LITHUANIA

The Lithuanian Final was held on February 23rd, hosted by Gabriele Martirosianaite & Giedrius Masalskis. Before the final there were 4 quarter finals and 2 semi finals. The winner was chosen by televoting (50%) & an "expert" jury (50%). The winning act was Jurijus with “Run with the lions”

Jurijus is alone on stage and is dressed casually in black clothing. As the song starts, he is shrouded in darkness with very little going on around him however there is quite a lot of camera changes which creates tension and build up. As he reaches the chorus, beams of light shine behind him which explodes into the next part. During the chorus the camera trickery continues while the backdrop becomes a blotchy yellow but returns to black for the verses.

The song is an electronic ballad which relies a lot on Jurijus’ strong falsetto range. The verses are performed in two halves, the first in his lower register and the second in his falsetto whilst the pre chorus waivers between the two. The chorus is mostly in his chest voice which makes it stand out and be more powerful. Just before the 2 minute mark Jurijus leaves the mic stand behind and engages in some oh-oh-ohing in his falsetto voice which I feel goes on a bit too long. There is one last repetition of the chorus before returning to his oh-oh-ohing and leads into a rather unexpected ending. This is a performance for camera, rather than one for those in the hall.

Jurijus has a great connection with the camera, has a relaxed easy style on stage and he certainly comes across as laidback and likeable. The song itself really shows off his vocal range and ability but the fact is the whole thing comes across as very bland and flat. Part of this is down to the stage setup, the generic nature of the backdrop and the lack of movement on stage. For a song alluding to lions, I would’ve thought some kind of motif towards this might be on stage but no (even something similar to the big cat backdrop of Vanilla Ninja). Although Jurijus needs backing singers, he doesn’t really need them, or any other kind of distraction, to sell the song as he does a good enough job. As far as the song goes, I feel the oooooohing in the middle is too long, should be cut down and the final chorus extended slightly instead.

This needs a lot of work and almost all of that is on the visuals and set up of the performance. I have every confidence in Jurijus’ abilities but wonder if something creative enough can be thought of to levitate the whole thing into something really memorable as right now I can’t see this qualifying.

           

ARTIST –  Jurijus

SONG – Run with the lions

MUSIC -  Ashley Hicklin, Eric Lumiere, Pele Loriano

LYRICS - Ashley Hicklin, Eric Lumiere, Pele Loriano

DENMARK

The Danish Final was held on February 23rd at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, hosted by Johannes Nymark & Kristian Gintberg. The winner was chosen by SMS and mobile app voting (50%) & a jury (50%) in two rounds of voting - the first to select the top 3 and the second to select the winner. Going to Israel is Leonora with the song “Love is forever”

At the start Leonora a stood behind what seems to be a video screen which is blue with clouds, a dove and a giant chair on it. It soon comes to pass that this is on-screen trickery as we discover she’s actually standing with the audience behind her. She then magically levitates onto an actual big chair like the one in the projection which she sits for the rest of the song. Half way though she is joined a male and female who use ladders to reach her then sit either side swaying to the song.

The song is surprisingly straight forward going verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus although there are very simplistic but effective variations when she sings. Her vocal style is quite talkative but this almost takes away from the fact that the range of the song is quite wide. The verses are quite low whist the chorus goes right up and the end. The chorus has 2 parts and I personally feel the second part is much stronger and that the song title ‘a taste of love’ is more memorable. The final verse/chorus is a little bit different to the rest. This is when the dancers come on which adds extra movement to the whole thing but also there is a language change. From English, she starts singing in French but also adds in a smattering of German and Danish. She also starts the final chorus in French too. I feel that having more of the song in French would not only be more charming but make it more memorable.

The fact is this song is very, very Danish. I find the whole thing just a little bit too twee for my liking although not all of this is to do with the song. The song itself has a great structure and part of me very much appreciates the lack of pre-choruses, instrumental breaks and other faff. I think Leonora has a nice listenable voice and I think her styling makes her look like a 1940/50s Emmelie de Forrest. My main problem here is with the staging. I hate the faux background at the start, the chair motif is very odd and the pointless ladders and people at the end is totally unnecessary. I could go more into detail about this but part of me wonders how much of the chair levitating bit will actually be possible on the Eurovision stage, not just from a technical POV but also from a logistical stance (Copenhagen to Tel Aviv is a long way to transport a huge chair and lift). I personally think it’s an interesting gimmick but doesn’t go with the thread of the song. Being sat on that big chair actually makes her look quite lonely and isolated, not like she’s surrounded by love.

