UKRAINE 2022

The Ukrainian Final was held on February 12th at the Centre of Culture and Arts of the National Aviation University in Kiev, hosted by Masha Efrosinina & Timur Miroshnichenko. The winner, chosen by a 50/50 split of SMS and jury voting, was Alina Pash with “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”

Alina Pash first became a big name in Ukraine after become a finalist in the 6th series of X-Factor Ukraine . That said, she had taken part in many singing festivals, competitions and programmes as a child. Since her big break in 2105 she has released a number of songs, collaborations and video clips. he most recent solo project "Norov" saw her take folk sensibilities and intertwine them with R&B beats. Her style of music is more electro/R&B and includes rapping on many of hee tracks.

The song starts with some haunting almost animalistic yelps and shouts by Alina from the darkness of the stage. The flow of the song it rather disjointed. There is a verse then a pre chorus then chorus proper. The second 'verse' is actually a rap and this takes us up to the 2 minute mark. From here the song goes into another chorus and then another but this is mainly sung over by a freeform Alina who ends with more chirruping as done at the start.

This song is extremely stylised - which has its positives and negatives. Its identity and meaning is undeniable and in the current climate a song this authentic (some may every suggest political) is pretty much expected. The videos, and the video screen assembled near the end, are very clever and would definitely work on the Eurovision stage. The use of the map might raise a few eyebrows of course. The Ukrainian language sounds really good in the song and the English lines fit in reasonably well. The part that has received some comment is the rap. Personally I think the rap is very interesting and her voice has an intriguing and interesting quality. That said the words come thick and fast, her accent is rather pronounced at times and the content of the rap is rather highbrow (although fits perfectly with the meaning of the song) . The result being it has taken me a few listens to relax through it and understand how it all fits together within the song. On first listen this might not get the welcome it deserves but its strong identity, twinned with the current political situation in Ukraine, means this will get votes. The staging, including the outfits, hits the mark but in other ways there is a lot going on. A bit like Ukraine itself.

ARTIST - Alina Pash

SONG - Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Taras Bazeev, Alina Pash

ITALY 2022

The Italian Final was held on February 5th at the at the Ariston Theatre in Sanremo, hosted by Amadeus accompanied by several co-presenters over the week: Ornella Muti, Lorena Cesarini, Drusilla Foer, Maria Chiara Giannetta and Sabrina Ferilli. The Sanremo festival consisted 5 nights of performances with different voting rounds each night such as press vote, demoscopic jury and televoting. On the 5th night: entrants were judged by televoting alone then added up to the results obtained that far. The top 3 from this were put through to a superfinal with a 50/50 split between juries and teletoving. The winners were Mahmood & Blanco with "Brividi" (Shivers)

Mahmood is a returner to Eurovision having come a triumphant second in 2019. He first came to the public eye through X Factor Italy in 2012 but was eliminated in the third live show. Fast forward to 2018 he was chosen to compete in the Giovani section of Sanremo and he gained a spot in the festival proper the next year, which he promptly won. Blanco however is only 18 but already has archived much in his burgeoning career. He has had 6 top 10 songs (7 if you include this song) and his debut album has gone three times platinum. Although Blanco has a pop and rap discography, and Mahmood has more of a R&B lilt, this song is more of a romantic, sensitive ballad.

The song starts with a simple piano intro which prefaces Mahmood singing the first verse. Blanco then joins in for the chorus with some parts sung together, some parts separate. Blanco then sings the second verse followed by another chorus. Next is a  stand alone part where Blanco raps and Mahmood sings which then sets up the song for the very last rendition of the chorus. The song is extremely simple in set up but the lyrical and harmonic quality is certainly not.

