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© Hanna Pakarinen
The Ark, Hanna and Sarbel lead
Swedes vote Hanna to the top
Hanna Pakarinen can now take a deep breath and relax. She hasn’t been doing so great in the various Internet polls and betting. Some criticism has come from the home front as well, but at least the Swedes seem to love her. The readers had a chance to give from 1 to 5 points to each song, and she was beaten only by Sweden’s own The Ark who got 3,57 as an average vote. Hanna was a close second yesterday with 3,52. Today Tuesday the voting has become more exciting as Hanna has reached 3,57 as well and is now sharing the first place with The Ark. Her video on-line at Aftonbladet site is also the most watched. Sarbel from Greece received 3,04 points, Eirikur Hauksson and Serebro from Russia completed the Top 5. See the current chart here.
“We must do as good as a show as possible to be remembered,” says Hanna who will perform fifth in the final. “We will do something that will stick in people’s minds so they will still remember me when the voting starts”.
“Wow! That’s amazing!” commented SonyBMG’s Kimmo Valtanen from Las Vegas when he heard the news. “We now have the experience with Lordi behind us so we know where to go from here. Lordi wasn’t doing so well in polls and betting last year until the very last moment so everything is possible,” he remembers. “However the Eurovision Song Contest is such a huge mystery, you can never predict what will happen on Saturday night.” He firmly believes in Hanna Pakarinen and her song. “After hearing and seeing the previews, I see now that besides The Ark from Sweden only Hanna can be clearly put into some genre."
"Thanks the Finnish people for a good choice," Valtanen concludes, "The choice was right and we are on a way to another success”.
Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka received the worse mark of all from Aftonbladet readers with an average of one point. Croatia’s and Lithuania’s entrants didn’t do much better in the newspaper's poll.
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To the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden):
Apart from Sarbel's well-known BRITISH 
connection,
there is also an important Greek-SWEDISH connection
to 
GREECE'S ESC 2007 entry [i]"Yassou Maria"[/i]!
(hint-hint!)
GO SARBEL!
Maybe the voting will reflect that ...
Let the voting reflect that, too
Rösta på din favorit!
Aftonbladet BIGPOLL at the moment
1
Finland
aftonbladet.se
3.62
2
Sverige
aftonbladet.se
3.60
3
Ryssland
aftonbladet.se
3.10
4
Island
aftonbladet.se
3.03
5
Grekland
aftonbladet.se
2.86
6
Estland
aftonbladet.se
2.79
7
Vitryssland
aftonbladet.se
2.64
8
Moldavien
aftonbladet.se
2.50
9
Ungern
aftonbladet.se
2.28
10
Schweiz
aftonbladet.se
2.24
11
Norge
aftonbladet.se
2.24
12
Andorra
aftonbladet.se
2.23
13
Österrike
aftonbladet.se
2.18
14
Danmark
aftonbladet.se
2.18
15
Turkiet
aftonbladet.se
2.15
16
Bulgarien
aftonbladet.se
2.06
17
Cypern
aftonbladet.se
2.03
18
Spanien
aftonbladet.se
1.98
19
Armenien
aftonbladet.se
1.91
20
Frankrike
aftonbladet.se
1.89
21
Malta
aftonbladet.se
1.80
22
Tjeckien
aftonbladet.se
1.78
23
Irland
aftonbladet.se
1.76
24
Serbien
aftonbladet.se
1.73
25
Bosnien-Herçegovina
aftonbladet.se
1.70
26
FYR Makedonien
aftonbladet.se
1.67
27
Polen
aftonbladet.se
1.65
28
Albanien
aftonbladet.se
1.60
29
Belgien
aftonbladet.se
1.57
30
Israel
aftonbladet.se
1.51
31
Georgien
aftonbladet.se
1.51
32
Montenegro
aftonbladet.se
1.48
33
Storbritannien
aftonbladet.se
1.48
34
Nederländerna
aftonbladet.se
1.41
35
Slovenien
aftonbladet.se
1.39
36
Tyskland
aftonbladet.se
1.33
37
Rumänien
aftonbladet.se
1.31
38
Litauen
aftonbladet.se
1.25
39
Portugal
aftonbladet.se
1.23
40
Ukraina
aftonbladet.se
1.23
41
Lettland
aftonbladet.se
1.12
42
Kroatien
aftonbladet.se
1.11
@ Darko Cvetanovski
[b]Please dont bring politics into this forum[/b]
Save your propaganda for the uneducated. Greek history is very well documented in every university in the world.
