Eurovision 2010s: 190 - 186
190. Nathan Trent - “Running on air”
Austria 2017
That tells you all you need to know about Nathan. His appeal is the exact same as Gianluca’s, except Nathan isn’t nearly as good. I happen to adOOOOOOre Gianluca though (um, spoiler), so I’ll happily accept a discount store alternative, why not? 🤗
As for Nathan himself, he brought some lowkey adorable ferrety charm to the table, but “Running on air” is a conformist dreamscape on the verge between “acceptably boring” and “unacceptably” boring for me. It’s as nice as a salad... and ain’t nobody buying no friends with a salad~
________________________________________________________________
189. Senit - “Stand by”
San Marino 2011
Senit is pretty great, how come she isn’t mentioned more??? I suppose being a quiet San Marinese NQ in a sea of deafening LOUDness is the main reason why she’s getting overlooked, but that’s why I like her. She’s like the batty Eritrean aunt I’ve always wanted to have (um, since May 2011) 🤗. So sweet, so pure, so hopeless, so Senit. 😊
________________________________________________________________
188. Paula Seling & Ovi - “Miracle”
Romania 2014
SCRUMP BITCHES <3 God, Paula and Ovi are just Romania at their most glorious: King and Queen of tacky trashpop <3 Don’t mistake me, “Miracle” is a terrible song, but that’s precisely why I find enjoyable: The shouting, the hand choreography, the impractical circular synthesizer, the lowres hologram, the FORCED HUG. If you’re going to be horrible at music, please, YES, cloak it in non-stop, over-the-top showboating. 😍
PS: Paula and Ovi thought they would win with this. 😂 Bless ‘em.
________________________________________________________________
187. Artsvik - “Fly with me”
Armenia 2017
Artsvik is one of those entrants where I feel the bulk of the potential she had was largely left untapped. Like, “Fly with me” is a dreamy, droll, whimsical cocktail of secondary colours and ethno-indie noise, baptised by Sacha’s signature magenta lighting. It easily could’ve been one of the all-time greats under the right circumstances. Instead, it kind of gets lost on a giant stage wit only a meager hand choreography and a CGI simurgh left to compensate. "Fly with me” is still really good, mind, but its role in Euroivision 2017 is that of a townsperson.
________________________________________________________________
MÉLOVIN - “Under the ladder”
Ukraine 2018
God, I remember this place turning into Jonestown, Guyana once MELOVIN into our Eurovision lives all: “I AM A VAMPYRE!!!! WORSHIP HOW ALTERNATIVE AND ARTISTIC I AM 😈”. Everyone was so ready to drink the killer koolaid for this *so real, so weird ::cuts self::* type of creature.
As such, Mélovin could have easily end up as annoying and insufferable as his rabid fanbase did, but fortunately he was an entity of lowkey hilarity. The tone was set once he decided to go all from can I consider the most LEGENDARY 40 seconds of a Grand Final opener.
A vibe was then continued in an impromptu interview with Filomena which she had to cut off once Mélovin came out as the strigoi of Stavropol, blurring the line between Genuine Indie Weirdo and Actually Insane Person.
Unfortunately though, much like Artsvik the whole does NOT live up to the hype created by the artist. Mélovin is p. good and I’ll forever cherish his unique spin on the English language, but after its epic opening “Under the ladder” then sinks into a jibberish, underwhelming poprock vehicle, with no real climax or reference point. It’s pretty fun and all, but a far cry from the songs that make my heart race, so bye!
