With the first of many super Saturdays behind us Eurovision season is now well underway! As broadcasters from all over Europe (and Australia) are busy trying to select the perfect song to represent them, we at niallpoints.com are trying our hardest to react to as many as we can. One of the best national selections in our opinion is Eurovizija.LT.
Many of you have undoubtedly watched Eurovizija on Saturday. Or maybe you have decided to watch MGP instead (in which case, you’ll be happy to know that we are covering that too). 8 artists gave it their all in this first heat and 2 have already advanced to the final on February 17. Tomas has listened to all 8 songs competing and has provided us with his honest but fair review.
A quick reminder of the line up:
- Živilė Gedvilaitė – Save Me
- Antoine Wend – Say No More
- Marius Petrauskas – Kol laiko yra
- Silvester Belt – Luktelk
- Aistay – You
- VB Gang – KABOOM!!!
- Luka – Move On
- Clockwork Creep – Empty
Živilė Gedvilaitė – Save Me
There are 5 heats we have to get through for Eurovizija.LT this year so there’s bound to be some ups an downs. This to me felt very much like a “down”. Is it too early for a toilet break? A snack perhaps? Hear me out: there is nothing inherently bad about this performance. But it never really goes anywhere. The chorus is very repetitive and in this case that’s not a good thing. I felt as if I were watching a reboot of High School Musical. I wish Živilė’s song had the complexity and depth it took for me to pronounce her name. I’d say we’re the ones that needed saving having to go through this.
Antoine Wend – Say No More
Oh a hairy chest is always a good start! Unfortunately that was before the song started playing. Good lord the puns with this one. I’ll try to refrain myself… Right from the beginning I’m struggling to stay awake. But the hairy chest though! They are definitely counting on looks with this one. Sadly, looks aren’t everything as is proven as the song progresses. At some point Antoine sings something about losing the keys, which he takes to heart quite wonderfully (pun nr. 1). All the while I was watching I realized he had trouble finding the camera. Or maybe that was the whole point. In any case the words “Say No More” really resonated with me (pun nr. 2). I could do more of these but for the sake of plowing through I’ll stop and get to the next song. Nice falsetto at the end though.
Marius Petrauskas – Kol laiko yra
This started off quite interestingly but went down hill quickly for me. Surely LRT is trolling us at this point. It’s all a little too linear and static for me. Not that I was expecting this man to start head banging or anything, but they could’ve done a little more. The production to this song sort of doesn’t fit the artist or the staging. I didn’t like the way he was dressed either as he almost completely disappeared in the dark black and grey backdrop. What I will say is that weirdly I still prefer this one over the first two songs, and Marius is definitely serving us the first decent vocal of the night. Comes to a very sudden end.
Silvester Belt – Luktelk
Feels like I’ve suddenly switched tv stations. Where did this come from? Also is that a bandaid on his nose, or a piece of jewelry? Or maybe he just got punched backstage and they decided to make the best of it. Anyway let’s get into the performance: The intro had me hooked immediately. This is fresh, modern and sounds like the biggest ear worm! There’s no need to understand what he is singing about because it’s all about the vibe. Silvester is looking great in his shiny track suit. I love the bit of shoulder action they are giving. This feels like the future of Eurovision to me. Every so often the contest goes through a bit of a shift musically. And last year marked the start of a new era with entries such as “Samo Mi Se Spava”, “Cha Cha Cha” or “Who The Hell Is Edgar”, where artists are taking more risk and becoming more creative. This one follows that example beautifully, and will definitely appeal to the younger generations, which is ultimately what we want. I am officially obsessed!
Aistay – You
I’ve just been catapulted back to the start of the show, and it’s making me very dizzy. I’m honestly crying laughing as I have no idea what I just witnessed. Surely whoever wrote this song was high on something. The worst part of this is that the chorus, though very repetitive, is actually quite catchy. I’m just not sure it’s for the right reasons. It feels as though this was trying to be modern and original but failed. I have no clue what that choreo was all about. Perhaps they’re still not sober? The ending to this performance was as random as the rest of it. There’s not much more I can say. I know she has a new song out now but: Thank u, NEXT!
VB Gang – KABOOM!!!
If ever we needed to wake up, they were the ones to do it! This was so trippy my head is spinning. Let’s recap this quickly: Power ranger outfits, Barbie, a chicken dance, ridiculous lyrics, fitness and some humping to top it off. What’s not to love? I’ve seen some crazy performances in all my years of watching national finals, but this one might top it all. They kinda reminded me of an early 2000’s dance version of Die Antwoord, and I ain’t mad at it. I feel like if any country could pull of something like this at Eurovision, it would be Lithuania, right?
Luka – Move On
My god what a rollercoaster this heat is. This song certainly needed a way more confident performer. It was just lacking lots of things, trying to be sassy but never succeeding. And no amount of shoulder action can make up for that. Also what was that little wiggle they kept doing? For the most part I was confused as to what language she was singing in. I think it was supposed to be English but I’m not sure. She must have had some lessons in gibberish by Urban Trad or Ishtar. Dare I move on (see what I did there)? I most definitely do! 7 down, 1 to go!
Clockwork Creep – Empty
I was sort of imagining what it would feel like being in the audience, witnessing this heat and then seeing the camera pan in your direction. Must have been quite stressful.
Oh look it’s a proper rock song, with long hair and head banging and all. Well I say proper… it felt a little repetitive and empty at times. Pun again intended. What is it with middle aged men and their rock bands wanting to compete at Eurovision? Confusion was once more the overwhelming emotion here. Especially midway through the song when they had that little quiet moment, trying to get the public going, only nothing happened. They all just sat in silence with them wondering why there was a sudden power cut. LRT could just as well have squeezed this in the middle and had VB Gang close the show on a high. Such a lost opportunity!
That’s it for Tomas’ review of Eurovizija.LT heat 1! Do you agree with him? Who were your favorites? And are you happy with the results? Let us know in the comments down below or on Twitter (we know… it’s called ‘X’ now). Don’t forget you can also find us on Instagram and YouTube where you will already find our reaction videos to MGP heat 1 and Cyan Kicks!
