All of this year’s songs have been selected, the running order has been decided: let’s get this show on the road! I’ll be reviewing all of this year’s participants three by three in running order. Lord, gimme strength… Let the Hunger Games…eum…fun begin!
SPAIN
The Song: Gosh, how uninspired is this? It sounds like it’s been thrown together in a couple of minutes, with only the electronic bits as a bit of diversion from the endless repetition of the same lyrics and chords. Lazy beach song, emphasis on lazy.
Standout lyric: ” Do it for your lover ” Do what, exactly?
The Voice: As unimpressive as the song. The second part of the song is almost entirely for the backings, which I have yet to hear live.
The Performance: The beachy vibe works, so if they wanna try and squeeze an acceptable result out of this then that is definitely the route to take.
In one line: Endless lover.
PERSONAL TOTAL: 
PREDICTION: There are much better songs ànd performers on this year’s menu. No gain for Spain.
UKRAINE
The Song: Surprisingly the only rock entry in this edition, but thankfully it’s an outstanding one. Could’ve been Finnish, which is obviously a compliment. Three minutes of uncomplicated power, with an excellent in-your-face bridge to top it off. Me like.
Standout lyric: ” There’s no common ground, there’s no compromise ” As if they had predictive powers when they composed this.
The Voice: The working point here. All is fine in the verses, but it kinda derails in the chorus. A bit of tweaking should to the trick.
The Performance: Hoping they don’t change a thing from that NF performance. The apocalyptic vibe gives it a sense of urgency, especially with that ticking clock. LOVE the symbolism of the countdown simply leading to a ‘countup’ at the end of the song.
In one line: Tick tick tock tick tock, that’s the sound of our bomb, tick tock tick tick tock don’t stop.
PERSONAL TOTAL:
PREDICTION: Should/could sneak into the lower top 10 region, I feel. If all the political controversy hasn’t left its marks, of course.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Song: Finally we get another UK entry that doesn’t make me roll my eyes every ten seconds. It verges a bit on the cheesy side, but it manages to keep its understated feel all the way through. Was a bit apprhensive about that sparse production at first, but I have to admit it works. And with those emotional lyrics, it almost follows in the footsteps of Adele’s ‘Someone like you’ – there are worse references, I’d say.
Standout lyric: ” Together we’ll dance through this storm ” We’ve all been there.
The Voice: THE selling point here. Lucie is an amazing singer who manages to get the emotional layer of this song across extremely well. In the NF she verged on going overboard or shouty, but I’m sure she’ll be able to sell this for more than it’s worth.
The Performance: That video is a bit of a letdown, except for the part with the black & white stripes and Lucie’s lips in a bright shade of red. Which is cool, but somehow doesn’t really suit the song. Very curious to see how they’ll stage this.
In one line: No teardrops.
PERSONAL TOTAL:
PREDICTION: This is the first time in years that I consider the UK having a chance of going top ten again, maybe even top five. It’s risky, but my gut tells me this will surprise many of us.
That’s it, we’ve finally reached the end of the very long list of participants. Now, what to make of it? Which countries will fight for the title? After having sat through all of them, my crystal ball sees three real contenders for the win:
- Italy – because I dare not ignore the bookies, and it’s got Denmark 2013 written all over it: nice enough, compromising crowdpleaser.
- Belgium – because it’s the coolest song of the bunch, that might come across very well if they get the staging right.
- United Kingdom – because my gut is telling me that Lucie will be able to sell this for far more than it’s worth.
And three dangerous outsiders:
- Portugal – because if people get it, it will go BIG. If.
- Finland – because it’s beautifully understated and might just sneak its way into the hearts of many.
- Azerbaijan – because there’s something about it that makes me keep my eye on it.
FINAL PERSONAL RESULTS
– 1. Portugal 2. Belgium 3. Armenia
– 4. FYR Macedonia 5. Sweden 6. Finland 7. Norway 8. Ukraine 9. Iceland 10. Azerbaijan
– Montenegro, Poland, Latvia, Serbia, Hungary, Denmark, Ireland, Belarus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Israel, Italy, UK
– Georgia, Australia, Albania, Czechia, Cyprus, Austria, Netherlands, San Marino, Switzerland, France
– Greece, Moldova, Slovenia, Malta, Romania, Germany, Spain
– Russia, Croatia
Follow-up posts will be for Eurovision week. Read you then! Let the countdown begin!
Dimivision 