Best Semi-Final Non Qualifiers– Over the last two weeks, hundreds of our readers have voted for their Top 5 Best Eurovision entries that did not make it to the final. Each voter had ten points to distribute: 5 to his favorite, 4 to the second place etc. Out of these points we calculated the ultimate Top 15 of your favorite Semi-Final non qualifiers! You can see the other places and our other rankings here! Your place 9 goes to Cyprus
In 2007, Cyprus sent an experienced singer to Helsinki. Evridiki had already represented the island in 1992 and 1994 and finished 11th both times. Her entry in 2007 was “Comme ci, comme ça”, the first entry by a non-Francophone country entirely performed in French. The song is moderately up-tempo and features rock and techno influences. In the lyrics, Evridiki complains to her lover that he comes home too late on Monday and is falling asleep just as her “heart wakes up”. On Tuesdays he always promises that they will see a movie together, but does not hold this promise. She then sings that like this, like that life passes and it becomes apparent that she is planning to leave him. With 65 points the song came 15th.
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This has never been a fave of mine. Evridiki is a great singer and I love especially her 1994 effort, but this one is a medium-paced song with nothing that grabs me. It’s just uniteresting and lacks any space for Evridiki to show her talents imo. Neither does the song really work in French.
I agree ! An average for its genre effort compared to Evridiki’s brilliant previous entries back in the 90′s.Moreover , It’s the first time a song makes French sound less seductive and sensual.
Stage presentation was awkward as well and Evridiki clearly overdid it with her facial expressions lots of times during her performance.However , this result comes as no surprise as it was a huge favorite among fans in 2007.
Unfortunately , Cyprus 2007 doesn’t work for me. A 5/12 and I was sure back then it was not going to qualify…
I did just realise that “Comme ci, comme ça” is a perfect way to describe how I feel about this song.
Agreed once again
Another inevitable entry that I’m glad to see ranking lowly on this list. As Eulenspiegel mentioned, Evridiki is a fine singer, but this song is just uninteresting.
An invisible song for Cyprus. I think anybody has taken Cyprus into account in ESC. Thank goddess, Ivi and La la love has changed this this year. I´m sure that Cyprus, with songs like this year´s song, will win ESC soon.
“Lalalove” winning material? “Comme ci comme ca” is Mozart compared to that. Completely undeserved qualifier.
Agreed and signed! Everything Evridiki does is high quality compared to Ivi’s trashy stuff.
Evridiki is a real artist whereas Ivi is … well, she has the looks, I guess …
LOL ! Nothing to say …
To my ears – on the contrary. “Comme ci comme ça” is plain uninteresting, repetitive and with trivial harmonies. “La la love”, on the other hand, looked really promising for Cyprus – until we heard it live.
Well said. Ivi barely deserves to be called a “singer”.
I never understood why this song was so hyped before the contest. Still, I learnt to appreciate it since then. Biggest problem was probably that Evridiki looked like she had a few cups of coffee too much
Evridiki is one of my favourite singers, both in ESC and beyond. I absolutely adore both songs she performed in the 90s. Unfortunately, her 2007 effort was far below her normal artistic standards, and thus I agree with both Eulenspiegel and Patrick. I wonder whether the rest of the top 10 will be dominated by cr*ppy euro pop too but still hope for Andorra 2007, Estonia 2010, Finland 2012 and some others. Sweden 2010 will definitely be there imo.
“cr*ppy euro pop”
I was a bit harsh on Cyprus 2007, I guess. After all, it is not a really bad song but rather a song that does not meet my personal taste. Thus I wouldn’t call this one bad but decent. I sort of got a bit angry and carried away because of the terribly predictable results in 9th and 10th place … Fanwanks!
I have little to add to what has been said by several others. Evridki sings very well; the song is colourless and quite monotonous. Her styling is just messy, imo.
Cyprus winning with another La La contraption performed by someone who can’t sing live on her own? I sincerely hope not! On a more realistic note: Cyprus is among the countries that will most probably never win ESC (mine is another one).
never say never! who thought of Finland?
Finland has neighbours.
Finland didn´t win only because of its neighbours
well, that never helped them in 40 years… and seriously, we all know that Fnland is NOT a “Scandinavian” country unlike its Nordic neighbours and that Finland and Russia hate each other… there’s only Estonia! Come on, are you too going to fall for the “it’s down to neighbours”? I can say neighbours help, but to WIN Eurovision you need points from EVERYONE not just neighbours… look at Germany and from whom it got points!
Lordi sang in English, a strategy I do not see RTP adopting anytime soon. And as long as Portugal insists on singing in Portuguese, they will never win. If they are lucky, they can sneak into the top 10 every 20 years. Yes, Serbia won in Serbian but then the Serbian language is very close to many other languages on the Balkans. Portuguese on the other hand isn’t close to any other language if we talk phonetics … well it is close to Galician but that isn’t even enough to get top points from Spain every year.
I believe that even if RTP went for a song in English, that decision would not bring us victory. I also think that if Norway 09 and Sweden 12 had represented Portugal, these songs would not have won. They would have reached the top 10 and nothing more.
Togravus; if you’re right that languages have so much power in the outcoming, I think Eurovision can be put in its tomb right now. But I think you’re wrong, it can’t possibly have been the English that made Lordi win. Could people even hear what kind of words Mr. Lordi gurgled out? Belgium was just 2 points away from victory in 2003, singing a song in a language that wasn’t close to any other whatsoever. Estonia has reached their best places recently singing in Estonian, a language which only Finnish people can understand in some way. If I remember it correctly, the “language problem” has historically been centered around that some languages are considered more “singable”, and that’s mostly understood as the Latin languages.
Do you think that Lordi would have won if they had sung in Finnish? No way imho.
On Belgium 2003: A lot has changed in ESC since then, in particular because of the influx of many more countries from the eastern parts of our lovely continent.
And finally, yes, recently Estonia has been most successful when they sang in Estonian … but have they ever come close to winning? No.
Yes, I do actually think that Lordi would have won singing in Finnish. The Finnish language would have made an even bigger impact on the “Tolkien feeling” around Lordi, and I think it would sound pretty exotic and cool in many European ears. But this can of course never been proven, so we’re stucked with speculations.
but Serbia in Serbian got 8pts from France and many high points from countries where we don’t speak anything phonetically close to Serbian…
France would probably have given 8 pts to Portugal if ‘Molitva’ had been performed in Portuguese (perhaps even 12 pts because of the stong Portuguese community in France), and Finland would probably have given its 12 too … but do you really think that f. e. all the FYR countries would have given 12 pts to ‘Molitva’ in Portuguese? I cannot prove anything but I am 100 % certain that ‘Oração’ would have got a top 10 and nothing more in 2008.
… in 2007 of course.
But “Hard rock hallelujah” is the only Finnish entry ever to score even Top 5. Even though neighbour voting destroys much of Eurovision, it’s not that powerful that it controls the whole voting system. It’s not as if Finland suddenly got plenty of neighbours in 2006, just to lose them forever next year. “Hard rock hallelujah” was simply a song/performance that in some odd way managed to make the whole Europe fall for it. I remember how Malta complained in 2006 about how they did suffer from neighbour voting since they only got 1 point in the final. Without mentioning that they got 192 points and a second place the year before. How did that happen then?
With this said, I’m absolutely saying that Portugal has been the most overlooked ESC country by a mile. Their songs are often great and it’s just the narrow-minded ESC juries who can’t understand it. But even Portugal can score well, I’m sure of that. “Canta por mim” in 2010 is f.e. a song that probably would have got a high place in Oslo with the right performance, I guess. Europe seems to have a neverending taste of these kind of songs.
I have no data to support my claim and this is just a guess: the fact that Portugal is stuck out here in the west does not help. Both the juries and the televoters are ‘proner’ to vote for other countries. History seems to say that. As for ‘Canta por mim’, well, had it represented Portugal (and I am so very gald it did not), it would have crashed and burned because its live performance was messy. The very same fans who love that type of songs would vote for other stuff. Again, I am just guessing. I am convinced that Portugal will never win ESC.
I know it’s a silly idea but I think that if Nelly Furtado rapresented Portugal with a bilingual song (English-Portuguese) like “Forca” (Euro’04 anathem), well, you could win.
Milim, Nelly can’t even speak Portuguese (she can utter a complete sentence, for instance). Her accent during the perofrmance of that song (I heard her sing it live in a football stadium) is atrocious. That said, she has very little to do with our culture. She is a Canadian with Portuguese parents. I can see why you made the suggestion though.
*she can’t utter
Yes, the performance in Festival RTP was messy and cheap, but as I said, it they would have shaped it up for the final in Oslo, I think it would have scored high. This kind of shake-your-bum dance pop feat. ethnic elements does always work in ESC, and there really was very few songs of the same genre that year.
But in the end, I think it was good that Portugal didn’t select that song (not that “Há dias assim” was much better). Because sending quality that fails will always be better than sending successful cheapness in my book. And that’s what Portugal does 90% of the time. Aufrecht geh’n!
I actually thought this was one of Cyprus best effort in the 00s and if one song had to qualify, it’s not “Stronger every minute” nor “La la love” but this one, at least for Evridiki’s singings. And I kinda like the stylish presentation they went for, and as a Frenchman I am more than pleased to see countries like Bosnia or Cyprus try our language. It’s probably too high in this list, but as it was meant to be, it is indeed one of the better schlagery poppy thingy. Not for me, but not awful like “Je t’adore”. I truly hope Andorra 2007 and Estonia 2010 make it; they’re very different and definitel were the most robbed ones ever. Sweden 2010 will win this by a landslide though.
Yep, the blonde innocent princess from Sweden’s MF will win. Oh my god, where has happened to my guitar?! Help me!
…what has happened… LOL
THIS IS MY FAVORITE EUROVISION SONG! IT WAS SHOCKING FOR ME WHEN “Comme Ci,Comme Ça” DIDN’T PROCEED TO THE FINAL
OH,EUROPE -.-
Sorry to bring London 2012 again in here, but I am so hapy for Ukhov, whom I’ve been supporting for a long while now and who is FINALLY getting the gold medal he deserves!
bronze for grabarz is fantastic too! another medal ..now 48 and counting
comme ci, comme ça was a good title for this comme ci comme ça kind of song, was epecting better from her….
I was afraid this one would turn up on this list. 2007 is my favorite Eurovision year to date, and I can think of at least ten songs that were better than Comme ci, comme ça.
I meant, at least ten NON-QUALIFYING songs that were better than Comme ci, comme ça.
@ Toggie and Shevek
Usain Bolt is clown and monkey according to you, and what is German Harting then?? Ultra monkey! GOSH, what an idiot that man is.. :/ I’m so sad Hadadi fromIiran lost in 5th series to horrible Harting, if he won that would be 3 golds for Iran in one day, in three different sports..
I don’t believe above said Usain Bolt was a clown nor a monkey? what are you talking about?
here in London, we are heading for THE BEST OLYMPICS EVER STAGED!!!, I’
m going to basketball next week, not my favourite sport but with olympic atmosphere I don’t care who wins, and waterpolo too this week, am so proud of my city and the games, every team from different countries has said it has been the best organised and best games for them of all time!
Our sportsmen also said that, but one didn’t, Tatjana Jelaca who was in qualification of javelin throw today and expected to go through, said that she had problems in Olympic village, where yesterday some were celebrating medals and didn’t let her sleep well, and she had to wake up early and go to stadium for qualification, but all other said everything THE BEST about organization..
