Latvia opts for acoustic track performed by duo Carousel
After reaching top 10 back in 2015 with the fabulous Aminata, Latvia qualified for the final once more the next year with one of her compositions, but since then the country has failed to make it to the Saturday night. Undeservedly I might add, because Laura Rizzotto’s ‘Funny Girl’ was definitely final worthy to these ears. Oh well, a new year has begun and Latvia has chosen a new act to represent them using their national final platform Supernova. The duo Carousel emerged victorious with their song ‘That Night’.
Carousel consists of lead-singer Sabīne Žuga and guitarist Mārcis Vasiļevskis. They formed the band back in 2015. Their sound (or at least that of their Eurovision entry ‘That Night’) is vintage, stripped back and romantic. The track is based on guitar, bass and soft drums. Sabīne’s warm vocals add a jazzy twist to the mix. Carousel nailed the creation of the atmosphere, but I just wish the composition itself was stronger. The ‘lo-o-o-ove where are you?’ parts of the chorus get repetitive even on first listen and the lack of a build up or climax does hurt its chances. There is simply not enough going on in terms of melody to keep me hooked as a viewer.
The black and white performance they did for Supernova is classy and sets the right mood for the song. The camera angles were on point throughout, making their stage act look almost like a music video. Although polished, there is again not much going on to really draw in the viewer. Latvia chose a song that definitely won’t be the worst in Tel Aviv and it is nothing to be ashamed of, but at the same time I would be surprised if this would make it into the final.
Review of the semi-final performance:
Latvia brought one of the more stripped back moments in this semi-final with Carousel’s ‘Last Night’. It is a shame though that not a lot happened during this song or their performance. The vocals were on point, but not strong enough to really capture the attention. ‘That Night’ would be pleasant background music during a fancy dinner, but that makes it completely unsuitable for a competition like Eurovision. It was to be expected that Latvia did not make it into the final this year. They finished 15th overall.
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