Hungary: Joci Pápai – Az én apám

Shi: Oh, Pápai Joci. The man who is responsible for my most creative piece of rehearsal coverage. Having seen his A Dal performances this year and knowing what the song is about, I doubt this year’s effort will give my imagination as much to work with, but that aside, it does share some similarities with “Origo”.

The ethnic feel is the obvious one, and much like 2017, it is pretty lonely in that niche. More than that though, the main strength of both “Origo” and this is the strength of Joci as a performer – not only does he have a beautiful voice, he is incredibly charismatic and, most importantly of all, he is so good when it comes to establishing an emotional connection with his audience. It’s always crucial, really, but even more so with this song – more than it was with “Origo”, too, because this song is so personal.

Another possible similarity to “Origo”? The final result. It’s easy to forget about this one in this year’s line-up of heavy hitters, but it stands a great chance of capitalizing on the fact it essentially has no competition in its niche, and our audience has shown in the past that they like ethnic ballads – especially when they are delivered by strong, likeable performers

Felix: I know it has its fans, but I am not the audience for Joci and his music. It’s not that it’s too ethnic for me, I just don’t feel well about the specific energy in this and his previous entry.

Martin: At first I dismissed this with a shoulder-shrug – it’s kinda boring when performers come back again so soon – but it’s crept up on me. Melodic, wistful and with its own subtle passion, I like it a great deal, though I’m not sure I share Shi’s confidence in a repeat of the 2017 result.

video and title image source: eurovision.tv