GOOD LUCK
url=http://www.evridikis.com/]http://www.evridikis.com//url]
the best entry is certainly not finnland..i think this time finland will end n the last positions of the score board....what if they send santa-klaus singing a rap christmas song next year? that would bring lots of douze points :-)
Now this is a very good example of neighbour-voting. Hanna Pakarinen is right though: only a good show may imrpove this dreadful entry, but unfortunately in the Finnish finals her idea of a good show was to wear what looked like an old curtain from a bargain basement over a dominatrix costume. I suspect that Finland will place between 18 to 24 this year :-(
@Danche Mitrev:
please keep your strange historical references for your nationalist copatriots of yours,,we are talking about eurovision here
King Philip II ruled Macedonia from 359 to 336 BC. He was born in Pella, the capital of the ancient Macedonian kingdom, as the youngest son of king Amyntas III. After his fathers death, Macedonia slowly disintegrated as his elder brothers and future kings Alexander II and Perdiccas III, unsuccessfully fought against the continuous attacks of the neighboring Thracians, Illyrians, and Greeks. The Thracians were already in possession of eastern Macedonia, the strongest Greek military power of Thebes continuously intervened in the internal Macedonian politics, the Greeks colonies on the edge of Macedonia, particularly Olynthus, were obstacle to Macedonia's economy and presented a military danger, and the invasions of the Illyrians put north-western Macedonia under their occupation.
Philip II was a hostage of the Greeks at Thebes, between 368 and 365 BC. But while in captivity there, he observed the military techniques of then the greatest power in Greece. When he returned to Macedonia he immediately set forth in helping his brother Perdiccas III, who was then king of Macedonia, to strengthen and reorganize the Macedonian army. But in 359, when king Perdiccas III set out to battle the Illyrians to free north-western Macedonia, the Macedonian army suffered a disastrous defeat. 4,000 Macedonian soldiers, including their king lay dead on the battlefield. The Illyrians enforced their occupation of north-western Macedonia and were now an even greater threat to the very existence of the Macedonian kingdom.
@Danche Mitrev:
do you mean the greek macedonia, i.e. the northern part of modern greece or youe ex yougoslav republic? because there is a big diffrnce there, the first i love it too, the second has no meaning for me..
MACEDONIA ARE BEST!!!!!!!
I think it obvious that the music taste differ around Europe. As long as it is more countries in the east and south the contest will allways play on their interest. For a northern country to win they must send a song that even the country in south east like and that's not easy for a northern one to predict what that is.. I sure don't understand thier taste 
Still I think that every countrie's song must be a reflection of that country's culture. Hanna is very finnish, and The Ark very swedish!
is it strange that Swedes cannot be objective!? well I guess that the Swedes voting for The Ark in MF liked the song, and why should they like it less now? It's a swedish poll and if The Ark wouldn't be on top, Sweden must have sent the wrong song! (or the rest of Europe so good, which is not very likly. The point is to send a song you belive in)
I like the Czech song, too... Although most others don't. You're right, Lina, that's exactly what many say about them... E.g the Swedish guy in the Cyprus preview panel said something like "Did he wear a mask or not?" which I think is quite stupid a comment...
@Khalid: No, I like the Czech song too! 
Unpolished, rough balkan rock with a very good performer. The show was destroyed by some absolutely hilarious dancers but maybe they will not bring them to Helsinki.
Unfortunately I think most viewers will react in a negative way on his "singing" and think he tries to imitate Lordi. Which is unfair, as he has been in the business for 25 years or something like that.
I hope they make to Top 10.