This has its place at Eurovision and I think it is nice to have something a little more lighthearted at the contest, but if this keeps to the same setup as DMGP then this will be a song I’ll keep my eyes closed for. Right now it’s a big no but there is a lot of room for improvement. Please go back to the drawing board and add more French!

ARTIST – Leonora

SONG – Love is forever

MUSIC -  Lise Cabble, Melanie Wehbe, Emil Rosendal Lei

LYRICS - Lise Cabble, Melanie Wehbe, Emil Rosendal Lei

HUNGARY

The Hungarian Final was held on February 23rd at the MTVA Studios in Budapest, hosted by Bogi Dallos & Gábor Alfréd Fehérvári. Before the final there were heats and semi-finals to get to a final of 8. The winner was chosen in two rounds of voting. In the 1st round the top 4 were chosen by the jury then in the 2nd round the winner was selected by 100% televoting. Going to Eurovision – again – is Joci Papai with the song "Az én apám" (My father)

Joci is on stage alone dressed in black but also barefoot. He starts sat on the edge of the stage but gradually moves to centre stage. Behind him the video screen backdrop is very nondescript with lines of dotted lights loving across. This makes Joci the focus of the performance which has it’s plus points but also magnifies some of his issues.

Joci's self-penned song is about the memories he has of his father and how uses the memories in the present. It is obviously an emotionally charged song and even though it is in Hungarian you seem to understand this is a contemplative song. The song is unusual as there’s no introduction and goes immediately into a verse. He sings two verses then goes into the chorus, the verses being more down beat and the chorus have more of a major chord feeling. After this Joci does some warbling, which kind of works as it gives the song space before the backing track becomes a bit more powerful. He then progresses with another verse and chorus, finishing with another 40 seconds of warbling. Not only is this far too long bit it feels like it is on the verge of being too high and you end up on the edge of you seat feeling rather more uncomfortable than you should. I’d almost prefer an extra verse or extra bit of chorus followed by a shorter warble.

Because the song and performance are quite plain, there is a lot of scope for change and improvement. In some ways, I like the fact it is very minimalistic and Joci has good command of the audience and camera but I feel that the sentiment of the song could be lost quite easily. Maybe some family pictures behind him might help or possibly even some dancers, right now I’m not quite sure. The only other thing that might make the whole thing more interactive is by incorporating the backing singers needed into the show and using dance/gesture/mime to act out the song, becoming a more ensemble performance

This is, technically, a really nice song and has great instrumentation and the syllabic nature of Hungarian really complements the phrasing and tune of the song. However it is nowhere near as instant as “Origo” his successful entry from 2 years ago which is why I think something more visual might be needed to make it click to a wider audience. It’s a good, solid song but unfortunately I think this might miss out

                                               

ARTIST – Joci Papai

SONG – Az én apám (My father)

MUSIC -  József Pápai

LYRICS - József Pápai

GERMANY

The German Final was held on February 22nd at Studio Berlin Adlershof, hosted by Barbara Schöneberger & Linda Zervakis. The winner was chosen in 3 parts: one part televoting, one part expert jury and one part international ESC Fans jury. The winning act was S!sters with the song “Sister”

The duo are dressed in black on top of a platform. At the start, the plce is covered in dryice and around them are red spots of light. The background fluctuates between beams of lights to interchangeable female faces on the background wall during the chorus. As the song progresses the square platform rotates so they can move but also looks like they are standing still from a camera point of view. The girls walk in time with the music as well as some brief glimpses of interaction between themselves, less so with the camera.  

The theme of the song is about females standing up for one another and being mutually supportive rather than bringing each other down which mirrors the impassioned performance that follows. The song starts off quietly with Carlotta singing solo first then Laura singing by herself. The pre-chorus and chorus are sung together. The backing track fluctuates throughout the song making mini build ups and drops in the first verse and chorus which makes you wonder where it is going to go. The second verse is followed by what seems to be slightly truncating chorus, mainly filled with shouts of “Sister!”, but is actually a very very very long chorus which lasts over a minute of the song. They end on a softer shout of ‘Sister’ which kind of works but also feel a bit of an odd ending. This could sound awful if they push it too much or  runout of puff by the end All in all, their voices are quite strong and they harmonise very well together.

