In case anyone on Twitter did not notice Ireland revealed it's songs today. To be honest we have a higher standard than I expected from Ireland.
Maria McCool - This is a Sean Nós (Old Tradition) song, which comes from the long tradition of singing in Ireland. It be a style that the rest of Europe would not like and really this style of singing only exists in more remote parts of Ireland. As someone who would listen to this type of song outside Eurovision I think that this song is just a little average. The issue is in the way the bridge to the chorus builds but the chorus does not really develop beyond that level. Overall while I respect this genre of music I can't see it doing overly well on the Late Late Show.
Donna McCaul - Unlike the previous song this is very good and seems to have split fans down the middle between Donna and another two contestants who we will speak about shortly. Donna should be proud of coming back to Eurosong with a reasonably strong song. However while it appears strong I think that the chorus could be hard to replicate on the live show. Also I question if Donna while have the strong staging to lift the song unlike another contestant.
Andrew Mann - And here is the slow rock. I know some fans have hailed this a a great success but I think this is just a little poor in comparison to the other songs in this contest. This will most likely fad away in the contest. Don't like it personally. The Late Late Show stage most likely won't bring out this song at all.
David Shannon & Una Gibney - I don't think that this is a great song for Eurovision it is just a little too cheesy. However on a personal level I real like this song, and I look forward to hearing many times more. The advantages that this song has is that it has a great beat to it. I don't think it is enough to get them to Baku but they might steal a couple of votes off of Donna.
Jedward - What was one of the most anticipated entries of the year came just a little before four o'clock. It's Ireland's revenge for the Nice and Lisbon treaties, it's Jedward. So the song: Well it is good that's for sure and I think that it does suit Jedward. It was not quite what I had expected but it is a direct target at the age group that Jedward's primary fan base is in. The song itself it a tad generic but I think you could say the same about Lipstick. It is good with a nice chorus that is memorable; like Lady Gaga, Jedward's main appeal is their performance rather than music. That's fine too because they are performers. The question is how to perform this. I have no doubt that this will be performed well, however vocals are actually my biggest concern. This song, unlike Lipstick, does require a better standard of vocals or in Jedward's case really good backing singers to get them through the hard bits.
Overall we (Ireland) should be proud of what we have presented. The biggest problem is that unlike say Melodifestivalen where we see the performance as well all we have now is a studio version. This might be fine in Norway but in Ireland it is a chance to weed out poorer entries. In Jedward's case this is their biggest weakness for now. No doubt I will have more editorial on the matter of the Irish Eurosong, but I have to move on the more pressing matters for this weekend. And find the time to review the French entry.
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