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| Slovenia: Tinkara Kovač |
Tinkara is no stranger to the contest, having tried to represent her country on three other occasions - finishing second in the national final of 1999. This year she was up against six other competitors, winning out in a Super Final versus a delightfully named group called Muff. She was aided in her win with a song that is partly composed by Eurovision veteran and last year's Slovenian entrant, Hannah Mancini.
I think she's given Tinkara a winning tune. Not winning in the sense that it will top the scoreboard on May 10, but one that has become something of a personal addiction. There's always one or two songs each year that become my guilty pleasure(s), but which are seemingly overlooked by the majority of Eurovision fans. Last year, it was Hungary. This year, it's Slovenia.
Round and Round is a proper pop song. By that, I mean it is among only a few tracks included in this year's Contest that you are likely to hear on the radio because it deserves to be there. It's not an overwrought ballad or an overly familiar Eurodance track which Eurovision tends to produce ad nauseum.
It's contemporary, yet ethnic in its stance, blending Slovenian and English lyrics with ease. Its impact may not be immediate, but after a couple of listens, the song's chorus hooks you and drags you in. Tinkara's vocals help it along nicely too and what a treat to see the return of the flute centre stage.
Will it win votes, though? It's got my head in a spin and you can probably tell that I hope it will do the same for others. Given great staging and the best of performances on the night, I would imagine that we will see Slovenia in the final for the first time since 2011. It also benefits from a plum position in the semis: the penultimate performance in the second half of the second semi-final.
It's not the winner, but it's good enough to be Top 12.
Image by Andraž Blaznik (email) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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