LATVIA

The Latvian Final was held on February 26th at the LTV Studios in Riga, hosted by Ketija Šenberga & Toms Grevinš (and ad break entertainment from Riga Beaver). Before the final there a series of quarter and semi finals to produce the 4 act final. The winner was chosen by an amalgamation of televoting/online voting/spotify listens. Going to Kyiv is Triana Rark with the song “Line”.

The visuals of this song are very striking – almost more striking than the song. The stage is filled with lasers and beams of light. These then show up the graffiti type boards behind them. These then flash and glow in neon colours like large advertising sign. I can see the mosh pit filled with glow sticks waving in the air like crazy! This motif is also captured in some of the band’s instruments and their outfits. During the middle part of the song the lead singer goes into a very full on dance routine which whips the crowd up really well. Overall this is a real attack on the senses and is a great standout track. However the intro and rather weak outro need looking at so it can shave just under the 3 minute mark.

This is, in essence, an uptempo in-your-face dance song although the structure of the song is much more complicated. It starts off low and quiet but the beat and instrumentation builds up in the chorus – I say ‘chorus’ but is more like the same line repeated over and over again. Although the chorus contains the main earworm of the song I would really say it is the instrumental part after the chorus where the song becomes most memorable. There is also a break down part repeating ‘All I see is you” but I find this part of the song quite stifling as I just wish the song would let go a little and go into full rave mode

This is a bold choice for Latvia – and I guess you don’t progress if you don’t take some risks. To their credit, this currently stands out a mile when compared to the Eurovision songs chosen up to now. It won’t be everybody’s cup of tea or to every viewers taste but it will be remembered any which way. I have serious concerns about the ability of the lead singer as her performances can be hit or miss -sometimes she pulls it off good and proper, other times it sounds off key and strained. My other concern is that the flow of the song it too stop/start and I just wish it would go into full on glow sticks mode for much, much longer. If I could, I would chop out all the ‘All I see is you’ parts, elongate the instrumentals then replace the slow part at the 2 min mark with the ‘all I see is you part’

Having been drawn in the second half of semi 1, it is looking good for qualification as  only one other known entry in that half is up-tempo, and even that one is very much done in a lighter style. Just due to its original nature, this should qualify and I think, with a confident vocal show, this could be top 10.

ARTIST - Triana Park

SONG - Line

MUSIC - Agnese Rakovska, Kristaps Ērglis, Kristians Rakovskis

LYRICS - Agnese Rakovska, Kristaps Ērglis, Kristians Rakovskis

UKRAINE

The Ukrainian Final was held on February 25th at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, hosted by Sergiy Prytula. Before the final there were 3 semi-finals where 2 songs qualified from each, The winner was chosen by an "expert" jury (50%) & televoting (50%). However, once all the results were in, there was a tie for first place. In this case the tieing act with the better televote score would be declared the winner. Performing for the home team in in May will be O.Torvald with the song “Time”

The performance in the semi-final was different to that of the final but I will only be using the final performance for my review. The 4 man band is standing on plinths akin to large rocks or moon craters whilst on the floor there is a keyboard player on one side and a backing singer on the other. They are all dressed very shabbily in flesh coloured rags. Protruding through the chest of their shirts are digital clocks which could down to the end of the song. This clock motif is also projected on the video wall behind. There are a lot of beam of light used throughout the show and during the instrumental breakdown there are plumes of fire from the front of the stage as well as on the back 2 rocks.

Their style is punky-grungy rock and not really something Eurovision has seen for quite a while. The verses are more accessible than the choruses which are much more full on in terms of sound. The singer actually has a good voice although he looks very strained – almost like he’s in pain – when he’s singing the chorus. There is also a lengthy instrumental which is very in your face and will either be thought as really epic and spine-tingling or is a whole bunch of noise that cuts the flow of the song. The ending though is very odd and doesn’t fit the rest of the song.

One gets the feeling that Ukraine are not wanting to win again. This is a very bold choice – the kind of choice a host country can afford to make. You get to show off your country’s musical genres and styles but not feel the pressure of wanting to win the contest. That said, it is VERY different to anything else currently on offer and casual watchers of Eurovision who like this style might be persuaded to vote in their support – however I don’t think it has the accessible feel that last year’s Georgian entry. I personally quite like the song, and the performance, as it is a style of music I don't mind however general Eurovision watchers although would not say this was Eurovision material. This won’t be near the bottom but anything in the teens will be seen as a moral victory.

ARTIST – O.Torvald

SONG - Time

MUSIC - O.Torvald

LYRICS - Galich Eugene, Eugene Kamenchuk

DENMARK

The Danish Final was held on February 25th at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, hosted by Annette Heick & Johannes Nymark. The winner as chosen by a ESC fans jury (50%) and SMS & mobile app voting (50%), In the first round they selected a top three, then the second round selected a winner. Going to Kyiv is Anja Nissen with “Where I am”

Anja, who is wearing a long red dress, is alone on stage for the entire performance however it is obvious from the off that there are prominent backing singers on the track. She starts with her back to the audience which is blacked out with lights in the audience like stars. The screens show slow motion videos of dropsof water creating cicles in a pool of water and the lights behind her are shades of blue. The camera then spins around her showing her now facing the audience she then manoeuvres herself to the centre of the stage to start the first chorus. The whole of the stage glows a burning orange and the video screen shows flames of fire. During the end chorus she spends a lot of time doing vocal runs whilst the wind machines start up. She does look very alone on stage and the use of fire behind her scarlet dress is a very strange choice of backdrop indeed.

In all honesty there is nothing much to say about the song. It starts off with chanting from the backing singers – which is quite an odd way to begin a song, especially as none of the chanting contains the title of the song. The song is a mid-tempo song with a contemporary radio feel to it. The verses are a little weak and quite forgettable. The chorus is more memorabl although the pitch seems to be at the top of her range and seems a little screechy at times. The main trick the chus has is that the title fo the song is repeated twice as the last line, which makes you remember it. Neverthess Anja give it all she’s got and does a really good job at belting out the song and reaching some of the higher notes at the end.

