The Polish final "Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję" was held on February 26th at Studio Transcolor in Warsaw, hosted by Ida Nowakowska, Aleksander Sikora and Malgorza Tomaszewska. There were two rounds of voting - firstly to establish a top three then another to select a winner. Both rounds used a 50/50 mix of sms voting and jury vote. The winning act was Blanka singing "Solo"
Blanka Stajkow was born in Szczecin to a Polish mother and Bulgarian father. She was encouraged by her family from an early age to try things as diverse as judo and disco dancing. Through watching MTV as a youngster this inspired Blanka to try and make it in the music industry writing her first song when 13. In 2021,competed in the Polish version of the Top Model franchise but did not make onto the final roster. She then released her first official single, "Better".
The song as a slight reggae feel and the background of a slightly jungle feel mirrors this hot summer feel. She also has her name in lightboxes att he back of the stage. Blanka is wearing a short shop and skirt which has a silvery white sheen. She is joined early in the song by 4 female dancers and all of them are dressed in a kind of colour but with sherbet pink jackets. The song has a verse-pre chorus-chorus structure and these parts flow well into each other although there is a noticeable pause before the chorus proper. This roundel is repeated again before a staccato bridge and a final chorus. From start to finish, Blanka and the girls do quite an involved dance routine.
A lot needs to be done before this gets to Liverpool. Vocally her voice is not good. The start of the song seemed very out of key, almost shouty, and I would almost suggest bringing the song up a tad as it almost feels too low for her. At points her voice seems overly accented (and not in a good way). The lyrics of the song are rather trite and one dimensional. The song is performed quite straight and one might be a bit more forgiving if the performers showed a sense of humour or playfulness about the stock, predicable lyrics. The stage show needs a real overhaul. The outfits need to be less fussy and the choreography much tighter. Maybe Blanka could use this opportunity to stand still and make a connection down the camera.
This is a rather dull and safe performance. Although this song has become a bit of a viral hit in Poland, hence its win at the national final, there is very little about this that grabs you or entices you to keep with it or vote for it. The song is not bad, but in the realm of Eurovision this might be the kind of thing I might see and hear at the Junior show. It is a nice radio-friendly song but offers no personality or character. I can imagine the youth of Poland wanting to vote for this in the national final but, thinking about the broader and slightly older crowd that will be watching this in Europe, I am sure the appeal will be a lot less at the actual contest. Eurovision is at a point where culture and authenticity is a big selling point and this entry song provides neither of these, in fact some may even see this as co-optation. Will the Polish diaspora get this out of it's semi? Possible but I hope not.
ARTIST - Blanka
SONG - Solo
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - M. Broberg, M. Górecki, M. Puchalski, B. Rzeczycki, B. Stajkow, J. Sundberg, Tribbs
No comments:
Post a Comment