ESC Insight’s Top Musical Moments Of 2014 Written by Ewan Spence on January 5, 2015 | 5 Comments

Well, it was a rather rambuctious festive period, so slightly later than planned, we’ve brought together the thoughts of the ESC Insight team, and some of our contributors from the world of the Song Contest to talk about the musical moments of the last year.

With over 10,000 songs to choose from (if you count every submission to the National Finals), and the associated albums, covers, and live performances, there is a huge choice. What is clear is that it was a wonderful year for music!

Sharleen Wright

‘Attention’ by Vaidas Baumila (Lithuania National Final 2014)

Whilst the song ‘Attention’ ended up going to Copenhagen sung by the originally planned artist, there was another great option waiting in the wings in the shape of Vaidas Baumila. From the first episode, he impressed with his vocal range, interpretation and fine looks. Vaidas even managed to make the eventual winning song all his own with this groove-tastic acoustic version that was far more smooth and dreamy, rather than futuristic and screamy version the world ended up with.

Thankfully, we haven’t seen the last of him as he is now back in the 2015 Lithuanian selection and, fingers crossed, will be on stage in Vienna come May.

‘Pēdējā vēstule’, by Dons (Latvian National Final)

I may be in a very small minority here, but ‘Cake to Bake’ was the wrong song to send to the Contest. I, alongside a number of my Latvian friends online, was highly offended when Aarzemnieki beat (by a small margin of foreign votes) what was the biggest local hit of the year by Dons.

Whilst he is no Ott Lepland in terms of Baltic balladeers, I argue that this mature and emotionally-building performance would have led to qualification and a decent result in Copenhagen. We can only hope that Latvia will learn from its mistakes and will let Dons shape Latvia’s 2015 entry (via his inclusion in the jury) into a far more successful one.

Ewan Spence

‘Busy Doin’ Nothin”, by Ace Wilder (Melodifestivalen 2014)

I don’t think that anyone is going to be surprised by my first pick.

‘Undo’ was ultimately a safe choice for Melodifestivalen. An old-fashioned power ballad from a singer with a wide fan-base in Sweden and in the Eurovision media, Nielsen was guaranteed a clear and easy run with the media on her side. Any other artists with this Kempe number would not have fought off arguably one of Sweden’s biggest commercial hits of the year. I am talking about Ace Wilder, and ‘Busy Doin’ Nothin”, an infectious electropop number that fits right into the modern day chart sound.

Wilder’s problem was that she peaked too soon. A trip to Andra Chansen, another week of PR and airplay, and she would have beaten the Lena Phillipson Syndrome with a modern classic, a classic that in my mind should be exactly the sort of song that is sent to the Contest.

And is there a finer aspirational lyric than “I wanna make money while I sleep…I wanna make money while I dream”?

‘Más’, by Brequette (Spain, National Final 2014)

The second choice is a bit tougher – with ‘Every Eurovision Song‘ I could legitimately choose almost half of the songs that have appeared at the Contest because I (re)discovered them this year.

Instead of ‘Chance of a Lifetime‘ I’m going to stay in the National Finals, because the process of discovery at this stage is one of my favourite times of the Eurovision year. There are moments where you hear a song, and it sends a chill down your spine. When you know you can hear the perfect moment. Unfortunately, it was the textbook example of a car crash when Brequette sung live against Ruth Lorenzo.

The better singer won, but I’m not sure the better song won. In a perfect Eurovision world, a mythical version of Lorenzo singing ‘Mas’ would be my musical moment of the year. Instead, I’ll have to make do with the haunting studio version.

Dr Paul Jordan

‘Dancing in The Rain,’ by Ruth Lorenzo (Spain 2014)

I was a huge fan of Ruth Lorenzo in ‘The X Factor’ and always thought she would be perfect for Eurovision; she was a proper old school belter.

