2016 JESC Reviews – FYR Macedonia – Martija Stanojković – Love Will Lead Our Way
FYR Macedonia certainly aren’t the most successful of nations when it comes to Junior Eurovision, with 2 last places in their 2 last appearances in 2013 and 2015. This year, hoping to change their luck is Martija Stanoković with the song Love Will Lead our Way, sung in a mix of Macedonian and English.
Let’s just preface this review by saying, if FYR Macedonia come last for the third time in a row, it would be criminal. Love Will Lead our Way is a modern, classy pop song sung by a very talented singer, and something would have to go really wrong for this to reach the same fate as its predecessors. It seems that I’m not the only one who thinks that FYR Macedonia could land its best result ever with this song, which would mean a spot in the top 5.
The song starts mysteriously, but in a way that you know will build into a catchy pop song. The tone of Martija’s voice is very mature, and the song is mature, but yet still fits in the field of Junior Eurovision quite well. The small addition of English will no doubt be beneficial, and having the title of the song as part of the chorus will give audiences a line to sing along with and remember even after the song has finished. Although it is quite a standard pop song, its relaxed feel and occasional, but impressive vocal runs by Martija make it a song that is universally enjoyable.
I hope the stage show for this allows the song to shine, and they don’t indulge in too many gimmicks. I hope that the delegation has learnt that less is more, especially for a song of such high standard.
Overall, I have high expectations for this song. Even though it’s not my personal favourite, I can appreciate that this deserves a high position, and it would be disappointing to see it not deliver on the day.
