And here we have the last time the contest has been hosted in Luxembourg (up to this point, who knows what the future will bring). Sadly, this year brings a couple withdrawals (Greece and Israel), but Ireland is back, so we’re now at 19 participants. So let’s dive into the 19 songs waiting for us in this contest.
Despite Luxembourg’s size, it has hosted the contest four whole times (with variable success from a technical perspective). We open with an orchestral medley of the previous Luxembourgish winners, which is a tradition I really like (and Luxembourg has had a lot of them by this point). We also get a rendition of L’amour est bleu at the end.
Désirée Nosbusch is our host this year, at just 19 years old. She’s actually hosted the Luxembourg Song Contest this year too, which I found very sweet. Unlike the previous year, she doesn’t repeat everything in multiple languages. Instead, she just says different stuff in different languages whenever she feels like it and does it with such enthusiasm that you just can’t be negative about it. She’s just so excited to be here on the big stage.
Have you ever noticed that the wide angle camera is a bit askew? No? Well, neither have I until someone pointed it out to me. Enjoy :)
Now, as for the song, I actually really like it. It’s fairly silly, but that isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s good-natured and fun, has good choreography and a generally memorable performance. There isn’t really a lot to analyse here honestly, it isn’t particularly deep, but it’s a good entry.
This isn’t a very good song. The instrumental is fine, but Sophie’s cutesy childish vocals are grating to my ears and the whole song is way too sugary to like.
This reminds me of a lot of songs at once, but it isn’t necessarily bad. It’s fairly plain and uninteresting, rather generic and banal and she’s a bit too shouty, but I do still kinda like it.
On the other hand, this is rather nice. It’s quite recognisably Spanish and the hook tends to stick in your mind. Despite the lyrics being rather sad (about a lady that hopes that her lover will return), the song itself doesn’t give a lot of sad vibes. In fact, this is one of the few “minor verses, major chorus” song where I prefer the chorus over the verses. Yeah, magic, isn’t it.
This is just downright unpleasant to listen to. The vocals for Luxembourgish entry were annoying, but they were deliberately childish. Here though, the singers miss more notes than they hit. It makes for a very unpleasant listening experience. And the watching experience isn’t any better. The attempts at choreography leave me completely cold. At least the mixing makes the instrumental overpower their voices, which is an upside this time.
You go, UK, show everyone how it’s done. It’s for sure one of the better songs here. Nothing here is actually bad, it’s well-choreographed, well-arranged and well-written (for a rather empty 80s-style song). Certainly way more competent than most other songs. Of course, there’s the fact that two of the singers are merely lip-syncing to off-stage backing singers (was this the first time backing singers weren’t on stage?), but that doesn’t really decrease my enjoyment of the song.
Well, this is thoroughly uninteresting. It’s pleasant enough, but gives me nothing overall. It’s just a song that exists. At least it isn’t bad.
This is alright, I guess. At least it has a clear direction of what it wants to be. There’s a good buildup, his slightly raspy dramatic voice works well and it’s generally pretty memorable. It’s also rather downtempo, which contrasts well against the many upbeat entries we’ve seen previously. I enjoy it.
You go, Ireland, show everyone how it’s done. Just like the UK, we have a pumping 80s song full of energy. It has a strong melody, fun lyrics and a great performance by Linda Martin (who’ll be back for revenge in several years).
The song tell a story (wow, a song with actual substance, a big rarity in 1984) about a woman waiting for her lover to return from USA on a long-distance flight to Terminal 3 (as the title implies). Interestingly enough, none of the Irish airports have a Terminal 3, so I have to assume she’s talking about Heathrow Terminal 3. I suppose Terminal Two just doesn’t flow as nicely.
Otherwise, it’s a fairly normal 80s song, but in a good and compelling way. If I were watching the contest in 1984, this is the one I would’ve expected to win.
This is alright. It definitely has a clear idea of what it wants to be. The performers (who aren’t actually married, even though most people think they are) have very good chemistry on stage and actually give it their best. Sadly, it’s just very reserved and doesn’t progress much beyond what we get at the start, so it fails to keep my interest.
Finally, something actually really good. This is a really great ballad with a lot of buildup throughout. At the start, we get a very mellow piano intro, but the song slowly starts to add layers of other instruments like a harp and strings, so by the end we build up to a true explosion of instruments in the last chorus with strings and brass going all out. Of all songs, this one probably has the best and most interesting buildup of all.
Maribelle also has a really strong voice, expressive, but not shouty. It’s emotional and I can feel the meaning of the song even without reading a translation of the lyrics.
