I’m very sorry to say that I will not be able to join my team-mates of EuroVisionary in Moscow for this years Eurovision Song Contest. Instead, I’ll be following the rehearsals and press conferences via Internet this year. Right now, I really wish I was there, but I guess I have to settle with the next best thing, my computer.
As a Swede I don’t really know if I should be worried or not as the first semi-final is getting closer. The rehearsals have been good, but not remarkable in any way. Since the song is of that kind that you either love or hate, I think the stage show will have to be something extra to catch the viewers attention, and for now it just isn’t. But one thing is for certain, I’m glad that the Swedish audience did vote for a slightly different song then the one’s that have been representing Sweden over the last couple of years.
The competition in the first semi-final is tough, there are a few up-tempo songs that can steal the viewers attention. Of these songs, La Voix is unfortunately the one that is the least easy to make out. The others are more immediate and easy to figure out. I admit that it can be an advantage that La Voix stands out a little, as it increases the chances that people will remember it. The winning song from the last two years have been ballads, is it time for an up-tempo song this year, or will it be a ballad once again?
If I wanted to be really patriotic and only care about entrants that are Swedish or have Swedes involved in their delegations, I have a few more countries to give my hopes to. Jonas Gladnikoff, one of the composers of Ireland’s song, is Swedish. One of the Azerbaijani artists, Arash, is actually Swedish too. But just to set the record straight, I do not care which nationality the artists and composers are. This year, I like several of the up-tempo songs and a few of the ballads. If I’m really honest, I think both of the songs mentioned above have better chances to qualify then Malena Ernman simply because these songs are a lot easier to digest. Of the three songs, there is only one that I’m sure will qualify, and that’s Azerbaijan. But, I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again, it’s almost impossible to predict these things since you never know from one year to another what kind of songs the viewers will cast their votes on. So, what will it be this year?
