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esctoday.com awards: the nominations!
As always, Song of the year can probably be called the top category. The top five songs in the contest, which came from Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Armenia and Norway, are joint by the Portuguese entry Senhora do mar, a fan favourite that finished 2nd in the semi final but dropped to 13th place in the final, the Icelandic entry This is my life that had to qualify for the Eurovision Song Contest through one of the most complicated national selections ever and Swedish entry Hero that was saved by a jury both in the national final and in the Eurovision Song Contest semi final.
Ukraine will again be in the running for Performance of the year after winning it on the first two occasions. The other performers in this category come from Greece, Norway, Portugal and Iceland. A new award can be found in the vocals section: Best duo/group vocal performance of the year, which is an answer to the unexpected popularity of the vocal abilities of group members and is not only supposed to rate the performances of the individual group members but also the harmony between them. In the national finals section, the "classic" countries were expectedly doing well in the nominations process but the high popularity of national selections all over (and outside) Europe was clearly shown.
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Without further ado, here are the nominations for the 2008 esctoday.com awards:
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2008
Song of the year
This category is for the overall best song in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, including its composition, lyrics and arrangement.
- Believe by Dima Bilan of Russia
- Shady lady by Ani Lorak of Ukraine
- Secret combination by Kalomira of Greece
- Qele qele by Sirusho of Armenia
- Hold on be strong by Maria Haukaas Storeng of Norway
- Senhora do mar by Vânia Fernandes of Portugal
- This is my life by Euroband of Iceland
- Hero by Charlotte Perrelli of Sweden
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Performance of the year
This award will be given out for the best overall performance in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.
- Ani Lorak of Ukraine for Shady lady
- Kalomira or Greece for Secret combination
- Maria Haukaas Storeng of Norway for Hold on be strong
- Vânia Fernandes of Portugal for Senhora do mar
- Euroband of Iceland for This is my life
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best act not to qualify from the semi finals
- Hind of the Netherlands with Your heart belongs to me
- Tamara, Vrčak & Adrijan of F.Y.R. Macedonia for Let me love you
- Deep Zone & Balthazar of Bulgaria for DJ, take me away
- Paolo Meneguzzi of Switzerland for Era stupendo
- Morena of Malta for Vodka
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Most traditional Europop song of the year
- Shady lady by Ani Lorak of Ukraine
- This is my life by Euroband of Iceland
- Hero by Charlotte Perrelli of Sweden
- Vrag naj vzame by Rebeka Dremelj of Slovenia
- Casanova by Gisela of Andorra
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Composer of the year
- Philip Kirkorov for the Ukrainian entry Shady lady
- Mira Craig for the Norwegian entry Hold on be strong
- Dana International for the Israeli entry The fire in your eyes
- Andrej Babić for the Portuguese entry Senhora do mar
- Sébastien Tellier for the French entry Divine
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Lyricist(s) of the year
- Mira Craig for the Norwegian entry Hold on be strong
- Dejan Ivanović for the Serbian entry Oro
- Kerem Kabadayı, Harun Tekin, Burak Güven & Kerem Özyeğen for the Turkish entry Deli
- Dana International & Shay Kerem for the Israeli entry The fire in your eyes
- Andreea Andrei & Adina Şuteu for the Romanian entry Pe-o margine de lume
Follow the links above to read the lyrics (along with their translations) on diggiloo.net.
