Eurovision 2024 -1st Batch 🇫🇷🇦🇱🇨🇿🇸🇮🇮🇪🇱🇺

We are back for another season of Eurovision, and this year we are heading to Malmö, Sweden 🇸🇪. As countries begin to select their songs, I'm going to do a brief recap of what I think of the 'current' songs.

For this recap, I'm going to chat about (in no particular order): France 🇫🇷, Czechia 🇨🇿, Albania 🇦🇱, Slovenia 🇸🇮, Ireland 🇮🇪, and Luxembourg 🇱🇺 (where have they been?)

Like last year, I'm gonna do follow this mode of attack:

  1. Review songs in batches of 5 or 6 rather than doing a country-by-country recap.

  2. Watch the national selection final (or internal selection) once or twice.

  3. Not constantly listen to the songs until we get into semifinal week.

Reasons 1-2: For this edition, I don't have time to write 35+ posts (one per country) before getting into the actual contest. Also, what's the point of doing an in-depth or half-assed review (depending on how much free time I have) before the delegations either revamp the song and/or the performance? Reason 3: I don't want to get tired of the songs before the contest. A couple of Eurovisions ago, I noticed that I was pretty much over the songs that were released early in the national final (January/February) season by April.

Kwame's Current Rankings:

Like always, I'll use my cheezy Eurovision meter to rate the songs.

 

Alright let's get started:

France 🇫🇷: Slimane — Mon Amour (My Love)

Internal Selection – Performance (link: ***)

 
 

Ok, so this is not a live performance of the song (in the technical sense), but word on the street says the video is a live version of song. I know that we are only six songs into the season, but I have a feeling this one is going to stay in my top 10 (maybe even in my top 5 or 3). There is no question that Slimane has an AMAZING voice. But for me, it’s the rawness of his voice that pulls me into the song/performance. This definitely is song that you feel rather than listen to… or at least it is for me. I think the rawness in and power of his voice really drives the emotions of the song home. In fact, I have to listen to this 2-3 times in a row before moving to the next one. Actually, I kind of wish that France released the song later in the season, so it would have a greater impact. That said, France definitely set a high bar with the first song of the ESC2024 season. Actually, since Slimane is a popular artist in France, lemme check out some of his other music.

Ok on to the next.

Albania 🇦🇱: Besa — Zemrën N’dorë (Heart in Hand)

National Selection Performance – Festivali i Këngës (link: ***)

 
 

A few seconds into the performance, she seemed really nervous, which affected her vocal. Ok, we have a little bit of a rap/spoken word bridge with an uptempo beat. I dunno. During my first listen, this “rap” seemed a bit out of place, but I think it can work here. Also, it kind of elevates the typical ballad by adding a something somewhat unique. She might have to consider another outfit because she almost tripped on her dress, BUT she recovered very well. I wonder if she is going to have more folks on the stage for the actual Eurovision performance. Overall, great job from one of my favorite counties in the contest. I guess it’s one of my favorite countries, because they always send someone (male or female) who screams . . . and I do love a controlled (or even an uncontrolled) scream. 😉 In fact someone made a Youtube video about, you guessed it, Albania Screaming for 4 Minutes in Eurovision.

 

Czechia 🇨🇿: AIKO — Pedestal

National Selection Performance – Selectiva Nationala (link: ***)

 
 

I think the sound quality of venue where the national selection was held is a bit raggedy AF. Unfortunately, this snafu does not really highlight AIKO vocals. Ok, girlfriend needs to work on her breath control or stop jumping around so much. Wait, is she saying “f*ck myself on a pedestal”? I might have to look up these lyrics. Oh, nevermind, she said I need to learn to put myself on a pedestal. Hey, and she’s right. We all need to put ourselves on pedestals. ;) In the performance, she is doing too d*mn much for no d*mn reason. Also, why does the song ends so abruptly? It looks like the performance is about 2:30, so she has 30 seconds to add some things . . . or take some things out like that random off-key scream. In its current state, the song is a bit of an erratic mess, which necessarily is not a bad thing. BUT they have some time to work out the rough edges and elevate the staging a bit. Actually, since it gives garage rock band (IMO), perhaps, they don’t need to elevate the staging that much. The sound reminds of my Jack and coke / CBGB’s NYC days. Perhaps, I should have had a PBR or a Miller High Life while watching the video to enjoy the song more.

