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Sunday, March 27, 2016

Midnight Sunlight

Rounding out songs #31-35, I know I say every year that "these songs are lowly ranked but not bad," but it's still true. Not bad, but not "OMG must qualify" good.

35. Ireland
Nicky Byrne - “Sunlight”
Reaction: The middle of the UK-Ireland-Denmark trio of male vocal middle-of-the-road acoustic guitar pop. It approaches exciting but falls flat. I expect better English lyrics from Ireland. Also, the music video has the first appearance of projected images over the performer, which has got to be this year's “copy last year's winner” trend.
Best Part: “Don't be afraid, it's only dark til the world turns round”
Rating: 2/5

34. Georgia
Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz - "Midnight Gold"
Reaction: One of the best act names of this year! Georgia seems to have a solid rock/alternative song every other year that just doesn't connect with me. Their Britpop style is refreshing.
Best Part: Guitar riffs pre-chorus
Related Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5VynlW6Xeo one of the coolest music videos for the year 
Rating: 2/5

33. Austria
Zoe - “Loin d'ici”
Reaction: This is a frosted cupcake of a song. Sweet, fluffy, tasty, girly, and silly. A macaron might be more appropriate given it's language and delicacy, but a macaron has more polish.
Best Part: Bridge? It all kind of flows together
Rating: 2/5

32. Greece
Argo - “Utopian Land”
Reaction: The reception to this song is reminiscent of “Watch My Dance” in 2011 because Eurovision super fans don't like rap. Argo's rapper has better flow and it's more energetic than the song about dancing. 
Best Part: The Pontian strings, which add some authenticity but also chill.
Rating: 2/5

31. Finland
Sandhja - “Sing it Away”
Reaction: This is a fun, positive funk/pop song. Sandhja has a nice soulful voice, but the melody doesn't connect as much with me as the other similar songs this year.
Best Part: “Remember that love is the source “
Rating: 2/5 

posted by Goggle @ 9:31 PM  0 comments

Sunday, March 20, 2016

I've Been Waiting For This

Let's do this! After taking most of the preseason off, it's time for my 11th annual Eurovision rankings! Last week should have been the bottom 3, but not all songs had been revealed yet. In fact, Bulgaria's song still hasn't been revealed yet, so hopefully it wouldn't have fallen in my bottom 8. This year, to add something new I'm linking to a relevant YouTube video, mostly remixes or parodies.

43. Albania
Eneda Tarifa - “Fairytale Love”
Reaction: This wasn't that captivating in the original Albanian, but the translation to English brought insipid lyrics and drained the energy and drama. Sharing a name with a beloved winner won't make this song share its fate.
Best Part: “My hea-a-a-a-a-a-a-art”, I guess? Related Video:
Rating: 1/5

42. Montenegro
Highway - “The Real Thing”
Reaction: The verses are actually very cool-sounding, but the choruses drag the song down so much. They're heavy, repetitive, and uninspiring.
Best Part: “Spinning shadows on the walls”
Related Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUR3OtUDIuk I couldnt find anything, so here is Igranka
Rating: 1/5

41. United Kingdom
Joe & Jake - “You're Not Alone”
Reaction: It may be irrational, but the way they sing “they don't need to know-oh-oh, ah-oh-oh” in the chorus is so irritating. This is allegedly a boy band reject and it shows. This is similar in genre to Denmark and Ireland's entries this year, and many people rank them together, but there are quite big leaps in quality.
Best Part: “and when you're full I'll be your parachute”
Rating: 1/5

40. Slovenia
ManuElla - “Blue and Red”
Reaction: This is a country song without a hook or meaning, The pre-chorus borders on yodeling and is weird and unpleasant to listen to.
Best Part: “Beautiful days and stormy weather” Heavy weather?
Rating: 1/5

39. Poland
Michal Szpak - “Color Of Your Life”
Reaction: Like much of the internet fanbase, my opinion of this song is colored (see what I did there) by my bitterness about the defeat of “Cool Me Down,” which came second in the Polish national final. It was now and sexy, a song about being the most innovative shooter I've played in years. “Color Of Your Life” is a typical bland Eurovision ballad, almost reminiscent of “Nomads in the Night” which was dated even 8 years ago. Michal is a good singer, but the song is so bland and tired.
Best Part: Color is spelled the correct way

38. San Marino
Serhat - “I Didn't Know
Reaction: This song is a total guilty pleasure (yet it can only go this high). The lyrics are generic, and the sing-talking is barely a song. It's certainly the most dated song in this year's contest. But somehow the slow, raspy sing-talking gives me an Amanda Lear vibe.
Best Part: Everything in this disco version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHykTpxCVR8) which would have been a solid 3.
Rating: 2/5

37. Belarus
IVAN - “Learn To Fly”
Reaction: As with Montenegro's song, this has cool, underrated verses, but a somewhat abrasive chorus.
Best Part: The polygonal graphics in the national final performance backdrop. Very aesthetic.
Rating: 2/5

36. Lithuania
Donny Montell - “I've Been Waiting For This Night”
Reaction: Maybe if you listen to it multiple times it's not horrible, but it's so forgettable.
Best Part: Pre-chorus I guess?
Rating: 2/5

posted by Goggle @ 11:56 PM  0 comments