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:
Review songs in batches of 7 or 8 rather than doing a country-by-country recap.
These reviews primarily are going to be about the song rather than the complete package.
I’m only going to watch the national selection final (or internal selection) once or twice.
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
