More entries in my Top-10 reviewed
San Marino - Serhat - Say Na Na Na *****
Say na na na
You’re not alone so stand up na na na
Be a hero be the rainbow and sing na na na
Say na na na
Ahmet Serhat Hacıpaşalıoğlu (54) is back! The Turkish Sammarinese by adoption tries his luck for the second time in Eurovision and who knows, he might make it to the final this time and even if doing so, Valentina Monetta remains the one and only Sammarinese artist to do so. Say Na Na Na is what he does best: dated disco pop with old fashioned female backing singers over his husky half spoken performance. In some weird way it works. This is feelgood music, hilariously kitchy without being banal and somehow Serhat manages to make himself likable like a DILF of the fandom. Closing the first semi-final this could be what televoters had been waiting for: something instantly recognisable and fun, what most people think Eurovision is all about. If juries will get aboard too this just could make it to the final...
Belgium - Eliot - Wake up *****
I came to fight I came to fight over you
Don’t want your lies don’t want your lies I need truth
I came to fight I came to fight over you
No one will cry, no one will cry if it’s true
Eliot Vassamillet (18) is one of the youngest this year, and also without much experience whatsoever. Like most Belgian entrants in the past few years he's also a random The Voice participant the song's writer Pierre Dumoulin spotted. I like this more than his previous entry (Blanche's City lights). This one has a nice athmosphere and melody and I instantly liked this a lot. Time will tell how he handles this live and how the staging supports the song. With Blanche they had terrible start of the rehearsals but in the end she delivered - I hope Eliot does the same.
Azerbaijan - Chingiz - Truth *****
Oooooo So shut up shut up about it
I don’t need I don’t need the truth
Moscow born Çingiz Mustafayev (28) may be young but he's been around already over a decade passing from Pop Idol 2007 to Jūrmala's New Wave and Ukraine's The Voice before creating Palmas, a group he sings in performing an interesting mix of Azerbaijani and Turkish folk songs with flamenco, pop and rock influences. Sadly, his entry is nothing of that sort but almost too polished pop by the usual suspects Borislav Milanov & co. The video is one of the most stunning in visual this year and shares with The Netherlands some underwater scenes with the hunk that Chingiz is. I was very thrilled with the song with first hearing and even if this has lost a bit of its charm with further listenings one must remember most voters do hear it for the first time on the night. The staging will seal the fate of this but this is qualifier, and most likely will end up very high on the scoreboard. Yet, I wouldn't be surprised if this would flop; is it all too polished and sterile?
The Netherlands - Duncan Laurence - Arcade *****
Oh, oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh
All I know, all I know Loving you is a losing game
Duncan de Moor (25) aka Laurence of The Voice of Holland fame has emerged the one to beat this season. And no wonder, the song feels special, it's beautifully arranged, melodic and melancholic with a lyrical hook that can touch most people. The video is also suggestive featuring just like Azerbaijan underwater shots - only that when Chingiz is only shortless Duncan is completely nude. Yet it fits the whole and his pretty round bum doesn't steal the show. Also for this the staging and live performances will make or break it. Is this too obvious a winner? Just remember what happened to Francesco Gabbani.....
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