[LMBTO] 18-14? My Eurovision Rankings or a Sax Anniversary?

Bet you thought after reading the title to this blog post that it was going to include this guy in it:
Fooled you!  He and his buddies aren't appearing quite yet - that tells you that Moldova are at the very least my 13th this year...or higher!  The sax anniversary that I was referring to links in with 18-14 or at least 1814, the year that Adolphe Sax, the guy on the Belgium Fr200 note, was born.  203 years ago - Eurovision hasn't been going that long but as you will see pretty quickly, my first selection out of these five does really belong to a different era of the Contest, when a saxophone playing would only be found in the orchestra pit (if at all) and where sunglasses, gloves and jeans were totally out of place!  All of the next five entries are in what I would consider the 'good category' - I would hope that they would all make the Final and there are at least two of them that could cause a surprise, given the right circumstances.

So onto number 18 and my clue was:


This entry seems so out of place in 2017 but that is its charm...


18. Portugal



Now I thought that Michał Szpak singing "Color Of Your Life" last year was old school and retro but this enthralling song by Salvador Sobral is almost as if an entry has been taken from the first ten years of the Eurovision Song Contest, given a colour makeover and presented as in the here and now!  There has been nothing like this for years, maybe even decades - such a sweet piece, so melodic and here's the kicker:


That had always been considered to be a death knell for all entries from Portugal - never higher than sixth place at Eurovision, only four times in the top ten and not performing in the Final since 2010.  After a traditional year's break for the Contest being in Sweden (fans are still not sure why this is the case, three times now - all I can think of is that Sweden gave support to Mozambique when it was fighting against Portuguese control but that was in the 1960s and 1970s), Portugal are back and it seemed that new blood as far as composers and artists has rejuvenated their search for a song and singer.  RTP, their broadcaster, even relaxed the language rule this year but old habits die hard - only one song in the Final was not in Portuguese.  To be honest, even if the other seven songs were in English, "Amar Pelos Dois" would have won - the reason?


In the UK we would say that this was a 'Paul Potts' or "Subo" (Susan Boyle) moment - before this guy opened his mouth, everyone bar the songwriter (his sister) and his fans would have wondered what was going to be heard, how this unkempt guy managed to be selected for this prestigious selection process and what on earth was everyone going to see?  What they heard was a wonderful voice, supplying a perfect melody that matched the orchestral music wonderfully well, along with a visual performance that was not just "standing at the mic and singing".  Lots of passion in his delivery but also some unusual tics and movements that, although very unusual, actually added to the show and even complimented his vocals.  This wasn't a one off - he gave an added touch at the OGAE Portugal presentation, where he added some trumpet sounds, being accompanied by his sister on guitar:



The one issue has been Salvador's health, something that has put him in a similar position to Agnete from Norway last year, in that he has not attended any pre-Parties or visited any other nations before Kyiv.  That in itself wouldn't be a problem (although it was felt by the Norwegian Head of Delegation that it might have been the tipping point for "Icebreaker" not making it into the Stockholm Final) as this is such a wonderfully powerful entry in such an understated way but Salvador is now not going to in Kyiv until two days before SF1 on 9th May!  It has been reported that he is recovering from two hernia operations (which might explain some of his movements at Festival da Canção) and will obviously need the time to recover as much as possible.  Given that his stage show is so simple and relies so much on him singing and how he delivers that, the need for a rehearsal to perfect that is not as necessary as for every other act this year.  What is unusual is that his sister will be attending the press conferences and doing the technical rehearsals in his place:
That is testing for the Portuguese delegation, alongside the fact that there has been the lack of PR and connection with other nations, something that is becoming more and more important as social media needs expand.  On first listen and watch, this entry got a 7.0/10 from me - I love Eurovision songs from the early days of the Contest and a seven from me means I rate this as 'good'.  I am still not sure how this will go down with those watching Salvador perform - will this get huge marks from jurors for its technical brilliance?  Will viewers from 2017 'get this' and appreciate the starkness, the simplicity and the unusual mannerisms from a man who they (and the press) will know very little about?  We can only wait and see - what can be said is if "Amar pelos dois" gets top five or better, the reaction from Eurovision fans everywhere will be one of joy and delight...I would not be unhappy to be going to Lisbon in 2018!

