Music is a significant attribute to culture and even to this day this is no different in Europe. The same cultures and others that gave us periods defined by the umbrella term “classical” are still alive and well in the music industry, hoping to produce better works of art than their North American counterparts. Originally designed to ease post-World War II tensions as well as bridge a union in the Cold War era, the Eurovision Song contest is still going as a way for the countries to establish their national psyche. This was the fifty sixth, brought to us from Düsseldorf, Germany.
1. Paradise Oskar – “Da Da Dam” (Finland)
The introductory track from Scandinavia was mellow, bringing in folk vibes and establishing a good feeling for the rest of the competition. The lyrics were about the vocalist following the mission of Peter, a nine year old boy who, in love with Europe and nature, took to heart the message of a school teacher that the world was dying. He was moved and wanted to literally save Earth.
The mellow, acoustic music matched perfectly with the lyrics, bringing to mind youthful innocence and a passion that it seems only kids can bring out in us grown ups. I liked the song and it was one of my favorites not just in the semi finals but here as well. Oskar well earned the honor of representing Finland in Germany and hopefully one day we’ll see him again.
2. Dino Merlin – “Love in Rewind” (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
The Balkans brought another hippie-sounding track to the table that was more politically driven than its predecessor. It wasn’t a bad song but personally I didn’t care for it too much, though it managed to land itself in the top ten come voting time. Moving on.
3. A Friend in London – “New Tomorrow” (Denmark)
Another song about the power of activism from the young from Scandinavia. However, this had a light rock tone to it. Hmm.
I liked it, but all of the activist songs had me asking at this point why Portugal didn’t troll its way into the finals. At least the mentions of diamonds and pearls makes it a decent fit to write a Pokémon fan fic based in Sinnoh around.
4. Evelina Sasenko – “C’est ma vie” (Lithuania)
FINALLY! NOT A POLITICAL SONG! Wait a second…
Mademoiselle Sasenko wasn’t a bad singer but something I never was a huge fan of in Eurovision were songs that seemed more befitting for a Disney princess than a pop contest. Maybe she’ll have a shot at dubbing over The Frog Princess soundtrack in her home country.
5. Kati Wolf – “What about my dreams?” (Hungary)
I managed to be unbiased with this track knowing my (eventual) father-in-law was born and spent the first five years of his life in Hungary. This song finally welcomed the standard Europop sound known in the Americas and did a pretty good job doing so. However, it was a bit of a disappointment in its appeal to 80s pop, something Hungary has done for the past few years in the contest. I applaud her work but hopefully next year offers something different.
6. Jedward – “Lipstick” (Ireland)
The Irish version of the Bella Twins have taken the British Isles by storm since their appearance on X Factor last year. I wasn’t too enthused by the song but it is certainly an earworm that could work as a wrestling theme for a female or a drag queen.
However, it offered the funniest moment of the night. While the United Kingdom awarded them twelve points in voting, the UK’s act (soon to be covered) only received six from Ireland.
7. Eric Saade – “Popular” (Sweden)
Yet another earworm that fit the pop category. It sounded a bit like something Adam Lambert here in the States would put out, which I think was the point. The song’s lyrics made no sense except for when Saade kept shouting “I WILL BE POPULAR” in the chorus, which I perceive as mocking the lyrical style of the songs heard in the Top 40. The visuals of the performance also managed to bring Pokéballs up as a trending topic in Europe.
I’ll be looking forward to hearing this whenever I go into an IKEA.
8. Getter Jaani – “Rockefeller Street” (Estonia)
This had a more American appeal than Sweden’s song, and it wouldn’t surprise me if somehow this ends up on dance club soundtracks here given the background music. The song was fine, but for me Jaani’s vocals were a bit grating in my ears. Taking that out of the equation, it was an overall good song with tasteful and fitting presentation. Why it got second to last, though, is another question.
9. Loukas Giorkas and Stereo Mike – “Watch My Dance” (Greece)
I found it tasteful overall, but Stereo Mike’s rapping brought it down for me. Giorkas’s vocals amuse me because it sounded like “Arabian Nights” from Aladdin to a certain extent. Not bad and it certainly deserved seventh place, but there should have been a different guy rapping. However, I will say I preferred last year’s entry, “Opa!”.
10. Alexey Vorobyov – “Get You” (Russia)
Eastern Europe seems partially stuck in the 80s. It was one of the better ones from its semifinal groups but it didn’t have the same glamour in the finals for me. I felt like we were…well, Rickroll’d.
11. Amaury Vassili – “Sognu” (France)
At first when I saw the guy, I was cracking up because he bears distinctive similarities to Burgh from Pokémon in appearance. Then he sang.
