Hadise and Christer Björkman were the 'advisors' this week - it meant that Hadise got to open the show:
'Düm Tek Tek' had to be in there somewhere! In fact, this was the best rendition of it this Eurosong series (as you might expect) - let's forget Laura's attempt in the Covers show. I have to say that having more clothes on suits Hadise...
After that pick-me-up for the studio audience, we got to see our five hopefuls in the outfits they were to being performing in:
Adil - "In Our Nature"
Top notch vocals as per usual from Adil and the staging this week was especially strong, with the beautifully painted dancers around him, allowing him to interact effectively with people on stage rather than the crowd, and keeping his mind on connecting with the camera. My only thought was that there was perhaps too much going on now, a little like Elnur and his Azerbaijani dancers in Vienna. The visuals did take a little of my attention away from his singing and the song, which was solid again. Nice start to the show though. 7.5
Laura - "What's The Pressure"
Remember how much I raved about Laura's entry last week? How the basic choreography suited her and the song? How her solo sassiness and camera connectivity worked so well? This more technical staging didn't wow me as much - a lot of the impact and the attention on her was lost with having four dancers and a backing singer on stage too. It was all a nice idea, perhaps with the larger Globen stage in mind but it took the focus off her and the added bits of dancing for her alone didn't work - in fact it detracted from her vocal performance, which was a little strained and weak at times. It was full on and entertaining but not as good as last week, which could have cost her the spot in Stockholm. 8.0
Tom - "I'm Not Lost"
Better, Tom, better! Having the 'props' of other people on stage playing their instruments helped Tom with his staging as it seemed to give him the chance to focus elsewhere than on the studio crowd (although he was still singing to them more than the camera). Even so, it was a listenable song that always gets the crowd going, making him the clear studio favourite. It did all appear like a concert being filmed though but it was better than the week before. 7.5
Astrid - "Everybody Aches"
When Christer Björkman says after you have sung that your entry sounded like an 'interval act', you must know that it hasn't gone well! Dressed so far down it looked as though she was just going down the pub, Astrid sung this well again but there was no change in emphasis with the song, no power, no drive, all very...boring? This is still totally forgettable and there was absolutely no staging to speak of, which was essential with a song of this little depth. I think that Christer was being generous with his comments - such a tragedy as she was the best singer for me in the Covers show. 5.5
Amaryllis - "Kick The Habit"
Astrid knew she was out of the running last week and did nothing with her staging - Amaryllis? It was as if she had said "My song didn't go down too well because of my minimalistic staging - know what we'll do this week? I want all the props you have out the back and I want them on stage!" Lamps flying through the air, men dancing with giant candlesticks and a massive spider's web - it was the prop version of "Pan's People literal dance routines":
Oh dear, oh dear! At least she had lost the 'twitchy shoulders' this week but I'm not sure that this was a good thing. It was almost as if she knew that the lyrical content of her song was not going to get her to Stockholm so Amaryllis went all out for a visual extravaganza. I suppose it all fitted the words but the naffness of the song and the bizarre staging just created a total 'hot mess'. Christer said that this was almost straight from musical theatre - he got that spot on. I was just staring at this through my fingers. 4.0
Based on the five entries now, my scoring was as follows:
And that was it - Laura Tesoro with "What's The Pressure" will be attempting to match Loïc Nottet's amazing fourth place in Vienna. Based on the Final performances and vocals, Laura was the best act in Eurosong but she might struggle to make the Final in Stockholm if her voice drops off as badly as it did towards the end of the routine in the Final here. Too much movement and too much emphasis on the dancing did for her vocals, unlike the 'no frills version last week - that was so good in fact, it bears putting here as a comparison:
All the focus is on Laura, no full-on dance routine to leave her breathless and affect her vocals but a load of on-stage charisma and subtle staging to keep it interesting. I would much rather see something like this version in Sweden than her 'Cliche Love Song' routine copy, bar the big flag:
The Belgian population hopefully will not expect a better result than last year, otherwise they will be 'shaping themselves for the same fall' that their neighbours the Dutch had in 2015, expecting a follow-up to The Common Linnets, which was never going to happen. Loïc singing for Belgium was a one-off, a phenomenon, the act of a creative genius we rarely see from anyone in Eurovision - a lot of the social media comments were very unfair immediately after Eurosong had finished, intimating that Laura would be a disappointment after Vienna's success. To be honest, even Mr Nottet would struggle to provide a follow-up to match the avant garde excellence of 'Rhythm Inside' - "What's The Pressure" is a totally different beast. The rhythm has a superb funky up-tempo groove and Laura is eminently watchable, has great enthusiasm and totally connects with the camera. It is unusual to have all of that at such a young age - as long as she controls the vocal side of this song, Belgium could still be looking at a Final place in Stockholm. It might be more dependant on who else is in Laura's SF and where she sings in the running order, however. As only Nicky Byrne and Laura have definite nailed-on songs going to Stockholm currently, it is really too early to tell how successful she will be in May...
Personally, I like Laura and "What's The Pressure" - it was the best choice in Eurosong and I want to wish her:
