Who Will Win Eurovision 2015?

The 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest is underway! The weeklong competition is being held at the Wiener Stadhalle in Vienna, Austria. Hosting duties for the Contest are shared by three women, Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler, and Arabella Kiesbauer. The pride of Austria, Conchita Wurst, is hosting from the green room, interviewing the performers. She opened the first semi-final on Tuesday with her winning entry, "Rise Like a Phoenix," which marked the 1,000,000th time she had to sing that song.

I have been at the Contest all week, watching the semi-finals and mingling with press and fans. I can tell you that everyone has an OPINION!!! about who will win tonight.

The Pre-Qualified

Two frontrunners in the competition are Italy and Australia. Both are already qualified for the grand final: Italy, because they are a member of the Big Five (the nations that provide the greatest financial contributions to Eurovision), and Australia, because they are a special guest contestant to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Eurovision. Representing Italy is Il Volo, an operatic pop trio. Their song, "Grande Amore," is ultra-dramatic, and they are polished performers.  This is the best entry Italy has sent in recent years.

Guy Sebastian, representing Australia, is beloved among Australians and Europeans alike. Many viewers will vote for Guy as a sign of good will towards the first-timer nation, and it doesn't hurt that he's a very talented singer with a great song. The running order was finalized on Thursday night, and Australia received a prime placement, near the middle of the competition. Italy, however, is scheduled to go last, which isn't a great spot. Typically, most viewers have already made their decision by that time in the night. But it will be an amazing way to close out the show, and they could sway the audience.

The Dark Horses

Belgium, represented by Loïc Nottet, is an interesting entry that has a lot of buzz surrounding it. First of all, there is nothing like it in the Contest. The song is very current, and the performance has a hip, slick vibe. Loïc's voice is reminiscent of a more masculine Lorde (Boy Lorde = Blorde). Belgium might not be able to catch the attention of older audiences, but it stands out in a great way.

We have two very strong male-female duos in the competition this year, both coming from Baltic countries: Estonia and Lithuania. Both are polished pop songs, but they couldn't be more different. Elina Born and Stig Rästa from Estonia are the moody hipster version of this dynamic; their stage is lit dramatically and the performance tells the moving story of a break-up. Lithuania is all sunshine and flowers and celebration of new love. Vaidas Baumila and Monika Linktye are a real life couple, and they share an onstage kiss during their performance. Their back-up singers also share a same-sex kiss, which has been very well received by Eurovision fans looking to "build bridges" (the theme of this year's Contest) to the gay community. Both Estonia and Lithuania have great pop songs with strong narratives. They were placed a little too early in the Contest to win (4th and 7th, respectively), but anything can happen.

Russia vs. Sweden

For most of the fans, it comes down to two countries: Russia and Sweden. Both nations have an excellent track record at Eurovision. Russia has only one victory at present, which was Dima Bilan in 2008. But they have many top five finishes, and have received second place three times in the past 15 years. As for Sweden, in their 54 years competing in Eurovision, they have failed to qualify for the final only a single time, which was in 2010. Sweden has won five times, most recently, in 2012.

Representing Russia is Polina Gagarina with the song "A Million Voices." She is extremely talented as a singer and a huge star in her native country. People are loving her voice and the positive message of the song (disregarding Russia's politics, and the fact that Eurovision favorite Ukraine is unable to compete this year because of financial problems caused by their ongoing conflict with Russia). Polina received the favorable position of 25th in the running order– generally speaking, the most strategic position is in the last quarter of the final. She has a very good chance, and the Eastern nations will no doubt give Russia their votes. Russia knows how to put on a good show, and this is one of their strongest entries in the past few years.

Sweden's Måns Zelmerlöw (who we all know from my rambling Melodifestivalen coverage) is the other entry that really stands out this year. The staging and choreography is all mostly the same from Måns' Melodifestivalen performance. I have a feeling that the typical Eurovision audience member (you know, normal people who don't watch Swedish music competition shows in their spare time) will be wowed by this song and its presentation. Also, let's not forget that at Melodifestivalen, Måns received extremely high marks from the international jury. He is going 10th, so the main obstacle for Sweden is making sure audiences remember "Heroes" by the time the voting lines are open an hour later.

