The party is over, Musttii’s party is over. “I had feared it a bit,” says Eurovision expert André Vermeulen. “Although we could just as well have pushed on. There were songs that were inferior in performance to Mustii. When Latvia was called at the very beginning, I already felt wet.”
According to Vermeulen, there is something wrong with our compatriot’s number. “Not much happens in that song for a long time, and it went on just too long. He’s also not the biggest artist with the most personality and presence that can fill such a void in a song. The greatness of the song is at the end, in the grand finale. Which I thought was quite successful. He actually didn’t sing that bad, although not excellent either. In any case, it turned out to be better than some countries that had passed before it. I thought it was passable, especially if you compare it with other candidates who did continue.”
READ ALSO. The party’s over: Mustii with peace message does not go to the final, Joost Klein will make it
Mustii. — © AFP
Miguel Wiels, who composed K3’s songs for 23 years, is also not enthusiastic about it Before the party’s over. “I didn’t think the song was strong enough. But the Eurovision Song Contest is always a bit of a lottery. I have often been wrong about which songs go through and which don’t,” he admits. “But now I had a strong feeling in Belgium that it would not work.”
The performance He missed Thursday’s event, but he had seen Mustii at work before. “I noticed in a television program in which he performed that he sang very out of tune. He then blamed it on the fact that something had gone wrong with the sound, which is perfectly possible. But for me they were signals that made me fear.”
READ ALSO. Mustii too disappointed to respond after elimination at the Eurovision Song Contest
Mentally vulnerable
His mental health could also explain the Brussels resident’s poorer performance. Permanent voiceover Peter Van de Veire already suggested that he was suffering from a lot of stress before his performance. “That had been going on for a while,” Vermeulen also says. “He’s done a number of those pre-Eurovision parties, not all of which went well. In London he struggled with technical problems and was tired. He also spent too long on a plane or had to wait somewhere for a long time. The dress rehearsal did not go without a hitch either. Those are things that affect your mind.”
Eurovision Song Contest expert André Vermeulen. — © Youtube
“These types of performances always take place in less professional circumstances. It is mainly fans of the Eurovision Song Contest who organize it, in clubs in various cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, London and Amsterdam. You may expose yourself in a way that you don’t necessarily want to.”
When asked whether Vermeulen thought in advance that Mustii would reach the final or not, he sounded certain. “I would definitely have said he had a chance to advance. Again: when you see who is through now, I think: we might as well have been through. He’s not the best singer either, that’s for sure. But I think it should have been enough to go to the final.”
“Of course there are also a number of very good songs with very impressive singing performances. From Switzerland, for example, I find it incredible that this guy can do some artistic acrobatics and still sing very well at the same time. And on top of that, it’s a good song too. That is really a contender to win,” Vermeulen thinks.
“The success of the evening”
Then the semi-final turned out better for Joost Klein and his team Europapa. “I absolutely expected that, because the song was received with great enthusiasm in the audience. That is a sign that it is catching on, especially when it comes to televoting,” says Vermeulen. “However, it is not very clear to me how much he sang himself and what was recorded. At first he sang quite hesitantly, I had the impression that he was sparing himself a bit. But the Netherlands, together with Switzerland, was undeniably the success of the evening.”
Joost Klein. — © AP
Unlike Mustii, Vermeulen is more of a fan of Joost Klein’s song. “He has a song in which something happens from the first moment. He also starts speaking to the people. The song took off from second one. That is slightly less with the Belgian number.”
No race won
“It’s one, for starters catchy song,” agrees Miguel Wiels. “I think it was very cleverly done, it is rightly a big hit. His theme is well-found, it is about Europe, a word that everyone knows and can sing along to. Only praise for the men who wrote the song.”
“I often work in the Netherlands and… the Dutchmen anyway, they love it. Our northern neighbors are already convinced that they have won,” he laughs. “Croatia also has a striking act, which could steal votes from Joost. There is also an intermezzo in his song that is very funny, but especially strikingly Dutch. The question is whether people in Macedonia or Slovenia will like that genre at all. Just because we Belgians, who share more or less the same musical culture with the Netherlands, appreciate it, does not mean that this is also the case elsewhere. It is certainly not a won race yet.”
Miguel Wiels, musician and songwriter. — © Luc Daelemans
The combination of the typical Dutch chopping festival and the emotional ode to his deceased parents is what did it for Joost, Vermeulen thinks. “That is a very nice contrast. If that ending wasn’t there, we would have yet another ‘fun song’ like there are so many at this Eurovision Song Contest.”
“Joost has of course also promoted very well. He has consistently done this in his own unique way. Apparently also in a lot of different languages, from different countries, also via the internet. He involved his audience and future voters from the start.”
The Dutchman also scores very well among the youth. “But you shouldn’t go wrong with that. It’s not those guests who sit in front of the TV on Saturday evening to watch the Eurovision Song Contest,” Wiels qualifies. “I’m curious how Europe will react to that, because it is just as well a 50-year-old Danish woman and a 70-year-old Slovenian watching TV with his wife and family. Also in England, for example, you have completely different cultures when it comes to music. But I do wish it on my Dutch friends.”
READ ALSO. Investigation into “incident” surrounding Joost Klein, singer does not appear at Eurovision Song Contest dress rehearsal
Croatia also sends a somewhat busy, crazy act to the final. Will that affect Joost later? “I consider Croatia a major competitor,” says André Vermeulen. “Although it’s not quite the same, is it? Joost really starts from a unique position with his appearance, the organization of the entire act, and so on. There are of course more songs that rely on a certain one fun factor. I think Croatia and the Netherlands are the most professional among them ensemble of festive entries. Other countries try, but don’t really stand out.”
Three minutes
And what should we Belgians learn from this? “Grab your audience by the throat,” Vermeulen gives as a tip. “You only have three minutes. And you have to give full throttle from the start. If you have a ballad that goes crescendo, you still have some leeway, but it should at least come to a climax faster than with Mustii.”
“You have to make a song immediately catchy is,” says Miguel Wiels. “With Croatia I was completely drawn into the song from the first time, so I thought that was very strong. Because most people who vote are hearing a song like this for the first time. You also have to be lucky that there is something unique about your genre or style, something that few competitors do. If, like Joost Klein, you have six virtually the same acts, you have less chance of standing out.”
“I have a top three,” concludes André Vermeulen. “Switzerland is number one, because of the unique combination of artistic acrobatics, a good voice and a strong song. I put Croatia at second, and then the Netherlands at three. I am also thinking of countries such as Italy, France and Ukraine, which also have a good chance of achieving a good result.”
