Eurovision 2014: Lithuania: Attention

Lithuania: Vilija Matačiūnaitė

I'd like to believe after a twelve-week elimination process that Lithuania would have found the ideal song to represent the country at Eurovision 2014. Unfortunately, it hasn't.

Attention is the song's name and Vilija Matačiūnaitė is both the singer and composer. Unlike the pretty Vilija, her offering gets my attention for all the wrong reasons.

It's very much a shout fest of the title and, in fact, would probably make the ideal ringtone or alarm call for anybody who likes to be shocked into action.

Amongst all the shouting, there is just a little competent singing. Why she chose to scream her way through most of the song is anyone's guess though, because Vilija has ranked highly in vocal (and dance) competitions around Eastern Europe, either as runner-up or winner. In fact, this is not the first time she has tried her hand at Eurovision, ranking seventh in the Lithuanian national final nine years ago.

Unfortunately, unlike Lithuania's 2013 entry, the song is just not quirky enough and comes across as a bad attempt at some Eighties power pop. But will viewers vote for it?

I have a feeling that they won't. There is not enough of a hook to draw them in and the shouting, repetitive nature of the track will surely put a lot of people off. And what on Earth is the tutu and the guy dancing around her all about?

While semi-final two looks to be less competitive than the first, my head is telling me that Attention will almost certainly lack the attention it needs to qualify and is likely doomed to be heard only the once.

Image by Fotodiena [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons