So San Marino, it appears, have become the new flag of convenience for anyone rich enough, or indeed dumb enough, to want to present a project of their own to the Eurovision masses. Why else would they be sending a Turkish singer performing a Turkish and Greek-written song that was recorded by African musicians in Belgium, and is apparently concepted and bankrolled by a musclebound French perfumier? Perhaps that's why they've just presented the ditty at Le Grand Hotel in central Paris and not San Marino village hall?
But all of that doesn't mean to say that it's not an interesting construction. After all, the song's writers Olcayto Ahmet Tuğsuz and Nektarios Tyrakis have got form - coming up with competition showstoppers like Hani?, Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne, Shake It and Love Me Tonight between them. And if the flamboyant Thierry Mugler is on board as the creative director it's always going to look pretty interesting. But what does it actually sound like? Oh. My Days.
We were expecting a big, beaty and bouncy party tune, with a hint of Lou Bega and Kid Creole, and a bucketload of cod swingtime stylings, but instead we got a grumbly, heavily accented slice of Leonard Cohen gloom instead, only without any of the art. We really weren't expecting that at all, and neither were any of the people commenting on the live Periscope stream either by the looks of it.
We were holding out a lot of wrong hope for this one as well. There's certainly nothing else like it in the show, that's for sure, and I suspect that we'll grow to like its dark charms as time goes on, but all the same - what were you thinking San Marino?!
I'm just glad for a song that's obviously not one of those bland "calculated to win Eurovision" tracks. Bravo for having a strong artistic vision. It makes songs like Denmark and Ireland seem rather dull in comparison.
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