POLAND

The Polish entry was revealed on February 25th. During the TVP show Świat Się Kręci (The World Goes Around), the broadcaster announced they have internally selected the duo Donatan and Cleo to represent them in Copenhagen. The song they will be performing is "My, Słowianie" (Slavic Girls)

 

This song has already been a hit in Poland since its release back in November last year and its video has been a massive hit on youtube gaining over 40 million hits. They recently performed the song at an awards ceremony on a big (almost Eurovision-esque stage). This, along with their music video, which I have attached the English version, are the basis of what I am reviewing.

 

The song, as it stands, is very much reliant on its chorus. The beat of the song is quite slow, as mirrored by the dancing, but the speed of singing at times is quite fast. It has a very modern RnB stompy-clappy beat until the instrumental part which is full on folk accordion. The song from this point of view is quite steady it starts quite in your face but then doesn't really go any where. The unusual structure of the song keeps you interested, twinned by the tonal quality of the Polish language. Cleo's voice is nothing special and the song isn't really that stretching but she does do a good enough job at being just about screechy enough in the high parts to sound interesting rather than flat. A note of caution must also be added to the amount of backing on the track which will need to be provided to in the flesh.

 

The performance value here is most interesting. Nothing REALLY happens. Donatan is in the back somewhere being the DJ character, Cleo is dressed in a modern way with a very nice heavy side plait whilst the girls around her are in traditional dress if not a bit low in the cleavage area. A lot of the visuals of this song has come from the 'infamous' video. I would guess that something of this ilk will be used in Copenhagen, possibly maximised on the video screens.

 

Rumours are that the duo are planning some kind of dual language version for the Eurovision stage. Having seen the English language version of this song I hope they don't. My main concern is the amount of vocals needed to keep the performance value up. With 6 people maximum on stage, this leaves 4 people for backing vocals which I feel they will need. Hopefully they can find 4 girls who are not only fantastic Polish singers but also look good, can dance and can twirl about in a circular skirt without getting dizzy.

 

After a couple of years away, Poland will be hoping for a good show and a place in the final with this one. This song will get points from the Eastern European countries as well as from those with a large Polish diaspora. It is an odd song which does stay in your head. However a lot of this will depend on the quality of the singing and the visual performance - both of which need some work. I predict a qualification spot to the final and with a solid show a possible top 10.

 

Artist - Donatan and Cleo
Song - My, Słowianie (Slavic Girls)
Music - Cleo
Lyrics - Cleo