ESCDaily has asked four former Eurovision participants to review the songs for Eurovision 2011. All of them will review about ten songs for Eurovision 2011. This is the third one in the series. Earlier, Geir Rönning’s and Vukašin Brajić’ review went up. Today, Katrina Leskanich gives her opinion.

Katrina is the former lead singer of Katrina & The Waves. Born in Kansas, U.S.A. Katrina Leskanich moved to England in 1976 and now lives in London.  In 1983 Katrina joined The Waves (a Cambridge based band with ex Soft Boy, Kimberley Rew) and the band became Katrina and the Waves.
She became an international pop star with the massive hit ‘Walking On Sunshine’, which has become a timeless summer anthem.  During the same year Katrina and the Waves were also nominated for a Grammy for best new artist.
‘Walking On Sunshine’ has been used in countless films – American Psycho, Secret of My Success, Look Who’s Talking and Hi Fidelity   to name a few, and numerous commercials. 
The band toured worldwide with artists such as Wham, The Beach Boys, Pointer Sisters, Chaka Khan, Fleetwood Mac, Coolio and Run DMC.  ‘Walking on Sunshine’ was followed by more chart hits – ‘Do You Want Crying’ and ‘Que Te Quiero’ in 1985, ‘Sun Street’ in 1986 and ‘That’s The Way’ in 1989.
In 1997 Katrina and the Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Love Shine A Light’, followed by an unprecedented four consecutive appearances on Top Of The Pops and a Number 3 in the UK Charts.
The following year, Katrina and the Waves split up and Katrina pursued an alternative career on TV and with her own show on BBC Radio 2.  This was followed by a stint in musical theatre, where Katrina played the lead role (the songwriter Ellie Greenwich) in Leader of the Pack, singing some of the songs that had influenced her as a young singer.
In 2001, Katrina began a solo career, performing live in the UK and in Europe and resumed writing and recording.  Her first solo album, ‘Katrina Leskanich’ was released in October 2005.
Together with Renārs Kaupers, Katrina hosted the show for the fiftieth anniversary of Eurovision, ‘Congratulations: fifty years of the Eurovision Song Contest’.
Katrina had a UK club hit in 2008 with a dance version of  ‘They Don’t Know’ and has since been performing as a solo artist and with her new band in the U.K., Europe and America.
2010 saw the 25^th Anniversary of ‘Walking on Sunshine’ which became a top 10 hit again with the Glee cast’s mash up of Beyoncé’s ‘Halo’ and ‘Walking on Sunshine’.  And Katrina released her first live CD, ‘THE LIVE ALBUM’ recorded at her shows in London and Germany.
We asked Katrina to review the following songs and give them a grade 1-10: United Kingdom, Iceland, San Marino, Bulgaria, Latvia, Italy, Azerbaijan, Israel, Germany, Malta, Hungary and The Netherlands.
Read what she had to say below!

United Kingdom – Blue – I Can
Blue have a good strong song, good strong bodies, good strong newly declared bisexual Duncan, good strong European following and one weak bladder.  Should do very nicely in Dusseldorf.
9 points

Iceland – Sigurjón’s Friends – Coming Home 
“Mums gone to Iceland”  This is corny in a Val Doonican cozy comforter corny kind of way. Mums will like Sjonnis and his Friends but I aint no NOBODY’S Mama.  They look like a future Take That. Say…2020. The waiter outfits could come in handy.
5 points

San Marino - Senit – Stand By 
Only a google wiki click away was everything I never knew about San Marino and it turns out it’s a cool little country (30,000 people) with Torte Tre Monte to die for. Stand By is trying so hard to be anthemic and nearly gets there in the end with the children’s choir creeping in but I fear it has a way to go but a nice try by Senit and of course a big welcome to one of the newer countries in the Eurovision Song Contest. 
8 points

Bulgaria – Poly Genova – Na Inat 
Poly Genova’s hair is not one thing or another and it’s reallyimportant to have good hair in this business.  Why the headphones around the neck? Is she trying to tell us her real job is as a DJ? The song starts with a Tubular Bells riff and then carries on as a shout fest by exuberant bouncy Poly (I’m only guessing this is the name of the lead singer….we get all the blame)  Feels like the song lasts longer than 3 minutes.  A lot. Still, it’s always funner to rock. 
7 points

