By: eurovisionunion
Junior Eurovision, Reviews, Top 5, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 5 Junior Eurovision Entries of 2008!

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!

The focus of our Top 5 today is the 2008 edition of the contest which was held in Cyprus. A total of 15 nations participated in the contest with no debut or returning nations although we did unfortunately see Portugal and Sweden pull out of this edition of the contest. Now, here’s our Top 5!

5. Matrosy – Viktoria Petryk (Ukraine)

Earlier in our Top 5 Junior Eurovision series, we saw Anastasiya Petryk with her winning song Nebo, but now we’ve rewound the clock a little further to the original Petryk sister of Junior Eurovision. Talent clearly runs in the family as both sisters know how to belt out a tune. The two songs are very different however, with Matrosy much more upbeat and energetic. This song has a very catchy melody which is fast paced for most of the song, but towards the end of the song it slows right down only to speed back up to its original pace. Trying to keep up with this pace while also doing the choreography must have been a challenge, but Viktoria keeps the energy up for the entire performance.

4. Laiminga Diena – Eglė Jurgaitytė (Lithuania)

This is in fact Lithuania’s best result at Junior Eurovision from four participations, and I can see why. This song is insanely catchy from the first few seconds, especially the choruses which are easy to hum along to even if it’s your first time listening to this track. Despite their understated costumes, this song is fun and cutesy which is always a good formula for Junior Eurovision. The synchronised movements on stage add to the cuteness of the performance, as does the addition of the universal lyrics of la la la and U-o  ooh. This achieved a very respectable 3rd place at the contest and it was well deserved.

3. Salvaţi Planeta – Mădălina and Andrada (Romania)

There’s nothing more ‘Eurovision’ than starting a song as a ballad and turning it into an upbeat bop. Romania utilised this technique for this entry, and it totally won me over. Looking back at this entry now, it does seem a bit cheesy and outdated, but in the context of that specific contest, this may have been cheesy but not yet outdated. Funnily enough this could have been a good entry had it been a full ballad, or a full upbeat pop track, but the combination still works. The stage performance is colourful and energetic, especially once the tempo changes. Beyond that, the vocal performance was great too, so with that said I am surprised that this only finished in 9th place.

2. Bzz – Bzikebi (Georgia)

This was the beginning of the Junior Eurovision revolution. After this Junior Eurovision win, Georgia continued to push boundaries with their Junior Eurovision entries and more often than not, they are rewarded for that risk. This was perhaps the ultimate risk – sending a song completely in an imaginary language based on bees. The song only features lyrics based on the buzzing of bees, but yet the backing music at times is distinctly Georgian as incredibly they still managed to fit in some traditional instrumentation and beats. The most impressive part of this song is the buzzing harmonies the trio manages to achieve, but also the fact that they remember which distinct buzzing melody is at what point of the song. The stage performance fits the bill and there’s no questioning what their costumes represent. Points for Georgian creativity.

  1. Prati me SMS – Bobi Andonov (FYR Macedonia)

Is this my Australia bias coming through? Perhaps, but there’s no denying that this is an ABSOLUTE bop of a song. I first remember seeing Bobby (/Bobi) on Australia’s Got Talent back in 2010, however I then discovered that he had participated at Junior Eurovision and unsurprisingly loved his performance. This is easily one of the catchiest entries that FYR Macedonia have sent to Junior Eurovision, and for the time, this feels quite contemporary (back when SMS was the craze) and mature thanks to his vocal tone. This is the Balkan bop Junior Eurovision needed and they certainly delivered.

Check out the previous posts in this series here: