[LMBTO] Eurovision: You Decide 2019 - Duels and Decisions...

We have known for a while that a new broom had brushed through the organisational layer of the UK national selection process that is 'Eurovision: You Decide'.  The UK has a 'new' Head of Delegation (Andrew Cartmell, although he was in that position in Baku) and a new Music Consultant (Greig Watts) - we also knew that, after a few years of external venues in London and Brighton, we were sort of 'coming in-house', with the show being staged at Dock10 Studios within the MediaCityUK complex in Salford.  What that all means is that, at least on a production level, it should sound better at the venue and be easier for the BBC to stage.
But what does it mean for the music, the artists and the chances of the UK getting a half-decent result this year?  Wednesday 23rd February at 10am gave us an indication of that, with the reveal of the six entries that will be competing to go to Tel Aviv.  We now are all fully aware of the "Six acts, three songs" scenario this year - three songs that could be utilised in two different ways, with two different styles of music.  I listened and had a think about their chances after that first listen, baring in mind that only one of each pair would be available for the Great British Public to vote on...


"Bigger Than Us"


Those lyrics, with no music or vocal accompaniment, suggest something (for want of a better word than one supplied within the song) that is big and uplifting.  The song is simplistic but focuses on the love between the singer and the subject of their affections that is all encompassing and so massive that it is worth repeating.  If I saw those words alone, I'd be thinking that the music has to get louder and more powerful as the song progresses, that the voice has to take control and take the listener on a journey, that as many backing singers as possible should compliment the lead in the chorus.  It looks evangelical and anthemic - it needs a quality lead and complimentary backing singers.  There would be obvious comparisons with "Nobody But You" in Lisbon but, given the right singer, it would be memorable and juries at least would love it.  Did we have such a version to hand?  The first song played ticked every single box:



When I interviewed Lindsay Dracass at Eurostarz in August, I chatted about her role on "All Together Now" and she said to me that there was only going to be one winner of series one and that singer was Michael Rice.  The selection panel for EYD has got this melding of song, production and singer together absolutely spot on - Michael has a great voice, he has the right volume level when sung over that beating RnB pulsating tone and even deals with the quiet part perfectly.  If the stage director can find five backing singers that will produce that gospel choir sound even to 75% of what the studio version is, then I think that we have a potentially winning song right here, off the bat, song 1, making it really difficult for the professional jury not to put Michael through to the SuperFinal.  That is the only way that I can see this version of "Bigger Than Us" not making it to Tel Aviv - it is bold, it is huge sounding and it could be staged simply enough so that Michael's vocals do not suffer and yet give a 'choir' scenario that will look and sound incredible on the EYD stage.  This is my tip for the first pairing - it is a shame as I think that possibly the best vocalist is in this duel too:



Country pop works on so many levels and Holly Tandy has exactly the right voice, the right intonation for every word and exactly the right delivery.  If this version was allowed to be put into a straight six-way vote then I could imagine this vying for top spot with Michael.  The music has a delightful lightness about it and the slower 'clap section' will give some audience participation that you won't get with Michael's version of "Bigger Than Us".  Put Holly centre stage on a stool with a guitar, playing this like an intimate gig performance, with her looking directly down the camera with a beautiful smile, her singing to the viewer 1-2-1 and you have a really effective alternative.  Just Holly, no-one else - her experience, even at her young age, will shine through and give a straight choice for this song - "universal anthem" or "lover's intimacy".  As far as the directive for having one song / two styles goes, this pairing could not be better.  It is just a shame that one of them will be discarded by the celebrity jury (we know not who they are yet) - I would be more than happy to see both of them for us to vote on, rather than have one of the choices of this next song...


"Freaks"


Since I have become a radio show host and interviewer of artists and songwriters, I have tried to become less critical of songs and try to find the good in all of them.  I have to say that "Freaks" is really testing me!  Let's start with those lyrics...

• "Soccer" - you are in the UK, it is "Football" and immediately you will have the audience thinking about that for the next 15-30 seconds and ignoring your song...
• The incorporation of references to religion - if I want religion in my songs, I would go to church or, at a push, listen to "Jesus Christ Superstar" which at least is relevant to the story of the musical...
• The prechiness of the song as a whole - 'world peace' and 'love to all' songs that have such a blatant message do not wash in a contest like Eurovision now, just ask Iceland after sending "Our Choice" to Lisbon...

The other thought about the lyrics is the possible attempt to draw on the success of "The Greatest Showman" - this does read like a score for a musical and the subject matter could fit in nicely within that movie.  If that was the case, it would be quite a cynical move - whatever the motivation, there was little hope that the music and singing of the two versions of "Freaks" would put this anywhere near my admiration for the "Bigger Than Us" songs.  Having heard both, it actually got worse...