Onto my number seventeen - what did I say?


As Petra Mede said last year, anything twenty years old in pop music is contemporary now at Eurovision!


17. Norway



Norway have a reputation of sending edgy, 'out there', even avant garde music to the Contest recently and this year is no different.  JOWST (Joakim With Steen, music producer) and Aleksander Walmann have collaborated to give us this very unusual (for Eurovision) entry - a combination of a strong lead vocal and backing vocals/sounds totally generated by electronica.  Now the Eurovision rules say:


Now there was a few mutterings about whether "Grab The Moment" as it is broke this rule in any way - my answer to that would be "of course it doesn't", mainly because even though you could say that JOWST is producing vocal sounds on his Ableton Push, as can be seen at the London Eurovision Party (recorded by me):



They are not replacing or assisting Alexsander with his singing.  I view this as musical accompaniment, a bit like Boris Blank of Yello's musical sound sample library, something that he has been accumulating since 1980 (hence my comment about Eurovision being at least twenty, even thirty, years behind technology!).  "Oh Yeah!" is the song I would equate the technique in Norway's entry most to:



The guys have another version if the 'button vocals' need to come out but that would be taking a step back, as far as Eurovision trying to be up with popular culture and music is concerned.  It is new and it is fresh - a great performance from all concerned on stage (even if three of the four are masked) and the synth gives this an interest factor not possessed by any other entry this year.  The other point of interest for me is the lyrical content which is wonderfully complex:


I had no clue what the message or point of the lyrics was until I read an ESCBubble interview where JOWST indicated that the song was about the obstacles put up in front of artists in Norway by the "Law Of Jante" - the interviewer obviously had no clue what that was so it was totally glossed over.  Wikipedia is a marvellous thing at times - in summary it states that this law is:


Wow!  If that is a view within Norway, I'm amazed that they have won Eurovision three times and not stayed as 'nul point' specialists as they were decades ago.  When you know about that reason for the song's words, it all makes a whole lot of sense and this is a very well crafted song.  To most listeners and viewers, "I'm gonna grab the moment" is going to stick out like a sore thumb whilst they listen to this and the rest of the lyrical content only gets picked up after several listens.   That might be the only downside to this entry - complexity!  Will the listener pick up on more than the clever sounds and the masked men and really appreciate how well written a song this is?  What makes this a vote winner is the interaction between synth and vocal and Alexsander's on stage presence - he is crucial to this entry being a success, as all of the focus is on him, whereas JOWST is sporting his mask and appearing anonymous behind the desk, as are the other two musicians:
If the jurors and public do go for this 21st Century set-up, this could be a successful year for Norway.  Probably not a winner nor even a front runner to be fair but "Grab The Moment" should make the Final and get a decent haul of points to finish mid-table - I gave this 7.0/10 on first listen and I have it as my 10th qualifier in SF2 (definitely the tougher one, in my opinion).  I hope that it does make Saturday night as this will assist the Ukrainian organisers in their hunt for musical diversity at least.  This pairing also deserve more than one song during their collaboration which will hopefully happen if they taste success in Kyiv...

We have reached position 16 - my clue?


Well that is such an easy one, shame on you if you didn't realise it was...


16. Israel

Two years ago, Israel went all party on us with a guy in golden boots.  One of the four male backing singers on stage with Nadav is this year's Israeli entry - Imri Ziv, the guy on the right by the star of 2015's show.  Guess what sort of song he's singing in Kyiv?



