As one of the Contest's most incessantly under performing countries, Latvia's Eurovision entries are prone to fluctuate between pleasantly dodgy and thoroughly awkward. In essence, the Latvian's have been accountable for some enjoyable entries but, over the last few years, the votes have not come their way. Their last final was in 2016 when Justs managed a lowly 15th place, hot on the heels of one one their best entries, Animata's 6th placed Love Injected.
It's natural when nations experience an unusually bad run of results that urgent deliberations about withdrawing from the competition surface, but no such discussions among the Latvians appear to have taken place this year. Even so, there has possibly been some added pressure on them to get their 2019 entry just right and it is evident from That Night - a laid-back, bluesy type of song - that the direction of travel is the right one.
Out of the forty one songs taking part this year, it’s very probably not the first of them to immediately come to mind, but I have to concede a canny soft spot for this song. Where many entries emit a calculated stratagem, Carousel's That Night possesses an undeniably straightforward relaxing appeal. It’s also quite annoyingly catchy, drawing in the listener with a strange intensity.
There's scant support for this one, but as a stylish composition it may well be given a lift by the juries. My heart feels that it should qualify but my head says that Latvia will probably be overlooked once again.
If you remember, Latvia was very quick out of the starting gate when they joined the Eurovision clan – achieving a top three place on their debut and then celebrating victory merely two years later in 2002. However, their successful run took a dramatic dive after that, aside from a fifth place in 2005; their next top ten entry taking an entire decade, during which time they suffered six consecutive non-qualifications.
Their newly styled national final - Supernova was introduced in 2015 with a goal to discover Latvian entries with worldwide commercial prospects - quickly managed to bring the country in from the Eurovision wilderness with the unexpected success of Aminata, who achieved sixth place. However, the formula took a huge backward step in 2017 when Triana Park finished last in their semi-final. On the evidence of this year's winner however, the Latvian's may have redeemed themselves and raised their expectations with Laura Rizzotto's Funny Girl.
It is is a dramatic Bondesque self-penned electro-ballad, embellished with strings and featuring a powerful and capable vocal from Laura. In some ways, the striking lighting and camera work from the national final is a reminder of Aminata's potent staging, but without this in Lisbon, it's difficult to see how the song could make the same impact.
Perhaps it will be her vocals: her voice carries the composition well, although there is very little chorus or climax for her to wrap her larynx around. Nevertheless, she gives a compelling performance and, on a bigger stage in Portugal with the right camera angles, the whole package could make a lot of people sit up and take notice.
It might be a little too understated to bring Latvia back into the Top 10, although it is probably a borderline contender to give the country their third Grand Final appearance in four years. They are in a tough semi-final though, where they lack the presence of their Baltic allies, so it could be no laughing matter for Funny Girl.
The Heartbeat of Latvia: Justs to fly the Latvian flag in Stockholm
It was at the end of February when the Latvian public voted for Justs to represent their country at this year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song Heartbeat. It was a close-run decision with less than two thousand votes separating the young singer from runners-up, Catalepsia.
There was perhaps an air of inevitability surrounding his victory. Heartbeat is, of course, the brainchild of last year's successful Latvian participant, Animata, and features more than just a few of the electro elements which made Love Injected stand out.
Although there's a manufactured, even industrial, quality to the electronic chords which run through the song, it's Justs' enthusiastic - though vulnerable - vocal ability which adds both warmth and honesty to Heartbeat. There's a passionate, even explosive, chorus in which his tone reminds the listener of some of the freshest R&B singers of today. Combine that with the ultra-modern production values and he and his songwriter have conceived one of the most radio-friendly creations in this year's competition.
The big question is, of course, whether Latvia can win the competition with this song? Inevitable comparisons will be made to Animata's final position on the scoreboard in 2015 (6th), as well as Justs' proportionate ability to impress both the juries and the public.
Last year, Love Injected failed to do as well with the televote as it did with the juries, but Justs has the potential magnetism in both presentation and vocal ability to pull in votes on both fronts. Heartbeat may not be this year's winner, but a Top 3 finish is not entirely out of the question.
On February 22, it was the turn of Latvia to choose its Eurovision entry for 2015 and, after a final consisting of four songs, Aminata with Love Injected was announced as the winner.
Over the past few years, this Baltic state has not had much luck in its search for another Eurovision winner. Their participation began so well back in 2000 when Brainstorm ranked third, followed by the victory of Marie N in 2002. Since then, Latvia's fortunes have declined dramatically, leading to a failure to qualify for the Final for the past six Contests.