First of all, is it me or does the vocals here sound a touch, shall we see, manipulated?  Slight tweaks and vocal effects?  Those never go down well live unless you are Stevie Wonder or The Olsen Brothers.  The other overriding thought about Jordan Clarke's version of "Freaks" was that it could have been lifted straight out a children's musical or Disney film - where the music and singing is light and fluffy, in the background, barely perceptible as you want to focus on the visuals.  One comment I had from a friend was that when their young children heard the songs, this was their favourite and I could really understand that!  I cannot begin to think how this will be staged - I can't remember whether there is an age restriction on those on the EYD stage but the stage director might as well go the whole hog, put five young kids on with Jordan and make this into some sort of inspirational play, where the nerds and the geeks are drawn 'Pied Piper'-like to follow him to that promised 'land of the lost and lonely'.  The other thing about this song was that it reminded me of a tv advert to do with mortgages from decades ago.  After 24 hours I realised what that song was:



As for "Freaks", I would loved to have seen the other version try something out of the ordinary, be a really high tempo song or rock anthem, just to hide the lyrics a tad but we have an even slower, if more harmonious, entry:



Positives first - MAID have lovely voices and they harmonise really well.  I think that vocally that this will be one of the highlights of the night and I can imagine that they will not get anything other than praise for that.  What will restrict them are those lyrics and I think that is a shame because it is obvious that these singers could be up there with Michael and Holly.  The slowness and deliberate pace of this version could be a killer if it is placed directly after Jordan (I assume that for comparison's sake each pair will be one after the other) so the only thing that MAID can do is stage this totally differently to him.  What this deathly pace does lend itself to is some macabre costumes and make-up - perhaps some "Day Of The Dead" staging could at least go with those wonderful voices and push this into the SuperFinal as the "Freaks" choice?  For me, this is the better of the two available, purely for those vocals that aren't assisted by any autotuning, but I cannot see either entry challenging "Better Than Us" or whoever makes it out of the next pairing...


"Sweet Lies"


"Sweet Lies" isn't exactly a song for the "#MeTwo" movement, is it?  The protagonist doesn't appear to want to know what the subject of their affections has been doing with anyone else, as long as they can physically stay with them at this moment in time.  The message imparted might lend itself to a ballad for the first half of the song as there is a story there, but after halfway it is as if the songwriters were trying to keep to the 'one song for two different musical styles' by actually writing the rest for a clubland banger.  Neither one nor the other, potentially too wordy for one and half a message for the second - that is where this song falls down for me, compared to "Bigger Than Us".  It is however far, far better than "Freaks"!  Ironically we do have a ballad and a banger to listen to for this song - first the club filler:



As you can hear, the lyrics for the chorus and the second half of this version are spot on perfect for such an up tempo song.  Kerrie-Anne has a superb voice and really brings a superb dance vibe to match the pace of this song - it isn't often that the UK even contemplates sending such a song to Eurovision (if ever?) and this would be a real surprise for the fandom elsewhere and even most listeners on Saturday night in Tel Aviv.  I'm not so sure that the jurors would mark this highly for originality but if this lady can sing this live as well as in the studio, this dance anthem could be the one challenger to "Bigger Than Us".  The one big 'if' would be that live performance - we have seen over the past couple of EYD that a favoured pop song has fallen by the wayside because the staging has put the singer in a position of moving too much to a routine that made their vocals go to pot (I'm thinking of Salena Mastroianni and Asanda).  Kerrie-Anne seems to have more experience than both of them so hopefully this will not be an issue but I have seen these sort of songs fail live too many times, even abroad (Asmik and "You & I", anyone?).  The more thoughtful and intricate words at the start of the song don't matter so much here as it is the sound of the voice plus that contagious beat of the music that are the focus - the bleakness of the lyrics are far more obvious in the other version of "Sweet Lies":



The half finished aspect of the lyrics is clear to see and hear in Anisa's version of the song - she has a beautiful tone and range, bringing real poignancy to the first half of the song.  Unfortunately the repetition of the same couple of lines later on really becomes obvious and drags the song down, this wonderful singer not really having the means to do anything about it.  She is very experienced and I suspect will have real camera connection, perhaps enough to keep the focus of the viewer on her and not on the basic nature of the song.  If only the songwriters of "Sweet Lies" had finished the fascinating story that they started telling then Anisa might have stood a chance at EYD - because of that, I would be surprised if Kerrie-Anne's uptempo version didn't take this duel...
What a difference a mobile phone camera makes - my old one at its last gig showed off the Q&A panel at EYD 2018 of Jon Ola Sand, Emmelie de Forest and Lucie Jones.  Now if we can have a set of jurors like that to decide which of each pair goes to the SuperFinal for us punters to vote on, I'd be more than happy.  To be fair, I suppose that Rylan, Rochelle and Tom weren't bad choices for 2018.  Whoever it is does have a really critical job to do, especially with "Bigger Than Us", where we might see the closest battle.  If I was on the jury and if the vocals were exactly like the studio version, with no discernable differences in staging between the acts, my choices would be:

At the moment, I would be going for Michael Rice to represent us in Tel Aviv but as we all know, live singing and tv can be strange bedfellows.  Having been at the venue for the last three EYD, I have heard how different the sound quality and performance values are between being there and watching at home...
Not being lucky enough to get tickets in the BBC ballot, I have decided to go for an experience that I haven't had since 2010 (if you can call that a NF)...

I think that there are going to be twists and turns, the main ones being with how all six entries are going to be staged - some can be guessed at fairly accurately, some I have no clue about.  The pre-show fan favourite hasn't won at the last two EYD (Joe and Jake were there or thereabouts with Bianca, if memory serves) so Michael and Kerrie-Anne might not have it all their own way.  All I know is that I think that it could be one of three:


To be honest with you, as long as it isn't one of the 'freaks', I'll be happy...