Moopyvision 2010-2019 Round 14: Croatia, Romania & Switzerland

5th: Paula Seling & Ovi - Miracle (108pts)

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After wading through the dregs, we now arrive at Romania's true Eurovision USP - a total disregard for taste or restraint. :D

Not to imply that Paula & Ovi's forthcoming better-known Eurovision entry is a likely standard at weddings, funerals and political rallies, but can you imagine any occasion whatsoever in which this song would be worthy of an airing, outside this one very specific night in Copenhagen? Everything about it is shamelessly constructed to within an inch of its life with the sole purpose of winning the Eurovision Song Contest - a tactic that very rarely pays off, and often winds up looking rather SAD when it misses the mark.

There's still a fair bit of fun to be had with this, and they seemed to be fairly good sports about the whole thing, but my God, some of the CHOICES in this performance. Instantly dated hologram effect! Ludicrously elongated note that serves no purpose whatsoever! Sticking poor Ovi in the middle of a circular piano he is quite transparently not playing!

All in all, a complete dog's dinner. But a likeable one, in small doses.

1 x 12 (superstylin)
3 x 2 (VoR, Suomi, Dark Carnival)
 
Ovi looks like he's having great fun fingering his hoop there, but VoR's write up is spot on. It all felt so contrived, by comparison to the jubilant nonsense of Playing With Fire.
 
Also the hologram effect was SPECTACULARLY good value as a ludicrous Eurovision gimmick :D MORE OF THAT PLEASE
 
It does baffle me that Romania looked at the success of Playing With Fire and decided that the way to improve on that was to increase the focus on Ovi in their next entry.
 
“De la Capat” has the strongest pop melody to my ears, and it manages what all the other Romanian entries have failed to do this decade, in that it sounds sincere.
 
4th: Illinca feat. Alex Florea - Yodel It! (122pts)

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Christ, watching this one back - is this the actual most coked-up Eurovision performance of the decade?

Future enforced priory residentials aside, what gloriously silly fun this is - a moment of Romania briefly recapturing their mojo in what was a a relatively drab second half of the decade for them. I defy anybody to tell me what it's actually about, but even the gurningly talentless Alex (my God, his vocals when he tries to pitch in with the singing :D) can't detract from the goofy joy.

She's quite clearly the BREAKOUT STAR of this ensemble though. I believe she went on to be a judge on The Voice of Romania or something similar, while poor handsy Alex was reduced to competing on the same season. A victory for the #MeToo movement that deserves to be more widely celebrated.

2 x 12 (Jacques, Kevin7)
2 x 0 (dmlaw, Tischlampe)
 
VoR said:
4th: Illinca feat. Alex Florea - Yodel It! (122pts)

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Christ, watching this one back - is this the actual most coked-up Eurovision performance of the decade?

Future enforced priory residentials aside, what gloriously silly fun this is - a moment of Romania briefly recapturing their mojo in what was a a relatively drab second half of the decade for them. I defy anybody to tell me what it's actually about, but even the gurningly talentless Alex (my God, his vocals when he tries to pitch in with the singing :D) can't detract from the goofy joy.

She's quite clearly the BREAKOUT STAR of this ensemble though. I believe she went on to be a judge on The Voice of Romania or something similar, while poor handsy Alex was reduced to competing on the same season. A victory for the #MeToo movement that deserves to be more widely celebrated.

2 x 12 (Jacques, Kevin7)
2 x 0 (dmlaw, Tischlampe)
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dmlaw and Tisch: "We hate fun"

The absolute contempt Illinca has for the other one is quite palpable - they clearly booked separate flights home.

I note with interest that gimmicky speck of bollocks 'It's My Life' has made it into the top 3 with scant regard for decency or the fact that it's shit.
 
3rd: Cezar - It's My Life (122pts)

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You should all be familiar with this notable slice of heterosexual disco opera, of course.

I have so many questions about this performance. Given that it was all presented apparently with tongue firmly out of cheek, what story do we think Cezar thought he was telling with this stage show? I kind of feel like the answer is a lost Mac-centric episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Obviously you can't knock the commitment, and from the vampire get-up to the hydraulic blouse, this was iconically strange to its greasy, freshly waxed pores.

Unsurprisingly, despite his protestations of lady-loving, a quick reccy of his Instagram feed suggests a love of cats and a close relationship with his mother, which tracks. Kind of hard to imagine a busty Illinca type waiting in the wings sighing 'that's my future babydaddy', innit?

4 x 12 (Tischlampe, Penelope, Win_the Game, David_5000)
1 x 0 (Alla)
 
ButterTart said:
dmlaw and Tisch: "We hate fun"
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I'm not sure where you find the fun in poor Illinca having to pile every piece of furniture in her hotel room in front of the door just to keep Alex away from her.
 
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Hated It's My Life in my po-faced "NO do not soil my precious gay contest with novelty!" youth, but several years on, now it's basically been bred out of the contest by the po-faced juries, it really is a breath of fresh poppers :disco:
 
Penelope said:
Hated It's My Life in my po-faced "NO do not soil my precious gay contest with novelty!" youth, but several years on, now it's basically been bred out of the contest by the po-faced juries, it really is a breath of fresh poppers :disco:
Click to expand...
De Vet Du's 'Road Trip' is one of my favourite MF songs ever, yet even I can see It's My Life is the embodiment of #Fun4Europe. It's just a dull pop song buoyed by a man with a high voice in a cynical attempt to get votes without really trying.

Actually that does sound a bit po-faced. Sorry, I'm tired and grumpy.
 
2nd: Mandinga - Zaleilah (191pts)

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In retrospect, Romania really didn't make enough of their late-00s wave of dance-pop success off the back of the likes of Inna and Alexandra Stan. Zaleilah is pretty much IT as a faithful-ish representative of the genre, and it's an absolute delight.

Also notable for being a relatively rare Eurovision entry to incorporate bagpipes, and a rare song in general to incorporate bagpipes without sounding like the dying squarks of a mortally injured cormorant. A touch underrated by voters in 2012 I feel, but this kind of effervescent fun often runs the risk of being undervalued. Still a very strong showing though, and a worthy runner-up here.

4 x 12 (Pingu, Ag, Buttertart, wurst)
3 x 3 (dmlaw, Win the Game, superstylin)

1st: Paula Seling & Ovi - Playing With Fire (212pts)

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In stark contrast to Miracle, this is 'only at Eurovision' silliness done absolutely right.

I'm not say it's something I go back to a lot out of context, but it's hard to think of a recent example of this kind of nonsense that's better executed than here. The flirting feels knowingly silly rather than unconvincing/creepy, the stage show picks the one gimmick and commits to it, and everyone involved just seems as though they're having a whale of a time. You can hardly resent them for wanting to come back for seconds, even if they did end up rather on the sloppy side of things in 2014.

Drinking game fans are encouraged to pay attention to the bored-out-of-their-minds backing vocalists and their half-hearted arm choreo, but really this one is all about the STAR TURN. Lena was never going to be beaten in 2010, but this would have been a very likeable alternate.

8 x 12 (VoR, Kalabaliken, Soldi, Raining on me, dmlaw, Alla, Kevin, Ill Advised)
2 x 6 (auretz, wurst)
 
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