Surprisingly, Latvian interest in Eurovision continues to be strong, but a change of direction in choosing the country's entry was needed. Step forward Supernova, a national final marking a major overhaul in Latvia's selection process. With a remit to unearth a credible domestic song with global muscle, this new technique appears to have proved successful with the victory of Aminata.
Her sound is certainly "out there". Some might say that it does not fit in well with the Eurovision template but, in my opinion, it should always be wholly appropriate to push the boundaries of the competition. Love Injected certainly does that. Full of electronic and alternative R'n'B references, Animata's soaring vocals enliven the song's seemingly unusual construction.
Yes, there are verses and yes, there's a chorus - but across its three minutes, Aminata sounds as if she has created a haphazard mix of the two. The song demands that one listens a couple of times in order to identify the delicacy of the verses in comparison to the energy of the chorus. The wailing of the last half-minute of the song is not going to be to everyone's taste, but Aminata's powerful execution commands your attention nonetheless. That in itself should be enough to see Latvia back in the final after seven years.
However, it's very likely not the winner, but it could easily turn into the dark horse of the competition. If her team provide impressive staging and the pretty Aminata can deliver a focused performance of Love Injected, we could see the country achieve its highest placing on the scoreboard for a very long time.
Three Eurovision national finals were completed this past weekend and now we have the 2014 songs that will represent Hungary, Latvia and Spain. Another entry was also revealed, as the internal selection from (FYR) Macedonia was presented on local television.
With so many shows to choose from, you really have to be an expert at dipping in and out of all of the video feeds provided. As I'm not one, I decided to stay with Spain's show for the evening. Only five songs in the presentation and one of them was a personal favourite, so TVE's show was a must-see.
The quality of songs from Spain this year was above average, but the winning ticket eventually came down to just two of them. My preferred choice (and that of the Spanish jury) was Brequette's Más, but the telephone vote favoured Ruth Lorenzo's Dancing in the Rain. Consequently, there was a tie. In this situation, the public's wishes prevailed and the latter became Spain's entry for Copenhagen.
Among the already announced songs, it's one of the better entries, but I don't feel it's strong enough to win. The presentation of the ballad on Saturday evening was very "shouty", although Ms. Lorenzo does usually have a fabulous voice. Her vocal ability will, no doubt, impress the juries in Denmark when the time comes, but this Disneyesque type song tends to get ignored by the public. Having said that, it should get high marks from the UK, where the singer is most recognisable from her stint on The X-Factor.
Over to Hungary
Meanwhile, in Hungary, eight songs were featured in the A Dal final, of which four were pushed through to the Super Final by an expert jury. It was up to the Hungarian public to pick the winner and it ultimately chose Running sung by András Kállay-Saunders.
Now, this one I like - very much. It has a solid, contemporary soul/R'n'B vibe going on and is a song that you could easily see climbing the music charts around the world. Although there is a story and a message within its lyrics, it's extremely radio-friendly and is likely to appeal to both a young and more mature audience alike.
Depending on its presentation and execution on the night, we could very well be listening to the winner right here. Budapest 2015?
Heading North to Latvia
Dropping in at the Dziesma in Ventspils, Latvia was like moving from the sublime to the ridiculous. I must admit that I didn't hear all twelve of the songs in contention at this national final, but having heard the winner it was perhaps for the best. This time, twelve were whittled down to three for a Super Final. The 50/50 combination of jury and televoting gave the win to the group Aarzemnieki with the song Cake to Bake.
Much like Switzerland and Malta, Latvia have chosen a group and song that will try and charm votes out of viewers. Unlike those fellow entrants, Cake to Bake's jaunty, campfire feel is more likely to extinguish any hope that Eurovision 2015 will take place in Riga.
In fact, the instrumentation is probably the only thing that this effort has going for it. The vocals are pretty bad and the lyrics worse. Not even Mary Berry could help this entry rise to the occasion!
On the fourth attempt beatbox band PeR qualified to represent Latvia at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with the track Here We Go.
In 2012, Latvia bombed with its Beautiful Song, unable to qualify from the semi-final. This year, with its not so beautiful song, it's highly possible that we won't see the Baltic state in the final once again.
Here We Go is a combination of pop and Latvian rap which, while more relevant to today's music, manages to bore the pants off this listener. The chorus comes across as a mid-tempo football chant, with instrumental breaks that sound as if they belong on a Dexy's Midnight Runners track from the 1980s.
It is the opener for semi-final two on May 16, and while it is one of the few upbeat songs included in this heat, I think this distinctly average effort will be quickly forgotten.
If the duo can generate the energy present in this video, I could be wrong. What do you think?
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