‘Dancing in the Rain’ was my favourite song this year, not least because of her but also because of the way it built. And built.  And built. Seeing the Spanish fans gathered around screens in the press centre watching Lorenzo rehearse for the first time was one of my favourite memories from Copenhagen. “So passionate,” I thought that they would spontaneously combust.

They were oh so cute too. Me, shallow? Never!

‘Maybe’, by Valentina Monetta (San Marino 2014)

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

If ever there was evidence of that mantra then San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest is it. Whilst I thought ‘Maybe’ was the weakest of Valentina’s three songs, her qualification out of her Semi-Final through to the Saturday night Grand Final was a triumph for the Most Serene Republic. I saw her shortly after in the press centre, weeping tears of joy, a very different picture from the heartbroken woman I saw in Malmö.

It left me thinking that maybe, just maybe, this Contest means something.

(Follow Paul’s coverage of the Contest at DrEurovision.com).

Monty Moncrieff (On Europe)

Shine, by The Tolmachevy Sisters (Russia 2014)

If there was a sense of anticipation about Conchita’s song this year with its late reveal there was equally that sense about Russia. The Russian reveal was in fact so late that we waited some time after the EBU deadline for the final version.

Even before the poor Tolmachevy Sisters were thrown like lambs to the slaughter, Russia’s domestic policy on “sexual minorities” had raised its head very publicly thanks to the Sochi Games, and even in the nation’s selection process, with rumours that Sergei Lazarev turned the gig down due to Eurovision’s popularity amongst LGBT people in the West. (If true, it would mean he’d changed his mind considerably since a performance in 2008 at Birmingham Pride in the UK’s ‘gay hotspot’ the West Midlands).

Closer to the Contest, international anger at Russia intensified following her conflict over Crimea. Despite eventually selecting two demure 17-year-olds with a Junior Eurovision pedigree, the western perception of Russia’s home and foreign policy wasn’t about to die easily, and in fact became something of a theme during the Contest. The girls attracted a huge amount of booing following their performance. These were not-quite pantomime reactions from the crowd, eager to voice their dissent in what had been the second Contest in a row to emphasise equality, at least in the periphery of the host city’s duties.

It felt somewhat uncomfortable to listen to as it continued every time the twins picked up any points in marked contrast to the whoops of delight with every point called for Austria, focussing this into a audience battle between the acceptance of diversity versus the bully-boy tactics of Mother Russia and funny Uncle Putin. The song, once stripped of the hullabaloo around it, scrubbed up much better than many would have believed, and the girls gave a competent and memorable performance with a simple, but effective routine, incorporating subtle gimmicks including their entwined ponytails and the rising and falling on their see-saw as Rui Andrade from the Portuguese national final turned in a cameo dawn chorus playing the rising sun.

But the lasting memory will be the booing turning Russia into the wicked stepmother, and the twins (undeservingly) into unwitting ugly stepsisters, as Cinderella Wurst completed her rags-to-riches victory astride her ascendant phoenix. 

‘Via Lattea’, by Elena Siniavskaya (Belarus National Final 2014)

Early in the 2014 National Final season I turned into Belarus with as open a mind, and as cynical a belief we might see any of these songs at Eurovision, as has been needed to endure their selection in recent years. It turned out to be a highly enjoyable experience, with delights such as the Switter Boys and the charm of eventual winner Teo.

One song however stopped me – and half my Facebook feed – in my tracks.

The shrill operatics of Elena Siniavskaya are not my typical taste; I can’t abide the various cod-classical male ensembles we’ve had and I’m not the biggest fan of Malena Ernman’s 2009 schlager soprano. Something about this was just so delightfully quirky though, and I quickly noted it as a contender for Second Cherry, the end-of-season ‘Second Chance Contest’ party I organise with several friends in London. It had just this kind of fan event written through it like a stick of rock.

I eagerly anticipated it being chosen by my fellow Cherry-pickers which to my delight it was. I knew it would be a highlight with our crowd (you can guess the demographic, I reckon) and so it was, but the victory I predicted was far from a given, and in fact it was down to the very final douze points (delivered by our guests divided into juries) to clinch it.

Although I liked Teo, and his loveable scamp schtick, I would have loved to see how this fared at Eurovision. I suspect not that well: I know this style is a dying breed internationally. I’m not at all disappointed that Eurovision is moving away from this, but there’ll always be a place for the old school in my heart.

(Monty’s thoughts can be found at OnEurope.biz).

Roy Delaney

‘Fiddler On The Deck’, by Santiano (Germany, National Final 2014)

What a missed opportunity!

While Elaiza may have had the heartwarming story, and Unheilig the massive fanbase, Santiano had not only the most catchy, earwormy song of the entire year, but possibly the most excessive prop in all Eurovision history. Six grizzled old blokes singing a Teutonic sea shanty in a strangled Germanic mockney accent? What’s not to love.

The good people of Europe would still be muttering about this today had it qualified. Deutchland, what were you thinking not sending this?!!

‘Right By Your Side’, by Glamboy P (Denmark, National Final 2014)

Like a car accident or a bad wig, you just can’t take your eyes off this video. And in Glamboy P’s case, it’s a very bad wig.

Watch in awe as he stamps about the Danish final stage like a brickie in fashionwear. You’ll be peeking through your fingers from behind the sofa by the time he starts vogueing in the middle, and when the wind machine fires up you’ll fear for the lives of the crowd behind him. Just how does that thing stay on? It’s his own hair? Crikey! Just imagine, this could have been the home entry this year. What a beautiful world that would have been.

(The good, the bad, and the bonkers of the National Final season will be revealed at Roy’s Eurovision Apocalypse).

Samantha Ross

‘Für Elise’, by Traffic (Estonian National Final)

Listeners to ESC Insight’s daily podcast in Copenhagen, and my followers on Twitter, will know I’m a devoted fan of Estonia’s Traffic, and have been since ‘See päev’ took the silver to Urban Symphony. When I saw their name on the shortlist for 2014, I was cautiously optimistic, not only about the quality of what they’d be putting forward, but about their chances at this year’s event. Their most recent EP, ‘Eeter’, had been fabulous, and my hopes were high.

When I actually listened to ‘Für Elise‘, I was blown away. Traffic had taken their standard alt-rock sound and blended it with folk in a way that was both comforting and refreshing. A touch of banjo and mandolin, beautiful harmonies from Silver Laas and Stig Rästa, a steady, toe-tapping beat, and wistful lyrics about faraway love…this was a new direction from a band that I had loved for years, and that I knew was well-regarded in the Estonian music scene.

Of course, a passionate, ringing endorsement from me for an Eesti Laul entry is usually the kiss of death, and despite local chart success, ‘Für Elise‘ just missed the superfinal and took the bronze to Tanja’s ‘Amazing’ and ‘Maybe-Maybe’ by the Super Hot Cosmos Blues Band (a track that almost none of the Eurofans saw coming).

‘Für Elise‘ simply grabbed me by the heart and the ears and refused to let go. Being a Eurovision fan isn’t always about predicting a winner; it’s about finding those three-minute gems that stay with us for years to come. 

‘Diamonds’, by Federica Falzon (Malta JESC 2014)

 There are few nations in the Eurovision community as crazy for the Contest as Malta is. This is a nation that has never won an Olympic medal and never qualified for a World Cup, but at Eurovision, they’re on a level playing field. Finally given the chance to welcome the ESC, in one form or another, to the island, Maltese broadcaster PBS hosted a truly incredible show that seemed to get the entire nation involved.

When eleven-year-old Federica Falzon stepped on to the stage for her first set of run-throughs, it was like the world stopped. With her poise and maturity belying her age, the gifted young mezzo-soprano opened her mouth and seemed to perform ‘Diamonds‘ effortlessly, despite the obvious vocal difficulty of the song. Technicians stopped their work, her team hung on every note as if it was a message from the Pope, and a tear or two may even have welled up in this writer’s eye.

For me, it brought up a fascinating question: is Junior Eurovision about songs for children, or is it about highlighting young talent? Rather than a winning song being about buzzing bees or sweets, audiences chose songs performed by performers that we can expect to mature into viable artists as grown-ups. Italy’s Vincenzo, Bulgaria’s Krisia, and, of course, Malta’s Federica are all artists to keep an eye on. To see them now is like seeing grapes on the vine: wonderful now, but their future potential is boundless.

As for Malta, I truly hope that they’ll have the chance to host again soon; my supply of Kinnie is running dangerously low.

John Egan

‘My Slowianie’, by Donatan & Cleo (Poland 2014)

Sometimes Europe – particularly Western Europe – needs to lighten up. Seriously.

When the original Polish language music video began being shopped as the potential entry, my first reaction was “they should totally send this, but how would they stage it?” It’s a great track, old school 90s hip hop beat included, instantly memorable. And Cleo’s a belter; we love our belters at the Eurovision.

Then a leaked video of the Copenhagen stage included the alleged staging for “My Slowianie”…but nah, couldn’t be… or could it? Sure enough, the first rehearsals revealed Cleo and her bevvy of lassies, two of whom were naughty and three of whom were rather wholesome. And that’s how they nailed this—it’s equal parts hip hop pop, turbo folk, and T & A. All with huge grins and plenty of winks. For me it was the overhead shot of the dancers circling Cleo that sealed the deal for me. It’s a shame so many jurors took themselves — and “the Eurovision” — so seriously on Saturday night. This was a great song, well performed vocally and exceedingly good value for 3 minutes of ‘light entertainment’.

‘Amazing’, by Tanja (Estonia 2014)

The Estonians have managed to find a great formula for their national selection, but this was the first year that Eesti Laul threw out a major surprise winner. My first reaction to ‘Amazing‘ wasn’t amazing. In fact, I found Tanja’s voice rather annoying. Something about the throatiness of her lower range. Besides, she couldn’t possibly have danced that routine and sang that well, could she?

Turns out she could. Also turns out she’s been a fixture on Estonian television for several years. It’s not the first time someone with an established audience has ‘surprised’ in a national final.

Yet, as I cobbled together my playlist of 2014 official entries, the one I found myself playing over and over again was… ‘Amazing.’ And I wasn’t alone: Ewan also noted in Juke Box Jury that this was an earworm and a polished package. I thought it had a decent outsider’s chance of winning and a very good chance for a Top Ten.

Alas, there were no place for it in the Grand Final. In the end I suspect this was a grower—the kiss of death at the Eurovision. Eesti Laul has semi-finals, then a super-final during their final. In other words, a song can grow its way to the golden ticket. And that might prove problematic if we get another entry this year that squeaks into the super-final and sways enough televoters on its third listen. Tanja was second in her semi-final (though she roared to the highest semi-final televote score) and qualified second for the super-final (second in the televote).

Glen Bartlett

‘Calabria 2007’, by Enur, ft. Natasja (Eurovision Song Contest 2014: Semi Final Interval)

Of course this song has a massive significance for me!  2014 was a great year and it was made very special when I had the chance to dance on stage in Copenhagen. Not only did I ‘represent’ the UK with my questionable dance skills but I also got to meet some incredible fellow Europeans, who all shared the same once-in-a-lifetime experience with me.

(Read about it here on ESC Insight – Ewan).

It was a popular song choice amonsgt us ‘dancers’ – one of those songs that instantly stays in your head and gets you on your feet (or in my case – off my feet!). Definitely my favourite song of Eurovision 2014! Ha!

‘Bedroom’, by Alvaro Estrella (Melodifestivalen 2014)

This was the first song of any National Final in 2014 that grabbed my attention. Listening to the song, admittedly it’s pure filth, but with a chorus as catchy as this one (did it, did it, did it!) he could be singing the periodic table and you’d still want to sing along! It’s still heavily played on “W12P – Eurovision in Wales” and although Alvaro’s vocals were poor – the song deserves a second chance at least!

(Glen broadcasts weekly on Radio Oystermouth with the W12P Live Radio Show).

Garrett Mullhall (Eurovision Ireland)

‘Rise Like A Phoenix’, by Conchita Wurst

I have been fangirling over Conchita Wurst since I first met my #Goddess in November 2013. Ever since then it has been one hell of a roller-coaster ride with her for so many reasons. I have already scolded Conchita for this but she has created the one and only time that I have ever cried at Eurovision – although Amina losing out to Carola in 1991 was a close call!

The cynics have been screaming ‘Freak Show’ at Conchita and those who follow her and I say “Follow Her” as it is truly a movement now. So when that moment came and Conchita lifted the Eurovision trophy and gave her ‘We are Unstoppable’ acceptance speech, that had made all the Internet death threats, on-line trolling and general negativity from those who do not understand the message and emotion of tolerance being so important, so necessary and, for me, so personal, all worth it!

I came into the press centre after Conchita’s winner’s press conference and just sat at my desk. I literally took one deep breath and this flood of emotion came from deep within me. I cried uncontrollably for several minutes, just thinking about how far people have come and how far society still has to go. However, I cried thinking that my own struggles were not insurmountable; if Conchita Wurst could put herself out there for the world to see, the world to judge and the world to accept at a contest, then you know what – I can take on my own battles and challenges and I, too, can be #Unstoppable.

Never has a Eurovision moment ever meant so much to so many people. I told Conchita in my very first interview with her in 2013 that “You being at Eurovision will be a pivotal moment for the Contest”

Boy, was I so right!

(Garret Mulhall keeps an eye on the world of the Song Contest at Eurovision Ireland).

Ben Robertson (ESC Insight)

‘Seven’, by Arion (Finland, National Final 2014)

In terms of the overall quality of songs, we weren’t just left with Melodifestivalen leading the way this year. Far from it in fact. Hungary raised its game with a very strong thirty song selection for A Dal, Germany once again attracted big names and Iceland showed that even a tiny population could create some musical gems. However, the highlight of the national final season this year in my eyes was from Finland, with UMK delivering twelve tracks of huge diversity and clever composition.

Some of these didn’t work out on stage and were whittled out before the final, and in the end Finland selected a group that was different, had a clever song but was undoubtedly one of the safer choices they could have made. We had no complaints and my Juke Box Jury prediction that it would be Finland’s best result since Lordi held true.

Arion the year before reached the final with one of those depressive pieces of metal-flavoured pop that only Finland could really come up with, and I have no regrets to say it passed me by. When they came on the stage this year for one of the UMK interval acts in the semi final, I expected nothing to excite me. What I heard was a five minute track with a killer chorus and a much needed injection of energy and tempo from their UMK entry. The changes in pace here work well, and I was impressed with their evolution from the previous year. The young band had grown up and it gave me a flavour of the approach to Eurovision that I witnessed a couple of weeks later that is creating a new music culture in Finland.

‘Revelation’, by Ralfs Eilands and Valters Pūce (Lavitan National Final, 2014)

I also had the joy of attending the Latvian final, which now sits in my list of all-time best Eurovision experiences. I loved ‘Cake To Bake’ from its first listen in their Riga waterfront video like a teenage boy suddenly develops an uncontrollable crush. It has to be one of Eurovision’s minor miracles that the plucky German immigrant and his friends from local watering holes managed to sneak in front of Dons in the Super Final with the song that had topped the charts for months pre-contest.

This wasn’t the story though. On the same day as Latvia’s Dziesma Final, Viktor Yanukovych was driven from office in Ukraine, starting a spiral of events that has battered the nation and put control of Crimea into Russian hands. The satellite states in the Baltic feared their bigger neighbour’s next moves. Latvia also has a large Russian-speaking population and a very useful seaport on the Baltic; in both my visits there this year attitudes towards the superpower felt more nervous than anything else.

Opening the show was Ralfs (previously of PeR) with his already politically-tinged track Revelation. We spotted in the first few camera shots that he snuck a Ukrainian flag onto his right hand, a clear symbol of his support for the cause. However he took this much further, changing his entire last minute of the track into a frenzied political tirade in Latvian which when matched with the jolting camera shots was artistic perfection. The ending of the song, where Valters crashed the cello into the ground sending it spluttering out into the audience was to ‘symbolise the anger’ that was quite clear across the entire nation.

It was a brave start to the show from a veteran of the competition, one that would have been unthinkable in other countries. Other acts followed with similar protests, and we wrote about the impact this had on the contest soon afterwards.

However, Ralfs was the one to take this to the next level, and he was not stopped from doing so live on national television, setting the trend for debate over the coming weeks and months. Ralfs just missed out on the Super Final by a whisker of televotes after, despite them watching the Saturday night show as we did, the jury gave him first place. Ralfs was proud of this when we crossed paths in Riga’s Costa Coffee on the Monday after the show as he unbuckled his roller blades.

I have my little souvenir from that historic moment too. One piece of that cello smash hit me in the foot on the front row, and it’s my tiny fragment sits on display in my apartment as evidence that sometimes Eurovision and politics can clash head on in ways much bigger than any points given (or not given) on the scoreboard can ever suggest.

(Ben Roberson edits the regular ESC Insight Email Newsletter, subscribe to it here).

Benny Royston

‘Rise Up’, by Freaky Fortune, ft. Risky Kid (Greece 2014)

The Greek boys stood out for me at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest for a number of reasons – and not just because they were the first act ever to bring a trampoline to the event. Whilst they seemed to get swallowed up by the gargantuan size of the stage on the night, the song was genuinely on point when it came to modern music taste. It also added something to help bring in and maintain a younger audience. The song’s catchy tune, modern vibe and state of the art production makes it a stand-out entry on the CD and it’s one of the songs that slips effortlessly into a DJ’s playlist in nightclubs across Europe.

In recent years, party songs have failed to get to Eurovision en masse and this may have started to reverse the trend of increasing ballads and low-tempo songs. When there’s almost forty countries competing and 26 in the final, it can become a long night without entries like this one, and we could do with more songs of this genre and calibre in future years – although perhaps without the trampoline detracting from the delivery. Whilst it stumbled to a shockingly low 20th place on the night, it’s set to remain on the Eurovision Party playlists for decades to come.

‘Same Heart’, by Mei Finegold (Israel 2014)

Whilst I’ve been banging on relentlessly that the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest laid the political voting argument out flat on the canvass, what happened to the Israeli entry may be the exception to prove the rule.

Israel’s Mei Finegold risked the wrath of the Israeli Parliament by performing far more of her song ‘Same Heart’ in English than the twenty-five percent allowed by her Government. The song was strong, memorable and contained the standout lyric of the year with “I’m skinning you out”.

Even being given the cursed ‘second place position of death’ didn’t prevent a near unanimous qualifying prediction amongst the experts in the press centre. A flawless raspy rock performance of the song came across well and a mere 19 points, less than half the total required to qualify can only be explained by a reluctance to vote for Israel based on the very European view of a very Middle Eastern political situation. Probably.

No matter, Israel’s absence from the 2014 Eurovision final was the greatest disappointment of the year, second only perhaps to having to sit through a Belarussian Cheesecake a second time.

(You can find more of Benny’s Eurovision writing at BenRoyston.com).

Over To You

We’re sure to have missed some favourites, so let us know in the comments your moments of the last year!