Eurovision Season 2020: February Update
Honestly, I don't know what Februarys would be like without national final season. In a world where February is just cold, dark and dreary and we don't get the amusement of Melodifestivalen, rumours on Eurovision acts or the utter bizarre (see below for the utter gem to come out of this year's Vidbir), it just wouldn't be the same! Seriously, how do normal people get through February (answers in the comments please). Meanwhile, there's no time to waste with us as we tuck in to the feast that is our four new members of the Eurovision's class of 2020
Australia
Well, the hot favourite won and the fans seem to like it so everybody's happy, right? Now I should offer the disclaimer that I never rated 'Zero Gravity' last year and so maybe this is just one of these things I will just never get, but I really don't like this song at all. I don't actively hate the song, it just doesn't stand out to me in the context of anything and that is why this song is already sinking Australia's odds of winning this year. I have no problem with Montaigne who seems like a talented artist but this is a meh song, a meh performance and a meh whatever is around her neck. It will be interesting to see how this does in the first half of a jam-packed Semi Final One. At least we'll get Dami Im back next year!
Czech Republic
By the time the Czech song got announced, I genuinely forgot about the existence of 'Kemama'. Obviously once it won, I listened again and objectively, there are a number of things to get excited about. This will be another opportunity for a contemporary African sound to come onto the Eurovision stage and its upbeat, energetic nature will serve the song well combined with Benny himself who seems like a charismatic guy. On paper, I should love this song, but in practice, I spend the first two minutes waiting for the song to fully kick off and it never really does. Benny is planning to re-record the song so I am curious to see what comes out of it. I want this to do well and feed the fire of the last two Czech qualifications but I am honestly slightly nervous.
Italy
This might be the first year that I genuinely enjoyed the process of Sanremo. I actually managed to listen to a good number of the songs at the beginning of the week so I had a good sense of the runners and riders going into the week. I liked 'Viceversa' but I LOVED 'Ringo Starr'. Whilst I was happy to see all three end up in the final reckoning, I am honestly disappointed that Italy went for 'Fai rumore'. I am even more disappointed to see that had the vote been 100% televote that Francesco Gabbani and Pinguini Tattici Nucleari would both have placed higher than Diodato. In any case, don't hate the players, hate the game and Diodata won Sanremo fair and square. Even though at the time of writing, this is currently top of the overall Eurovision betting odds, I would be surprised if this stayed up there come March and shocked if it makes the top 3 in May. I think Italy have blown their victory this year but there's still a long way to go.
Latvia
I called this. Yay! Aminata wrote another Latvian entry. Yay! Is it making it to Saturday night? No! Was the performance in any way impressive? No! Was the whole Supernova process basically a colossal waste of time for everybody except for Samanta and her three masked dancers who get an expenses-paid trip to Rotterdam in May? Yup, pretty much!
Right, that's our entries out of the way, let's see who's coming down the line over the next two weekends.
Armenia
When did the wheels come off for Armenia? This is a country who once upon a time sailed through every Semi it faced (save 2011) and whose last two results now read as 15th and 16th both from excellent spots in the running order. The broadcaster have gone back to a national selection and having picked 12 songs with 0 Armenian identity whatsoever and with very little creativity or imagination in their production. The two favourite acts seem to be Athena Manoukian and TOKIONINE and I am being kind in saying that both sound like a bunch of synths falling down a long flight of stairs. It doesn't matter what Armenia send this year, they're not coming anywhere close to qualification.
Lithuania
By contrast, the Lithuanian race is throwing up some very interesting storylines. I like KaYra's 'Alligator' but would be very surprised if she won in what already looks like a two horse race between The Roop and Moniqué. Whoever wins here will have to battle their way out of the first half of Semi Final One and that (as previously mentioned) looks like quite a tall order. Whilst I will not be watching events from Vilnius, I will certainly say that this year's show at the very least provides more creativity and entertainment value than its aforementioned Latvian counterparts.
Norway
Are we witnessing the future of Melodi Grand Prix? All I know is that I have absolutely LOVED this format. Same number of shows as MelFest. Check. Started in January to give everybody an early buzz. Check. Diversity of genres, artists, songs, languages and even geography. Check. Providing an interesting balance between the pre-qualifiers and the songs that battled their way through the Semi. Check. The intrigue of famous Norwegian Eurovision names being involved. Check. A national final not taking place in the capital check! I will be watching events in Trondheim on Saturday with extremely keen anticipation. It's too tight a race to predict a winner so I'm not going to try to. I'm just going to enjoy the performances finally taking to the stage of a big arena and say a big well done to NRK for a quality six weeks of entertainment! By the way, I think Norway have a big shot at the win here whoever they pick!
