SLOVENIA

The Slovene Final was held on February 28th at the RTVSLO TV Studios in Ljubljana, hosted by Darja Švajger, Maja Keuc, Tinkara Kovac & Nejc Šmit. 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 by televoting. The winners were Maraaya and their song "Here for you".

This year the EMA final had 8 finalists. I felt however it was a shame that the general public were only allowed to vote on the top 2 chosen by the jury. Part of me would have felt better if the choice had been between a top 3 or 4 or at least a 50/50 split decision for a superfinal.

The song was written by the duo with help from Charlie Mason - one of the co-writers of last year's winning sing. The song starts of slow and starts of unusually with the chorus. The verses are seemingly in a more minor key whilst the chorus is much more upbeat. The changes in beat are also interesting. The use of the violin solos are also very interesting if not mainly due to how it is displayed on screen. At times I feel like this could have been an old 60s or 70s number that has been remixed.

Maraaya consists of married couple Marjetka Vovk & Raay, hence the portmanteau name and have both had hands in Slovene finals in the past as well as the 2014 Junior Eurovision entry. Marjetka has a very distinctive voice quality having quite a nasal Americanised twang to the ends of her lines and particularly on high notes but this style does suit the song and gives it some kind of character. Raay is found on his keyboard/piano but does get a fair bit of camera time. A visual schtick of this song seems to be the styling of headphones which both members of the duo wears. Although slightly confusing it is an interesting visual image and one that sticks in your mind.

The staging of the song was very dark and minimal, which in a way suited the song. The close ups of Marjetka really worked, bearing in mind the whole headphone thing. The use of lighting at the start needs to be low and intense and then grow like the song. They might even put something mechanical or industrial in the background to hone down the action on the people on stage. They also need to keep the dancer and her wonderful suit - although they could do with maximising her camera position. I don't think much needs to be done to the song because it just works as it is.

On first snippet of listen this didn't stand out but as a 3 minute piece of work it really grows on you. The tune is very simplistic in the chorus and you get into it quite quickly. She has a very interesting voice, although I could imagine her twanginess being a bit over the top for some viewers. This has surprised me somewhat as it is not something I would have expected Slovenia to come up with. Seeing it is in the second half of semi 2 this could be a great finishing number and it if is could find it's way to a good placing in the final.

ARTIST - Maraaya

SONG - Here for You

MUSIC - Raay, Marjetka Vovk,

LYRICS - Raay, Charlie Mason

IRELAND

The Irish Final was held on February 27th in a special "Late, Late Show" recorded in Dublin hosted by Ryan Tubridy. The winner was chosen by 5 regional juries (50%) and televoting (50%). After some very close voting, the winning song was "Playing with Numbers" and the singer is Molly Sterling.

After the debacle of last year's Eurosong final, and the fall out and virtually overshadowing the songs and performances, RTE decided to do away with the mentor-led selection process. This said, they ended up with an almost exact same selection process and show, just without the mentors involved. Phil Coulter, Linda Martin, Mairead Farrell and Panti Bliss. were on the panel which gave their opinions on the songs but had no voting power.

The song is a heartfelt lyrical ballad about relationships in the singer-songwriter vein. Molly sits and the piano backed by 3 other musicians and 2 female backing singers. The song starts off small and quiet but builds nicely to the first chorus. However from here on in nothing much happens - it gets a bit samey.

Needless to say nothing much is known about the singer as she is 16 and still at school. Her main accolade was winning. From doing some research about her she is apparently self taught on the piano and her skills brought her to 2nd place in the " All Ireland School's Talent Search". She has a very interesting voice. She seems to flip easily between her chest voice and head voice but also sound a bit like Shakira when she really pushes it. Some might see this as making her sound intriguing, others may find all the different sounds very off-putting.

First of all, the "Late, Late Show" studio is in no way comparable to the stage in Vienna so the Irish team could literally do anything. The set up as is works - no dancers please! -  but just needs better spacing out. They will also needs tome visual clues on the backdrop to make it stand out. The main problem is the orchestration of the song. It either needs to go small again after the first chorus to go big again in the chorus or it needs build after each and every chorus and verse to a big finish. The last 20 seconds needs to builds and the ending needs to be made much more deliberate.

