Belarus
First Appearance: 2004
Highest Place: 6th (2007)
Litesound - "We Are The Heroes"
Upbeat and fun, although it's probably a bit too close to Creed, Daughtry, and other Top-40 rock bands (Although they most certainly are better than Nickleback). The lead singer may be able to score a few votes just for looks, but current odds place them in the middle of the pack. Of course, no Eurovision contest is without scandal. Litesound originally placed 2nd in the Belarusian selection show, but after an investigation revealed the winner and her producers had rigged the voting, the winner was disqualified and Litesound won a trip to Baku (to hear disqualified song, "All My Life" by Alyona Lanskaya, click here)
Georgia
First Appearance: 2007
Best Place: 9th (2010, 2011)
Arni Jokhadze - "I'm a Joker"
So my reaction to watching this for the first time went something along the lines of "What the...oooookay...hmmmm...get it!" The entire production seems to be one big fever dream of craziness, but there's something about it that keeps it just barely on this side of sane. It probably won't do well, but hey, if you got it, flaunt it. And for a bit of trivia, Jokhadze is the first male singer from Georgia to compete in Eurovision.
Israel
First Appearance: 1973
Highest Place: 1st (1978, 1979, 1998)
Ibazo - "Time"
o.O Well it's different. And somehow, completely catchy and bouncy, so it's either going to score well or crash and burn. Although, to be honest, I like the music video more than I like the song, so here's hoping they keep the air guitar mimes and headbanging clowns. And the trapeze artists! For a translation of the lyrics, click here.
First Appearance: 1973
Highest Place: 1st (1978, 1979, 1998)
Ibazo - "Time"
o.O Well it's different. And somehow, completely catchy and bouncy, so it's either going to score well or crash and burn. Although, to be honest, I like the music video more than I like the song, so here's hoping they keep the air guitar mimes and headbanging clowns. And the trapeze artists! For a translation of the lyrics, click here.
Moldova
First Appearance: 2005
Highest Place: 6th (2005)
Pasha Parfeny - Lăutar
Oh my god, it's Edward Norton on the Eurovision stage! No sorry, our mistake. But anyway, another catchy, if quirky song, from Pot 3. And who doesn't love a jazz/swing/big band feel (see Roger Cicero in 2007 or Alex Swing, Oscar Sings! in 2009 for others)? And although the song is sung completely in English, the title refers to a type of traditional Romani musicians.
First Appearance: 2005
Highest Place: 6th (2005)
Pasha Parfeny - Lăutar
Oh my god, it's Edward Norton on the Eurovision stage! No sorry, our mistake. But anyway, another catchy, if quirky song, from Pot 3. And who doesn't love a jazz/swing/big band feel (see Roger Cicero in 2007 or Alex Swing, Oscar Sings! in 2009 for others)? And although the song is sung completely in English, the title refers to a type of traditional Romani musicians.
Russia
First Appearance: 1994
Highest Place: 1st (2008)
Highest Place: 1st (2008)
Buranovskiye Babushki - "Party for Everybody"
How can you not root for the 6 babushkas from the village of Buranovo, especially the smallest grandmother in the world? Based on the betting odds, their currently slated to place 2nd. With an average age of 71, the babushkas defeated former winner Dima Bilan and former t.A.T.u. member Yulia Volkova in the Russian selection to travel to Baku (t.A.T.u, famous for their song "All The Things She Said" competed for Russia in 2003, placing third). The group has said if they win, they will use the prize money to build a church in their village. For a translation of the lyrics, click here.
Ukraine
First Appearance: 2003
Highest Place: 1st (2004)
Gaitana - "Be My Guest"
Another high energy act from Ukraine, and another one that should do extremely well. Gaitana, who wrote and composed this song as well, is one of the pioneers of R&B in Ukraine and definitely deserves a high score with this performance. Unfortunately, her selection to represent Ukraine in Baku was marred with controversial claims that the bi-racial Gaitana was not a suitable choice to represent the predominately white Ukraine (a full post about that will be going up soon).
So this was definitely our most eclectic group to date. Push comes to shove, I'm going with Ukraine here, but I would love to see Russia pull it out!
What is your favorite act from Pot 3?
First Appearance: 2003
Highest Place: 1st (2004)
Gaitana - "Be My Guest"
Another high energy act from Ukraine, and another one that should do extremely well. Gaitana, who wrote and composed this song as well, is one of the pioneers of R&B in Ukraine and definitely deserves a high score with this performance. Unfortunately, her selection to represent Ukraine in Baku was marred with controversial claims that the bi-racial Gaitana was not a suitable choice to represent the predominately white Ukraine (a full post about that will be going up soon).
So this was definitely our most eclectic group to date. Push comes to shove, I'm going with Ukraine here, but I would love to see Russia pull it out!
What is your favorite act from Pot 3?
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