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The old-school listening challenge

Mainshow

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Due to me having to face several exams in the few upcoming weeks & travelling around a bit afterwards, I should not watch many national finals + I will miss many of them and that's why I thought that it would be a refreshing idea to not listen to any national final songs or official entries anymore.
I decided to do it the "old-school" day and getting to know all entries when the official compilation/CD will get released, i.e. listening to 42 songs for the first time at once.
Since I'm part of the fanclub and attend a Eurovision previews party (including a full voting), I can't wait until the live shows... but I guess that listening to all songs for the first time when the CD drops would be a cool idea as well... - since I turned into a hardcore fan, I have never skipped listening to the entries before the live shows since 2011....

but.. tbh, even though I have been strong, I am a bit frustrated, especially when people write that there are "potential winning entries in Australia and Portugal".... I still think that reading articles, posts, etc. is fine but it's kind of building a climax haha.

Has anyone else of you done the same thing? Like waiting until the live shows or the official CD release before listening to the songs after getting access to the Internet/becoming a huge fan of the concert? Any wise words to deal with this situation? :D
 

tuorem

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Story of my life: until 2015, I used to not listen to the entries (except my country's) so that I could discover them during the contest.

Since then, I allowed myself to follow roughly five NFs per year, because it's fun to discuss with others on the forum. :D BUT the rest remains unknown to me until the live shows. I don't watch the rehearsals either and leave the forum at that time to avoid spoilers, because I want surprises when the show begins.

I always buy the official CD when it's out, yet I refrain myself from listening to it, which is hard but rewarding in a way. Once the grand final is over, I don't re-watch anything until I get my hands on the DVD (the CD helps me to wait for it), then I binge watch every performance and work actively on my personal top 10. But I'll scrap the waiting this year and re-watch the 2019 edition on Youtube.

There was a time when I used to post extensive reviews for every song on the forum, but I had to stop as it was way too time-consuming.

I'd like to try a full ALL-NFs Eurovision experience one day, but for now I stick to my approach because 1) I get surprises during the shows and 2) Post-Eurovision Depression kicks in way later (around October). :D

For your information, this year I'm following :cz: :sl: :ee: :fr: and I plan to watch :it: as well. (I wanted to follow :pt: but that would mean exceeding the limit... so RIP Portugal :()

As a eurofan, you need determination not to join all NFs, but the suffering is worth it imo. :D
 

Mainshow

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Wow, that's a very interesting strategy to still get some rewarding "surprise effect" when the live shows kick off.

Tbh, on the one hand, I really enjoyed listening to the songs for the very first time whilst watching the performances on TV when I was younger. It was so exciting to not know the songs beforehand but on the other hand, it kinda sucks to not be able to discuss the entries and national final songs with other fans (that's like part of the core essence of being a hardcore fan of Eurovision) and I think that I haven't been really "passionate" about any entries back in the day as now (many songs are growers and I need to listen to a song more than once to fall in love with it [don't believe in love at first sight]... it really happens, like "Euphoria" or "My Number One"; that's why "waiting for the official CD/waiting for the preview/voting meeting with fellow Eurovision fans and friends mid-April is the farest thing I can do :D

So you keep being strong whilst "allowing" you to watch 5 national finals of your choice? - Poor Portugal :D As I read online, there's a song with winning potential (which is quite unusual for Portugal, so curious to listen to it!).

I honestly think that listening to all 42 songs at once for the first time could be fun (and quite fair as well)... usually, when you do follow the results of all the national finals, some songs get a huge advantage because songs had the chance to grow on you but oh well, I will never ever be as strong as you are and wait for the live shows... I need some "favourites" before the contest to get disappointed by their live performances (Macedonia is that you?!) or vice versa (like Armenia 2016 - a song I truly hated - pulling off one of the best performance of the night).

Do you know when the CD 2019 gets released? - Last year, the digital copy got released 5 weeks prior the contest.... if they keep that schedule, the official CD should be released on 12th April on iTunes, Spotify, etc.
 

