In which Barei tries to dance Spain to a respectable finish in Stockholm.
Country: Spain
Song Title: "Say Yay!"
Artist: Barei
Last year's entry: "Amanecer" - Edurne (21st Place)
Let me start by saying just how disappointed I was with Spain's finish last year. Amanecer was a great song, full of drama, and the performance had a great visual design. Unfortunately, Edurne's performance in the Grand Final was pitchy, and her voice just wasn't up to the task. Apparently, though, she's a big fan of this year's performer after serving on the jury that helped select her. Can Barei dance Spain to a better finish this year in Stockholm?
When I first listened to this song almost three months ago, I thought it had potential. Now, at the tail end of the Eurovision season, with so many other great songs in the contest and no changes having been made to "Say Yay," this gets skipped more frequently than not. ((I basically only listen to it when I'm in the shower and can't reach my phone to skip ahead.)) It's okay the first couple of times, but it's too repetitive to be a long-lasting favorite, and will be previewed in the same semifinal as Finland, which has a similar sound. As a group, we're pretty sure Finland won't make it to the Grand Final, which is good news for Spain! But it's also bad news, because the two songs are incredibly similar. If voters don't like one, they probably won't have high marks for the other.
Since the beginning of this month, Spain's odds have lengthened a bit, from 28 to 40:1. Those are still pretty great odds, considering the competition! Malta, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Australia, and Bulgaria all feature female soloists and will likely make the Grand Final. If we're judging in relative terms (and we are!), I'd put Spain at or near the bottom of the list. And that's not even taking into account the strong men in the competition -- Russia, Latvia, and Israel among them. I just don't see where Spain's votes come from this year; I think Barei will do better than last year's 21st place, but not by much.