Hey Mamma! by SunStroke Project
I’m old enough to remember the time when the stock trade of many a comedian was the mother-in-law joke. We’ve had some songs at Eurovision evoking the power of mothers, literal and figurative, such as the mawkish dirge from Belgium a couple of years back, and Anastasia Prikhodko’s Mamo, echoing as much Mother Russia as her own kin (and you wouldn’t get a Russian song sung partially I Ukrainian these days, would you?). I don’t think we’ve had the musical equivalent of the mother-in-law before in Eurovision, but SunStroke Project change that with this fun number.
The singer navigates a careful path to curry the favour of his partner’s overbearing mother, trying to convince her of his honourable intentions for her daughter, whilst all the time having a one-track mind for something rather more saucy. It’s got a knowing charm and cheekiness to it, with an upbeat tune and the return of Epic Sax Man, lending it that familiar SunStroke Project trademark sound. I like this a lot. It’s about time straight people came and had some playful fun at Eurovision, we can’t keep a monopoly on it for the queers. Will it revive flagging Moldovan fortunes, seeking their first qualification since Aliona Moon in 2013? I hope so. They have a later semi-final 1 draw and will stand out as a bit of fun amid all those ballads, but it’s not going to mount a serious challenge should it get to the final.
My marks – 8 points