Every Eurovision cycle there is a song or two that the Eurovision blogosphere goes wild for that I don't understand the reason for such praise.
Two years ago it was this song:
Cascada "Glorious" Germany 2013
Last year it was this song:
Tanja "Amazing" Estonia 2014
This year, it's Spain's entry to Eurovision.
Edurne "Amancer"
Edurne appears to have a pretty stable career in Spain, having released five albums over a nine-year career as well as being a reality TV star in Spain with appearances on a number of high profile television shows.
The song, however, is boring. It's a Spanish dance song that lacks any verve. It's a disappointment in comparison to their entry last year, which was a memorable song and performance (even if it wasn't my favorite.)
Perhaps she'll deliver on the night, but right now it's completely off target.
If someone can explain why this is so popular, I'd love to know.
After taking a break for personal reasons, it's time to get back to reviewing national finals, and now it's time to take a look at the Spanish national final.
Spain chose their representative internally, and selected El Sueño de Morfeo. ESDM is in an established group in Spain--having been together for almost 10 years, released four albums, and have had a couple of hits on the Spanish charts.
The song, however, was chosen in a televised program. El Sueño de Morfeo: Destino Eurovisión presented three songs and a mix of jury and televoting chose the winning song.
ESDM "Contigo hasta el final"
This song ran away with the voting--it was chosen as the best song by all of the judges and the public. To my ears it's three minutes of instantly forgettable music--something that you would hear when looking for clothing at an upscale clothing store.
I think they would have been much better served by sending either of the other two songs ESDM represented.
ESDM "Dame tu voz"
ESDM "Atrévete"
But in comparison to the other two songs, "Contigo hasta el final" is a solid choice. The professionalism of the group is likely to score well with the judges, and I expect it will be in the top half of the voting during the final.
I doubt that Spain will win the entire thing, but I do think Spain isn't going to embarrass themselves, and ESDM will get wider exposure throughout Europe. It's a win-win situation, and that's exactly what Spain wants out of the contest.
Although I've been spending most of my time watching songs from the current year's crop of Eurovision hopefuls, my group of Alaskan jurors has been looking back at the songs from the contest in 1965.
The tenth Eurovision Song Contest took place in Naples on March 20th, 1965, put on by the Italian broadcaster, RAI. All the countries who participated in 1964 returned and a new country debuted:
Butch Moore "Walking the Streets in the Rain" Ireland
And for a debuting country in the Eurovision Song Contest, Butch did a pretty good job. He placed sixth overall in Naples--garnering votes from Yugoslavia, Portugal, and Italy. He even did one better in our voting, with one of the Alaska judges declaring him "dreamy".
There was also a bit of scandal this year from the Swedes.
Ingvar Wixell "Absent Friends" Sweden
Wixell performed his song in English, breaking an unwritten rule that songs at Eurovision would be performed in a national language. That unwritten rule was quickly written into the rules for the following year's contest.
But when all of the dust settled, the winner of the Eurovision Contest was a young French girl singing an entendre laced song for Luxembourg, bringing the contest out of the 1950s and bringing it closer to the musical tastes of the time.
France Gall "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" Luxembourg
France Gall's performance won on the night in Naples, but it was performance that divided our jury on gender lines. The men in the contest ranked it highly--considering it the best song in the contest. The women, on the other hand,found Gall's overly childish performance grating, rating it at the bottom of their list, putting "Poupée" into ninth place in the the eyes of the Alaskan judges.
Our winner, however, is a little less surprising.
Kathy Kirby "I Belong" United Kingdom
Kirby's performance did well on the night in Naples, coming in second. It scored well with all the jurors as well, making it "Alaska's Choice".
What is surprising are the two songs that were close runners up.
Conchita Bautista "¡Qué bueno, qué bueno!" Spain
Simone de Olivera "Sol de inverno" Portugal
These two songs from the Iberian Peninsula didn't do well during the voting in Naples--de Olivera received only one point from Monegasque juror while Bautista received the dreaded "nul points". But forty-eight years later, their dramatic performances and powerful vocals put them second and third respectively.
It proves why I love doing this blog... It highlights performances and songs buried in the depths of Eurovision history.
Well, rehearsals are taking place in Baku for the first and second semifinals, and I still haven't made my way through all of the songs.
So here we go with Spain...
Pastora Soler "Quédate Conmigo"
I don't particularly find this song compelling, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It's a power ballad, and this is the only song that fills that place in this year's contest, and for that reason it ought to have legs.
There is no denying that Ms. Soler is a good singer. Her singing is technically amazing; she may be the best singer in the contest.
Yet, I have to wonder if the song was the right choice for her to sing. In her hands the song sounds rather soulless. The song is about a woman begging her lover to come back, and there's absolutely none of that emotion in Ms. Soler's interpretation of the song. And the lack of emotion is off-putting.
It makes me wish she had gone with something more uptempo.
I have a confession. I love the Eurovision Song Contest.
The problem is, I live in the wilds of Alaska, about as far away from Europe and still be in the Northern Hemisphere. For many years it's been my secret obsession. On days where I have nothing much better to do, I've spent hours watching clips of Germans singing country music,
Texas Lightning--"No No Never" 2006
Portuguese girl groups wearing sequined pirate costumes,
Doce--"Bem Bom" 1981
and songs that seem to be one word sung repetitively
