Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  Well, that ended as planned and right. Imagine the riot if the jury would have overruled the televotes were The Roop scored 86,5% of the televotes?! They thus become the 24th act of 2020 artists who get to do it again in 2021. And rightly so. Interesting fact is that the song is co-written by Finns Kalle Lindroth and Ilkka Wirtanen. Kalle Lindroth is also behind Aksel's Hurt in UMK2021 while Wirtanen is nominated for the Finnish Grammy or Emma for the Best producer. Let's see how this Finnish-Lithuanian combination will work in Finland - both countries are not really known for Eurovision successes, are they? What else is there worth a mention? Martyna's dancers got rid of those horrible dresses, Gebrasy broke into tears during the post-performance interview by Vaidas Baumila and he and the presenters had a invisible wall between them as a reminder of the times we live in. And in the end the results table is pretty much perfect, my top-3 is the top-3 and in the right order...

Ukraine - Go-A - Solovey I kinda liked this when it was selected but didn't pay much attention to it other than the sharp faced lady and the fact the song sits nicely into Finno-Ugric heritage in style. Fast forward now and I love it more and more. Now it gets a nine but I have a feeling this could have blossomed on stage in Rotterdam into a full 10. But for now 9/10 Lithuania - The Roop - On fire I liked The Roop the first time they tried to get into Eurovision and this time even more. There's nothing I don't like in this one. It may look like a joke entry but it's not; there's melody, there's hook, there are excellent vocals and I love his voice. The choreography adds to the whole package and this might have been heading to Lithuania's best placing ever, if not the first win. And it comes with an important message that I for once can relate.   10/10 Russia - Little Big - Uno Talking about joke entry... well, this is not one eithe...

Indie pop-rock group The Roop is riding high in the pre-contest charts with On fire and could be aiming for the best Lithuanian finish in the Eurovision song contest so far? Anyways, this blogger loved already their first try in 2018 with Yes, I do that finished 3rd in the national final. The band made of Vaidotas Valiukevičius (vocals), Robertas Baranauskas (drums) and Mantas Banišauskas (guitar) was formed in 2014 and has released two albums and one Ep along with a string of singles so far. All three guys have been involved in music a lot longer though.

  The Roop won last night the revamped Lithuanian national selection Pabandom is naujo! for the Eurovision song contest 2020 in Rotterdam. Their On fire was the the winner for the jury and televoters alike with their original performance and choreography. The lead Vaidotas Valiukevičius  is a fabulous creature and I just adore his warm voice. They manage to be original and likable without being ridiculous or something like that even if the danger of that is just around the corner all the time. Fabulous!  They already came 3rd in 2018 with Yes, I do that I liked also then.  1. THE ROOP – On Fire 12 2. Moniqué – Make Me Human 10 3. Monika Marija – If I Leave 8 4. Rūta Loop – We Came From the Sun 7 5. Aistė Pilvelytė – Unbreakable 6 6. Meandi – DRIP 5 7. KaYra – Alligator 4 8. The Backs – Fully 3