I believe that it's the small things in life that matter. You can improve something by making tiny changes, and by working up from the bottom, you can truly achieve greatness.
Ah the Eurovision duet. A rare beast. It's hard not to be cheesy, but there have been some really good ones (2010's "Playing with Fire", 2008's "Day after Day") mixed in with the disasters (anyone remember Malta's "On Again...Off Again" in 2004?!). The last duo to win were the Olsen Brothers from Denmark in 2000, and so with the recent trend of solo women winning, maybe it's time for a pair to win again?
This duet is moving, catchy and one of the more (UK) chart worthy entries this year, which continues Azerbaijan’s impressive line-up of songs in their Eurovision infancy. The song is crying out for a wind machine based performance. If the chemistry between the two on stage holds up, this might place well, though prob lacks that something to actually win.
Slovakia/Slovensko - "I’m Still Alive" – TWiiNS
The video for this is bizarre, with clips of Slovakia’s football and ice hockey “victories”, footage of the revolution and then clips of people dispersed from their homes by the Danube flooding, topped off by the birth of a baby. Is this song making out to be an anthem for Slovakia? Or surviving against the odds? Would you believe that it's produced by the someone who lists Timbaland, Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake as their clientele? It’s just plain nuts, confirmed by lyrics such as “When your road’s not too wide, then trust the heart never lies”.
The Eurovision season is upon us (well me, at least).
So now that all the countries have picked a song and are ferverently rehearsing and touring Europe in order to gain favour, I'm going to start working through the preview videos to see where I can have my toilet breaks come the actual night(s) of the contest.
The semi-final system is still running, which means freaks like me get 3 nights of pure Europop gold to sit through/enjoy/wish would just end.
The first semi-final gives us a clue as to the tone of the contest this year. The tradition is for everyone to try and copy the previous year's winner, and then usually the country that doesn't do that wins.
So the past few years have been inundated with violins, and an alarming trend towards folk music. Brilliant, I do love a Moldovan goat-herding chant mixed with Turkish base beats.
So over the next few weeks, you'll get to see what I think of the best* of European talent, starting with the first semi-final, which will see 10 acts make it to the final to join France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Norway. If you care why this is, take a look at Wikipedia. So we don't get to vote in this semi-final, but who do I want to see through to the final?
1 Moldova "Run Away" - SunStroke Project & Olia Tira
Liking the use of violins (but a year too late mate). Far better is the saxophone and the overuse of pink glitter and Helsinki Blonde hair dye in this actually not-so-bad number from the bizarrely named SunStroke Project.
2 Russia "Lost & Forgotten" - Peter Nalitch & Friends
Oh dear, starting the song wailing away is never going to endear anyone now is it? Not that this improves. It's like a Channel Five reality show where a load of workmen get together to make a song in 3 days with hilarious consequences. And the facial expressions made by the lead singer seem to suggest he doesn't quite understand the lyrics he's singing. It's all worth it for the high notes near the end though. Not.
3 Estonia "Siren" - Malcolm Lincoln and Manpower 4
Wow this is bleak. Not that I don't like it, indeed quite the opposite, I think it's quite cool, in a final-year arts student way. Even the video is like some concept piece. I think it's actually quite good. Not sure how this will translate to stage though... I can see it being phenomenal, but then again, I can see it looking like a main wailing for 3 minutes.
4 Slovakia "Horehronie" - Kristina
Hmm. It's not so bad this in fact, but it never seems to go anywhere. The dancer blokes look utterly ridiculous in their green plastic leaf costumes playing with giant elastic bands but at least it's more interesting than the folk waistcoats at the end of the video. The song is apparently an ode to the Horehronie tourism region, how exciting. It's all nice but a bit dull. Which means it might do quite well. But I'm bored already.
There's 13 songs to go (and that's just the first semi-final) so expect more blogs...
