Eurovision 2023 Song Review: 5th Batch: 🇮🇸🇲🇩🇨🇾🇦🇹🇮🇱🇬🇧

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are back for another season of Eurovision. As countries begin to select their songs, I’m going to do a brief recap of what I think about the ‘current’ songs.

For this recap, I’m going to chat about (in no particular order): Iceland, Moldova, Cyprus, Austria, Israel, and the UK.

Current ranking:

ICELAND 🇮🇸: DILJÁ — POWER

National Selection Performance: Songvakeppnin (***)

“Pa-Pa-POOOWER over me” I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting something like this from Iceland. I think that I prefer the chorus over the verses. I’ll say one thing: Dilja can really sing. Looking forward to seeing this on ESC2023’s stage.

MOLDOVA 🇲🇩: PASHA PARFENY — SOARELE ȘI LUNA

National Selection Performance: Etapa Nationala (***)

Ok, on to the song. While I’m not enthusiastic about the song, I do like it; however, I’m not really sure why. In his case, I feel like his backing vocalists do most of the heavy lifting in the song. Well . . . maybe that’s the point.

CYPRUS 🇨🇾: ANDREW LAMBROU — BREAK A BROKEN HEART

Internal Selection: Music Video (***)

Normally, I like these types of pop-R&B songs, but this one really doesn’t it for me. However, I cannot put my finger on why it doesn’t work for me. I don’t hate it, but I think that I will need some time for this one to grow on me. Andrew tried to compete for Australia in last year’s contest but didn’t make it. So this year, he will represent his motherland of Cyprus. At least, we know if he makes it to the final that he will receive 12 points from Greece AND Australia. Smart move.

AUSTRIA 🇦🇹: TEYA & SALENA — WHO THE HELL IS EDGAR?

Internal Selection: Music Video (***)

It’s a bop for me. However, I think it’s one of those songs that I’ll probably never listen to after Eurovision.

ISRAEL 🇮🇱: NOA KIREL — UNICORN

Internal Selection – Music Video (***)

I think Noa was one of the most anticipated artists from the very beginning of the ESC2023 season because 1) she’s an established artist (kind of the likes of Rosalia) and 2) Israel was planning to put up $900K – $1M for her package. While this is a typical pop-dance song, I can see the potential for the staging and performance. You just know that there is going to be a dance break in the performance. How do I know this? Because she says “Do you wanna see me dance” 80 thousand times in the song. Actually, she says it only three times. My conversation with Noa:

• Noa: Do you wanna see me dance?

• Me: Eh.

• Noa: Do you wanna see me dance?

• Me: I guess

• Noa: Do you wanna see me dance?

• Me: Well hurry up and do that damn dance.

• Noa: *Does the dance*

• Me: Final-damn-ly.

THE UK 🇬🇧: MAE MULLER — I WROTE A SONG

Internal Selection – Music Video (***)

Hmmm, it’s giving me Dua Lipa vibes, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s very earwormy for me because I’ll be singing “Instead I wrote a song da da da da dai-iii” probably for the remainder of the night. I really hope she has amazing staging, great dancing, and powerful vocals because I can see this one getting lost in the mix. Since the UK has not had a great history in this contest, I hope a lot is done to convince folks that Sam Ryder’s 2nd place finish was not a fluke . . . this advice also goes for Spain this year.

Social Media Plug:

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(deactivated until Easter)

smokinscientist

Eurovision (ESC) Thursday - ESC22 Then & Now - Part 1

I figured that I would do a comparison of what I thought about the songs when they were first released and what I think about the songs now since we are about 1.5 weeks away from the big day. Keep in mind for my “now”, I’m factoring in several things – preparty performances, general personality, and of course the song.

Since there are 40 countries competing in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, I’m breaking this topic down into two parts. Here’s the first half of the list in alphabetical order by country.

ALBANIA – RONELA – “SEKRET”

OMG, she pretty much embodies everything that makes Eurovision great. I would even say that is the most well-rounded artist in the contest. If there was some sort of Miss Congeniality award for Eurovision, she would be my top choice.

ARMENIA – ROSA LINN – “SNAP”

AUSTRALIA – SHELDON RILEY – “NOT THE SAME”

I’m not really sure why, but Sheldon lost power with me over the past couple of months.

