Junior Eurovision 2016 - My Top 17
Finally, it's time for Europe to don their flags and (mini) feather boas, as Junior Eurovision is only 5 days away!
Laat year, my favourite was The Netherlands' Shalisa, who slayed behind her piano with her ballad "Million Lights" (undeservedly) ending 15th. Now, let's go from 17th to 1st of my top 17.
17) Miriam Mamadashvili - Mzeo/მზეო
Don't get me wrong, Miriam's voice definitely packs a punch, hitting every note flawlessly, however, the orchestral hit belongs somewhere in a forgotten Georgian musical, not on the junior eurovision stage. Amongst all of the other ballads this year, this is my least favourite, and i fear that it will be forgotten, even if it does close the show.
16) Netherlands - Kisses - Kisses and Dancin
Again, Stefania, Kymora and Sterre, members of the band Kisses are not to blame, but as a 16 year old, I do find the whole idea of "kisses and dancin" just a tad cringy, despite the song wanting to appeal to my age group. I would understand if the juries, made up of kids and adults were to rank this high, perhaps even high enough to win the contest, but this is not for me.
15) Malta - Christina Magrin - Parachute
Christina's voice feels somewhat misplaced throughout the song for me, and it overall just doesn't sound together to me. The chorus sounds a bit lazy, repeating "you", which we've seen too many times before (i'm looking at you Robin and Amir!). Being the host country however, i do expect this to do well.
14) Armenia - Anahit and Mary - Taber
Taber sounds a bit forced in my opinion, and it looks as if someone has been watching the winning Maltese entry fro last year, with the impressive vocal solo at the beginning coming out of nowhere. The tune of this is modern, but forgettable.
13) Israel - Shir and Tim - Follow My Heart
I'm predicting some classic eurovision cheese on stage Sunday from Shir and Tim. I'm not a hater of "Follow My Heart", but the MIDI sounding instruments are not to my liking, and Shir doesn't appear, in the first rehearsal to have much stage confidence, which damage the performance.
12) Australia - Alexa Curtis - We are
Again, not a hater, i just feel like there are better songs this year. This song appeals to an audience of all ages, meaning it has potential to do well with the juries, whos vote will count for 100% of the score, as there is no televote this year,
11) Bulgaria - Lidia Ganeva - Magical Day/Вълшебен ден
"Magical Day" is a song for kids made by kids. It is authentic, and has a strong beat to it. It will be interesting to see how this one is staged, but i have the feeling a globe will be present..
10) Poland - Olivia Wieczorek Nie Zapomnij/Don't Forget
Another classic Eurovision ballad, with a slight modern twist, with the almost trance dubstep bass and drum accompaniment in the second chorus, enhancing Olivia's powerful pipes. A definite grower for me, with potential to be staging gold.
9) Fiamma Boccia - Cara Mamma/Dear Mom
Oh how cute, a little girl singing a pretty song to her mum!..except you'd expect such incredible vocals to belong to a grown up girl, not a 12 year old. The juries will go mad for this one, and i expect it to reach top 5 with no sweat.
8) FYR Macedonia - Martija Stanojkovic - Love Will Lead Our Way
I bet Martija is the definition of cool back in the Balkans, slaying with her fresh-with-a-hint-of-ethnic pop number. Is this in the charts? If not, it definitely should be, and i think i could be looking at the winner of Junior Eurovision 2016.
7) Serbia - Dunja Jeličić - U La La La/У ла ла ла
I wonder if Dunja has brought her hoverboard along to Valletta? I certainly hope so, because I have a terrible vision of Dunja being forgotten behind FYR Macedonia in the battle for ultimate Summer song of JESC. Dunja's growls add an extra layer to the song, which will hopefully help it to glide up the scoreboard.
6) Ukraine - Sofia Rol - Planet Craves For Love
Controversial, but i'm a sucker for a good ethnic song. A week after I heard it, I found myself humming the chorus, thinking I came up with it myself. A critique I have for this song is that it doesn't really seem to go anywhere, and I understand why it doesn't appeal to most.
5) Ireland - Zena Donnelly - Brice Ar Bhrice
100% a grower for me, as about 5 days ago I would have ranked this about 15th. Last year, Aimee's song sailed across the sea, and this year, Zena's song takes me to the beach. An incredible song to be written by a 14 year old, and puts my 4 chords acoustic messes to shame.
4) Russia - Water Of Life Project - Water Of Life
Do you hear the ethnic flute sound at the start? because i do, and i'm lovin' it; Water of Life Project, aptly named after the song, slay the chorus of this contemporary number, showing pace and control.
3) Klesta Qehaja - Besoj
I can remember watching about 10 minutes of Festivali i Këngës për Fëmijë and just by chance watching Klesta. Unbeknownst to me, she turned out to be the eventual winner, which i was more than pleased about. Although slightly old fashioned, Klesta's pipes never fail to blow me away, though i fear, like "Dambaje", Klesta will be too scripted, and structured on stage.
2) Cyprus - George Michaelides - Dance Floor
Haha, i was ahead of the game of liking "Dance Floor" before George showed off his sick moves in the first rehearsals. The song stands out amongst the ballads and contemporary songs this year, and i'm putting Cyprus down as my dark horse.
1) Alexander Minyonok - Musyka Moih Pobed/Музыка моих побед
You look up the definition of rad in the dictionary, what do you get? A picture of Alexander Minyonok, that's what you get. Not only does Sasha slay the vocals giving a eastern European twang to English words such as "Reggae" and "Country", but he does this whilst gliding seamlessly on a hoverboard. I know already this is going to be ridiculously underrated by the juries, but for me, this song is perfection, and I can hope and pray that we're off to Minsk in 2017.
