NaviBand Shares Historyja Majho Zyccia for Belarus

"In case you don't speak Belarusian, that's "Story of My Life."

Belarus hasn't had much success with final placements in the last few contests, but they do seem to have taken the baton from Moldova in terms of the delightfully weird. This year's entry, "Historyja majho zyccia" (Story of My Life) by NaviBand, was selected by a combination of jury and public vote, and seems like a natural successor to 2014's twerpy hamster date and 2016's naked wolfman.

This song reminds me of what Three Minutes to Earth (Georgia 2014) might have achieved if it hadn't been such a musical hot mess: upbeat, high-energy without being manic, and unfailingly positive. I caught myself grinning like a fool the first time I listened to this entry, which is really something considering I'd just been trudging through the muck that is USian news these days. Both performers have great voices (just one or two minor pitch issues), and they do an amazing job of selling the emotion. I'm having a hard time finding fault, honestly.

I have only two requests for NaviBand and their team. First: please, for the love of god, do not translate the lyrics for the main contest. The English lyrics are good -- much better than I expected, if I'm being honest. The Belarusian lyrics sound GREAT, though, and contribute some much-needed cultural diversity into the contest. If they keep the lyrics as-is, it'll also be the first time for a performance in Belarusian at Eurovision, which would be a great trivia item. Second: actually don't change anything at all. Just get you four dancers in folk attire, add some graphics to the stage floor, and keep these two on a steady diet of uppers for the next five months."