On stage the duo is joined on stage by a piano and pianist although I am not sure if the performance needs this as the focus of the song should be the two singers. Their voices sound so good together especially when they seem too looks and sound so different initially. The chemistry between the two is amazing and they do a great job of solidifying the meaning of the song without being too over the top. The Sanremo stage is rather small and intimate, which suited the song, but the Eurovision setup will be very different. Making this song 'a moment' will be very important moreover as this song is a beacon for queer visibility. Being lesser known names around Europe they may have to work on their connection down the camera as well as getting the meaning to the song to non-Italian speakers. This is a very beautiful song and its tune is clear, memorable and heartfelt. It is a great host entry and although this probably won't give Italy a back-to-back win, this will hopefully do better than many host entries of late. The main decision point right now is how to get it down to 3 minutes without ruining the flow and ambiance - this may well be a tough call.

ARTIST - Mahmood & BLANCO

SONG - Brividi (Shivers)

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Riccardo Fabbriconi, Alessandro Mahmoud, Michelangelo

ISRAEL 2022

The Israeli Final was held on February 5th at the at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, hosted by Liron Weizman. The Israeli broadcaster used the series of the X-Factor to choose their winner and competing song. The winner was chosen via a series of duals then the top 3 performed their potential ESC entries where it was judged using a combination of  jury, the X-Factor judges (25% each) &  a combination of televoting and app voting (50%). The winner was Michael Ben-David with the song "I.M"

Michael Ben David is 26 and comes from just outside previous Eurovision host city Tel Aviv. After completing his military service, Michael came into modelling and the performing arts. His style throughout the x-Factor show was rather varied and has sung everything from musical theatre numbers to club classics to Israeli ballads. This song in particular leans firmly on his LGBTQ identity and his love of dance.

First we have a very sassy introduction before going into the pulsating banger bassline The first verse which is extremely long, in fact it sounds more like 2 verses with parts of the chorus shoved together. It then slows down and builds up again during the pre-chorus, then into a short instrumental an then into the chorus. The second verse starts up and is much shorter and has a different rhythm and emphasis than before, with almost too many words and syllables to fit into the actual song. At just before the 2 minute mark there is a Middle Easter section with typical instrumentation and dance moves. We conclude with a pre-chorus, chorus and a kind of outro which links part for the introduction and chorus together to a finish.

This song is very much about the performance and the performance is very in your face. The changing backdrop with the letters I.M on in different ways emphasises the name of the song (I.M being a stylised way of saying "I am") The use of a runway is interesting but I don't think it is utilised well; the dancers getting off and on it is cumbersome and this sometimes detracts from the real action. Overall the kind of 'drag race lop sync' feel is not a bad one as this is a franchise seen all over the world. The nods to ball culture and voguing makes is easy to remember and make connection to. Personally there are too many 'bits'  - the two verses are totally different and the pre-chorus goes on a bit - although this is somewhat saved by the catchy and repetitive use of the title throughout. It's very memorable, but not always for positive reasons although I feel this has a big enough personality and enough identity to make its way into the final

ARTIST - Michael Ben David

SONG - I.M

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Chen Aharoni, Lidor Saadia, Assi Tal

IRELAND 2022

The Irish Final was held on February 4th at the RTE TV Studios in Dublin during The Late Late Show, hosted by Ryan Tubridy. The winner was chosen by mix of televoting, professional jury and international with each part weighted equally. Going to Turin is Brooke with the song "That's Rich"

Brooke is from Derry, Northern Ireland, and studied Drama at Ulster University. Before her appearance on the Late Late Eurosong show, she had performed as support for Nathan Carter, been an extra in Game of Throne and Derry Girls but was also a contestant on The Voice UK in 2020. During that series she chose Meghan Trainor as her coach and eventually came 3rd in the competition. Most of her Instagram and TikTok videos are of her doing contemporary covers - pop with an r'n'b tint - but her Eurovision song is rather more in your face Gaga-ish dance pop.

