ESC Etc.

February 29 was an onslaught! Five countries with internal selections finally released their tracks. Let’s see:

Country: Switzerland
Artist: Nemo
Title: The Code
Songwriter(s): Benjamin Jon Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, Linda Dale, Nemo Mettler
Tempo: 160 BPM Mode: Minor Key: F Duration: 3:00

After 4 consecutive years of sad boy ballads (some of which – well, one – I liked) and lots of complaints from the fandom, the Swiss delegation got online to promise they would not give us another male dirge. Did they lie? No! They’re giving us a non-binary artist with a kitchen sink song, and I personally am here for it – the representation more so than the song, I guess. What we have here is an avalanche of popera, rapping, drum and bass, EDM, Bond theme vibes, and musical theater, and I find it interesting and challenging and a bit exhausting overall. The sonic accumulation feels unusual and exciting at first, and I will always and forever welcome something like this over stuff like Boys Do Cry and Watergun, but within the economy of a 3-minute composition, I am struggling to find any one component to really latch on to. I really do love the message of the lyrics, however, which are recounting Nemo’s struggle with their gender identity and coming to terms with the fact that only after breaking the (binary) code (“Somewhere between the 0’s and 1’s/That’s where I found my kingdom come”) could they finally take full ownership of their life. That’s lovely. The song will need to grow on me.

Jury Potential: If this qualifies, a strong vocal here should win it some points. I do worry a bit about a certain lack of radio appeal that might turn off some of the juries that are looking for a more immediate bop.
Televote Potential: I would imagine this will have lots happening on stage, from costume changes to different set pieces. That should help it stand out unless it bleeds into Jendrik territory, in which case…Jesus save us.

Country: Netherlands
Artist: Joost Klein
Title: Europapa
Songwriter(s): Dylan van Dael, Paul Elstak, Teun de Kruif, Thijmen Melissant, Joost Klein, Maradonnie, Tim Haars
Tempo: 160 BPM Mode: Minor Key: F♯/G♭ Duration: 2:40

Taken at face value, this is exactly what we were expecting from Joost – a silly Europop banger that sounds fun and messy and stupid and multilingual, namechecking a bunch of European countries and locations along the way into a bombastic techno rave climax. Great. Sure. It’s danceable and colorful and boppy without necessarily reinventing the wheel, and it keeps you engaged for the whole three minutes (after which it becomes just a bit forgettable). It is the striking coda of the video, however, which suddenly steers the song in a completely different direction, that actually moved me enough to make me want to look up the lyrics – and that’s when you find out that this track is actually an achingly sad tribute to Joost’s late parents, which he lost under rather tragic circumstances within a year of each other when he was 12. With this song, Joost wants to celebrate finding the strength to heed his father’s advice to travel the world and make a name for himself after losing his childhood dream home (the building on fire at the end), embracing different cultures and different people, and a direct mention of Stromae‘s seminal masterpiece Papaoutai suggests that through all this traveling, Joost is still out there looking for his dad somewhere. None of that will come across on stage at ESC, I don’t think (unless we get meaningful narrative staging), but yes, it made me cry.

Jury Potential: A bit of a question mark. We keep saying that Cha Cha Cha did come in 4th with juries last year, but how much of that was in response to the song’s overwhelming favoritism? Juries that will take this at face value might not realistically stop to take a second look.
Televote Potential: This should do very well with voters at home, even in a year that feels just slightly oversaturated with borderline novelty acts (I am not complaining – for the most part).

Country: Cyprus
Artist: Silia Kapsis
Title: Liar
Songwriter(s): Dimitris Kontopoulos, Elke Tiel
Tempo: 100 BPM Mode: Minor Key: A♯/B♭ Duration: 2:59

My opinion re: kids entering ESC is well documented on this website and on our podcast. Silia is 16, so I won’t discuss anything about her beyond just hoping she has a wonderful time and that her delegation is there to take care of her as needed. The song is more or less what I was expecting from Dimitris, whose various forays into ESC songwriting have been a bit all over the place for me: it’s fine. It’s not a skip on my playlist, but it is not something I see myself ever seeking out on my own. I find the verses more interesting than the chorus, which sounds just a bit clunky and underdeveloped especially compared to the pre-chorus. The track is otherwise very formulaic (not a bad thing necessarily) with a dance break baked in for good measure, which would be great if it wasn’t in direct competition with the behemoth we’re about to discuss below.