Latvia – Musiqq – Angel In Disguise
Oooh, I wanted to laugh at first(not another waistcoat, THEY DON’T MAKE YOU LOOK THIN) and then I realised I had sort of fallen for this song and singer. The chorus hits and you kinda think hey, I could hear that again. The percussionist on this track should have made tea in the studio instead of random willy-nilly unnecessary “what happens if I push this button” stuff..  It’s real kitchen sink production and the clippity clop rhythm track is so ridiculous it made me want to get up, do a silly dance and laugh and having recently survived the Japan earthquake that seems like a damn good idea. So Latvia, if you see my dear friend Renars Kaupers ask him to help out on your next record and honestly thanks for Angel in Disguise. 
8 points

Italy – Raphael Gualazzi – Madness Of Love 
Raphael Gualazzi’s Madness of Love plays like a bordello blues soundtrack and I still can’t figure out what it is doing in the ESC.  I know people have said in reviews it is “too good for Eurovision” which I think should read “not suitable for Eurovision” I don’t have any idea how the tune goes and I just listened to it and I don’t like it that I suspect a bit of irreverent liberty taking here.  I’m sure I could be wrong (it happened once) but all the same I’m just filling up this space with words because I don’t have anything terribly positive to say about this one.
2 points

Azerbaijan – Eldar & Nigar – Running Scared 
Running Scared I’m running scared from this video.  Ell and Nikki (which is which?) aren’t very familiar with the lyrics to this song but move their lips to it anyway in the video. Can we stop with the “OH’s” in songs!!! Rihanna did it once and now every song’s gotta have it.
4 points

Israel – Dana International – Ding Dong 
Dana International nearly took my eye out with her plumes during the 1998 ESC when me and Terry Wogan presented her with the award on stage in Birmingham.  All was forgiven because Diva was such a brilliant song and I saw the future of the ESC before my eyes and Terry would become Graham and the hum drum dreary ballads would be replaced by a procession of spectacular Priscilla Queens of the Desert. All eyes are always on Dana because she delivers but on this occasion she has let us down. Ding Dong disappoints and the production is lame.  I can’t see this winning but I won’t be making a cup of tea when Dana is
on. 
6 points

Germany – Lena – Taken By A Stranger
Lena  Just cause you won it last year doesn’t mean you’ve got a foot in the door to automatically bag it again especially when it sounds like you are just going through the motions.  This is an album track at the very most and I think it would have been far more interesting to hear it sung in German especially as the contest is in your own back yard this year, not next I fear.
5 points

Malta – Glen Vella – One Life
Oh, Chiara Siracusa come back, we love you and we miss you. Little Glen Vella is still wet behind the ears and after hearing a bit of this song I wished the water was IN mine. Apart from a stonking massive thumping remix I don’t see this song and performance setting the world on fire.
4 points

Hungary – Kati Wolf – What About My Dreams?
Kati Wolf gives it old school Eurovision with production to match and I find it so refreshing and fun for the whole family (like Eurovision used to be….me?? old??) and I love it that she sang the second verse in Hungarian. I think Wolf Woman could bring the house down in Dusseldorf if she nails it on the night.
9 points

The Netherlands – 3JS – Never Alone
3JS Oh no, and I just got my head around JLS, now I’m all confused again. My youtube link to this had the irritating addition of the audience clapping out of time which sort of ruined it for me but I can see he James Blunt looky likey has the ex active service appeal and a nice soothing voice .  I think he missed his calling on the American west coast in the 70′s.  The song is a bit of a grower and I predict polite applause
(in time please) Still, the closing line of the song “at the end of your sweet trail” just doesn’t seem right somehow. Does it seem kind of dirty to anyone else? 
6 points

We would like to thank Katrina Leskanich for her review this year! Don’t forget to visit her sites:
http://www.katrinasweb.com
http://www.facebook.com/katrinasweb
http://www.twitter.com/katrinasweb

That’s Katrina Leskanich’ view on these twelve songs. The next artist, whose review will go up in the next few days, is Roberto Meloni, the Latvian representative in 2007 and 2008! Stay tuned!

NOTE: None of the previous statements were made by ESCDaily nor any of our editors.