Dancing Hora!

I can hardly believe that it’s almost May and I’m down to my top 15. In the past three years, the winner has always been in my top 15 (placing 12th, 2nd, and 7th) and I hope the trend will continue this year.

15. Bulgaria
Krassimir Avramov - “Illusion”
Reaction: This is kind of an “old-meets-new” song. This song mixes “ethnic” instruments with electronic instruments, and on top of that there is a blend of a chorus and a high male solo vocal. It’s a little like Bulgaria’s 2007 entry, but with a pop music structure. The verses are a little weak, but I love the choruses. Also, it’s worth mentioning again that it has the best preview video of any of the songs this year.
Best Part: Introduction
Rating: 4/5

14. Moldova
Nelly Ciobanu - “Hora Din Moldova”
Reaction: This is an ethnic dance song, but not in the way my number 11 and 12 picks are. Rather, it is the kind that has men in traditional costume dancing and shouting “hey!” in the background. However, in this song, even the female lead vocalist gets in on the “hey!”. Not that it hasn’t been done before, but it’s always fun to hear. The lyrics are about a dance from Moldova, without actually revealing facts about Moldova.
Best Part:“It’s a dance you’ve never seen/from my country called Moldova”
Rating: 4/5

13. Albania
Kejsi Tola - “Carry me in your dreams”
Reaction: In a way this kind of reminds me of “Plan B”/”Mr. Nobody”, especially in the chorus. It’s a wonderfully catchy pop song, although I like the production on the original Albanian version better.
Best Part: Key change
Rating: 4/5

12. Spain
Soraya - “La noche es para mi”
Reaction: This is a typical ethnic dance song. Despite being sung in Spanish, it sounds very Greek, which makes sense because several of the songwriters have Greek names. It is catchy in both the verses and the chorus.
Best Part: “La noche es para miii/La noche es para miiii” at 2:39-2:47
Rating: 4/5

11. Turkey
Hadise - “Dum Tek Tek”
Reaction: Like Spain, this is also an ethnic dance song, although this one sounds more Turkish. It’s more dependent on heavy drums. I love the shouting bits after the choruses, over the instrumental parts. I also like the shouting of the title, which far from complete nonsense seems to be onomatopoeia for a heartbeat.
Best Part: “No one can kiss like you do/as if it’s your profession”
Rating: 4/5

Next week: the top 10, and my productivity reaches its annual low when rehearsals start and the videos are posted all over the internet.