[LMBTO] Cyprus and Finland complete their Eurovision 2018 entries...

To be fair to Eleni, she can only sing what she is given and most dance tracks are not poetic masterpieces, but where on earth does a pelican feature in a song about fire?  A phoenix perhaps, but not one of these:
This sort of song can tolerate a fair bit of repetition, which is a good thing as at least 75% of 'Fuego' is the same pre-chorus/chorus repeated.  Having listened to this song a few times now, I am now seeing why Helena Paparizou would have turned this track down - it does suit Eleni far better.


As it is, there is a good chance that it will be closing Tuesday night's show, it being the only 'party song' of the second half of the draw, something that might act in its favour.  I have to say that I am disappointed with the Cypriot entry - it is very lacklustre and doesn't make me want to hear on repeat.
I am sure that it will go down well in the early hours of the morning at Euroclub and might even make it in some summer pop charts across the Mediterranean but I would be very surprised if "Fuego" makes it into the Eurovision Final.  I wonder if Perfectil and Fyffes might be regretting putting their products in the video and associating themselves with this entry now...


And so we reached Saturday 3rd March, the second 'Super Saturday' this year as far as NFs are concerned, and the first nation to decide their entry for Lisbon was Finland.  We have already known who was singing for them since 7th November - Saara Aalto.  We also knew that she was going to finish runner-up again...but also third and first, as it was just her in the UMK Final, singing three songs written for her, with a combination of International jurors and the Finnish public deciding which one would be 'her song' for Lisbon.  In the build-up to the 'NF', official videos for the songs were released and one of them became the Eurovision fandom favourite:


"Monsters" was hitting popularity ratings of 70% plus on some Eurovision sites and to be honest it was my favourite as well, suiting Saara's child-like and yet powerfully theatrical voice perfectly, along with sounding like a modern radio friendly EDM/pop song, more so than the other choices of "Domino" and "Queens".  So it seemed as though UMK was going to be a coronation for that track, rather than a competitive vote - it did pan out that way in the end but the live versions really told a different story.  Let me quickly explain - these songs were already 'in the bag', so the main point of the exercise at the Espoo Metro Areena was to see how they were staged, Saara's live vocals being a given, or so we thought...

First up was the preshow favourite:



Saara wasn't quite her spot-on pitch perfect self with this one - whether it was due to excitement of being THE star of the show and this being the first song up, only she could say, but vocally it wasn't the best of the night.  Staging was also quite dark which of course fitted in with the theme of the song but even Lordi had pyros to light up everything!  The singer herself gave a superb performance though and as you'd expect from a reality music show veteran, she was spot on with all the camera cues and the dance routines.  Brian Friedman, choreographer of X Factor fame (and many other shows), provided the staging for all the songs and the dark clothing, the fluorescent strips (although less bright to what we were expecting):
the lighting, the dark angels - it all worked, it was just that it was so dark and moody.  The lyrics do tell a different story though, the tale of "Monsters" moving from being initially closed and isolated to finishing open and strong:


Like "Fuego", this EDM banger is a bit repetitive but unlike the Cypriot entry it doesn't feel that way - "Monsters" builds nicely from a slow controlled intro through to an energetic chorus and climax.  I know to my cost that 'visually gloomy and down' equals DNQ at Eurovision (remember my number one last year, "Blackbird"?) but this still felt good enough to go through as Saara's entry.  I'm not sure that it had the impact and wow factor that everyone in her production crew were hoping for...

Next up was perhaps the most visually spectacular of the three - "Domino":



I say visually because even with this track Saara seemed to struggle to some of the lower pitched parts of it but her being revolved 360° on a giant domino is something you will never forget!  A spectacular image and something that would have looked amazing in Lisbon, even though the song itself was fairly repetitive and absolutely forgettable:
Bar the revolving and the need for Saara to keep singing as the blood rushed to her head, 'Monsters' was still the more dynamic, listenable and memorable performance.  Still going well as far as the plan was intended - just the third song to navigate - "Queens":


Perhaps the most 'normal' outfit of the three (if a fluorescent pink mini dress with associated chain on one leg can be considered thus), this was Saara in full musical theatrical mode - steam engine and oil wells accompanying her on stage (no, me neither).  Her backing sounded a bit off with this one but it was her personal best vocal of the evening.  Pity it took her three songs to really warm up - it was a visual spectacle but it was all rather 'Starlight Express without the roller skates'!
Despite what many watching felt to be a little underwhelming, mainly because some fans had built UMK 2018 to levels comparable to that of the 'Second Coming', the juries and televoters had their say, putting "Monsters" through quite comfortably in the end, although the jury spoils were shared equally between the winner and "Domino":
So Eurovision fandom and Saara (I suspect) ended up with the expected result, although the exercise of a full blown NF did perhaps raise more questions than expected.  Assuming that Saara nails the vocals from now on, seeing that she and her staging director now realise how her voice sounds when performing that routine, I would be surprised if "Monsters", this strong pop song with such a catchy chorus, melodic hooks and radio friendly sounds, failed to qualify for the Eurovision Final...

• "Fuego" looks amazing on the official video and Eleni oozes sexuality through every pore but the Cypriot entry has really disappointed me content wise and lyrically.  Ms Foureira will need more that sponsored tablets and fruit to get herself into the Final - she will need a vocal and visual miracle, together with a favourable draw;
• "Monsters" has a superb official video as well but Saara's acting skills, together with her normally flawless live vocal capability, should easily see Finland into the Final.  Once there, the staging that seemed so dark at UMK could stand out more or at least be tweaked, as it is not such a 'work in progress' as many of the other acts' choreography will be at the moment.  The structure lyrically and composition-wise is top notch and despite some fan disappointment, I think that this flamboyant, theatrically trained lady will step up to the plate in Lisbon and take this performance to another level....