@ Lina
Of course I don't want bubblegum pop to rule ESC! My favorite music genres are ethnic, trance, metal and power ballads. My favorite songs this year are Switzerland (it's not anything special, but I like the beats), Romania (I always like countries who dare to do something different), Serbia (great ballad, great voice) and Czech Republic (maybe I am the only one who likes this song hehe)
The song of the Ark you are referring to is also better than "the worrying kind", but I can't understand why the 5th song is your least favorite (different taste )
I expect many surprises for this year. And I hope that Czech Republic will be one of them. They are the most likely candidates to get my vote this year.
@benji: No, this is not entirely true. Do I look like a big fan? (Yes, I guess so, *lol*) Well, I was not before the contest. I had just heard the name, I had heard some songs as well but not connected them to this band. So, the rock band of the year, blaha ... I had decided to vote for another artist ... then I saw this performance, and my reactions was like "Oh My GOD!" It was so good!
And believe me, there were so many that reacted just like I did.
I have not said that the majority of ESC voters will react the same way as I did and I have never said that The Ark simply must win this. They deserve to win, that is my opinion. But I don't give much for the taste of the ESC televoters. And I see no point in trying to please them either. Is winning all that matters? What do you win? Fame and fortune? Well, The Ark seem to win that anyway for the moment. I am not sure that the thought of ESC 2008 in Stockholm makes me that excited, there are more exotic places. Barcelona will be fine. I am sad Italy is not with us anymore; Rome would be great!
Then what do you think Sweden should have done? Sent a Carola-alike once again with a song that hardly make it in our own charts, but sure gains a place in Top 5 in ESC? I am sick&tired of that. That would be another Pyrrhic victory! I did not like our entry last year; if it had won I would only had been disappointed with the bad taste of ESC. I prefer that we send songs we actually like, to songs we think someone else would like.
ESC is a fun event to watch anyway. It is nothing to take that seriously, but it helped me finding a band I liked for real, and so far so good, isn't it? And The Ark will gain a few more fans, because they have something more to offer than one lousy 3-minute song.
@lina plingplong
Sweden is one of the countries with most good songs in the history of ESC. But this year I have the impression that Swedes chose this song not because they found it especially good, but because the band ARK is so popular in Sweden. But bear in mind that vast majority of spectators outside of Scandinavia don't know of Ark and of their other songs and they will judge only by their 3-minutes-performace on the stage in Helsinki. And I don't believe that they will be impressed.
@nikolas vertigo
It's true that Finland had rather poor results in the past but that doesn't mean that they had bad songs. In my opinion, their songs were often underrated. Maybe it was because before they had to be sung in their native language and many people find Finnish a little bit strange language. On the contrary, I personally find Finnish a melodious language and I am sorry that Finland have been sending only entries in English last years.
@Khalid: Then mention an artist that makes music "for all people" without getting boring, over-polished and commercial. What kind of music do you refer to - bubble gum pop? Every good artist has his/her fans - and also people who just cannot stand him/her. Good art is always a bit about provocation, about stirring up some emotion. There is hardly any exception to that rule.
I have seen a lot of reviews over this album by now. Nobody think it is bad, A few think it is "very good, but nothing special", most are very enthusiastic. If you try to summarize some sort of average opinion from all of these reviews, together with the reactions from those who actually buy the album - and they are not few - the result could only be interpreted as "success". To this you can also add the band's reputation as an excellent live band - read some concerts reviews, will you - and a decent number of older hits, that ARE hits and not some kind of wishful thinking. For example, "It takes a fool to remain sane" and "Calleth You, Cometh I".
One interesting thing is that the fans are highly diversified when it comes to favourite songs on this album. This means that the quality is unusually high and even. You mention the 5th song which probably is the one I like the least. There are some instant hits but also songs that need some time to grow on you, which is a good mixture. My own favourite is "Death to the martyrs", which would have been great in ESC if the lyrics had not been X-rated ...