I was blown away by how excellent he was and it was (in my opinion) one of the better acts in the finals and the best of the Big Five. Unfortunately it was evident that it’s no longer the late 90s where opera-style singing isn’t idealized in pop music, which made it seem so out of place amongst the other songs. Doesn’t change how much I enjoyed it, though.
12. Raphael Gualazzi – “Follia d’amore” (Italy)
If choking could ever apply outside the sports realm, this was a textbook example. The song itself was enjoyable but the live perfomance flopped in comparison. Why it took second place confuses me.
It’ll probably end up on the playlists at Starbucks soon.
13. Anna Rossinelli – “In Love for a While” (Switzerland)
To make the pun now, I was neutral about this. Rossinelli has an excellent voice as an alto but I don’t think her voice suited the lyrics. It was better than last place but that’s what it got. So bet it.
14. Blue – “I Can” (United Kingdom)
If I happen to offend any of my British readers, I apologize in advance.
Why some of you guys are complaining about how bad this was, I don’t get it. It was one of the better of the Big Five acts and was pretty catchy. It even sounds like the more well-known Pokémon intro theme! It was certainly a huge step up from what the UK has delivered in the past few years and I hope next year that trend will continue.
15. Zdob si Zdub – “So Lucky” (Moldova)
This was the winner in the entertainment category.
The ska-punk band continued what was established last year by Olia Tira and SunStroke Project’s performance of “Run Away” and turned the notch up to eleven in the insanity department. There were fairies on unicycles amongst a seizure of flames and scarecrows with everybody in pointy troll hats. The song was well done on the live stage amongst all the madness.
I think I can safely say it made me a fan.
16. Lena – “Taken by a Stranger” (Germany)
Last year’s winner returns with another tune that’s more mature and thankfully more coherent than what she won with, “Satellite”. I still found it a bit bland for my tastes, almost as if she were trying too hard to amp up the maturity. The silver dancers sent me in an acid trip and made me wonder where Verka Serduchka from Ukraine was when one needed “hir”.
Also DEAR GOD THAT NOTE JUMP AT THE END OF THE LIVE PERFORMANCE.
17. Hotel FM – “Change” (Romania)
He sang of changing the world. What he needed to do was change his pants.
Another unremarkable song, unfortunately.
18. Nadine Beiler – “The Secret is Love” (Austria)
She wasn’t too terrible and the song was acceptable enough but I think she struggled with the stage fright. Fortunately it wasn’t the worst that night, though will likely be forgotten.
19. Ell and Nikki – “Running Scared” (Azerbaijan)
It was a standard pop duet that will probably have an international appeal in the long run. At first I didn’t mind the song, but it grew on me eventually and I can see how it won. It fell into another relateable topic (love) and wasn’t controversial, had a nice sound and C major key to it, and was just pleasant.
It wasn’t my favorite but its success isn’t disappointing.
20. Maja Keuc – “No One” (Slovenia)
This was the one song I had to look up to remind myself it was in the finals. The vocals were solid, but unfortunately the song had nothing to make it imprint.
21. Sjonni’s Friends – “Coming Home” (Iceland)
The song was performed by a group of friends of the guy intended to perform after his tragic passing. As corny as the showboat band sound was and some tempo changes I think were on accident, I found it to be sweet in spite of that. One of my favorites in the ensemble group.
22. Lucia Perez – “Que me quiten lo bailao” (Spain)
Not bad. She looked like she was genuinely having fun up there. However, I think what brought it down was that it sounded more “Latin American” than “Spanish”, if such a distinction could be made. Fortunately made more sense than last year’s presentation and no random fan intrusions.
23. Mika Newton – “Angel” (Ukraine)
Apparently she’s been considered the Avril Lavigne of Eastern Europe. I disagree. I drew more parallels with Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation.
Her voice was stunning and, coupled with the artwork of the visuals, the song itself was ethereal, much like the angels she sang of. It was definitely my favorite of the female sololists and was even my pick to win after seeing all finalists and the direction of the voting. Fourth was acceptable, though.
24. Nina – “Caroban” (Serbia)
The song wasn’t bad, but the presentation made it hard to take it seriously. I was laughing over the similarities to Austin Powers, Josie and the Pussycats, etc.
25. Eldrine – “One More Day” (Georgia)
A decent song, but the vocals killed it for me. I think this was voted in by the nu-metal fans.
It was probably my least favorite, but it managed to get ninth overall.
FINAL VERDICT
Last year had some more memorable contributions but I welcomed this year as a step up from last year which was dominated by Disney-sounding songs. As generic as the winner was, it was acceptable and also better than the previous. I do think I am a fan of a few more artists, though.