So the decision has been made, and I am quite disappointed.
The results started off well, with Brian Harvey being eliminated first of all, followed swiftly by Liz McClarnon. That just left two acts to go through to the sing-off.
The remaining four acts where put into two groups, with one from each group going through. First of all Big Brovaz were eliminated meaning Cyndi went through and then Hawkins & Brown were eliminated leaving Scooch.
So, realising I had to make a new choice I re-evaluated the performances of both acts as follows:
Cyndi - I'll Leave My Heart
I like this song more than I did the first time round, and thought it to be more uplifting than I thought. Again the performance was almost flawless and I liked the introduction of the backing singers to the stage half way through the song to add more power. The music also fades out at the end leaving the last few notes to Cyndi. I did think that this song would work well for Ireland if it had tin whistles and fiddles.
Scooch - Flying the Flag (For You)
In contrast, although I still like this song I like it less than last time. I think it will get tiresome very quickly. There's no doubt though that until it does become tiresome it is a fun catchy and memorable song. I really don't like the airline theme though. The link between flying the flag and air travel is very weak.
With those reviews in mind, Cyndi became my favourite and got my second vote (although the BBC neglected to show the phone numbers for the two acts this time round and I had to find them on the ESCToday website).
And then came the result, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. There was a bit of confusion on stage when Terry Wogan announced the winner as Cyndi and Fearne Cotton announced the winner as Scooch. Terry's announcement came through a lot clearer and Scooch believed they had lost. But then everything was cleared up and Scooch were confirmed as the winners.
So the song that went through was not the worst of the 6, but it was far from the best. It was quite clear that there was a lot of support for Big Brovaz, Hawkins & Brown and, once those two had been eliminated, for Cyndi. Once again though, the general public have let everyone down.
I don't think this sort of decision should be left to the general public. I bet a lot of voters where children and teenagers who just went for Scooch because it's a pop song and the style of music that they like. Not what will win Eurovision. If the public is to vote, the show should be later to eliminate the vote of the 10 year old.
So the wait is on for the actual competition. The semi-final takes place on 10 May followed by the final on 12 May. I don't think we are going to win. We may, hopefully, do better than previous years but that will be it.
Oh well. There's always next year.
The results started off well, with Brian Harvey being eliminated first of all, followed swiftly by Liz McClarnon. That just left two acts to go through to the sing-off.
The remaining four acts where put into two groups, with one from each group going through. First of all Big Brovaz were eliminated meaning Cyndi went through and then Hawkins & Brown were eliminated leaving Scooch.
So, realising I had to make a new choice I re-evaluated the performances of both acts as follows:
Cyndi - I'll Leave My Heart
I like this song more than I did the first time round, and thought it to be more uplifting than I thought. Again the performance was almost flawless and I liked the introduction of the backing singers to the stage half way through the song to add more power. The music also fades out at the end leaving the last few notes to Cyndi. I did think that this song would work well for Ireland if it had tin whistles and fiddles.
Scooch - Flying the Flag (For You)
In contrast, although I still like this song I like it less than last time. I think it will get tiresome very quickly. There's no doubt though that until it does become tiresome it is a fun catchy and memorable song. I really don't like the airline theme though. The link between flying the flag and air travel is very weak.
With those reviews in mind, Cyndi became my favourite and got my second vote (although the BBC neglected to show the phone numbers for the two acts this time round and I had to find them on the ESCToday website).
And then came the result, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. There was a bit of confusion on stage when Terry Wogan announced the winner as Cyndi and Fearne Cotton announced the winner as Scooch. Terry's announcement came through a lot clearer and Scooch believed they had lost. But then everything was cleared up and Scooch were confirmed as the winners.
So the song that went through was not the worst of the 6, but it was far from the best. It was quite clear that there was a lot of support for Big Brovaz, Hawkins & Brown and, once those two had been eliminated, for Cyndi. Once again though, the general public have let everyone down.
I don't think this sort of decision should be left to the general public. I bet a lot of voters where children and teenagers who just went for Scooch because it's a pop song and the style of music that they like. Not what will win Eurovision. If the public is to vote, the show should be later to eliminate the vote of the 10 year old.
So the wait is on for the actual competition. The semi-final takes place on 10 May followed by the final on 12 May. I don't think we are going to win. We may, hopefully, do better than previous years but that will be it.
Oh well. There's always next year.