For two minutes I was fully convinced that Ralph Siegel had found a trace of his old self and that he wrote the confident entry that would shut his critics up once and for all. And then came the tempo change.
Valentina Monetta - Crisalide (Vola) (San Marino 2013)
I was not too thrilled as San Marino opted to go for the duo of Ralph Siegel and Valentina Monetta for a second consecutive year, as I still think their social-networking-ditty of last year stands out as one of the most cynical entries in many years.
But then I decided to give them the benefit of a doubt. Valentina seemed determined to be more true to herself this time and Siegel has written many good songs during his career, let's not forget that.
And for two minutes, Crisalide is magical. A big, dramatic ballad where Valentina really gets to show off her qualities as a singer. A sure qualifier and the best song Siegel wrote in years.
Then, unfortunately, our composer lost his confidence again as he changes the song from classy ballad into a disco stomper instead. The disco part is not all bad, but the pieces don't fit together and what could have been an excellent entry is reduced to something considerably smaller.
Siegel the effect seeker gets the better of Siegel the composer. Again. Still - a lot better than most of us expected.
Qualifier:
Difficult to say. The fans like this one, but the tempo change is sure to disencourage quite a few people to vote. In secret, I'm crossing my fingers this one will make the final but I'm far from sure.
My grade: 3/5
