All of this year’s songs have been selected, which means it’s time to start the countdown (cue Final Countdown) for the 2014 edition of our beloved Contest. I’ve only heard a couple of songs before writing this (p)review as I wanted to simulate the sensation of the regular viewer. Curious to see how thàt will turn out? Me too…
BELGIUM
The Song: I’m a bit torn by this. I like the understated bits, where the piano takes the lead – gives me goosebumps. Once the synths kick in (pity they didn’t use actual strings) it gets a tad too plastic for me. The lyrics don’t really work in its advantage either as ‘mother’ sounds either too reprimanding or too psycho to really grab me. But. All in all this is one of those timeless ballads that could work in any decade and make anyone melt. If they’re drunk and/or emotional enough *gets another Gin Tonic*
The Voice: Monsieur Axel sings this beautifully, there’s no contesting that. He knows his way around the notes ànd he puts enough emotions in his voice to make the lyrics less cringeworthy. Well, a bit anyway.
The Performance: I hope they keep it as understated as it was in our national final. I’m not even sure if they should keep the dancer – seeing her lurking in the shadows made it all come across a bit dark and morbid, not sure if that’s the way they intended it. Unless they want this song to become a classic at funerals, of course.
Checkpoint DIMI:
Daring? Daringly cliché
Intriguing? Only in the piano bits
Modern? Timeless, rather
International? Thàt remains to be seen
In one line: Any way the wind blows…
PERSONAL TOTAL: 65%
PREDICTION: I have no clue where our entry is going to end up. Could go either very high or do nothing at all. I see it making the final though. But will it do a Moltiva as some people seem to think? Hmz…
DENMARK
The Song: PLAGIJAT! No seriously, the chorus is very much like You To Me Are Everything (by The Real Thing) but on Scatman John frequency – check it yourself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_61zrkmZsjU) – I simply can’t hear anything else! A very cliché love song, in other words. The verses are enjoyable, yes, and they Bruno Marsified it very well. But this to me is simply not done. I’m not one for accusing any old entry of PLAGIJAT (and I did not favor any other entry in Danish MGP) but this is so blatant I simply cannot look past it.
The Voice: The Danish Bruno Mars. Which is meant to be a compliment, yes.
The Performance: The energy is very enjoyable and Basim sells this entry very well. He shouldn’t change a thing. Bar the song.
Checkpoint DIMI:
Daring? Daringly PLAGIJAT
Intriguing? It’s intriguing how this has not been disqualified yet
Modern? Did I already mention this sounds like PLAGIJAT to me?
International? You To Me Are Everything was a big hit, so I suppose this might be as well.
In one line: Are you gonna make me repeat it?
PERSONAL TOTAL: 50% (but ONLY because of him)
PREDICTION: If this gets to be performed on Saturday (meaning: if it doesn’t get disqualified) it might do VERY big things. And I will still ignore it with all my might. If it wins, which it might by the way, I’ll be VERY #humpf & #grmbl
ESTONIA
The Song: Well, what to say? This to me sounds as if they’ve put the two most recent Swedish entries (Euphoria & You) in a blender. It’s got the trance vibes from the one and the melody and build up from the other and I’m not quite sure if it works or not. It doesn’t bother me, but somehow it doesn’t grab me either. Catchy chorus, I’ll give it that much. And as it’s one of the few up tempo songs this year and it doesn’t sound completely dated it might end up on my final playlist.
The Voice: Well, what to say? Some singers in the Contest are out of breath just by standing there and this one throws in an entire routine without so much as flinching. The moving affects some of her notes, but as far as I can tell she’s pretty much on par all the way through. It all sounds rather good, actually. Impressive, all in all.
The Performance: Well, what to say? I’m not overly keen on these So You Think You Can Dance routines, all those jazzy ballet choreographies are a bit too flimsy to cut it for me. And here it’s just a tad too busy to contribute to the atmosphere of the song. It rather works against it, except for the (here it comes) amazing ‘weightless’ moment. I’d like to see a slicker performance. But hey, that’s my taste.
Checkpoint DIMI:
Daring? The combo song-choreo is. For her, at least.
Intriguing? Well, I didn’t stop watching so I guess that’s something
Modern? It rather is. Songwise.
International? I could see this in charts all over Europe, yes. Don’t know if it would top them though.
In one line: Needs some tweaking to be truly amazing.
PERSONAL TOTAL: 72%
PREDICTION: I can see this making the final, especially from the ballad heavy first semi. Don’t think it will trouble the top ten on Saturday though.
Current results:
- Armenia 83
- Austria 77
- Albania 72
- Estonia 72
- Belgium 65
- Azerbaijan 61
- Denmark 50
- Belarus 42
Dimivision 