Love & Kitsch

Happy Easter! I’ve made it to the halfway point of my ranking with this week’s group of five songs. Since this is my top 25 I’d be delighted to see any of these songs (and the ones in the following four weeks, naturally) make the final.

25. Belgium
Copycat – “Copycat”
Reaction: I know, this is a novelty entry, a three-minute joke about Elvis. However, this song is too fun to resist. Who knew a song about jealousy could sound so joyous? The female vocal singers add something to the song to make it more than just an Elvis impersonation. Also, this is the first song in the 50+ year history of the contest to contain the word “kitsch” in the lyrics. I’m surprised it took that long for that word to be used, considering that’s what the contest is considered to be about (although the song uses it in reference to clothing instead of the general aesthetic).
Best Part: “Cause nobody duplicating my jive/would ever get away with that alive”
Rating: 3/5

24. Lithuania
Sasha Son – “Love”
Reaction: This is the only R&B ballad with male vocals this year, but unlike what one might expect from that description, it’s completely its own thing, different from Dima Bilan’s successful efforts. It’s more restrained and serious. This is definitely my favorite Lithuanian entry from the past few years.
Best Part: Key change
Rating: 3/5

23. Hungary
Adok Zoli – “Dance With Me”
Reaction: After you play a certain amount of rhythm games, you may start to imagine what other songs would like like were they in that particular game. I have that problem with this song and imagining it in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!/Elite Beat Agents. This is helped by the fact that this song reminds me of this song, even though I know the two sound absolutely nothing alike – maybe it’s just a similar tempo and structure, I don’t know. Other than that, this is a midtempo disco-influenced song that isn’t too original but is still enjoyable. I still can’t help picturing this song accompanied by whistling male cheerleaders.
Best Part: “Just yesterday we were on the floor/like somewhere in the movie or a club in Singapore”
Rating: 3/5

22. Andorra
Susanna Georgi – “La teva decisió (Get a life)”
Reaction: I still have fond memories of Susanna’s entry into Dansk MGP two years ago, “Two Are Stronger Than One”, and this one is just as good. She has a very sweet voice, and keeps this midtempo acoustic guitar song from being boring. Also, this is much less condescending than Austria’s 2007 song also called “Get a life”.
Best Part: Chorus
Rating: 3/5

21. Malta
Chiara – “What if we”
Reaction: I hate to put this here because I love Chiara, and “Angel” was and still is my favorite song in the 2005 contest. I’m also confident that this will have an amazing live performance that will make me regret placing it this low. However, it’s just not as stirring as “Angel” or other ballads higher on this list, and I don’t really like the instrumental – it would feel more effective with a simpler instrumental that highlighted her voice more.
Best Part: Bridge
Rating: 3/5

Next week, the top 20!