MOLDOVA 2021

The Moldovan song was released on March 4th, with the release of the official music video on youtube. Natalia Gordienko who had won the Moldovan national final in 2020 was selected to try again in 2021, however this time round her song was also selected internally. Her song is called "Sugar". 

The video is set in a pink studio with a 'sweets' theme. Natalia is dressed in a light blue bodice with a lacy top, blue ankle socks and rather large platform shoes. During the song she is joined my male dancers in pink and female dancers who are dressed as ice cream cones. There is also a shot of a man who she is singing to the song to/about. At the end of the song Natalia rips of the man's face to reveal that his head is made of rainbow cake and starts to eat it.

The song is full of short sharp shifts of rhythm which keeps you on your toes but also makes it lacks flow, build and definition. It starts with a short verse supported by a simple beat and during the pre-chorus the beats become more syncopated. Next is an instrumental brass earworm incorporating a simple dance routine (if not a slight rip off of On Fire from last year) We then have the chorus which is sung using her full voice before another go at the brassy earworm. The next verse is even shorter than the last one (and barely registers) before going straight into the pre-chorus, chorus and brass refrain. The comes a rather oddly placed bridge which really halts the flow before a final brass part to the end.

Natalia Gordienko is a seasoned performer and has been singing and taking part in competitions since she was 15. Back in 2006 she took part in the Eurovision Song Contest taking the stage with Arsenium and Connect-R with the song "Loca" only coming 20th out of 24 songs in the final. Although this was not the best result she came back the next year to place 1st in the prestigious "New Wave" contest which has been the springboard for many Eastern European artists. She has  released many different songs, in English, Russian and Romanian but not with much chart success.

This song has been masterminded by Phillip Kirkorov and Dimitris Kontopoulos who have had a major hand in a number of significant Eurovision entries over the past two decades. and have a definite style of song and visual production. However this really not my style and I find the production of this video really off-putting. I wish Natalia actually sang most of the song rather than the croaky 'ickle gurl' voice she seems to out on for the most part. I also find her styling really far too provocative, not to mention female backing dancers just being a pair of legs while the men get normal costumes. I feel like people will like this song because of the production and the stable it comes from rather than the singing and performing prowess of Natalia herself. As for the song itself, its structure is all over the place and feel like it is several parts put together with no focal point. I wonder if this song is a little too soulless or lacking character and oooomph. Compared to her 2020 song this feels a little tacky and Natalia has turned into a  "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"

ARTIST - Natalia Gordienko
SONG - Sugar
WRITING CREDITS - Mikhail Gutseriev, Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulos, Sharon Vaughn