This is so bland. It also didn’t help that the three songs in the superfinal were all bland and generic too. There is nothing in the song or the performance that hooks me and I feel that this will be the reaction throughout Europe. It also doesn’t help that there are already songs chose for ESC that one might confuse or mix this up with. Ideally they need to get a more narrative in the stagecraft to be able to strike out for the other songs.
Anja is Australian but has Danish parents but this won’t help as Australia is in semi 1 and therefore cannot vote as Denmark are is semi 2. This song really doesn’t deserve to qualify however Anja can take some solace in the fact that she is much, much better than this song and maybe we might see her again for Denmark OR Australia in the future.

ARTIST - Anja Nissen

SONG - Where I am

MUSIC - Anja Nissen, Angel Tupai, Michael D'Arcy

LYRICS - Anja Nissen, Angel Tupai, Michael D'Arcy

MOLDOVA

The Moldovan Final was held on February 25th at the TRM TV Studios in Chisinau. The day before the final there was a semi-final which reduced the long list of 14 to a final of 8. The winner was chosen by televoting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%). The winners were Suntroke Project and “Hey Mamma”

The SunStroke Project is made up of a main singer, a violinist and possibly the most famous man from Moldova – Epic Sax Guy!. They are centre stage dressed extremely smartly in black suits. To their left are three female backing singers, dressed in white flowing slitted dresses, veils and small bouquets – signifying a wedding. Throughout the song dance they do a strange one-legged dance routine. Behind them are flashing blocks of light, followed by of concentric circles growing bigger and smaller. During the chorus, the words “Hey Mamma!” also appear. At the end of the song, the backing dancers join the band on the main stage and participate in a full on “Running Man” dance routine. At the end of the song the backing singers turn around and throw their bouquets into the audience.

There is a strong bassline to the song which repeats throughout. The instrumentation to the song is very minimal and is mainly punctuated by the sax parts after the chorus. The chorus is very repetitive and every memorable but goes on just long enough not to become boring and earwormy. The song repeats itself quite quickly – you get through a verse, chorus and a sax instrumental just under the minute mark, Because there are so few layers to the song’s production, every part of the song can be heard and so the backing singers efforts need to be absolutely on point. If I had one major criticism it would be that the song doesn’t really grow to a big finish but I guess all of the build up is in the visuals.

SunStroke Project represented Moldova, with Olia Tira, back in 2010 with a performance (especially by the sax player) that went viral around the world. Although less spectacular, this is a much better song. ”Run Away” was much more in your face in terms of production and visuals than this. This performance is very understated and just about works. The component parts work altogether, but probably would not work as a stand-alone memory devise. This is a very modern, summery and radio-friendly song and I think if this did well in the contest, they would do good business in the charts around Europe.

This is a breath of fresh air from the female ballads. It has a certain charm and tongue in cheek-ness that will appeal to the voters at home but also have a contemporary feel that will charm the jury. This should easily qualify and might even be a top 10 finish.

ARTIST – SunStroke Project

SONG – Hey Mamma!

MUSIC - Alina Galetskaya, Anton Ragoza, Sergey Stepanov, Sergei Yalovitsky

LYRICS - Alina Galetskaya, Anton Ragoza, Sergey Stepanov, Sergei Yalovitsky

SLOVENIA

The Slovenian Final was held on February 24th at Gospodarsko Razstavisce in Ljubljana, hosted by Tina Gorenjak, Maja Martina Merljak, Tanja Kocman & Mario Galunic. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals where the top4 qualified from each. The winner was chosen by televoting (50%) & 6 regional "expert" juries (50%). The winning act was Omar Naber singing his self-penned song “On my way”

Omar is alone on stage with a microphone stand and starts in black and white. Around him are bold spot lights which accentuate the contrast whilst in black and white. At the start of the first chorus the screen turns back to colour which shows the stage a cobalt blue colour. It then reverts back to black at white for the chorus again, returning to colour for the rest of the song. During the end repetition of the chorus, he loses the stand and moves about at the front of the stage before placing his hand in the air during the last line. The camera angles are very clever with mostly close ups apart for the chorus which gives a feeling of movement and ‘going’ somewhere. That said there is very little movement by Omar and this could look might have looked like a very static and boring performance in the hall.

The song starts off gently with a piano intro. The tune of this part of the song is very old fashioned, maybe even a little twee, with some very predictable rhymes andsome very odd phrases. It is then beefed up with a harder drum beat and orchestration in the chorus which mirrors the change of visuals. This pattern is then repeated for the second verse and chorus. After this there is some oooh-oooh-ing before another chorus with added key change. This doesn’t quite follow the tune of the previous ones as there are extra lines at the end. The whole thing finishes off with a repetition of the title. Apart from the last chorus, Omar sings this really well and gives quite a solid, almost musical theatre-esque vocal serenade.

This is a performance of contradictions. Omar is dressed nattily in a jacket, jeans, trainers, one glove and sports his (trademark?) spikey hairdo. His performance style involves a lot of gesticulating, pointing, beckoning, leg shimmying and a rather wide leg stance. But this is a slow song, an anthemic ballad, albeit a dated one. Nothing he does suits the song. He either needs to calm down or speed up the song. The song is really nothing special, in fact I think a lot of the meaning of the song is lost because of the muddled performance. The lyrics, as I stated before, are old hat and explore nothing new. It's so idiosyncratically Eurovision - it's all too much, . One might even expect to see this at Eurobeat Moldova (the spoof Eurovision musical) rather than Eurovision itself.

I cannot see who would vote for this - or why. It might appeal to musical lovers (espeically those on the jury) but it is just too derivative to stand out. I am not even sure what they could do to make it better. Omar Naber is well known in Eurovision circles has he participated in the semi final in 2005 but did not progress – but many see this as an injustice. That said, this qualifying would ALSO be an injustice.

