Last Saturday saw the final of Vidbir 2020. Three acts from the first semifinal and three acts from the second semifinal came together to perform one last time to compete to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest this May. And what a show it was! I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of song genres presented. It really shows how much Ukraine is “opening up” to new styles. Good work!
Song #1: 99 by Krutь
I really liked this performance. It had a mix of traditional (with the Ukranian bandura) and this sort of modern jazz/chill sound. There seemed to be very few backing instrumentals, making this song sound stripped down and raw. Her voice sounded pretty good, and I loved that cute whistle from the equally cute backing singer towards the end! All in all, a very unique performance!
Song #2: Vegan by Jerry Heil
Easy breezy lemon squeezy. Holy moley guacamole. Probably the two lines from the song that best describe it. It’s quirky, but at times for me it bordered on haphazard. It seemed a bit messy at times, but that just might have been Jerry Heil’s intention. Very VERY colorful, contrasting it with the previous song. Not my favorite song of the bunch, but I can definitely see this having some followers.
Song #3: Solovey by Go_A
When I heard this song, the first thing that came to mind was Tulia from 2019. Especially with the woman’s voice. The backing melody I really like. It’s this nice mix of folk and electronic and it sounds fresh and cool. The woman’s voice I like. For some, it may sound odd, but for me it sounds quite catchy. The problem is that I don’t particularly like the backing track and the voice together. It doesn’t sound that connected. However, based on wild applause they got after their performance, it seems like this might be a favorite.
Song #4: Horizon by David Axelrod
(*Cue the Obama jokes from the US fans) All kidding aside, this was a good song. This is the kind of good ballad that you would definitely hear at a Eurovision Song Contest… maybe 10 years ago. The graphics in the back were nice. I liked how when he got to the chorus of the song, the walls in the back broke and water started rushing out like a waterfall. My favorite part though? The wind machine. It looked as if he was whiplashed by that wind machine, and at times it seemed like he was physically taken aback by how powerful that wind machine was. Overall a nice song.
Song #5: Call for Love by Khayat
Starting off, I wasn’t sure where the song was going to go because it gave me a very Cezar Ouatu from 2013 vibe. Then he went into the verses of his song, and I couldn’t really understand what he was saying… and I’m guessing that it was all in English. However, when he got to the chorus of the song, I was in love. It’s catchy and the dance moves are to die for! Very Maruv meets drag queen music video and I’m obsessed! (I’ll try to fit them in some dance routine at the Euroclub this year). In terms of pure enjoyment, I liked this song the best. It’s concise and a definite earworm.
Song #6: Bonfire by Tvorchi
Ok I’m very conflicted about this performance. First thing’s first: Black people at Vidbir! Yasss for representation! ✊🏿 Now let’s get into the issues with this performance. Number one: Vocals were terrible. At first, I thought it might have been that the earpiece was off (because he kept adjusting his earpiece). But then at the end of the song, he was just plain shouting. Number two: The verses didn’t really have that much substance and again, another song that banked on a good chorus that everyone would dance to… which worked. I was surprised at how people were going off for the song. Even Tina!
CONGRATULATIONS TO Go_A!!! See you in Rotterdam!!!