dcro

Where to follow the elections? CNN? PBS? ABC? NBC? KGWN?

justony: "It's No Secret I Am Big Eurovision Fan" Few users have selected as diverse entries as justony. From pro-vegan anthems to neoclassical dark wave, Slovenia has sent it all. Even Tina Maze. Surely this also means any kind of song can score points from Slovenia? We asked justony to check... Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: Firstly, I go through a quick listen, in which I dedicate around a minute, through the chorus, for every song, and I can already acknowledge who I like and who I don't. Then there are a couple of more deep listenings to decide on picking my top songs. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: Sometimes it got stuck in my head after very first listening. I try to avoid to award 12 points to the song, which I know from the past, unless if it is excellent. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: I do not have a preferred genre. It is no secret I am a big Eurovision fan, from those old times, but I do also listen to a lot of rock, classic, dance, ... I believe there is quite a respective representation of all genres in TISC. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: Quite a lot, but much more important is that first vibe you get from the song. You can all check that I was quite often giving a lot of points [to songs] which I did not know the meaning. For example, there was one song from Hong Kong and one from Vietnam, which got me after first listenings, though not knowing their meaning. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from justony? A: There is no basic recipe. As I was saying, I am a huge Eurovision fan, but am able to reward also songs which would not fit in that genre. If justony's musical preferences still feel like a jigsaw puzzle - maybe this will help. Our resident Slovenian juror has outlined the following entries as favorites during his two TISC participations... Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

dezbee2008: "My 12s Are Either an Outlier or In-Line with Most of the Juries" The United States have a colorful TISC history. Three-time podium finishers, one-time hosts, and celebrated leaders of the anti-establishment - all in large part thanks to dezbee2008. Suppose your entry is still pointless by the time the United States are scheduled to vote. Chances are your wait will be over right then and there... Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: I wait until all the songs are known, and then I pick a time and date to listen to the entries. As I listen to the entries, I put them in 3 groups. Group 1 contains the songs that I will definitely vote for and they take up the higher points. Group 2 includes the songs that I want to vote for, but need additional listens. Depending on how many spots remain for the points, the top contenders fill the remaining spots. Group 3 are songs I eliminate after the first listen, due to either low quality or the song appearing longer than it is. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: Most of the time, yes. As soon as I hear my potential 12 pointer, that game is over. The other songs will have to fight for 11 points. But there was one contest (can't remember on the top of my head) where I had 3 songs fighting for 12 points. Other than that, my 12s come in at first listen. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: I am a 90s-00s hip hop and r&b girl, and because of my love for Eurovision, I have expanded my musical tastes to include pop, EDM, ethnic, and some rock music. I would love to hear more of these genres on the stage, especially hip hop and r&b. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: Because of my piss poor reading comprehension skills, I focus more on the instrumentals than the lyrics. Although some songs (like Kodaline with Shed a Tear) have made the lyrics pop out, it's usually the instrumentals that generally do it for me, no matter what language the song is in. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from dezbee2008? A: That is an excellent question, haha. Honestly, I have a system in place, but you know how my 12s go -- they're either an outlier or in-line with most of the juries, with very few in-betweens. Even Olympian1010 joining hasn't stopped our anti-establishment traditions, so I guess the best answer I can give you is to keep trying. Eventually, things will fall into place. If dezbee2008's musical preferences still feel like a jigsaw puzzle - maybe this will help. The leader of the anti-establishment has outlined the following entries as favorites during his two TISC participations... Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

My second pick will be Kyrgyzstan. Hope someone picks Luxembourg. Would be scandalous if they missed out on this edition.

Meanwhile in Zagreb... 922 postitive yesterday - out of 966 tested. 966 is the official number given. Apparently nobody knows the exact number.

I book Russia for the FoM.

WC from Sao Paulo.

So apparently NZ defeated Australia 43:5 in Sydney... In front of 25k spectators.

One day following the 2020 Annual live draw - Zagreb, Croatia was hit by a destructive 5.5 earthquake One day following the 2020 Open live draw - Croatian coastline was hit by a 4.7 earthquake, second strongest of the year But this is TISC we are talking about, so no surprise here...

Dnl: "Catchy Tune and Good Message Are the Ideal Combo" We love our debuting nations, and the most recent one has been Israel, who joined us for the first time earlier this year in Croatia. Their leading juror Dnl is no novice, however. A former radio D.J., Dnl's music insights extend beyond the TISC stage. As Israel is scheduled to open up the voting proceedings in the Netherlands, we are anxious to get some sort of an idea of what to expect... Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: When I listen to any entry, I use my elimination system. I listen to the song and read the entry details in the thread, and also read the lyrics if I don't understand them. Then I let it "sink in" and then go on to the next song. I repeat this process for 3/4 days. If I still enjoy listening to a song, for me, it's a top 12. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: I need to finish my 3/4 days to truly know. Also, I tend to put the songs I like to my close ones to see and hear their reactions, it's always essential for me that they share their opinions to find my top 12-6-3, and eventually the number 1. Also, I find it helpful to put certain songs in certain situations, in order to really "feel" them. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: Even though I'm still young I had the opportunity to work at a local radio station and had my own choice of songs, so after a while, I started not to have a certain genre [type]. I really enjoy songs from the '80s, and earlier, so they are more of my "type" I guess. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: For me, lyrics are important. I find that a good combination of "catchy" tune or music, that give me a sort of feeling, and a good message are the ideal combo. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from Dnl? A: For me, the song must be a song that will get "stuck" in my head, the type you occasionally hum to yourself and the kind that I could work on my program and put in the background. If Dnl's musical preferences still feel like a jigsaw puzzle - maybe this will help. The Israeli juror has outlined the following entriy as favorite during his TISC debut... Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