ARTIST - Omar Naber

SONG - On my way

MUSIC - Omar Naber

LYRICS - Omar Naber

MALTA

The Maltese Final was held on February 18th at the Malta Fairs & Convention Centre in Ta' Qali, hosted by Daniel Azzopardi & Charlene Mercieca. In a change from recent years, there was no semi final and there was no jury - the winner was chosen just by televoting. Going to Kyiv is Claudia Faniello and the title of her song is "Breathlessly"

Claudia is alone on stage wearing a long white evening gown. She starts at the back of the stage and during the first instrumental moves forward to the front of the stage. Behind her is a very non-descript backdrop of white/black/blue lights which strobe ever so slightly throughout the song. Eventually this turns into bare trees and snowy scenes which doesn’t fit with the song at all. This mellow exterior allows the focus to be wholly on Claudia but also makes it look a bit lifeless and slightly generic.

The song starts off with a piano intro and stays this way until the chorus when the gentle percussion and guitars come in. The verses contain very few lyrics and one might lose interest very quickly with all the stopping and starting, Before the second verse they introduce a more distinct drum beat which turns the song from a piano based ballad into a soft rock/country number. The chorus has a slightly off kilter time signature with some lines being longer than others. The ending is also odd. Claudia finishes off the last note but the backing carried on for almost 5 seconds afterwards. On the positive side you could barely notice because the crowd was cheering so hard for her. The tune of the song sound very familar, however I am yet to put my finger on what exactly it reminds me of.

Claudia has been trying to represent Malta at Eurovision for so long, it’s just nice for her to finally get that chance – also her brother represented Malta twice (‘01 and ’06) She is a very good singer and has very good stage and camera presence -you can tell she is experienced at this type of singing contest. Although her dress is very pretty and classy, her styling make her look more 38 than her actual 28 years of age. The fact of the matter is that Claudia needs to keep doing what she is doing - the camera angles, backdrop and styling need all the focus and direction.

As far as the song goes, it starts off well but as soon as the drum kicks in it loses focus and loses its intimacy. In addition, because it is such a slow song there is little repetition – you don’t even finish the first verse by the time you have clocked up a minute. If Eurovision songs could be 4 mins long, this might have enough time to wind up properly and be a real belter - but it isn't. It starts off well but ends up being a whimper rather than a bark and is a non-qualifier to the finals as it is.

ARTIST - Claudia Faniello

SONG - Breathlessly

MUSIC - Philip Vella, Sean Vella, Gerard James Borg

LYRICS - Philip Vella, Sean Vella, Gerard James Borg

                                                                           The song starts around the 0:40 mark

POLAND

The Polish Final was held on February 18th in Warsaw, hosted by Artur Orzech. The winner was chosen by a 50/50 split of jury and televoting. The winning act was Kasia Moś singing the song “Flashlight”

Kasia is backed by a small band on stage. On the video screens there are images of Kasia herself as well as flocks of birds – all depicted in black and white There are also lots of beams of white light again the back background. She is dressed in a browny-beigey floaty dress which is see through in the skirt. There is not much movement on stage although there are a lot of long shots and sweeping camera movements.

There is a slow build up to the first beat when Kasia starts to sing. After the verse there is a short breakdown where she starts to sing low and in short bursts of rhyme. This catches you a little off guard as you would expect her to go straight into the chorus. She then sings the chorus but again catches you unawares as it is much lower than you would expect. What is also unusual about the pttern of the song is that the tune of the verse and chorus are practically identical which gets the tune into your head very quickly (and will also help when picking the 20s slot for the recap) The ending is a little poor as she sings her last chorus then starts warbling notes until the end.

Out of the 10 songs on offer this was not the best (although not bad) however she was the best singer and the two combined make it quite a radio-friendly contemporary entry. I have many issues though with the construction of the song. The first chorus doesn’t sit right when sung low, it would work better if sung twice - once low, then high. Also the ending is very weak especially when it has been preceded by 20 seconds of mindless wailing. In fact if the wailing was left out and the intro shortened, there would be enough room in the 3 mins to do this. Kasia also needs better direction and more awarness of the camera. Also, if the background was more literal to the story of the song, she wouldn’t have to work so hard at telling it through her hands and arms. Finally, the title of the song is so obscured in the first line of the chorus I’d rather they called it “In disguise” or “Hypnotised”.
This is not bad song but for a one time listen it comes across as disjointed and hard to follow. This is very much a song that becomes clearer after 4-5 listens. I am not sure how or if this can stand out in a semi final or final. In their semi, they only have one close neighbour and very few of their diaspora countries to vote for them. However the second half of semi 1 is not known so there is little to compare against but my gut feeling is that this is going to miss out.

ARTIST - Kasia Moś

SONG - Flashlight

MUSIC - Kasia Moś, Pete Baringger, Rickard Bonde Truumeel

LYRICS - Kasia Moś, Pete Baringger, Rickard Bonde Truumeel

HUNGARY

The Hungarian Final  was held on February 18th at the MTVA Studios in Budapest, hosted by Csilla Tatár & Levente Harsányi. Before the final there were a series of heats and semi finals to chose the final of 8 songs. The winner was chosen in two rounds of voting. Firstly, the top 4 was chosen by an "expert" jury but in the second round the winner was chosen solely by televoting. Going to Kyiv is Joci Pápai singing his self-penned song “Origo” (Origin)

Joci is joined on stage by an odd can/drum instrument (which he plays), a female fiddler and a very beautiful gypsy dancer (whom he dances with at one point). Joci is dressed in what I would say was a ‘modern take’ on a national costume. It is not the most flattering of outfits, as Joci is quite tall, stocky and very hairy! On the video screens, there are different views of dancers and instruments being played. During the broadcast, they used some very clever framing effects which help place the camera shots of the song on the TV screen.

