As I mentioned in a previous post (Random Thoughts Thursday: Eurovision), I’m going to start reviewing and making my predictions for ESC2022 as countries begin to name their artists and release their songs. While these songs will be performed at Eurovision, countries have some time to revamp the song (mainly to fit it into the 3-minute window) and staging.
In addition to making comments about the current entry, I’ll provide information about the country’s entry from last year’s Eurovision just as a comparison.
General Housekeeping:
This week marked the allocation draw so we now know which countries will compete in the two semifinal heats.
What does this mean (please correct me if I’m wrong)? In an effort to prevent political and geographic block voting (eg Balkin countries voting for each other, Scandinavian countries voting for each other, former Soviet countries voting for each other, etc.), participating counties were placed into six pots, and then these countries were selected for each semi heat.
While I’m not an expert on all things Eurovision. Why not have 3 pots in each semifinal round, where the national juries and the public can only vote for countries within those pots, then have the top 3-4 countries from each pot move on to the final? Regarding the Big Five (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain) + the hosting country (if applicable): just put one of the Big Five and the hosting country into one of the six pots. Since the Big Five contribute the most financially, they vote in the semifinal rounds without having to compete. Also, the hosting country (the winner from the previous year) does not have to compete in the semifinals.
OK, the lastest song:
Random question: Are we supposed to use Czechia instead of Czech Republic?
We Are Domi – “Lights Off”
Vocal:
For some reason, her voice reminds me a bit of Dua Lipa’s. Perhaps, I need to listen to it again because the voice sounds very familiar, but I cannot put my finger (or ear) on it. Never mind, her voice reminds me of an uptempo Lana Del Ray.
Musical Arrangement:
It took me a little while, but I definitely caught myself bopping to the beat especially when the song switched to an upbeat tempo. It sounds pretty general to me like something you would hear clothing store, which is not a bad thing because this type of music is played so folks will buy things. I guess in Eurovision you are trying to “buy” votes from the public and national juries. That said, nothing really stood out in the song that made me want to put this song on repeat.
Staging:
Seems pretty generic; perhaps, they’ll add extra lights and smoke effects for the revamp. I do love her laid-back yet confident stage presence. Sometimes extra lights, smoke effects, backup dancers/singers enhance a song, but I think the simplistic nature of the staging works for this performance because one will focus more on the song itself.
Final thought:
While the song is not 100% my cup of tea, I think that it will qualify and maaaaybe finish in the top 1/3 of the finale . . . depending on the other national selections. Also, I think this type of sound will do well with 18 – 30 age group, which probably are most of the folks voting in the public vote during Eurovision.
Czechia in last year’s Eurovision:
Benny Cristo – OMAGA
Semi-final results: 15th place out of 17 performances (23 total points – 23 jury and 0 public votes), which means he did not qualify for the final.
This was a grade A mess. There was nothing really to write home about this performance. So little to write about that I did not bother searching for a full performance. Pretty much from the beginning to the end of three minutes, he was off-key and unnecessarily scream-singing “OH MY GOD yeah, yeah. You’re so BEAUTIFUL”. Actually being that he has earned many mixed-martial arts titles, I was surprised that he was so winded during his semifinal performance (maybe it was nerves). Also, I was not a huge fan of the staging (e.g. the backup dancers’ costumes) because it was pretty basic and uninspiring. I dunno, it looked like something that they put together on the plane/train while commuting from Prague to Rotterdam. I know that’s not the case, but I’m just being sassy. Sometimes, I wonder if some countries send subpar performances to Eurovision to ensure that they will not have a chance of winning. That way, the country will not have to have shell out a bunch of money to host the following year’s song contest. That’s actually something my cheap a** would do. 😉
What do you think about We Are Domi’s song?
Social Media Plug:
Run There, Drink That 
Well, apparently they want to use Czechia as a short form to put on sports kit, etc., like France is actually The French Republic. So there you go!
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I gotcha.
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