Cobi: "Official Languages Give More Diversity to the Competition" Cobi has taken over his nation's TISC duties by storm, leading Spain to two Top 10 results in as many participations. What is the secret? Well, we will attempt to uncover the secret of Cobi's voting patterns in an interview to follow... Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: I have used the same system the three times I have participated. During my first listening, I classify the songs into 3 different groups: very likely to get points, possible to get points and unlikely to get points. In case I have at least 18-20 songs combining the first two groups, the songs of the third group are discarded from the second listening. During the second listening, I rank the songs within each group, and I discard a couple more songs from the second group. I try to have 16 songs for the third listening when I listen to the songs following the inverse order of my personal ranking. During this listening, I just rearrange some positions, but the order is usually quite similar to the one I reached in the previous listening. In case I have doubts about a particular position, I listen again to the songs before taking a decision. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: It depends. I usually have 2 or 3 songs fighting for the 12 points after the first listening, but I take the decision after listening to the songs a second time. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: I do not have a favorite music genre. I would like to hear more songs in the official language of the country. In my opinion, it gives more diversity to the competition. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: It depends on the genre and the language. When the song is in a romance language (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or French) or English, I usually pay more attention to the lyrics when rating a song. In other cases, I focus more on music and only look at the lyrics if I find that the content might be relevant to understand the purpose of the song. For example, in this edition, I felt the necessity of understanding the meaning of the songs of Croatia and Hungary before deciding my ranking, but it was not the case with Indonesia. Analyzing the lyrics of the song does not necessarily mean that I am going to rank the song higher. In fact, sometimes this has a negative impact if I consider that the lyrics are inconsistent or do not complement the music. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from Cobi? A: That's a difficult question to answer! Instead of specifying a genre, I would say that I am more likely to give 12 points to those songs that impress me. Maybe because the song is different compared to the other participants, catchy music... In the case of Open events, I have to admit that I am slightly biased towards nostalgic songs that remind me of past times. Still, even though I am quite likely to give points to these songs, I have never given them the 12 points yet, so it is a way to get some points from me, but probably not the first spot of the ranking. If Cobi's musical preferences still feel like a jigsaw puzzle - maybe this will help. Our new Spanish juror has outlined the following entries as favorites during his two TISC participations... Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

At least you didn't mistake her for Niki Terpstra.

Truffles. Yes. Now.

Just you wait. My contest had 100 "Spain 12"s before it finally happened at vote #30 or something. That's excitement for you.

Wow. What's up with this edition?

VOTING POSITIONS 18 Argentina 1 Israel 19 Croatia 2 Denmark 20 Portugal 3 Italy 21 United States 4 Slovenia 22 Netherlands 5 Poland 23 Serbia 6 India 24 New Zealand 7 Spain 25 Germany 8 Moldova 26 Egypt 9 China 27 Indonesia 10 Bulgaria 28 Canada 11 Brazil 29 France 12 Lithuania 30 Czech Republic 13 Ireland 31 Hungary 14 Slovakia 32 Kazakhstan 15 Great Britain 33 Greece 16 Tunisia 34 Mexico 17 Romania 35 Malta Team Allocation Staverden Ghosts 1 Israel 8 Moldova 15 Great Britain 22 Netherlands 29 France Ermelo Riders 2 Denmark 9 China 16 Tunisia 23 Serbia 30 Czech Republic Harderwijk Dolphins 3 Italy 10 Bulgaria 17 Romania 24 New Zealand 31 Hungary Elburg Botters 4 Slovenia 11 Brazil 18 Argentina 25 Germany 32 Kazakhstan Veluwe Vipers 5 Poland 12 Lithuania 19 Croatia 26 Egypt 33 Greece Apeldoorn Gorillas 6 India 13 Ireland 20 Portugal 27 Indonesia 34 Mexico Nunspeet Wolves 7 Spain 14 Slovakia 21 United States 28 Canada 35 Malta

But once again with yuesay.

Slovakia wins the elimination race!

