Back with my fifth review blog out of ten. For this blog, I’m reviewing the songs of the Benelux nations. They’re always worth looking into as these three nations have won a combined total of eleven Contests. Let’s see what they have for this year:
BELGIUM 🇧🇪
Performer: Mustii
Song: “Before The Party’s Over”
Belgium’s entry for this year, Mustii, got his start in acting before singing. His singing over the years has made him popular in Belgium. This song he co-wrote with two other writers deals with a troubled relationship. The song starts soft and dramatically and as the song progresses to a danceable tempo, it doesn’t lose its dramatic feel. This is one Eurovision song from this year that really brings it home grandest as Mustii just lets it all out during the end chorus. Its drama and feeling with the right music mix makes it stand out.
ESC Chances: It’s interesting that Belgium’s entry from last year entry was low in odds with a month to go, but became one of the showstoppers and ended up finishing seventh. This song is currently Top 10 in the odds. Evidently a likeable song but proper staging will determine the song’s fate. I can see it as an easy qualifier into the Grand Final. It’s possible Mustii might want to include aspects from his music video into his Eurovision performance. We’ll see in time.
LUXEMBOURG 🇱🇺
Performer: Tali
Song: “Fighter”
After last performing in 1993, Luxembourg is back! They were actually one of the first seven nations to perform at the first Contest and they won five times! My favorite winner is 1973’s “Tu Te Reconnaitras.” Most of the entries were from other nations; most coming from France. Singer Tali Golergant was born in Israel but immigrated to Luxembourg ten years ago. The lyrics of the song sound like Tali is trying to empower her lover. The song has a unique flavor mixing pop with Latin sounds. Its style does stand out and gets better over time.
ESC Chances: A lot has changed since Luxembourg last participated in the Contest. First is that televoting is now part of awarding points and determining winners. Second is there are now semifinals. I can see some Eurofans voting for Luxembourg to welcome them back. I can also see a lot of people not going for the song as much as for many of the other entrants. I see this as having 50/50 chances in qualifying.
NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱
Performer: Joost Klein
Song: “Europapa”
This year the Netherlands has entered Joost Klein whose music is known for mixing electronic music with hip hop. His song “Europapa” became one of the catchiest Eurovision songs this year, and for good reason. The lyrics tell of what appears to be a humorous story of a lonely young man traveling around Europe to find himself. The lyrics have a lot of humor and the music is definitely catchy and can make you want to dance to it.
One thing to note about the song. Despite the humor in the lyrics and humor in most of the video, the song has an underlying dark message. A message that becomes more obvious in the ‘epilogue’ part of the video. Joost had lost both his parents by the time he was thirteen. He even ends the video saying this song is to his parents.
ESC Chances: Last year was a hard time for the Netherlands. A lot of people turned against the entry despite Duncan Laurence co-writing it. This year they have a catchier entry. It’s already got the most hits on Spotify and YouTube of all of this year’s Eurovision entries. Nevertheless I know having the most hits on YouTube and Spotify doesn’t guarantee a Eurovision win. There are four other songs joining “Europapa” as the most likely to win. If the staging works the song right and is as much of a delight as the video, I think it just could make the win happen.
And there you go. That’s my look at this year’s songs from the Benelux nations. You can always count on them to give something unique.
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