"NAVIBAND's got plenty of spunk, but does Belarus have what it takes to push "Historyja majho žyccia" all the way to the Eurovision finals?
Country: Belarus
Song Title: "Historyja majho žyccia"
Artist: NAVI
Second Semi-Final: Position #15
Last year's entry: "Help You Fly" - IVAN (DNQ - 12th Place, SF2)
There's a inverse correlation between how much I enjoy the Belarussian Eurovision entry's stage presentation and its chances of actually making the final. Chainmail tank top? DNQ. Naked dude/wolf holograms? DNQ. Over-obvious butterfly theme? Qualified((finished in 24th and really only bareeeeeeely made it into the final, but still. Qualified)). What I'm saying here is that Belarus has had a spotty history the last few years, and hasn't seen the final since 2014, when everyone's favorite twerpy hamster date got them all the way to 16th place. Will NAVIBAND's "Historyja majho žyccia" be the act to get them back in the Eurovision final spotlight?
Let's talk about this song. Ryan loved it, and it has a lot of what initially drew me to watching the Eurovision Song Contest all those((8, at this point - how time flies!)) years ago. There's a great blend of traditional folk music from the country, mixed with enough pop polish((although in this case it's a little closer to the likes of groups like Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers)) to remind you that this is a competition, after all. I really like the interplay between the two vocalists, as well as the fact that this song is in a language other than english. All of these feel like things that can help the Belarussian performance stand out from the pack in the second semifinal.
Looking at that field, there's definitely room to stand out. Ryan suggested that they basically change nothing (language, peppiness, etc.) for this performance, and they appear to have heeded our suggestion. While the second semi-final doesn't feel quite as stacked with heavily-favored performances as the first, the style of NAVI's upbeat song will stick out from some of the ballads we're getting from Denmark and Serbia, and definitely feels more lively than the other entry from a country containing "Rus" in their name((assuming they still decide to perform - more on that at the linked article)). I'm not sure they have the support needed from the rest of the nations to make it all the way, but at the very least, this feels like an entry on the bubble that could pop right on over to the final if conditions are right.