Iceland hopes for return to form with typical Eurovision ballad
There was a time when Iceland reached the final of the Eurovision Song Contest year after year, but in the past three editions, they stranded in their semi. The last time they reached the top 10 was when Yohanna finished as a runner up back in 2009. The Icelandic people chose Ari Ólafsson to change the fate of the country in the contest. Judging by the position with the bookmakers of his song ‘Our Choice’, this is going to be incredibly difficult!
According to these bookmakers, Iceland might even finished last in the strong first semi final. Unfortunately I have to say I do agree with this prediction. The ballad is not really memorable in any way and the lyrics about making the world a better place are far from original and quite cheesy. The chorus should be a big moment and although Ari is a talented vocalist, his voice sounds thin on the bigger and higher notes, making it sound unpleasant to these ears. I can’t really see either juries or people at home vote for this. Ireland did the same kind of old fashioned ballad by a young male singer better last year and they failed to make it too. I would have liked to see Svala and Greta Salome bring Iceland to the final in the past two years, but if they do not qualify in Lisbon, I won’t miss ‘Our Choice’ in the slightest.
Review of Semi Final Performance:
Iceland entered the contest as one of the bookmakers’ least likely acts to proceed to the final. When you hear Ari’s dated ballad ‘Our Choice’ it is not hard to understand why. The lyrics are painfully cliche and nothing about the melody or instrumentation is particularly outstanding. Vocally he tries his best, dressed in a eye catching white and red suit. He did not sing flawlessly, but even if he would have done so, his song would not have been enough to make it to the Saturday night. It will surprise no one that he finished last in his semi, even without a single point from televoting!
Read our other Eurovision 2018 reviews: ALBANIA – ARMENIA – AUSTRALIA –AUSTRIA – AZERBAIJAN – BELARUS –BELGIUM – BULGARIA – CROATIA – CYPRUS –CZECH REPUBLIC – DENMARK – ESTONIA – FINLAND – FRANCE – FYR MACEDONIA – GEORGIA – GERMANY – GREECE – HUNGARY – 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