There was little surprise when Mandinga won the Romanian national final earlier this year. Their song Zaleilah had already been a huge hit in Autumn of last year. Their song is very light and summery which may play to their advantage. I have a theory that because many songs are selected in the winter there is a distinct lack summer hits at Eurovision. I do thing that a (proven) summer hit can do very well at Eurovision. While Spain might be an example I thought that their song was a little cheap sounding.
To be honest I'm not sure how to judge Zaleilah, I'm not really a huge fan of summer songs and I think that might be why I find that it is a bit instant for the first third listens, then just becomes annoying. I know that many fans don't agree but that's just my view.
The advantage that this song has is that it is coming after a rather drab two songs (Latvia and Albania) - those will be tough swallows for the normal audience. Romania have a historical record of 100% qualification. Staging is the strange thing, with the lead singer in a leather catsuit surrounded by a selection of folk singers, all in all I'm not sure of this entry but I'd should qualify.
Verdict: It feel just a little thin to me but on the first couple of listens I'd say it should pick up a couple of televotes.
Grade: C
Verdict
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteyou should watch their last live performance at Europa FM on Youtube and make a new conclusion about them...needless to say they have a famous choreographer Anže Škrube who collaborated with J.LO, Chris Brown and other international stars...I do believe their performance will be flawless and an explosion of dance, energy, joy, happiness, and good singing...and btw, the one who composed this song was nominated at the Grammy for producing an album for Shaggy! Romania is always underrated by blogger and bookmakers...but this is life and life is not fair...cheers
As I said I'm not completely sold on the song but I am very open to changing my mind. At the moment there is nothing "outstanding" about this entry but rehearsals could change that.
DeleteHi, what is your input after rehearsals and the 1st semi? I hope you noticed that Elena Ionescu was singing without hearing her voice (her earphone did not work starting sec 55) and she did it as a true professional; that is why, her performance in the semi was only 60% of what she did during the rehearsals...also, I hope you noticed that the Eurovision press voted for them as 1st favorites after rehearsals...
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