This is most definitely a show of two halves. The two girls are really good singers and certainly have chemistry with each other and that was possibly something that the jury and televote connected to. My main issue with the song is that it is very insular. It’s all about the girls singing to each other and actually when they sing to the camera or to the audience it just doesn’t feel right. The staging is simple but it has been done before at Eurovision (plus do they really want to haul that all the way to Israel?) and to my eyes if they keep the set up thy need to work full time on the choreography which will need to be tight. Ideally, they’ll scrap this idea and go for something more in tune with the message of the song. Moreover the girls need more connection with the camera as they need to get the send the feeling they have to each other down to the people at home to get them to vote.

This is not a bad song, and the girls are not bad singers but this, in relation to what else they had to choose AND the songs already chosen, this is very plodding and very boring. Juries will like this better than the televoters. This won’t be troubling the left hand side of the scoreboard and probably end up with a position starting with a 2.

                           
                    

ARTIST – S!sters

SONG – Sister

MUSIC -  Laurell Barker, Marine Kaltenbacher, Tom Oehler, Thomas Stengaard

LYRICS - Laurell Barker, Marine Kaltenbacher, Tom Oehler, Thomas Stengaard

ROMANIA

The Romanian Final was held on February 17th at Sala Polivalenta in Bucharest, hosted by Aurelian Temisan & Ilinca Avram. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals where the field was cut in half. The winner was chosen by 6 lots of international juries and one set of public televoting. The winning act was Ester Peony with the song “On a Sunday”

The visual thread through this song is a really strong although also quite static. The vast video wall behind the people on stage was used in full effect. Starting from the view inside a dilapidated or haunted house, this shifts through to a stormy forest scene then goes back to the house but from the outside. At the end, the house falls down. As for Ester, she is sat on a rather large chair quite far forward on the stage, dressed in a part see through red dress and her arms showing intertwined branches and red berries. She is joined by 2 backing singers in black one side and by a guitarist and 2 drummers on the other. No-one really moves about, all the moving is done though the video on the back and on the floor.

The whole song has a very bluesy drum beat throughout and keeps the song plodding along and also keeps that suspicious quality about it. The structure of the song is also quite unusual and doesn’t quite go where you think it will go. What also makes this a little different is that the title of the song is in the verse and not the chorus! The song goes through the failed relationship between the singer and her beloved and she seems mad!!!! The verses really carry the story of the situation whilst the chorus, although repetitive, don’t really have the impact that the rest of the song has. By the end of the song Ester uses much more of her higher register which borders on operatic but come across as a little bit shrill and thin.

This was very much a surprise winner. Everybody was expecting this to be a duel between Bella and Laura but from nowhere, Ester claimed the prize. There was some controversy around her victory because she did not do very well in the Romanian televote but absolutely stormed the international juries, - Romania can’t vote for their own song at Eurovision so I don’t see why this is such a bad thing! Also, her performance in the final was so vividly different to the qualification show I think it really sparked interest and engaged more than was expected. Although the video projection was good I found the whole house motif a bit odd, considering it’s not about a house! Also I would much prefer Ester to consider a slight wardrobe change as I found the see through bits in the skirt a little too revealing, or at least potentially so. She has an interesting voice, albeit slightly on the Marmite side, and as I pointed out earlier I think she needs to keep it a bit more restrained and not push it too much. I quite like the instrumentalists on set but it might be more menacing if at the end of the song they encircled Ester at the end !

After last year’s first ever DNQ for Romania, I think they have at least chosen a very distinctive song and performer this year and I think this should at least get them back into the final. To be honest I am not sure how this would fare in the final because she has a voice I feel some people will like and others loathe. As long as she keeps the style of this performance I don’t think she can go too wrong.

                                               

ARTIST – Ester Peony

SONG – On a Sunday

MUSIC -  Alexandra Crețu, Alexandru Șerbu

LYRICS - Ioana Victoria Badea

LATVIA

The Latvian Final was held on February 16th at the Riga Film Studio, hosted by Dagmara Legante & Ketija Šenberga. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals with four songs qualifying from each. The winner was chosen by an "expert" jury (50%) and an amalgamation of televoting/online voting/spotify listens (50%). The winning song was “That night” sung by the duo, Carousel.

