As things are really beginning to get started with Eurovision 2015, we now present you with our last instalment of the 2014 Songs That Didn’t series!
Let’s have a final look back at those songs that got left behind that we can’t help but wonder about. Part 6 concludes with Aoife Geraghty’s turn to tell us about songs she thinks should have joined us in Copenhagen this year. Let’s look at our final five countries consisting of selections from Slovenia, Switzerland, Moldova, Albania and Lithuania.
Slovenia
Muff – Let Me Be (Myself)
Tinkara’s Round definitely had a certain charm about it; maybe it was just the flute (that resonated with the Irish in me!), the spiralling camera shots at the NF (that did make me a bit woosy) or just the the person behind it. Tinkara seemed like a really nice person, even staying back to speak to my Xtra colleuges after rehearsals in Copenhagen! But who else from the Slovenian NF missed out by being heard by the millions of ESC viewers last May? Well I took a liking to Muff’s Let Me Be (Myself). A slow tempo, deep tones, easy to listen to, drummy tune – taking a leaf out of Emmelie DeForest’s book – and the enthusiastic performance! I found it enjoyable, watch the performance below:
Switzerland
Christian Tschanz – Au Paradis
With just 6 participants in the Swiss NF, there was no doubt that SebAlter’s insanely catchy whistling folk tune came out on top! The foot-tapping Hunter of Stars always had a certain charm about it and I definitely think he was the correct choice for Copenhagen. But looking at the others, who out of these 5 could have made it either?
Listening to each of the songs, even with my extremely rusty (aka. non-existent) knowledge of French, I really liked Christian Tschanz’s Au Paradis! Would you have picked this one also?
Moldova
Felicia Dunaf – The Way I Do
This year’s Moldovian selection was quite broad and offered a variety of genres, which left the competition wide open. Cristina Scarlat’s Wild Soul displayed a very strong Performance and did stand out amongst the crowd. However, a song that I had frequently listened to throughout the summer was Felicia Dunaf’s The Way I Do and it was an instant catchy tune that would stick in your head! It’s poppy/retro yet partly-techno vibe creates an automatic feel good factor, and I think it’s a pity that it didn’t make it to the ESC Island in May.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUOz69AHi18
Albania
Venera & Lindi – Natë e pare
It took me a while to warm to Hersi’s One Night’s Anger – when the english version was released (accompanied by that intriguing video!) it actually made me love the original albanian version that bit more! Familiarising myself with Hersi’s competitors in the 2014 Festivali i Këngës, one that stood out for me was Venera Lumani & Lindi Islami’s Natë e pare. The live performance at the national selection was simple but powerful! I think their voices worked really nicely together and created a strong performance with the live orchestra too. I think this could have done well in Copenhagen and would have been quite memorable!
Do you agree with Aoife’s choices, or are there still songs not being given recognition?
Let us know in the comments below.
Now, Europe… let the Eurovision 2015 selection begin! 😉
