Axel beat out the competition to represent Belgium with "Mother". Can he make it to the final?
Belgium's had a rough history in the recent years of the Eurovision Song Contest. Out of the past 10 competitions, they've qualified for the final only 3 times. Last year, they made it all the way to 12th place in the final with Roberto Bellarosa's "Love Kills", a song which I liked the recorded version of better than the live performance. Can they build on that momentum with this year's entry, Axel Hirsoux's "Mother"?
Axel's got an angelic voice, which really fits with this ballad, but I worry that in a semi-final that seems to have its fair share of ballads, this one doesn't stick out as much. The instrumentation is nice, but doesn't really have anything to separate it from the field. Lyrically, the song's a little psycho. No, seriously, the ode to mother reeeeallly makes me think of "Psycho" ((and on a secondary level, Tom Lehrer's "Oedipus Rex")) and although this is sweet, lyrically it's a little odd in terms of rhyming choices.
Another reason this one could get lost in the shuffle come performance-time is, well, the performance. Axel's fairly static, although the person in the background doing some abstract dance moves does add some visual interest, but there's nothing that really helps this song to stick in my head. This is the type of song that should be able to stand on its own, but overall this feels mostly forgettable.