Ireland, and one of the biggest stars of this year’s contest, Nicky Byrne from Westlife. I have to be honest we’ve all been a bit worried about his vocals. And not without reason as it turns out. It’s not that Nicky can’t sing, it’s just that his voice isn’t the strongest. He hits the tune, mostly, a few bum notes aside, but it never really reaches any particular richness. The presentation has been a talking point too and it’s a simple Nicky-with-band structure with manly red lighting. It could be a lot worse, but it could also be a lot better. It does have the authenticity of a typical Westlife arena gig, but the song doesn’t feel strong enough still. Coupled with Nicky’s limitations this isn’t boding well. He has a qualification within him, but I think it’s as much down to the performances of others as it is in Nicky’s hands.
The feeling here is he needs more yellow light: for a song about sunlight it’s uncannily dark. In the last go he comes onto the satellite stage, the floor of which illuminates as a sun, leaving him – literally – standing out in the sun. It sounds cheesy but it helps, and would help more yet if he can bring in some warmer tones too. I mean in the colours but he could do with a few in his voice as well.
Monty x