The song begins with Joci singing with minimal backing which builds up to the ‘jaloma lomma’ chorus. The tune is very mesmerising, although not immediate, but the whole thing grabs your attention very quickly. During the first instrumental he plays the milk churn and you see the dancer and fiddler. The song is structured very cleverly. By the 1.50 mark he has already sang two verses, two choruses and had two sizable instrumental breaks. However, it is here everything goes a bit strange. Suddenly he breaks out into a Scroobius Pip type spoken word/rap part – but in Hungarian – then reverts to the chorus to the end. This part could be when the disconnect happens to the voters at home and might need looking at.

This is a very pleasing entry. Not only is it very different to everything else that has been selected but also feels culturally close to the country it has come from. Between now and Eurovision they may need to make some tough decisions about the staging and setting of the song. I think it would be going against the whole meaning of the song if it was suddenly plonked into English however the rap part might benefit from having some of it in English or have somekind of picture story behind him.. I like the staging as it is but on a bigger Eurovision stage it might look a bit sparse – again this might be fixed by having better background screens. Hungary should be pleased and feel proud to back their entry and I personally think that I final without this in it would be a great loss.

ARTIST - Joci Pápai

SONG - Origo (Origin)

MUSIC - Joci Pápai

LYRICS - Joci Pápai

170214

Hello again, and a big fat sorry for being sooooo late with this episode..

It's fairly basic and possibly my last Eurovision podcast for a wee while (I explain more at the end of the podcast) but as ever I run down the runners and riders as it stands, go through the calendar of upcoming events and end with a look back at some of the national finals and selections made over the last couple of weeks... March is going to be one BUSY month!

Even though the podcasts might be silent for the next few months, I will be focusing my attention to writing the reviews for the blog and keeping you up-to-date with the latest songs in the running for the Eurovision 2017 title... Before you know it, it'll be early April and it'll be time to dust off the box of tricks for Shite or Alright !

Music comes from Poland and Switzerland !

So, you can follow all the fun and games on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair  
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair

You can download or listen to the latest podcast here - https://archive.org/details/escarmchair-170214

Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)

ITALY

The Italian entry was selected and confirmed on February 11th during the annual Sanremo Music Festival, hosted by Carlo Conti and Maria De Filippi.. Before the final there was a week full of qualification, wild card and second chance rounds before the final of 16 was finalised. During the final, the winner was chosen via a combination of a demographic jury (30%) expert jury (30%) and televoting (40%). As with the last couple of years, the overall winner of the festival is given first refusal as it whether they want to represent the country at Eurovision. During the press conference, it was confirmed that the winner would go to Kyiv. The winning act was Francesco Gabbani singing "Occidentali's Karma"(Westerner’s Karma)          

The setup of the song is very simple although the presentation was ever so slightly different throughout the week. Francesco starts on stage alone (although of course at Sanremo there is a conductor, a full orchestra and numbers of backing singers either side of him) about half way through he is joined on stage by a dancer, who is disguised as a gorilla and by the end of the song they are interacting and dancing together. Behind them there is a very colourful backdrop which mirrors the story of the song, including henna patterns, yoga positions and the evolution of man from apes.

The song starts off very quietly, when suing live he sang the first part a cappella but am unsure if this will be replicated at Eurovision) His voice and personality is very engaging. The song is very cleverly written as there are lots of words you can pick out that mean something to an English speaker e.g nirvana, singing in the rain, Buddha, web and of course karma. The tempo and rhythm of the song is very repetitive and the chorus is such a joy. The point where the audience and orchestra should ‘ah-yeah’ is just spinetingling. I can almost see the whole audience during ESC joining in at that point as well as joining in the new dance craze sweeping the continent as we speak. I would say that my only reservation would be the very abrupt ending although in some ways it ties up the loose ends between the singer and his new primate pal.

This is an incredibly instant song. If you don’t remember Francesco, you will remember the gorilla. If you cannot remember the song you will remember the dad dancing routine. In some ways, this is a hark back to the low-key gimmicks of the 70s and 80s Eurovision with the sub-English lyrics, dance routines and costumes. There have been questions raised about the subject of the song and whether it is artistically sensitive or verges on showing cultural appropriation. The song is about other (mostly Eastern) cultures and philosphies but more about the people who pick and choose things from these different cultures or see themselves as experts or 'gurus' because they've googled it. I think it is more a social look at shifts in society rather than pointing at the cultures themselves.
 As it stands’ the song is around 30 seconds too long. The song could be sped up a little and possibly the very short instrumental taken out but apart from that I am struggling to see where they can take away time without stunting the song’s flow. My main guess might be that they reduce one, or both, of the choruses by a few lines.

This is such a happy, carefree and beautiful song and nothing would make me happier than seeing this rocket up the leader board in May. But there are 2 questions that needs answering

1 – who IS behind that gorilla mask…. and 2 – do Italy REALLY want to win…?

ARTIST - Francesco Gabbani

SONG - Occidentali's Karma (Westerner’s Karma)

MUSIC - Francesco Gabbani, Filippo Gabbani, Fabio Ilacqua, Luca Chiaravalli

LYRICS - Francesco Gabbani, Filippo Gabbani, Fabio Ilacqua, Luca Chiaravalli

                             (This video was from one of his performances during the week - not the final)

SPAIN

The Spanish Final was held on February 11th in Leganés, Madrid, hosted by Jaime Cantizano. Before the final there was a ‘wildcard round’ broadcast only on the internet where the act with the most votes gained the 6^th place in the final. The winner was chosen by a 50-50 televoting and jury split.  Once all the votes were distributed, there was a two-way tie for first place. The three jurors then voted for the act they wanted to win. Going to Eurovision will be Manel Navarro his self-penned song “Do it for your lover”.

Manel plays the guitar while he sings but is backed by a small band around him. Directly behind him is a small video screen which looks a bit like a digital polaroid frame which projects lots of archetypal instagram selfies, panoramas and pictures. There is also good use of an above camera angle which shows the video floor becoming a beach. The band don’t really do much except slightly mooch around in the shadows. Not quite sure why they are there or how they add anything to the show as they are barely focused on by the camera or by the lighting. Near the end, Manel stops playing and walks around with the microphone in his hand. Manel and the band are dressed in Hawaiian style shirts, vests and tight trousers, mirroring the summer feel of the song.

