Flat is my chosen word to describe Melovin’s performance. Style-wise he looks to have tumbled through an 80s new romantic time warp and landed in a skip. And then there’s that weird contact lens/goggy eye thing, that looks like he’s getting the best out of a free trial by wearing them one at a time. Unfortunately, that’s about the most interesting thing about the Ukrainian entry this time around.
The song itself is terribly dull, and more than slightly dated. Melovin bellows his way through what I imagine to be the chorus – it’s hard to tell. As a package “Under the Ladder’ desperately lacks soul. And I’m not entirely convinced it’s in English.
Mamma Russia won’t vote for it, and doubtless a strong suggestion has gone to others to follow the party line. It’s unlikely to attract the support of televoters, given there are better-looking boys with better-sounding songs.
It’s a shame this one will end the second semi-final. I can see people getting up half way through to fix a drink.
On the plus side, the EBU don’t have to worry about staging the show in Kiev next year.