My review of "Dying To Try":
-It's been a few years that - unfortunately - Ireland doesn't appear on my radar anymore, their last effort I enjoyed 100% was Heartbeat in 2014 (even though the live performance was a hot mess), and since then it ranged from ok-ish to meh, so no need to say I didn't have any kind of expections this year, even though I still hope one day they'll come up with a song that will blow me away; I am fond of Irish people for some reason (my last trip there might have influenced me) and would love them to do well with a deserving act. So, they decided to send a ballad in Kyiv, which is supposedly what they do best, and... I've mixed feelings about that one. "Dying To Try" is a slow and quiet composition which relies a lot on its atmospheric mood: honestly the beginning does it for me to some extent, with Brendan's soothing voice and this almost secondary piano accompaniment, a hint of originality arrangement-wise comes from the sparse strings notes here and there, I think that was quite unexpected. Drums start appearing later on, which emphasize the low pace while giving a structure to the melodic lines. The chorus is quite lovely to me, it melodically reminds me of some good old 90's ballad somehow, so far the build up is mastered as the arrangements expand. However, when the choir and the main high note come, this is where I get lost: while I do agree the song needed a climax, I think that part is really not subtle and too abrupt to sound natural. Maybe it would have made sense in a four minute-long version, but here, it comes across as noisy and cliché while the beginning - although very quiet - was nicely building up. Past that part, I like Brendan's vocal variations and the strength and power brought by the choir. Finally, getting back to the quiet mood of the beginning is a good way of ending the song. My main complain is this part in the middle which - in my opinion - does ruin the song. I have no idea how they could have improved it or made it differently, all I know is that it comes out of nowhere and breaks with the beginning not in a good way imo. The flaws are the same as with the Czech entry: overall, it's a decent song, lovely to listen to, still it remains quite formulaic and too dull to go anywhere in Eurovision, despite Brendan's vocal signature. I'd put it way above boring ballads like "It's For You" (2010) and embarrasing songs like "Waterline" (2012) - it's nothing Irish people should be ashamed of - yet it doesn't equal the classiness of "Playing With Numbers" for instance. I believe they can do much better than that honestly. Pros: atmospheric ballad, cute melody, the unexpected string notes. Cons: relatively anonymous and impactless composition overall, the climax is too abrupt for such a quiet beginning.
I have no particular personal highlight in this song, I'd say the first chorus by default.
-Vocally, Brendan's voice is an acquired taste. Personally, I have no issue with singers whose voices don't fit the "x-factor dull and flat perfect voice" mould - rather the contrary, I prefer when voices have character - yet I admit I didn't get it when I first discovered it during the semi. I guess the influence of the staging made it sound creepy, because he looked like a child in a young man's body. Now, I got used to it. I wouldn't say that it charmed me particularly, but I guess change is nice and it fit the song. For sure, Ireland stood out this year thanks to him. His semi live performance was good, as expected (Nicky Byrne would better watch and learn). Actually, I think this high-register-only voice is something Brendan should market - it's quite unique in pop music - but he should showcase it through less dull songs.
-Visually, it was both one of the most interesting and "out there" Irish stagings ever imo. Interesting because it was kind of classy with a black and white background representing a landscape on a starry night, and then mountains (props for that, it looked beautiful and expensive). But it was also out there since Brendan was standing under what looked like a hot-air balloon: the concept itself - with the smoke on the floor forming clouds - was unique, but combined with the singer's looks and voice, it looked more creepy than anything else imo. They wanted to play on an innocent look, but I guess the balloon was distracting and made Brendan look more childish than he is. Honestly, by simply removing the balloon (but keeping the pedestal), I guess it would have looked better. After the climax, the stage turned to red and black. I didn't mind, even though I'm not sure that colour was the best pick (it looked slightly too ominous for that song). Outfit-wise, Brendan merely wore black pants along with a white shirt and jacket: nothing special to say about that. Overall, I think they messed up with this balloon idea, I totally got the symbolism behind it (love can take you anywhere), nonetheless it looked creepy to me and ruined an otherwise expensive background. Shame.
-Results-wise, I didn't expect Ireland to qualify, and a 13th place in the semi was roughly what I believed they were worth and would get this year. Again, "Dying To Try" was a decent effort, but a few things - both musically and visually - needed to be tweaked imo. Still I think Ireland can do much better than that, going the ballad route wasn't a bad idea given what their past uptempo efforts sounded like, but the composition was not arresting enough to get significant support. Better luck next time guys!
Stay away from your boy bands cravings and all should go well. I'd also suggest Louis Walsh should open his ears and eyes more to improve, Ireland has to get back on the Eurovision map asap!