There’s a lot of pressure as a host nation. For many nations, you’d want to be selecting a song and artist capable of giving the host nation at least a Top 10 position, but not so good that it will win for that nation two years in a row. In more recent Eurovision history, it hasn’t happened that often, but who knows, Ukraine might pull one out of the bag. The act that they decided on was O.Torvald, a popular rock band that’s been around since Eurovision was last in Kyiv, back in 2005. This year it’s their time to take to the Eurovision stage, with the song Time.
I have to preface my review by saying that there were a number of songs I really loved in the national final. I liked Melovin, although didn’t quite see his song as Eurovision material. Then there was Salto Nazad, who could have rivalled Francesco Gabbani with another crazy dance, and a catchy song as well. There was one incredible act though that Ukraine really missed out on, and I’m sure you’ll know that it’s Tayanna I’m talking about. If you haven’t heard the song, you really need to listen to I Love You by Tayanna, and you’ll know why Ukraine may have made the wrong choice. Tayanna was the type of performer with the type of song which would win Eurovision, but before I get carried away, I better get stuck into the review of the ACTUAL winner of the national final!
Although I did think Tayanna would have been the right choice, that’s not to say that O.Torvald is a bad choice. In fact, I think it’s a stand out in the 2017 contest as it’s a true rock song in a sea of commercial pop. If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll know that commercial pop is up my alley, but so was rock once upon a time, and I can still appreciate it to this day. This song is not bad, not bad at all. It’s impactful, catchy as much as a rock song can be, and it’s vocally well executed. Where this song really has its impact is the staging…
It won’t be long until we find out if they decide to maintain the same staging from the national final, but it would be an incredible shame to see it be changed. You could tell it was well thought out, and their vision was really captured. I like that the band members are elevated, and I like the kind of junkyard feel of it. It makes it dark and dingy, and gives it this incredible atmosphere. Everything in that performance was stunning, from the lighting to the pyro. Even their costumes were seriously on point, and having the countdown timer gives an extra intricacy to the performance. It would be an incredible shame to see this changed!!!
Overall, I think this is a great song, and very much underrated, not only by the Eurofans, but myself as well. Sometimes you get caught up in a bunch of songs that you forget to broaden your horizons and listen to some of the other entries, and in that sense I hope it doesn’t get forgotten on the night. Of course it’s automatically in the final due to Ukraine being the host nation, but their results could go either one of two ways. A) They follow the same fate as GreenJolly back in 2005, where they ended up in 19th place, or B) they end up back in the top 10. For me personally, I’m going to give this an 8/10.