Best female performance
- Ani Lorak of Ukraine for Shady lady
- Kalomira or Greece for Secret combination
- Sirusho of Armenia for Qele qele
- Maria Haukaas Storeng of Norway for Hold on be strong
- Vânia Fernandes of Portugal for Senhora do mar
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best male performance
- Dima Bilan of Russia for Belive
- Boaz Mauda of Israel for The fire in your eyes
- Laka of Bosnia & Herzegovina for Pokušaj
- Simon Mathew of Denmark for All night long
- Sébastien Tellier of France for Divine
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best duo/group performance
- Elnur & Samir of Azerbaijan for Day after day
- Mor ve Ötesi of Turkey for Deli
- Euroband of Iceland for This is my life
- Nico & Vlad of Romania for Pe-o margine de lume
- Teräsbetoni of Finland for Missä miehet ratsasta
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best female vocal performance
- Ani Lorak of Ukraine for Shady lady
- Maria Haukaas Storeng of Norway for Hold on be strong
- Vânia Fernandes of Portugal for Senhora do mar
- Isis Gee of Poland for For life
- Csézy of Hungary for Candlelight
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best male vocal performance
- Boaz Mauda of Israel for The fire in your eyes
- Simon Mathew of Denmark for All night long
- Andy Abraham of the United Kingdom for Even if
- Jeronimas Milius of Lithuania for Nomads in the night
- Ruslan Alahno of Belarus for Hasta la vista
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best duo/group vocal performance
- Elnur & Samir of Azerbaijan for Day after day
- Mor ve Ötesi of Turkey for Deli
- Euroband of Iceland for This is my life
- Nico & Vlad of Romania for Pe-o margine de lume
- Teräsbetoni of Finland for Missä miehet ratsasta
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best preview video
- Russia for Believe
- Ukraine for Shady lady
- Iceland for This is my life
- France for Divine
- Malta for Vodka
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best dressed performer(s)
- Ani Lorak of Ukraine
- Kalomira of Greece
- Maria Haukaas Storeng of Norway
- Euroband of Iceland
- Isis Gee of Poland
Click here to watch videos of the nominees!
Worst dressed performer(s)
- Rodolfo Chikilicuatre of Spain
- Dustin the Turkey of Ireland
- Gisela of Andorra
- Ishtar of Belgium
- Kreisiraadio of Estonia
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
NATIONAL FINALS 2008
Best national final
- Land of fire (Azerbaijan)
- Eurosong (Cyprus)
- MGP (Norway)
- Festival da Canção (Portugal)
- Melodifestivalen (Sweden)
Best national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision
- Carolin Fortenbacher of Germany for Hinterm Ozean
- Veronica Akselsen of Norway for Am I supposed to love again?
- Biondo of Romania for Shine
- La Casa Azúl of Spain for La revolución sexual
- Sanna Nielsen of Sweden for Empty room
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best female national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision
- Caroline Fortenbacher of Germany for Hinterm Ozean
- Leona Daly of Ireland for Not crazy after all
- Veronica Akselsen of Norway for Am I supposed to love again?
- Coral of Spain for Todo está en tu mente
- Sanna Nielsen of Sweden for Empty room
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best male national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision
- Nicolas Metaxas of Cyprus for Butterfly
- Mikael Konttinen of Finland for Milloin
- Kostas Martakis of Greece for Always and forever
- Torstein Sødal of Norway for Eastern wind
- Sergey Lazarev of Russia for Flyer
Click here to watch the videos of the nominees!
Best duo/group national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision
- Biondo of Romania for Shine
- Beauty Queens of Serbia for Zavet
- La Casa Azúl of Spain for La revolución sexual
- BWO of Sweden for Lay your love on me
- Nordman of Sweden for I lågornas sken
Related polls
- 1st semi final in Iceland: Your favourite?
- 1st semi final in Finland: Your favourite?
- Turkey decided: do you like Düm tek tek
- Albania decided: do you like Më mërr në ëndërr?
- Albanian selection concluded: did you like the Festivali i kenges 47?
- Which kind of national selection finds the best song for Eurovision?
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I would like to know why the hell isn't Serbia nominated for Best Female Performance and Best Female Vocals...and why is even Kalomira nominated for any category?! Her vocals are horrible, she can't sing without the help of her back-up singers, whose voices are stronger than Kalomira's, and her performance was basically dancing and shaking her boobs...and what is the big deal with Norway? That entry was nothing special, just like Sweden, Finland and United Kingdom.
When it comes to number of nominations Norway is the clear winner.