VOTING POSITIONS 18 Argentina 1 Israel 19 Croatia 2 Denmark 20 Portugal 3 Nation 21 United States 4 Slovenia 22 Netherlands 5 Poland 23 Serbia 6 India 24 New Zealand 7 Spain 25 Germany 8 Moldova 26 Egypt 9 China 27 Indonesia 10 Bulgaria 28 Canada 11 Brazil 29 France 12 Lithuania 30 Czech Republic 13 Ireland 31 Hungary 14 Nation 32 Kazakhstan 15 Great Britain 33 Greece 16 Tunisia 34 Mexico 17 Romania 35 Malta Team Allocation Staverden Ghosts 1 Israel 8 Moldova 15 Great Britain 22 Netherlands 29 France Ermelo Riders 2 Denmark 9 China 16 Tunisia 23 Serbia 30 Czech Republic Harderwijk Dolphins 3 Nation 10 Bulgaria 17 Romania 24 New Zealand 31 Hungary Elburg Botters 4 Slovenia 11 Brazil 18 Argentina 25 Germany 32 Kazakhstan Veluwe Vipers 5 Poland 12 Lithuania 19 Croatia 26 Egypt 33 Greece Apeldoorn Gorillas 6 India 13 Ireland 20 Portugal 27 Indonesia 34 Mexico Nunspeet Wolves 7 Spain 14 Nation 21 United States 28 Canada 35 Malta

VOTING POSITIONS 18 Argentina 1 Israel 19 Croatia 2 Denmark 20 Portugal 3 Nation 21 United States 4 Slovenia 22 Netherlands 5 Poland 23 Serbia 6 India 24 New Zealand 7 Spain 25 Nation 8 Moldova 26 Egypt 9 China 27 Indonesia 10 Bulgaria 28 Canada 11 Brazil 29 France 12 Lithuania 30 Czech Republic 13 Ireland 31 Hungary 14 Nation 32 Kazakhstan 15 Great Britain 33 Greece 16 Tunisia 34 Mexico 17 Nation 35 Malta Team Allocation Staverden Ghosts 1 Israel 8 Moldova 15 Great Britain 22 Netherlands 29 France Ermelo Riders 2 Denmark 9 China 16 Tunisia 23 Serbia 30 Czech Republic Harderwijk Dolphins 3 Nation 10 Bulgaria 17 Nation 24 New Zealand 31 Hungary Elburg Botters 4 Slovenia 11 Brazil 18 Argentina 25 Nation 32 Kazakhstan Veluwe Vipers 5 Poland 12 Lithuania 19 Croatia 26 Egypt 33 Greece Apeldoorn Gorillas 6 India 13 Ireland 20 Portugal 27 Indonesia 34 Mexico Nunspeet Wolves 7 Spain 14 Nation 21 United States 28 Canada 35 Malta

I choose Philips and the Frankenstein monster.

VOTING POSITIONS 18 Argentina 1 Israel 19 Croatia 2 Denmark 20 Portugal 3 Nation 21 United States 4 Nation 22 Netherlands 5 Poland 23 Serbia 6 India 24 New Zealand 7 Spain 25 Nation 8 Moldova 26 Egypt 9 China 27 Indonesia 10 Bulgaria 28 Canada 11 Brazil 29 France 12 Lithuania 30 Czech Republic 13 Ireland 31 Nation 14 Nation 32 Kazakhstan 15 Great Britain 33 Greece 16 Tunisia 34 Mexico 17 Nation 35 Malta Team Allocation Staverden Ghosts 1 Israel 8 Moldova 15 Great Britain 22 Netherlands 29 France Ermelo Riders 2 Denmark 9 China 16 Tunisia 23 Serbia 30 Czech Republic Harderwijk Dolphins 3 Nation 10 Bulgaria 17 Nation 24 New Zealand 31 Nation Elburg Botters 4 Nation 11 Brazil 18 Argentina 25 Nation 32 Kazakhstan Veluwe Vipers 5 Poland 12 Lithuania 19 Croatia 26 Egypt 33 Greece Apeldoorn Gorillas 6 India 13 Ireland 20 Portugal 27 Indonesia 34 Mexico Nunspeet Wolves 7 Spain 14 Nation 21 United States 28 Canada 35 Malta

VOTING POSITIONS 18 Argentina 1 Israel 19 Croatia 2 Nation 20 Portugal 3 Nation 21 United States 4 Nation 22 Netherlands 5 Poland 23 Serbia 6 India 24 New Zealand 7 Spain 25 Nation 8 Moldova 26 Egypt 9 China 27 Indonesia 10 Bulgaria 28 Canada 11 Brazil 29 France 12 Lithuania 30 Czech Republic 13 Ireland 31 Nation 14 Nation 32 Kazakhstan 15 Great Britain 33 Nation 16 Tunisia 34 Mexico 17 Nation 35 Malta Team Allocation Staverden Ghosts 1 Israel 8 Moldova 15 Great Britain 22 Netherlands 29 France Ermelo Riders 2 Nation 9 China 16 Tunisia 23 Serbia 30 Czech Republic Harderwijk Dolphins 3 Nation 10 Bulgaria 17 Nation 24 New Zealand 31 Nation Elburg Botters 4 Nation 11 Brazil 18 Argentina 25 Nation 32 Kazakhstan Veluwe Vipers 5 Poland 12 Lithuania 19 Croatia 26 Egypt 33 Nation Apeldoorn Gorillas 6 India 13 Ireland 20 Portugal 27 Indonesia 34 Mexico Nunspeet Wolves 7 Spain 14 Nation 21 United States 28 Canada 35 Malta

If Olympian is missing, I pick Max Verstappen (hope I got it right this time) and the devil.