Austria: Victor Bueno | Amen

Austria

Artist: Victor Bueno

Song: Amen

Semi Final 2: First Half

It's been a bumpy few years for Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest since Conchita Wurst's victory in 2014. This year, Victor Bueno has been given a second opportunity to improve the country's fortunes with the song Amen which is a completely different proposition to his 2020 cancelled effort, Alive. 

Where the latter took on a funky Bruno Mars/Justin Timberlake vibe, Amen gives Victor the chance to show off his accomplished vocals on a respectable breakup ballad. The lyrics are fairly repetitive, bog standard, heartbreak clichés but there is a nice progression as the song develops.

As Amen begins, Bueno is in reflective, almost claustrophobic, mood. However, around the halfway mark there is an explosive change of tone and the mood switches as if the singer has finally been been released from the shackles of a doomed relationship.

Victor delivers all of this with the angst one would expect of the material and he has sufficient charisma to attract quite a few votes. He is up against some pretty tough competition in his semi-final though, and the song probably doesn't have enough of a wow factor to push him too far up the scoreboard. 

However, I'm willing it to make the Grand Final as I believe it's good enough to earn a spot. Very much a borderline hope, though.

What are your thoughts?

 

Nobody But You / Cesár Sampson / Austria | Review

Could Cesár Sampson bring the Eurovision trophy back to Austria?

The years following Conchita's win for Austria have been interesting ones. Before Rise Like A Phoenix, their history at the more recent Eurovisions was one of the poorest among competing nations – with just one qualifying song between 2005-2013. Then 2015 saw them sink to the bottom of the scoreboard once again while Nathan Trent's 2017 effort was only saved from embarrassment by the votes of the juries. This year Cesár Sampson has thrown his hat into the Austrian ring with the intention of sending the soulful Nobody But You much further up the scoreboard.

The song is produced (and partly composed) by Symphonix International, a collaboration of  producers from Vienna. Those involved include Sebastian Arman, Joacim Persson, Borislav Milanov, and Johan Alkenäs, some of whom were responsible for composing the last two Bulgarian entries. For his part, Cesár is not a newcomer to Eurovision either, serving as a backing singer for those same Bulgarian songs.

So, like the UK's SuRie, Cesár is familiar with the Eurovision landscape and has been involved in the kind of success that a nation with genuine Eurovision aspirations should be seeking. I have to say that Nobody Like You is the ammunition that could satisfy those ambitions. It is a wonderfully produced soul song that would not sound out of place on an album by either Sam Smith or Rag'n'Bone Man. It's full of gospel flavours with quality vocals from Cesár, which he can hopefully bring to the live performance in Lisbon.

As you can possibly discern, I’m a huge fan of this type of song and, in particular, of this entry. Of course, there are a few distinct elements which could frustrate Cesár's efforts. Austria’s pre (and post)-2014 record and the probable scarcity of neighbourly votes are a couple.  Also, no song of this genre has ever scored that well at Eurovision - but, hopefully, current music trends may alter that fact.

So, can Austria possibly win with this? I’d be really happy to see that happen, but in reality a Top 10 berth is much more likely. While it's a very creditable entry, I suppose for some it doesn’t have that touch of emotional tension that usually yields a lot televotes.

However, what it does possess is a very memorable tune together with a sense of sophistication. Of course it is up against some very stiff competition, but I have real confidence in this entry. This is my 2018 winner.

Austria 

Artist: Cesár Sampson

Song: Nobody But You 

Semi-Final 1 | Second Half

Eurovision 2016: Review: Austria: Zoë: Loin d'ici

Zoë to fly the flag for Austria

The evening of February 12th saw the staging of Austria's national final of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. In the end, the Austrian public decided that Zoë Straub and her snappy little tune called Loin d'ici would travel to Stockholm in May.

The selection was something of a surprise, particularly following the jury vote which placed Loin d'ici in fourth place. However, bolstered by the public televote, the song progressed to a superfinal alongside Elly V's I'll Be Around (Bounce) - the favourite with the jury - and the rest is history.

Listening to the song is like taking a trip back to the mid-1980s when Vanessa Paradis was topping the French charts and climbing the UK's equivalent with the ultra catchy Joe Le Taxi.

Its appeal is exactly the same: its simplicity, a melody that you can recall quite easily and a singer who is easy on the eye. Of course, it has the added curiosity of becoming the first Austrian entry to be performed entirely in the French language. Francophones will rejoice and, no doubt, will help swell the number of votes for Austria.

In many respects, its skill is in the way that it is unassuming yet becomes ingrained in your psyche. Remember Kedvesem from ByeAlex, Hungary's entry in 2013? That song had the same kind of uncomplicated appeal in its composition but was written off by many within the Eurovision bubble. The same appears to be happening with Loin d'ici - yet it is a perfect example of what can be achieved to draw in votes, as well as fill three very pleasant minutes of Eurovision.

ByeAlex proved that their song was memorable enough with the wider public to scale the heights of the scoreboard. There's no reason why Zoë shouldn't repeat that feat.

Not a winner - no zero points this year either - but a very respectable placing could be in the offing for Austria.

What do you think?



Image by Ailura (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 at], via Wikimedia Commons

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Eurovision 2014: Austria: Rise Like A Phoenix

Conchita Wurst

We've known the controversial choice by the Austrian broadcaster ORF to send Conchita Wurst to the Eurovision stage in Copenhagen since last Autumn. However, today the song that this colourful character will sing has been revealed.

It's called Rise Like A Phoenix and is said to be a commentary on Tom Neuwirth's path to his drag persona, Conchita.

It's yet another ballad to feature in this ballad-laden year, but probably among the best of them. Very melodramatic, with the essence of a Bond movie theme, it's however very difficult to take the whole production seriously when one is watching a bearded "woman" perform it.

There has already been disagreement about Austria's choice of representative and now with the announcement of this song to a wider audience, it will only polarize the argument further. Russia's and Belarus' respective broadcasters have hitherto received petitions to edit Wurst out of the broadcast, but that action would contravene EBU rules.

Looking at the wider reaction, my belief is that the average Eurovision viewer is unlikely to vote this through, however good the song may be. It may qualify from its semi-final as, in general, the semis tend to have more "serious" Eurovision fans among its audience. Should it make the final, I think the song will find it tough to attract votes. Alternatively, it could "do" a Dana International and walk away with the whole thing.

Here's the video. What do you think?

  

Image (adapted) by Manfred Werner (Tsui) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons