", if they wanted to qualify to the final in 2005. Perhaps it is slightly lacking in the chorus, but the verses more than make up for it. Perhaps it is because I am writing this on a warm Sunday afternoon, but this is yet another song on my list that just fills me with summery feelings of sunshine and sand.

45. Eva & Ceslovas Gabalis - I'll Be There

It may have been one of the largest NFs in terms of number of songs, but I'm afraid Lithuania went for quantity over quality, as this being 1 of just 2 Lithuanian entries in the top 50 NF songs. As for this song, it starts off slow, sounding like a nice ballad sang by a female, then a male joins in. After singing the chrus slowly together, there is a massiv unexpected change, as the drums and guitar kick in, and, although the song maintains a slow pace, it gives the effect of a much rockier song, almost a poor man's Evanescence. Never speeds up as much as you would like, but not a bad effort from the Baltic weak-link.

44. Mija Martina Barbaric - Ruzice Rumena

Bosnia-Herzegovina's 2003 representative returns with a much better song, clearly influenced heavily by Ruslana's Eurovision winner. "Ditti dam dam, ditti ditti dam dam" and "Hey's" ahoy, this could easily have come off of Ruslana's latest album, and if you liked "Wild Dances", I'm willing to bet you'd like this song too. I haven't seen the performance, and with songs in this style that is a crucial factor.

43. Morning Kids - Your Girlfriend

One of the better NFs of this season gives us it's first top 50 entry. Slow start, then the music really speeds up, and gets you into the swing of the chorus, before a pace change again for the next verse. This is another song where the chorus gets a bit repetitive after 3 minutes, especially as the bridge just consists of 1 line repeated several time. Nice rhythm and funky beat, simple but enjoyable.

42. Sushi Train - Húzz Közel

Hungary proved a nice re-addition to the contest, and this isn't the only Hungarian NF song that features in the top 50. This lovely song is the first where the music has been chosen for it's beauty, rather than fun, relaxing atmosphere. Very nice song reminiscent of the early 90s eastern European songs that didn't recieve all they deserved. A lovely melody and the lyrics sound nice, even if I don't understand them!

41. Katie Price - Not Just Anybody

In hindsight, perhaps Europe was right when they gave this song maximum points in the MYMU preselection. So what if Jordan looked like a tellytubby? So what if she would have been 8 months pregnant in Kyiv? So what if she can't sing for toffee? She would have been great for publicity. Opportunity missed, but not as big an opportunity as giving this good song to an actual singer. Very James Bond theme-like, a song Emma Bunton could have worked wonders with. A nice song, dramatic musically, with a chorus, that while somewhat nonsensical lyrically, contained just about the right amount of catchiness. Ah well.

And that concludes part 1!