It’s hard to divide ESC countries in groups, let alone groups of the same size, but we’ve done it anyway. In the first edition of esc-chat.com’s new series introducing and giving a verdict on the ESC 2013 entries, Editor-in-Chief Felix takes a look at the Big 5: Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom.

Looking back

The Big 5 is an artificially created group of the financially strongest of the “classic” ESC countries. The Big 5 has existed in theory since 1997, as a reaction to Germany’s failure to qualify from the international preselection in 1996. The idea behind the institution was to prevent economically important countries from losing interest in the competition, which probably would have meant the end of the contest. De facto, the group only consisted of 4 countries was from 1997 to 2010. Even though Italy only returned to the contest in 2011, however, it was always a member in theory.

All members of the Big 5 joined the contest in the first years of its existence, namely in 1956, 1957 and – Spain being a little late to the party – in 1961. They have brought a total of 16 victories home into their countries (including the multiple victories in 1969): Germany, Spain and Italy twice each, France and the UK five times each.

With France and the UK in particular having dominated the contest in the first decades, recently the victories of the big traditional ESC powers became less frequent. In the past 30 years, we can count only three victories on their books: Italy 1990, UK 1997 and Germany 2010. Germany has recovered from their general low in the 1990s and parts of the previous decade, while Italy delivered an impressive return in 2011, coming 2nd right away with Raphael Gualazzi. However, France and especially Spain and the United Kingdom have had to struggle a lot recently, the most remarkable example being 2005, when the Big 4 all landed on the 4 lowest places on the final scoreboard.

Nevertheless, things have begun to look better again recently, with UK and France finishing Top 10 in 2009, Germany’s Lena bringing home the first victory of the country since 1982 in 2010, the same artist achieving another Top 10 place the year after (and Italy returning with the aforementioned 2nd), and finally three of the five countries among the best ten in 2012: Germany (8th), Italy (9th) and Spain (10th).

The Big 5 in 2013

Germany, the most successful Big 5 member in recent years, is sending an internationally popular act: Cascada.
The broadcaster in charge, NDR, had launched a new format for their national final which was praised (amongst others, by us), but also heavily criticized by the (in terms of Eurovision rather uneducated) parts of the German public. The tabloids smelled a “Plagiatsalarm” (which of course was proven to be a false alarm), and the common audience attacked the jury members on social media for giving only 1 point to the alleged people’s favourite, LaBrassBanda. “Unser Song Für Malmö” caused a level of media attention that was previously forgotten about – we wrote about it more closely in our article about Cascada’s victory.

“Glorious“ is a dance pop song with a strong chorus, definitely one of the few entries of 2013 that will remain dancefloor classics at Eurovision parties for years to come, as it is one of the very few danceable and memorable songs in this edition of the ESC. And that’s its big chance. We have to wait for the 3-minute ESC version of it to give our verdict, but if the verses stay complete (unlike in the version recently performed at the “Echo” award), then a top 10 placement is very likely – and a victory is not impossible. Personally, I like the song a lot.

	Top 10	victory	personal

The United Kingdom, who have landed in 25th place twice in the past 3 contests, have once again selected their artist in an internal selection – just like the other remaining Big 5 members Italy, Spain and France. The UK is  again sending an older, internationally well-known singer, but this time it’s one with a broader appeal than Engelbert Humperdinck: Bonnie Tyler.

It’s widely assumed that the producers in charge will give the UK a good spot in the running order, and recently it has become more and more assumed in fan circles that Bonnie will indeed perform towards the end, if not last.

“Believe In Me” shines in its verses. The chorus, however, is missing something more distinctive, and so I can’t avoid to think of Amanda Marshall’s “Believe In You”, even though I have to stress that this does NOT mean that I think they sound alike. It’s just the same style and uses similar words in the title.

How would the song do if it was an unknown singer from Belgium performing it?
Let’s not speculate about this, but I think the artist’s popularity plays a bigger role in the result than the song itself. I like it, and I think a victory is likely.

	Top 10	victory	personal

Italy is in its third year since its return. Even though broadcaster RAI is using the traditional Sanremo song contest as a reference in their selection, there is no rule defined for the process. This year, however, the actual winner of the contest, Marco Mengoni, will perform the actual winning song at Eurovision.

“L’essenziale” is Italy’s third song in a row with an arrangement consisting mainly of “acoustic” instruments, and despite the sophisticated approach, the song will most likely struggle to get out of the shadow of Marco’s hairdo. In all honesty, my personal opinion is that the song is too boring to find a wide appeal across Europe. However – for the sake of Italy’s interest in Eurovision – I hope for a good result, even though I can’t see it happening.

	Top 10	victory	personal

France had only one Top 10 placement in the past 10 years, with Patricia Kaas in 2009. Once again, the country is sending one of its many female solo singers as a result of its internal selection: Amandine Bourgeois.

“L’enfer et moi” is a song with a lot of weight, it doesn’t hurry to make the 3-minute limit. However, it’s not boring at all. The song breathes the smoky air of 1960s crime films with an erotic touch. The song is like a soundtrack to a movie about the Paris underground, and I don’t mean the Métro. Meet at 23:00 at Gare Montparnasse and give me the money in a suitcase. I like it, and depending whether they find the right staging for it to leave an impact, it can well finish Top 10.

	Top 10	victory	personal

Spain is the Big 5 country with the saddest recent history: It was Anabel Conde back in 1995 who last cracked the 100-points mark for the country. Pastora Soler’s 10th place last year must have felt like a small victory after a series of horrendous results, in which even Daniel Diges’ and Rodolfo Chikilicuatre’s 15th and 16th place respectively felt like a good outcome – relatively speaking.

What’s wrong with the country that has so many tourists from all across Europe, fans of their food, wine and football, as well as a much wider appeal of their songs than – for example – their neighbour Portugal? ESDM – that’s the short name of the Spanish representatives – won’t crack the 100-points mark, let alone beat Anabel Conde’s score, either.

The chorus in “Contigo Hasta El Final“ kicks in way too late. It’s common knowledge that a chorus in a pop song shouldn’t begin much later than at the 1-minute mark. Spain 2013 needs nearly 2 minutes to get to the chorus, at least in the version that esc-chat.com has as reference. The overall feeling about this is “nice” and “friendly” and with a bit of luck, ESDM can ride on the wave that helped their neighbours from Portugal 2009, Flor-de-Lis, to get a lower mid-table result at least. Otherwise, Spain is – unfortunately – once again, completely hopeless.

	Top 10	victory	personal

The bottom line is that I am not too excited about the Big 5 entries this year, but at least Germany and the UK – and probably France – should be happy with their entries and their result in May.

You can tell us your own opinion in the poll on the right-hand side of our website: Which song of the Big 5 do you like best? The poll will remain open until Thursday morning.

We want to emphasize that the judgements on the songs are based on the personal taste of the author, and that the predictions made here might be very different to the predictions we make once the rehearsals begin!