In some ways this is a very Irish song, but a very modern Irish song. It is certainly very contemporary and grown up (even if she is only 16) and is at least a song that should be taken seriously and could easily be heard on many an Irish radio station. Molly is right at the start of her career and this may well be a great  starting platform for her and her music. However this is not a Eurovision song. It's not even a anti-Eurovision song. Although I could possibly understand a number of jury members liking it's subject and structure I doubt it has the immediacy for the general public to go out and vote for it. looking at Semi 2, the second half is already looking quite strong and something from the top half will have to be very special to qualify - and this isn't it.

ARTIST - Molly Sterling

SONG - Playing with numbers

MUSIC -  Molly Sterling, Greg French

LYRICS - Molly Sterling, Greg French

2015 show8

I catch up with all the news in Euroland. I try not to go on too much about the songs that have already been selected as I've already reviewed them!

I look through all the different snippets on news as well as a brief look at some of the finals and selections coming up between now and the next podcast.

As you will hear I have become slightly obsessed about one Melodifestivalen contestant and I describe why pregnancy has basically tuned me into a cat...

Music this week comes from Switzerland, Germany, UK and Albania.


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You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/2015_show8

Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)

LATVIA

The Latvian Final was held on February 22nd at the LTV Studios in Riga, hosted by Ketija Šenberga & Toms Grevinš (although to be honest the show was stolen by Riga Beaver!) . The new show "Supernova" was used to select their entry. The winner, chosen through televoting/internet voting, was Aminata with "Love Injected".

LTV decided to do away with their usual selection processand use a new show to focus on finding the next big hit rather than just a Eurovision song. A combination a televoting and jury voting made acts progress through the different rounds although there was no jury vote during the final.

The song has a minimalist dubstep feel to it, similar to something London Grammar, Bjork or a more introverted Clean Bandit might come up with. It is certainly a very modern song that would not feel out of place on any modern radio station (I personally think this has Studio Brussel written *all* over it) It starts quite small and breathy but Aminata really belts out the chorus which mirrors the build up of the backing track. The chorus is certainly the part of the cong that will engage most with the viewers. It certainly has a very intriguing sound to it and keeps you interested. The ending though is a bit weak. I would much prefer her to sing the chorus again rather than singing 'oh-oh-oooohs'.

Aminata Savadogo is quite well known in her birth land having appeared in many different music and talent shows thoughout the years and placed 5th in Dziesma 2014. Her voice is very distinctive and the song really shows off these parts of her range but also shows she has great talent. She shows great character and charisma which is quite strange considering that during her performance she barely looks at the camera. She has a distinctive look, being half Lativan- half Burkinabé, and also has a great sense of fashion and style, particularly her look in the final. She also uses some interesting armorgaphy which really makes the whole thing fit so well together as a cohesive performance.

To be honest, if they change *anything* it will be the wrong decision. The whole thing looks and sounds distinctive and certainly not like anything Latvia has ever sent before. It is a serious contender and is a true proper song and they need to treat this with respect. I also hope that Aminata has full control over this, being the performer and writer of the song, that she does what is comfortable to her. She may need a bit more depth in terms of backing singers and may have to work out how to make them sound distinctive without making them sound like goats.

Latvia, along with the other Baltic states, have always been favourites of mine and I have always looked forward to what they choose for Eurovision. This said, it means they can easily fall flat on their faces and seemingly not take it seriously. This though is a really good song, never mind a Eurovision song. It is true to say it has little in terms of stereotypical Eurovision appeal but it is modern, fresh and current which could be lacking when compared with other entries of this year. I would love this to qualify, and it does have some friendly countries in its semi, but I fear this  could be a song that is not a hit at Eurovision but is in the charts.

ARTIST - Aminata Savadogo

SONG - Love Injected

MUSIC - Aminata Savadogo

LYRICS - Aminata Savadogo

ESTONIA

The Estonian Final was held on February 21st at the Nokia Concert Hall in Tallinn, hosted by Marko Reikop & Henrik Kalmet. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals  that reduced the list of 20 to 10. The winner was chosen in two rounds of voting. In the first round the top 3 songs were chosen by televoting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%). In the second round the winner was chosen just by televoting. Going to Vienna will be Elina Born and Stig Rästa singing the song "Goodbye to yesterday"

ERR used their tried and tested Eesti Laul selection process again this year, having produced 3 qualifiers in the last 5 years as well as giving a platform to many up and coming acts. At is happened, the duo had overwhelming support in the semi-finals and finals from both the jury and televote and were run away winners of the contest.

