Eurosunday: Six is the Magic Number

This week, six countries picked songs for Eurovision. Some of them I love, some of them I like, and others I’m not really excited about.

I’m thrilled that Finland picked “Lose Control”, as it was one of my favorites.

The United Kingdom picked Jade, who I think does a very good job with “My Time”. It’s certainly the best song that the United Kingdom has sent to Eurovision since I started watching, and probably before. I can’t say that I absolutely love it though, but it’s because of a personal bias caused by knowing too many musical theater fans in high school (the type who don’t stop singing…ever). Lyrically it makes a great winner’s song for a talent competition such as Your Country Needs You, but who knows if it will work in the context of Eurovision itself. Despite that it’s already stuck in my head, so that’s a good sign of its memorability.

As a side note, I enjoyed seeing Dima Bilan back on tv. I am disappointed that he has grown out his hair as the mullet really was part of his charm. However, he made up for it by ending his performance in an undershirt and jeans.

Romania picked “The Balkan Girls”, and although I didn’t notice it when I was giving the songs a first listen, I have to say it’s pretty good and catchy. My only worry is that it may be too catchy – a hook like “The Balkan Girls, they like to party, like nobody, like nobody” is just begging to be made into a Facebook bumper sticker. Also, it is important to note that Elena has two costume changes in her national semi/final performances.

Slovenia chose “Love Symphony”, which is the most unique song picked so far in that it is almost entirely instrumental. I haven’t listened to it enough to form an opinion but it certainly stands out.

“Believe Again” from Denmark didn’t excite me but it sounds radio-friendly so far. “Shine” from the Netherlands feels a little too cheesy, even for me.

Again, the Lithuanian songs don’t really interest me except maybe “Part of me”. In the interest of brevity I think I’ll skip writing about them again until they select a song.

I like both of the qualifying songs in the first Norwegian semifinal, but neither are immediate favorites. From Iceland’s fourth semifinal, I like “Got No Love” but not the other qualifying song.

Next week Andorra, Cyprus, and Malta pick their songs. Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and Ukraine have semifinals. I’ll be very busy next weekend and there’s a good chance I won’t be able to post about that weekend’s shows and songs until Monday.