The song begins with a infectious bassline which grab your attention straight away and relentlessly keeps the whole thing chugging along. The song has a pretty steady "verse into pre-chorus into chorus" setup which gets repeated twice. The chorus has the title repeated at the start of each line and gets in your head almost immediately. Just shy of the 2 minute mark the song takes a bit of a swerve with a spoken word/rap part which Brooke does in a OTT Valley Girl accent which then leads number of chorus repeats with a few slight tweaks to the tune.

Firstly I am going to address some of the visual aspects of the show and this entry. Yes, the staging limitations were many and the audio standard was not up to par. Although I appreciate the effort RTE have gone into making a national final, blowing any of these songs up to a Eurovision stage performance would require a lot of imagination. Brooke's show is youthful and has the right amount of attitude to come across well and not like a spoilt brat! I would love for her and her two dancers to take a leaf out of KaYra's book and do more together like they do in verse two. The outfits definitely need to go as it looks like the three of them have just got out of bed. That all said and done this was definitely the most individual and stand out song and performance on the night and will definitely get a lot of traction online. One a bigger staging this could looks small and lost so will need to think very carefully about the camera angles and any use of backdrop/props. Her voice can get a bit garbled, especially when she does the squeaky bits but hopefully she can rehearse this to keep the energy but keep it legible. I think she will be a great personality during the pre-party and media circles but will this song come across as characterful and youthful or will people think this is a bit cringey and rude? I feel like the whole thing has a lot of promise but the whole package needs rethinking. I suggest they had better start now.

ARTIST - Brooke

SONG - That's Rich

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Brooke Scullion, Izzy Warner, Karl Zine

NORTH MACEDONIA 2022

The results of the North Macedonian selection "Za Evrosong" were revealed on February 4th. The songs were initially presented on January 28th where the voting window then opened. The winner was chosen by an equal split of online voting and an international jury. Going to Turin is Andrea with the song "Circles"

Andrea is a newcomer to the music scene with her first song being released at the end of 2020. At the age of 5 Andrea moved with her family to New York, became interested jazz and rhythm & blues which influenced her to sing and learn the guitar and piano. More recently, she posted short videos on Instagram when producer  Aleksandar Masevski stumbled across her posts and they started a collaboration. She was then encouraged to study singing at the Faculty of Music in Skopje  Her first song "I Know" has had more than 4 million views on TikTok.

The song follows a very simplistic structure. The first verse and chorus takes us to 1.20 and then Andrea starts to repeat the first verse again but with a slightly different melody and then segues into a slew of choruses until the very end. The backing track starts off rather minimal with just a piano but grows in intensity with a chirruping drum beat. The song sounds very familiar and he tune is a little predictable which is not always a bad thing when you are trying to get people to remember your song.

The lack of a proper live performance is a shame although the video shows she is able to look down the camera and connect with such a perceptive song. During the live but mimed version she keeps he eyes shut a lot which is a little limiting but not a deal breaker. Her voice is very distinctive with that vibrato during the end words and it will be interesting to see if she can replicate this live and keep the intensity of the voice over the whole range of the song. I feel like Andrea is not a dancer - not that this song needs that at all -  but she does move and emote a lot when singing and with some concentrated lighting and some directed looks down the camera her style could look effective on stage.  In Eurovision terms, this song reminds me of "Beautiful Mess" from Bulgaria a few years ago but would hope for a different visual outlook.  I would hazard a guess that the whole package is going to have some Billie Eilish type vibes and will probably we a very pared down, intimate performance. I could possibly image some kind of contemporary dancing at the side and maybe some circle-related animations on the back drop but Andrea needs to be the centre of attention. It's a great contemporary entry and I feel like this could stand out if the staging compliments the song.