Slovenia 🇸🇮: Raiven — Veronika

Internal Selection Music Video - (link ***)

 
 

Awww shucks. We don’t have a live vocal for this one, so my 3 hearts probably would have been 4 hearts. I’m kind of speechless . . . in a good way. Why? I don’t know exactly what to think about this one, but I definitely can work with it. While the song isn’t mind blowing (IMO), I was captivated by the visual of the video so much that I wasn’t paying attention to the song that much. I think this will be a case where the staging will have to carry the song through the semi finals.

Ireland 🇮🇪: Bambie Thug — Doomsday Blue

National Selection Performance — Eurosong 2024 (link: ***)

 
 

What in Elvira Mistress of Darkness hell is this? I’m sorry, but this really isn’t my cup of tea. I just . . . don’t . . . get . . . it. Is she gonna sing at some point, or are we doing spoken word for three minutes? Then again, I guess one really doesn’t really have time to sing when you are going for something a bit counterculture . . . I think. While the song clearly is not for me, I will give Bambie Thug an A+ for the creativity and uniqueness in this video. Then again, clearly I’m missing something because most folks in the fandom really likes this song and performance. I will give Ireland props for thinking outside of the box for this one. Since they have not qualified for the final since Eurovision 2018, maybe Bambie Thug and her alternative performance will get Ireland to the final.

Luxembourg 🇱🇺: Tali — Fighter

National Selection Performance – Luxembourg Song Contest (link: ***)

First, welcome back to the contest, Luxembourg. Luxembourg last time in the contest was during Eurovision 1994. Overall, I think Fighter is a mid-level song because of the decent vocals, staging, and dancing. While it’s nothing that we haven’t seen in the contest, I think it’s moderate enough to qualify (coupled with Luxembourg returning to the contest…well, maybe). Also, Tali has plenty of time to clean up the vocals and some of the choreography. I noticed that she had some breath control issues with the singing and dancing especially with the uptempo french, french, french, french part. Ok, I looked the lyrics for the really fast part: J’avoue, j’avoue je sais pas. J’veux tout et rien à la fois. J’finirai complètement folle. Et voilà (I admit, I admit that I don’t know. I want everything and nothing at the same time. I’ll end up completely crazy. And that’s it). HA! That sounds like me when I visit the the kitchen for late-night snacking.

Up Next:

That’s it for now, let’s see what the next batch of songs will bring. Looking at the national selection final calendar, it looks like the next batch will include: Ukraine 🇺🇦, Norway 🇳🇴, Malta 🇲🇹, Spain 🇪🇸, Israel 🇮🇱.

 

Eurovision 2024 playlist:

Social Media Plug:

 

kosjrphd (deactivated until Easter)

 
 
 

Eurovision 2023 - 1st Batch of Songs (🇳🇴, 🇧🇪, 🇪🇸, 🇺🇦, 🇸🇮, 🇨🇿, 🇦🇱, 🇮🇪)

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 of the ‘current’ songs. Actually, I’m a bit late with my first batch because this past weekend had another ‘super selection’ where we now have 7 new songs (in addition to the eight) in our roster.

For this recap, I’m going to chat about (in no particular order): Norway, Belgium, Spain, Ukraine, Slovenia, Czech Republic/Czechia, Albania, and Ireland.

This year, I’m going to do things a bit differently as we move through the national selection season:

  1. Review songs in batches of 7 or 8 rather than doing a country-by-country recap.

  2. These reviews primarily are going to be about the song rather than the complete package.

  3. I’m only going to watch the national selection final (or internal selection) once or twice.

  4. I’m not going to constantly listen to the songs until we get into semifinal week.

Reasons 1-2: For this edition, I don’t have time to write 35+ posts (one per country) before getting into the actual contest. Also, what’s the point of doing an in-depth or half-assed review (depending on how much free time I have and my mood) before the delegations either revamp the song and/or the performance (I guess this would fall into the Reason 3 category)? Reason 4: I don’t want to get tired of the songs before the contest. Last year, I noticed that I was pretty much over the songs that were released early in the national final (January/February) season by April.

Like always, I’ll use my cheezy Eurovision meter to describe the songs.

In last week’s post, I did mention my rankings with the ‘current’ songs.

 

NORWAY🇳🇴: ALESSANDRA — QUEEN OF KINGS

National Selection Performance – Melodi Grad Prix (***)

 
 

It’s no secret that I love a song with a nice buildup that leads to a climate. Of this first bunch, I’m gonna say that Alessandra’s song is my favorite. Right now, I think it’s the complete package – vocals, composition, lyrics, etc.