The Grand Final starts in a few hours. For any Americans who want to watch, go to  http://www.eurovision.tv/. You may need to have Octoshape installed on your computer to watch online. The big show will start at 2pm, Central.

What I Learned in Slovakia

• Bratislava is a beautiful and charming city. The people are friendly, and most spoke enough English to allow for a conversation.  
• Things are cheap in Eastern Europe. 
• The Bratislava Castle is situated on a massive hill, looking out over the city. I was quite impressed with the good condition of this ancient castle, until I discovered the current structure is a recreation. The original castle burned down in 1811 and was rebuilt in the 1950s. 
• Gay bars charge a cover if you're a woman. Not sure about the logic with this.
• Slovakians do not care about Eurovision.

What I Learned in the United Kingdom

• No one in London knows who Electro Velvet is. 
• Electro Velvet is representing the UK at Eurovision next week. Brits have a complicated relationship with Eurovision. Most Brits could care less about the Contest. Then, a few days before the final, they suddenly get very interested and throw a surge of energy and support towards whomever is their representative. It's not without good reason that they ignore Eurovision for 99% of the year: Britain isn't very popular at the Contest. In the past fifteen years, they have come last three times; in 2003, Jemini actually received zero points from the voters. So it makes sense that the UK would ignore something it's not very good at.
• After work, every single person in London stands outside of a pub and gets drunk.
• The food is amazing, contrary to popular belief. Obviously, since London is a capital of the world, and attracts people from all over the globe, the cuisine in London is varied, and most of it is very good. We ate Italian, Portuguese, and lots of take-away sandwiches from markets and small cafes. 
• I got a sunburn in London. I'm sorry to all my friends in Chicago who are still stuck with rain and chilly temperatures. 
• There are no water fountains anywhere in Europe.

What I Learned in Sweden

• "La La Love" by Ivi Adamou is still a very popular song. Ivi competed in 2012's Eurovision (which Sweden's very own Loreen ended up winning). She came 16th in the Contest, which isn't very good. But I heard "La La Love" at a club THREE TIMES in the span of five hours. And people went crazy each time. 
• Swedes love the American convenience store chain, 7-Eleven. They are everywhere.
• The sun never fully sets this time of year. I mean, I knew that, but it's really kind of amazing when you're walking around at midnight and it's still light outside. Makes it very hard to go to bed, even if you're suffering from severe jet lag!
• Boat tours are fun and also good for naps if you're suffering from severe jet lag!
• Almost everyone will speak to you in English. Even when I tried to speak in simple Swedish phrases, they just knew I was an imposter and responded to me in English. Although one night, a drunk guy started talking to me, and I replied with the two phrases I know, which are "thank you very much" ("tack så mycket") and "nothing weird at all" ("ignet konstigt alls"). Which I learned from watching Melodifestivalen, of course. And I think it worked for a second because he was drunk.
• Swedes love "fika," which is basically like a little coffee break. Similar to tea time in Great Britain, a fika break is an institution in Sweden, usually accompanied with a pastry or little sandwich. For couples, one or several fika dates will usually precede an actual first date.

Each night we went to a gay bar where they were playing schlager (pop/dance music that is usually accompanied with upbeat, simple lyrics about love– the kind of music that generally dominates Melodifestivalen and Eurovision). There was a wide range of people in the club, from teenagers to men in business suits to an old man dressed as a Trojan solider (yes). They played nothing but Eurovision and Melodifestivalen hits for hours. Do you know what it's like to love these songs forever but never actually get to hear them in a public place? Me going to Sweden is like when a Juggalo finally gets to go the Gathering. Except you probably won't catch hepatitis from a Swedish person.

In addition to the thrice-played Ivi Adamou that I mentioned above, we heard Verka Serduchka, Carola, Alcazar, Eric Saade, and Severina. All the classics (Severina is absolutely a classic), and some that were new to me and are now added to my favorites.