Can the UK win Eurovision 2014?

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It’s almost that beautiful time of year again. Forget Christmas, forget Easter – it’s almost time for Eurovision 2014.

With all the entrants named and the songs chosen, there has been a lot of buzz about a select few favourites as usual  – only this time, the UK is one of them.

So, might this be the year that the UK finally takes home the crown once more? Going into the final, the UK currently has the FIFTH best odds (as of 10.05.14) to win the competition, having peaked at third best earlier in the week. Sweden is the current favourite, with The Netherlands, Austria and Armenia following.

Our entrant for 2014 is Molly Smitten-Downes, a relative unknown who is not a pensioner (thank God) but an actual singer-songwriter chosen from relative obscurity thanks to BBC Introducing. She will be singing her partially self-penned ‘Children of the Universe.’

Now, I must admit, I was a little underwhelmed by the song after hearing some of her previous material on youtube, but there are a lot of positive comments about the track being posted on youtube and other Eurovision blogs.

So, to get a better picture of the probability of a British success, I asked three fellow bloggers and Eurovision fans from across Europe to listen to Molly’s song and review its chances.

Romania

Vlad (Romania)

I liked the UK’s song from the first time I heard it. Molly has a great voice that reminds me of Paloma Faith whom I’m a big fan of. However, I’m not sure of its chances of winning.

I predicted a male ballad is going to win this year long before I heard the songs, because a) a guy hasn’t won in a while and b) a ballad hasn’t won in a while. But I’d like to see the UK get a spot in the top 10, the song stood out from the beginning for me, it has a powerful message and a singer with a bright career ahead, unlike other UK contestants that could have easily been mistaken as members of the Babushki group.

Since I can’t give the song a 9 and an 8 doesn’t seem enough, I’d like to personally give the song a 10 out of 12, just because it was the first song that I liked this year. It would have been a 12, if it hadn’t had that corny “power to the people” line.

Verdict: 10/12

Spain

Enrique (Spain)

This year, the UK has a great singer with a good song, but this is enough to win? In my opinion this year everything is possible.

To be honest, the quality this year is not very high; there are few catchy songs, just many ballads. When I listened to the Molly song for the first time I thought it had a fantastic voice and jury will give her many points, but I am not sure what will happen with the televoting.

From Spain I would give to Molly 6 point but on the most famous Spanish Eurovision website, the UK entry is third, after Spain and Sweden.

Verdict: 6/12

Russia

Anna (Russia)

I think Children of the Universe by Molly has a solid chance of taking the top prize of Eurovision 2014. I haven’t heard the Russian entry for this year, or any others, for that matter, but COTU hits a lot of similar notes (no pun) that propelled several past winners to victory. Like last year’s Only Teardrops, and Euphoria and Dima Bilan’s Believe before that, it has a generically appealing message, very strong vocals, and an ’empowering’ lyrical-pop melody that’s appealing across markets and demographics.

I would give the song 10 out of 12, because the beginning did not hook me right away, and the ‘power to people’ backup-singing was a bit off-sounding. But by the half-point I was totally into it, bobbing my head along. It’s going into my playlist!

Verdict: 10/12

So if these points hold true in real life, might we have our first UK victory since 1997? Tune in to the Eurovision final on Saturday 10^th May to find out!

What do you think of this year’s UK entry?
Comment below!

Many thanks to my lovely contributors!

Vlad is a part-time traveller from Romania who is always planning his next big trip. When he’s not travelling, he enjoys researching different cities, to the point where he can get around a place without actually having been there. He loves the warmth of a sunny summer day and would move in a heartbeat to a town at the Mediterranean Sea.  You can read more about his travels here.

Enrique Arzuaga is a journalist from Bilbao, Spain and since 2007 has presented his own weekly radio show all about Eurovision, “Universo Eurovision”.

Anna Belkina is a Russian-American-Russian expat who, after more than 15 years State-side once again calls Moscow her home. By day she is a communication strategist for a news network; in her free time she rides horses, watches Marvel movies and writes her expat/travel blog, Home & Away.