Ranking the songs of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 — Part 1 of 3

It’s back again! As one of Canada’s biggest Eurovision fans, last year I decided to rank and review all of the songs competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. With it being about a month away from this year’s contest in Lisbon, Portugal, I want to channel my excitement into a productive output — a recap and review of this year’s entries.

I will reiterate my preface from my post last year — I have a ton of admiration for every Eurovision participant. It is a huge leap to put yourself out there and sing your heart out for hundreds of millions of people from across Europe (and around the world). Regardless of my personal feelings and opinions towards each song, I give my respect to every competing act in this year’s contest and wish everyone the best of luck. As well, my personal rankings are current as of April 18th. They will definitely change once I see the staging and live performance of each song at the actual competition. With that being said, I have seen a few live performances of songs from this year, such as from the London Eurovision Party on April 5th, that has influenced my opinion slightly on a few entries.

43. Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao — For You (Georgia)

Unfortunately for Georgia, For You doesn’t do anything for me. It is a banal, forgettable song that I will never listen to again after this year’s competition. It’s not an awful song, but there’s not much in the way of redeeming qualities for me to praise Iriao for. I will say, though, that this song has a completely different vibe from most of the rest of the songs this year and feels quite relaxing to listen to, so that’s something.

42. Ari Ólafsson — Our Choice (Iceland)

Our Choice is the most generic song in the competition this year. It is static, forgettable and poorly written. Ari definitely tries his best, though — he is undoubtedly a competent singer and his vocals don’t particularly hurt the song. It’s too bad his talent is wasted on such a banal song. As it is in Semi-Final 1, which is by far the most competitive semi-final this year, don’t expect to see Iceland in the Grand Final for the fourth year in a row.

41. Sanja Ilić & Balkanika — Nova Deca (Serbia)

Like For You, unfortunately Nova Deca does nothing for me. It isn’t a horrible song, I just feel completely indifferent to it being in the competition and it doesn’t make me feel anything. I really enjoy listening to the Serbian language, but that doesn’t do enough to make this a viable and exciting Eurovision entry. After how much I loved Serbia’s entry last year, In Too Deep, this feels disappointing. I won’t be surprised if it makes the Grand Final, though — as Serbia is singing in the extremely underwhelming first half of Semi-Final 2.

40. Julia Samoylova — I Won’t Break (Russia)

Talk about stepping it up! In last year’s list, I lamented that Julia was working with poor material — Flame is Burning was my least favourite song prepared for Eurovision 2017— and I hoped that she would sing a more enjoyable song this year. Her inability to participate in Kyiv last year may have worked in her favour, as her new entry for Eurovision 2018 is miles ahead of her previous effort. With that said… it still is a weak entry and undeniably generic. While the song is empowering and has an okay chorus, I fear for Julia’s ability to do the song justice on the Eurovision stage, as she struggled in her first live performance of I Won’t Break at the Moscow Eurovision Pre-Party. I wish that she had sung in Russian — it would have worked to her benefit I believe, as she is not fluent in English and seems to struggle with the language when singing live. An improvement over last year, but not by much. Expect to see Julia in the Grand Final though — bloc voting and the Russian diaspora make it a consistently safe bet that Russia will advance past the semis, regardless of song quality.

39. Alexander Rybak — That’s How You Write a Song (Norway)

Alexander Rybak undoubtedly has charisma, but what a letdown that this is his grand return to Eurovision after winning in 2009. Fairytale this ain’t. While I understand the cutesy, lighthearted feel that he aimed for with this song, the lyrics are absolutely horrendous. It is a poor man’s version of Love Love Peace Peace, which hosts Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede performed during the Grand Final of Eurovision 2016 (and, ironically, which guest-starred Alexander Rybak himself). While the song will undoubtedly find some fans, and has a catchy nature about it, it is the definition of derivative and a complete disappointment. If we are looking at possible returnees for Norway this year, Aleksander Walmann (who sung with JOWST last year at Eurovision 2017) and his entry Talk to the Hand would have been a far more suitable choice. Alas, Aleksander placed fourth in Melodi Grand Prix this year.

38. Vanja Radovanović — Inje (Montenegro)

Inje is this year’s generic Balkan ballad, and it wears that status proudly. Vanja is undoubtedly a great singer, but the song is too formulaic to stand out among the exciting entries that are competing this year. It’s a perfectly acceptable song, but these types of big Balkan ballads have been done much better in the past. I will say, though, I do love the build to the very end of the song and the triumphant nature of the song’s ending.

37. The Humans — Goodbye (Romania)

Goodbye is an odd one. I really do like the lead singer — her voice is strong and distinct. But I think it was an interesting, and not great, choice to leave it until fully halfway through the song to have the band kick in and start playing. As the entire band entered the competition, the supporting instrumentalists are severely under-utilized on this track. That first minute and a half is a slog, but once the band joins in, things definitely improve. It’s not a great entry, though, when you compare it to the high energy excitement of Yodel It! last year. Better yet, can we get Paula Seling & Ovi to come back to rep Romania for a third time?

36. Rasmussen — Higher Ground (Denmark)

This will likely be one of my more controversial opinions — I really don’t dig Higher Ground. Rasmussen has been getting a lot of Eurovision love, but I don’t understand the appeal of this song. It feels like a generic Game of Thrones-y, viking ballad. It sounds like a hokey song that would be sung by rowers on a medieval ship as it heads out to sea. The song just plods along and doesn’t build to anything exciting or dynamic. It feels undercooked and too old-fashioned for its own good. I can understand why it has fans, but this does nothing for me and I think it is up in the air as to whether it will qualify for the Grand Final. Better luck next year Denmark.

