Lithuania have had a mixed history at Eurovision and are yet to win the contest. Their best result was 6th place back in 2006, but that could have changed in 2020 with their act, The Roop. The group was a hot favourite among fans, thanks to their quirky song and performance style. This year, they competed in the national selection in order to win back their ticket to Rotterdam, and they obliterated the competition (unsurprisingly). This year, they will sing Discoteque, but does it reach the heights of their previous entry?
Anita (Eurovision Union)
Song and Vocals
The Roop proved to be strong competitors in 2020, with a likely Top 10 finish had the contest gone ahead. Were they the likely winners? I would argue not, but there was certainly potential for The Roop to become the best placing Lithuanian entry. This year, back with a new song, the group is again proving to be a serious contender. As much as I enjoyed their entry last year, I do think Discoteque is more refined, and overall a better package deal than On Fire.
The hype for the song begins from the very first beat, and it’s a foot tapping kind of beat. The intro lyrics again do a great job at really piquing your interest, as there’s a mysterious vibe to it. The visual performance also really helps to capture that vibe. The melody is catchy, and the message of the song feels incredibly topical. In the same way as On Fire, Discoteque really captures the fun in the quirky style that we have come to love from The Roop.
Vocally, the live performance was spot on. It’s perhaps not the most vocally challenging song in the field, but it’s extremely well delivered. This song features a lot of choreography and the vocals continue to be consistent.
Performance and Act
One of the biggest strengths of The Roop is the ability to create an entire package. Not only is the song great, but the visual performance used at the National Final was absolutely spot on. I hope they continue with that staging for Rotterdam (and I suspect they will), as it was incredibly eye catching and unique. Choreography was one of their most identifiable features of 2020, and it was unsurprising to see that carried through to this year’s performance. Every detail was considered in the national final performance, including lighting, camera work and even costuming. The yellow costuming is fabulous, and it works so well with the purple lighting and black and white checkers the group uses as their visual background. This really is a prime example of a national final performance being ‘Eurovision ready’.
Conclusions
This year, I believe The Roop will achieve a similar result to what I hypothesised their 2020 result to be. The group is offering what I believe to be a better song and overall performance, and I believe they will be rewarded for that. The Roop will certainly cruise through to the final, and I would guess they would be one of the top qualifiers, especially in the televote realm. A Top 10 finish is a strong possibility.
Rating
8.5
Dennis (ESCDaily)
Song and Vocals
Just like last year, The Roop wants to make Europe dance with an electronic pop song. ‘Discoteque’ is as catchy, or even more, than its predecessor ‘On Fire’. The chorus is an instant earworm and the lyrics suit the current era, about dancing alone during the pandemic. This song is unique in the field and will stand out.
Performance and Act
If their song doesn’t stand out on itself, it will certainly do so because of their performance. The Roop frontman Vaidotas Valiukevičius likes to go wild with tough choreography and lots of charisma. His fellow members also steal the show. When it comes to the best live performances in the field at this point, Lithuania seems to be up there with the highest ranked nations.
Conclusions
Is it just a novelty act, or more? This will affect whether the jury will give it high grades, as the televote will certainly do. It will be interesting to see if the jury gets behind an entry like ‘Discoteque’ as well. Despite that, I am fairly confident that The Roop will go down as one of Lithuania’s most successful Eurovision attempts yet.
Rating
8/10
Additional Scores from Eurovision Union and ESCDaily editors:
Steef: 7.5/10
Joshua: 5/10
Selim: 5/10
Heath: 8.5/10
Kaitlin: 7.5/10
Average Score: 7.1/10
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