Poland are currently on a three year non-qualification streak, and hoping to change that is Ochman. After being selected through a national final, Ochman will sing ‘River’ at the contest this year. Will the tides turn for Poland?
Anita
Song and Vocals
After last year’s car crash of a Eurovision entry, Poland seems like they are finally taking it seriously. Furthermore, this is certainly one of the nation’s best tracks since their return to the contest back in 2014. The nation has a real shot of winning the contest this year, should all the stars align.
Poland is finally sending a strong composition AND a strong vocalist. Ochman has one of the best voices this year, and this will surely be rewarded with the juries. You can quickly tell he is a professional, and his live performances also show this. The bridge of the song is definitely the highlight, where he really gets to show off his talent. The song itself is perhaps more on the conservative side, but I think this will appeal to those who appreciate songs without too many frills.
Performance and Act
The nature of the song is dark, and so I expect a dark staging. I also expect them to play upon the name of the song and use a theme around water. The biggest key for Ochman is that he needs to be able to connect well with the camera. Based on the national final performance, he isn’t overly strong at opening his eyes and connecting with the camera. I hope he can work on this leading into Eurovision, as it will allow the emotion to flow from Ochman to the viewers at home.
Conclusions
This is Poland’s best chance at a Top 10, the first real chance since their 8th place finish in 2016. Unlike 2016, I would argue that this would be a deserved finish in the Top 10 – that is if Poland manages to stage their entry well. Either way, this is certainly qualifying to the final.
Rating
8/10
Dennis
Song and Vocals
One of the strongest and cleverest compositions of the year comes from Poland. It is also a difficult song to sing, with tough falsetto parts. But Ochman nails it every time around. He is a gifted singer with a strong song, so that should work out for Poland this year after a streak of weak results.
Performance and Act
The theme of this song lends it ideally for a strong staging with a lot of visual water aspects. Poland has a history of getting their staging right, but some songs just couldn’t be saved. In this case, I think everything will come together perfectly fine for them.
Conclusions
Poland hasn’t been in the final at Eurovision for a couple of years already but they surely make their return in Torino. Also, could this finally be an entry that also gives them a good jury result? Because that has been even longer ago.
Rating
9/10
Team Scores
Steef: 9/10
Erik: 10/10
Josh: 6/10
Heath: 8/10
Kaitlin: 9/10
Selim: 8.5/10
Morena: 7.5/10
Average Score: 8.3/10
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