Culture and Living | mbl | Sun 5 Apr 2015 | 16.41 GMT | Modified 13 Apr 2016 13.17

Eurovision Preview - Finalists

Photo: Wikipedia

Charles Gittins

The grand final of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday 23 May. 27 countries (ten qualifiers from the two semi-finals and seven automatic qualifiers) will be battling it out for the Eurovision crown and the chance to host Eurovision 2016. With 27 entries, this is one of the biggest grand finals ever.

Australia joins last year’s winner and the ‘Big 5’

Bypassing the qualifying heats in 2015 are last year’s winner, Austria, the so-called ‘Big 5’ (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom), and this year’s one-off guest country, Australia.

Below is my personal take on the seven entries directly qualified to the grand final. Each song is accompanied by an indication of roughly where on the final scoreboard I see them finishing.

Australia - Tonight Again, Guy Sebastian (Top 5)

Clearly the entry having enjoyed the most publicity in the run-up to Eurovision 2015, Australia will certainly be clocking up a certain amount of 'novelty votes' this year. Not that they need it, since Tonight Again is pretty decent in its own right. A catchy piece of soul-pop (if that's even a thing) which will really stand out from the ballady crowd. With good staging and a competent live performance from the charismatic Guy Sebastian, Australia can expect a very good result.

Austria - I Am Yours, The Makemakes (15th-20th)

Another bearded wonder for Austria, this time with a Beatles-esque slow piano ballad. I like the warm and soulful voice of the vocalist, Dodo, but I find the music and lyrics utterly staid and uninspiring. Simply not my type of music. I imagine Austria might get some support from the juries but I can't imagine televoters responding, particularly if the host country is drawn in the middle of a series of other ballads. Well arranged music, certainly, but just a bit boring...

France - N’oubliez Pas, Lisa Angell (15th-20th)

Who doesn't love a big French-language ballad? N’oubliez Pas is, though, I'm sorry to say, just a little bit too flat and just a little bit too instrumentally weak to make much of a dent on the Eurovision stage. It has a pleasantly lilting chorus and Lisa will almost certainly perform well on the night, but the whole number is not nearly emotional, passionate or booming enough to win this year's Hundred Ballads' War.

Germany - Black Smoke, Ann Sophie (10th-15th)

Clearly a graduate from the Lena Meyer-Landrut School of Weird English Vowels, 24-year-old Ann will be representing Germany with Black Smoke at Eurovision 2015. This mid-tempo entry is by no means a winner, but the melody is interesting, the performance quirky and the vocals strong. A bit of a toe-tapper, certainly, but not Top 10 material. It will be the perfect official song next time they're selecting a new Pope, though...

Italy - Grande Amore, Il Volo (Top 5)

This is the goose-bumps song of the contest. Fantastic, climactic Italian operatic pop at its best. Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are a smoulderingly dramatic and handsome trio who will win many a heart in May. As every good Eurovision song should, this builds over three minutes from an initial faint whisper to a final harmonious boom. Elegant, romantic and intense. Operatic pop has fallen foul of poor live performances in the past (France 2011), but if the boys nail this, they will be a tough act to beat.

Spain - Amanecer, Edurne (5th-10th)

The combination of the Spanish language, some primeval screaming and an exciting, upbeat backing arrangement certainly do it for me. This is among the very best of this year's innumerable ballads. Amanecer in many ways takes the mind back to Spain's sublime Quédate conmigo in 2012. Edurne is no Pastora Soler, though, and the Spanish entry this year tapers off into silence at the end rather than finishing with a resounding, climactic big note. For these reasons alone does Spain miss out on a Top 5 placing for me.

United Kingdom - Still In Love With You, Electro Velvet (Top 5)

Now call me biased, but this is a brilliant entry from the United Kingdom. It takes me right back to 1994 when I listened to Doop (by Doop) on constant loop for weeks on end. The electro-swing rhythms and riffs of Still In Love With You are among the most contagious of the whole contest and will, I’m sure, be warmly welcomed by ballad-battered viewers both at Wiener Stadthalle and at home. I suggest the UK tries to really capture the zeitgeist by flanking the duo with three flappers doing a manic Charleston and the Dowager Countess of Grantham on a swivel-chair giving disapproving looks. Now that would be a Eurovision winner…

Predicting the overall winner

My track record in predicting Eurovision winners is famously bad, so I won’t even bother. But if we’re talking about my personal taste (or indeed, lack of it) then I would say that the winner will be one of: Australia, Israel, Italy, Sweden or United Kingdom. With Estonia as the dark horse.

My kiss of death now having been placed, I suggest you now all go out and bet your houses on a Finnish or Hungarian victory.

Enjoy Eurovision - see you in May!

See also:

Eurovision Preview - Semi-final 1

Eurovision Preview - Semi-final 2