ARTIST - Andrea

SONG - Circles

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Andrea Koevska, Aleksandar Masevski

SPAIN 2022

The Spanish Final was held on January 29th at the Palau Municipal d’Esports l'Illa de Benidorm, hosted by Inés Hernand, Màxim Huerta & Alaska. Before the final of the invigorated "Benidorm Fest" there were two semi-finals with the top 4 in each semi-final qualifying. The qualifiers, and eventual winner, were chosen by a mixture of jury (50%), televote and demoscopic jury (25% each). Going to Turin is Chanel with "SloMo"

This Cuban born singer moved to Spain when she was just 3. From a young age she studied different performance styles and became involved with many different musical productions including The Lion King, Mamma Mia! and Flashdance. She has also helped choreograph routines for many Spanish TV shows but may well be most famous in her homeland for her role in the Spanish comedy series "Gym Tony"

The song starts with the sounds of cameras flashing and photos being taken and a rather basic bassline pumps up behind it. As Chanel starts singing the song beefs up immediately which really perks your ears up. The song follows a rather simplistic structure of verse-pre chorus-chorus which leads to a rather long instrumental where Chanel's epic dance solo fits in. After this is a slew of pre-choruses and choruses until the end. All in all is song is as much to do with the visual presentation and the dance routine than it is about the song..

Many people will rightly comment that this is riding on the coattails of the success Cyprus have had over the last few years with their Latino inspired bangers. This one even has a title ending with the letter O too. It does, however, have a tad more authenticity because this is a Spanish sounding song, sung mainly in Spanish and is the actual Spanish entry.  On the negative side the lyrics are rather cringeworthy, especially the mentions of "mami", "daddies", " booty" and "yummy" (other words ending in the *ee* sound are surely available?!?!?). Although this is still a song contest the performance quotient is very much there to sway the televoters and this has bags of character. The dance routine is outstanding and the costuming is simplistic but very effective (her semi outfit I think worked better than the one she wore in the final). In an odd way, the voracity of the dance routine and the prominence it is given almost justifies the use of recorded backing vocals. I feel that Chanel was somewhat lucky to win the national final, especially after the results were revealed, but I think this song would be much more accessible to an international audience than many of the other songs favoured by the internal televote. Chanel has great stage presence and the show as is just works. They would be LOCO to change it - they wouldn't dare... would they....?

ARTIST - Chanel

SONG - SloMo

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Iberê Fortes, Keith Harris, Leroy Sanchez, SWACQ, Maggie Szabo

MOLDOVA 2022

The Moldovan Final was held on January 29th at the TRM TV Studios in Chisinau. Initially the this particular date was set to be the  'online audition day' followed by a with a national final proper in March but just a day before the auditions were held it was announced the selection would be wrapped up after the auditions show. The winning act and song, chosen solely by a jury was Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov with the song "Trenuletul" (The Train)

Zdob și Zdub are stalwarts of the Moldovan Eurovision experience. They were the nation's first ever act at Eurovision in 2005 coming in an impressive 6th place  They then returned in 2012 and came 12th. The band formed almost 30 years ago although the only original member from that formation is singer, Roman. They have a plethora of experience with many concerts and festivals behind them mostly throughout Moldova, Romania and the former Soviet states. Their style or music can mostly be filed under the 'ethno-rock' genre although their music has definite nods towards punk, folk and Balkan sounds. The Advhov Brothers are the founders of a folk orchestra which shares their name and have been bestowed with many Moldovan honors for their contribution and promotion of the Moldovan Folk tradition.

The song starts with a very jolly accordion earworm which dips in and out of the singing. I say singing, it is more like monotone chanting/rapping which actually contrasts quite well with the ever changing backing track. Roman's vocals are very strong and, albeit mostly in Romanian, his diction and intention is very clear. The distinction between the verses and choruses is very marked too especially with the introduction of a very basic dance routine between the two. After two rounds of verse-chorus there is a instrumental break before another round of the chorus. There is then a more frenetic instrumental break an rather more shouty verse concluding with one more roundel of the chorus. They certainly get a lot in for under 3 minutes! The whole atmosphere and relentless nature of the song even sounds like a train - even more so as some of the elongated yelps sound like train whistles.