The song has a very lazy beach bum feel, something akin to Jack Johnson or Bruno Mars. Manel has a very soft voice with not much power but he sings this style of song quite well. The song has Spanish verses and then switches to English in the chorus. This is fine but there are real issues when it comes to pronunciation. He can’t say ‘lover’ and the phrase ‘just do it’ becomes ‘do suet’. It all becomes a bit uncomfortable and cringey very quickly. Moreover the instrumental after the chorus has a vocoder-esque part was being mimed by the backing band. Now they either need to omit this OR they need to get someone to attempt to sing this live. The ending is also very wet and predictable.

There was a lot of controversy regarding the show on the night. Two of the three jurors put Manel as their top song but the televoting had Mirela first. This resulted in a draw. It was only then that the host announced the jury would break the tie. There were 2 issues regarding this:

1) the jury already made their feelings clear that Manel was their fave - so why the revote?

2) for the last couple of years the televote winner has taken precedence in a tie - why the sudden change?

The gasps of horror in the audience and the general dismay at this reveal was audible all over social media but also in the hall. I genuinely felt sorry for both acts who were involved as this now became a show about the opinions of 3 people rather than the will of the televoters OR the talent of the performers.
That all said and done this is an awful choice. It’s wet, dreary, boring, monotonous, generic, weary, uninspiring, lifeless, far too static (visually and aurally) and is possibly the worst song Spain has ever sent to Eurovision.
If this isn’t last on 13^th May I will be very surprised.

ARTIST - Manel Navarro

SONG – Do it for your lover

MUSIC - Manel Navarro

LYRICS - Manel Navarro

GERMANY

The German Final was held on February 9th at the Köln-Mülheim TV studios in Cologne, hosted by Barbara Schöneberger. There were 5 finalists with 2 songs in the running.  In round one, the finalists performed cover versions with 2 contestants eliminated. In round two, the remaining 3 finalists performed one potential entry and another contestant was eliminated. In round three, the 2 finalists performed a different potential entry. The best two song/singer combinations from rounds 2 & 3 moved forward to a fourth and final round where a winning entry was chosen. In the end with winning act was Levina and her chosen song was "Perfect life".

During the show, the music was performed live by the old Stefan Raab house band The Heavytones. Although a nice touch, this is odd as the performance does not quite replicate the backing track. Levina spends most of the song walking up and down in her tight black trousers and sparkly flesh coloured top which was not every flattering at all. She slightly overdoes it when it comes to her arm movements but this couldbe worked on. The background shows strips, almost like vertical blinds that turn off and on and change colour and tone depending on the part of the song she sings. It is very generic and maybe this is to focus eyes on her but I think they could come up with something a bit more memorable and relevant.

The song starts off with a very strong bassline, reminiscent of “Titanium”. One might say the whole thing is slightly too similar to the David Guetta/Sia song. Her voice is pleasant although at times it feels like it’s slightly over accented. The chorus follows on quite nicely but the first rendition of it has an odd drum beat behind it and the song loses its early momentum. The repetition of the final line also makes you remember the title of the song even more. The song builds well although the ending is a little wet – that said at least it is an actual proper ending.

It must be said that ARD and its subsidiaries had been burned by the national final controversies over the past few years (internal selection then de-selection of Xavier Naidoo, and of course Kummert-gate) having a different kind of process was needed – just not THIS one. The show went on far too long, had too many voting rounds and was kind of unfair on the contestants not even allowed to sing an ESC song. Probably just having 4 of them to start with and getting them to sing both songs would have been enough and lasted 2 hours instead of 3.

This is not a bad song sung by quite a nice girl and I think this is very much an act in progress. Much will change between now and May. First of all we need to get used to listening to the recorded version of the song rather than the live band version. Secondly, she needs a better look – both in terms of styling but also in terms of stage craft, camera angles and engaging with the audience. She needs to stay personally and likeable but also make her movements more fluid and less amateur. Germany are not going to win with this one, however they also won’t come last like in 2015 and 2016… and that might just be enough to keep them happy.

ARTIST - Levina

SONG - Perfect Life

MUSIC - Lindsey Ray, Lindy Robbins, Dave Bassett

LYRICS - Lindsey Ray, Lindy Robbins, Dave Bassett

FRANCE

The French entry was revealed on February 9^th via Eurovision.tv. As with the previous 2 entries the singer and song was internally selected by the French broadcaster France Télévisions. The selected act is Alma and she will be singing the all French language entry “Requiem”

The entry was initially posted as a music video but later that day a video surfaced of her performing the song live at the melty Future Awards which is where I will be taking most of my cues from, Alma is dressed quite plainly in a short blue dress and strappy shoes. Although she stays still on the spot she is quite active and gets involved in the song. The background is quite generic with strips of coloured light which was probably more geared towards suiting the whole show and not her performance. During the main bridge, she is joined on stage a by two dancers who mainly dance together in loose tango fashion. There are backing singers on the track and these will need to be factored in at some point.

The song starts off and is quite moody but slightly lacking in tune. The bridge is the part that starts to grab your attention as the constant change of tone is very engaging and you can also start to figure out what she is saying. However, this part would sound very bad if sung out of tune. The chorus is not bad but not exactly singable.  In fact, the chorus most stands out when at the very end of the song she just sings the first part of each line. The whole thing has quite a memorable feel about it which may make it stand out.

On one side this feel like this is a work in progress. I give her respect for performing this live but she needs work vocally. I also suspect that ‘the show’ will be much more polished and eye catching than this. The song, especially coming after the success of Amir in 2016, feels quite filmic and possibly sounds more in tone to Patricia Kaas’ ballad from 2009.

