ITALY

The Italian participant was selected back in February through the San Remo song festival. The winner of the contest was Marco Mengoni but no decision was made on the song he would be singing.

On the Eurovision deadline date, March 18th, RAI confirmed that he would be singing the song that gained him the San Remo title, "L'essenziale" (The essential)

During his San Remo performance he was on stage alone. The background is a purple colour and behind him are spinning screens which seem to show flashes of  neon. Being San Remo, he has a full orchestra behind him to help with the building nature of the song. Marco is dressed in a sharp suit and tie and his hair in a quiff. He looks quite retro and it is a shame that the song is not. He is behind a microphone stand for most of the performance until the end.

Marco has a very strange performance style - almost like he is in his own little bubble. Although he does not stand their with his eyes closed, he doesn't seem to focus on the audience or take into account the TV cameras. I am not sure that the European TV audience will appreciate the performance as it stands. Marco is a very well loved singer in Italy and you can tell that in his short career he has gained a lot of experience.

The song is another slow building ballad at this year's contest and is a very Italian production. The song itself is well structured and the chorus is quite memorable, although not repeated as much as it could be. It takes a while to get going and the ending is a little weak. Both will probably need to be re-orchestrated for Eurovision. I think that the song needs to be switched about a bit to make the song really stand out and show off its strengths.

Italy automatically qualifies for the final and so will go straight through to Saturday night. The song, as is, is too long by about half a minute. It is not clear exactly to me how they will shave this part off. I don't think this is a winner. It is an intense song by an intense singer and I feel that some people will appreciate the song, whilst others will find it hard to access. I also feel his perofmance style, as is, will no appeal to everybody. I do think this will be a jury favourite.

 

Artist - Marco Mengoni

Song - L'essenziale (The essential)
Music - Francesco De Benedittis, Roberto Casalino, Marco Mengoni
Lyrics - Roberto Casalino
 

MOLDOVA

The Moldovan Final wasbe held on March 16th at the TRM TV Studios in Chisinau, hosted by Catalin Josan & Evelina Virlan. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals where the 24 was reduced to 14. The winner was chosen by a 50/50 televoting and jury vote. The winning song was "A million" sung by Aliona Moon.
However , straight after her vitcory it was announced that she will be singing the Romanian version of the song in Malmo, with the title "O mie" - a thousand.

Aliona is centre stage with a pianist to her left and three backing dancers dressed in gold hoodies behind her. The motif on the video screens is that of stars and planets which works well as the stage really needs to be as dark as possible.

This performance is all about the dress. The top of the dress is made of circles of metal, almost like a huge necklace attached to the dress. Taking inspiration from Sabina's dress from Baku, this dress turns a multitude of colours and ends like a huge bonfire. The weight of all of this has also had an effect on her hair which seems to have been magnetised the side of her head.

As I have stated, the song will be sung in Romanian but in the national final she sang in English. Aliona performs the song really well but does have to strain a little to get the high notes near the end. There is a clip of the recorded version of this but not live version as yet. The song has a lot of parts to it, in particular a very interesting chorus. However I feel that the change of language is not a good one. Although the new version has that Italian language quality to it I feel that the story behind the song will be lost.

I like the background of this show and I hope it is kept for Malmo. I think that the dancers are superfluous and only cause distraction when the main focus should be on her. This is yet another ballad to add to the list and in a semi final filled with ballads I am not sure how well this one will stand out. If it were not for the dress, it would not stand out at all. I personally neither like or dislike the song which makes me fear that people won't have a reason to vote for it.

Artist - Aliona Moon

Song - Crisalide (Chrysalis)
Music - Pasha Parfeny
Lyrics - Yuliana Scutaru

SAN MARINO

The Eurovision entry for San Marino was unveiled during a special broadcast on March 15. The show, on SMRTV, hosted by Alessandro Capicchioni, also featured the writers and lyricists of the song. Back in January, last year's representative Valentina Monetta was revealed as the singer again this year. The song she will be singing is "Crisalide" (Chrysalis)

The show featured the song in the form of a music video, not a live performance so I have to take this into account, although having done Eurovision before this does help. She certainly looks more natural and more at home, and more of her age, in this video than that of the Facebook song. During most of the video she has her hair down and wears long flowing fabrics. When she appeared last year, she had the mick taken out of her a fair deal due to the song and presentation of it. This is very different to last year and more akin to Valentina's style of song and singing.

