Review: ZiBBZ - Stones - Switzerland
7 Day YouTube Views: 154,853
7 Day YouTube Likes: 5,569
With a look resembling The Ting Tings but with a sound like Jessie J, ZiBBZ represent Switzerland with their track Stones. A powerful, beating track with themes of protest in the music video.
Stones begins with a great riff and beat in the verses, falling back to a floating chilled sound just before the chorus hits you at 100mph. It's a strong start and definitely draws you into the song. My problem lies with the chorus which (aside from the "No I ain't throwing stones" part) it almost feels they've overdone it on the noise levels, the melody and even the diction of the lyrics get lost in the avalanche of music. Also, before reviewing a track I listen to it multiple times, some songs will grow on me - but this isn't one of them, one listen is probably enough - you don't really hear anything on the second listen that you didn't already get on the first - the refrain "No I ain't throwing stones" also begins to grate after a while.
I can't help but feel that while it's not a bad song per se, it's distinctly middle of the road. If Taylor Swift herself released this track it'd surely be considered one of her weaker songs. Eurovision loves a bit of politics though and while Switzerland doesn't make overt references to any current events, the theme of the song attempts to tap into the anger and discontent many feel is brewing - can it get a few votes on this basis? My feeling is probably not as it's probably a little too generic but an idea worth considering.
Switzerland are currently last in the betting market with a price of 910/1 giving them a 0.1% chance of winning. While they definitely don't stand any chance whatsoever, it is a little harsh - the song as mentioned above sounds very 'Jessie J', it's not any worse than the music you currently hear in the charts. However it's YouTube stats are fairly disappointing, I feel Switzerland will need to be lucky on the night to progress past their semi, it may depend on their staging, whether or not they push the political theme and if the audience bites.
Review: Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together - Ireland
7 Day YouTube Views: 307,384
7 Day YouTube Likes: 7,838
Six years on from his appearance on Britain's Got Talent, Ryan O'Shaughnessy is back on the scene with Together, another track about being unlucky in love - a specialty of his it seems. Sung in a style immediately recognisable to anyone who's switched on the radio recently, most people would surely guess this was an Ed Sheeran track (or someone similar) if they didn't know it was Ireland's Eurovision entry. It's not a track anyone can absolutely hate, for sure, but is it a track people can absolutely love - and will it finally turn Ireland's poor showings in recent Eurovisions around?
The music video features a gay couple walking home through the cobbled streets of Ireland after a night out, considered controversial for the undeniable display of homosexuality as they hold hands and dance together in step. However it treats the topic with respect, avoiding cheesiness and anything that could be considered obscene by the countries that still have a problem with this sort of thing. One reason I like Eurovision is that no matter how much so-called 'gay propaganda/agenda' is suppressed the rest of the year in some of these countries, during Eurovision they generally just have to suck it up and broadcast it, at least in the final - anything that forces these places to face up to uncomfortable realities gets a thumbs up from me. Saying this though, the progressive theme of the music video won't help O'Shaughnessy's chances on the night. We don't yet know how the staging will be but I imagine it'll be one of two scenarios - O'Shaughnessy alone, or O'Shaughnessy accompanied by two (likely male-female) dancers who glide on stage together in a similar, unified way as the music video.
As for the song itself, I was saddened to see such a muted and/or negative reaction on social media as I find myself repeatedly coming back to the track for another listen. Can anyone seriously suggest that if this song was released by Ed Sheeran or Jamie Lawson it wouldn't be doing very well in the charts globally? It has "Thinking Out Loud" or "Perfect" writen all over it. With this in mind it's a shame though that the reviews are likely correct, this song just isn't right for Eurovision, pleasant as it is. It's similarity to other already established songs is also it's undoing in a way - does it really take us anywhere new? Is it pushing the envelope? In shows like the X Factor, the acts that get the most votes tend to sing either well-known upbeat songs, or incredibly emotional ballads that'll get Scherzinger squeezing out a tear for the cameras. While this song aims for the 'emotion' checkbox, the lyrics simply don't have the depth to invoke the level of emotional response to really get people voting. The overall message is: "I thought we'd be together forever but we're not now", a little too broad on the relatability spectrum.
O'Shaughnessy would do well not to check the betting markets which at the time of writing have him in 29th place. However his YouTube stats don't actually paint such a bleak picture - his Views count after 7 days is actually higher than that of France and Italy (8th and 13th in the betting markets). The arguably more important metric, YouTube video Likes might also give Ryan a little hope, he beats Portugal's Likes by 1,200. However, this may simply be down to the aforementioned fact that this style of song is currently popular. I personally hope Ryan scrapes through his semi-final but if he does, nobody should be too surprised to see him very much on the right-hand side of the scores table on the big night itself.
Review: Sennek - A Matter Of Time - Belgium
7 Day YouTube Views: 543,569
7 Day YouTube Likes: 10,806
Belgium are back with a sound echoing the dark and sullen tones of last year's "City Lights" by Blanche. A wordy number where the focus is on the artistry and the message rather than the camp theatrics we often see from Eurovision performances. Belgium came 4th last year in the televote, however the judges weren't quite so generous placing City Lights in 9th. This year's offering has a Bond-theme quality to it with whimsical lyrics about something not-quite-specified, the chorus raises the tempo a little before settling back into the verbose verses.