AUSTRIA – LUM!X & PIA MARIA – “HALO”

Kind of like the song, but I was kind of surprised that Pia Maria’s live vocals were not as strong as they were on the studio version (I guess this happens frequently). My three stars are pretty much based on the song along because it’s one of those songs that will get you dancing or bopping your head at least.

AZERBAIJAN – NADIR RUSTAMLI – “FADE TO BLACK”

I will admit that I originally thought this song was a snoozefest. Like I said earlier, I think I was all Eurovisioned out by the time Azerbaijan released this song. That said, the song has grown on me and Nadir seems like a fun individual to hang with. In some ways, he reminds me a little bit of someone I used to date . . . even down to his “gingerness”

BELGIUM – JÉRÉMIE MAKIESE – “MISS YOU”

I think he is one of the strongest male vocalists in the contest, and I am a fan of the strong R&B vibe of the song. That said, I do not know much about him. He hasn’t been as active as other performers so it’s tough to get a sense of who he is. I wonder if it’s an English language thing for him. For instance, I’m not sure if he feels comfortable enough with the English language to put himself out there in these ESC streets. I fear that this might hurt him in the contest. But then again, most ESC viewers do not really pay attention to the contest until semi and final week.

BULGARIA – INTELLIGENT MUSIC PROJECT

I have to admit, I think that I let the public opinion influence my original thoughts about the song. While the song is a bit dated, I do not think it’s THAT bad of a song. Actually, the song has made it onto a couple of my running playlists.

CROATIA – MIA DIMŠIĆ – “GUILTY PLEASURE”

Eh, my opinion has not really changed too much.

CYPRUS – ANDROMACHE – “ELA”

Another case of loving the song but not knowing much about the artist. It seems like she is not too invested in ESC2022, which is fine. I assume that some artists would rather focus on themselves, their songs, their staging, etc during the weeks leading to Eurovision. She had a couple of interviews that gave me a bit of an “oh that’s weird” vibe. In an interview, she was asked about Greece’s ESC2022 song, and she said that she hadn’t heard it. As most know, Greece and Cyprus are pretty much cousins in this contest because they tend to give each other high points. Also, she (like most folks from Cyprus) is Greek. I dunno, but it seems strange that she (at this point) has not heard the Greek song. In another interview, she was asked if she’d be willing to do a collaboration with Chanel (Spain). This question was asked because a lot of folks from Spain like her song. And she responded that she did not know who Chanel is. I’m not mad that she does not know Chanel. BUT, for ESC2022, if you were to ask someone to name five artists from this batch, most folks would say (in no particular order) – Chanel (Spain), Ronela (Albania), Mahmmod & BLANCO (Italy), Ochman (Poland), and Sam Ryder (the UK). So it’s kind of strange that she responded in that manner. Then again, maybe she meant more of an I do not know her personally as opposed to not knowing who she is.

CZECH REPUBLIC – WE ARE DOMI – “LIGHTS OFF”

Going into the season this was one of my top songs. After seeing the group’s performances in the preparties, I was surprised by the weak vocals compared to the studio version and the Czech Republic’s national selection. Ok, the five preparties’ venues had a lot of issues with sound and technical difficulties. That said, other performers did fine with the same difficulties.

DENMARK – REDDI – “THE SHOW”

ESTONIA – STEFAN – “HOPE”

I still really like the song and the performer. While this song was released early in the national selection season, it pretty much has stayed in my top ten since it was released.

FINLAND – THE RASMUS – “JEZEBEL”

Right now, the song just really does not do much for me, but maybe that will change once I see the band on stage. I will say that out of all of the national finals, this band had the best LED staging.

FRANCE – ALVAN & AHEZ – “FULENN”

After viewing France’s national selection, this group was one of my tops. However, the group’s performances during the preparties leading up to ESC2022 week have been less than stellar. In my opinion, Alvan (one artist) and Ahez (a female trio) have not been really cohesive in some of their live performances. For instance, it sounds like they are singing two to three different songs even though they are now one group. While I like the song, I feel that the women in Ahez do not have a commanding stage presence, which is a huge contrast while looking at Alvan jumping all around the stage.

GERMANY – MALIK HARRIS – “ROCKSTARS”

This one has lost a bit of power for me. The other day, I was thinking about the songs from the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) and completely forgot about Germany’s entry. Like, I actually had to think very hard to remember the song and the artist. While the other members of the Big 5 put up strong entries this year, I think Germany is the weakest of the group. Since Germany is part of the Big 5, Malik will automatically qualify for the final; however, I do not see a strong finish for him. At the end of the day, I’m not sure that Rockstars is a good song for Eurovision, but I have a feeling that it will make it into some of my chillin’ at home playlists.

