Friday 21 April 2017

Eurovision 2017 Song Review: SWITZERLAND

I don't think I can forgive Switzerland for last year just yet. It wasn't necessarily that Last Of Our Kind was anything bad, but it certainly wasn't good, and the painful image of Rykka rocking backward and forward protruded my mind for too long post-contest. Still though, thank you Rykka because you are great and fun and it's a shame the song and performance weren't.

ANYWAY...

I WILL FOLLOW YOU... APOLLOOOO

It's soo infectious! Upon first listen Apollo is nothing special, but then 5 minutes later you are repeating that chorus over in your head and wondering how the hell it got there. And that's the mastery of this number from the Swiss: it has an unspoken memorability.

This is vocally pretty good, and artistically inviting. The chorus has that hook which is easily rhythmic, and is repeated just enough to make you sing it later on. There is a pure simplicity in this song, and the familiar pattern of building to a key change chorus can be heard. The real perk of this song will be that Timebelle can perform this at ease. There are so many natural staging elements which could be incorporated, and whether Switzerland portray an intimate performance or go full out with big shiny gimmicks, both could work well in its favour.

I have to confess though, there are transparent obstacles to success. I believe the studio version of this song won't correspond with the staging. Despite what I have said, the performance is not going to give this song a burst of life, and is arguably duller than many in it's category. When I reflect on similar songs last year, I don't remember the staging of those songs,  but I do remember the lyrical and melodic hooks. Without any key voting neighbours, it's hard to see Switzerland banking on any immediate points from either the televote or the jury. They are part of the jam-packed second semi, but benefit from being later in the draw. I'm putting my neck on the line with this prediction though...

RATING:

My initial score: 6 (out of 12)

My current score: 7

My semi-final prediction: 5th (out of 18)

My final prediction: 20th (will receive more points from TELEVOTE)

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