The set is filmed in  slim widescreen mode and in black and white which gives it a very individual feel straight away. There are yellowing light spots, almost bokeh style, which pique your visual interest throughout, almost suggesting the colour will eventually poke through, but never does. The singer is stage front with her long haired partner on the guitar to her side. Behind them two are a drummer and double bass player but there are very few shots of the four of them together, it is mainly the duo that gets most of the airtime. Most of the movement is done though the camera as the personnel do not move. There are a good range of swooping shots, fading in at out shots as well as lots of tight face and guitar shots.

The song starts off with a very short guitar intro which has a slightly dark bluesy feel to it. Sabine has a very particular vocal style – her voice is small, almost talkative, with a croaky edge and this lends to the intimate visuals on show. The chorus itself is quite short but has a very repetitive structure and feeds in nicely to the verses. By the two minute mark one has already heard two verse/chorus packages and the last minute packs 3 more chouses, the latter with a slight melody change. The ending however is a little bit of a letdown and I wonder if the guitar could be left to fizzle out a little longer, maybe adding more of a minor chord to emphasis the words of the song.

Since the ‘Supernova’ format has been used in Latvia to select their Eurovision song, they have certainly done a good job in selecting very different styles of entry, however their outcomes at the contest have been wildly different. However what can be applied to all of them – including this – is that they are very engaging. To be honest this style of song is not really my normal listening fayre but I find the whole package of this entry very beguiling and actually quite charming. I think they way the song is filmed also works with the mood of the piece and I think Sabine’s vocals are really spot on.

In many ways this reminds me a bit of ‘Calm after the storm’ in terms of presentation and musical style but unlike CATS I could actually bear watching or hearing “This night” quite a few more times. This is very likely to get the ‘Radio 2’ vote and get wide appeal from quite a few countries. I also think the juries will love this to pieces and could be a quiet piece of class that might shine out of the messiness around it. I guess the main fear with this is that it might be too quiet, too understated and end up being forgotten. This will be another one where getting out of the semi will be its true test.

                                               

ARTIST – Carousel

SONG – That Night

MUSIC -  Mārcis Vasiļevskis, Aleksandrs Volks

LYRICS - Sabīne Žug

CROATIA

The Croatian Final was held at the Marino Cvetkovic Sports Hall in Opatija on February 16th, hosted by Mirko Fodor, Iva Šulentic & Jelena Glišic. The winner was chosen via 8 regional juries (50%) and televoting (50%). Going to Tel Aviv is Roko Blažević with “The Dream”

Eighteen year old Roko is stood centre stage along for the whole performance surrounded by swathes of dry ice. At first, he sings with a mic stand then without. Behind him are videos of clouds floating by in different speeds. However the main thing that needs to be pointed out it that he is dressed totally in white and sporting a huge pair of feathered wings.

The song starts off quite mysteriously as the backing track is quite spars but also melodic. Roko starts of quite quietly through the first verse,then belts out the first rendition of the chorus. By this time wes are already halfway through the time limit and here we take a rather awkward instrumental break. Roko then revives a pre-chorus and chorus but this time in mother tongue AND with a key change sandwiched between the two. It then ends with a bit of oh-oh-ohing and a victorious fist pump.

To describe this simply, the staging is killing this. Roko is one belter of a singer and you can tell he is trying his very hardest to keep those high notes under control. But the way he has been dressed, styled and produced on set is all shades of wrong. The wings are a gimmick that a) looks awful b) has already been done at Eurovision and c) is actually affecting the singer’s integrity and message. I can predict that scenes of this will be used in the ‘isn’t Eurovision wacky!!!’ video packages regurgitated every year to so how crazy Europeans are. Change it now, PLEASE. Don’t even keep him in the white leather jacket because this song isn’t rocky or rebellious in the slightest. Put him in a white suit, tidy shirt and trousers just make him look smart and serious, make him look and feel his age!!! On the plus side,with better direction to the camera I think Roko would be able to pull off a one-man show without the need of any extra dancers, although they may make the decision to add singers for power.

