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| You gotta get a gimmick... |
I'm showing my contrarian side with this post. While many Eurovision fans go crazy for the goings-on with the Swedish selection process--Melodifestivalen--I honestly think it's overrated.
Melodifestivalen is a mainstay of the Swedish television broadcaster SVT's programming, and it shows. The production levels SVT brings to the show is something that other national broadcasters have begun to imitate--if you look at finals in Austria, Denmark, Estonia, and Norway, they've stolen bits of the Melodifestivalen formula.
The problem with formula is that there can be a sameness to the songs.
Swedish Eurovision songs are processed schlager numbers that are catchy but ultimately soulless because they have been worked over and processed to death.
Eric Saade "Sting"
Dinah Nah "Make Me (La La La)"
Isa "Don't Stop"
They all are catchy. That's undeniable. But there's a sameness here that makes them indistinguishable. So you have to do something special to stand out. Or as they say in the the musical "Gypsy"--"You gotta get a gimmick/if you want to get ahead"
And that's why this song was the winner.
Måns Zelmerlöw "Heroes"
The boy had a gimmick that took the song to the next level. The song isn't the best in the final, nor is he the best singer, but the animation and choreography lifts it above everything else.
Likely going to lift it into a top five finish too.
In my mind, it doesn't deserve that high of a placement, but when you have a good gimmick, a turd of a song can become a diamond...
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