Skip to main content

EUROVISION 2019 DARE TO REVIEW 9: SAN MARINO, BELGIUM, AZERBAIJAN, THE NETHERLANDS

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.....

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SONGS OF THE YEAR 2015: #5 KRISTA SIEGFRIDS - ON & OFF

Krista Siegfrids is delivering nice pop tunes one after another and this one is particularly catchy and soon you will be singing along..... Hopefully her Melodifestivalen entry will be equally good!

ESC 2016 WISH LIST: MARGARET FOR POLAND

Małgorzata Jamroży aka Margaret has also been tipped for Eurovision and apparently she did turn it down but she'd be perfect. She's got a look and persona you can't unnotice nor forget, she's got hit songs, she has been voted or nominated for everything from Trendy artist to the Hope of the Year, Fashion Icon and Glamour Woman of the year besides the usual best video, song, album, debut..... Oh she's also a fashion designer! She's very clever with social medias and would surely use it to her advantage if selected for Stockholm 2016. Her debut album is titled Add the blonde , do we need to say more? Except it includes mostly Swedish written pop tunes like Tell me how are ya , Wasted , Start a fire and Heartbeat . And of course her debut single and internationally noticed Thank you very much that you can enjoy below with all its anti-textil feel. I think she's Eurovision perfection, she's cheeky and fun, can we have her?

ESC 2016 BELARUS: NAKED WITH WOLVES?

Today's funniest Eurovision related story comes from Belarus. Some sources claim Ivan wants to perform on stage naked and with live wolf or wolves. It surely would be a first on Eurovision stage! We have seen some forgotten underwear over the years, and some cardbox animals though..... Is it time to take things a bit further?  No, according the rules live animals are not allowed, and Eurovision being a family show nudity won't do either. (It seems to be ok to be half naked if you are a dancer though..... )

GREECE: HELENA PAPARIZOU HITS AGAIN WITH HAIDE

Eurovision song contest 2005 winner Helena Paparizou has been enjoying Top-5 hits every year since 2003 with the exception of 2010 and 2014, this latest one being already her 27th! And Haide is charting also in Bulgaria and Finland, of all places. The catchiness of her hits has changed less over the years than her face....  Here's the English version , below the Greek version. 

TIM SCHOU AND HIS NAKED GRAVITY

Tim Schou has a pretty good solo career going since he left his friends in London. He's travelling the world and relesing songs and videos. The latest one is a great track and comes with a steamy video that kinda takes away from the song really. But who's complaining. If you got it, flaunt it. Enjoy the video below. This post coming after the other Dane, Rasmus Seebach as wishlist for Eurovision. To think about it, Tim would do nicely, too. Maybe he should give it another go?

CONCHITA WURST RELEASES YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE VIDEO

Just awhile before her debut album simply titled Conchita will be released Conchita Wurst has released a video to her latest single You are unstoppable . And yes, she does Loreen or goes topless. Beautifully shot in black and white the video once again provides some beautiful imaginary and shots. And she's off to Australia for promotion soon..... 

SWEDEN: MEDS MAKES MÅNS ZELMERLÖW HARD AND NAKED

Earlier this year Måns Zelmerlöw invested some of his money into web pharmacy MEDS and now he's ready to bare it all for its advertising film, which is.... how to put it? The corniest thing I have seen for a long, long time perhaps? Supposed to be funny the way his Eurovision presenting stunts were I presume, but this falls somewhere between embarassing and uncool. Well, we get to admire some over acrting and a lot of naked Måns riding a horse and sporting a hard on at one point. Maybe that's enough to make MEDS a success.... Where's Edward af Sillen when you need him?

CAROLA'S BOOBS STEAL THE SHOW, SVT APOLOGIES

Update! Another thing got Swedes talking last night: Carola's boobs when she was giving away an award. This is not the first time her boombs cause headlines; her misfortunate adventures in the 80's in Japan wer explained with her boobs being too big for Japanese market. Ok.... Or was it the song ? Anyways, Carola apologies and says she thinks the dress is stylish and elegant (even her friends said so) and she's a mature woman in her 40s, not a 16-year-old girl and looks like one. The Swedish Oscars, Guldbagge awards were given out last night. Carola was there as a guest star to sing Barbra Streisand's The way we were when honoring the movie stars who passed away during 2012. However, the cameras were too much on Carola, not on the stars showed in photos in the background and that upset many viewers as that part of the show was to celebrate them, not Carola. Oh well...  The producer of the show tells in Aftonbladet the part of the show was made the sam...

EUROVISION 2025 PORTUGAL: NAPA WINS FESTIVAL DA CANCAO 2025

Portugal's Festival da Canção 2025 also reached the final after two semi-finals. The winner was chosen by 50/50 regional juries and televotes. For me once again one of the best and most interesting national finals, a true contrast to Melodifestivalen's polished boredom and playing it so safe also here it seemed beforehand a duel between two: for international fandom Josh vs national popular Fernando Daniel with Henka in for a possible surprise. And yes, Portugal did Portugal and unlike San Marino and Sweden where things went as scripted - except Sweden did the unthinkable finish against all odds - chose Napa that no one abroad saw coming.... nor in Portugal I guess watching those votes going everywhere and so different from the juries and televotes Napa (ex Men on the Couch) is a Portuguese indie rock pop band since 2013. Francisco Sousa, João Guilherme Gomes, João Rodrigues, Diogo Góis and  João Lourenço Gomes are from the island of Madeira. Switch from English to Portuguese,...