Tim: This guy’s taking this thing seriously – it was up on iTunes within hours of being unveiled on the radio, and there’s an official video and everything.
Tom: And yet, he still doesn’t stand a chance against Jedward.
Tim: The obvious thing about this is the very military snare drum in the background, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, if there was something else to draw attention from it. There’s the piano, sure, and the guitars –
Tom: — wait, isn’t that —
Tim: Yes, before you interrupt me, I have just described a full backing orchestration, but if you’ll let me continue – it’s the drums that stand out. The piano’s only audible in the quiet bits, when the drums are there as well, and the heavy guitars, rather than taking this back towards friendly happy music, only make it seem more serious, more soldier-like, and overall less fun.
Tom: See, I’d use some different words there: “anthemic” and “emotional”. That second line of the chorus, with the rising chords, is just beautiful. I can see this doing very well – maybe not top of the table, but this is proper lighters-in-the-air stuff and it’ll get votes.
Tim: Oh, probably. It’s listenable, sure, and it’s a decent song – just, did you have to choose that backing?
Tom: I’m glad he did. Compress that much emotion into that space of time, and I think you’ve got a decent chance.