The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Grand Final took place at Baku Crystal Hall on 26 May, with 26 countries competing. Here’s my take on the results from 1st to 5th.
1st — Sweden: Loreen, “Euphoria”
Possibly one of the most commercial winners ever? A modern sound, and it walked away with 18 sets of 12 points and five sets of 10 points. You can’t argue with that!
With the benefit of the detailed split published afterwards, Sweden won both sides of the vote: 296 jury points and 343 televote points, for 372 overall. So this was not merely a case of one voting bloc carrying it home. “Euphoria”, written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström, was a genuine public and jury success.
2nd — Russia: Buranovskiye Babushki, “Party for Everybody”
Nuff said.
Though the result is easy to read as a triumph of broad popular appeal, the later voting breakdown is interesting: Russia came 2nd with televoters, scoring 332 points, but only 11th with juries, on 94. Whatever else was going on, the public clearly took to them.
3rd — Serbia: Željko Joksimović, “Nije Ljubav Stvar”
As nailed on a Top 3 as you could ever hope to get. It hit all the right notes in the East and gained enough west of the Balkans to come 3rd. Not a surprise.
In fact, Serbia was strong across both voting blocs: 3rd with televoters and 2nd with juries. That makes it one of the most solidly supported entries in the top five, rather than a result resting on one particular part of Europe.
4th — Azerbaijan: Sabina Babayeva, “When the Music Dies”
Home town result methinks. Not strong enough or close enough to win, but just interested enough to keep them going.
Azerbaijan was the host country and was automatically in the final. It finished 5th with televoters and 8th with juries, giving it 150 points overall. A strong result, certainly, although “home town result” remains my opinion rather than something the score can prove.
5th — Albania: Rona Nishliu, “Suus”
Jury sponge clearly, not so much with yer televoting. Her vocal skill will always be in doubt, but it clearly won some people.
The numbers back up that contrast: Albania came 3rd with juries, scoring 157 points, but only 8th with televoters, on 106. So the final fifth place was driven by strong jury support despite a less competitive public vote.