The song has a melancholic '60s tinge to it and has a predictably-tuned chorus. The song starts with Stig singing very low, which you don't quite expect. It's then that the song starts to ramp up as the repetition of the chorus starts. The backing track of the song is really strong, especially with the prominent guitar and the brass sections that come in to accentuate the beats. To my ear it has the same chord structure, although not the same tune, as Antique's "Die for you".

Elina is no stranger to the Eesti Laul contest having participated in 2013. She has a very powerful tone and seems to soar towards the high notes. Stig has worked with Elina for some time being more of a writer/producer than a singer. His voice is a little less polished, rougher around the seams but in the context of the song it really works. The contrasts between the singer's voices makes really interesting blends of harmony and it sounds like there is genuine feeling and angst between them.

During the Eesti Laul process they have performed the song in different ways - on stools, standing next to each other as well as facing totally different directions. Although the whole thing has looked odd as a concept, the meaning of the song seems to shine though. I also think keeping the black and white filter is a must! It is very reminiscent of the Common Linnets last year but I don't think this is a bad thing. They need to keep the odd camera angles, blurs and close ups of the sings as it really creates an intimate feel to the song.

The whole staging and concept of the song is so strong and the aura it creates is very special. I think the song is very modern and could easily be heard on the playlist of Radio 2 in the UK. My issue is with the reaction and staging at Eurovision. It's not a sing-a-long song, or one to dance to OR to get lighters filling the air. I don't know how immediate this will be to the European viewers. This all said, the song was very strongly voted for by the juries and televoters in Estonia so the feeling could be wider spread. This is a very classy song, too classy not to qualify and should be a shoo-in for top 10 of not top 5.

ARTIST - Elina Born and Stig Rästa

SONG - Goodbye to yesterday

MUSIC - Stig Rästa

LYRICS - Stig Rästa

LITHUANIA

The Lithuanian Final was held on February 21st in at the LRT TV Studios in Vilnius, hosted by Arunas Valinskas & Simona Naine. Before the final there were several shows to narrow down the initial field of 12 acts as well as a separate vote to choose the song. The winning act was chosen by a mixture of televoting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%) and singing "This Time" will be Monika Linkytė & Vaidas Baumila.

LRT decided to do a similar Eurovision selection show as last year, which even brought back some of the unsuccessful candidates from last year's show. As well as different singing rounds where acts where eliminated each week there were also chances to showcase the different songs on offer which could be voted for online. It was decided on 14th February that the song would be "This Time" and the act chosen a week later.

The song is a modern up tempo number with a repetitive structure. It has a fastish tempo and is in the country/bluegrass genre. The song tells a nice simple story with is acted out in a basic fashion on the stage. The tune is really simple and has an effective earworm in the middle of the chorus. It works really well as a concept up until the very end when it gets a bit mre  free form and relies more on 'oooooooh-ing' rather than sticking with the lyrics and I feel that keeping to the words will make it stronger.

Monika and Viadas started off in the competition as solo artists. However after performing this song at an earlier stage as a duet, and this version becoming a real fan favourite, they decided to forgo their singles chances and enter into the final as a duet. The two of them have really good voices that work by themselves and in harmony. Monika has a nice small floaty voice that can carry of the high notes really well whilst Vaidas has a richer and more characterful tone. They also have great chemistry - accentuated by the snog slap bang in the middle of the song!

In fairness, the staging of this sing the shows has been pretty minimal and in some ways this works. I think the two of them could be choreographed more in terms of getting involved with the audience but that is all. The song lends itself to a free fun performance rather than something blocked within an inch of its life. I also could imagine a really bright and colourful back drop but hopefully not too frilly or girly. They will need to keep the backing singers, who really work, which will hopefully mean no superfluous dancers or musicians on stage.

This is a really good song and a performance that has scope for some strengthening. The whole thing lends itself not only to a personal performance between the two singers but also good audience and viewer interaction. For many Eurovision fans, they may see too many comparisons with Firelight and the Common Linnets from last year and therefore not see this as truly original. However I think this is a catchy number which would work well on stage but also as a radio song. This could easily be Lithuania's best performing song ever.

