Road to Eurovision 2016: Week 5 – FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania

What is the Eurovision Song Contest?
Started way back in 1956 as a way of drawing a fractured Europe back together with the healing power of music, the Eurovision Song Contest, or Concours Eurovision de la Chanson – the contest is telecast in both English and French – is open to all active members of the European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the competition.

Each country is permitted to submit one song to the contest – a song which is selected by a variety of means, usually a winner-takes-all competition such as Sweden’s renowned Melodifestivalen – which they perform in two semi-finals in the hopes of making it to the glittering grand final.

Only six countries have direct entry into the grand final:
* The Big Four who fund most of the contest – UK, Germany, France and Spain
* The host country (which is the winner of the previous year’s contest)
* Italy, who didn’t take part for many years and was re-admitted in 2011 after a 14 year absence (it was one of seven countries that competed in the first event), making the Big Four the Big Five.

The winner is chosen by a 50/50 mix of viewer votes (you cannot vote for your own country) and a jury of music industry professionals in each country, a method which was chosen to counter the alleged skewing of votes based on political and/or cultural lines when voting was purely the preserve of viewers at home.

Past winners include, of course, ABBA in 1974 with “Waterloo” and Celine Dion who won for Switzerland in 1988 with “Ne partez pas sans moi”.

Above all though, the Eurovision Song Contest is bright, over the top and deliciously camp, a celebration of music, inclusiveness and togetherness that draws annual viewing figures in the hundreds of millions.

This year’s contest will be held in Stockholm, Sweden.

F.Y.R. MACEDONIA: “Dona” by Kaliopi

THE ARTIST
You underestimate Kaliopi at your peril it seems.

Since 1999, when she launched her solo career after some time in a band called … wait for it … Kaliopi (are you sensing a trend here?) she has had a slew of big hits, equally chart-striding albums, garnered awards and acclaim and in the words of her official Eurovision bio “left a lasting stamp on F.Y.R. Macedonian and Balkan music.”

So she is kind of a big deal, something definitely foreshadowed way back in 1976 where she won at a Macedonian childrens festival Zlatno Slavejče with the “Mojata učitelka”.

But as we all know, the world of singing, and entertainment generally, is a cutthroat one, and though you may have a “wonderful singing voice, with a rich timbre” (Eurovision bio again; yup, they really like her), you can’t rely on past or present glories to find success at Eurovision.

So is Kaliopi and her song “Dona” got what it takes to attract all those votes she’s going to need from the Balkans as a whole?

THE SONG
Starting off with opening bars that remind me of a Heart or Bangles hit from the ’80s, you have to wonder if Kaliopi truly understands that not everything old is new again.

While her voice is undeniably beautiful, and the song’s chorus is undeniably euphorically upbeat, it’s got a weirdly downbeat MOR late night in a Skopje bar vibe that kind of anchors it right back down again.

Innately listenable yes, and replete with a fair amount of the good old Eurovision warm-and-fuzzies – if OH&S standards didn’t prohibit that kind of thing in this day and age, it’d be a cigarette lighters at full flame kind of deal – but while it will evoke some lovely nostalgic Eurovision memories, this is not a winning song nor one that can escape the semi-final either.

Good thing Kaliopi has that mantlepiece of awards to gaze fondly upon when she gets back home.

GEORGIA: “Midnight Gold” by Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz

THE ARTIST
It’s official – Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaza have one of the world’s longest band names, meaning the hosts of this year’s Eurovision broadcast will need a minute or so just to announce who’s representing Georgia this year.

Unending, Welsh village-name length band name aside, the indie rock band, which consists of vocalist and guitarist Nika Kocharov, vocalist and bassist Gia Iashvili, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Davitashvili, and drummer Dima Oganesia, beat out four other Georgian hopefuls to win the right to represent their country at this year’s contest.

