[LMBTO] Sweden, FYR Macedonia and their pleather Eurovision outfits...

That weird mix of plastic and leather seems (to my eye at least) to be making a comeback via the Eurovision Song Contest!  Is that some sort of black straitjacket that Benjamin is wearing?  Not quite sure how this look tied in with his winning entry at Melodifestivalen but it didn't hurt in the slightest, as "Dance You Off" shone literally very, very brightly:

Now I am not a rabid fan of the Swedish selection process, unlike seemingly most of Eurovision fandom - on the night of the MF Final, I was watching Alexander Rybak crush all Norwegian opposition in preference to seeing Benjamin coast to his predicted victory.  Having said that, I read enough news articles to keep abreast of what was going on and I had gleaned that the selection of acts available to the current powerhouse of Eurovision wasn't the strongest this year.  It perhaps made the victory for the guy above a little easier but having watched the performance of "Dance You Off", I would have to say that it was a deserved win:
Why do I say that?  Because, to be honest, the competition was not in the same league of slickness, entertainment or visual excellence - there were better vocalists but in what (for me at least) is always a light entertainment show rather than a pure musical contest, Benjamin's routine was vastly more memorable.  I do have to clarify something though - this entry is not in the same league as anything that Sweden have sent to Eurovision since 2013.


Don't get me wrong, the whole routine is spot on, it works amazingly well, he hits every camera angle, he bobs his head in that comical way exactly at the right time and his bizarre 'forward moonwalk effect' is endearing but do you know who the real star of "Dance You Off" is?
I assume that the whole thing is portable and can be taken to Lisbon - if so, Sweden have got the jump on most of the other delegations with their staging, taking advantage of the 'no LED screen' rule at the Altice Arena.  The light show is very basic in concept but extremely effective in keeping you watching Benjamin strut his stuff across the screen - you want to see how effective it is without the main protagonist in the way?  Here's a superb Powerpoint representation:



For me, seeing how the lighting worked was more enjoyable that the performance itself!  Visually, "Dance You Off" has a lighting engineer working overtime - unfortunately it looks like the same guy wrote the lyrics too:


And everyone was being snooty about "X My Heart"!  I cannot imagine it took long to write these words and even though it fits perfectly for a slice of simple pop, they are totally forgettable.  If it wasn't for that light show, I think that Sweden might be in real trouble this year.  If the Swedes can have this exact same routine going in Lisbon then I cannot see anything other than certain Final qualification and a almost certain top ten, mainly because it is Sweden - that, however, would be classified as a national catastrophe for this nation looking for their seventh win to tie with Ireland.  I will make a bold claim now:


I think that we will have another "You" scenario - MF 2018 producing another slice of teen pop with a good looking guy, a slick routine and a chart friendly song but we have reached the very limit of the successful Swedish formula here.  This is likely to give 'the best NF in the world' a massive reset for 2019 and hopefully will see some variation to the current gold standard 'good looking man with a visual treat' next year across the heats in February and March.
To be honest, the more I watch this routine, the more I laugh, especially at the mannerisms, nods and 'dancing' - this is descending into 'press next track' territory for me and Sweden 2018 will not stay in my memory for much past May 13th...


As far as placings in Lisbon are concerned, a certain Swede performing in front of half of the 'Piccadilly Lights' will capture the vote of many men and women who like light and fluffy pop songs and good looking guys.  Were the entries to be reversed and the nations entered into the fray with the opposition's songs, Eye Cue would be looking at a certain top ten and getting lots of critical plaudits for "Lost And Found", whereas Benjamin Ingrosso would be written off already as a DNQ.  Such is the trials and tribulations of representing a nation that has only qualified once in the last ten Contests, as against one who has only been out of the top five once in the last seven.
Personally, there is only one track that I will remember after Lisbon and will delight in playing on any Eurovision 2018 playlist...