Review: Joci Papai - Az En Apam - Hungary
1 Day YouTube Views: 35,311
1 Day YouTube Likes: 1,667
After a very respectable 8th place finish in 2017 with the haunting and authentically ethnic "Origo". Joci Papai returns to represent Hungary once again with Az En Apam. Once again sung in Hungarian but a track with an entirely different tone.
Unfortunately for "Az En Apam", it isn't really comparable to Origo which really held the best elements of a modern ethnic track that was accessible to everyone at some level. While this years track isn't bad per-se - it's just very OK. Pleasant and accessible, reminiscent perhaps, of a Hungarian Ed Sheeran, the track flows without too many bells and whistles.
One particular criticism - perhaps a little unusual in a year that features a song called "Say Na Na Na" - is that the last minute of the song is just "Na Na Na", it goes on for way too long. Despite the critique of the song itself, Joci himself is a seasoned performer, and his 2017 entry cemented his popularity. This track will need some inspired staging to elevate it to new heights if it wishes to reach the finals.
"Az En Apam" has the lowest YouTube Views and Likes of any entry we have listed so far which is rather surprising, however Joci's social media follower increase is strong. Hungary perform in the first-half of the first semi final, I suspect that with the weaker entrants in this semi, plus a few regional allies scattered around - Hungary may just be one to progress through, however I don't see it making too much of a mark on the final.
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Review: Zala Kralj & Gasper Santl - Sebi - Slovenia
1 Day YouTube Views: 35,693
1 Day YouTube Likes: 2,701
Only by manufacturing a fake 'blooper' did Slovenia just about qualify for the finals last year, but surely no amount of trickery can save this year's song, Sebi by Zala Kralj and Gasper Santl.
Highly reminiscent of Portugal's 2018 entry (which came last in the final), "Sebi" is a simplistic, slow, almost whispered number where the focus is more towards the intensity and power of the lyrics than the vocal ability of the singer. Unfortunately for Slovenia, the song is so slow, so unwavering, that I found it almost hypnotic - by the end I barely remembered what I'd listened to and felt like taking a quick nap.
It's safe to say that songs as slow as this will probably be a hard sell with Eurovision audiences - this will very much be the toilet-break act. I'm actually surprised it's even being entered as it really is quite featureless. Can they pull off a staging masterclass like Lithuania did with their track last year and elevate "Sebi" out of mediocrity? To be honest, probably not.
The YouTube stats for this song are very near the bottom of the table compared to all other songs released so far. Social Media follower stats are a little better, around the middle of the pack in terms of average daily increase. Overall though, nothing here to suggest anything other than an early exit for Slovenia this year.
Does "Sebi" get your heart pumping? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Review: Jonida Maliqi - Ktheju Tokes - Albania
1 Day YouTube Views: 208,748
1 Day YouTube Likes: 10,802
After an excellent result last year for what was a rather inaccessible song (in my opinion) - Albania return in 2019 with Jonida Maliqi singing Ktheju Tokes. An ethnic ballad with an air of urgency and pain - there's definitely some similarites to "1944" in the extended vocal cries.
I have to admit, I began listening to this feeling fairly certain I would be listening to another ethnic song that would leave me cold and none the wiser to it's meaning. I'm pleased to say that I've been converted. Ktheju Tokes starts slowly for first minute with the usual ethnic-sounding vocalisations, but the song really comes to life when the chorus kicks in.
Ktheju Tokes received some of the highest YouTube Views and Likes within 24 hours of the official video being released - this is despite Albania being the first country to decide on it's representative, the video of the national final had already been out for some time. You might think then that viewers had had their fill of their song, but clearly not. Jonida's social media follower counts have been impressive too, currently getting 400 new Instagram followers every day which is more than many of the competition's frontrunners.
This makes me think that Albania may worth a look for qualification, it's currently priced at 1.9 to qualify which means it's considered more likely to qualify than not. However, I can count around 6 "definite" qualifiers in Semi 2 so there aren't many free places to go around, it will be interesting to see how Jonida and the other entrants perform in the rehearsals. Like last year, could Albania sneak into the finals?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Review: Serhat - Say Na Na Na - San Marino
1 Day YouTube Views: 96,912
1 Day YouTube Likes: 4,607
Crashing out early in 2018, San Marino have punched back with Say Na Na Na, a great little disco number that is sure to be a highlight for the Eurovision audience in the stadium.
As someone born in the 80s, I felt "Say Na Na Na" taking me back to the mid-90s, cheesy disco pop on Top Of The Pops. To draw comparisons to recent Eurovision entries, this track could perhaps be compared to Moldova in 2018. I feel it's particularly strong for Eurovision for two main reasons - the first is that it's universal, you don't need to speak English to sing 'na na na' along to a song, within ten seconds of listening to this song, you already know the riff. The other is that despite this song appearing quite dated to us in the West, this isn't the case for a lot of countries in Europe where these type of cheesy tracks are still played regularly alongside modern ones.
San Marino's stats are currently very middle-ground and the real test will be what numbers we get for the first and second rehearsals.
The only real shortfall "Say Na Na Na" has is that it's going to be absolutely decimated by the judges who these days demand something more contemporary and cerebral. I forsee this being like Denmark 2018 or Poland 2016 where the televote was high but the jury score very low. San Marino perform in the second-half of the weaker first semi which features quite a lot of dross, I would hope this track would wake everybody up again. With decent staging, I personally see this track sailing through to the finals.
Do you say 'Ya Ya Ya' or 'Na Na Na'? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Review: Conan Osiris - Telemoveis - Portugal
1 Day YouTube Views: 78,095
1 Day YouTube Likes: 5,755
Portugal has had quite a ride the past two years at Eurovision, from a record-breaking victory in 2017 to last place in 2018. They return this year with Conan Osiris performing Telemoveis. With a face-mask straight out of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", a complex sound and an insane dance routine, there's a lot to unpack here.
There's certainly no shortage of unusual entries in Eurovision this year and Portugal definitely falls into that category. On first listen, I really didn't get this track at all, in such a weak year it's very difficult to work out which mediocre acts will stick at Eurovision and which won't. My opinion is that this routine would actually be more hard-hitting if the wackiness was toned down, the ridiculous dancing is a real distraction.
The song itself has Arabic influences with lots of random sound effects littered throughout, the sound effects in particular are overdone, lots of 'huh!'s and other background noises are seemingly inserted at random. One thing that a foreign-language track must do if it's to be successful at Eurovision is to send the message of the song in a different way. Portugal's track fails in this regard, I've listened multiple times and still have no idea what it's about. While many people online claim this song grows on you - most of Eurovision will only hear this once.
Portugal perform in the second-half of the first semi which is the more open of the two. We need to see more stats come in from the first and second rehearsals before we draw a solid conclusion as to whether or not it qualifies. My personal opinion is that it's a mess masquerading as avant-garde but it may do well with juries. With a second-half draw (alongside Iceland), the two eccentric acts may push other, more generic acts down the memory-hole for the viewing public. Furthermore, Portugal's social media stats have been impressive, with a higher-than-average rate of new followers than most other acts this year. Despite my dislike for the song, I'll call this a qualifier.
What do you think of our review? Let us know what you think in the comments below.