Here comes Barei! This was an early favourite, and it is the song I spent most of my money on voting. Here Barei comes on to my Eurovision 2016 Special. I voted so much for this song, and it's good to know that it appeared on the UK public vote, so I helped. Unfortunately she followed Russia's entrant Sergey Lazarev who was the favourite to win, with his song "You Are the Only One". This totally faltered Barei in the voting, because Russia had a very visual performance, whereas Barei gave a great dance performance that was overshadowed by the previous contestant. She sadly only managed to get 77 points in the Grand Final, placing her 22nd. Catchy, upbeat and empowering, Spain sent Barei to Eurovision with this banger. Style on point, Barei tells you to Say Yay!
Barei, real name Bárbara González-Aller, is a star in the making. Her style is on point her vocals are electric, she's gorgeous, and if she doesn't become an international star in the next decade or so we will totally be missing out in the music world! She has released two albums and a number of singles. After winning the Spanish national selection Objetivo Eurovisión, she signed to Universal Music Spain, who re-released her album. Barei has star quality, she just needs the promotion to become an international star. Eurovision was a great platform for her, even if she did perform after the Russian entrant. The song was written by Barei, Rubén Villanueva and Víctor Púa Vivó. The song is all about not giving up, keep going, climb over those hills and follow your dreams. Definitely uplifting, it's a very encouraging song.
Directed by Gus Carballo, this video is such an amazing performance piece, showcasing to the world who Barei is and her style and her music. She replicated this perfectly in the Grand Final of Eurovision.
Clearly coming from a dance background, Barei shines throughout, using footwork which has recently became the in-thing to do in a club (the one dance move I can't pull off). Even the guys are getting on the dance floor and pulling these moves off!
The video also shows off the city streets of Spain, joining together different dancers who all come together with this song. I really want to visit Spain if people randomly just dance in the streets, that is my kind of place.
The middle is pulled off perfectly, when she falls down, she fell in the performance of the Eurovision Grand Final too. She gets back up and carries on, conquering those mountains and releasing her battle cry. Just like Orianthi sung in her song "Courage".
The ending is perfection. To have all the dancers perform in-sync with that technical footwork, where it's easy to go wrong, just proves how strong of a dancer Barei is as well as her backing dancers. She is a star, she just needs her fame now! But she's got me as a fan already, and I'm sure I'm not the only one!
If anyone's killing it recently, it's Anne-Marie, and this new summer hit is definitely one of my favourites from her. Staying cool and true to who she is, Anne-Marie is getting popular, fast. Her sound is unique, and she will be at Birmingham Pride 2016, and after this release, I won't be missing her on the stage! Anne-Marie describes the cheating alarm that rings through her head when she doesn't trust her boyfriend, beautifully replicated in this video.
Anne-Marie is hitting the charts with this song. She has already charted with "Do It Right" which gained traction months after it's release. She has collaborated with Rudimental and Wretch 32, both of which should've made the chart. Now her name is being thrown about, this is one girl who is confident in her music. Alarm will be her biggest hit to date, but definitely not the last!
The music video is directed by Malia James. It features three main characters: Anne-Marie, Romeo and Sirena (Romeo's conquest). It confuses me at the start though, because Romeo has a phone number on a piece of paper by Amelia, is that his ex? Who knows? But it's definitely not Sirena.
The video continues. Anne-Marie looks gorgeous, so stylish, she reminds me of Rita Ora in "Poison" purely because of how beautiful she looks in the video. She is stunning, especially compared to Sirena. What is Romeo thinking?
Typical love scenes happen that do make me jealous. I want that relationship, I had that relationship (for a week and a half, but I had it), and I miss being in that state of euphoria. It's a perfect portrayal, great acting skills from Anne-Marie and Romeo.
Romeo doesn't try hard to get Sirena. She doesn't look much of a conquest, and he seems pretty relaxed about it. The main scene seems like a drunken mishap; regardless of which, it is still significant, and would put alarm bells in Anne-Marie's head but it's something that can be looked past. There isn't enough emphasis on Romeo and Sirena together.
Anne-Marie performs amazingly, the narrative shows off her great acting skills, but what makes Anne-Marie more of a star is her performance of this song. It's such an emotional song and she pulls it off effortlessly, whilst looking stunning. Overall, brilliant performance with a great narrative. Anne-Marie is a star in the making! Watch out for her guys!
My Eurovision Special welcomes Deen back to the Eurovision Song Contest! He returns after an 11 year gap, only this time he is joined by amazing vocalist Dalal, brilliant cellist Ana Rucner and hip-hop artist Jala. This was one of my favourites this year, and I'm sad to see it just missed out. It came 11th in the first Semi-Final with 104 points. Dalal & Deen show emotion throughout in Ljubav Je, with the help of the amazing cellist Ana Rucner. Jala adds a new flavour to the mix that feels out of place in the video and the song.