Jury Potential: This might do decently well with juries for what it is – a radio friendly pop ditty. It lacks a bit of momentum and something to make it really exciting, so there’s that. Is it qualifying?
Televote Potential: Mid-table at best, I think.

Country: Austria
Artist: Kaleen
Title: We Will Rave
Songwriter(s): Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy Joker, Kill J, Thomas Stengaard
Tempo: 140 BPM Mode: Major Key: G♯/A♭ Duration: 3:05

I am NEVER one to gatekeep music. BUT. This song is for the gays. Everyone will love this, more or less, but if you’re straight you are genetically unable to unlock this song’s full potential. Even more pointedly, this song is for the gays who were teenagers in Europe in the ’90s. This song tastes like my adolescence. It tastes like those afternoons walking back home from my high school listening to a mixtape in my walkman. It tastes like the year I lived in Berlin and started sneaking out and going to gay clubs for the first time. I cannot properly explain how, when I finally sat down to listen to the studio cut, the drop in the chorus felt like stepping into a time machine. I also just love how, as a throwback, this is SO literal to the Eurodance music scene it is so clearly paying tribute to without sounding dated. And the lyrics?! “When the darkness hits and we can’t be saved/we ram-di-dam-dam-dam we will rave” is such a perfect line to encapsulate the dark, defiant, melodramatic flavor of the genre – there’s one night left and we’re gonna dance like it – and Kaleen’s vocal supports the track flawlessly. If you add to that the fact that she’s got a celebrated background as a dancer/choreographer and was Eleni’s rehearsal stand-in at ESC in 2018…we’re in safe hands.

Jury Potential: I foresee Chanel-levels of staging excellence here which might actually help this score big even if the song is too niche for some jurors.
Televote Potential: Top 10/5 is possible if everything comes together flawlessy. It’s a banger and it’s going to set the arena alight.

Country: UK
Artist: Olly Alexander
Title: Dizzy
Songwriter(s): Daniel Jack Eisner Harle, Olly Alexander
Tempo: 126 BPM Mode: Minor Key: C Duration: 2:53

It’s hard to live up to the hype. It’s even harder to live up to the hype when you’re a famous, established artist jumping in to represent a country that’s been actively trying to improve after years of tragic results and placements. The UK even temporarily rocketed up to #1 in the odds when Olly was officially announced as their entry, a testament to the fact that Europe does in fact want this country to bounce back and be excellent again. The song, which we now have, is unfortunately not it. It’s good, let’s be clear. This is a solid studio cut with nice production flourishes accompanied by an expensive music video. Much like Liar above, however, it feels generic and formulaic, and it is massively let down by a chorus that A) sounds poorly written (“Spin me round and round until the moment never ends?” Uh?) and B) struggles to musically match the verses (the second iteration sounding particularly clunky and syncopated). It is also guilty of the #1 crime at ESC – too much too soon. Dizzy fully shows its hand right at the beginning and fails to build up to anything meaningful later on. The cavernous, enticing beat that punctuates the opening of the first verse is quickly dumped to make room for a chorus that immediately hits at a thousand percent and proceeds to stay the same for the entirety of the track, instead of teasing out the production and a much needed climax. It really does feel a bit like a missed opportunity.

Jury Potential: It’s a competent pop track that will get some love and struggle against the usual suspects (Sweden, Ukraine) and the song I actually now think will win the jury vote (Italy).
Televote Potential: Mid-table at best. I imagine there will a notable staging effort that should definitely boost its chances, but…Baby Lasagna. Netherlands. Estonia. Even Belgium. It’s tough this year.