It’s a double issue, prinipally cos I passed out last night so didnt post.
Israel – Noam Bettan – Michelle
It’s a truth that Israel have certainly played the system in the last two years. How and why is also known so I’m not going down that cul-de-sac thanks for asking, but I can definitely say that Michelle is probably the most genuine Israeli entry in at least the last couple of years.
Noam has a great voice and talent by the bucket load, however the song is the downfall here and whilst it may be genuine, that doesn’t mean it’s good.
In the video he’s singing in his outside coat throughout it without actually being outside which gives the wrong impression for me visually and then you couple that with the fact that a majority of the song is in French rather than Hebrew which is also a bit jarring but it might be a deliberate move to distance from you-know-wha. Sadly this song lacks a punch in the last minute or so for a jury or televote to latch on to and I get the distinct impression it is trying too hard to be “a credible Eurovision song” rather than a good one.
Phil’s Score – 5 Points.
Italy – Sal Da Vinci – Per Sempre Si
A classic example, if another one were needed, that Italy keep doing Italian things in this contest and pay precisely no attention to what the rest of Europe thinks or feels.
They have sent the Italian equivalent of your Uncle George singing karaoke at your sister in law’s wedding but to simply say that is ignoring Sal’s talent. He’s already had a career, hell he’s had TWENTY FIVE albums released, granted it seems that only a couple of them have been any good commercially but at least he’s putting the hard yards in. He’s even been in some films as well which shows as he gives this performance everything at the Sanremo festival (note the spelling editors).
And what is this a performance of? – Well I don’t know. It’s part 70’s karaoke standard, part dad dancing and part something you would hear on the beach in Rimini or by the side of Lake Como, but what you can definitely say about it is that it is very VERY Italian. In fact, possibly too Italian for the big show because whilst the juries will hear a musically competent song, the televoters of Europe and Australia, most of whom are not Italian, will not pick the phone up and vote for it – they’ll probably rudely ignore it because it isn’t a contest song and possibly snigger up their sleeves.
It deserves respect but on one level I agree with them.
Phil’s Score – 4 Points
