Tim: We had “Eurovision: You Decide”. Sweden has “Melodifestivalen”. Latvia has “SUPERNOVA”. And with songs like this? Not necessarily an overstatement.
Tom: A bit of a lower-budget show, not quite the polished perfection of Sweden’s arena show, but I’m willing to bet it will have been better than our effort.
Tim: Well, as it happens, matey, we had Måns, Katrina off Katrina & The Waves and a tribute to Terry Wogan, so NOPE. This came third in the semi-final televotes (though first in its original heat), so just missed out on the final because the jurors didn’t like it. And what a shame that is, because that’s a great song. It might partly be because it’s called I Can, a title which so far has a 100% success rate for producing great tracks, but mostly it’s because of the lyrics, the music, the lights (which are about as good as you get here, despite the SUPERNOVA branding). Upbeat, fulfilling, inspiring, just excellent.
Tom: It’s a cracking chorus, that’s for sure. If the whole song was as good as that chorus, this’d be looking at a top-10 placing in the final, I reckon. But I’m really not sure about that verse: it’s too slow, too dull, and… ugh.
Tim: Yeah? Because for me, the only downfall is the middle eight, which I’ve a couple of niggles with: there really should be a good few more lyrics there, though I can understand wanting to bring a chantable portion to a non-English speaking audience, and I’d have left the key change until after that last pre-chorus, because those notes sound a bit unpleasant to my ears.
Tom: Agreed about the odd change down, but I do like the rest of it.
Tim: Other than those two bits, though: I think is great, and also that it’s just a shame He Couldn’t.
Tom: Harsh. Fair, but harsh.