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Album Review: Eurovision Song Contest Kyiv 2017

2 min read
Photo: Supplied by Universal Music Australia

Since Eurovision Song Contest’s beginning in 1956, it has launched a number of big music careers including that of ABBA and Céline Dion. In 2017 Eurovision was held in Kyiv, Ukraine and 42 nations (including countries beyond the European boarders) participated in this celebration of diverse song writing and performance. Eurovision Song Contest Kyiv 2017 is a double disc collection of the official songs entered into this year’s gig.

Most of the tracks are well aligned with the vogue of today, choosing from an electro palette and opting for a dance style. The winning track Amor Pelos Dois sung by Salvador Sobral and composed by his sister Louisa Sobral, undoubtedly stood out in their choice of orchestration, sweeping melody line and peotic lyrics. It is also interesting that they won with a song sung in their native tongue. A number of other entries were also sung in a language other than English; Occidental’s Karma by Francesco Gabbani (Italian), Do It For Your Lover by Manel Navarro (Spanish), and Requiem by Alma (French).

In typical Eurovision style, this album does not run short on power pop ballads; Don’t Come Easy by Isaiah (Australia) and Where I Am by Anja Nissen (Denmark) are worth a close listen. For the romantics out there, the love songs will have you swooning. Dying To Try, Ireland’s entry, performed by Brendan Murray has a persuasive waltz feel that gets you lilting as you walk. The rest of the numbers are all about having fun and the need for us all to Grab The Moment as JOWST (Norway) put it in their poptastic tune.

Eurovision Song Contest Kyiv 2017 is truly about celebrating diversity and there is a lot of enjoyment to be had in listening to this album whether you’re a fan of driving, synth saturated EDM power pop ballads or you prefer simple folk songs.