Eurovision 2017: Poland

English has become the lingua franca in the Eurovision Song Contest--there are only four songs sung completely in a language other than English.   That means we have a lot of non-native speakers in the contest, and this fact is demonstrated by the Polish entry this year.

Kasia Moś   "Flashlight"

Moś has gone to music school and has worked in the United States, yet this performance makes me think her grasp of English isn't particularly strong.   Much of the song is indecipherable to me, a native English speaker.  Moś also emphasizes the meter of musical phrases over the actual lyric in this song that underlines this point.   The full effect of her performance strikes me as a singer who does not know English.

Moś does have an interesting voice and an compelling stage presence and  think I would have liked this much more had this been performed in Polish because she could bring an understanding of a language that she does not have in English.

There is not doubt that Poland will make the final--the Polish diaspora throughout Europe will vote it through.  

Top 10 Before The Show: Eurovision 2015

As the rehearsals are going on in Vienna, I now get to the fun part of my blog--choosing my favorite songs.

Read on and enjoy

10th place:

Lisa Angell  "N'oubliez pas"   France

France is always a great country when it comes to Eurovision, and I'm a sucker for chanson.   Naturally Angell's song was going to be high on my list.

9th Place:

Electro Velvet   "Still In Love with You"   United Kingdom

I love the out of left field choice of the UK.   It's weird and most of all fun.   Fun is something missing in this year's contest and I hope Electro Velvet are going to bring a little bit of joy.

8th Place: 

Guy Sebastian   "Tonight Again"   Australia

Australia is sending a commercially successful song that is a catchy as hell.

7th Place:

Nina Sublatti   "Warrior"   Georgia

There are a lot of moody young women singing dark dramatic songs at Eurovision this year.  This is the only one that hasn't been overworked to death.  

6th Place:

Elina Born & Stig Rästa   "Goodbye to Yesterday"   Estonia

I cannot deny that this is one of the best songs in the contest.   I can understand why it's one of the favorites.

5th Place:

Aminata   "Love Injected"   Latvia

Latvia has finally come to win, not place last in the semifinal.  It's delightful to see.

4th Place:

Daniel Kajmakoski   "Autumn Leaves"   Macedonia

I must confess that Kajmakoski's work on reaching out to the Eurovision fan base has worked on me.  If you haven't checked out his cover of Yugoslavia's 1983 entry, Džuli, you really should.    It's made me go back and take a listen to his entry that I wrote off back at the beginning of my tour through the 2015 songs.   It's popped up to the top of my replay list.

3rd Place:   

Monika Kuszyńska   "In The Name of Love"  Poland

I'm surprised by the fact I keep playing the Polish entry over and over again.   Simple songs sung well always hook me.    I don't know if it will qualify, but for me it works.

2nd Place:

Ann Sophie   "Black Smoke"   Germany

If Eurovision songs won on sheer memorability, "Black Smoke" would be my winner hands down.  This song has been stuck in my head since I first heard the darn thing, and it's a great one to have on the car stereo with the volume cranked up.   It also doesn't hurt that it's in my vocal range.  Hello new karaoke song.

1st Place:

Maraaya   "Here For You"   Slovenia

Hands down my favorite song in the contest, and they're going to be the group I'll definaletly follow in the future, joining a small list like Anouk and Patricia Kaas.   Have you heard their other versions--the remix with the students of their music school?  Or the remix with the a capella choir?   This song has legs and Maraaya has the musical chops.

Eurovision 2015: Poland

Poland has done a u-turn this year with their entry for Eurovision this year.

Traditional Polish Easter Eggs

Instead of the rather edgy folk/hip hop hybrid of last year's entry, Poland has gone with a "traditional" Eurovision style--the emotive ballad.

Monika Kuszyńska   "In The Name Of Love"  

It's an empowering song about love with piano and strings that builds slowly to a powerful ending.   Nothing particularly original and unlikely to set the scoreboard aflame during the final.

Yet, at the same time, I love this song.  Kuszyńska has control of her voice and impeccable diction and combined with the dreamy music--it just works for me.

It reminds me very much of the Azerbaijani entry last year:

Dilara Kazimova   "Start a Fire"   Azerbaijan   2014

Kasimova got the worst result for one of the most successful countries in Eurovision; however, in my personal Eurovision rotation "Start a Fire" is a regular listen.

I fully expect the same result for the Polish entry this year.  Unlike Azerbaijan, Poland doesn't have any natural friendly votes, so it's unlikely to get out of their semifinal.  However, I suspect it will be a song I'll champion for years to come.

Eurovision 2014: Poland

Welcome back Poland!

After a two year absence, Poland has decided to enter Eurovision again.  Happily, they've brought a song that I like quite a bit.

Donatan and Cleo   "My Słowianie"

This rap/folk hybrid is really infectious and entertaining as hell.  I look forward to blasting this from my car radio while driving around town--which gives it bonus points in my book.

Yet for all of my personal cheer-leading, I can see this suffering from the same fate the coolest song from last year's contest.

Who See  "Ingranka"  Montenegro 2013

Who See's rapping was on point and the stage show was fantastic, but it was just a little too "out there" for many of the viewers and went nowhere--coming in twelfth in the semifinal.

I predict that the same thing will happen with "My Słowianie".  It doesn't deserve that fate, but it's just the nature of Eurovision.  It's supposedly looking for something modern but tends to go for safe and recognizable.

Here's hoping that coolness will prevail and Poland makes the finals.

Eurovision 2012 Entrants: Belgium

Well, I'm trying to make my way through the last of the Eurovision songs for this year before the first semifinals, and then next country on my list is Belgium. 

Iris  "Would You"

I'm usually a fan of retro numbers.  If done right, they're catchy and a breath of fresh air between songs that have a more modern touch. 

But the Belgian entry is a throwback to something that really didn't need a comeback--the 1990 Eurovision ballad.   I think this is best exemplified by Poland's entry in 1994. 



Edyta Górniak  "To nie ja"  Poland  1994

Ms. Górniak was very successful in the 1994 contest, coming in second.  However, to a modern ear, the song is definitely from the 1990s

I think the Belgians were trying for something that would sound timeless, but wound up coming up with a song that sounds immediately dated.  And that's the main reason that the song is not going to go anywhere in this year's contest.