Will Hungary find peace with Boggie's "Wars for Nothing" at the Eurovision Song Contest next month?
Country: Hungary
Song Title: "Wars for Nothing"
Artist: Boggie
Semi-Final: First, Position 10
Last year's entry: "Running" - András Kállay Saunders (5th Place)
Hungary is one of the countries we should all be keeping an eye on in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since returning to the Contest in 2011 after a brief hiatus (and a couple years of not qualifying for the Final), Hungary has developed a knack for sending entries that manage to be current without coming across as dated. In other words: their tracks hold up quite nicely. Hungary has also managed to earn back-to-back top 10 finishes in the last two years, which is great momentum for this year's entry "Wars for Nothing" by Boggie:
This entry is the epitome of high risk high reward. The performance is simple as is the message, but that is where the elegance of this entry can be found. Ryan was stressing the performance aspects in his first impression of "Wars for Nothing", but I would much rather there be as few visuals as possible. Can you imagine how haunting this song would be if it were completely dark save for Boggie under a spotlight, with light added as each new singer joins her?
The song is practically a cappella, so the visuals presentation should also be as stripped down as possible. The a cappella nature of this song is where the risk/reward will be won or lost. The harmonies are the most beautiful part of "Wars for Nothing" and being able to execute them in an arena setting with very little music to work from carries with it a much higher degree of difficulty. However, if successful, "Wars for Nothing" could be a major contender in Vienna.
Hungary's position in the running order provides an interesting contrast. Boggie will be following Serbia's anthem to self confidence while Belarus' power pop entry will be the "Wars for Nothing" chaser. This is a fantastic balance of light and shade, with Hungary probably benefiting the most from the three.
Unless the performance goes off the rails for some reason((I have no reason to think it will)), I will be deeply disappointed if Hungary doesn't make it to the Eurovision final.