Dalal & Deen team up for this song. Dalal, real name Dalal Midhat-Talakić, has had an all right solo career, her achievement was performing "Amazing Grace" at a concert for Pope Francis. She is one half of duo Erato, who have released two albums. As for Deen, real name Fuad Backović, he represented Bosnia & Herzegovina back in 2004 with "In The Disco", where he placed ninth overall. Deen looks totally different 11 years on, but his vocals have improved even more so, although this song didn't make the Grand Final, it'll be one I will remember. Featuring on the song is Ana Rucner who is one of Croatia's most successful performers. Jala, real name Jasmin Fazlić, has had a successful hip-hop career, releasing three albums both under Jala and Jala Brat, as well as two EPs. He is the founding member of BluntBylon and music studio Red Eye Vision. A song that infuses four different styles of music, and it almost completely works, but Jala doesn't quite fit as much as we all hoped he would. He's rap is better in the studio version than live on stage. The song was written by Almir Ajanović and Jasmin Fazlić Jala. It is sung in Bosnian and the title means Love Is.
The music video is performance based, fully traditional. It represents Bosnia & Herzegovina beautifully.
Dalal & Deen shine throughout, their vocals are on point, from their vantage point, they are watching Ana Rucner below, and later Jala, when he steps in.
Ana Rucner is mesmerising, she's technically amazing, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's awe-stuck by her and her cello. Ana Rucner out does herself in this song, let alone this music video. It didn't quite transfer perfectly on stage, but that may have been Jala's fault.
He's lyrics are good, it just changes the tempo of the song. He doesn't look like he fits in the music video that well either, a total opposite to the cello, that probably always works well behind the scenes, but visually it's not something you would expect. He switches the song which makes it more interesting, without Jala it would have been just another ballad in this competition.
Overall an intricate traditional music video, that definitely is enlightening, opening the viewers into the world of Boznia & Herzegovina, who probably have a lot more to show us, which they no doubt will if they ever win the Eurovision Song Contest. A great performance piece to a strong song.
Agnete shocked us all in the second Semi-Final with this song. This is my next review for my Eurovision 2016 Special, and boy is this a catchy song, or two. The song changes beat and pace during the chorus, suggesting two different songs have been put together, awkwardly interesting, this should've have made the final, especially with Agnete's amazing voice. Being an icebreaker and destroying the mould of regular pop songs, Agnete is a powerhouse in this performance music video.
Agnete, full name Agnete Johnson, is famously known as the lead singer of The BlackSheeps, who won Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2008, where their song "Oro jaska, beana" shot to number one on the Norway chart. They then competed in Melodi Grand Prix 2011, where they came second. They went their separate ways later in the year. In 2014 she took part in Skal Vi Danse? (the Norwegian version of Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing With The Stars), in which she won. She then went on to compete in Melodi Grand Prix 2016, which she also won. Unfortunately she only got 63 points in the second Semi-Final, however following the soon-to-be winner, Ukraine's Jamala, was obviously not the easiest thing to do. However with a voice like Agnete's and a clear passion to make it in the music industry, I'm sure this won't be the last time we've heard from Agnete. This song was written by Agnete Johnson, Gabriel Alares and Ian Curnow.
Directed by Elle Marja Eira, the video is a simple performance piece. Agnete is dressed all in white, fading into the ground which is definitely a beautiful icy landscape.
There is a few intercutted scenes that include a dancer. not quite freestyling to the lyrics. Definitely contemporary dancing that intricately links well with the song.
The snowy theme captures the icy lyrics of Icebreaker. Agnete's strong vocals are followed by an equally strong performance that was definitely replicated during the second Semi-Final, but with Jamala singing "1944" just before Agnete, this one was bound to look unemotional.
Overall an average music video for this song, with not much going on. Regardless, it's effortless and beautiful, much like Agnete. This impacts the music industry as a whole. This song is definitely the first of many that will be slaying the charts in the future. Agnete may just be ahead of her time.
Sandhja was the entrant for Finland this year, and is next on my Eurovision 2016 Special. Finland's answer to Kiesza, I was expecting this to do well, but her vocals wasn't quite on point on the night and the song was was easily forgotten during the first Semi-Final. With a score of 51 points, placing her 15th, Sandhja didn't have much chance. However I liked the song, hence why it's on my blog. Sandhja gives a memorable performance in this music video for Sing It Away, featuring great backing dancers and a visual narrative.
Sandhja, full name Sandhja Kuivalainen, has already established a fan base in Finland, with two studio albums already released, she is making her own impact. Sandhja has Indian roots and she flew out to Guyana and Jamaica for inspiration on her second album, that was released last month. This competition has given her some international exposure, even if the song didn't make the Grand Final. Sandhja won the Finland national selection through Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2016.placing first in the jury vote and third in the public vote. The song was written by Sandhja, Milos Rosas, Heikki Korhonen, Petri Matara and Markus Savijoki.
Released under her vevo account, Sandhja's music video is mainly performance-based. Taking place in a children's playground park, where Sandhja shows her club dance moves whilst surrounded by a group of backing dancers, much like she was during the Semi-Final.
Sandhja has a classic performance vibe about her, definitely reminding me of Kiesza's "Hideaway". She looks great and the song is definitely catchy, the video and the song has girl power vibes throughout.
The short narrative scenes suggest that you should let your imagination go wild, and that dreams do come true. The child who is drawing a picture of a horse and a rider, is then seen in the future riding a horse.
The video is inspiring and teaches kids to go after what they want in life, and not let anyone get in their way. Just Sing It Away.
Overall a great performance piece, that should've been replicated well at Eurovision, but coming on first didn't help all that much and her nerves unfortunately got the better of her. The narrative side is short but inspiring. I can't wait to hear more from Sandhja.
