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…
POLAND
The Song: Call me crazy but I kinda dig this. It could have easily been sliding down the pitfalls of the Anti Entry but this is a clever little song – I suppose the fact that it was a hit before it got asked to go to Copenhagen might have something to do with that. It’s like the Polish version Black Eyed Peas, isn’t it? Out of the box, and I like me some out of the box stuff.
The Voice: Girlfriends got a couple of balls there. Sell it! Curious to see how they’ll handle the omnipresent backing vocals…
The Performance: …and how that will influence that act from the video, as I kinda think it fits the buzz of the song. The DJ in the booth doesn’t really have to be there for me, but I suppose your local Will.I.Am needs to be included…
Checkpoint DIMI:
Daring? It actually is – folk meets hip hop, a match surprisingly made in heaven
Intriguing? It rather is!
Modern? #duh
International? Despite the language I can see this crossing barriers, yes.
In one line: Eat that, Fergie.
PERSONAL TOTAL: 76%
PREDICTION: Final, left hand side of the scoreboard. Top ten perhaps, IF juries don’t disregard this.
PORTUGAL
The Song: This needs to die. Seriously, how old fashioned does this sound? And how repetitive is this? This sounds like something that would entertain the crowd at halftime in a soccer match at the World Cup. Or like something that would end up 7th in Melodifestivalen 2002. It does NOT belong at ESC 2014.
The Voice: Well, Suzy can certainly sing – when she’s not moving. Which hurts the performance of course, either way you look at it.
The Performance: It’s a mix of Ireland 2013 and Portugal 2003 – a recipe for disaster, eller hur. Bring a bit of fun into it (no, I’m not looking at you, painted man) and this might be saved. Might be.
Checkpoint DIMI:
Daring? Daringly outdated
Intriguing? Far from it
Modern? N to the O!
International? Once it gets to Brazil maybe. That is far from Copenhagen, by the way.
In one line: I was excited by Portugal’s return to ESC. Past tense.
PERSONAL TOTAL: 14%
PREDICTION: It’s up tempo, so perhaps this might crawl out of the ballad heavy first semi. But I don’t really see it happening.
ROMANIA
The Song: Ow dear. The duo that claimed my douze points in 2010 with a fun, flirty song is back and something’s gone awfully wrong. It’s like they took the Danish 2010 entry and had it remixed by one of AVICII’s less talented cousins. It’s all just so…sterile. Formulaic. Soulless. Pity.
The Voice: There’s no contesting these two can sing – I just wonder why they’re singing against each other, rather than with one another…
The Performance: The bit with the visual trickery is cute but adds little to the performance which is very Denmark 2010 again, including the walk to the satellite stage at the end. In need of a make-over.
Checkpoint DIMI:
Daring? They wish.
Intriguing? They wish.
Modern? Well, I *guess* it has some contemporary elements, yes
International? I suppose this could interest people around Europe (who have never heard of AVICII and co.)
In one line: If this is a Miracle then I’m Angeline Jolie.
PERSONAL TOTAL: 42%
PREDICTION: A most probable finalist. And if Dracula could go left hand side of the scoreboard last year I fear this might as well. I’ll be very surprised if this goes top 5 though. Unless they resolve the stage act.
CURRENT RESULTS
- Israel 92
- Norway 88
- Hungary 87
- Iceland 84
- Armenia 83
- Italy 79
- Austria 77
- Poland 76
- France 75
- Germany 75
- Netherlands 74
- Finland 73
- Albania 72
- Estonia 72
- Lithuania 70
- FYR Macedonia 68
- Malta 67
- Belgium 65
- Azerbaijan 61
- Montenegro 58
- Moldova 55
- Ireland 52
- Denmark 50
- Romania 42
- Belarus 42
- Greece 18
- Portugal 14
- Latvia 4
- Georgia 0
Dimivision 
Just because you think the Portuguese song sounds like Lambada and because that type of “exotic” music was a one hit wonder in your Western countries in 1989/1990 it doesn’t mean it’s dated… That type of music has been popular in Portugal for years and it still is, it actually sells a lot here (although very criticised by pseudo-intellectuals). Different countries, different trends, people just have to accept that and not try to impose their notions of what modern music is.
Especially when there are songs like BELGIUM (!!!), San Marino, Iceland, Latvia, Germany, Netherlands, etc – songs and melodies like these exist for years!
Where exactly do I refer to Lambada, may I ask? And you’re kinda proving my point – when I say that something sounds dated, it means it’s been around for (too) many years. The Portuguese entry to me is comparable to the Dutch entry in 2010 (Shalalie) which was a typical song for its genre as well, a genre which is popular in Netherlands & Belgium but doesn’t do anything across the borders because it sounds too local. Eurovision to me is a contest which should sprout one (and preferably more) international hit that can top charts all over Europe. The Portuguese entry is in no way capable of that, not only for the reason above but also because it doesn’t sound fresh enough. The examples you give are indeed embedded in genres that have been around for a while but they at least manage to evoke emotions, whatever they may be. The Portuguese entry is way too beige for that. That is not imposing, that’s merely observing.
If this song is not capable of becoming a hit (according to you) then why did Sony International purchased the rights of the song? Just wondering since you seem to be a musical expert of some sort… The examples I gave manage to give you emotions despite being extremely old fashioned. How I love double standards (lol). This one at least isn’t pretentious and evokes emotions of happiness unlike most songs in Semifinal 1. Thank God not only biased eurofans are able to vote otherwise the same countries would be doomed every single year.
I imagine SONY will launch it in South America then, where it actually belongs. I never claimed your examples were modern (bar Germany and Iceland which do sound fresh to my ears), so I do wonder why I should be labeled as biased (I usually love Portugal in Eurovision, by the way) or having double standards – it’s still my own opinion, thanks. And in the end it all comes down to taste, so let’s agree to disagree.
I guess songs like “Balada boa” and “Ai se eu te pego” only belong to South America as well… Oh wait, they were actually hits in Europe but how was that possible? 😮 Enough said. Bye!