35. Ryan O’Shaughnessy — Together (Ireland)

I think Ireland’s non-qualification streak is going to continue again this year. Ryan is a solid vocalist and the song is sweet, but it’s a bit too “adult contemporary” for me and overwhelmingly generic. There is nothing unique about the song and it doesn’t build to anything particularly noteworthy. It’s an innocent, harmless song, but that’s exactly what makes it forgettable. Hopefully the country with the most Eurovision wins can bring their A Game next year.

34. DoReDos — My Lucky Day (Moldova)

My Lucky Day is a fun and upbeat song that continues Moldova’s energetic streak from last year. But that’s about all I can say. The vocalists of DoReDos are average at best, the song is a mess lyrically, and the chorus is super flat for a song that gives off the impression that it is going to build up to a point of cathartic release. It’s just a mediocre, but passable song that can’t match the excitement of Hey Mamma last year. Nice try though, I guess?

33. Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro — Non mi avete fatto niente (Italy)

This song has been near the bottom of my list for the entire Eurovision season, and only recently moved up a little bit. While the song’s message is timely and important, it just doesn’t work as well as a song for me. It feels way too wordy and disjointed for the first two minutes and I don’t think either Ermal Meta nor Fabrizio Moro are particularly strong vocalists. Upon further listens, the song has grown on me a bit though, and the song definitely improves in the last minute. It’s a mixed bag for me this year from Italy, but much respect to Italy for sending a song with a strong message.

32. Gromee & Lukas Meijer — Light Me Up (Poland)

This is throwaway EDM pop at its finest. If this song was entered five years ago, it might have been a surprise. As it stands, it is horribly generic and faceless. It does nothing to change things up or add something new to the genre — it sounds like something that’s been done a thousand times before. The chorus in most EDM songs should be the highlight and a huge release, but the chorus of Light Me Up lands with a bit of a thud. But, damn, it is catchy in its own way and I’m sure it will find an audience. While I personally don’t expect Poland to qualify this year, all things given, weirder things have happened. It isn’t atrocious, but there isn’t anything particularly redeeming about Light Me Up that makes it worth returning to repeatedly.

31. Ieva Zasimauskaitė — When We’re Old (Lithuania)

Ieva comes across as a sweetheart and When We’re Old is a cute little tune. But, much like the other songs placing around this area, it is too generic and forgettable to place higher. I enjoy the chorus and Ieva has a beautiful voice, which makes this song better than the sum of its parts, but I can’t help but wish the song built to something more dynamic as the last chorus comes in.

30. AWS — Viszlát nyár (Hungary)

High school metalcore fanatic Spencer would have been a massive fan of this song. As the only hard rock song this year, I have to give props to Hungary for stepping out of the Eurovision box and changing things up. The song’s chorus is enjoyable and there’s a lot of passion in the lead singer’s vocal performance. While it isn’t a song that I’ll likely return to after the competition, and won’t appear in my playlists, it is a nice change of pace and I won’t be surprised to see it do really well with televoters this year.

29. Jessika and Jenifer Brening — Who We Are (San Marino)

I can’t help think that, given the ambitious scope of 1 in 360, that San Marino should have ended up with a stronger entry. If this is the best they can get from a massive contest like that, I worry for their viability in future years. Jessika is a perfectly solid singer, though, and I enjoy the chorus of the song when she starts to belt it out, as well as the build up in the bridge of the song. I feel, though, that the song would have been stronger as a whole without Jenifer Brening’s appearance. It is unremarkable rapping, it sounds like she has trouble keeping up with the pace of her rap during the second verse when she performs live, and her improvisation over the chorus as the song progresses occasionally subtracts from the song’s strengths. Ultimately, though, Who We Are is a perfectly okay song that I have a soft spot for in my heart. It is undeniably catchy and I enjoy listening to it, and I think a lot of the backlash it has received is a bit unfair.

28. Eugent Bushpepa — Mall (Albania)

Albania is changing it up! Diverging from their recent pattern of sending powerful female vocalists, Eugent Bushpepa is a nice change of pace this year. Eugent has a great voice, and Mall’s chorus is powerful and memorable. The reason I don’t rank it higher is because it is not a song I would come back to after the competition has ended. It’s a good song, perfectly competent, but I don’t find it very memorable and doubt it’s long-term lasting power. I am willing to be proved wrong, however. I am excited to see what Eugent will do on the Eurovision stage, as his first live performance of the revamped version of the track at Eurovision In Concert was incredibly strong.

27. Michael Schulte — You Let Me Walk Alone (Germany)

Michael Schulte was a great choice for Germany — this is one of their most viable songs in many years, arguably since Lena won the contest with Satellite (though I still think Black Smoke was a jam and Ann Sophie was robbed). The song is something I could imagine Lukas Graham putting out as a single, which is a huge compliment. The lyrics are very meaningful to Michael and you can tell he really believes in what he is singing. The reason I don’t place this higher is because, after many listens, the song is starting to bore me a bit and it does have an overwhelming sense of genericism. Still, expect Germany to escape the bottom of the leaderboard this year.

26. Sevak Khanagyan — Qami (Armenia)

After Armenia was one of my favourite countries last year at Eurovision, they took a step back this year. Sevak is a perfectly good singer and solid performer, but the song doesn’t quite make me fly (ha!). With that said though, it is still a solid entry. When Sevak starts to belt it out in the song’s final minute, this song elevates to a whole new level and I get chills. It’s unfortunate that the first two minutes are just okay for me. If the final minute’s essence could be distilled into the first two minutes, this would place a lot higher on my list and would be a contender for the top 10 this year. Nice effort though; I definitely appreciate the effort that went into Qami and it has a natural power that is nice to see.

That’s it for Part 1 of my review of Eurovision 2018’s competing songs. You can read the next blog, Part 2, ranking songs 25 through 11 here.