ARTIST - Monika & Vaidas

SONG - This Time

MUSIC - Vytautas Bikus, Monika Liubinaitė

LYRICS - Vytautas Bikus, Monika Liubinaitė

SERBIA

The Serbian Final was held on February 15th at the RTS TV Studios in Belgrade, hosted by Maja Nikolic. Before the final there was a show to offer places in the final for 'wildcards'. The winner was chosen by SMS voting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%). The winning entry was Bojana Stamenov with "Ceo svet je moj" (The whole world is mine)

Back in September, RTS announced they would be back at Eurovision in 2015 after a year away. It then announced that the tree songs in their national final would be written by Vladimir Graić, one of the peple behind their winning entry 'Motlitva. This year saw Serbia choose between 3 acts - two chosen internally, one via the wildcard round, and the songs were then premiered in their selection show.

This is a song of two halves.- the first half is more your stereotypical Balkan ballad with a smattering of drumming whilst the second half is more big diva disco. The start of the song is quite quiet and slowly builds up to the change in the middle of the song. This is almost its problem. The end of the song is a real anti-climax. The genre change is really ear catching and you expect the song to grow and get bigger and bigger but it never quite reaches the heights you expect. When you get tot he end you feel a little bit let down it's almost like it need more repetition of the chorus during the second half and less wailing about.

Bojana is no stranger to competitions. In 2012 she made the final of "Ja imam talenat! - the Serbian 'got talent' show, coming in a respectable fourth. Since then she has appeared on a number of songs as a featuring artist and has worked in children's theatre. She has a powerful singing voice and seems very confident on stage. She certainly gives the song gusto in terms of passion but very much dislike how she has been treated on stage. The dancers are annoying, the use of the 'dress' and the fact that the lighting hides her.

I hope that RTS has seen that the song has been seen in a favourable light but that so much about the performance lets it down. I'd like to see Bojana more free and not tied by the stupid dust sheet she wears OR by the dancers that surround her. I know she's a big girl but that didn't stop Hera Bjork moving about a bit and interacting with the crowd. The backing track needs to be beefed up much more in the last minute or even rearranged to make it more powerful. The show needs to be much more active and interactive with the crowd.

This really isn't as good as it first seems. Bojana is much better than the song and the more you listen to it the more cumbersome it becomes. The tune of the chorus is pretty memorable but isn't repeated enough to make an impression. I have the feeling that this has all the hallmarks of an 'all time fan favourite' or OGAE-wank that doesn't get out of the semi final.

ARTIST - Bojana Stamenov

SONG - Ceo svet je moj (The whole world is mine)

MUSIC - Vladimir Graić, Leontina Vukomanović

LYRICS - Vladimir Graić, Leontina Vukomanović

2015 show 7

Plenty for me to talk about this week - including not knowing what day it is any more....

On today's podcast I look back at the Icelandic, Italian and Serbian entries selected last week and wonder if there is any substance behind the hype (i.e. have we found a winner - no).

I voice my disappointment at the quality of the songs in this years' Norwegian MGP - and the speed of my internet connection - give valid reasons why I've gone off Montenegro, whilst I give very random reasons for why I like this year's German wildcard winner.

There is also music from Malta, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain

Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/DVVHolland
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You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/2015_show7

Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)

ITALY

The Italian song was selected on February 14th during the 65th Sanremo Msuic Festival held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo and presented by Arisa, Emma, Rocío Muñoz Morales and Carlo Conti. The winner of Sanremo was selected using a mixture of a popular jury, expert jury and televote. The winning act was Il Volo and it was confirmed a few days later that they would sing their winning song "Grande Amore" (Great love).

In a similar way to many of the last few years, RAI used Sanremo to choose, or identify a potential entrant/song. For this year's s Eurovision selection process, the winning song and entrant of the 'big artist' section of the Sanremo contest would have 'first refusal' of the offer of representing the country at Eurovision. In the press conference after the final night the group confirmed that they had accepted the invitation to Vienna.

The song is a stereotypically Italian dramatic ballad sang in an pop-operatic style. It is very orchestral and classic but its style is a little bit on the old fashioned side - even taking into account the group's age. The style of song is in the fashion of modern classical acts such as Il Divo and Collabro who won 'Britain's Got Talent'. In Eurovision terms, this style is not unfamiliar with Bonaparti.lv and Amaury Vassili taking opera to the stage in the last decade. The song has a good structure and grows on you listen after listen and has some very lovely lilting, lyrical chord changes and dramatic orchestral high points.