The song, entirely in Italian, is actually a song of 2 halves. The first 2 minutes are a fairly standard Italian ballad with lots of repetition. Then there is a false finish which then causes the beat racks up a little. She then sings another verse and two choruses at a slightly more infectious pace. The song doe not appear to have any backing singers on it. It would be nice to have some of the acrobats in the song on the stage as I feel they would add a lot visually.

The song is standard Siegel fayre, has a very familiar chord pattern and in that way it already sounds like you have heard it somewhere before. It is pretty individual and will appeal to a lot of people. I also think that she and the song, especially the change at the end, will go down well in the hall. I don't think that being in Italian will be a barrier and the song suits the language. San Marino have never qualified for the final before and I think this has a very good chance. Hopefully this will go down well with the juries and will get enough votes to get it through.

Artist - Valentina Monetta

Song - Crisalide (Chrysalis)
Music - Ralph Siegel
Lyrics - Mauro Balestri
 

FYROM - reloaded

The day after the Macedonian song was presented on TV, the video for "Imperija" disappeared from official MRT internet sites and channels. The channel initially announced that this was because the video was not up standards (The video featured buildings connected to the controversial Skopje 2014 project). They then revealed that song was to be replaced, due to bad reviews written by the Macedonian public on socal media sites. since the reveal. Within a few days it was announced that Lozano and Esma would be singing a new song. On March 15th the duo presented their new song "Pred da se razdeni" (Before the dawn).

The song was performed on the set of the Macedonian version of "Strictly Come Dancing". Unfortunately they were both miming. At the back of the stage are 2 female backing singers. Lozano is to one side and Esma is nowhere to be seen until her part starts up. While she enters and sings Lozano, changes sides and then sings the next part on the opposite side. For the final chorus Lozano joins Esma on the central platform. The stage is a blue colour while Lozano sings and is multicoloured and flashy when Esma sings. This also brings out more distinction between the two parts of the song.

I quite like this idea and I think this kind of 2-sided stage could work for Eurovision. I can imagine one side of the stage in darkness while the other part is performing. However it does limit the interaction between the two and so at the end it feels a little bit uncomfortable, like the chemistry isn't really there and one doesn't really understands what the chemistry should be like...

The song is basically in two parts - Lozano sings the balladeer parts in Macedonian, Esma sings the up-tempo parts in Romani. His parts are very clear and seem easy to sing. This is also the part of the song you will remember and hum along to. Esma's part are really over produced, with a very sever echoing on the beginning of her parts, which she will be unable to replicate on the stage. It is a very difficult song for a non Eastern European to access and it might come across as a bit too freakish.

I think it was a shame that "Imperija" was replaced. Although it had its faults, the song  had a great rhythm and had a memorable chorus. However this new song is very strange - this could be its good point or bad point. It does sound like two different songs mashed together but I think many will think this works, just as many with think it will not. Another big factor is whether they can sing this live. I am not sure this will gain enough votes to progress.

Artist - Esma and Lozano

Song - Pred da se razdeni (Before the dawn)
Music - Darko Dimitrov, Lazar Cvetkoski, Simeon Atanasov
Lyrics - Magdalena Cvetkoska
 

AZERBAIJAN

The Azeri Final was held on March 14th, hosted by Leila Guliyeva & Konul Arifkizi. Before the final there were 8 heats held at the Ictimai TV Studios in Baku where the contestants sang a range of songs through the week before the winner was determined by SMS voting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%). In the final though, with winner was chosen by jury vote alone. The ticket to Malmo was given to Farid Mammadov singing the song "Hold me".

Farid is atop a small platform for most of the song. He is flanked by 4 backing singers who spend most of their time in the shadows unseen apart from a brief cross over. During the middle part of the song he is accosted by a female dancer who then runs off. At the start of the song the lighting is almost black, slowly lights up to a blue (seemingly this years National finals colour) then ends with a pinky-red diamond effect in the background and a flash of fireworks.

