It’s that
time of year again – Eurovision 2017 isn’t far away! All 42 competing nations have now
announced their artists and songs, and all have now been released. Thirty-six
countries have to go through the semi-finals – eighteen in each – with ten
qualifying from each semi-final to the final. Six countries have automatically
qualified to the final – these are the Big Five (France, Germany, Italy, Spain
and the United Kingdom) and Ukraine, last year’s winners and the hosts for this
year. This has been standard practice for many years (the Big Four have
automatically qualified for the final since 2000, regardless of past
performances, and were joined by Italy upon their return to the contest in
2011). I’ll be posting my comments on each country’s entry. Regardless of
Russia’s withdrawal, their entry has been reviewed anyway. The countries are reviewed in the order in which
they’ll appear in the semi-finals, and are colour-coded in terms of whether I think they'll qualify (green for 'Yes', orange for 'Maybe', and red for 'No'), though this doesn't apply for the automatic qualifiers. With respect to
the voting, each country can only vote in the semi-final in which they’re
appearing. As well as this, the Big Five and the host country vote in one
semi-final each, with three countries being allocated to each semi-final. The
first semi-final this year has Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom voting in
it. The second has France, Germany and Ukraine voting. In the final, all participating countries vote, regardless of whether they got through to the
final or not. Unless otherwise stated, entries are in English.
01 - Sweden
Artist - Robin Bengtsson
Song - I Can't Go On
Comments - I’m
not gonna lie, I’m still rather bitter that Sweden opted for Robin Bengtsson
over Loreen’s ‘Statements’. Still, I’m going to try and approach this entry
with an open mind. Lyrically, it feels a bit cheesy and clichéd, but it’s
relatively musically solid, despite lacking that crescendo towards the end.
Interestingly, Robin somewhat struggled in the voting in Melodifestivalen,
finishing third in the televoting, but getting saved by the juries. It’s not a
bad song by any means – it’s definitely grown on me – but I am a little bit
concerned that it’s going to struggle based on its performance in
Melodifestivalen. Being placed first in the running order is an interesting
decision by the EBU, but it’ll certainly be good to kick the semi-final off
with a relatively solid entry. Furthermore, it’d be a shock if Sweden didn’t
get through – they’ve only failed to get through the semi-final once, which is
a pretty impressive record. The staging should transfer well to Kiev, but they
might have to change how they did it in the first verse, with Robin starting
the song off whilst backstage, and then finally getting on the stage at the
start of the first pre-chorus. Oh, and he’s going to have to be careful to not
sing the explicit version of the chorus when he’s doing it live. In fact, this
is actually the first Eurovision entry I’ve ever known to have explicit
language in it!
02 - Georgia
Artist - Tamara Gachechiladze
Song - Keep the Faith
Comments - Solo
female artist standing on a raised circular platform? That alone brings echoes
of Conchita Wurst’s victorious 2014 performance for Austria. She will have
backing vocalists for the Contest, though. The odds aren’t great for this
entry, which I think is a bit of a shame. Tamara puts on a great vocal
performance, and manages to incorporate not one, but TWO pretty well-timed key changes, ending on a powerful note.
Lyrically, it’s pretty good, and the song’s overall message is quite uplifting,
but I really don’t like all the images and footage that got put onto the
backdrop during the national final performance. It just doesn’t seem to sit
right, especially when Eurovision is supposed to be a family-friendly show and
non-political. This did get sorted for the official video, which I think was
much better, so it’s entirely possible that this will be carried over to the
live show. It has a chance of qualifying, but I’m not sure how well it’ll do.
Second in the running order isn’t the best slot, either, so as much as I want
it to go through, I have my doubts that it will, especially when it follows a
pretty decent song from Sweden and precedes Australia. Compared to Sweden, it
does seem a bit on the flat side. However, I do think it’s entirely possible
that it will go through to the final on just her vocal performance.
