ESCZ 2022

Update: Congrats to We Are Domi! This one will make us proud, I can feel it, if they can stage it right, and I believe they can :-)

The next Eurovision Song Contest will come to Italy and our tiny little country in the heart of Europe has the tough choice of one of 7 tracks to represent us again. I did worry if they are any good, and, here’s my take on this selection. (Spoiler: They are, and you want to see the live-on-tapes. They are all so good at performing.)

Oh yeah, and there’s online voting running. Go to https://escz2022.com or the Eurovision app on the phone (which redirects to that page anyway). International voters are 25 % and Czech voters have another 25 % of the result. Tomorrow (15th Dec) is the last day of voting.

Elis Mraz

The overexcited drummer, a Latino vibe, and the reused long sample which is basically the base of the whole song (which is why some thought that the song is a plagiarism… but it’s not. Also it’s not that noticeable in the live version).

Elis sells the whole package and the live performance is surprisingly good. It can still get better and I’m not worried for us in the slightest if she goes through.

Jordan & Emma

A surprisingly soulful track. Their charisma is what sells the package. Grew on me probably the most.

But… on the unofficial ESC Discord, it’s currently in the last place of global ranking. I’m somehow convinced that they will win our national vote, but that may not save them because domestic online vote is only 25% of the total score.

Annabelle

I’m running out of freakin’ words.

This is our Avril Lavigne, and the track itself is so energetic and also memorable. The lyrics are talking about what seems to be depression and pressure. Very relatable. Becomes repetitive after a while, but I have not yet managed to overplay it. Fingers crossed for Annabelle, this could be a very good entry, and it seems to be liked internationally as well.

Giudi

Vote for her. You don’t want those long nails stabbed in you. Consider yourself warned. Jezinky will come for you if you don’t vote for her.

Very atmospheric track but something’s missing for me. The live (a cappella) performance grabbed be but let me go after a while. But there’s also the symphonic version of the song which has much bigger impact. I seriously don’t know. Go see the live perf tho.

Skywalker

Woah. Did not expect this portion of hard(er?) rock.

Will be probably a bit niche in the total picture, but if they get through, then that’s also absolutely well deserved.

We Are Domi

Such a bop, but it kinda loses me in the middle. Some people say that the live is even better. For me, they are about the same.

Note the guitarist in the live-on-tape. His violin bow on the electric guitar sounds awesome.

The Valentines

Indie rock/pop. Is that an “OK Go” reference in the beginning?

Again a throwback to the past, but I don’t mind, in fact I quite like this and bop my head to the tune.