The trio, Il Volo, consists of Piero Barone, Ignazio Bochetto and Gianluca Ginoble who are all under the age of 23. Although they are young they are very experienced in terms of recording and performing as soloists and as a group. They have performed in many countries throughout the world publicising their first album back in 2010. There is a real discrepancy between the audio and the visuals and it takes you a while to work out that these young guys are singing in that style.

A lot needs to be done to this to be made Eurovision ready. Firstly, it needs to be shortened as it is currently about 40 seconds too long. Curtailing the intro, instrumental breaks and possibly shortening the first verse would possibly put pay to this with minimal faff. It could even be sped up a little bit. They will need to make sure the backing track has the orchestra on full belt - volume level 11! Much will have to be worked on behind the scenes to make this into a show. The boys will have to do much better than walking back and forwards, fist pumping, pointing and standing with a wide gait. They need a big background to go with this - not just pictures of statues. Part of me feels a film of an orchestra behind will make it feel like you are watching something substantial and operatic - this may well go down well in Vienna!

The problem with this is that to many this will feel like a gimmick and almost jokey. The tune isn't quite as instant as other songs in terms of being a memorable but the style of song will stand out. Annoyingly I feel this song would benefit from being in a semi-final then final as multiple listens makes you more aware and more appreciative of them and the song. This almost belongs in the 'who knows' camp because it could easily sway one way or the other. Will depend if other operatic songs join the mix AND if it gets a favourable draw.

ARTIST - Il Volo

SONG - Grande Amore (Great Love)

MUSIC - Francesco Boccia, Ciro Esposito

LYRICS - Francesco Boccia Ciro Esposito

A video of their reprise can also be found on the RAI website - 

http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-40153a0a-69dc-410b-aa24-34d1141db87e-sanremo15.html

ICELAND

The Icelandic Final was held on February 14th at Háskólabíó in Reykjavik, hosted by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir & Salka Sól Eyfeld. There were 2 rounds of voting - the first to select the top 2 and the second to select the winner. In the first round the voting was 50% televoting & 50% "expert" jury while in the second round the winner was chosen by televoting alone. The winning song was "Unbroken" performed by María Ólafsdóttir.

This year's Söngvakeppnin followed a similar process to previous editions. Before the final there were 2 semi finals of which 3 songs qualified from each plus an extra 'wildcard' participant. During the semis, all songs were sung in Icelandic but for the final, songs had to be sing in the language to be performed at Eurovision and as a result of this 5 of the 7 finalists changed to English.

The song is a earthy, hippy-ish ballad which seems to have a lot of influences. It has shades of Florence and the Machine with tones of stereotypical Disney ballads. In some ways it is a very simple song. The start is a little quiet and seemingly low for Maria. If she has nerves on the night this might knock her off before she's even began. The 'letting go' earworm - no not 'let IT go' - is a great one to kick straight into the chorus. The chorus is a little garbled but the tune is quite memorable.

Maria looks like a little Icelandic pixie and has a voice to match. She certainly looks the part and sings the song really well. her English is great although she has that very slight hint of a Scandinavian accent which makes it feel even more cute and pixie-ish. She shows great confidence on the stage, especially at the start when she is seemingly on her own and engages well with the camera which will be key to getting the votes from home.

As a stage act, this really works - the styling, the light boxes, the dancers, the outfits, even the lights in the audience -  but it will need to be ramped up a lot to look good on the stage in Vienna. They need to take the team that they have and make it bigger, more engaging and of course make better use of the increased space they will have in Vienna. That said they don't want to take it to 'Gravity' proportions and I think keeping it simple and ethereal will be the key.

It certainly has an anthemic quality to it and would not sound out of place in the radio. Plus Maria herself will appeal to young girls and will provide some much needed eye candy for the boys. I think this is a certain qualifier, even more so if it becomes the SF2 end song (having been pre drawn in the second half already) I think this is a very strong contender

 and will almost definitely bring Iceland it's best result this millennium but could this be their first win? It's looking a real possibility.

ARTIST - María Ólafsdóttir

SONG - Unbroken

MUSIC - Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson

LYRICS - Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson, María Ólafsdóttir