EuroVision ’18 Song By Song: “Toy” by Netta, Israel
eCinemaOne, The Kirkham Report, and Planet BiblioMusica will have daily coverage of the days counting down to the Eurovision Song Contest 2018!
Over the next five weeks, sometimes more than once a day, we will bring you daily previews of the contest, spotlighting each of the songs individually in random order, where they come from, who will be performing them, and more, as well as some historical info on the contest and some of the past winners and participants.
Next up on our Song-By-Song preview is the official entry from Israel, “Toy” by Netta, written by Doron Medalie and Stav Beger. The song is performed in English. Netta launched to stardom in her native land on the tv series “The Next Star”, which is the founding show of the “Rising Star” franchise where viewers pick winners live as the show is telecast. The song will be performed seventh in the first Semi Final on May 8th.
If there was ever a song that might be on an unstoppable ride to the top of the Grand Championship this year, then “Toy” may be it — the song has already hit #1 in Israel, and is presently #1 on EuroVision’s “most watched’ monthly video charts, and for good reason — this song KICKS ASS, BAR NONE! An unashamed tribute to self esteem full of “grrl power” vibes from a big girl who knows she’s big and embraces it, and deals with what it has been like for her, Netta’s performance is utterly stunning. And absolutely AWESOME! The song is a cross between Meghan Trainor and Lady Gaga, with a little Pink or Katy Perry thrown in. The video (but NOT the current version available on Spotify) appears to have some naughty language in it, but that could be beeped if need be. And I don’t get the clucking noises, but then again I don’t get Gaga’s chant during “Bad Romance” either! It certainly doesn’t make the song any less fun. Of the songs I have heard thus far this year, this song has the best chance to make some MAJOR moves on the US Charts whether it wins the contest or not — get this beautiful girl a US label release and push it too the moon, and “Toy” may well become the first EuroVision song since 1968’s “Love Is Blue” by Paul Mauriat to climb all the way to the top! My gut says she’s got a MAJOR US hit on her hands if we can get it out here.
Israel has had great luck at EuroVision over the years; they have participated 40 times and have won the Grand Championship three times — in 1978 with “A-Ba-Ni-Bi” by Itzar Cohen, in 1979 with “Hallelujah” by Gail Atari and Milk And Honey, and in 1999 with “Diva” by Dana International.
Here’s the official music video: enjoy! If you haven’t seen it before, you’re in for one HELL of an experience!!
Join eCinemaOne, The Kirkham Report, and Planet BiblioMusica each day through the finals on May 12 — be sure to check each site, because some of the features will be exclusive to just one of the sites! The daily artist and song profiles will appear on each site, with some past winners and historical info coming to TKR and PlanetBM in the next week or so as I complete my research!
Catch all the official EuroVision action at their official Website and on their official YouTube channel! And don’t forget to watch the show May 12 on LogoTV!
Originally published at eCinemaOne.
