This article forms part of the OnEurope archive and was originally published on oneurope.co.uk. It has been permanently migrated to oneurope.net, the official home of OnEurope.
The Czech Republic’s Eurovision 2015 entry, “Hope Never Dies”, was performed by Marta Jandová and Václav Noid Bárta. It marked the country’s return to the contest after a five-year absence, with Česká televize selecting the song and performers through a five-member expert jury.
That’s a compliment, kind of. The whole song is suddenly reminding me a lot of Russia’s Peter Nalitch last time they let me in to one of these things, but it’s lacking something – that little twinkle in the eye that said “No, you’re right, we couldn’t possibly be this miserable really…”. It’s all drama and upset, but it’s kind of trying to claim territory that the Norwegians have already well and truly staked out five minutes earlier in a more subtle, understated, *better* way.
For context, Norway’s “A Monster Like Me”, performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett, actually appeared three places earlier in the second semi-final. The comparison with Russia’s Peter Nalitch is to the 2010 entry “Lost and Forgotten”; it is a contemporary musical impression rather than any official connection between the songs.
It’s very good at what it does, but it just might not be the right song to get the Czechs into the final for the first time.
Retrospectively: “Hope Never Dies” did not qualify from the second semi-final in Vienna on 21 May 2015. Jandová and Bárta finished 13th of 17 songs with 33 points — nevertheless, at the time, the Czech Republic’s best Eurovision result despite missing the final.
