Ryan Dolan: Only Love Survives
In late February, the Irish public and regional juries chose Only Love Survives, co-written and sung by Ryan Dolan, as the song to represent Ireland at Eurovision.
Dolan is hoping to bring the trophy back to Ireland for the eighth time, but somehow I don't see this happening. While it ticks all the right Eurovision boxes - upbeat, catchy Eurodance number with a repetitive refrain - the song is not particularly original. It also very much depends on the live vocal and performance on the night.
Having said that, Ireland will be performing in a semi-final that is bereft of uptempo tracks, so the song does stand a very high chance of qualifying. The problem is that singing live is not a strong point for Dolan, so winning the competition is out of the question. There are just better singers with better songs. 6/10.
Only Love Survives will be performed in thirteenth place in the first semi-final on May 14.
Only Love Survives will be performed in thirteenth place in the first semi-final on May 14.
What are your thoughts about Ireland's song?
Live at Eurovision In Concert
If I could choose who ends up in the Final out of SF1, Ireland would not be one of my picks. Ryan is one of the poorest live performers this year and I have been totally unimpressed by the National Final and EIC showings - as you have said, his saving grace is that there aren't many upbeat songs in his semi (Slovenia, Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia being the others) and he comes later in the draw. All of these factors MAY work in his favour (although Slovenia is far better live) and he may scrape through undeservedly instead of truly excellent live singers such as Estonia or Cyprus.
ReplyDeleteEven if he makes it to the Final, I don't think that Ryan will be getting too many points, even from the UK...