Eurovision 2010s: 04 & 03
04. Polina Gagarina - “A million voices”
Russia 2015
Wait hang on? Did I just rank a Russian peace anthem fourth on my list? Well yes, I did. And I don’t regret a thing. 🤗
I will not deny the obvious: Polina ranking so close to the top is a statement. Heaven knows how often Russia have subjected us to personalitiless robots to bring us insipid peace messages. They are FAKE. FAKERTY McFAKEFAKE!! I’ve had ENOUGH of that insincere BS, honestly. Out of all the countries in Europe, Russia is the least qualified to sing about this specific subject. I hate them.
So as you can imagine when the announced some conveniently attractive fembot named “Polina” with a song called “A million voice” I thought “hoooo boy, here we go agaaaaaaaain” *voice dilutes into a scream of agony*”. True, the song itself was fairly inoffensive (it isn’t as aggressively hypocritical as “What if” was, for instance), especially compared to the actual helldemon peace ballad of that year. “Good”. I thought. “I can safely ignore this song, as it will quietly float its way to maybe 8th place”.
And then the impossible happened.
Russia had sent a real person with real emotions to the contest.
Who genuinely believed in the message of her song.
Who put her heart and soul into the performance and transformed it into an all-time great peace anthem. The semifinal performance was a magical experience, especially because the audience WASN’T into Polina at first. THIS SHOT
is perhaps my favourite camerashot of the entire decade. It’s so powerful. It sets the stage for a performance during which Polina wins over the audience, starting at mostly boos and ending at mostly cheers.
It’s so easy to mock Russia’s intentions, as we often rightfully do. It’s so easy to dismiss the politically correct for their pandering. It is so easy to boo their entrants for fulfilling their political agenda.
None of that matters if the person chosen to sing the song is a person who is earnest in their intentions. In the face of all adversity. In the face of the odds that are stacked against them. Because for those three minutes, all that mattered was Polina Gagarina.
Polina conveyed pure truth, abnegation and remorse with her voice and face. She makes this performance more than anyone ever could. Her honesty grants meaning to the words that were written by the pens of the insincere. We believe, I believe in her dream. She single-handedly made me forget the flag she represents and if that isn’t worthy of praise, I don’t know what is.
Godawful. Easily a bottom 5 country in Eurovision and in life. The fewer words wasted on them the better.
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03. Aminata - “Love injected”
Latvia 2015
2015 isn’t my favourite year of Eurovision, but the one great thing about it is how defining it was in shaping the next 4 years of Eurovision: Australia débuted and have since become a Eurovision staple. Måns reinvented the way delegations look at staging, pushing the boundaries for 2016 and beyond. Azerbaijan took a more carefree approach, starting their morph from the worst esc country into one of the better ones. Many hapless countries, such as Belgium, Serbia, Estonia and Israel reminded Europe that they are bursting with talent. Their entries proved that anyone can do well as long as you put in the effort. But amidst all of these amazing stories however, the most epic tale remains that of Aminata Savadogo, avant garde angel and saviour of Latvia.
And I mean, what new things can still be said about “Love injected”? It is a BREATHTAKING piece of pure ART. It’s a perfectly-shaped paramour pearl of avant garde. It’s a hallmark of the indie genre. It is, simply put: a masterpiece.
Going into the year, I was obviously superinvested in Aminata, from the first moment I heard “Love injected” in Supernova. She is absolutely stunning both as a human and a vocalist. Her insane range allows her to remain fragile and introverted during the verses, giving the song the emotional gravitas it needs. During the chorus however, she lets go in all her power:
YOUR LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE
REVIVES MY SOOOOOOOOOOUL
AND I KNOOOOOOOW
YOU’LL CHOOSE IT WHOLE
OVER A A A A A AAAAALLLLLL
Aminata is the best vocalist of the decade, period. There is nobody who exhibits the same bone-chilling vocal tone. Nobody is this capable of emulating vulnerability and pure power, simultaneously. She almost outperforms Il Volo by herself. That this R&B princess also comes from one of the most ignored countries in this decade is the whipping cream on top. Nothing gives me MORE life than a lower tier country taking Europe by storm and watching Aminata carry Latvia into greatness two years in a row is something I would call The European Dream.
One of the WORST countries in the 2000s, a fairly decent one in the 2010s. It’s like Lithuania’s journey, but better. It sucks that they only qualified twice though. They deserved so much more than that.
IS IVETA TAKING OVER THE RANKING?? 😍
OR WILL THE TOP SPOT BE TAKEN BY A STRANGER? 😍
Tune in tomorrow at noon EST for the final update of this giant-ass ranking :o.