BELGIUM 🇧🇪: GUSTAPH — BECAUSE OF YOU

National Selection Performance – Eurosong (***)

 
 

I think that I’m probably one of the few folks from the fandom that likes this song. Perhaps, it’s a generational thing because this song takes me back to my days (or rather nights . . . or rather early mornings) of going to gay lounges when I first moved to NYC back in 2002. Yes, the song is pretty generic and safe, but I think Gusatph can sell it. Hopefully, the staging will become stronger by the time May rolls around.

SPAIN 🇪🇸: BLANCA PALOMA — EAEA (PRONOUNCED LONG A AH LONG A AH)

National Selection Performance – Benidorm Fest (***)

 
 

So I cheated a bit for this one because I actually watched Spain’s national final (Benidorm Fest). Thus, my opinion is a little conflicted – the song itself gets 3 hearts, but the performance would bring it to four hearts. First, Blanca Paloma is an AMAZING singer – she has it all vocal strength, a unique voice, and a great stage presence. My only problem with the song, it’s one that I cannot (or rather do not want to) listen to multiple times in a row. Actually, I take that back because I can listen to the last 10 seconds of the song multiple times in a row.

UKRAINE 🇺🇦: TVORCHI — HEART OF STEEL

National Selection Performance – Vidbir (***)

 
 

Ok, I’m going to be completely honest and say that I was shocked (in a good way) that this song won. Since Ukraine is having issues with Russia, I would have assumed that Ukraine was going to send the most “Ukrainian/Eastern European” song possible. Also, I was surprised in a good way that they selected a duo where the lead singer is Afro-Ukranian. In the more recent years of the contest, Ukraine typically sends a song in Ukrainian (or mostly in Ukrainian) with ethno-rhythms, so Heart of Steal deviates from that standard formula. Hey, Ukraine has had great success with its ethnic-rhythmic songs, so it is kind of interesting the country went in a different direction. For instance, Gaitana (Ukraine’s representative from 2012) mentioned that she received messages implying that she “didn’t represent Ukrainian soul” (Link ***). Overall, I like this song because this falls into my general R&B genre. Although I listen to many genres of music (as one can assume by me following the contest), I always default to R&B probably because I grew up on it (along with Hip Hop, Rap, and Soul).

SLOVENIA 🇸🇮: JOKER OUT — CARPE DIEM

Music video (***)

 
 

As of right, I think this song will have to grow on me. Generally speaking, I do like the overall vibe of the song, and I think the lead singer does just enough vocally. While it has only two hearts right now, I think it will move up in my Eurovision meter.

CZECH REPUBLIC/CZECHIA 🇨🇿: VESNA — MY SISTER’S CROWN

National Selection Performance – ESCZ (***)

 
 

I will say that I like the live version of this song more than the studio version, which is a good thing for the contest. In the studio version, I think the backing instrumental/music kind of drowns out the lead singer. While I have no idea what she is singing, I enjoyed the rapper break. I think it drives the point of the song home and compliments the rest of the group’s vocals.

ALBANIA 🇦🇱: ALBINA DHE FAMILJA KELMENDI – DUJE

National Final Performance – Festivali i Këngës (***)

 
 

If memory serves me correctly, I think FIK had two winners – one of the national final and one who would go to Eurovision. I guess I should not use the presence of an orchestra in my brief assessment because Eurovision no longer uses a live orchestra, but the orchestra is one of the reasons why I like songs from FIK. Although I don’t understand what they are saying, there is something that I really enjoy listening to traditional folk music from Albania. For me, in most cases (and those cases are limited), one can feel the emotion of the song without understanding the language. Ok, enough of my randomness. I think Albina has a compelling voice and is very emotive in how she sings the song. Or as some in the fandom will say: the screaming lady from Albania effect. Lol, someone actually made a Youtube video ‘Albania screaming for 4 minutes in Eurovision’. (Youtube Link: ***). Now, the backing vocalists (i.e. her family) could use a little work; however, I think they will tighten things up over the next couple of months. From the live performance, you can get a sense that a couple of her family members are not as well-seasoned with performing live as Albina.