Country - number of nominations
Norway - 11
Ukraine - 8
Iceland - 7
Sweden - 7
Portugal - 6
Greece - 5
Romania - 5
Russia - 4
Israel - 4
Spain - 4
Best female vocal performance - Isis Gee
Song of the year: Portugal
Performance of the year: Ukraine
Best act not to qualify from the semi finals: Bulgaria
Most traditional Europop song of the year: Andorra
Composer of the year: Portugal
Lyricist of the year: Serbia
Best female performance: Ukraine
Best male performance: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Best duo/group performance: Azerbaijan
Best female vocal performance: Portugal
Best male vocal performance: Israel
Best duo/group vocal performance: Iceland
Best preview video: Ukraine
Best dressed performer: Ukraine
Worst dressed performer:Spain
NATIONAL FINALS 2008
Best national final: Sweden
Best national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision: Biondo (Romania)
Best female national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision: Sanna Nielsen (Sweden)
Best male national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision: Sergey Lazarev (Russia)
Best duo/group national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision Beauty Queens (Serbia)
Still I really miss Portugal in nominations for best lyrics of the year...
Completely silly that Norway nominated for lyric of the year (a child could have written it - in fact, a child did write it) and Portugal not. Ludicrous that Israel not voted song of the year.
Song of the year: Iceland
Performance of the year: Iceland
Best act not to qualify from the semi finals: The Netherlands
Most traditional Europop song of the year: Andorra
Composer of the year: Norway
Lyricist 
of the year: Norway
Best female performance: Norway
Best male performance: Bosnia & Herzegovina
Best duo/group performance: Azerbaijan
Best female vocal performance: Portugal
Best male vocal performance: The UK
Best duo/group vocal performance: Iceland
Best preview video: Iceland
Best dressed performer : Norway
Worst dressed performer : Andorra
NATIONAL FINALS 2008
Best national final: Sweden
Best national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision: Biondo (Romania)
Best female national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision: Leona Daly (Ireland)
Best male national final performance not to qualify for Eurovision: Kostas Martakis (Greece)
my favourite national finals is Land of fire (Azerbaijan) because they was all good songs so come on the land of fire 
My final votes:
Song of the year: Senhora do Mar - Portugal
Performance of the year: Vânia Fernandes - Portugal
Best act not to qualify for the final: Paolo Meneguzzi - Switzerland
Most traditional Europop song: This is My Life - Iceland
Composer of the year: Andrej Babic - Portugal
Lyricist of the year: Dejan Ivanović - Serbia
Best female performance: Vânia Fernandes - Portugal
Best male performace: Simon Mathew - Denmark
Best duo/group performance: Euroband - Iceland
Best female vocal: Vânia Fernandes - Portugal
Best male vocal: Simon Mathew - Denmark
Best duo/group vocal: Euroband - Iceland
Best preview video: Ukraine
Best dressed: Ukraine
Worst dressed: Estonia
Winter Wonderland - NO the point is that ALL YOU SWEDES in here are so f*cking patriotic and believes that ANYTING that comes from your country is the best thing there is. The way you swedes refer to your own preselection and always glorifies the swedish songs (even if they participate in other national finals) is horrible.
If there IS ONE swedish song in another national final THAT always end up being the song you cheer for - regardless of the quality. And if you believe that the swedish songs always have the highest quality then think again.
But I do LIKE Melodifestivalen, I DO like many of the swedish songs... BUT I also like many other songs and national finals, and even if Norway is nominated in MANY categories of the awards i am at least able to think outside the box and actually appreciate other songs and other nationalitis also. Which is a skill it seems like MOST Swedes in here totally lack....
And why is it that you always become so protective of your own selection and at the same time feel the right to bash other nations selections?
When it comes to Eurovision - the Swedes is the Americans of Europe. Narrowminded and over the top patriotic and overhyped. Every year swedish tabloids announce Sweden as the winner of ESC before the contest and this attitude makes people enjoy it when Sweden fails miserably.
Maybe there is time for a change in attitude in Sweden?
But with that said - i am looking forward to Melodifestivalen. There are many great names in the run this year - better than in many years. And lets hope there wont be a hyped entry next year like Charlotte Pirellis entry this year... its not good for Sweden to end up 18th 3 years in a row...
And also - a message to all the swedes: There are many positive comments about the Swedish selection as well.. but you always feel to bash back when there is a negative one... Agree to disagree and grow up neighbours!
@Stian Fikseaunet: Why do the actions of some members give people the right to bash Sweden and Melodifestivalen? You've proven yourself to be an ignorant bigot. Shame on you.
