Latvia found their Eurovision spark in 2015 with Aminata, and the reinvigorated Latvia continued their qualification streak with Justs last year, with a song written by Aminata. This year, with Aminata crossing borders and writing a song for the Lithuanian national final, Latvia had to fend for themselves and pick something worthy of once again reaching the final. Eventually, they decided on Triana Park with the song Line, but is it a fine line between qualifying to the final and being stuck in the semi-finals?
This entry is one of the most conflicting for me. I really love the studio version of this song. I find it one of the most compelling and interesting entries of the 2017 season, and it’s a song that I enjoyed from first listen. The song opens interestingly, then you’re confronted by her voice which is unique and unexpected. She has an interesting tone, and it perfectly complements the style of music Triana Park create. Although intense for the entire three minutes, the song still manages to reach highs and lows, and reaches a nice peak not once, but twice within the song.
What is so conflicting about this song is that the live performances are doing nothing for me This is specific to vocals, where I find that the performance just doesn’t hit that same spot that the studio does. The repetition of ‘where we draw the line’ is probably the weakest in terms of vocals, but unfortunately that’s a huge proportion of the song. I find that she doesn’t really kick into gear into that last chorus, and I think by that point it’s probably too late.
But the conflict doesn’t end there, because the actual staging used at the Supernova final is so super cool. The darkness in contrast with the florescent lighting looks incredible. It’s young and fresh, it’s unique and suits the alternative nature of the song. If they were to replicate this on the Eurovision stage, it would simultaneously look great as an audience member, and as a television viewer, and with some staging it’s more suited towards one over the other.
Overall, I did have preferred songs in the national final, some of which probably would have provided a better live vocal performance, however I do really enjoy this song as the studio version. As for its potential to qualify, it will be totally dependent on staging and whether the vocals can be improved on. It is facing some tough competition, so this one could go either way.
As a song itself, I could have given this song an 8 or 9, but with the lacking live performance, I feel like I can only give this song a 7/10 – and that’s due to the combination of the actual song and the impressive staging.