No mention of Tel Aviv this time but it still "Party Central"!  Now if Eurovision was staged outside near a sandy beach, there would be a direct fight between Manel from Spain and Imri - lots of good mood and great party scenes here, Imri leading his friends with his unusual hand clapping (slapping? reverse clap?), the party foam spraying around...

Of course we Eurovision fans know what the main drawback to this staging is - you can't have thirty people on stage, the foam would get everywhere and as you aren't allowed to lip-sync, Imri would have to slow down to be able to sing perfectly.  Now the official video is NOT a live performance - he wasn't at London for me to be able to judge him firsthand but he was at all of the Parties afterwards.  By Madrid, he had got it the best I had heard it yet, although he lost a bit of steam right at the end (vid courtesy of esckaz):



It is obvious that this will be a favourite in the hall and the show's producers feel that, like Triana Park in SF1, this will be a great way to end a semi-final.  If he can nail those live vocals then I'd have "I Feel Alive" getting a decent amount of televoter support in SF2 and the Final - there's nothing spectacular about the lyrics of this song (very few party songs are that anthemic) and repetition is the key to get the public voting.  He's a good looking guy which will help with a big segment of the Eurovision audience.  As it is a fairly simple lyrical and musical construct, I'm not sure how far up the jury table this will be - one of those entries that will benefit from the split vote perhaps?  I have to say that it is one of those Eurovision entries that will get you dancing, make you smile and, even though it is in the pimp slot anyway, would stick in your head to get your vote.  The big if are those vocals under the potential stress of moving around on stage because this sort of entry demands...


Now I gave this a 7.0/10 for the SECHUK Jury and I would hope that this one qualifies - I have it down at 9th in SF2 because, in my eyes, Thursday night is going to be a killer and a decent track, such as this, could miss out.  Especially if he doesn't hit all the notes, particularly the big one near the end, because that is all anyone will remember when he closes the show...

It's getting exciting now - my number 15 choice.  The clue?


It's not often I've said that at Eurovision...


15. Hungary

For a start, bravo to Hungary for selecting a non-English language entry!  There's not many this year (only 12-13%) and so in an ironic sort of way, a song like this will stand out a mile.  "Origo" is obviously in Hungarian and also contains some of his Romani roots in the chorus, together with the electronic beats and modern pop.  As I said in my clue, even the rap, although not in a language I understand and therefore do not get the point of the aggression and power, works here - it seamlessly flows with the rest of the song and Joci's delivery is superb.  Do the lyrics portray a song of discrimination?  Religious struggle?  A song of hope?  You decide when looking at the translation:

Now that is powerful stuff!  I can now see why he chose to include rap into his presentation and I also now can see why he is wearing clothing akin to a Magyar Huszár, the uniform of a Hungarian light horseman, boots and all, connecting with the imagery of a weapon in his hand.  As for the staging in the A Dal Final, its simplicity is its beauty and this was repeated in Amsterdam:

Hopefully we will see Joci's full garb again in Kyiv but having the solo gypsy dancer acting out his song and the single fiddler to the side is all that is needed.  I wouldn't be surprised to see more colour in the dancer's dress, as is more common in Romani circles but then again that might detract from his singing.  He is quite the imposing figure though and I suspect that this will be a performance totally driven by his singing, rapping and his direction of the dancer on stage.  Admittedly this will not be one for wide camera shots but I would be very disappointed if this was not seen twice in Kyiv.  It is clear that there will not be a duff note sung and it will be a very engaging entry to watch - even the rap is an integral part of the whole and most importantly it doesn't become a separate entity, unlike most other Eurovision entries with rap within them...

There is really nothing to complain about with this entry - the only problem that I could see with "Origo" is whether audiences away from Eastern Europe will 'get it'.  It is a bit of gamble to use this mix of Hungarian and Romani, languages alien to most of Europe, but the ethnicity of the show will allow audiences across the globe to appreciate a mini-masterpiece on their screen.  This was another 7.0/10 from me on first listen and watch - I feel now that I was a little bit conservative with my scoring, as I could see this being a potential top ten in the Final, given the right circumstances.  It is in the tougher SF2 and I had it as my 8th place there - I hope that the diverse mix of musical genres in the Final gets a gypsy boost!

