21 March 2015

Review: Sweden: Eurovision 2015 | Måns Zelmerlöw

Måns Zelmerlöw is a favourite for the Eurovision title
Måns Zelmerlöw may have battled through and won what seemed like an exhausting Melodifestivalen 2015, but it does make you wonder whether David Guetta and/or Avicii are about to contact their respective lawyers. The winning song, Heroes, has more than just a hint of both Lovers on the Sun and The Nights about it.

Alleged plagiarism aside, Sweden's entry is less about a quasi-EDM anthem and more about the clever hologram graphics which accompany it. It's a canny trick, that may or may not sidestep the 'six person maximum on stage' rule, but which the Eurovision organisers strictly enforce nevertheless. Only time will tell whether the powers-that-be consider fist-pumping cartoon gnomes as "people", but it would seem overly fussy if the effect was not allowed.

What appears much more certain is Sweden's increasingly enviable position of grabbing the Eurovision Song Contest by the balls and squeezing it into submission. It achieves this through a fortuitous knack of producing current tunes that regularly appeal to a wide cross-section of television viewers. It has turned the country into a Eurovision powerhouse and 2015 looks as if it will be no different.

Of course the Swedes, unlike some others, take their Eurovision participation very seriously and in doing so can generally separate the wheat from the chaff. They've done so again this year with what has rapidly become a fan-favourite.

Although originality may not be its friend, there's no denying that barely anything else like Heroes is present in the competition. It actually possesses the freshness of a track that one could easily hear on the music charts across Europe and in the dance clubs of Ibiza.

While some may find that a less than favourable recommendation, nevertheless it's the kind that wins competitions like Eurovision nowadays. Sweden may not excel in rugby or football for instance, but its composers have demonstrated that they know how to write a catchy and contemporary pop song. Heroes is another of them.

As solid as it is though, it might have some strong competition from the likes of Italy, Estonia or Spain, but rest assured, this song will be vying for the trophy (even if the whole package needs tweaking and tailoring for the Eurovision stage).

Another Top 3 finish seems guaranteed. Do you agree?

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