03 - Australia
Artist - Isaiah
Song - Don't Come Easy
Comments - To
get 5th and then 2nd in your first two appearances at
Eurovision is pretty good going, frankly. It suggests to me that Australia
‘get’ Eurovision, despite not having competed in it until 2015. After the great
job Guy Sebastian did in 2015, followed by Dami Im wowing us all and finishing
second last year with an amazing vocal performance, you’d expect another good
song from Australia. Rumours were that they were going to send something more
upbeat like their 2015 entry, but instead, they’ve gone for a ballad. In
fairness, it’s actually quite good, and I’m sure it’ll improve when it gets
closer to the Contest in May. It steadily builds throughout to a good final
chorus, though understandably dipping down a little bit for the middle eight
before the final chorus. Furthermore, Isaiah won the latest series of The X Factor Australia, and from one of
the live performances, he certainly does well live, though I’m sure it’ll only
improve as time goes along. Admittedly, the audio quality from the live
recording I watched isn’t the greatest, but that could be down to the
limitations of the device used, which I’m guessing was just someone’s mobile
phone. Will he win? I’m not sure, but I think it’ll get through the semi-final relatively
easily, and it’s followed by a not-so-great song in the running order, so it
could stand a good chance.
04 - Albania
Artist - Lindita
Song - World
Comments - It
has its good moments, with a good beat during the chorus. Lindita does sing it relatively
well, though I was initially a little concerned as to how she’d cope doing it
live, given she seems to strain on the longer and higher notes a bit. With her
performance at Amsterdam’s preview party, these concerns of mine do
seem to be somewhat founded – Lindita did seem to drop out a couple of times as
the song went on. The verses feel a little bit on the bland side as well,
though I do like the underlying chord progression throughout. Albania haven’t
had the best history in Eurovision, with only two top 10 finishes, and all
other appearances in the final being on the right-hand side of the scoreboard.
They may sneak through this year, but don’t hold your breath. Also, being
sandwiched between two songs that seem to have decent shots at making it
through to the final doesn’t exactly help its cause very much.
05 - Belgium
Artist - Blanche
Song - City Lights
Comments - Belgium’s
entry for this year seems to be one of the favourites to win. If I’m honest,
I’m struggling to see why. It just feels a little bit on the bland side, and
doesn’t seem to have that build during the song that one may expect from a
Eurovision entry. Having said that, one thing I did pick up on is that the
harmonising vocals are generally higher than the lead, which to me is unusual.
Blanche’s vocal performance is decent, but she just sounds a bit weird when she
goes up an octave and sings the chorus on her own towards the end. She almost
sounds like a slightly more depressing Lana Del Rey at times. I have a feeling
that in order to do well, this entry will be relying on some inventive staging,
but I’m honestly struggling to see what on earth they could come up with to try
and help Blanche along. Then again, it’s got those aforementioned decent odds,
and also a relatively decent place in the running order (Montenegro, which
follows this song, is just dire), so what do I know? Having listened to the
song a few more times, it’s slowly grown on me, but I’m still not overly keen
on it. Also, with her live performance at the London Eurovision Party, she
sounded incredibly weak and nervy. The noise of the crowd was frequently louder
than she was! I’m almost wondering whether she’s letting nerves and pressure
get to her a bit too much, or maybe something major’s happened that’s knocked
her confidence right back. Either way, it’s really not a good start, and she’ll
need to try and get things sorted for when rehearsals begin in Kiev soon, or
she could possibly face going out of the semi-final.
06 - Montenegro
Artist - Slavko
Kalezić
Song - Space
Comments - Montenegro
don’t have the best pedigree when it comes to Eurovision, having only qualified
for the final twice since they first entered as a sovereign nation in its own
right in 2007. Will their fortunes fare any better this time around? Hmm…In a
word, no. I can’t see it getting out of the semi-final. It just feels a bit
boring and I stand by that statement after a few more listens. Slavko’s vocals
aren’t the best on the official video, and he’s not exactly great live either.
I would be very, very surprised if this got through to the final.
07 - Finland
Artist - Norma John
Song - Blackbird
Comments - Finland’s
entries have been a bit mixed in recent years, though the obvious highlight was
when Lordi shocked everyone in 2006 with ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’. I’ll admit
that I didn’t like that entry much at first, but as time’s gone on, and I’ve
watched more ESCs, I’ve come to understand why
it won. It was unconventional, and really stood out amongst what we’ve come to
traditionally expect from Eurovision entries. So how does Norma John’s
‘Blackbird’ stack up? It feels understated and a bit simplistic, but it seems
to works. The staging in the national final, with Leena being accompanied on
stage by a grand piano, isn’t too bad either. Plus I spy a low fogger! I’m also
a fan of the pulsating red lights used on the stage floor as well combined with
the low fogger. I know I’ve mentioned about songs needing a bit of oomph for
the final chorus, and ‘Blackbird’ has this, but it’s subtle. Having said that, the
subtlety works for it. Vocally, Leena's not only good, but consistently good
when live. I think I can see it getting through to the final, especially as it
follows one of the worst songs this year! Finland’s definitely one to watch out
for this year, I think – Norma John could possibly spring a bit of a surprise,
depending on how the voting goes.
08 - Azerbaijan
Artist - Dihaj
Song - Skeletons
Comments - Of
the winning entries from the past few years, Azerbaijan’s in 2011 was perhaps
the most surprising of all. The song just wasn’t the greatest. They’ve
qualified for the final in every year they’ve competed, though with varying
degrees of success each time. So how does Dihaj’s entry compare? As a whole
package, it’s pretty good, and seems to be one of the stronger entries from the
first semi-final. The backing vocals and harmonies work well, too, but one
thing I’m not too keen on (and it’s only relatively minor) is the line “I’m a
skeletons” in the chorus. Being a bit of a stickler for grammar, it gets on my
nerves a bit, but it’s a good entry from Azerbaijan, and it should do well. I’m
a little bit concerned at Dihaj’s ability to perform live – she did seem a bit
weak at Amsterdam's preview party – but that could’ve been because
of initial audio issues, as she became a lot clearer as it went on. Despite
Azerbaijan’s 100% qualifying record from the semi-finals, they haven’t been in
the top ten for the past three years, and presumably want that to change. I think
they might be in with a chance of getting back onto the left hand side of the
scoreboard this year.
09 - Portugal
Artist - Salvador Sobral
Song - Amar pelos dois (Love for the both of us)
Language - Portuguese
Comments - Back
after a year off for Portugal. They’ve generally been a solid yet unspectacular
performer, with an almost constant penchant for singing solely in Portuguese.
Whilst this is somewhat admirable, it is surely a good idea to experiment and
try another language. Will Salvador Sobral give them the
victory they’ve been wanting for so many years? The odds seem to be quite good,
which is an encouraging sign. It’s a piano ballad, but it does work with
Salvador’s vocals. It reminds me somewhat of ‘Moon River’ in places, which I
mean as a big compliment. I don’t think a song like this is going to need much
staging and embellishment between now and the Contest in order to help it out.
Rather, the focus will more than likely be solely on Salvador, perhaps with
some creative camera work. One possibility is a darkened stage with maybe a few
lights in the background, and Salvador lit up by a spotlight or something. My initial
reaction upon the song ending for the first time was “That was nice”, and I do think it could do
well. Even in a year that seems to have quite a lot of ballads, there’s
something about this song that makes it stand out from the rest. Going on at
the end of the first half should help it along a bit, too. There has been some
concern expressed about Salvador’s health, with his sister stepping in for some
rehearsals, which is a bit of a worry, but it may well be that they’re trying
to give Salvador as much rest as possible ahead of the rehearsal weeks in Kiev.
At the national final in Portugal, he didn’t even have his ear monitors in,
which was apparently due to a technical issue very shortly before he went on stage,
so he had to rely on the floor monitors. And yet despite this, he still managed
a wonderful and captivating performance that I’m confident will catch on.
10 - Greece
Artist - Demy
Song - This Is Love
Comments - Greece
have generally been pretty good at Eurovision, with three 3rd place
finishes alongside their 2005 win. Their 2013 entry, ‘Alcohol Is Free’, is also
another favourite of mine. Last year, however, they completely bombed with the
dreadful ‘Utopian Land’, which was their first entry which failed to make the
final. Demy’s entry starts off a predictable ballad, but it turns into
something of a dance track. The constituent parts are fine, but the
transition’s a little weird. Though having said that, it’s nowhere near as bad
as the transition between verse and chorus on last year’s Norwegian entry! It’s
certainly a pleasant song to listen to, and it should see Greece get back into
the final. It’s certainly a damn sight better than last year’s entry! I’d like
to see what they plan on doing with the staging, which I’m sure will help it
along. I did see some backing dancers in one live performance she did in
Greece, and they helped a bit, so I’d imagine they’d be included for Kiev.
