Belarus has high hopes for pop star Alekseev
Belarus has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times now, of which they made the final on only five occasions. The country’s best result so far is a 6th place, back in 2006. Of course they are hoping to score their very first top 5 finish this year and Alekseev is the man selected to do this. His selection as the Belarusian representative was not without a little controversy however. A version of his entry ‘Forever’ was performed before the 1st of September while Eurovision rules state a song cannot be released before that date. His competitors in the national final threatened to withdraw, but Alekseev was still allowed to participate and went on to win the whole thing. But does he stand a chance of even getting near top 5 in May?
To be honest I very much doubt it, but let us start with the good news here. ‘Forever’ is actually a decent pop tune with a suspenseful build up, some bombastic drama and a vivacious chorus. That instrumental part after the middle-eight is such a dramatic moment! I dare to say that based on the studio version, this is one of the best songs Belarus has ever sent. There however lies the problem. Alekseev’s live performance did not sound half as good. He was out of tune for most of the chorus so there is a lot of work to be done there. His reprise performance after his win was slightly better, so there is hope. Visually they have a concept that might not be very original, but does succeed in creating a fitting and memorable picture. If I could change one thing about this Belarusian entry, I would like to see Alekseev perform the Russian version of ‘Forever’ in Lisbon, as his accent in English works a little distracting and Portugal’s win last year proved that listeners don’t need to understand every word to pick up the phone and vote!
Review of Semi Final Performance:
Belarus brings romance to the Eurovision stage with love song ‘Forever’ and an act that revolves around a red rose. The magic trick with the dancer shooting the rose and Alekseev catching it was fun to watch, but other than that the performance was quite the uncomfortable ride. Alekseev seemed nervous (those shaking hands!) which affected his vocals quite a bit too. ‘Forever’ is a decent song with a strong build up, but with this performance it just was not strong enough to proceed to the final.
Read our other Eurovision 2018 reviews: ALBANIA – ARMENIA – AUSTRALIA –AUSTRIA – AZERBAIJAN – 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 – RUSSIA – SAN MARINO – SERBIA – SLOVENIA – SPAIN – SWEDEN – SWITZERLAND – UKRAINE – UNITED KINGDOM