Over the last few weeks, we’ve been going back through the years to discover some of the hidden gems that got left behind in the Eurovision Semi-Finals, and this week, we’re up to 2009, which was a very diverse year full of some great songs, some of which didn’t make it to the final, but today the spotlight is back on these special 5! Without further ado, here are our Top 5!
5. Next Time – Nešto što kje ostane
Much like their non-qualifying entry from 2010, FYR Macedonia’s song was one of the songs that stuck with us as one of the most underrated entries of the year. Yes, it was rock, and apart from Lordi’s win in 2006, rock music hasn’t had the best run, unless it’s a truly out of this world song, but there’s something about this song that is really charming. As per usual, national language is a welcomed feature of the song, and the foot tapping beat and quite simplistic melody allow everyone to bop along. The star of this song is the chorus, which arguably is carrying the whole song with its ‘YEAAAAAHHHHHEEEAAAHHH’s’ which after a while you can’t help but sing along to. Overall it’s an enjoyable performance, and what gave this a spot in the Top 5 is the fact that if this song popped up on shuffle, I wouldn’t be mad at all…
4. Petr Elfimov – Eyes That Never Lie
From one rock entry to another, this time, coming from Belarus. You thought the Macedonian guys had some great hair, well, Belarus saw it and raised it. Petr Elfimov is dressed in a catastrophe of a costume, and the hair… oh my lord, the hair. Even the guitarist and the backing singers got on board with the extravagant hair, and potentially that alone is enough to send this into our Top 5 – but – I do really enjoy the song too. Petr is very much a capable singer, and he’s performing a song that builds really well over the three minutes, peaking with that final note. I mean, the lyrics are pretty average, but the performance makes up for it!
3. Gipsy.cz – Aven Romale
We’ve written about this song before on this website, but as time goes by, we love it more and more. It definitely was more on the jokey side of Eurovision 2009, of which it had a few competitors in Serbia and Belgium, but overall, I think this is actually a super catchy, super memorable and super loveable entry from 2009. The staging with the comic style background looks amazing on the large scale stage that Russia supplied that year, and it really gels with the playfulness of the song itself. The lead gipsy of the group is incredibly charismatic and energetic, but beyond that, he has no issues with performing the actual song and for me, all of this combined gives me all the more reason to genuinely enjoy this song.
2. Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková – Let’ tmou
Where did it go so wrong for this song? Slovakia really put the effort in for 2009 with this song, so I still to this day don’t understand how this couldn’t make it. It’s a beautiful ballad sung by a well paired duo. At times, their voices falter slightly, and there is at least one bum note in there, but overall, I think this was one of the most beautiful songs of 2009. It’s full of emotion, and it’s full of changes throughout the song which ultimately give it dimension rather than being a really flat, dull ballad. The first verse is a beautiful opening to the song, and I also really like the second verse/bridge between the two choruses they belt out. If that wasn’t enough, the staging was classy as well, making for a well-rounded performance. Pure class from Slovakia in 2009.
1. Intars Busulis – Probka
This song had to make number 1, and if you’ve read some of my previous work, this probably won’t come as a surprise to you. Probka is probably my favourite Eurovision entry of ALL TIME… yes… you heard me right! I am totally obsessed with this song and performance, although as much as I do love it, I can see why this didn’t make it. It has this ability to really polarise audiences, with some really loving it, like me, and the rest really not loving it. Intars has this energy which is indescribable, he just lets the music take over his whole persona, and it makes for such an entertaining performance, but at no point does it affect his vocals. I could talk about this song for days, but for the sake of keeping this post somewhat readable, I’ll just simply say that it’s a song that still pops in my head regularly, and it’s a song that brings a massive smile to my face. It’s a song that I adore the melody to, and one that is performed well on stage. Fine, I can see how this didn’t qualify, but I will never understand how this came last. Long live my Probka obsession!
So there are our Top 5 Non-Qualifying entries from 2009, and we’re going to assume that your Top 5 isn’t the same as ours, so make sure to tell us your Top 5 on Twitter or Facebook!
Read our previous posts about our Top 5 Non-Qualifiers here:
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2016
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2015
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2014
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2013
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2012
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2011
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2010
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2009
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2008
– Top 5 Non-Qualifiers of 2007