Following the release of the complete Eurovision 2012 results, Mr Häggkvist, our Panamanian correspondent, had some strong reactions. Here he gives us his take on the top 5 revelations from the jury-televote split.
Hej Euro Addicts! If you were like me, you were really excited to see how the voting turned out. We saw who received 12 points from who on May 26th, but I was kinda curious to analyze the split voting. It’s been a week but I’m still really shocked. I didn’t expect some things that happened to happen, but Eurovision is always loco! Here is my list of the Top 5 things we should be very clear about. If I sound mean, I’m sorry, but I’m just telling you the truth.
1. SWEDEN WON. It really did.
We all know that Loreen won Eurovision, but I think she was the only one that was consistent and did a great job. It’s obvious that some contestants were in the final simply because of their high televote or high jury scores, but Sweden was first across the board and the numbers show that. Eleven points above Russia in the Televoting and 123 points from Serbia in the Jury Voting. Congrats Loreen! Just like Alexander Rybak and Lena you really convinced the public and the experts!
2. France was really bad.
Lucky for France that it’s 2012 and not 2007, when there wasn’t a professional jury. France would have received “nul points” in 2007 and would have gotten their first last place in the history of “La France” in le concours. I do agree with the televoters. She was my least favorite contestant and from the very beginning it was clear that half of the people love her song Echo (You & I), and that the other half really, really didn’t like. C’est vrai, people. So that statement was a clear indicator that her entry was not a good option. In fact it was a very forgettable one. Maybe the worst entry ever from the nation that sent Patricia Kaas, Jessy Matador & Amaury Vassili in the last three years. They were full of artistic talent. Anggun is a great artist, but maybe her song was not the correct option for the big contest and the zero points in the televoting is the proof of that.
3. Norway’s Tooji didn’t totally suck, but he sucked a little.
Tooji finished last in the final, but he didn’t finish last in anyone’s heart. When you break down the scores you see that he was the second to last last with both the televoters and the jury, and that he had the bad luck that none of the two countries that were under him (Malta and France in the Televoting) and (Ireland and the United Kingdom in the Jury) were on the same position on the other side. So that made Tooji finish last. Honestly, his act was very forgettable too. He didn’t bring anything. Her vocals were not good and we all know that Eurovision is very visual right now. The “Stay” performance in the MGP (Melodi Gran Prix) was way better. This lacked a lot of things. This is a simple song so he needed to bring a killer performance and he didn’t.
4- Russia stole the televoters’ hearts.
DUH. I mean, every single expert was expecting this. This was the most obvious thing this year. My personal thought was that the jury wouldn’t Party For Everybody, and they didn’t. Sure, this act was funny, entertaining, and kinda cute. But come on: You can’t compare this song with those of Loreen or Zeljko Joksimovic. They are really great singers. You can say, “Oh My God, those grannies are so cute” but this is a singing competition, not a competition about who’s the most cute European grannie. I mean, the Russian broadcaster was so smart because this was a great idea to exploit old women. We all loved those old ladies from the very first moment we saw them on YouTube.
5. A Split Everything
This was the most bizarre voting since 2009. There was some weird stuff going on. Sweden was the best, Russia benefitted from the televoting and Serbia was consistent. But apart from that, nobody get the same position with the jury and televoters. So many acts depended on the jury to lift them higher, including Albania, Spain, Italy and Ukraine. On the other hand, Turkey, Russia, Ireland, Romania and Greece were saved by the televoters. And even in the semi-finals the jury and the televoters could not agree on the Top 10. Ukraine, Norway, Hungary and Malta qualified over Israel, Croatia, Bulgaria, Switzerland despite the fact all of them made the Top 10 with either the jury of televoters. Ay, caramba!
Euphoria, Forever Till The End Of Time!!!
Mr Häggkvist
