It was round to Mark’s on Friday night to watch the runners and riders for the 54th Eurovision Song Contest, which comes from Moscow on Saturday night. The last two competitions have seen some very good songs entered, all of which I’m sure would have been hits had they been released. Ani Lorak’s Shady Lady from last year for example, still sounds fantastic.
But, as there are now too many songs entered for the Eurovision final itself of 16 May, 43 entries are whittled down to 20 in two semi-finals, joining the five countries that automatically qualify. In 2009, as in so many previous years, the UK doesn’t deserve the trip to Russia and its automatic get out of jail free card, especially as Jade Ewen could potentially hold back one of at least seven entries which are much better than the Andrew Lloyd-Webber-penned It’s My Time.
One of these is Sweden’s Malena Ernman and her song La Voix. Looking like a doppelganger for Ulrika Jonsson, Ernman’s entry fuses opera and dance music, creating something that has more than a passing resemblance to Malcom McClaren’s Aria on Air, used in the iconic adverts for British Airways in the 1980s. No matter, though; it’s a strong song, although like Charlotte Perelli’s Hero from last year, La Voix could be one of the casualties from the semi-finals. See how she does on Tuesday.
Tags: Culture, Eurovision, Music