Another really well written ballad that I would have preferred sung in a very different way.
Ott Lepland - Kuula (Estonia 2012)
Ott from Estonia has a truly magnificent voice, which he masters almost to perfection. He can really nail some really high and demanding notes and in a different song it would have been really impressive.
What really made me enjoy the Estonian entry from the start was its simplicity, how understated and restrained it was. How all the elegant little details created a tremendous build-up in this little ballad.
Then Ott decided he wanted to show off his vocal skills instead, effectively devastating everything I really liked about the song in the first place. The musical equivalent of drowning a lovingly crafted dish in ketchup.
A matter of taste, of course. Some people loved all this vocalising, but it left me completely cold.
Ott is a fantastic performer in so many ways. I wish somebody would have told him to hold back instead. Sometimes less is just so much more.
My grade: 3/5
