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 we travelling to Belarus, the host nation of the 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, but also the contest of 2010. During this edition of the contest, we saw Moldova participate for the first time while Baltic nations Lithuania and Latvia both returned to the competition. Unfortunately we saw Cyprus and Romania withdraw from the contest. Despite that, a total of 14 nations competed at the contest, and here are our Top 5 entries!
5. Oki Doki – Bartas (Lithuania)
Is this a guilty pleasure, or is this just genuinely good? I can’t really tell, but it’s definitely one of the stand out songs for me in this edition of the contest. Even 8 years later, I can still manage to sing the chorus of this song, and in general the melody of the song is hard to forget. This felt like a nice, energetic way to start the show and even though technically the vocal performance didn’t match some of the fellow competitors, there’s no doubt that this is a feel-good entry which can compensate for vocals, especially in Junior Eurovision. Obviously someone out there agrees, as this song finished in a respectable 6th place.
4. Mari Dari – Mariam Kakhelishvili (Georgia)
At the time of the contest, this was perhaps one of my top entries, if not my top entry, but as years have gone by, it’s slipped down the list a little. Once again, props for Georgia to send something completely wacky to Junior Eurovision, and it’s this ambition that often sees Georgia in great finishing positions. Despite that, I think the studio version of this song is a little more toned down whereas the live version is perhaps a little too obnoxiously loud and in your face. This is the type of song that is a complete assault to the senses from the song itself to the visual performance so I can see why this wouldn’t be for everyone. Also props to Mariam for performing this song as she did since it’s an incredibly difficult song to sing since it’s 100% all systems go for the majority of the song. Saying that, being slightly off the key became much more noticeable. Overall I do think this is a creative entry that is definitely memorable.
3. Magična pesna (Eo Eo) – Anja Veterova (FYR Macedonia)
Most of the songs in our Top 5 Junior Eurovision series have made it into the Top 5 due to their catchy choruses but perhaps none reach the catchiness heights of Eooo, Eooo. Let’s just cancel the verses, cancel the entire rest of the song but just keep that earworm of a chorus. The official video of this song is one of the most viewed on the official Junior Eurovision channel, so I think others must have been hooked in by this earworm of a song! This is very much kid-friendly, but even as an adult I can still get on board with the fun nature of this song, and once again, the fun element does compensate for the vocals which at times sound a bit shaky. Well played FYR Macedonia, this will be in my head all day now…
2. Mama – Vladimir Arzumanyan (Armenia)
It was unsurprising that this song won the competition as out of all the competing songs, this really ticked all the boxes. The song doesn’t feel dated, even now, it still doesn’t feel dated which is the sign of a good Eurovision (or in this case, Junior Eurovision) song. The song still has a cultural tie to the nation it’s representing which is always nice to hear – I’m definitely a sucker for those ethno beats! In front of those ethno beats is a super catchy melody, once again a stand out chorus. To top all that, the stage performance was well choreographed and fun to watch and Vladimir definitely oozes charisma.
- Ali Baba – Ştefan Roşcovan (Moldova)
It wouldn’t be a Top 5 Junior Eurovision post without a sentimental favourite, and for this edition of the contest, it’s definitely Ali Baba. There are a few reasons why this is a sentimental favourite for me with the first being the song itself which let’s admit, is ridiculously catchy. The song is definitely kitsch, for lack of a better word, but yet it’s a joy to listen to, on repeat may I add. The second reason why I love this entry so much is to do with Ştefan’s performance both vocally and in terms of his energy and charisma. He is absolutely a natural talent with those vocals and the chorus of this song isn’t exactly the easiest to sing. He is performing to the audience more so than the cameras which isn’t always a great thing when it comes to Eurovision, but me as a television viewer still doesn’t feel disconnected because it’s still a captivating performance to watch.
Check out the previous posts in this series here: