There are good news and bad news concerning this song. Good news: Cyprus is sending in one of their bigger stars for Eurovision. Bad news: she doesn't have a whole lot of a song to work with.
Despina Olympiou - An me thimáse (Cyprus 2013)
Perhaps there is something I should know to appreciate this entry more. Perhaps it falls very well into the standard repertoire of Despina. Perhaps it has lovely lyrics or touches a string with the home audience.
All I hear is a polished little ballad that is very pleasant but never quite takes off. It does nothing wrong, it is clean and enjoyable but bound to fall into oblivion as soon as the next song starts.
Despina is a good singer that manages to add some temper and colour, but there are limits also to what a skilled performer can do to save an unspectacular entry.
Qualifier:
No. It would be a real surprise if this one managed to capture the audience enough to qualify.
My grade: 2/5
In fact, this song always make me think of another Cypriot ballad entry that was pleasant and did nothing wrong but failed to have any impact in the end. I believe this year's entry will share the same fate.
Lia Vishi-Piliouris - To katalava arga (Cyprus 1985)
I have a soft spot to these gentle ballads, that try not to be that "spectacular" but still with a delicate arrangement, lovely melody and a effortless performance move something in me. But I agree that this kind of songs rarely move enough Eurovision watchers to lift up the phone, so the song will probably be sung only once in Malmö.
ReplyDeleteThis song reminds me of another gentle ballad sung in greek, The Greek entry from 30 years ago. Mou les shares the same basic values, although it has a slitghly stronger chorus. It did relatively well, but that's probably due to the juries who had to have an opinion on every song. In the televote era you have to make enough impact to make someone vote for you, and I'm afraid that the Cypriot entry does not do that.
Still, glad to disagree once more.
Then I will agree with you a little, just to shake things up a bit. "Mou les" is a masterpiece, a lovely little song that is very dear to me. But it is also way more distinct and has so much more of an aim and an edge than this Cypriot little ballad.
DeleteThe problem for Cyprus is not that it is a ballad, only that it is a bland ballad.
Maybe we will agree on the next song, but then again, maybe not. Love the Eurovision community!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Bosnia last year. Pleasant enough, but very forgettable. And yes, Mou les is a masterpiece :-)
ReplyDelete