My initial reaction to this was that if felt similar - too similar -  to Stromae’s “Tous les memes”. Now, what his song lacks in tune, it more than makes up for it in attitude, energy and pure storytelling. The more I hear “Requiem” the more I notice that these things are lacking. Part of me thinks that on a first listen – and many viewers first listen will be in the grand final – many might think this is contemporary, original and striking and might get quite a few votes. But many, like myself, may find it a little to derivative and lacking in ooomph. I think this will be a bit of a fan fave, and possibly a song juries might enjoy, but a result like last year looks quite unlikely. Unless there is quite a radical staging upgrade, I can’t see this leaving the right hand side of the scoreboard.

ARTIST - Alma

SONG -Requiem

MUSIC - Nazim Khaled

LYRICS - Nazim Khaled

SWITZERLAND

The Swiss Final was held on February 5th at the SRF TV Studios in Zürich and hosted by Sven Epiney. The winner, solely chosen by televoting, was Timebelle with the song “Apollo”.

Most of the camera work is focused on Miruna, the singer, although there is also a drummer, a pianist and three backing singers, all very badly lit. She stands in the centre of the stage in a strappy and high-slitted red dress and barely moves. She does however have a large range of arms and hand movements at her disposal. Behind her, the main motif is that of different shades of roses. This is then exacerbated at the 2:20 mark when red confetti streams over her like red rose petals.

The song starts off quite gentle then powers up into the first chorus. The verses are pretty tuneless but also fairly predictable in terms of progression. There is quite a jump melodically into the chorus and the pitch starts higher than you would expect. What jars is that she then goes even higher and the very small use of her falsetto voice feels a little uncomfortable. There is a sizable bridge section around the 1.50 mark which a) feels very early and b) the lyrics are totally indecipherable. The song is saved by the fact that Miruna can belt this out almost effortlessly.

Unfortunately, this national final continued the standard of the last 2 editions of the Entscheidungsshow - that of being really poor. The songs were passable and the artists seemed ok but the whole presentation felt very lack lustre.  It seemed quite obvious even before the live show that Timebelle would win. Partly because they had the best package but also a slight sympathy vote as they were placed second in the Swiss final in 2015, as possibly should have won then.

This is an OK ballad performed by a singer who could possibly do a lot better than this - that is about it. Apart for the singer’s ethnicity (she is Romanian, although the rest of the band is from Bern) I cannot see why anyone in the jury or televote would vote for this. Unless they redesign ‘the show’ to be more memorable or the rest of the songs chosen in the coming months are VERY dull or every other performer sings out of tune, this will be staying firmly in the semi-final.

ARTIST - Timebelle

SONG - Apollo

MUSIC - Elias Näslin, Nicolas Günthardt, Alessandra Günthardt

LYRICS - Elias Näslin, Nicolas Günthardt, Alessandra Günthardt

FINLAND

The Finnish Final was held on January 28th at the Espoo Metro Areena in Espoo, hosted by Krista Siegfrids. The winner was chosen by 10 international juries (50%) and televoting & internet voting (50%) - the internet voting was held from December 31st-January 26th as well as during the broadcast of the final. Once all the votes were cast the winner was the duo Norma John with “Blackbird”.

This was a very stark looking presentation with Lasse sat at the side playing the piano and Leena in a very Victorian-style mourning dress. The lighting is very dark and the projection behind is that of choppy seas. As the song progresses, red lights strobe on and off like a blood-lit lighthouse. You are not quite sure if the song is going to progress to be happier or be sadder. The camera work is also very stark they alternate between tight head shots of the singer and sweeping long shots of the whole stage.

The song starts off with no introduction and puts a very immediate stamp on the stage. You start to also get a kind of Adele-esque feeling about the song although Leena’s voice is very different to Adele, even though she has been styled otherwise. There is not much ‘show’ as the story of the song IS the show. Between each verse and chorus there are very slight changes to the orchestration as the song goes on. However, the instrumental from Lasse at the piano at the 2-minute mark is truly magnificent and butterfly inducing and I only wish that this was a catalyst for the show, the instrumentation or background so that something could mirror this shift in the song.

Unlike Finnish finals of the past this one a one-night final with no heats or qualification rounds. The song quality was extremely variable and it was no surprise that this song won quite convincingly. In a contest which looks like it’s turning into a sea of ballads, this could be too dour. Although this was my favourite beforehand I was a little disappointed in the visual show. Personally, during the amazing piano solo it needs to change background or colour because it then starts to feel like it’s going on and on. I also feel a slight change of orchestration during the end chorus would make the ending more definite and more final.
This ws easily the best song in the show and I was very pleased that it won. I think that the song is very relatable to the general public but also shows enough singwriting and musical ability to be a hit with juries, To my eyes and ears this is a total Marmite song – you either love it or hate it. This will either flop spectacularly in the semi-final and not qualify or this will be top 3. Which one that will be is anyone’s guess.

ARTIST - Norma John

SONG - Blackbird

MUSIC - Lasse Piirainen, Leena Tirronen

LYRICS - Lasse Piirainen, Leena Tirronen

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK Final was held on January 27th at the Eventim Apollo in London, hosted by Mel Giedroyc. The winner was chosen by an "expert" jury (50%), televoting & internet voting (50%). After the scores were added up, only with winner was revealed at that was Lucie Jones singing “Never give up on you”

This was the most plainly set of all the song on the night. Lucie is on stage alone with a very dark background and with the spotlight focused on her. The camera is very much focused in on her upper half to try and keep the TV audience connected with the story of the song. Lucie also doesn’t do a lot on stage, which might not be a good show for the people in the hall, but the close-ups will sell the song better on TV.

The song starts off with just a piano backing and Lucie singing. It certainly captures your attention in a slightly curious way. The timing of the piano almost seems a bit off and makes you wonder what is going to happen next. The song seamlessly transitions from verse to chorus and the come down back into the verse is very plain and simple.  The bridge part going into the final chorus gets is a little shaky and the story of the song gets a little lost. Lucie also needs to mind her hands as they can look a bit claw-like and spindly. She also needs to turn down the smirk she sometimes has as it can come across as bit at odds to the words she’s singing or (even worse) look cocky and aggressive. Some better camera angles and more focused choreography might help this.

