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Twenty songs… More than twenty stories… points… votes… implications…. complications… tension… excitement… and a very tired Ola Melzig. Junior Eurovision 2018 had it all. As we leave Minsk, let’s look back on a great Contest.
Eurovision Insight Podcast: The Final News From Minsk, Monday 26th November
That was the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018. But before we all board our flights and head around the world to go home, let’s looks back with Ewan Spence, Sharleen Wright, Ben Robertson, and Richard Taylor.
As Junior Eurovision draws to a close, remember to stay up to date with all the Eurovision news by subscribing to the ESC Insight podcast. You’ll find the show in iTunes, and a direct RSS feed is also available. We also have a regular email newsletter which you can sign up to here.
Having now had a chance to watch the contest properly and reflect on the performances, here are my own thoughts on who got what they deserved, who was a tad lucky and who was robbed.
Wales, Serbia, Portugal, Albania, Azerbaijan, Ireland and Israel – These were all poor songs, so it is no surprise they were 7 of the bottom 8. I’m glad the Israeli singer appeared to get some credit for his lovely voice though.
Netherlands – Average song at best. I wasn’t as critical of the staging/chemistry as the ESC Insight team, but in the end it suffered in comparison with Italy.
FYR Macedonia – Robbed again – should have been safely within the top 10. The staging at the start on the satellite stage and at the end with the family on the bridge was good. The bit in the middle with her wandering around a very large stage let it down. Also, the song was maybe too ‘adult’ to do really well.
Belarus – Good radio friendly song that as I suspected was not as good on the JESC stage as it was on video. The ESC Insight Team made comparisons to France. I felt it was France who had the coherent staging whereas with Belarus it was all a bit ‘kitchen sink’.
Russia – Average song, but I felt that the performance and staging worked, albeit in a solid rather than a spectacular way.
Armenia – Based on song, staging and vocal, this should have been bottom 8.
Georgia – Great song, great performer, but the staging did her no favours.
Italy – Damn you Italy, your skillful staging of a saccharine sweet and rather average love song, brought a tear to my eye. A surprise but well deserved top 10.
Kazakhstan – You say they will be disappointed with 6th. I would say that they should be more than happy with this. The song was average and despite the lovely coloured staging and expensive looking LED effects the singer looked slightly dwarfed on the big Minsk stage.
Malta – Good song. Even better vocal. And actually I thought the staging by and large worked. Showing a video in the background of an ESC live performance is never usually a good idea, but they were very clever with the selection of what you could see at home.
Ukraine – Good song. Strong vocal. Interesting edgy staging. That said, I think it lost something from the video. The live performance had some elements of little girl lost on a big stage, whereas the more intimate staging on the video allowed far better eye contact with the camera.
Australia – Great song. Charismatic performer. Vocals good if not the best. The staging was simple but the camera angles were superb. Overall probably the strongest package which was robbed of the victory.
France – The song was not really to my taste but if considering the target younger viewer it was good. The staging was great and demonstrated the sort of dancing that works best on an ESC stage – simple and a little quirky.
Poland – Like everyone else I suspect that Poland won because people in Poland voted for it. That said, it was an average to good song which in my opinion (contrary to the views of the ESC Insight Team) was elevated by the edgy staging. Sometimes you don’t need to understand the narrative to be captivated. I also thought Roksana turned out to be a surprisingly strong and charismatic performer.
So, considering the merits of the various songs and performances, the result was just about right. 7 of the bottom 8 were correct. The top 5 songs were also the right ones, although not necessarily in the right order. Macedonia should have finished higher, Armenia a lot lower and Kazakhstan probably a little lower.