The song is a fairly standard ballad. The song and performance are pretty standard stuff and not exciting in the least. There is little movement or engagement towards the audience in the room or the audience at home. Unfortunately Farid's English accent and pronunciation is appalling and the verses turn into mumbling wrecks only to be awoken by the shouts of "Hold me, just unfold me!" .

So the song and performance are awful, however it will probably qualify. Although I think this is a poor song, it will get enough votes. The Turkish Diaspora vote my well be enough to get it through to Saturday night, especially as this year there is no Turkey to vote for. If he performs as badly as he did in the national final though, juries will not appreciate this performance at all. This is a middle runner, but nowhere near a winner,

Artist - Farid Mammadov

Song - Hold Me
Music - Dimitris Kontopoulos
Lyrics - John Ballard, Ralph Charlie

 

 

MONTENEGRO

The Montenegrin song was premièred on 14th March during a special show broadcast by RTCG and presented by  Sabrija Vulic. Who See were internally selected by the broadcaster and the duo will be joined on stage by singer Nina Žižić. The song they will be performing is "Igranka" (Dance).

During the broadcast the three performers were interviewed and their music video for "Igranka" was shown. The concept of the video is very bizarre and not very Eurovision at all. Scantily clad ladies dancing. Scantily clad ladies fighting, strange topless men angle grinding - all while some kind of fancy dress party is going one. The video is very atmospheric and tries to evoke a party/concert atmosphere - one which will be very difficult to replicate on stage with 6 people.

The song is very modern and contemporary - one may say that Eurovision isn't quite ready for this yet. The song is a modern rap song with a dub step breakdown in the chorus. The song in wholly in Montenegrin but I don't see this as being too much of a problem as I feel that the language actually compliments the industral edge and rawness of the song. The band are seasoned performars and should not struggle with the performance, but one will have to see. One obvious problem is the sampling of Nina's voice in the introduction. I am  not sure of that is something Nina can replicate live, or something that will require backing singers or something they might just leave out completely - which would be a shame.

I would absolutely love this song to qualify for the final - something Montenegro have never done in their 4 previous attempts. I am extremely curious about this song and the performance. I feel that this song will appeal to younger watchers of eurovision as it will feel current to them. Also semi-final one is over-run with ballads, so this will stand out even more. On the negative side the juries, unless they all include a dub step DJ on each panel, will more than likely not be voting for this. Initially I feel that this will be on the cusp -  a lot will depend on the direction of the judges and what happens on stage. There are too many variables in the air at this stage to make a fair judgement.

Artist - Who See featureng Nina Žižić

Song - Igranka (Dance)
Music - Djordje Miljenovic
Lyrics - Dejan Dedovic, Mario Djordjevic, Djordje Miljenovic

FRANCE

The French song was premiered on the France 3 website on March 14th. Back in January, the national broadcaster France 3 revealed that Amandine Bourgeois would be representing the country. She will be singing the song "L'enfer et moi" (Hell and me).

The website premiered the music video for her song, however on the same day she appeared on "C'a vous" where she performed the song in front of the other guests on the show. She sings the song on a stool backed by 2 female singers. Unfortunately it gives us very little clue as to how it might be staged in Malmo. The music video is very stylised and although it might be nice to try and get this feeling onto the stage this will be very difficult.

"L'enfer et moi" is a very dark song. During most of this song she is backed by an electric guitar. As it progressedsto the end the beat of a drum is most prominent. She is an interesting singer with quite a unique voice, if not a little screechy and shouty at the end. It is a moody song which will require a moody performance, not necessarily an engaging one and one, I don't think will make people pick up the phone and vote - not even in French speaking countries.

Basically, this is not a Eurovision song at all. I don;' even think this is an 'anti-Eurovision' or 'too good for Eurovision' song. Not being in English should not be a barrier to voting for a song but in this case I feel it is. There is such a strong narrative to the song that I feel will missed because this plot will not be able to come out on the Eurovision stage. Therefore I feel this is a song no-one will vote for no matter how good she might be on the night. As they are part of the Big 5, France are automatically through to the final - which is a good job really. Expect a finishing position that begins with a 2 (and I don't mean a single digit).

