Could "Alter Ego" by Minus One allow Cyprus to sneak into the Eurovision top 10?
Country: Cyprus
Song Title: "Alter Ego"
Artist: Minus One
First Semi-Final: Position #11
Last year's entry: "One Thing I Should Have Done" - John Karayiannis (22nd Place)
As expected, Cyprus and Minus One hasn't done much tweaking to their rock track "Alter Ego" since debuting a little over a month ago. The good news: the track doesn't need that much tweaking anyway:
I have to keep reminding myself every time I hear the first few notes that this is not a track from The Killers, but that favorable comparison reminds me that I am about to hear a radio friendly, accessible pop rock track. There are a surprising number of rock bands at this year's Eurovision Song Contest((I consider "more than one" surprising.)) and I think Minus One will be the most accepted out of the bunch.
Cyprus will appear in the running order between the Czech Republic and Austria, which is an interesting juxtaposition. The edge of the Czech track should carry through in Cyprus's performance while transitioning to the pop sensibility of Austria's selection. I think the transition may be a challenge for Austria, but Cyprus seems to be tasked with jumpstarting the second half of the first semi-final which could help keep "Loin d'ici" from lulling people to sleep.
Success for Cyprus will likely depend on stage performance. If it is just Minus One standing around and rocking out, that has the potential to underwhelm. Not to keep comparing this track to Turkey's 2010 entry, but Cyprus could use whatever the 2016 equivalent of a grinder girl would be to provide a visual kick that mere pyrotechnics can't provide.
I think this entry stands a good chance of advancing to the final((Thanks, 12 points from Greece!)) and could sneak in to the top 10 if there is a glut of female soloists advancing from both semis.