Even just a few weeks ago actually having a full 42 song playlist felt like an impossibility. Turns out, it was. Thanks to Ukrainian toys being liberally strewn from the pram we’ve at long last hit our final total of 40 songs being taken to Tel Aviv (and of course the Home entry). Before I set my national final playlist aside for the next two months I want to take time to reflect on what Eurovision 2019 would’ve looked and sounded like, Pif Paf style.
BELARUS 🇧🇾
Out – Like It In – Potato aka Bulba
The live auditions offered a a glut of alternative choices for this one. Grumpy man in jockey hat, the weird cape/mask guy or indeed our own Daz Sampson. But in reality there could only be one choice. Given the massive anticlimax Eurofest turned it into why they couldn’t have given our beloved Potato lads a run out for funsies is beyond me. This was THE highlight of a bizarre Monday morning’s entertainment.
HUNGARY 🇭🇺
Out – Az èn apam In – Kulcs
If you had so much as a sniff of a fan following in A Dal 2019 then you better believe you were for the chop. Both Leander Kills and yesyes felt like they met a somewhat premature end at the hands of the judges. However, for my money, it was finalists (but not super finalists) Fatal Error that deserved better. Regular readers may not be surprised, given my adoration of AWS, that these lads were my also right up my street. Sadly, the guitars and pyro will have stay at home this year.
MONTENEGRO 🇲🇪
Out – Heaven In – Ja sam ti san
One could be tempted to say literally any of the other Montenegrin choices would’ve been superior to Heaven. However, that would be unfair to Andrea Demirović who had the stand out song and stage show at the this year’s Montevizija. This receiving zero points from the national televote ensures Montenegro are placed on the list of countries who shouldn’t be allowed to vote on stuff. See also: UK (2016), USA (2016).
SLOVENIA 🇸🇮
Out – Sebi In – ATMA
I understand that a lot of people seem to be digging Zala Kralj & Gašper Šant but I find their live performance somewhat drab. I think most others would choose to swap in Raiven’s Kaos at this point but again the live show didn’t quite work either. Me? I’d have brought in more guitars and more headbanging. A theme maybe emerging here…
PORTUGAL 🇵🇹
Out – Telemóveis In – Perfeito
If I could play my joker and change out one song from this year’s Contest it would be this. I simply cannot fathom what the people who rave about this song are hearing. Whilst Calema’s A dois would’ve been a worthy winner, Matay’s Perfeito did exactly what it said on the tin. If you pair a voice as smooth as his with such beautiful strings it’s always going to be a winner for me. If only the Festival Da Canção semi results had been repeated in the final!
With regards to the other selections I’d likely keep the choices the same. My love for Zero Gravity is no secret here so the Aussies got this spot on. In addition Kruna was my stand out in Serbia, so no qualms there either. Whist Czech Republic’s Friend of a Friend and Sweden’s Estonia’s Storm weren’t my first choices for their respective nations, they were in hindsight decent picks from lacklustre selections. All of Darude’s entries sounded roughly similar so there’s not much to change there… and then we come to Iceland.
Had I run this exercise a few weeks ago Hatari would have probably been for the chop. However, the more I listen to it, the more I find out about the lads themselves and the more I remember the dreary alternative options this was the only choice. With each listen I find myself being more drawn to the softer chorus and able to overlook the screeching verses. I find myself laughing at their irreverent interview technique and pondering just what they’ll get up to in Tel Aviv. So whilst I may not adore Hatrið mun sigra I finally understand that Eurovision 2019 needs Hatari.
Semi final 2 coming soon…
Pif Paf Blog 
One thought on “THE EUROVISION THAT COULD HAVE BEEN: SEMI 1”