It's the run up to Christmas so here is the extra (unwanted) present that is Junior Eurovision!
I am not one of the biggest lovers of jESC as I think they best years of the contest were long long ago and I find that the infiltration of the adult songwriters has made the contest something different to what I feel it should be. Anyway, here are my views of this year's songs (I use that term very VERY lightly). There are based partly on the official videos as well as the rehearsals video on the junior eurovision website
01 CYPRUS Nicole Nicolaou "I Wanna Be a Star"
A nice enough song, giving the contest an energetic start.
The orangey stage outfits makes it feel like summer! However she seems very
nervous and at times it almost looks likes she’s forgotten what she’s there for.
The whole thing doesn’t have enough oomph to be remembered by the end.
02 POLAND Alicja Rega "Mój Dom"
She is alone on stage in a very simple but beautiful dress
with a matching background. The ballad is quite a gear shift from the opening
number. Its structure is quite complicated, and although it shows off her voice
very well, I still cannot remember note of it. May do well in the web vote.
03 NETHERLANDS Fource "Love Me"
So, judging purely from a ‘junior’ POV this will most likely
appeal to the young impressionable teenage girl audience. However knowing that
most viewers for this show aren't teenage girls, most people will wonder if the
children of NKOTB have re-imagined the brand. Yes, but also definitely no.
04 ARMENIA Misha "Boomerang"
Don’t make it too obvious you don’t want to win, right? In summary – a very small and young boy with
long hair floating on a hoverboard singing about a hunting implement in the
time signature of 6/8… Yeah, right that’s JUST what junior Eurovision needs
right now… no.
05 BELARUS Helena Meraai"I Am the One"
Finally one of the big hitters. The performance of this is a
little static and I would love to see her move off her podium but her voice
carries off the song with ease. The pink piece of fabric she is wafting gets
more and more annoying the more I watch it although its colour is outstanding.
06 PORTUGAL Mariana Venâncio "Youtuber"
After 10 years away they return with this… Really?!?!? On
the plus side this is a very different song to anything in the show and the
beat will get you moving along. The plot of the song is fairly obtuse and very
repetitive. However props to Mariana for selling this song in front of a poo emoji.
07 IRELAND Muireann McDonnell "Súile Glasa"
This is such a sweet, sweet song, and for these reasons it'll be totally lost. The chorus and it’s ooh-oh-oooh-oh’ earworm is addictive but
not annoying. She has a very distinctive rocky/pixie look and doesn’t look
like a stage school produced thing. There are other colours apart from
turquoise, Ireland….
08 FYR MACEDIONIA Mina Blažev "Dancing Through
Life"
The structure of this song is not too far from the Belarus
entry but Mina’s performance is more in your face and engaging. That said, I am
not a big fan of the mini-skirt/plastic-mac combo as a stage costume. The chorus
is very memorable but the rest of the song is just too weak.
09 GEORGIA Grigol Kipshidze "Voice of the Heart"
Erm, not sure I watched this one… *watches it
again* Even though I have just watched it still cannot remember anything about
it apart from the fact that those backing singers dresses are a bit too short
for my liking and they need to stay still. I *think* there was a song *shrugs
shoulders*. Not my thing.
10 ALBANIA Ana Kodra "Don't
Touch My Tree"
Woah, that voice comes out of THAT tiny body?!?!? The song
is fairly innocuous although the tune flows nicely. Ana roars through the
higher notes and pulls some quite fierce facial expressions and hand gestures.
Her dress is very pretty but also overwhelms her slightly too.
11 UKRAINE Anastasiya Baginska "Don't Stop"
All I have is questions - Why is there a boy in a tree? What is going on with her hair? What is she (not) wearing)? Like a few of the
contests offerings I find myself too distracted to even concentrate… Oh hang on
the song has finished and once again I don’t remember a jot of that at all.
12 MALTA Gianluca Cilia "Dawra
Tond"
OK the song is earwormy but the fact it’s for Junior
Eurovision means I can be a bit more lenient. However Gianluca’s performance
does my head in. Yes, I can see he’s trying to be a the ‘cheeky chappy’ but his
OTT mature screams ‘stage school’ BTW girls – the skirts are *FAR* too short.
Urgh.
13 RUSSIA Polina Bogusevich "Wings"
This song is getting a lot of the love at the moment and I
can see why. The whole performance, to my eyes, is confusing – thanks Sia (not) – and I found myself focusing on the dancing/performance behind Polina rather than
her song. It may well be a serious topic but less is more sometimes.
14 SERBIA Irina
Brodić & Jana Paunović "Ceo svet
je naš"
Now *this* is proper jESC fayre with added gender bending!
Electro Velvet Juniors! On the whole this is very sweet and inoffensive but
the performance does look a little parochial compared with the
production values gone before it. On the other side it is possibly the most
relatable song of the show
15 AUSTRALIA Isabella Clarke "Speak Up"
This is a very straightforward, radio-friendly pop song and
probably the most commercial song of the night. The performance is quite busy
but has a steady stream of ideas which link to the song – yes it benefits from
being entirely in English. Their best chance of a Eurovision win to date.
16 ITALY Maria Iside Fiore "Scelgo (My Choice)"
This is bog standard Italian balladeer stuff and if you are
into this you are going to love it. If not it is going to sound like every
other Italian ballad – but sung by a child. Not quite as strong as their winner
a few years ago. It feels a bit of a non-descript ending, compared to the 2
songs previously.
If you visit vote.junioreurovision.tv you will see a short
video containing clips from their rehearsal shoots. You can then vote for your
favourites from any country in the world!!!
I voted, in no particular order… Belarus (the fave I would most
like to win), Australia (if they are going to win an event, I’d rather it was
this one), Ireland (this is by far my favourite song) and Portugal (if they do
really badly they will never come back so a vote from the head rather
than the heart)
This all said once they are all on stage and I see and hear the whole songs from start to finish there is a very good chance I might change my mind!