Today was the deadline for all countries to officialy publicise their songs which means that we now know all 43 songs so now is the time for me to give my first view on what has been a very long selection process.
Normally, the process of countries choosing their songs is much like waiting for a bus. You wait a long, long time and when a bus finally approaches, it's not your bus so the disappointment sets in. Suddenly There are loads of buses coming and it's hard to keep up! This year was largely the same as other years, songs came out slowly but unlike others years, the countries that choose their acts early weren't quite so disappointing which has made the process more exciting. It's clear that this year is going to be a stellar one of the Eurovision Song Contest - so much effort has been put in by so many countires and the standard of music is truly phenomenal. Though fans of the cheesy, Europop that once defined the Eurovision of yesteryear need worry not, there's a small sprinkling of 'traditional' Eurovision too.
This year has also been positiver in the sense that there have been a marked reduction in the amount of controversy (save for San Marino...) which has added to the positive vibes surrounding the 2018 contest. I had originally feared that most countries would copy and paste last year's winner from Portugal - because for me that sound was terribly boring and I didn't much want to listen to 40-odd new versions of it. But, as I've said, the standard this year is incredibly high and the genres are so diverse that I genuinely think that most rational people would struggle not to find something that didn't suit them this year.
It's a bit early for my top 10, but here are some entries that are worth knowing about.
The Former Winner
Norway: Alexander Rybak - "That's How You Write a Song"
Alexander returns to the Eurovision stage 9 years after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the wildly popular "Fairytale" - under the old voting system, Alexander scored the most points of any entry ever so perhaps it is rather brave of him to risk that reputation with another attempt. As with his previous song, ALexander uses the violin a lot and it is a very catchy pop song, the problem for me is his cringeworthy dancing and the whole Bruno Mars rip-off.
The Bookies' Favourite
Israel: Netta - "Toy"
Israel shot to the top of bookies' lists immediately after "Toy" was released and it really isn't difficult to see why. This song is such a dance-pop gem and is easily one of the most modern songs to feature in a contest which is often accused of being behind the times. This song is pure fun, the total opposite to last year's winner, and is delivered by super-talented Netta after having won a X Factor-like contest in Israel. The song's message is also a powerful one, having been inspired by the #MeToo movement. Most definitely a country to look out for this year.
The Metal Entry
Hungary: AWS - "Viszlát nyár" [Goodbye, summer]
In news that may surprise no-one, metal music is not commonly found at the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi made rock (and to a much lesser extent metal) an accessible and acceptable mainstay in the contest but this is something else. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think metal/screamo music really appeals to the masses, so watch this now as you're unlikely to see it in the final.
The Raggae Entry
FYR Macedonia: Eye Cue - "Lost and Found"
An even rarer Eurovision genre now in the form of raggae from Macedonia - I'm not a massive fan of raggae but this song also utilises EDM to create a genre fusion that starngely works. You need to listen to it to believe it. FYR Macedonia has really struggled qualify to the final in recent years, in fact Macedonia was my favourite entry last year so I was personally very disappointed when they didn't make it! So let's hope that all the effort the Macedonia have gone to finally pays off this year.
The Best Big 5 Entry
France: Madame Monsieur - "Mercy"
The Big 5 (UK, Spain, Italy, France and Germany), so-called because they contribute the most money and therefore automatically qualify for the final, have long been written off because they sent poor-quality songs as they'd seemingly given up on trying to win altogether. Attitudes and fortunes have changed in recent years, however, particularly for founding member France. France haven't wont the contest since 1977 though still have 5 wins under the belt, stil making them one of the contest's most successful competitors. It appears that France is head and shoulders above the others this year with a song inspired by the migrant crisis. The beauty of this song is found in its simplicity which works well to deliver the message despite the fact it's in French.
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