LATVIA

The Latvian Final was held on February 28th at the LTV Studios in Riga, hosted by Ketija Šenberga & Toms Grevinš (and, of course, interval entertainment from the Riga Beaver) Before the final there a series of heats and semi-finals to reach a final of 4. The winner, chosen by televoting/internet voting, was Justs singing the song “Heartbeat”.

The song is a pop/dance song with a minimalist backing track and performance style. The laid back backing track and almost non-existent performance means that you really focus on the words and tune of the song. It’s quite a predictable tune with some predictable rhymes but isn’t performed confidently and will a lot of attack. He is backed by a pulsating light show n the video wall which beats in time with the backing track. Justs himself is dressed very causally in jeans, shirt and tan leather jacket. He also has look of 90’s George Michael about him in the hair and stubble department, although will a slightly youth ful and innocent charm.. His voice is not bad although he really pushes hard to get the chorus out powerfully. His gurning can be a little off-putting especially as his face looks drastically different when singing softly.

Justs Sirmais is a real newcomer to Latvia never mind the world of Eurovision. It seems that he started singing in the school choir and studied a number of different musical style and genres. He has a number of projects under his belt and is currently studying to become a jazz and pop vocal teacher. It seems that this is the first notable event in Justs career! One thing that is notable is that he has a good team around him. The song is written by last year’s Latvian entrant Aminata and Justs also seems to be signed to her record label.

This is a very strong song with a very powerful yet pared down performance. The fact that he is stood by himself with no trickery, props or fancy visuals that reminds you that this is a SONG contest. He’s got an interesting look but he could possibly spend a few euros buying some new trousers. But n a recent interview, Justs announced that there would be a whole new look and staging for Eurovision using the same tam at 2015. This slightly fills me with dread as I liked the understated performance as it was. I am just hoping they don't go too over the top because then it will a) be too much and b) look like everything else.

Latvia finds itself in the first half of semi 2 and part of me thinks this would be a great show opener – it would probably put most of the songs behind it in the shade straight away. They have a number of neighbourly and friendly countries in that semi so I would say qualification was almost a given. With a favourable draw in the final this could well be a solid top 5 and viable winner

ARTIST – Justs
SONG – Heartbeat
MUSIC – Aminata Savadogo
LYRICS – Aminata Savadogo