Czech Republic represented by Martina Bárta’s ‘My Turn’
The Eurovision team from Czech Republic must look back at 2016’s Eurovision Song Contest with mixed feelings. After years of failure, their country finally reached the final of the show. In that final however, Gabriela Guncikova’s ‘I Stand’ did not receive a single point from the televoters and finished on a 25th position out of 26. Not really a great first final result one would say. This year the country is represented by Martina Bárta’s ‘My Turn’. Will she be able to give her country a better result?

If Gabriela Guncikova did not reach a better place with her powerful ‘I Stand’, it seems unlikely Martina Bárta will reach the final at all. It is not that ‘My Turn’ is a bad song, but ‘I Stand’ seems more instant on first listen, which is essential in the Eurovision Song Contest. Martina Bárta’s track has a jazzy piano rhythm and her warm vocals suit the track perfectly. It is a pure, straight from the heart love song with a lovely message, but one of the kind that needs a few listens to fully reveal itself and misses an obvious climax. The only way Czech Republic could make this song stand out in the midst of the contest, is by pulling off a performance that is as visually striking as the beautiful music video.

UPDATE – Review on semi final performance:
The song is pleasant, her vocals are warm, but it desperately misses some kind of climax. Martina does her best to sell her song, but the stage seems a bit too big for just her and she often drowns in the back drop during the numerous wide shots. All together I’d say this performance and song was too much of a non-event to leave any impression on the European voters.

UPDATE – Semi final results:
Poor old Czech Republic again could not count on the votes of the people at home. Martina only received two points from the televoters, but the juries placed her in 7th position, which made her finish 13th.

Check all Eurovision 2017 reviews: Albania – Armenia – Australia – Austria – Azerbaijan – Belarus – Belgium – Bulgaria – Croatia – Cyprus – Czech Republic – Denmark – Estonia – Finland – France – FYR Macedonia – Georgia – Germany – Greece – Hungary – Iceland – Ireland – Israel – Italy – Latvia – Lithuania – Malta – Moldova – Montenegro – The Netherlands – Norway – Poland – Portugal – Romania – San Marino – Serbia – Slovenia – Spain – Sweden – Switzerland – Ukraine – United Kingdom