Chris' Eurovision Finals Recap, Part Two

View Part One here.

15. Sweden
Man, so much eyeliner. Solid performance, and I’m sure the neighborly voting will help Charlotte Perrelli out.

16. Denmark
So frigging perky! I wonder if Simon Mathew has an outside shot at hitting the top five. He won’t win, because Russia is going to, but he could do well.

17. Georgia
Who raided DJ Bobo’s closet? Time for another bathroom break.

18. Ukraine
Absolutely fucking awesome. Brilliant, I tell you.

19. France
Could the back-up singers be any more out of tune? I wonder if they’re auditioning for No Angels. This is a bit of a train wreck because of that.

20. Azerbaijan
Speaking of train wrecks, Samir is particularly screechy tonight. This is so over the top, and yet try to look away. This number is what Terry Wogan sees if he goes to bed on a full stomach.

21. Greece
Kalomira’s performance was better in the semis, but this is a memorable enough performance and a catchy enough song to win votes. The back-up dances for Kalomira are pretty good, by the way.

22. Spain
God help me, I love this song. It’s so stupid, and so awesome, and so silly, and so fantastic. A joke song perfectly executed.

23. Serbia
Grand, dramatic, and epic. Jelena Tomašević had a couple of bum notes, but who cares? This is a great song.

24. Russia
Okay, Dima wins. No doubt.

25. Norway
Dima is a tough act to follow, but Maria Haukaas Storeng does an admirable job. This lacks Russia’s gravitas, but it’s still a cool song.

So, here are my predictions:
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Serbia
4. Sweden
5. Greece
6. Portugal
7. Azerbaijan
8. Turkey
9. Armenia
10. Bosnia and Herzegovina
11. Iceland
12. United Kingdom (What the Heck pick)

Note that even though I thought Denmark could place in the Top Five, I didn’t pick them. This is what is known in the business as FSOM (“Freaking stupid of me”).

Also, my predictions for bottom three:
23. Poland
24. Germany
25. France.

And here are the actual results:
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Greece
4. Armenia
5. Norway (oops, wrong Scandinavian country)
6. Serbia
7. Turkey
8. Azerbaijan
9. Israel
10. Bosnia
11. Georgia
12. Latvia

And the actual bottom three, much to Terry Wogan’s chargin:
23. Germany
24. Poland
25. United Kingdom

Actually, that’s a three-way tie for last place. They all finished with 14 points.

Jen wondered if maybe the big four (U.K., Germany, France, and Spain) are hurt by having a bye to the finals. It’s possible, although the bye didn’t hurt Serbia that much. On the other hand, Serbia has guaranteed votes from the other Balkan countries.

Still, there was no doubt in my mind Russia would win. It should be an interesting show next year in Moscow.