IRELAND 🇮🇪: WILD YOUTH — WE ARE ONE

National Final Performance – The Late Show (***)

 
 

Another mildly unpopular opinion from me: Unlike most in the fandom, I kind of like the song. Is it safe? Yes; Is it generic? Yes; Does it sound like something you would hear in a shopping mall, grocery store, and/or Starbucks? Hell yes. I don’t know why, but I like the vibe, general theme, and composition of the song. I guess that I’m showing my age by liking this song. While the lyrics aren’t super complex, it has a great general message, and the song ties into the slogan of this year’s contest – United by Music.

My ‘conspiracy theory’: I think Ireland gets a bit of a bad rap for their selections because as of now the country holds the most Eurovision wins (seven and three of those were in consecutive years). Many probably will not start liking Ireland’s ESC submissions until another country (more than likely Sweden) takes ‘the country with the most wins’ title. Because of their history in the contest, I feel like certain countries (e.g. Ireland, the UK, Germany, Slovenia, Georgia, etc) have to do way more than other countries to get the same recognition. I’ve joked and said that Sweden and Italy could send someone farting into a microphone for three minutes, and they probably would make the top ten in the contest. Something that I call the U2/Bono effect. Note I did not coin this term, but I forgot where I heard it. Don’t get me wrong, Sweden and Italy typically earn their spot in the top 10. However, I think if Italy had sent We Are One, some would call it a musical masterpiece.

Here’s the Spotify playlist of the current group of songs

Social Media Plug:

 
 
 
 

Eurovision (ESC) Thursday - ESC22 Then & Now - Part 2

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 second half of the list in alphabetical order by country.

LATVIA – CITI ZENI – “EAT YOUR SALAD”

 
 

The guys from Citi Zeni pretty much have stayed the same for me throughout this crazy ESC2022 season.

LITHUANIA – MONIKA LIU – “SENTIMENTAI”

 
 

I gotta say that Monika is an entire vibe, and I’m such a huge fan of her song and her personality.

MALTA – EMMA MUSCAT – “OUT OF SIGHT” “I AM WHAT I AM”

 
 

Malta did a little switcheroo on us. They released one song but decided to change its entry later in the national selection season. While that’s not against the rules, it did rub some folks the wrong way. If it is part of the rules, I cannot fault Malta for taking advantage of this loophole. Although this song isn’t a huge improvement compared to the first one originally submitted, I do like this song a bit more than the first one.

MOLDOVA – ZDOB ȘI ZDUB & FRAȚII ADVAHOV – “TRENULEŢUL”

 
 

Looking back, I may have given Moldova too low of a score – that’s why this entry is Then and Now. While I’m not a huge fan of the revamp, this song still puts a smile on my face. Oh, I’m not too huge of a fan of the revamp because I think they made it too “rocky” at the expense of the folk sound.

MONTENEGRO – VLADANA – “BREATHE”

 
 

Throughout this season, Vladana has been delivering the fashions. Seeing what she was going to wear to the preparties was one of the reasons why I followed the preparties. Unfortunately, the vocal did not really match all of the fashions that she was delivering.

NETHERLANDS – S10 – “DE DIEPTE”

 
 

I will be honest that I pretty much skipped this song early in the season, but it really grew on me. For instance, as I type this, I’m singing “OOOOOHHHH oOOOHHHH AAAAH AAAHH something, something, something in Dutch” in my head. The unexpected is one of the things that I like about Eurovision. A song in a language besides English or Spanish that I would normally ignore has become one of my top songs for the year. In addition to a strong song, I have to give S10 so many props (or as the kids say her flowers) for overcoming so many obstacles just to get this to this point.

NORTH MACEDONIA – ANDREA – “CIRCLES”

 
 

Andrea’s song started off really strong for me, but it lost that spark over the season. Compared to other artists this year, I feel that she lacks a certain stage presence when performing this particular song. However, I am a bit conflicted because I LOVE the personality that she has displayed during interviews.

NORWAY – SUBWOOLFER – “GIVE THAT WOLF A BANANA”

 
 

The jump from three stars to five stars is primarily based on the group’s personality. For example, the group has made parodies (in a good, friendly way) of most of the other songs/videos for this year’s contest. Honestly, I look forward to seeing what randomness they are going to post on Instagram. They seem like the type of folks whom you want on your party’s or brunch’s guest list. While the group has not revealed their identities, I (as well as others in the fandom) think they are Ylvis. The duo that had that somewhat popular “Fox” song from a few years ago. A few reasons for this assumption:

  • They are both from Norway and on the same record label

  • The costumes imitating animals

  • Dancers wearing ties

  • Special choreography

  • Since Subwoolfer is from the Moon (for ESC2022 at least), they do not speak and have a “translator” do their interviews. I think this is clearly a decoy to throw off folks who might recognize their speaking voices.