EscGeek

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i also have exams coming up.. and i couldn't even watch semi 1 of destination eurovision and spanish final because i was tired AF, but i'm up to date with news and songs because i just can't imagine waiting. I guess you could say I'm a dick-tit

I find it rewarding knowing songs by heart in May. Even those i don't like or i didn't like initially. Alekseev's song for example grew on me once i learned the lyrics :p
 

Mainshow

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i also have exams coming up.. and i couldn't even watch semi 1 of destination eurovision and spanish final because i was tired AF, but i'm up to date with news and songs because i just can't imagine waiting. I guess you could say I'm a dick-tit

I find it rewarding knowing songs by heart in May. Even those i don't like or i didn't like initially. Alekseev's song for example grew on me once i learned the lyrics :p

Good luck with your exams ;)

- Oh, when I start listening to the songs in mid-April/when the CDs gets released, I still have the chance to get to know all songs by heart (at least, my favourite ones) :D
ALEKSEEV xheart
 

tuorem

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[MENTION=16440]Mainshow[/MENTION] I forgot to say I totally support your approach ;) Mine only applies to me because I don't have any friend who is into Eurovision (and I'm not interested in OGAE France). Otherwise, I'd love to attend meetings to get to know the song, share opinions and reactions, debate with other eurofans :) You're lucky to be able to do such things!

Yes, the major downside of keeping some surprises is that you obviously can't participate freely in forum discussions, share joy and drama, and express your opinion on the song in the heat of the moment. Besides, most members leave the forum after the grand final ends, so it's like a double penalty.

What kind of fanclub are you part of? Preview parties sound like fun :)

Yeah, I'm only following five NFs per year, that's not a lot, but I've been doing this for three years nows, I'm used to it. I've heard of the Portuguese entry that seems to be in a league of its own, that's exciting! I love when there's an unusual effort that attracts people's attention :) I'll look forward to it too if it's selected!

I totally get you about growers and the live performances that can make or break some songs compared to the studio versions. :lol:

Actually, I don't know exactly when the CD is supposed to be released xthink As you say, I hope they keep their usual schedule.
 

Mainshow

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[MENTION=16440]Mainshow[/MENTION] I forgot to say I totally support your approach ;) Mine only applies to me because I don't have any friend who is into Eurovision (and I'm not interested in OGAE France). Otherwise, I'd love to attend meetings to get to know the song, share opinions and reactions, debate with other eurofans :) You're lucky to be able to do such things!

Yes, the major downside of keeping some surprises is that you obviously can't participate freely in forum discussions, share joy and drama, and express your opinion on the song in the heat of the moment. Besides, most members leave the forum after the grand final ends, so it's like a double penalty.

What kind of fanclub are you part of? Preview parties sound like fun :)

Yeah, I'm only following five NFs per year, that's not a lot, but I've been doing this for three years nows, I'm used to it. I've heard of the Portuguese entry that seems to be in a league of its own, that's exciting! I love when there's an unusual effort that attracts people's attention :) I'll look forward to it too if it's selected!

I totally get you about growers and the live performances that can make or break some songs compared to the studio versions. :lol:

Actually, I don't know exactly when the CD is supposed to be released xthink As you say, I hope they keep their usual schedule.

We (the "Eurovision group" consisting of 20 up to 30) meet 11 times a year [I make it to 4 to 6 per year due to other commitments]. It's always quite fun because we all meet at a restaurant (reserved a room for us) and dine together discussing Eurovision, national finals, new rules, results and other topics as well. When it comes to the previous, we cast our votes for both semi finals via mail, the results get announced the upcoming meeting and we listen to all 26 "finalists" and cast our votes again and crown our winner. It's always an interesting thing to do because we are watching the preview videos/music videos on a large screen.
We also offer certain "contest" like submitting songs and casting votes, e.g. "a Deutschland contest" with German songs only, a "special edition" like minority contests (e.g. Yiddish, Assyrian, Faroese...) or do a karaoke night once a year or a "Eurovision disco" as well. It's really amazing to be part of it and tbh, the previews (taking part in voting for my favourites, discussing the entries with other fans and friends and debating why or why not a certain song will perform well) is one of my highlights every year.. that's why I don't want to miss it.. We are located in Western Germany if you wanna join us for April :D
But I should warn you... most of them have the typical "Eurovision-esque" hardcore music taste... I mean we had San Marino 2013 and Israel 2014 as our #1 and Estonia 2017 ended up being #2 :D
--------