Slovenia
Because of EMA Fres, it feels like we have been talking about the Slovenian ticket to Rotterdam for ages. We have the snippets now and I will summarise by saying that I think it's going to be an exciting show with a diverse range of songs. I would love to see Tinkara Kovac back at Eurovision but I also have a special place in my heart for Saska despite the producers placing her second in the 12-strong running order. It's tricky to say much beyond that without the full songs to go off but safe to say, anybody who straps in for EMA is at least in for a fun ride to see who will go to Rotterdam and be shoved out of the Semi Final One where Slovenia also perform in the first half!
Ukraine
And speaking on entertainment, look no further than Vidbir 2020 but utter insanity. The overall quality of the songs is good but the three that I think will challenge for the win were all performed on Saturday's first semi. It won't win but how much fun would it be to see Jerry Heil's '#Vegan' on the Rotterdam stage? I have left the lyric video above but if you want the unfiltered bonkers, look for the Vidbir performance, it is magnificent. Go A and KRUTb would do a job for Ukraine in Rotterdam and they would probably navigate a tricky Semi Final to go through but the fun-lover in me is desperate for the Ukranian public to pick up the phone next Saturday for this one! And hey, nobody has mentioned R***** yet so we're golden!
Poland
I genuinely have no idea what on earth is going on in the Polish selection. Three Semi Finals, three qualifiers (one from each), every artist will sing a cover but the types of cover will be different each week. All this just to get to the final at which point they will perform yet another cover and then after all of that, the song they will go to Eurovision with? It's like a very shortened, very backwards X-Factor and the idea that Poland are going to finish that with a strong entry to bring to Rotterdam sounds utterly insane to me. I suppose we will have to see how good the three competing entries end up being but as we won't be hearing them at least until all three finalists have been chosen, we are not going to get much time to appreciate them before the Polish public select won to compete for the nation. It's all extraordinary to me, especially since I believe Poland should be aiming to win Eurovision. Bring Margaret back!
That's our national final news. Before we disappear, I want to say a quick word for Tom Leeb who will be releasing his Eurovision entry on Sunday. Tom, I know that the French ticket isn't exactly the most coveted one. I know that France's results in the final contest have been very hit and miss. France is begging for a Eurovision victory and has been waiting for it since 1977. I don't know much about you and your music but from what I do know, I believe you are the person to make it happen. Don't let me down, don't let France down, just give us a song where you give us your heart, your soul and your voice and I genuinely believe this is going to be a big year for you and for France at Eurovision!
And finally, a big welcome to Roxen who was today announced as Romania's Eurovision contestant. Roxen, welcome to the jungle! It's February and things are about to get well and truly messy!
Australia
Well, the hot favourite won and the fans seem to like it so everybody's happy, right? Now I should offer the disclaimer that I never rated 'Zero Gravity' last year and so maybe this is just one of these things I will just never get, but I really don't like this song at all. I don't actively hate the song, it just doesn't stand out to me in the context of anything and that is why this song is already sinking Australia's odds of winning this year. I have no problem with Montaigne who seems like a talented artist but this is a meh song, a meh performance and a meh whatever is around her neck. It will be interesting to see how this does in the first half of a jam-packed Semi Final One. At least we'll get Dami Im back next year!
Czech Republic
By the time the Czech song got announced, I genuinely forgot about the existence of 'Kemama'. Obviously once it won, I listened again and objectively, there are a number of things to get excited about. This will be another opportunity for a contemporary African sound to come onto the Eurovision stage and its upbeat, energetic nature will serve the song well combined with Benny himself who seems like a charismatic guy. On paper, I should love this song, but in practice, I spend the first two minutes waiting for the song to fully kick off and it never really does. Benny is planning to re-record the song so I am curious to see what comes out of it. I want this to do well and feed the fire of the last two Czech qualifications but I am honestly slightly nervous.
Italy
This might be the first year that I genuinely enjoyed the process of Sanremo. I actually managed to listen to a good number of the songs at the beginning of the week so I had a good sense of the runners and riders going into the week. I liked 'Viceversa' but I LOVED 'Ringo Starr'. Whilst I was happy to see all three end up in the final reckoning, I am honestly disappointed that Italy went for 'Fai rumore'. I am even more disappointed to see that had the vote been 100% televote that Francesco Gabbani and Pinguini Tattici Nucleari would both have placed higher than Diodato. In any case, don't hate the players, hate the game and Diodata won Sanremo fair and square. Even though at the time of writing, this is currently top of the overall Eurovision betting odds, I would be surprised if this stayed up there come March and shocked if it makes the top 3 in May. I think Italy have blown their victory this year but there's still a long way to go.
