This came as a surprise, and you have to give it time to grow on you. After the success of Ani Lorak last year, Ukraine have gone for the same formula – Svetlana Loboda giving all red-blooded males something to think about. Lorak is a major artist in Eastern Europe, and although Loboda has had mild success, she’s not as well-known. So, Ukraine has pulled out all the stops.
At first, Be My Valentine (Anti-Crisis Girl) sounds like eight songs put together, and the video looks like eight songs put together. But, that is its appeal. The more you hear the song, the more you like it, and the more you see the video, the more zany and twisted it appears, leaving you more intrigued. The combination could prove to be an unbeatable one; it’s already grown on me over the last few days and has now usurped non-qualifier Andrea Demirovic’s entry to be the favourite song of the 2009 contest in my affections.
The multi-cut video clip will be hard to replicate on stage, but we do know that Loboda has the cogs from the clip, semi-naked dancers, and her drum-playing skills to make an impression, all of which she’ll use to full effect in tonight’s second semi-final, and, if she gets through, Saturday’s contest proper. Ani Lorak did phenomenally well last year, coming second. Does the same fate await Svetlana Loboda and her dirty trumpets, or will she go one better?
Tags: Culture, Eurovision, Music