This is just not my cup of tea at all. It’s over saccharine, over dramatic and really, really over-done in terms of Eurovision. Roko has been lead by his mentor Jacques Houdek and I don’t like the direction he’s been taken. Can it qualify? Possibly, although it’s only Balkan neighbour in their semi is North Macedonia and has a few other friendly countries on its side. Should it? As it is right now - absolutely not.

                                               

ARTIST – Roko Blažević

SONG – The Dream

MUSIC -  Jacques Houdek

LYRICS - Jacques Houdek, Andrea Ćurić, Charlie Mason

SLOVENIA

The Slovene Final was held on February 16th at the RTVSLO TV Studios in Ljubljana, hosted by Ajda Smrekar. The winner was chosen in two rounds of voting - in the first round an "expert" jury selected the top 2 songs and in the second round the winner was chosen just by televoting. The winners were Zara Kralj & Gašper Šantl with “Sebi” (Oneself)

The staging for this one is very atmospheric, mirroring the soundscape of the backing track. The studio floor is projected on like stars whilst the rest of the studio is dark. As the song progresses the the lights become a more intense blue and the screens behind them start showing black and white patterns and swirls. The two of them are dressed in white and in front of them in a keyboard/sampler and spend most of the song oblivious of the audience or the cameras and more interested in looking at each other in an intense way.

As a whole song, the piece doesn’t really go anywhere and stays pretty much on the same minimalist level throughout. After a 20 second intro, Zara starts singing. Her voice is very small, almost talkative, but suits the mood of the song. The verses are neither her or there but the chorus is a little more memorable. Considering the pace of the song is quite pedestrian they get 3 renditions of the chorus out over the whole 3 minutes with is pretty good. The ending of the song is pretty weak, although wit a song of this nature it is possibly hard to find any way out.

Kudos has to be given to Slovenia for going for something quite out there in terms of Eurovision. If can be firmly said that the Slovenia public were pretty happy to have this as their winner after achieving 72% of the public vote. I don’t think much needs doing to the song but there might be the odd tweak in terms of staging. There are 2 ways it could go – either pulling the lighting in tight on the couple and focus the camera onto their spot in the huge hall OR to to use dancers or video screens to make the meaning of the song clearer to the majority of people watching not fluent in Slovenian. One way or another, I think there just needs a bit more to keep the viewers at home pulled into the song before making the decision to make a cup of tea instead.

This is a beautiful song and I am really quite happy that it’ll get a chance to shine on a big stage. I think their obvious connection if filmed correctly will make an impact. But in all honesty this almost has no chance of winning Eurovision itself and is probably too introverted and arty to even get through to the final. (...but isn't this what we all said about Salvador though...) In this kind of situation I can only hope the duo has a great time and Tel-Aviv and with this opportunity to showcase their talent who knows what lies ahead next.

                                               

ARTIST – Zara Kralj & Gašper Šantl

SONG – Sebi (Oneself)

MUSIC -  Zala Kralj, Gašper Šantl

LYRICS - Zala Kralj, Gašper Šantl

ESTONIA

The Estonian Final was held on February 16th at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals where the field of 24 was cut in half. The winner was selected in chosen in two rounds of voting. In the first round the top 3 was chosen by televoting (50%) & an international "expert" jury (50%) but in the second round the winner was chosen solely by televoting. The winner was Victor Crone singing “Storm”.

The staging of the song was rather unusual and I am not sure how, or if, parts can be replicated on the Eurovision stage. He starts off playing guitar but this is ditched early on once he grabs the microphone. Behind him are diamonds and strips of neon which illuminate during the song and the crowd also had light sticks to wave about at the appropriate moments. He is joined sporadically by a female backing singer who seems to appear and disappear within a moments notice. During the last rendition of the chorus it seems (I say seems, it could be live but the timing is very tight for the turnaround) this is replaced by a pre-recorded segment where he is singing behind pictures of storms and from the top of a mountain and at the end he is back in the studio with his guitar.

The song starts off with a mid-tempo country feel, possibly because of the strumming of the guitar. After the first verse and chorus the beat kicks in a little harder and Victor starts moving around the stage more. After the second verse he repeats the short chorus twice and on the second time round the full electronic backing track comes into effect AND he sings it an octave higher than before! Because the verse and chorus length are relatively short there is a lot of repetition, and I mean *a lot* however he kind of gets away with it because the backing track alters the mood each time it is sung. Unfortunately, his voice seems to get more strained at the top notes as the song goes on and it starts to sound quite off.