Our Ivana Spanovic qualified for final in long jump, your Shara Proctor qualifies as 1st, she goes for medal it seems, maybe even gold
, but now I’m afraid of Britney Reese from the USA, current world champion, now when she qualifies she is dangerous, I dislike her.. :/
I called Usain Bolt a clown and yobbo (but certainly not a monkey because I am not a racist) last night. I am simply so fed up with his silly poses which have been the same for years. It almost reminds me of marketing strategies which heavily rely on brand recognition. (Btw, I hate marketing departments because all they do is dulling everyone’s mind when they think that they are sooooo creative …)
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Media coverage of the 2012 Olympics is rather critical here in Germany. The computer system is obviously not up-to-date and the commentators in the Olympic Arena are sitting in the rain almost every day, all their notes soaked and unreadable. Everyone loves the audience though except for some commentators who think that the British are a bit too patriotic and could support athletes from other countries a bit more.
They gave very big applause to both, Sanya Richards and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who won 400 m gold and 100 m gold and now competed in the same semi group in 200 m!
I guess they simply like big stars and their own athletes..it’s actually always like that, not only in the UK!
Can’t wait for 200 m final, I hope Sanya Richards won’t get gold, i want Veronica Cambell Brown or Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, or even Alison Felix..
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Mexico and Brazil will play in football final!
I have never liked Harting and never will. He is a yobbo!
I like Nadine Kleinert in shot put, i’m sad she lost all medals!
And I hope Germans will go for gold in pole vault for men this time!!
I guess that I will support France in the pole vault.
Yay, Marcel Nguyen has won another silver medal.
Yes I saw that, and I’m glad, but i almost cried when Sandra Raluca Izbasa who was the main contender to win gold in women’s floor exercise got 8th position in the final, what a mistake, really sad for main contender, and I like her..
I adore Sandra Raluca Izbasa. All she needs to do is stand on the mat and look into the camera … and my top scores will fly her way.
And normally I don’t even fall for blondes …
Yeah she’s great, but what a mistake, she expected gold..
I was very happy that Silke Spiegelburg did not win a medal in the women’s pole vault. That lady is so ambitious that she is not likeable at all. On the other hand, I was very sad for our bubbly and cuddly Strutzi, who is among Germany’s most loved athletes.
Btw, do you know that our former world-class pole vaulter Yvonne Buschbaum has become a man? He is called Balian Buschbaum now.
No I didn’t know that..hmm.. interesting, I also dd’t now that Strutz is so popular among sportsmen in Germany..
She claimed bronze, but OK she has two Olympic golds..
I love Silva from Cuba who won silver and of course legend Elena Isinbayeva..
“I love Silva from Cuba”
I agree. Her hairdo alone deserved a gold medal.
And yes, we all love La Stutz and that’s the reason why we call her Strutzi too. (Adding an ‘i’ to the name is always a sign of affection in German, dear Marki … LOL) Her interviews are fantastic too because she is such a lively and funny lady … and believe me, it is very hard to be funny in German. In fact, our very analytical language is the main reason why Germans are known for their lack of humour. It is almost impossible to be funny in German, in contrast to English f. e. where it is so easy to be ambivalent. Long live the English language!
But I really do like when ppl speak German or Scandinavian languages..
I am very happy to learn that you enjoy the sound of the German language. Only very few people do. In fact, an Italian friend of mine once said that it sounded like a cargo train passing by …
;(
Btw, I am definitely not made for living in the north. We have 20 degrees during the day and 12 at night here in Berlin. I want to go home to Stuttgart!!!
Doesn’t Rammstein call German “the language of anger”, as a motivation why they sing all their songs in German? Interesting about the construction of different languages. I have read somewhere that the Japanese language is made up so that the speaker first can analyse how his words are recieved and thereafter perhaps change them to the better.
Nooo I hope Walker from the USA and Lavillenie from France will loose all medals, and Otto, Mohr from Germany and Hooker from Australia will get them..