And so onto my last of these five, my number 14 - my clue did hopefully narrow it down...


Well that's what it sounds like to me...


14. FYR Macedonia



Regular readers will know that Jana was one of the ladies whom I got to interview in London and she gave some great insights into the official video above, which is one of the best this season.  A simple premise but superbly constructed to give as deep a meaning as possible, given that the song itself really doesn't have a huge number of words in it:

I got a feel good infatuation

And I’m the only one who knows

I will dance alone, I’m lost in the sound

Of no tomorrow

And all I need to keep on moving

Is the sound of my heartbeat

I will dance alone, I’m lost in the sound

Of no tomorrow

I let it go

I, I, I let it go

I will dance alone, I’m lost in the sound

Of no tomorrow (I will dance alone)

I let it go

I, I, I let it go wild

I let it go

I, I, I let it go wild

She didn't give anything away about her potential staging in Kyiv, to me or any other interviewer that I heard - if using Virtual Reality, as in the video, has any part to play, this will be an intriguing watch (as will she, if her outfit of leotard and boots are involved).  Her Party performances really only tested her vocals as there wasn't really any moves to look at, just the gorgeous Jana having fun:

There were some comments about her London show being not altogether 'live' but her later performances have been great (as shown at Amsterdam).  The fans love her exuberance and quite frankly so do I!

So at the moment we really only have the song itself and Jana's vocals to ponder - for a start, it is a real pleasure to welcome Macedonia to the 21st Century as far as music is concerned!  "Dance Alone" is understated but anthemic, a dance track with a simplistic sexual edge that stands out from the sea of ballads in Kyiv and also apart from most entries that Jana's nation has sent to Eurovision.  The most important factor about this entry for me?

This song could be played on any top current radio station or video channel in Europe at the moment and not sound out of place - most top female pop stars would be happy to have this track on their 2017 album, if not released as a single. 

In addition to that major plus point, given that Jana is easy on the eye, is very engaging and obviously enjoys being on stage, I don't think that singing in Kyiv in front of a huge international audience will phase her at all.  Her experience of singing a wide range of musical genres, from jazz to heavy rock, and doing so perfectly live will surely hold her in good stead at Eurovision - I therefore do not have any worries about her doing the business in SF2 and making it to FYR Macedonia's first Final for five years.  Any other result would be a huge travesty of justice!

"Dance Alone" is currently my 7th placed qualifier from SF2.  I gave this a 7.0/10 on first listen, purely because I wasn't sure how this will be staged in Kyiv.  If the official video can somehow be replicated there or something as astounding portrayed instead, we might even be looking at this nation's first ever top ten finish in the Final.  If you want to get an excellent in-depth analysis of this entry by a very knowledgeable 'muso' (I hope that Ellie doesn't mind that label!) I had the pleasure to meet in Estonia, take a look at the blog "Listen Outside", in particular at Semi Final 2 Preview Post - here's an extract but you must go there to read an absolutely spot on review in its entirety:

"...Then immediately after that comes the bit to make you dance – the wobbly, syncopated bassline and Jana’s sexy filtered vocal, along with a second synth melody that repeats throughout. 3 more hooks and at 47 seconds, we hit the chorus with a pause and a rising woah that you’re going to hear a lot more of..."

As for Jana as a person?  She's a total sweetheart - she liked my interview with her:

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So we are getting to the sharp end of my rankings - numbers 13 through to number 9 next time.  What are my clues for these?

The Riskiest Staging Choice Of Them All

She Is D...

This Year's "Sound Of Silence"

Ніхто, шчаслівей ў Кіеве...

It's Nothing Like "Running Scared"

Using Google Translate might help with the fourth one!