Musically, my personal feeling is that Sennek's offering in "A Matter Of Time" is a step backwards compared to last year. City Lights had an urgency, an intensity to it whereas A Matter Of Time feels more lackadaisical, the song never really builds - you could listen to the first minute of this song and that would be enough, the verses are hardly something you'd sing along to with much gusto and the chorus lacks a decent hook to latch people in. Remember, the vast majority of people will be watching these Eurovision performances for the first time on the night of the final, does A Matter Of Time have the oomph to encourage people to vote for it?
Artistically though, the song is of decent quality for which I've given it an extra half-star in our rating. This isn't throwaway pop and effort has been made to produce a song with a degree of substance and that has to count for something - this is especially noticable when placed next to Jessica Mauboy's "We Got Love" (6th in the betting markets) which is as vacuous as pop songs get in terms of depth. Sennek is a competent singer and I've no reason to believe she'll not provide anything but a faithful reproduction of the song in the official video come the final. For a track like this though, a lot depends on the staging and the running order, if it's just her standing alone in the middle of the stage in an early slot then Belgium could be in for a difficult evening.
A Matter Of Time is currently 4th in the betting markets, that's too high, this feels like a song that can easily be hyped up but then fail to make an impact on the night. Sennek's YouTube stats also suggest that her price is unjustified, her YouTube video Views and Likes are well in the mix with other songs that are way further down in the betting markets. We predict she'll end up in perhaps 8th or 9th place on the day, anything above 5th place just doesn't feel right.
Review: Sanja Ilic & Balkanika - Nova Deca - Serbia
7 Day YouTube Views: 128,343
7 Day YouTube Likes: 3,837
Everything about Serbia's entry suggests the Serbs have absolutely no interest in Eurovision this year. The entire package is lacklustre and frankly, quite confusing. The song opens with an old man playing a flute - "Ah", you say, "so this is an ethnic song". Literally within the first fifteen seconds of the track, flute-man has become utterly redundant and resorts to awkwardly dancing on the stage to fill the time. The opening flute has immediately been followed by the drawn, melancholic singing of the brunette female singer, she warbles with a pained expression - "Ah", you say "so this is a sad song". The blonde female singer joining in seems to confirm this as the music continues it's dark and ominous tone.
A bald man (with chest tattoos apparently doodled by a six-year-old) appears and the music now begins to pick up. "Ah", you say "so this is an upbeat song!". But no, the final curveball - Safri Duo-esque drums kick in, the female vocals become more intense, "Ah", you say "so this is a club track" and by the time that final thought has entered your mind, the song ends. The bald man and the blonde female hold hands despite having no prior connection during the performance, the brunette is left to try and shake off the old man who's waving his flute at her.
"Nova deca" is a song performed by Serbian group Balkanika. The song will represent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. That's not just me stating the obvious, I just copied and pasted the entire Wikipedia page for this song right there. It's no exaggeration to say that absolutely nobody has a clue what's going on in this track, what kind of music it is or the message it's getting across to the not-insignificant percentage of the world that don't speak fluent Serbian. By the way, "Nova Deca" is Serbian for 'New Kids' but that doesn't seem to correlate with anything on stage either. Absolutely nothing about this makes any sense.
Hopefully they've polished the act since the video was recorded but the entire ensemble screams half-hearted and ill-prepared, the brunette singer appears to need another run-through of the dance routine judging by the repeated uncertainty in her eyes and her late movements at 2:44 compared to her blonde counterpart.
Serbia is currently at 400/1 in the betting markets giving them an implied 0.25% chance of winning. I'd call these odds generous, if this song was the only performance at Eurovision the judges would sooner toss the trophy into the crowd than award it to this mess.
Review: Rasmussen - Higher Ground - Denmark
7 Day YouTube Views: 139,801
7 Day YouTube Likes: 4,937
Looking every inch like he just walked off the set of "The Hobbit" or "Game Of Thrones", Rasmussen delivers Higher Ground, a rousing anthem with staging that hints at a viking motif. The general consensus is that this year's Eurovision is shaping up to be nothing special in terms of song quality, viewers find it easier to list reasons why songs can't win than reasons they can. With this in mind, I'd originally consigned Denmark's entry to the garbage dump on first listen - it was only after going through and listening to some of the truly terrible and bland offerings this year that I was able to appreciate this track a little more.
Higher Ground starts slow and melancholic, however the moment the drums kick in, the song switches and plays like the montage sequence of a Disney movie, building throughout and reaching the crescendo without too many bells and whistles. The melody and lyrics are accessible and comfortably predictable, even for non-native English speakers.
Disappointingly though - for a man with a beard as impressive as Rasmussen's you'd perhaps expect a throaty roar somewhere in there, instead you can't help but feel that Denmark have played it safe, the song never really conveys any emotion and simply delivers a standard offering without much spice. It almost feels a little West End, the voice is a little too clean for the look.
Despite this, it's always pleasant when a country showcases it's cultural history in it's Eurovision songs, so the viking theme is a nice touch. With 43 entries this year, songs need to be 'elevator-pitch' in their catchiness and have an original quality to the staging. Denmark has this for me in the song, however, the lighting in the official video is a little too dark and the men that join Rasmussen on stage have an air of the undead pirates in "Pirates Of The Caribbean" about them, if they're able to lighten it up just a little, this may stand them in better stead.
The betting markets currently have Denmark's song 16th favourite which I feel is fair. This is a song though that will have a general appeal to the juries and a more acute appeal to the voting audience. There are definitely a few songs in the top 15 of the betting market that have no reason to be there. Denmark to me is a realistic challenger for top 15.