It’s that time of year again. The Eurovision Song Contest is back for its 60th anniversary and most countries in Europe take this very seriously. Not only will the contest be shown all over Europe, but it’s also popular in parts of Asia and Australia.
This year, the ESC will be held in Vienna and is expected to be a fantastic show.

In Sweden, it is the only time of year where it is acceptable to have your television at a loud volume and your best friends around for a party without asking the permission of your neighbours at least 3 months beforehand.

The contest itself is most definitely not all about the music. That’s only a small part of it, in fact. It’s about the choreography, the fashion, the hair styles, the voting blocks, the decisions of the various juries and the attempts to use the contest as a political arena, in spite of this technically being against the rules.

However considering RREVERB is all about the music, that is what I am going to concentrate on.

So let’s take a look at the first half of Semi-final 1.

EDUARD ROMANYUTA I Want Your Love (Moldova)

This has the 90’s all over it. It reminds me a lot of the guilty pleasures of my teenage years that I certainly don’t want to go into now.
For all it’s genericness I see it getting a decent number of votes from the generation that have fond memories of the boy bands of the 90’s and early 2000’s

GENEALOGY Face The Shadow (Armenia)

About the best I can say for this entry is that it’s original. The 5 singers can’t seem to agree on what genre their song is. Are they popstars, rockstars or opera singers? The mix just doesn’t blend well and the random church bells do nothing to improve it at all.

LOÍC NOTTET Rhythm Inside (Belgium)

This entry is rapidly becoming one of my favourites for this year. His voice is so unique and the song itself is quite catchy. I especially love the dark rhythm behind it.
Definitely worthy of the grand final!

TRIJNTJE OOSTERHUIS Walk Along (The Netherlands)

The Netherlands did a lot better with their entry from last years contest. This song is unexceptional, bland and the constant repetition of the word ‘why’ really gets on my nerves. There are certainly worse songs, however.

PERTTI KURIKAN NIMIPÄIVÄT Aina Mun Pitää (Finland)

I love this song. Not only is it the shortest Eurovision entry ever, but also the most lyrically honest, which is a feature of punk. You either take it or leave it. Here’s a translation for those of you who don’t speak Finnish.

Always I have to stay at home.
Always I have to do my chores.
Always I have to eat properly.
Not allowed to eat candy, or drink soda.
Not even allowed to drink alcohol.

It’s exciting to see the punk genre represented for the first time in Eurovision. PKN are one of 3 acts that will feature people with disabilities in this year’s ESC as well.
They get my vote!

MARIA ELENA KYRIAKOU One Last Breath (Greece)

When I first heard this, I thought the singer was singing in Greek. Turns out I was wrong, and I just couldn’t understand a large amount of the lyrics. Apart from that however, this is not a bad song. She has a beautiful voice and as ballads go it is pleasant enough to listen to, though not an outright winner.

ELINA BORN & STIG RÄSTA Goodbye To Yesterday (Estonia)

Here’s another one of my favourites. The duet is refreshing and the lyrics are great. I really don’t have a bad thing to say about this one. It’s just a really nice song. I don’t think it will be enough to pull a win for Estonia, but I think a place in the grand final will definitely be theirs.

DANIEL KAJMAKOSKI Autumn Leaves (F.Y.R. Macedonia)

The underlying piano accompaniment in this song is quite lovely and the song itself is a strong entry. It’s got a melody that you just can’t help but hum once you hear it.
I predict we will see this again in the grand final.

For more information on Eurovision 2015 visit Eurovision TV

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About The Author

Collaborator - RREVERB

Singer-songwriter Galileo Griffin has travelled the world collecting all kinds of music along the way. Originally from Australia, she now resides in Stockholm, Sweden, where she presents a weekly world music radio programme and haunts various concerts, open mic nights and jam sessions in this creative city. She has a passion for music of all kinds and can find something to appreciate in almost every genre from classical to pop. She joins the RREVERB team to share her enthusiasm for one of the few artforms that knows no borders and speaks all languages.