Artist - Amandine Bourgeois

Song - L'enfer et moi (Hell and me)
Music - Boris Bergman, David Salkin
Lyrics - Boris Bergman, David Salkin

 

Replacements

Surely choosing a song and artist for Eurovision is simple?           WRONG!

In modern times, winning your national selection is not always a cast iron guarantee of performing at Eurovision week. In fact, it seems that this is only half way to gaining a pair of golden handcuffs. Songs and artists can be interchangeable and countries can even be disqualified and no replacement put in.

In this podcast we look at the history of qualifying winners, that then turn out to be losers and what they were replaced with...

Keep an eye on the twitter feed at @DVVHolland as well as the facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DVVHolland to find out the latest news :o)

You can download or listen to it here http://www.archive.org/details/ESCReplacements

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

THE NETHERLANDS

The Dutch song was premiered during a live press conference aired on Radio station sterren.nl on March 11th. Back in October, the national broadcaster TROS revealed that Anouk would be flying their flag in Malmo. She will be singing the song "Birds".

 

During the press conference the song was just played, however on the same day she recorded a very simple live version on camera, which is the version below. She has stated that her performance in Malmo will be very simple, with just her on stage. I imagine a set up similar to that of Patricia Kaas a few year back. If the artwork of her song is anything to go by it will have a  monochrome look, in an old fashioned way, which will mirror aspects of the song.

Birds is a very simple almost stripped back ballad in 3/4 time. It is quite a dark song with a very sorrowful tone and laid back style. Her voice is very clear and the message of the song gets through. The song doesnt really grow and stays on the same level throughout although the backing track does provide some suspence at times. The song is very atypical of recent Eurovision fayre and seems like something more likely to have appeared at the early years of the ESC.

On first listen this is a very odd song. It does not sound like a Eurovision song at all. However after a few listens the song you warm to it and it becomes very familiar very quickly. Although the contest seems to be full of ballads this one is very unique. I honestly feel that a lot of this song's pull will be about the performance. Anouk is a well rehearsed performer with lots of experience and as it shows in the live clip she can perform this song effortlessly. A absolute idea of how well it will do cannot really be made until it has been put 'on show'. Initially I though this was very poor but has grown on me. This could be a dark horse or a complete failure.

Artist - Anouk

Song - Birds
Music - Anouk, Tore Johanson, Martin Gjerstad
Lyrics - Anouk
 

ROMANIA

The Romanian Final was held on March 9th at the TVR TV Studios in Bucharest, hosted by Paula Seling, Ovidiu Cernauteanu, Andreea Banica & Marius Rizea. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals of 16 songs each and the top 6 songs moved through to the final. The winner, chosen by televoting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%), was Cezar with "It's my life".

Cezar's performance in the final was different to that in the semi-final. I have placed both at the bottom of the review although I will focus on the final performance (howver the semi-final show was more visual, but the dancing even more dire). The stage is very simple - all black with a vertical video strip and different flashing lights. At the front of the stage there were pyrotechnic displays I could imagine something much more dramatic on set in Malmo. He is joined by 4 dancers, and a hidden backing singer (boo) The dancers in the final are wearing very bad outfits which don't suit the song at all. In fact the whole dance routine doesn't fit at all.

Cezar is a counter-tenor and although we have had a few of these in Eurovision before, one has never made it to the final. He is a very over the top and engaging performer - but the song needs it. The song's structure is very predictable which makes it very catchy. Half way through her is a dub step breakdown which actually works! On the negative side the chorus, which is sung in his upper range is almost incomprehensible, apart from the title. He has a very striking look, almost like the body and the voice don't go together.

This will, for one reason or another, be a memorable performance. Although Cezar is serious about his work and the area of opera he is trying to publicise, part of me just feels he needs to... well... camp it up a bit. I did joke on twitter that the only way this would work would be if he sang in a dress.

In all fairness to the guy, he is good at what he does and over time he and the song have grown on me. And amidst all of the ballads and Loreen rip-offs this certainly stands out. I think, and almost hope, that this does qualify for the final and I really wouldn't mind if this won *stunned silence*.

Artist - Cezar

Song - It's my life
Music - Cristian Faur
Lyrics - Cristian Faur