On first listen to the song I assumed that after a verse or two the song would ramp up into something more orchestral or even into a “Euphoria” type trance song. But this didn’t happen. At first this left me feeling disappointed and empty however after a while this ‘trick’ of not going where I thought it would factually felt quite clever. It kept me hanging on waiting or the change… but it didn’t.

For something sent as the UK Eurovision entry, this is a proper song which is taking things seriously. Although certainly not the favourite in the hall, I would say that it definitely stood out from the crowd vocally and visually. Many have said it has a similar vibe to Mollie’s song in 2014 but I think that the providence of this song will help it more in the voting – in case you missed it the song was co-written by Denmark’s winner in 2013 - Emmelie de Forest. Only a day after winning the contest, it was already mooted that changes might be made to the song. Many commented on social media that a bigger build up or more orchestral score might improve the song more, and these pretty much mirror my feelings.

It is very early days to be making a prediction but we do know that the UK need not qualify for the final. Also we seem to be heading towards a ballad heavy year. Depending on the way you look at it a) if lots of ballads qualify, this will blend in too much OR b) if lots of ballads DNQ this *would* stand out. At best I think it’ll be at the top of the right hand side of the board. If it can score more than 150 points, it should be deemed a great success.

ARTIST - Lucie Jones

SONG - Never give up on you

MUSIC - Emmelie de Forest, Lawrie Martin, The Treatment

LYRICS - Emmelie de Forest, Lawrie Martin, The Treatment

EUROVISION YOU DECIDE

Whatta looooooooooong weekend!!!

To go through every detail of my journey would probably be a bit TMI but I will try and keep it brief-ish and keep to the main points. I left work, as I normally do, at 12.15 but that is where the normality of my Friday ended. Instead of collecting baby from the childminder, I waited by the car for my husband – he was picking Marcus up instead and needed the car seat from me. I then went to the bus stop and caught a bus into Bath. After a small walk around town and a bit of food I got the quite-packed train to Paddington. The very British way of people shuffling about in seats because people were sitting in other’s reservations is always a bit of a laugh. Right on time I arrived in the big smoke and made my way towards the tube. Now I made a bit of a mess of this as I started following the signage for ONE tube line then decided to follow the signs for a different one. This then meant that I ended up doing a full loop of the place without seeing a train… Once I worked out what I had done I found the Hammersmith and City line tube and made my way.

Then I had a short walk to the hotel. The hotel was just fine, I am sure I could have found many a fault with it but I am just not a fussy person! I always get a bit nervous when it comes to checking into places like this as I always fear I will have got something wrong or be turned away (although such a thing has NEVER happened!) The room was small but practical enough for a person by themselves staying for a night. Got in the door and started stuffing the pockets of my rucksack full of all the free stuff XD After a brief rest and a costume change I ventured out into Hammersmith.

Then I met up with some of my friends, almost all I had actually never met in person before but only contacted them through online platforms. As the evening progressed I met lets of different people whose pictures and profiles I’ve seen online. Although I might not have been introduced explicitly to loads of people it was really nice seeing faces I recognised (the probability of people recognising me was probably very low!!) Although I was meeting people for the same time I felt like I knew so many of them so well. I had been told that ESC events were really great things ad that the fans are really nice people – and now I can actually say this is true.

On a slight tangent I’d really like to talk about the Hammersmith Apollo itself. First of all is a beautiful grand building inside and out although there is one slight problem about the outside  - THE GREAT BIG FLYOVER STUCK RIGH IN FRONT OF IT!!!!! I loved all the Art Deco features and although the inside looked lime green from the inside it was more of a mint/apple green which was much more tasteful. There were some lovely light features in the auditorium which were also highlighted during the show.

So let’s get on with the actual night.

When we got there Scott Mills was doing a Q&A session with Jon Ola Sand (the man in charge of the European Broadcasting Union), Alexander Rybak (winner for Norway in 2009) and Nikki (half of the Azeri winning act in 2011) Now I could have stayed and watched but I needed the loo… However I did take a few piccies.

(PLEASE NOTE – this was the camera on my new phone that I have only had for a couple of weeks and so they are not *brilliant* quality)

We then got into the auditorium and found a spot near the back which although far from the stage had a pretty decent view. The warm up guy was doing well trying to whip up a frenzy, however making everyone sing “One step out of time” *punch punch* is not exactly the best… That said, the introduction of Mel and the judges got the audience well fizzed up. Eurovision classics filled the air such as ”Save all your kisses for me” “Making your mind up” “Puppet on a String” and “Diva” (although disappointingly the English version – I can only sing it in the original Hebrew!) The show started promptly at 7.30pm although the intro had been pre-recorded a few minutes earlier. I felt that the show (at least in the hall) was well run and we thought through. It was nice seeing at the bits that you |don’t see when the camera if focused somewhere else.

The show then started with a bang with this guy....

Oh my word he was good! Part of me was really honoured to see him perform in the flesh and you can really tell thathe is a quality performer. It would be a real shame if we never saw him again either as a singer and/or songwriter in Eurovision again.That will be a performance I will hold i my hert for a verylong time. After all the introductions were done and dusted it was finally time to get on with the show!

Another slight tangent here – after I had heard the songs on Radio 2 I has the overall feeling that 1) these were not bad songs but 2) they sounded very over-produced and flat. This lead me to hoping that seeing them in the flesh would sway me one way or the other.

As it turned out – this was the case… but not always in the ways I had expected

1)      I wish I loved you more – this visually looked stunning in the hall wth the black and gold background. I also liked the choreography of the backing singers. However Holly absolutely smashed it vocally in the hall.

2)      Light up the world – He sounded very weak at the start and didnlt get better. Danyl did the Basim poopy step dance which is never a good look. A good group effort in the flesh but a bit cheesy for me and ESC.

3)      I will never give up on you – this looked very odd on a big stage with her being alone on stage and little movement but was atmospheric and you could hear a pin drop. She also filled the place with her voice.

4)      Freedom Hearts – the place literally buzzed as the bass thundered through you. She looked a bit awkward choreographcally and was dressed like a slutty Selma. The flag waving at the end started far too late.

5)      What are we made of – felt like a bit of a come down after the previous songs. Looked and felt very empty and although his voice was strong. Although I liked the song beforehand the 1st verse went on far too long.

6)      I don’t wanna fight – this was very much the crowd fave and got cheers throughout. She looked a bit messy and the Frank Spencer backing didn’t help. I couldn't tell you how good she was at the time due to all the shouting!

In fact, the show flowed really well until the interval acts started. The Vamps were pretty good although I am guessing I was not the only one in the audience wondering what the hell they were doing there. I really enjoyed the reprise of “Love, Love Peace, Peace” which they showed on the big screen although this was possibly down to the fact the crowd in the hall went absolutely bonkers. How I wished they had shown the replay from the theatre’s point of view. It felt so alive! Possibly the nearest I will ever get to seeing Mans and/or Petra on a Eurovision stage.

The actual result was so very stressful – the pause before the announcement seemed to go on forever! For me the right person and right song won. It was my fave beforehand so was really pleased to see it get through. Needless to say I was a little bit shocked. Firstly because the crowd reaction made me thing that Salena was going to win but secondly (and I don’t know if you could pick up this from home) but once the result was announced people started booing. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m one who like a good boo, and I would even encourage ’political booing’. Hhowever there was nothing that this girl had done or said to give cause for others to boo. BOO TO YOU :P

After the show was done, we went to the Hop Poles pub where the room upstairs had been reserved as an ESC after party venue. Ohhhhhhhh it was sooooooo good. It was like a dream. I was singing and dancing along with my faves (and even some of my non-faves) and it was really great being in the presence of people who felt the same way as me. I often think about doing things like karaoke but most of the songs I would want tossing would be ‘obscure Eurovision songs’ and they’d never be on the list. In that moment I was belting my heart out to so many choooons…. It was a bit like a primal scream but in friendlier song form…. But it had been a long day having been up since just before 6am and I got pretty knackered fairly quickly and finally got back to my hotel around 11pm.

After a quick shower, a bit of fried food, a few nice drinks and Channel 4 +1 I finally got to bed…. Not that I slept well. Not so much because the bed was awful, more that fcat that my head was buzzing and I was very aware that I was in a different room PLUS my feet were throbbing XD I ended up getting up about 6.30am and watching Cbeebies. Baby or no baby, old habits die hard! I then got changed and went to breakfast around 8am. Although the food was nothing special I was kept entertained by the TV showing news on BBC One. The ‘tough talking’ of Trump and his cronies, especially regarding the travel bans seemed s at odds with the environment I was in. Most of the staff were Eastern European or of sub-continental background, a few of the guests had Australian accents and the shops up and down the street reflected a wide range of countries and cultures. If there was ever a moment when one could fully understand that that man was talking complete bollocks – this was it.

After breakfast, I decided to leave my stuff at the hotel and have a walk up and down the main street. Everything was still closed, apart from a few food/eatery places, the traffic was very light and not many people about. I took my camera with me and took some pics of the local place names, sights and signs. It was nice to get out in London whilst not so busy, it can be quite a stifling place when it is in full gear.

My plan from here on in was a little sketchy – all I knew was that I had to be in Paddington by just before 2pm. I checked out of the hotel at 10am and walked down towards the Apollo by this time most of the shops were now opened. I went to the German ‘Bäkehaus” and go the husband a back of pretzels then popped into a number of charity shops where I found a small Miffy lunchbox that I could give to Marcus. After that I  then did small pilgrimage to site I has googled the previous evening. For those of you confused by the reference this the site of the bench used tin the opening credits of “Bottom”. The original bench was moved many years ago but after Rik Mayall’s death a replacement was produced and installed in his memory.

I then went to have a look around the small shopping centre next to the tram station. It was here I would see something that literally knocked me for six.

HEMA…IN THE UK...I WAS STANDING NEXT TO A...HEMA

To the general public going about their daily business, I probably looked like I was having some kid of mental break down or just been told some awful news, I stood outside the shop and literally cried in a mildly panicked fashion. I even phoned my husband in an effort to calm myself down – and discuss a shopping list XD I walked out with a huge bag of stuff. I could have spent 3,4,5 times as much but heaving it all around London AND get on the train AND the bus was never going to be a good move. After that I then got a bus northwards for another pilgrimage site… You either get it or you don’t…

I then got the bus to Paddington and got myself some take away fayre (as well as using their toilets!). As it was far too early to wait around in the station itself I walked up the road to Merchant Square and the Paddington Basin. I would imagine that on a weekday this place is filed with business types but at the weekend it seemed a world away from the inner city. It was also nice to see so many canal boats here. In fact although I knew this place existed I never knew the canal was here. I would imagine long walks up and down it are lovely in the summer.

And so the time came to board the train. Although all the seats had reservation tickets on it, barely any of them in our carriage were actually used. Once at Bath, I walked the few metres to the bus station, got the bus back to Peasedown where I had left the car and drove straight home.

And then I because plain old mummy again. Oh don't get me wong I missed my husband and my little boy greatly but I guess until you push yourself and test the boundaries one never knows how far you can go. I missed them, but I was so busy and in an odd kind of way it was nice to be Ann "The Eurovision Fan" rather than Ann - the woman what works at school or Ann - the mummy and wife. It just feltso free to be doing things that I genuinely love and for someone who feel like I have very few close friends I felt like I was surrounded by allies and fellow followers of the cause. I did make me feel a bit silly that I was nervous and apprehensive before hand.

I just want t say a BIG thank you to everybody I saw and met last weekend - you made that day so special to me. I am going to try to make sure that this is NOT my last Eurovision event although may be my only event of this year. If the BBC decide to have another UK national final I will try my hardest to be there and if Eurovision even winds its way to these shores I will try to make the leap.
It is a distant memory now.... but a very treasured one x