It sounds horrible to get "dobuled" punished due to the fact that many people will somehow take a long break from the forum after the final but it did happen to the German Eurovision forum I was a member of every year as well. It's a pity because there's a lot to discuss between two contests as well [I really do love those "withdrawing/debuting/coming back rumours" every year).
 

tuorem

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[MENTION=16440]Mainshow[/MENTION] OMG! That's a dream xlove Based on the way you present it, it sounds awesome! I can imagine you have fun attenting these well-organised parties and joining crossover contests. :) Thank you for the invitation :D I assume the music taste is very typical indeed, at least the songs you mentioned did well somewhere :lol: But that would be a great reason to argue with others about entries that don't fit the mould, so to speak :D

Indeed, there is a lot to say about the contest after it ends: I like to dissect the results (not as much as Realest does :mrgreen: but still) and seize the opportunity to bash juries yearly while shouting from the rooftops my faves were robbed :D And then follow the preparations of the next edition, the list of participants, etc. But I understand that people may want to break away from all that in the summer if they follow the entire season day after day. :)
 

Mainshow

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^^ You're always welcome ;)
Oh juries are good and bad at the same time.

I have become so impatient... I really want to listen to the entries now to be part of the all the ranking, rating and voting games online.

How many official and final versions do we have on Eurovision's YouTube channel?
 

midnightsun

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Last year I almost managed to not listen to the songs before the semi-final. I was in hospital for months due to a severe injury and wasn’t sure I could sit long enough in front of the pc or mobile to follow everything. But soon after I could move my arm again I started using my mobile again and couldn't resist watching the already released songs. So no, I don’t think I can ever resist although I wish I could and experience that huge WOW moment the final night.
 

Mainshow

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I couldn't resist either. I listened to all songs last night because I want to watch the Swedish Melodifestivalen Finale tonight (my first and only preselection this year). I guess that's alright because by the end tomorrow, we will have listened to all songs.

I seriously don't know if that old-school listening challenge was worth it because it felt like torture and it wasn't really fun to not be able to comment on the songs and chat with other fans about them.
[MENTION=15159]midnightsun[/MENTION] I hope everything's alright and you could fully recover!
 

CaraMia

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I understand the desire to be surprised while listening to the songs for the first time, but now we are in a different time and have access to technologies that allow us to know the entries before the contest, so as a fan it ends up being more stressful and less fun to not listen to the songs. I'm not saying this is what a fan should do, because we feel things differently, but in my case as soon as I knew that other countries also had their contests and national finals I tried to find a way to follow them as well. The first time I followed national finals of other countries was in 2008 and I it felt so good! Eurovision was not only that week in May. It was a broader period during the year! :D
 

Brandt

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From 2013 to 2018, I didn't listen to any song before the actual live show. I broke the pattern in 2018 and in 2019.

The reason is I realized that the songs don't really get you into them at first easily, and I often had the impression that "this year is not that good", but it would improve months after the actual contest. I dared to follow some NFs and listen to all the songs before the show in 2018, and as a result of that, the year was quite well even knowing the songs. I followed what I have done last year and no regrets so far.
 

midnightsun

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[MENTION=15159]midnightsun[/MENTION] I hope everything's alright and you could fully recover!

Thank you! Unfortunately there are some irreparable damages - but life goes on (it has to!) ...

I had to cancel my annual Eurovision party last year, so will I this year I think but the more I am able to focus properly on the songs in May.

I noticed [I take my family as an example] that songs are often received quite differently when people are listening to the for the first time.

To reward quality it is better to have listened to the songs a few times, that's why I decided to continue listening to them songs before the final. My mum and sister would call some songs "noise" or "boring" because they listened to them in the final only.

Hell, their opinion on some songs even already changed after the semis... just to show how much impact that has.

Sister: That song is really good!
Me: During the semi two days ago you said, it was terrible!
Sister: Really?! I don't remember that...


My family. EVERY year! :D


That's why I think it's a big disadvantage for the big 5 not to perform in the semis.
 
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