GREECE – AMANDA TENFJORD – “DIE TOGETHER”

I have no words that reflect how much I enjoy listening to this song.

ICELAND – SYSTUR – “MEÐ HÆKKANDI SÓL”

This trio definitely has grown one me over the past couple of months. While it might be a long shot, I really hope that they will qualify for the final. I wonder if they plan to include some English in this song as a way to connect to a larger audience.

IRELAND – BROOKE SCULLION – “THAT’S RICH”

Originally, this song was not my cup of tea (actually, it’s still not my cup of tea). However, I am quite impressed that Brooke’s vocals (and performances) have drastically improved over the past couple of months. Depending on her staging, I think the song might have a shot at qualifying. LOL moment for Brooke (maybe now it’s an LOL moment). When traveling from Ireland to Spain for one of the preparties, she lost her passport and had trouble entering the country. There’s video of officials in Spain’s border control office viewing her videos as a form of identifying her.

ISRAEL – MICHAEL BEN DAVID – “I.M”

Actually, I think my rating now would be a 2.5, but I guess that I gotta round up. The song just does not work for me as much as it did when was first released. However, word on the ESC streets has been saying that his rehearsal staging is really good and elevates his song and performance.

My Complete Rankings

Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) – Iceland 🇮🇸

Systur – “Með hækkandi sól” (With the rising sun)

Final Thoughts:

I think this is one of the songs that will have to grow on me. I have a feeling that this song will probably receive three stars from me. While I’m not too sure this will qualify for the finals, I might do ok in its semifinal round -maybe 12th/13th place. When I first heard the song, I was kind of like ZZZZZ ZZZZZ ZZZZ, but now I do not think it’s so bad. Based on the semifinal countries, there is a possibility that this group might slip through so never say never. This is one of those songs/performances where you have to be in the mood with an open mind to enjoy it. You know what it reminds me of? Music that I would listen to while studying . . . back when I did that.

I do appreciate that Systur, which is a group of three sisters, was brave enough to submit a song in the Icelandic language. Maybe “brave” is not the correct word to use, but in many cases (and unfortunately) for ESC, songs in English, French, Spanish (if you are not representing Spain ), and Italian are the way to go. Honestly, I wish more countries would submit songs in an official language, but I totally get that there is a favorable bias for songs performed in English. That’s probably one of the main reasons why Ireland won the contest three years in a row. Back then, countries had to sing in an official language.

Overall, I enjoyed the song’s arrangement, the complementary nature of the sisters’ voices, and the inspirational message.

Iceland in last year’s Eurovision

DAÐI & GAGNAMAGNIÐ – THINK ABOUT THINGS

• Semi-final results: 2nd place out of 17 performances (288 total points – 140 national juries and 148 public votes)

• Final results: 4th place out of 26 performances (378 total points – 198 national juries and 180 public votes)

Video from an ESC21 attendee

That damn Miss Rona strikes again. While the group made it to Rotterdam, unfortunately, one of the band members caught COVID so the band had to quarantine for the entire contest. Fortunately, the band was allowed to use one of their rehearsal videos for the semifinal and final, which is why the audience is watching the video instead of seeing a live performance. I guess technically it was a prerecorded live performance, but you know what I mean. To be perfectly honest, for the folks watching ESC21 on TV at home (or in my case, at a bar), you did not even notice that they were using a prerecorded video. Unlike the Australian contestant, the group could rehearse in the arena on the same stage as the other contestants, so you felt like they were physically on stage. In the case of the Australian contestant, she could not leave the country so her delegation sent a prerecorded video from Australia. Since her stage was drastically different from the one in Rotterdam, it did not feel like she was in the same contest.

When I first heard the during the semifinal round, I was like OUT. BUT, in the two days leading up to the final, the song and the band really grew on me. That’s why I think the Big Five countries (remember France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) should have an opportunity to perform in the semifinal rounds even if they automatically advance to the finals. Doing this would give folks, who do not listen to the songs before finals a chance to enjoy the song.

I absolutely love the lead singer’s voice, especially when he moves into his lower register around 1:13 (“as it ages like wiiiine”.). Random fact: the song is a dedication to his pregnant wife who is also in the band – she’s one of the folks playing the keyboard guitar.