"Believe me, it's best to let go..."A competition derided by established artists in many countries, Eurovision has gained a reputation as a showcase for new, little or no talent. While some broadcasters manage to convince popular acts to take part, a large number struggle to generate any enthusiasm for the contest among big names and end up settling for national finals populated by session singers and 'stars of the future'. At best they might persuade a known name to contribute a song, even if they refuse to be associated with it in anything other than name alone. This can lead to lopsided local victories, with the name earning the song the ticket to Eurovision rather than the song itself. All of this applies to the Cypriot entry in Moscow, Firefly: an unassuming and largely underwhelming song penned by a popular performer but entrusted to his sister, the inexperienced Christina Metaxa. It is, essentially, Junior Eurovision in disguise.
Firefly is the kind of earnest anthem you might expect from a contest heavy on the teenage entrants, with an accessible and undeniably cute central concept and a sense of urgency and import only the precocious can produce in such essays. Well, it's not that bad; it's certainly not as eye-rolling as Monaco's 2004 return Notre Planète or the Latvian lads musing in 2005 that The War Is Not Over. In fact its message and its medium have some lovely touches to them. There's just something very school-poetry-competition about the song that jars with 'grown-up' Eurovision. If it were representing Cyprus in this year's JESC in Ukraine I would have more time for it, probably; a grudging sort of respect. As it stands I only have three minutes for it, and it takes the better part of two of them to actually do anything. I don't know how they're going to stage it to (a) win and (b) keep the televoters' attention, especially after Norway's bouncy castle of a song, but that's pretty much all they'll have to rely on.
Because the biggest problem with Firefly is not the nauseating sentiment, nor the lack of incident, but the fact it's being fronted by a little girl. As lovely as Ms Metaxa is, she doesn't have the natural talent or the training she needs for a contest as cut-throat as Eurovision. Miracles will have to have been worked in the three months since February to turn her into a performer who can make enough of the song to convince the voters. CyBC may have been able to get her brother on board in a more pro-active role (damage limitation?) but there's little hope of his inclusion masking his sister's shortcomings on stage. Christina was modest enough to apologise for her nerves during the national final and promise to do better in Moscow, but we all know where good intentions alone get you in this contest. As baptisms of fire go, few burn as indiscriminately.
I think the best we can hope for from Cyprus this year - and indeed the best they can hope for from Christina Metaxa - is a solid if unremarkable performance that earns her a few points here and there other than the requisite 12 from Greece. They might be fantasising about a repeat of their 2004 result, with a well-meaning young lady doing her best on a nice song and ending up 5th, but Firefly is no Stronger Every Minute. The focus is all wrong, the singers are back-to-front and the song is so torn between two audiences that it is unlikely to earn the approval of either. It might all be sweetness and light, but Firefly's outlook is far from bright.
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