A Little Bit Of History...
Recently, Russia have fared very well at Eurovision
– with a good run of positions far from the bottom of the leader board. In
2000, they saw their highest achieved when the popular Alsou performed ‘Solo’ (one of my all time fave songs)
and finished an impressive 2nd place. In 2001 they came 12th
with a rather bizarre entry in 2001, 10th in 2002, 3rd with t.A.T.u. in 2003, 11th in the
2004 Final, and 15th in the 2005 Final. Last year however, things picked
up again and Dima Bilan was able to muster up 2nd place - matching Alsou's record and Russia are qualified to the 2007 Final.
Singer & Song
Serebro Song #1
As the result of an internal selection,
girl group trio Serebro will be singing for Russia
in May with their entry ‘Song #1’. The song’s great –
sounds like something both the Sugababes and Girls Aloud wouldn’t be afraid to call their own. This is probably the first time a modern girl group with the edge have entered Eurovision so it’s
difficult to say how they’ll do. The song’s good, very upbeat and
catchy, and I’m sure the girls will give an enjoyable performance with good choreography and sound vocals. This should do well, at least it isn’t one of those girls groups like Non-Stop, XXL or Suntribe that
both looked and sounded so out of place.
Prediction
Grand Final: Possible Winner 3rd-5th
Provided the performance is strong enough, neighbours and Europe alike should go for this. It's the first time
we've seen a contemporary girl group at Eurovision, and it is a good song. I think Russia have made a wise choice, and
should look forward to another top 5 result - definately top ten.
Prediction after Semi-Final
Middle of the Road: 12th - 14th
In a slight change of heart, I don't think the girls have what it takes, although I'd love to see this go top ten.
Not a fantastic draw, but should pick up a fair smattering of votes and finish mid table.
Review of Eurovision Performance
Despite not being one of the songs that
I was overly looking forward to, nor one of the songs I couldn’t stop listening to after the show, ‘Song #1’
for me, is probably one of the songs with the best lastability factor of all the songs in Eurovision 2007. I don’t hit forward when I’m watching the DVD, and I frequently would watch it on youtube if
I have nothing better to do. It’s not hard to see why – it really
was one of the better performances of the night, with a great appeal across the scoreboard (hence finishing in third place). Russia
took the liberty of sending probably the only contemporary sounding track in it this year – with the only electro pop
number/girl group with the edge - that Eurovision has ever seen. The song was
great, and although the routine was a little static, the girls did a great job vocally, and really brought the whole thing
into the 21st century. A sound effort by Russia, finishing with a great and well deserved result. As for my prediction, it looks like I maybe should have stuck with what I had thought initially…
Oh well, maybe next year!