This is quite the stereotypical modern Eurovision song and has a broad appeal. Victor has good stage presence but I think the staging needs paring down. I particularly don’t like the CGI part at the end of the song but maybe with the use of LED screens a similar effect might be possible to do live. I would also suggest that Victor gets himself a better stylist as he looks so nondescript on stage (a la Jan Johansen 1995). I would say that Victor’s Swedish roots might favour him in the televoting but, unfortunately, Estonia have been drawn away from the majority of the Nordic countries so it will have to qualify on pure merit rather than familiarity.

I don’t think the song is bad, but in a year where diversity and breadth of genre is very evident this comes across as quite safe, and almost bland. This is the kind of song that will do better in the final than in its semi-final IF it gets that far. I am kind of on the fence with this one but with clearer stage direction and more help in the chorus this could be much better.

                                               

ARTIST – Victor Crone

SONG – Storm

MUSIC -  Stig Rästa, Vallo Kikas, Victor Crone

LYRICS - Stig Rästa, Victor Crone, Fred Krieger

ITALY

The Italian entry was selected and confirmed on February 12^th, two days after the annual Sanremo Music Festival. Claudio Baglioni was the artistic director of the 5-day long festival, and co-hosted it with Virginia Raffaele and Claudio Bisio. 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 to whether they want to represent the country at Eurovision. During the press conference, it was confirmed that the winner would go to Tel-Aviv. The winning act was Mahmood singing “Soldi” (Money)

The Sanremo stage was rather bare and mostly constructed of different lighting patterns and effects rather than LED screens, although some acts did use on screen graphics. This however was very simplistic and actually Mahmood’s stage presence radiated down the camera. Unlike many Italian artists he is very good at finding the camera and engaging with it and I think with a bigger scope of camera angles this could become a very great tv performance. He didn’t really have any choreography on the stage but, for Eurovision, I think quite a few things could be honed and added to make the song more visually memorable.

The song starts off with a strong beat rhythm which sets a pattern for the rest of the song. In the backing track there is very little going on. Most of the time the track is minimalistic in terms of instruments and when instruments are used it merges modern and Middle Eastern rhythms and percussion to create mini crescendos. The lines in the verses are very long and syllabic and follow a similar tune. This then goes into a multi-part bridge where his voice becomes more shrill and higher before going down again for the repetitive chorus. The song is basically these different parts in slightly different orders and repetitions and is VERY earwormy. For a song that is not is a familiar tongue it isn’t half catchy – the hand claps are GENIUS and will be big in the hall.

Sanremo is really the king AND queen of Eurovision shows and this year’s production was really quite epic. Diverse yet totally Italian and could not be confused as being from anywhere else. Italy are on a roll at the moment and I think this is going to continue this run. The song is modern and has a knack of being utterly Italian yet totally relatable. Mahmood himself, and the emotion and drive of the song, gives me Stromae vibes which is right up my street. The tune of the song is mesmerising and his tone of voice is very individual and memorable. There are a few things that need to change. It is currently just under 15 seconds too long which I think is cut-able (?) without gouging its heart out. I think punctuating the hand claps with a more vivid background – or even some dancers – could also work. Having also listened to the studio version I think the addition of the orchestra when sung live added an extra layer of atmosphere. It might be worth him looking again at some parts of the backing track.

I personally think this is an absolute banger of a song and considering he is a relative newcomer to the scene (he only got his place in the main Sanremo show by succeeding in the Giovani - or newcomers - show). Much was made of the fact this did very badly compared to Ultimo and Il Volo in the public vote. A) they are established acts with ready made followings and B) the Italian public can’t vote for the Italian song at Eurovision so it actually doesn’t matter from this perspective. This could be amazing and I really, really hope it is. *clap clap*

                                               

ARTIST – Mahood

SONG – Soldi (Money)

MUSIC -  Charlie Charles, Dario "Dardust" Faini, Alessandro Mahmoud

LYRICS - Charlie Charles, Dario "Dardust" Faini, Alessandro Mahmoud

MONTENEGRO

The Montenegrin Final was held on February 9th at the RTCG TV Studios in Podgorica. In the first round the top 2 was chosen by a mixture of public, radio station jury, international and Montenegrin juries. In the second round the winner was solely chosen by SMS voting. The winner was the group D-Moll singing “Heaven”

The six-piece vocal group are all dressed in black trouser suits and are standing and sitting in various places in front of a musical stave. During the song there is very little movement apart from the odd bit of shuffling about and some rather over-theatrical interactions with each other and the camera. Although the concept is a bit naff, I feel they could have really gone over the top and tried more with the levels and movement but all in all it’s very sedentary. At the end the all join hands to (possibly) make a musical note but again this just looks odd.