This is true Balkan style although some might  hear some of the ska-like qualities of the fast and repetitive instrumentation.  The staging and costuming is very basic due to the rushed nature of the staging set up. The lead singer is joined on stage by 3 of his band mates and the two Advahov Brothers. They all seem to be having a great time and seem rather enthused despite the rather simplistic setup. All this plainness leaves the door open to wonder what the band and delegation could have in store for their Eurovision performance - their last two ESC attempts included a drum-playing grandma and a lady on a unicycle. This song will appeal greatly to the Balkan crowd but I also know that this will be fun and heartwarming to those who are not. This will go down BIG in the hall and will have everybody up and dancing (probably doing some kind of train-related conga). Everyone on stage has been doing this for long enough to know how to perform and how get the votes in.

ARTIST - Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov
SONG - Trenuletul (The Train)
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov

ALBANIA 2022

The Albanian Final was held on December 29th at the Palace of Congress in Tirana, hosted by Jonida Maliqi, Isli Islami, Xhemi Shehu & Kelvi Kadilli. Before the final of Festivali i Këngës there was a semi-final where 3 of the newcomers were selected to continue on in the competition. The winner, chosen by a jury, was Ronela Hajati with the song "Sekret" (Secret)

Ronela has been an active performer, entering singing and dancing competitions, since she was a child. She scored her first charting single in 2016 and has been almost ever present in the charts since then. As well as a performer she has penned many of her own songs and has written for last year's Albanian representative Anxela Peristeri. Ronela's music is generally in the pop genre but her singing and performance style is extremely varied with influences of R'n'B, Latin, Balkan music and even reggae. 

The song starts with what turns out to be a slower and elaborate choral interpretation of the chorus tagline which is then repeated by the backing singers. After 30 seconds the ethnic bassy rhythms come out and the song starts proper. The monotone verse is followed by the melodic chorus which breaks down to a chanted part with a lengthy instrumental and accompanying dance routine. There is then another verse (but bares little or no relation to the first) followed by another chorus and outro dance routine. The song ends with another earwormy outro to the end. This performance is about attitude and feeling more than tune and melody.

Let's get some elephants out of the room straight way. Firstly the song is about 35 seconds over the Eurovision time limit although this is not unknown for competing FiK or Sanremo entries. But as many good songs have been butchered by bad editing as the amount that have been dealt with sympathetically. The edit may be tricky as the song needs to keep its repetition but also leave the instrumental breaks as not to lessen the dance sections. Secondly, the choir of backing vocalists and live orchestra gives the performance a real live feeling and, when the re-recorded version is made, it will be interesting to see if the same kind of magic can be conjured up. Finally, there are way more than 6 people on the stage. The delegation may decide to pare down this staging and keep the overall aesthetic - possibly utilising any LED screens - or they may start again from scratch. 
With all this to take into account it is rather hard to say how this will go down. However, this was the hot fan favourite before the show began and it is easy to see why. Ronela's voice is shown off perfectly using every single part of her diverse range. The repetitive rhythm and lyrics, albeit mostly in Albanian, is very catchy and even the odd English line did not sound out of place. The on pointe dance routine is striking and copyable. The identical black outfits for the dancers makes them a cohesive unit with Ronela as their captain. My main worry is that the song does feel like a collection of parts and the lack of an extra chorus - or even another verse - at the very end of the song might lessen the impact made at the very start.

ARTIST - Ronela Hajati
SONG - Sekret (Secret)
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Ronela Hajati, Marko Polo

CZECHIA 2022

The Czech act and song was revealed on 16th December via a streamed press conference held at the ČT Headquarters in Prague. An online selection was held called "Eurovision Song CZ 2022" where the winner was determined by the combination of votes from a twelve-member international jury panel (50%), an international public vote (25%) and a Czech public vote (25%). The winners were the group We Are Domi with the song "Lights Off"

We Are Domi (sometimes also known and stylised as DOMI) formed as a group in 2018 after the trio met while studying at the Leeds Conservatoire. The group consists of Czech singer Dominika and Norwegian musicians Casper and Benjamin. They released with first single in 2019. Their music is described as both electropop and scandipop although their Eurovision song includes more trancey and ethereal themes.

