Hungary hopes to reach final for 7th time in row with unusual blend of styles
The Eurovision Song Contest is not complete without Hungary in the final recently. The country returned to the competition in 2011 after year of absence and has made it past the semi finals on every single occasion ever since. Only two out of the six contests it resulted in a place in the top 10, but still this is a pretty impressive record which most countries can only dream of. It is Joci Pápai’s task now to add a seventh spot in the final for his country with his interesting mix of genres, ‘Origo’.
Pápai convincingly won A Dal, the Hungarian national final in which they choose their contestant for Eurovision. The singer and rapper describes his song as ‘modern world music’. The mix of electronic beats, raps and Hungarian and Gypsy folk music tells the story of his life, he explained to Eurovision.tv. The final product is an intriguing composition with an insanely catchy hook, although fully performed in Hungarian. I’m personally not a fan of the rap parts as I feel like it ruins the flow of the track, but I’m sure there will be a market for that on the Eurovision stage as well. According to the Bookmakers Hungary is in for another decent result this year with a spot in the final. That seems likely as the track is unique and authentic so unless Europe doesn’t ‘get’ it final should be within reach, although I do not expect them to finish in top 10 on Saturday.
UPDATE – Review on semi final performance:
Admitted, the rap part does take the flow out of the song slightly and the act with the female dancer is done about a 1000 times before, but that chorus is undeniably catchy although I don’t understand a word. I don’t expect a top 10 finish for Hungary this year, but then again, stranger things have happened in the wonderful world of Eurovision!
UPDATE – Review on final performance and result (8th):
Hungary brought one of the most unique and authentic songs to the Eurovision stage, which gave them a spot in the top 10 this year. Although I still think the rap parts do not fit the song and the staging of the track is quite predictable, Joci Pápai has been consistently delivering good vocals and the hook of the chorus just sticks with you, even after hearing 25 other songs as well. Great to see countries who take the risk to perform in their own language doing so well!
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