Eurovision 2015 - Semifinal 2 Preliminary Reviews | Museled

Hello, Museled readers! It's time for yet another round of reviewing Eurovision entries and this time around, we're reviewing those that will be competing in semifinal 2. As a reminder to you, our 10-point scoring system is on a curve so as to better communicate how the songs relatively stack up against one another. A low score is not necessarily an indication of the song being bad (many of the ballads have received lower scores because of the abundance of and therefore greater competitiveness for them to stand out in the pack). So let's get started!

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01) Lithuania ~ Monika Linkytė & Vaidas Baumila - "This Time"

Overly saccharine, "This Time" is a country-pop-influenced love duet that's repetitive on a melody that doesn't elicit any real emotions. The performance itself is rather grating, reads forced and disingenuous, and the number as a whole is too dull to stimulate any further commentary.

Museled score: 4.5/10

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02) Ireland ~ Molly Sterling - "Playing With Numbers"

Though it's unclear if a ballad of this style can stand out enough so early on in the night, "Playing With Numbers" is a moving song, beautifully sung by Molly Sterling. The lyrics are also some of the strongest of this whole year; Molly is a skilled lyricist and downright poetic with her imagery. With the production of the song maintaining the spotlight on Molly's voice and the piano she plays, it allows listeners to stay focused on the narrative and it's also contemporary enough to fit right in with the songs of other big singer/song-writers of today.

Museled score: 7.5/10

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03) San Marino ~ Michele Perniola & Anita Simoncini - "Chain of Lights"

Confusing from start to finish, "Chain of Lights" is a song that lacks direction or a clear identity. It falls short of dramatic impact, the instrumentation would've been better off expanded, and the sporadic chiming in the background cheapens the song's production value. Also, Anita's spoken response to Michele's call lacks believability to the point of being downright laughable.

Museled score: 2.5/10

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04) Montenegro ~ Knez - "Adio"

One of the few songs to not make the jump to English, "Adio" stays true to its roots from start to finish. There are a wider use of instruments use that allow it to have a sound unlike any other entries, or perhaps anything you're accustomed to hearing (depending on what part of the world you are from). There's enough melodically minor content to create an alluring quality much like that you'd hear in a tango. The song also stood out to us immediately due to the fact that it is a regional style of music. We welcome this expansion to our musical catalogue!

Museled score: 7/10

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05) Malta ~ Amber - "Warrior"

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you; there is more than one song in this year's Eurovision with a "Warrior" title. The melody and vocals are not bad, but the song lacks a bottom half, as the percussion is too light and there's no real bass or lower register present. Despite there being cellos visible in the music video, we can hardly hear them. They really should've turned up the volume for those or perhaps added some low brass. Without such, the song is unable to make a stronger impression.

Museled score: 5/10

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06) Norway ~ Mørland & Debrah Scarlett - "A Monster Like Me"

Though "A Monster Like Me" has a musical production that stays smaller for longer than it probably should for this competition, the melody is quite haunting in its beauty. If you remove Eurovision from the equation, we likely wouldn't be critical of the song but being that this is such a competitive lineup, it might have been wiser for the song to have its arrangement spruced up so as to build into something larger at an earlier stage instead of waiting till the last 30 seconds to jump up and make a bang. However, this is a song that could easily translate well across the bigger music markets though perhaps not as a typical "Top 40" hit but something you'd hear on episodes of all your favourite TV dramas. (This is a compliment, there have been many a song of this more sombre style that we've gotten hooked on after hearing them on a TV show).

Museled score: 6.5/10

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07) Portugal ~ Leonar Andrade - "Há um mar que nos separa"

We really weren't sure what to expect from "Há um mar sue nos separa" since it was one of the last songs we heard of the entire contest's line-up but we quite enjoy the contrast within the song's melodic arrangement from the darker edge of the verses to the more optimistic feel of the chorus. The electric guitar accentuations are a nice touch, too, and Leonar's voice transitions very well from the grittier parts of the song to the lovelier.

Museled score: 6.5/10

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08) Czech Republic ~ Marta Jandová & Václav Noid Bárta - "Hope Never Dies"

The styling of the video helps with the drama of the song but for us, the disconnect comes in the fact that instead of just being a good duet with a dark edge, "Hope Never Dies" strays a bit too far into the doom-and-gloom territory. (A more appropriate title would've been "Hope Is Dead"). The problem with this is that this puts us off wanting to listen to it more. If our greatest takeaway from the song is that it's bleak, this doesn't make us want to rally behind it. But the music video is at least styled to match the song, and we rather like the flute line at the end. The vocalists have great power in their voices and there's solid musical drama.

Museled score: 5/10

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09) Israel ~ Nadav Guedj - "Golden Boy"

What's that sound? Oh just that of Nadav Guedj (who is only sixteen, by the way!) dropping the mic all over that lacklustre first half of semifinal 2! The utter cheekiness of this boy starting off the song with a fake-out to trick first-time listeners into thinking they're going to have to sulk their way through another snooze-worthy ballad only to kick things up into high gear with a punchy, urban-influenced verse that would fit right in with all the similarly-flaired top 40 music of the noughties! It's sheer genius! If that weren't enough, the choruses are a cultural dance party to celebrate Nadav's origins, as he does the same pretentious name-dropping that many an artist has done before him, but in this case it's not to make himself look more travelled than he is, but to elevate his own city. Are you impressed yet? Well the chorus also has it's own "Golden Boy" dance that'll have you swinging your arms around and having the time of your life! This is the stand-out party track of the year's contest; there's literally the sound of drinks being poured in the song. The number is also highly self-aware, as the 3-minute/gotta-go sendoff shows that it's not taking itself too seriously. Humility is always a nice touch! Bravo, Nadav!

