Retrospective reviews: M to R

By Jaz, June 27, 2010

MACEDONIA – Jas Ja Imam Silata – Gjoko Taneski

Gimmick: Uh-uh.; Reminds me of: Linkin Park’s In The End.

Pros: A strong chorus. I really like the rap bit too, that’s what mainly reminds me of Linkin Park. Gjoko sounds just as rock-gravelly live as he does on the CD.; Cons: The stage presentation was all over the place. The rapper and the guitarist and the dancers all seemed to be fighting for attention. It wasn’t that memorable, and the song isn’t either, especially amongst the myriad of quality entries in 2010.

I give the vocalist: 9; I give the song: 7; I give the staging: 4; Average score: 6.7

Points from me based on song: 7

Actual placing: 31^st

MALTA – My Dream – Thea Garrett

Gimmick: Seagull wings.; Reminds me of: Isis Gee’s For Life. The poor man’s version.

Pros: Thea is only seventeen but she’s got vocal chops to rival Chiara’s. I thought she sounded brilliant onstage.; Cons: Bland ballad. Clichéd chorus.

I give the vocalist: 10; I give the song: 6.5; I give the staging: 9.5; Average score: 8.7

Points from me based on song: 6

Actual placing: 28^th

MOLDOVA – Run Away – Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira

Gimmick: None in particular (where are they all?); Reminds me of: Cascada’s Fever. Once again, just a little bit.

Pros: I love this from beginning to end! I love the violin intro and the sax and the verses and the choruses. It’s my ultimate club song – I can’t help but shake everything when it comes on.; Cons: Olia’s vocals weren’t up to scratch, in my opinion, and I’m not sure they used all the effects at their disposal to their advantage. The song could have blasted the roof off the arena, but couldn’t.

I give the vocalist: 6.5; I give the song: 10; I give the staging: 7; Average score: 7.8

Points from me based on song: 12

Actual placing: =21^st

NORWAY – My Heart Is Yours – Didrik Solli-Tangen

Gimmick: Being the host country.; Reminds me of: You Raise Me Up and whoever sang that first, because I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Westlife. Maybe it was Didrik? HA. HA.

Pros: This has THE best ending for 2010. It features the most spectacular money note I’ve ever heard, and with the back up singers all coming forward and the pyrotechnics….magic. Didrik being slightly HOOOOOOOOOT – well that was also magic.; Cons: Didrik didn’t sound good until the operatic bits of the song, towards the end. He has an exceptional opera voice but I don’t think he can handle the flatter bits. Plus the song almost veered into bland territory for me.

I give the vocalist: 8; I give the song: 7.5; I give the staging: 7.5; Average score: 7.7

Points from me based on song: 7

Actual placing: 20^th

NETHERLANDS – Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-la-lie) – Sieneke

Gimmick: Relation to the Smurfs.; Reminds me of: Sandie Shaw’s Puppet On A String.

Pros: I hated this with a passion when I first heard it. “Drivel” I believe, is how I referred to it. But I have to say, it grows on me more and more with every listen. It’s a feel-good ditty. I love the beginning because it takes me (in my mind) to a carnival – I can almost taste the fairy floss. I can’t help but like it now, despite how old-fashioned it is. Plus Sieneke sounds great live, which helps.; Cons: Also on Sieneke….I was flabbergasted to discover that she is younger than me! I’m not even 19 yet, and I was under the impression she was at least 25. Wow. I mean, she’s younger than Lena, and look at those two side by side! Now that isn’t a bad thing in itself, but I partly thought this of her because of the costume. So not age appropriate! It reminded me of ABBA. So did the song actually, which definitely has a “would have won Eurovision thirty-five years ago” feel to it.

I give the vocalist: 10; I give the song: 7.5; I give the staging: 8; Average score: 8.5

Points from me based on song: 7

Actual placing: 32^nd

POLAND – Legenda – Marcin Mrozinski

Gimmick: Apples. Belgrade did that two years ago, Marcin.; Reminds me of: The USSR.

Pros: I think the chorus is very strong. I can’t help singing along to it.; Cons: There’s no real hook to it, that one line or rhythm that grabs you. It’s almost like they thought that all of the bits and pieces of the song combined would do it. But it’s too higgledy piggledy – the start is all slow and mournful then it speeds up, and slows down….not my cup of tea. Though I’m not a tea drinker.

I give the vocalist: 9; I give the song: 7; I give the staging: 5; Average score: 7

Points from me based on song: 6

Actual placing: =29^th

PORTUGAL – Ha Dias Assim – Filipa Azevedo

Gimmick: Nope.; Reminds me of: Mariah Carey’s Hero.

Pros: Another teenager who puts me to shame in the talent department. I imagine this is a difficult song to sing, but Filipa handles it with ease. Portuguese is a beautiful language, and the soft sounds of it suit this song. The ups and downs of notes in the chorus are nice.; Cons: Verging on boring. It had nothing in the song or performance that made it stick in the mind.  

I give the vocalist: 9; I give the song: 8.5; I give the staging: 8; Average score: 8.5

Points from me based on song: 8

Actual placing: 18^th

ROMANIA – Playing With Fire – Paula Seling & Ovi

Gimmick: The double piano. Genius!; Reminds me of: The pop songs on your iPod that you can listen to over and over and over again without any monotony.

Pros: To me, this is a perfect pop song. There’s zero boring parts – it’s like a song made up of one hook then another and another. The instrumental/opera bit keeps the interest going all the way to the end. On a par with Tornero (2006).; Cons: The live vocals were patchy. I also think Paula and Ovi should have engaged a bit less with each other and a bit more with the audience.

I give the vocalist: 8.5; I give the song: 10; I give the staging: 10; Average score: 9.5

Points from me based on song: 12

Actual placing: 3^rd

RUSSIA – Lost and Forgotten – Peter Nalitch and Friends

Gimmick: Being a YouTube sensation. And being destined to do well because no-one thought they would.; Reminds me of: House of the Rising Sun. Not quite as depressing though.

Pros: Like the Netherlands, this is a song that I initially despised, and now can’t believe that I really like. Peter has a strange nasally voice, but it cannot be denied that he sounds exactly the same on both the stage and the CD. I love the exchange between himself and one of his ‘friends’ – “What are you doing man?” “I’m looking at her photos. What should I do with them?” “Throw them to the fire!” Excellent.; Cons: It is a little depressing. Plus Peter’s English is so heavily accented that it basically sounds like he’s singing in Russian anyway. I don’t mind whether the artists sing in their native language or not – it’s just hard to understand him at times.

I give the vocalist: 9; I give the song: 8; I give the staging: 6; Average score: 7.7

Points from me based on song: 8

Actual placing: 11^th

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