IRELAND

The Irish entry was unveiled on March 8th with the video being premiered on youtube as well as its first play on RTE Radio 1. Although the Irish delegation said they were making an internal selection, very little was known about the entry or entrant until just before the official reveal. Going to Tel Aviv is Sarah McTernan with the song “22”

The video shows Sarah on a windy beach whist singing the song. The camera also has an odd flickering filter on it which is fine at first but gets quite annoying by the end. It does however give that old film type quality which goes with the vintage feel of the song. Her performance is rather simple and gives us very few clues to staging possibilities - unlike last year’s Irish entry. She copes really well in the video keeping her hair and scarf tamed and keeps good enough eye contact with the camera. I think with fewer distractions she could be really sassy and fun on stage.

The song has a 1960’s mowtown/soul feel with a nod to modern singers like Amy Winehouse. The song is about a former love and how certain things - in this case the number 22 - remind her of them. Her voice is very much the centre of the song and the backing is very bassy and is drum heavy. There is also the presence of backing singers who, although not really very loud or prominent, give quite a lot of depth and extra rhythm to the song. The structure of the song is basically verse-chorus x3 although some of the verses are longer than others and the last chorus is a bit more free form. The guitar riff after the chorus is also a nice light touch that gives the whole thing a nostalgic and whimsical feel.

It feels like her voice is heavily synthesised to be as clear and as strong as it is and I wonder if she will sound this clear live. I could imagine this styled and performed in a slightly more old school way with Sarah at the front a couple of backing singers at the side who also do a few moves with the numbers made up with musicians. Unfortunately semi 2 is already female heavy although the fact that this song has a unique genre and styling might make is stand out a little bit more. The UK gets to vote in the semi and will definitely give this points as well the Scandinavian countries drawn in the semi so it has got a glimmer of a chance to progress. 

I like the fact that they are trying something a little bit different and I just hope they don’t go too safe with the staging. I’d love this to qualify, just to keep the diversity rate as high as possible, but something tells me this won’t quite make it. It's certainly not a winner.

ARTIST –  Sarah McTernan

SONG – 22

MUSIC -  Janieck Devy, Marcia "Misha" Sondeijker, Roel Rats

LYRICS - Janieck Devy, Marcia "Misha" Sondeijker, Roel Rats