Eurovision initial washdown 2012

So, I've decided to turn something I half did last year into a tradition, and take a moment to share the Eurovision songs I thought had real "legs". That is, the songs I think could actually be heard outside of the realm of Eurovision tragics and might still be remembered in a year.

Firstly, my "winner" - the song I think was actually the most 'leggie' song from the finals:



Gaitana's "Be My Guest", from the Ukraine. Man, every time I hear this song I feel like sitting up a bit straighter. It's just a fun, upbeat, happy dance number with a good hook. It's good stuff.

The other songs from the final that I thought were strong enough to become radio hits post-Eurovision were "Should've Known Better" by Denmark's Soluna Samay, "Euphoria" (which actually won) by Sweden's Loreen and "Standing Still" by Germany's Roman Lobb.

I also particularly liked the songs by France, Italy and Spain, but in terms of "this might still pop into my head in a year's time, and I won't be annoyed by it being there", those were my top picks.

Sadly, Jedward's "Waterline" will probably also pop into my head on a regular basis, even though I thought it was a bit weak.  Was it just me, or did Jedward seem a little odd this year?  Last year it was like they were hyped up on some sort of substance, this year it seemed more like they were going through the motions.  One of them looked like he had resigned to being a hyperactive git for a living, the other one looked like someone was standing behind him with a gun muttering "I said, dance!" in a menacing voice.

I loved the Estonian song, "Kuula", by Ott Lepland, but as it is in Estonian I think it isn't likely to get much airplay outside of Finno-Ugric speaking countries.

As for the songs that didn't make it out of the semi-finals? There's always a couple I thought were better than some of the songs that did make it through, but this time around the only one I really missed was "You and Me" by the Netherlands' Joan Franka. It was a daft song, but I liked the music. Latvia's "Beautiful Song" by Anmary would have been better if it was less about winning Eurovision - a different spin on the song would have done it a world of favours, I think.

So, there you have it. While I think the winning song had some legs, my personal favourite for this year was "Be My Guest" from the Ukraine.  Will it still be my "winner" by the time the next Eurovision contest rolls around?  Who knows?