And that is YOUR opinion of Hero. Are you really ignorant enough to presume that televoting or results in a contest determine how good a song is? I voted for Hero as my favourite song. Feel the need to bash me now?
Performance: Greece
Song: Greece
Best not qualified: Netherlands
Traditional Europop: Andorra
Composer: Israel
Lyrics: Serbia
Best Female Performance: Greece
Best Male performance: Denmark
Best Group performance: Finland
Best female vocals: Portugal
Best male vocals: UK!!!!!! (OK i'm biased lmao)
Best group vocals: Iceland
Best preview video: Iceland
Best dressed: Norway
Worst dressed: Andorra (although I have nothing against teapots!)
Best NF: Melodifestivalen durrr!!
Best NF performance: Sanna (Sweden)
Best female NF performance: Sanna (Sweden)
Best male NF performance: (didn't really know who to vote)
Best group NF performance: Beauty Queens (Serbia)
Phew!! 
01. Song of the year: Belive (where is serbia and Oro omg...)
02. Performance of the year: Ani Lorak (Ukraine)---> where's azerbaijan lol
03. Best act not to qualify from the semi final: Deep Zone & Balthazar (Bulgaria)
04. Most traditional Europop song of the year: Casanova (Andorra) (quite pejorative)
05. Composer of the year:Andrej Babić (Portugal)
06. Lyricist of the year : Mor ve otesi band (turkey) -> who else lol
07. Best female performance: Vânia Fernandes (Portugal)
08. Best male performance ima Bilan (Russia) (lol tellier nominated)
09. Best duo/group performance; Mor ve Ötesi (Turkey)
10. Best female vocal performance:Vânia Fernandes (Portugal)
11. Best male vocal performance : Jeronimas Milius (Lithuania) (sorry,but he rules in this category 
) ah and where is Dima ?
12. Best duo/group vocal performance Elnur & Samir (Azerbaijan) OBV
13. Best preview video : Iceland OBV too
14. Best dressed performer : Maria Haukaas Storeng (Norway)
15. Worst dressed performer :Gisela (Andorra)
16. Best national final : Land of fire (Azerbaijan) (because of elnur alone )
17. Best national final performance: La Casa Azúl (Spain)
18. Best female national final performance : Coral (Spain)
19. Best male national final performance : Sergey Lazarev (Russia)
20. Best duo/group national final performance: Beauty Queens (Serbia) OBV
I am desperately missing Serbia for best song of the year and Zeljko for best composer of the year!
nice to see that Carolin Fortenbacher made it to two categories... I think with her our chances would have been much better... Well, I've voted for her seven times in the national final, so it's not me who caused the Angel's fall... 
Also I'm going for Leona Daly in the category of the best female performance not to qualify...
@ Mark Dunn
I agree... Ishtar all the way!...
I can't understand why she is in this category at all... But I can understand totally that Gisela is there - she looked nearly as much as an alien as Charlotte did...
@Stian: Well it's your opinion Hero is bad. I think this song is great. It's only the performance I didn't like in ESC.
You have no right to tell me what I'm should vote for and not. Anyone has right to critiqize MF. But it's annyoing me when the same person(Drusus 1) attack MF in every thread. It's unrespectful against the ones who loves MF. And sorry for voting at Norway! Trust me I will not do that anymore if it's annoying you!
I can't believe that Diana Gurtskaya from Georgia hasn't been nominated at least for Best female vocal performance.
I can't believe some of nominations...
Like Lyricist of the year : no Portugal... 
I think "Senhora do mar" at least deserve nominations... that's a big shame...
From this list "Oro" deserves to win in my opinion, I can't believe how great story in one song can fit... amazing job.