ESC in its present design is extremely demanding for super instant hits, we have some this year but I will not be unpolite and give you any names. Nice and catchy, but creating allergic reactions after a few repetitions. The songs also have to be very all-pleasing in order to get points from both north, south, east and west, which leave us with the porridge songs - good without any spice, swallow without chewing, like it today, forget it tomorrow. We all know that this event, funny as it is, seldom produces any high quality songs. Some of you people here act like ESC is the musical peak in any artist's musical career. You know that this is wrong. ESC might be a very big and entertaining event, but it is still just an event - the real music world is outside this and play with other rules.
You may say this and that about Sweden's chances in ESC this year, but fact is that you cannot argue with success. The Ark may fail as much as they please in this single contest, but their career does not rely on this single song and the result of the contest. Like you said yourself: there are better songs on this album. How many other artists in ESC can afford to offer a b-side??? I am proud that we have such good artists representing us this year, because they represent something real. (And, actually, I love the song too ...)
So thanks for good luck wishes but I can assure that the result in ESC became a minor issue after I had bought this album. This is the kind of music I will keep on listening to, the artists I want to pay good money to see live. THAT is what matters to me.
Good luck to everybody. Personally I will vote for France, another good band with a good album. I like the Finnish entry, I doubt it will win but I guess it will get 12 points from Sweden.
and be prepared: eurovision 2008 will return this year to the Balkans or to a southern european country. I prefer Malta, but Bulgaria, GReece, Serbia or Bosnia, Turkey or Cyprus would be fine..mediterreanean passion....the sweds are excluded, i really like them and they have also a great taste in music and in he eurovision.
@ Melina:
why is my comment and the truth about finnlands score in the eurovision contest insulting? finnland had before winning the contest with some carneval dressed pseudo- hard rockers a very bad score..i think only once it had finished at the 8th position and it was very often in the bottom places of the scoreboard..that is a fact and no insult about Finnland as a country..so why should my comments being removed? simply because you do not like the truth? anyway this song will do bad i think, it is a normal and boring rockish ballad, nothing special
> Ola a charismatic singer ? Since when ? Old fashioned song, wannabe
> glam performance much weaker than norway 05 which didn`t win too.
BINGO! I couldn't agree more.
@Lina Plingplong
Well, I listened to some of the new Ark songs, but I didn't find anything very special there. They are indeed professional artists and try a lot, but their songs just aren't for all people, but for a specific group of fans. One thing is for sure: In their album there are songs much greater than "The worrying kind". If they tried with the 5th song for example they would get a better result, but that's just me.
As for Finland now, I think it is a typical rock song, nothing special at all, the lyrics are very poor. When I first wrote lyrics some years ago when I was 15, I could easily come up with something better than "Leave me alone - I wanna go home" Maybe the song wants to appeal to the younger ages with its simplicity.
Anyway what I predict:
A place between 15-20 for both Sweden and Finland. Anyway, I may be totally wrong, but usually I tend to predict right every year...
Good luck, you will definitely need it...
@drusus: "Ola a charismatic singer ? Since when ?"
Since about 2000 when they got their first hit single. And that description has been used constantly since then, from the audience, from the critics, practically every time they have been reviewed, at home and abroad, from the professional critics as well as from the audience.
Fantastic that so many are so wrong, huh? Like me, who just had to watch the show for about 30 seconds to spot an unusual talent. Something was probably wrong with my eyes, then. Were did I get that crazy idea from ...
Pff.
reading it now Finland are on top with 3.60 whilst Sweden are on 3.54
Good Luck Finland your song is growing on me everyday
Well, actually I was refering a sit is one of the less successful countries of ESC with Portugal.
I would really like to see what happens if Ukraine wins .....Ola a charismatic singer ? Since when ? Old fashioned song, wannabe glam performance much weaker than norway 05 which didn`t win too. Sitzerland or Greece might win, eventhough these are not their best entries - pale imitations. Others might be Russia,Bulgaria,Serbia or Bulgaria, if the live peformance works well. Slovenia has a good & strong entry, though good entries usually don`t win - a pity.
And the comment by Nikolas Vertigo below is offensive to Finns and should be removed (they do it to comments directed to other nations, but for some reason not here...)
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