It was my 3rd option, so I’m happy it was taken into account
And our Ivana Spanovic is in the final of LONG JUMP YAAY!
I was so happy when Britney Reese (current world champion) made two false jumps and then in the last she qualified, I hate Britney Reese, i hope she won’t get medal!
I watch handball 1/4 final Montenegro:France 22:21..gooooooooo Montenegro!
and British girl qualified in best jump!,
Yes that is exactly what I told to you, but it seems you don’t read me carefully.. but hey ho..
Honestly I fail to see anything negative re: Cyprus 07. Yet another scandalously underrated song from Cyprus.
I agree, 2006 and 2007 are AMAZING Cypriot entries, 2004 is as well, but it got good result..
would disagree, wasn’t surprised after her performance, was like javelin throwers in Olympic qualification, everybody did their best over 60 m, just she scored short of the ESC line…like so many many who have just passed the semi final line…then failed.
Speaking of javelin throw … I am very curious to learn which lady will beat Christina Obergföll with a world record or sth similar in London. Poor Christine is such an unlucky lady …
I hope Maria Abakumova from Russia or Sunette Viljoen from South Africa, but it will be Barbara Spotakova or Christine..
Also I see for the first time girl from Iceland in javelin throw and she was good in qualification, I hope for medal as well..
I hope for a good throw, she deserves it after the qualifying, like all the German throwers, what can be said about British crowd compared to other OLympics is that Britain is an expert on athletics and cheers everyone (especially javelin), including German hopes, and top 12 got best throws in OLympics due to what they said was “the crowd was behind me no what country I came from”, am so proud of that compared to Atlanta and even Beijing…
There was nth wrong with her performance imo.
Yeah probably she is just disappointed too much, because she expected that final..
Off topic (like almost all my comments on this thread …) and for everyone who loves Finland 2012:
Here is Pernilla’s performance at Eurovision Weekend in Berlin. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to go there …
http://blog.prinz.de/grand-prix/eurovision-weekend-erste-impressionen/#more-64651
that’s nice…and good luck to all javelin throwers from whatever country, may the best (and not the prettiest, from Paraguay, who was voted sexiest one, she got her world stage on looks but one of the worst) win!, OLympics is about throws not looks!look at Belarus champion yesterday, in UK there is still betting on she’s actually a guy…..?!?
Certainly not among the ten best in 2007′s semi-final. In fact it is very difficult for me to detect the appeal. But fans are weirdos anyway.
hi guys,
i loved the song, i like Dimitris Korgialas a lot, Lala love was not as good, Ivi doesn,t look trashy, she looks like a princess, she can sing live and the presentation of the song had nothing trashy, Bolt plays with the cameras and the audience but at the interviews he is serious and a perfect gentleman and finally…. GOD CAME ON EARTH! (and won the high jumb of men)…
That covers it!
Love this!
Fantastic song and performance, my personal winner of 2007. Cyprus deserved to win in 2004, 2007 and 2012.
Evridiki was a victim of the long semifinal (performed 3rd after Israel) and the block voting. If she had taken part in 2008, she would have qualified.
Another great song, another televoting victim I. the 2000s here…Cyprus has its ups and downs in esc the last decade and 2007 is definately one of their proud moments. I liked the French twist from Cyprus and I like Evridiki as a singer. Cyprus 04, 07, 09 (with better live performance), 10 and 12 all deserve credit IMO for being great representatives of their genres.
In 2007 Cyprus should have had their 1st ESC win.How on earth did Serbia win ?
I’m happy the song is in!It’s definitely one of the 15 songs that should have qualified.A massive hit in Greece.However,having seen Evridiki live many times,all i can say is that she was extremely stressed during those 3 minutes.She admitted that herself afterwards,She even lost many kilos while doing all the promo for esc 07.The fact she was a pre-contest favorite had a negative effect on her.I also think that her 2 entries from the 90′s are better than “Comme ci,Comme ca”.