Review: Alexander Rybak - That's How You Write A Song - Norway

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Rybak is back and opening semi-final 2 with his song That's How You Write A Song, a song so cheesy that if someone walked into the room while you watched the video you'd quickly switch the tab to porn to save yourself the embarrassment.

Although the song is a cheese-fest and almost certainly due for a mauling from the judges, it actually contains lots of elements that make it perfect for Eurovision - Rybak's no fool. First is the singer himself, Alexander is a fan favourite thanks to his 2009 Eurovision win (from which he apparently hasn't aged a day). The song itself has a very strong but simple hook that anyone can get into. He's incorporated a call and response into the song which is bound to not only go down well with the Lisbon audience, it's also a great USP. The song builds with a great violin section in the second third which again, is bound to get the audience worked up. Alexander's live performances have been excellent, combined with his previous experience at Eurovision and he's likely to put on a good show.

For the negatives, the song's lyrics are (ironically, given the title) one of it's weakest areas, the whole thing is a little Barney The Dinosaur-esque in general but there are also just some jarringly 'off' lines - "Enjoy the small things, in time they will get big" is one that stood out to me from the first time I heard it. The music video is beyond cringeworthy, the only highlight being the lovechild of Jack Nicholson and Gyles Brandreth dancing around. While I said the call and response scatting section would be fantastic for the Eurovision audience, it feels very tacked on and lazy in the song itself ("Boogie boogie boogie!").

Most people agree that this song won't win the competition but the betting markets have Norway 6th favourite to win, only a week ago it was 10th favourite. I feel 6th is perhaps stretching things a bit, but the track's bound to do well with the televote, likely Top 10 in my book.