#escchallenge

I’m not saying much because I’ll inevitably devolve into a jury rant, but it was the best staging of the contest; that’s why it won, so it’d be ridiculous not to choose it.

Melodi Grand Prix was probably the best NF I saw this season, but many passed on it in favour of MelFest, which is a shame. With that said, I honestly did not like this song very much the first time I heard it (as the first time I did was the MGP final). Maybe it was the orchestra, maybe it was their performance on the night, maybe I was in a weird mood, but the song really dragged the first time I heard it, and I was set on another song winning. However, I did listen to the studio version soon after, and I soon grew to like it despite the live version lacking something. However, when it got to Vienna, I was completely won over. They didn’t opt for a single gimmick, just an honest vocal and some absolutely genius camera work, topped with a final chorus that literally lit up the stadium. Ballads can be completely stripped back without being boring, and this song shows that perfectly.

Since I started watching the contest in 2009, Latvia has arguably been the worst-performing country in the contest. In fact, for the past few years I have been hoping and hoping for Latvia to bring something that could finally wow me... and did they ever. A revamped NF called Supernova appeared, void of any tomfoolery that resulted in the awful songs they have sent in the past, and even the top four of Supernova consisted of four pretty good songs, but Love Injected was the clear winner. It’s dark, mysterious, intense, and when they got to the Eurovision stage, the staging made the whole song pulsate from start to finish. She stood strong and powerfully delivered what for me is the best performance Latvia has ever given. If Supernova continues to deliver this calibre of song, Latvia could be heading for another win soon (and here’s hoping, since we are in dire need of an Eastern win some time soon).