The first verse and chorus of the song are quite gentle and ballady, however their performance style comes across as a bit over the top and exaggerated for the style but during the second verse the beat kicks in properly. I say ‘beat’ is is quite a simplistic and steady beat but very safe and middle of the road sounding. In fact it sounds like a lot of middling Eurovision entries from the early 2000s. The chorus is actually quite earwormy – in a cheesy kind of way – but its simplistic and predictable lyrics makes it feel very old fashioned indeed. The chorus is repeated several times during the song and by the end it feels like its gone on for hours rather than minutes. The group don't sing the song badly and most of the time is sounds quite nice however I feel that they are just 'singing' and that opportunities to harmonise and emphasis their vocal qualities are wasted on this song - or maybe they can't...

Although Montevizija was a small affair, the songs were quite diverse and so in many ways it is a shame that this, the only song in English and the safest song of the lot, won. The song is what it is and I don’t think much will or can be done to to the song but a lot could be done to make it look more modern in the presentation. If they are going to keep the ‘musical’ interpretation then they need scope to move up, down or about the stage as I feel the static nature of the performance is stifling their projection down the camera and into the audience. Ideally I could see them ditching the background and doing something totally different. As there are already 6 of them, there is no scope for adding extra backing singers or dancers so the extra dynamics needed will need to come from the band themselves.

This is possibly the most stereotypical Eurovision song chosen this year and as is looks and feels really dated. I cannot see how this will move to the Saturday night show. If this qualifies it won't becaue this is good, but that its semi final must have been really awful.

ARTIST – D-Moll

SONG – Heaven

MUSIC -  Aleksandar Miličić, Dejan Božović

LYRICS - Aleksandar Miličić, Dejan Božović

AUSTRALIA

The Australian Final was held on February 9th at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, hosted by Myf Warhurst & Joel Creasey. The winner, chosen by a 50-50 mixture of televoting and jury scoring was “Zero Gravity” by Kate Miller-Heidke.

Kate’s song and staging, on the face of it, is reminiscent of Elina’s Estonian entry last year but there are some very distinct differences. Kate’s dress is much more textured and intricate with a radiating crystal crown on hear head. Behind her and above her no less is an acrobat on a bendy pole. She mirrors some of the armography of Kate as well as mirrors the growth of the song by moving more and more as it goes along. They even interact with each other, which looks amazing. The background starts off quite blue but as the song progresses blobs of different colours start to expand so that by the end build up the whole place is vibrant pinks, greens and blues.

The song is quite hard to pigeonhole because the song and the singer seems to change genres and styles very quickly. It starts off as a almost whispery trance song with Kate explaining how she is being dragged down by the people around her. This then goes into operatic mode where she shows off her trilling a expert breath control in the chorus. The backing track goes from being low-key and electronic to being orchestral and atmospheric. This pattern is repeated again but with a much stronger beat pulse in the verse. After the second chorus the song begins it’s long build up to the ending. The backing singers sing the “nothing holding me down” line over and over again almost like an affirmation mantra whilst Kate keeps singing her ‘zero gravity’ trilling. The whole effect with the music, the acrobat and the lights really builds up to a momentous finale.

Australia’s very first national final was absolutely epic. The songs were diverse, well produced, showed great creativity but also felt very current and modern (take heed BBC!) The two pre-show favourites ended up being the top two on the night and in fact the jury and televote for Kate and Electric Fields (who came second) really was close and I honestly think ether of them would have been worthy winners. This is going to stand out a country mile. It’s like Bohemian Rhapsody on speed – especially if you need to get all facets of  the song under 3 minutes! Her voice is really listenable, the lyrics are actually quite meaningful and the tune is a low-key bop AND a hand-up lighters anthem all in one. The staging as it is, is exceptional and the song is very memorable.

