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Could a lullaby or similar style song succeed in Eurovision?

Could a lullaby or similar style song succeed in the Eurovision Song Contest?

  • Yes

    7 38.9%
  • Maybe

    6 33.3%
  • No

    5 27.8%

  • Total voters
    18

NemesisNick

Well-known member
Joined
June 2, 2012
Posts
1,288
Location
Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom
Here in the UK the BBC has a channel aimed at pre-school children called CBeebies. Just before closedown each evening they have the Goodnight Song, which is, in effect, a lullaby.

The question is, how would a similar style song score in the Eurovision Song Contest?

The last three years the ESC has had one song which I see as being of a similar style to that song, or to put it another way, I see the following songs as adult kids' versions of the CBeebies Goodnight Song.

ESC 2010 Final Song 9: BELARUS - 3+2 "Butterflies" (24th place, 18 points)
A group ballad, with the gimmick of the butterfly wings near the end. It's such a sweet, soothing song that I liked performed live during the ESC 2010 final and liked even more watching it on video after that. Second from last and 18 points was an insult. Although not worthy of winning, it deserved to be top ten. It was so much better than Russia (which undeservedly finished 11th). What went wrong? Could it be the first few lines sounded a bit dull after the lively Serbian entry?

ESC 2011 Final Song 19: AZERBAIJAN - Ell/Nikki "Running Scared" (Winner, 221 points)
During ESC 2011 semi-final 1, I thought this deserved to reach the final; I was really glad it qualified. A beautiful, soothing ballad with flowing arm movements. This song certainly deserved to win the 2011 ESC final. It won with 43.8% of the maximum possible score (504) for that year, which was the lowest winning percentage under the current scoring system used since 1975, but at least it won.

ESC 2012 Semi-final 2 Song 6: PORTUGAL - Filipa Sousa (13th place, 39 points)
A ballad which I felt was indifferent when watching the preview video before the said semi-final. Based solely on the live performance in ESC 2012 Semi-final 2 Thursday 24 May 2012, I felt the verses were a bit dull, but I quite liked the chorus. At the end of that semi-final I was disappointed to see their song fail to qualify as I felt it was better than Ukraine and Turkey (Ukraine and Turkey were on my "prefer not to qualify" group of countries). I've listened to "Vida Minha" since, and liked it more since then (particularly the chorus); it's another sweet, soothing song. Portugal were robbed in 2012, they deserved the place in the final that either Ukraine or Turkey took.

So you see, a song of this style can either win (as in Azerbaijan 2011) or fail to qualify (as in Portugal 2012). Any similar songs in the ESC 2013? So far I've only watched Iceland and UK online.
 

bubblingtrue

Active member
Joined
February 9, 2010
Posts
184
I think you are confusing a lullaby with a ballad?!

The definition of a lullaby...

''A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive''
 

NemesisNick

Well-known member
Joined
June 2, 2012
Posts
1,288
Location
Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom
I think you are confusing a lullaby with a ballad?!
To the best of my knowledge, no.

Each evening on the BBC pre-school channel, just before closedown around 6:55pm they show this lullaby "The Time Has Come To Say Goodnight". Watch it on YouTube (if you can, it may be blocked in some countries). To me its tune seems decidedly similar to that of "Butterflies" (Belarus 2010) and "Running Scared" (Azerbaijan 2011). Would you say the said CBeebies song is of a similar tune and style to "Butterflies" (Belarus 2010), "Running Scared" (Azerbaijan 2011) and "Vida Minha" (Portugal 2012)?

I've listened to this year's Icelandic entry "Ég Á Líf" a few times and think that too is in a similar league. Would you agree or disagree with me on that? Have you heard "Ég Á Líf" yet? It'll be interesting to see if a) whether or not that qualifies to the final and b) if it qualifies, how well it does in the final.
 
Joined
April 2, 2023
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409
Latvia 2023
27th place
 

Lance Esgard

Well-known member
Joined
March 15, 2021
Posts
588
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Amar Pelois Dois might be the closest stylistically to a lullaby that we've had in Eurovision and it won. It isn't far off from the traditional Welsh lullaby Suo Gân although the lyrical content of Amar Pelois Dois is considerably more mature.
 

Ajeje Brazorf

Well-known member
Joined
October 6, 2021
Posts
1,275
"All kinds of everything" by Dana in 1970 was the closest thing to a lullaby we had and, yes, it won. So it is possible.
 
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