Top 50 2005

40-31

40. Alf Poier - Hotel Hotel

While it may have been Alf Poier's other NF song that got all the attention this year, unfortunately the better song got overlooked. It is very much Weil der Mensch zahlt part deux, but that isn't a bad thing if you were a fan of the first, and with seemingly random inclusion of lyrics such as "lange Beine", it's always a laugh.

39. Juste Kriauzaite - You

This song wins the plagiarism of the year award. It was submitted to the Lithuanian National Final, and was given a place in one of the Lithuanian semis, until someone (a fan?) recognised it. It was in fact "Ben" by Michael Jackson in his earlier years! The 'entrants' recieved a special prize form LTV (Lithuanian TV) for their cheeky effort!

38. Ana Cvetkovic - Nevidljiva

Sarah Brightman, eat yer heart out, to coin a phrase from the Dutch NF. A nice song, sang very operatically, but just fails to capture the haunting atmosphere it threatens. A very nice effort, but not quite at the level of outstandingness.

37. Agnese & Intars - Sing It! Swing It!

The first lines of the song set the tone for this strange but cheerful song: a girl singing about an SMS she recieves from her grandmother, who "Sends me tender love from Heaven above". Her grandmother instructs her to "Sing it! Swing it!, which she proceeds to do quite joyously, comparing said swinging to that of angels up above etc. A good laugh, which surprised many by finishing third in the strong Latvian NF.

36. J. Anvil - You

A song in the Maltese NF which isn't a sugary pop song or a ballad! No, really! This song, which I am struggling to describe, is very unlike anything I have heard in the other NF songs. Almost swing meets pop. an unusual song, and an unusual voice, with a surprisingly good end result.

35. Marija Sestic - In This World

ItThis song puts us halfway through the Bosnia-Herzegovinan entries in our chart. Nice beginning with panpipes (or something like that), and Celtic sounding, with a nice drums, and what almost sounds like a backing choir. Enya meets pop, to very good effect! A song that could quite easily come out of the Lion King, with the backing chanting and foreign-sounding music.

34. Ingrid Jushi - Vetëm Një Natë

Albania's sole entrant on the chart, but it sounds more like t.A.T.u than Anjeza at the start, and as the dance beat kicks in, it veers slightly, yet confidently, towards europop a la 2 Unlimited. Luckily it doesn't go too close for comfort, instead taking the best parts of that genre (catchy beat) and combining it with nice vocals. The song then returns to t.A.T.u style and back to eurodance seamlessly, and language clearly is no barrier on a good song like this. It builds up to a nice ending to. Good work!

33. Z-Scars - To Touch, To Breathe, To Love

Z-Scars imitate Brainstorm, and show them up big style! While the pronunciation is quite an obstacle, once you have overcome that, you can settle easily into the Britpop style of this tune. Guitars sound good, and the chorus is very catchy, but then they hit you with the suckerpunch (just like Mana Mou did all those years ago) with the "doo do doo doo, doo do dododo!" The boyish charms of this song make it great, and it is non-typical Eurovision, so give it a shot!

32. Jorun Erdal - I Am Rock 'n' Roll

Poor Jorun must have felt awfully shown up in the Norwegian MGP, as there she was singing a song called "I Am Rock 'n' Roll", when the real rock and rollers were to follow her onstage. But nevertheless, this song is very good, and I know you're probably fed up of all the comparisons, but this song just screams out "School of Rock" to me, and Jorun strikes me as a very good female Jack Black! The catchy "I am/I am/I am/I am rock 'n' roll" gets stuck in your head for days at a time!

31. Velesa Lyulkevitch - Chocolate

How can a song that starts with a whispered "Chocolate"and then "Sweeter than candy when he's loving me" be bad? The singer's broken English just adds to it's charms, and the song bears more than a passing resemblance to Go West at times! It also concludes pearls such as "Have you seen him? <Yes!> I wanna eat him" and "I want a candyboy to melt at my feet". The backing singer's spoken responses to the lead's questions show that the rhetorical question is clearly banned in Belarus by Lukaschenko. I wonder how the idea of comparing a man to chocolate came about? Shanks and Bigfoot have a lot to answer for! Might not be musically or lyrically brilliant, but it is sheer genius!

And that concludes part 2!