Slovakia

Leť Tmou Kamil Mikulčík & Nela Pocisková

"Chvíľa straty, chvíľa strachu, keď sa nádej váľa v prachu..."

Since the expansion of the contest in 2004, Eurovision has seen the reappearance of some of its oldest participants and more recent alike, each of whom withdrew from the event for individual and perfectly valid reasons, and each of whom has returned to varying degrees of success. Serbia and Montenegro - what remained of Yugoslavia - took 12 years to return to the fold and, in the case of the former at least, has yet to not make the top ten, showing an aptitude for [and enjoying a level of support in] the contest that is undoubtedly the envy of many. Monaco, on the other hand, made a brief bid to recapture the glory days of the '70s and proved incapable of figuring out what new Eurovision was about, enjoying the support of nobody (except France and Andorra). 2009 sees another stray rejoin the flock: Slovakia, whose contribution to the contest amounts to three entries, a high score of 19 and a subsequent 10-year absence. In attempting to redress the balance, they have selected an entry that could well give them their best result to date: Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková's Leť Tmou.

After all, how hard can it be to pick up 20 points? With Leť Tmou the answer may be: very. If Hungary had returned to the contest in 2005 with their 2008 entry Candlelight rather than the shrewd and entertaining Forogj, Világ! we would have a clear precedent for how inept Slovakia's approach to their second coming has been. An entry you might have expected from the country (and the contest) in the 1990s - perhaps in one of the years the then recently independent nation was relegated for failing to impress anyone - Leť Tmou is a massive disappointment from STV, who had shown signs of getting what Eurovision today is about. Having waited this long to make a comeback, they put on a national final series which stood out for its professionalism at every level, including the technical and visual, right down to the requisite cute host pushing the core audience's buttons. Seldom has something promised so much and delivered so little.

The problems was the songs. All of the elements were there to make it look as though Slovakia had a clue, but the 50 entries the local televoters had to choose from, however impeccably produced, offered little in terms of either getting what Eurovision is about or (therefore) hope. Not that the Slovakian audience can be blamed for being out of touch, but given the selection, it was always going to come down to whoever was most popular at the time. This turned out to be the aforementioned Kamil and Nela with Leť Tmou, although how much the song had to do with it is another matter. The fact that the somewhat arbitrary jury in the national final agreed with the public's decision is probably more to do with pandering to the masses than them feeling that the song was the most appropriate choice, but even if not - and either way - it shows that Slovakia has a lot of catching up to do.

That process will clearly begin in Moscow. Leť Tmou would have to be very unlucky to fare as poorly as neighbours the Czech Republic did on their debut with Malá Dáma, but just as rude an awakening is a distinct possibility. Although the song could pick up points from the likes of Poland and Russia, the chances of its histrionics winning over most viewers are remote. Nela (and to a lesser but no less grating extent Kamil) may technically be able to deliver the complex vocals in the song, which may be in keeping with what the lyrics are saying, but not in a way that makes it anywhere near as attractive as, say, the fetching pastels the pair sport. As a piece of music Leť Tmou may be accomplished, but that doesn't alter the fact that it sounds about a hundred years old and takes a minute and a half to do anything other than descend into a screaming mess.

Well OK, the songs has its merits, and it's not the worst entry we'll hear in 2009. But the simple fact that Leť Tmou is at least ten years out of time makes it, at best, a wasted opportunity. It's as though Slovakia's participation in the contest was being held in suspended animation, rather than them taking time out to collect both themselves and the entry fee. It's difficult to take heart from anything to do with the country's return other than the broadcaster having already launched its 2010 campaign, perhaps realising just how wide of the mark they are with this entry. Let's just hope they twig the way they should, because those 20 points are by no means guaranteed. This year or next.