Since their 2014 return to the contest, Poland have consistently found themselves in the final, from the memorable performance of Donatan and Cleo, to the bigger ballads of the last three years. This year they’re bringing back the pop, with Gromee featuring Lukas Meijer who will be performing Light Me Up. Are we taking a leap of faith on this one?
If we had to describe this song, it would be the typical dance pop song you’d hear on the radio, the type of song that might have its 15 minutes of fame and then disappear into oblivion. Usually this is the type of song I’d be immediately attracted to for said 15 minutes, but yet I’m listening to the full three minutes for the first time now, as I’m writing this. I think that says a lot.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this song, but from a field of 43 songs, this doesn’t stand out to me. I love a generic pop song as much as the next person, but sometimes you just crave something more, and this song has nothing to capture the imagination. Despite that, this song will and does have an audience and a group of fans that support it, and I can understand why, it’s just not for me.
This song will inevitably reach the final, no question about it. This is really the only dance pop entry in the second semi-final, and for that reason it will stand out. Realistically, no matter how this is staged, it will get everyone in the arena up and dancing, and that energy can be seen on the television broadcast. You can see the same effect in the national final performance, where the audience was really getting into the performance, but also the performers on stage were oozing energy, which helped the performance feel less staged and more organic.
Another positive of this song is that we can expect great vocals, and I think that’s evident in the national final performance. The song has enough breaks that Lukas can engage the audience, but also it gives him a chance to have a vocal break.
All aboard… the festival train!
This song would easily fit into a festival, and it probably won’t have any trouble fitting into Eurovision. It will probably have a wide appeal, but on the night might not have that X factor that makes it memorable, unless it’s placed last in the running order which almost always helps with the memorability of a song.
Overall, it’s not really doing it for me, but I can predict an easy qualification with a mid-table finish in the final.