11 - Poland
Artist - Kasia
Moś
Song - Flashlight
Comments - Poland’s
most memorable entry in recent years has to be what they put together in 2014.
It was surprisingly divisive, finishing fifth in the televoting, but 23rd
in the jury voting. My suspicion is that the juries didn’t appreciate the
suggestive nature of the performance. Still, I wonder what Poland have got for
2017…Oh dear. I have no idea whether Kasia is hitting the right notes or not,
due to there being no underlying melody at all. In fact, she does sound out of
tune in places, but that’s only going off the backing music. I’m not convinced
that the multiple strobes can save it, either. That was going off the official
video. As for live at London’s preview party? Not that much improvement,
really, if any. One thing Poland’s got going for it is quite a widespread
diaspora across Europe, with a sizeable number living in the UK. Crucially, the
UK is voting in Poland’s semi-final, so that could be key to them getting a
good number of votes and then through to the final.
12 - Moldova
Artist - SunStroke Project
Song - Hey, Mamma!
Comments - Yes,
these are the people behind Epic Sax Guy in 2010. And yes, this year, he’s
BACK! That alone should help Moldova win a few votes. The song itself is
decent, and the vocals are just as good as they were back in 2010. If they keep
the staging simple and fun, they should get through to the final. Plus the song
does actually stand out quite a bit from what else is in the first semi-final!
With their performance at their national final, they had three female backing
vocalists dressed up as brides, each holding a bouquet of flowers. If my eyes
were telling me the right thing, it would appear that the microphones were
hidden inside the bouquets, which is another fun little touch. And in true
bridal tradition, the bouquets were thrown over the brides’ heads at the end of
the song. It should get through to the final, and I’m sure it’ll provide some
light relief. It’s got a decent slot in the running order, too, and given it
follows Poland’s weak entry, I think that should help it a little bit more.
They were also pretty good at Amsterdam’s ‘Eurovision in Concert’, and the
crowd seemed to love them, so I think it’ll probably be one that’s quite
popular with the televote.
13 - Iceland
Artist - Svala
Song - Paper
Comments - Iceland
have produced solid entries in the past (in my view), but some just haven’t
gelled with the rest of Europe. 2012’s entry, ‘Never Forget’, finished a
disappointing 20th. 2014’s entry, ‘No Prejudice’, ended up in 15th.
As for last year’s entry, ‘Hear Them Calling’? It didn’t even make it out of
the semi-final, which still grates on me. Especially when the dirge of an entry
from the Czech Republic somehow made it through! It almost makes me think
they’d be better off sending someone mad like Björk! As for Svala’s entry?
Well, the first thing I noticed were her earrings about 28 seconds in to the
official video, which scream ‘Illuminati confirmed’. The song itself isn’t bad,
with a good beat and a decent vocal performance from Svala, though she does
seem to be a bit on the loud side with her vocals during the verses. It just
feels a little bit slow to me, but that’s probably down to the style of the
song. The staging could be what seals it. I’m liking the lasers in the official
video, and for some reason, I’m almost thinking some dry ice or a low fogger
could be a decent idea. Maybe some floor lights in a similar vein to Finland
could work. I’m really, REALLY not keen on what on earth she wore in one of the
live performances in the national competition – pretty much dressed in all
cream with cream platform shoes. It’s almost as though she’s trying to look
like a literal sheet of paper, which ain’t a good look. Also, in this video,
there’s too much of a reliance on strobes, and more lasers than I would
personally like. It just seemed a bit over the top to me, and could do with
being toned down in order to make a more cohesive package. Otherwise, I think
Svala could struggle to get through to the final.
14 - Czech Republic
Artist - Martina Bárta
Song - My Turn
Comments - The
Czech Republic haven’t had a good past in Eurovision, only qualifying for the
final once, and finishing second-from-bottom in that appearance. Will Martina
mark a change in fortune for them? Well, it’s yet another sodding ballad in a
semi-final full of the damn things. To be fair to Martina, she does have a
solid vocal performance, but the song feels like it just plods along. It does
have that building moment before the start of the final chorus, but it just
fades away into nothing again. Staging could save it, but IF it does sneak
through into the final (and I very much doubt it will), it’ll be towards the bottom end of the top 10. In one
live performance, she did seem a bit out of tune in places, which doesn’t bode
terribly well, and I can’t really find any other live performances to compare
it to, which isn’t much help.
