LATVIA

The Latvian Final was held on February 22nd at the LTV Studios in Riga, hosted by Ketija Šenberga & Toms Grevinš (although to be honest the show was stolen by Riga Beaver!) . The new show "Supernova" was used to select their entry. The winner, chosen through televoting/internet voting, was Aminata with "Love Injected".

LTV decided to do away with their usual selection processand use a new show to focus on finding the next big hit rather than just a Eurovision song. A combination a televoting and jury voting made acts progress through the different rounds although there was no jury vote during the final.

The song has a minimalist dubstep feel to it, similar to something London Grammar, Bjork or a more introverted Clean Bandit might come up with. It is certainly a very modern song that would not feel out of place on any modern radio station (I personally think this has Studio Brussel written *all* over it) It starts quite small and breathy but Aminata really belts out the chorus which mirrors the build up of the backing track. The chorus is certainly the part of the cong that will engage most with the viewers. It certainly has a very intriguing sound to it and keeps you interested. The ending though is a bit weak. I would much prefer her to sing the chorus again rather than singing 'oh-oh-oooohs'.

Aminata Savadogo is quite well known in her birth land having appeared in many different music and talent shows thoughout the years and placed 5th in Dziesma 2014. Her voice is very distinctive and the song really shows off these parts of her range but also shows she has great talent. She shows great character and charisma which is quite strange considering that during her performance she barely looks at the camera. She has a distinctive look, being half Lativan- half Burkinabé, and also has a great sense of fashion and style, particularly her look in the final. She also uses some interesting armorgaphy which really makes the whole thing fit so well together as a cohesive performance.

To be honest, if they change *anything* it will be the wrong decision. The whole thing looks and sounds distinctive and certainly not like anything Latvia has ever sent before. It is a serious contender and is a true proper song and they need to treat this with respect. I also hope that Aminata has full control over this, being the performer and writer of the song, that she does what is comfortable to her. She may need a bit more depth in terms of backing singers and may have to work out how to make them sound distinctive without making them sound like goats.

Latvia, along with the other Baltic states, have always been favourites of mine and I have always looked forward to what they choose for Eurovision. This said, it means they can easily fall flat on their faces and seemingly not take it seriously. This though is a really good song, never mind a Eurovision song. It is true to say it has little in terms of stereotypical Eurovision appeal but it is modern, fresh and current which could be lacking when compared with other entries of this year. I would love this to qualify, and it does have some friendly countries in its semi, but I fear this  could be a song that is not a hit at Eurovision but is in the charts.

ARTIST - Aminata Savadogo

SONG - Love Injected

MUSIC - Aminata Savadogo

LYRICS - Aminata Savadogo