Museled score: 9/10

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10) Latvia ~ Aminata - "Love Injected"

We wanted to like this song more than we did, as it's quite brave and experimental in its production. Though we respect the bravery, the song's greatest fault is the Aminata's vocal over-exertion in the choruses. It's quite painful to listen to; it's like we can see the vocal nodes forming with each botched high note. The studio version irons more of that out but once the live version comes, we have to turn the volume down or just off altogether. Perhaps if she would just lower the key (a lot), things would be more bearable.

Museled score: 3.5/10

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11) Azerbaijan ~ Elnur Hüseynov - "Hour of the Wolf"

This is another one of the stronger ballads of this year's ballad-heavy lineup. The backing chorus elevates the scale and scope of the song to another level. There's again, good use of instrumentation, and the old-fashioned militant beating of the snare drum combined with Elnur's top-notch vocals further enhance the song's impact. The music video is entirely beneath the quality of the song itself but that's just nit-picking at an already solid song.

Museled score: 7.5/10

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12) Iceland ~ María Ólafs - "Unbroken"

An uplifting, (too-)sweet pop number, "Unbroken" has a lovely melody and good use of harp. The main reason this song doesn't resonate with us more is the borderline-extreme youthfulness of the song. From the higher-pitched vocals to the almost Disney-channel-esque quality of the song, it sounds more like the big hit of the soundtrack of a children's film than something that we'd look to listen to as an adult. It's also another top-heavy song, but we're less critical of the lack of lower register because it doesn't seem like that's what the production team was going for.

Museled score: 6/10

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13) Sweden ~ Måns Zelmerlöw - "Heroes"

If you've been paying attention at all to us here on Museled, then you will know that we've been praising Måns Zelmerlöw's "Heroes" since it was just a wee little powerhouse-in-the-making, fighting to beat out its Swedish competitors in Melodifestivalen. We even interviewed Måns after he made it to the finals (but had yet to win and shatter numerous records in the process). But for those of you newcomers, "Heroes" is the song with it all. The production is modern, nicely blends organic instrumentation with synthetic sounds, the lyrics are both poetic and meaningful as the message of the song is that we can all be heroes and in turn set a better example for the youth, and seriously solid hook is made all the better by Måns' phenomenal vocals. There's also the matter of the animation and projection-mapping which further catapult the number into the future. Don't blink or you just might miss Eurovision history in the making!

Museled score: 10/10

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14) Switzerland ~ Mélanie René - "Time to Shine"

"Time to Shine" has decent drama in its lyrics and Mélanie's vocals are undoubtedly excellent. The songs also has a decent cultural element with some of its instrumentation and percussion. Our main wish is that the arrangers of the song had put more work into the song's lower register as it would have enhanced the impact the song is aiming to make. But we rather enjoy that guitar riff, as few did drama better than the 1980s!

Museled score: 7/10

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15) Cyprus ~ John Karayiannis - "One Thing I Should Have Done"

A sweet albeit minimal ballad, "One Thing I Should Have Done" relies predominantly on acoustic guitar and occasional stringed-instrument accentuations to accompany John's sweet vocals and heartfelt lyrics. To John's credit, he's entirely believable as a storyteller. This could easily be heard in the brief, downtrodden chunk of a rom-com before the starring couple inevitably reconciles. Being that is on the more minimal side, it may very well struggle to leave a strong-enough impression on viewers to trigger voting support but all in all, it's a sweet song to listen to.

Museled score: 5.5/10

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16) Slovenia ~ Maraaya - "Here for You"

"Here for You" has been an entirely welcome surprise. A fantastic blending of a retro groove combined with all the contemporariness of a radio-hit, the track is the product of wife/husband-duo Marjetka and Raay (an artist/nickname), hence the artist name "Maraaya." Marjetka's vocals are sharp and distinct, and many liken it to those of Duffy. Raay is the producer on the track as he can be seen playing the keyboard and percussive hooks throughout the performance. The live performance also has an "air-violinist," which is hilariously over-the-top and nicely embodies the joy and energy evoked by the song itself. In regards to musical merits, this is undoubtedly a top-10 track at the very least in this year's contest.

Museled score: 8.5/10

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17) Poland ~ Monika Kuszyńska - "In the Name of Love"

The narrative of "In the Name of Love" is of course deeply personal and moving as singer Monika shares the story of the car accident that left her in a wheelchair. But the musical production of the song itself leaves something to be desired and the vocals lack energy. The way the song has been sung, it's as if there was a complete lack of effort and the same goes for the producers responsible for arranging the track. Though we appreciate that the pick-up happened sooner than the 2:30 mark, it simply isn't enough. Musically speaking, this is perhaps one of the most forgettable songs of the group, even more so than many of the songs scored lower than this.

Museled score: 3/10

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Stay tuned for our next Eurovision write-up that will review the songs that are automatic qualifiers to the finale!