15 - Cyprus
Artist - Hovig
Song - Gravity
Comments - Between
2006 and 2013, Cyprus only qualified for the final twice, which isn’t exactly
the best of records, really. Will this year see a turnaround in their fortunes?
Hovig’s vocals are decent, and I’m sure it’ll be a solid entry in the
semi-final with the addition of some good staging. It’s apparently themed
around space, so it’ll be interesting to see how they manage to pull it off. There
wasn’t much to speak of in terms of staging at Amsterdam’s preview party, but
they could still be working on that at the moment for rehearsals in Kiev at the
start of May. There are some more upbeat and uptempo songs in the first semi-final,
I’ll be honest, but I don’t think that’ll matter terribly much. It’s one of the
stronger four or five songs that end the semi-final, and on that basis, I think
it’s got a good chance of getting through.
16 - Armenia
Artist - Artsvik
Song - Fly With Me
Comments - Armenia’s
history at Eurovision is pretty solid, with only one complete absence in 2012
due to security concerns over Azerbaijan hosting the contest. The two countries
have been at war for many years over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenia have
only failed to finish in the top 10 twice in all their appearances at
Eurovision (excluding 2011, when they didn’t qualify for the final). Artsvik
has a lovely voice, and does the song justice. It also has a bit of an exotic
feel to it, which I think will go down well. In terms of staging, they’ll have
to change things slightly, given that only six people are allowed on stage for
Eurovision songs, and there were six dancers on stage during Artsvik’s video,
but I’m sure this is something they’ll have considered. They could always go
down the route of using projections on the backdrop, which a few contestants
put to use last year. With the live performance she did at Amsterdam’s preview
party, Artsvik was just on her own on the stage, but she did still put in a
very good performance, and it’s probable that the actual staging for Kiev was
still being finalised at the time. Even so, I can’t see this not qualifying.
17 - Slovenia
Artist - Omar Naber
Song - On My Way
Comments - Slovenia
don’t seem to do too well at Eurovision, failing to qualify from the
semi-finals nine times since they were introduced in 2004. Omar Naber has
represented Slovenia before in 2005, and what happened? Oh, yeah – he didn’t
get through the semi-final. So perhaps not off to the best of starts. And guess
what this entry is? Yes, it’s another ballad. Eurgh. To be fair, it’s actually
not that bad. Omar’s vocal performance is solid, and I like how in the national
final performance, the camera went from black and white to colour when going to
the chorus, and then in reverse when going back to the second verse. Nice
little touch. It’s got a good key change, but the middle eight of just vocalising
is a bit of a downer. It does feel a bit on the bland side overall, though, and
it does sound like it was lifted right out of a Disney movie in a few places. Not
that that’s necessarily a bad thing, mind. Its odds weren’t initially too bad,
but upon the release of the running order, they seem to have lengthened
MASSIVELY, which has come as a bit of a surprise to me, and isn’t really a
terribly good sign for its prospects. I suppose second-to-last in the running
order, and being sandwiched between two better entries, isn't great, as everyone generally remembers the last song. But then
again, the UK won in 1997 when they were 24th out of 25 in the
running order, so anything’s possible, I guess.
18 - Latvia
Artist - Triana Park
Song - Line
Comments - Since
Latvia won the contest in 2002, they haven’t fared so well, failing to qualify
for the final for six years in a row between 2009 and 2014. So how does Triana
Park’s entry do? I’m not sold on the visuals right at the start of the official
video, as they seem a bit jarring to me, but they do improve a bit as the video
goes on. The song itself, on the other hand, is OK, and should be helped along
by some good staging. The vocals are good, but the chorus just feels lyrically
repetitive. When she was at London's preview party, she did seem a bit
vocally weak at first, but did then improve as the song went on. Also, I wasn’t
initially too sure about ending the semi-final on this song (I would’ve changed
things around a bit and put Cyprus or Armenia on to finish it off, moving the
other countries up one slot in the order), but upon a few more listens, I think
it could be a good one to end the semi-final on. It’s definitely grown on me.
So that's Semi-Final 1. I'll be posting my thoughts on the other semi-final and automatic qualifiers, along with some overall concluding thoughts, in two other posts.
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