Middle table continues with songs I kinda like but don't know how to place them really....
Hatrið mun sigra Evrópa hrynja
Hate will prevail And Europe’s heart impale
Hate will prevail And Europe’s heart impale
The most talked about, award-winning, anti-capitalist, BDSM, techno-dystopian, performance art collective, a political, multimedia project Hatari is maybe what PKN was for Finland (rather than Lordi). Kind of a protest by the voting population against bad success in the contest. And this could as well end up the same way. We will see. They are Klemens Hannigan and Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson with masked drummer Einar Hrafn Stefánsson and they have been around since 2015 causing commotion. Graphic designer Ingi Kristján Sigurmarsson, video artist Baldvin Vernharðsson and costume designer duo Karen Briem and Andri Hrafn Unnarsson are also part of the team. I must add I hated this at first but now kinda like it somehow, even if this is a bit Rammstein light with discobeat, but then again I kinda enjoy Rammstein in small amounts, too....
France - Bilal Hassani - Roi ***
I’m not rich but I’m shining bright I can see my kingdom now
Quand je rêve je suis un roi
Youtube star turned singer Bilal Hassani (19) of Moroccan origins has become a symbol of being whover you want or think you are, a bit like Conchita Wurst who he covered in The Voice Kids. And there is the problem: we already have Conchita. Somehow I find his character a bit irritating... That put aside his song Roi is written by last year's Madame Monsieur and it mixes French and English in a very fluent way. The song isn't bad but the weak part of the whole is his vocals, proven rather shaky live. On the other side it's also the charm to follow if he will make it or not without major damage?
Albania - Jonida Maliqi - Ktheju tokës ***
Një ditë jeton, Në tjetrën vdes
Sa mall, pak shpresë I vetëm, pa identitet
One day you live, The next you die
So much nostalgia, so little hope Alone, no identity
Jonida (36) is like an adult version of Belarusian Zena: ex-child star, singer, television host, media personality, philanthropist, style icon and entrepreneur. She has won several festivals, done musicals and tv. This was her third participation in Festivali i Këngës having placed 2nd and 3rd before. Her song Ktheju tokës is a dramatic ethnic ballad sung in Albanian that alone makes me wish that this will make it to the final. Hopefully they nail it with the staging as here's a lot of potential to make it something memorable and grand. This said, this is still only a borderline finalist...
Armenia - Srbuk - Walking out **
Whatever I’ve built I’m gonna burn down
I’m walking out (uhuuu) You’re no more a king
‘Cuz I’ was your crown
Srbuhi Sargsyan (Սրբուհի Սարգսյան) aka Srbuk (25) was internally chosen. She has been the runner up in X Factor and tried Ukrainian The Voice (like Georgian and Azerbeijani entrants). Her song leaves me somewhat cold and makes me only want to walk out. It feels aggressive and threatening, but that is maybe the intension, but it's not working with me. And we have a history of angry aggresssive female artists in ESC and it never worked. The arrangement has its moments but... no.
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