POLAND – KRYSTIAN OCHMAN – “RIVER”

 
 

This song pretty much has stayed in my top 5 through this Eurovision season.

PORTUGAL – MARO – “SAUDADE SAUDADE”

 
 

I really tried, but I just could not get into this song even after multiple listens. My one-star does not mean the song is bad; it just means (for whatever reason) the song just doesn’t resonate with me.

ROMANIA – WRS – “LLÁMAME”

 
 

Boy oh boy. This song is such an earworm. Like I’m actually singing Hola, mi be-bé-bé. {HEY} Hola, mi be-bé-bé. {HEY} Llámame, llámame. I dunno why, but this song always seems to put a smile or a smirk on my face. For me, the huge jump in stars is less about the song and more about the artist, Wrs. While he seems quite eccentric, he also seems to be quite down to earth with a super chill vibe. If Eurovision gave out a Mr. Congeniality award, Wrs would be my top candidate for ESC2022. Although Wrs is going to be in a tough semifinal round, I really hope that he qualifies to the grand final.

SAN MARINO – ACHILLE LAURO – “STRIPPER”

 
 

I might have unfairly judged this one. No, I take that back. I think that I judged it fairly based on Achille’s performance during San Marino’s national selection. However, over time the artist and the song really grew on me. Also, I kind of like the mystery behind Achille. With his too cool-for-school demeanor, I’m like does he even want to be in Eurovision. I guess that’s the mystery behind him. You know, do not give them too much so they will always want more. Oh, I do think he wants to participate in Eurovision because he would not have competed in two separate national selections for the contest. After placing in the bottom half of Italy’s Sanremo festival, he decided to compete in San Marino’s national selection.

SERBIA – KONSTRAKTA – “IN CORPORE SANO”

 
 

This has been one of my favorite songs and performers throughout ESC2022 season. No one had better say anything bad about Konstrakta.

SLOVENIA – LPS – “DISKO”

 
 

Last Pizza Slice (or LPS) gained a little power with me. While I am a fan of disco music, the song never resonated with me. However, there is one part of the song when the lead singer (I think his name is Philip) and the band really slows down the groove. I don’t know why but I absolutely love that part of the song. In fact, I mainly listen to the song because of that transition. Random LOL. Doesn’t the group look like bunch of high schoolers set up a band with their music teacher?

 

Photo courtesy of RTV SLOVENIA

 

SPAIN – CHANEL – “SLOMO”

 
 

What an amazing talent. While Chanel does not have the strongest vocals of the female performers in this year’s contest, her dancing and stage presence are undeniable. If she plays her cards right and has a good team, I’m sure that we will hear a lot from her in the future.

SWEDEN – CORNELIA JAKOBS – “HOLD ME CLOSER”

 
 

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

SWITZERLAND – MARIUS BEAR – “BOYS DO CRY”

 
 

Sorry Switzerland, but I just could not get into the singer or the song.

UKRAINE – KALUSH ORCHESTRA – “STEFANIA”

 
 

This is complicated because Ukraine originally was sending Alina Pash as its representative. However, she had to withdraw after it was discovered that she illegally traveled to Crimea, which is a no no for Ukrainian citizens. Since Kalush Orchestra came in second place for the national selection, they became the Ukrainian candidates for ESC2022. I’m sorry but the song does not really work for me. Actually, I take that back. The rapper does not really work for me. Since anything related to Ukraine is clearly a touchy subject, I’ll just leave my comments there.

THE UK – SAM RYDER – “SPACE MAN”

 
 

While Poland is my favorite to win, I think Sam is going to bring the Eurovision microphone trophy back to the UK after many, Many, MANY years. My only concern with his song during my original review was with hitting those high notes live. At the time of the review, I only commented on the music video. I gotta say that he delivered those high notes at every single preparty. Also, I have seen some clips of his rehearsals for Eurovision and the staging is probably one of the best stagings that I have seen in the few years of watching Eurovision. The BBC really invested quite a bit of pounds in this artist, and I think the UK will be extremely pleased with his results. I’m going to say this right now, but you know there is some geopolitical crap going on if Sam does not finish in the top 10 overall and in the top five for the national juries vote.

My Complete Rankings