This success caps a career that began with the gift of a guitar to a young eager Nika way back when – he still uses it today, proof he is crazy sentimental and not simply not earning enough from the band; in fact business must be good because he owns a big collection of guitars and old cars (how big? Only his accountant knows for sure) – and which was marked by being awarded a prize for best soundtrack of the year in 2003.

And that, according to just about every bio you can find about the group is it, save for the fact that they will soon stand astride the big glowing stage in the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm with the song “Midnight Gold” which may or may not promise more success with its partially-luxurious sounding title.

THE SONG
Recalling a weird mix of “My Sharona” and the Clash/Cure, Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz have crafted a moodily distinct and very of-the-moment song, quite an achievement given its myriad retro influences.

It kicks off nice and slowly before kicking up a gear or 300 into a pounding electronic rock dance opus, plunging you into a danceclub when you could have sworn you were standing at a hip indie ’80s-influenced rock concert.

The thing is all these various elements work and work beautifully – this is an insanely catchy song anchored by appropriately edge, emotive, growling vocals and a melody that snipes and circles like a predator eyeing off its prey.

Likely won’t make it through to the grand final but then again The Netherlands has had success with relaxed, chilled country, so not Georgia with modern retro indie rock?

I hope to be pleasantly surprised on the night.

IRELAND: “Sunlight” by Nicky Byrne

THE ARTIST
Speaking of everything old being new again, Westlife’s Nicky Byrne has been selected by Ireland’s national public broadcaster RTÉ to possibly reclaim some of the country’s past Eurovision glory.

With Westlife on hiatus since 2012 – shhh that really means broken up (ask any ABBA fan) but don’t tell Nicky, especially just before he performs for the people of Europe – multi-talented soccer-playing, singing-and-songwriting, and dancing Nicky has plenty of time no doubt to devote to crafting the perfect performance.

A family man at heart – he is married to the daughter of one of Ireland past prime ministers, Bertie Ahern – his aims in Eurovision are simple:

“My aim going to Stockholm is to do my family and my country proud. It would be incredible to qualify for the final and I will do my very best to make that happen.”

Which is all very Hallmark and geewhiz lovely but is “Sunlight”, a song Nicky says “essentially a love song and its message is one of positivity”, up to that most heartwarming of tasks?

THE SONG
Possibly if you like boy band retreads, gussied up with the merest hint of modern electronica trimmings (and brazenly free of any messages about using sunscreen protection while you’re out in all that sunlight; oh the scandal!).

A perfectly catchy, danceably sweet song that captures the picture Byrne had in his head writing the song – “I was picturing myself walking up a mountain to reach the summit, breaking through the clouds to see the new morning sunlight” – it’s going to get the Ericcson Arena crowd up and dancing as sure as Ireland hasn’t won the Eurovision Song Contest since 1996.

But, and this is hard when you’re dancing with your hands in the air like you just don’t care, it’s all rather formulaic.

I want to REALLY like the song but while it’s a dancefest of positivity, and will likely sprint forth, with a great, big smile on its face, out of the semi final, it’s unlikely to net Ireland its long-overdue eighth win.

Still, it’s their best song in years (sorry Jedward but it is, it really is) and should ensure Irish eyes keep smiling for a while yet.

ISRAEL: “Made of Stars” by Hovi Star

THE ARTIST
Known to his family and friends as Hovav Sekulets, Hovi Star is the sort of larger than life personality that Eurovision needs, craves and will happily make breakfast for after a big night out.

Rising to prominence in Israel in 2009 when he appeared on the TV show A Star is Born, Hovi Star has released some songs, performed pretty much everywhere and even been one of the people selected to supply voices for the Israeli releases of movies like Frozen, Inside Out and The LEGO Movie.

And now he’s achieved a long held dream to represent Israel at Eurovision, winning the reality show that selects its entrant, HaKokhav HaBa L’Eirovizion (The Next Star For Eurovision), where according to his official Eurovision bio, he “was a clear favourite from the beginning, winning the hearts of both viewers at home and the panel of expert jurors.”

