In the last episode of our introduction series, we’re talking about the songs from Southern Europe (excluding the countries that we previously already covered in our Big 5 and ex-Yugoslavia articles).

Looking back

This is probably the most heterogenous constellation in our arrangement of Eurovision countries in groups, as the countries involved joined the contest in 1971 (Malta), 1973 (Israel), 1974 (Greece), 1981 (Cyprus), 2004 (Albania), 2005 (Bulgaria) and 2008 (San Marino).

Apart from the Greek-Cypriot (and partly -Bulgarian) ties in the voting, the countries from this part of the Eurovision world are hardly connected.

Only Israel and Greece have won the contest before (and Turkey, which would also have been in this group if it were participating).

Israel was successful three times (1978 with Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta, 1979 with Gali Atari & Milk and Honey, and 1998 with Dana International), Greece once (2005 with Helena Paparizou).

The southern countries in 2013

Albania is returning to Eurovision right after its best result so far: “Suus“. Performing on position 3 in the final, Rona Nishliu made one thing clear: Albania could potentially win Eurovision if the right song would be performed on the right spot in the running order. The country sends its 10th representative to Eurovision this year, but are Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko the right choice?

“Identitet” was an unusual song to win Festivali i Këngës last December. The strength of the song doesn’t lie in its quality, but in the fact that it’s different enough to be remembered. Fans of this sound will like it, and probably totally disagree with my remark about its quality – but I’ve heard better songs in that style, and FiK had better songs as well. With a good performance and the right staging, this might make it to the final, but I don’t see more achievements in its cards.

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Bulgaria has mostly been stuck in the semi-finals over the years. Even though “DJ, take me away” and “Love Unlimited” nearly qualified, each being on 11th place in the semi, the country can’t be very happy with their ESC history. So they’ve decided to get back to the only act they had in a Eurovision final (and even in the Top 5) before: Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankulov.

“Samo Shampioni” is no “Water“, but different enough to be noticed. Whether enough people will also like this so much that they will vote for it remains to be seen – this is a tough one to call. It’s probably the only song in this year’s contest that could be described as ethno-pop. But maybe this style’s era at Eurovision is over. Personally, I enjoy it. But not enough to vote for it, I’m afraid. However, I still would be happy if Bulgaria managed to qualify – that’s all it can do this year, though.

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Cyprus has struggled lately. The country’s last Top 10 placement is already nine years behind us (“Stronger Every Minute“). Despite last year’s representative Ivi Adamou having enjoyed big success in this year’s host country, Sweden, her entry only came 16th in Eurovision. How will her successor Despina Olympiou do?

“An me thimase” won’t stay in a lot of people’s memory after it’s over. It’s not a completely bad song, it’s not a completely good song either, but there are worse songs that will do better.
The problem here is that it’s hardly noticeable, and so it would work better in an organic supermarket than on a Eurovision stage. If I had to compare its inconspicuousness to other examples in Eurovision history, I’d pick France 2006 and Bosnia 2012. This will fall into the same box, and land on a similar bad place (in its semi). Unpinspired, boring, totally hopeless.

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Greece has been a successful Eurovision country in the past years, but last year they have received their worst result since Mando in 2003. After a lot of “bitch pop”, ethno pop and dramatic ballads, this year they try something new with Koza Mostra.

“Alcohol Is Free” is probably the most catchy and most talked-about song title this year. That’s not all, the song is memorable, and even more important: It’s good. Not everyone’s thing for sure, but the musical quality in the composition – at least in the verses – can’t be questioned. The chorus – unlike Ireland and Sweden – is not letting the listeners down after the verse. It’s asking everyone to party, the guys are probably the “Grannies” of Malmö, and a similar place is not out of sight. Refreshing choice from Greece!

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Israel has had better times at Eurovision, lately the country hasn’t enjoyed all that many good results. Boaz Mauda in 2008 was one of their few entrants in the Top 10 of the final lately, while Shiri Maimon‘s success from 2005 now seems even more like a landmark result than it did back then. Israel hasn’t been in the final since 2010. This year, they returned with a big and well noticed “Kdam” – and, as a result, are sending Moran Mazor to Malmö.

“Rak bishvilo” does not open its qualities instantly, but is rather like a wine that develops its aroma after a short while. Maybe that’s not what televoters go for in Eurovision, but at least the song (and the singer) will probably have the juries on their side. For some reason, I get a bit Shara Barchovot vibes when listening to this, but that’s not meant in a bad way at all. Quality from Israel, but not an instant hit.

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Malta has been waiting for a Top 10 placement ever since Chiara’s “Angel” in 2005. The few qualifications that they achieved since the introduction of the semi-finals didn’t bring the hoped result, as these songs never passed the “50 points” or “20th place” barriers, the worst example being Fabrizio Faniello’s 1 point in 2006. So how about this year’s Maltese choice, Gianluca Bezzina?

“Tomorrow” is a new sound for the little Mediterranean country. Light-hearted, cheery, relaxed pop from the country of dramatically wailing divas, disneyesque candy-ballads and aging pop boys? It’s possible. Everything about this is lovely, nothing seems fake this time. It’s not a favourite of mine, but I can see this doing very, very well.

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San Marino is the youngest member in our line-up check this week, and – along with Azerbaijan – one of the two youngest members of the ESC family. Success hasn’t been on San Marino’s side though, with a 14th place in a semi-final being the best result so far. Like Bulgaria, the enclave is sending their previously most successful artist to Eurovision this year (and with this, the 2nd artist in ESC 2013 that returns to the Eurovision stage as singer): Valentina Monetta.

“Crisalide (Vola)” has surprised many Eurovision fans, and the song could be seen as a metaphor for the singer herself: The “Social Network Song” surely didn’t show Valentina’s full talent, but it had its fans as well. But this time, she can prove herself as an artist, and also the legendary composer Ralph Siegel proves that he still can do it: Crisalide is ranking very high in the OGAE and fan website polls, and also topped our own Chat Charts before.
The in-song development from a heavy ballad to a stirring and uplifting uptempo-song is a remarkable metaphor for the song’s own title animal – the butterfly – which happens to be this year’s Eurovision logo. What a joy to dedicate this last spot in our line-up series to Valentina Monetta and this song, which is likely to let everyone’s new pet country’s flag fly in the final for the first time. But will we get to hear the country’s name pronounced in the voting as well? And did you know that the French name for it is “Saint Marin”? We might get to hear these words on the 18 of May. And I, well… I like it, and would be very happy if we would!

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You can give us your own opinion by voting in the poll on the right-hand side of our website: Which song from the  southern countries do you like best? The poll will remain open until Thursday morning.

As always, we should 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!