I know I’ve heaped a lot of praise on Terminal 3, but, in my opinion, this is the best 80s-style song this year. I think that Ida and Vlado have a lot of chemistry on stage (even though they aren’t married) and their voices contrast really well. Ida has a very melodic voice and Vlado has a husky, raspy voice and they complement each other really well. I also like that both of them get a chance to shine solo and sing as a duet, I don’t like when only one performer gets all of the spotlight to themselves and the other one gets left with no solo parts.
I also really love the instrumental here, the intro to the chorus has lived in my head rent-free for years. It generally manages to blend synths and the orchestra really well, which is something most entries still struggled with. In fact, I prefer the live performance to the studio version here, which is something very rare when it comes to 80s Eurovision entries.
I also really like the lyrics here, they’re really touching. The song is about two lovers on a train station in winter saying goodbye to each other. I may be a bit biased due to speaking a Slavic language, but the symbolism is really beautiful here.
Also, Ida’s “woo” at the end is very charming.
Why was this the one to finish last of all 80s songs, and by a margin of 23 points too? It’s definitely better than some of the entries this year, but not by much. It’s just fine, pretty generic, not very irritating, but not memorable at all. I suppose I’ve answered my own question here.
It’s a shame this scored low, because it’s actually pretty good. It does remind me of Mary’s 1972 entry, maybe a bit more downtempo and lacking bongo drums (though the percussion is still nearly just as good). It’s a very well-rounded entry, I can’t say I would’ve wanted something to change here.
Turkey is clearly still trying to figure out their approach to Eurovision. And I’m really glad they haven’t been afraid to experiment. This time, we got a nice funky tune in Turkish. Sadly, it just doesn’t have enough progression to interest me. It ends in almost exactly the same way as it started.
This is a Finnish entry in an even year, which means it’s pretty weak. I’m not joking, it’s a really weird pattern Finland has (with some exceptions).
It just fails to be memorable at all. Yes, there’s a bit of harmonica in there, but the parts with it are very brief. At least the song has a nice flow.
This is a sleep-inducing ballad. Unlike some songs, this doesn’t pull off the switch from minor to major well at all. As soon as the change happens, it loses the only mildly interesting part it has. I genuinely have nothing positive to say here, it’s bad.
Ok, controversially, I don’t like this entry too much. I mean, it’s fine and all, but I’ve never really loved it as much as others do. It simply doesn’t work for me. I’ll echo the review Cookie Fonster had made and say that the simple 80s instrumental and the complex vocal harmonies don’t work together for me at all (I’ve felt this way for a while, but I’ve never been able to put it into words before reading his review).
A little bit of a spoiler: I voted for this in ESC250 this year, so not only do I consider this to be the best entry this year, I also think that it’s one of the best entries out of the 1732 we’ve had so far.
Why? I just connect with it the most. Maria is genuinely one of the best performers in the contest’s history. She’s one of those people that don’t need to dance or move or do anything to put you in a trance. Just sitting at the piano is more than enough for her. And you all know I’m a huge sucker for a piano ballad.
It’s also just very sincere. Sometimes, you can feel that the performer doesn’t like the song, but the opposite is true here. Which makes sense, since Maria wrote and composed the entry all by herself, so she really feels the song. It’s pretty vague about its themes, but I’d say it’s all about life and the daily struggle of people. How sometimes you’re happy and sometimes sad, how you can’t find the words to say sometimes. It’s very melancholic, but not sad, which is the way I like songs.
The postcards were weird this year, featuring a lot computer-generated graphics, which was probably very novel at the time, but has aged pretty horribly. For example, the Cypriot postcard featured a video game and the Austrian postcard featured a greenscreened drag rendition of Mozart.
After the songs finished, Désirée returned to conduct the voting (and joke around). Before that, we had a little interval act in the style of an old silent film (and a bit of a technological showcase). I found it rather charming. I also enjoyed the voting, which was very evenly spread out (apart from poor Austria). Spain actually got to an early lead and Sweden lagged behind, with Denmark not doing poorly either and actually leading for a bit, though it mostly became a battle between Ireland and Sweden by the end - and Denmark and Spain were batting it out for 3rd. It was all up to the final jury, the Portuguese one, to decide the winner and when they awarded just 2 points to Ireland, it became clear that Sweden would win after all. They also made poor Denmark slip to 4th place.
I really like that they had the scoreboard front and centre throughout the voting, this is how it should be done, in my opinion.
While this isn’t my favourite year on the whole (in fact, it’s pretty far down the list), I still enjoy the vibes of this year. I also like Désirée’s energy, she seems like a lot of fun.
I’ll see you all in Gothenburg for a much better year. And also the only time Gothenburg has hosted.