In the lead up to this year’s Junior Eurovision, we are looking back on the previous editions of the contest to rediscover the songs we love! Our Top 5 will likely be different to yours, but that’s part of the joy! We encourage you to join the discussion by sharing your Top 5 too!
Today the focus is on Junior Eurovision 2012 which was hosted in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Only 12 nations participated but this included three debut nations – Albania, Azerbaijan and Israel. Unfortunately there were no returning countries, instead four nations actually withdrew from the contest with those being Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and FYR Macedonia. Without further ado, here’s our Top 5!
5. Tik Tak Tik – Femke (The Netherlands)
The Netherlands can be a bit hit and miss when it comes to Junior Eurovision, but this was one of the hits. The first few seconds of this song grab your attention and immediately you want to see where the song goes for the next three minutes. The choruses are the highlight of the song and are perfectly worked up to with the pre-choruses. The melody is catchy but not complex so it’s easy to hum along to the song even if you don’t know the words. The visual performance was eye-catching, but in terms of vocals didn’t quite reach the heights as some of her competitors. Nevertheless, this was a strong entry that the home town could get behind!
4. Nebo – Anastasiya Petryk (Ukraine)
This is a case of big voices in small packages. Despite being only 10 years old at the time of the performance, Anastasiya’s voice is well beyond her years and this is a big part of her eventual win of the contest. The song is very mystical and theatrical and the staging of the song matched that with the smoke billowing around her but otherwise a simple staging to focus on the star on stage. It’s perhaps not the ‘standard’ song we would expect to win Junior Eurovision, but it’s hard to deny Anastasiya’s talent both as a vocalist and a performer. She is incredibly captivating to watch and it’s clear that she is a natural performer.
3. Funky Lemonade – Funkids (Georgia)
Points for creativity for this one as it is certainly one of the more unique entries we’ve seen at Junior Eurovision. This is another case of Georgia pushing the expectations and delivering something that is a bit nonsensical but yet somehow makes sense in the context of Junior Eurovision. The contrast of the vocals between the male and female performers is magical and has the ability to break up the song. The male parts of the song are definitely reminiscent of certain Georgian Junior Eurovision songs from the past, including one of their previous entries Mari Dari which was the definition of nonsensical! Their stage performance was well choreographed and entertaining to watch however I can’t help but think that this didn’t quite reach expectations after hearing the studio version prior to the live performance. It was still enough to give Georgia a 2nd place finish, so kudos to them!
2. Sensation – Lerika (Russia)
Lerika is one of few participants that has participated at more than one Junior Eurovision, but instead of representing the same nation, Lerika crossed the border to represent Russia instead of Moldova. Where her previous entry for Moldova was very kid friendly, Sensational was definitely more professional and current with the potential to appeal to both kids, teens and adults for that matter. It’s a catchy pop number that is high in energy and in that sense, the dancers were a smart addition for the performance as it takes some of the high energy choreography away from Lerika to focus more on those big notes! This of course is made more complex with the key change, but expected from a song under the Eurovision umbrella. Overall, it is a strong entry from Russia which unsurprisingly finished in the Top 5.
- Sweetie Baby – Compass Band (Armenia)
This is definitely one of my fondest memories of not only Junior Eurovision of this specific year, but more broadly of Junior Eurovision. This is definitely one of the most charming entries of the contest and despite not being a strong favourite prior to the contest, it’s clear that the performance charmed audiences and voters as well as the song finished in 3rd place. I love the retro rock band vibes of both the entry and the stage performance as it feels very nostalgic. The chorus of this song is insanely catchy, even if it isn’t that typical ‘uplifting’ style of chorus we often hear at Junior Eurovision. Extra points go to the guitar solo and that member of the band living out his rock star dreams which is totally endearing to watch! Not much else to say other than I simply love this song!
Check out the previous posts in this series here: