[LMBTO] Eurovision 2018 has its first artist - Belgium go for Laura...

We were coming towards the end of week four of Eurovision 2018 and not much had been really happening since I posted my 'tumbleweed post' but then from leftfield came word yesterday (28 September) that Belgium were going to announce who would be singing for them in Lisbon:

Belgium's Eén television show Van Gils & Gasten was the place to be last night even if, like me, you didn't have a clue what was being said - I kept my ears clued in on any mention of the Eurovision Song Contest.  The last segment of the show was the big reveal - the lights were dimmed and out of the darkness came a female soloist with an English version of a song that we all know quite well:

Some striking visual and audible similarities to Luísa Sobral perhaps?  Immediately I was impressed with her live vocals when singing "Amar Pelos Dois", a plus for any singer expected to represent their country at the world's most popular musical song contest!  Laura also has a presence on stage, even though this was just a segment within a talk show - another positive attribute for the Contest.  Watching her being interviewed, Laura seemed to have an real ease about her, much in the same way as Levina did last year which made her my favourite interviewee in 2017.  Eurovision.tv already had spoken to her and their interview confirmed my initial thoughts - her Head of Delegation won't need to provide much in the way of media training before all the press events begin:



So what do we know about Laura?  The Belgian tv channel Eén has some bio about her on their page released after their big announcement:
So after reading that, first stop was NOT an IKEA catalogue, it was to listen to Gravity:



It will be interesting to find out what part of that is Laura - music? lyrics? both?  Very chilled to listen to, quite hypnotic in its pace and content - assuming Laura writes her own song for Lisbon, a well constructed piece like this would go down well with juries.  This belief is cemented by watching two of her compositions as SENNEK, her solo 'alter ego' - first up is 'Kaleidoscope':



That voice of hers flows beautifully and her ability to move up and down the vocal scale is a pleasure to listen to.  Such a simple song and yet there was bags of emotional texture in there.  There's already scope for a set designer to have her playing a piano on stage - something to think about in the New Year perhaps but as she alluded to in her interview, no dancing...

The second presentation - Butterfly:



This song sounded as though it was stretching Laura's voice more than with Kaleidoscope - nice control within the verses and then opening up during the chorus.  An almost jazzy sound at times there, perhaps hinting at what musical genre might be presented in Lisbon.  What these songs show, along with her cover of last year's winner on the talk show, is that she has absolutely no issue with singing live and perform very, very well - probably the main reason for her internal selection.  It is a pity that we don't have orchestras at Eurovision any more as Laura can accompany them more than adequately too:



A Bond theme, eh?  Didn't we have someone with an amazing voice sing something that sounded like one of those in 2014?  Admittedly this was five years ago but I have seen enough live material now to realise that Belgium have struck gold yet again with their internal selection.  Why do I say that?

• Even from this small portfolio of songs, Laura has demonstrated that she has a great voice, one with an interesting tone and range and also has the presence on stage to captivate the viewer;
• She appears to be very grounded and at ease in front of the camera, whether that be on stage or in a chair opposite an interviewer.  Music isn't the be all and end all for her at the moment - it appears that Laura is realistic enough to have a day job too, whilst she is growing public exposure to her solo career;
• She also seems to have a reasonable appreciation of the Contest too, unlike a lot of other performers who often come into this 'arena' totally blind!  I loved the comment she made in the eurovision.tv interview to the question about what she considered made a 'successful Eurovision entry' - "it doesn't exist", showing that she understands that anything can catch the viewer and juror's imagination.  It was obvious that she appreciated singers of quality too - having heard Laura sing live, it was not a surprise that she might love "1944" and Jamala's technical ability.  It was more of a surprise in a way that her first memorable song at the Contest was "Diva", as I have not heard too many other artists flag that entry up as an answer to that question.  Laura has a wide and varied breadth of knowledge that most fans will appreciate.