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
No comments:
Post a Comment