Ireland seems to have avoided most people’s radar this year. But if you’re wondering where they are, they’re right there at number 22:
To be completely honest, Ireland has had a rough couple of years in Eurovison. Tone-deaf boyband singers, anemic guitar boys and underage girls who only want to give a little love have all been dying to try and restore their country’s glory, but have been far from successful.
Enter Sarah McTernan. And her song isn’t half bad. It’s got a good rhythm and a fun bass line that makes you want to play it in your car with your windows open as you hit the highway straight to the beach on a warm summer day. Which is never a bad thing. We just wish the lyrics were in an incomprehensible language like Gaelic or Yiddish as they are extremely annoyingly bad. Coming from one of the few participating countries that actually have English as their mother tongue, that’s a little extra disappointing. Maybe number 22 is some sort of secret code, but still. There are enough clichés to impress E L James.
Also, Sarah has a nice, dark voice that we quite like. But word of note to her vocal coach: She needs to learn how to breathe. There may of course be respiratory issues that we are not aware of. But listening to someone that sounds like they just finished a 45 minute high intensity anaerobic workout and then decided to sing a little tune is exhausting. We just want to call her up and tell her that in case of emergency, oxygen masks will appear from over her head.
Also, we are a bit worried about the live performance. Watching her performance in Amsterdam was a rather awkward display of what not to do when you want to engage the crowd. She seems to lack a little energy, audience appeal and, frankly, charisma. And then, we don’t see what’s left for Ireland to work with.
All in all, as much as we want Ireland back in the game, we cannot see this number being the one to break a bad trend. They are unlucky enough to be in the good semi final and we cannot for the sake of a good Guiness see how they will be able to get to the final. But please come back soon. And please remember how to breathe!
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