Zdob Si Zdub & Fratii Advahov - Trenuletul
Vocal:
Fratti’s voice is pretty average with nothing really to write home (or to Europe) about. If he sang a bit faster, he would sound like an auctioneer – “12 points from Moldova, going once, going twice, sold to the lady in the red hat with flowers”. Also, I’m not sure why he is wearing sunglasses for their entire performance. Maybe he had something going on with his eyes. Just as an FYI: one of my pet peeves is people wearing sunglasses inside for no apparent reason. I mean, are you too cool for the room?
Musical Arrangement:
I kinda like the “Hey Ho! Let’s go folklore and rock n roll”, and not because it is the only part in English ;). I will say that I love the polka-esque vibe of the song. While I am a fan of ballads and dance tracks for these sorts of competitions, I really appreciate when artists incorporate components of their culture into the song (outside of just singing the song in their native/national language). Also, I think the band is a bit stronger than the lead singer.
Staging:
While they look like they are having fun (especially the guitarist on the far left), I found the staging to be very dry. It kind of looks like a performance from Eurovision contests back in the 80s. Maybe the group is trying to relive older Eurovisions where you just had performers sing and dance without all of the fancy lighting and staging. This is not a bad thing, but in recent Eurovisions, those performers typically do not do well. Based on the performance itself, I have NO idea what the song is about. However, I did view the music video and thought it was very fun and cheeky. Pretty much, the lead singer and the band get into some crazy antics while aboard a train traveling from Chisinau, Moldova to Bucharest, Romania (the capital cities of the two countries). Going forward, they will have to add some things to enhance the staging. I’m not sure if they can add more people, because I think ESC entrants can have about six folks on stage. Who knows, maybe they’ll have a big ass train on the stage since the title, Trenuletul, is Romanian for train. Kind of like how the performers from Turkey used their costumes to convert themselves into a boat. ;)
Image courtesy of NeoGAF
Final Thoughts:
I think this should be more of a 2.5-star rating because I personally kind of like it. Even as I type this, I am bopping my head. As of right now, I do not see the song advancing to the final round, but with some modifications in the staging, it might have a shot. However, Moldova and its crazy cast of characters seem to be wild cards in Eurovision. When you count the country out, it ends up doing well.
Moldova in last year’s Eurovision:
Natalia Gordienko – Sugar
The hubby told me that we are supposed to use “Eurodivas” for performers like Natalia.
Semi-final results: 7th place out of 17 performances (179 total points – 56 jury and 123 public votes)
Final Results: 13th place out of 26 performances (115 total points – 53 jury and 62 public votes)
I will say that I was a bit surprised that she performed so well in the final. For instance, the performance received a maximum of 12 points from Bulgaria and Russia in the final. Well, the twelve points from Russia make sense because of her Russian connections. Her artistic director has been known to purchase votes from former Soviet countries for his artists. If you saw Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga movie, the Russian group’s leader singer is based on this artistic director. I’m not saying his name because I do not need that kind of heat. Although I was surprised that it did so well in the competition, I did like the performance (especially the funny/funky dance before the chorus) and portions of the performance have become memes in the Eurovision world.
Whatever folks may think about her ESC2021 performance, it’s sure is a lot better than her ESC2006 contribution. Also, she definitely managed to keep her body right and tight for over 15 years.