Eurovision Song Contest 2017 is just around the corner. The contestans have already arrived to start off their two weeks of Eurovision in Kiev. First semifinal will be on Tuesday, 9th of May. Second semifinal is on the 11th of May and the Grand Finale will be on Saturday the 13th of May. Robin Bengtsson the one representing Sweden will be the act opening the whole competition.
As I've done previous years, I will be doing a list of my top favorite songs in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Making this list was very hard this year since I had a hard time to pick my favorites. There were many of decent songs and some better than others. For example, some of the songs that I enjoyed listen to, which is not on my Top 7 list are "Hey Mamma" (Moldova), "Grab The Moment" (Norway), "Dance Alone" (F.Y.R. Macedonia), "Historyja Majho Zyccia" (Belarus), and "Don't Come Easy" (Australia).
In this year contest there are a lot of ballads and many of the songs are not catching my attention enough to put it on playlist.
I will do my Top 7 of ESC 2017. I don't do a lot of research when it comes to Eurovision and actually don't pay attention overall of the contest and everything around it. It's just a lot of things going on and it's too much for me to get into since I don't have time and are not that interested in it. I only listen through the songs and if there are an artist/song I really like I might look more into the artists and their back cataloge. As I do not have enough knowledge about music, the songs and the artists themselves my list will only be very brief summary of the act and some of my thoughts about the songs.
I will start off with my number 7, which is Timebelle from Switzerland with her song "Apollo". The band Timebelle is a trio containing Miruna Manescu which is the leadsinger, Emanuel Daniel Andriescu that plays the piano and Samuel Forster which is the drummer. I'm very picky when it comes to singers that has a high voice but I really like Miruna's voice. I like "Apollo" and the beat in it. The song builds up from the beginning to the end.
#6. Manel Navarro which is representing Spain with the song "Do It For Your Lover". Manel is a singer and composer that first got discovered for his covers on YouTube. I really enjoy "Do It For Your Lover". I'm such a sucker for the Spanish language. I was hooked already after the first chorous. I love the acoustic vibe in the song and the good feeling in it. There's a mix of Spanish and English in the song but I don't mind it at all. I think in that way it reach out to more people. Other than that, Manel's voice is very cozy to listen to.
#5. Joci Pápai is representing Hungary with the song "Origo". The song really stands out from the lineup. Joci Pápai is from a musically family, he could have become a professional sportsman but decided to persue his dream in music instead. "Origo" is a blend of modern pop, cultural sounds and it also contain a rap break. It's very contemporary. Despite the fact that I don't understand the lyrics, I love the song and the sound of it. It seems like Joci is the first Romani to represent Hungary in ESC, I'm glad he got to be in this year!
#4. Austria's represant is Nathan Trent with the song "Running On Air". Nathan is a singer/songwriter that genres in pop and RnB. The song is written by Nathan himself and Bernhard Penzias. "Running On Air" has a more acoustic vibe to it. It's more of a folksy pop and has this positive melody. I guess this is just that kind of music I prefer to listen to. Nathan's voice has this genuine sound and you wouldn't mind sitting by a bonfire hearing him sing this song.
#3. Israel is getting represented by IMRI with the song "I Feel Alive". IMRI has been in ESC two times before as a backing singer but this time he's back as an artist. "I Feel Alive" is a dance pop song and it's a bop! There's some Middle Eastern instrumentation in the production which I think prevent the song to sound too much alike what's new on the radio. Personally I enjoy this a lot and it's one of the few songs I have on my playlist from this year contest. It's uptempo, it makes you want to dance and you get happy to hear it.
#2. Hovig will be representing Cyprus in ESC 2017 with the song "Gravity". Hovig is a singer/songwriter of Armenian orgin. He has been in the national selection to represent his country in ESC two times before and both times reached to the finals. I had some difficulties to decided which ones of "Gravity" or "I Feel Alive" I would have as my number 3 and 2. After listening to the songs more I had to put "Gravity" as my number two because it's more of the style in music I like. I absolutely love the beat and the hook in it! It's a bit dramatic and the production of the song is very good. I like Hovig's voice which is a bit rocky and edgy. Everything with this song is amazing and I'm really looking forward to see how the performance of this song will look like!
#1. In the beginning when I was planning this post, I had in mind that I wouldn't have Sweden in my list to find something else I liked and show some appreciation towards. But when I listen through the songs in ESC I had such a hard time to pick my favorites and didn't found a song that were as good as my real top 3, so I ended up having Sweden in the list anyway.
Robin Bengtsson is representing Sweden with the song "I Can't Go On". The song is very catchy, the production of it it's very contempary and it has it's hook. When you hear the song, you can't keep yourself not croon, sing or do some headmovement to it. It's easy to follow along and you get pumped up. Other than that Robin's vocals are on point. I know I've been following Robin's career for a while and have some kind of bond with him but to look away from that, I do think this is the best song in ESC this year. We already know how the performance will be like and from that, we know he will deliver something eyecatching. It's not like I need him to win the contest, since I'm already super happy that he won Melfest and get to represent Sweden in ESC. That's already a big win!
- I'm looking forward to see how well he will do and see the response he will get after his first performance in ESC.
That was about it for my Top 7 of Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Hope you liked this kind of post. For those who doesn't pay attention to Eurovision Song Contest as much I hope you found something new to put on your playlist. If so, which ones of these songs did you liked?
If you are a ESC fan and have heard all the songs, which ones are your favorite? Please let me in the comments below or through my social medias, I'm curious to know!
I will be tweeting a bit during the live broadcast of Eurovision Song Contest so if you want to read my thoughts about the show, follow me at: @LIZELSTROMBERG.
Until next time, ingat!
/Lizel
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