Latvia
I called this. Yay! Aminata wrote another Latvian entry. Yay! Is it making it to Saturday night? No! Was the performance in any way impressive? No! Was the whole Supernova process basically a colossal waste of time for everybody except for Samanta and her three masked dancers who get an expenses-paid trip to Rotterdam in May? Yup, pretty much!
Right, that's our entries out of the way, let's see who's coming down the line over the next two weekends.
Armenia
When did the wheels come off for Armenia? This is a country who once upon a time sailed through every Semi it faced (save 2011) and whose last two results now read as 15th and 16th both from excellent spots in the running order. The broadcaster have gone back to a national selection and having picked 12 songs with 0 Armenian identity whatsoever and with very little creativity or imagination in their production. The two favourite acts seem to be Athena Manoukian and TOKIONINE and I am being kind in saying that both sound like a bunch of synths falling down a long flight of stairs. It doesn't matter what Armenia send this year, they're not coming anywhere close to qualification.
Lithuania
By contrast, the Lithuanian race is throwing up some very interesting storylines. I like KaYra's 'Alligator' but would be very surprised if she won in what already looks like a two horse race between The Roop and Moniqué. Whoever wins here will have to battle their way out of the first half of Semi Final One and that (as previously mentioned) looks like quite a tall order. Whilst I will not be watching events from Vilnius, I will certainly say that this year's show at the very least provides more creativity and entertainment value than its aforementioned Latvian counterparts.
Norway
Are we witnessing the future of Melodi Grand Prix? All I know is that I have absolutely LOVED this format. Same number of shows as MelFest. Check. Started in January to give everybody an early buzz. Check. Diversity of genres, artists, songs, languages and even geography. Check. Providing an interesting balance between the pre-qualifiers and the songs that battled their way through the Semi. Check. The intrigue of famous Norwegian Eurovision names being involved. Check. A national final not taking place in the capital check! I will be watching events in Trondheim on Saturday with extremely keen anticipation. It's too tight a race to predict a winner so I'm not going to try to. I'm just going to enjoy the performances finally taking to the stage of a big arena and say a big well done to NRK for a quality six weeks of entertainment! By the way, I think Norway have a big shot at the win here whoever they pick!
Slovenia
Because of EMA Fres, it feels like we have been talking about the Slovenian ticket to Rotterdam for ages. We have the snippets now and I will summarise by saying that I think it's going to be an exciting show with a diverse range of songs. I would love to see Tinkara Kovac back at Eurovision but I also have a special place in my heart for Saska despite the producers placing her second in the 12-strong running order. It's tricky to say much beyond that without the full songs to go off but safe to say, anybody who straps in for EMA is at least in for a fun ride to see who will go to Rotterdam and be shoved out of the Semi Final One where Slovenia also perform in the first half!
Ukraine
And speaking on entertainment, look no further than Vidbir 2020 but utter insanity. The overall quality of the songs is good but the three that I think will challenge for the win were all performed on Saturday's first semi. It won't win but how much fun would it be to see Jerry Heil's '#Vegan' on the Rotterdam stage? I have left the lyric video above but if you want the unfiltered bonkers, look for the Vidbir performance, it is magnificent. Go A and KRUTb would do a job for Ukraine in Rotterdam and they would probably navigate a tricky Semi Final to go through but the fun-lover in me is desperate for the Ukranian public to pick up the phone next Saturday for this one! And hey, nobody has mentioned R***** yet so we're golden!
Poland
I genuinely have no idea what on earth is going on in the Polish selection. Three Semi Finals, three qualifiers (one from each), every artist will sing a cover but the types of cover will be different each week. All this just to get to the final at which point they will perform yet another cover and then after all of that, the song they will go to Eurovision with? It's like a very shortened, very backwards X-Factor and the idea that Poland are going to finish that with a strong entry to bring to Rotterdam sounds utterly insane to me. I suppose we will have to see how good the three competing entries end up being but as we won't be hearing them at least until all three finalists have been chosen, we are not going to get much time to appreciate them before the Polish public select won to compete for the nation. It's all extraordinary to me, especially since I believe Poland should be aiming to win Eurovision. Bring Margaret back!
That's our national final news. Before we disappear, I want to say a quick word for Tom Leeb who will be releasing his Eurovision entry on Sunday. Tom, I know that the French ticket isn't exactly the most coveted one. I know that France's results in the final contest have been very hit and miss. France is begging for a Eurovision victory and has been waiting for it since 1977. I don't know much about you and your music but from what I do know, I believe you are the person to make it happen. Don't let me down, don't let France down, just give us a song where you give us your heart, your soul and your voice and I genuinely believe this is going to be a big year for you and for France at Eurovision!
And finally, a big welcome to Roxen who was today announced as Romania's Eurovision contestant. Roxen, welcome to the jungle! It's February and things are about to get well and truly messy!
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