The German Final was held on March 13th at the Lanxess Arena
in Cologne ,
hosted by Barbara Schöneberger. Before the final there was a semi-final where a
wildcard act was chosen to join the final. The winner was chosen in 3 rounds of
televoting. Firstly each act sang one of their selected songs. Then the top 4
singers then performed both of their songs. Finally, the 2 most popular songs were
performed once more. The winning act was the wildcard winner, Elaiza, singing
the song "Is it right?"
I watched all of the show live on Das Erste, and I also saw
the Klubkonzert show a few weeks earlier. The show was very professional and
slick and was probably as good a show to
watch in the area as it was at home. What was very confusing was the way the
show was laid out in terms of how the song was selected. I feel that this was
of selecting a song was not thought through properly and meant that we didn't
hear 4 of the songs at all and 4 of the songs got more listens than the other
4. What is the point in voting if the slates are wiped clean...?
The staging of the whole show was very simple but the
lighting and video screens, as well as the 8 floaty diamonds, made sure that
each song had it's own identity. The stage however was a very plain space which
each artist used to their own effect. For
"Is it right" the trio was joined by a male drummer on a plinth
behind them. The first chorus was punctuated by a street of red streamers
whilst the final chorus end with white streamers. As the group actually
performed this song 3 times on the night their outfits changed each time. I
personally preferred the white outfits best.
The song is a plodding song with folk elements. It's not
really a ballad as there is too much of a beat to it but is also not a simple
folk number for the same reasons. The singer has a really striking voice and
the song shows this off perfectly. The chorus is very memorable and repetitive.
For newcomers they seemed very at home on the stage and took direction really
well. The instrumentation, although folky with Eastern European lilts, is not
similar to any other entry this year. It certainly got the audience clapping
along.
From one point of view there is a lot that could be done the
with the performance level of the song, however one may also think that their
innocent charm is a plus point in itself. One thing I would suggest is added is
a couple of backing singers to help make the chorus and possibly the echoey
parts a little more oomphier, bassier and atmospheric.
I think that although possibly not the best performance on
the night, this was one of the best songs and possibly the one most suited to
Eurovision. I think this song is really tricky to call because it has its plus
points and minus points. I think this may be more a jury song than a voters song - unless the crowd go with it on the night... Gut feeling says around the 10-15 mark.
Artist - Elaiza
Song - Is it right?
Music - Elżbieta Steinmetz, Frank Kretschmer
Lyrics - Elżbieta Steinmetz, Frank Kretschmer
A video of their first performance during the final can be found on the ARD Eurovision page
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