With the cancellation of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we thought we would keep our spirits up by revisiting some of the entries that had been selected for the event. Today, we are discussing Austria’s Vincent Bueno and his entry Alive.
Austrian-Filippino singer Vincent Bueno had previously been known, among other things, for having won the musical theatre talent show Musical! Die Show in 2008. On the announcement of his selection, the program director of Austrian public broadcaster ORF, Kathrin Zechner, was quoted saying: ‘With his incredible energy Vincent Bueno is an artist who knows how to get the audience moving like no other. He has a big heart and an honest appreciation for the people around him. This makes him not only a full professional on stage but above all an authentic performer; he is simply “Alive”. Vincent emits the message of his song with every fibre of his being.’
The Austrian entry had not managed to make an impression in the betting odds but what do we think here at EuroVisionary? These are some of our views:
Theo – ‘I had completely overlooked this until now. It’s actually not bad. I like the crisp, funky musical production in particular – it reminds me a little of some Justin Timberlake tracks. There might also be some references to Justin Timberlake’s Rock Your Body video (for example, when Vincent spins in the air in his). In any case, to me, that’s a plus. Judging by his video, Vincent Bueno would probably have given a confident live performance. Even so, I am not sure the song would have stood out enough to qualify with ease.’
Michael – ‘Great throwback to the eighties to the sounds of Kool and the Gang, and other disco dance bands. Austria have sent a very varied selection of styles since their return in 2013 and for that they have to be commended. In regards to qualifying for the final, this could have gone either way.’
Elvir – ‘Alive is not a bad song. I like those funky and R&B vibes in the Austrian entry that reminds me of Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake … and the production is very good, too. My problem with Alive is that it is too predictable and doesn’t really take the genre it represents to the next level.’
Josef – ‘The Austrian song sounds like Uptown Funk mixed with Michael Jackson. It is not bad at all, but this funky style is not something I like in general. I think it would have stayed in the semi-final.’
Álvaro – ‘Austria looked like a dark horse the same way Laura Tesoro’s What’s The Pressure was in 2016. It is a good retro Michael Jackson-esque song and, if Vincent could make the audience want to dance with his song (and I am confident he could), he would have good chances to be a qualifier and even have a good result in the final.’
Stay tuned – tomorrow, we will be discussing one of the hot favourites for what would have been Rotterdam 2020.
In the meantime, you can revisit Alive and Vincent Bueno in the video below:
This reflection article is based on the author's own personal experience. Views expressed belongs to him or her, and are to be seen as unrelated to EuroVisionary.com.