The song begins rather minimalistic and mysterious. Dominika's monotone, almost spoken word,  vocal is surrounded by a more melodic underbed. This this then reversed during the bridge when Dominka almost comes across as a little bit country and makes for a transition period towards the rather more memorable chorus ending with a foghorn like 'Where are you now" just in case you hadn't woken up yet. We then have another verse-bridge-chorus roundel followed by a return to a small and monotone middle eight. This leads into the glow up to the last rendition of the chorus ending in a final 'Where are you now".

This song certainly pricks your ears up and has a very engaging and memorable tune. The vocals are varied throughout the song and could come across as a bit frenetic or irrational, especially if any of the parts become out of kilter or worse out of tune/time. Dominika may well be saved or helped by the addition of pre-recorded vocals (BOOOOOOOOO!) One small negative, which may need some clever editing around when if comes to voting recaps, is the fact that the title of the song is rather obscure in the mix unlike the belting out of "WHERE ARE YOU NOW". Although there is no proper video, they did create a performance of the song as part of the results show. For me, this was visually confusing - the choice of Play School-esque outfits whilst surrounded by a dark and ghostly backdrop was rather dissonant. However, the use of a bow to play the electric guitar is a particular highlight. I feel that this needs a very stylised stage show and needs to be visually stunning and could be a glow up with the right stage direction - something some past Czech Eurovision songs have done well.  This is already proving to be a fave with the fans and is certainly something that would no sound out of place on the playlists of Europe.

ARTIST - We Are Domi
SONG - Lights Off
WRITING CREDITS - Dominika Hasek, Casper Hatlestad, Abi F Jones, Einar Eriksen Kvaløy, Benjamin Rekstad

BULGARIA 2022

The Bulgarian song and act was revealed on December 5th via an interview & first play on Darik Radio and the release of the music video online. Going to Turin will be the Intelligent Music Project with the song "Intention".

The eponymous "Intelligent Music Project" is named after a music studio bankrolled by businessman Milen Vrabevski who created the centre to support contemporary Bulgarian music and culture. This 'supergroup' has been going for almost a decade and has a veritable revolving door of past and future members from a wide spectrum of past rock royalty. The Eurovision-based line up includes Chilean front man Ronnie Romero as well as two time Bulgarian Eurovision participant Stoyan Yankulov on drums. Their genre of music is mostly described as 'progressive rock' and their Eurovision entry follows this trend.

The song begins with a rather long, but building, guitar intro. This certainly sets the stall out very early and it doesn't waver much from there. The song the follows a pretty standard verse-bridge-chorus verse-bridge-chorus structure and the parts run seamlessly in and out of each other. At the 2 minute mark, the song enters in a laconic middle 8 followed by a frenetic guitar solo ending with a final rendition of the chorus. Although it comes across well as a cohesive unit the tune of the song is rather haphazard - it never quite goes how you want it go and is lacking any memorable hook. In some ways the instrumentation, lyrics and tune don't quite work together as a cohesive 3 minute unit. The video is also very confusing switching between boy playing computer game/blokes rocking out in a blank room/computer game of a woman getting staked... by herself narratives.

Considering some of the canny choices that BNT has made during the last decade this is something of a climbdown. It seems as though the coffers of the broadcaster have run dry and getting 6 rockers et al. to split the bill as being the best way to get Bulgarian representation to Eurovision. They may well get to Eurovision but I don't think they will be there very long... I can only see the group on stage rocking out as a suitable visual production note although live vocals may make it stand out a little more. The band looks and sounds very dated, and although this is trying (and failing) to ride on the coattails of a rock victory in 2021, this is more Blackpool Rock than Rock n Roll. 

ARTIST - Intelligent Music Project

SONG - Intention

WRITING CREDITS - Milen Vrabevski