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Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Arts Correspondent
@jeremydwilliams
9:30 PM 18th April 2018
arts

Eurovision Album Review

 
Love it or loathe it, the Eurovision Song Contest is the world's biggest and most iconic music competition.

Heck, it is so big a deal that it is now screened in the US and Australia have announced that they have adopted European membership and have sent over some of the strongest contestants in this last few years.

As it heads to Portugal following Salvador Sobral's win for the nation who have previously finished in last place three times, and far too often failed to qualify for the finals, many are wondering whether there may be another surprise winner in 2018.

Given that three-time winners Israel are the Bookies favourite with Netta Barzilai's Toy, it could be a return to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv in 2019. With 43 countries all competing for the title, we decided to see who we felt should soar to victory.

Now, as with every Eurovision there are entries that can be instantly discarded as obvious victims in the semi-finals.

However, with the shock of eliminations of stand out songs by Greta Salome (Iceland), Mei Finegold (Israel) and Jana BurĨeska (Macedonia) in the semi-finals in recent years, it is apparent that songs that shine on record do not necessarily have what it takes for Eurovision.

Although pleasingly cheesy, it is fair to say that the paint by numbers Alcazar drive My Lucky Day by Moldova's DoReDos will not make the final rounds.

Moldova aside, the selection in 2018 is slightly harder to make. For this year there is no clear Top 10, although the bookies favourite realistically only faces a fight against Swedish Justin Bieber-wannabe Benjamin Ingrosso, Czech pin-up with sax appeal Mikolas Josef and the possibly too credible French pop anthem Mercy by Madame Monsieur.

While Hungary's AWS may prove a little heavy for Eurovision fans, however the formula has previously proven a success for Georgia and of course Finland.

Spain and Lithuania have paid too close attention to Portugal 2018, providing timeless ballads that may struggle in the wake of last year's winner.

Estonia pulls out all the stops with an Operatic Disney driven number, which will massively soar or hugely sink. Iceland's Ari Olafsson may get the Grandma vote, although he will have to fight off Ireland's Ryan O'Shaugnessy for those votes.

Italy's Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro provide the political edge of Italy's 2017 entry, but without the gimmicky edge, meaning they should hopefully be rewarded with a respectable finish.

Elsewhere, Surie provides the UK's strongest entry in far too long. Lucie Jones more than proved her worth last year, and Surie deserves to move the UK even higher up the scoring board.

Germany opted for a bland Ed Sheeran wannabe, and Saara Aalto may go home empty handed for Finland but will have finally achieved her goal of appearing at Eurovision. While she will no doubt put on a stunning performance, Monsters may not have quite the punch she needs to win.

Australia's Jessica Mauboy, Cyprus' Eleni Foureira, Azerbaijan's Aisel and Belgium's Sennek deliver the anthems that will dominate your playlist but do not quite have the Eurovision feel needed for the win.

Overall Eurovision 2018 is an eclectic affair. Although Netta Barzilai's Toy is the playful, outside of the box anthem that radio currently craves, time alone will prove if it can romp all the way to victory.