Also I am surprised to see Elnur & Samir in nominations for Best duo/group vocal performance ... 
my awards:-D
Song of the YEAR: Greece (it was a hit, heard it on the radio many times)
Performance of the year: UKRAINE (fantastic from beginning till end)
Best act not to qualify for the final: Bulgaria (fresh)
Most traditional Europop song: Andorra (meaning aweful)
Composer of the year: France (NEW and exotic to the ESC)
Lyricist of the year: Turkey (wow Turkish has never sounded as great as it did this year)
Best female performance: Ukraine
Best male performace: Bosnia & Herzegovina (LOVED IT)
Best duo/group performance: Iceland (this is how duos are supposed to be and sound on stage:-D)
Best female vocal: Norway (yeah the voice is fantastic)
Best male vocal: Israel (beautiful)
Best duo/group vocal: Iceland (best i have ever seen from a duo)
Best preview video: France (originality as you've never seen it before)
Best dressed: Ukraine (sexy as h e l l)
Worst dressed: Estonia (it was a gimmick but a very badly dressed gimmick)
Best national final: Norway (would be tempted to say Sweden, but since the Swedish final always end up being so predictable it is not the best anymore).
Best national final performance: La Casa Azúl of Spain for La revolución sexual
Best female national final performance: Leona Daly of Ireland for Not crazy after all (THIS should have been the WINNER of ESC 2009)
Best male national final performance: Sergey Lazarev of Russia for Flyer (the best of the alternatives... none had very good performances)
Best duo/group national final performance: BWO of Sweden for Lay your love on me (fantastic song and performance)
i am so happy malta got nominated for best acr not to reach the final. she deserves that much at least. her song was the most underrated.
good luck kalomoira!! i am so happy she got nomniated in a good amount of categories and also for kosta martakis (who should have been in the best national final act but i am sure empty room will win that. its sad empty room didnt go through. i am sure she had a very good chance of winning the whole thing)
i am also very happy about portugal being nominated for best song. she deserves that after being cheated in a top 5 spot. top 10 even!!
also i am glad to see the UK up for something. i feel bad. he was good.
Princess Engla - oh my, get real... you are a living proof of everything that is wrong.. you award Sweden all the awards they are nominated in, and then give som to neigbouring country Norway where sweden is not nominated... well... no wonder why people in here are so against swedish melodifestivalen and other swedes as i have seen you attack them for... but your narcissistic childish attitude gives them all the right too...
HERO - a stupid song saved by the juries should NEVER EVER been nominated in the category of SONG of the YEAR. It is so bad that it could have been used as a tool of torture...
How on earth did Miodio not get nominated for best act not to qualify from the semis?!? And Macedonia did...strange.
My final votes:
Song of the year: Sweden
Performance of the year: Iceland
Best act not to qualify for the final: Bulgaria
Most traditional Europop song: Andorra
Composer of the year: Sweden
Lyricist of the year: Norway
Best female performance: Armenia
Best male performace: Israel
Best duo/group performance: Iceland
Best female vocal: Norway
Best male vocal: Israel
Best duo/group vocal: Iceland
Best preview video: Iceland
Best dressed: Norway
Worst dressed: Andorra
Best national final: Sweden(of course!!!!)
Best national final performance: Sanna Nielsen - Sweden
Best female national final performance: Sanna Nielsen - Sweden
Best male national final performance: Torstein Sødal - Norway
Best duo/group national final performance: BWO - Sweden
Qele Qele must be the best song of the year since that`s the song that`s been so popular in lots of countries espcially in Greece and Balkan
My final votes:
Song of the year: Iceland
Performance of the year: Portugal
Best act not to qualify for the final: Switzerland
Most traditional Europop song: Andorra
Composer of the year: France
Lyricist of the year: Norway
Best female performance: Norway
Best male performace: France
Best duo/group performance: Azerbaijan
Best female vocal: Norway
Best male vocal: United Kingdom (who nominated Belarus?!?)
Best duo/group vocal: Iceland
Best preview video: Malta
Best dressed: Poland
Worst dressed: Andorra
Best national final: Norway
Best national final performance: Fortenbacher - Germany
Best female national final performance: Fortenbacher - Germany
Best male national final performance: Torstein Sødal - Norway
Best duo/group national final performance: Beauty Queens - Serbia
Worst dessed ... all participants nominated in this category intended to look ridiculous. I still think that this one should go to the Czech Republik. Tereza and her girls wanted to look hot and sexy and ... well ... I won't say what the result was like. We have all seen and suffered ...
@ Mark .. if Ishtar is good music, I want to listen to bad music! I don't care. I voted her for worst dress. Awful from Belgium in my opinion.
It's very exciting! hehe, I can't wait to see the results!
Best male performance
Laka definitly!
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