Following last week's announcement of the six artists and songs competing to represent Germany in Turin this May (brief artist and song profiles can be found here), and in anticipation of the national final, 'Germany 12 Points', on 4 March, seventeen of the Aussievision team have ranked and rated the entries vying to perform in Turin.
Points were awarded on a 12-10-7-5-3-1 basis to each act and, without further ado, here are the results of the Aussievision jury:
6. 'Soap' - Emily Roberts (65 points)
Highs: 10 points from Cooper and Wade
Lows: 1 point from Craig, Dale, Guy, Hugo and Liv
"Soap would fit perfectly into a 2010 Katy Perry album with its heavily themed lyrics and simple but effective hook. Should it win the national final? No, but it is an enjoyable song that is nice to listen to when it comes up on the playlist." ~ Cooper
"Soap is aptly a pretty clean sounding song. It's catchy, punchy and cutesy enough to hold my interest, at least upon first listen. The idea of washing a brain with soap also gets some creativity points from me, pushing it higher in my rankings." ~ Wade
5. 'Alive' - Eros Atomus (72 points)
Highs: 12 points from Mark and Kyriakos, 10 points from Estelle
Lows: 1 point from Emma, Fleur, Josh, Laura, Mike, Steven and Tim
"I find this stirring and wistful and likeable. Eros might not have reinvented the wheel, but when the wheel is fine enough, just roll with it!" ~ Mark
"This is the song I find the most interesting out of the line up. Eros gives this song just a nice uplifting feel. Can't wait to watch this live." ~ Kyriakos
4. 'Hallo Welt' - Nico Suave & Team Liebe (85 points)
Highs: 10 points from Dale, Emma, Guy and Laura
Lows: 1 point from Cooper, Kyriakos and Wade
"This is such a cute song! So upbeat and positive. Will it set the scoreboard on fire in May? Possibly not but I still found it an enjoyable listen. The English lyrics towards the end in particular helped me to understand the song's message and added impact to it. " ~ Laura
"This is just a fun little feel good song. It sounds a bit like a pastel acoustic 'Where is the love?' with some elements that remind me of 'Same Love'. Even though that sounds like it should be terrible, I quite like it! Plus being in German is always a big plus!" ~ Dale
3. 'I Swear To God' - Maël & Jonas (116 points)
Highs: 12 points from Liv, 10 points from Hugo, Josh, Kyriakos and Tim
Lows: 1 point from Mark, 3 points from Craig and Estelle
"I do believe this is the best package Germany could go for - the boys have some steeze and personality, the song has some jury potential and is instantly palatable. The whole selection is quite safe and this feels like the most spicy of the lot. Not the most contemporary sound, but they commit to the aesthetic and vibe. I really enjoy this." ~ Liv
"Love that guitar at the start of the chorus - sounds like 'Sucker' by the Jonas Brothers (funny because their name is Jonas as well!). That sets up the whole song for me, and I find it extremely catchy. ... Hopefully they play up the rock vibes on stage more than the pop elements." ~ Hugo
2. 'Rockstars' - Malik Harris (140 points)
Highs: 12 points from Craig, Dale, Estelle, Mike and Wade
Lows: 3 points from Laura, 5 points from Emma and Liv
"This is a really current, well put-together song. Malik's vocal has a touch of Lewis Capaldi and that chorus is quietly anthemic and nostalgic at the same time. The spoken word rap actually works well, when I usually find it a little cringey. This is commercial radio, something that I had an immediate liking of, and I think it's a really decent entry." ~ Dale
"To be honest, this was a 'best of a bad bunch' pick for 12 points. I always appreciate an unexpected office reference, and there's some nice paraphrasing of Andy Bernard’s “I wish there was a way of knowing you are in the good old days before you’ve actually left them”. It’s not earth shattering, just more pleasant and memorable than the other options." ~ Estelle
"The only song in this selection that had any impact for me. It's a modern sounding ballad that has at least a whiff of authenticity. I'm not sure the 'angry rap' part delivers the emotion it's supposed to, and ultimately it just plods along until it finishes." ~ Mike
"I don't *love* love this, but I think it's got some potential and would at least sound different to most of the other stuff being sent to Eurovision this year. It builds well and Malik is a likeable performer. It could use a revamp to introduce some more interesting production elements and give the whole thing some more oomph." ~ Craig
1. 'Anxiety' - Felicia Lu (168 points)
Highs: 12 points from Cooper, Emma, Fleur, Guy, Hugo, Josh, Laura, Steven and Tim
Lows: 1 point from Estelle, 5 points from Kyriakos
"I think this is the clear winner from this bunch of average tracks. The fast talking in the chorus really stands out and hooks the listener in. While it’s not the most unique sounding song, I think it could garner a few points in the Eurovision Grand Final and end up improving slightly on the 0 televote points last year." ~ Josh
"A song that's very relatable given the times we are living in, all wrapped up in a very current sounding package. You can hear the angst in her voice as she's singing, although it will be interesting to see if Felicia can sing this well live given how wordy the choruses are. If she can somehow replicate the video in her stage performance, this should be Germany's best chance to get a decent result in Turin." ~ Emma
"It's a solid song. Very commercial and radio friendly. Probably more suited to a Spotify playlist than a song contest, but it might be enough for Germany to re-enter the Top 20. I love the edgy pop sounds and it's an earworm. I think this might score well with the jury. No nul points for Germany this year if they send this." ~ Fleur
"This is a pretty good song. I appreciate the fact that it’s clearly a very radio friendly song that would definitely be popular around the world . It’s memorable with the changing rhythm and it sounds like it has good production in it. I think this is a good launching pad for Germany to go back up the board. It’s radio friendly and I believe it would work well on stage." ~ Tim
"This rock-edged pop number is well sung and offers something a little different to the more “radio-friendly”, pure pop entries. The song’s title provides the hook and is a theme that will also likely resonate with listeners. With the right (and effective) staging, this could do reasonably well." ~ Steven
"'Anxiety' is the standout in what I consider a fairly safe and tame German selection. The song is a youthful piece of modern pop, but I wish it would come out of first gear. Should it be chosen by Germany, I think it needs to lift a bit more towards the end in order to not get lost in a line-up of 25 songs in the final. However, 'Anxiety' is my number 1 because it has the most solid foundation to work with." ~ Laura
So there you have it!
Felicia Lu tops our poll, followed by Malik Harris and then Maël & Jonas.
'Germany 12 Points' - What do we know so far?
'Germany 12 Points' (RIP 'Unser Lied für ...'!) will be broadcast live from Berlin on 4 March and hosted by Barbara Schöneberger, the country's Eurovision spokesperson since 2015.
Online voting for Germany's next Eurovision act will open on 28 February, and those votes - combined with votes cast by telephone or SMS - alone will determine who will be flying the black-red-and-gold flag in Turin just over two months later.
Yes, that's right: whatever happens there'll be no national final jury this year, folks!
International viewers will be able to follow proceedings online at eurovision.de or using the ARD Mediathek app, which is available for download from the App Store and Google Play.
Although no firm details have yet been revealed, at last week's press conference the representatives of the national broadcasters did promise surprises and guest act performances that would mark ARD's "ESC Day" in fitting style.
We'll certainly be watching (post-caffeination) here in Australia and tweeting along as we endeavour to explain what's happening. Wish us "viel Glück"!
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