semi-final 2 - Germany

1 A Million and One - written by Errol Rennalls and Stavros Ioannou
This is a very archetypal Lena song with that kind of talky feel to it. The backing music has more then a whiff of Kate Nash/Lily Allen about it. It seems to be quite a girly song. The verses are too long and chorus seems a little on the weak side but it does show off her upper range. The backing dancers are actually quite off-putting with their ballet-influenced dance.

2 Teenage Girls - written by Viktoria Hansen, Lili Tarkow-Reinisch and Yacine Azeggagh
This song starts off quite slow and quiet. However, the lyrics of this are far too playful and naughty and gets a little predictable (if not also offensive and rude). As the song goes I am waiting for the song to progress and get bigger but it doesn’t quite come. The chorus is a little weak with the do-do-do repetition. A very “Lena” song but would bomb at Eurovision.

3 Push Forward - written by Daniel Schaub and Pär Lammers
Another slow song for Lena that starts with a very simple ballad piano beat. This is a very simple, if not effective song. As the song goes on the backing grows the song gets more meaning. I feel that this song would favour a far more stronger vocalist. The chorus does not seem to suite Lena’s mockney accent. However there is a false ending which fools a few people!

4 At All - written by Aloe Blacc
Unfortunately this is no “I need a dollar –part 2” :o( This is another slowish jazzy track. The song does allow Lena to put a lot of performance into the look and sound of the song which makes it sound quite strong. She seems to be enjoying this song a lot. Once again this is a perfect Lena song but would get totally lost amid the hubbub of Eurovision.

5 A Good Day - written by Audra Mae, Todd Edgar Wright and Scott Simons
This is a slightly more up-tempos guitar based summery song. The song starts off quite Lena-ish but something feels a bit wrong. The tune of this song is all over the place. The chorus seems to yodel around from high to low notes and Lena hits a few bum notes during this part, which doesn’t help. This also makes the words to the song very hard to hear.

6 Mama Told Me - written by Stefan Raab and Lena Meyer-Landrut
A typical Raab arrangement with lots of brass in the backing music. The starts sound a little bit Motown/early disco and Lena’s dancing also put you in this frame of mind. Lena seems to be pushing her voice much more in this song (no favouritism I hope!!!)The chorus of this song is much catchier than anything we have heard this semi-final but is still no Eurovision song…

And the 3 songs through to the final on ARD next Friday are (in no particular order)… Push Forward, Mama Told Me and A Million And One.