"In which Germany tries to get up off the mat.<!--more-->
Country: Germany
Song Title: "Perfect Life"
Artist: Levina
Last year's entry: “Ghost” — Jamie-Lee (26th Place)
Let's not sugarcoat this: Germany has been AWFUL in the last couple of contests. They were one of two countries((The other one was Austria, who literally set their piano on fire)) to earn the dreaded nul points in 2015, and ended up on the wrong side of the tiebreaker to land in last place. I know the EBU said last year's voting changes were to better generate suspense, but wouldn't be surprised if two countries -- one of them a major funder -- getting nul points wasn't also a major factor. Those changes led to Germany scoring more points (11!) in 2016 than they would have under the old system -- but they STILL ended up in last place. Can Levina help Germany break out of this major slump?
Ah geez. It feels like I'm kicking Germany when they're down, but as Ben pointed out over two months ago, it feels like this song is destined for the bottom of the pile.((Have we ever had a single country end up in last place in the Grand Final three years in a row?)) I enjoy Levina's voice, and she's proven to have strong and compelling live vocals, if not much stage presence. This song is just so bland, there's no escaping it. There's practically no change in the percussion from start to finish, no real dynamics, no arc to the melody, no harmony, no bridge. The cherry on top of this terrible entry is the attempt to make Levina look edgy in this music video. It just ... doesn't work. At this point, I think we can safely say: it's not you, Levina. There is something seriously broken about Germany's Eurovision selection / production team. Do us all a favor and bring back Dschinghis Khan, maybe?((No, don't, they're suuuuper problematic. But you gotta do something else. Please.))