Will anybody vote for this? Well I guess it depends if it unites opera, dance music, and anthem fans or alienates them. However, I feel that juries will lap this up just for the amazing vocal technique and the very skilful song writing shown inside the time limit. How to do a national final *ticked*

ARTIST – Kate Miller-Heidke

SONG – Zero gravity

MUSIC -  Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttall

LYRICS - Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttall

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK Final was held on February 8th at MediaCityUK Studios in Salford, hosted by Mel Giedroyc & Måns Zelmerlöw. In the final, each of the three songs were performed by two different artists and the expert jury decided which version would go to the public vote which would solely choose the winner. Going to Eurovision will be Michael Rice with “Bigger than us”

Michael starts off centre stage with a microphone stand. Behind him, initially in the shadows, are 4 backing singers 2 on either side. The background starts off quite starry but in the chorus the lights become bigger, more like stage lights and also has the effect of making the rectangles video screens look like skyscrapers. As the song goes on Michael moves around the front of the stage. His performance style is quite fidgety, which is not a problem, but he tends to move about the stage a little too much especially for a song of this tempo. Maybe with a bit more training and a larger selection of camera angles to choose from this might be solved.

This is a mid tempo ballad which really shows off Michael’s voice and personality. The song has a very long build up and takes a while to fully get into gear. He starts off very gently but during the chorus he uses a much bigger and louder voice. The verses use the lower part of his register and that allows him to use volume as well as pitch to differentiate the parts of the song. Cleverly the second verse is shorter than the first meaning that the second repetition of he chorus comes round quicker than you expect. The chorus is very repetitive and the fact that the title of the song is the primary lyric means it’s pretty unforgettable. After the second chorus  there is some call and response with the backing singers and his interaction with them seems genuine. After this the last minute is basically a slew of repeated choruses including key changes, hand clapping and gospel choirs. The ending, after all this, does come rather abruptly and might need a little bit of tweaking.

The national final was a bit of a mess to be honest and although the BBC had tried to make out that the format was hopefully going to shove some ‘diversity’ into the national final it actually did not thing of the sort. It was all kinds of bland. That said, Kerrie-Anne and Michael were head and shoulders above the rest of the bunch and it felt right that they won their respective duels. Michael’s performance was more powerful and his vocal prowess was much more on show which got him the win. Unfortunately it is also a very safe song and needs work to make it Eurovision ready. Hopefully they will stay away from the stereotypical makeovers the UK entries have had over the last few years.

Once again this is a very jury-friendly song and I suspect we might see him riding high, if not on the left hand side of the leader board, during the first half of the voting only to sink without a trace in the televote. If we get above 20^th this should be seen as an improvement.
Nowhere near a winner but at least this is a singer we can get behind and a song that hopefully should get some heat from the juries and from the Scandinavian countries - what on earth will happen in John Lundvik wins Melfest?!?!?!!?

ARTIST – Michael Rice

SONG – Bigger than us

MUSIC -  Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander

LYRICS -  Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander

BBC Radio Bristol - upload

Last week, I plucked up the courage to make a piece of audio for the BBC. Here in the west we have a daily show on the radio called 'Upload' and as you can guess people are invited to upload their own stuff.
Having felt a little negatively about the UK Eurovision selections this year, and being slightly buoyed by the fact my feelings seemed to be mirrored by other people, I decided to do a piece about why Eurovision has the reputation it has in the UK and how actually the people in charge of the selection process every year aren't *really* helping change this. Effectively, Eurovision has moved on but the UK selections really haven't..

You can find the "Upload with Adam Crowther" show from 1st February on BBC Sounds or you can click on the link to find my bit which is about 36.45 in https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06xf946

Feel free to link or share the piece elsewhere, especially if you are in the Eurovision community or know someone who is and might find this interesting. Remember Eurovision: You Decide is less than a week away so maybe this with tantalise your taste buds before the show itself, and with the best will in the world - I hope everything I said is proved wrong !!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to give me,  the upload show OR Adam Crowther feedback, tag us all in a post on twitter using our handles @escarmchair @bbcupload and @adam_crowther . As the saying goes every little helps get publicity to the contest!


EXTRA!!!!

If you are having trouble with the link because it has expired or are listening from outside the UK or having other issues, here is a cutting of my excerpt put on soundcloud by my lovely husband ! Now you can share the post or just share the soundcloud page