ESC Insight’s Musical Moments of 2011 Written by Ewan Spence on December 29, 2011 | 4 Comments

As 2011 draws to a close, the editorial team here at ESC Insight have looked back through their CD collections, MP3 playlists, YouTube bookmarks, and more, to come up with some of their favourite Eurovision musical moments of 2011.

We’ve each chosen two tracks from the year that we’ve really enjoyed – not necessarily from the 2011 final, it could be a National Final entry, a song from one of this year’s performers, or a 2011 album track from a previous artist.

The only rule was they all needed to have a connection to Eurovision, and have been published in 2011. What have we come up with to remember the last twelve months?

Samantha Ross

Man on the Radio, by Malcolm Lincoln

While I generally grow to like (or at the very least, appreciate) most songs that cross the Eurovision stage, there is only a small handful of artists who I end up intently following after the competition ends. In 2010, Estonia’s Malcolm Lincoln caught my attention. After the underrated “Siren” failed to make the Finals in Oslo, I was worried that I wouldn’t be hearing much from these guys after the release of their debut album, “Loaded with Zoul”.

I was so happy to be proven wrong.

“Man on the Radio” was supposedly intended to be a submission for Eestilaul 2011, but ended up as a “winner’s reprise” performance in the Finals instead. The first time I heard it, it almost seemed like the second coming of the Talking Heads, but lead singer Robin Juhkental’s falsetto is pretty hard to miss. “Man on the Radio” sounds straight out of the ‘80s, yet vibrantly modern at the same time. Knowing that Robin and Co. will be back in Eestilaul next year with the as-yet-unreleased “Bye”, “Man on the Radio” was a perfect intermezzo.

Kara Kutu, by Mor Ve Otesi

After the 2008 contest in Belgrade, I fell head-over-heels for Turkish rockers Mor ve Ötesi. Their entry, “Deli”, made it to 7^th place that year, getting the first-ever “douze points” from Azerbaijan. Like Malcolm Lincoln, their most recent album release was in 2010 (with “Masumiyetin Ziyan Olmaz”) but “Kara Kutu” (“Black Box”), the album’s fifth single, was released in September of 2011. Despite the song’s undoubtedly dark and disturbing video (which I’m still trying to decipher), the song is the sort of moody, beautiful rock that just grabs me by the heart. (And that lead guitarist doesn’t hurt things, either…)

Steven Newby

Or, by Chen Aharoni

I love this.  This would have been a much better substitute for the Eurovision Semi Final than the mediocre Ding Dong that was ‘voted for’ by the great Israeli public.  Chen gives a very good stage performance.  Israeli has recently set a precedent for sending good- looking Israeli guys and this has served them very well.  Until Dana.

The song builds – another Israeli tradition – and packs a punch with its melodic flute and beat.  The obligatory language change is very welcome, I love Hebrew as a language but clearly it needs to be internationalised to get its message across.  It’s a real foot-tapper – and Chen is mesmerising to watch dancing along.  But Dana took the crown that night – more novelty than substance this time around.

What About My Dreams?/Szerelem miért múlsz, by Kati Wolf

I was going mention the disqualified Belarussian song – Born in Byelorussia – this is a fabulous song.  How anyone can make Soviet-style kitch and campness like this is anyone’s guess, there are booming Russian male choristers and a pumping beat that makes you want to march around the living room.  You should seriously listen to this if you get the chance.  It was ‘withdrawn’ apparently due to it’s references to the old USSR and the good old days of Socialism (along with some questions about a performance before the cut-off date), so then they send ‘I Love Belarus’ – clearly no theme intended.  But it was withdrawn, so I will too.

I’ve settled on What About My Dreams. I adore this song – it harks back to 70s disco and somehow manages to recapture some of the history of Eurovision.  It’s a classy up-tempo, catchy and well-written song only let down on the night by a couple of wobbly notes, but I still play this frequently.  It was underrated on the night, the public didn’t get what I saw I guess, but well done Hungary for at least qualifying and hopefully this will mean 2012 is already being planned.

(and just because I agree with Steven, some Vinnikova as a little bonus – Ewan)

Sharleen Wright

Smile, by MID

What do you get when you take two good looking brothers from Estonia, throw in a splash of mod-styling, and add a drop of early 80s sounds?  A song that I’m still humming, and a performance I’m still watching almost twelve months on.

MID provided a simple and effective pop tune in the 2011 Eesti Laul that drew upon the influences of the brooding 1980s Joy Division and OMD, yet still managed to make the Baltic state (and us) smile and sing along to. Its inventive backwards and hand-drawn arcade game film clip also stood out as memorable, and keep us coming back to watch the song on Youtube time and time again.

Smile, by Jamala

Same name, far different song.  Jamala was highly tipped to not only win Ukraines’ national final, but the whole contest very early on.  It drove some people batty with her yodelling, however there is little denying that ‘Smile’ was a ridiculously catchy tune sung by an extremely exuberant performer; something that the Eurovision viewer craves by the bucket load.  12 months on, I still maintain we should have been soaking up the sun in Odessa for May 2012.  Shamefully, we never got to see it make the stage in Dusseldorf, but its joy remains in the ESC Insight hearts (and on our jukebox) forever.

Dr. Paul Jordan

Valged Ood, by Getter Jaani and Koit Toome

Getter’s Rockerfeller Street was one of my early favourites in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest but sadly it wasn’t to be in 2011. Her follow-up single saw her collaborate with Koit Toome who up until now has been a bit of an AOR crooner with the obligatory piano interludes. The track is a fresh and catchy dance tune which makes Getter’s Eurovision entry seem like a poor relation in comparison.

In The Heat of the Night/Love to Call My Own, by Nicki French

Whilst not having the chart success of “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”, Nicki French continues to flex those vocal chords and released two stomping dance numbers in 2011. Both are terrific pop records which wouldn’t be out of place in a Melodifestivalen line-up.

Ewan Spence

Depend on Me, by Babel Fish

Just as Paul going for Nicki will be a surprise to absolutely nobody, anyone who’s asked me will know that I championed Babel Fish hard in NRK’s MGP 2011, and “Depend on Me” is going to be one of my picks. The reformed group took this song to the Final, but Stella Mwangi took the Norwegian flag to Dusseldorf.

I’m still convinced that Babel Fish would have been able to carry the flag to the Saturday night Final and into the Top Ten of the 2011 Contest.

No One, by Maja Keuc

Why Slovenia are bothering with “Mission Eurovision” again I don’t know. Every week the hopefuls line up, one is knocked out, and everyone who is left has to watch Maja Keuc blow their socks off as the “voting interval” act. It really must be soul destroying for the contenders, and for Slovenian television to know the best singer isn’t going to raise the Slovakian flag in Baku.

Quite frankly I’m waiting for just one song from Keuc – a “diva to the max” full throated cover of “Diamonds are Forever.” Until then, her 2011 Eurovision Song, “No One”, is more than enough salve.

And that, as they say, was the sound of 2011. Let’s see what the New Year will bring us!