FYR Macedonia

Let Me Love You Tamara, Vrčak & Adrijan

With the headcount of active participants at Eurovision having almost doubled from the numbers that were taking part in the contest each year less than a decade ago, it was inevitable that steps would have to be taken to distribute them more evenly; thus was the semi-final system born. When it became obvious in the run-up to Helsinki that the semi-final was also bulging around the middle, the two semi-final system was born. However, the conventional wisdom doing the rounds is that it was introduced more as a measure to curb the influence of diaspora voting, thereby producing a more even field of qualifiers in the final. Taking the theory one step further, some even claim it was introduced in direct response to the consistent qualification of one country in particular: FYR Macedonia...

The Balkan republic has made it out of the semi-final every year since 2004 ranked 9th or 10th in the televoting, generally having received a significant proportion of support from its neighbours, and often ahead of countries who have received wider overall support but a slightly smaller total number of points. In some quarters this is seen as being unjust, and the Macedonians’ qualification is regarded as not merely consistent but consistently undeserved. However, voting patterns aside, this fails to take into account the quality of the songs involved, the quality of the performances and the quality of the competition they were up against; and since this in itself is such a subjective issue, it is a very grey area generally to get into. In a way the country seems to have been adopted as an all-purpose scapegoat for the perceived weaknesses of the format of the contest at present, with anything good it may contribute being overlooked as a result.

It seems rather appropriate then that FYR Macedonia should roll up to Beogradska Arena with the beseechingly titled Let Me Love You. While the song commits many of the same sins for which the country has been burned before, both stylistically and in terms of its primary audience, the fact that it is to be performed entirely in English with a decent set of lyrics suggests that Tamara, Vrčak & Adrijan are setting their sights slightly further afield than just the other side of Lake Ohrid. It also sets them apart from hosts Serbia, fellow former Yugoslav states Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia and neighbour Albania, who have all largely or entirely eschewed the international language and therefore much chance of being understood by anyone outside of the region who wouldn’t automatically vote for them anyway.

Whether anyone does though is another thing. Let Me Love You being similar in feel to the 2006 Macedonian entry Ninanajna may be a good thing in the sense that Elena Risteska delivered the country its best result to date in Athens, falling only two places short of a top ten finish. The Balkans have a fondness and aptness for contemporary R&B that is only rivalled on the continent by France, and although it is not a genre that has enjoyed a lot of success at Eurovision, Let Me Love You is a fairly strong advertisement for it and may find wider appeal. The least successful part of the song is the rap, which always sounds forced when delivered by skinny white guys, and here at times it sounds far too close to the more cringe-worthy moments of Moldova’s 2006 entry Loca for comfort. That aside, Tamara’s vocals suit the song and the orchestral arrangement accompanying the hip hop elements is one of the most prominent and effective this year.

If the yardstick of whether the two semi-final system works is FYR Macedonia not qualifying for Saturday’s final, I suspect that a lot of people will, ironically, be disappointed. On the assumption that the three leads put in a performance on the night that is more together than the one they gave at the national final in Skopje, or that at least comes across as more together, I can see them earning their onward ticket fairly convincingly. Sadly, they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t: progress and a wave of sarcasm and wrath will be unleashed on them by an exasperated West in search of an excuse; fail to progress and those same people will call it ‘justice’. (Which is something you could only call it if the isolated Thursday night performance was pants.) Despite having perhaps benefitted most from the draw, I reckon - and hope - that if Let Me Love You does qualify it will do so at least equally on merit.