But can he charm all of Europe with his “rare vocal abilities and a winning personality” you say?

THE SONG
If you listen to Hovi Star that would be an emphatic “Yes” (he has a healthy ego it seems with his “three most impressive facts” all rendered in glowingly self-positive terms).

And indeed, while you can see that “Made of Stars” is aiming for the same fertile, self-worth affirming lyrical sensibilities and torch song feel that propelled Conchita Wurst to glory with “Rise Like a Phoenix”, it doesn’t quite reach those same dizzying heights.

Having said that, hearing a sung on your iPod and seeing it performed are two wholly different things and I suspect this song could well come into its own when Star is up on stage.

It likely won’t win the contest but it could turn into one hell of a showstopping, Eurovision 2016-defining moment and that is not a bad way to make your name at all.

LATVIA: “Heartbeat” by Justs

THE ARTIST
Justs Sirmais aka Justs aka Just Justs (which he would be if he was a character in Will and Grace) is nothing if not eclectic when it comes to musical influences, with Ray Charles, Glass Animals, Michael Jackson and The Neighbourhood all listed as having a bearing on the way this nascent artist sounds.

And when we say nascent, we mean nascent.

While he has does his time performing as a street musician in Riga and has provided lead vocals to Latvian hip-hop group Gacho as well as being a member of funk-rock band TaxFree and Bunch of Gentlemen, his larger public career begins and ends, so far at least, with participating in Supernova which selects Latvia’s Eurovision entrant each year.

Good thing it all worked out for the best then huh Justs?

It’s one hell of a way to get noticed but will he able to build on all this recognition with even greater noticeability at Eurovision itself?

THE SONG
If you’re into alternative electronica, then the answer is a most definitive yes.

As a student at a Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy (try saying that three times fast), with an aim to launch at alternative music school sometime in the future, he definitely has a predilection for music that dances on the edge of mainstream and experimental indie.

All of which means that “Heartbeat”, written by last year’s Latvian rep Aminata Savadago, is enormously cutting edge, despite its reasonably conventional verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus construct, and may not therefore have quite the appeal that its more conventional contest stablemates possess.

Having said that, and let’s face it this is unlikely to bust a move out of the semi final, it’s refreshing to see an artist doing something utterly unique, which stands out among the Eurovision songs this year by a pleasing country mile.

So you may not win Eurovision Just Justs but hey, you’ve made a real artistic statement and given Eurovision a breath of artistic fresh air which can only be a good thing for its longterm relevancy.

LITHUANIA: “I’ve Been Waiting For This Night” by Donny Montell

THE ARTIST
Lithuania is country deeply committed to the environment.

How do know this? Why because they, like San Marino, have recycled a representative from years past; in this case Donny Montell who sang for his country in 2012 in Azerbaijan.

A veteran of a swag of prestigious music festivals (he won the Grand Prix prize at the Belorussian festival, Slavianskij Bazar in 2008) and TV shows without number, Montell aka Donatas Montvydas is from a musically artistic family – his dad was a drummer in hard rock group Plackartas and his sister is a professional dancer.

But the influences don’t stop there with Michael Jackson and Queen, particularly Freddie Mercury and his “personality” have a big bearing on Montell’s musical artistry.

But can he bring all those influences and his experience at Baku to bear on his second bite at the Eurovision cherry?

THE SONG
Well if he can make his way through “a thousand tears and a million years” then sure.

And if he can surmount the inherent formula that clings to this earnestly rock ballad that sounds more Noughties than now.

It’s got oomph for sure and the sort of emotional vocal posturing that ’90s boy bands would have rushed to claim as their own and it will no doubt carry some presence on stage and get Lithuania through to the grand final.

But all those artistic influences seem to have got lost in the midst of the “been there, done that” music factory that produced this less than spectacular song, which should see Lithuania spared from hosting the contest in 2017.